Although Cang Yan's words were somewhat exaggerated and carried a hint of teasing towards Xuehe, she truly hadn't expected Xuehe to engage in something like secretly tailing someone. And from the looks of it, he had been doing so for quite some time.
In her impression, Xuehe had always been a fearless, responsible, upright, and towering man of honor. This was precisely what she admired most about him. As for those underhanded, despicable tactics employed by the lower classes, Xuehe would never stoop to them, nor would he deign to.
No matter what Xuehe did, he would always act openly and aboveboard, never resorting to sneaky, underhanded methods. Just like when he fell into demonhood for Cang Yan's sake all those years ago—he slaughtered the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands openly. He discarded his cultivation right before the elders of Taixu Cave, shattered his Destiny Heart in the face of the Heavenly Dao, and just moments ago, he obliterated the incarnations of Wuzang and Heavenly Dragon right before the eyes of Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven, refining their divine senses.
"I never would have thought... truly never would have thought..." Cang Yan stepped out of the pavilion, circling around Xuehe, her eyes constantly scanning him up and down as she spoke. "I never would have thought that behind the upright and honorable Demon Emperor Xuehe, there lurked such an unknown side."
"First, you lay low and have the Ancient Bone Demon express your stance indirectly—that's one thing. But to actually... to actually secretly tail You Di all this time?"
"I never would have thought... truly never would have thought... Is this still the upright, honorable Demon Emperor Xuehe who dares to act and take responsibility?"
"Is this still the man I admire, worship, and love?"
It must be said, a woman is a woman. No matter how powerful, even a supreme empress like Cang Yan who reigns over both immortals and demons, when lecturing the man she loves, she has a whole repertoire. And this was originally a very, very minor matter—so minor that in many people's eyes, it might not even count as an issue. Yet now, coming from Cang Yan's mouth, Demon Emperor Xuehe seemed to have committed some heinous crime.
In response, aside from feeling awkward, Xuehe could only offer a helpless, bitter smile.
Indeed.
He had always conducted himself openly and honorably, daring to act and take responsibility. He had always disdained those sneaky, underhanded dealings.
Having the Ancient Bone Demon indirectly express his stance wasn't because he feared the experts of heaven and earth, but because he feared Cang Yan. He feared Cang Yan discovering that he still harbored ambitions for the Daoless Age. After all, he had promised Cang Yan not to taint himself with Original Sin. Although Cang Yan hadn't stopped him from pursuing the Daoless Age, she had never endorsed it either.
To avoid angering the woman he loved, Xuehe could only lay low and have the Ancient Bone Demon act on his behalf.
As for secretly tailing You Di, that was a last resort.
After all, he didn't know You Di personally.
To gain a deep understanding of You Di, he could only observe from the shadows.
Sending others wasn't an option; he couldn't trust them.
Because he wanted to see for himself whether You Di's cultivation and strength qualified him to ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord, whether his temperament could control the Original Sin True Lord, whether his character and morals could bear the weight of the Original Sin True Lord, and whether his realm could withstand the burden of the Original Sin True Lord.
This was important. Extremely important.
Countless beings across heaven and earth coveted the position of Original Sin True Lord. Without formidable strength, even if fate ordained you to become the True Lord, you might not be able to hold onto it.
Moreover, besides contending with the numerous experts of heaven and earth for the True Lordship, one would also have to face the encirclement and obstruction of those guardians of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Even if one succeeded in all that, in the end, one would still have to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos.
Never mind that Xuehe had promised Cang Yan not to taint himself with Original Sin; even if he hadn't made that promise and had tainted himself, wanting to ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord—with his current strength, he had no confidence whatsoever.
Facing the Great Dao experts of heaven and earth who coveted the True Lordship, he had no confidence.
Facing the numerous guardians of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, he similarly had no confidence.
As for slaughtering the Three Thousand Great Daos, he had even less confidence.
Because this wasn't merely a question of confidence or cultivation strength. No matter how confident you were, no matter how powerful your cultivation, you couldn't possibly be a match for all the Great Dao overlords and ancient ancestors across heaven and earth. Nor could you rely solely on formidable cultivation strength to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos.
This required momentum.
It required the momentum of Heaven, the momentum of Earth, the momentum of Time, the momentum of Presence, the momentum of Force, the momentum of Heart, the momentum of Humanity, the momentum of Dao, the momentum of Fortune, and also the momentum of Destiny... It required far, far too many types of momentum. Only then might one overpower all rivals, ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord, slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos, and thus usher in the legendary Daoless Age.
To be honest.
Although Xuehe had been secretly observing You Di all this time, as for You Di's exact cultivation strength, even now, he had no solid grasp. He didn't even have a concrete concept.
You Di's existence was too mysterious, too bizarre. The fortunes on his body were each more sinister than the last; the divine senses and demonic thoughts on his person were each more unknown than the next—either this forbidden thing or that forbidden thing, all legendary, mysterious, and unknown existences. After observing for so long, Xuehe still hadn't figured out what was going on with Gu Qingfeng's physical body.
You Di gave him the feeling of a chaotic mass; you simply couldn't know what immensely powerful forces were contained within that chaos.
While secretly observing, Xuehe had considered testing You Di's depths more than once.
But in the end, he never made a move.
Firstly, You Di was unfathomably deep—so deep that Xuehe didn't dare rashly attempt a probe. Once he made a move, if he wanted to truly test You Di's depths, there would only be one outcome: either he died, or You Di died. Only by fighting to the death could he probe You Di's depths. If it were just a casual exchange of a few moves, it wouldn't reveal anything meaningful, nor would it be necessary.
Besides, there was another reason.
Xuehe wasn't the only one secretly tailing You Di; there were many others. What their purposes were, Xuehe didn't know. But one thing he was clear about: all those secretly watching You Di undoubtedly wanted to know his depths.
Whether You Di ultimately had the potential to overpower all rivals and ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord, Xuehe didn't know. He couldn't even begin to imagine.
However, all signs indicated that You Di might ultimately become the Original Sin True Lord. Or rather, it should be said that the Original Sin True Lordship had chosen You Di, or that You Di was the destined Original Sin True Lord.
In Xuehe's view, these various signs were precisely the so-called momentum.
For example, You Di had integrated a drop of Original Sin True Blood in the mortal world. In Xuehe's eyes, this was the momentum of Destiny.
Then there were the Avici Endless Evil Asura, the Descent to the Yellow Springs from the Azure Heavens Above, the Heaven-Devouring, Earth-Swallowing Blood Taotie—these divine senses and demonic thoughts had all integrated with the Original Sin True Lord in the Desolation Era, and in life, they were veritable Original Sin Ancestors.
This should be the momentum of Presence!
And the forbidden Great Daos comprehended by You Di—the Dao of Death, the Dao of Silence, the Dao of Absolute—these should be the momentum of Dao.
And Gu Qingfeng comprehending the Slaughter of All Living Beings—this was a celestial phenomenon, the momentum of Heaven!
Comprehending the Hell of All Deaths—this was an earthly phenomenon, the momentum of Earth!
Comprehending Space and Cosmos—this was a temporal phenomenon, the momentum of Time!
Comprehending the Worship of Life and Death—this was a human phenomenon, the momentum of Humanity!
While secretly observing You Di, Xuehe also discovered that You Di understood human nature, comprehended heavenly principles, and attained Buddhist Dharma.
You Di possessed many types of momentum. All signs indicated that if anyone could ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord during this great calamity, that person would undoubtedly be You Di.
Aside from him, there was no second candidate.
However.
Having said that.
Precisely because You Di occupied so many types of momentum, precisely because all signs indicated he was the Original Sin True Lord recorded in the Book of Destiny...
Therefore.
The difficulty for You Di to ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord was the greatest, greater than for any Great Dao overlord scheming for the True Lordship.
It could be said.
You Di had the greatest hope of ascending to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord, yet simultaneously, he was also the least likely to succeed.
Because across heaven and earth, whether those scheming for the True Lordship or those guarding the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth—all were watching You Di closely, all wanting to erase and eliminate him. From the moment You Di entered the Primordial Black Hole, his every move had been under intense surveillance. Everyone was waiting, waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to utterly erase You Di. Once that opportunity arrived, the experts of heaven and earth would undoubtedly spare no cost to eliminate him.
It was precisely for this reason that Xuehe had the Ancient Bone Demon step forward to express his stance.
His stepping forward to support (stepping forward to support) You Di was, in a sense, also a form of momentum for You Di. Although this momentum might not be significant, Xuehe still stepped forward without hesitation to offer his support.
Because he hoped You Di could ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin True Lord, slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos, and usher in the legendary Daoless Age.
Xuehe hadn't intended to hide this from Cang Yan. He told her everything he was thinking and planning.
Inside the pavilion.
Cang Yan wasn't leaning against the Azure Dragon Cylinder as before. Instead, she stood, drinking cup after cup of fine wine.
"You're right. All signs indicate that You Di is the Original Sin True Lord recorded in the Book of Destiny. But as you just said, You Di has the greatest hope of ascending to the pinnacle, yet is also the least likely to succeed. If that's the case, why did you still choose him?"
"You know I rarely gamble," Demon Emperor Xuehe responded. "But this time, I want to take a gamble."
Hearing that Xuehe wanted to gamble, Cang Yan wore an expression of wanting to cry but having no tears. She raised her head, closed her eyes, as if wordlessly questioning the heavens.
A long time later, she finally spoke with a bitter smile. "Take a gamble... another gamble... Why do all of you want to gamble? And why do you all want to gamble on that fellow You Di? Have they gone mad? Have you gone mad too?"
Xuehe asked in puzzlement, "Who else is gambling on You Di?"
"There are many existences who want to gamble on You Di—far more than you imagine. Genggu Wuming is one of them."
Xuehe was utterly astonished. "Genggu Wuming? He's going to gamble too? And he's also gambling on You Di?"
He found it somewhat hard to believe and also somewhat incomprehensible. He didn't understand why an existence like Genggu Wuming would gamble.
Who didn't know that Genggu Wuming was hailed as the incarnation of Karma, the emissary of Destiny?
Who didn't know that the existence known as Genggu Wuming was called the Heavenly Secrets Matriarch, knowing past and future (knowing past and future), controlling Destiny and Karma (controlling destiny and karma), Divination Cosmic Primordial Chaos (deducing the cosmos and primordial chaos), seeing through Heaven, Earth, Mystic, Yellow (seeing through the profound mysteries of heaven and earth)?
Did she still need to gamble?
Cang Yan didn't explain this issue, merely murmuring to herself, "Not only does Genggu Wuming want to gamble on You Di, if my guess is correct, Da Xing the Mad Monk also wants to gamble on You Di. To make this gamble, Genggu Wuming has staked everything, and Da Xing the Mad Monk has also staked everything."