Every word spoken by Lady Blackwater struck the Old Beggar's ears like a thunderclap, shaking his heart and mind.
The Old Beggar sat there on Blackwater Mountain, eyes wide, mouth agape, brows deeply furrowed, still holding a jar of fine wine in his hand, his mind endlessly replaying what Lady Blackwater had just said.
The more he thought about it, the more sense her words made.
Indeed.
Genggu Wuming was hailed as the incarnation of karma and the messenger of fate, knowing the past and future, holding the reins of destiny and causality, deducing the primordial chaos of the universe, and comprehending the profound mysteries of heaven and earth!
How could she possibly not know when Gu Qingfeng had integrated a Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao?
She knew.
She must have known.
Since she knew, why didn't she stop it?
Just as Lady Blackwater had said, since Genggu Wuming did not stop Gu Qingfeng from integrating the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao, it was either because Genggu Wuming had a way to deal with it, or because she was certain the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao posed no threat to Gu Qingfeng, or perhaps because this Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao was itself a part of the intricate web of causality Genggu Wuming had meticulously designed.
After all.
Genggu Wuming could afford to wait less, and lose less, than anyone else.
She would absolutely not stand by and watch Gu Qingfeng's self-awareness be devoured, nor would she allow her carefully laid plans of causality to come to naught.
At that moment.
Lady Blackwater's voice sounded again: "There is another matter that can serve as proof. Even if Genggu Wuming, like us, neither knew when You Di integrated the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao, nor could she prevent it from devouring You Di's self-awareness... taking a step back, even if You Di's self-awareness truly has been devoured...
Genggu Wuming would not remain indifferent."
"A single Original Sin from beyond the Great Dao has already thrown the causality and fate of the heavens, earth, and Great Dao into utter chaos. Regardless of what kind of existence that wisp of Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao that devoured You Di's self is, Genggu Wuming would not allow it to emerge at this critical juncture. She would definitely spare no effort to eradicate it!"
"The fact that Genggu Wuming has not appeared now can only prove that You Di's self-awareness has not been devoured."
Hearing this.
The Old Beggar could no longer contain himself. He sprang to his feet, his aged face flushed crimson, his heart pounding wildly. His shattered hope seemed to be reborn, reigniting within him. So agitated that his speech became stammering, he said, "So... so you're saying...
That kid's self... might not have...
been...
devoured by the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao?
My years of waiting haven't been in vain?
The Daoless Age...
might still...
be possible to open?"
Lady Blackwater did not immediately respond to this question. She remained silent for a long while before finally speaking: "Perhaps."
"What?
Perhaps?"
The hope that had just been rekindled was instantly doused by Lady Blackwater's two words, 'perhaps'. The Old Beggar shouted, "I say, Sister Blackwater, can't you be more definite? Just now you were speaking with such conviction that the kid's self couldn't have been devoured, and now it's 'perhaps'? Are you toying with this old man? Or are you just having fun at my expense?"
The Old Beggar was furious. "This old man's mood is very foul right now. You'd better not joke with me like this, otherwise...
I won't let this go!"
Lady Blackwater shook her head slightly. "What I said earlier was merely my speculation. After all, I am not Genggu Wuming. I do not know what she truly intends to do."
"Then what the hell...
Has that kid's self been devoured or not!"
"I do not know!"
Lady Blackwater sighed. "The only thing we can do now is wait...
Whether You Di's self has been devoured or not, I believe the truth will come to light soon."
"I...
I, this old man, damn it all..." The Old Beggar's face turned ashen with rage as he pointed an accusing finger at Lady Blackwater, his anger boiling over.
He was so angry his mouth twisted.
Originally.
Upon learning that Gu Qingfeng's self-awareness had been devoured, he had already fallen into despair. He had barely managed to convince himself to accept this cruel reality.
Little did he expect that Lady Blackwater's confident, well-reasoned speculation would gradually pull him back from the abyss of despair, rekindling his extinguished hope.
And the result?
The hope that had been so hard to reignite was mercilessly extinguished once more by Lady Blackwater's two words: 'perhaps'.
It was Lady Blackwater who pulled the Old Beggar out of the abyss of despair, and it was also Lady Blackwater who pushed him back into it.
This journey from despair, to rekindled hope, and then back to despair...
Such a drastic emotional rollercoaster had truly taken its toll on the Old Beggar.
Within the scene.
The Great Dao experts who had been lurking in the void earlier had all vanished. It was unknown how many had perished.
And Gu Qingfeng's figure had also disappeared without a trace, for reasons unknown.
All that remained were the sky-filling gray-white mists, burning like flames.
Moreover.
The gray-white mists no longer possessed the ancient, domineering aura they had before. Instead, they grew increasingly sparse and thin.
The pockmarked void, within the ever-changing, infinitely profound Li Palace, was slowly healing, bit by bit. Cracks and holes flickered in and out of sight, gradually mending.
At the other end of the void.
A pavilion lay hidden.
The base of the pavilion resembled a blooming flower of alternating black and white, its blossoming reminiscent of the interplay of yin and yang, appearing profoundly mysterious.
The four tall pillars of the pavilion were carved with four patterns: one resembling an Azure Dragon, one a White Tiger, one a Black Tortoise, and one a Vermilion Bird. The patterns were vivid and lifelike, as if they were living imprints.
The roof of the pavilion resembled the vault of heaven, containing within it the sun and moon, as well as countless stars.
The pavilion was hidden within the void, ethereal and elusive.
Inside the pavilion were two women.
One of them wore a magnificent black gown, her long hair piled high in an elegant coiffure. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, dignified and grand.
This was a woman of peerless beauty.
Her beauty was stunningly radiant, enchanting and captivating, charming in a myriad of ways, and peerless in her elegance.
Her aura was matchless, both sacred and luminous like the great sun, and darkly serene like the hidden moon in the night sky.
Her existence was mysterious and elusive, like a celestial immortal from the Ninth Heaven or a divine demon from the Nine Netherworlds, illusory and real, true and false, impossible to fathom, giving one a sense of profound unreality.
Dignified and noble, she resembled an empress descending from the heavens above, supremely honorable, inspiring awe and reverence.
At this moment.
She stood within the pavilion, arms crossed, gazing intently at the sky-filling gray-white mists. Her stunningly beautiful face held none of its usual myriad charms or enchanting allure. Instead, it bore only solemnity, confusion, bewilderment, and hesitation.
Beside her was another woman.
Or rather, a girl.
The girl appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in white robes, her long hair cascading naturally down her back, standing barefoot within the pavilion.
This was a very ordinary girl.
So ordinary that one could find no shining qualities about her. Ordinary like weeds on a prairie, ordinary like a drop of water in the ocean, even more ordinary like a speck of dust in this world—insignificant, as if one would forget her appearance the moment one closed their eyes.
Her countenance was like this.
Her eyes were like this.
Her very person was like this.
From head to toe, even every strand of hair seemed utterly ordinary, as if indistinguishable from the ever-changing Li Palace.
She was like the void itself, constantly changing at every moment. Even now, standing there quietly, she gave people a sense of unreality, like a dream or an illusion.
These two were none other than Cang Yan, the Peerless Empress of Immortals and Demons, master of Langya.
The girl was Genggu Wuming, hailed as the incarnation of karma and the messenger of fate.
"My husband's luck couldn't possibly be this bad, could it?"
Cang Yan gazed at the sky-filling gray-white mists, as if murmuring to herself, or perhaps speaking to Genggu Wuming. She said softly, "He has placed all his hopes on You Di. You Di carries all his dreams for the Daoless Age. He has staked almost everything he has on You Di. And now, has You Di just vanished like that? The gamble hasn't even properly begun...
Could it be he's already lost?"
Genggu Wuming did not respond, still watching the sky-filling gray-white mists in the void.
Cang Yan continued to ask, "Nameless, did you know beforehand that there was a Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao residing within him?"
Genggu Wuming still did not respond.
However.
Even without Genggu Wuming saying anything, Cang Yan knew the answer.
Genggu Wuming must have known that a Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao dwelled within Gu Qingfeng.
Immediately after.
She asked another question: "Why didn't you intervene to stop it when he initially integrated that wisp of Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao? Was it that you didn't want to? Or were you unable to stop it?"
Genggu Wuming seemed not to have heard, remaining silent all along.
Cang Yan, however, didn't seem particularly concerned with whether Genggu Wuming answered or not.
Whether Genggu Wuming could have stopped the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao, Cang Yan might not know. But one thing she was clear about: even if Genggu Wuming could have stopped it, she absolutely would not have intervened.
Others believed all of this was part of the intricate web of causality Genggu Wuming had meticulously designed. Only Cang Yan knew that Genggu Wuming had not designed any so-called web of causality, nor had she ever arranged the causality of any existence or the fate of any person.
Especially Gu Qingfeng's causality—Genggu Wuming would absolutely not touch it. Therefore, even if she witnessed Gu Qingfeng integrating a wisp of Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao with her own eyes, she would not intervene to stop it. Even if she knew the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao posed a threat to Gu Qingfeng, she still would not intervene. Even if the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts from beyond the Great Dao devoured Gu Qingfeng's self-awareness, Genggu Wuming would remain unmoved.
"Can you tell me, does You Di's self-awareness still exist?"
For the previous questions, Cang Yan had known the answers. But for this one, she did not know what the answer was.
Finally.
Genggu Wuming spoke. She merely shook her head and uttered two words: "I do not know."
"Ha!"
Cang Yan laughed, a laugh filled with helplessness. She knew that if Genggu Wuming said 'I do not know,' then she truly did not know.
It was precisely because of this that her laughter held such profound helplessness.
"It seems you have truly staked everything on betting on You Di, haven't you?"
Genggu Wuming said, "Since we are betting on him, we must have absolute faith in him. If we do not even believe in him, then there is no need to stake everything on this gamble."
These words were less for Cang Yan's ears, and more something Genggu Wuming said to herself.