Just moments ago, Gu Qingfeng had laughed, a laugh that was particularly sinister and eerie.
Now, Gu Qingfeng laughed again, but this laughter was exceptionally heroic and unrestrained.
The Gu Qingfeng from moments ago did not seem like Gu Qingfeng, but the Gu Qingfeng now was the spitting image of the Gu Qingfeng of old.
When Gu Qingfeng hadn't seemed like himself moments ago, Da Xing the Mad Monk had been dumbfounded, unable to believe it.
Now that Gu Qingfeng seemed like himself again, Da Xing the Mad Monk was still dumbfounded, still unable to believe it.
The difference was this:
Moments ago, Da Xing the Mad Monk couldn't believe that Gu Qingfeng's ego consciousness had been devoured—to be precise, he couldn't accept such a cruel reality.
Now that Gu Qingfeng was still Gu Qingfeng, Da Xing the Mad Monk still couldn't quite believe it.
Perhaps it was because he had been too tense all along, or perhaps too despairing, or perhaps the surprise had come too suddenly, the hope too intensely, so much so that when Da Xing the Mad Monk discovered Gu Qingfeng was still Gu Qingfeng, deep down he simply couldn't believe it was real. It felt like a dream.
"You... you're really the kid Gu?" Da Xing the Mad Monk asked, his voice trembling and stammering.
"Nonsense! Who else would I be?"
"Your ego... wasn't... wasn't devoured?"
With a *pop*, Gu Qingfeng opened a jar of fine wine, gulped down several mouthfuls, and laughed, "My ego isn't so easily devoured. If any random piece of trash could swallow my ego, it would've been gone long ago."
"Then why were you just now..." "That was just me having a bit of fun with you, you old bald donkey! Did you really take it seriously? Hahaha!"
"You... you... you..." If he had still harbored some doubt about Gu Qingfeng moments ago, then at this moment, the last shred of suspicion in Da Xing the Mad Monk's heart vanished like smoke and clouds as Gu Qingfeng opened that jar of wine.
All the tension, all the despair, all the unwillingness, all the pain—all of it turned to ashes in this moment. What replaced it was boundless excitement, boundless exhilaration.
Da Xing the Mad Monk's body trembled uncontrollably with excitement; his face flushed red with exhilaration, his eyes even reddening. With a *thump*, he collapsed into a sitting position in the void, staring at Gu Qingfeng and muttering to himself, "This old monk finally won this gamble, damn it! Won! Finally won!!"
The taut nerves, the strained spirit, the teetering mind, the soul on the brink of collapse, including the stone that had been hanging in his heart—all of it finally settled at this moment.
Da Xing the Mad Monk could no longer hold on; he slumped down in the void.
Because all along, he had been sustained by the last shred of hope, a hope as faint as could be, supporting all the hopes he had placed on Gu Qingfeng, including his own future and even his own measly life.
The pressure was immense, as one could imagine.
It was like a person staggering forward while carrying a mountain on their back. This mountain pressed down on them, making it impossible to lift their head or straighten their back. Every step was fraught with difficulty, and even more terrifying was the pitch darkness ahead, with not a glimmer of light in sight.
Fortunately.
Gu Qingfeng was still Gu Qingfeng. For Da Xing the Mad Monk, it was like using every ounce of strength to crawl out of an abyss of despair, leaving him utterly exhausted on the spot.
He was like this.
The Old Beggar hidden on Blackwater Mountain also seemed as if he had just crawled out of an abyss of despair, collapsing wearily onto the mountain, panting so heavily he could barely catch his breath.
Even Lady Blackwater, who had always been calm, closed her eyes. Even taking a deep breath could not calm the excitement in her heart.
At the same time.
In a pavilion within the void.
Cang Yan, who had been watching Gu Qingfeng all along, also let out a deep sigh at this moment. Originally standing with her arms crossed, she finally sat down, murmuring to herself, "It's been a very, very long time since I've experienced something so thrilling. This feeling of teetering between heaven and hell in a single thought, struggling between hope and despair, is truly unbearable, truly torturous."
Beside her.
Genggu Wuming remained as before, standing quietly in the pavilion. The ordinary, plain her was as ordinary and plain as ever. Neither her expression nor her inner state had changed from beginning to end, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with her, or like the Goddess of Fate silently observing the destinies of all living beings under heaven.
"It seems I'm really not suited for gambling!" Cang Yan poured herself a cup of fine wine, shook her head slightly, a hint of a smile playing on her lips, as if mocking her own poor tolerance. "Especially this kind of gamble where you pin your hopes on someone else. It feels like entrusting your own fate to another."
She tilted her head back and drained the cup in one go, saying something meaningful: "I still prefer to be the master of my own fate."
In the void.
Seeing Da Xing the Mad Monk exhausted and collapsed in the void, Gu Qingfeng walked over, squatted down, and smiled, "I say, Da Xing, is it really that bad?"
"That bad?" Da Xing the Mad Monk looked as if he had personally experienced a life-and-death catastrophe—his face ashen, sweat pouring from his brow, panting heavily as he said, "Do you have any idea, kid... you damn near... damn near scared this old monk to death!"
Gu Qingfeng handed him a jar of wine. "Was it really that serious?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk took the wine jar, opened it directly, tilted his head back, and downed more than half the jar in one go. Then he raised the jar and poured the remaining half over his bald head, soaking himself. Staring intently at Gu Qingfeng, he said very seriously and gravely, "Believe this old monk, if your ego consciousness had really been devoured, this matter would be far, far more serious than you can imagine."
"Oh?" Gu Qingfeng stood up, twisted his neck, and stretched lazily. "Hearing you say that, it seems I'll have to be more careful in the future. Otherwise, if I die, wouldn't that be a huge mess?"
"Can you damn well stop joking like this in the future, kid? It really can scare people to death. You have no idea how I felt, it was simply... simply..." Da Xing the Mad Monk stammered for a long time without finishing, because that feeling was just too complex, too painful—so painful he didn't even know how to describe it.
"Joking? I wasn't joking. If not for today's events, I wouldn't have known my own little life was so important. I must say, this feeling is quite nice. Having lived this long, it's the first time I've felt a bit of that human flavor."
Gu Qingfeng finished off a jar of wine, glanced around the void, and cupped his hands in a salute. "Thank you all for your concern over this humble life of mine. Although I don't know what purposes lie behind your concern, the fact that you're concerned about my life is true. Since it's a fact, I'll thank you on behalf of this little life of mine."
"How about it! Shall we all come out and meet? Have a little drink? Chat about life?"
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's words from his hiding place on Blackwater Mountain, the Old Beggar couldn't help but scramble up. "What does this guy mean? Why did he suddenly say something like that out of the blue? Does he really want to invite us for a drink?"
"Old Beggar, haven't you been scared silly? Can't you even tell good from bad?" Lady Blackwater said. "Can't you hear he's deliberately mocking and ridiculing us?"
Hearing Lady Blackwater's words, the Old Beggar finally caught on and cursed through gritted teeth, "Damn it! This kid is really not decent. So he was putting on a big show all along? Deliberately pretending his ego was devoured by that demonic will beyond the Great Dao to scare us? What's his aim? What's his purpose? Just to see who behind the scenes wants him dead, who wants him alive? Who's pinning their hopes on him?"
"If that's really the case, isn't this kid's method a bit too ruthless? But then, looking at his frenzied, demonic state earlier, it didn't seem like an act. The power that emerged from him was indeed from beyond the Great Dao!"
Lady Blackwater nodded. "Indeed, he probably wasn't deliberately pretending. That ancient, domineering power emanating from him truly belonged to beyond the Great Dao. And... knowing him as I do, setting up a scheme to test us is something he probably wouldn't do. He'd look down on such tactics."
"As for who behind the scenes wants him dead, who wants him alive, who's pinning their hopes on him... do you think he cares?"
"If he cared, we wouldn't be able to watch him from the shadows in the first place."
"That's true." The Old Beggar agreed. "With this kid's abilities, if he didn't want us watching him, we probably couldn't keep an eye on him at all."
In the void.
Gu Qingfeng waited a while longer.
Seeing no response, he smiled. "Alright then. Since none of you are willing to show yourselves, just keep hiding in your corners. Whenever you feel like coming out, I'll be ready to receive you!"
"Time's getting late. I have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first. Farewell, everyone!"
With that.
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily and strode away.
Seeing Gu Qingfeng about to leave, Da Xing the Mad Monk, despite his exhausted body, scrambled up in a hurry. Just as he was about to chase after him, he suddenly remembered something and shouted into the void, "If it weren't for this old monk risking his own life to step out and test the kid Gu for you today, you'd probably still be waiting in agony! No need for thanks; this old monk doesn't care for that."
"What this old monk wants to say is, we're all grasshoppers tied to the same rope. I don't ask for us to unite as one with concerted effort, only that no one stabs anyone in the back."
"Especially a certain someone—I hope you, venerable one, will be gracious and lenient!"
As he spoke, Da Xing the Mad Monk started running, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
In the void.
Perhaps Lady Blackwater and the Old Beggar didn't understand the meaning behind Da Xing the Mad Monk's words, but Cang Yan alone knew: Da Xing the Mad Monk had deliberately said those words for Genggu Wuming to hear.
"It seems Da Xing is still holding a grudge over what happened last time." Cang Yan asked, "By the way, I forgot to ask, how exactly did you deal with that incarnation of his?"
"I suppressed it."
"Just suppressed it? I thought you'd use that incarnation to teach him a lesson."
"As long as that incarnation of his is in my hands, I think Da Xing will exercise some restraint."
"Heh, indeed. With one of Da Xing's incarnations in your grasp, even if he doesn't want to, he absolutely won't dare act as recklessly as before."