"I just can't figure it out, why are those Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs suspecting me? What is there even to suspect about me?"
Changfeng Great Emperor said with great displeasure. "What? Could it be they suspect I, Gu Changfeng, won't protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao and instead scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin?"
"It's perfectly normal for them to suspect you of scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin."
"What? What?"
Changfeng Great Emperor thought he had misheard. "It's normal for them to suspect me? How is that normal?"
"Although the various blessed lands and cave heavens pay lip service to protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, each one secretly cultivates Original Sin individuals, scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin. Even the Profound Mystery Cave Heaven, representing the Profound Heaven Immortal Dao, has cultivated one Inevitable Fate with the bloodline of light and one Original Sin Anomaly with the bloodline of darkness. And Miao Rulai himself is both an Original Sin Anomaly and an Inevitable Fate, yet still schemes for the True Lord of Original Sin. That includes the Great Sun Yao Emperor, who likely also secretly schemes for the True Lord of Original Sin."
Qianye Immortal King analyzed. "Even the Profound Mystery Cave Heaven, representing the Profound Heaven Immortal Dao, has made two preparations—one to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, and one to scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin. Isn't it perfectly normal for those Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs to suspect you Inevitable Fates?"
"I don't know about others, but I, Gu Changfeng, would absolutely never scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin!"
"Indeed!"
Qianye Immortal King nodded. "You, Gu Changfeng, would absolutely never scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin. I believe that. But those Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs may not necessarily believe it. And..." At this point, Qianye Immortal King's expression grew especially heavy, the worry between her brows thickening. "I would rather hope those Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs are probing because of suspicion. If they are probing not because of suspicion, then... their goal might very well not be to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao."
"Ye'er, you suspect they... are also scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin?"
Changfeng Great Emperor said with a grim face. "That's not very likely, is it? After all, they are all Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs, and they should share life and death with the Great Dao. If they aren't protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, could they really be scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin?"
"I also think it's not very likely!"
"Exactly! They are all Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs from the Desolate Ancient Era, right? The Dao-less Era also once opened in the Desolate Ancient Era, right? If they truly schemed for the True Lord of Original Sin, they would have started scheming back in the Desolate Ancient Era, right? There's no need to wait until now, right?"
Just as he said this, Changfeng Great Emperor continued, "Wait! Among those Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs, some might be to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, while others might truly be scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin."
Changfeng Great Emperor had heard from Qianye Immortal King that in the Desolate Ancient Era, many Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs also schemed for the True Lord of Original Sin. It was just that later, as the Desolate Ancient Era ended, those Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs who schemed for the True Lord of Original Sin either turned to dust, were suppressed into the Guixu, or hid in the Desolate Ruins.
The problem was, now the Guixu had collapsed. Who knew how many Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin had emerged from it.
"Ye'er, I've thought about it. The Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs probing us Inevitable Fates are one group, while the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs probing those Original Sin Anomalies might be another group. The group probing us might be scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin, while the group probing the Original Sin Anomalies might be protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao."
"What you say is not without reason."
Qianye Immortal King pondered seriously for a moment, then smiled bitterly. "If that's really the case, then it's just too... chaotic. You Inevitable Fates haven't even clashed with those Original Sin Anomalies yet, but the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs behind them can't hold back and have already started fighting in secret. Perhaps the great calamity is about to arrive."
"Hehe!"
Changfeng Great Emperor said with considerable excitement. "Does that mean the good show is finally about to begin! If so, that's great. Ever since entering the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, I've been stifled to death."
For Changfeng Great Emperor, who was inherently fond of battle, not fighting for a single day made his whole body itch. Usually, in the Great Desolate, he was constantly disciplined by Qianye Immortal King and couldn't fight others. At most, he could find someone to spar with, but he couldn't find a decent opponent.
He originally thought that after entering the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, with experts from heaven and earth all coming in, he could fight to his heart's content. However, after entering the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, Qianye Immortal King forbade him from fighting even more strictly than in the Great Desolate. Even after being probed and attacked several times, Qianye Immortal King didn't allow him to go on a killing spree.
This stifled Changfeng Great Emperor terribly, making him feel utterly uncomfortable, as if a chest full of hot blood had no outlet!
Unexpectedly.
Before he could even get excited, Qianye Immortal King poured another bucket of cold water over him.
"Changfeng, the more it's like this, the more cautious and careful we must be..." Qianye Immortal King's voice came. Changfeng Great Emperor exclaimed in frustration; he had heard enough of Qianye Immortal King telling him to be cautious and careful. Clutching his head in pain, he sweated, "Heavens! Cautious and careful again! Are you ever going to stop!"
"Changfeng, you promised me."
"I... I did promise you that after entering the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, I would listen to you in everything. But... you can't keep using that to pressure me forever, can you? When we were in the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, you told me to endure, and I endured. Now we've already entered the Primordial Nine Palaces, why are you still telling me to endure? They're already bullying me right to my face, practically shitting on my head, Gu Changfeng's head! Do you know that or not?"
Changfeng Great Emperor had truly had enough. Glaring furiously at Qianye Immortal King, he shouted, "It's all because you've been stopping me that they've become emboldened, thinking I'm easy to bully, probing and shitting and pissing on my head again and again! If you had let me go on a killing spree during the first probe, killing their incarnations and finding their true bodies, I'd like to see who would dare come probe again!"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Changfeng Great Emperor cursed loudly, "Damn it! I, Gu Changfeng, have lived until now and have never suffered such humiliating anger! Now anyone who wants can step on me! They really think this old man is made of clay and has no temper! If I don't show them some color, they'll think I, Gu Changfeng, am a soft egg!"
Opposite him.
Qianye Immortal King did not speak. Her face showed no trace of anger, only a grave seriousness as she stared at Changfeng Great Emperor.
Just stared.
At first, Changfeng Great Emperor maintained a fierce and imposing manner, his tone and words extremely hard. But gradually, as Qianye Immortal King grew more and more silent and her expression more and more serious, the fierce and imposing Changfeng Great Emperor ceased to be so fierce, and his hard tone softened considerably.
"This... this..." Changfeng Great Emperor felt extremely uncomfortable under Qianye Immortal King's stare. Scratching his head, he explained, "Ye'er, I... I don't mean to blame you, nor do I mean to complain about you. I just... I just... feel very humiliated and stifled."
Finally.
The silent Qianye Immortal King spoke, questioning, "Is it me making you feel humiliated and stifled?"
"No!"
Changfeng Great Emperor shook his head like a rattle-drum, stating firmly, "No! Absolutely not!"
"Then what do you mean? Don't plan to listen to me anymore? If you feel I'm meddling too much, then I'll never say another word from now on. Don't you want to fight? Then go fight them."
"I... I..." The iron-boned, unyielding Changfeng Great Emperor instantly softened, looking as if he wanted to cry but had no tears. Pleading, he said, "Ye'er, I was wrong. I'll still listen to you from now on. If you tell me to go east, I absolutely won't go west. If you tell me not to fight, I absolutely won't fight. Okay?"
"That's more like it."
Qianye Immortal King understood Changfeng Great Emperor. She also knew that if she didn't let Changfeng Great Emperor fight, he would be stifled to the extreme. It wasn't that she absolutely had to stop him from fighting; she just hoped Changfeng Great Emperor wouldn't fight blindly, and especially not lose himself completely once he started, insisting on fighting to his heart's content before stopping.
She knew Changfeng Great Emperor too well.
Precisely because she knew him too well, she had been stopping him ever since entering the Desolate Ancient Black Hole.
She understood better than anyone that Changfeng Great Emperor loved fighting too much. Once he started, this guy would become like a frenzied demon, forgetting everything else completely, insisting on fighting until the heavens and earth turned dark.
That battle with the You Emperor back then was exactly like that—fighting from the Nine Heavens all the way to the Nine Nethers, fighting until his physical body turned to dust, his consciousness blurred, and his soul twisted. If not for incredible luck that time, Changfeng Great Emperor probably wouldn't have returned.
Such a thing happening once was enough. Qianye absolutely did not wish for a second time.
Looking at the utterly dejected, seemingly demoralized Changfeng Great Emperor, Qianye Immortal King advised, "Changfeng, don't blame me. I don't wish for this either, it's just... the burden you carry is too heavy. So, we must be cautious and careful with every step we take."
"You bear the mandate of Azure Heaven above, and also bear the Inevitable Fate Mandate. For those who scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin, you are a great threat. They will absolutely not let you off, and will definitely probe you again and again, then find an opportunity to erase you."
"We cannot let our guard down."
"I don't oppose you taking action. I only hope that when you do, you don't forget the burden you carry, and me... our family, our friends."
"If you lose the Azure Heaven's justice, I don't care. If you lose the True Mandate's Heavenly Dao, I don't care. Even if you ultimately lose the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, I still don't care. I only care about you. You are my everything. I don't want to lose, and I cannot afford to lose."
Changfeng Great Emperor stopped walking. Looking at Qianye Immortal King, he reached out and touched her face, then tightly embraced Qianye Immortal King in his arms.
Although Changfeng Great Emperor's mind wasn't very sharp and his emotional intelligence was rather low, that didn't mean he was a fool.
He knew exactly what kind of person he was. Over the years, if not for Qianye Immortal King constantly disciplining him by his side, with his temperament, he didn't know how much trouble he would have caused, nor how many times he would have died.
He had always felt he was the luckiest person between heaven and earth, fortunate to have a gentle, understanding, and tender immortal dao companion like Qianye Immortal King accompanying him.
He could lose the Azure Heaven's justice, and he could lose the Heaven-Earth Great Dao. The only thing he could not lose was Qianye Immortal King.