"Changfeng, there's something I've kept in my heart for a very long time, but I've never been sure whether I should tell you or not."
Seeing the serious expression on Qianye Immortal King's face, Changfeng Great Emperor felt deeply puzzled and also a bit strange. Throughout their time together, he and Qianye Immortal King had never kept any secrets from each other. They spoke openly about everything, without any reservations or concealment.
Hearing Qianye Immortal King say this, Changfeng Great Emperor truly couldn't imagine what matter could have been kept hidden in her heart, something she was so hesitant to even speak of to him.
"Ye'er, what is it?"
Qianye Immortal King extricated herself from Changfeng Great Emperor's embrace, her brows deeply furrowed, her expression seeming very hesitant. After pondering for a moment, she shook her head and said, "I don't know whether your unwavering determination to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao is right... or wrong."
Although Changfeng Great Emperor had mentally prepared himself, anticipating that Qianye Immortal King must be hiding something significant, he never expected the secret she held within was actually this.
What did she mean, was protecting Heaven and Earth right or wrong?
Wasn't the answer obvious?
Protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao was definitely right.
"Ye'er, what's wrong with you? Why would you suddenly have such doubts?"
"You think protecting Heaven and Earth is right?"
"Of course it is, isn't it?"
"Why do you think it's right?" Qianye Immortal King pressed on. "Is it because you are an Immortal Dao Great Emperor who has received the Heavenly Mandate? Or because you are a Calamity-Response True Fate who has received the True Mandate? Or is it because you are the Young Master of Azure Heaven, bearer of the Azure Heaven's name? Protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao is your duty, your obligation, isn't it?"
"This..." Changfeng Great Emperor's expression darkened. "Ye'er, you know that even if I, Gu Changfeng, had not received the Heavenly Mandate nor the True Mandate, I would still not hesitate to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao."
"Why?"
"Ye'er, what's gotten into you? Why have you suddenly become so strange?"
Qianye Immortal King asked, "Just answer me, why?"
"The reason is simple. Heaven and Earth are our Heaven and Earth, the Great Dao is our Great Dao. Our family, our friends, everything we have, including all the beautiful memories of how we met, understood each other, and fell in love—all of it exists within the Heaven-Earth Great Dao. If Heaven and Earth are our home, then the Great Dao is our parents. Now that our home, our parents, face a calamity, shouldn't we protect them?"
"Do you think that after the Dao-less era begins, Heaven and Earth will cease to be Heaven and Earth, the Great Dao will cease to be the Great Dao, and all our family and friends will perish?"
"The Book of Fate records that when Original Sin finds its True Lord, the Great Dao will fall, Heaven and Earth will be reborn, the current era will end, and the Dao-less era will begin..." Qianye Immortal King's beautiful eyes were filled with confusion and uncertainty. "It only says the Great Dao will fall, Heaven and Earth will be reborn, and the current era will end. The fall of the Great Dao does not mean it will not recover. The rebirth of Heaven and Earth does not mean destruction. The end of the current era certainly does not mean a new era will not begin."
After a pause, Qianye Immortal King continued, "During the Desolate Ancient Era, the Great Dao fell, Heaven and Earth were reborn, and the era ended. But so what? Heaven and Earth were still Heaven and Earth, the Great Dao was still the Great Dao, and the era was still that era. The only difference was that the Desolate Ancient became the Primordial Ancient. That's all."
Although Changfeng Great Emperor didn't fully understand Qianye Immortal King's words, one thing he was certain of: she would never speak such things without reason.
Qianye Immortal King's identity was not merely that of an Immortal King throne.
She was a disciple of the Profound Mystery Mountain.
The Profound Mystery Mountain, along with the Black Mountain and Kunlun Mountain, were all forbidden lands of Heaven and Earth, possessing a very, very long history and knowing many, many secrets of the cosmos.
"Ye'er, you know my mind isn't very sharp, and I don't quite grasp some things. Whatever you want to say, just tell me simply and directly."
"I don't even know what I want to say myself, I just..." Qianye Immortal King shook her head. "...feel more and more lost, more and more uncertain."
"Lost about what? Uncertain about what?"
"Lost about whether protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao is right or wrong. Or perhaps I should say, should we believe in Fate or not? More precisely... should we follow the Heavenly Mandate, or defy it?"
"Ah!" Changfeng Great Emperor was greatly startled. Just as he was about to speak, Qianye Immortal King didn't wait for him and instead turned around, staring at him, and asked, "If... I'm saying if... if you had a chance to master your own Fate, what would you do?"
"Master my own Fate?" Changfeng Great Emperor scratched his head, his brows knitting together even more deeply. "This... I've never thought about it."
Indeed.
Changfeng Great Emperor was a man of simple mind, and always had been. In this life, apart from his love for fighting, he had no other hobbies. Having lived until now, he was either cultivating or fighting.
Others cultivated to comprehend the mysteries of Heaven and Earth, to realize the true meaning of the Great Dao, or to become gods or saints, and so on. But Changfeng Great Emperor's purpose for cultivation was simple: to fight.
Of course, besides fighting, it was also to better protect the woman he loved, his family, friends, and so on.
Beyond that, there was nothing else.
As for things like karma or Fate.
Changfeng Great Emperor had never given them any thought.
To him, so-called karma was complex and distant, and so-called Fate was even more sacred and inviolable.
"You haven't answered my question yet. If you had the chance, would you want to master your own Fate?"
"Ye'er, I really have never considered this question."
"It doesn't matter if you never thought about it before. What about now? It's not too late to think about it now. Answer me, if you had the chance, would you want to master your own Fate?"
"This... this..." Changfeng Great Emperor fretted, scratching his head again and pacing back and forth. His mind was simply not sufficient to ponder something as profound, mysterious, and revered as the most enigmatic existence in Heaven and Earth—Fate.
He thought for a long time but still couldn't come up with an answer, finally responding helplessly, "Ye'er, I really haven't thought about this question and don't know how to answer you."
"You really are..." Qianye Immortal King pointed at Changfeng Great Emperor, both angry and helpless. "Before, I wasn't quite sure, but now I finally understand why the Heavenly Mandate chose you, why the True Mandate chose you, and why the Azure Heaven's Mandate chose you as well."
Changfeng Great Emperor asked very earnestly, "Why?"
"Why? What else could it be? Because your mind is simple! Bestow the Heavenly Mandate upon you, and you'll serve it with your life. Bestow the True Mandate upon you, and you'll serve it with your life. Bestow the name of Azure Heaven upon you, and you'll serve the justice of Azure Heaven with your life. To put it plainly, whatever Fate tells you to do, you'll do it willingly."
"What do you mean 'serve with your life,' Ye'er? Isn't that a bit too harsh? I've told you, I protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao not for any Heavenly Mandate or True Mandate, nor for the justice of Azure Heaven, and certainly not because Fate tells me to do something and I just do it. I protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao for our own sake."