"If the existence of all those who used Original Sin True Blood to gestate Original Sin beings was to scheme for the position of Original Sin True Lord, then what about me? What am I?"
"Hehe! Gu kid! That's a good question you've asked, a very good one indeed."
"How so?"
"Gu kid, don't forget that your existence is an Original Sin variable, and the greatest variable at that. Do you know what that means? It means someone might have wanted to use Original Sin True Blood to gestate Original Sin beings, then use reincarnation to scheme for the Original Sin True Lord. Perhaps something went wrong during the reincarnation process, or maybe it was due to other reasons, resulting in the gestation of a variable like you. In other words, someone else toiled for half a lifetime only to end up making the wedding dress for you, kid."
As soon as he finished speaking, Da Xing the Mad Monk continued, "Of course, that's just the best-case scenario. It's also possible that you, kid, were originally a 'cause' planted by someone using forbidden means back in the day. They used Original Sin True Blood to gestate you, and you just don't know it. Once you successfully ascend to the pinnacle and become the Original Sin True Lord, their true self will reclaim you, this 'ego' of theirs. In that case, it would be you making the wedding dress for someone else."
Though Gu Qingfeng didn't want to admit it, he couldn't deny that what Da Xing the Mad Monk said made a lot of sense. At the very least, he couldn't find any reason to refute it.
Throughout the ages, in this ancient heaven and earth, no one dared to claim that the current self was the true self. Not even the original self could be affirmed with certainty. How many true selves, how many original selves, how many egos existed? Who dared to say, 'I am the true me, I am the original me'? No one dared. Da Xing the Mad Monk didn't dare, and neither did Gu Qingfeng.
Precisely because no one dared, throughout history, so many great Dao masters had sought karma, all in pursuit of finding their true selves.
"Gu kid! There's something this old monk doesn't know if I should say or not."
"What is it?"
"How should I put it..." Da Xing the Mad Monk scratched his head and rubbed his hands, looking quite hesitant. After a long while, he finally spoke, "Regarding your existence, there's another possibility."
"What possibility?"
"That someone used Original Sin True Blood to gestate you not merely to scheme for the Original Sin True Lord."
"What do you mean?"
"The real goal is to wait until you ascend to the pinnacle and become the Original Sin True Lord, then erase you, thereby completely eliminating Original Sin."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng wasn't surprised, because he had heard Da Xing the Mad Monk say something similar before.
"Gu kid, don't blame this old monk for speaking harshly. Anyway, after thinking it over and over, your existence only has these three possibilities. If someone truly used Original Sin True Blood to gestate you, they either genuinely hope you, kid, will ascend to become the Original Sin True Lord and usher in the Wudao Era, or they want to wait until you become the Original Sin True Lord before erasing you to completely eliminate Original Sin. Or, the first two possibilities both miscalculated, gestating a mysterious, unknown, greatest variable like you."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "So what's your view? Which possibility do you think I am?"
"This... How would this old monk know?"
Indeed. Da Xing the Mad Monk didn't know. If he knew, he wouldn't have staked everything on a gamble with Gu Qingfeng. Precisely because he didn't know, he gambled. If he knew, there would be no need to gamble.
Looking at the silent Gu Qingfeng, Da Xing the Mad Monk cautiously asked, "This... Gu kid, which possibility do you think you might be?"
"Whoever it is, it's none of my damn business."
Gu Qingfeng's words left Da Xing the Mad Monk utterly speechless. He said, "I say, Gu kid, aren't you worried at all?"
"Worried about what?"
"What if you really are just a wisp of someone else's ego consciousness?"
"Then so be it. Whatever happens, happens. If I really am just a wisp of someone else's ego consciousness, then fine. Anyway, I've lived enough. I've experienced what I should have and what I shouldn't have. To put it bluntly, in one sentence: I've lived enough. Let whatever happens, happen."
"This..." Da Xing the Mad Monk, unwilling to give up, asked again, "What if you, kid, aren't just a wisp of someone else's ego consciousness? What if their purpose in using Original Sin True Blood to gestate you was to wait until you ascend to become the Original Sin True Lord, then erase you to completely eliminate Original Sin? Would you, kid, be willing to be a mere pawn in someone else's hand?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged, giving Da Xing the Mad Monk a bored look. "Da Xing, I've already given you the answer. In this lifetime, though I haven't lived as long as you, nor experienced as much, I feel I've lived my fill. In other words, I feel I haven't lived this life in vain. As for whether I'm a wisp of someone else's ego consciousness or a pawn for someone to eliminate Original Sin... To be honest, I can't be bothered to think about it. For someone who's lived enough, do you think pondering these questions still has any meaning?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk fell silent. He opened his mouth several times, each time stopping himself. Honestly, he couldn't agree with Gu Qingfeng's peculiar outlook on life, yet he didn't know how to refute it.
"Heh." Gu Qingfeng chuckled inexplicably, patting Da Xing the Mad Monk's shoulder. "Da Xing, do you know what a person lives for?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk shook his head. He really didn't know.
"Haha!" Gu Qingfeng laughed even more heartily. Da Xing the Mad Monk asked curiously, "You know?"
"I don't know either."
Da Xing the Mad Monk was stunned for a moment. When he recovered, he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! Seeing your leisurely, contented look, this old monk thought you had comprehended some great truth of life. Turns out you don't know either!"
"Precisely because I don't know, that's why I don't think about it."
Precisely because I don't know, that's why I don't think about it? Da Xing the Mad Monk scratched his head and ears. Gu Qingfeng's words seemed to make sense at first listen, but upon careful thought, they made no sense at all.
What did 'precisely because I don't know, that's why I don't think about it' mean? Wasn't that backwards? Shouldn't it be that because we don't know, we go and explore? Could it be that just because we don't know, we simply give up? If that were truly the case, then what meaning would there be in living? All beings in heaven and earth, the multitude of living creatures—eating their fill, sleeping, sleeping their fill, eating, muddling along, thinking of nothing, just living like that... wouldn't that be too dull?
"Call it dull, call it meaningless, whatever." Gu Qingfeng, as if knowing what Da Xing the Mad Monk was thinking, said, "Anyway, that's how I've lived this life. In this world, life is as fleeting as grass and trees in autumn. Why think so much? Eat when it's time to eat, sleep when it's time to sleep, play when it's time to play. When you've lived enough, close your eyes, stretch your legs, and end this life. That's it."
"I don't know where I came from or why I came. I don't know where I'm going or what I'll do. And I don't want to know. I only know that this life hasn't been lived in vain, and that's enough."
Gu Qingfeng's meaning was simple, and Da Xing the Mad Monk finally understood. Gu Qingfeng didn't care about the beginning of life, nor did he care about the result. He only cared about the process of living.