If hearing Gu Qingfeng utter the two words 'Mahā' earlier had felt like a thunderbolt striking Da Xing the Mad Monk's head, then when he heard that Mahā was on Gu Qingfeng's person, Da Xing the Mad Monk's face instantly turned deathly pale, ashen. His entire person froze in place, his eyes and expression filled with shock, terror, and an endless amount of disbelief.
He looked as if he had just learned that Gu Qingfeng was possessed by the God of Death, so frightened that he actually began backing away.
"I say, Da Xing, it's not that serious."
Seeing Da Xing the Mad Monk in this state, an ominous premonition involuntarily rose in Gu Qingfeng's heart.
Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed not to hear him, continuing to retreat, his expression growing increasingly fearful, his eyes more and more horrified.
Gu Qingfeng took a step forward, instantly appearing beside Da Xing the Mad Monk, raising his hand and slapping it down on his shoulder.
"What the hell are you running for!"
Gu Qingfeng's slap seemed to jolt Da Xing the Mad Monk awake. Da Xing the Mad Monk's body trembled, and he came back to his senses, taking a deep breath, yet still unable to calm his terrified heart.
"Gu... Gu kid..." Perhaps the two words 'Mahā' were too terrifying for Da Xing the Mad Monk, causing his speech to become halting, trembling and stuttering as he said, "Mahā... really... is it really on you, kid?"
"Whether it's specifically on me or not, I'm not too clear either. Anyway, that's what the voice said. I don't even know what the hell Mahā is, so how could I determine if it's on me or not."
Da Xing the Mad Monk didn't speak again. He reached up, took off the monk's cap on his head, wiped his face, mopping away the sweat, then asked solemnly, "Gu kid, tell this old monk honestly, are you deliberately trying to scare me?"
"Why would I scare you?"
"So... Mahā really is on you, kid?"
"Damn it!" Gu Qingfeng snapped impatiently, "I just said, whether Mahā is on me or not, I still can't be sure right now. I don't even know what Mahā is, how the hell am I supposed to confirm if that thing is on me or not."
"Alright... alright."
After taking several deep breaths in succession, Da Xing the Mad Monk's panicked heart gradually calmed down. He said, "Actually... regarding Mahā, this old monk doesn't know much either, and what I do know may not be true."
"Just tell me directly, what the hell is Mahā?"
"This old monk has heard... just heard..." Da Xing the Mad Monk repeatedly emphasized that he was speaking from hearsay. His manner was like that of a thief, shrinking his head, tightening his throat, lowering his voice, and whispering, "This old monk has heard that Mahā is one of the Ancient Clans."
"Damn it! It really is 'fear what comes'. That thing really is an Ancient Clan member!"
"You knew about this, kid?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head. He didn't know. It was just that what that mysterious voice had said made him feel that Mahā seemed to be an Ancient Clan member.
"What the hell kind of existence are the Ancient Clans, exactly?"
"Believe me." Da Xing the Mad Monk stared at Gu Qingfeng, saying earnestly, "If possible, this old monk wants to know the answer to that question even more than you do."
"I remember you said you've been investigating the Ancient Clans all these years. Don't tell me you found out nothing?"
"This old monk has indeed been investigating the Ancient Clans, but... but damn it, I really found out nothing. Throughout the ages, across heaven and earth, there aren't many who even know the Ancient Clans exist. Who the hell knows what kind of existence the Ancient Clans are."
Da Xing the Mad Monk said, "This old monk has only heard... that for the Great Dao of this heaven and earth, the Ancient Clans are all like gods. You could even say the Ancient Clans are gods."
"Gods who rule over this heaven and earth, this Great Dao, these myriad living beings, these ten thousand things of creation."
"Gods?"
"Yes, gods."
Da Xing the Mad Monk said, "You must have heard the mythical stories of Pangu separating heaven and earth and Nüwa creating humans from clay, right?"
Gu Qingfeng nodded. Anyone who is human knows the mythical stories of Pangu separating heaven and earth and the Goddess Nüwa creating humans from clay. He asked, "You mean Pangu and Nüwa are Ancient Clan members?"
"Exactly! Including the three sovereigns and five emperors, the progenitors of humanity—Fuxi, Shennong, and also the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, the Green Emperor Taihao, the Red Emperor Kuiwei, the White Emperor Shaohao, the Black Emperor Zhuanxu... these legendary progenitors are all Ancient Clan members."
"The three purities and four sovereigns, the progenitors of the Immortal Dao, and also the progenitors of the Demonic Dao like Chiyou and Xingtian, including Amitabha and Sakyamuni, the progenitors of our Buddhist Dao—all these Great Dao progenitors are Ancient Clan members."
Gu Qingfeng was deeply shocked. Although he had heard of Pangu, Nüwa, the three purities and four sovereigns of the Immortal Dao, the three sovereigns and five emperors of humanity, and the Great Dao progenitors of the Buddhist and Demonic Daos... to say that all these Great Dao progenitors were the legendary Ancient Clan members—this was the first time he had heard such a thing.
"So you're saying the progenitors of the three thousand Great Daos are all so-called Ancient Clan members?"
"That's hard to say. Anyway, this old monk has only heard that the progenitors of major Daos like the Sage, Immortal, Buddha, Human, Demon, Ghost, and Monster Daos are all Ancient Clan members. As for whether the progenitors of other Great Daos are Ancient Clan members, that's unknown."
"What did you mean earlier when you said Mahā is one of the Ancient Clans?"
"'Ancient Clans' is just a collective term. I've heard there are several kinds of Ancient Clans."
"Several kinds?"
"This old monk has only heard of several kinds: the Primordial Clan, the Mysterious Clan, the Posuo Clan, the Kashyapa Clan, and then the Mahā Clan."
"So many Ancient Clans?"
"Many? This is just what this old monk has heard. There might be others I haven't heard of."
Gu Qingfeng frowned in thought, asking, "What clans are Pangu and Nüwa? What about the three purities and four sovereigns of the Immortal Dao, the three sovereigns and five emperors of humanity, Chiyou and Xingtian of the Demonic Dao—what clans are they all?"
"Your question leaves this old monk at a loss for how to answer."
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do you mean'? Who do you think this old monk is? Do you really take me for the omniscient Genggu Wuming? How could this old monk possibly know what Ancient Clans these Great Dao progenitors belong to?"
"I remember hearing you say that Genggu Wuming seems to be an Ancient Clan member too, right?"
Gu Qingfeng's words seemed to strike Da Xing the Mad Monk's most sensitive nerve. He hurriedly denied it, "Gu kid, you can drink wine recklessly, but you can't speak recklessly! This old monk has never said Genggu Wuming is an Ancient Clan member, never!"
As he spoke, Da Xing the Mad Monk looked around, raising his hand to swear an oath, "This old monk never said such a thing, absolutely not! Gu kid, you can't wrong a good person!"
"Are you afraid Genggu Wuming might hear?"
"This old monk is afraid of nothing! So what if Genggu Wuming hears? Anyway, this old monk never said it."
Da Xing the Mad Monk puffed out his chest, declaring righteously, "With a straight body, one fears not a crooked shadow. This old monk is open and aboveboard. If I said it, I said it. If I didn't, I didn't."