Seeing Huli Great Immortal pointing at the Cauldron of Qiongqi and cursing furiously, Old Immortal Qingmu beside him felt a surge of shock in his heart, as if he had realized something, though he dared not be certain. He cautiously asked, "What does the Great Immortal mean by this?"
"Damn it all!"
Whether it was because all the Original Sin Patriarchs who had followed Huli Great Immortal in his charge had vanished without a trace, leaving him incensed, or perhaps because he had suffered a great loss inside the Cauldron of Qiongqi, Huli Great Immortal appeared extremely displeased, his mouth continuously spewing curses.
When he had first appeared, Huli Great Immortal had been all smiles, laughing with particularly arrogant and domineering pride.
But now?
The smile had long vanished from Huli Great Immortal's face, replaced only by a sense of humiliation, rage, and unwillingness.
Standing in the void, one hand on his hip, the other gripping a pitch-black greatsword, his might was awe-inspiring, his aura overwhelming the heavens, as he roared, "Let me tell you, Old Immortal Qingmu, this Cauldron of Qiongqi already has an owner."
Hearing this,
Old Immortal Qingmu's expression shifted slightly.
Earlier, when he saw Huli Great Immortal pointing at the Cauldron of Qiongqi and cursing, Old Immortal Qingmu had already harbored such a suspicion. In fact, ever since the Cauldron of Qiongqi had appeared and he discovered his Divine Sense could not detect its presence, Old Immortal Qingmu had begun to feel somewhat doubtful.
"Is the master of this Cauldron of Qiongqi yet another Original Sin Anomaly?"
After all, Old Immortal Qingmu was an Original Sin Patriarch from the Age of the Ancients. Though he had been suppressed in the Guixu for countless eons, his state of mind, temperament, and even his ambition had undergone immense changes, and he had long abandoned any hope or fantasy of becoming the so-called True Lord of Original Sin.
But that did not mean he was ignorant of Original Sin.
On the contrary,
By now, he had cultivated the Self of Original Sin, and his understanding of Original Sin could be said to be exceptionally profound.
He understood very clearly that if the Cauldron of Qiongqi truly already had an owner, then nine times out of ten, it was an Original Sin Anomaly.
Because only an Original Sin Anomaly could subdue a Primordial Four Great Beast like Qiongqi, which had once fused with True Sin Blood.
And only the existence of an Original Sin Anomaly could render the Divine Sense of others unable to detect it.
"Rubbish!"
Huli Great Immortal said with a fierce and menacing expression, "In all of heaven and earth, past and present, only an Original Sin Anomaly could subdue the Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts of Qiongqi, right?"
Speaking of which,
Before charging in, Huli Great Immortal had not been without suspicion that this Cauldron of Qiongqi might already have an owner.
As an Original Sin Patriarch from the same Age of the Ancients, Huli Great Immortal had experienced what Old Immortal Qingmu had experienced, knew what Old Immortal Qingmu knew, and like Old Immortal Qingmu, he had also cultivated the Self of Original Sin.
The only difference between the two was:
After being suppressed in the Guixu for countless eons, Old Immortal Qingmu had lost his ambition.
But Huli Great Immortal, after being suppressed for countless eons, still yearned for the Era of Wu Dao and still aspired to become the True Lord of Original Sin.
Therefore,
Even if this Cauldron of Qiongqi already had an owner, Huli Great Immortal would charge in without hesitation.
Before charging in, Huli Great Immortal had already prepared himself mentally; even if the Cauldron of Qiongqi truly had an owner, he was unafraid.
However, only after charging in did Huli Great Immortal realize he had been careless, underestimating the Cauldron of Qiongqi—no!
To be precise, he had underestimated the master of the Cauldron of Qiongqi.
Though Huli Great Immortal was cursing and berating the Original Sin Patriarchs who had followed him out, deep down, he felt a certain degree of gratitude towards those patriarchs.
The reason was simple.
If he had charged into the Cauldron of Qiongqi alone this time, he would never have escaped so easily. Fortunately, other patriarchs had also charged in with him; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
"If this Cauldron of Qiongqi truly has an owner, then its sudden appearance out of thin air likely has a purpose that is not so simple..." Old Immortal Qingmu murmured to himself.
In the distance,
Within the void.
Da Xing the Mad Monk tilted his head back and took a swig of fine wine, then cursed loudly, saying, "Just what we feared has come to pass. It seems this Cauldron of Qiongqi indeed has an owner. We just don't know whether Qiongqi's Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts have merged with an Original Sin Anomaly, or whether Qiongqi's Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts have been reborn as an Original Sin Anomaly."
Gu Qingfeng casually asked, "Is there a difference?"
"A huge difference."
"Tell me, what's the difference?"
"If Qiongqi's Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts have truly merged with an Original Sin Anomaly, do you know what that means, kid?"
"What does it mean?"
"It means that Original Sin Anomaly, whether in terms of Original Sin or anomaly, fate or fortune, even if they can't compare to you, kid, they would be absolutely close. If it weren't so, a Sin Child like Qiongqi who had fused with True Sin Blood could not possibly merge."
Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts from the Age of the Ancients were not something just anyone could merge with or control.
This was especially true for Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts that had fused with True Sin Blood.
Even if one's cultivation and power were immensely strong, it was extremely difficult to merge with and control the Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts of a Sin Child.
This was related to fate and fortune.
To be more precise, it was related to Karma.
If one had no Karma connection with the Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts from the Age of the Ancients, even with heaven-defying abilities, one might not necessarily be able to merge with and control them.
This thing called Karmic Fate—though many were unwilling to admit it—truly and undeniably existed.
Sometimes, whether you accepted fate or not, you had to accept it.
This point was not only acknowledged by Da Xing the Mad Monk; Gu Qingfeng understood it even more deeply.
He used to not believe in fate; not only did he not believe, but hearing the word 'fate' disgusted him.
Ever since fusing with a drop of True Sin Blood back then and stepping onto the path of Original Sin, Gu Qingfeng had come to believe more and more in Karmic Fate.
Upon careful reflection, every single fortuitous encounter he possessed, every strand of Divine Consciousness and Demonic Thoughts, including the Bone of Nirvana and even the mysterious voice that had sounded in his mind not long ago—without exception—were all related to Karma.
Perhaps Gu Qingfeng did not know exactly what Karma it was, but he dared to affirm that all of this was Karma.
Old Immortal Qingmu, Huli Great Immortal, the old beggar who was also suppressed in the Guixu, Lady Blackwater, and so on, including all those Original Sin Patriarchs from the Age of the Ancients—why had they betrayed the Great Dao and devoted themselves to Original Sin?
Was it truly just because they wanted to become the True Lord of Original Sin and dominate heaven and earth?
Perhaps some did.
But they were few.
Most yearned for the Era of Wu Dao.
Only in the Era of Wu Dao would there be no so-called Karma, no so-called fate.
Only by entering the Era of Wu Dao could one break free from the shackles of Karma and the control of fate.
The yearning for the Era of Wu Dao was not limited to those patriarchs from the Age of the Ancients; even the overlords of the Great Dao in the current age, such as Demon Emperor Xuehe, Patriarch Qingdeng, Old Monster Heishan, and so on, all wished to break free from the shackles of Karma and the control of fate.
And Da Xing the Mad Monk.
He kept saying he didn't care whether Gu Qingfeng could become the True Lord of Original Sin, nor did he care whether the Era of Wu Dao would open.
But that was just talk.
Deep in his heart, he still hoped Gu Qingfeng would become the True Lord of Original Sin, and he also hoped the Era of Wu Dao would be opened by Gu Qingfeng.
Because he, too, wanted to break free from the shackles of Karma and the control of fate.
However,
Since Gu Qingfeng had no interest in becoming the True Lord of Original Sin and no interest in the Era of Wu Dao, after Da Xing the Mad Monk's repeated attempts at persuasion proved fruitless, he gave up and accepted fate.