"You...
Are you truly Qiongqi?"
In the Void, Huli Great Immortal asked with disbelief.
Moments before, he had stood with one hand on his hip and the other gripping a large saber, his expression arrogant and looking incredibly imposing.
But when that handsome youth claimed to be Qiongqi, Huli Great Immortal no longer stood with his hand on his hip. He merely gripped the saber tightly, and his expression was no longer as wildly arrogant and overbearing as before. Instead, it was filled more with shock, horror, and panic.
Although Huli Great Immortal was a highly renowned Great Dao expert in the Desolate Ancient Era, compared to Qiongqi, one of the Four Ancient Fiends, he simply wasn't in the same league.
In front of others, Huli Great Immortal might deserve titles like Great Dao Overlord or even Great Dao Patriarch. But before Qiongqi, he could at best be considered a Great Dao expert, nothing more.
No matter how much Huli Great Immortal might resent it, this was the fact.
Especially if this handsome youth truly was Qiongqi reincarnated, then it would be enough to prove that Qiongqi's existence had already surpassed imagination and was even more someone he could not afford to provoke.
Facing Huli Great Immortal's question, the handsome youth who called himself Qiongqi did not respond immediately. Instead, he furrowed his brow, as if thinking very seriously for a long time, before finally letting out a slight sigh and replying, "You could say so."
'You could say so' again?
Earlier, when Huli Great Immortal asked if this handsome youth belonged to the Desolate Ancient Era, the youth had answered 'you could say so'.
Now, when Huli Great Immortal asked if this handsome youth was Qiongqi, he actually answered 'you could say so' again.
What did 'you could say so' mean?
What was going on with 'you could say so'?
Did this handsome youth belong to the Desolate Ancient Era or not? Was he Qiongqi or not?
This was an answer everyone present wanted to know.
"Either you are, or you aren't!"
Huli Great Immortal shouted, "What does 'you could say so' mean?"
"'You could say so' means I might be Qiongqi, or I might not be Qiongqi."
"Hmph!"
Huli Great Immortal roared, "You dare call yourself Qiongqi when you can't even be sure yourself?"
The handsome youth responded nonchalantly, "It's precisely because I can't be sure that I said 'you could say so'. If I were sure, I would have directly said 'yes'."
"On what grounds do you dare call yourself Qiongqi?"
Huli Great Immortal seemed utterly unconvinced that this handsome youth could be Qiongqi and kept pressing, "Just because you've merged with the Cauldron of Qiongqi?"
"Heh heh."
The handsome youth smiled without speaking.
At that moment.
Old Immortal Qingmu, who had been silent not far away, suddenly spoke up, "May I ask, is Qiongqi your past life? Or are you Qiongqi's present life?"
"That question..." The handsome youth shook his head with a somewhat helpless smile and said, "Believe me, if I could, I'd want to know the answer to that more than anyone here. And I can responsibly tell you all that the relationship between me and Qiongqi is far more complicated than just past and present lives. As for whether I am Qiongqi or not... I'm truly sorry, but this...
I really can't say for sure. Perhaps I am, perhaps I'm not. Who knows?"
Then, shifting the topic,
the handsome youth smiled again and said, "Of course, having said that, even if I really am Qiongqi, I am definitely not the Qiongqi from the Desolate Ancient Era. I hope you all won't view me through the lens of that era, and don't impose the hatreds of the Desolate Ancient Era upon me."
"You little brat!
Stop playing these mysterious games with me!"
Huli Great Immortal pointed at the handsome youth and shouted, "You cannot possibly be Qiongqi! Qiongqi could not possibly reincarnate!"
Not only Huli Great Immortal thought so; Old Immortal Qingmu, including those Great Dao Overlords and even Great Dao Patriarchs hidden in the Void across heaven and earth, also felt it was highly unlikely this handsome youth was Qiongqi. They all believed Qiongqi could not reincarnate.
Because they all knew that in the Desolate Ancient Era, those who embraced Original Sin were almost all suppressed in the Ruins of Return. For example, Huli Great Immortal, Old Immortal Qingmu, the Old Beggar, and Lady Blackwater were all like that.
And the Children of Original Sin who had merged with the True Blood of Original Sin had almost without exception been utterly annihilated, leaving behind only a wisp of spiritual will without autonomous consciousness.
For example, the Avici Endless Evil Asura, the one who searched the highest heavens and lowest hells, and Taotie and the other Four Ancient Fiends.
Other Children of Original Sin were no weaker, and in some cases stronger, than Qiongqi. None of them had managed to reincarnate. On what grounds could Qiongqi reincarnate?
"Heh heh!"
The handsome youth seemed too lazy to continue explaining. He merely smiled faintly, shrugged, and said, "If you say I'm not, then I'm not. I have no objections."
With the handsome youth saying this, Huli Great Immortal was momentarily at a loss for words.
Silence.
Everyone fell silent.
It seemed they were all speculating whether the handsome youth was truly Qiongqi.
Even though everyone thought it impossible for him to be Qiongqi,
with anything, it's not the ten thousand times you're prepared for that you fear, but the one unexpected time.
No one could guarantee that Qiongqi absolutely would not reincarnate.
Almost everyone felt that if this handsome youth wasn't Qiongqi, then the Primordial Nine Palaces had simply gained another Child of Original Sin who was a variable.
But if the handsome youth really was Qiongqi, then the matter behind this would be far more complex.
There was another question.
Setting aside for now whether this handsome youth was Qiongqi or not, why had he suddenly appeared like this? What were his intentions?
He couldn't have just summoned the Cauldron of Qiongqi in the Li Palace Void for no reason, could he?
Summoning the Cauldron of Qiongqi was bound to cause a sensation in the Primordial Nine Palaces and would inevitably attract experts from across heaven and earth.
The question was, what was his purpose?
No one spoke up to ask, but the handsome youth seemed to know what everyone was thinking and explained, "Don't misunderstand, everyone. I summoned the Cauldron of Qiongqi with no other meaning, nor was it my original intention. I was completely forced into it, compelled to summon the cauldron in a moment of desperation. To be precise, I fell for someone's trap, walked right into their scheme. Someone deliberately lured me out."
The handsome youth's words took everyone by surprise.
No one had expected that he had been forced out after falling into someone's trap.
How much of this was true, and how much was false?
If it was true, then who had forced him out?
If it was false, this fellow first ambiguously claimed to be from the Desolate Ancient Era, then half-truthfully called himself Qiongqi, and now said he was forced out by someone.
What kind of medicine was this guy really selling in his gourd?
"Whose trap did you fall into?"
Huli Great Immortal asked.
Earlier, when he charged into the Cauldron of Qiongqi, he had clashed with the handsome youth and knew full well how powerful the other party was. Huli Great Immortal simply couldn't imagine what kind of existence could force the handsome youth out.
"I don't know..." The handsome youth shook his head, then scanned the Void and said, "But I dare say, the other party is definitely hiding somewhere in this Void."
Having said that,
the handsome youth raised his voice and declared, "Sir, you went to great lengths to set up an inescapable net to lure me out. Now that your goal has been achieved, isn't it time you showed yourself?"