As for whether the handsome youth was Qiongqi, one of the Four Fierce Beasts of the Primordial Era, neither Heishui Empress nor the Old Beggar knew for certain.
Although both were old-timers from the Primordial Era, and the Old Beggar had even dealt with Qiongqi back in the day, he still dared not definitively claim the handsome youth was Qiongqi's reincarnation.
Instinctively, he didn't believe Qiongqi could reincarnate.
Emotionally, he also hoped Qiongqi hadn't reincarnated.
Because he also knew that if Qiongqi truly had reincarnated, it would surely conceal a shocking conspiracy behind it.
However, whether Qiongqi had truly reincarnated or not, the Old Beggar couldn't say for sure. After all, the waters of Original Sin were simply too murky.
Not just him.
Heishui Empress was equally uncertain.
It must be known, the Old Beggar had merely dealt with Qiongqi, whereas Heishui Empress had far more dealings with Qiongqi than the Old Beggar ever had.
Yet even so, Heishui Empress still couldn't determine if the handsome youth was Qiongqi.
Of course.
The attention of the two was no longer on the handsome youth, but on that mysterious person with the menacing and deep presence.
"Sister Heishui, tell me... what kind of medicine is this bastard selling in his gourd? Is he exaggerating to deliberately sow chaos, or is it truly as he says?"
The Old Beggar had been constantly pondering the mysterious person's words. The mysterious person had said that among the twenty-odd Original Sin Children, quite a few were Patriarchs of the grotto-heavens and blessed lands, and that the Original Sin True Blood these Patriarchs had fused with were remnants preserved from when the Wu Dao Age began.
Back then.
When the Wu Dao Age began, the Old Beggar had also experienced it.
Not only had he experienced it, he had also fought for Original Sin True Blood, and had even successfully seized a drop.
Yes!
When the Wu Dao Age began back then, the Old Beggar had also seized a drop of Original Sin True Blood.
Only, at the time, he hadn't fused it into himself.
Firstly.
When he seized the Original Sin True Blood back then, his emotions were extremely agitated, one could say agitated to the point of forgetting himself. And not long after seizing the Original Sin True Blood, the Wu Dao Age mysteriously vanished. The Old Beggar was utterly bewildered, having no idea what was happening.
Secondly.
After seizing the Original Sin True Blood back then, the Old Beggar had struggled internally for a long time, constantly hesitating over whether to fuse the Original Sin True Blood or not.
He wanted to fuse it, but was also afraid, fearing he couldn't control the Original Sin True Blood.
Furthermore, the mysterious disappearance of the Wu Dao Age gave the Old Beggar an ominous premonition.
Sure enough.
What he feared came to pass.
Right after the Wu Dao Age vanished, the great calamity descended, with endless Judgments raining down one after another.
Facing the endless Judgments, the Old Beggar had nowhere to hide, nowhere to dodge, nowhere to flee. He couldn't block them, couldn't withstand them, and in the end was struck down into the Guixu.
As for the drop of Original Sin True Blood in his hand, it also mysteriously vanished. Whether it was annihilated to ashes by the Judgments, or he accidentally lost it himself, or something else, the Old Beggar didn't know.
Thinking back on it even today, the Old Beggar still felt immense regret and unwillingness.
To have finally seized a drop of Original Sin True Blood, only for it to be gone just like that.
No one would be willing to accept that.
Beyond regret and unwillingness, there was even more a sense of relief.
Relief that he hadn't fused the Original Sin True Blood back then. Otherwise, what awaited him wouldn't have been suppression in the Guixu, but annihilation to ashes.
He thought carefully about the circumstances when the Wu Dao Age began, and about the situation when fighting for the Original Sin True Blood. In his memory, he only knew many people were fighting for Original Sin True Blood back then, but exactly how many people, who these people were, and how much Original Sin True Blood they seized...
The Old Beggar didn't know.
When the Wu Dao Age began back then, heaven and earth were in chaos. Endless Original Sin light, endless Original Sin breath, endless Original Sin flowers, endless Original Sin essence. Everyone was fighting for it, chaos was everywhere. The Old Beggar, back then, was solely focused on fighting for Original Sin True Blood; how could he have cared about who was who?
"Sister Heishui, back then, did the Patriarchs of the various grotto-heavens and blessed lands truly fight for Original Sin True Blood?"
The Old Beggar asked again.
Heishui Empress shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
The Old Beggar seemed somewhat disbelieving and questioned, "You wouldn't know?"
"Should I know?"
"Shouldn't you?"
The Old Beggar felt that perhaps he didn't know whether the Patriarchs of the various grotto-heavens and blessed lands had seized Original Sin True Blood back then, but Heishui Empress should know. The reason was simple: Heishui Empress was one of the Five Elements Empresses of the Great Natural Order. In her previous life, she was even one of the Five-Colored Envoys under Nuwa. Her status could be said to be supremely noble. Even in that era of the Primordial when the Great Dao vied for supremacy, Heishui Empress's status and position were objects of immense reverence.
Many only knew the Great Natural Order was one of the Three Thousand Great Daos.
Actually, the Old Beggar knew the Great Natural Order stood above the Three Thousand Great Daos. Moreover, legend said the Three Thousand Great Daos were originally born from the Great Natural Order. Hence, the Great Natural Order was also called the Mother of the Great Dao.
Although Heishui Empress said she was struck down into the Guixu back then because she became tainted by Original Sin.
The Old Beggar didn't quite believe it.
It must be known that Heishui Empress was one of the Five Elements Empresses of the Great Natural Order, and in her previous life was one of Nuwa's Five-Colored Envoys. If the Three Thousand Great Daos were truly born from the Great Natural Order, then that meant the existence of the Three Thousand Great Daos was like the natural sons of the Great Natural Order.
As one of the Five Elements Empresses of the Great Natural Order, how could she possibly slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos and initiate the Wu Dao Age?
Wouldn't that be equivalent to wiping out her own sons?
Therefore.
The Old Beggar had always felt that Heishui Empress being struck down into the Guixu definitely wasn't because she became tainted by Original Sin. Even if she truly did become tainted by Original Sin, it absolutely wasn't for the purpose of initiating the Wu Dao Age. Perhaps it was to better understand Original Sin, find its weakness, and thus utterly eradicate it.
He had been shamelessly sticking by Heishui Empress's side all this time precisely to clarify this point. Unfortunately, Heishui Empress remained impervious, no matter how he probed or tested, she was never willing to say much more to him.
The Original Sin Calamity had never been a simple calamity from the start.
Behind the calamity was a game of chess.
Who the players in this game were, the Old Beggar might not be able to say, but one thing he dared affirm: the Great Natural Order was definitely among them.
"This fellow knows so much, and can even force out Qiongqi's cauldron..." The Old Beggar pondered the identity of the mysterious person hidden in the shadows. "Nine times out of ten, he should be an Original Sin Patriarch, right?"
So-called Original Sin Patriarchs referred to those who were deeply, deeply mired within Original Sin.
Many only knew Original Sin had transformation bodies, retribution bodies, response bodies, with the Dharma Body being the end.
Actually, that wasn't so.
In the Old Beggar's view, the Dharma Body wasn't the end of Original Sin. On the contrary, the Dharma Body was only the beginning of Original Sin.
After the Dharma Body, there was the Self Body.
For example, Huli Great Immortal and Qingmu Old Immortal present here were both Original Sin Self Bodies.
They could already be considered Original Sin Patriarchs.
However, after the Original Sin Self Body, there was another kind of existence: the Original Sin Itself. Its existence was far, far more terrifying than the Original Sin Self Body.