When the Mysterious Woman's voice first echoed through the void, it was accompanied by unrestrained, maniacal laughter, as if she were mocking the many Ancestral Patriarchs of the Great Dao and Original Sin factions hidden in the darkness as nothing more than a ragtag mob.
But as she continued speaking, the tone of her voice began to change. The mockery and sarcasm faded, replaced by a palpable anger—a fury that seemed to erupt from the very depths of her heart, as if she were berating those Ancestral Patriarchs.
In the hidden depths of the void, Da Xing the Mad Monk grew more and more confused the longer he listened. At first, he had thought this Mysterious Woman was just here to stir up trouble, even joking that she was here to stand up for Gu Qingfeng. Later, when she repeatedly lamented how they had all wasted their chances to eliminate Gu Qingfeng, saying 'what a pity' several times, Da Xing began to suspect she wasn't just here for the spectacle. She seemed more like she was here to provoke.
Listening now as the Mysterious Woman angrily denounced the Ancestral Patriarchs on both the Great Dao and Original Sin sides, Da Xing shot a meaningful glance at Gu Qingfeng. "Kid Qingfeng, are you sure you don't know who this Mysterious Woman is? This old monk gets the feeling she seems to know you."
Beside him, Gu Qingfeng wore an equally puzzled expression, his brow furrowed, eyes narrowed to slits as he took occasional sips of wine, seemingly deep in thought.
It wasn't just Da Xing who felt the Mysterious Woman knew Gu Qingfeng; after listening this long, Gu Qingfeng himself felt she seemed familiar.
Not only familiar, but she also seemed to understand him quite well.
Her words carried a specific kind of anger toward those Ancestral Patriarchs.
This anger wasn't disgust or hatred, but rather fury at their presumptuous, unilateral actions.
She had repeatedly said things like 'if it weren't for back then...'
This gave Gu Qingfeng the feeling that the Mysterious Woman had been scheming all along—scheming to eliminate him—only to have her plans disrupted by those Ancestral Patriarchs acting on their own.
Yes!
That was exactly the feeling.
If that were truly the case, then who could this Mysterious Woman be?
Gu Qingfeng thought seriously for a moment, but it was hard to say for sure right away. Because almost every woman who had appeared in his life had been scheming.
From Hongxiu at the very beginning, to Ouyang Ye—both were part of Yun Nichang's schemes.
Then there was Feng Zhuyue, and Canyang Wuyou—both were part of Mandala's schemes.
Besides them, there was also Tang Hengxi, and Ye Tianlan.
Su Hua counted as one too, including Jun Xuanji.
As far as Gu Qingfeng knew, Mandala was the Empress of the Demonic Dao, Ye Tianlan was the Empress of the Heavenly Dao, Tang Hengxi was the Empress of the Immortal Dao, Yun Nichang was the Empress of the Natural Dao, and Su Hua could be considered the Empress of the Sacred Dao. These women all had karma with him, and this so-called karma was likely the schemes they had laid.
If this Mysterious Woman was one of them, then who could it be?
Jun Xuanji?
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, dismissing the thought without hesitation.
Jun Xuanji had long since lost herself, her mind unclear, her consciousness blurred. The Mysterious Woman couldn't be Jun Xuanji.
Gu Qingfeng pondered for a long time but could only confirm that the Mysterious Woman wasn't Jun Xuanji. As for the other women, he couldn't be sure.
Since awakening from his ten-thousand-year slumber, he hadn't seen Yun Nichang, Ye Tianlan, Tang Hengxi, or Su Hua. Although he had caught a glimpse of Mandala once within the ruins of the Primordial Black Hole, she had disappeared afterward.
Who could it be?
Just who knew him so well?
"Damn it all! This old monk is certain that woman knows you, kid! And she's very likely one of those women bound to you by karma!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk grew more convinced the more he thought about it. Earlier, the Mysterious Woman had said that if the Great Dao hadn't tried to eliminate Gu Qingfeng time and again back then, perhaps Gu Qingfeng would never have fused with the True Blood of Original Sin, might never have ascended as the Nine Nethers Emperor, and might never have even left that Mortal Realm!
Da Xing strongly agreed with that statement. Based on his understanding of Gu Qingfeng, that was indeed the case.
Not long after, the Mysterious Woman's voice echoed once more. Compared to before, her tone now seemed much calmer.
"If this Empress recalls correctly, whether it be the Sacred Grounds, the Heavenly Dao, or including the Immortal Dao, you have all acted against the Nether Emperor more than once. Especially the Immortal Dao. As far as this Empress knows, by the end of the Ancient Era, you repeatedly attempted to eliminate the Nether Emperor."
"A pity. The Immortal Dao is without a master, like a sheet of loose sand. Though the Immortal Court spans the Myriad Heavens and Ten Thousand Realms, and the Profound Heaven is filled with experts, what use is it when the Immortal Dao lacks a master? The so-called Ancestral Patriarchs of the Immortal Dao only care about their own blessed lands and cave heavens. Add to that the fact that the few Venerable Ancestors of the Profound Heaven are far too rigid and pedantic, seeing only immediate gains with no broader vision. All they do all day is think about how to suppress the Great Sun Radiance Emperor. In the end, not only did they fail to eliminate the Nether Emperor, they nearly had the Nine Heavens burned to ashes by him."
"If you had followed the Great Sun Radiance Emperor's wishes, allowing him to ascend as the Master of the Immortal Dao and command the Immortal Dao's origin, he could have at least suppressed the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs of the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands. Even if he couldn't create the glorious age of the Immortal Dao in the Current Era, he could have commanded the heroes. It wouldn't have ended up like today—a sheet of loose sand!"
"A pity! A pity the Immortal Dao of the Profound Heaven is blind and destined never to become the true leader of the Great Daos!"
If the Mysterious Woman's voice had been filled with anger before, now it carried more a sense of disappointment!
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng's heart stirred. Could it be Tang Hengxi?
It wasn't hard to hear from the Mysterious Woman's voice that she felt a 'frustration at the Immortal Dao's inability to rise to the occasion.' If she were the Empress of another Great Dao, she naturally wouldn't feel any particular disappointment; the rise and fall of the Immortal Dao would be irrelevant to her. Only the Empress of the Immortal Dao herself would likely be this disappointed with the current state of the Immortal Dao.
Moreover, in Gu Qingfeng's memory, it seemed only Tang Hengxi was the Empress of the Immortal Dao.
To be honest, Gu Qingfeng didn't know much about Tang Hengxi. Although they had shared a karmic past in the Mortal Realm during his youth, that was all there was to it.
After he left the Mortal Realm back then, he never saw Tang Hengxi again. The reason he knew Tang Hengxi was the Empress of the Immortal Dao was because, after the Current Era began and he was reborn from nirvana, he happened to encounter a remnant wisp of consciousness she had left behind in the Mortal Realm.
Even now, he clearly remembered the words spoken by that remnant wisp of Tang Hengxi's consciousness.
Tang Hengxi had personally admitted that she came from the Immortal Dao. She had schemed and created karma for no other reason than to eliminate him. However, after laying the karmic scheme and reincarnating, she failed to awaken her memories from her past life, and thus failed to eliminate him.
That remnant wisp had also said that one day she would kill him with her own hands.
Back then, Gu Qingfeng hadn't paid much mind to this matter. Later, he never encountered Tang Hengxi again, nor did he know exactly which Empress of the Immortal Dao Tang Hengxi was.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Da Xing, do you know Tang Hengxi?"
Hearing the name Tang Hengxi, Da Xing the Mad Monk gave a violent start, as if frightened. "You suspect that woman... no... that the Mysterious Woman is Tang Hengxi?"
"I do have some suspicions. What's wrong? You seem to know Tang Hengxi?"