Lady Wuyue remained silent for a long while before finally speaking. "I wish to ask you a few questions. I hope you will answer me seriously."
"Of course! No problem at all." Gu Qingfeng agreed readily with a smile. "Just for the sake of the sentiment you've shown by undergoing countless reincarnations just to plant karma on me, I'd answer not just a few questions, but dozens, hundreds, even thousands of them."
These words might have sounded like sarcasm directed at Lady Wuyue, but that wasn't the case. Gu Qingfeng held no sarcastic intent whatsoever.
He had always been a man who lived for the present moment, caring only about this life. As for past lives and future incarnations, he couldn't be bothered to think about them. In other words, he was someone who valued the process; causes and results held no importance to him.
Therefore, he neither knew nor wished to know why Lady Wuyue had undergone countless reincarnations to plant karma upon him. He similarly neither knew nor cared what purpose Lady Wuyue had in planting that karma.
The only thing he knew was that he and Lady Wuyue had once been acquainted. Whether there were any feelings between them was another matter, but at the very least, she had left him with a memory of his youthful days.
And for Gu Qingfeng, that was enough.
Noticing Lady Wuyue staring at him in silence, Gu Qingfeng smiled and asked, "What do you wish to ask?"
"You... truly will not Ascend to the Pinnacle to become the True Lord of Original Sin?"
"Of course not."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? If I won't, then I won't. Why must there be so many reasons? Besides, didn't I already say earlier? I have no interest in becoming the True Lord of Original Sin, not even the slightest bit."
"Is it merely a lack of interest?"
"What else could it be?"
Lady Wuyue pressed on, "What if... Original Sin chooses you to Ascend to the Pinnacle and become its True Lord?"
"If Original Sin chooses me, am I supposed to just listen to it? If fate chooses me, should I then listen to fate? Sorry, but as you know, I've never believed in fate. I only believe in myself."
"So you mean, even if Original Sin chooses you, you would refuse. Is that correct?"
"Correct."
Lady Wuyue continued her questioning, "What if, when the time comes, you find you cannot refuse?"
"If Original Sin chooses me and I truly cannot refuse... well, then there's nothing to be done. I'd have to resign myself to heaven's will." Gu Qingfeng adopted a nonchalant attitude, speaking lightly. "Although I don't believe in fate, when it's time to accept it, I'll accept it honestly."
"Do you know that the moment you Ascend to the Pinnacle to become the True Lord of Original Sin might also be the day your consciousness is devoured?"
"Even if you didn't tell me, I'd know that." Gu Qingfeng said with a laugh. "Original Sin has been scheming for so many years; it's not doing all this to pick a master for itself."
"What if, when you Ascend to the Pinnacle to become the True Lord of Original Sin, you face not just the devouring of Original Sin?"
"Who else could there be?" Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. "Ah, I forgot. I still have three Children of Original Sin residing within me. Oh, right, besides the three Children of Original Sin, there's also that existence Beyond the Great Path."
Lady Wuyue spoke again, "What if it's not just the three Children of Original Sin and the existence Beyond the Great Path?"
Her words left Gu Qingfeng somewhat puzzled. Thinking carefully, aside from the three Children of Original Sin and the Demonic Thought Beyond the Great Path, there didn't seem to be any other entities within him.
Gu Qingfeng looked at Da Xing the Mad Monk, who also wore a confused and uncertain expression.
"If you have something to say, you might as well speak plainly."
"You..." Lady Wuyue seemed hesitant. After a moment, she asked, "Have you ever considered one possibility?"
"What possibility?"
"That you might be the Karma Incarnation planted by someone else."
"That question... yes, I have considered it."
Gu Qingfeng had indeed thought about it, and very early on at that. Ever since he first heard the phrase, 'The Primal Cataclysm births heaven and earth, endless cycles of reincarnation appear, past lives and present karma meet, whose fate belongs to whom depends on heaven,' he had pondered this issue carefully.
It was said that before the Desolate Ancient Era, many people had planted Karma Incarnations in their schemes to seize the position of True Lord of Original Sin.
Gu Qingfeng had also suspected that he himself might be a Karma Incarnation planted by someone else for that very purpose.
That was why, back then, he had embarked on the path of seeking Karma, aiming to find his true self—the so-called True Self.
He wasn't the only one. The Unending Demon Emperor Ren Tianxing and the Carefree Great Emperor Mo Wentian had harbored similar suspicions, especially the latter, who had spent his entire life searching for his True Self.
What set Gu Qingfeng apart was that shortly after he began his journey to seek his True Self, he gave up.
It wasn't because he encountered difficulties, nor because he found his True Self.
The reason for giving up was simple.
He was a lazy man. Seeking the True Self required constantly unraveling one chain of Karma after another, tracing from effect to cause, then from cause to effect, over and over, with no end in sight. Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered with such exhausting effort. He'd rather spend that time enjoying a drink or two in peace.
More importantly, Gu Qingfeng later came to a realization: seeking the True Self held no real meaning. Even if he finally found it, what then? There were only three possible outcomes.
Either he would be devoured by the True Self, and his life would become just a memory of that True Self.
Or he and the True Self would merge, influencing each other, each becoming a part of the other's memory. He would be the True Self, and the True Self would be him.
Or he would devour the True Self, and the True Self's life would become a memory of his.
For Gu Qingfeng, he wanted none of these three outcomes.
The first outcome went without saying—once devoured by the True Self, this life would be completely over.
The second, merging with the True Self... although you become the True Self and the True Self becomes you, in a sense, you are no longer the original you.
As for the third outcome, if you devour the True Self, you become the True Self. You might still be you, or you might not. Whether you remain yourself after devouring the True Self, Gu Qingfeng didn't know.
But in Gu Qingfeng's view, rather than exhausting himself in futile struggle, it was better not to seek it at all.
As for being human... living simply is enough. There's no need to make life so arduous.
Blessed is the man who knows when not to know!
At that moment, Lady Wuyue asked again, "Have you considered that if you truly are someone else's Karma Incarnation, then when you Ascend to the Pinnacle to become the True Lord of Original Sin, that person might also come to devour you?"
"If that's really the case, then things would get interesting."
"Interesting?" Perhaps surprised by Gu Qingfeng's response, Lady Wuyue expressed her astonishment.
"The three Children of Original Sin and the existence Beyond the Great Path within me have long been eyeing me covetously. If I Ascend to the Pinnacle to become the True Lord of Original Sin, I certainly won't be able to avoid being devoured by Original Sin itself. That is to say, once I become the True Lord, all four of these existences will want to devour me. In that case, one more so-called True Self wouldn't make much difference. As the saying goes, 'With many lice, one doesn't itch; with many debts, one doesn't worry.' Let whoever has the capability devour me. Whoever laughs last proves their ability."