Just as he was venting his inner displeasure, Gu Qingfeng suddenly froze.
Because he had suddenly thought of a terrifying question.
If this Original Sin Cataclysm from beginning to end was all a conspiracy by Genggu Wuming, if he truly was Genggu Wuming's Karma avatar, and Genggu Wuming had laid out all these causal threads with the sole purpose of pushing him onto the throne of True Lord of Original Sin, only to then devour him so she could destroy the Original Sin Source...
Then.
Could it be that Original Sin had long since seen through Genggu Wuming's conspiracy, and was just pretending not to know, going along with the scheme? On the surface, choosing him as the True Lord to make Genggu Wuming believe it was true. That way, it could both prevent Genggu Wuming from devouring it, and also use him as a shield against those ancestral guardians of the Great Dao, thereby secretly protecting the real True Lord of Original Sin.
Then, at the final moment, when he and those Great Dao ancestors were locked in a life-and-death struggle, Original Sin would quietly choose the real True Lord, then devour their consciousness, seize their physical body, slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos, and thus smoothly usher in the Daoless Age. By then, forget those Great Dao ancestors, even Genggu Wuming would probably only be able to stare helplessly.
Damn it!
Could it really be like this?
If it really was like this, then damn it, he'd be wronged to death!
Having lived a whole life for others was one thing, but having carried a black reputation for a lifetime—and that too for others?
Was there any life in all of heaven and earth more pitiful and tragic than this?
Gu Qingfeng had originally planned to let things take their natural course, to resign himself to Fate.
Now, he was increasingly feeling that he could no longer just let things be, nor could he resign himself to Fate anymore.
He did not want to carry a black reputation for others for a lifetime, nor did he want to have lived a whole life only for others in the end.
Gu Qingfeng pondered: if in the end, Original Sin chose him as the True Lord, then so be it—at least this black reputation wouldn't have been carried in vain. But if it really was as he suspected, that Original Sin was just using him as a shield, a chess piece... then Gu Qingfeng might just go and fight for the position of True Lord of Original Sin. And he would fight for it at all costs. If he could seize it, he would seize it; if he couldn't seize it, he'd still fight for it.
Not for dignity, nor for justice, but simply because, having carried this black reputation for a lifetime, he had to seize the True Lord of Original Sin!
If he couldn't seize it, then no one else would get to either.
If a True Lord of Original Sin was truly to be born, it could only be him, with no second person.
And as for Genggu Wuming.
If he really was this woman's Karma avatar, Gu Qingfeng would absolutely not let it go at that. Even if Genggu Wuming were to show great mercy and not devour him, he would go and devour Genggu Wuming's consciousness.
Again, not for dignity, nor for justice, but simply to be worthy of the life he had lived.
Gu Qingfeng didn't mind being a chess piece for once.
But if being a chess piece meant carrying a black reputation for others for a lifetime, living a whole life for others... that was something Gu Qingfeng could not accept, no matter what.
Perhaps sensing that Gu Qingfeng's mood was somewhat off, Gu Changfeng across from him asked, "Brother Gu, are you alright?"
"It's nothing," Gu Qingfeng replied. "Just remembered some things, feeling a bit displeased, that's all."
The Gu Qingfeng here was still smiling, but the smile at the corner of his mouth had already changed along with the shifts in his heart.
His previous smile had been mostly one of open-hearted cheer and frankness. But now, his smile had grown much lighter, and also much more gloomy.
It was like a sunny smile gradually turning into one shrouded in dark clouds.
If Gu Qingfeng's heart had once held some light, then at this moment, that so-called light was gradually dissipating, and darkness was making a comeback.
If Gu Qingfeng's heart had once held some kindness, then at this moment, that so-called kindness was also gradually vanishing, and evil was rising high above.
If Gu Qingfeng's state of mind had once been to let things take their natural course, then at this moment, that so-called natural course was beginning to fade away, replaced by a sweeping tide of following his own desires.
If Gu Qingfeng's attitude had once been to resign himself to Fate, then at this moment, that so-called resignation to Fate was also beginning to disappear, replaced by: my life is up to me, not to heaven!
"If you're displeased about being a chess piece," Gu Changfeng said, "then I'd advise you to look at it more openly. You are a chess piece, and I, Gu, am also a chess piece. Whether they are variables of Original Sin in heaven and earth, or fixed numbers responding to the calamity, they are all chess pieces. If not chess pieces of the Great Dao, then chess pieces of Original Sin. If not chess pieces of Original Sin, then chess pieces of Fate. In any case, we're all chess pieces."
As Gu Changfeng spoke these words, his tone was quite complex, as if mocking himself.
Gu Qingfeng's heart was suppressed, and running into Gu Changfeng, he couldn't help but voice his grievances. And Gu Changfeng was much the same. Although his Dao companion, Immortal King Qianye, was always by his side, there were some things he did not wish to say to her. Now, meeting an old rival like Gu Qingfeng who was also a friend of sorts, he too couldn't help but pour out his thoughts.
Actually.
Gu Changfeng had always been a very simple person before, so simple that he paid no attention to matters outside his window, focusing solely on bitter cultivation of the Great Dao.
He was not only simple in person, but also simple in thought.
He used to think that since he had received the Mandate of the Immortal Dao, he should protect the Immortal Dao and not fail the grace of the Mandate.
He also used to think that since he had received justice and inherited the Azure Heaven, he should lead by example, eradicate all injustice in the world, return fairness to all living beings, and not fail the grace of the Azure Heaven.
Gu Changfeng used to think this way, and he acted accordingly. But later, as he experienced more and more, witnessed more and more, and learned more and more secrets, Gu Changfeng's thoughts grew more numerous. The more he thought, his simple mind gradually became more complex.
Especially since entering the Ancient Black Hole, he increasingly felt that so-called Karma, so-called Mandate, were all very false!
Yes!
False!
Karma and Fate were the bottom line of Gu Changfeng's faith in the Great Dao.
Because he knew the Immortal Dao was not immortal, the Buddha Dao was not Buddha—each was filthier than the last. In their struggle for the so-called leadership of the Great Dao, they were even more demonic than the Demonic Dao.
Even so, Gu Changfeng was still willing to protect the Great Dao, because he felt that as long as Karma and Fate were pure, then let the other Great Daos be filthy if they wished.
Before, he thought Karma meant planting good causes yielded good results, planting evil causes yielded evil results. What kind of Karma you sowed, you would reap what kind of Fate.
But now, Gu Changfeng knew that so-called Karma could be arranged, and so-called Fate could be predetermined.
Before entering the Ancient Black Hole, he had vowed with absolute certainty that he would protect the Great Dao of heaven and earth, even if it cost him his life, even if his soul scattered to ashes, he would not regret it.
But now, he hesitated, felt lost, bewildered, and even unsure whether he should protect the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
In his mind, if Karma and Fate were pure and untainted, then the Great Dao was worth protecting, and he was willing to give his life for pure Karma and Fate.
But if Karma was no longer pure, but had become a means for certain people to set up their schemes, if Fate was no longer pure, but had become a chess piece for certain people to arrange their plots, then so-called Karma and Fate had become filthy.
Pure Karma and Fate were worth protecting, but were filthy Karma and Fate still worth protecting?
The reason Gu Changfeng regarded Karma and Fate as the bottom line of his faith in the Great Dao was because he felt Karma and Fate were the foundation of the Great Dao. As long as Karma and Fate were pure, the Great Dao could still be saved. But if even Karma and Fate were filthy, then the so-called Great Dao was beyond saving.
Like a flower.
If the petals wither, there is still a chance for it to bloom again.
But if even the roots and stem rot, then this flower can never blossom again.