"Old Ancestor Green Robe! Hah..." Cang Yan rose to her feet and walked to the edge of the pavilion. Her left arm cradled her right, while her right hand held a white jade cup. A faint smile graced her peerlessly beautiful face, but her eyes—twin orbs like sun and moon, yin and yang—stared at Old Ancestor Green Robe in the arena, filled with undisguised loathing. "I truly, truly dislike this fellow. One could say I detest him to the extreme."
Cang Yan had long known that the siege she suffered from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands back then was all instigated behind the scenes by Old Ancestor Green Robe. His goal was to prevent her from ascending to the Great Dao Mandate of Heaven and to sabotage the Mandate of Heaven game she had laid out in her previous life. Had her past self not been prepared, setting up not just one but multiple Mandate of Heaven schemes, she would likely have been tricked and killed by Old Ancestor Green Robe after reincarnating.
After learning of this, Cang Yan had pursued and tried to kill Old Ancestor Green Robe more than once. Unfortunately, like Black Mountain Old Monster and the others, while she had slain some of Green Robe's external incarnations, she had never found his True Body.
The same was true for her most beloved man, Demon Emperor Blood River.
Ever since Demon Emperor Blood River discovered that Old Ancestor Green Robe was the mastermind behind the entire affair, he had been relentlessly hunting him—from the Primordial Era all the way to the Present-Ancient Era. Yet, to this day, he still hadn't uncovered where Old Ancestor Green Robe's True Body was hidden.
In truth, those who wanted to drag out Old Ancestor Green Robe's True Body weren't limited to Black Mountain Old Monster and his group, nor just Cang Yan and Demon Emperor Blood River. Even Great Sun Radiance Emperor, and including Xuanyuan Wuji, had been searching for Old Ancestor Green Robe's True Body all along.
But after searching for so many years—from the Nine Heavens to the Nine Nethers, scouring every major celestial domain, every world across the myriad heavens, even the Endless Desolate Ruins beyond the heavens—they had looked everywhere, above and below, within and beyond the heavens. Yet no one had managed to drag out Old Ancestor Green Robe's True Body. No one knew where it was truly hidden, as if Old Ancestor Green Robe's True Body simply didn't exist.
Fortunately, during this Original Sin Cataclysm, as long as Old Ancestor Green Robe schemed for the position of Original Sin True Lord, his True Body would surely show itself.
Cang Yan believed that when the time came, she wouldn't be the only one seeking to settle scores with Old Ancestor Green Robe. If his True Body dared to appear, it would certainly meet a bad end. By then, forget about ascending as the Original Sin True Lord—whether he could survive even a single moment would be a question.
"Nameless, there's one question I've never been able to understand. Why have you tolerated a troublemaker like Old Ancestor Green Robe, who has been wreaking havoc from the Desolate Ancient Era all the way to the Present-Ancient Era?"
Genggu Wuming did not respond to this question, merely standing quietly and gazing at the ever-changing Li Palace Vortex.
"Could it be that even you can't find his True Body? Hah..." Cang Yan added another remark. Though Genggu Wuming still gave no reply, Cang Yan had already guessed the answer.
That others might be unable to find Old Ancestor Green Robe's True Body didn't mean Genggu Wuming couldn't.
If there was one person in all of ancient and present heaven and earth who could find Old Ancestor Green Robe's True Body, that person would undoubtedly be Genggu Wuming.
If that was the case, why had Genggu Wuming never made a move against Old Ancestor Green Robe?
The answer was simple.
Either Genggu Wuming wanted Old Ancestor Green Robe to come out and stir the pot.
Or it was a case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—the chaos stirred by Old Ancestor Green Robe was precisely the game Genggu Wuming had laid out.
The world knew that Genggu Wuming was the embodiment of karma and the messenger of Fate. Therefore, she would surely stand on Fate's side, and she would certainly eradicate Original Sin to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Protecting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth meant protecting karma and Fate.
Only Cang Yan knew that although Genggu Wuming was hailed as the embodiment of karma and messenger of Fate, this didn't mean she would necessarily stand on Fate's side, nor did it mean she would definitely protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
Because Fate itself might not stand on the side of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
If that weren't the case, the Book of Fate wouldn't record that when Original Sin finds its True Lord, the Great Dao will fall, Heaven and Earth will be reborn, and the Wu Dao Age will begin.
According to the Book of Fate's records, the fall of the Great Dao and the beginning of the Wu Dao Age would be complying with Heavenly Destiny (complying with the Mandate of Heaven), while protecting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth would be Defying Heaven alter fate (defying heaven and altering fate).
But if the opening of the Wu Dao Age was complying with Heavenly Destiny (complying with the Mandate of Heaven), then after the Great Dao fell, karma and Fate would also vanish into thin air. Wouldn't that mean Fate was destroying itself? Logically, it seemed somewhat contradictory.
Therefore, to this day, no one knew whether opening the Wu Dao Age was complying with Heavenly Destiny (complying with the Mandate of Heaven) or whether protecting Heaven and Earth was complying with Heavenly Destiny (complying with the Mandate of Heaven).
Others didn't know, and probably not even Genggu Wuming knew (probably not even Genggu Wuming knew).
Taking a step back, even if Fate truly stood on the side of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and protecting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth was complying with Heavenly Destiny (complying with the Mandate of Heaven), Genggu Wuming still might not do so.
Because Genggu Wuming despised Fate.
Yes.
Genggu Wuming, hailed as the embodiment of karma and messenger of Fate, despised Fate. She despised it more than anyone and wished to break free from it more than anyone.
It sounded ironic.
But it was the truth.
Although Genggu Wuming had never said so, as her close friend and confidante, Cang Yan could sense it, and she sensed it very strongly.
Otherwise, Genggu Wuming wouldn't have wanted to place a bet on Gu Qingfeng.
If asked what exactly Genggu Wuming was betting on Gu Qingfeng for, Cang Yan might not be able to answer. What was certain was that the bet wasn't on this Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, nor on the so-called Wu Dao Age.
No one knew what Genggu Wuming was truly betting on Gu Qingfeng for.
If it were other matters, Cang Yan might be able to guess one or two things. But this matter alone, she simply couldn't figure out.
Thinking of Gu Qingfeng, Cang Yan shifted her gaze to a distant solitary peak. Looking at Gu Qingfeng on that peak, leisurely drinking fine wine while chatting idly with Great Monk Daxing, Cang Yan couldn't help but smile—a smile tinged with both helplessness and speechlessness.
Like Genggu Wuming, she too had placed her bet on Gu Qingfeng.
Unlike Genggu Wuming, she was betting that Gu Qingfeng would ascend as the Original Sin True Lord, thereby opening the Wu Dao Age.
To be honest, Cang Yan wasn't very interested in the Wu Dao Age. Not only was she uninterested, one could even say she didn't want the Wu Dao Age to open. In her previous life, from the Desolate Ancient Era, the game she laid out wasn't for the Wu Dao Age but for the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. In other words, compared to the Wu Dao Age, she leaned more toward protecting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
If she truly wanted to scheme for the position of Original Sin True Lord, she wouldn't have merely reincarnated to ascend to the dual Great Dao Imperial Mandate of Immortal and Demon.
The reason she bet on Gu Qingfeng ascending as the Original Sin True Lord to open the Wu Dao Age was because of one person.
A man she loved, Demon Emperor Blood River.
Demon Emperor Blood River hoped to break free from the shackles of karma and master his own Fate, so he yearned for the Wu Dao Age. Based on years of observing Gu Qingfeng, he decided to spare no effort to help Gu Qingfeng ascend as the Original Sin True Lord.
Back then, Demon Emperor Blood River could fall into demonhood for a single thought of hers, staining the Great Wilderness with rivers of blood. Today, Cang Yan would also abandon the Great Dao and Heaven and Earth for the man she loved, throwing herself into the Wu Dao Age.