"What is destined to happen will ultimately happen..." In the void, Empress Wuyue, who had been continuously walking towards the Li Palace Vortex, suddenly and without warning came to a halt. She then turned to look at Gu Qingfeng atop the Solitary Peak, a trace of a smile in her expression as she asked, "Am I right?"
Gu Qingfeng met her gaze and replied nonchalantly, "Whether what should happen will happen, I do not know. I only know that what should not happen will definitely happen."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Empress Wuyue's expression shifted slightly. She stared at Gu Qingfeng as if contemplating the meaning behind his words.
No one knew why Empress Wuyue had appeared so abruptly, nor what her purpose was in publicly revealing Gu Qingfeng's secrets to the world. Even the meaning of the exchange between Empress Wuyue and Gu Qingfeng was unclear to all present, be they Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs or Original-Sin Ancestral Patriarchs.
On Blackwater Mountain, the Old Beggar was utterly bewildered. He glanced at Empress Wuyue, then at Gu Qingfeng, and asked in confusion, "What kind of riddle are these two playing at? One says 'what is destined to happen will ultimately happen,' the other says 'what should not happen will definitely happen.' What do they mean?"
Although the Old Beggar couldn't understand the dialogue between Gu Qingfeng and Empress Wuyue, he had a vague feeling that the two were engaged in a covert clash.
Yes!
A covert clash.
The Old Beggar was certain of it.
What saddened him was that he couldn't comprehend the moves of these two individuals at all.
He glanced at the Blackwater Empress beside him and bowed respectfully. "Empress, you must know what riddle they are exchanging, right? Could you enlighten this humble one a little?"
It wasn't that the Old Beggar was overly curious or enjoyed gossip and spectacle. At this critical juncture, every word, action, and even a single glance or thought from Gu Qingfeng could affect the entire Original Sin Cataclysm.
The Old Beggar lacked Empress Wuyue's ability to divine Gu Qingfeng's inner thoughts. If he couldn't even understand Gu Qingfeng's spoken words, then he couldn't even properly watch this spectacle, let alone participate.
Beside him, the Blackwater Empress watched with an unchanging, expressionless face. The only difference was that previously, she had been gazing at the ever-changing Li Palace Vortex, but now her gaze was fixed on Gu Qingfeng atop the Solitary Peak.
"Have you... ever been lost?"
Suddenly, the Blackwater Empress uttered a baffling sentence, confusing the Old Beggar. He shook his head, indicating he had never been lost.
"If you had ever been lost, you would not be asking this question."
"What does that have to do with being lost? Wait..." The Old Beggar seemed to realize something. He looked at Gu Qingfeng on the Solitary Peak and said in shock, "Are you saying... this kid is lost?"
"Even if he isn't lost now, he soon will be..."
"What! How is that possible!" The Old Beggar was astounded. "I don't see any sign of it! He doesn't look like someone who has lost himself at all!"
"It only looks that way."
"This... this..." Perhaps the news was too shocking, as the Old Beggar began to stammer. "Could it be related to Empress Wuyue?"
The Old Beggar knew that many existences had planted Karma on Gu Qingfeng—figures like Yun Nishang, Man Tu Fan, and Empress Wuyue were among them. When Empress Wuyue had just revealed Gu Qingfeng's secrets to the world, the Old Beggar had suspected it must be related to the Karmic Seed she had planted within Gu Qingfeng.
The Old Beggar clearly understood that the influence of a single Karmic Seed was terrifyingly potent. Terrifying enough to affect a person's decisions, state of mind, and even their personality.
Even more terrifying was the fact that one could not detect the influence brought by the Karmic Seed. One couldn't distinguish whether one's decisions were affected by it. Even when a thought surfaced in one's mind, one couldn't tell if it was truly their own thought or a thought formed under the influence of the Karmic Seed.
Empress Wuyue's act of publicly revealing Gu Qingfeng's secrets must have had a profound impact on him—so profound that he could no longer distinguish whether his decisions were influenced by the Karmic Seed, and so profound that Gu Qingfeng had begun to doubt whether he was truly himself.
"Too terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!"
The Old Beggar had never understood why Empress Wuyue had suddenly appeared and revealed Gu Qingfeng's secrets to the world. He had always thought Empress Wuyue was reminding the Original-Sin Ancestral Patriarchs and warning the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs.
Only now did he realize that Empress Wuyue's purpose in revealing Gu Qingfeng's secrets was neither to remind the Original-Sin Ancestral Patriarchs nor to warn the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs. Because those words were never meant for others to hear; they were meant for Gu Qingfeng himself.
She wanted Gu Qingfeng to understand that his innermost thoughts were known to her with perfect clarity.
She wanted Gu Qingfeng to understand that his innermost thoughts might not be his true thoughts.
Empress Wuyue had spoken a final sentence: 'What is destined to happen will ultimately happen.' The Old Beggar hadn't understood it before, but now he did. Empress Wuyue was testing, probing whether Gu Qingfeng had understood her words.
Gu Qingfeng had replied: 'Whether what should happen will happen, I do not know. I only know that what should not happen will definitely happen.' This indicated Gu Qingfeng had indeed understood Empress Wuyue's words.
"So that's how it is!" The Old Beggar exclaimed with some excitement. "This kid Gu can no longer distinguish whether his decisions are influenced by the Karmic Seed, so he is now deeply confused. When he says 'what should not happen will definitely happen,' it's likely he intends to act against his own will, to do things he does not wish to do."
"It must be so! Since he cannot determine whether his inner thoughts are influenced by the Karmic Seed, he might simply choose not to act according to his own desires. Instead, he'll do the opposite—the more he doesn't want to do something, the more he will do it. This way, he can avoid being influenced by the Karmic Seed."
As he spoke, the Old Beggar suddenly paused again. "Wait, something's not right. Empress Wuyue is one of those who planted a Karmic Seed within this kid Gu. She couldn't possibly be so kind as to remind him, could she? If he truly acts contrary to his inner will, wouldn't the Karmic Seed she planted within him be wasted?"
The Blackwater Empress suddenly spoke. "You are correct. She would not kindly remind the Nether Emperor."
"If Empress Wuyue's actions weren't meant to remind this kid Gu, then what was her purpose?"
With that, the Old Beggar's heart skipped a beat. He said in shock, "Her goal... could it be... could it be precisely to make this kid Gu lose himself?"