"No!
That's not right!
Absolutely not!"
The Old Beggar thought carefully and decided that Lady Wuyue's actions could not possibly be to make Gu Qingfeng lose himself.
The reason was simple.
If Lady Wuyue planted a Karmic Seed within Gu Qingfeng, she must have some objective. Whatever that objective was, the prerequisite was that Gu Qingfeng remained conscious and clear-minded. Only with clear consciousness could this Karmic Seed affect him. Once Gu Qingfeng lost himself and his consciousness became blurred, his temperament would drastically change, becoming like a mad demon—utterly self-centered, acting solely on his own whims.
He would have no emotions or desires.
No joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.
He would not know his own limits.
He would not understand what Karma was.
Nor would he know what consequences meant.
There would be no so-called morality.
No so-called concepts.
Nor any so-called thoughts.
He might not even have so-called intentions.
Everything would vanish into nothingness.
In other words, a maddened Gu Qingfeng would probably no longer be Gu Qingfeng at all.
Under such circumstances, the Karmic Seed Lady Wuyue planted within him would serve no purpose and would not affect Gu Qingfeng in the slightest.
In the Old Beggar's mind, Lady Wuyue planted a Karmic Seed within Gu Qingfeng most likely to subtly influence him, thereby slaying the True Lord of Original Sin and protecting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
If Gu Qingfeng lost himself and became a mad demon, he would spiral out of control. No one would know what terrifying things he might do.
Lady Wuyue, more than anyone, should not wish for Gu Qingfeng to lose himself.
Yet the current situation was that Lady Wuyue's words had clearly already affected Gu Qingfeng, making him begin to doubt himself. Just as Lady Blackwater had said, even if he hadn't lost himself yet, he was nearly there.
If Lady Wuyue's actions were not to make Gu Qingfeng lose himself, then what was her purpose?
Or perhaps Lady Wuyue had another goal altogether and simply didn't anticipate that her words would cause Gu Qingfeng to lose himself.
Suddenly.
Lady Blackwater spoke: "How do you know that Wuyue planted a Karmic Seed within him to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth?"
"Isn't that the case?"
The Old Beggar was shocked. "Lady Wuyue was an Empress of the Immortal Dao in the Ancient Times. After the Ancient Times, she orchestrated the Mandate of Heaven's Imperial Authority for the Immortal Dao. If not to protect Heaven and Earth, could it be to usher in the Era Without Dao?"
"This world has never been simply black or white."
Lady Blackwater said softly, "Not protecting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth does not necessarily mean one must usher in the Era Without Dao."
"Then what else could it be?"
The Old Beggar didn't understand. If Lady Wuyue's goal was neither to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth nor to bring about the Era Without Dao, what else could she possibly be after?
Lady Blackwater gently shook her head.
It was unclear whether she didn't want to answer the question or simply didn't know the answer herself.
This left the Old Beggar deeply frustrated, utterly exasperated.
He could only lament his own incompetence.
Although he didn't know if this cataclysm had any outcome beyond protecting the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth or ushering in the Era Without Dao,
he did know that some had always been gambling on a third outcome.
One was Genggu Wuming, and the other was Lady Blackwater beside him.
As for whether this cataclysm had a third outcome, and if so, what that third outcome might be, the Old Beggar racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
Beside him, Lady Blackwater had been gazing at Gu Qingfeng atop Solitary Peak, just watching. After a long while, she murmured to herself, "He...
has ultimately been forced into a dead end..."
The Old Beggar asked, "What dead end?"
"If he doesn't lose himself, he won't know whether the thoughts in his heart are his own or influenced by the Karmic Seeds. If he loses himself, his consciousness will blur, and the divine senses and demonic thoughts of those Original Sin Children within him, along with the ancient Maha clansmen, will surely seize this opportunity to occupy his physical body. If he is someone else's Karmic Avatar, that would only be worse..."
"No way forward, no way back. No path of advance, no path of retreat. Advancing is death, retreating is death, and neither advancing nor retreating is still death..."
"There are too many Karmic Seeds affecting his Self within him, and too many covetous divine senses and demonic thoughts eyeing him. They are all schemes...
All of them are schemes. These schemes have ultimately pushed him into the abyss of eternal damnation."
On Solitary Peak.
Gu Qingfeng leaned casually against a giant rock, sitting on the ground, taking swig after swig of fine wine. Finally, he finished an entire jar. Tipping his head back, opening his mouth, and raising the jar, the last few drops of wine fell into his mouth.
"The day's getting late..." Gu Qingfeng remarked casually. No one knew what he meant by this.
What did he mean, the day was getting late?
This was the Ancient Space—no sun, no moon, no heaven, no earth. Whether time even existed here was unknown.
"Those who haven't shown themselves yet, don't bother hiding anymore. At this critical juncture, continuing to hide serves no purpose. It's time to come out and take a few steps."
After Gu Qingfeng's words fell, the Original Sin Patriarchs present looked at each other, exchanging glances. They also knew that many experts had yet to reveal themselves, and not a few at that.
To say nothing of others, the Original Sin Children of the Ancient Heaven and Earth who had integrated Original Sin True Blood were definitely not limited to those Dao Overlords like Black Mountain Old Monster.
The Original Sin Variables of the Ancient Heaven and Earth were also definitely not limited to Miao Rulai and Taiji Boundless.
However.
Compared to those who remained hidden, everyone was more curious about the meaning behind Gu Qingfeng's two statements. More precisely, they wanted to know what Gu Qingfeng intended to do, what he was preparing to do.
This was crucial.
His every move, his every thought, could trigger chaos.
The crowd watched Gu Qingfeng atop Solitary Peak.
They saw him casually toss away the empty wine jar, raise a hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, stand up, pat the dust off his clothes, shake out his sleeves, twist his neck, and stretch his arms wide in a deep, forceful stretch—
BOOM!
Before anyone knew what was happening, a series of explosive cracking sounds filled the air, followed by the earth shaking and mountains quaking, as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth splitting apart. The sky-filling Original Sin Breath erupted in successive explosions. In an instant, it felt as if the entire Li Palace space was violently trembling.
CRACK!
The Li Palace space seemed to shatter, crack after crack!
One fissure followed another.
What was going on?!
He had merely stretched! How could it feel like the entire Li Palace space was being shaken apart?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless Original Sin Avatars within the Li Palace space—some didn't even have time to react, some had no idea what was happening—were instantly obliterated into dust. Some were twisted and distorted into blurry forms, some were sent crashing to the ground by the shockwaves.
Even the Original Sin Patriarchs who had cultivated their own Original Sin Selves were shaken until they vomited blood from their mouths and noses, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
As for the Original Sin Patriarchs who had cultivated Original Sin True Bodies—the one known as the Rat Lord Who Stole All Under Heaven, the Divine Calculator Who Calculated All Under Heaven—they were all terrified, their faces deathly pale.
Black Mountain Old Monster, Green Lamp Ghost Emperor, and Liao'e each looked as if facing a formidable enemy, their expressions grave.
Even the arrogant, lawless Taiji Boundless furrowed his brow.
And the one hailed as the Buddha Emperor of the Western Heavens, Peerless Under Heaven—Miao Rulai—now opened his eyes, which had been tightly shut all this time.