Empress Wuyue suddenly making a move to lend Gu Qingfeng a hand left all the Ancestral Patriarchs present utterly astonished.
They knew Empress Wuyue had planted a Karmic Seed within Gu Qingfeng, and they were also clear that if Gu Qingfeng let go of himself, he would naturally also release the Karmic Seed upon his person. Thus, all the painstaking effort Empress Wuyue had expended in planting that Karmic Seed would be wasted.
Logically speaking, if Empress Wuyue were to make a move, she would only do so to prevent Gu Qingfeng from letting go of himself. Why then was she now doing the exact opposite, actually trying to lend him a hand?
No one knew.
None of them could figure it out.
At this moment, however, they had no mood to ponder this question. The instant Empress Wuyue suddenly made her move, the hearts of many Ancestral Patriarchs within the venue began to stir restlessly. They all wished to follow Empress Wuyue's example and go lend Gu Qingfeng a hand.
If asked why Empress Wuyue was helping Gu Qingfeng, perhaps no one knew the reason.
However,
the reason these Ancestral Patriarchs wanted to go lend Gu Qingfeng a hand was simple: they hoped Gu Qingfeng could successfully let go of himself.
As long as Gu Qingfeng let go of himself, for the Great Dao Patriarchs, they would be rid of their greatest threat.
For the Original Sin Patriarchs, they would be rid of their greatest competitor.
It was a beneficial outcome for both the Great Dao Patriarchs and the Original Sin Patriarchs.
Though many Ancestral Patriarchs were stirring restlessly, they only stirred. They did not act.
Apart from Empress Wuyue, none of the other Ancestral Patriarchs made a move. They looked at each other, their expressions and eyes all betraying hesitation and inner conflict.
Indeed,
on the surface, Gu Qingfeng letting go of himself seemed highly advantageous for both the Original Sin Patriarchs and the Great Dao Patriarchs.
But was that truly the case?
Not necessarily.
Everyone knew that Gu Qingfeng letting go of himself would inevitably affect this Original Sin Calamity.
The problem was, no one knew what kind of effect it would have on this Original Sin Calamity.
For the Great Dao Patriarchs, what if Gu Qingfeng letting go of himself instead intensified this Original Sin Calamity? Wouldn't that make the Great Dao even more perilous?
For the Original Sin Patriarchs, what if Gu Qingfeng letting go of himself directly brought this Original Sin Calamity to an end? Then how could they still scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin?
Another point was also crucial: even if Gu Qingfeng letting go of himself truly removed the greatest threat for the Great Dao Patriarchs, they still dared not directly step forward to lend him a hand.
How would they lend him a hand?
By taking action to suppress the incarnations of the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura and the other two overlords, buying time for Gu Qingfeng to complete his letting go?
Leaving aside whether they could suppress them or not, even if they could suppress the incarnations of the three overlords, what then?
It must be understood that the Gu Qingfeng of this moment had not yet released the consciousness and demonic thoughts of the three overlords; he and they were still a 'single entity.' Suppressing the incarnations of the three overlords was equivalent to suppressing Gu Qingfeng himself.
Most importantly, when Gu Qingfeng was letting go of himself, he needed to concentrate with total focus. If the assembled Ancestral Patriarchs joined forces to suppress the overlords, they would inevitably enrage them. In that case, the consciousness and demonic thoughts of the three overlords would certainly affect Gu Qingfeng's state of mind. If Gu Qingfeng's mind became unsettled, trying to release the consciousness and demonic thoughts of the three overlords would only become more difficult, perhaps even pushing Gu Qingfeng onto the path of losing himself—a dead end from which recovery would be even more impossible.
This was the root cause of the Ancestral Patriarchs' hesitation and inner conflict.
First, they did not know whether they should act.
Second, they also did not know how to act.
Acting risked achieving the opposite of their intent. Not acting risked missing a golden opportunity.
This Original Sin Calamity had reached such a critical juncture that no one dared act recklessly. A single misstep would lead to a bottomless abyss.
On the solitary peak,
Da Xing the Mad Monk's face was deathly pale, filled with terror, and his eyes held boundless confusion and uncertainty.
He had been pondering a single question.
This question tormented him immensely.
Unlike those Ancestral Patriarchs, his conflict was not about whether to act or not.
To be honest,
whether considering public duty or private feelings, reason or sentiment,
Da Xing the Mad Monk did not want Gu Qingfeng to let go of himself.
For duty and reason, Gu Qingfeng also carried his hopes. If Gu Qingfeng let go of himself, he would also be letting go of Da Xing's hopes.
For private feelings and sentiment, Da Xing the Mad Monk did not want to lose a drinking and meat-eating friend like Gu Qingfeng, nor did he want Gu Qingfeng to end up letting go of himself.
Despite this,
Da Xing the Mad Monk ultimately chose to respect Gu Qingfeng's decision.
He understood Gu Qingfeng, and he was also very clear that perhaps only by letting go of himself could Gu Qingfeng free himself from this calamity.
He would not act to prevent Gu Qingfeng from letting go of himself. If anyone tried to stop him, Da Xing would be the first to stand against them.
What truly conflicted him was not Gu Qingfeng, but Empress Wuyue.
Da Xing the Mad Monk had been wondering why Empress Wuyue's attitude had suddenly changed, to the point of now helping Gu Qingfeng let go of himself.
He pondered and pondered, only arriving at one possibility—a possibility that made his hair stand on end.
That was: the purpose of Empress Wuyue planting the Karmic Seed within Gu Qingfeng was not to force him onto the dead-end path of losing himself, but to force him onto the path of no return that was letting go of himself.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Empress Wuyue first appeared to ignite the fuse that would cause Gu Qingfeng to lose himself, then pretended she was trying to force him onto that path.
She might have long foreseen that Gu Qingfeng would absolutely not choose the path of losing himself, and might have long foreseen that Gu Qingfeng would let go of himself and embark on this path of no return.
What was even more terrifying was that Gu Qingfeng had not realized that letting go of himself was not his own choice; he was still influenced by the Karmic Seed.
Da Xing the Mad Monk had originally thought Gu Qingfeng chose to let go of himself because he did not wish to be influenced by any Karma, nor did he wish to bear any burden anymore.
He never imagined that his final choice was still not his own, still influenced by Karma.
Only, Gu Qingfeng had not yet realized it.
This was a trap.
A trap that had Gu Qingfeng completely ensnared, a trap from which Gu Qingfeng was destined to be unable to escape.
"Heavens above!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk's face was ashen, his heart trembling uncontrollably, as he muttered, "Is it truly so?"
He shook his head.
Da Xing the Mad Monk did not know either.
He simply could not determine whether Gu Qingfeng letting go of himself was truly his own choice or the result of Karmic influence.
Nor did he dare rashly step forward to dissuade him.
What if he was merely worrying unnecessarily, and letting go of himself was indeed Gu Qingfeng's own choice? If he stepped forward to dissuade him, disturbing Gu Qingfeng's mental state, and Gu Qingfeng ultimately gave up letting go of himself and instead embarked on the path of losing himself...
What if that then affected this Original Sin Calamity?
The responsibility was simply too great, so great that Da Xing the Mad Monk could not bear it.
Like those conflicted Ancestral Patriarchs, at this critical juncture, Da Xing the Mad Monk also dared not act recklessly. He too was afraid, afraid that a single mistaken thought from him would both ruin this Original Sin Calamity and ruin Gu Qingfeng.