Thousand Leaves Immortal King knew.
If Gu Qingfeng was the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, then his Letting Go of Oneself would mean one less great threat for the Great Dao and one less powerful competitor for Original Sin.
She just couldn't understand: if Gu Qingfeng was not the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, why would the disadvantages of his Letting Go of Oneself outweigh the advantages?
Since he wasn't the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, Gu Qingfeng's Letting Go of Oneself shouldn't have much impact on either the Great Dao or Original Sin, right?
Changfeng Great Emperor explained.
The current issue wasn't whether Gu Qingfeng was or wasn't the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, but that Gu Qingfeng's very existence was influencing this Original Sin Cataclysm.
Even if he wasn't the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, he would still influence this Original Sin Cataclysm.
However, no one knew how he would influence it.
Perhaps Gu Qingfeng would strive to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, or perhaps he would go and slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin.
All of this was unknown.
Thousand Leaves Immortal King grew more confused the more she listened. "I still don't understand. If the Nine Nethers Emperor is not the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, and if he doesn't Let Go of Himself, he might strive to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, or he might slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin. If that's the case, why would anyone want to stop him from Letting Go of Himself?
Wouldn't it be better to let him Let Go of Himself?
Why take such a risk?"
"Silly girl," Changfeng Great Emperor said. "Do you think allowing the Nine Nethers Emperor to Let Go of Himself isn't also a kind of risk?
If the Nine Nethers Emperor truly is the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, his Letting Go of Himself now might just end this Original Sin Cataclysm."
"That's true for Original Sin. But for the Great Dao, the Nine Nethers Emperor might be its only hope for slaughtering the True Lord of Original Sin. If he Lets Go of Himself, he might also be letting go of the Great Dao's hope."
"This..." Thousand Leaves Immortal King paled in shock, shaking her head. "It shouldn't be like that, right? The Nine Nethers Emperor isn't the only Original Sin Anomaly. Even if he really is the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, other Original Sin Anomalies might also defy heaven and change fate to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin."
Frowning deeply, Thousand Leaves Immortal King continued, "And you said the Nine Nethers Emperor might be the only hope for slaughtering the True Lord of Original Sin... this... this is even more impossible."
"Nothing is impossible," Changfeng Great Emperor stated. "The Nine Nethers Emperor is the greatest variable. His every action, his every thought and intention, influences this Original Sin Cataclysm."
"I've said this Original Sin Cataclysm is a bewildering game, a puzzle whose answer no one knows. Precisely because of this, most choose to watch and wait within this game. But a small minority will not. They will stir up this already unknowable game, making it even more chaotic. Moreover, such beings are not few. Once one steps forward, others will surely swarm in."
Thousand Leaves Immortal King was left speechless, unsure what to say.
From the moment she entered the Primordial Chaos Black Hole until now, the feeling in Thousand Leaves Immortal King's heart had grown stronger and stronger. She felt herself to be incredibly insignificant, so insignificant as to be utterly negligible in this Original Sin Cataclysm, so insignificant she didn't even qualify to be a chess piece.
She looked towards Gu Qingfeng, who was still in the process of Letting Go of Himself, and asked doubtfully, "Do you think... can the Nine Nethers Emperor truly Let Go of Himself?"
Changfeng Great Emperor's gaze had been fixed on Gu Qingfeng from the start. Hearing Thousand Leaves Immortal King's voice, he shook his head, indicating he did not know.
Thousand Leaves Immortal King had never Let Go of Herself. Changfeng Great Emperor had never Let Go of Himself either.
And both knew that neither Thousand Leaves Immortal King nor Changfeng Great Emperor could Let Go of Themselves.
First, they did not wish to.
Second, even if they wished to, they lacked the capability.
Letting Go of Oneself was easy to say, but truly doing it was far, far more difficult than ascending to heaven.
Throughout all of history, those who could truly Let Go of Themselves were few and far between.
This was not something one could simply decide to do.
Letting Go of Oneself had nothing to do with talent or cultivation level, but rather with state of mind and willpower.
No matter how great your talent or how high your cultivation, if your heart held attachments, you could not Let Go of Yourself.
In other words.
The primary condition for Letting Go of Oneself was a heart free of attachments, an emptiness of the four elements.
In all of heaven and earth, past and present, how many could achieve a heart free of attachments?
In all of heaven and earth, past and present, how many could achieve emptiness of the four elements?
However.
A heart free of attachments and emptiness of the four elements were merely the qualifications for Letting Go of Oneself. This meant that even achieving these did not guarantee one could Let Go of Oneself.
Gu Qingfeng was a case in point.
Changfeng Great Emperor believed that since Gu Qingfeng had decided to Let Go of Himself, his heart must already be free of any attachments, and his state of mind must certainly be one of emptiness of the four elements.
Unfortunately.
Although Gu Qingfeng's heart held no attachments, his body harbored apprehensions. The Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three Great Overlords—the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura, the Heaven-Devouring, Earth-Eating Blood Taotie, and the entity from 'From Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs'—and the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of his ancient clansmen were all attachments upon his person.
Changfeng Great Emperor had been observing the changes in Gu Qingfeng.
He could see that Gu Qingfeng's attempt to Let Go of Himself was not going ideally; it was fraught with difficulties.
According to common sense, letting go of the nine Forbidden Great Daos should be much easier than letting go of the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three Great Overlords. It was no exaggeration to say that if Gu Qingfeng was willing, letting go of the nine Forbidden Great Daos would require but a single thought. At least, that's what Changfeng Great Emperor believed.
The Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three Great Overlords contained their powerful wills from life, and might even have nurtured self-awareness. Moreover, these Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts had long since fused with Gu Qingfeng. Letting them go would be far more difficult than imagined.
The nine Forbidden Great Daos were different.
These Forbidden Great Daos were comprehended by Gu Qingfeng himself. They held no will, no spirit, and could not possibly have nurtured self-awareness.
They couldn't even be called attachments.
Furthermore, based on Changfeng Great Emperor's observations, at the beginning, Gu Qingfeng had almost succeeded in letting go of the nine Forbidden Great Daos. Not only that, but even the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three Great Overlords were only tenuously connected to him, like lotus roots severed but fibers still joining. At that time, if Gu Qingfeng had severed his mental and spiritual connections with the nine Forbidden Great Daos and the three Great Overlords, he would certainly have been able to let them go.
Unfortunately.
When Gu Qingfeng began to let go of the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of his ancient clansmen, for some reason, the three Great Overlords seemed to awaken, not only manifesting avatars but also causing the nine Forbidden Great Daos to go berserk.
Unable to probe Gu Qingfeng's existence, Changfeng Great Emperor didn't know the specifics. He surmised it must be related to the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the ancient clansmen.
In his view, the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the ancient clansmen must have seized control of Gu Qingfeng's mind and spirit, preventing him from severing his mental and spiritual connections with both the nine Forbidden Great Daos and the three Great Overlords.
Even though the mental and spiritual connection between the nine Forbidden Great Daos and Gu Qingfeng was now as thin as a cicada's wing.
Even though the mental and spiritual connection between the three Great Overlords and Gu Qingfeng was only tenuous, like severed lotus fibers.
As long as Gu Qingfeng could not reclaim his mind and spirit from the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of his ancient clansmen, it would be difficult for him to sever those connections.