Just as Qianye Immortal King was indignantly lamenting, the long-silent Changfeng Great Emperor suddenly spoke: "Qianye, you're thinking of this Calamity too simply, and furthermore...
The Heavenly Dao, the Sage Path, including the Sage Path, they aren't as selfish as you imagine..."
"What?
They aren't selfish enough?"
Qianye Immortal King wondered if she had misheard, retorting: "This Calamity concerns the very survival of the Great Dao, yet they still scheme against each other. If that isn't called selfish, then what is?
If they aren't selfish, then there is no such thing as selfishness in all of Heaven and Earth, past or present! And another thing!
I'm not a fool, how could I possibly think of this Calamity so simply?"
"Facing this Calamity filled with unknown variables, they are destined to be unable to join hands and advance together, let alone unite to protect the Great Dao. This has little to do with whether they are selfish or not."
Changfeng Great Emperor's voice came through. Qianye Immortal King didn't quite understand and asked why.
"In this Calamity filled with unknown variables, they are all lost, all hesitant. No one knows how to protect the Great Dao, nor how to stop this Calamity. Even for the Great Dao itself, they don't know which choice is right and which is wrong. In other words, they simply don't know where the path forward lies. How can you ask them to join hands and advance together?
They also don't know what to do to protect the Great Dao. How can you ask them to unite and protect it?"
Upon hearing this.
Qianye Immortal King opened her mouth, wanting to speak but stopping herself. Although she didn't want to, she had to admit that Changfeng Great Emperor's words made considerable sense, at least enough that she couldn't refute them.
"I once told you, this Calamity is like a mountain beyond mountains, a game within a game, a heaven beyond heavens."
"Endless mountains beyond mountains, boundless games within games, limitless heavens beyond heavens."
"You think you stand atop a mountain peak, but beyond that peak lies another peak. You think you've seen through the maze, but within that maze lies another maze. You think you've leaped out of Heaven and Earth, but beyond Heaven and Earth lies another Heaven and Earth."
"As we all sink deeper into this Calamity, each of us gains different insights into this Great Dao, into this Original Sin, and even into this Calamity itself. Different insights lead to different perspectives."
"The Immortal Dao has the insights and perspective of the Immortal Dao. The Heavenly Dao and the Sage Path each have their own different insights, so naturally their perspectives differ. The broader the perspective, the more thoroughly one sees this Calamity."
"If even their perspectives are different, how can they join hands and advance together?
How can they unite to protect it?"
"In the end, it's still a matter of trust."
Qianye Immortal King said with a furrowed brow: "Why not just let whoever has the broadest perspective take the lead?"
"You're being too naive. Whose perspective is broad? Whose is narrow? How do you determine it?
Tell a mortal who has lived their entire life in the mundane world that beyond the world lies a celestial domain—would they believe it?
Tell an immortal or demon who has wandered the Great Wilderness their whole life that beyond the Great Wilderness lies a heaven beyond heavens—would they believe it?
Tell a cultivator who has spent their life pursuing the Great Dao that beyond the Great Dao lies the Ancient Clan—would they believe it?"
"If, before you experienced this Calamity, someone told you that this Calamity has nothing to do with the survival of the Great Dao, would you have believed it?"
Faced with Changfeng Great Emperor's rapid-fire questions, Qianye Immortal King was momentarily stunned, utterly at a loss for how to respond.
If, before Qianye Immortal King had experienced this Calamity, someone had truly told her that this Calamity had nothing to do with the survival of the Great Dao, she would never have believed it.
Not to mention before that; even after experiencing this Calamity, although Qianye Immortal King had some doubts about whether this Calamity truly concerned the survival of the Great Dao, they were merely doubts. She still believed this Calamity concerned the survival of the Great Dao.
"This isn't a matter of trust or lack thereof either."
Changfeng Great Emperor shook his head and said: "If the Immortal Dao trusted the Sage Path and the Heavenly Dao, whether the Great Dao could be protected, I don't know, but the Immortal Dao would definitely perish. Similarly, if the Sage Path and Heavenly Dao trusted the Immortal Dao, the Sage Path and Heavenly Dao probably wouldn't fare well either."
"Throughout all of Heaven and Earth, past and present, there has never been absolute trust."
Changfeng Great Emperor said: "The ancestors of Changsheng Pavilion all trust Floating Life Imperial Lord, right?
Those ancestors watched Floating Life Imperial Lord grow up; among them are even Floating Life Imperial Lord's martial uncles, grand-uncles, and even his master. And yet, what happened? In the end, didn't they still choose to stand up and support Old Tai?
It's not that they don't trust Floating Life Imperial Lord; on the contrary, they trust him very much. It's just that their perspective differs from Floating Life Imperial Lord's. From their perspective, they can only believe that for the Great Dao, suppressing the Spiritual Awareness and Demonic Thoughts on You Di's body is the correct choice. But as for what Floating Life Imperial Lord says, they simply cannot comprehend it, nor do they know whether what he says is right or wrong, let alone the meaning within his words."
"Changfeng, aren't your words a bit too... that...
What do you mean 'throughout all of Heaven and Earth, past and present, there has never been absolute trust'?
I absolutely trust you!"
Changfeng Great Emperor gave Qianye Immortal King a meaningful look and said: "You trust me?"
"Of course!
What?
Don't I trust you?"
"I don't think so."
Qianye Immortal King never expected Changfeng Great Emperor to say such a thing. She said angrily: "When have I ever not trusted you?"
"If you trusted me, earlier when Old Tai questioned me, you wouldn't have advised me to pretend to support him. If you trusted me, when I told you this Calamity has nothing to do with the survival of the Great Dao, you wouldn't have raised doubts."
"I...
I..." Qianye Immortal King was left speechless. In her urgency, she defended herself: "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just...
It's just that I simply cannot understand your actions, and I don't know what you're thinking in your heart..." As she spoke, Qianye Immortal King seemed to realize something and glared fiercely at Changfeng Great Emperor. "Well, you!
So you're actually mocking me for not having as broad a perspective as you, is that it!"
"That's not what I meant."
"That's exactly what you meant!"
Changfeng Great Emperor smiled wryly in speechless exasperation. He truly hadn't meant to mock Qianye Immortal King for having a narrow perspective. However, he couldn't be bothered to explain further. Noticing that Qianye Immortal King seemed very hung up on this issue, Changfeng Great Emperor immediately put on a serious expression and asked: "Qianye, do you really trust me?"
"I trusted you very much originally, but now... hmph!"
"I'm not joking. I'm asking you very seriously."
Seeing Changfeng Great Emperor's earnest expression, Qianye Immortal King nodded heavily and said: "Of course I trust you. In all of Heaven and Earth, you're the only one I trust."
"Good!
Since you trust me, then promise me one thing, alright?"
"What matter is so serious?"
"No matter what happens later, don't ask, don't speak, and don't leave this place."
"What's going to happen later?"
Qianye Immortal King glanced at the Original Sin ancestors watching like tigers eyeing their prey, then at the gathered Great Dao ancestors. "Are you saying they're preparing to take action against the Spiritual Awareness and Demonic Thoughts on You Di's body?"
Seeing Changfeng Great Emperor nod, Qianye Immortal King asked, puzzled: "I never intended to intervene in the first place."
Suddenly, she realized something was off and asked: "Are you going to take action?"
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps?
What do you mean?
Didn't you not support Old Tai?
Since you don't support him, why would you take action?
Wait!
You couldn't be...
You couldn't be planning to take action to stop Old Tai and the others, could you?"