Boom! Crash!
Dark clouds gathered, bringing a violent storm.
Then, spring returned to the earth, and all things came to life.
Next, the sun shone brightly, followed by autumn winds and falling leaves, and immediately after, heavy snow began to swirl.
In this space, Gu Qingfeng stood still, his expression one of astonishment as he squinted, watching everything happening around him.
This was no longer a mere spiritual change of the Great Natural Order.
It was an anomaly in the Great Natural Order's Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.
And the one causing this anomaly was Ouyang Ye.
The little girl also woke up at this moment. Clearly, she too sensed this change and was quite frightened by the scene brought about by the anomaly of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. She asked in shock and doubt, "What... what happened?"
"That's a good question..." Gu Qingfeng stared at Ouyang Ye, his mind sinking into deep thought. He didn't understand what exactly the mark on the little girl's body was, or how it could cause such an anomaly in the Great Natural Order's Yin, Yang, and Five Elements.
"Girl, do you know what the mark on your body is?"
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's voice, Ouyang Ye looked down and only then realized the clothes on her chest were gone. Instantly, she felt both shame and anger, her fury blazing to the skies. Subconsciously covering herself with both hands, she glared at him with furious eyes, wishing she could tear this fellow before her into a thousand pieces. She roared, "Gu Qingfeng, you shameless bastard! Have you no face at all?! This lady kindly took you in before, and not only did you repay kindness with enmity, now you... you... you filthy rogue!"
After her furious roar, Ouyang Ye hurriedly ran inside the house.
Seeing this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to chase after her. With a leap, he vanished in a flash.
All along the way, he pondered the mark on Ouyang Ye's body. Yet, no matter how much he thought, he couldn't figure it out. In this lifetime, he had dealt with the Immortal Dao, the Demonic Dao, even the Heavenly Dao, but he had never had much interaction with the Great Natural Order and didn't understand it too deeply.
If this thing had appeared on someone else, Gu Qingfeng wouldn't have been so puzzled.
After all, the Great Calamity had just passed, the essence of Heaven and Earth was reborn, and the Three Thousand Great Daos were all re-deriving.
The Heavenly Dao and the Immortal Dao would bestow great fortunes, selecting those with destined opportunities, and the Natural Order was no exception.
But this thing had just happened to appear on Ouyang Ye, and moreover, it appeared after Yun Nishang buried her soul within the little girl's bloodline. This forced him into deep contemplation.
Could it be that Yun Nishang also had some connection to the Great Natural Order?
Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng remembered the Great Natural Order forcibly stuffing a Great Natural Seed into him.
Thinking of this, his heart couldn't help but lurch. He thought to himself: Could it be that the karma between me and Yun Nishang also involves the Great Natural Order?
He didn't know, and couldn't figure it out.
He hoped it was just a coincidence. Otherwise, this karma business would be far too damn complicated.
Shaking his head, Gu Qingfeng shut out distracting thoughts, pressed his palms together, and murmured, "I do not refuse causes that come, I do not retain effects that leave. I follow the natural course, let things take their own flow, seek no attainment, act naturally... Act without action, follow my heart's desire. I seek my own freedom, what can Heaven do to me..."
In the sky, Gu Qingfeng stepped on the void, moving with the wind. With one step, he contracted the earth to an inch, covering ninety-nine thousand meters in an instant. Suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air before him.
It was a turbid, indistinct figure, seeming both light and dark, ethereal and blurry, like clouds, like mist, even like flames. One could faintly make out the silhouette of a woman.
"You're quite idle, aren't you."
The newcomer was none other than the person from the Original Sin Edict from before.
Original Sin was the most ancient, most mysterious existence between Heaven and Earth, bar none.
Its antiquity could be traced back to the most primitive era when Heaven and Earth first opened. Its mystery was such that even the masters of the Three Thousand Great Daos gave it a wide berth. Legend had it that this thing was like a plague; within Heaven and Earth, no one was unafraid of it. Whoever it sought out was doomed.
From the Primordial Era, the Ancient Era, to the Archaic Era, without exception, this was the case. Original Sin rarely appeared, but once it did, it meant someone was about to be unlucky.
So the legends said.
As for whether it was true or false, no one knew.
Gu Qingfeng didn't care either. Even if it were true, so what? He was already covered in troubles and sins; was he afraid of adding one more Original Sin?
"Last time, because of the Bingxuan Sect matter, you managed to run away. You've got quite the nerve, coming to deliver yourself to my doorstep today."
Gu Qingfeng stood in the void, hands clasped behind his back. His robes flapped sharply in the fierce wind, his black hair dancing wildly across his handsome face. A cold smile played on his lips, his dark eyes holding a contemptuous gaze brimming with rolling killing intent.
"I am not your enemy. I never have been from the start."
The voice of the Original Sin Edict was light, devoid of emotional color. "You should be able to sense that I am not targeting Yun Nishang, much less you. I bear no ill will."
"Then why have you been putting on airs, acting mysteriously, and wandering around in front of me all this time!"
Across from him, the person from the Original Sin Edict gazed at Gu Qingfeng, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Could you... give me that painting of Nirvana and Self-Forgetfulness in your hand..."
Before the words were finished, Gu Qingfeng directly cut him off.
"No!"
"That painting will bring you..."
"Cut the crap!" Gu Qingfeng said displeased. "What that painting will bring me, I don't know, and I can't be bothered to know. But that's my business. What does it have to do with you Original Sin?"
"You..." Through the ethereal radiance, the woman hidden within seemed both angry and helpless. She took a deep breath and said, "Fine, you can keep that painting. But... could you please stop probing into karma..."
"Heh..." Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng laughed, a very amused laugh. "How novel. Since when does Original Sin meddle in matters of karma? Are you all so bored you have nothing better to do? You're overreaching a bit, aren't you?"
"Original Sin never interferes in the affairs of Heaven and Earth. Whether it's the laws of the Great Dao or the origins of karma, they have nothing to do with us. But..." The Original Sin Edict's tone shifted. "But... this particular karmic black hole of yours is too complex... It has already dragged many existences into it. Our Original Sin is one of them. You are too..."
It involves Original Sin?
Gu Qingfeng was somewhat puzzled. "This karmic black hole of ours?"
Karmic black hole? This was the first time Gu Qingfeng had heard of such a thing.
"Yes, a karmic black hole, also known as a Karmic Maelstrom."
Hearing 'Karmic Maelstrom,' Gu Qingfeng's expression gradually turned grave. He might not have heard of a karmic black hole, but he had some knowledge of Karmic Maelstroms. In his memory, this thing was a taboo, a taboo of Heaven and Earth.
It was said that when karma re-derives, one or several strands of tangled, interwoven karma would appear. These chaotic karmic threads intertwine, becoming more tangled the more they cross, more chaotic the more they tangle, eventually forming one or several Karmic Maelstroms.
Karma is both a Great Dao and a law, while simultaneously encompassing the laws of the Great Dao. Therefore, those masters of the Great Dao are also within karma. In other words, they too might be dragged into a Karmic Maelstrom.
This is precisely why this thing is called a taboo.
Once a master of a Great Dao is dragged into a Karmic Maelstrom, what kind of terrifying consequences it might trigger is unimaginable to anyone.