"Probably."
"Probably? That can't be right. The Yanyang Heart was taken during the Great Calamity, and that was a hundred years ago. Back then, you brat were probably still off having fun somewhere. Besides, almost no one in our world knows you're still alive, right?"
"That's hard to say. Nothing is absolute in this world; there's always a higher mountain."
"Even if that's true, how would the other party know the Yanyang Heart is part of your karma? And I remember you saying the Yanyang Heart is your first branch of karma. Aside from yourself, it's unlikely anyone else would know."
"That's exactly why I said there's always a higher mountain."
Gu Qingfeng lay there lazily, gazing at the blazing sun in the sky, and said, "At first, I also thought only I knew about my own karma. It wasn't until Yun Nishang appeared that I realized this matter was never simple from the start."
"How so?"
"Before the Great Calamity, there were already great powers who deduced their own karma and began making preparations, setting everything up. Take Yunxia Sect and Bingxuan Sect, for example—they were created by Yun Nishang for the sake of karma. In other words, from the very beginning, I was already caught in someone else's trap."
"Really?"
Huode curled his lips; this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.
"What's there to doubt? That's exactly how it is."
"Alright then! So, the person who took the Yanyang Heart also deduced the karma long ago? So they set a trap for you too?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
"What kind of trap? Could it be a threat against you?"
"I don't know."
"Let me tell you, Gu kid, why don't you just give up on seeking karma? You barely survived the heavens' judgment; can't you just live a peaceful, quiet life? What's the point of all this trouble? If you don't seek karma, the other party holding the Yanyang Heart can't do anything to you, right?"
Gu Qingfeng opened his eyes, glanced at Huode, shook his head, and smiled.
"What are you laughing at? Is what I said wrong?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
Gu Qingfeng poured himself a cup of wine, pondered for a moment, sighed, and said, "Old man, you're not me. There are many things you don't know and can't understand. Many things are already predestined in the unseen workings of fate..." Before he could finish, Huode burst into laughter, pointing at Gu Qingfeng and saying, "Did I hear you right? Since when did you start believing in fate? I remember you never believed in that stuff, always scoffing at it. Back when I believed in fate, you often mocked me..."
"Really?" Gu Qingfeng was taken aback, then smiled helplessly. "Maybe I've grown old too, starting to believe in fate..."
Fate? What is fate? He didn't know. At the very least, Gu Qingfeng had never known and never wanted to understand.
The reason he wanted to seek karma was too complex.
During his five hundred years of cultivation, he might not have realized it at the time, but now, upon careful reflection, many things were related to karma—Hongye, Jun Xuanji, and many others he encountered in the Heavenly Realm. Back then, because he was contending with the Three Thousand Great Daos, he had neither the time nor the energy to deal with them.
But this time, returning to his homeland, he was determined to get to the bottom of this karma matter. Especially after Yun Nishang's appearance, it only strengthened his resolve. If this was the so-called fate, Gu Qingfeng would accept it.
"But, Gu kid, speaking of which, who do you think took the Yanyang Heart? Could it still be that Yun Nishang?"
"No."
Gu Qingfeng denied it without hesitation. He was certain Yun Nishang's soul had already returned to Ouyang Ye; the person hiding in the Nine-Hua Alliance couldn't possibly be Yun Nishang.
"If it's not Yun Nishang, then who could it be?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Huode looked somewhat skeptical, tilting his head and staring straight at Gu Qingfeng. He chuckled, "You can't possibly not know, right? Others might not understand you, but I know exactly what kind of person you are. You've been clamoring to find the Yanyang Heart but have delayed taking action. There's only one possible reason for that: a woman."
"That's right! It must be a woman, and one you don't dare to face. Only that reason would make you hold back until now."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but feel surprised and stunned. He truly hadn't expected Huode to understand him so well.
Indeed.
Given Gu Qingfeng's temperament, if he wanted to find the Yanyang Heart, he would have turned the Nine-Hua Alliance upside down long ago. But he hadn't, and the reason was exactly as Huode said: he suspected the person who took the Yanyang Heart was the woman he least wanted to face.
"Well? Did I guess right?" Huode looked quite pleased with himself. He took a sip of wine, rubbed his chin, and chuckled, "Let me guess. Knowing your first branch of karma is the Yanyang Heart means this person understands you very well. And there are many women in this world who understand you. As for women you don't dare to face, there seem to be quite a few too."
"The Eldest Princess of the Immortal Dynasty, the Empress of the Imperial Dynasty, the First Great Sect Master, the Mistress of Shangshan Palace, the Enchanting Fox Demoness, the Elder of Youyue..." Huode rattled off many names, at least a dozen or two, each one a legendary woman from the ancient times of this world, every one a peerless beauty whose fame spanned five thousand years.
And it seemed Huode wasn't finished yet, continuing to list name after name. The more Gu Qingfeng listened, the more complicated his expression became. He cursed, "Get lost!"
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Since when have I not dared to see them?"
"Do you dare?"
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
"Why? Take the Eldest Princess of the Immortal Dynasty, for example. She was a perfectly fine Eldest Princess! You turned her into a resentful woman. When you were being judged by the Immortal Dao back then, she almost broke with the Immortal Dynasty to protect you. What a wonderful Eldest Princess! How deeply she admired you! And what did you do? After toying with her feelings, you wiped your ass and vanished from the world..."
"Then, before long, you hooked up with the Empress of the Imperial Dynasty. What a dignified woman she was, and you just... sigh! If you hooked up, fine, but you could have treated her well. Yet, after a while, you wiped your ass and disappeared again... She gave up her imperial throne just to find you... That was a great imperial dynasty! She searched the world for you, and you just wouldn't show yourself..."
"A few years later, you somehow hooked up with the First Great Sect Master. What an aloof and formidable woman she used to be—even the Immortals of the Immortal Dynasty didn't dare to breathe heavily in her presence. And then? In the end, to find you... she stormed the Heavenly Realm three times, ascending and descending..."
"And the Mistress of Shangshan Palace... and the Elder of Youyue..."