"Among all the Wu Dao variables, he might not be the most mysterious or bizarre, nor the most powerful or terrifying, but he is definitely the craziest and most unique. So crazy and unique that I'm even starting to admire him a little."
"Female Benefactor, do you know you are playing with fire?"
"Playing with fire? Perhaps. But aren't you doing the same?"
"Amitabha."
The old monk chanted a Buddhist phrase, his tone growing even more helpless.
"I never understood before why, among all the Wu Dao variables, you specifically chose him. But now... I think I'm starting to get it."
"Female Benefactor, you are overthinking."
"Overthinking? Hehehe... Whether I'm overthinking or not, time will tell. Even though he doesn't seem conspicuous among the many Wu Dao variables, I have faith in him. I trust your judgment, and I trust my own even more."
"Female Benefactor, if you are seeking a true inheritor of Wu Dao, this old monk advises you to give up. He is not the one."
"Who told you I'm seeking a true inheritor of Wu Dao?"
"If that is the case, why does the Female Benefactor pay such close attention to Venerable Gu?"
"Can't I say I admire him? I've even started to admire him to the point where I can't help but want to have some kind of... interaction with him. Hmm, what do you think would happen if I were to form a Karma with him?"
"A! Mi! Tuo! Fo!"
The old monk enunciated each word with extreme seriousness and gravity.
"Hehehehe..." The mysterious Female Benefactor let out an amused laugh. "I'm just joking, don't worry. The Karma of Wu Dao variables is all cursed, and it's the very source of the curse. I have no desire to provoke it, nor to fall into a Karmic Black Hole, much less sink into the endless Sea of Bitterness."
"Female Benefactor, from the moment you appeared here, the cause was already destined... Where there is a cause, there will inevitably be an effect. You keep saying you don't want to provoke it, but you are already doing so. The Karma is already cursed. Falling into a Karmic Black Hole and the Sea of Bitterness is merely a matter of time."
"Is that so? Aren't you in the same boat? If you're not afraid, why should I be?"
"This old monk is different from the Female Benefactor."
"Oh? How so?"
The old monk did not respond to this question, merely saying, "Female Benefactor, this old monk advises you to leave. Leave before you commit a grave mistake. Do not play with fire and burn yourself. Do not think that because you believe you see through Venerable Gu, you can do as you please. You do not see through him. This old monk does not see through him. I'm afraid even he himself does not see through himself."
"See through? No! Old monk, you misunderstand. I never said I see through him. He is a man of temperament through and through, a man who acts entirely on his whims. He can rage against the Nine Heavens for a beauty's sake, or oppose the Three Thousand Great Daos for a single promise. To threaten the myriad Daos, he can even gestate an endless body of Taiji Golden Cores... and the purpose of threatening the myriad Daos? Simply because he couldn't be bothered to deal with the trouble anymore... Who can see through such a man? Who dares claim they see through him?"
"Since that is the case, why does the Female Benefactor still insist on provoking Venerable Gu?"
"Hehehe... Isn't that precisely his charm? He is a mundane person, the most mundane, utterly mundane person I have ever met, mundane to the point of being unbearable. And as luck would have it, this Phoenix happens to like such a mundane man."
The conversation between the two was known only to the old monk and the mysterious Female Benefactor.
No one else was aware.
Including Gu Qingfeng. Although he wore the Silent Bones Jade, had long since refined it, and even fused with it, that was all. The Silent Bones Jade did not belong to him. At the very least, the Nirvana Silence world inside the Silent Bones Jade did not belong to him. If it were otherwise, he wouldn't need to project his divine sense every time he entered.
Moreover, Gu Qingfeng currently had no mind to ponder the Silent Bones Jade.
He still stood on a desolate mountain peak, pulling out another jug of Peach Blossom Wine and taking occasional sips. Just moments ago, he had sensed a powerful divine sense fixed upon him.
That divine sense was as vast and boundless as an endless sea, unfathomably deep, comparable to those old monsters hidden within this world who had been drawn when he condensed his Taiji Golden Cores. As it watched him, Gu Qingfeng could clearly feel its fury—a fury as if it had seen its father's murderer.
Who could it be?
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully. Since awakening in this world, he had never provoked these old monsters hiding in the depths of the world, had he?
Just as he was puzzled, suddenly, an overwhelming aura arrived in an instant.
Gu Qingfeng looked up. Good heavens!
A gigantic palm, accompanied by a powerful, suffocating pressure, was descending upon him!
"What a Grand Void Seizing Hand!"
The Grand Void Seizing Hand was not an especially profound or formidable divine ability, but the one unleashed at this moment truly opened Gu Qingfeng's eyes.
Boom!
The Grand Void Seizing Hand descended with terrifying force. Standing atop the desolate mountain peak, Gu Qingfeng merely raised a hand, blocking the attack with a single palm. He tilted his head back for a swig of wine and laughed, "But if you want to seize me, you're still a bit short."
As his words fell, Gu Qingfeng clenched his five fingers. With a deafening roar, the opponent's Grand Void Seizing Hand instantly shattered and dispersed.
"It is impolite not to return a favor. Let me show you my Grand Void Seizing Hand!"
Gu Qingfeng slowly raised his right arm. In his palm swirled the sinister, violent, and ever-regenerating chaotic radiance of Yin and Yang. His five fingers moved, conjuring thousands of magical seals. With a push of his palm into the Void—whoosh!
A massive Grand Void Seizing Hand shot forth instantly, like a primordial beast from hell or a falling heaven, blotting out the sky and leaving nowhere to hide or escape.
Simultaneously, Gu Qingfeng flashed forward along with the Grand Void Seizing Hand.
He immediately saw the one who had attacked him—an old man.
An old man with grayish-white hair and beard, dressed in ancient Daoist robes. The old man seemed to have been flying in this direction when he suddenly spotted the enormous Void Seizing Hand. His expression changed drastically, and he blurted out, "Damn it! What the hell is this? A Grand Void Seizing Hand?"
As he spoke, Gu Qingfeng's Grand Void Seizing Hand arrived. Brilliant light flashed around the old man. As he raised his arms, the radiance around him surged forth like a tidal wave!
Boom! Crunch!
The old man grunted, then cursed loudly, "Damn it! What a perverse Grand Void Seizing Hand! Could it be that some peerless, world-shaking prodigy has emerged in the Great Northwest during the short time I was away?"
The essence of the so-called Grand Void Seizing Hand lay not in suppression, but in seizing.
Failing to shake off Gu Qingfeng's Grand Void Seizing Hand, the old man was seized on the spot, unable to move a muscle.
"You little brat, have you grown a spirit? Knowing a few basics, you dare dream of seizing this old man? Four Directions Heaven-Splitting Motion, break for me!"