In the void, above the clouds.
Here, winds rose and clouds surged, thunder rumbled.
The wind was a fierce gale, powerful, terrifying, a gale that seemed capable of tearing everything apart.
The clouds were dark clouds, ethereal, indistinct, dark clouds that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
The thunder was the might of heaven, a power from the firmament, from the very sky, as if proclaiming to billions of living beings, to all mortal creatures, the hegemony of the Heavenly Dao.
This was a forbidden zone.
A forbidden zone of heaven.
A forbidden zone that cultivators, even immortals and demons, dared not casually approach.
However.
At this very moment, two people appeared here, or more precisely, two silhouettes.
No matter how powerful the fierce gales here.
No matter how terrifying the dark clouds here.
No matter how vast the might of heaven, none seemed able to affect these two abruptly appearing silhouettes.
One was an ethereal, blurred silhouette.
The other was a black-and-white interlaced silhouette, like a patch of chaotic nothingness.
"Long time no see."
The black-white interlaced silhouette spoke.
"Heh heh."
The ethereal blurred silhouette chuckled and asked, "You... knew I would definitely come, didn't you?
That's why you never made a move."
"She is your junior sister. It's better for you to step in."
"Hua'er's current identity is more than just my junior sister."
The ethereal blurred silhouette said, "If she truly gets pulled in, you should know how severe the consequences would be."
"Since that's the case, why didn't you explain it clearly to her?"
"You think I didn't want to?"
"Are you... also afraid?"
"Aren't you afraid?"
After a silence, the black-white interlaced silhouette asked, "Is there really no way to stop your junior sister from seeking Karma?"
"There is."
"What way?"
"Kill him."
The black-white interlaced silhouette seemed not to have expected such an answer. It let out a scoffing laugh and said, "Why don't you kill him."
"We can't kill him."
"And you think we can kill him?"
"You won't know until you try."
"Why don't you try?"
"We don't dare."
"Nonsense! You don't dare, and you think we dare?"
Another stretch of silence.
The black-white interlaced silhouette spoke again, "One of his feet has already stepped into the Karmic Black Hole, and furthermore...
All signs indicate his existence might have some connection to the Karmic Black Hole. Your junior sister is a person destined for calamity, moreover a person of True Mandate. Her existence is extremely special, of great importance, and she carries the life and death of various Great Daos on her shoulders. She absolutely cannot be allowed to fall into this Karmic Black Hole as well."
"Do you have any ideas?"
"Him... we cannot stop, nor dare to stop. We can only target your junior sister. Is there really no way to make your junior sister give up on Karma?"
"My junior sister is stubborn. This is the obsession in her heart, an obsession she has had since childhood. She will not give up, nor could she ever give up."
"In other words, your junior sister is also destined to follow him into the Karmic Black Hole, correct?"
"It was predestined long ago. Why ask again?"
"Since it was predestined long ago, why didn't you just tell her directly earlier that the one surnamed Gu is her Karma?"
"That is my junior sister's Karma, not mine. I don't want to interfere. Moreover..." The ethereal blurred silhouette paused, then continued, "This world has so many Gu Tianlangs, both real and fake. Even if I said it, my junior sister might not believe me. It would probably make things worse. Rather than that, it's better to let nature take its course."
"Do you know who all those indistinguishable real and fake Gu Tianlangs are?"
"Aren't they your people?"
"You misunderstand. They are not our people."
"If they're not your people, then who are they?"
"Heaven knows."
"I'm afraid even Heaven doesn't know."
"Whether Heaven knows or not, I'm unclear. But I know those people must also have Karma with the one surnamed Gu."
"It's getting more and more chaotic...
This Karmic puzzle is also being played on an increasingly grand scale...
So grand that no one can predict what the outcome will be."
The conversation between the two fell into silence once more.
After another moment.
The ethereal blurred figure said, "The Nine Heavens seem to have forgotten the pain once the scar healed."
"You're wrong. The Nine Heavens' scar hasn't even healed yet, and they've already forgotten the pain."
"The Nine Heavens should know he's still alive, right?"
"Of course they know."
"Since they know, why are they stirring up so much trouble?"
"The existence of Crimson-Letter Manor is a threat to the Immortal Dynasty of this world. Hasn't the existence of the one surnamed Gu always been a threat to the Nine Heavens?
Rather than saying the Immortal Dynasty is testing Crimson-Letter Manor's stance, it's more accurate to say the Nine Heavens want to test his stance."
"Testing again...
Wasn't the result of the testing before the Great Calamity tragic enough?"
"You know, the Nine Heavens have always been this arrogant. Besides, his existence threatens more than just the Nine Heavens. Those who want him dead are not limited to the Nine Heavens. Since learning he's still alive, which of the Three Thousand Great Daos doesn't want him dead?"
"If he died that easily, he would have died during the Great Calamity...
However...
To say all Three Thousand Great Daos want him dead is a bit of an exaggeration. Although he has conflicts with many Daos, they are just conflicts...
Moreover, the Three Thousand Great Daos themselves don't get along with each other either. Some Daos might wish for his death, but more probably want to win him over."
"Win him over?
Perhaps in the past, but as for now... heh heh...
Now the Three Thousand Great Daos can't even sleep at night..."
"How so?"
"If you knew what kind of Golden Core he condensed, you wouldn't be able to sleep either."
"What Golden Core?"
The ethereal blurred figure sounded puzzled.
"Didn't your Eldest Senior Sister tell you?"
"No."
"Then I'll tell you. He achieved a Taiji Golden Core that bears the True Mandate."
"A Taiji Golden Core?"
The ethereal blurred figure uttered a sound of surprise, but it was just surprise, without much shock. It said, "It's nothing more than a Taiji Golden Core. Whether it can bear the True Mandate is another matter entirely, let alone the Human King. Leaving aside the Three Thousand Great Daos, Heaven alone will not, and absolutely will not allow him to bear the True Mandate. Not only will it not allow it, it will seize this opportunity to suppress him."
"Heaven indeed intended to do just that. Not just Heaven, but the various Great Daos also planned to do so. But in the end, they all gave up. No one dared to suppress him."
"Why?"
"Why?"
The black-white interlaced figure chuckled, a strange laugh. "Because what he condensed was not one Taiji Golden Core."
"Then how many?"
"Infinite, like the stars in the sky."
Hearing this, the ethereal blurred figure was greatly shocked and exclaimed, "What did you say!
He...
He really condensed infinite Taiji Golden Cores?
Good heavens!
He...
How did he do it?
He...
What does he want to do?"
"How he did it, I don't know. But what he wants to do, I can perhaps guess a little."
The black-white interlaced figure murmured, "That guy has always been an extreme, runaway person. He either doesn't do something, or he does it thoroughly. Since the Three Thousand Great Daos consider him a threat, he might as well go all the way and thoroughly threaten the Three Thousand Great Daos."