Holy crap!
A Heavenly Destiny had actually appeared in the Great Northwest!
And right in the Four Directions Great Domain.
"Damn it all, scared the hell out of me!"
Taohua Old Daoist took a fierce swig of wine to steady his nerves.
When the Northwest lands had violently trembled just moments ago, his heart had trembled along with it, nearly leaping right out of his throat. He had thought this Heavenly Destiny had emerged from Canyang Mountain. Thankfully, it wasn't. Only then did his hanging heart gradually settle.
"Old Daoist, you look quite worried," Gu Qingfeng said with a faint smile. "What's the matter? Worried a Heavenly Destiny might suddenly pop out of Canyang Mountain?"
Taohua Old Daoist hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to see through his thoughts. He curled his lip, unconvinced. "So what if I am? Don't tell me you're not worried at all?"
"Why should I be worried?"
"Tsk tsk." Taohua Old Daoist sneered. "You make it sound so easy. I don't believe for a second you're not worried at all."
He snorted coldly and continued, "The Life Vein that Canyang Mountain guards is connected to the Wu Dao Age. If a Heavenly Destiny really did emerge from Canyang Mountain, it would mean the legend is true: 'The eternal calamity births heaven and earth, three cycles of reincarnation reveal eternity, past and present meet through Karma, whose fate is whose depends on heaven.'"
Taohua Old Daoist glared at Gu Qingfeng, his eyes wide, and said in a grave tone, "In other words, the Wu Dao Age, vanished for countless eons, would reappear in the world. At the same time, past lives and present lives would meet for the first time in history. You, kid, are a person of the Life Vein. Your Karma is inevitably tied to the Wu Dao Age. Aren't you worried?"
"What's there to worry about?" Gu Qingfeng shrugged, responding indifferently. "If possible, I'd actually like to see what kind of character my past life was."
"Damn it all! If you really meet your past life, it'll be a catastrophe! Not just for you, but for everything!"
"Tell me then, how exactly would it be a catastrophe?"
"I don't know the specifics. I only heard the Empress mention it seems related to the Karma Black Hole. Anyway, it's terrifying... everything would fall into chaos."
"Let it fall into chaos then. What's it to me?"
"You... you really are... people say spectators love a good show, but you're right in the middle of it and still don't mind the chaos! And..." Taohua Old Daoist took a deep breath, speaking very seriously and solemnly, "Kid Gu, do you know why everyone fears the Karma Black Hole?"
Without waiting for Gu Qingfeng's response, Taohua Old Daoist continued, "I heard the Empress say, if that thing really erupts, it would cause everything to lose its way... Just think, if all living things, everything in existence, lost their way, what a damn terrifying scene that would be..."
A Karma Black Hole would cause all living things to lose their way?
Was it really that sinister?
He didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to ponder the question. He never troubled himself over uncertain things.
"Old Daoist..." Gu Qingfeng looked up at the sky filled with strange celestial phenomena and asked, "Tell me... if a Heavenly Destiny really did appear at Canyang Mountain, would the Heavens and the Three Thousand Great Daos intervene to stop it?"
"A Heavenly Destiny is a Heavenly Destiny, a fate bestowed by heaven, a divine decree. It's destined. No one can stop it, not even the Three Thousand Great Daos or the Heavens themselves. However..." Taohua Old Daoist pondered for a moment. "However, I suspect that while the Three Thousand Great Daos couldn't stop it, they would certainly intervene. As for how, that's unknown."
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng gazed at the sky, lost in thought.
"Kid, why are you asking this out of the blue?" Taohua Old Daoist felt something was off. Moreover, Gu Qingfeng's question sent a chill of fear through him upon deeper thought. "What are you plotting? Don't tell me if a Heavenly Destiny really appears at Canyang Mountain, you'd try to seize it?"
"Can't say for sure."
"Damn it all! Didn't you just say you had no interest in Heavenly Destinies?"
"I only said I had no interest in Heavenly Destinies. But if this is a Heavenly Destiny belonging to the Wu Dao Age, then I'm very interested."
"I still advise you to behave yourself. Everything from the Wu Dao Age is cursed, let alone a Heavenly Destiny. A cursed Heavenly Destiny, damn it..." As Taohua Old Daoist was speaking, Gu Qingfeng's voice suddenly cut in.
"You know, Old Daoist, the Life Vein that Canyang Mountain guards feels very familiar to me..." Closing his eyes, Gu Qingfeng seemed to be sensing something. "It's an indescribable feeling, very strange. Like déjà vu, more like an old friend I haven't seen in a very, very long time."
"The Life Vein that Canyang Mountain guards feels familiar to you? Like déjà vu? Like an old friend? You don't even know where Canyang Mountain is, where does this feeling of familiarity come from?"
Looking at Gu Qingfeng, who had closed his eyes as if sensing something, Taohua Old Daoist's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He asked in a heavy tone, "What do you mean? Don't tell me you can sense the Life Vein that Canyang Mountain guards?"
"Strangely enough, just now, I inexplicably sensed it... just like hearing an old friend calling out to me. This really is a bit eerie."
"Really?" Taohua Old Daoist was somewhat skeptical. If anyone else said they could sense the Life Vein that Canyang Mountain guarded, he wouldn't believe it. But this was Gu Qingfeng, which made him doubt. Because he knew Gu Qingfeng was himself a person of the Life Vein. Moreover, when Gu Qingfeng was born, the Life Vein at Canyang Mountain had undergone a violent anomaly. Even more terrifying, for Gu Qingfeng's sake, Empress Taohua had turned against Empress Canyang.
This couldn't help but make Taohua Old Daoist think of one thing: Could Gu Qingfeng really be the person from the Wu Dao Age that the Empress was waiting for?
This...
Taohua Old Daoist didn't dare to think too deeply about it.
"Want to hear some bad news?" Gu Qingfeng's voice came again.
Taohua Old Daoist asked, "What bad news?"
"A Heavenly Destiny has really appeared at Canyang Mountain."
Upon hearing this, Taohua Old Daoist's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly looked around. Apart from the earlier Heavenly Destiny, there was no second one in the Great Northwest. He glared furiously at Gu Qingfeng and shouted, "Are you trying to scare me, kid?"
"See for yourself."
"See what? Where? Kid Gu, I'm warning you, better not damn well joke with me like this..." Before he could finish, the Northwest lands trembled violently once more, like a great earthquake.
Boom!—
Following that, a tremendous sound rang out. The earth shook even more violently. Then, in the center of the Great Northwest, a mountain range inexplicably appeared out of thin air—a mountain shrouded as if by the glow of a setting sun.
"This damn... this damn mountain is Canyang Mountain!"