An unknown amount of time passed. At some unknown moment, the Sacred Breath ceased its descent, and the Voice of Primordial Antiquity fell silent.
Silence.
It enveloped the entire Void.
Suddenly.
*Dong*—a bell tolled.
The sound was solemn, sacred, and vast, as if piercing through the endless firmament, traversing the myriad heavens and worlds, shaking Heaven and Earth.
At this moment.
Space ceased its transformations.
Time itself seemed to halt its flow.
Everything, everything, came to a standstill here.
This was the Mystic-Yellow Bell, the instrument of Sacred Judgment.
When the Mystic-Yellow Bell tolled, it heralded the Sacred Judgment from Heaven and Earth.
And the one being judged here was Gu Qingfeng.
Facing this Sacred Judgment from Heaven and Earth, Gu Qingfeng remained standing in the Void. One hand was clasped behind his back, the other pressed firmly against the violently trembling Four-Sided Great Cauldron. He stood straight as a solitary peak, proud and unyielding against the heavens, utterly defiant.
*Dong*—the Mystic-Yellow Bell tolled again.
*Hua!*
The ever-blooming, life-giving blossoms of the Great Nature's Colored Spirit ceased their blooming, turning dull and lifeless.
The infinitely changing Myriad Form Stupas ceased their transformations, their worshipful postures frozen.
The Ancient Taboo, with the Void as its body and the Abyss as its eyes, ceased its furious roars.
The hem of Gu Qingfeng's robes no longer fluttered, his hair no longer danced wildly.
Even the Four-Sided Great Cauldron, bearing the Blood of Original Sin, ceased its rotation, its murky radiance no longer flickering.
*Dong*—the third toll of the Mystic-Yellow Bell sounded.
*Hua!*
The blossoms of the Great Nature's Colored Spirit began to blur and distort.
The Myriad Form Stupas also blurred and distorted.
The Ancient Taboo was no different.
The Four-Sided Great Cauldron even more so.
Gu Qingfeng's physical body was no exception.
Yet.
He still did not move.
He merely stood in silence.
His expression remained as aloof and proud as ever.
His gaze remained as domineering and absolute as ever.
*Dong!*
The fourth toll of the Mystic-Yellow Bell sounded.
The blossoms of the Great Nature's Colored Spirit dissipated like bubbles, turning to ash.
The Myriad Form Stupas shattered into fragments before similarly turning to ash and vanishing.
The Ancient Taboo also turned to dust, scattering into nothingness.
Only Gu Qingfeng remained, and the Four-Sided Great Cauldron remained.
Only, his physical body had grown even more blurred, even more distorted.
He still had not moved.
He simply stood there.
Eyes closed.
One hand behind his back, the arm pressing against the Four-Sided Great Cauldron was now enveloped by a mysterious, bloody glow. This bloody light flickered, blurred, and twisted, as if it were eroding Gu Qingfeng's left arm.
*Dong*—the fifth toll of the Mystic-Yellow Bell sounded.
The Four-Sided Great Cauldron was shaken apart, dispersing and vanishing.
Gu Qingfeng's physical body also dissipated like a wisp of smoke into the Void, the bloody glow enveloping his left arm faintly discernible.
"Everyone!"
"This old man is going to take a nap first. We'll meet again later!"
Gu Qingfeng's voice rang out—that aloof, domineering, ancient-sounding laugh.
*Dong*—the sixth toll of the Mystic-Yellow Bell sounded, and he, now reduced to a mere wisp of smoke, also turned to ash and vanished.
However.
The Mystic-Yellow Bell did not stop.
The seventh toll sounded.
The eighth...
Until the ninth toll sounded, and Gu Qingfeng's ancient laughter gradually faded away.
When the Mystic-Yellow Bell ceased, it meant the Sacred Judgment from Heaven and Earth had finally concluded.
Heaven and Earth were still Heaven and Earth.
The world was still this world.
The Void was still the Void.
The Great Dao was still the Great Dao.
Xuanyuan Wan and the other Dao cultivators still floated in the air.
The only difference was.
Gu Qingfeng was gone.
Judged by Heaven and Earth.
Utterly annihilated.
Annihilated completely and utterly.
His physical body was gone, his soul was gone.
Never to reincarnate.
Time flowed on like this.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Xuanyuan Wan truly did not know. She simply floated there, gazing at the spot where Gu Qingfeng had vanished as if in a trance, complex emotions swirling in her eyes.
There was astonishment.
There was reverence.
There was regret.
There was loss.
Astonishment because this was the first time she had personally witnessed a Sacred Judgment from Heaven and Earth.
Reverence was for the sacred, for Heaven and Earth.
Regret was for Gu Qingfeng.
Regret for the once-mighty Lord Chixiao who had dominated this world.
Regret for the once-lawless Nine Nethers Emperor who had roamed the Great Desolate Heavenly Realm.
Regret for Gu Tianlang—the one who had been unrestrained, lawless, tyrannical, sweeping across the world, aloof and domineering, intolerable to Heaven and Earth!
He was dead.
Utterly annihilated.
Even though before his death, he said he was just taking a nap, that he would return, that they would meet again.
But was that possible?
The answer was certain.
Impossible.
Even if he possessed an indestructible Absolute Body.
Even if he possessed the ever-regenerating Colored Spirit Blossoms.
Even if his abilities reached the heavens, his destiny defied the heavens, it was still impossible.
Judged by Heaven and Earth, no one could survive. No one, absolutely no one. This had been true since ancient times. It had never happened before, and it would never happen in the future.
Xuanyuan Wan felt a deep sense of loss.
Why did she feel loss?
She herself did not know.
Su Hua was also filled with loss!
At this moment, she was completely collapsed on the ground, her peerlessly beautiful face filled with disbelief. She shook her head, staring at the spot in the Void where Gu Qingfeng had turned to ash, murmuring, "Dead...
He's dead..." "Why?"
"I have so, so many things I wanted to say to him...
How could he die..." Su Hua could not believe this was real, could not accept it.
Yes.
Could not accept it.
She had reincarnated for the sake of her Karma.
For her Karma, she had traversed every inch of this world.
She had been searching for her Karma all along, never believing her Karma had already died.
She trusted her feelings, believed her Karma was still alive.
But she never imagined her Karma had been right by her side all along.
She had been overjoyed.
Excited.
Even more thrilled.
Su Hua had sought her Karma initially to unravel the Karma-dream that had haunted her since childhood.
Later, as she learned more about the deeds of her Karma, she found herself gradually developing admiration for her Karma-person.
She admired her Karma.
Even though she had never met her Karma, her heart had been moved, her feelings stirred.
Su Hua even felt that even if she could not unravel her Karma-dream, she would continue searching.
Until she found her Karma.
Now she had finally found him.
But it was too late.
And it was over.
Too sudden.
So sudden she had no psychological preparation, so sudden she hadn't even had time to react.
How could she believe this? How could she accept it?
He said they would meet again.
But, judged by Heaven and Earth, even the Three Thousand Great Daos would never reincarnate. How could they meet again?
Su Hua had long deduced that her Karma would undergo a change in the Northwest.
She hadn't known what kind of change before.
Now she finally understood.
If the Karma-person was dead, how could her Karma not change?
Su Hua, at the peak of her loss, felt utterly bewildered and lost, even unsure of the meaning of her own continued existence.
She had reincarnated solely for her Karma.
Her heart had stirred solely for her Karma.
Now her Karma was dead, the one who stirred her heart was dead. What meaning did this reincarnation hold?
Where should she go from here?
She didn't know.
Su Hua truly did not know.
"Sister Su Hua, don't worry. Big Brother said he wouldn't die, so he definitely won't die. Big Brother said he would return, so he definitely will. Jin'er believes in Big Brother. You should believe in Big Brother too. He wouldn't lie to us."
Jin'er comforted the lost and bewildered Su Hua.
Looking at the obedient, adorable, and innocent little Jin'er, Su Hua shook her head. She also wanted to believe Gu Qingfeng's words.
But that was just a wishful thought.