Mao Six had absolutely no desire to reveal this secret to Fang Yuan, but he had no choice!
Ying Wu Xie's situation left him no alternative — he had to do this!
Taking a deep breath, Mao Six spoke slowly: "Fang Yuan, the fact that you were able to seize the Supreme Immortal Fetus Gu at the critical moment was not merely due to your own strength. You received guidance from Heavenly Will, didn't you? Moreover, the very reason you obtained the Spring Autumn Cicada and were reborn — that too was part of Heavenly Will's grand design. It arranged for you to return to the past in order to prevent my Shadow Sect from achieving its great work!"
Hearing these words, Fang Yuan's heart lurched violently.
The first half of the statement was one thing, but the content of the latter half — that was the key! Even with his years of composure, he found it difficult to maintain his calm.
Boom!
At that very moment, a sudden peal of thunder echoed from the heavens and earth outside.
"What's going on?" In that brief instant, Fang Yuan used the disruption to steady his emotions.
He straightened his upper body and activated his Gu Insects, his eyes shooting with brilliant light. His gaze pierced through the cloud layer to the vast sky above, where inexplicable thunder boomed and streaks of lightning flashed.
Clear-sky thunder!
Mao Six let out a cold laugh, though a trace of desolation stirred in his heart: "Fang Yuan, you only just survived your tribulation. The Langya Blessed Land still contains quite a bit of residual Heavenly Will. What I just said laid bare Heavenly Will's grand design, provoking the wrath of the Heavenly Dao. But any Blessed Land or Cave of Heaven is a separate small world, distinct from the Five Regions. Heavenly Will has no authority here. And now that the calamity has already passed, no matter how furious Heavenly Will becomes, it is useless!"
Fang Yuan offered no comment, his expression unchanged as he regarded Mao Six: "Continue."
Mao Six had hesitated at first, but now that the words were already spoken, a sense of lightness settled in his heart.
His speech grew more fluent as he went on: "Hidden deep within your Spring Autumn Cicada is also a strand of Heavenly Will. This was long since confirmed by Lord Ying Wu Xie. That is the best evidence — proof that every one of your rebirths, Fang Yuan, has been influenced by Heavenly Will."
"The Spring Autumn Cicada requires the sacrifice of an Immortal Gu Master's entire being, preserving only a single strand of will. This strand of will is carried by the Spring Autumn Cicada. It enters the River of Time, swims upstream against the current, and returns to your past body — achieving the effect of rebirth. You've used it several times, Fang Yuan. You should know this quite well."
Fang Yuan remained expressionless, offering no response.
Mao Six continued: "Heavenly Will is hidden within the Spring Autumn Cicada. Every time you activate it, that is the perfect opportunity for Heavenly Will to exert its influence upon you. At that moment, you possess only a remnant of will — no physical body to aid you. Your attention is focused entirely on the waters of the River of Time. You would never suspect the treachery lurking within."
"After you are reborn, you naturally begin to scheme and plan, contemplating how to leverage the advantages of rebirth to further your cultivation. And it is precisely through this that you fall into Heavenly Will's trap. Were the things you experienced before your rebirth, the opportunities you knew of — were they truly limited to what you now remember? Those so-called opportunities were nothing more than bait deliberately left by Heavenly Will. Step by step, it guided you — its chess piece — along its intended path, until you ultimately arrived at Yitian Mountain and shattered my Shadow Sect's grand plan."
"Based on our speculation, before your rebirth, in that future timeline, our Shadow Sect's plans had already succeeded. But Heavenly Will was unwilling to allow our Original Body to ascend to the throne once more. Why did Sword Immortal Bo Qing fail in the past? Because his very essence was but a divided soul fragment of the Original Body. Moreover, once the Original Body obtained the Supreme Immortal Fetus and was reborn anew, upon maturing it would have surpassed every Venerable in history! In that future, perhaps even Heavenly Will could no longer eliminate the Original Body. It was precisely because of this that Heavenly Will devised every possible means, arranged its grand design, and sent you back — using your hand to alter the past and reshape the future!"
Fang Yuan suddenly spoke: "Wait. I don't quite understand. Why did Heavenly Will specifically choose me?"
"Because you are an Otherworldly Demon. Only an Otherworldly Demon has the potential to alter the past. Even a Venerable cannot accomplish this if they are not an Otherworldly Demon. Red Lotus Demon Venerable struggled his entire life and only managed to shatter Fate Gu — he could not destroy it, much less inflict any harm upon Heavenly Will."
"Of course, you are not the only Otherworldly Demon. Perhaps during that particular era, whether in terms of perspective or circumstances, you were the most suitable candidate to serve as a chess piece," Mao Six replied.
Fang Yuan fell silent.
A brand new, utterly staggering perspective crashed into his mind!
Mao Six's words made Fang Yuan realize that a colossal conspiracy seemed to truly revolve around him.
He recalled his previous life five hundred years ago. Had those centuries of wandering and hardship been the result of Heavenly Will deliberately suppressing him?
His obsessive desire to refine the Blood Deity Son — had Heavenly Will been secretly sabotaging it from behind the scenes?
The process of obtaining the Gu recipe for the Spring Autumn Cicada had indeed seemed somewhat too easy.
And not long after successfully refining the Spring Autumn Cicada, he had immediately been besieged by the combined forces of the Ten Great Ancient Sects.
Mao Six observed his expression carefully. Seeing that Fang Yuan was visibly affected yet still offering no clear reaction, he silently cursed under his breath and pressed on:
"The Spring Autumn Cicada in your possession is only at the Sixth Transformation. It carries a considerable chance of failure. So why has every single rebirth succeeded?"
"That's not quite right. The last one failed," Fang Yuan said, then suddenly froze.
That fact — was the very ironclad proof of Heavenly Will's involvement!