"What did you say?" Long Gong hadn't heard clearly.
"I said, I regret it." Hong Ting repeated.
Long Gong's brows furrowed deeply as he fixed his most brilliant disciple with a stern gaze. "Regret? Hong Ting, stop talking nonsense. You know full well how many people devoted themselves and sacrificed to cultivate you, to raise you to your current level of cultivation. When you say things like this, can you face those who have supported you since childhood? Can you face your parents? Can you face Liu Shuxian, who just perished? Can you face all the immortals who died helping you survive your tribulation?"
Long Gong rebuked Hong Ting harshly.
"Come now, Lord Long Gong. Lady Shuxian's passing is a devastating grief — we can fully understand Red Lotus Immortal Venerable's feelings. He is merely overcome with emotion for the moment." Other Heavenly Court Gu Immortals tried to mediate.
"Red Lotus Immortal Venerable... heh." Hong Ting sneered, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Long Gong. "If becoming an Immortal Venerable requires this kind of sacrifice, and perhaps even more sacrifices in the future, then I would rather not have this Immortal Venerable title at all!"
"Enough!" Long Gong flew into a rage. "There is a limit to talking nonsense, Hong Ting! Do you think your Immortal Venerable position is something you can take or cast aside at will? All of this is arranged by Fate — it is your innate destiny, and you must fulfill it!"
Hong Ting threw his head back and laughed. His hair hung loose and disheveled, a wretched sight. Then he lowered his head to look at Long Gong. "A majestic Immortal Venerable, invincible under heaven — yet even he cannot act as he pleases? He can't even refuse the position of Immortal Venerable?"
Long Gong snorted coldly. "Tell me, Hong Ting, who in this world can truly act as they please? Your thinking is far too naive. Do you think becoming an Immortal Venerable, leading the Righteous Path, requires no sacrifice? What in this world comes without a price? Do you think the words 'Righteous Path' are so shallow? Wrong! Upholding the Righteous Path of the Heavenly Court demands the most sacrifice of all. If you don't even possess this spirit of sacrifice, then let me tell you — you don't even qualify to join the Heavenly Court!"
Hong Ting's entire body trembled at these words.
"Lord Long Gong, Lord Immortal Venerable, please both calm down. This is not the time for arguments — you should be focusing on your recovery." The other Gu Immortals hurriedly tried to mediate.
Hong Ting slowly lowered his head, but his fists clenched tight. In a tone of absolute resolve, he said, "I will resurrect them."
Long Gong raised his eyebrows, his expression cold as ice. "Who do you intend to resurrect?"
"Everyone who sacrificed because of my Immortal Venerable position. My parents, Liu Shuxian, and many, many others."
"Insolent!" Long Gong suddenly roared, pointing at Hong Ting. "How could you harbor such blasphemous thoughts?! You know perfectly well — I've warned you more than once — life and death are governed by fate. The rise and fall of a person's life follows the great Dao's laws. The death of any being is the ingenious arrangement of Fate. You want to resurrect the dead? Do you want to throw the entire universe into chaos? Haven't you learned your lesson? The more recklessly you act, the more terrible the tragedy that will befall you!"
"Even if the tragedy is as terrible as it can possibly be, I choose to bear it! Master, I've always had one question — why? Why must we accept the arrangements of Fate? Without Fate, would this world truly descend into chaos? Is there really no possibility of it becoming better?" Hong Ting's words tumbled out in rapid succession, question after question.
Long Gong was so enraged that his entire body shook. This time, even the other Heavenly Court Gu Immortals who had been trying to mediate slowly stepped back, gazing at Hong Ting with unfamiliar eyes.
"Lord Immortal Venerable, your thinking is far too dangerous."
"Indeed. Without Fate, our human race could never have prospered."
"Fate Gu is the Heavenly Court's greatest treasure, and Lord Immortal Venerable wants to destroy it? This is... this is..."
"You all..." Hong Ting looked at the Gu Immortals surrounding him. In that instant, he felt an indescribable, profound loneliness.
Time passed — who knew how long.
In the River of Time, a solitary, desolate figure appeared.
His hair was wild and untamed, his face weathered with the scars of time, like a wanderer who had roamed to the ends of the earth with no home to return to.
Faint traces of the old Hong Ting could still be discerned on his face, but his entire bearing had undergone a complete transformation.
Red Lotus Demon Venerable gazed upon the ceaselessly flowing River of Time and let out a long, melancholy sigh. "It is time to leave behind my legacy."
He descended slowly. Just as his toes were about to touch the surface of the River of Time, he halted and hovered. "This first Stone Lotus Island — the most important Stone Lotus Island of all — must have Regret Gu at its core. I shall leave it for the Otherworldly Demon, the one who will have the greatest hope of destroying Fate in the future!"
And so, a Stone Lotus Island gradually came into being.
Red Lotus Demon Venerable left behind an Eighth Transformation Regret Gu here, along with a vast quantity of Time Path immortal materials, Immortal Killer Moves, a strand of True Intent that contained one of his most authentic memories, and one Immortal Killer Move of extraordinary power.
When he was done, Red Lotus Demon Venerable, dragging his utterly exhausted body behind him, slowly flew away.