After the ancestral patriarchs of the Shangqing Sect, the Haolei Clan, and the other giants arrived, they acted just like those from the Feather Transcendence and Purple Cloud Immortal Realms. The first thing they did upon appearing was to assess the identities of those gathered here.
This was very important.
Almost anyone with a bit of experience would do the same. This was a principle summarized by countless predecessors throughout the ages. Treasures were important, but one's opponents were even more crucial. As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
If you didn't even know your opponent's identity and strength, then when the time came to compete, if you happened to run into a terrifying foe, the consequences would be unimaginable. You might even lose your life. Such incidents were too numerous to count in the Great Desolate.
When venturing out and encountering a treasure, the greatest taboo was impulsiveness.
At such times, one must remain calm. The first priority was to understand the situation one was in and observe the opponents competing for the prize.
If you knew your opponent's identity, you could then consider whether or not to make a move based on their background and cultivation strength.
If the opponent had no significant background and their strength wasn't particularly formidable, then naturally there was no need to worry. However, if the opponent possessed both a profound background and terrifying strength, then one had to weigh the situation carefully. Setting aside whether you could even seize the treasure, even if you managed to grab it, you still had to consider whether the opponent's faction would seek revenge later. Offending a giant over some insignificant treasure was simply not worth it.
If both sides had similar backgrounds—for instance, if two giants were competing—then it came down to their respective strengths. Whoever could seize it was the one with the ability. Giants also wouldn't worry about each other seeking revenge.
Of course.
There was also a widely accepted unwritten rule in the Great Desolate: if one party managed to seize a treasure, they would more or less give some benefits to the others.
After the ancestral patriarchs of the Shangqing Sect and the Haolei Clan appeared and discovered the people from the Purple Cloud and Feather Transcendence Immortal Realms, they didn't react much. Perhaps their fame and influence weren't as great as those of the Great Desolate giants, but that didn't mean they didn't dare to challenge them.
The Haolei Clan had the qualifications to do so, and the Shangqing Sect had even more. Not to mention the Great Desolate giants, even if ancestral patriarchs from the Cave-Heavens and Blessed Lands arrived, they wouldn't cower or retreat because of it.
However, when they saw the demoness woman and Man Tu Fan, both the Haolei Clan and the Shangqing Sect had odd expressions on their faces.
The existence of Heavenly Demons had been synonymous with slaughter since ancient times. Whenever a Heavenly Demon appeared, rivers of blood would surely flow.
Ordinary demons lacked morals and humanity, let alone Heavenly Demons.
Upon discovering the demoness woman, the people from the Shangqing Sect and the Haolei Clan frowned even deeper. If it were an ordinary demon, the Shangqing Sect and the Haolei Clan naturally wouldn't pay it any mind. Even if the demon's parents were some old demon or old monster, or even a Monster King or Monster King, they wouldn't fear them. It was no exaggeration to say that they wouldn't be concerned about any demon or monster with a famous name and a grand background.
But this demoness woman had nothing.
Precisely because she had nothing, she made them even more wary.
The strange is the root of suspicion.
The bizarre is the root of wariness.
The mysterious is the root of fear.
The unknown is the root of terror.
For everyone present, the existence of the demoness woman equated to strange, bizarre, mysterious, and unknown, because none of them could see through her. When they sent out their divine sense to probe, it was like throwing clay oxen into the sea—they couldn't detect anything.
However.
When they saw Gu Qingfeng, their frowns deepened, and their hearts grew even more apprehensive. To them, Gu Qingfeng's existence was stranger, more bizarre, more mysterious, and more unknown than the demoness woman.
When they sent out their divine sense to probe the demoness woman, it was like throwing clay oxen into the sea, detecting nothing. When they probed Gu Qingfeng, they similarly detected nothing; they couldn't even sense his presence.
Perhaps because Gu Qingfeng's existence was too mysterious and bizarre, coupled with the fact that he had no cultivation aura whatsoever, appearing like a mundane mortal, this distinctive characteristic quickly led them to guess his identity.
When they realized that Gu Qingfeng was the legendary Nine Nethers Emperor, their expressions changed repeatedly, extremely complex. There was suspicion, wariness, fear, and terror, along with a kind of tacitly understood pleasant surprise.
Not only them, everyone present was the same. After realizing Gu Qingfeng's identity, their gazes remained locked onto him.
As for what the Bloody Spring Eye was...
They didn't know.
And at this moment, they didn't want to know anymore.
Compared to Gu Qingfeng's identity, what the Bloody Spring Eye was had become unimportant to these Great Desolate giants.
What mattered was that Gu Qingfeng had come, that he had appeared in the Desolate Ancient ruins.
That was enough.
"Heh heh, I was just thinking about how to let the other ancestral patriarchs know that the You Di is also here... This is perfect..." In the distance, Tian Kui said with a smile, his secret voice transmission filled with delight. "We don't need to say anything. After this, I think all the other patriarchs will know this news. Once the news spreads, the You Di will undoubtedly die."
Yuyang Immortal King and the other ancestral patriarchs from the Purple Cloud Immortal Realm exchanged glances, unable to conceal the joy in their hearts. Only Patriarch Lie Yin looked deeply worried.
He understood clearly in his heart that once the news of the You Di's presence here spread, the Desolate Ancient ruins would, in all likelihood, become his burial ground.
To be honest.
Patriarch Lie Yin always felt that even if the You Di died, it might not necessarily be a good thing for their Purple Cloud Immortal Realm.
It wasn't because their Purple Cloud Immortal Realm didn't want to compete for the Original Sin on his person. On the contrary, the Purple Cloud Immortal Realm very much wanted to compete for the Original Sin, also wanted to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, and even more wanted to open the Daoless Age and dominate the future.
Throughout the Great Desolate, which giant didn't want that?
The answer was certainly yes.
They all did.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken such great risks to come to the Desolate Ancient ruins this time.
But...
Wanting was one thing; wanting didn't mean they could definitely seize it.
In Patriarch Lie Yin's view, even if the You Di died here in the Desolate Ancient ruins, the chance of their Purple Cloud Immortal Realm seizing the Original Sin was minuscule. After all, the Great Desolate wasn't home to just their Purple Cloud Immortal Realm alone; there were many giants. Besides the Great Desolate giants, there were also prestigious clans like the Haolei Clan and prosperous sects like the Shangqing Sect. There were also powers stronger than the Great Desolate giants, such as the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, the Nine Netherworlds and Nine Heavens, forbidden lands and holy lands, the Abyss and Desolate Ruins, and so on.
For the Purple Cloud Immortal Realm, with their strength, trying to seize the Original Sin from these people would be far too difficult. Moreover, he could even imagine that when the time came to compete for the Original Sin, the entire Great Desolate would likely become even more chaotic; rivers of blood flowing was not an impossibility.
It had to be understood that currently, although all these existences under heaven and earth were eyeing the Original Sin on the You Di covetously, none dared to act rashly. Hence, the Great Desolate appeared calm on the surface.
If the You Di died, this superficial calm would immediately shatter. The various giants, Cave-Heavens, Blessed Lands, and so on might turn against each other, fighting fiercely to seize the Original Sin.