"Earlier, we were chasing the source of that tremendous noise, and we ended up at Wu Dao Mountain. Presumably, that shout came from Wu Dao Mountain as well. If that's the case, could it be that the Original Sin Consciousness hasn't been utterly annihilated and is also at Wu Dao Mountain?"
"Not necessarily. It might just be a lingering obsession it left behind, or perhaps a remnant consciousness, a will, or even a curse—none of those are impossible."
Gu Qingfeng lowered his head in contemplation, drinking continuously. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head, seeming somewhat wistful.
He hadn't expected that after all this circling around, they'd still end up back at Wu Dao Mountain.
Before, he had always thought that the so-called Wu Dao Era was merely a very ancient epoch, and that Wu Dao Mountain was just a relic from that Wu Dao Era.
Now, he was increasingly feeling that the Wu Dao Era wasn't just an era, and Wu Dao Mountain wasn't merely a relic.
It was more like a treasure trove.
A treasure trove burying the true essence of the Great Dao, the mysteries of heaven and earth, and even the threads of karma and fate.
And the key to opening this treasure trove was Original Sin.
To be precise, it was the legendary True Lord of Original Sin.
Whoever could become the True Lord of Original Sin would be able to open the Wu Dao Era. And whoever could open the Wu Dao Era would be the Venerable Wu Dao recorded in the Book of Fate.
Suddenly.
Ren Tianxing spoke up and asked, "Wu Dao Mountain should appear again, right?"
Mo Wentian replied with two words: "Perhaps."
Ren Tianxing was puzzled. "Perhaps?"
"Perhaps."
"What do you mean?"
Ren Tianxing said, "The Book of Fate records that when Original Sin finds its True Lord, the Great Dao will fall, the Present Ancient Era will end, and the Wu Dao Era will begin. The Desolate Ancient Black Hole has manifested in the Present Ancient Era. Combined with all the various signs and portents, it all indicates that the True Lord of Original Sin will emerge here as destiny dictates. Original Sin belongs to Wu Dao Mountain and originates from Wu Dao Mountain. Only when Wu Dao Mountain descends will the True Lord of Original Sin be born."
"What you say is correct. Whether it's the records in the Book of Fate, the manifestation of the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, or all these signs and portents, they are enough to indicate that the True Lord of Original Sin will emerge here in this Desolate Ancient Black Hole as destiny dictates."
Mo Wentian poured wine for Gu Qingfeng and Ren Tianxing, then continued, "It is also correct that Original Sin belongs to Wu Dao Mountain and originates from Wu Dao Mountain. Moreover, I dare say that if the True Lord of Original Sin is truly to be born this time, the final battle will inevitably take place at Wu Dao Mountain."
Ren Tianxing asked, "If that's the case, Brother Mo, why did you say 'perhaps'?"
"As Brother Ren just said, only when Wu Dao Mountain appears will the True Lord of Original Sin be born. In other words, if Wu Dao Mountain does not appear, then the True Lord of Original Sin will not be born."
Ren Tianxing understood Mo Wentian's meaning. Rather than saying Wu Dao Mountain might not appear, it was more accurate to say that some would spare no effort to prevent Wu Dao Mountain from appearing.
After all, if Wu Dao Mountain manifests in the world, the True Lord of Original Sin might be born. If the True Lord of Original Sin is born, then the Great Dao might fall, heaven and earth might be reborn, and the Wu Dao Era might begin.
Both this Great Dao and this heaven and earth would try every possible means to prevent this from happening. Judging from the current situation, the appearance of the Desolate Ancient Black Hole could no longer be stopped. Therefore, the only option was to prevent Wu Dao Mountain from manifesting in the world. As long as they could prevent Wu Dao Mountain from manifesting within the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, then the so-called True Lord of Wu Dao would not be born.
As for whether the heaven, earth, and Great Dao could prevent Wu Dao Mountain from manifesting...
That was a question probably no one knew.
No one could say for sure. No one could be certain.
The waters were too deep, the masters too numerous, the variables too great.
Ren Tianxing drained his cup of wine, lowered his head, and asked, "I heard... people from Shangqing Grotto have also appeared?"
Mo Wentian nodded.
Shangqing Grotto was one of the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens and also the most mysterious blessed land among them, bar none.
Since ancient times, although Shangqing Grotto had always kept a low profile and rarely showed itself in the Great Wilderness, no one in all the heavens and the earth below dared to overlook its existence.
The reason was simple.
Shangqing Grotto possessed a very powerful background, and that background was Shangqing Heaven, one of the Nine Heavens.
As was widely known, Shangqing Heaven was the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao was Shangqing Heaven. There was no real distinction between the two, just as with the Western Heaven's Buddha Dao—the Western Heaven could represent the Buddha Dao, and the Buddha Dao could represent the Western Heaven.
And whenever Shangqing Heaven was mentioned, anyone would think of the Heavenly Dao.
The difference was that the Western Heaven could be seen, touched, and entered. But Shangqing Heaven could neither be seen nor touched, let alone entered.
According to legend.
During the Desolate Ancient Era, not only did the various Great Daos fall one after another, but even the Nine Heavens scattered and collapsed.
When the Desolate Ancient Era ended and the Grand Primordial Era began, some Daos gradually revived, such as the Immortal Dao, Buddha Dao, Monster Dao, Monster Dao, Ghost Dao, and so on...
But some Great Daos had yet to revive to this day, such as the Human Dao, the Witch Dao, the Sage Dao, and also the Heavenly Dao.
The Great Daos were like this, and the Nine Heavens were no exception.
After the Grand Primordial Era began, the Western Heaven representing the Buddha Dao revived. The Profound Heaven representing the Immortal Dao also revived. However, the Yellow Heaven representing the Human Dao, the Azure Heaven representing the Impartial Dao, and including Shangqing Heaven representing the Heavenly Dao had still not revived to this day.
Precisely because Shangqing Heaven, representing the Heavenly Dao, had not revived, since the Grand Primordial Era, Profound Heaven had come to represent the Nine Heavens, and the Immortal Dao had replaced the Heavenly Dao, becoming the overlord between heaven and earth.
And also because Shangqing Heaven, representing the Heavenly Dao, had not revived, in a sense, Shangqing Grotto, with its background in Shangqing Heaven, represented the Heavenly Dao.
In other words.
If people from Shangqing Grotto had already entered the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, then it meant the Heavenly Dao had already begun to intervene in this matter.
Regarding Shangqing Grotto.
Gu Qingfeng knew very little. Over all these years, he had never even met anyone from Shangqing Grotto. He only knew that the Shangqing Sects spread across the myriad realms all belonged to Shangqing Grotto.
"Speaking of Shangqing Grotto, I did hear a rumor about it before."
Gu Qingfeng drank a cup of wine and said, "I heard that inside Shangqing Grotto are beings like Heavenly Immortals, Heavenly Demons, Heavenly Monsters, and the like?"
Mo Wentian nodded. "That is indeed the case."
"So it really is like that!"
Gu Qingfeng exclaimed in amazement.
Whether it was Heavenly Immortals or Heavenly Demons, or Heavenly Monsters or Heavenly Ghosts, each of these existences was more powerful than the last. At the very least, all the 'Heavenly' ranked existences he had encountered over the years were like that.
What were Heavenly Immortals and Heavenly Demons?
Innate Immortals, Innate Demons.
Born with immense strength, possessing not only uniquely endowed Innate Physiques but also pure and holy Innate Essence. Cultivating was twice as effective with half the effort, like climbing a ladder to the heavens.
One must know that even if a mortal cultivated and became an immortal, they were merely a Postnatal Immortal. Even if they cultivated to become a Profound Immortal, they were still far inferior to a Heavenly Immortal. The gap between the two was difficult to bridge through postnatal means.
There was an ancient saying: Ten thousand millennia of a Postnatal Immortal cannot compare to a single thought of a Heavenly Immortal.
This meant that even if a Postnatal Immortal cultivated for ten thousand millennia, it would not compare to a Heavenly Immortal cultivating for a single thought.
Although this saying was somewhat exaggerated, the reality was not far off.
After all, existences of the 'Heavenly' rank were born in response to heaven, gathering the essence of the sun and moon. Like disciples of the Son of Heaven, they could be called Heaven-Bestowed Sons.