The Taixu Grotto had declined.
It had begun its decline long ago, after the Blood River Ancestor's descent into demonhood and departure from Taixu.
For many years, the senior elders of Taixu Grotto had hoped to nurture another heaven-defying prodigy like the Blood River Ancestor, to restore the grotto to its former glory.
Alas, heaven did not comply with their wishes.
Moreover, the Blood River Ancestor's massacre of numerous Great Dao experts had been tallied against Taixu Grotto's account. After being jointly suppressed and boycotted by the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, Taixu Grotto was left with neither resources nor talent. Even disciples venturing out for training would be hunted down and killed. In the end, it could only gradually fade into obscurity.
Consider this: even the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven, backed by the Immortal Path, found it extremely difficult to nurture a heaven-defying prodigy capable of rivaling the Great Sun Radiance Emperor. If not for encountering a promising seedling like the Warrior Emperor Wuzang in the current era, they likely would have had no hope at all.
If even the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven faced such difficulties, imagine the plight of Taixu Grotto, which was jointly boycotted by the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands.
One could even say that for Taixu Grotto to have clung to life and passed on its legacy to this day was already an immense, immense struggle.
Yet, despite all this, Taixu Grotto had come this time, and they had come almost with their entire force.
It wasn't that they wanted to join this chaotic fray. They knew full well that Taixu Grotto had no right to participate in such an event.
The reason they had entered without hesitation was simple: Taixu Grotto had no other choice.
Most of the other Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands had sent representatives such as Great Dao Thrones, Star Lords, Emperor Seals, and the like. These beings bore the Heavenly Destiny of the Great Dao; they had the responsibility, the obligation, and the strength to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. While sending these Heavenly Destiny representatives, the various Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands would also leave some senior elders behind to guard their own domains.
This was a two-pronged preparation.
If they could prevent the birth of the True Lord of Original Sin, then Heaven and Earth would celebrate together. They would be heroes and meritorious servants who protected the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands behind them would share in the glory.
Taking a step back, even if they truly could not prevent the birth of the True Lord of Original Sin, and if events unfolded as recorded in the Book of Fate—the Three Thousand Great Daos perishing, Heaven and Earth being reborn, and the Era Without Dao beginning—then the other Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens, Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, and those Great Wasteland magnates, relying on the profound foundations developed over countless years, could still remain undefeated in the Era Without Dao.
After all, they had disciples when they needed disciples, and resources when they needed resources. Given enough time, they could develop and grow.
Most importantly, the Book of Fate only recorded the perishing of the Three Thousand Great Daos and the rebirth of Heaven and Earth; it did not record that the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands would also perish.
This was how almost all the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands had prepared.
Only Taixu Grotto had not prepared this way. Not because they didn't want to, but because they simply couldn't.
Ever since the Desolate Ancient Era, Taixu Grotto had been jointly boycotted by the major Grotto Heavens, Blessed Lands, and magnates. Although over the years they had painstakingly managed to nurture a few bearers of Heavenly Destiny of the Great Dao, most of these individuals had left Taixu Grotto.
Think about it: which bearer of Heavenly Destiny of the Great Dao wasn't a heaven-defying prodigy favored by the heavens? In their youth, they might remain in Taixu Grotto, but once they grew up and understood Taixu Grotto's predicament, who would willingly continue to stay in a place boycotted by all the major Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands?
To this day, only a mere four bearers of Heavenly Destiny of the Great Dao remained willingly in Taixu Grotto, and among them were three Great Dao Star Lords and one Great Dao Throne.
Beyond these, Taixu Grotto had no other noteworthy bearers of Heavenly Destiny of the Great Dao to speak of.
There was no other way.
Even with only four bearers of Heavenly Destiny, the group of senior elders from Taixu Grotto had gritted their teeth and brought them in.
If they had chosen to remain in Taixu Grotto, only destruction awaited them.
This was no exaggeration.
Regardless of whether the birth of the True Lord of Original Sin could be prevented this time, Taixu Grotto would perish in this calamity.
If the True Lord of Original Sin was prevented from being born, Heaven and Earth would celebrate together, and the situation of Heaven and Earth would inevitably change. Taixu Grotto, already clinging to life by a thread, would inevitably be eliminated.
If they failed to prevent the birth of the True Lord of Original Sin, the situation of Heaven and Earth would also inevitably change. The other Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands, with their vast estates and resources, would have the qualifications and capital to rise again. But Taixu Grotto, having been boycotted for so many years, had nothing left except the name of being one of the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens.
Forget about rising again; they probably wouldn't even have the qualification to cling to life.
This was the fundamental reason why Taixu Grotto had come with their entire force.
They had no retreat, no choice but to grit their teeth and enter.
What could they do once inside?
No one knew.
The only thing they knew was that if they chose to stay behind, it was certain death. If they entered, perhaps Taixu Grotto still had hope.
Even if that hope was exceedingly slim, they would strive for it at all costs.
Knowing the Primordial Black Hole was fraught with dangers, the senior elders of Taixu Grotto had mentally prepared themselves. Only after entering did they realize the dangers of the Primordial Black Hole were even more terrifying than they had imagined.
Originally, over two hundred people from Taixu Grotto had entered, all of them highly cultivated seniors. Yet, not long after entering, they were scattered by the various chaotic currents within the Primordial Black Hole. To this day, their fates remained unknown, and within the vast, mysterious Primordial Black Hole, they could not contact each other.
The few individuals currently struggling to hold on within the Sword Array had entered this Kan Palace together after being separated from their other Taixu Grotto senior brothers by the chaotic currents.
The leader among them was an elder of Taixu Grotto, with the Daoist title Tongbei.
Back in the Desolate Ancient Era, he too was a renowned expert across the Great Wasteland. Along with eight other Taixu Grotto elders, he was once hailed as one of the Nine Swords of Taixu. In terms of seniority, he was even the martial uncle of the Blood River Ancestor.
Before the Primordial Nine Palaces had fully formed, Elder Tongbei and his group had been separated from their other senior brothers by the chaotic currents. Left with no choice, he could only cautiously search everywhere.
He knew the Primordial Black Hole was far too perilous. Not only had experts from all under heaven and earth entered, but even the spatial chaotic currents themselves were impossible to fully guard against or block.
Taixu Grotto originally lacked top-tier experts for protection. Once separated, the consequences were unthinkable.
Alas.
The Primordial Black Hole was too mysterious and too vast. He had no idea where to search for the scattered senior brothers. Moreover, during his search, he mistakenly entered a Primordial Ancient ruin and encountered danger, with several people losing their lives as a result.
Later, when the Primordial Nine Palaces gestated and formed, Elder Tongbei pondered for a long time and decided to enter the Kan Palace.
The interior of Kan Palace was like the void of the Great Wasteland. Although it was ever-changing, filled with deathly stillness and eeriness, at least it wasn't like the Primordial Black Hole where chaotic currents were everywhere, ready to sweep one away with a single misstep.
What Elder Tongbei never expected was that shortly after entering Kan Palace, they encountered those Original Sin beings who had lost themselves and were like mad demons.
Fortunately, those mad demon-like Original Sin beings weren't particularly powerful, mostly being Original Sin Retribution Bodies and Original Sin Response Bodies, and he managed to slay them.
But just as they had slain those self-lost Original Sin beings, they encountered a group of Original Sin beings with self-awareness, led by the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor.