In the void, the incarnations of Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had long since turned to ashes, incinerated by the Strange Fire. The fire not only burned their incarnations but was also currently refining their consciousnesses.
The self-awareness of an incarnation originates from the divine sense of their true body. If one could refine and assimilate it, Demon Emperor Blood River would not only gain the memories contained within this wisp of their consciousness but could also penetrate the secrets of their true bodies.
Once he obtained those memories, all secrets—how many incarnations Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor possessed, where those incarnations were, including the location of their true bodies, and so on—would be completely revealed.
Of course, this was on the premise that the other party's divine sense possessed those memories and knew those secrets. If the divine sense was unaware of the true body's secrets, even refining it would be useless.
This was not uncommon. Everyone knew that refining the divine sense of another's external incarnation could allow one to devour memories and thus penetrate the secrets of the true body. To guard against this, many Great Dao experts, when nurturing external incarnations, deliberately erased from the divine sense any secrets pertaining to their true bodies, fearing that others might refine the divine sense and uncover those secrets.
As for whether the divine senses of Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor contained secrets about their true bodies, that remained unknown. Demon Emperor Blood River, however, seemed not to care about these matters. If he truly wished to refine their divine senses, he could simply leave and find a secluded place to do so; there was absolutely no need to refine them so openly in broad daylight as he was doing now.
It was conceivable, then, that Demon Emperor Blood River's true purpose was likely not to uncover the secrets of their true bodies. At the very least, that was not his sole aim.
Could it be that Demon Emperor Blood River's goal was to lure out the true bodies of Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor?
The Great Dao experts hidden within the Primordial Ancient Ruins considered this unlikely. Although none of them knew where the true bodies of the two emperors were located, one thing was clear to them: if Warrior Emperor Wuzang's true body wished to appear, it would have done so long ago. That it had not appeared until now suggested only three possibilities.
Either they had already decided to abandon their incarnations and had no intention of appearing. Or they feared Demon Emperor Blood River and dared not appear. Or perhaps their true bodies were occupied with other matters, possibly not even within the Kan Palace, or even within the Primordial Nine Palaces, and simply could not arrive in time.
Demon Emperor Blood River could not be unaware of this. Yet he continued to refine their divine senses, and with such brazen audacity, as if deliberately refining them for others to witness.
For whom could he be performing this display?
Suddenly, everyone thought of the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven. The world knew of the enmity between Demon Emperor Blood River and the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven. And Warrior Emperor Wuzang was the only peerless genius the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven had nurtured in recent years—perhaps even the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor was as well. It was impossible that the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven would allow the two emperors to enter the Primordial Nine Palaces alone, much less leave them unattended.
In other words, the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven were almost certainly secretly guarding Warrior Emperor Wuzang. After all, they had invested much effort in him and placed great hopes upon him. Perhaps this time, the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven had staked all their bets, even the future of the grotto-heaven itself, on Warrior Emperor Wuzang.
The emergence of the Primordial Nine Palaces would determine the fate of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in the future. If Warrior Emperor Wuzang succeeded, he might very well ascend to become the Immortal Path Lord, and then their Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven would become the true leader among all grotto-heavens and blessed lands. But if Warrior Emperor Wuzang died here, not to mention ascending as Immortal Path Lord, they themselves might not survive. Not only would they perish, but the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven might also be expunged from the ranks of the thirty-six grotto-heavens and seventy-two blessed lands.
Therefore, the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven should be secretly guarding Warrior Emperor Wuzang.
When Miao Rulai descended earlier, their failure to appear was understandable. When Demon Emperor Blood River descended, their continued absence was still understandable. If they had revealed themselves the moment Miao Rulai or Demon Emperor Blood River appeared, it would have been far too humiliating. After all, Warrior Emperor Wuzang was a peerless genius they had personally nurtured. Whether in terms of innate talent and fortune, comprehension and realm, or cultivation and strength, he was considered supreme. He possessed the qualifications to challenge and battle both Miao Rulai and Demon Emperor Blood River.
Taking a step back, even if Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor join forces were no match for Miao Rulai and Demon Emperor Blood River, with their abilities, they should have been able to safely escape this place. Or perhaps the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven wished to use this opportunity to gauge the gap between Warrior Emperor Wuzang and Miao Rulai, as well as Demon Emperor Blood River.
If that were truly the case, then they should know by now. As for the size of the gap between them and Miao Rulai, the onlookers might not know. But the gap between them and Demon Emperor Blood River was clear for all to see. The disparity was immense! So vast that even with their utmost efforts, Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor could not shake Demon Emperor Blood River in the slightest. Not only that, but faced with Demon Emperor Blood River, they did not even possess the qualification to flee.
What puzzled everyone was this: if the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven were truly secretly guarding Warrior Emperor Wuzang, why had they still not appeared? It was one thing not to appear earlier, but now that the divine senses of Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor were on the verge of being refined, were the old seniors of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven not afraid that Demon Emperor Blood River would penetrate the secrets of Warrior Emperor Wuzang's true body?
Or did they know that Warrior Emperor Wuzang had long since erased from this external incarnation any secrets pertaining to his true body, so even if Demon Emperor Blood River refined it, there was nothing to worry about? In other words, were they willing to abandon Warrior Emperor Wuzang's external incarnation rather than face Demon Emperor Blood River?
Was that truly the case? The Great Dao experts hidden within the Primordial Ancient Ruins found this unlikely.
Although the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven had only nurtured one peerless genius like Warrior Emperor Wuzang in so many years, this did not mean the grotto-heaven lacked Great Dao experts. On the contrary, across the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, among the thirty-six grotto-heavens, seventy-two blessed lands, and even those great desolate behemoths, probably none could compare to the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven in terms of Great Dao experts.
The reason the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven could represent the Xuantian Immortal Path was simple: it guarded the origin of the Immortal Path. This thing was the very source of the Immortal Path. Even a mere mortal could achieve immortality by inhaling a single breath of the spiritual energy from the Immortal Path origin. Moreover, the Immortal Path origin contained boundless and profound mysteries. A single glance could bring endless benefits, and comprehending its mysteries could even make sagehood possible.
It was said that since the Primordial Age, the elders of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven had begun secluded cultivation within the Immortal Path origin. They had cultivated from the Great Ancient Era until now, inhaling the sacred and luminous spiritual energy of the Immortal Path origin and comprehending the supreme mysteries it contained. Even a mere piece of stubborn stone, cultivating within the Immortal Path origin from the Great Ancient Era until now, would have become a peerless essence immortal. How much more so the elders of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven? To become an elder of the Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven was, in itself, to be a master of the Immortal Path.