The Great Dao experts hidden within the various Desolate Ancient ruins could all hear that Miao Tathagata’s words seemed deliberately aimed at the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven, and his tone was filled with mockery, disdain, and contempt.
This couldn't help but raise doubts. Was he also waiting for the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven to show themselves?
Demon Emperor Blood River already had a deep-seated grudge with Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven. This time, the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had severely injured Tongbei Elder of Taixu Grotto. With old hatreds and new grievances piled together, Demon Emperor Blood River refining the Divine Sense of Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor to force out the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven for a reckoning was something everyone could understand.
But Miao Tathagata didn’t seem to have any deep grudge with Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven, did he?
Or perhaps, since the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had killed the Red-Faced Vajra under Miao Tathagata’s command and severely injured the Pure Robe Bodhisattva and the Nine Precepts Dharma King under his command, Miao Tathagata also wanted to settle scores with the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven?
Hard to say.
It wasn't impossible.
After all, Miao Tathagata was the Buddha Emperor of the Western Heavens, a figure who roamed freely across the vast heavens and myriad realms of the Great Desolation. Whether in terms of status, prestige, or power, he could be mentioned in the same breath as Demon Emperor Blood River and the Great Sun Radiance Emperor.
Now that his disciple had been killed, it was entirely possible for Miao Tathagata to seek a reckoning from the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven.
However.
Some also felt this matter was absolutely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Now that the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces had appeared, from the heavens above to the earth below, the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, the Nine Heavens and Nine Nethers, the forbidden lands and sacred grounds, and the Abyssal Ruins and Desolate Ruins—every Great Dao expert who should have entered had entered, and even those who shouldn't have entered had also come in.
They hadn't come to watch the spectacle, but to seize the initiative within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces.
As for what exactly this 'initiative' within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces was, no one was clear for the moment.
Some said the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces were saturated with the breath of Original Sin. Those touched by Original Sin, whether innate or acquired, whether Original Sin Retribution Bodies, Original Sin Response Bodies, or even Original Sin Dharma Bodies, were all drawn to the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces.
Perhaps the initiative of the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces was Original Sin itself.
It was even possible that the legendary Mountain Without Dao would gestate and emerge from within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces.
If that were truly the case, then the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Destiny would also emerge in response to fate.
Of course.
This was merely everyone's speculation.
Whether it was true or not, no one could say for certain.
But one thing was sure: regardless of what the initiative of the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces turned out to be, it would influence the future fate of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
The various Great Dao experts who coveted the True Lord of Original Sin had entered the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces to seize the initiative regarding Original Sin.
And the experts who guarded the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth would inevitably stop at nothing to prevent them from seizing that initiative.
Logically speaking.
At this critical juncture, Demon Emperor Blood River and Miao Tathagata shouldn't be making such a fuss over such a minor matter. After all, for Great Dao overlords like them, time was extremely precious. A single moment's delay could mean missing the initiative.
Demon Emperor Blood River's stance had always been a mystery. No one knew which side he was on—whether he coveted the True Lord of Original Sin or guarded the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
No one knew.
But Miao Tathagata's stance was known to all. His ambitions were vast; he had always coveted the True Lord of Original Sin, vainly attempting to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos, usher in the Era Without Dao, and become the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Destiny.
Since that was the case, shouldn't he be rushing to seize the initiative regarding Original Sin within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces?
Why did he have the leisure to linger here?
And he had been lingering for such a long time.
"I originally wished to witness the so-called old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven, but now it seems...
Heh."
Miao Tathagata shook his head slightly, his words tinged with profound disappointment. "What Profound Mystery Nine Immortals, what Tai Xuan Immortal Elder, Tai Miao Immortal Elder, what Xuan Tian Immortal Elder...
They are nothing more than a bunch of turtles hiding in their shells. Truly most disappointing to this seat, utterly disappointing, disappointing to the extreme."
"With such pitiful courage, you dare dream of guarding the Three Thousand Great Daos?
How laughable. Forget guarding these Three Thousand Great Daos; you can't even guard your own Immortal Dao Source!"
Whether he had grown impatient from waiting or for some other reason, Miao Tathagata began to incessantly mock and ridicule the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven.
Yet no matter how he mocked and ridiculed, the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven never showed themselves.
Right at that moment.
A voice came through.
"I say, Miao Tathagata, isn't that enough from you, kid? I only knew you were sinister, ruthless, and wildly ambitious before, but today this old monk discovers that when it comes to ripping into people, you're also the top dog in our Western Buddha Realm!"
Who?
Who was so brazen, not only directly addressing Miao Tathagata's honorable title but also calling him 'kid' repeatedly, with curses sprinkled in?
Had the old seniors of Profound Mystery Grotto-Heaven finally shown themselves?
No!
That wasn't right.
This voice referred to itself as 'this old monk' and mentioned the Western Buddha Realm.
Could it be someone from the Buddhist path?
That also seemed unlikely.
Miao Tathagata ruled over the Eight Buddhist Sects, dominating the Western Buddha Realm. Who in the Western Heavens would dare show him such disrespect?
Forget the Western Buddha Realm; probably across the vast heavens and myriad realms of the Great Desolation, no one would dare speak to Miao Tathagata like that.
Just as everyone was utterly confused, they saw a man swaying and staggering out from one of the Desolate Ancient ruins.
This man wore a tattered gray monk's robe, a tattered gray monk's hat, and tattered monk's shoes on his feet. In his hand, he held a tattered fan, and at his waist hung a tattered gourd.
This attire looked neither like a Western Buddha, nor a Bodhisattva, and was even further removed from a Holy Monk.
Yet he was indeed a monk, and the Great Dao experts hidden within the Desolate Ancient ruins all recognized this monk.
It was none other than the monk hailed as the Living Buddha of the Great Desolation—Da Xing the Mad Monk.
Da Xing the Mad Monk was absolutely a unique specimen within the Western Buddha Realm, and a famously known one at that.
Although he was called a Living Buddha, no one had ever seen him perform a single good deed or act of kindness. On the contrary, this old bald donkey had done plenty of sordid deeds involving swindling, cheating, killing, and plundering.
His prestige couldn't compare to Miao Tathagata, nor to Demon Emperor Blood River, or even the Great Sun Radiance Emperor.
The peculiar thing was that almost everyone who knew of Great Dao overlords like Miao Tathagata and Demon Emperor Blood River also knew of Da Xing the Mad Monk, but those who knew Da Xing the Mad Monk might not necessarily know of Great Dao overlords like Miao Tathagata.
Even more peculiar was that throughout the ages, whether from the heavens above or the earth below, from the Nine Nethers or the Nine Heavens, there wasn't a single person Da Xing the Mad Monk didn't seem to know. He appeared to know everyone, could strike up a conversation with anyone. There wasn't an old senior from any major Grotto-Heaven, Blessed Land, or powerful faction he didn't know. He even knew experts from sacred grounds and forbidden lands, those exiled to the endless Desolate Ruins beyond the heavens, and even old monsters suppressed within the Abyssal Ruins.
Almost everyone who knew Da Xing the Mad Monk had this feeling.
You Di, Gu Qingfeng, was like this.
The Carefree Great Emperor, Mo Wentian, was like this.
The Weiyang Demon Emperor, Ren Tianxing, was also like this.
The Western Buddha Emperor, Miao Tathagata, was like this.
Demon Emperor Blood River was no exception.
Even.
Those from Kunlun—Bei Changqing, the Seven Elders, Elder Lin, and others—also had this feeling, because they too knew Da Xing the Mad Monk.