Da Xing the Mad Monk wasn't just making wild guesses.
He had his reasons.
He knew the incident began when the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor heard that members of Taixu Grotto had found a Primordial Pearl within a Desolate Ancient ruin. Consequently, he ambushed Elder Tongbei of Taixu Grotto here in an attempt to seize the Primordial Pearl.
According to Da Xing's knowledge, before the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces had fully manifested, other elders of Taixu Grotto did indeed find a Primordial Pearl within a Desolate Ancient ruin.
Note!
They *found* it, not *seized* it.
Finding and seizing are two completely different concepts.
Finding implies there were no outsiders present at the time. If outsiders had been present, it wouldn't have been finding, but seizing.
Since there were no outsiders present at the time, how did the news that Taixu Grotto's elders had found a Primordial Pearl leak out?
Why did no one else hear this news, yet the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor alone heard it? And what a coincidence that the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor just happened to encounter Elder Tongbei of Taixu Grotto—who had become separated from his fellow senior brothers—right here in the Kan Palace Void.
This inevitably aroused suspicion.
Da Xing surmised that the mastermind behind the scheme must have deliberately leaked this information to the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor, calculating that in order to seize the Primordial Pearl, the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor would inevitably ambush Taixu Grotto's Elder Tongbei.
Once Elder Tongbei met with misfortune here, this matter would eventually reach Demon Emperor Blood River's ears. Because Demon Emperor Blood River fell into demonhood due to a single thought in the past, leading to Taixu Grotto's gradual decline, he harbored immense guilt towards Taixu Grotto in his heart. Upon learning that Elder Tongbei had met with misfortune here, no matter where he was or what he was doing, he would rush over immediately.
Given Demon Emperor Blood River's temperament, he would absolutely not spare the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor. Death was certain.
The Heavenly Dragon True Emperor and Emperor Wuzang were the Dual Polarity Yin-Yang Taiji Boundless, sharing life and death, suffering loss together. Since the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor was no match for Demon Emperor Blood River, he would inevitably draw out Emperor Wuzang. Once Emperor Wuzang appeared, that would also mean drawing out those old fogies from the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven.
Thinking about the sequence of events, it all seemed like a conspiracy, and a meticulously designed one at that.
If it weren't the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor ambushing Taixu Grotto's Elder Tongbei here, but someone else, they simply wouldn't have the guts to move against Taixu Grotto—not even Emperor Wuzang would be an exception.
Because everyone in the world knew of Demon Emperor Blood River's connection to Taixu Grotto, and they all knew that killing a Taixu Grotto elder would inevitably enrage Demon Emperor Blood River. The price of angering Demon Emperor Blood River was terrifyingly high; even the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands might not be able to bear it.
Especially at this critical juncture of the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces, no one wanted to provoke a powerful overlord like Demon Emperor Blood River.
Yet, as fate would have it, the one who ambushed Taixu Grotto was the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor.
This man was born arrogant, domineering, and looked down on everyone. Only he would dare to ambush Taixu Grotto; only he would disregard Demon Emperor Blood River.
Similarly, if the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had ambushed an elder from another grotto-heaven or blessed land this time, the targeted force would likely be furious but not dare to speak out. Even if the targeted force had experts capable of suppressing the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor and the power to annihilate Emperor Wuzang, they absolutely wouldn't dare to brazenly burn the two's divine senses like Demon Emperor Blood River was doing, openly provoking the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven.
After all, the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven was the leader of the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens, teeming with countless experts. Even the Great Sun Radiance Emperor was somewhat wary of the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven, let alone other major powers who couldn't afford to provoke them.
Take this incident, for example. Not only did the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor ambush a Taixu Grotto elder here, he also annihilated numerous Buddhas from the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm, including the Red-Faced Vajra under Miao Rulai's command. The Pure Robe Bodhisattva and the Nine Precepts Dharma King were even severely wounded.
Yet, after Miao Rulai appeared, he merely suppressed the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor. He neither annihilated him nor burned the divine senses of Emperor Wuzang and the other.
Because Miao Rulai was also somewhat wary of the legendary Xuanmiao Nine Immortals, the Tai Xuan Immortal Elder, the Tai Miao Immortal Elder, the Xuan Tian Immortal Elder, and other experts from the Desolate Ancient Era within the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven.
However.
In Da Xing's view, this wasn't the most important point. There were two possibilities why Miao Rulai didn't annihilate Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor.
First, Miao Rulai might have already seen through this as a conspiracy. If he went to war with the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven, he would be falling into someone else's trap, being used as a pawn.
Second, perhaps Miao Rulai himself was the mastermind behind this scheme, aiming to make Demon Emperor Blood River and the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven go to war so he could reap the benefits as the third party.
Based on Da Xing's understanding of Miao Rulai, he believed Miao Rulai was absolutely capable of such underhanded dealings.
Besides Miao Rulai, there was also the Great Sun Radiance Emperor. They were both masters of scheming and particularly skilled in this art.
Da Xing originally wanted to remind Demon Emperor Blood River that he might have fallen into someone else's trap.
But the words reached his lips, yet he didn't speak them.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, nor that he couldn't. He simply felt it was meaningless.
If Miao Rulai knew this was a trap set by others, he wouldn't take the bait.
The Great Sun Radiance Emperor wouldn't take the bait either.
The elders of the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven certainly wouldn't take the bait.
Precisely because of this, the elders of the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven could only watch from the shadows, helplessly witnessing Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor's divine senses being burned and refined by Demon Emperor Blood River's Strange Fire, yet they dared not show themselves.
Once they showed themselves, they would be playing right into someone else's hands, with unimaginable consequences.
In the end, with no other choice, they sought out Da Xing the Mad Monk, hoping he would step forward to persuade Demon Emperor Blood River and thus break the current deadlock.
Because Da Xing owed the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven a great favor, he had no choice but to step forward.
However.
Stepping forward was one thing.
Persuading was another.
Da Xing held no hope whatsoever.
He understood Demon Emperor Blood River.
He clearly knew that Demon Emperor Blood River simply wouldn't care whether this was a deliberately set trap by others. He wouldn't care if this was a conspiracy. He only knew that the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had injured a Taixu Grotto elder, and that behind the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor stood the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven. He wanted to seek justice for Taixu Grotto and make the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven pay in blood.
As for what conspiracy, what scheme—he simply didn't care. It made no difference to him.
What is a demon?
This is a demon.
Doing only what they wish to do, without considering whether the act is dangerous or what consequences it might trigger.
For him, he never asks how powerful or terrifying the enemy is, what their status or background is, what their cultivation or fortune entails. He asks none of that. He doesn't even ask how many enemies there are.
He only asks who the enemy is. That alone is enough.
This was Demon Emperor Blood River, who fell into demonhood with a single thought.
The mastermind behind the scheme must also understand Demon Emperor Blood River's straightforward, extreme personality. They calculated that even if he saw through the conspiracy, he would still charge headlong into war with the Xuanmiao Grotto-Heaven without hesitation.