Then there are the Old Monster of Black Mountain and the Old Ghost of the Blue Lantern, one a demonic path overlord, the other a ghostly path overlord.
These two overlords have long coveted the position of the True Lord of Original Sin. Though they are not anomalies of the Present Era, they have been painstakingly scheming since the Desolate Ancient Era until now. The depth of Original Sin on their persons is absolutely unimaginable, and it's unknown how many schemes they have laid in the shadows. Their hope of ascending to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin is also not small.
These existences all have great hope of ascending to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin. Not to mention the numerous experts under their command, they also have the support of various Ancestors behind them.
However.
Da Xing the Mad Monk dares to assert that those with hope of ascending to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin are definitely not limited to just these few. There must also be anomalies of the Present Era lying dormant in the shadows, and there must also be Original Sin Ancestors lying dormant in the shadows.
For example, back in Kan Palace, an Original Sin Ancestor once appeared, enveloping the void with a sky full of Original Sin.
Who knows how many such Original Sin Ancestors are lying dormant in the shadows, plotting for the True Lord of Original Sin.
There might even be anomalies lying dormant in the shadows who have yet to reveal themselves and have greater hope of ascending to the pinnacle than Gu Qingfeng.
This is not an impossibility.
Anomalies are anomalies; their karma is chaotic, their fate is unknown. Even Genggu Wuming, hailed as the incarnation of karma and the messenger of fate, cannot know of their existence.
They might have been hiding in the shadows all along, waiting for an important opportunity.
If that is truly the case, then it would be utterly insane.
You must know that all the great Dao experts in the heavens and the earth are currently watching and guarding against Gu Qingfeng.
But if there is an anomaly hidden in the shadows with greater hope of ascending to the pinnacle than Gu Qingfeng, who then emerges at the opportune moment to unexpectedly ascend to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin... perhaps the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate is not Gu Qingfeng at all. Whether it's those guarding the Heaven-and-Earth Laws or those plotting for the True Lord of Original Sin, they would probably all collapse.
Including those existences who have placed their hopes on Gu Qingfeng.
These existences can roughly be divided into three categories.
The first category consists of those who yearn for the Wu Dao Age. They place their hopes on Gu Qingfeng purely because they wish to enter the Wu Dao Age. As for whether it is ultimately Gu Qingfeng who opens the Wu Dao Age, it is utterly unimportant to them. As long as someone opens the Wu Dao Age, they will be happy. Even if the True Lord of Original Sin who finally opens the Wu Dao Age erases Gu Qingfeng, they would not care.
For example, the Old Beggar who emerged from Guixu is their representative.
The second category of existences who place their hopes on Gu Qingfeng also hope that Gu Qingfeng can ascend to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin and open the Wu Dao Age.
What differs from the first category is that they consider things more long-term. What they hope for is not merely the opening of the Wu Dao Age; they also care about the person who opens it.
Because whoever ascends to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin, whoever opens the Wu Dao Age, will become the future overlord who dominates the heavens and the earth.
If the one who ultimately ascends to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin does so not to open the Wu Dao Age, but to become the overlord of heaven and earth, dominating all things and sentient beings... if that is the case, it would be better not to open it at all.
For example, Demon Emperor Blood River can represent this second category of existences. This is the reason he places his hopes on Gu Qingfeng. What he values is not the various signs indicating Gu Qingfeng is the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, but rather Gu Qingfeng's character. He knows that if Gu Qingfeng ascends to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin, it is absolutely not for the purpose of becoming the overlord of heaven and earth who dominates all things and sentient beings.
If not for this reason, given Demon Emperor Blood River's aloof and proud nature, he would never have secretly observed Gu Qingfeng for such a long time.
The third category of existences who place their hopes on Gu Qingfeng are not betting on whether Gu Qingfeng can ascend to the pinnacle of Original Sin. To be honest, even if the one who ultimately ascends to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin, or even opens the Wu Dao Age, is not Gu Qingfeng, they would not care. Because what they are betting on Gu Qingfeng for is the meaning behind Original Sin, the Wu Dao Age, and even fate itself—they are betting on a future.
For example, Da Xing the Mad Monk, Lady Blackwater, the Witch Matriarch, and even Genggu Wuming are all like this.
...
As Da Xing the Mad Monk followed Gu Qingfeng, gradually delving deeper into the void of Li Palace, chatting idly, his various Incarnations were also scurrying about in the other Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces.
Perhaps because the two of them had already entered the depths of Li Palace, or perhaps because everyone in the heavens and the earth knew Gu Qingfeng's existence was not to be trifled with, or perhaps because not long ago, Gu Qingfeng had transformed into a terrifying existence beyond the Great Dao and slaughtered the Incarnations of many great Dao experts from the heavens and the earth...
As a result, although undercurrents surged within Li Palace, they remained just undercurrents, not surfacing. Everything appeared calm on the surface.
In contrast, the other Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces were truly bustling with activity.
One Original Sin Dharmakaya after another surfaced from the shadows, searching for the Light of Original Sin, the Flower of Original Sin, the Essence of Original Sin, and the possible Foremost Opportunity of Original Sin.
Of course.
Unable to find the Light of Original Sin, some Original Sin Incarnations turned their attention to those Original Sin Incarnations who had lost their selves.
Ever since the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces gestated within the Primordial Black Hole, countless Original Sin Incarnations who had lost their selves had inexplicably appeared within the nine palaces.
These Original Sin Incarnations who had lost their selves were like Original Sin puppets, drawn by the breath of Original Sin within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces. Like wandering ghosts, they scurried chaotically within the nine palaces, rushing towards wherever the breath of Original Sin was strongest.
Some Original Sin experts took this opportunity to devour these self-lost Original Sin Incarnations.
Although devouring these Original Sin Incarnations wouldn't deepen their own Original Sin by much, the sheer quantity made up for it.
Everyone understands the simple principle that quantity leads to qualitative change.
Even a mosquito is still meat.
Before the Foremost Opportunity of Original Sin appears, they seek to deepen their own Original Sin as much as possible.
The deeper one's Original Sin, the greater the hope of ascending to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin.
Even if one ultimately fails to ascend to the pinnacle, after the Wu Dao Age opens, whether profound Original Sin grants unique advantages is perhaps unknown to anyone, but it certainly won't bring any harm.
Da Xing observed that within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces, those devouring these self-lost Original Sin Incarnations were mostly third-rate Original Sin Dharmakayas, and there were even quite a few acquired Original Sin Dharmakayas obtained through possession. He speculated that these third-rate Original Sin Dharmakayas were either secretly cultivated by the major powers of various cave heavens and blessed lands as a backup plan, or they were Original Sin individuals under the command of certain great Dao overlords.
The true experts plotting for the True Lord of Original Sin disdained devouring these self-lost Original Sin Incarnations. Or rather, they simply looked down on them.
Each of them possessed profound Original Sin. For them, devouring these self-lost Original Sin Incarnations would hardly deepen their own Original Sin at all. It was negligible, almost ignorable.
While searching for the Light of Original Sin, they were not idle either. Instead, they turned their attention to those third-rate Original Sin Dharmakayas.
The third-rate Original Sin Dharmakayas devoured the self-lost Original Sin Incarnations.
Then, when they were devouring, those cunning old Original Sin hands would devour them.
This was akin to big fish eating small fish, small fish eating shrimp, the mantis stalking the cicada unaware of the oriole behind.
What a lively scene.
Looking around, each of the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces was more bustling than the last. Original Sin Dharmakayas were everywhere, all acting like madmen. In order to deepen their own Original Sin, they began to grab at anything edible.
Some cunning old Original Sin hands even fought fiercely to devour Original Sin Dharmakayas. They not only targeted those third-rate Original Sin Dharmakayas but also eyed each other. Some cunning old Original Sin hands even secretly watched from the sidelines as tigers fought, ready to reap the benefits.
If the self-lost Original Sin Incarnations were merely mosquito meat to them, then the Original Sin Dharmakayas were like chicken meat. And as for the cunning old Original Sin hands, to each other, they were elephant meat. Devouring them would undoubtedly greatly deepen one's own Original Sin.
However.
The liveliness occurring within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces was far from limited to this.
Not long ago, a sensational event occurred in Zhen Palace, one of the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces.
And it was an event related to Weiyang Demon Emperor Ren Tianxing.
The cause was that someone said Ren Tianxing had found a Flower of Original Sin within a Desolate Ancient ruin.
Whether this matter was true or a scheme laid behind Ren Tianxing's back, Da Xing the Mad Monk was not entirely clear.
He felt that if this was truly a scheme against Ren Tianxing, then the schemer's goal had clearly been achieved.
Ren Tianxing was besieged by a large number of Original Sin Dharmakayas in Zhen Palace.
If the schemer's goal was to lure out the Original Sin Dharmakayas lying dormant in the shadows, then his goal was also achieved.
Among the Original Sin Dharmakayas besieging Ren Tianxing, many were likely those recently tainted by Original Sin, but there were also old Dharmakayas tainted for many years, and even cunning old Original Sin hands wandering in the Desolate Ruins or emerging from Guixu.
If the schemer's goal was to test the depth of an Original Sin anomaly like Ren Tianxing, then his goal was also achieved.
While besieged by numerous Original Sin Dharmakayas, Ren Tianxing successively summoned two divine sense demonic thoughts.
One was Rahu.
The second was Ketu.
Both Rahu and Ketu were famously ill-omened stars in the Desolate Ancient Era. Each time they appeared, it was like a disaster descending, either resulting in rivers of blood or fields of white bones. Their names for darkness and evil surpassed even the Abyssal Asura, the Descent to the Yellow Springs, and the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Blood Taotie upon Gu Qingfeng's person. They were also dark and evil overlords who struck fear into the hearts of the Three Thousand Great Daos during the Desolate Ancient Era.
If the schemer's goal was not only to test Ren Tianxing's depth but also to see how many existences secretly supported him and hoped for him to ascend to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin, then he also succeeded.
When Ren Tianxing was besieged by various Original Sin Dharmakayas, the existences supporting him from behind also surfaced from the shadows.
If the schemer wanted to use this opportunity to erase Ren Tianxing, then his goal failed.
Because those Original Sin Dharmakayas besieging him not only failed to erase Ren Tianxing in the end, but were instead slaughtered and sent fleeing in all directions after Ren Tianxing summoned the two ill-omened stars, Rahu and Ketu. Many Original Sin Dharmakayas were even annihilated, their ashes scattered.