Just before Demon Emperor Ren Tianxing was ambushed in the Zhen Palace, another Original Sin Anomaly had also been attacked—Free Emperor Mo Wentian.
However, it was not in the Zhen Palace, but in the Gen Palace.
Ren Tianxing was attacked because he had found an Original Sin Flower—at least, that was the rumor.
As for Mo Wentian's attack, there was no such rumor, nor did he face a massive encirclement by Original Sin Dharmakayas. Instead, he was assaulted by a group of mysterious Incarnations.
Yes.
An attack by a group of mysterious Incarnations.
Exactly whose Incarnations these mysterious ones were, Da Xing the Mad Monk did not know. He wasn't present when Mo Wentian was attacked either; he only heard about it later.
He also didn't know the purpose behind that group of mysterious experts attacking Mo Wentian.
If their goal was merely to test Mo Wentian's depths, then this attempt of theirs could be considered a success.
They managed to probe out the two divine-sense demonic thoughts residing within Mo Wentian.
One was Huangtu.
The other was Senluo.
Like Luohou Jidu on Ren Tianxing, both were overlords who once dominated Heaven and Earth during the Desolate Ancient Era!
Moreover, the Luohou Jidu on Ren Tianxing had once schemed for the position of True Lord of Original Sin back in the Desolate Ancient Era. Similarly, the Huangtu and Senluo on Mo Wentian had also schemed for Original Sin during that era. As for whether these four overlords later integrated Original Sin True Blood and became Sons of Original Sin, that remained unknown.
It seemed they hadn't managed to probe that out either.
In Da Xing the Mad Monk's view, if the purpose was to test Demon Emperor Ren Tianxing of Weiyang, he could more or less understand. After all, Ren Tianxing was an Original Sin Anomaly and was also scheming to become the True Lord of Original Sin. Although his purpose in scheming for the True Lordship wasn't to dominate all things in Heaven and Earth, nor to usher in some Daoless Era, but merely to master his own fate.
Regardless of the purpose, the fact remained that he was scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin.
Since it was a fact, it constituted a threat.
A threat to those who guarded the Heaven-and-Earth Great Dao, and also a threat to other existences scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin.
But Free Emperor Mo Wentian was different.
It was true that Mo Wentian was also an Original Sin Anomaly, but he had no desire to scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin. He didn't seem to care much about whether the Daoless Era would be ushered in or not either. The only thing he cared about was his own karma.
Mo Wentian's purpose in entering the Primordial Black Hole was solely to seek his karma and find his true self.
This wasn't much of a secret. At the very least, it wasn't a secret to those Great Dao overlords across the heavens and the earth. They all knew Mo Wentian would not scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin.
If that was the case, then who wanted to test Mo Wentian, and what was the point of such a test?
Could it be simply because Mo Wentian was an Original Sin Anomaly?
Hard to say, and not easy to say for sure.
Perhaps it really was just because Mo Wentian was an Original Sin Anomaly.
As an Anomaly, his karma was chaotic and his fate was unknown.
Even if Mo Wentian had no intention of vying for the True Lord of Original Sin, no one could guarantee he wouldn't end up doing so.
After all, he carried the divine-sense demonic thoughts of two Desolate Ancient overlords, both of whom had once schemed for the True Lord of Original Sin.
If these two Desolate Ancient overlords were to devour Mo Wentian's self-consciousness, seize his physical body, and then go contend for the True Lord of Original Sin, such a possibility could not be ruled out.
Furthermore.
Mo Wentian sought his karma to find his true self.
If he were merely an Anomaly, perhaps he wouldn't be a threat. The problem was, he had also cultivated an Original Sin Dharmakaya, becoming a genuine Original Sin Anomaly.
As was widely known, cultivating an Original Sin Dharmakaya necessarily involved losing one's self, then integrating with Original Sin, before gestating a new self.
Thus, if Mo Wentian sought his karma and true self, he would only tread deeper and deeper down the path of Original Sin, sinking further in. The deeper he sank, the deeper his own Original Sin would become, thereby posing a greater threat to the Heaven-and-Earth Great Dao and to those scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin.
Moreover, who could guarantee that Mo Wentian's true self wouldn't scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin?
Perhaps Mo Wentian's very existence was, from the start, a segment of karma planted by some great overlord of the Desolate Ancient Era using ancient means, with the purpose of scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin. Mo Wentian himself might simply be unaware. When he finally found his true self, that might also be the moment he vied for the True Lordship.
If that group of mysterious Incarnations was truly testing Mo Wentian for this reason, then one could only say they were terrifyingly far-sighted, considering possibilities too distant and planning with excessive meticulousness.
Da Xing the Mad Monk dared to assert that if that group of mysterious experts would test even someone like Mo Wentian who had no desire to scheme for the True Lordship, then they would certainly test other Original Sin Anomalies. They might even not spare existences like Old Monster Black Mountain and Old Ghost Green Lantern, who weren't Original Sin Anomalies but had long been laying plans to scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin.
As it turned out.
Da Xing the Mad Monk guessed correctly.
He heard that one of Old Monster Black Mountain's External Incarnations had been attacked in the Kun Palace, also by a group of mysterious Incarnations.
Not long after, one of Old Ghost Green Lantern's External Incarnations was attacked in the Xun Palace, similarly by a group of mysterious Incarnations.
Unfortunately.
This time, that group of mysterious Incarnations failed in their probing.
Whether testing Old Monster Black Mountain or the mysterious Incarnations themselves, they failed, probing out nothing.
Let alone probing out the true forms of Old Monster Black Mountain and Old Ghost Green Lantern, they didn't even manage to probe out what divine-sense demonic thoughts their External Incarnations might possess.
Was that all?
No!
It was said that group of mysterious Incarnations suffered heavy losses at the hands of Old Monster Black Mountain and Old Ghost Green Lantern, with several of the mysterious Incarnations falling into their grasp.
It must be said.
The older the ginger, the spicier it is.
Perhaps Old Monster Black Mountain and Old Ghost Green Lantern had long anticipated someone would test them. They deliberately used an External Incarnation to set a trap, luring that group of mysterious Incarnations in before launching a counter-encirclement and counter-probe.
Chaos!
Utter chaos.
The Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces were growing increasingly chaotic. Original Sin Dharmakayas were everywhere, External Incarnations were everywhere, and ambushes and probes were happening everywhere.
Whose Original Sin Dharmakaya was that? Whose External Incarnation was this? Who was testing whom? It was a complete mess, like a pot of congee stirred into chaos.
When he heard that an Incarnation of Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata of the Western Heavens had also been attacked, Da Xing the Mad Monk didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Because back in the Kan Palace, he felt that trap wasn't just set to test Demon Emperor Blood River and the Mysterious Profound Cave Heaven, but also to test Miao Tathagata.
After the Kan Palace incident, one of Miao Tathagata's External Incarnations was again tested by a group of mysterious Incarnations in the Qian Palace.
If that were all, it wouldn't be enough to make Da Xing the Mad Monk both laugh and cry. The reality was, he heard that seven or eight of Miao Tathagata's External Incarnations had been tested by mysterious Incarnations across the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces.
Thinking about it carefully, this wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
After all, aside from Gu Qingfeng, Miao Tathagata was the one with the greatest hope of vying for the True Lord of Original Sin.
Everyone knew Gu Qingfeng had the greatest hope of contending for the True Lordship. Precisely because everyone knew, all existences across the heavens and the earth—whether guarding the Heaven-and-Earth Great Dao or scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin—were secretly watching him, guarding against him, waiting for the opportunity to eliminate him.
In other words.
Gu Qingfeng's chances of winning were enormous, so vast that no one could compare.
Simultaneously, his chances of losing were also enormous, possibly even greater than those mediocre Original Sin Dharmakayas secretly cultivated by various cave heavens and blessed lands.
Looking at it comprehensively, in a certain sense, Miao Tathagata's hope of contending for the True Lord of Original Sin might be even greater than Gu Qingfeng's.
Precisely because of this, consequently, the number of existences secretly supporting Miao Tathagata far exceeded those supporting Gu Qingfeng.
There was another important reason.
That was, Miao Tathagata was not only an Original Sin Anomaly but also a Calamity-Destined Constant.
Throughout the ages across Heaven and Earth, Original Sin Anomalies were few, and Calamity-Destined Constants were also few.
Both could be said to be exceedingly rare.
As for an existence that was both an Original Sin Anomaly and a Calamity-Destined Constant, looking across ancient and present Heaven and Earth, only Miao Tathagata fit that description.
If the purpose of an Original Sin Anomaly's existence was to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos and cause Heaven and Earth to be reborn, then the purpose of a Calamity-Destined Constant's existence was to guard the Heaven-and-Earth Great Dao.
'Responding to the Calamity' meant responding to the great tribulation of the Three Thousand Great Daos. 'Destined Constant' meant determining the fate of the Anomalies.
No one would have imagined Miao Tathagata could be both an Original Sin Anomaly and a Calamity-Destined Constant. It was as improbable as Heaven and Earth defying themselves, or fate changing itself.
Yet, this most improbable event had precisely happened.
Under such circumstances, it was no surprise that group of mysterious Incarnations would test Miao Tathagata.
Although existences across the heavens and the earth knew Miao Tathagata wanted to scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin, and also knew he had likely been secretly laying plans for it all along.
But to this day.
No one knew exactly how far Miao Tathagata had walked down the path of Original Sin, how deep he had sunk, or how powerful the Original Sin upon him was.
No one knew.
Miao Tathagata had always appeared before others using Incarnations, and moreover, always using Great Buddha Incarnations. No one had ever seen his Original Sin True Form.
Perhaps the purpose behind that group of mysterious Incarnations repeatedly encircling and attacking seven or eight of Miao Tathagata's External Incarnations across the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces was to force out his Original Sin True Form. If they couldn't force it out, then gaining insight into the secrets of his Original Sin True Form through his External Incarnations would also suffice.
Unfortunately.
They ultimately failed in their probing.
They neither forced out Miao Tathagata's Original Sin True Form, nor managed to glean the secrets of his Original Sin True Form from his External Incarnations.
Each of Miao Tathagata's External Incarnations was exceptionally powerful, with a great sun crowning its head, a body like that of a Buddha Lord, boundless dharma power, enjoying the worship of ten thousand Buddhas. They employed either the Great Sun Tathagata Seal, the Great Sun Tathagata Mantra, or the Great Sun Tathagata Palm.
Shaking his External Incarnations was far too difficult. Each of Miao Tathagata's External Incarnations was as if the wrathful incarnation of the Great Sun Tathagata had personally descended.
Under such circumstances, who could possibly shake them?
Moreover, Miao Tathagata had numerous backers. Even if his External Incarnations were truly outmatched, those backers would absolutely not stand idly by. The deeper Miao Tathagata's true form remained hidden, the greater his hope of contending for the True Lordship. They were all counting on Miao Tathagata to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos, vie for the True Lord of Original Sin, and usher in the Daoless Era.
Demon Emperor Ren Tianxing of Weiyang, Free Emperor Mo Wentian, and Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata of the Western Heavens—these Original Sin Anomalies had all been tested by a group of mysterious Incarnations within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces. Even those who weren't Original Sin Anomalies, like Old Ghost Green Lantern and Old Monster Black Mountain, including Demon Emperor Blood River who was neither an Anomaly nor had ever been tainted by Original Sin and had no desire to scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin, had also been tested.
Da Xing the Mad Monk pondered: that group of mysterious Incarnations probably wouldn't let slip Gu Qingfeng, the greatest Original Sin Anomaly of all, would they?