"How did you know what this old monk wanted to ask?"
An Original Sin Anomaly he had never seen before not only recognized him but also knew exactly what he wanted to ask the moment he opened his mouth. This filled Da Xing the Mad Monk with immense suspicion and astonishment.
"That is not difficult."
The Original Sin Anomaly standing atop the mountain peak remained ethereal and elusive, flickering in and out of sight like mist or smoke, or like a flame swaying in the wind, as he replied: "The Saint Monk has always been particularly concerned with the affairs of the ancient and present Heaven and Earth, especially regarding this Original Sin Cataclysm. You have a thorough understanding of who is guarding the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, who is scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin, who yearns for the Era Without Dao, how many are destined to face the tribulation, and how many are Original Sin Anomalies. The Saint Monk has a general grasp of these matters in his heart. Now, an Original Sin Anomaly you have never seen before suddenly appears before you. Naturally, the Saint Monk is puzzled."
"Little one!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk's face darkened as he stared intently at the Original Sin Anomaly. "You know quite a lot."
"Not a great deal, but not too little either."
"You still haven't answered this old monk's question. How has an Original Sin Anomaly like you managed to hide until now?"
"I have not been hiding."
"If you weren't hiding, this old monk couldn't possibly be unaware. Even if you could deceive this old monk, you couldn't deceive the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, let alone the Sacred Ground's Heavenly Dao and Genggu Wuming."
"How does the Saint Monk know the Heaven-Earth Great Dao is unaware of my existence? And how do you know the Sacred Ground's Heavenly Dao, or even Genggu Wuming, are unaware of my existence?"
"This..." Da Xing the Mad Monk was momentarily speechless and fell into contemplation.
In his view, if the Heaven-Earth Great Dao knew of this Original Sin Anomaly's existence, it would definitely have rooted him out and would never deliberately conceal him.
The reason was simple.
The Heaven-Earth Great Dao did not belong to any single overlord, nor was it the Dao of any single Great Dao. It was the Heaven-Earth Great Dao of the Three Thousand Great Daos.
It was like how the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, while proclaiming to guard the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, secretly nurtured Original Sin individuals, schemed for the True Lord of Original Sin, and prepared both options.
This was already an open secret. Which Grotto Heaven or Blessed Land nurtured which Original Sin individual was clear to all parties involved; none could hide it.
Suddenly.
Da Xing the Mad Monk thought of the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao.
If the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao were also secretly nurturing Original Sin individuals and scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin, and if they wanted to hide such a person, then neither the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens nor the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands should be able to detect it easily.
The Sacred Ground had that capability, and the Heavenly Dao possessed it as well.
The question was:
Would the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao nurture Original Sin individuals to scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin?
Probably not.
Da Xing the Mad Monk could completely understand why the Thirty-Six Grotto Heavens, the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, and the various major powers and overlords secretly nurtured Original Sin individuals and prepared both options.
After all, for them, their foundation was not this Heaven and Earth nor this Great Dao, but their own Grotto Heavens, Blessed Lands, and legacies.
Protecting their Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands and ensuring their legacies continued was fundamental.
For survival, the various Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands had no choice but to prepare both options.
This included the Mysterious Grotto Heaven representing the Immortal Dao, which also prepared both options. Da Xing the Mad Monk could understand that as well.
Although the Immortal Dao was hailed as the overlord of the Heaven and Earth in the present era, it was merely a title.
The true master of Heaven and Earth was still the Heavenly Dao.
Among the Three Thousand Great Daos, the Immortal Dao could be called the eternal second.
Now, with an opportunity to truly dominate Heaven and Earth and become the true leader of the Great Daos, the Immortal Dao naturally wanted to gamble.
But the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao were different.
The Sacred Ground represented sanctity and guarded the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, while the Heavenly Dao was the leader of the Great Daos, ruling over the Heaven-Earth Great Dao.
In other words, this Heaven-Earth Great Dao was the foundation of the Sacred Ground and also the foundation of the Heavenly Dao.
The various Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands prepared both options for survival; the Immortal Dao wanted to gamble to become the leader of the Great Daos.
Logically speaking, the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao couldn't possibly also prepare both options, could they?
If Heaven and Earth were likened to a dynasty,
then the Three Thousand Great Daos would be like the imperial relatives.
And the various Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands would be like the important ministers of the court.
However,
the Heavenly Dao would be the emperor of the court.
And the Sacred Ground would be the retired emperor in the court.
Original Sin was like a rebel army staging an uprising, with immense momentum. The important ministers of the court, for survival, had no choice but to side with the rebels. The imperial relatives also wanted to seize this opportunity to gamble big—if the rebellion succeeded, they could become emperor. But as the emperor and retired emperor of the court, could they possibly also nurture rebels to overthrow themselves?
Therefore,
Da Xing the Mad Monk concluded that the Original Sin Anomaly before him could not belong to the Sacred Ground, nor could he belong to the Heavenly Dao. And if he belonged to the Three Thousand Great Daos or the various Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands, he couldn't possibly have hidden from the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao.
Whether it was the Sacred Ground or the Heavenly Dao, if they knew an Original Sin Anomaly was hiding in the shadows, they would definitely root him out and would never allow a potential threat to remain concealed.
"Little one!
Don't play these games with this old monk. I dare say with certainty that the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao are absolutely unaware of your existence."
"Heh heh."
The Original Sin Anomaly chuckled lightly and responded: "The Saint Monk is mistaken. I can tell you with certainty that both the Sacred Ground and the Heavenly Dao are aware of my existence, including Genggu Wuming."
"If they all knew, they would have rooted you out long ago. How could they allow you to hide in the shadows?"
"That is precisely their brilliance."
"Brilliance?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk was puzzled; he couldn't understand what was brilliant about leaving a potential threat hidden in the shadows.
"May I ask, Saint Monk, why do they root out Original Sin Anomalies and place them in the open?"
"First, to observe; second, to probe; third, to suppress."
Da Xing the Mad Monk knew the Heaven-Earth Great Dao had always operated this way: rooting out all Original Sin Anomalies, first observing which among them had the greatest destiny and was most likely to ascend to the True Lord of Original Sin. The purpose of probing was the same: while probing, they suppressed the growth of these Original Sin Anomalies.
However, this was secondary. The most important thing was that by rooting out all Original Sin Anomalies, they could make them fight and kill each other, thus watching tigers fight from a safe distance and reaping the spoils when both sides were weakened.
There was only one position of True Lord of Original Sin.
But there were many Original Sin Anomalies.
These Original Sin Anomalies would definitely suppress and kill each other to seize the True Lord of Original Sin. In this way, the Heaven-Earth Great Dao could reap the spoils.
"You are correct, and that is indeed what they do."
The Original Sin Anomaly said: "But you have overlooked one point: the more Original Sin Anomalies there are in the open, the more chaotic the situation becomes. The more chaotic the situation, the harder it is for the Heaven-Earth Great Dao to control. Therefore, they will not root out all Original Sin Anomalies."
Da Xing the Mad Monk opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but could find no grounds.
Although he was reluctant, he had to admit the truth in the other's words.
Thinking carefully, it really was so.
Every Original Sin Anomaly was not merely an Original Sin Anomaly; behind each were many supporters, and they carried the divine consciousness and demonic thoughts of the Desolate Ancient Era. They might even be Original Sin Sons who had once fused with True Blood of Original Sin. Gu Qingfeng, Miao Rulai, Ren Tianxing, Mo Wentian—all were like this.
Although Original Sin Anomalies like Gu Qingfeng showed little movement, their supporters behind the scenes were already secretly probing and causing trouble everywhere. This directly led to the Primordial Nine Palaces becoming extremely chaotic.