"Hard to say. This Nine-Cornered Black Cauldron looks utterly sinister. Old Monk reckons if this cauldron truly is one of the Four Fiends of the Desolate Ancient Era, then nine times out of ten it should be Qiongqi."
Gu Qingfeng and Da Xing the Mad Monk, hidden within the Void, watched the spectacle while speculating.
In the arena.
That Nine-Cornered Black Cauldron was still devouring the sky-full of Breath of Original Sin.
After the twenty to thirty Original Sin Dharmakayas were swept into the Nine-Cornered Black Cauldron without even a grunt, the other Original Sin Dharmakayas no longer dared to approach, keeping as far away from it as possible.
And still, various Original Sin Dharmakayas continued to arrive incessantly from all directions. Gu Qingfeng swept his gaze over them—good heavens, there were easily three to four hundred. And these were only the ones who had revealed themselves; those hidden in the shadows numbered nearly another hundred.
"Isn't this a bit too many Original Sin Dharmakayas?"
Gu Qingfeng knew that the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands were all secretly cultivating Original Sin Dharmakayas.
He also knew that after the appearance of the Primordial Nine Palaces, the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs who had been suppressed in Gui Xu, and those hiding in the Desolate Ruins, had all swarmed in.
Yes.
He knew.
But at this moment, seeing roughly five hundred Original Sin Dharmakayas, his heart was still shaken.
"You brat really haven't seen the world, is this considered many? Making a fuss over nothing!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk shot Gu Qingfeng an extremely disdainful look.
"Damn it, this is just Li Palace, and there are already this many Original Sin Dharmakayas. The other palaces of the Primordial Nine Palaces probably have quite a few too, right? Added up, how many Original Sin Dharmakayas would that be!"
"This is just scratching the surface?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk said, "Let me tell you, kid, just the Original Sin Dharmakayas cultivated by the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands alone number more than this. And then there are the batches under those old-timers like Black Mountain Old Fiend and Green Lamp Ancestral Patriarch—only more, not less. Besides, the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs from the Desolate Ruins and Gui Xu are hidden very deeply. If they show themselves, there would only be more."
As soon as the words fell.
A voice came from the Void.
"Not long ago, this old one heard that the Taotie Cauldron had appeared in the world. Never expected the Qiongqi Cauldron would also manifest. It's getting livelier and more interesting! Hahaha..."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an elder, leaning on a walking stick, hurrying towards this area.
This elder wore a gray robe, his aged face etched with the marks left by time, his eyes murky and turbid.
The elder also appeared to be an Original Sin Dharmakaya.
And not a later-stage possession, but a true Original Sin Dharmakaya.
The Breath of Original Sin on his person was exceptionally profound, one could say unfathomable.
What was even more bizarre was that as this elder walked forward, he seemed indistinguishable from the sky-full of Breath of Original Sin, as if he were Original Sin, and Original Sin were him. The feeling he gave was that the sky-full of Breath of Original Sin seemed to have been released by him.
"Damn it!"
When Da Xing the Mad Monk saw this elder, his expression changed slightly, looking rather excited as he said, "Finally, an Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch can't resist the loneliness and has come out!"
Gu Qingfeng asked, "What's this guy's background?"
"Not too clear. Either an Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch from the Desolate Ruins or one from Gui Xu. And..." Da Xing the Mad Monk, for some reason, sounded excited as he said, "And old monk dares to affirm, this Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch has not only recovered his Ego, he has also recovered his own body! No! Not recovered—Original Sin has gestated a new Ego, and gestated a new self!"
As everyone knew.
After a person of Original Sin becomes an incarnation of Original Sin, they begin to lose their Ego.
Upon becoming an Original Sin Karmic Retribution Body, they begin to lose their Original Self.
After losing their Original Self, it equals completely merging into Original Sin.
If they can gestate a new self-awareness within Original Sin, they become an Original Sin Dharmakaya.
At this stage, although they possess self-awareness, their body can only be considered a Dharmakaya gestated by Original Sin. While they can harness Original Sin, it cannot be considered their own body.
Only by gestating their own body can it be considered a true self.
Their existence is then no longer simply an Original Sin Dharmakaya, but a deeper existence within Original Sin—The Self of Sin.
Just like the feeling this elder gave, indistinguishable from the sky-full of Breath of Original Sin; he was Original Sin, and Original Sin was him.
This was not Gu Qingfeng's first encounter with the so-called The Self of Sin.
Before the Primordial Nine Palaces had gestated, he had also encountered a The Self of Sin, and that The Self of Sin had silently pulled him into an illusion, falsely claiming to be the Lord of No Dao, nearly devouring Gu Qingfeng.
That The Self of Sin claimed to be some Xuanming Ancestral Patriarch, leaving a deep impression on him. However, at that time, Xuanming Ancestral Patriarch was hidden in the shadows, and he didn't know what kind of existence the other party truly was.
Now, hearing Da Xing the Mad Monk mention the so-called The Self of Sin, Gu Qingfeng asked, "Are those Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs from the Desolate Ruins and Gui Xu all The Self of Sin?"
"Not exactly. The Self of Sin isn't so easy to gestate. Gestating an Original Sin Dharmakaya is difficult enough, right? But gestating The Self of Sin is even harder. After becoming The Self of Sin, one is practically equivalent to Original Sin. Their existence is especially terrifying. What's even more terrifying is that some of those Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs aren't just The Self of Sin; I'm afraid they might even possess The Essence of Sin."
Gu Qingfeng had heard Da Xing the Mad Monk mention it before.
He said if Original Sin gestates a body of Ego, it is The Self of Sin.
If Original Sin gestates a body of Original Self, then that is the so-called The Essence of Sin.
If The Self of Sin can represent Original Sin, then The Essence of Sin is Original Sin itself.
Gu Qingfeng hadn't even seen many of the so-called The Self of Sin, let alone know what kind of existence The Essence of Sin was.
"I wonder what this Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch's intention is by showing up now? Could it be he wants to seize this Qiongqi Cauldron?"
Since the end of the Desolate Ancient Era, exactly how many Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs had hidden in the Desolate Ruins, and how many had been suppressed in Gui Xu?
Da Xing the Mad Monk might not be able to say for sure, but there was one thing he was clear about.
That was, regardless of whether they were Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs from the Desolate Ruins or Gui Xu, they roughly fell into three categories of existence.
One kind, knowing they have no hope of vying for the title of True Lord of Original Sin, yet still yearn for the Daoless Age. Most of these existences hide in the shadows, placing their hopes on the variables of Original Sin. For example, Lady Blackwater from Gui Xu, and Old Beggar were like this.
Another kind of existence, scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin since the Desolate Ancient Era. Even after the Desolate Ancient Era ended, even after being exiled to Gui Xu, suppressed in Gui Xu, they still did not give up. After emerging, they continue their schemes.
The third kind of existence, neither wishing to vie for the True Lord, nor holding hope for the Daoless Age. Of course, they also wouldn't go guard the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. They choose to watch from the sidelines, seeking survival.
In Da Xing the Mad Monk's estimation, if this Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch knew he had no hope of vying for the True Lord of Original Sin, he probably wouldn't have shown himself.
Meaning this old fellow has been scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin all along, and wants to seize this Qiongqi Cauldron?
Since this Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch recognizes the Qiongqi Cauldron, he should know this thing isn't something you can just seize if you want to, and even if seized, it might not be something you can control.
Or perhaps this old fellow is the third kind of existence, showing up this time purely to join in the spectacle.