When this Original Sin Patriarch appeared, he caused no small stir. The Original Sin Dharmakayas present, though unaware of his exact identity, could all sense that this patriarch was unfathomably deep. Even without understanding what an 'Original Sin Itself' was, they could feel that this patriarch was an existence akin to Original Sin itself.
However.
What shocked them was not merely that this Original Sin Patriarch was a terrifying entity, but also the words he spoke.
Cauldron of Qiongqi.
These Original Sin Dharmakayas within the Desolate Nine Palaces all knew, to varying degrees, some of the secrets of the Desolate Ancient Era.
Primordial Chaos, Taotie, Qiongqi, and Taowu were the Four Great Fiendish Beasts of the Desolate Ancient Era, all overlords of darkness and evil.
Most importantly, during the Desolate Ancient Era, these Four Great Fiendish Beasts had once followed Wu Dao Zun Shang, slaughtering the Three Thousand Great Daos and ushering in the Daoless Age. They were bestowed with True Blood of Original Sin by Wu Dao Zun Shang, making them veritable Sons of Original Sin.
If one could fuse it into oneself, it would undoubtedly be a heaven-sent Original Sin Foremost Opportunity.
Thinking of this.
All the Original Sin Dharmakayas present grew excited.
But excitement aside, none dared to act rashly.
After all, Qiongqi was one of the Four Great Fiendish Beasts of the Desolate Ancient Era.
Its name for evil was known to all.
Even if now it was reduced to just a wisp of divine sense and demonic thought transformed into a nine-cornered black cauldron, it was not something anyone could simply subdue and control.
Let alone them, these Original Sin Dharmakayas; even this Original Sin Patriarch, who had now become an Original Sin Itself, would not dare claim he could master Qiongqi's divine sense and demonic thought.
When Taotie, whose fame once matched Qiongqi's, appeared in the world, even Gu Qingfeng—hailed as the greatest variable of Original Sin between heaven and earth—nearly got devoured by it. One could imagine just how terrifying the divine sense and demonic thought of the Desolate Ancient Four Great Fiendish Beasts must be.
"Old Immortal Qingmu, you old undying thing! You couldn't resist the solitude and finally crawled out, eh?
Hahaha!"
Suddenly.
Another voice echoed through the Void.
The voice was like thunder, deafening upon arrival, causing the vast expanse of Original Sin Breath to churn and ripple violently.
"Old Immortal Qingmu?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk repeated the name, finding it quite familiar. Thinking carefully, he couldn't help but gasp in surprise, whispering, "Damn it, could this old geezer be Old Immortal Qingmu?"
"What?" Gu Qingfeng asked. "You've heard of him?"
"Heard of him? This Qingmu was a famously prestigious patriarch of the Immortal Dao in the Desolate Ancient Era!"
"A patriarch of the Immortal Dao from the Desolate Ancient Era, and now he's somehow cultivated into an Original Sin Itself?"
"There's nothing strange about that. Back in the Desolate Ancient Era, not all Great Dao patriarchs wanted to protect the Great Daos of heaven and earth. Quite a few Great Dao patriarchs yearned for the Daoless Age, even actively tainted themselves with Original Sin. It wasn't unheard of for them to scheme for the title of True Lord of Original Sin."
Da Xing the Mad Monk chuckled darkly and said, "However, this Old Immortal Qingmu's face is really thick. He betrayed the Immortal Dao in the Desolate Ancient Era, threw himself into Original Sin, and now dares to appear openly. Isn't he afraid those old fellows from the Immortal Dao will finish him off?"
"You old bald donkey have the nerve to criticize others?
Aren't you, damn it, also a Living Buddha of the Buddhist Dao? Yet you're still scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin, aren't you?"
"Kid Gu, don't you spout nonsense! When has this old monk ever schemed for the True Lord of Original Sin?"
"You might not have schemed for the True Lord of Original Sin, but you haven't exactly protected the Great Daos of heaven and earth either."
"At least this old monk never betrayed the Buddhist Dao."
"Not caring about the life or death of the Great Daos of heaven and earth isn't much different from betraying the Buddhist Dao. You and this so-called Old Immortal Qingmu are just the pot calling the kettle black."
"What the hell do you know!
The things this old monk is doing are far more important than protecting the Great Daos of heaven and earth."
"Oh?
Is that so?
Then tell me, what exactly are you doing, and what could be more important than protecting the Great Daos of heaven and earth?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk realized he had spoken too frankly and let something slip. He could only play dumb and pretend not to understand.
Back within the scene.
That voice sounded again.
"Hahaha!
What?
Old Immortal Qingmu, it's been so long. Could it be you don't even recognize this lord's voice anymore?"
In the distant Void, the Original Sin Breath churned and rolled, boiling like water, as if flames were burning.
Immediately after, a shadow resembling a giant gradually manifested.
To be precise, it wasn't exactly a giant.
But a half-human, half-demon.
And it had a tiger's head on a human body!
This half-human, half-demon tiger-headed being possessed an awe-inspiring aura. When it appeared, it seemed indistinguishable from the vast expanse of Original Sin Breath, its movements and stillness seemingly capable of influencing the entire sea of sin.
What a character!
This half-human, half-demon monster, like Old Immortal Qingmu, had cultivated an Original Sin Itself. In all likelihood, it was also an Original Sin Patriarch from the Desolate Ancient Era.
Old Immortal Qingmu looked at the half-human, half-demon monster approaching from the opposite side and smiled faintly. "I was wondering who it could be. So it's the renowned Patriarch Huli!"
"Hahaha!
Who else could it be but this lord!
Hahaha!"
Patriarch Huli planted his hands on his hips, threw his head back, and laughed heartily. His laughter shook the vast sea of Original Sin into violent ripples and terrified the Original Sin Dharmakayas present.
"Things are getting livelier and livelier!
Even damn Patriarch Huli has crawled out!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk had gotten excited when Old Immortal Qingmu appeared. When Patriarch Huli showed up, he grew even more agitated. As for why he was excited and agitated, even Da Xing himself didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng asked in surprise, "Is this so-called Patriarch Huli the same existence as the legendary Great Immortal Huli?"
"Correct!
This fellow is indeed that legendary Great Immortal Huli!"
"So it really is him!"
As for Old Immortal Qingmu, Gu Qingfeng had never heard of him. However, he had some knowledge of Great Immortal Huli.
In his impression, Great Immortal Huli seemed to be a tiger-demon patriarch who held great prestige in the Monster Dao. All tiger demons revered him as their ancestor.
"Heh heh!
Though Great Immortal Huli had quite a reputation in the Desolate Ancient Era, his name wasn't exactly spotless."
"How so?"
"The Desolate Ancient Era was an age of contention among the Great Daos. Every Great Dao looked down on the others. To put it bluntly, aside from the Monster Dao being the Immortal Dao's number one rival, the Immortal Dao also fought fiercely with the Monster Dao."
"This Great Immortal Huli was originally a patriarch of the Monster Dao. Later, damn it, he actually tried to have a foot in both camps and cultivated into a demon-immortal. He was once regarded as a traitor by the Monster Dao. But after cultivating into a demon-immortal, he didn't side with the Immortal Dao either. He still went on killing sprees against the Immortal Dao every few days. You could say the Monster Dao saw him as a traitor, and the Immortal Dao couldn't tolerate him either. He was left unloved by either side, neither fish nor fowl."
"Great Immortal Huli didn't care about any of this. He'd kill demons one day and immortals the next, claiming his own independent path. However, there's one thing about Great Immortal Huli you have to admire. Though he wasn't the first to cultivate both demon and immortal paths, he was definitely among the first batch. His strength was formidable; neither the Immortal Dao nor the Monster Dao could do anything about him."
"What this old monk admires even more is that later on, Great Immortal Huli stopped cultivating the Monster Dao, stopped cultivating the Immortal Dao, and directly threw himself into Original Sin, scheming for the True Lord of Original Sin."