Holy Light!
Holy light was everywhere.
It filled the entire sky.
And the holy light grew increasingly bright, increasingly powerful.
It was like a sacred fire burning through the entire Li Palace Void.
A series of crackling sounds rang out as the Original Sin filling the heavens began to evaporate under the holy light's radiance, like water being boiled dry.
Those Original Sin Retribution Bodies that had lost their selves, under the holy light's illumination, were burned like lonely ghosts and wandering spirits in a sea of fire, growing increasingly indistinct and twisted.
As the holy light grew more powerful, the hundreds of Original Sin Dharmakayas present no longer dared to linger. At first, when enveloped by the holy light, they merely felt discomfort, but now they also felt as if they were being burned by sacred flames.
Especially after witnessing the Original Sin Retribution Bodies filling the sky vanish one after another under the holy light, their hearts filled with panic, and they hurriedly fled.
Huli Great Immortal and Old Immortal Qingmu within the area were also enveloped by the holy light, but they were largely unaffected. Although divinity was the natural bane of evil, and both had cultivated Original Sin Selves, steeped in sin, logically they should fear the holy light even more.
However.
This matter was also relative.
Divinity restrained evil—that was correct.
But this did not mean that all divinity necessarily restrained all evil.
Minor divinity might not necessarily restrain great evil.
After all, Huli Great Immortal and Old Immortal Qingmu had already cultivated Original Sin Selves; in a sense, they themselves were Original Sin, and could also represent Original Sin.
Those Original Sin Retribution Bodies that had lost their selves turned to dust under the holy light.
The hundreds of Original Sin Dharmakayas also felt discomfort under the holy light.
But for them, mere holy light could hardly be considered a threat, let alone something to inspire terror and fear.
If holy light alone could make their Original Sin Selves tremble in fear, then Original Sin would never have become a Heaven and Earth calamity.
Even so, watching one Original Sin Retribution Body after another turn to dust under the holy light, both Old Immortal Qingmu and Huli Great Immortal found it somewhat unbelievable.
Not only that.
Facing the vast holy light here, besides disbelief, their eyes also held a kind of reverence.
Yes.
Reverence.
The Sage Path had always been a legend.
Even in that era of the Ancient Desolation when great daos vied for supremacy, it was the same.
Moreover.
Before Original Sin appeared, before everyone knew the concept of the Daoless Age, what everyone pursued was the Sage Path.
In the Ancient Desolation Era, everyone believed the Sage Path was the supreme existence; only by stepping onto the Sage Path could one find the ultimate destination.
To become a God, one must first become a Sage.
The Sage Path was the only road to godhood.
There was also a legend circulating about the Sage Path.
It was said.
The first ruler of Heaven and Earth was not the Heavenly Dao.
It was the Great Nature.
After the Great Nature, the second ruler of Heaven and Earth was also not the Heavenly Dao.
It was the Sage Path.
It was said.
When the Sage Path ruled Heaven and Earth, at that time, humans were Sage Humans, immortals were Sage Immortals, demons were Sage Demons, and buddhas were Sage Buddhas.
Only later, for unknown reasons, the Sage Path fell, and the Heavenly Dao then became the third ruler of Heaven and Earth.
Therefore, in the Ancient Desolation Era, humans were Heavenly Humans, immortals were Heavenly Immortals, demons were Heavenly Demons, and buddhas were Heavenly Buddhas.
As for how the first ruler, the Great Nature, fell, and how the second ruler, the Sage Path, fell, no one knew; these were matters from before the Ancient Desolation.
This was also why Huli Great Immortal and Old Immortal Qingmu's eyes revealed reverence upon seeing the holy light.
Because in the Ancient Desolation Era, the Sage Path had always been supreme in their eyes; this was a deeply ingrained belief. Even though Huli Great Immortal and Old Immortal Qingmu now only yearned for the Daoless Age, deep in their hearts, they still held reverence for the Sage Path.
The holy light was like fire, burning the Li Palace Void.
It was also like a sacred great sun, illuminating the Li Palace Void.
The Original Sin Breath filling the heavens continuously evaporated and dispersed under the holy light.
The Original Sin Retribution Bodies that had lost their selves and filled the sky also turned to dust one after another under the holy light.
The holy light did not cease, vast and endless.
Suddenly.
A high-pitched sound rang out.
The sound seemed to come from the distant horizon, ethereal and elusive, clear and resonant like a song.
This was a sacred sound, like a hymn of divinity. Upon entering the ears, it made one's heart involuntarily give rise to a sense of reverence.
"Damn it!
It's actually the Hymn of Divinity!"
Hidden in the shadows, Da Xing the Mad Monk's expression changed slightly upon hearing this sacred sound. He exclaimed, "This old monk thought the Holy Maiden had arrived, but it turns out it's people from the Sacred Ground!"
"How can you tell it's people from the Sacred Ground?"
"When the Hymn of Divinity sounds, it means the Sacred Ground has descended!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk asked a question: "Didn't you, kid, meet people from the Sacred Ground before?
Haven't you heard the Hymn of Divinity?"
Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment, then shook his head. It was true he had met people from the Sacred Ground, but he really hadn't heard this so-called Hymn of Divinity. He asked, "Does the Hymn of Divinity sound every time people from the Sacred Ground descend?"
"Not necessarily. The Sacred Ground descending doesn't necessarily mean the Hymn of Divinity will sound, but if the Hymn of Divinity sounds, the Sacred Ground will definitely descend. It depends on the situation. Anyway, in this old monk's memory, whenever the Hymn of Divinity sounds, the Sacred Ground definitely descends. Moreover, whenever the Hymn of Divinity sounds, a great calamity must occur. Only when a calamity occurs will the Sacred Ground show itself. It's hard to see the Sacred Ground at ordinary times."
"This Sacred Ground really knows how to put on airs!"
Gu Qingfeng laughed. "Everyone involved with the Primordial Nine Palaces knows this is a calamity. What's the point of sounding the Hymn of Divinity now, putting on such a grand show!"
"Hehe!
You're right!
The Sacred Ground really is especially good at putting on airs!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk grinned, then added, "But this time, the Sacred Ground isn't just here to put on airs!"
"What? Could it be the Sacred Ground is planning to make a move?"
"Make a move?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk shook his head. "Not likely. It's not time yet; the Sacred Ground won't make a move."
"Since they don't plan to make a move, why is the Sacred Ground descending?
With holy light and the Hymn of Divinity, if that's not putting on airs, what is it?"
"Well..."
Da Xing the Mad Monk glanced at the void and said, "That Original Sin Patriarch was just here fanning the flames, mixing truth and falsehood, even exposing the damn matter of various Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land Patriarchs fusing with True Blood. Now the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands hiding in the shadows will definitely suspect each other. They were already hesitating between protecting Heaven and Earth or waiting for the Daoless Age to open. After that Original Sin Patriarch fanned the flames like that, this old monk reckons the old fellows from the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands will be even more hesitant, maybe even leaning toward opening the Daoless Age."
He paused, then continued, "This old monk reckons the Sacred Ground descended precisely because of this."
"You mean the Sacred Ground descended to stabilize the situation?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk gave Gu Qingfeng an approving look and nodded. "Correct. After being fooled by that Original Sin Patriarch, the situation is in chaos. At a time like this, only the Sacred Ground representing divinity or the Shangqing Grotto-Heaven representing the Heavenly Dao descending can stabilize the situation."