"The Divine Saint Judgment Bow?
The Great Sun Judgment Arrow?
Heh...
It can indeed be considered a rare treasure of the Sage Path, but that is all it is. If the Divine Saint Judgment Bow were in Xuanyuan Wuji's hands, it might pose a threat to the Dark Emperor, but even then, it would only be a threat—it absolutely could not annihilate the Dark Emperor. As for you...
Heh, it is not that this palace underestimates you, but even if you were to pull the Divine Saint Judgment Bow until it snapped, you could not annihilate the Dark Emperor. Do not speak of annihilation; you could not even come close to posing a threat to him."
The voice of the mysterious woman drifted over, instantly provoking Xuanyuan Hao to great fury.
How could his arrogant and conceited nature tolerate being so despised by another? He roared sharply, "How dare you! Tell the Dark Emperor to come out and try! See if he dares to face the Great Sun Judgment Arrow I, Xuanyuan Hao, shoot from the Divine Saint Judgment Bow!"
"You speak of nothing but the Divine Saint Judgment Bow and the Great Sun Judgment Arrow. It seems, then, that it is they that have given you such intense confidence and courage?"
The woman's voice was as ethereal and elusive as her laughter, giving a sense of being untethered. After a pause, she continued, "If this palace guesses correctly, it was precisely for this Divine Saint Judgment Bow that you betrayed your benefactor and teacher, Xuanyuan Wuji, and became so obedient to the Holy Temple, is it not so?"
Within the void.
Xuanyuan Tong's expression changed slightly. Her lips parted as if to speak, but then she held her tongue.
The mysterious woman's words had once again struck at the core of her heart.
Because she knew it was indeed for the sake of that Divine Saint Judgment Bow that Xuanyuan Hao had betrayed Xuanyuan Wuji and submitted to the Holy Temple. However, this matter was known only to those within the Sacred Ground. Moreover, for the sake of the Sacred Ground's reputation and the greater situation, Xuanyuan Wuji had even warned everyone not to spread this affair.
This left Xuanyuan Tong deeply puzzled. Just who was this mysterious woman? How could she know so much about the Sacred Ground?
Beside her.
Elder Xunfeng also wore a look of bewilderment, unsure how the mysterious woman could know so many things.
However, what worried him now was not this.
It must be understood that hidden within the void were not only the Original Sin Patriarchs but also countless Great Dao Patriarchs. By exposing the Sacred Ground's shameful secret before so many patriarchs, the Sacred Ground's reputation would inevitably plummet.
Of course.
The Sacred Ground's reputation was insignificant compared to the Heaven and Earth Great Dao; it was nothing, and losing it was no great loss.
The problem was that the Great Dao Patriarchs from the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands were currently scattered like loose sand, and the Sacred Ground wished to seize this opportunity to unite everyone to jointly guard the Heaven and Earth Great Dao.
At this critical juncture, the mysterious woman's exposure of the Sacred Ground's scandal also let everyone know that the Sacred Ground was internally divided, and that the Holy Temple had been continuously ostracizing and suppressing Xuanyuan Wuji.
Xuanyuan Wuji's prestige was immense; one could even say that Xuanyuan Wuji's existence represented the Sacred Ground. Yet now, the Sacred Ground could not tolerate Xuanyuan Wuji. Under such circumstances, how could the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands follow the Sacred Ground's lead and join hands to guard the Heaven and Earth Great Dao?
A Sacred Ground without Xuanyuan Wuji—would it still be the Sacred Ground?
In the hearts of many, without Xuanyuan Wuji, the so-called Sacred Ground would likely cease to be the Sacred Ground.
This might sound exaggerated, but in reality, it was not exaggerated at all.
In the hearts of many, including the patriarchs of the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, they believed that Xuanyuan Wuji of the Sacred Ground and Dugu Qizhan of the Upper Qing Heaven were the two great pillars upholding the current Great Dao.
One represented the Sage Path, hailed as the Martial Saint whose One Hand Covers Heaven.
The other represented the Heavenly Path, hailed as the Heavenly General Equal to Heaven.
Some also said that besides Xuanyuan Wuji and Dugu Qizhan, the Great Dao had a third pillar: the Great Sun Yaohuang.
Although the existence of the Great Sun Yaohuang was not the master of the Immortal Path, many felt he was absolutely qualified to represent the Immortal Path. Hence, the Great Sun Yaohuang was also hailed as the Immortal Emperor who Shines Upon All Under Heaven.
The Upper Qing Heaven had always been mysterious and unfathomable; Dugu Qizhan was also a dragon seen only in glimpses. No one knew the situation of the Upper Qing Heaven or Dugu Qizhan, so that could be set aside for now.
As for the Great Sun Yaohuang being ostracized and suppressed by Xuantian, this was common knowledge. Since entering the Primordial Nine Palaces, the Great Sun Yaohuang had never once shown his face.
Now, it was even better—the Sacred Ground was also ostracizing and suppressing Xuanyuan Wuji, and Xuanyuan Wuji had also never shown his face in the Primordial Nine Palaces.
Whether these individuals would guard the Heaven and Earth Great Dao when the time came was still an unknown. Distrusting them, ostracizing and suppressing them—if the Great Dao itself could not tolerate them, how could one still expect them to come and guard it?
There was no such cheap advantage.
Originally, everyone thought they could not count on the Great Sun Yaohuang, but counting on Xuanyuan Wuji would suffice.
Now it seemed that not only could they no longer count on the Great Sun Yaohuang, but they probably could not count on Xuanyuan Wuji either.
Of the three great pillars, two were now beyond hope. Could this Great Dao Heaven and Earth still be guarded?
This was the thought in the hearts of many Great Dao Patriarchs at this moment.
However.
Xuanyuan Hao did not think this way.
At this moment, his face was deathly pale. His hands were no longer clasped in salute but clenched tightly together. He gritted his teeth in rage, his entire body trembling with fury.
He did not care at all, nor did he concern himself with whether, after the mysterious woman exposed the Sacred Ground's scandal, those Great Dao Patriarchs would follow the Sacred Ground's lead. At this moment, he did not even care whether the Heaven and Earth Great Dao could be guarded, nor did he care whether the Sacred Ground's reputation would suffer after the scandal was exposed.
The only thing he cared about was his own reputation. He regarded this as more important than his own life.
In truth.
At the very beginning, he had not wanted to betray Xuanyuan Wuji.
Not because he cherished the grace between teacher and disciple.
To be honest, with his arrogant nature, he held no such concept as the grace between teacher and disciple. In his mind, the achievements he had today were all his rightful due. Even without a teacher like Xuanyuan Wuji, he, Xuanyuan Hao, with his heaven-bestowed talent and identity as one fated to face the calamity, was more than sufficient to look down upon Heaven and Earth.
Therefore, in his heart, he held no great respect for Xuanyuan Wuji. Not only did he lack respect, but deep within, he even felt some contempt for Xuanyuan Wuji.
The reason was none other than his belief that Xuanyuan Wuji, despite possessing immense power, lacked the ambition to dominate Heaven and Earth. Especially after he learned that the rule forbidding Sacred Ground members from setting foot in the Great Wild was established by Xuanyuan Wuji himself, his disappointment in Xuanyuan Wuji reached its peak.
Xuanyuan Hao believed that a true man should venture into the Great Wild, leave behind a mighty reputation, conquer the Myriad Realms, and look down upon all living beings. Yet Xuanyuan Wuji's established rule trapped him within the Sacred Ground. Only when a great calamity befell the Great Wild did disciples of the Sacred Ground have a chance to go out.
Xuanyuan Hao had waited with great difficulty for a calamity, preparing to display his ambitions and let the Myriad Realms know of his existence, Xuanyuan Hao. Yet not long after arriving in the secular world, having merely killed a few insignificant immortals, he was confined by Xuanyuan Wuji.
If he had held a sliver of respect for Xuanyuan Wuji before, then after Xuanyuan Wuji confined him, the last remaining shred of respect in his heart vanished like smoke.
And it was from that time onward that he began to harbor hatred for Xuanyuan Wuji.