Even so, Xuanyuan Hao never once thought of betraying Xuanyuan Wuji. The reason was simple: he was acutely aware of Xuanyuan Wuji’s influence within the Sacred Ground. Once he betrayed him, it would be nearly impossible for him to gain a foothold in the Sacred Ground. Even if he barely managed to cling on, he would undoubtedly find himself besieged on all sides.
More importantly, the stigma of betraying his master might follow him for the rest of his life. For someone who valued reputation more than life itself, he naturally did not want to live out his days bearing the heavy shame of being a traitorous disciple.
However.
Later, with the support of the Holy Temple, Xuanyuan Hao no longer had any reservations.
With the backing of the Holy Temple, Xuanyuan Hao didn’t need to worry at all about whether he could establish himself in the Sacred Ground after betraying his master.
And indeed, that was exactly how it played out. Ever since gaining the support of the Holy Temple, Xuanyuan Hao had been swaggering through the Sacred Ground. He didn’t even put some of the more senior Elders in his eyes. Especially after receiving the Divine Saint Judgment Bow bestowed by the Holy Temple, Xuanyuan Hao became as arrogant as could be. Not only did he look down on the other Sacred Sons of the Sacred Ground, he didn’t even regard his own master, Xuanyuan Wuji, with any respect.
The only thing that displeased Xuanyuan Hao was that the stigma of betraying his master continued to haunt him. Throughout the Sacred Ground, from Elders to disciples, people pointed fingers at him, secretly cursing him as faithless, treacherous, a betrayer of his master who sought to annihilate his own roots. To this day, it had become a shadow in his heart. Every time he heard someone curse him for betraying his master, the fury in his heart would uncontrollably flare up.
In Xuanyuan Hao’s mind, this stigma of being a traitorous disciple would not follow him for life.
Once the True Lord of Original Sin was slaughtered and the Great Dao was safeguarded, he would be a hero who defended the Heavenly Dao of heaven and earth. With the support of the Holy Temple, he was confident he could replace Xuanyuan Wuji, and even confident enough to aspire to become the Master of the Sage Path, or even the Master of Heaven and Earth.
As long as he could supplant Xuanyuan Wuji, no one would dare call him faithless, treacherous, a betrayer of his master who sought to annihilate his own roots ever again!
But what Xuanyuan Hao never expected was that the matter of his betrayal of Xuanyuan Wuji would be exposed by a mysterious woman in front of so many Ancestral Patriarchs from across the heavens and the earth.
One must know that the Patriarchs hidden within the Void were either Great Dao Patriarchs or Original Sin Patriarchs, all top-tier existences from ancient times to the present. If they knew, then it practically meant that all the heavens and myriad realms would know that Xuanyuan Hao had betrayed his beneficent master.
Instantly, Xuanyuan Hao felt he had lost all face. Furious beyond measure, the rage in his heart surged uncontrollably. He glared fiercely into the Void, as if already hearing the hidden Patriarchs within despising him for his faithless treachery, for betraying his master and seeking to annihilate his own roots.
At that moment.
The voice of the mysterious woman came again: "For the sake of a mere Divine Saint Judgment Bow, you betrayed your own beneficent master. How laughable you make this Palace feel. I heard that while in the Sacred Ground, you even publicly provoked your beneficent master, Xuanyuan Wuji, while holding that bow?
Heh heh heh…" "There’s something I wonder if those old fogies in the Holy Temple ever told you. The Divine Saint Judgment Bow in your hands was actually damaged at the end of the Desolate Antiquity. And it was Xuanyuan Wuji himself who repaired it… and furthermore…
After repairing it, he simply tossed it back to the Holy Temple. And you, you actually had the audacity, the sheer lack of regard for your own life, to take that bow and provoke Xuanyuan Wuji?
This Consort doesn’t even know whether to call you laughable or pathetic…" The matter the mysterious woman spoke of involved a secret of the Sacred Ground. Not only did outsiders not know, even the Elders and disciples of the Sacred Ground, including the senior Elder Xunfeng, and Xuanyuan Tong, another of the Nine Sacred Sons, were unaware.
They had always believed the Divine Saint Judgment Bow was a supreme treasure of the Sacred Ground, always under the control of the Patriarchs of the Holy Temple. They never imagined the Divine Saint Judgment Bow had been damaged back in the Desolate Antiquity, and moreover, that it was Xuanyuan Wuji himself who had repaired it and returned it to the Holy Temple.
If this were true, then Xuanyuan Hao challenging his beneficent master Xuanyuan Wuji while holding the Divine Saint Judgment Bow would be utterly ridiculous.
The fact that Xuanyuan Wuji could repair the damaged Divine Saint Judgment Bow meant he could fully command it. Not only that, he could unleash its maximum power.
And then returning the repaired bow to the Holy Temple meant Xuanyuan Wuji simply didn’t care for the Divine Saint Judgment Bow at all.
Taking a bow that Xuanyuan Wuji repaired and didn’t even care for, and using it to challenge him—what was that if not laughable?
If Xuanyuan Hao felt he had lost all face earlier, then now he had become a mere clown in everyone’s eyes.
"Bastard!
Get out here!
!!
!"
Enraged! Utterly infuriated.
Xuanyuan Hao roared fiercely. The Divine Saint Sun immediately began to rotate wildly, releasing a radiance of ten thousand zhang. The sky-full of Sage Light poured down upon the entire Li Palace Void like a violent storm.
"I, Xuanyuan Hao, possess heaven-endowed talent, am the destined calamity, born with a Sage Body, a Divine Saint Bloodline! What is Xuanyuan Wuji?
What qualifications does he have to be my, Xuanyuan Hao’s, master?
Even without him, I, Xuanyuan Hao, can still aspire to dominate the world!"
As if having lost his senses, Xuanyuan Hao drew back the Divine Saint Judgment Bow with one hand and fired a fierce arrow into the Void.
With a *whoosh*, the Divine Saint Sun frantically condensed a Great Sun Judgment Arrow. When it struck the Void, a thunderous explosion erupted, shattering the Void and cracking open numerous fissures. *Crack!*
Immediately after, a black hole exploded open in the Void. Within the black hole, a human figure was clearly visible, but it flashed and vanished in an instant.
It must be said, this Divine Saint Judgment Bow was truly formidable. Even the ever-changing, infinitely profound Void of the Li Palace was pierced through by a single arrow.
Whether the figure that appeared in the black hole was the mysterious woman, no one knew. The only thing known was that, fortunately, that figure had not been locked onto by the Divine Saint Judgment Bow. If it had been locked on, escape would have been impossible.
"Where can you flee under my, Xuanyuan Hao’s, Divine Saint Judgment Bow?
Get out here and receive the Great Sun’s judgment!"
Xuanyuan Hao drew the Divine Saint Judgment Bow again and shot another Great Sun Judgment Arrow. With a *bang*, the Void was pierced open once more, creating another hole. And within that hole was precisely the figure that had flashed and vanished earlier. This time, he was not so lucky. The first time he escaped was because he hadn’t been locked onto by Xuanyuan Hao. However, having just exposed himself, he was naturally locked onto by Xuanyuan Hao.
"Xuanyuan brat, this old man never provoked you, you…" Sure enough, before his words even finished, that figure had already been blasted into nothingness by the Great Sun Judgment Arrow. At the same time, everyone also realized that the figure reduced to ashes was not the mysterious woman. Who knew who was so unfortunate as to become a scapegoat for the senseless shooting of the deranged Xuanyuan Hao.
"Bastard!
Get out here!"
Unable to find any trace of the mysterious woman, Xuanyuan Hao prepared to draw the Divine Saint Judgment Bow again and shoot wildly. At this moment, Elder Xunfeng and Xuanyuan Tong could no longer stand by and watch. They immediately stepped forward to intervene.
The power of the Divine Saint Judgment Bow was immense, and each draw and shot consumed tremendous energy. Xuanyuan Hao had clearly lost his senses. If allowed to continue like this, he would inevitably exhaust himself and collapse.
Although Xuanyuan Tong had always despised Xuanyuan Hao for betraying their master for the sake of a bow, she understood the greater situation and knew the overall stakes. For the sake of the Sacred Ground, for the sake of the Great Dao, she could not just stand by and watch Xuanyuan Hao go mad like this.
However.
It would have been better if the two of them hadn’t come out to intervene. Their intervention only further enraged the already unhinged Xuanyuan Hao.