"Xunfeng! You old thing, you dare to stop me?"
Xuanyuan Hao was arrogant and overbearing by nature. After gaining the support of the Holy Temple, he looked down on everyone even more. Under normal circumstances, he might still respectfully address Xunfeng as Ancestral Patriarch or Elder, but now, filled with rage and having lost all reason, he flew into a fury when Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng stepped forward to stop him.
Although Xuanyuan Hao showed not an ounce of respect for Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng at this moment, even calling him an 'old thing' to his face, Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng was, after all, an elder of the Sacred Ground and a Half-Saint. At this critical juncture, he naturally wouldn't stoop to Xuanyuan Hao's level. "Hao'er, you must calm down! Don't let yourself be used!"
Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng didn't know what kind of existence this suddenly appearing Mysterious Woman was, nor why she knew so many secrets of the Sacred Ground. But one thing was clear to him.
If the Mysterious Woman's goal was to enrage Xuanyuan Hao, then she had succeeded. Xuanyuan Hao was already furious and had lost his reason.
If her goal was to stir up trouble, then she had succeeded too. The originally stable situation, after her meddling, would likely become even more chaotic in the future.
If her goal was to sabotage the Sacred Ground's plans and make them lose face, then she had succeeded as well. Now that the Sacred Ground's scandal had been exposed, everyone knew that Xuanyuan Wuji, who represented the Sacred Ground, was at odds with the Holy Temple. The various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands would probably no longer look to the Sacred Ground for leadership. The so-called Sacred Ground would become a laughingstock in their eyes, just like the Mysterious Grotto-Heaven.
Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng knew. Yes, he had always known. When the Mysterious Woman exposed the Sacred Ground's scandal, he had predicted this outcome.
But he couldn't stop it. Not that he didn't want to, but he couldn't. Because every word the Mysterious Woman said was true—so true he couldn't refute it.
Now, Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng could no longer worry about other matters, nor did he know how to salvage the situation. His only option was to first calm Xuanyuan Hao down and prevent him from causing chaos here while out of his mind.
Unfortunately, the more he tried to persuade, the angrier Xuanyuan Hao became. Not only that, Xuanyuan Hao even took action against Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng.
"Junior Brother! What are you doing!" Xuanyuan Tong rushed forward, placing herself between Xuanyuan Hao and the elder.
"Don't call me Junior Brother! I was never your junior brother. You acknowledge Xuanyuan Wuji as your master, but I don't. What is Xuanyuan Wuji? How is he worthy of being my, Xuanyuan Hao's, master?"
"Master treated you like his own son, painstakingly teaching you. Even after you betrayed him, the old man never blamed you. How can you show him such disrespect?" Xuanyuan Hao's repeated public disrespect towards his benefactor and master was more than Xuanyuan Tong could bear any longer.
"Bastard! What are you, to dare point fingers at me, Xuanyuan Hao? It seems you're looking for death!" To think Xuanyuan Hao was truly ruthless. Xuanyuan Tong had merely reprimanded him, yet he actually drew the Divine Judgment Bow and aimed it at her, looking as if he intended to erase her with a single arrow.
"Xuanyuan Hao! I've tolerated you for too long. You've gone too far!" In an instant, sacred flames erupted around Xuanyuan Tong, soaring skyward with immense intensity, even surpassing Xuanyuan Hao's Divine Sun.
Chaos! Utter chaos.
Watching Xuanyuan Hao and Xuanyuan Tong come to blows over a mere disagreement, with Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng trying to intervene, all the Great Dao Patriarchs and Original Sin Patriarchs hiding within the Void were somewhat dumbfounded.
No one expected Xuanyuan Hao to go so mad as to recognize neither kin nor friend. Earlier, he had fired a Great Sun Judgment Arrow, killing who knows whom. Now, with Xuanyuan Tong and Ancestral Patriarch Xunfeng stepping in to stop him, Xuanyuan Hao not only showed them no face but even prepared to erase Xuanyuan Tong, a fellow Nine Holy Son, with an arrow.
It was truly an eye-opening, breathtaking spectacle.
Just then, holy hymns rang out, and a sacred presence descended. At the same time, a vast, oppressive might pressed down, making the patriarchs hidden in the Void feel uncomfortable.
Immediately after, eight sacred beams of light descended from the heavens. Four of these beams trapped Xuanyuan Hao, while the other four trapped Xuanyuan Tong. With a whoosh, the eight beams shot up from the ground, soared into the sky, and then vanished.
And then... there was no 'and then'.
Xuanyuan Hao disappeared. Xuanyuan Tong disappeared too. Even Xunfeng vanished along with the eight beams of light.
They vanished without a trace, as if they had never been there.
What technique those eight beams of light were, perhaps no one knew. But one thing was clear to all: it must have been the old-timers of the Sacred Ground making a move, forcibly taking Xuanyuan Hao and the other two back.
After Xuanyuan Hao disappeared, the Divine Sun vanished as well, and the holy light filling the sky dissipated like smoke.
The Li Palace Void returned to its original state, becoming what it should have been: dark and gloomy like an abyss, constantly changing, rotating, endless.
The patriarchs hidden in the Void gazed upon the vast, abyss-like Li Palace Void, all sighing with emotion.
No one had expected things to turn out this way, nor that the Sacred Ground would end things so hastily in such a manner.
Indeed.
Not long ago, Xuanyuan Hao had descended from the heavens like a god. Holy light filled not only the Li Palace Void but also incinerated countless Original Sin Retribution Bodies to ashes. Drawing the Divine Judgment Bow, he publicly executed Ancestral Patriarch Green Robe with a Great Sun Judgment Arrow. Then he first provoked the Original Sin Patriarchs, then the Children of Original Sin, and finally the Original Sin Anomaly—he was as imposing as could be.
Whether it was the Black Mountain Old Monster, the Green Lantern Ancestral Patriarch, the Weiyang Demon Emperor, the Carefree Great Emperor, or even the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor Miao Rulai, none dared show themselves. Even the Nine Underworld Great Emperor, hailed as the most likely to claim the title of True Master of Original Sin, didn't dare appear.
At that time, everyone believed the Sacred Ground held victory in their grasp and admired their grand scheme. Even if the You Di didn't appear, the Sacred Ground could still stabilize the situation this time and command the various heroes to jointly defend the Great Dao.
Who could have guessed that a Mysterious Woman would appear out of nowhere halfway through?
First, she mocked the Original Sin Patriarchs, then reprimanded the Immortal Dao, then exposed the Sacred Ground's scandal, causing them to lose all face and honor. She even enraged Xuanyuan Hao, making him fight Xuanyuan Tong. In the end, the old-timers of the Sacred Ground had no choice but to step in and forcibly take them back.
When the Mysterious Woman's voice first rang out, no one knew whether she belonged to the Great Dao side or the Original Sin side, nor what her purpose was.
Even now, though people still didn't know which side she was on, they had more or less discerned her purpose.
The Mysterious Woman had likely come deliberately to stir up trouble. Without even showing her face, using only a few words, she had destroyed the Sacred Ground's entire plan, stirred the just-stabilized situation into greater chaos than before, and thrown the Sacred Ground into disarray. At the very least, after the scandal was exposed, it was almost impossible for the Sacred Ground to command the various heroes. Without Xuanyuan Wuji, the Sacred Ground, in the eyes of many, could hardly be called a Sacred Ground at all.