Gu Qingfeng shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
“Kid Gu, this time I’m not joking with you, nor am I trying to scare you. This round won’t be like the previous ones—all thunder and no rain. They’ve started playing for real, and that goes for both Original Sin and the Great Dao alike.”
Seeing Gu Qingfeng still wearing that indifferent expression, Da Xing the Mad Monk put on a stern face and said gravely, “Do you even know what the situation is like in the other Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces right now?”
Gu Qingfeng asked casually, “What situation?”
“The other eight Desolate Ancient Palaces are just like here at Li Palace—they’ve all spawned these mysterious, bizarre vortices. The Nine Palace Sources haven’t manifested yet, but they’ve already been claimed. Barring any accidents, those sources will all end up in the hands of certain people.”
“Is that so?” Gu Qingfeng asked curiously. “The Nine Palace Sources haven’t even manifested yet. How could they have claimed them? How can you be so sure they’ll fall into their hands?”
“Kid, why do you think they’ve been scheming since the Primordial Era—no, since the Desolate Ancient Era all the way to the Present Era? For this very moment!”
Gu Qingfeng asked, “Who exactly are ‘they’ you’re talking about?”
“Who else? Those old-timers who’ve been coveting the True Lord of Original Sin for ages. There’s Old Monster Heishan, Ancestor Qingdeng, and the other Children of Sin. Oh, and Miao Rulai counts too.”
“Old Monster Heishan has claimed Gen Palace, Ancestor Qingdeng has claimed Kun Palace, and Miao Rulai has claimed Qian Palace. You have no idea how vast their schemes are, how deep they’ve buried themselves. Over at Gen Palace, it’s all Old Monster Heishan’s people, clear-cut. Kun Palace is all Ancestor Qingdeng’s faction, and Qian Palace is filled with experts under Miao Rulai’s command.”
Gu Qingfeng chuckled. “So these guys discussed it in advance? Each claiming one of the Nine Palace Sources?”
“Did they need to discuss it? It’s a tacit understanding. They all grasp one principle: as long as they steer clear of each other, the rest are hardly worth worrying about.”
“And…” Da Xing continued, “Don’t think for a second that these old monsters have only been nurturing subordinates all these years. Those so-called ‘subordinates’ mostly serve as deterrents. When it comes to the real fight, they rely on themselves. So, each of these old fellows has nurtured who knows how many External Incarnations.”
“Don’t you dare underestimate those External Incarnations either. Let me tell you something terrifying. I originally thought only Miao Rulai’s incarnations had fused with True Blood of Original Sin. But later I found out, damn it, Old Monster Heishan and Ancestor Qingdeng’s incarnations have also fused with it!”
“What’s even more frightening is my speculation that Old Monster Heishan and Ancestor Qingdeng definitely don’t have just *one* incarnation fused with True Blood of Original Sin. They might have two, even three, or more. As for that bastard Miao Rulai… the number of his incarnations fused with True Blood is definitely not less than Old Monster Heishan’s, only more.”
Before Gu Qingfeng could speak, Da Xing pressed on, “Don’t ask me where they got so much True Blood of Original Sin. I don’t know. That question isn’t important anymore. What *is* important is that whether it’s Old Monster Heishan, Ancestor Qingdeng, or Miao Rulai, their External Incarnations have all entered Li Palace.”
“I believe I don’t need to spell out why they’ve come to Li Palace. These old monsters are using their true selves to claim the other palace sources, while sending their incarnations to deal with you!”
“And also…” Da Xing pointed at the sea of magical treasures filling the void. “While there are traces of Great Dao Patriarchs in the other Desolate Ancient Palaces, they’re very few—scattered and sparse. They’ve almost all gathered here.”
“From what I’ve learned, the elders of the Immortal Dao’s Profound Heaven have personally stepped forward, notifying the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands. They’ve also notified the Great Sun Brilliance Emperor, the Floating Life Imperial Lord, the Everlasting Wind Great Emperor, and all the other Great Dao Overlords, Great Dao Mandates, and Tribulation Variables. As for the Sacred Dao, they’ve notified Xuanyuan Wuji and the Nine Sacred Sons of the Holy Land. They’ve probably all entered Li Palace by now.”
“What’s terrifying is that the ever-mysterious Heavenly Dao has also made a move. Virtually all the ‘Tian’-generation experts of the Shangqing Sect have entered Li Palace. It’s said this is on the order of the Shangqing Grotto—and the decree came personally from Dugu Qizhan.”
“The previous times the Immortal Dao besieged you, it was all thunder and no rain. A big reason was that the Heavenly Dao never acted. The Immortal Dao couldn’t gauge the Heavenly Dao’s stance, so they didn’t dare move recklessly. But now that Dugu Qizhan of the Heavenly Dao has personally issued a decree, sending all Shangqing Sect ‘Tian’-generation experts into Li Palace, their attitude is crystal clear: it’s to deal with you.”
“Therefore, the Immortal Dao and the Sacred Dao no longer hesitate. They’ve started mobilizing in earnest, lowering their stature to personally invite those Great Dao Overlords into Li Palace.”
“Kid Gu, this time is absolutely not a joke. Absolutely not.”
Da Xing the Mad Monk poured out all the intelligence he had gathered in one breath. Even though it was just gathered intelligence, judging by the current situation, its accuracy was eighty to ninety percent—and things might be even worse than imagined.
Actually, there was one matter Da Xing had been hesitating whether to tell Gu Qingfeng or not.
Because he had deduced that the changes at Li Palace this time would influence the course of the Original Sin Cataclysm. One could say it would influence the selection of the True Lord of Original Sin, even influence the fate of the Great Dao Heaven and Earth.
He just didn’t know what changes would occur at Li Palace this time.
Would the change be Gu Qingfeng turning to ashes at Li Palace?
Even though Da Xing had ten million reasons not to wish for it, judging by the current situation, there was a significant possibility Gu Qingfeng would perish completely here.
Those Children of Sin and Original Sin Variables who coveted Original Sin believed Gu Qingfeng was the predestined True Lord of Original Sin. Only by erasing him would they have a chance to ascend to that throne.
And those aligned with the Great Dao also believed Gu Qingfeng was the predestined True Lord of Original Sin. Only by erasing him could the Great Dao Heaven and Earth be preserved.
This manifestation of the Li Palace Source was both the only chance and the last chance to erase Gu Qingfeng!
Everyone knew that to erase Gu Qingfeng, favorable timing, advantageous terrain, and human unity were all indispensable.
In the previous sieges, they either lacked timing, terrain, or unity.
Now.
They had timing: the manifestation of the Nine Palace Sources was the best timing.
They had terrain: this space filled with Desolate Ancient ruins was the best terrain.
They had unity: whether from Original Sin or the Great Dao, whether Children of Sin or Great Dao Mandates, whether Original Sin Variables or Tribulation Constants, all who should come and shouldn’t have come are here. This was the best unity.
They even had fate.
The various Patriarchs had all deduced that the changes at Li Palace would influence the Original Sin Cataclysm. This indicated the causal situation of the cataclysm had reached a turning point. In other words, even if Gu Qingfeng truly was the predestined True Lord of Original Sin, change was not impossible.