If the Heavenly Dao exists, the Great Dao exists. If the Great Dao perishes, the Heavenly Dao will not survive alone.
What a tragic and heroic statement.
Although during the Desolate Ancient Era, the Heavenly Dao suppressed all rivals to become the leader of the Great Dao, presiding over all things in heaven and earth, which left the Three Thousand Great Daos deeply dissatisfied.
Yet none of them could deny the Heavenly Dao's contributions to the Great Dao, nor could they deny the fearless spirit of the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals who fought a bloody war against Wu Dao Daozun to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately.
In the end, the Heavenly Dao still fell, and the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals were slaughtered by Wu Dao Daozun until their corpses piled into mountains.
The Heavenly Dao was the Great Dao's final line of defense. With the Heavenly Dao's fall, the so-called Great Dao fell with it.
This precisely fulfilled the cry of the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals when they faced Wu Dao Daozun: "If the Heavenly Dao exists, the Great Dao exists. If the Great Dao perishes, the Heavenly Dao will not survive alone."
The Heavenly Dao said it, and acted accordingly.
One couldn't help but admire it.
Everyone had always believed that the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals who fought that bloody war against Wu Dao Daozun all turned to dust and ashes along with the fall of the Great Dao. It wasn't until the end of the Desolate Ancient Era and the dawn of the Tai Gu Era that everyone learned the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals had not all perished. At the very least, Dugu Qizhan survived.
As for how Dugu Qizhan survived, it remains a mystery to this day.
No one knows.
It was originally thought that only Dugu Qizhan among the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals had survived. But today, those Ancestral Patriarchs of Original Sin learned that the survivor wasn't just Dugu Qizhan; there was also the Chiyu Heavenly General.
Yet what was utterly incomprehensible was that Chiyu Heavenly General, one of the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals who fought a bloody war against Wu Dao Daozun, swearing to protect the Great Dao unto death, had actually been tainted by Original Sin.
Was this true?
No one knew.
No one had seen the Chiyu Heavenly General either. It was just that after someone saw the Immortal Dao prodigy, Golden Wheel Patriarch, tainted by Original Sin, they said the Chiyu Heavenly General was also tainted. Who exactly said it? Again, no one knew.
As the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire. Although the Chiyu Heavenly General hadn't been seen, since someone said it, there must be some basis. Perhaps after the collapse of Gui Xu, someone had encountered the Chiyu Heavenly General in the Present Era—that wasn't impossible.
If this were true, why would the illustrious Chiyu Heavenly General be tainted by Original Sin?
In everyone's minds, it was somewhat understandable if people from other Great Daos were tainted by Original Sin.
During the Desolate Ancient Era, most who were tainted by Original Sin wanted to break free from the shackles of karma and master their own destiny. No one harbored ambitions to scheme for the position of True Lord of Original Sin.
The reason was simple: Wu Dao Daozun's existence back then was far too powerful. Everyone also believed only Wu Dao Daozun could slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos and usher in the Wu Dao Era. Therefore, no one wanted to replace him; they only wanted Wu Dao Daozun to open the Wu Dao Era so they could break free from karma's shackles and master their own destiny.
There was another reason.
Back then, many people of the Great Daos were like the current Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands: shouting about protecting the Great Dao on one hand, while secretly being tainted by Original Sin on the other. Perhaps they weren't doing it for karma or to master their destiny, but more as a precaution, fearing the Great Dao might truly fall and their lineage be severed.
The Great Dao belonged to everyone.
But the lineage was one's own.
If the Great Dao fell, for those Ancestral Patriarchs, it merely meant losing their orthodoxy.
But if the lineage was severed, what they would lose wouldn't just be orthodoxy; they might not even survive.
For those Ancestral Patriarchs, lineage was always the most important thing, no matter the era.
This was true in the Desolate Ancient Era.
And the Present Era was no exception.
However.
To say the Chiyu Heavenly General was also tainted by Original Sin during the Desolate Ancient Era... this was somewhat incomprehensible. No!
Not incomprehensible, but rather unacceptable.
Yes.
Unacceptable.
After all, the Heavenly Dao was the leader of the Great Dao, presiding over all things in heaven and earth. Although back then, the Heavenly Dao sweeping through the Three Thousand Great Daos to become the leader left some old-timers very unconvinced, they were only a few. Apart from these old-timers, most people were quite convinced by the Heavenly Dao's rule over heaven and earth. Especially the Eight Hundred Heavenly Generals' bloody war against Wu Dao Daozun inspired even greater admiration, making them feel the Heavenly Dao lived up to its name as the leader of the Great Dao.
Now, learning that a Heavenly General had been tainted by Original Sin was like a general who fought bloodily on the battlefield betraying his country and joining the enemy. It brought disappointment and intense anger.
No wonder those Ancestral Patriarchs of Original Sin, upon emerging and seeing the Immortal Dao prodigy Golden Wheel Patriarch tainted by Original Sin, immediately clamored that the Chiyu Heavenly General was also tainted.
By saying this, they were undoubtedly speaking to those people of the Great Dao hiding within their Creation Treasure Artifacts.
They were satirizing the people of the Great Dao as utterly hypocritical villains—the Immortal Dao was, and so was the Heavenly Dao.
This was understandable.
These old-timers, after being tainted by Original Sin in the Desolate Ancient Era, had always borne the stigma of betraying the Great Dao. Now, seeing the Immortal Dao prodigy Golden Wheel Patriarch and the illustrious Chiyu Heavenly General also tainted by Original Sin, they naturally wanted to seize this chance to mock those so-called Ancestral Patriarchs of the Great Dao.
Within the scene.
The Li Palace Vortex continued to rotate.
The Breath of Original Sin filling the sky grew denser and purer.
At the same time, the Desolate Ancient ruins throughout the entire Li Palace space were miraculously reviving. The aura of death diminished more and more, while vitality grew increasingly vigorous. It was no longer a static landscape painting of mountains and water, but more like a reappearance of the Desolate Ancient Era—a spectacular, miraculous sight, inconceivable and beyond belief.
However.
At this moment, no one was in the mood to appreciate the beauty of the Desolate Ancient Era. Because as the Li Palace Vortex rotated, that vast, endless, terrifying, and overwhelmingly oppressive mental pressure grew stronger.
This pressure directly shook the soul, making one feel fear, unable to resist or fight back, not even able to struggle.
One could only endure.
Only let the pressure envelop them.
Only accept being dominated by fear.
Countless Original Sin Dharmakaya figures were still retreating continuously, trying to stay as far from the Li Palace Vortex as possible. Apart from retreating, the only thing they could do now was retreat.
If these Original Sin Dharmakaya figures had previously held a sliver of hope for the True Lord of Original Sin, that last shred of hope was now gradually dissipating as they retreated.
Especially seeing those Ancestral Patriarchs of Original Sin emerging one after another filled them with utter despair.
These Ancestral Patriarchs of Original Sin were either Original Sin Avatars or Original Sin Essences, all powerful existences. And their numbers far exceeded imagination. Looking around, there were at least over a thousand Original Sin Avatars, and over a hundred Original Sin Essences. Among them, there might even be Original Sin True Bodies.
Now, these Original Sin Dharmakaya figures couldn't even withstand the mental pressure from the Li Palace Vortex. How could they compete with these Ancestral Patriarchs of Original Sin for the Li Palace Primordial Source?
Most importantly, what had emerged so far were only the Ancestral Patriarchs of Original Sin.
Besides the Ancestral Patriarchs of Original Sin, there were also the Sons of Original Sin and the Variables of Original Sin.
Once those Sons of Original Sin and Variables of Original Sin emerged, these Original Sin Dharmakaya figures would have even less chance.
Originally, they had thought to try their luck. Now it seemed that luck wasn't easy to come by. There was no choice. Even if their hearts were filled with unwillingness, they had to give up. They could only settle for the next best thing, hoping to seize some advantage regarding Original Sin, so their taint by Original Sin wouldn't be in vain.