"To think all of you have cultivated the legendary Original Sin True Body—truly worthy of Yan's utmost admiration!"
The speaker was a man.
This man stood closest to the Li Palace vortex, hands clasped behind his back, dressed in a black robe. His face was full of majesty, his blood and qi churned tumultuously, his imposing aura soared to the heavens, and he exuded an utterly sinister air. His eyes were like abysses, yet also like the sun and moon, like yin and yang.
Many of the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs present recognized him. It was none other than Eight-Armed Yama.
Those familiar with Eight-Armed Yama knew he could absolutely be called a ruthless and formidable ruler of the Desolate Ancient Era. His hands and eyes reached heaven and earth, he straddled the Dao of life and death, possessing the ability to determine yin and yang and judge life and death. Legend had it that if Eight-Armed Yama decreed someone should die at the third watch, that person would absolutely not live to see the fifth.
Near Eight-Armed Yama were over ten others. Among them was an old man with hair and beard as white as snow, dressed in a white robe. Although the aura of Original Sin burned on his body like flames, he gave off an air of immortal grace and Daoist elegance.
He stood in the void, one hand placed before him, the other behind his back, his face full of majesty, his gaze sharp as a torch, fixed intently on the Li Palace vortex.
It was none other than the Golden Wheel Patriarch, hailed as a giant of the Immortal Dao in the Desolate Ancient Era.
Since his appearance, the Golden Wheel Patriarch had not spoken a single word, not even a syllable. He had been observing the Li Palace vortex before him, frowning deeply, lost in thought.
"When did the mighty and renowned Eight-Armed Yama become so humble?"
The speaker was not the Golden Wheel Patriarch, but a man not far away who was not tall, with a round, stout build, resembling a dwarf.
This dwarf-like man had a peculiar appearance, a face full of beard, and a pair of eyes gleaming with a sharp light that sent chills down one's spine.
"Before all you Seniors, Yan naturally dares not be presumptuous." Eight-Armed Yama, not one for casual smiles, stared at the dwarf-like man and said, "Especially before you, Old Master Rat."
"Tsk tsk."
The dwarf-like man let out a sharp laugh. "To think that after so many years, someone still remembers this old man."
Good heavens!
Upon hearing that this peculiarly featured dwarf-like man was actually Old Master Rat, all the Ancestral Patriarchs present who had cultivated their Original Sin selves and true bodies were utterly shocked.
In the Desolate Ancient Era, while rats attaining sentience and cultivating the Dao were not numerous, they were not few either. However, there was only one honored with the title 'Old Master'—the ancestor of rat demons and simultaneously the ancestor of theft.
Legend had it that Old Master Rat could steal from the heavens above and the earth below; there was nothing in heaven and earth he could not steal. In the Desolate Ancient Era, most of the treasures of the great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs had been visited by Old Master Rat.
No one had expected this dwarf-like man to be the Old Master Rat who had stolen his way through the Desolate Ancient Era.
In the memories of many Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs, Old Master Rat seemed to have vanished during the mid-Desolate Ancient Era and never appeared again. Who would have thought he had been tainted by Original Sin, and damn it, by the looks of it, had even cultivated an Original Sin True Body.
The question of who would ultimately claim the Li Palace Source was already shrouded in mystery. With Old Master Rat's appearance, who would have the last laugh became even more uncertain.
Who was Old Master Rat?
He was the ancestor of theft.
Stealing the Li Palace Source might be harder than ascending to heaven for others, but for Old Master Rat, it was as easy as turning over his hand.
This might sound exaggerated, but it was not an exaggeration in the slightest.
Those who had heard of Old Master Rat knew he absolutely had this capability. In the Desolate Ancient Era, Old Master Rat's deeds were not limited to stealing treasures from the great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs.
He had stolen the souls of demons, ghosts, and monsters. He had stolen the external incarnations of Immortals, Buddhas, Humans, and Sages.
He had stolen the Sources of numerous major worlds.
Was that all?
Of course not.
Even the Sources of the Great Dao—Old Master Rat said he would steal them, and so he did.
"This old man originally thought he had seen wrong. Who would have thought it truly is Old Master Rat, the one who stole from heaven and earth and plundered the entire Desolate Ancient Era."
Suddenly.
Another old man spoke up.
This old man stood not far from the Golden Wheel Patriarch. His appearance was also rather peculiar: tall and thin, holding a banner flag. The top of his head was bald, but the hair around the sides was long. The mustache on his mouth resembled the whiskers of a catfish, drooping down in front of him.
"Tsk tsk!" Old Master Rat let out a sharp laugh. "If even you, the Diviner, the Half-Immortal of Yin and Yang, could see wrongly, then no one in this ancient heaven and earth could see accurately."
Truly, wave after wave, mountain after mountain. When Old Master Rat uttered the title 'Diviner, the Half-Immortal of Yin and Yang,' another uproar swept through the gathering.
Like Old Master Rat, the Diviner was neither a mighty ruler who dominated a region nor a hegemon who shook the world in the Desolate Ancient Era. Yet his name was known to all, unknown to none.
If Old Master Rat was the one who stole from heaven and earth and plundered the Desolate Ancient Era, then the Diviner was the existence who calculated heaven and earth and schemed through the entire Desolate Ancient Era.
In the Desolate Ancient Era, both Old Master Rat and the Diviner were headaches for everyone. Old Master Rat was impossible to guard against; if he wanted to steal from you, you simply couldn't prevent it.
In this regard, the Diviner was even more formidable. Mentioning Old Master Rat only gave people a headache. But mentioning the Diviner wasn't just a headache—it was enough to make one tremble with fear.
If the Diviner wanted to scheme against you, you were equally defenseless.
If Old Master Rat was the ancestor of theft, then the Diviner was the ancestor of cunning plots and machinations.
His skill in schemes and intrigues was nothing short of miraculous, calculating your every move, one pitfall after another, one stumbling block after another. If the Diviner wished, he could scheme until you lost your family fortune, were disgraced, your family ruined and annihilated, even to the point of having your lineage severed.
In the Desolate Ancient Era, whether it was the Immortal Dao, the Buddha Dao, the Monster Dao, or the Devil Dao, including the Heavenly Dao and even the Sage Dao—all had been schemed against by the Diviner. Some even said that the great war where the Three Thousand Great Daos fought for supremacy, turning the world upside down, was step-by-step orchestrated by the Diviner's schemes.
With Old Master Rat, who stole from heaven and earth and plundered the Desolate Ancient Era, already making the fate of the Li Palace Source shrouded in mystery, now adding the Diviner, who calculated heaven and earth and schemed through the entire Desolate Ancient Era, made the outcome of this Li Palace Source likely even more uncertain.
Previously.
Everyone had been speculating about the identities of these over ten Ancestral Patriarchs who had cultivated Original Sin True Bodies.
They all knew that beings capable of cultivating an Original Sin True Body were certainly extraordinary.
They were either mighty rulers of great renown in the Desolate Ancient Era, like Eight-Armed Yama, or figures of far-reaching fame, like the Golden Wheel Patriarch.
They never expected them to be existences like Old Master Rat and the Diviner.
To be honest.
If they were existences like Eight-Armed Yama and the Golden Wheel Patriarch, they wouldn't be too apprehensive.
When the Li Palace Source emerged, they could just directly fight for it. It would be a contest of strength. If they couldn't seize it, they would accept it.
But now, with Old Master Rat and the Diviner appearing, it was no longer just a question of strength or whether they could seize it or not.
Even if they were powerful and managed to seize the Li Palace Source, if they weren't careful and Old Master Rat stole it away, or if they fell victim to the Diviner's schemes, ending up making a wedding dress for someone else, wouldn't that be enough to piss anyone off?
As the old saying goes, 'Fear not the thief who steals, but the thief who schemes.' That describes Old Master Rat.
Another old saying says, 'Easy to dodge an open spear, hard to guard against a hidden arrow.' That describes the Diviner.