The Immortal Dao Patriarchs all knew that after the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix achieved Taiji Boundless, they might no longer be the Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix of old, nor could it be guaranteed they would protect Heaven and Earth. They might instead do the opposite and scheme for the True Lord of Original Sin.
Did the old Immortal Elders of Xuantian Immortal Path not know this?
No!
The old Immortal Elders must have known.
And they were certainly clearer about it than anyone else.
If that was the case, why did they ignore all advice back then, obstinately and recklessly nurturing that pair of twin siblings to achieve Taiji Boundless?
Some said the old Immortal Elders were impatient for success, eager to prove themselves, which is why they decided to play a risky gambit.
For a long time, the existence of the Great Sun Radiant Emperor had represented the Immortal Dao, and he was widely known as the Immortal Dao Overlord. Although he had not merged with the Immortal Dao's origin and was not the true master of Xuantian Immortal Path, in the hearts of many, they had long regarded the Great Sun Radiant Emperor as the master of the Immortal Dao.
Only the old Immortal Elders who guarded the Immortal Dao's origin did not acknowledge the Great Sun Radiant Emperor, believing he was not yet qualified to claim the title of Immortal Dao Master.
Back then, many Immortal Dao Patriarchs felt indignant on behalf of the Great Sun Radiant Emperor, and Xuantian Immortal Path became a target of criticism because of this. Everyone believed they were deliberately suppressing the Great Sun Radiant Emperor.
Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that the old Immortal Elders of Xuantian Immortal Path ignored all advice and obstinately pinned their hopes on the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix.
If they won the gamble, and the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix achieved Taiji Boundless and also protected the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, then Xuantian Immortal Path could prove to everyone that their choice back then was correct—that the hope of the Immortal Dao was not the Great Sun Radiant Emperor, but Taiji Boundless.
But what if they lost the gamble?
Back then, everyone felt the old Immortal Elders of Xuantian Immortal Path must have grown senile, preferring to place their hopes on the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix rather than believing in the Great Sun Radiant Emperor.
Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix might not necessarily achieve Taiji Boundless, and even if they did, they might not necessarily protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Yet the Great Sun Radiant Emperor was the Mandate of Heaven inheriting the Great Dao's imperial authority. He had strength when strength was needed, influence when influence was needed, and prestige when prestige was needed. If he claimed the title of Immortal Dao Master, the Immortal Dao under his leadership would surely achieve glory once more, and he could even prevent the opening of the Daoless Age and safeguard the Great Dao Heaven and Earth.
Anyone else would have placed their hopes on the Great Sun Radiant Emperor.
Yet the old Immortal Elders of Xuantian Immortal Path chose the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix instead.
At first,
Da Xing the Mad Monk, like many Immortal Dao Patriarchs, believed the old Immortal Elders of Xuantian Immortal Path must have grown senile.
But upon later reflection and based on his own investigations, he discovered things might not be so simple.
As is well known,
Xuantian Immortal Path had always been presided over by the renowned Xuanmiao Nine Immortals.
The Xuanmiao Nine Immortals were also the first batch of Immortal Dao Patriarchs to awe Heaven and Earth after the end of the Desolate Ancient Era and the opening of the Primordial Era. Their disciples and former subordinates were spread across the myriad realms. It was said that in the present Heaven and Earth, the majority of those who cultivated were likely descendants or disciples of the Xuanmiao Nine Immortals. Hence, some also called the Xuanmiao Nine Immortals the Nine Great Patriarchs of the Immortal Dao.
However,
Behind these Nine Great Immortal Dao Patriarchs were the Taixuan Immortal Elder and the Taimiao Immortal Elder.
It was said that the Taixuan Immortal Elder and the Taimiao Immortal Elder were both senior figures of the Immortal Dao from the Desolate Ancient Era, and also the masters of the Xuanmiao Nine Immortals.
Everyone had seen the Xuanmiao Nine Immortals who presided over Xuantian Immortal Path, but as for the Taixuan Immortal Elder and the Taimiao Immortal Elder, no one had ever seen them. Not even their honorable names, surnames, or Dao titles were known.
Was that all?
No.
Because within Xuantian Immortal Path, there were also the old Immortal Elders who guarded the Immortal Dao's origin.
The world knew the old Immortal Elders guarded the Immortal Dao's origin, yet similarly, no one had ever seen them either.
Regarding the Taixuan and Taimiao Immortal Elders, everyone only knew they were the masters of the Xuanmiao Nine Immortals. Beyond that, nothing else was known.
As for the old Immortal Elders, everyone only knew they guarded the Immortal Dao's origin and had nurtured the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix. Beyond that, nothing else was known.
Whether it was the Taixuan and Taimiao Immortal Elders or the old Immortal Elders, these were merely honorific titles. Not to mention those after the Desolate Ancient Era, even the old-timers from the Desolate Ancient Era did not know who the so-called Immortal Elders and Immortal Elders actually referred to.
Most of the Original Sin Patriarchs present had experienced the Desolate Ancient Era. If asked who the Immortal Elders and Immortal Elders referred to, they too would look utterly bewildered.
Of course,
It wasn't that they hadn't heard of Immortal Elders and Immortal Elders during the Desolate Ancient Era.
On the contrary, during the Desolate Ancient Era, they had all heard of the so-called Taixuan Immortal Elder, Taimiao Immortal Elder, and the Xuantian Immortal Elder.
The problem was, they had merely heard of them. Similarly, no one had ever seen them.
In their impression, the so-called Taixuan and Taimiao, the so-called Immortal Elders and Immortal Elders, were honorifics from a very, very long time ago—so long that unless someone brought them up, they might have forgotten the Immortal Dao even had such honorifics as Immortal Elders and Immortal Elders.
As for who the legendary Taixuan and Taimiao Immortal Elders and Immortal Elders actually were, or what kind of existence they represented, no one knew.
The only certainty was that since they had survived the end of the Desolate Ancient Era, their existence must be extraordinary. Most importantly, the fact that they guarded the Immortal Dao's origin further proved their existence might be beyond imagination—it was not impossible they were Immortal Dao Patriarchs from the Desolate Ancient Era.
How could such existences possibly grow senile?
Not only would they not grow senile, they would be more astute than anyone else.
Their decision back then to ignore everyone's advice, abandon the Great Sun Radiant Emperor, and obstinately pin their hopes on Taiji Boundless was definitely not a blind gamble. It must have been the result of careful deliberation. It was even possible that the very reason the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix were born in the Current Era was part of a karmic scheme laid by these old Immortal Elders.
Was it possible?
Nothing was impossible.
Some laid schemes to plot for the True Lord of Original Sin, while others laid schemes to destroy the True Lord of Original Sin.
Black Mountain Old Monster, Green Lamp Ghost Emperor, Liao’e Old Monster, including Old Ancestor Green Robe—all had laid schemes since the Desolate Ancient Era to plot for the True Lord of Original Sin. Could it be that Great Dao Patriarchs could not have started laying schemes since the Desolate Ancient Era to slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin and protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth?
The answer was affirmative.
It was highly possible.
Not just possible, but certain.
Not to mention others, the Holy Land's Xuanyuan Wuji, the Heavenly Dao's Dugu Qizhan, and the Immortal Dao's Great Sun Radiant Emperor—these existences were most likely schemes laid to slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin. There was also the Langya Master Cangyan, who had laid a scheme since the Desolate Ancient Era, and it was a scheme to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. It was just that now, for the sake of her beloved man, the Demon Emperor Blood River, she had abandoned the scheme laid for the Great Dao Heaven and Earth.
Similarly,
Floating Life Imperial Lord, Changfeng Great Emperor, and the others might also be such schemes.
It was just that Cangyan had awakened her True Self, while they perhaps had not yet awakened theirs.
And then there were the legendary women who had laid schemes on Gu Qingfeng—Yun Nichang, Mandala, Jun Xuanji, including Su Hua. The schemes they laid on Gu Qingfeng were probably not to plot for the True Lord of Original Sin, but to slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin.
The Immortal Elders and Immortal Elders who guarded the Immortal Dao's origin might have long since deduced the calamity of Original Sin in the Current Era. Hence, they laid a scheme involving Taiji Boundless, both to slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin and to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.