What was even more terrifying was that the old immortal elders of the Xuantian Immortal Path plotting the Taiji Boundless might not merely be aiming to slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin, nor simply to guard the Heaven-Earth Great Dao. They might be scheming for the position of the Great Dao's leader, coveting the overlordship of this Heaven-Earth Great Dao.
The Immortal Dao had always wanted to be the true leader of the Great Dao.
During the Desolate-Age struggle for supremacy among the Great Daos, the Immortal Path had been one move short and ultimately lost to the Heavenly Dao.
After the Desolate Age, although the Immortal Dao claimed to be the leader of the Great Dao, it was merely a claim. The one who truly governed the origin of Heaven and Earth was still the Heavenly Dao.
This current Original Sin Cataclysm, despite the danger of the Great Dao falling and Heaven and Earth facing rebirth, if they could defend the Great Dao and protect Heaven and Earth, then the order of the Heaven-Earth Great Dao would inevitably be reshuffled.
For the Immortal Dao, this was a rare opportunity, perhaps the only or even the final chance. Whether they could ascend to become the true leader of the Great Dao depended on seizing this opportunity.
Now it seemed the old immortal elders of the Xuantian Immortal Path had not hidden nor concealed their ambition. The mere fact that the twin siblings Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix, upon achieving Taiji Boundless, styled themselves as the Infinite Venerable was proof enough.
Throughout the ages, only the founding patriarchs who established Great Daos and the pioneers who inaugurated eras had the right to be called 'Venerable'.
Most importantly, in everyone's minds, the founding patriarchs who established Great Daos had always been referred to as the Infinite Celestial Venerables.
The title 'Infinite Celestial Venerable' referred to the founding patriarch of the Immortal Dao, as well as the founding patriarchs of the Buddhist Dao, the Heavenly Dao, and all three thousand Great Daos.
Now, that pair of twin siblings, Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix, having achieved Taiji Boundless, called themselves the Infinite Venerable. Their intention could not be clearer: they wanted to become the absolute overlord ruling over all living beings and commanding the three thousand Great Daos within Heaven and Earth.
Good heavens.
Truly, one mountain is higher than the next.
Those Great Dao Patriarchs were merely scheming to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, but the old immortal elders of the Immortal Dao had already begun plotting for what would come after successfully defending it.
Thinking of this, Da Xing the Mad Monk's heart jolted. When Taiji Boundless appeared, he began to suspect that Gu Qingfeng might be a decoy laid by Wu Dao Daozun, that the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate was not Gu Qingfeng at all, but rather the Heavenly Dragon and Earth Phoenix who styled themselves as the Infinite Venerable.
Now he realized that the Infinite Venerable might also not be the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, but rather a scheme laid by those old immortal elders of the Xuantian Immortal Path to covet the position of the Great Dao's master.
Da Xing the Mad Monk did not hesitate. He quickly conveyed his inner thoughts to Gu Qingfeng, hoping Gu Qingfeng would not make a blind decision.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Gu Qingfeng's retort left him speechless.
"How can you be sure Taiji Boundless is a scheme laid by the Xuantian Immortal Path, and not one laid by Wu Dao Daozun? Or, how can you be sure Taiji Boundless is only a scheme of the Xuantian Immortal Path? The Xuantian Immortal Path can lay a scheme involving Taiji Boundless. Couldn't Wu Dao Daozun also lay a scheme upon Taiji Boundless?"
"This..." Da Xing the Mad Monk opened his mouth, then closed it, words failing him.
He thought it over carefully and felt Gu Qingfeng's words were not without reason. At the very least, he couldn't find grounds to refute them.
At that moment, Gu Qingfeng spoke again: "Taiji Boundless is considered the pinnacle of Heaven and Earth. Precisely because of this, the Xuantian Immortal Path placed their hopes upon them. Wu Dao Daozun couldn't possibly be unaware of this. If the Xuantian Immortal Path wants to use Taiji Boundless to ascend to the position of Great Dao Master, couldn't Wu Dao Daozun also use Taiji Boundless to ascend to the position of Original Sin Master?"
He paused briefly, then continued: "Moreover, if I were the Xuantian Immortal Path, in scheming for Taiji Boundless, I would definitely bypass Original Sin and also bypass Fate. Because only by bypassing Original Sin and Fate would the hope of ascending to Great Dao Master be greater."
"Yet the Taiji Boundless that has appeared now is not purely Taiji Boundless. He is also an Original Sin variable and a Destined Calamity Fate."
After hearing Gu Qingfeng's words, Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed to realize something, exclaiming in shock: "You mean to say, those old immortal elders of the Xuantian Immortal Path schemed for a Taiji Boundless, originally intending to bypass Original Sin and Fate, but unfortunately not only did they fail to bypass them, their intentions were instead perceived by Wu Dao Daozun and Genggu Wuming. So, Wu Dao Daozun laid an Original Sin variable upon Taiji Boundless, and Genggu Wuming laid a Destined Calamity Fate upon Taiji Boundless?"
"So, the Xuantian Immortal Path wants to use Taiji Boundless to ascend to Great Dao Master, Wu Dao Daozun wants to use Taiji Boundless to ascend to Original Sin Master, and Genggu Wuming wants to use Taiji Boundless to slaughter the True Lord of Original Sin?"
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. If this were truly the case, then Gu Qingfeng would be confirmed as having borne the blame for Taiji Boundless his entire life.
But upon second thought, Da Xing the Mad Monk felt something was off. "Wait! No! Something's not right!"
"What's not right?"
"Kid Gu, think carefully. If you truly are a decoy laid by Wu Dao Daozun, your existence wouldn't be merely an Original Sin variable; you must also be a Destined Calamity Fate. Although many Great Dao Patriarchs have laid schemes upon you, compared to Genggu Wuming, those Great Dao Patriarchs' threats are insignificant. Since you are a decoy, why is there no scheme of a Destined Calamity Fate laid by Genggu Wuming upon you?"
"Also, if Taiji Boundless is the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, he cannot simultaneously be both an Original Sin variable and a Destined Calamity Fate."
Gu Qingfeng responded: "Nothing is impossible. Perhaps Genggu Wuming perceived that my existence is merely a decoy, so they simply couldn't be bothered to lay a scheme upon me and directly laid one upon Taiji Boundless, the true True Lord of Original Sin."
"This..." Da Xing the Mad Monk scratched his bald head vigorously. "No! No! Absolutely not like this! Who is Wu Dao Daozun? He's the one who slaughtered the Great Dao and opened the Wu Dao Era! How could the scheme he lays be so easily perceived by Genggu Wuming?"
"It's very likely you, kid, are the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate. It's just that Wu Dao Daozun played a masterful game of double-dealing, making Genggu Wuming mistakenly believe you are the decoy. At the same time, Wu Dao Daozun laid a scheme upon Taiji Boundless, making Genggu Wuming mistakenly believe Taiji Boundless is the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate. This way, he could deceive Genggu Wuming. By deceiving Genggu Wuming, he deceives the causality of Fate. By deceiving the causality of Fate, then almost no other existence in all of Heaven and Earth, past or present, could easily stop you from ascending to become the True Lord of Original Sin."
Earlier, Gu Qingfeng's one retort had left Da Xing the Mad Monk speechless. Now, Da Xing the Mad Monk's speech left Gu Qingfeng speechless.
Although he didn't want to, he had to admit there was some logic to Da Xing the Mad Monk's words.
He also couldn't find grounds to refute them.
"No! No!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed to have realized something else. He kept shaking his head, grabbing his head, muttering to himself: "This old monk is getting more and more confused the more I think. The waters here are too deep, the schemes laid are too chaotic, all sorts of double-dealing games... Damn it... It's become a complete mess!"