Representing the eight Buddhist sects, a host of Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and elders were led by the White-Browed Holy Monk.
The Nine Immortals of Xuantian from the Xuantian Immortal Path, the two Immortal Elders Taixuan and Taimiao, and the Xuanmiao Old Immortal Elder.
A group of Semi-Sages, Celestial Immortals, and Heavenly Demons from the Holy Land and Shangqing Cave.
Great Emperor Changfeng, Fusheng Dijun, Peacock Emperor, Xuanyang Monarch, including the Nine Holy Sons of the Holy Land and the Nine Sons of the Heavenly Dao.
Thus far, the ancestral patriarchs from the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands had finally all arrived.
Those destined to be born for this Original Sin Cataclysm, bearing the mission to guard the Great Dao and carrying the hopes of the Great Dao, had almost all manifested.
The only regrettable thing was that the illustrious Great Emperor Dairi, and the two reputed Pillars of Heaven—Martial Sage Xuanyuan Wuji and Heaven General Dugu Qizhan—for reasons unknown, had still not appeared.
Within the arena, although the nine Forbidden Great Daos still flickered intermittently, compared to the initial phase, they seemed far less intense.
Previously, each of the nine Forbidden Great Daos had been like nine vicious dragons churning the seas, tearing and devouring each other, vying for supremacy over this domain.
Now, the nine Forbidden Great Daos resembled nine fish, no longer tearing at each other, no longer devouring one another, and no longer contesting for hegemony here. All nine Forbidden Great Daos had grown much dimmer.
Not only were the nine Forbidden Great Daos like this, but even the Avici Without Interval Evil Asura manifesting as the image of Hell, the Descent from Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs manifesting as the image of Purgatory, and the Heaven-Devouring Blood Taotie manifesting as the image of the Abyss were no exception.
They were no longer as frenzied, as violently unbridled, or as ferocious as before.
Previously, the nine Forbidden Great Daos had suppressed the physical bodies of the assembled patriarchs, while the three Original Sin black smoke manifestations had awed the souls of the patriarchs.
As the nine Forbidden Great Daos grew increasingly illusory, and as the three Original Sin manifestations of Hell, Purgatory, and the Abyss grew more ethereal, that suppression, that awe, that fear, were all gradually fading away.
Regarding this, the patriarchs present did not feel perplexed.
Because they all knew this was inevitable.
The moment Gu Qingfeng decided to 'let go' of himself, the nine Forbidden Great Daos were destined to vanish like smoke.
The nine Forbidden Great Daos were all comprehended by Gu Qingfeng. Now that he had let them go, it was like a dream; the nine Forbidden Great Daos were but bubbles in that dream, and they too would disappear.
The three existences—Avici Without Interval Evil Asura, Descent from Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs, and Heaven-Devouring Blood Taotie—one was the overlord ruling Hell, one the overlord ruling Purgatory, and one the overlord who personally created the Abyss by devouring heaven and earth. Each was more terrifying than the last, fearsome overlords even in the era of Great Dao contention during the Ancient Desolation.
However, these three overlords now possessed neither physical bodies nor souls; they were merely wisps of divine sense and demonic thought. No matter how powerful, they were ultimately limited.
The divine sense and demonic thoughts of these three overlords were mutually dependent with Gu Qingfeng. As long as Gu Qingfeng willed it, these three overlords would be the Lords of Hell, the Lords of Purgatory, the Lords of the Abyss.
If Gu Qingfeng did not will it, these three overlords were merely three wisps of divine sense and demonic thought.
After being released by Gu Qingfeng, the divine sense and demonic thoughts of these three overlords were effectively bereft of support, even stripped of protection. They were not quite like wandering ghosts, but certainly not much better off, and could no longer pose any significant threat to the Original Sin patriarchs present.
Not only could they pose no threat, but the moment Gu Qingfeng perished, the divine sense and demonic thoughts of these three overlords might immediately become prey on the plates of those Original Sin patriarchs. Perhaps many Original Sin patriarchs were already beginning to covet these three overlords' divine sense and demonic thoughts.
Right then, the patriarchs within the arena all sensed something amiss.
It seemed a mysterious aura was blossoming forth from Gu Qingfeng's body.
This mysterious aura was particularly peculiar.
It was neither sacred nor evil, held neither light nor darkness, resembled neither immortal nor Buddha, neither demon nor monster, neither life nor death, and was certainly not Original Sin.
It possessed nothing.
Precisely because this mysterious aura possessed nothing, it evoked immense astonishment.
The auras between heaven and earth were countless, covering everything imaginable.
But regardless of any aura, none could escape the categories of sacred and evil, light and darkness, life and death, yin and yang.
Immortals and Buddhas were thus, demons and monsters were thus, all myriad things were thus.
Because this was the order of the Great Dao, the law of the Great Dao; all things between heaven and earth were contained within it.
If an aura belonged neither to sacred nor evil, nor to light or darkness, nor life or death, yin or yang, then it meant this aura existed outside the order of the Great Dao, outside the laws of the Great Dao.
Original Sin and the Primordial were among such.
They did not belong to sacred or evil, nor to light or darkness, existed outside the order of the Great Dao, and outside the laws of the Great Dao.
The problem was, the patriarchs discovered that the mysterious aura emanating from Gu Qingfeng's body was fundamentally not the aura of Original Sin, much less that of the Primordial.
This aura existed outside the order of the Great Dao, outside its laws, was neither Original Sin nor Primordial.
Then...
*Thump!*
A dreadful recollection struck all the patriarchs within the arena.
Back when the Ancient Desolation Nine Palaces had just begun to gestate, both Original Sin patriarchs and Great Dao patriarchs had been secretly watching Gu Qingfeng, aiming to find an opportunity to eliminate him—this potential True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate.
Finally, they had seized an opportunity.
On that occasion, Gu Qingfeng, for unknown reasons, had suddenly sealed himself without any warning.
The patriarchs all knew Gu Qingfeng would never seal himself without cause; he must have encountered trouble.
If they acted then, their chances of success would be very high.
But just as they decided to move, a mysterious aura had emanated from Gu Qingfeng's body—an aura that similarly existed outside the laws of the Great Dao.
Outside the laws of the Great Dao, aside from Original Sin and the Primordial, there was only the legendary Ancient Clan.
Some said that Gu Qingfeng harbored a wisp of divine sense and demonic thought from an Ancient Clan member.
Whether it was true or false, no one knew.
Because no one had ever seen an Ancient Clan member.
Not to mention the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, even patriarchs who had lived through the Ancient Desolation Era knew precious little about the term 'Ancient Clan.'
The only thing known was that the Ancient Clan had existed long before the Ancient Desolation Era.
Some said the Ancient Clan was born in the Chaos Era.
They were humans, and they were gods.
They had opened up heaven and earth.
They had created the Nine Heavens and the Nine Underworlds.
Including the Sun and the Moon, they had gestated them.
Simultaneously, the Great Dao was also created by the Ancient Clan.
For example, the legendary Pangu, Nüwa, the Three Pure Ancestors, Tathagata Buddha, and so on—the progenitors of the Immortal Dao, the Buddha Dao, the Monster Dao, including the progenitors of the Three Thousand Great Daos—were all members of the Ancient Clan.
There were also those who said that Genggu Wuming, hailed as the incarnation of Karma and the messenger of Fate, was also an Ancient Clan member.
Genggu Wuming had never responded to this.
No one knew if she was an Ancient Clan member, nor whether those legends about the Ancient Clan were true or false.