"Of course, this old man has always been guarding the Great Dao within his own heart. Not just this old man, but I believe all the Ancestral Patriarchs present here are also guarding the Great Dao within their own hearts."
Facing Fusheng Dijun's seemingly inexplicable inquiry, Elder Tai of Xuantian spoke a series of profound words: "The Great Dao in the hearts of all present may differ. This is the so-called Three Thousand Great Daos. Since ancient times, the Three Thousand Great Daos have always shared life and death, coexisting and perishing together. This is the so-called Great Dao Returns to One. Precisely because of this, we need to join hands and work together to protect the Great Dao. I hope the Imperial Lord will not, for the sake of personal gain, disregard the safety of the Great Dao. I further implore the Imperial Lord not to forget how the Desolate Ancient Era ended!"
Elder Tai of Xuantian's words were both a reasoned argument and a heartfelt statement.
Although there are Three Thousand Great Daos, beyond the three thousand lies the return to one.
The Immortal, Buddha, Demon, and Monster Daos are among the Three Thousand within the Great Dao.
Simultaneously, it can be understood that the Great Dao encompasses the Immortal, Buddha, Demon, and Monster Daos.
As is well known,
the Desolate Ancient Era was an era of contention among the Great Daos. To vie for the position of the foremost Great Dao, the various Daos slaughtered each other, resulting in countless casualties. Many Great Daos even fell as a result. Even the Heavenly Dao, which ultimately claimed the position of the foremost Great Dao, suffered heavy losses.
Yet, even so, the Great Daos continued their covert and overt struggles. Even when Venerable Wu Dao declared his intent to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos and prepare to open the Wu Dao Era, the covert and overt struggles among the Great Daos never ceased.
Back then,
the first Great Dao Venerable Wu Dao slaughtered was the Heavenly Dao.
And when Venerable Wu Dao slaughtered the Heavenly Dao, the Immortal Dao, the Monster Dao, the Monster Dao, and others all did not lend a helping hand. They all stood by with folded arms, watching the Heavenly Dao's misfortune with glee, because they all wanted the Heavenly Dao to perish so they could replace it and claim the position of the foremost Great Dao.
Only after the Heavenly Dao fell, and Venerable Wu Dao began slaughtering other Great Daos, did they realize they had made a grave mistake.
They should not have stood by with folded arms when the Heavenly Dao was in trouble. The various Great Daos should have joined forces to resist Venerable Wu Dao.
Some say,
if from the very beginning the various Great Daos had united to deal with Venerable Wu Dao, the Three Thousand Great Daos would never have been completely slaughtered, the Wu Dao Era would never have begun, and the Desolate Ancient Era would not have ended.
Unfortunately,
there are no 'ifs'.
Elder Tai of Xuantian's heartfelt words carried hidden meanings and implications.
They were spoken for Fusheng Dijun, for Changfeng Great Emperor, for Peacock Great Emperor, and, even more so, for all the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs from the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands present.
Although Changfeng Great Emperor and Peacock Great Emperor had already stated they would not support him, and Fusheng Dijun, while not explicitly stating it, was not far off,
nevertheless,
Elder Tai of Xuantian still wanted to seize this opportunity to try and salvage the situation.
Therefore, he used the lesson of the Desolate Ancient Era to remind the three Destiny-Bearers—Fusheng Dijun and the others—of the principle that the Great Dao Returns to One. He wanted them to recognize that the Three Thousand Great Daos can only be protected if they share life and death, coexisting and perishing together. If everyone were to guard only the Great Dao within their own hearts like them, then the Three Thousand Great Daos would inevitably repeat the old path of the Desolate Ancient Era: complete annihilation, and the end of the Present-Ancient Era as well.
Of course,
this was only one of Elder Tai of Xuantian's objectives.
Beyond reminding the three Destiny-Bearers, the more important goal was to use this opportunity to make all the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs present understand that Fusheng Dijun, Changfeng Great Emperor, and Peacock Great Emperor—these three Destiny-Bearers—were selfish and self-serving, disregarding the safety of the Great Dao for the sake of the Great Dao within their own hearts.
He wanted those observing Patriarchs to understand that Fusheng Dijun and the other two Destiny-Bearers were not their guiding lights, and there was no need to rely on them to protect the Great Dao. Only by uniting could they survive this cataclysm and protect the Great Dao within everyone's hearts.
He further wanted all the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs to understand that if the Great Dao were lost, Fusheng Dijun and the other two Destiny-Bearers would be the sinners of the Great Dao!
He also wanted all the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs to understand that if they, too, acted like Fusheng Dijun, guarding the Great Dao within their own hearts while disregarding the safety of the Great Dao, they would likewise be sinners of the Great Dao!
As the saying goes, ginger is spicier when old. With Elder Tai of Xuantian's heartfelt speech, the situation immediately changed.
Perhaps because no one wanted to bear the title of 'sinner of the Great Dao'.
Or perhaps because they all realized that the Great Dao could only be protected by sharing life and death, coexisting and perishing together.
Those Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs who had originally been observing no longer remained on the sidelines. They began stepping forward one after another, deciding to support Elder Tai of Xuantian.
As more and more Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs stepped forward to support him, Elder Tai of Xuantian no longer felt as apprehensive as before. His confidence swelled instantly. His gaze swept over Changfeng Great Emperor, Peacock Great Emperor, and Fusheng Dijun, and then he said, "This old man advises the three of you not to persist in your delusions. It is not too late to turn back now."
Changfeng Great Emperor remained silent.
Peacock Great Emperor remained silent.
Fusheng Dijun also remained silent.
"Do you truly wish to disregard the safety of the Great Dao for the sake of personal desire?"
Elder Tai of Xuantian's imposing manner suddenly turned sharp as he roared, "Do you truly intend to become sinners of the Great Dao, despised for generations to come?"
This time, Changfeng Great Emperor broke his silence. He said, "I have said, if it is solely because Gu Changfeng does not support Elder Tai's choice that leads to the loss of the Great Dao, then even if Elder Tai does not pin the title of 'sinner of the Great Dao' on me, I, Gu Changfeng, will personally claim it."
Peacock Great Emperor also broke his silence, saying, "This humble one has come here not to guard the Great Dao, but solely to deliver all sentient beings!"
"I only guard the Great Dao within my own heart."
Changfeng Great Emperor held firm to his choice. So did Peacock Great Emperor. Fusheng Dijun was no exception. No matter how Elder Tai of Xuantian tried to morally coerce them, their convictions would never change.
"Good!
Very good!
Excellent!"
Elder Tai of Xuantian clenched his fists tightly, staring fixedly at Fusheng Dijun and the other two, enunciating the word 'good' three times in a heavy, measured tone.
At this moment,
almost all the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs from the various Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands within the venue had stepped forward to express their support for Elder Tai of Xuantian. Even the group of Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs belonging to Fusheng Dijun's Changsheng Pavilion had stepped forward to support Elder Tai of Xuantian.
Although the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs of Changsheng Pavilion believed that Fusheng Dijun would absolutely not disregard the safety of the Great Dao for personal gain,
they still decided to leave Fusheng Dijun's side and support Elder Tai of Xuantian.
The reason was simple: Changsheng Pavilion could not bear the weight of the four words 'sinner of the Great Dao'.
With the group of Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs from Changsheng Pavilion stepping forward, looking around, those opposing Elder Tai of Xuantian were now reduced to the lonely few figures including Fusheng Dijun.
This meant Elder Tai of Xuantian's objective had also been achieved. Whether Fusheng Dijun and the other two supported him or not was no longer so important to him, and he couldn't be bothered to pay them any more attention.
But just as he turned away, Fusheng Dijun's voice suddenly rang out again.
"If Elder Tai truly wishes to protect the Great Dao, I advise you to terminate your plan. Do not attempt to suppress the demonic consciousness within You Di. Your plan will not only be of no help in protecting the Great Dao, but will instead plunge everyone into a plight of eternal damnation."