They also knew that the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars did not truly wish to guard the so-called Three Thousand Great Daos.
The Great Sun Radiant Emperor did not.
Dugu Qizhan did not.
Xuanyuan Wuji did not either.
If they truly wished to guard them, they would not have waited until now to appear.
However.
Their very existence destined them to have no choice but to guard the Three Thousand Great Daos.
The reason was simple.
The Great Sun Radiant Emperor was the incarnation of the Immortal Dao's Source!
Dugu Qizhan was the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao's Source!
Xuanyuan Wuji was the incarnation of the Sacred Dao's Source!
The meaning of their existence was to guard the Sources of the Three Thousand Great Daos. This was their duty, their mission, their fate, and also the tribulation they were destined to face in this great calamity.
This point.
The various Empresses knew.
Floating Life Emperor Lord, Great Emperor Changfeng, Da Xing the Mad Monk, and the others all knew.
Precisely because they knew, when the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars appeared, they were not the least bit surprised.
Even.
Deep in their hearts, they were profoundly grateful that the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars had only revealed themselves now. If the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars had appeared to stand guard the moment the Primordial Black Hole emerged, whether the Wudao Mountain could have manifested and whether Gu Qingfeng could have successfully 'let go of himself' would have been unknown.
"Great Sun Radiant Emperor!
Dugu Qizhan!
Xuanyuan Wuji!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk stepped forward, gazing at the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars, and said, "Do you...
really have to do this?"
Within the radiant sun in the center, the Great Sun Radiant Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, looking expressionlessly at Da Xing the Mad Monk as he said indifferently, "You should know I have no choice."
Yes.
Da Xing the Mad Monk knew.
If the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars had any choice, even the slightest bit, they would not have appeared to guard the Three Thousand Great Daos.
"So that means..." Da Xing the Mad Monk gritted his teeth and said in a heavy voice, "If we wish to ascend the Wudao Mountain, we must first pass through the three of you!"
Dugu Qizhan, within the vast azure sun on the right, said, "You cannot pass this barrier. I advise you not to act either. I have no wish to harm any of you."
Whether it was Da Xing the Mad Monk, Floating Life Emperor Lord, or the various Empresses, they all understood that Dugu Qizhan spoke the truth.
The Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars were, after all, incarnations of the Immortal Dao Source, Heavenly Dao Source, and Sacred Dao Source.
Although the various Empresses' attainments in the Great Dao had reached the pinnacle of perfection and mastery, no matter how perfect, no matter how masterful, they ultimately still operated within the laws of the Three Thousand Great Daos. As long as they were within those laws, they were fundamentally no match for the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars.
Moreover.
The existence of the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars was not merely as incarnations of the three great Sources; they also represented the Radiant Sun that purifies all, the Sacred Sun that judges all, and even the Vast Heaven Sun that governs all.
"Then let...
fate decide fate."
Xuanyuan Wuji, within the sacred sun on the left, also spoke a sentence.
They all understood Xuanyuan Wuji's words.
The so-called 'fate' did not refer to true fate, but to Gu Qingfeng.
Xuanyuan Wuji was gambling, betting on whether Gu Qingfeng could defy heaven and change fate, triumphing over heaven by half a move!
Not only Xuanyuan Wuji was gambling; Dugu Qizhan, the Great Sun Radiant Emperor, and even the various Empresses were also gambling.
In this great calamity, they could deduce the beginning of everything, but they alone could not deduce the final outcome.
No one knew if Gu Qingfeng could defy heaven and change fate, triumphing over heaven by half a move.
No one knew.
No one at all.
Precisely because no one knew, the various Empresses, Floating Life Emperor Lord, and the others were even more determined to ascend the Wudao Mountain.
If Gu Qingfeng ultimately failed to defy heaven, change fate, and triumph over heaven by half a move, their ascension to the Wudao Mountain might still offer a sliver of hope.
If they could not ascend the Wudao Mountain, and Gu Qingfeng also failed to defy heaven and change fate, then the Great Dao would never be reborn, and the Three Thousand Sources would permanently replace the true Great Dao.
"Since the three of you have no choice, it seems we have no recourse but to fight to the death!"
A voice accompanied by the roar of a dragon and the cry of a phoenix rang out.
Simultaneously, the void began to transform. The windless void stirred; the cloudless void drifted. It looked like a surging, illusory world of wind and clouds, yet also like the profound and layered Ninefold Heaven. Even the permeating Original Sin Aura began to shift and churn like mist and chaos.
Awoo!
The dragon's roar was mighty and domineering; the phoenix's cry was sinister and eerie, as if piercing through heaven and earth, shaking the four directions and eight poles, and intimidating all living things.
A figure descended from the sky.
This person looked both like a man and a woman, even more like a yin-yang being of dual genders.
Upon their appearance, a Heavenly Dragon and an Earthly Phoenix manifested.
The Heavenly Dragon coiled upwards, opening its maw and turning its body, looking back at the phoenix. The Earthly Phoenix spread its wings and raised its tail, gazing intently at the dragon. This dragon and phoenix formed a circle, chasing each other.
This was the Auspicious Dragon and Phoenix.
And the yin-yang being who appeared was none other than the mysteriously vanished Taiji Boundless.
When Taiji Boundless appeared, the Great Dao Patriarchs were filled with disbelief. Especially when Taiji Boundless actually spoke, intending to challenge Dugu Qizhan, the Great Dao Patriarchs found it even more incredible.
In their impression, Taiji Boundless should have been guarding the Three Thousand Great Daos. Logically, they should have been like the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars, prevent the various Empresses and others from ascending the Wudao Mountain. Why were they now opposing the Three Heaven-Supporting Pillars instead?
Actually.
They did not know.
The meaning of Taiji Boundless's existence was not to guard the Three Thousand Great Daos, but to slaughter them.
From the beginning of their scheme in the Primordial Era, it was for the purpose of slaughtering the Three Thousand Great Daos. However, unlike the schemes laid by others, the scheme laid by Taiji Boundless was a scheme of endless cycles, meant to deceive the karma of the Three Thousand Great Daos and deceive their fate.
"Boundless."
Xuanyuan Wuji said, "I admire and respect the endless cycle scheme you laid, but you cannot pass my barrier!"
"Even if we cannot pass the barrier of the three of you, we must still try!"
The speaker was Miao Rulai, seated cross-legged on the palm of the great Buddha. He said, "The three of you have no choice, but we have even less!"
In this great calamity, Taiji Boundless was not the only one who had laid a scheme of endless cycles.
There was also the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor, Miao Rulai.
The scheme he laid was also one of endless cycles, similarly meant to deceive the karma of the Three Thousand Great Daos and deceive their fate.
"Since that is the case, please make your move, honored ones."
These were the words spoken by the Great Sun Radiant Emperor.
"Great Sun Radiant Emperor!"
Miao Rulai said, "I have always wished to battle you, but never had the chance. Today, you and I shall decide life and death here, witnessed by the Wudao Mountain!"
"As you wish!"
"Good!"
Miao Rulai leaped into the air. The Five Great Ming King Buddha Crown on his head shimmered with vast Buddha light; the Amitabha Kasaya draped over his body shimmered with profound scriptures. He removed the Vajra Relic Beads from around his neck and hurled them towards the Great Sun Radiant Emperor.
"Leave Dugu Qizhan's barrier to me!"
Simultaneously, Taiji Boundless took a step forward, charging towards Dugu Qizhan.