Hidden Secrets: I Disagree

"I agree," the Netherworld Earth Spirit said in a low voice. "The number of vengeful spirits underground increases with every major battle. If we could stop fighting, it would be much more peaceful."

In an instant, the eight true spirits all expressed their opinions, most of them showing joy.

The Ancestral Vein True Spirit and the Dao Realm share a common destiny; as the Dao Realm grows stronger, they naturally benefit as well.

Moreover, there's the allure of ending the Immortal Vein; anyone would be tempted.

Just as everyone was discussing this, an old, heavy voice, carrying the vicissitudes of time, slowly rang out.

"No."

The Primordial Origin Spirit spoke.

Its sound was slow, yet incredibly clear and powerful.

"The attempt to Return to the Origin is absolutely unacceptable."

The noisy mountaintop fell silent instantly.

All the true spirits looked towards the Primordial Origin Spirit at the very top.

Northern Dark True Spirit frowned slightly. "Brother Taichu, why not? Return to the Origin is entirely beneficial to the Dao Realm, so why can't it be done?"

The grayish-brown light and shadow of the Primordial Origin Spirit rippled slightly, its tone heavy with unyielding gravity. "You are young and unaware of the dangers involved. Return to the Origin and ascending to higher levels is not fortuitous opportunity, but a path to disaster."

"Bringing trouble upon us?" Southern Li Fire Essence asked, puzzled. "How could it bring trouble upon us? Isn't it a good thing that the Dao Realm is becoming stronger, and we are becoming stronger?"

"Become stronger?" The Primordial Origin Spirit sneered, its laughter filled with sorrow. "The price of becoming stronger is the destruction of the entire Dao Realm."

All the true spirits were startled.

"Annihilation?" the Central Thick Earth True Spirit asked in a deep voice, "Brother Taichu, what makes you say that? Is there some explanation?"

"It's not a statement, it's a fact," the Primordial Origin Spirit said slowly. "I was born at the very beginning of the Dao Realm, and within the innate memories deep within the earth's veins lie High Antiquity warnings."

"Beyond the Tianyuan Dao Realm, there are countless Dao Realm of varying sizes, and even higher still, there is the legendary Immortal Realm."

"In ancient times, there was a neighboring realm close to our Tianyuan Dao Realm, called the Purple Wind Dao Realm. The ancestors there also discovered the method of returning to the Return to the Origin the Dao Fruit, and gathered the power of the nine Ancestral Vein, wanting to elevate their Dao Realm and enter the realm of the Immortal Realm."

"But just as their Return to the Origin Ceremony to the origin was halfway through, an unexpected event occurred."

The Primordial Origin Spirit's voice grew increasingly low, carrying a chilling sense of oppression.

High in the sky, the boundary suddenly shattered, and several indescribably terrifying figures descended, claiming to be Martyrs.

"Those people shattered all the Ancestral Vein of the Purple Wind Dao Realm and extracted the entire Dao Realm's core essence with just one move."

"In an instant, the entire Dao Realm, billions of living beings, countless cultivators, and the Ancestral Vein True Spirit were reduced to ashes."

Finally, the Purple Wind Dao Realm became a desolate void, a wasteland without even a speck of dust remaining.

At the mountaintop, there was a deathly silence.

Even the most unruly Southern Li Fire Essence fell silent, its flames drooping listlessly and ceasing to flicker.

After a long while, Wind Ruins True Spirit finally spoke hesitantly, "This... this is true? Why did those Martyrs... do this?"

"Why?" The Primordial Origin Spirit sneered. "In my memory, those Martyrs said that the Purple Wind Dao Realm 'Return to the Origin and ascension was an invasion of the Heavenly Dao, a defiance of Heaven, and an unforgivable act. They would never allow such a defiance to happen. Therefore, any Dao Realm that dares to Return to the Origin and ascend will inevitably face the attacks of the Martyrs!"

"Return to the Origin and being elevated is tantamount to lighting a lamp beneath these Martyrs; the brighter the lamp, the faster they die."

"Maintaining the status quo, even with the cycle of cleansing that occurs every 100,000 years, at least the Dao Realm still exists, and we can still survive. If we rashly Return to the Origin, attracting the attention of the Martyrs, it will be a catastrophe."

"At that time, not only will we, the Ancestral Vein True Spirit, but all living beings in the entire Tianyuan Dao Realm be buried with these ambitious men."

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere on the mountaintop became completely subdued.

The eight true spirits, who were initially overjoyed, now hesitated.

They are not afraid of reincarnation. After all, the cleansing that occurs once every 100,000 years has little impact on the Ancestral Vein True Spirit. At most, it causes the earth veins to tremble and some branch Spirit Vein to be lost.

However, if it attracts the wrath of the Immortal Realm, it will mean the annihilation of both body and soul, and eternal damnation.

The relative importance of the two is obvious.

"This..." Thunder Marsh True Spirit hesitated, "Brother Taichu's memories can't be wrong, can they?"

"The innate earth vein imprint has existed since the birth of the Dao Realm; there's no mistake about it," the Primordial Origin Spirit said with certainty. "I have no reason to lie to you. Having lived this long, I want the Dao Realm to improve more than anyone else. But some paths cannot be taken; one wrong step will lead to utter destruction."

Northern Dark True Spirit frowned.

It believed that Li Yunjing wouldn't lie to it, but the words of the Primordial Origin Spirit didn't seem false either.

The Taichu lived the longest and possessed the most ancient secrets; it had no need to fabricate such lies to frighten everyone.

"But..." Northern Darkness pondered, "The one who proposed the method of Return to the Origin was not an ordinary cultivator."

Beside him is a spirit of Immortal Artifact, Innate Immortal Artifact passed down from High Antiquity.

Could that senior be wrong too?

"A spirit of Immortal Artifact?" The Primordial Origin Spirit scoffed, its tone tinged with disdain. "The Immortal Artifact in the hands of human cultivators are mostly defective products, or scraps discarded by the Immortal Realm. What core secrets could they possibly know? Perhaps even it is kept in the dark."

"In short, I absolutely disagree with the matter of Return to the Origin." The Primordial Origin Spirit's tone was resolute. "I cannot stand by and watch the Tianyuan Dao Realm head towards destruction. Whoever wants to go, go. My Central Ancestral Vein will absolutely not participate."

After it finished speaking, its light and shadow dimmed slightly, and it adopted a posture of remaining silent.

The eight true spirits looked at each other, completely at a loss.

The Taichu One was the most senior and prestigious among all the true spirits, and it resolutely opposed the proposal. Even if the others were tempted, they dared not rashly agree.

Return to the Origin requires the concerted efforts of the ten Ancestral Vein; none can be missing.

If any one of them is missing, the earth veins cannot anchor to the ten directions, the Return to the Origin will inevitably fail, and may even cause the earth veins to collapse.

Seeing this, Northern Dark True Spirit knew that continuing the argument would be pointless.

It sighed, "In that case, let's stop here for today."

This matter is of great importance; please allow us to consider it further.

I will inform my friend about the situation and see if he has any other version of events.

The Primordial Origin Spirit remained noncommittal, only slightly shifting its light and shadow as a response.

The other spirits nodded in agreement, their minds heavy with worry.

What should have been a joyous gathering ended in discord.

The ten beams of light dissipated one after another, leaving only the Northern Dark True Spirit hanging alone on the mountaintop, gazing at the clouds in the sky with a furrowed brow.

After pondering for a long time, it finally sent a wisp of its divine thought through the earth's veins towards the direction of the Myriad Beasts Forbidden Domain.

Since things have come to this, we can only tell Li Yunjing first and then make further plans.

Deep within the Myriad Beasts Forbidden Domain, in the side hall of the High Antiquity Burial Ground's main temple.

Li Yunjing sat cross-legged in a secluded stone chamber, surrounded by a faint Mystic Yellow Qi.

With Dao Guardian stationed in the main hall, the righteous and demonic paths are mutually restraining each other, and there will be no major changes for the time being.

He then found this side hall, where he regulated his breathing to stabilize his cultivation while waiting for news from the Northern Dark True Spirit.

As agreed, Northern Dark True Spirit would notify him as soon as possible after contacting the other nine Ancestral Vein.

But after waiting for two days, instead of the good news that everything was ready, they received a thorny problem.

"The Primordial Origin Spirit... opposes Return to the Origin?"