People in Conferred Gods: Rising from humble beginnings, I am the God of Wealth

"The Dao Ancestor?"

Upon hearing Nuwa's explanation, Yang Xuan frowned slightly.

It's not surprising that the Dao Ancestor summoned him for something.

However, it was rather coincidental that Yang Xuan suddenly summoned all the saints for a meeting just when he had some speculations about the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West and wanted to express his views.

"Perhaps this is what the Dao Ancestor wanted to say when he summoned all the saints?"

Yang Xuan didn't think much of it. Like Houtu and the others, he separated one of his three corpses and together they passed through the primordial membrane and entered the chaos, flying towards the depths of the chaos.

It is now certain that there are chaotic gods and demons lurking in the primordial world, plotting something.

Even if Dao Ancestor Hongjun had important matters to discuss, they couldn't possibly leave in their true forms, and it's unlikely that Dao Ancestor would agree to that.
The two Western Saints were very experienced in this regard; when they went to Zixiao Palace to complain, they were scolded quite a bit.

Looking back now, they still have a dreamlike feeling about it.

Last time they went to Zixiao Palace to complain, and now the Journey to the West has only just begun, yet they want to go to Zixiao Palace to discuss matters with the person they complained about...

Chaos knows no time, and this applies to sages as well.

Yang Xuan didn't know how long he had been flying when a Taoist temple suddenly appeared in front of him. This was the Taoist temple of Hongjun Daozu—Zixiao Palace!

The saints entered and arrived at the inner hall of Zixiao Palace.

A cloud platform floats in the air at the head of the platform. Below it, there were originally six futons, but now one is missing, making a total of seven.

The six sages of the Heavenly Path stood in front of their respective prayer mats, while the extra prayer mat appeared to the right of Zhunti.

Yang Xuan sensed a faint Daoist aura within the futon that resonated with his own energy, and immediately moved to stand in front of it.

Houtu then sat down in a seat next to the cloud platform.

Just then, an old Taoist priest dressed in a simple robe appeared silently above the cloud platform.

"Greetings, Master (Dao Ancestor)!"

Yang Xuan and the others bowed and waited for the Dao Ancestor to nod slightly before they took their seats.

The higher one's cultivation level, the less one likes beating around the bush, especially at the Saint level.

Or rather, the dialogue between sages might still seem confusing to quasi-sages and near-sages, who might not understand its true meaning.

But for sages, it is just right. Even if it is somewhat vague, they can at least understand its true meaning by making a little deduction.

Hongjun Daozu did the same; after the saints were seated, he went straight to the point:
"I have summoned you all here today because I have important matters to discuss."

At this point, Hongjun Daozu paused slightly, glanced at Yang Xuan, and continued:

"To be honest, when Heaven revealed that the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West was imminent, even I, this old Daoist, was unaware of its meaning."
The primordial evolution will indeed bring about great calamities, but it shouldn't happen at that particular time.

"Until the old Taoist saw Fellow Daoist Yang Xuan build a spatial teleportation array, a communication platform for the three realms, and establish a business network."

Seeing the rapid development of the primordial world and the gradual increase in human authority, they finally understood the cause of the Great Tribulation of the Journey to the West.

Upon hearing this, all the saints turned their heads slightly to look at Yang Xuan, who was sitting at the very back, and all showed a slightly surprised expression.

However, Yang Xuan's expression remained as calm as ever, and he was not surprised by the Dao Ancestor's words.

In fact, he had also guessed the truth about the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West.

When he presented the jade tablet to the saints, he intended to share his conjecture, but was interrupted by the sound of the bell in Zixiao Palace and summoned to Zixiao Palace by the Dao Ancestor.

At that time, he began to suspect that perhaps the Dao Ancestor had seen through something and did not want him to reveal the matter of the Journey to the West.

Now it seems his guess was correct, or at least he didn't want him to reveal his guess in the Netherworld.

As for the reason, there's no need to overthink it; it's obvious that Hongjun Daozu summoned them for this very reason.

After a brief pause, Hongjun Daozu continued:
"If the primordial world were allowed to develop naturally, the Journey to the West Calamity would at most be a formality, accelerating the repair of the western ley lines and allowing the primordial world to recover its integrity as soon as possible."

But thanks to Fellow Daoist Yang Xuan's planning, the primordial world has been undergoing rapid and dramatic changes in recent years..."

Hongjun Daozu's face showed emotion as his gaze pierced through the endless chaotic space and landed on the primordial world.

Seeing that the Three Realms of the Primordial World were still developing rapidly, with many places changing every year, the emotion on his face deepened, and his words were filled with more admiration.

"Fellow Daoist Yang Xuan, single-handedly, increased the development speed of the Three Realms of the Primordial World many times over, reducing the development time of the Three Realms of the Primordial World by tens, or even hundreds, of eons."
Therefore, the next great calamity of the primordial world was brought forward, coinciding with the originally merely symbolic Journey to the West calamity.

"It was only after Fellow Daoist Yang Xuan attained the Primordial Dao and became a Saint that I determined the true nature of the Journey to the West Calamity."

After hearing Hongjun Daozu's words, the saints reflected on the changes in the Three Realms of the Primordial World over the years, and their gazes toward Yang Xuan all became strange.

In fact, they had all witnessed the changes in the primordial world and had participated in them to varying degrees.

Even the two Western saints did the same; they also brought Buddhism into the Three Realms Network, using its power to usher in an era of online missionary work.

At that time, they all thought that Yang Xuan wanted to combine the forces of Heaven, the Underworld and other forces through the Three Realms Network and the space teleportation array to enhance his dominance over the Three Realms of the Primordial World.

When Yang Xuan attained the Primordial Dao and the Way of Commerce appeared in the world, they felt that what Yang Xuan had done was to enhance the influence of the Way of Commerce and make it the fundamental Dao of the primordial world.

Now that they've heard what the Daoist Ancestor said, their thoughts have changed again.

It's highly likely that Yang Xuan's desire to elevate the influence of the business world on the prehistoric realm and strengthen his rule over the three realms is true.

However, it is undeniable that everything Yang Xuan did accelerated the evolution of the prehistoric world, allowing the three realms of the prehistoric world to exchange goods and resources, and becoming more prosperous and flourishing.

Moreover, all of this is a normal evolution, without any of the drawbacks of forcing growth, which is the most frightening thing.

For a sage, creating a completely new world is something that can be done with a simple wave of his sleeve.

If you want them to change the world, that's very simple, there's no difficulty at all.

But the fact that they did this can only mean that they have extraordinary abilities and can change a world at will, without significantly altering the world itself.

Yang Xuan's approach was different; all he did was provide the Three Realms with some ideas and a platform.
It allows all living beings in the primordial world to communicate normally regardless of distance and to travel more conveniently.

While Yang Xuan certainly contributed to these changes in the Three Realms of the Primordial World, ultimately, the main actors were the beings of the Primordial World themselves.

The spatial teleportation array was built by the beings of the primordial world themselves; Yang Xuan only provided a diagram of the array.

The Ark on the Other Shore was also forged by the beings of the primordial world themselves; Yang Xuan merely provided the blueprints for its construction.

The Three Realms Platform is essentially comprised of the beings of the primordial world themselves. The Three Realms Jade Talisman was crafted by them, and the Three Realms Network was connected and used by them. Ultimately, all these changes in the primordial Three Realms are the result of the efforts of the beings of the primordial world themselves; Yang Xuan merely started something and guided it in a certain direction.

This is the result of the natural evolution of the Three Realms in the primordial world, and of course, it cannot be described as forcing growth.

Keep in mind that Yang Xuan had not yet become a saint at that time, yet he was able to do all of this.
Even the most arrogant of the saints, Yuanshi Tianzun, had to admit that he couldn't do what Yang Xuan did in this matter.

Even if you went back to the past with Yang Xuan's experience, you might not be able to achieve the same level as Yang Xuan.

Having figured out the changes Yang Xuan had brought to the prehistoric world over the years, the saints present also had some general guesses about the cause of the Journey to the West calamity.

Yang Xuan paid no heed to the gazes of the other sages, maintaining his composed demeanor. He nodded slightly to Dao Ancestor Hongjun and said humbly:
"You flatter me, Daoist Ancestor. I have only done what I was supposed to do. It is nothing special."

After a slight pause, Yang Xuan did not voice his own conjecture, but instead acted as a mouthpiece for the sages, asking:

"We do not know why this great calamity of the Journey to the West has come, or what we should pay attention to. We would appreciate it if the Dao Ancestor could give us some guidance so that we can take precautions and help the primordial world evolve."

"The old Taoist priest summoned you all here for this very reason."

Hongjun nodded. He had explained most of what needed to be explained, and he returned to the original topic.

"As you all know, the essence of a great calamity is not a calamity, but a necessary process for the further evolution of the primordial world, and the same is true for the great calamity of Journey to the West."

"After the Three Realms of Primordial Chaos, there will be the myriad realms of the heavens, which will be the last stage before the Primordial Chaos evolves into the Eternal True Realm."

"Originally, for the primordial world to evolve into the myriad realms, two prerequisites needed to be met."

"Firstly, the authority of humanity has increased, and the balance between the three paths of heaven, earth, and humanity has been initially achieved, thus strengthening the primordial origin."

"Secondly, it connects the vast, medium and small worlds of the primordial world and interacts with the three realms of heaven, earth and man."

“What Fellow Daoist Yang Xuan has done over the years is exactly related to these two points.”

"The establishment of trade routes enabled creatures from all over the prehistoric world to exchange goods and services, making the prehistoric world more prosperous."
Human authority thus increased, extending from the single entity of the human race to all other races of the primordial world, thus initially achieving a balance among the three principles of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

"The establishment of the Three Realms Network and the space teleportation array has connected the billions of large, medium and small worlds in the primordial world with the three realms of heaven, earth and man, and enabled them to interact."

"In this way, the prerequisite for the evolution of the primordial world into the myriad realms was met, which led to the early arrival of the Great Tribulation."

After hearing Hongjun Daozu's description, everyone present showed a look of sudden realization, understanding the cause and effect, including Yang Xuan.

He did have some guesses about the real reason for the arrival of the Great Tribulation in the Journey to the West, but his guesses were not as thorough as those of the Dao Ancestor.

Hongjun was, after all, the representative of the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao represented the rules and order of the primordial world.

He was naturally more sensitive to the evolution of the primordial world and the changes in the heavens, making him the undisputed number one person in the primordial world.

Hongjun Daozu paused for a moment, and after the saints had digested the information, he continued:

"For the Primordial World, the arrival of the Great Tribulation is actually a good thing, as it signifies the further evolution of the Primordial World. However, the Great Tribulation that descends during this period is also a test."

Hongjun Daozu's gaze swept over all the saints, finally landing on the two Western Saints.

"In the past, during the struggle between the Dao and the Demonic Path, I was fortunate enough to win. However, when the Demonic Lord Rahu died, he said that after his death, the Dao and the Demonic Path would be irreconcilable enemies."
When the Way declines, the Demonic Way rises; when the Demonic Way rises, the Way declines. The higher the Way rises, the higher the Demonic Way rises.

"The current fortune of the Xuanmen is at its lowest point in billions of years. If I am not mistaken, what Luo Hou said will come true during this period."

Introduction: ...

Zhunti: ...

This can't be blamed on us, it's the first time we've heard of this either...

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance, then clasped their hands together, uttered a Buddhist chant, and bowed their heads in silence.

They knew that Demon Ancestor Rahu wouldn't die so easily; even Dao Ancestor couldn't completely erase an existence like Rahu.

But they truly didn't know that Rahu had left behind such a proverb; if they had known...

They will most likely still choose to do so. It's better to sacrifice a friend than oneself. To fulfill their original ambition and regain true freedom, they have no choice but to do this.

This timing is indeed quite awkward.

The arrival of the Great Calamity inherently contains immense crisis, both for the primordial beings and for the primordial world itself.

Just like the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, if it is not handled properly and the earth's veins are damaged, it could leave behind huge hidden dangers that would require a lot of time to repair.
It could even lead to the failure of the evolution of the Three Realms in the primordial world, causing the primordial world to regress and requiring a longer period of repair.

The same applies today; the evolution of the primordial Three Realms into countless other realms also carries enormous risks.
If not handled properly, the Primordial World might regress from the Primordial Three Realms.

At this critical juncture, it is natural to try to avoid any unexpected events.

As it turned out, before the great calamity had officially arrived and before the investigation of the previous incidents had even begun, a new incident occurred.

By now, everyone present knows that Demon Ancestor Rahu is one of the Three Thousand Gods and Demons, and this is in turn related to the Three Thousand Gods and Demons lurking in the prehistoric world.

So, it's not difficult to understand what the so-called 'demon' in Rahu's original proverbs were.

If Rahu were to cause trouble with three thousand gods and demons at this crucial juncture in the evolution of the primordial world into countless realms, the crisis would be escalated to a new level.

If not handled properly, it could really lead to the decline of the ancient world.

The other sages present naturally thought of these things as well, and their gazes toward the two Western sages were all filled with dissatisfaction.

The Master of the Heavenly Sect, always outspoken, couldn't help but snort coldly:
"Hmph! Just some grand ambitions. I don't know what you're so anxious about, insisting on this so-called Western revival."
I don't know if the West is thriving now, but Rahu is probably quite pleased.

"you……"

Zhunti Daoist glared angrily, wanting to say, "It's easy for you to say that when you're not in the same boat," but he swallowed the words back down.

This kind of "talking without understanding the pain" person is definitely not just the Tongtian Sect Leader. Even the Dao Ancestor Hongjun on the Cloud Platform is the kind of person who talks without understanding the pain.

Or rather, the reason Hongjun pointed this out was to make the two Western Saints take the blame.

If the Dao Ancestor hadn't agreed, they wouldn't have known about the Journey to the West calamity, nor would they have been able to force the Three Pure Ones and others to agree to the Journey to the West.

At that time, even the Dao Ancestor himself did not expect that Yang Xuan's influence on the prehistoric world would be so enormous that it would cause the great calamity to arrive ahead of schedule, resulting in the situation we see today.

Yang Xuan's actions were beneficial to the prehistoric world, so the two Western Saints naturally became the best scapegoats.

The two Western Saints sighed, gave Yang Xuan a resentful look, and could only take the blame.

The task now is not to make excuses, but to figure out how to remedy the situation and how to deal with the true catastrophe of the Journey to the West. (End of Chapter)