Investiture of the Gods: I am Bigan, the Master of Conspiracy

Chapter 172 Ziyu's Path to Quasi-Sainthood: Seeking Emptiness Through Subtraction!
The four paths intertwine in the Saha world, with none being superior. The Human Teachings and the Chan Teachings clearly sided with Buddhism at the Ullambana Festival, and therefore cannot represent the Eastern Xuanmen (Taoist school).

At this moment, everyone understood that the hidden aspects of the entire Ghost Festival had surfaced, and this was exactly what Yin Ziyu needed.

Such a vast array of Daos intertwined in the Saha world is simply unbearable for a world at the Quasi-Saint level.

These four paths contain the glimmer of hope for the Jie Sect, Yin Ziyu's "My Heart is Bright," the non-action of the Ren Sect, the conformity of the Heavenly Way of the Chan Sect, and the Samadhi of Buddhism.

These countless paths, when intertwined throughout the entire Saha world, instantly evolved into a new chaotic set of laws.

How does chaos arise?

The problem lies in the way the Heavenly Dao is described in a world. In the ancient times, there were many innate deities. One of them could sleep for hundreds of millions of years. There was no complicated cause and effect at all.

In the primordial chaos, resources were abundant, and all living beings coexisted harmoniously. This period was the simplest, and the simplest period was also the longest and most enduring.
However, with the arrival of the Great Tribulation, the Primordial Era was submerged by the torrent of the Great Tribulation, and the entire world, except for a few great gods, was almost completely replaced by a new batch of beings.

The fission during this period would then produce more complex causes and effects, and after the human race came along, even more complex things arose.

The Dao of the Human Teachings, the Dao of the Chan Teachings, the Western Teachings, the Jie Teachings, Buddhism, and Yin Ziyu's Dao all originated from the human race. Countless complex causes and effects intertwined, ultimately leading to chaos.

For example, when it comes to reading novels, the martial arts novels of the past thirty years were very enjoyable, but now that the novel genre is flourishing, they are not as readable as they used to be.

At this point, the five interpretations of the Way of Heaven and all living beings intertwine, and this is how the chaos arises from the discussion of the Way. As the interpretations of the Way increase, the complexity of cause and effect ultimately produces chaotic laws.

The Law of Chaos is not one of the Three Thousand Laws, but rather something that emerged in the later stages of the world's evolution.

As the saying goes, prosperity inevitably leads to decline, and the emergence of the law of chaos is also a sign of decline.

At this moment, the Tathagata saw that the entire Saha world was becoming unstable because of the discussion of the Dao, and he was immediately terrified.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

"boom!"

"Fellow Daoists, many great deities are in the Saha World, and the Saha World itself is unstable. This Saha World Dao Discussion will now come to an end. This humble monk needs to stabilize the Saha World. Please forgive me!"

The Buddha's words resounded throughout the entire Saha world, and instantly the boundless Buddha light and the Array of Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage to the Buddha began to be forced to withdraw. Soon, the golden Buddha light of the entire Saha world disappeared completely.

As the Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage Formation was withdrawn, the entire Saha World instantly returned to clarity, and the rogue cultivators also awoke from their daze. Their sincere devotion just now left them with a trace of anger in their hearts.

When these rogue cultivators looked at Yin Ziyu and the Jie Sect, they dared not express their gratitude openly, but they were grateful in their hearts.

They were even more resentful of the Buddhist sects that wanted to help the Buddhist sects to wipe out the Jie and Chan sects.

If it weren't for the Jie Sect's resistance against the Buddhist "Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage" against the Great Shang Dynasty, they would have converted to Buddhism as a result.

That feeling of taking refuge is wanting to dedicate everything to Buddhism, without self, without anything, just a willing dedication.

These rogue cultivators were all rulers of their own immortal realms, and they knew everything, but this invasion immediately filled them with anger.

But due to their overwhelming power, they all remained silent.

After seeing the exit of the Saha world open, they all bid farewell and left.

Seeing this, Yin Ziyu was naturally pleased. These people had not been completely converted, so they must have been angry. This time, the Ullambana Festival was a victory, and that was the most important thing.

They tried to force them to convert, but failed, and as a result lost the support of the people. So they can only continue down the path of militarism. This Ullambana Festival has completely deprived them of any other opportunities.

Yin Ziyu then looked at the Buddha and said, "In that case, we shall take our leave!"

At this moment, the Holy Mother Jinling was also extremely happy and emotional. This Ullambana Festival had been full of twists and turns and many things had happened. It seemed that Buddhism had not lost anything, except for the loss of Dingguang Xian.

But they understood that a huge change had taken place.

This is a fundamental change, which those who are interested can recognize, while those who are not interested believe that Buddhism lost the array diagram and Dingguang Xian, but made the Jie Sect famous.

The real struggle, however, is for the highest moral ground, for the belonging of the hearts of all beings, and for the distinction between East and West. But it paves the way for Yin Ziyu's path to Hunyuan.

It can be said that the significance of this Ullambana Festival is beyond description, and Yin Ziyu gained great insights from this discussion.

Whether the Saha world collapses or not is meaningless, but at least these rogue cultivators have left, and that's enough. These people represent the minds of all beings, and it is they who will explain right and wrong.

Yin Ziyu, Luo Shen, and the members of the Jie Sect returned directly to Chaoge.

Bixiao asked Yin Ziyu, "Ziyu, you really planned this Ullambana Festival very well. Duobao wanted to use the bond between our sects to sow discord among us, but you killed Dingguang Xian so easily. Was Yaochi also invited by you to help us?"

Regardless of the circumstances, everyone was shocked and amazed by the fundamental logic behind killing Ding Guangxian.

Yin Ziyu nodded: "It's all thanks to Fairy Bixiao who came to disrupt things. Only Fairy Bixiao could do this, and no one else from the Jie Sect could do it!"

Bixiao was immediately quite pleased with herself: "Golden Spirit Holy Mother, haven't I made a great contribution to this Ullambana Festival!"

The Holy Mother of Golden Spirit looked at Bixiao with a mixture of helplessness and doting affection.

"Bixiao deserves the most credit for successfully breaking through this impasse. She will be rewarded according to her merits upon returning to Biyou Palace!"

"Hehe. Thank you so much, Headmaster!"

The Golden Spirit Mother then asked Yin Ziyu, "Ziyu, I have some doubts about this discussion. Why did this Saha World collapse? A simple discussion of the Dao cannot determine the strength of the beings; instead, it caused the Saha World to become unsustainable, and some special laws appeared!" Yin Ziyu stretched out his hand and asked, "Is the fairy referring to these laws?"

Golden Spirit Mother nodded: "Ziyu also discovered it. It is this law, which is not among the three thousand laws. So why did it appear?"

Yin Ziyu looked at everyone and said, "I have come to understand this law. This is the law of chaos, also known as the law of entropy increase!"

What are chaos and entropy increase?

For a moment, everyone looked at Yin Ziyu with confusion.

Yin Ziyu looked across the entire Three Realms and couldn't help but sigh softly: "What do you all think was the best time for this primordial world?"

Wu Yunxian then asked, "Fellow Daoist, are you perhaps referring to the Primordial Era? I once entered the Ruins of the East Sea and saw the secret palace of the ancient Dragon Clan. The jade slips there recorded that the Primordial Era was so long that it was truly awe-inspiring. A million yuan was but a snap of the fingers, and billions of years were like a day and night."

Wu Yunxian recounted the scenes of the primordial era, where innate spiritual energy surged like rivers and seas, and living beings could attain the Great Luo realm simply by inhaling and exhaling. Qilin roamed on clouds, phoenixes danced with light in their beaks, and the dragon race ruled the four seas yet did not control cause and effect. Even the innate gods and demons only knew how to absorb and exhale spiritual energy, unaware of the nature of struggle. In that era, all beings were born according to their nature and perished according to the Dao, without the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death, or the entanglements of love, hate, and passion.

Time moves incredibly slowly; perhaps a million years is like a single day, and there has been no change whatsoever in a million years.

Wu Yunxian sighed, “I never imagined that the ancient times were so slow. The lifespan of the innate beings was equal to that of the Heavenly Dao, yet they knew nothing of cause and effect. They merely observed the rise and fall of clouds and listened to the ebb and flow of tides. For billions of years, they never had a single thought of struggle. Yet now, things have become like this. How can one not sigh with regret and yearn for such a sight!”

Yin Ziyu nodded: "Without cause and effect, there is no rise and fall; without rise and fall, there is no calamity. Time moves very slowly; billions of years pass in an instant, but now ten thousand years is like the transformation of the ocean into mulberry fields!"

Wu Yunxian nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist is quite right. With such abundant innate spiritual energy, all living beings do not need to compete for resources, and their minds are naturally harmonious. Dragon cubs can transform into human form simply by holding an innate spiritual pearl in their mouths. Why would they need to fight like in later generations, where rivers of blood flow over a single immortal pill?"

Even the Holy Mother Jinling couldn't help but sigh softly: "Times have changed. Spiritual energy is as thin as leftover wine, and karma is as tangled as a mess. In the past, ancient beings could shatter stars without harming their foundations, but now cultivators must be wary of calamities and tribulations when performing incantations."

After speaking, the Golden Spirit Mother asked Yin Ziyu with surprise, "Why did you suddenly ask about the Primordial Era? Could this be chaos or entropy increase?"

Yin Ziyu pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "In the primordial era, at the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, the pure and the impure were first separated. Spiritual energy was abundant like rivers and seas, and all things operated in an orderly manner. This was the state of reduced entropy. Heaven and earth were like a precise celestial sphere, all laws returned to their proper places, and living beings followed the natural order without distractions. There was no entanglement of cause and effect, and certainly no chaos!"

"However, times have changed. Since the Great Calamity of the Dragon-Han Era, the great powers of the heavens have been constantly fighting, and calamities have arisen one after another. The greed, anger, and ignorance of living beings have spread like wildfire, stirring up the destiny of heaven and earth. Spiritual energy was originally the primordial primordial energy, but now it is full of impurities. The Dao was originally a unified whole, but now it has split into sects and factions, attacking each other. All of this is a sign of increasing entropy, which is a trend towards chaos, and the order is gradually collapsing."

After listening, the Golden Spirit Mother pondered and asked, "What impact would an increase in entropy have on the primordial world?"

Yin Ziyu was a time traveler, so he naturally knew what the outcome of entropy increase would be.

It is nothing more than the end of Dharma, nothing more than the great calamity of the end times.

"The first thing to be affected is the quality of spiritual energy. In ancient times, every breath absorbed innate essence, but now cultivators must select spiritual veins and open immortal abodes to obtain pure spiritual energy. Like a river declining, spiritual energy has gone from an 'endless source' to a scarce commodity; this is the first tribulation of entropy increase."

"Furthermore, there is the entanglement of cause and effect."

"After the primordial beings died, they transformed into the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, without carrying any karma. Yet, sentient beings in this world readily accumulate karmic debts of killing, making it difficult to escape these debts through countless reincarnations. Like tangled threads, the more one tries to untangle them, the more complex they become, eventually forming a vast, all-encompassing net—this is the second tribulation of entropy increase."

"At its worst, the orthodox tradition has fallen into ruin."

"The ancient gods only knew how to cultivate, detached from worldly affairs. Today, however, immortals and Buddhas vie for incense offerings and fortune, turning their pure Daoist hearts into tools of power. The Daoist tradition, which originated from the primordial Qi, has split into countless methods, seemingly prosperous, but in reality, it is drifting further and further away from the Dao. This is the decline of the Dao, the third tribulation of entropy increase."

Finally, Yin Ziyu sighed and said, "Entropy is increasing like a raging flood, and the primordial world is gradually transforming from a nascent infant into a decrepit old man."

Upon hearing this, the Golden Spirit Mother and the others all gained a true understanding of this primordial world: "The Jie Sect follows the sliver of hope. Since the Jie Sect's lineage has not been extinguished, we seek a sliver of hope for ourselves, and even more so for this world. Once we break through this chaotic situation, we will surely let the primordial world see the ancient clarity once more!"

Yunxiao immediately said, "What the sect leader said is very true. Seeking a glimmer of hope for the world is the true path of the Jie Sect, and it cannot be for our own sake!"

At this moment, the Golden Spirit Mother couldn't help but sigh, then clapped her hands and laughed, "Indeed, the Jie Sect should seek a glimmer of hope for the prehistoric world, while Buddhism, the Human Sect, or the Chan Sect, what they seek is the fortune of heaven and earth, the faith of all living beings, and the continued increase of entropy in the Three Realms, which my Jie Sect disdains to do!"

Yin Ziyu was deep in thought at this moment and did not speak.

Luo Shen asked curiously, "Ziyu, have you realized something?"

Yin Ziyu nodded after listening: "Observing the Dao through the evolution of the world, the evolution of the world is the creation of something from nothing. The limit of the creation of something from nothing is the increase of entropy and chaos, which will inevitably lead to the end of Dharma and the destruction of the world. We cultivators are the same. What I have realized from this discussion of the Dao at the Ullambana Festival is that the peak of mortals to the Great Luo Golden Immortal is the peak of the creation of something from nothing. At this level, one cannot be regenerated. If one wants to enter a new level, one must reduce. If one wants to last forever, one must reduce. For humans and for the world, this means reducing entropy. Therefore, if one wants to enter a new level, one must reduce and seek emptiness!"

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this: "To subtract and find emptiness?"

Yin Ziyu nodded: "That's right. The Great Luo Golden Immortal is the peak of addition. To break through to a higher realm, one must subtract. And the one who breaks through the Great Luo by severing the corpse is actually subtracting. Subtracting good and evil, subtracting the ego, and finally achieving the Dao. However, this subtraction is not what I want. In my cultivation so far, all my Dao is based on my original heart and ego. I cannot achieve emptiness by subtracting in this way. I can only seek a new kind of subtraction!"

"Could it be that Ziyu is seeking a new method of enlightenment?"

At this moment, everyone was utterly shocked and astonished!

Yin Ziyu nodded: "Yes, severing the corpse is the path of ruthlessness. Good and evil can no longer confuse my mind, so whether to sever or not is meaningless. But if I continue to sever, in the end I will sever the thoughts of good and evil, sever the self and eventually assimilate into the Heavenly Way. How can one cultivate the path of emotion to this point, and then assimilate into the Heavenly Way with the path of ruthlessness? What difference is there between this and the paths of the Chan Sect, the Human Sect, and Mahayana Buddhism?"

"Does this Ziyu mean that we all possess the ability to sever corpses? Doesn't that mean we've gone down the wrong path?"

At this moment, everyone in the Jie Sect couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

If you go down the wrong path, there's no turning back.

Yin Ziyu pondered for a moment and said, "Fairies, in fact, not severing your attachments shouldn't be a big problem. The good and evil corpses are also insignificant. However, if you sever your attachments, you might assimilate into the Heavenly Dao, cultivate the path of emotion but use the method of ruthlessness. In the end, the paths are different. If you sever your attachments, there might be great danger!"

"In that case, Ziyu, is it possible for us to find a path beyond severing our obsessions in the future?"

"Fairies, do not worry. All three thousand Great Daos can lead to the Primordial Chaos Realm. However, following the paths others have taken may not lead to success. Only by forging your own path can you truly reach the Primordial Chaos Realm!"

(End of this chapter)