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

Chapter 173 The Journey to the West: Ten Thousand Years Later!
The members of the Jie Sect are still far from severing their obsessions, so there's no rush at all.

Yin Ziyu, on the other hand, was quite anxious. Now, Yin Ziyu wanted to develop his own new system and reach the level of a Primordial Golden Immortal, without using Hongjun's Corpse-Slaying System.

The journey from mortal to the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal is a period of growth, but during this Ullambana Festival, Yin Ziyu knew that he would be entering a new realm, which would be a period of decline.

This realm is the link between the previous and the next stages of enlightenment.

Now Yin Ziyu cultivates the Way of the Original Mind, which is the self. A strong self can control good and evil and not be seduced by good and evil. This is not suitable for cutting off the self.

Even top-tier Grand Luo Golden Immortals cannot truly control good and evil, because as their cultivation improves, the power of their good and evil corpses also increases.

For example, Hongyun, who was at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, was controlled by a benevolent corpse, forced to yield his position to the guide, and ultimately died and his cultivation dissipated.

Since he began cultivating, Yin Ziyu's mind has always been infinitely vast, with nothing outside of his mind as its foundation. How could he possibly sever his ego?
Now that he has reached the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, taking this crucial step on the path to enlightenment is vital for his future. Yin Ziyu must find a practical and feasible path.

"Regarding the new method of cultivation, do not be hasty. Cutting off good and evil is fine. What we need to deal with now is the upcoming journey to the West. If everything goes smoothly during this Ullambana Festival, we will break through this Saha world. Those scattered cultivators who have not been converted will surely deeply hate Buddhism. The hearts of sentient beings are already on us. So just wait quietly for the journey to the West!"

Golden Spirit Mother nodded and said, "What Ziyu said is very true. How difficult it is to find a new path to enlightenment beyond the Dao Ancestor. Severing the third corpse is like an insurmountable chasm. Why worry too much? The current situation in the Three Realms will soon lead to the Journey to the West. Now, the Chan Sect and the Human Sect have clearly joined forces with Buddhism to fight side by side. As for the rogue cultivators, they should remain neutral due to the karma of offering tea. Therefore, we should still respond to the alliance of the three sects!"

Bixiao immediately said, "What is there to fear? Let's settle the karmic debts of the Investiture of the Gods together!"

Yunxiao then asked Yin Ziyu, "Ziyu, how should we plan this journey to the West?"

Yin Ziyu looked at everyone and said, "Regarding the Journey to the West, it's not about how to plan it, but about using it to achieve what we want!"

Qiongxiao asked hesitantly, "Hun Yuan? But that's too far!"

Yin Ziyu shook his head: "He who does not plan for eternity is not fit to plan for the present. Even if it is too far in the future, the preciousness of this great calamity is undeniable. We must use this calamity to plan what we want. This calamity will determine the order after it. This order is the order of the Chan Sect. The outcome of this calamity will also determine the order after the Journey to the West. How we view this Three Realms and fulfill our vision are the most important things. Grudges and karma are irrelevant! Furthermore, whether it is Buddhism, the Human Sect, or the Chan Sect, they should all be helpers to help us achieve enlightenment, not bitter enemies. Without Rahu's salvation of all beings, how could the Dao Ancestor have achieved the first Hunyuan realm?"

Yin Ziyu corrected the group's perspective on the issue once again.

Now, after this Ullambana Festival, Buddhism has no other way to go but to rush headlong down the road of militarism. This is the greatest victory of this Ullambana Festival.

Even if one obtains the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation Diagram, it is still far inferior.

When it comes to this point, those who oppose it will gain justice and morality.

The only way for Buddhism to change the minds of all beings in the three realms is to truly control the three realms.

In other words, only by annexing all opposing forces can one explain what justice is.

"In this sense, the future Journey to the West tribulation can also be called the Buddha's salvation of all sentient beings!"

Yunxiao chuckled after hearing this and asked Yin Ziyu.

Yin Ziyu nodded: "The Buddhist path has reached a dead end. It's just that in the past, Rahu was the demon who saved sentient beings, and now it's the Buddha who saves sentient beings in the Journey to the West. In reality, there is no difference. Buddha and demon are simply two sides of the same yin and yang. Sentient beings always want to distinguish between good and evil, but the higher one's cultivation, the less distinction there is between good and evil. The distinction between good and evil, and between good and bad, all arise from the attachments of the human heart, not from the inherent nature of the Way of Heaven. In fact, those who follow Heaven are not necessarily following its goodness, and those who defy Heaven are not necessarily resisting its evilness. They are merely following the natural order and conforming to the changes of yin and yang."

Everyone nodded in agreement at Yin Ziyu's words.

Since following Yin Ziyu, Yunxiao's understanding of the beings in the Three Realms has become vastly different from when he was in seclusion, and he immediately grasped Yin Ziyu's meaning.

"Ziyu's words are very good. This militaristic scheme is to use the good and evil obsessions in the hearts of all people to become the shackles of Buddhism!"

Yin Ziyu nodded: "That's exactly what I mean. The Heavenly Dao itself has no inherent good or evil. The supremely benevolent Hongyun is not good to the Heavenly Dao, and the supremely evil Styx is not evil to the Heavenly Dao. The existence of these beings in the Three Realms is precisely because they are the fundamental interpreters of good and evil. Without saints in the Three Realms, no one can reshape good and evil, so they represent the judgment of good and evil. During the Investiture of the Gods, even with the saint Xiqi in the Three Realms, they could not escape, so how could Buddhism escape! Using the hearts of the beings is a means, but if they want to scheme for the faith and fortune of the beings in the Three Realms, then we are scheming for the future of the Three Realms. If we let them succeed, the chaos will inevitably intensify, and the Three Realms will inevitably enter the Dharma-ending Age!"

After Yin Ziyu finished speaking, the Golden Spirit Mother set the tone: "Just as Ziyu said, we should keep the Three Realms in mind and take returning to the Primordial Era as our fundamental goal in planning this Journey to the West! The Journey to the West is for the sake of the faith of all beings in the Three Realms, but in reality it adds to the chaos, while what we are doing is to reduce the chaos in the Three Realms!"

"."

After some discussion, the group basically settled on a basic strategy, with the goal of reducing entropy as described by Yin Ziyu.

It's like gradually pulling this complex world towards the classic version.

From the beginning of time to the Dragon Han Dynasty, the primordial era was a period of entropy reduction. The basic characteristic of this period was that time moved very slowly; a million years could pass, and perhaps the primordial world would not have changed much.

This is true tranquility; a single night's sleep could mean a hundred million years have passed.

From the Longhan era to the present, it has been a period of gradual entropy increase.

The basic manifestation of the entropy increase period is that the time frame is very short, the cause and effect are in complete chaos, and the explosion of the great calamity is becoming faster and faster.

During periods of increasing entropy, the natural order is unable to handle the ever-increasing causal relationships and can only continuously format them.

The more this happens, the greater the destruction to the Three Realms becomes, and the final result is complete annihilation.

Meanwhile, these people in the Three Realms are still desperately increasing the chaos. Yin Ziyu will know in the future that when entropy increases to its extreme, it will be Ragnarok, followed by the cataclysmic destruction of the world.

These people who plotted the journey to the West did not want to change the world; instead, they wished they could take away the last bit of fortune from it.

Yin Ziyu also needs to forge his own path to Hunyuan during this great calamity. This is the most important step. Only by reaching Hunyuan can he truly have the conditions to change the world.

Within the rules of Heaven, one progresses to the Hunyuan stage, where one establishes their own rules.

At the same time, we must plan the Journey to the West and win there, so as to turn the page on the order of the Chan Sect and usher in a new era of order.

To seize a glimmer of hope for the Three Realms, to seize Yin Ziyu's Primordial Chaos, and to seize a new order for the Journey to the West calamity—this is the plan devised by Yin Ziyu. Now, he awaits the start of the Journey to the West, intending to use this calamity to achieve his desired goals.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall of Mount Ling, Buddha had finally stabilized the Saha World, but his expression was still very grim.

"Amitabha!"

The Buddha chanted a Buddhist mantra and looked at the crowd: "This Ullambana Festival has brought an irreversible situation to Buddhism. It was still a scheme by Bi Gan. This is my fault!"

At this moment, Randeng said, "Amitabha, Buddha, this 'Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage to the Ancestor' formation was offered by this humble monk, not by the Buddha!"

After hearing this, the Buddha sighed and said, "Amitabha, given the situation at the time, there was no other way to salvage the situation. The offering by Dipankara Buddha was also accepted by this humble monk, and this is my responsibility!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva asked with a question: "May I ask Buddha, even if Bi Gan has some literary luck this time, if this Jie Sect and Yin Shang are not able to withstand the combined forces of our three sects in the long run, why is this Saha world unstable?"

After hearing this, the Buddha looked at the crowd and said, "The five paths converge in the Saha world, but this has created a new chaotic law. This law is destroying the foundation of the Saha world. If it is not stopped, the Saha world will also be destroyed. The only solution is to stop discussing the Dao!"

"The Law of Chaos is so powerful!"

Everyone gasped in surprise.

The Buddha's expression was solemn: "The five directions converge and intertwine in the Saha world, but this has created new variables. If this continues, the Saha world may evolve into great chaos, and thus the Saha world will inevitably enter the end times!"

"This"

At this moment, everyone looked at Tathagata in shock, never expecting such a change in circumstances.

The Buddha could only sigh: "This unexpected turn of events was completely unforeseen. If the Human Sect and the Chan Sect had assisted us, we might have been able to defeat the Jie Sect and the Yin Shang Dynasty. However, this unexpected turn of events has brought us to a halt!"

In fact, Tathagata did not foresee this variable, but Yin Ziyu understood that the crisscrossing of the five directions in this Saha world was the future of the primordial world. However, the Saha world was small and belonged to the quasi-saint world, not the Great Dao world, so the reaction caused by the convergence of the five directions was relatively fast.

These five paths, each different, have altered the very foundation of the Saha world, thus accelerating the birth of this chaotic law.

After all, the Buddhist sect has five or six quasi-saints, while the Chan sect has two, the Ren sect has one, and the Jie sect has four. So many quasi-saints are intertwined in the Saha world, and there are also many innate great gods adding to the scene.

This caused countless Daos to flood into what was originally a singular Saha world. Although this was merely a discussion of Daos, it disrupted the foundation of the Saha world, making its destruction understandable.

Dipankara then said, "Buddha, this is an unexpected event, something we did not anticipate. Now we need to devise a plan for the future!"

It can be said that Buddha's plan for this Ullambana Festival was quite ingenious, even at a great cost, to use the array diagram to sow discord.

However, Yin Ziyu managed to resolve the situation in such a way that the two peaches killed Dingguang Xian, revealing a breathtaking transformation in human nature.

Although this matter was minor, it caused the newly established Mahayana Buddhism to suffer suppression from the outset, which led to this risky move.

If the Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage to the Ancestor Formation were completed, all these rogue cultivators would convert to Buddhism. However, due to the chaos in the world, the plan failed, and they have fallen into opposition to the rogue cultivators of the Three Realms. They no longer have the moral high ground to stand on!
After hearing this, the Buddha sighed and said, "During this Ullambana Festival, I was extremely wary of Bi Gan, fearing that he would plot to push our Buddhist sect into a situation similar to that of Xiqi. Now, we are facing a situation just like that of Xiqi!"

The Buddha was also filled with regret. He had taken a risk this time, and if he hadn't, things wouldn't have come to this point.

Dipankara Buddha stood with his palms together, his eyes gleaming, and said to the Buddha, “World Honored One! The situation is now as it is. The journey to the West is a sign of great prosperity for the West. This is the favor of Heaven, which cannot be defied by human power. If we can also obtain the assistance of the Humanist and Chan schools, we will surely be able to achieve complete success in one battle. The struggle for the destiny of the Three Realms is a matter of the victor taking all, as has been the case since ancient times. How can we hesitate because of matters of honor? At the Ullambana Festival, we should prioritize the overall situation. Even if there are a thousand dangers, we should not be afraid.”

Dipankara paused, his expression growing increasingly resolute: "What we seek is not a matter of momentary gain or loss, but the very foundation of the order of the Three Realms. If this journey to the West succeeds, then the order of the next great eon will return to the West, and the Western religion will rule the eight wastelands, with all Buddhas shining together. If we fail, our foundation will be destroyed in an instant. The fourth line of the Qian hexagram says, 'Persistence means soaring like a dragon in the sky, while failure means falling into the abyss.' Since this is the case, why should we care about justice or injustice? In the way of Heaven, there is no distinction between good and evil; this is merely the attachment of sentient beings!"

Now that they've come this far, there's no turning back, so they have no choice but to go for it!

Ran Deng's words are simple: if there is no way out, then there is no need to care about Yin Ziyu's ability to stir the hearts of all living beings.

If they win, then the Western Paradise will have the final say in all three realms, and the judgment of good and evil will also be decided by Buddhism.

Since there's no turning back now, let's just stop caring and push forward!
After listening, the Buddha pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "What the ancient Buddha said is very true. Do all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas agree with this Dharma?"

Upon hearing the Buddha's question, all the Buddhas immediately said, "Amitabha, this humble monk agrees with what the ancient Buddha said. We will exert all our strength in this journey to the West and accomplish our goal in one battle!"

"."

The Journey to the West is a project guided by the will of Heaven, and the greater the difficulty, the greater the fortune and merit one will receive.

However, the group of Buddhas were not discouraged because the Ullambana Festival did not achieve its intended goal. After all, the open support from the Human Sect and the Chan Sect naturally boosted their morale.

Since that's the case, then let's do our best to prepare for the battle!
The original Journey to the West ended like a farce, precisely because the original Journey to the West had no rivals.

However, the difficulty of this journey to the West is no less than that of another Investiture of the Gods.

Of course, only Yin Ziyu knows what the original Journey to the West was like. No one else knows, because the original Journey to the West was based on the premise of a great victory in the Investiture of the Gods, which they could not have imagined.

Therefore, Buddhism must be extremely cautious in arranging this journey to the West.

"."

Time passed slowly, and another ten thousand years went by. Suddenly, the giant rock on the top of Huaguo Mountain in Aolai Country of Dongsheng Shenzhou, which had been absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, suddenly exploded with a roar!

(End of this chapter)