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

Chapter 185 Analyzing the Essence: The Calamity of the Decline of Tao and the Rise of Buddhism!
Inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, the Six Ding Divine Fire raged and danced wildly, rushing madly towards Sun Wukong. The intense heat seemed to burn everything in the world to nothingness.

However, in this hellish environment, the golden elixir bestowed by Subhuti was like a dazzling star, bursting forth with boundless divine power, flowing into Sun Wukong's body like a surging torrent.

This gave Sun Wukong, who was in dire straits and nearly burned to death, a chance to survive.

At the same time, the Eight Trigrams Furnace was helping Sun Wukong neutralize the medicinal effects of the Golden Elixir and the Ren Water Peaches at an incredible speed.

Originally, Sun Wukong did not refine the peaches of immortality after eating them. Normally, one would go into seclusion to refine the peaches one bite at a time before consuming them. However, Sun Wukong ate them directly as fruit.

Regardless, Sun Wukong possessed the physical body of a primordial god or demon, which would have caused an ordinary immortal to burst long ago.

The Ren Water Peaches inherently contained the purest Ren Water spiritual power of heaven and earth. Under the refinement of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, their medicinal power was continuously stimulated, merging with the power of the Golden Elixir and integrating into Sun Wukong's body.

Sun Wukong felt an immense and unparalleled power surging through his body, constantly widening and strengthening his meridians, as if he were being reborn.

Sun Wukong's cultivation level soared like a rocket, and the five elements within his body, like five galloping dragons, roared and converged above his head.

When the essence, energy, and spirit unite as one, the three flowers on the top of the head bloom brilliantly, helping Sun Wukong smoothly enter the realm of the Great Luo Golden Immortal with an unstoppable force.

The three flowers on his head, originally a symbol of a cultivator reaching an extremely high level of cultivation, are now slowly blooming on Sun Wukong's head.

At first, the flowers were incredibly beautiful and radiant, but when they reached the third stage, they slowly stopped blooming.

Because Sun Wukong did not have his own Dao fruit, nor did he have the enlightenment of cultivation, he simply relied on the enormous medicinal power to reach the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

With such immense medicinal power, reaching the middle stage is no problem at all. However, once it reaches the initial stage, it will be restricted by the Golden Flower and will need to rely on the Dao Fruit and master the laws to enter the middle stage.

Sun Wukong didn't have any of these; he barely reached the third rank before it ended.

Generally speaking, those who achieve the Golden Core stage and enter the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm will ultimately remain at the initial stage, lacking their own laws and Dao fruits, and will not be qualified to advance further.

Ultimately, this realm is just a larger version of the Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Luo Shen was also at the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal, but her journey had been incredibly solid. She had perfected the Law of Cause and Effect at the late stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal, and with such potential, entering the Quasi-Saint realm was no problem at all.

Sun Wukong survived only because of the immense medicinal power, but his innate foundation of the Great Dao had been destroyed and was now in Yin Ziyu's hands.

In the future, apart from Yin Ziyu returning Sun Wukong's foundation to him, there will be no more opportunities for breakthrough, and he will be forever trapped in the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

But Sun Wukong was unaware of the intricacies of this; he only truly felt his magical power surge like a river bursting its banks, instantly increasing a hundredfold.

This earth-shattering change filled Sun Wukong with excitement.

Sun Wukong felt that he was filled with boundless power, as if he could tear the world apart with a single swing of his arm.

Inside the cramped yet intensely hot Eight Trigrams Furnace, Sun Wukong roared to the sky, his voice filled with joy and pride, as if he wanted to fully express the exhilaration in his heart.

At this moment, although he is still trapped in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he has already undergone a complete transformation and is waiting to break out of the furnace and shock the world.

Time flies like an arrow; the forty-nine days passed in the blink of an eye.

The raging Six Ding Divine Fire in the Eight Trigrams Furnace gradually died out during this long purgatory.

The moment the furnace lid was slowly opened, a devastating aura surged out like a raging tide.

Sun Wukong, wielding his golden cudgel, shot out like a golden meteor.

Sun Wukong's fiery eyes blazed with light, his gaze seemingly able to see through all illusions in the world. This was a divine power given to Sun Wukong by Laozi, who personally refined it into Sun Wukong's eyes.

At this moment, Sun Wukong's magical power surged, like a vast and boundless ocean.

Sun Wukong glanced at Laozi beside him, his heart filled with boundless pride, and without any hesitation, he pushed his immense magical power horizontally.

This magical power was like a tidal wave, unstoppable, and even Laozi was overturned to the ground by this force.

Looking at Laozi lying on the ground, Sun Wukong felt a surge of contempt.

In Sun Wukong's eyes at this moment, Laozi, the head of the Three Pure Ones, was so easily defeated. He thought to himself, "Laozi, as the head of the Three Pure Ones, is nothing special. I, Sun Wukong, now have boundless magical power and have surely surpassed the Three Pure Ones!"

To create this invincible Sun Wukong, Laozi even went so far as to fall down to help Sun Wukong achieve fame. For Sun Wukong, this undoubtedly boosted his confidence the most.

It's like this: you were about to die, but your master saved you and gave you a golden elixir. The elixir saved your life, and then you turned misfortune into blessing, greatly increasing your magical power by almost a hundredfold.

Sun Wukong lacks a basic understanding of the power structure of the Three Realms. He always felt that with his strength increased a hundredfold, he had no rivals in the Three Realms, not even Laozi could stop him.

Therefore, in Sun Wukong's mind, Laozi was the eldest of the Three Pure Ones, and if even Laozi could not stop him, then no one else could be his match.

It can be said that Laozi's fall completed the construction of Sun Wukong's internal power system.

This completed the cycle of the havoc in Heaven and the Monkey King's rampage. With this thought, Sun Wukong became even more fearless, turning around and charging straight towards the Lingxiao Palace like a mad beast.

Along the way, Wang Lingguan and the Giant Spirit God stepped forward to try to intercept Sun Wukong.

But faced with Sun Wukong's unfathomable magical power, their resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, utterly futile.

As Sun Wukong brandished his golden cudgel, a fierce wind howled and lightning flashed wherever he went. Wang Lingguan and the Giant Spirit God felt an irresistible force rushing towards them and were instantly sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

Inside the Lingxiao Palace, the atmosphere was extremely tense. The Jade Emperor, his face solemn but without a trace of panic, said to Taibai Jinxing, "Quickly go to Mount Ling and summon the Buddha Tathagata to suppress the demon monkey!"

Venus dared not delay for the slightest, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the horizon in an instant.

Venus arrived at Mount Ling and proclaimed the decree of the Jade Emperor: "The Heavenly Monkey King Sun Wukong has greatly increased his magical power and is unstoppable. Therefore, the Buddha is hereby summoned to the Lingxiao Palace to suppress this demon and ensure the peace of the Three Realms."

Upon hearing this, the Buddha nodded slightly and immediately, accompanied by Ananda and Kasyapa, used his great supernatural powers to appear in the Lingxiao Palace as if by teleportation.

The Buddha appeared with a compassionate expression, his hands clasped together, and he was chanting incantations.

When Sun Wukong saw that someone was challenging him, he immediately made a bet with Buddha.
In an instant, the sky changed color, and a huge golden hand appeared out of thin air, pressing down on Sun Wukong with an overwhelming force.

Although Sun Wukong possessed great magical power, he was powerless against the supreme divine power of the Buddha and was instantly suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain.

Yin Ziyu, along with Bai Suzhen and Yang Chan, returned to Chaoge from Shangqing Heaven with the members of the Jie Sect.

Upon arriving in Chaoge, Yin Ziyu immediately summoned the core personnel of Chaoge.

Before long, Wen Zhong, Shang Rong, and Mi Fei arrived one after another, while the Jie Sect's Golden Spirit Mother, the Three Immortal Maidens of Sanxiao, the Turtle Spirit Mother, the Wudang Mother, and Wuyun Immortal also gathered together.

The crowd, with varying expressions—some solemn, some deep in thought—gathered in the council hall, awaiting Yin Ziyu to begin this meeting that would determine their fate.

During this meeting in Shangqing Heaven, Tongtian and Nuwa unanimously decided that Yin Ziyu would be in charge of coordinating everything for this great calamity. Both the Jie Sect forces and Nuwa's disciples would follow Yin Ziyu's arrangements.

Even the Golden Spirit Mother had to obey Yin Ziyu's arrangements, and she naturally had no objection to this.

If Duobao were Jinling, he might be dissatisfied and resentful, but Jinling knew he was not good at scheming, so he gave all the power to Yin Ziyu.

Once everyone had arrived, Yin Ziyu slowly rose, his gaze sharp as lightning sweeping over each person present. With a solemn expression, he spoke: "Now, the one destined for this calamity, Sun Wukong, has been suppressed. But you all should know that five hundred years from now, the great calamity of the Journey to the West will begin. The scope and impact of this great calamity will be beyond imagination."

Yin Ziyu paused slightly, looked around, and continued, “Those of you here come from different lineages and each has your own path. Fellow Daoists of the Jie Sect represent the path of equality for all beings, and naturally fight to uphold this equality. Disciples of Goddess Nuwa bear the inheritance of Goddess Nuwa’s path of creation, and fight for the creation of all beings in the Three Realms, to maintain the flourishing of all beings in the Three Realms. Our Great Shang fights for the fate of the nation, and also for our own opportunities.”

Nuwa's Dao and Tongtian's Dao seem similar, but they are actually different.

The path to heaven is the equality of all beings, which means class equality, and that those with lower status have opportunities and pathways to advancement.

Nuwa's concept of all living beings is creation itself, primarily aimed at preventing the extinction of all races in the primordial world, similar to modern animal protection laws, thus safeguarding the creation of all beings in the three realms.

Nuwa was a primordial deity, neither a demon nor of any other race. However, because she created all living beings, and during the time of the witches and demons, all except the witches belonged to the demon race, she became the demon race. The demon saints actually represented the saints of all races, and then she created the human race, thus she was responsible for maintaining the creation of all living beings.

Therefore, Tongtian represents the equality of all beings, while Nuwa represents the balance of all beings; this is the responsibility bestowed upon these two sages by the Way of Heaven.

Yin Ziyu first explained the various paths, and then continued, "In this great calamity, our opponents are also powerful. The Buddhist Journey to the West transmits a belief system. What is faith? It is to make all living beings believe in the Buddha. Their aim is to control all living beings, that is, the Buddha saves all living beings. The Human Sect and the Chan Sect are single-mindedly maintaining their position of controlling the order of the Three Realms. For them, this great calamity is a matter of the victor taking all. Furthermore, this great calamity will rewrite the Investiture of the Gods. The scattered cultivators from all sides of the Three Realms will also seek a way out in this great calamity for their own fortune."

"We are now in the planning stage for the Great Tribulation. All parties have begun their preparations. Five hundred years from now, the Great Tribulation will begin, starting from the Journey to the West. The Human Sect and the Chan Sect will also compete with us on the Journey to the West. If the Journey to the West succeeds, the Three Realms will become a dominant force of faith. When this force is established, the fate and the hearts of all beings will be united in one direction. Then, from all beings to the order of the Three Realms, everything will be controlled by the three sects, and we will be completely crushed by their order. This is a period of change that is unique in all of history!"

At this point, Yin Ziyu was already very serious, and everyone else was also extremely solemn.

The power of this belief is terrifying. For example, when the Greens' belief becomes the majority, those who do not believe in them will be destroyed.

Even though these three religions are not extremist sects, if they succeed in their journey to the West and all the people in the Three Realms cultivate the path of faith, then the three religions can use the power of order and the power to control the fortune of the Three Realms to send everyone present to the Investiture of the Gods.

When all the luck and fortune are gathered, it is enough to fight a saint, and basically no one present can be its enemy.

Furthermore, those who possess the great fortune of heaven and earth are inherently invincible. When the trend of faith takes shape, it is the beginning of the downfall of the masses.

Yunxiao frowned slightly, his expression full of doubt, and asked softly, "Why can this faith, which aims to enslave all living beings, gain control of the Three Realms and even bring all the fortune of the Three Realms to them with just one Journey to the West?"

The question immediately ignited the doubts in everyone's hearts, and they all turned their gazes toward Yin Ziyu.

Yin Ziyu remained calm, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd before he said indifferently, "Why not? Do you think this is merely a simple Journey to the West? In reality, it is not. This is a way to influence the transformation of all beings in the Three Realms. Now is the most prosperous period for all beings in the Three Realms, and once the Journey to the West succeeds, they will take the opportunity to promote a comprehensive cultivation system applicable to all beings in the Three Realms. The Investiture of the Gods, the Conversion of the Barbarians, and the Journey to the West are actually a unified trend that is connected in the same vein!"

"This is not as simple as making all beings in the Three Realms believe in Buddhism. Just as when mortals die, their children and grandchildren will offer sacrifices to them and help them cultivate into ghost immortals instead of relying on spiritual energy for cultivation, lesser demons will seek out mortals who make offerings to them in order to cultivate into demon immortals. In this way, all beings in the Three Realms will be trapped in a cultivation system of offering and being offered offerings. Under this system, the traditional cultivation method based on spiritual energy will be completely eliminated."

The Golden Spirit Mother asked doubtfully, "But this method of cultivation can only affect lesser immortals at most. Even a Great Luo Golden Immortal cannot achieve this, let alone someone of higher status?"

Yin Ziyu laughed upon hearing this: "The reform of cultivation methods for all beings is not about opening up pathways for advancement, but about stabilizing the order of the Three Realms. Journey to the West is not the true journey to the West, but rather a means to accomplish many things, such as completely seizing the order of the Three Realms and completely consolidating the fortune of the Three Realms—all serving this purpose. Once successful, the order of the Three Realms will never change again, and no being in the Three Realms will ever be outside the Three Realms or outside the Five Elements, forever trapped in the cycle of reincarnation. Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West are essentially one; the purpose of Investiture of the Gods was to facilitate Journey to the West! These two great calamities of Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West are calamities of the decline of Tao and the rise of Buddhism!"

(End of this chapter)