Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1050 The Huai River Rises, Buddhism Enters the Game
Within the divine court, the leader of the Huai Alliance, the Lord Huai who unified half of the Huai River's waterways, sat enthroned.

The Huai River is one of the four major rivers, and one of the sources of water between heaven and earth.

The rank of the Lord of the Huai River is naturally extremely high—even if it is only half, it is still a rank that is extremely close to, or even equal to, that of the Great Luo.

To reach the level of a Grand Luo, one step is all it takes.

That is, to completely tear apart the Huai River, dividing it into two parts.

Thus, the highest-ranking Water Lord position was transformed into two ordinary, Great Luo-level positions.

But even the Lord of the Huai Alliance, let alone the Jade Emperor who is shrouded in mystery behind him, wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

After all, the ruler of the Huai River was the incomparably fierce Wuzhiqi!
Although he relinquished control of the Huai River, his reputation as the Lord of the Huai River, a source of calamity, remained.

Before this incredibly fierce Lord of Huai River, who would tear apart the authority of the Huai River—given his temper, he would absolutely go straight to the Heavenly Court to retaliate!

Among the Great Luo group, Huai Huo Shui Jun's battle record is not many, but the strength demonstrated in those battles is absolutely the most top-tier in the world.

In order to touch the possibility of becoming a sage, he recklessly stirred up the aftermath of the flood, using the flood to cleanse the world.

The last human emperor, Emperor Yu the Great, is credited with his achievements.

He controlled the floods and suppressed Wuzhiqi.

When suppressing Wuzhiqi, it can be said that heaven, earth, and man all acted together.

Almost all the 'new generation' who emerged after the era of the sages in the world joined forces.

During this period, there was also the peak of the human emperor Yu the Great, and the most powerful Yinglong...

Such a lineup was the only way to suppress Wuzhiqi through a siege.

You can imagine how ferocious this Huaihuo Water Lord, the Great Sage of the Water Ape, is.

While he was still alive, the Huai River tore him apart—how insane must one be to dare to do such a thing?

For this immortal of the Huai River, the biggest problem right now lies here.

Back when he was vying for the Huai River, his strength had already reached the peak of the Taiyi realm, just one step away from the Daluo realm.

For tens of thousands of years since he occupied the Huai River, he and the dragon gods of the Dragon Court have been constantly at war, and he has fought against Princess Longji more than once.

Although he has never clashed with Ao Bing, the fact that he was able to hold out against the Dragon Court for tens of thousands of years without Ao Bing intervening, and that he was able to gradually unite the people of the Huai Alliance from their initial scattered state, is enough to demonstrate his ability.

In reality, he was already capable of achieving the status of a Great Luo Immortal ten thousand years ago.

However, he followed two paths to achieve greatness...

Firstly, to achieve the Great Luo in the orthodox way, one needs to be listed in the Book of Faith and Righteousness when achieving the Great Luo.

Unfortunately, Lord Huai was quite certain that Ao Bing would make things difficult for him during the process—so he kept suppressing the idea of ​​having his name listed in the Book of Faith and Righteousness.

Another way is to cut off the Huai River, so that the Lord of Huai can first possess the strength of a Great Luo—just like the Dragon King of the Four Seas, but he dares not do so.

Thus, his martial arts skills stagnated at this point.

That stop has lasted until now.

After Ao Bing broke through the barrier, ascended to the Great Luo realm, and joined forces with the Human Emperor to intimidate the Jade Emperor, he dared not attempt to achieve the Great Luo realm again.

In his eyes, it would be better if he didn't become a Great Luo, because Ao Bing would refrain from attacking him due to the tacit understanding between the Great Luo.

But once he achieves the Great Luo status, Ao Bing will most likely take action against him personally to completely end this karmic entanglement.

"So they've finally arrived?" Looking at the water gods gathered in his water palace, Lord Huai couldn't help but peer in and sigh.

As one of the beings who are incredibly close to the Great Luo, he can naturally sense the changes in the wind direction between heaven and earth.

That was not a normal change—just like the route that Xuanzang took on his journey to the west, which, normally speaking, should not have led him to the Huai River.

And clearly, this change occurred because of a thought of Da Luo.

Subsequently, all things in heaven and earth were moved by it.

Xuanzang, who had noticed this change, chose to respond... and so the Great Luo Heart and the power of the human world were united.

When heaven and humanity move together, the will of heaven will naturally manifest.

"This is the best opportunity to make Da Luo a legend!"

The Immortal Lord of Huai River raised his head.

He could feel the immense power of heaven and earth converging upon this place.

The Huai River, which was originally unrelated to this massacre, was drawn into it and became part of it because of Xuanzang's single thought.

When calamity strikes, fortune naturally follows as well.

The gazes of many great immortals converged here, and the Buddhist community poured its heart and soul into this place.

At this point, achieving the Great Luo status—even if it involves tearing apart the Huai River—would be perfectly safe!

"Then let's get moving."

"Stirring up the waves to prevent Xuanzang from reaching the Huai River."

"When he realizes he doesn't have enough time, he will naturally change course."

Huai Jun remained calm. "Don't worry, Buddhism will stand by our side."

This is not an exaggeration.

Xuanzang's intention to seek the support of the Great Dragon God who upholds Heaven and righteousness by heading towards the Huai River was quite obvious.

The Buddhist community, under any circumstances, would never allow such a thing to happen.

This is the prevailing view in the world.

But is that really the case?
Inside the Great Thunder Temple, the many Buddhas were already arguing amongst themselves.

They prevented Xuanzang from heading towards the Huai River.

Or perhaps, by taking advantage of Xuanzang, they could directly support the Lord of Huai in unifying the Huai River and achieving the Great Luo.

Two opposing viewpoints exist within the Great Thunderclap Temple, each offering its own interpretation.

"Has the World Honored One forgotten?"

“From the very beginning of this calamity, our Buddhist community had already made up its mind.”

"We must drag the dragon race into a bloodbath to settle the long-standing grudges."

"In this way, we will completely tear the dragon race apart and subdue it."

"Now, Xuanzang is heading to the Huai River to participate in the dispute there. Isn't this the perfect opportunity?"

The light of the ancient Buddha Dipankara slowly spread throughout the Great Thunderclap Temple.

As he chanted, his voice penetrated the hearts of every Buddha, pulling them back to the 'past' not long ago.

That was the step in which all the Buddhas discussed their ambitious plan to subdue the dragon race and thus demonstrate their power in the Great Thunderclap Temple.

"Everyone," said the Ancient Buddha Dipankara slowly, his voice unhurried. "After the matter of the God of Wealth, the murderous scoundrels of the Northern Exorcism Institute descended to the mortal realm and wiped out most of the Buddhist forces outside of Xiniu Hezhou."

"In the name of the Heavenly Rules, the entire Buddhist community is disgraced."

"In today's world, when Buddhism is mentioned, everyone's first impression is that it is a place where filth and depravity reside."

"If this infamy cannot be cleared, even if our Buddhist sect prospers, it will only be a temporary phenomenon."

"You will be seen as a heretic or evil person."

"Therefore, the forces of heaven and earth will shift, the Way will decline and the Demon will rise, and our Buddhist sect will be attacked by all sides."

"Everyone, there is no room for reconciliation between our Buddhist sect and that Dragon Lord in the heavens."

"Unless one of us backs down."

"Otherwise, it's either that our Buddhist community has been slandered and has degenerated into demons."

"Either, our Buddhist sect has overridden the Heavenly Rules, subdued that Dragon Lord, and transcended the Heavenly Rules."

“Buddhas, choose.”

"Should we choose to bow down, or should we do everything in our power to make Buddhism transcend the rules of heaven?"

The voice of the Dipankara Buddha was incredibly alluring, causing the many Buddhas in the Great Thunderclap Temple to be captivated.

Especially those Brahma Buddhas.

It transcends the rules of heaven!

In the Heavenly Realm, the Heavenly Rules can be considered one of the 'supreme' rules.

Even a Great Luo Immortal who steps into the world is bound by the Heavenly Rules.

The Human Emperor, a mere mortal, is more noble than most of the Great Luo Immortals in the world, and even more so than all the Buddhas in the heavens.

Before the Human Emperor, even the Buddhas had to bow their heads—the destiny for the great prosperity of Buddhism actually needed to be determined by the Human Emperor.

This is something that the Buddhas of Brahma in this world find most intolerable!

However, the heavenly rules were strict, and the terrifying force pressed down directly, making it difficult for any Buddha to reverse the situation.

No matter how much those Brahma Buddhas jump around, they can only corrupt Buddhism—but they are completely helpless against the system of heavenly rules that transcends Buddhism.

Even though they have been saying things like "turn back before it's too late" and "lay down your butcher's knife" for tens of thousands of years, protecting countless people who have violated the heavenly rules, the majesty of those heavenly rules has been tarnished.

But that's the limit of what they can do.

When Ao Bing broke through the barrier, the law of death was revealed, and the heavenly rules that had been covered in dust were instantly exposed.

To this day, those murderers from the Arctic Exorcism Institute have not yet returned to the Heavenly Court—although they maintain their 'respect' for Buddhism and do not invade the Western Continent of Niuhe, which belongs to Buddhism.

But they are all still lingering outside Xiniuhezhou, holding lists and waiting for the Buddhists to leave Xiniuhezhou.

As soon as the people on that list step out of Xiniu Hezhou, the assassins from the Arctic Exorcism Academy will immediately swarm them.

The unparalleled killing skills honed on the battlefields beyond the heavens... even the great Buddhas of Buddhism cannot guarantee that they can save people from these killers without harming them.

One can imagine how frustrating this situation must have been for these Brahma Buddhas.

It was precisely because of this that when Xuanzang wanted to forcefully convert the King of Wu at Yinshan Temple, the Buddhist Longguang Buddha couldn't wait and directly descended to the mortal world in his incarnation to forcibly convert the King of Wu.

To others, this appears to be a sign of greed and ambition within Buddhism—but to those who are truly enlightened, it is the first step that allows Buddhism to rise above ordinary people.

This marked the beginning of their transcendence of heavenly rules.

Unfortunately, although their ideas were good, the times were clearly not on their side.

That earth-shattering blow shattered the incarnation of the Dragon Light Buddha, and swept away all traces he had left in the human world.

After that strike, countless eyes fell upon the world, and the Buddhist sect had already lost its initiative.

The matter of strengthening the power of the feudal lords naturally became empty talk.

Even so, there are still countless people in Buddhism who are thinking about restoring the old order.

That was the past of the Brahma Buddhas—and also the future, which was extremely tempting for many Buddhas.

High above, they do as they please—everything in the world is their sustenance.

Now, within this Great Thunderclap Temple, the words of the Ancient Buddha Dipankara seem to shatter the dreams of these Buddhas, or perhaps they are pointing out a path to that future.

The only way to be high above others is to transcend the rules of heaven.

The only chance to transcend the rules of heaven lies in dragging the most uncompromising Great Dragon God of Heaven and Righteousness into the calamity, using the killing tribulation to kill him, so that he can be reincarnated in the mortal world forever, and never be able to return to the high heavens.

During this process, any scheming or planning is meaningless.

The only way is through war, through killing.

"What does the World Honored One think?" After speaking, Dipankara Buddha's gaze fell on Shakyamuni again—as if he were forcing him to abdicate.

"Didn't the Buddhist sect already make a decision before the calamity?" Shakyamuni opened his eyes.

"Our Buddhist school is also a great teaching of the sages, with its own laws and regulations. How can we possibly change our rules every day?"

“Then issue a decree that all Buddhist disciples in the human world, regardless of their background or level of cultivation, should go to the Huai River.”

"To guide and transform the Lord of Huai, assist him in seizing power over the Huai River, and unify the Huai River."

"If we can persuade Xuanzang to cooperate with the Lady of Huai and give her a title, we will help her go to the Huai River."

"If we cannot persuade Xuanzang, we should prevent him from going to the Huai River. Once the matter of the Huai River has been settled, we can then let him return to the Huai River and use its power to cross the vast ocean."

The ancient Buddha of the Burning Lamp picked up his prayer beads.

"Buddhas, please issue your decrees now."

"In accordance with the Dharma decree." In that instant, all the Buddhas in the Great Thunderclap Temple moved in unison.

At that moment, rays of golden light, like a reversed Milky Way, rose from Mount Ling, crossed Xiniuhezhou, crossed the vast ocean, and fell to earth.

Under the immense and profound aura of humanity that pervades the Central Region, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas enshrined in the numerous temples manifest their divine power.

Immediately, temples everywhere set out to act.

Apart from a few old monks who had never practiced Buddhism and remained in the mountain gate to preach Buddhist scriptures, all the Buddhist disciples who had practiced Buddhism, as well as the incarnations left behind by the Arhats and Bodhisattvas, rode golden light, or led Dharma treasures, or rode on horseback, heading towards the Huai River.

Along the way, the Buddha's light shone brightly, and flowers rained down from the sky, a sign of divine intervention that caused countless people to gasp in amazement.

"The Buddhist sect actually made the first move!"

Seeing this spectacle, even the Great Luo Immortals of the world raised their eyebrows.

The chess players from outside the region showed expressions of surprise and delight.

Who would have thought that just a moment ago, they were discussing in the heavens, planning to bring Buddhism into the game and drag down that dragon god from the high heavens.

As a result, the Buddhist sect immediately declared its opposition to that dragon god.
(End of this chapter)