Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1076 Let's get started!
On the border of the Phoenix Demon Kingdom, there is a Buddhist temple.

The abbot of the temple was extremely eloquent and persuasive, and his ability to sway people was also terrifying.

The Buddhist teachings it transmits originate from the Buddha 'Yuan Kong Zang Su'.

The foundation of this method is "true essence as one".

This means that all things in the universe have a true and unified nature—and everything that living beings experience in the universe is a pollution of this true and unified nature.

Therefore, we must discard all acquired pollution and seek the innate true unity.

Spiritual practice is a form of pollution.

Indoctrination is a form of pollution.

Naturally, culture and bloodline can also be a form of pollution.

The people of the Phoenix Kingdom are ostracized by the demon race and rejected by the human race because their own culture and bloodline have been polluted.

If they simply discard this pollution and return to their origins, then the human race will accept them, and the demon race will no longer reject them.

In the Phoenix Kingdom, many of its people have been bewitched and are secretly practicing its Buddhist teachings, trying to remove the 'pollution' from themselves, to become pure again, and to allow their bloodline to 'return to its original state'.

Among the many temples surrounding the Phoenix Demon Kingdom, Yuan Kong Su Temple is the most influential.

The officials and generals of the Phoenix Kingdom have tried more than once to lead their troops to raze this temple to the ground and cut off the source of this misleading and wicked talk.

Unfortunately, although Yuan Kong Su Temple is adjacent to Feng Qi Demon Kingdom, it is not located within Feng Qi Demon Kingdom.

The ruler of the Phoenix Kingdom, the demon god Zaoge, had no intention of expanding—thus, the 'national fortune' of the Phoenix Kingdom was exceptionally stable.

It's fine within this demon kingdom... but once they leave the demon kingdom and lose the support of the national fortune, the army of the Fengqi demon kingdom will be greatly weakened and unable to do anything to Yuankongsu Temple.

In Yuankongsu Temple, there is a golden tree—with golden flowers growing on it.

That golden flower is very mysterious; it has the power to purify one's origin and is not usually shown to others.

At this moment, under the golden flower tree, many cultivators were sitting upright.

There were monks and Buddhist followers wearing monastic robes and with ordination scars on their heads.

There were also Taoist priests and immortals dressed in Taoist robes and wearing flower crowns.

"It seems that my fellow Daoists have finally made up their minds." The abbot of Yuankongsu Temple sat under the tree, gently plucked a golden flower hanging down, and his face was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Long ago—before the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had even achieved the Great Luo status—his Yuan Kong Su Temple was already located here.

Long ago, he had been colluding with cultivators from all directions, wanting to join forces with them to destroy the Phoenix Kingdom, capture Zaoge, and convert him into a member of Buddhism.

Unfortunately, the Buddhist disciples passing by belonged to different Buddhist lineages and had no interest in paying attention to Yuan Kong Su Temple.

Those immortals and gods who sided with the human race simply regarded Buddhist temples as targets for eradication.

The fact that they didn't demolish the Buddhist temple is already because they had a bigger target—the Phoenix Demon Kingdom—under such circumstances, how could they possibly cooperate with the Buddhists?

Even now, the traces of the demonic kingdom's attempts to incite humanity are becoming increasingly obvious.

Those immortals and gods who stood on the side of humanity became increasingly certain that the disturbances they sensed in the Phoenix Demon Kingdom originated from traces of humanity.

These immortals and gods, whose stance was aligned with humanity, became increasingly certain that the changes in the Phoenix Demon Kingdom were a result of humanity being corrupted by the demon race.

At this moment, these immortals and gods, whose stance was aligned with humanity, finally made up their minds to eradicate the Phoenix Kingdom at any cost!

Among all living beings in the universe, mortals have short lifespans, and the changes in the human race are the most rapid and intense.

These immortals and gods, whose stance is aligned with humanity, are also the cultivators who interact most frequently with mortals—and as such, many of their traits are no different from those of mortals.

In such circumstances, those immortals and gods who are deeply influenced by mortals, feel the brevity of life, and make the most of every day, and whose stance is humane, can be said to be first-rate in the world in terms of action and execution!

When they made up their minds to eliminate the Phoenix Kingdom at all costs and cut off the demon race's invasion of humanity, they immediately began to travel around and make connections.

Thus, the Taoist and Buddhist sects, who originally had absolutely no chance of getting along, came together.

And within Buddhism, temples originating from different Buddhist lineages, each vying for supremacy with one another.

They all arrived at Yuankongsu Temple through their connections.

—And that's not all.

In fact, outside of Yuankongsu Temple, there are some demon gods quietly lurking.

These demon gods, too, were determined to join forces with the human immortals and gods to conquer the powerful forces of the Phoenix Kingdom.

At this moment, looking at the smug man before him, who believed that all the powerful figures around him had been invited by him, the slayers of Yuan Kong Su Temple, the Bodhisattva Xin Cang, and the immortals and gods who had come here, their attitudes remained unchanged, and they had no intention of discussing their merits with this Bodhisattva Xin Cang.

"Bodhisattva Xinzang invited me repeatedly, determined to conquer the Phoenix Kingdom."

"But what exactly are the Bodhisattva's rules?"

Seeing that this Bodhisattva Xinzang, after his self-satisfaction, still didn't get to the point, but instead wanted to take the opportunity to hold a Dharma assembly, the human immortal sitting to the side, whose face was not visible but who was dressed in a yellow robe, coughed lightly and forced the topic to be brought up.

Hearing this person's question, Bodhisattva Xinzang glanced at the yellow-robed Taoist with displeasure, secretly cursing the man for his lack of tact.

But he still had no intention of getting back to the main topic; he still wanted to continue holding that Dharma assembly to spread his power.

Upon seeing this, the Taoist in the yellow robe coughed again.

"Bodhisattva, do you know that the Western Celestial Venerable is now walking on the land of Jambudvipa to consolidate the power of killing and conquest?"

"Now we are here to plot against the Phoenix Kingdom – as the saying goes, the hearts of men move and the hearts of Heaven are moved."

“Our gathering here will surely attract the killing intent of the Southern Continent.”

"And the Western Celestial Venerable, who gathers the killing intent, will surely come along with the gathering of killing intent."

“If we delay any longer, and the Western Celestial Venerable arrives, the situation will be completely out of our control.”

When the yellow-robed Taoist spoke, he did not dare to call the White Tiger Supervisor God by his name directly, but referred to him by his honorific title.

"Everyone could see the strength that the Western Celestial Venerable displayed at the Heavenly Banquet."

"If she is determined to interfere with the situation, even if the forces we have allied with increase tenfold, we may not be able to do anything to her."

The yellow-robed Taoist spoke calmly—but with those words, a chilling aura of killing intent swept through the temple.

The golden flowers on the golden flower tree, because of this sudden and violent attack, inexplicably gained several more scratches, as if they had grown naturally from the ground.

At this moment, all the gathered immortals, gods, and bodhisattvas were startled, and none of them had the intention to continue to maintain their composure.

“Fellow Daoist Huang Yuan is right.” “If the Bodhisattva wants to discuss the Dao and the mysteries, there will be plenty of time after we conquer the Phoenix Qi Demon Kingdom.”

“But now… if we drag this out any longer, the people of the Phoenix Kingdom might capture us and make us perform some profound philosophical discussions.” A bodhisattva dressed in a moon-white monk’s robe and wrapped in a star-patterned kasaya nodded, activating his own Buddhist teachings and interrupting the bodhisattva Xinzang’s conversation.

"Bodhisattva, please just state the rules."

Upon hearing this, the Bodhisattva Xinzang chuckled.

"As Fellow Daoist Huang Yuan said, the Western Celestial Venerable is about to arrive. The situation in the Phoenix Qi Demon Kingdom should be addressed sooner rather than later, and quickly rather than slowly."

"Then why bother proposing any rules or regulations?"

"Here in this Yuan Kong Su Temple, there are dozens of Taiyi cultivators of our level."

"There are no fewer than ten top-tier experts among the Taiyi level alone."

"With such immense power, why bother with all those complicated calculations?"

As the Bodhisattva Xinzang spoke, he slashed down with his single palm like a knife.

"We should just charge straight in with overwhelming force."

"Including myself, ten of our most outstanding fellow Daoists went straight into the capital of the Phoenix Qi Demon Kingdom to suppress the Demon God Zaoge and lock up the fate of the Demon Kingdom."

"In that case, the other fellow Daoists can then work from the outside in to completely cleanse this demon kingdom of all those non-human, non-demon creatures."

"Without the support of the nation's fortune, those soldiers and officials are nothing but ordinary mortals, easily destroyed with a breath."

"And when these mortal things perish, the Phoenix Clan will collapse, and its national fortune will naturally dissipate as well..."

"At that time, capturing the demon god Zaoge will naturally be a piece of cake."

"What a direct and to-the-point approach." Huang Yuan, dressed in a yellow Taoist robe, nodded. "As expected of the Bodhisattva Xin Cang, your actions are indeed clean and efficient."

"This straightforward approach is truly the simplest of strategies."

As he spoke, Huang Yuan Daoist stood up.

"But when does the Bodhisattva intend to make his move?"

Then, the Bodhisattva of Mind, who had raised his hand like a knife, turned it over and laid it flat.

The map of the Phoenix Kingdom then appeared before everyone's eyes, its shape truly resembling a phoenix spreading its wings as if about to take flight.

The Bodhisattva of Mind raised his hand and drew a line on the map, cutting off one of the phoenix's wings.

"After the Fengqi Demon Kingdom is pacified, this land and its inhabitants will all belong to my Yuankong Su Temple," said Bodhisattva Xinzang.

Seeing the actions of the Bodhisattva Xinzang, the other Bodhisattvas also took action, cutting into the phoenix.

In an instant, the phoenix was cut into pieces, leaving only its head stuck to the Flaming Mountain.

That place is already part of the Flaming Mountain, but it's not something that these Taiyi Realm experts can define.

After the Buddhist bodhisattvas had divided up the territory and the creatures of the Phoenix Demon Kingdom, the Taoist immortals and gods here finally spoke.

“We have no intention of lingering in the Southern Continent. We have come here not for the wealth of the Phoenix Kingdom, but to prevent humanity from being tainted by the demon kingdom.”

"After conquering the Phoenix Kingdom, we must take the first step to sever all traces of humanity throughout the kingdom before the monks under the command of the Bodhisattvas can enter."

Immediately afterwards, another deity spoke, emphasizing their goal.

“That’s right, we only want to sever the vestige of humanity—we will not take a single penny of anything else.”

Finally, everyone's gaze fell upon the phoenix head again—that was the territory of the Flaming Mountain, and naturally no one dared to take it away.

However, the demon god Zaoge, the ruler of the Fengqi Demon Kingdom, is a target that everyone must take!
Needless to say, Buddhists naturally want to convert him and make him a protector of Buddhism.

The Buddhist sect will flourish in the human realm, and this demon god's song can connect with the human realm. Therefore, it is most appropriate to use it as a symbol of the Buddhist sect in the human realm.

But those human immortals and gods, their goal was to completely slay this demon god Zaoge.

Otherwise, if this demon god were alive, they could conquer one Phoenix Qi Demon Kingdom today, and tomorrow that demon god could create another Phoenix Qi Demon Kingdom.

In that case, wouldn't their efforts to conquer the Phoenix Kingdom be in vain?
"Then let's each rely on our own methods!" Bodhisattva Xinzang calculated the time slightly, looked at the current situation, and recalled the adage that it is better to be sooner rather than later, and faster rather than slower.

"First, join forces to suppress the demon god Zaoge and lock up the fate of Fengqi Kingdom."

"After we conquer this Phoenix Kingdom, we will each rely on our own methods."

"Whether it's killing, ferrying, saving, or suppressing, it doesn't matter."

"As long as we can break through the Phoenix Kingdom and quell this bloodshed before the Western Celestial Venerable arrives, I'll have plenty of time to deal with this demon god after that."

"Good!" So, all the Taiyi here clapped their hands in agreement—whether intentionally or unintentionally, all the Taiyi in the temple ignored the opinions of the demon gods who were still outside.

"Since that's the case, let's get started." Huang Yuan Daoist said, then stood up directly. A heavy, dark yellow cloud rose directly from Yuan Kong Su Temple, piercing through the border of Feng Qi Demon Kingdom, and headed all the way to the capital of Feng Qi Demon Kingdom.

The moment the yellow clouds swept across the border of the demon kingdom, the national fortune of the demon kingdom was also stimulated, rising in a mighty torrent.

A loud phoenix cry resounded in the sky.

Amidst the phoenix's cry, countless streams of light fell like feathers, merging into the bodies of every soldier, general, and official in the demon kingdom.

A boundless national destiny then arose, intertwined with the mysterious human condition.

Therefore, under the influence of the national destiny, all forces not recognized by the Phoenix Qi Demon Kingdom will be obliterated by this national destiny and reduced to nothingness.

At that very moment, several more streaks of light followed the yellow clouds.

Kasaya.

alms bowl.

Zen staff.

Prayer wheel.

All sorts of magical treasures moved in unison, using the path opened up by the yellow clouds to travel thousands of miles in an instant, landing directly from Yuan Kong Su Temple in the capital of the Feng Qi Demon Kingdom.

Taiyi's Dao Seed, along with his natal spiritual treasure, instantly stirred up all things in heaven and earth.

Ten Taiyi, each standing at the pinnacle, were assigned to govern the ten directions.

In an instant, the phoenix that had been formed from the nation's destiny above the Phoenix Kingdom let out a mournful cry and fell directly from the clouds.

(End of this chapter)