Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1107 A Dilemma, The Small Water and Land Dharma Assembly
Therefore, they waited in Fengqi Kingdom to observe the changes in the kingdom, to see if there was any profit to be made, and to see if they could plot for the power of killing and conquest.

Or should we go to the South China Sea to surround Guanyin Bodhisattva and experience her 'weakened' killing move?

For a time, all the powerful figures in Fengqi, both domestically and internationally, were extremely conflicted.

Compared to those powerful figures, the ruler of Fengqi Kingdom was in a much more complicated situation at this moment!

"Pillar of State, tell me, should I welcome this Venerable Xuanzang or not?"

The king of Fengqi sat on the golden chair, his expression shifting constantly.

Here, he is the ruler of Fengqi Kingdom—but when he returns to the Central Region, he is King Li Ke of Wu.

Opposite him was Qin Qiong, the 'Pillar of the State' of Fengqi, and also the State Preceptor of Fengqi.

This renowned first-ranked immortal, who remained unfazed even when rivers of blood flowed and mountains of corpses rose during his reign of terror, now showed a change in color on his sallow face upon hearing the question from the King of Fengqi.

Xuanzang is coming to Fengqi Kingdom to spread Buddhism. Should Fengqi Kingdom welcome him or stop him? This is a huge question!

In terms of relationships, Master Xuanzang can be said to be a thoroughly human being, traveling westward on the orders of the Human Emperor, and truly one of our own.

The mission he upheld was also the mission of the human emperor.

Li Ke and Qin Qiong had also learned about the Buddhist teachings he had modified through various means—they did indeed reduce the weight of Buddhism and were more in line with human needs.

From this perspective, since he is coming to Fengqi Kingdom to verify his new Buddhist teachings, Fengqi Kingdom should not only not stop him, but should also strongly support him!

The problem is that Fengqi Kingdom inherits the lineage of the Li Tang dynasty, which is the lineage of the Xuanmen sect!

In the present-day Fengqi Kingdom, the Daoist spirit permeates the air, making it nearly like the immortal kingdom of Dongsheng Divine Continent.

The establishment and order of the Fengqi Kingdom were largely due to the efforts of the Xuanmen people.

The current trend in the entire Fengqi Kingdom is to venerate Taoism and abandon Buddhism, and it can be said that they are quite resistant to Buddhism.

If Li Ke were to go to welcome Xuanzang at this time, and Xuanzang were to spread his Buddhist teachings, then the Fengqi Kingdom would probably explode immediately!
After all, within the Fengqi Kingdom, the source of the Dao lineage is not the Daoist sect that emphasizes the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, but the Yellow Heaven Dao!
This family has never cared about the dignity of royalty.

When King Li Ke betrayed the general trend of Fengqi Kingdom, and when the King of Fengqi Kingdom wanted to abandon Taoism and enter Buddhism, the people of Huangtiandao would absolutely dare to take action to overthrow this king—even if the person guarding Li Ke's side was Qin Qiong, the number one martial arts immortal.

"It's all trouble!"

"Buddhism is troublesome."

"The foundation of Fengqi Kingdom and the remnants of Chu Kingdom are also troublesome."

"Those people from Huang Tiandao are also troublesome."

"And those many powerful individuals with ulterior motives and unknown origins are even more troublesome!"

Qin Qiong let out a long sigh, thinking about all the troubles he had encountered. He wished he could take his golden mace and go out right now to kill all those troubles.

Among the great generals of the Tang Dynasty, Qin Qiong was the most unique.

His special quality is not just his fighting ability.

More importantly, he is 'clueless'.

Li Jing was the greatest military genius of the Tang Dynasty, and also the greatest military genius in the world today. His military skills were unparalleled. However, in military strategists, there is a threshold between general and commander.

After Li Jing joined the Tang Dynasty, the other generals, after being trained by Li Jing, all improved their military skills to some extent and could be barely called 'commanders'.

Qin Qiong was the only one who could not be taught properly, no matter how Li Jing tried.

Even now, he is only a general, not a commander-in-chief—in fact, in terms of being a general, he is more suited to be a reckless vanguard than a general who commands a region.

In other words, this renowned martial arts immortal, the number one in the world, actually didn't have a good overall perspective or the ability to assess situations.

Perhaps this is precisely what created his terrifying strength—though he cannot guarantee that all his decisions and actions are correct.

Yet his terrifying strength always manages to turn wrong actions into right ones.

After a moment, Qin Qiong shook his head again, letting go of the terrifying malice in his heart.

This is, after all, the Kingdom of Fengqi, not the mortal realm of the Central Region.

The human spirit here is far less profound than that of the people in the Central Region.

The mysterious and powerful figures here are far more formidable than the immortals and gods of the Central Region.

If he were to slaughter all those immortals and gods in this Fengqi Kingdom... Qin Qiong could guarantee to kill one or two of them unexpectedly, but he couldn't kill them all.

In that case, there's no point in killing.

"If I had known, I would have brought either Lao Fang or Lao Du with me."

"At the very least, bringing Changsun over wouldn't be bad either," Qin Qiong sighed.

If either Fang Xuanling or Du Ruhui were present, or if that cunning old fox Changsun Wuji were there, they could have found a way to break the deadlock and avoid such a dilemma.

"Pillar of State, the origin of this Fengqi Kingdom is the remnant of the Chu Kingdom."

"And the State of Chu was an ancient state that revered the Lord of the Clouds."

Even now, the faith of the Cloud Lord still circulates in the Phoenix Kingdom.

"The previous ruler of Fengqi was a former subject of Yunzhongjun."

"How about we try offering sacrifices to Lord Yunzhong and see if we can ask him to intervene and change things?" After a moment, Li Ke came up with an idea.

Given Yun Zhongjun's background and strength, and his 'reputation' in Fengqi Kingdom, if he were to accept Buddhism, the fate of Fengqi Kingdom would shift accordingly—at least, it wouldn't be as hostile to Buddhism as it is now.

"Does the king favor Buddhism?" Qin Qiong asked.

“Pillar of State, it’s not that I’m inclined towards Buddhism.” Li Ke shook his head.

"Xuanzang traveled westward on the orders of his father, the emperor—and Buddhism, too, was given permission by his father, which gave it the opportunity to flourish."

"In other words, no matter what, Buddhism will take root and sprout in the human world and will be connected with humanity."

"But what kind of impact will Buddhism have on the world?"

"How should the various factions in the human world, and even the imperial court, respond to this flourishing of Buddhism?"

"No one knows what the various reactions brought about by Buddhism are."

"And this Fengqi Kingdom is just the right place to conduct an experiment."

Li Ke said in a deep voice.

As his knowledge broadened, his perspective naturally became increasingly different from before, and his way of looking at problems became completely different from the past.

"Pillar of State, back in the mortal realm, when the imperial court wanted to issue a decree, it needed to go through countless calculations to determine the impact of that decree, so as not to cause too much of a shock to the people's livelihood." "With the flourishing of Buddhism, the flow of Buddhist teachings and humanity, the impact on the mortal realm will be far more than just one or two decrees."

"How does the law apply to the human world, compared to the Buddhist teachings?"

What is the relationship between Buddhism and Taoism?

"And what is the influence of Buddhism on ordinary people?"

"And what about the taxes levied on Buddhist and Taoist sects?"

"Each of these items, each and every one of them, is a major event that could affect the entire world?"

"This change is unprecedented in the human world, and even the ministers in the court could not predict it."

"That's why there has to be a place outside the Central Region of the human world to serve as a buffer between Buddhism and the human world, so that the flourishing of Buddhism can be a 'transition' and the officials in the court can see the impact of Buddhism on the human world and the changes it brings to the human world."

"Give them the conditions to conduct further simulations to ensure that the situation on Earth can be stabilized."

"Pillar of State, I don't know how others view the Phoenix Kingdom."

"But when I came to Fengqi Kingdom, I had already made up my mind to conduct such a rehearsal in Fengqi Kingdom."

“Even if Master Xuanzang does not come to Fengqi now, I will still invite him to Fengqi.”

“Not only now—but even after he comes from the Great Thunder Temple, I will still invite him to the Phoenix Kingdom.”

As Li Ke spoke, he reached into the documents in front of him and searched through them.

Soon, a document was found.

It was the very document that invited Xuanzang to Fengqi Kingdom—a document that had been written and sealed before Xuanzang's rituals were even performed.

"Your Highness now seems to have some foresight." Qin Qiong nodded in agreement with Li Ke's words, and then tore up the document.

"Since Your Highness has already made up your mind, why bother asking Lord Yunzhong for help?"

"The situation in Fengqi Kingdom is settled!"

"Your Highness, the Fengqi Kingdom rejects Buddhism and resists Buddhist teachings. Is there any exception in the Central Regions?"

"Besides, why does Your Highness insist on treating this place as the Kingdom of Fengqi?"

"Isn't this a prefecture under the Tang Dynasty?"

"Since this is Tang territory, and the Venerable Xuanzang has come on His Majesty's orders, shouldn't we go to welcome him?"

"As for Buddhism and Taoism..."

"Once Master Xuanzang enters the city, let him argue with those powerful figures from the Taoist sect."

"Your Highness, all we need to do is prepare a small Buddhist ceremony here in Fengqi Kingdom, and then wait for Master Xuanzang and the others to come up with the results."

Qin Qiong said.

I don't know what to do?
simple!
It would be wonderful if what happened in Chang'an could happen again.

Countless evil spirits and demons lurk in Chang'an City and need to be exorcised.

In the Fengqi Kingdom, which had just experienced a devastating destruction, how could there not be evil spirits and ghosts that needed to be exorcised?

Therefore, let's use this as an excuse to hold another small water and land ritual.

"Brilliant!" Li Ke was overjoyed upon hearing Qin Qiong's suggestion.

Although this method is very crude, it is very useful!
This was enough to allow the Taoists and Xuanzang in Fengqi Kingdom to have a very effective clash.

At the same time, it will also allow Xuanzang's Buddhism to spread to Fengqi Kingdom in the shortest possible time, leaving its mark in Fengqi Kingdom and letting people see the impact of Buddhism on the world.

As for the crudeness of that method—with a clear direction and measures, the other details can be polished a bit.

"However, even if a Water and Land Dharma Assembly is to be held, Lord Yunzhong should still be invited."

"Invite Lord Yunzhong and Lord Baihu Jianbing to preside over the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, let them act as referees to witness this battle between Buddhism and Taoism, and to determine the winner," Li Ke quickly added to Qin Qiong's proposed method.

……

Fengqi Kingdom is both a prefecture and a kingdom.

The order it upholds is a humane order, and also the order of the Tang Dynasty.

Fengqi City is the capital city—and outside Fengqi City, there are different counties scattered around, like stars surrounding the capital city.

There are also official roads connecting the various prefectures and counties.

At the city gate connecting to the official road, soldiers also checked the 'household registers' of the people coming and going.

However, this inspection of the 'user disc' is not to prevent you from 'coming in,' but to prevent you from 'leaving out.'

People coming from all directions, whether from other countries or from the realms of demon gods, are welcomed by the Fengqi Kingdom!
The newly established Fengqi Kingdom is desperately short of people!
However, while it was easy for these people to come to Fengqi Kingdom, it was not so easy for them to leave.

When you come in, they will check your 'household registration certificate'. If you don't have a 'household registration certificate', someone will immediately take you to apply for a new 'household registration certificate'. Once the new 'household registration certificate' is issued, you will be a resident of this area and it will be difficult for you to leave easily.

Besides this method of increasing the population, there are also some soldiers who roam the borders of Fengqi Kingdom, rescuing those who have been 'rescued' by the savages.

"The Great Tang?" At the city gate, Xuanzang, accompanied by the Monkey King, stood obediently in line, waiting for the guards to verify their documents and household registration records.

Xuanzang had not experienced this scene for a long time—and seeing it again now filled him with deep emotion.

When it was Xuanzang's turn, his document had just been taken out when it attracted the attention of the city gate guards.

After all, compared to the savages who didn't have 'household documents', and compared to the other people of Fengqi Kingdom, the documents that Xuanzang presented seemed too 'formal' and too ornate.

—Those were not official documents, but rather 'state documents'.

The soldiers at the city gate glanced at Xuanzang cautiously.

When the official seal on the document was confirmed, even though Xuanzang was bald and exhibited characteristics of a rejected Buddhist, the soldier still showed him great respect.

"Please wait a moment, Master!" The soldier bowed and then quickly took the document and left.

"Hey, this soldier actually recognizes the official documents of the Tang Dynasty?" The Great Sage Equaling Heaven couldn't help but chuckle beside Xuanzang.

He thought that the soldier wouldn't recognize the official document and would mistake it for a fake.

—In the past, when they passed through other cities in the Southern Continent, the soldiers guarding the cities did not recognize the official document, and even tried to seize it because of its superior quality... Such things have happened more than once.

(End of this chapter)