Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 981 Changes and Impacts on the Timeline
“Speak, Your Majesty,” the Jade Emperor replied.

"The allure of power in this world is irresistible to anyone."

"Now that I have stepped into this Lingxiao Palace and sit on this throne, it means that I have entered the struggle for power."

"From that time on, the authority of humankind touched the authority of heaven and earth."

"And the authority of heaven and earth also influences the authority of humankind."

"Under such circumstances, the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace will surely make their moves in the mortal realm once again to contend with me."

"And I am pleased with this as well."

"But there is one thing that I am concerned about."

"My wife, my son."

“They have nothing to do with the authority in this world.”

"They are not qualified to get involved in this game of cosmic chess."

"Therefore, I do not want anyone to plot against them, to use them as pawns in a game against me."

"Is my request too much?" Li Shimin looked at the gods in the Lingxiao Palace.

"Of course it's not excessive." The Jade Emperor nodded.

But Li Shimin ignored him and instead focused his gaze on Ao Bing.

In his view, only the guarantee made by this Great Dragon God who upholds Heaven and righteousness has sufficient credibility.

“That’s only right.” Ao Bing nodded in agreement.

"After this, dragon princes and princesses will step into Chang'an to serve as protectors."

“Amitabha Buddha, our Buddhist sect will also protect Queen Changsun and His Majesty’s princes at all costs, and will do everything in its power to prevent them from being involved in the game.”

"If anyone dares to use them as pawns, our Buddhist sect will fight them to the death." Dipankara Buddha nodded in agreement.

"Good." Li Shimin nodded and then began to talk about Taoism and Buddhism.

When Li Shimin spoke, all the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace pricked up their ears.

This is the most important event in the entire world right now.

The eastward transmission of Buddhism—no, it's not an eastward transmission.

According to the information revealed by the Emperor in Chang'an, he will seek out eminent monks in the mortal world and then order them to travel westward on the King's orders to Mount Ling to seek the Dharma and bring the profound teachings of Buddhism to the mortal world!
In this instance, it wasn't Buddhism that devised a way to transmit its teachings to the human world.

Instead, Buddhism waited with an air of superiority for the emperor's envoy to come and bring its teachings to the human world!
One relayed the message—the other made an invitation.

The difference between them is like heaven and earth—if Buddhism were to bring its orthodox tradition into the human world in the same manner as the latter, then even though they are a latecomer compared to the Xuanmen (Taoist) sect…

However, it was enough to erase the time advantage that the Xuanmen had gained over countless millennia of operation in the human world in an instant, and to put the Xuanmen on equal footing with the human world.

In the Lingxiao Palace, the ancient Buddha Dipankara held prayer beads in his hands.

As he listened to the Emperor's words, the speed at which the prayer beads rolled in his hand increased!
In the end, the rolling of the prayer beads actually brought forth waves of wind and thunder in the Lingxiao Palace.

As Li Shimin spoke, the Jade Emperor's gaze also swept across the faces of the many immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace.

By simply sensing the flow of vital energy in the Lingxiao Palace, the Jade Emperor could perceive the restless emotions of the immortals and gods.

He wanted to promote Buddhism to the east, using this as a starting point to strive for a future for the world.

However, pushing this situation to take shape proved exceptionally difficult—even the Jade Emperor was forced to meet with Ao Bing in private to reach a consensus with him.

Even so, he wasn't very confident about this game.

It wasn't until Ao Bing reminded them that the Human Emperor was invited to join the game.

Thus, the Human Emperor entered the fray.

Thus, it was only at this moment that the Jade Emperor suddenly realized that after the Human Emperor entered the game, this seemingly incredibly difficult game had become so simple.

—Without his intervention, this game of chess was already formed under the Emperor's 'willful will'.

Now, he no longer needs to consider the details of how the game is played – he only needs to consider how to make the waves in the game as big as possible!
This was intended to draw in the powerful figures from all four directions.

At the same time, we must also consider how to allocate and measure the ultimate 'benefit' in this game, that is, the 'creation' of the sage—such measures still require a great deal of thought.

But compared to before, the effort saved is definitely more than half!
"Let me think about it," the Jade Emperor pondered.

"The Taoist sects will definitely take the initiative to enter the game. Once the game is set, they have no reason to stand by and watch the Emperor's envoy go west to seek the Dharma!"

"And then there are the aristocratic families in the human world—the westward journey driven by the Human Emperor's own will. If it fails, the Human Emperor's prestige will surely be greatly diminished."

"Before Xuanwu Gate, the aristocratic families supported Crown Prince Jiancheng, which was originally a major concern for the Emperor."

"In addition to the Jinghe River rain a few days ago, those aristocratic families have really put the Emperor to the test."

"Therefore, the aristocratic families will definitely get involved and will stop the Emperor's envoy from going west at any cost—otherwise, once the westward journey is completed, the Emperor's power will be so great that it will suppress heaven and earth, and he will immediately begin to settle accounts with those aristocratic families."

"Thus, there are now four sides on this chessboard."

"Human Emperor, Xuanzong, Buddhism, aristocratic families."

"If the westward journey begins in the Central Regions, bypasses the Eastern Continent, passes through the Southern Continent, and finally enters the Western Continent..."

"Then the demon race in the Southern Continent can also take advantage of the situation and join the fray..."

"No, Jambudvipa is not a good choice."

"It should have passed through Beiju Luzhou."

"That place was opened up by the ancient sages of the human race, and many immortals and gods fished in the Chaos Sea, leaving countless traces of the outer realms."

"Among the five continents of Pantian, Beiju Luzhou is the one most affected by external forces." "The Xiongnu of the past, the Turks of today, and so on, can all be traced back to Beiju Luzhou."

"Therefore, if the westward journey passes through Beiju Luzhou, then I won't even need to make any arrangements; the people from beyond the realm will naturally devise plans for that westward journey..."

"However, wouldn't going to Beiju Luzhou be too deliberate and backfire?"

The Jade Emperor pondered.

While the Jade Emperor was pondering, Ao Bing was also deep in thought.

He holds the pivot of the two primordial realms, serving as the hub and gateway between Pan Tian and Yuan Tian. He can clearly sense the movement when the time of the two realms intersects.

Whether it was the reflection of the Pantian timeline within the Yuantian, or the waves stirred up by the battles between the Great Luo Immortals and the extraterrestrial powerhouses deep within the Pantian timeline, Ao Bing could vividly recall them all.

Those waves originating from the timeline, one after another, have even spread from the distant past to this place, impacting the current situation.

However, within the Yuan Tian realm, the Queen Mother of the West, who silently and secretly ascended to the position of Saint, had already, amidst the evolving situation in the Lingxiao Palace, anchored the source of this westward journey directly from Pan Tian to the Yuan Tian realm.

Then, using Yuantian as a starting point, this part of the history of Pantian is anchored.

Through the golden book of faith, the Great Luo beings who simultaneously reside in Pantian and Yuantian, just like Ao Bing at this moment, observe the ripples on the Pantian timeline, and then compare them with the traces left in Yuantian, smoothing out the ripples and errors on the Pantian timeline.

The histories of Pantian and Yuantian have not yet fully intersected—but in comparison, the wars and disadvantages entangled in the timeline of Pantian are slowly being smoothed out.

Thus, amidst these changes, those powerful beings from beyond the realms who lurked within the Pantian timeline, anchoring themselves in the power of creation, also noticed these shifts immediately.

They possess the immense power to create the world, making them far more sensitive and perceptive to changes in the timeline than the Great Luo of Pantian.

Therefore, amidst this upheaval, while the Jade Emperor and the gods in the Lingxiao Palace, and even the great supernatural beings in the timeline, were completely unaware, the powerful beings from beyond the realm had already diverted their attention from the battles in that timeline and focused some of their attention on Pan Tian's 'present'.

It landed on that gust of wind called 'Westward Journey to Welcome the Buddha'.

Beyond Pantian, on the edge of the far northern battlefield, powerful figures from all four directions revealed themselves in secret, exchanging information about the changes in 'momentum' on the timeline.

Then, each of them used their own methods to explore the current situation and changes in Pantian.

"Pan Tian's timeline is changing!"

"The connections between the past, present, and future have changed."

"Now, the timeline in Pantian is vaguely showing a tendency to anchor the past through the present."

"Making changes is becoming increasingly difficult!"

"I have good reason to believe that this is a change that is happening in Pantian, causing an unpredictable change in Pantian's timeline."

"Does anyone know the details of what is happening in that heaven?"

A pair of enormous wings unfolded in the chaos, as if to carve out a completely new timeline within that chaos.

That was the Time Angel from the Four Directions of the Great Heaven; its existence was almost like time itself being transformed into a living being.

In the struggle at the level of timelines, his existence has an advantage that they cannot imagine. In the struggle at that level of timelines, his existence is almost in a class of strength!
—In the five directions of the world, this angel of time is the one who targets the Queen Mother of the West, who wields the Kunlun Mirror!
However, since he was enlightened, the Queen Mother of the West of Pantian has never manifested in the timeline to fight against him.

At this moment, the changes originating from Pan Tian's 'present' caused even this seemingly invincible powerhouse to feel the pressure from the timeline.

The impact of the changing situation represented by Pan Tian's 'now' on time is self-evident.

"If this is the current situation, then the biggest change in Pan Tian should be the conflict between Cheng Tian and the Jade Emperor after Cheng Tian leaves the pass."

"As far as I know, the Jade Emperor is currently promoting the eastward spread of Buddhism in the heavens, and this has received the strong support of the Human Emperor."

"There were also rumors that the Jade Emperor orchestrated this situation in order to seek peace and cede some of the unique creations belonging to Pan Tian to us, thereby delaying the final killing."

"When Chengtian emerged from seclusion, many people in Pantian hoped that Chengtian could stop the Jade Emperor." Another powerful voice rang out, revealing an extraordinary familiarity with the situation in Pantian. "But now, the Human Emperor of the mortal realm has firmly sided with the Jade Emperor."

"The situation that the Jade Emperor wants to change has already become apparent."

And amidst its voice, the surrounding chaos swayed and surged in waves, as if it were about to burst forth with boundless vitality.

"Are you saying that the changes in the timeline were caused by the situation orchestrated by the Jade Emperor?" the Time Angel asked.

"Very likely." The expert who was explaining the situation in Pantian nodded.

"What the Jade Emperor presented in his game of chess was nothing short of the ultimate creation!"

"As for us, what is it that can attract us to get involved? It's easy to imagine."

"If we look at the changes on the current timeline, and the impact of Pan Tian's 'present' on the past, it is highly likely that, under our influence, we can influence Pan Tian's past from its present state. We are also likely to become part of Pan Tian's 'present'."

"And this means that the Jade Emperor's game of chess has most likely succeeded!"

The person analyzing the situation continued to speak.

"However, all of this is predicated on your ability to confirm that the change in the timeline, as you said, began from Pan Tian's 'present'."

Suddenly, the chaos subsided and silence descended.

One after another, powerful figures from the four directions of the Great Heaven departed.

The situation in Pantian, the chess game of the Jade Emperor, can no longer be described further—after all, from the moment Pantian began to anchor itself to the past.

From the moment they came into being, which became Pan Tian's 'present', they became competitors to each other!

What they are competing for is the ultimate thing that will inevitably appear in the Jade Emperor's chess game!

The secrets of the sage.

Even the miracle that happened in Pantian back then, and the secret of the "sage" besieging and killing the one who "created the world".

Such a secret, such a stroke of luck, could never be shared by many people... In reality, only two or three people, or even just one person, can obtain this stroke of luck in the game of chess!
Since the changes on the timeline all indicate that they are 'destined' to enter the game, then any extra information before they enter the game, even the slightest bit, could potentially affect the outcome of the game.

(End of this chapter)