Conferred God: Started from Swallowing the Heaven-Repairing Stone

On the contrary, while a fully charged Heavenly Tribulation can certainly stop the vast majority of demons from transforming into human form, those demons who can still successfully transform under such circumstances must be extremely powerful, each one being a top performer in their respective realm.

That's great. Originally, good seedlings still needed to be screened, but now we only need to see if they can survive the transformation tribulation to determine if they are good seedlings.

Those who fail to overcome the obstacle may still be promising, but those who do are definitely good prospects.

"Tsk tsk..."

Thinking of this, Ao Bing couldn't help but click his tongue twice.

That's true, but he still has to set up the tribulation of transformation. Not only the tribulation of transformation, but also tribulations for cultivators, he will set them up one by one.

The purpose of Ao Bing setting up the Heavenly Tribulation was not to suppress the demon race, but to select geniuses and purify the cultivator community.

Compared to before, the prehistoric world has indeed become more powerful, and cultivation has become easier, with the threshold for becoming a cultivator greatly lowered.

However, this does not mean that becoming strong has become easier. On the contrary, as the cultivation environment becomes more favorable and the threshold for cultivation lowers, becoming strong has become more difficult.

In the past, everyone had the hope of becoming strong; now, only the outstanding have the hope of becoming strong.

That's right, all the changes stem from the Heavenly Tribulation. Before the Heavenly Tribulation, cultivators could break through as long as they accumulated enough power.

But things are different now. Once Ao Bing decides to set up a tribulation, simply accumulating enough experience is not enough to break through; one must also pass the test of heaven and earth, that is, overcome the heavenly tribulation.

The purpose of heavenly tribulations is to artificially increase the difficulty of cultivation, filtering out the vast majority of people and allowing only a small number of sufficiently outstanding individuals to become powerful.

Moreover, according to Ao Bing's idea, the tribulations he set up were not the ones known to later generations, but only the tribulation of becoming an immortal.

Instead, it begins with Refining the Spirit and Returning to Emptiness. Each breakthrough in a realm requires undergoing a Heavenly Tribulation. The more tribulations one faces, the greater the difficulty of cultivation, and the stronger the selected individuals become.

Conversely, setting only one tribulation to become an immortal is meaningless and won't filter out many people.

Each realm is a tribulation, and every breakthrough is a struggle for survival. Only such tribulations can serve as a filter, making people deeply aware of the difficulty of cultivation.

Of course, compared to other groups, the demon race not only faces one tribulation per realm, but also an additional tribulation of transformation.

That's right, Ao Bing is clearly targeting the demon race. He has already stated that demons are monsters, enemies of all races. Since they are monsters, their treatment should naturally be worse than that of other groups.

It's normal to face an extra tribulation of transformation; in fact, the tribulations that the demon race has to face are even more powerful than those faced by other races.

In this way, although the demon race members who survived were all top-tier geniuses, a race cannot become strong without top-tier geniuses alone; it also needs a large number of middle and upper-level members.

The reason the demon race was able to rule the primordial world back then wasn't just because they had many powerful beings, including thousands upon thousands of Grand Luo Golden Immortals. It was precisely because of their existence that no one dared to provoke the demon race.

Even if tens of thousands of Grand Luo Golden Immortals joined forces, along with countless Taiyi Golden Immortals, and a dozen or so powerful cultivators arrived, they would still perish on the spot.

Ao Bing intensified the tribulation of the demon race in order to prevent the demon race from producing a large number of mid-to-high-level combat forces.

Given the situation of the demon race, even if Ao Bing were to bring them all the tribulations, he could not prevent the demon race from producing top-tier powerhouses, but he could prevent them from producing ordinary powerhouses.

Is it normal for a race to have only top-tier powerhouses but no pillars of strength?
This is clearly abnormal. What's the use of conquering the entire prehistoric world if you can't find enough people to manage it? It's only a matter of time before you suffer a backlash.

"Heh, this is what happens when you offend me."

Having made up his mind, Ao Bing's gaze towards Donghuang grew even colder. Once he had refined his plan to set up the heavenly tribulation, he would give the demon race a pleasant surprise.

As for whether doing so will offend other forces, that's inevitable. Although there are heavenly tribulations in the primordial world, these tribulations are mainly aimed at those who defy the heavens and those who do things against the heavens. I've never heard of needing to undergo tribulations to break through realms.

Now that Ao Bing has suddenly set up a tribulation, artificially increasing the difficulty of cultivation, whether the great supernatural beings are satisfied or not is another matter, but the vast majority of middle and low-level cultivators are certainly not satisfied.

Because their strength has reached the level of Great Divine Power, no heavenly tribulation can shake them. The existence of heavenly tribulations is only an aid to them, and poses no harm whatsoever.

But it's different for the vast majority of low- and middle-level cultivators. If it really is a tribulation at the level of one realm, then more than 99% of them will die under the heavenly tribulation.

Therefore, they will definitely oppose it vehemently and hate Ao Bing to the core.

But as I said before, their opinions are unimportant. Unless they don't want to cultivate the mythological system, they will immediately become Ao Bing's most steadfast supporters once they reach the Taiyi realm of mythology.

Even if cultivators who cannot reach the Mythical Taiyi Realm are dissatisfied with Ao Bing, so what? Their insults and resentment pose no threat to Ao Bing.

The strong are tolerant, and Ao Bing allowed them to vent their dissatisfaction.

No matter how loud the voice of an ant is, the powerful and high above cannot hear it unless they are willing to listen.

However, once someone reaches Ao Bing's level of strength, their stance has long since changed. They no longer stand on the side of cultivators, but on the side of heaven and earth.

It goes without saying which is more important, the interests of heaven and earth or the interests of cultivators. Cultivators are like leeks; as long as the roots aren't damaged, they'll keep growing back, an endless supply.

But the world is different. Once the world is damaged, it is difficult to restore it. Moreover, the strength of the world is related to the interests of all cultivators.

The stronger the heavens and earth are, the more prosperous the path of cultivation will be. Conversely, the weaker the heavens and earth are, the more prosperous even the strongest cultivation system will decline.

Therefore, safeguarding the interests of heaven and earth is safeguarding the interests of all cultivators and expanding the foundation of cultivation.

In this process, it is inevitable that the interests of some cultivators will be harmed.

There was no other way; it was a necessary sacrifice. It wasn't that they weren't working hard enough, but rather that the times were developing too fast, so fast that even if they tried their best, they couldn't keep up and would be eliminated.

This also shows that they are not suitable to become cultivators. The only thing Ao Bing can do is to let them be mortals in their next life, stay away from cultivation, and live a peaceful life.

With this in mind, how could Ao Bing possibly listen to the needs of the lower-level cultivators? Their stance had long since changed. They no longer prioritized cultivators, but rather the world itself.

Not only Ao Bing, but all great cultivators are like this. In fact, don't be fooled by how loud these low-level cultivators are now; once they reach the level Ao Bing reached, they will become just like him.

Heaven and earth are the most important; only with heaven and earth can cultivators have the space to grow. Without heaven and earth, no matter how many cultivators there are, it is meaningless.

Therefore, for the sake of the world's development, it's inevitable that most cultivators will suffer. If they're unhappy, they can strive to become stronger. Let's see if they can maintain their original intentions after achieving enlightenment. Besides, the Heavenly Dao has been discriminating against cultivators for quite some time now. So-called cultivation is going against the will of Heaven.

Therefore, from the moment they embarked on the path of cultivation, in the eyes of Heaven, they were not normal people, but a group of troublemakers and criminals.

The more powerful one is, the greater one's crimes. And when it comes to dealing with criminals, Heaven never shows mercy and always strikes hard.

If you're not convinced, then don't embark on the path of cultivation. Just be a mortal and you won't have to worry about being targeted by the Heavenly Dao.

On the contrary, the Heavenly Dao will actively protect mortals. If any cultivator slaughters mortals without cause, the Heavenly Court will send people to arrest them at best. At worst, the Heavenly Dao will manifest its power and bestow talent upon them.

Heaven is willing to listen to the voices of mortals, because the existence of mortals poses no harm to Heaven and Earth.

Cultivators are nothing but parasites; they're dreaming if they expect preferential treatment. Since they've embarked on the path of cultivation and decided to defy the heavens, they must be prepared to be targeted by the Heavenly Dao.

This is the first lesson in spiritual practice, and it's common sense. If you can't even accept this, and you force yourself to embark on the path of spiritual practice, you'll just be cannon fodder and won't achieve anything great.

………………

Ao Bing was originally a cultivator, but at his level, he had long since severed ties with the traditional path of cultivation. He cared about the development of the world and the cultivation system, and had no interest in the lives of cultivators.

Therefore, setting up heavenly tribulations to artificially increase the difficulty of cultivation is an inevitable trend that no one can stop. No matter how much lower-level cultivators oppose it, it will be futile.

Ao Bing facilitated this matter in accordance with the will of Heaven. Once it is accomplished, there will be no harm but only benefits. It will inevitably further enhance his status in the world, adding the identity of a Calamity Lord to his existing status as a Star Lord.

Both the Star Lord and the Calamity Lord are equivalent to saints in status. In fact, Ao Bing could convert these two positions into sainthood at any time if he so desired.

But there's no need for that.

Ao Bing is already a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal, so seeking the position of a saint would be pointless.
Only those who have not yet attained the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm aspire to become saints. Those who have already reached this realm all keep their distance from the position of saint.

While the position of a saint is desirable, it comes with the constraints of the Heavenly Dao. This is utterly unacceptable to a Primordial Golden Immortal who has already transcended the Dao.

They painstakingly transcended heaven and earth, only to return to the constraints of the heavenly order. How could that be? Didn't their transcendence come in vain?

Therefore, while the position of a saint is desirable, the Primordial Dao Fruit offers greater freedom. Faced with the choice between the power of a saint and the freedom of the Primordial Dao Fruit, those with great supernatural abilities would choose the former, but a Primordial Grand Luo Golden Immortal would only choose the latter.

Those with great supernatural powers are not Grand Luo Golden Immortals of the Primordial Chaos Realm, and thus do not understand the mysteries of this realm, naturally yearning for a higher holy position. But Grand Luo Golden Immortals of the Primordial Chaos Realm have already experienced the freedom and joy of this realm, so how could they be willing to give it up?

If you've never possessed something, you won't feel any reluctance when giving it up. But once you've possessed it, it's difficult to get it to go.

For those with great supernatural powers and those who are Grand Luo Golden Immortals, this is what a saintly position is.

As for Zhen Yuanzi, his situation is special. His Hunyuan Dao Fruit is unstable, and if he doesn't become a saint, he risks his cultivation level falling at any time.

For him, the holy position was naturally more important.

But Ao Bing's realm is stable and his future prospects are bright. Why would he choose the position of saint and be bound by the Heavenly Dao for no reason?

Therefore, even with a top-tier position, Ao Bing would not choose to become a saint.

However, this does not mean that the highest rank has no other function besides making people saints.

On the contrary, the highest-ranking officials are no different from sages except that they cannot mobilize the power of the Heavenly Dao.

Although top-level positions cannot mobilize the power of the Heavenly Dao, they still possess their own inherent power. For example, the position of Star Lord comes with the power of the entire celestial sphere.

The position of Lord of Calamity comes with the power of endless heavenly tribulations. The position of Heavenly Emperor comes with the power of the entire primordial world.

These powers are all at the Creation Realm level. Although they are not as powerful as the Heavenly Dao, they are still enough to dominate the primordial world.

In addition, top-tier occupancy positions can bring unparalleled power and fortune.

Like a star lord, one can command the stars to favor any place they desire. Like a calamity lord, one can escalate the difficulty of heavenly tribulations at any time. And like the Heavenly Emperor, one can grant someone instant ascension to godhood with a single word.

In comparison, the power of a sage is much less. A sage can freely exercise authority without a master. But with authority held by a master, a sage must consult the master before exercising that authority.

Just like before, a sage could arbitrarily control a person's fortune or misfortune, but now, it involves calamities. Without Ao Bing's approval, would he even try changing it?

The primary duty of a sage is to educate and enlighten the masses, guiding them to develop civilization. Beyond that, nothing else matters much to them.

The reason they give the impression of being very powerful is because the top positions are all unclaimed and can be used at will, which makes them seem omnipotent and capable of managing anything.

However, as various powers gradually came to power, it became increasingly difficult for sages to wield their authority, making it inevitable that they would retreat from the forefront to the background.

This is because the role of a sage is to teach and guide all living beings on behalf of Heaven, rather than to manage them on behalf of Heaven.

In the past, all living beings were ignorant and needed the guidance of sages, so they were naturally the primary focus. But now, as all living beings gradually gain wisdom, the role of guidance is diminishing, and sages must step back and take the lead, making it the turn of the rulers of the primordial world.

The so-called managers are the masters of the various top positions, such as the Star Lord, the Calamity Lord, the Heavenly Emperor, and the Lord of the Underworld.

They are the true protagonists of this era; the era of saints has passed.

For Ao Bing to choose to become a saint at this point, giving up the chance to be the ruler of the prehistoric world, would be truly insane.

"Star Lord, Calamity Lord, Lord of the Immortal Realm, Lord of the Lesser Primordial World... Now that's great, I don't even need Sage Zhunti to stir things up, the Jade Emperor will tolerate me."

After carefully considering his own status, Ao Bing suddenly realized that his power had already surpassed that of the Jade Emperor, the nominal ruler of the primordial world, making him the undisputed number one person in the primordial world.

In this situation, even if Ao Bing were the Jade Emperor, he would be wary of him. Therefore, a conflict between the two was inevitable sooner or later. In fact, the Jade Emperor might already be secretly colluding with the two Western Saints.

There was no other way; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Although the Jade Emperor couldn't cooperate with the demon race, he had few reservations about cooperating with the two Western Saints, since they had no enmity between them. Furthermore, with Ao Bing as a common enemy, the basis for cooperation was extremely strong.

Unless the Jade Emperor gives up, cooperating with the two Western Saints is inevitable. Cooperating with them means there's still a chance to compete in the future; not cooperating means being sidelined by Ao Bing is only a matter of time. (End of Chapter)