Conferred God: Started from Swallowing the Heaven-Repairing Stone

Ao Bing's plan, to put it bluntly, is actually an alternative version of Journey to the West.

Having the disciples of the gods set up arenas in all the worlds is like having a series of tribulations on the journey to the West, but not eighty-one tribulations, but ten thousand.

The disciples of the sages were actually pilgrims on a pilgrimage, but the scriptures they sought were not Buddhist scriptures, but rather a great opportunity to unify the netherworld.

As for why it was the disciples of sages who went on the pilgrimage, while the disciples of gods acted as demons to create difficulties, instead of the other way around, it was because sages were stronger.

The gods had no objection to this. Whoever is stronger holds the initiative, and whoever is weaker is passive. This is an age-old truth, and they have always lived by this principle and are used to it.

Of course, while they are similar, there are still significant differences. For example, the eighty-one tribulations on the journey to the West must be overcome, and outside assistance can be requested at any time, and the demons will not kill the monsters.

But fighting in a ring is different; it involves personal interests, and the defender will never hold back, but will go all out. Therefore, even a disciple of a sage cannot guarantee victory.

If they really can't win, but the grand plan to unify the Netherworld can't be affected, what should they do? The answer is naturally to spend money, to pay an even greater price, to buy a victory.

The myriad realms were painstakingly conquered by the gods. It is clearly impossible for a disciple of a sage to take away the fruits of the gods' labor with just one victory.

Therefore, even if the disciples of the sage win, the benefits that the Netherworld gained from merging with the main Netherworld belong to the gods, and this is what they deserve.

Of course, the sage's disciples did not win without any benefits; at least they gained the merit of promoting the unification of the netherworld.

In short, this struggle for the unification of the Netherworld has two major benefits. First, the person who facilitates the unification of the Netherworld will receive merit and fortune bestowed by Heaven.

Secondly, when a minor Netherworld merges into the main Netherworld, the Netherworld will bestow a blessing. The stronger the minor Netherworld that merges, the greater the blessing received.

The disciples of sages compete for the merit of unifying the netherworld, bestowed by Heaven. The disciples of gods guard the radium, also vying for this merit.

The power of integrating the Lesser Netherworld into the Main Netherworld belongs entirely to the gods, serving as their safety net. Regardless of whether they win or lose the arena battle, this portion of the benefits belongs to them.

The difference is that if the gods lose the arena battle, they only receive a blessing from the underworld. But if they win the arena battle, they will also receive merit from the heavens.

This shows that the disciples of the sages are under greater pressure; they cannot afford to lose. The disciples of the gods have a safety net, but they do not. Therefore, if they win, all is well; if they lose, they truly gain nothing.

This might sound like the gods have gotten the better deal, but that's not actually the case.

First, it's important to clarify that the gifts bestowed by the Netherworld are the same as the benefits offered by Heaven. Since the two benefits are identical, the question arises: how many gods are there, and how many sages are there?

Excluding Houtu Niangniang and the two Western Saints, there are only five sages, but there are over a thousand gods.

One side is divided among five people, while the other side is divided among thousands. In other words, unless the disciples of the saints lose 90% of the battles, the benefits gained by the saints will definitely far exceed those of the gods.

Ao Bing's suggestion could be said to be quite biased towards the Sage. However, the gods still had no objections. As the saying goes, since their strength was inferior to the Sage's, suffering a loss was inevitable.

"There's another advantage to my method: it provides an opportunity to train disciples. After each great battle, even scrap iron can be refined into true gold."

Seeing that everyone was silent and did not object to his suggestion, Ao Bing continued.

Whether they are disciples of saints or disciples of gods, how could they not benefit from participating in the unification of the underworld on behalf of their elders?
To achieve victory, the sages and gods will certainly devote themselves to nurturing them. That's one reason. And after the great war breaks out, because they participate in something that will help the primordial world advance, they will receive encouragement from the Heavenly Dao and the Netherworld, regardless of whether they win or lose.

The difference is simply that the winners benefit more, while the losers benefit less, but not entirely without any benefit.

In other words, every saint and disciple of the gods involved in this matter has a guaranteed minimum income. As a result, their strength will undoubtedly increase by leaps and bounds.

Those who perform exceptionally well will find it easy to cultivate to the Mythical Great Luo realm once this matter is over. The most outstanding among them may even have the potential to reach the Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

The act of unifying the Netherworld involves the Dao Fruit of perfect creation and the Six Paths Reincarnation Disc, a treasure that has the potential to be upgraded to a semi-eternal treasure.

Given such favorable circumstances, it is entirely foreseeable that several Grand Luo Immortals would be born.

"That's right!"

Everyone snapped out of their daze and nodded repeatedly. Several sages, in particular, had gleaming eyes. If anyone was to say whose disciple was most likely to reap the greatest benefits from this opportunity and achieve the Primordial Chaos Realm in one fell swoop, it would undoubtedly be their disciple.

Why do I say that? Because the shortcut to achieving Hunyuan (Primordial Unity) is already right in front of them.

As those responsible for the arena battles, if they can keep winning and win all the way to the end, the combined benefits will surely allow them to reach the Primordial Chaos Realm.

As long as you keep winning, you can cultivate to the Primordial Chaos Realm. Isn't that a shortcut?
While it's difficult to keep winning, to be honest, this path to enlightenment is far simpler than the path to enlightenment experienced by the gods.

Once the gods understood this, all they could say was that they wished they could take the place of the gods themselves.

"What do you all think of this plan?" Ao Bing asked again after seeing the gods' opinions.

"We have no problem, we will do as the Star Lord says."

The gods all nodded in agreement; no one objected to Ao Bing's suggestion. It wasn't that they couldn't think of a better way, but rather that there was no need to refute Ao Bing.

Ao Bing's proposal clearly aimed to bind the Sage to his cause, ensuring the Sage would reap the greatest benefits and thus have no reason to object. In this situation, unless the gods united, their opposition would be futile.

However, the gods weren't entirely without benefit; Ao Bing provided them with a safety net, guaranteeing their most basic interests. Under these circumstances, they lacked the resolve to unite and oppose the Sage and Ao Bing.

Unity isn't something that can be achieved simply by talking; it requires a foundation of mutual trust. However, this is precisely what the gods lack. Who knows how many among them are actually followers of saints, or even incarnations of saints?

Screening unsuitable individuals and establishing corresponding rules and regulations is undoubtedly an extremely troublesome task. Therefore, given any other possibility, no one would choose to unite.

It's too troublesome and carries huge risks.

"Since everyone has no objections, let's proceed with the unification of the heavens and the earth according to this plan. What do you all think?"

Seeing that all the gods and sages agreed with his proposal, Ao Bing continued to add to it.

Since unifying the land and the heavens is a similar process to unifying the underworld, we might as well stick to one method and avoid further complications.

"No!" Before the sage could speak, all the gods retorted in unison.

Their argument was simple: they had always been the disciples of the sages, fighting and defending. Didn't that mean the greatest benefits always went to the sages, while they only got scraps?

In that case, they won't even be able to catch up with the sages; the gap between them will only widen. How can they accept such a thing?

Upon hearing this concern, both Ao Bing and the Sage fell silent. They certainly couldn't say that it was only right for the Sage to receive the greatest benefit. If they did, the gods would immediately turn against them.

"Then let each rely on their own abilities. The gods shall retreat, and let the disciples compete using their own methods, whether by force, by cunning and scheming, or by forming alliances..."

"In short, as long as it does not violate the principles of the Xuanmen, I only care about the result, not the process. Even if someone dies in the process, it doesn't matter. Times have changed. Even if someone dies, we can easily revive them with our cultivation."

After a moment of silence, Ao Bing spoke. Since they felt the method of defending and challenging the arena was unfair, then let's just have a free-for-all. All factions will fight each other, and the last one standing will win.

"No!"

"If we allow everyone to fight amongst themselves, no matter how perfect the rules are beforehand, it will eventually get out of control and turn into a huge disaster."

"Have you all forgotten the story of the Investiture of the Gods?"

As soon as Ao Bing said this, the Sage of Taiqing immediately retorted.

He was all too familiar with this idea. Back in Zixiao Palace, Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Shengren had said the same thing, instructing their disciples to compete using their own methods, with the loser making the list.

As we saw, Yuanshi Tianzun couldn't accept defeat and resorted to cheating, personally intervening and causing the situation to spiral out of control. If Ao Bing hadn't been prepared and seized the opportunity to force the primordial world to undergo a process of destruction before rebuilding, the primordial world would have been doomed.

With such a lesson learned, the Supreme Sage will absolutely not allow it to happen a second time. And it's pointless to say that he's learned from the last lesson and will definitely set stricter rules this time.

No matter how good the rules are, they only work if someone follows them. And the powerful beings of the primordial world, as the Supreme Saint knew all too well, were all rule-abiding.

If pushed too far, they will surely follow the example of the Primordial Celestial and intervene personally. In that case, things will naturally escalate until they become uncontrollable.

"If the gods are dissatisfied, then let's switch places. We disciples will guard the arena, and you disciples can come and challenge us."

"Whoever wins will defend the title until all forces have challenged it. Whoever wins the most times will receive the greatest benefit."

Before anyone could speak, the Sage Taiqing continued, "You say it's unfair for the disciples of the Sages to fight while you defend the arena. Fine, let's switch. You fight, and the disciples of the Sages defend. Is that alright?"

"good!"

Hearing that even the Supreme Saint had made such a concession, the gods could no longer persist and unanimously agreed to the proposal.

"Since everyone has no objections, then it's settled."

Ao Bing made the final decision, setting the course for all the major events in the prehistoric world. From that moment on, the prehistoric world would develop according to the agreed-upon plan. And once all these matters were accomplished, it would be time for the prehistoric world to wage war against the Chaos God.

When the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man are unified, the power of the primordial world will be consolidated into one. At that time, if Pangu's physical body is then proclaimed, there will be no problem of collapse.

The power of a Pangu body at the half-step Eternal Realm is unimaginable. If it doesn't engage in a decisive battle with the Chaos Demon God now, when will it? When will it be until all the Chaos Demon Gods have recovered to their peak?
……

After the gods had discussed their plans, they each departed to prepare for what was to come.

After the primordial world was destroyed and then rebuilt, in order to compete for the destiny, they all established their own lineages, so they certainly didn't lack disciples.

However, not lacking something doesn't mean it's usable. The unification of the Netherworld involves all the gods and saints, and there must be many exceptional talents among them.

In this situation, to achieve victory, the disciples must be strong enough. If they are not strong enough, going up to defend the arena will not only bring no benefit but also embarrassment.

So they are going back now for two reasons: first, to select outstanding disciples, and second, to find ways to strengthen their abilities.

As for not limiting the number of disciples who can participate, allowing all disciples to fight together, that's acceptable. However, disciples fighting on behalf of their master should also receive a share of the benefits.

The more disciples who participate, the more benefits they will receive. If you're not worried about the disciples taking all the benefits, then just send all your disciples to participate.

Furthermore, if things really go too far and all the disciples have to participate, then we can simply change the rules at the last minute.

We should trust the character of the sage and Ao Bing; they are absolutely capable of doing such a thing.

……

The gods and sages left one after another, but the Jade Emperor, Xi Huang, Nuwa, and Houtu stayed behind, clearly having something to say to Ao Bing.

There was nothing for Xi Huang and Nuwa to hide, so they spoke frankly:
“If I remember correctly, your son with Yang Chan was born after the primordial world was destroyed and then rebuilt. This child is destined to be with me, and I wish to take him as my disciple and have him fight in the arena on behalf of my human race.”

"Ah this..."

When Xi Huang spoke, Ao Bing was stunned. He hadn't expected that Xi Huang had summoned him to discuss this matter. However, after careful consideration, he didn't refuse; his offspring was indeed destined to be with Xi Huang.

His son with Yang Chan was born a nine-clawed azure dragon, a type of ancestral dragon. This was all due to the innate power of the Jianmu tree.

Jianmu belongs to the Yimu category and is transformed from innate vitality, hence it is also known as the innate Azure Dragon Divine Wood. If it were to take form, its status would be comparable to that of the Ancestral Dragon.

When Yang Chan was pregnant, Ao Bing gave her the Innate Jianmu tree to enhance her cultivation and prevent her from losing her essence and foundation due to childbirth.

As the son of Ao Bing and a second-generation human-dragon, this child is quite extraordinary. He showed remarkable potential even in his mother's womb, and with the nourishment of the Jianmu essence, he immediately underwent a regeneration and transformation, thus possessing the ability to evolve into a blue dragon from birth.

The Azure Dragon belongs to the element of wood and corresponds to the east. The god of the east is the Azure Emperor. Xi Huang, also known as the Azure Emperor of the East, is the god of spring and the Wood Emperor.

Therefore, when Xi Huang said that Ao Bing was destined to be with him, he was not joking, but stating a fact.

This child was born with a destiny connected to the Ancestral Dragon and Emperor Xi, and is their divinely ordained disciple. (End of Chapter)