I am submissive in Journey to the West, I strike hard at the gods

The last few words of the Goddess Houtu are the true principles of the primordial world. The primordial world has never judged immortals and demons, good and evil, based on race. There are a lot of different kinds of people under the Tongtian Sect Master's Jie Sect. Even the Jade Void Palace and the Eight Views Palace have many different kinds of people serving as flower boys and alchemy boys. Even the Dao Ancestor Saint did not think that these beings belonging to the demon race were inherently evil and were demons.

The line between immortals and demons is thin, a consensus that has always been shared by all beings in the three realms of the primordial world.

Houtu Niangniang is not afraid to reveal her dark history in front of everyone. This is the open and honest way of Heaven. If you can't even have a clear understanding of your own origins, how can you ascend to the Great Dao?

Ashura laughed loudly, "Half of our origins come from beyond Chaos, how can you destroy my origin? Do you intend to return to the Demon Realm and exterminate me?"

With a slight wave of her hand, the Goddess Houtu caused twelve towering pillars of light to appear between heaven and earth. They seemed to come from the Nine Netherworlds or from the Nine Heavens, descending slowly. Within each pillar, light and shadow flowed, fully revealing the twelve most essential basic forces of heaven and earth.

Jiang Wang was well-versed in the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation. He knew that each of the twelve pillars of light had its own mystery. Nine of them came from the Nine Netherworlds, while three came from the Nine Heavens. The three above and nine below formed a perfect three-three-nine pattern, representing the power of the earth to support all things.

The spatial power controlled by Dijiang, the temporal power controlled by Zhulong, and the celestial power controlled by Shebishi all originate from the Nine Heavens, stemming from the ethereal and mysterious. The innate five elements power controlled by Zhurong, Jumang, Rushou, Gonggong, and Houtu Niangniang are positioned with Houtu Niangniang in the center, and the other four in the cardinal directions. The wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning controlled by Xuanming, Qiangliang, Tianwu, and Xizi are on the four sides, half a step behind.

Judging from the formation emanating from the earth, it forms the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, and also resembles the atomic structure in modern technology. The four cardinal positions of the Eight Trigrams are Yang, and the four lateral positions are Yin, with the real and the unreal interacting and endlessly changing. The three pillars of light from the heavens seem to be shrouded outside the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, and also seem to be shrouded beside the goddess, mysterious and unpredictable.

Upon seeing this formation, Jiang Wang realized why the Empress hadn't participated in forming the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation back then. She was the core of the formation, and everything was built upon the foundation of all things on earth. If she had participated, it wouldn't have been the primordial continent transformed by the Ancestral God that would have been torn apart, but rather the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth would have vanished and returned to chaos.

Even without her, the Lich and Demon races were both severely injured. The goddess endured the pain of her body being torn apart by the earth, yet she still transformed into the path of reincarnation to save the people of both races who perished in the great war, allowing them to be reborn. This is the great compassion of heaven and earth. Compared to the goddess, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's vow not to become a Buddha until hell is empty is nothing.

In an instant, the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation enveloped the laughing Asura in the center. Her laughter stopped abruptly, and her three heads and six arms shot out endless black fire and energy towards the pillar of light. A power that could tear apart heaven and earth emanated from the center of her forehead, rendering everyone present unable to move, as if everything was about to turn into nothingness.

Jiang Wang also felt a great fear arise in his heart in an instant. Before he could react, his mind entered the state of perfect chaos once again. The inexplicable fear disappeared without a trace, and then he reappeared from the ethereal void.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Even Jiang Wang was confused, but he knew that his conclusion was absolutely correct. The Primordial Golden Immortal is naturally able to restrain all kinds of unorthodox and strange methods. In fact, they are worthless and are almost no different from Buddhist mental techniques.

Without self or form, one's spirit roams freely in the vast emptiness, easily neutralizing all kinds of bizarre attacks without suffering the slightest harm.

However, this does not mean that he is invincible forever. As long as he encounters a Grand Luo Golden Immortal or Taiyi Golden Immortal with higher power, the two sides will compete in endurance. In the end, the competition will still come down to the depth of power. Once his true essence is exhausted and he is unable to advance to the ultimate realm, then his advantage will be gone and he will be at the mercy of others.

As soon as he appeared, Houtu Niangniang gave him an approving look, clearly surprised that he was able to remain unharmed under the attack of a demonic thought that was almost at the saint level.

The next moment, Houtu Niangniang looked at Ashura, shook her head and chuckled, "A mere illusion that bewitches the mind, yet you dare to show off? Here you go!"

The twelve pillars of light suddenly converged at the center, transforming into a towering crystal pillar that shimmered brilliantly. Within the pillar of light, the shape of Asura's radiant fire was solidified, as if the person and the fire had been turned into a crystal statue, and time and space were frozen together.

Following that, Houtu Niangniang calmly retaliated against Asura, who was trapped by the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons.

"I originally intended to imprison you in the Nine Netherworlds forever, so that you could never escape. But now I've changed my mind. Since you don't want to return to the Demon Realm, I'll grant your wish and send you on your way!"

With a flick of his finger, the towering crystal pillar was hurled into the endless void above the heavens, instantly entering the barrier of chaos, causing ripples to spread across the endless void.

Jiang Wang then realized that Houtu Niangniang was indeed incredibly cunning. By eternally imprisoning the Asura from the outer realms in the Nine Netherworlds, she was actually planting a seed of disaster, requiring constant vigilance. By directly sending her into the boundless chaos, neither her divine will, half of which came from the Heavenly Demon, nor her obsession from this world could withstand the erosion of the boundless chaos.

If the Heavenly Demon or the Sage could freely traverse the Chaos Barrier, a great war would have broken out between the two sides long ago. The Heavenly Demon seems to be the greatest enemy of cultivators, but for the Sage who has already merged with the Dao, the damage has been reduced to a minimum and cannot affect the Sage's will.

Although even sages cannot defeat the formless and shapeless Heavenly Demons, they have various methods to drive away and imprison them. Therefore, in the final battle between immortals and demons, immortals, whose origin is based on form, still have a slight advantage over Heavenly Demons who reside in the formless world.

Chaos is the greatest obstacle and barrier between the immortals and demons, but since chaos has no independent consciousness, it is impossible for chaotic gods to be born; it can only give rise to all things.

Jiang Wang suddenly thought of a problem: when the Primordial World unites with other outer worlds to form a larger world and then points directly to the Great Dao, it will inevitably clash with the many Heavenly Demons of the Heavenly Demon Realm.

At that time, should I establish a larger Heavenly Court, or should I ignore everything? Anyway, I am already the Great Dao itself, without emotion or form, how could I possibly care about the affairs of the mortal world?

Suddenly, Jiang Wang felt that this issue really needed to be discussed. The only person he could discuss now was the one who called himself Brahma, who was hiding in the crystal world. He didn't have much divine power, yet he could exist between heaven and earth. Even when he went to ask the Ancestral Master, he still couldn't get a definite answer.

At this moment, the Desolate Heavenly Emperor, as the local master, saw that as soon as the source of the sacrificial path, Asura, disappeared into the endless barrier above the heavens, the whole world suddenly exuded a completely different peaceful atmosphere, as if the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared, and the whole world had finally passed through the harsh winter and ushered in spring.

He quickly looked up the past and future and realized that without the Empress Houtu in front of him, they might have defeated the strange ancestor and come into contact with the master of the bronze coffin in the endless future, but they would never have been able to touch the origin of the sacrificial path, the Asura who was born from obsession and the projection of otherworldly demons.

Because the world of Shrouding the Heavens could never possibly develop to that point, the Asuras locked down their path of progress, and they had to rely on external forces to break free of these shackles.

Ye, who still needs endless years to become the Heavenly Emperor, is the fundamental reason for saving this world. These gods from outer realms, however, have completely rewritten the future of the world of "Covering the Sky." He has only one thought in mind. The Desolate Heavenly Emperor immediately turned to the Goddess Houtu and made a request, "Your Majesty, we wish to visit the Primordial World, but we don't know what taboos or restrictions exist there?"

In the Wang family of Beiyuan, Wang Chengkun, who had taken a half-step into the realm of sainthood, paced anxiously in the hall. Several days ago, Wang Teng claimed that a tribulation of lightning was coming and that he, along with his third junior sister Ao Yuwei and Ye Hei, were going to undergo the tribulation. He has not returned since, and Ye does not know what happened to him.

But the strange changes in the world just now were not only noticeable to him at the Quasi-Saint level, but also to all living beings in the Northern Plains. That vast and boundless power enveloped the world, and everyone was terrified. Not to mention resisting, they couldn't even submit. Although a moment had passed, it felt as if all living beings had experienced millions of years of reincarnation.

Immediately after that great power disappeared, another kind of vitality, like spring breeze and rain, filled the world. Even the withered plum trees in the backyard began to sprout. The strange loneliness and desolation that usually weighed on everyone's hearts also disappeared without a trace.

Although Wang Chengkun didn't know what had happened, he knew it was related to Grand Master Xuandu. Only his child's unfathomable grandmaster possessed such power. Moreover, he learned from Wang Teng and his junior sister, whose cultivation level was clearly at the peak of the Saint realm, that there was another unfathomable Saint who had established the Underworld in the Burial Grounds and operated the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Wang Chengkun had some knowledge of the Six Paths of Reincarnation from the teachings of the Grand Master Xuandu. Simply put, it is a judgment of rewarding good and punishing evil in the underworld. Those who committed sins in their previous lives receive various punishments in the eighteen levels of hell; those who did good deeds and accumulated merit in their previous lives are rewarded with longevity, marriage, and good fortune, without exception.

In other words, even if the Heavenly Emperor falls, he will be reincarnated in the Underworld, instead of the previous cycle where all living beings naturally reincarnate according to the power of heaven and earth, making the strong stronger and the weak weaker. As long as the Heavenly Emperor slaughters all living beings, the Underworld can erase his magical powers and even prevent him from being reborn for eternity.

To accomplish such a thing, the only prerequisite is that this powerful being must be far stronger than the Heavenly Emperor, so that he can thoroughly investigate the past and find all the things he did during his lifetime, and bring them to trial. Such an ability is beyond Wang Chengkun's comprehension. Even the Desolate Heavenly Emperor, who can sever eternity with a single sword, probably does not have this ability.

But one thing that really excited this former patriarch was that the Underworld complemented the Heavenly Court established by Grand Master Xuandu. The Heavenly Court was responsible for managing the operation of the Three Realms and suppressing all kinds of demons and monsters.

Wang Chengkun had some doubts about this function a few days ago, after all, the great Dao taught by the Grand Master Xuandu was to educate all living beings and subdue people with virtue.

However, when Teng'er's junior sister came from another outer realm, she truly showed him what it meant to "win people over with virtue." Anyone who came to the Wang family to cause trouble, speak sarcastically, or make sarcastic remarks was beaten down to their knees and begged for mercy. They even had to copy the Tao Te Ching three hundred times before she would let them go.

When he had nothing else to do, he would beat Teng'er and Ye Hei mercilessly, beating the two grown men until they were drenched in sweat every day before he would stop. Over the course of half a month, he forced Teng'er to enter the realm of a saint, which led to his tribulation.

The three went to the burial ground to resist the lightning tribulation, also so that if anything went wrong, the powerful being in the underworld would definitely not sit idly by.

Thinking of this reason, Wang Chengkun's agitation gradually subsided. Just as he was about to go to the backyard to pay his respects to the old sage, he saw Wang Chong rush in like a whirlwind and step forward to report, "Father, my elder brother has returned from his tribulation, along with his teacher, the Great Immortal Jiang, and a large group of people who have come to visit. My elder brother requests that you and the ancestor go out to greet him."

Without a second thought, Wang Chengkun ordered Wang Chong to open the gates wide and lead the crowd to welcome them, while he himself went to invite the patriarch to come out and greet them.

A moment later, Wang Family Elder Saint and Wang Chengkun saw Wang Teng returning from his tribulation in front of their house. Upon first glance, both of them gasped in shock. Wang Teng had not advanced to the Human King realm, but had directly entered the Great Saint realm. In less than half a year, he had advanced five levels and reached such a level that he was probably comparable to the legendary Desolate Heaven Emperor.

The opportunity at the Central Plains' Strange Scholar's Mansion? Compared to Teng'er's apprenticeship under Immortal Jiang, it's nothing at all.

They quickly turned their gaze to Ye Hei beside Teng'er. It would have been better if they hadn't looked, because once they did, it was as if they had been hit over the head with a club, and all their joy vanished.

Standing before him, Ye Hei had already advanced to the seventh level of the Quasi-Emperor realm, a whole level higher than Teng'er. It was truly infuriating to compare people like this. Why was Ye Hei born when Wang Teng was already here?

Only the third junior sister, Miss Ao, who was accompanying Wang Teng, looked like an ordinary person at this moment, just like when they first saw Immortal Jiang and Grand Master Xuandu. She was so ordinary that even they couldn't recognize what realm she had reached.

What kind of tribulation did the three of them undergo?
Where is the logic in breaking through the laws of heaven and earth and advancing three levels after just one tribulation?
After all, the old saint of the Wang family had the highest cultivation level, and was only one step away from becoming a quasi-emperor. He dared not cross this threshold, but only wanted to consolidate his foundation and wait a few years before undergoing the tribulation with all his might. In the blink of an eye, the genius of his family also achieved the same level as him. He never dreamed that all of this was due to the great immortal Jiang.

He hurriedly stepped forward to greet the distinguished guest, but when he paid special attention to Immortal Jiang, he realized that the immortal in front of him was very different from the one he had seen before. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was different, but he was very familiar with this feeling because the feeling was similar to that of the Grand Master Xuandu who had extended his life and changed his fate.

The old sage was shrewd and experienced, and naturally knew all about human relationships. He knew that the Grand Master Xuandu and his disciples, and even the so-called primordial world they inhabited, did not care about worldly etiquette. As long as there was no lineage of disciples, they would address each other as fellow Daoists. Naturally, he followed suit.

"King Xuan of the Northern Plains greets Fellow Daoist Jiang. May I ask who these gentlemen are...?"

The old sage turned his gaze and noticed the group standing around Jiang Wang. The leader, a man, and three women, were all of extraordinary appearance, far from ordinary. Their attire also came from this world, and he seemed to have heard of them somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

Upon hearing this question, the Desolate Emperor was filled with emotion. He had been away from this place for too long, so naturally no one would recognize him. Moreover, he had come here to see what mysteries the Heavenly Court established by Master Jiang Wang held. He smiled slightly and revealed his origins.

"My name is Shi Hao, and everyone here calls me the Desolate Heavenly Emperor. These three are my wives. Patriarch, you are too kind!"

The Desolate Heavenly Emperor?!

The Wang family elder and his clansmen were completely dumbfounded. Was this the legendary Desolate Heavenly Emperor, who could cleave eternity with a single sword? The legendary Heavenly Emperor they had never even had the chance to meet? (End of Chapter)