People in Conferred Gods: Rising from humble beginnings, I am the God of Wealth

Chapter 284 Ghosts in the Emperor's Banner, City Gods Throughout the Wilderness!
Om-!
Under the watchful eyes of all living beings in the primordial world, the last two pillars of merit in the sky also fell at this moment.

One of the larger beams of light flew toward the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc.

Without Houtu's permission, how could the Nine Netherworld Immortal Locking Formation have been set up? And how could the power of the earth have descended?

However, before the beam of merit could fall, it suddenly paused slightly, as if it had been grabbed by an invisible hand and thrown towards the direction of the eighteenth level of hell, into the Emperor's Banner.

From the day the Underworld was established, Yang Xuan placed it in the Underworld to suppress the eighteen levels of hell. All the most heinous evil ghosts would be thrown into this Emperor's Banner.

With the help of the ghosts and gods of the underworld and Ksitigarbha in recent years, the number of vengeful spirits in the Human Emperor Banner can only be described as terrifying, numbering at least several billion!

Moreover, these spirits are quite powerful.

In a place like the primordial wilderness, if one's cultivation level is insufficient, how can one be considered utterly wicked and burdened with heavy karma? Do you really think the other beings in the primordial wilderness are all benevolent creatures?
Therefore, the weak spirits within the Emperor's Banner are now at least at the level of Celestial Immortals. As for the weak spirits below the Celestial Immortal level, they have long since become food for other weak spirits.

There are even quite a few ghosts at the Golden Immortal and Taiyi Golden Immortal realms, so such a Human Emperor Banner can already be considered a great treasure.

If these were taken out, even without anyone in charge, the sheer number of tens or hundreds of billions of Yin spirits would be enough to make even a Great Luo Golden Immortal retreat.

If the person wielding the Emperor's Banner can coordinate with a top-tier formation to command these Yin spirits, the power of the Emperor's Banner can be further enhanced!
In this underworld, many ghosts and gods now refer to the Emperor's Banner as the nineteenth level of hell, specifically used to imprison those heinous and hopeless evil spirits, creating a world exclusively for them.

As more and more spirits and deities came up with this idea, and the Human Emperor Banner did indeed play a role in maintaining order in the underworld, making life and death in the primordial world more orderly, even the number of evil and taboo creatures decreased.

As a result, the Netherworld's fortune on the Emperor's Banner increased, making it resemble a treasure of the Netherworld.

Furthermore, the Human Emperor Banner is unique in that the more Yin spirits it refines, the stronger its power becomes, and the more restrictions it contains.

Over the years, the number of restrictions inside the Emperor's Banner has increased to a total of forty-eight!
Now that it has gained merit once again, the Emperor Banner suddenly released boundless Yin energy, which instantly swept across most of the eighteen levels of hell, shrouding it in a black mist.

Through this layer of black mist, one can see a large number of evil spirits of various appearances, burdened with karma. Those evil spirits at the Golden Immortal and Taiyi realms have bodies entirely composed of karma, making them exceptionally ferocious.

As the merit from the underground passage that Houtu threw down fell, all the evil spirits seemed to sense something and let out excited roars and malicious howls that echoed throughout the eighteen levels of hell.

Followed by.

The Emperor's Banner, located at the center of this black mist, suddenly trembled slightly and released a dazzling golden light.

The internal restrictions have been increased to forty-nine, bringing the total number of restrictions to forty-eight, making it a top-grade acquired merit spiritual treasure with forty-nine restrictions!

Although acquired spiritual treasures are not as precious as innate spiritual treasures, there are very few top-grade acquired spiritual treasures with forty-nine restrictions in the entire prehistoric world.

Moreover, the Human Emperor Banner is a spiritual treasure with almost no upper limit to its power; the more Yin spirits it refines, the stronger its power becomes.

Nowadays, the Emperor's Banner has become a treasured artifact in the underworld for suppressing hell, and it has even been given the title of the nineteenth level of hell. How could there be a shortage of wandering souls?

"Not bad."

Inside the underground cycle of reincarnation, Houtu watched this scene and nodded in satisfaction.

The reason why the Human Emperor Banner was able to refine so many Yin spirits and become a top-grade acquired merit spiritual treasure with forty-nine restrictions is largely due to the role played by Houtu.

She gained a great deal of merit from building the Underworld, establishing the Nether Moon, and setting up the Nine Nether Immortal Locking Array.

But all these merits were cast into the Emperor's Banner and used to refine it.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this Emperor's Banner was personally crafted by her.

Otherwise, it would probably take several more eons to increase the number of restrictions inside the Emperor's Banner to forty-nine.

Furthermore, even if the Human Emperor Banner had forty-nine acquired restrictions, it would still only be a top-grade acquired spiritual treasure, not a top-grade acquired merit spiritual treasure like this one, radiating dazzling golden light.

Houtu did this for two important reasons, besides the fact that merit was no longer of much use to her.

Firstly, the Emperor's Banner is helpful to the underworld and has become an important part of it.

The existence of the Human Emperor Banner solved the problem of accommodating evil spirits in the underworld, making the underworld more complete.

Since it is useful in the underworld, Houtu naturally hopes that the power of this magical treasure will become even stronger.

Over the years, she has had a vague feeling about this.

If planned properly, the world inside the Human Emperor Banner may become an important world corresponding to the Hungry Ghost Path, becoming a link in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, making the cycle of life and death in the prehistoric world more complete, and may even promote the further evolution of the prehistoric world!
Those who have rendered meritorious service to the primordial world may have the great opportunity to receive the blessings of the Great Dao.

Secondly, it is because the Emperor's Banner is Yang Xuan's spiritual treasure.

If you want Yang Xuan to focus more on the Underworld, wouldn't it be reasonable not to offer him some benefits?
Without a doubt, the Emperor's Banner is an excellent choice.

Enhancing the power of the Emperor's Banner can not only serve as an advance payment of Yang Xuan's salary, but also make the Underworld more complete. It is a win-win situation, so why not do it?
"what?"

Just then, Houtu suddenly noticed that the last pillar of merit in the sky had just fallen from the auspicious clouds and then stopped in mid-air, as if it could not find the recipient of this merit.

There are only two possibilities for this to happen: either that person possesses a special spiritual treasure that completely isolates them from the connection between Heaven, Earth, and Man, or...

That person is not in the primordial world; since this person does not exist in the primordial world, there is naturally no way to find him.

"Zixiao Palace..."

Soon, Houtu realized the reason.

Given Yang Xuan's personality, even if he possessed a spiritual treasure that could completely isolate the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity, he would put it away at this moment and would not abandon the merit.

If we rule out this incorrect option, then the most likely scenario is that Haotian took Yang Xuan away from the prehistoric world to Zixiao Palace to meet the Dao Ancestor.

Thinking of this, Houtu felt a sense of crisis.

Everyone has their own stance, and Dao Ancestor Hongjun is no exception.

Since Houtu is the true representative, in terms of status, she is equivalent to the Dao Ancestor. She can be said to be the person in the prehistoric world who understands the Dao Ancestor the most.

What all living beings in the primordial world did not know was that the reason why the Earthly Dao and the Human Dao were born one after another after so many years of the birth of the Heavenly Dao was not the result of natural evolution in the primordial world, but the plan of Dao Ancestor Hongjun!
This is a major secret that Houtu only learned after she transformed into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, allowing the Earthly Path to be successfully born, and became its spokesperson.

The Underworld corresponds to the Heavenly Court and is a vital force directly under the Underworld, responsible for maintaining the cycle of life and death. The stronger the Underworld is, the greater the influence of the Underworld on the prehistoric world will be.

Although the primordial world is vast and boundless, it is not infinite. If the underworld is allowed to grow unchecked, it will one day affect the authority of the Heavenly Dao, which would conflict with the Dao Ancestor's long-standing plans.

Houtu held Yang Xuan in high regard, believing him to be the key to the great prosperity of the underworld, but she never asked him to do anything as a sage, nor did she allow him to stay in the underworld.

The concern was that Haotian might get upset and go to Zixiao Palace to complain, thus dragging Daozu down with him. Now that Haotian had quietly taken Yang Xuan to Zixiao Palace to seek opportunities, if Daozu were to say something about it, Yang Xuan would likely focus more on strengthening the Heavenly Court and increasing the influence of the Heavenly Dao in the future.

"No, I've waited so many years for this opportunity to truly flourish. How can I let the Dao Ancestor snatch it away like this?"

Houtu's eyes flickered, and the River of Time materialized from the void, appearing before her eyes.

But the future is unpredictable. Even for a sage, the river of time is shrouded in mist, making it difficult for her to see clearly.

Moreover, the future is constantly changing, and even if she can see through the fog, the future she can see may not actually happen.

Even so, the scenes that Houtu saw in the long river of time still have important reference value.

Moreover, this was not the first time she had observed the River of Time in order to prevent this from happening.

Today, we are once again drawing upon the river of time to verify the conclusions drawn over the years.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still around Houtu.

Whether it was a moment or hundreds or thousands of eons, the river of time disappeared from Houtu's sight, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Only through such evolution can the primordial world evolve further, and young friend Yang Xuan can also become a master of a Dao!"

Then, Houtu looked at the pillar of merit that still lingered in the sky above the underworld and gently waved her sleeve.

next moment.

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, the pillar of merit was shattered into countless pieces. Some fell towards the underworld below, while others flew towards the Nine Provinces and the four seas.

Ultimately, all these merits were deposited in the temples of the emperors throughout the prehistoric world and incorporated into the statues of Yang Xuan.

at the same time.

In the west, Mount Sumeru.

Both Jieyin and Zhunti sensed something and their brows furrowed slightly.

"Variables? Now that a great calamity is imminent and calamity energy has already been generated, the methods of deduction are no longer accurate. Why would there still be variables?"

If they hadn't possessed the cultivation of saints and hadn't planned that matter for many years, they wouldn't have even been able to detect the new variables at this time.

After some deduction, they could only conclude that although this variable would have an impact on the upcoming great calamity, it would not be too significant, and it was even less likely to affect the future rise of Western religion.

However, now that calamity energy has been generated in the primordial world, even if they are saints, they cannot guarantee that their deductions are correct.

"It's about time to begin. We've been preparing for so many years, and we've already planted a seed in her heart. It won't be long before she leaves the Heavenly Court on her own..."

A meaningful smile appeared on the guide's face, but before he could finish speaking, he let out a soft exclamation and looked up at the sky.

"Since Haotian is not in the Heavenly Court, there's no need to wait any longer!"

As he spoke, he formed a flower mudra with his hands, and a phantom white lotus appeared in his hand, but disappeared in the next moment.

Then, with a light tap of his finger, he sent out several telepathic messages that flew to various parts of the prehistoric world.

Some flew to the Heavenly Court, while others flew to the Nine Provinces.

After planning for several eras, it's time to wrap things up!

……

The underworld, the netherworld.

Houtu was unaware of the actions of the two Western Saints. After scattering the pillar of merit light across the prehistoric world, she turned her attention to the underworld.

Before the Nine Netherworld Immortal Locking Formation was officially set up, Yang Xuan presented it and explained its main uses in the underworld.

In the eyes of all living beings in the primordial world, the main function of the underworld was to suppress invaders and enhance its foundation.

But in fact, the Nine Netherworld Immortal Locking Array has another important function: teleportation!
When the Underworld was first built, Yang Xuan proposed to build City God Temples in various parts of the prehistoric world as an extension of the Underworld.

The City God Temple has two main functions. First, it monitors the life and death of the surrounding creatures according to the Book of Life and Death.

When a living being is about to die or dies unexpectedly, the spirits of the temple are arranged to take the soul of the deceased back to the City God Temple for management.

While relieving the pressure on the underworld, this allows the primordial world to achieve a state of distinction between life and death, and an order between yin and yang.

Over the years, under Yang Xuan's arrangement, all the demon races in the Nine Provinces, the Four Seas, and the Primordial World, as well as other forces that have built Heavenly Court temples, have built varying numbers of City God Temples.

In addition, the underworld has recruited many ghosts and gods in recent years, so the city god temples in these places have barely played their due role.

However, there has been no progress in the other function of the City God Temple, namely, teleportation.

Nowadays, there is only one gate to the underworld. It takes a lot of time for the ghosts and gods of the underworld to travel from the netherworld to the primordial world and then to the city god temples in various places.

At this stage, the Underworld has just been built, and there are a large number of dead souls from all over the prehistoric world that need to be brought to the Underworld. If we travel slowly like this, the speed of collecting souls will not be able to keep up with the speed of death of living beings.

Furthermore, since the souls of the dead are a universal cultivation resource in the primordial world, some unexpected events will surely occur on their way to the underworld.

Therefore, Yang Xuan proposed building a teleportation array in the underworld so that the ghosts and gods of the underworld could be directly teleported to the city god temples in various parts of the prehistoric world, saving a lot of time.

Another important function of this Nine Netherworld Locking Immortal Array is to construct a large number of teleportation arrays in the four Fengdu Ghost Cities, allowing the underworld ghosts and gods to be directly teleported to the City God Temple!
In this way, as long as the local city god temples report the situation, it will not be long before the underworld officials come to collect the souls, greatly improving the efficiency of collecting souls.

As for how to safely bring the souls of the dead back to the underworld, that involves another plan, which, in Yang Xuan's words, is called—

Thousands of ghosts walk at night!

"Everything is almost ready, just waiting for you to come back."

Houtu looked up at the sky and put the matter aside for the time being.

P.S.: I've finally finished writing it, 8,000 words.

(End of this chapter)