Primordial: From a grain of soil to the ancestor of all paths

"I think I understand now, Ksitigarbha is preparing to set up the underworld!"

"Although the vow 'I will not become a Buddha until hell is emptied' is essentially an impossible task, it is also a great act of merit for all living beings in the primordial world!"

"After all, who doesn't hope to be liberated after death?"

"In this way, the underworld cannot easily drive Ksitigarbha out of the netherworld!"

"Ksitigarbha will then be able to gradually build up his own faction in the underworld, thereby gradually gaining greater influence there."

"If this goes on for too long, wouldn't it be equivalent to the influence of Western religions spreading into the underworld?"

"Moreover, the so-called 'Buddha' is just a state of enlightenment in Buddhism. Does that mean that Ksitigarbha could not attain enlightenment without this state?"

"Even if he doesn't attain enlightenment, as long as he continues to cultivate the Three Thousand Heavenly Dao Laws, he will still be able to obtain combat power comparable to an ordinary Saint in the future!"

"If there's anything wrong with it, it's that Ksitigarbha will inevitably face pressure from the underworld, and as a deity on the side of the Heavenly Dao, even if he can come into contact with the Three Thousand Great Dao Laws, he can't comprehend them, right?"

"But as long as he doesn't die, and with the support of the entire Western Religion and even the Heavenly Dao, then all these costs will be completely worthwhile!"

"Wow, what a brilliant move! Truly a brilliant move!"

"..."

The gods of the primordial world were not stupid. Even if they did not understand at first, after careful consideration, they gradually realized the reason why Zang-zang made such a great vow as "I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty." They all gasped in shock.

It is important to know that the so-called underworld is equivalent to the other side of the primordial continent (the mortal world).

However, the prehistoric continent was at least occupied by major saintly sects such as Chan, Jie, and Buddha, as well as various races and other forces. But the entire underworld was always under the jurisdiction of the Underworld or the Wu Clan.

Di Jun, the so-called Heavenly Emperor and Lord of the Three Realms, has absolutely no right to govern the Underworld.

Even during the great calamities of heaven and earth, such as the Second Demon Immortal Array and the Investiture of the Gods, apart from the holy beings of the underworld, such as Styx, Zhen Yuanzi, and Hongyun, going to Jin'ao Island to support the Jie Sect, the Twelve Ancestral Witches setting up the "Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Array" and summoning the true body of Pangu, and Houtu influencing the Heavenly Dao with the power of the earth, the underworld was not affected at all.

In addition, the underworld possesses the complete laws of the Three Thousand Great Daos, and after several great battles, more and more ancient deities have chosen to join the underworld.

As a result, the power of the underworld grew stronger and stronger!
If the Underworld weren't largely uninvolved in the primordial world's causes and effects, aside from its duties such as the cycle of life and death, countless deities and forces would probably have become restless long ago.

That is why some of the top deities or top forces in the primordial world have always wanted to get a share of the huge profits from the underworld!

However, with the "Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation", the overall strength of the Wu Clan was already no weaker than that of the Demon Clan.

Add to that the Styx, the Earthly Saint, Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun, who are about to become Earthly Saints, and Houtu, the Lord of the Earthly Realm, and it becomes even more extraordinary.

Most importantly, the underworld is entirely Houtu's territory.

Even the current Hongjun Daozu, when he went to the underworld, could not do anything to Houtu.

Unless he dares to bear the karmic consequences of destroying the entire underworld and the underground passage together!

Given these advantages, what kind of conspiracies or schemes could the ancient gods and saints possibly pull in the underworld, other than joining the underworld?

But the gods of the primordial world never expected that what they dared not do and could not do would actually be accomplished by Ksitigarbha's vow, "I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty."
Under the strong suppression of the underworld, Ksitigarbha can certainly do very little in the netherworld.

But if he can gain a foothold in the underworld, that would be a huge step forward!
"This move will surely enrage those barbarians of the Witch Clan!"

"Even considering the karmic backlash, if the Witch Clan doesn't kill Dizang, they certainly won't let them get away with it, right?"

"Ha, that's not all. Given the nature of the Wu Clan, they might even be willing to suffer the karmic backlash just to find a way to kill Ksitigarbha!"

"That's true. If Ksitigarbha dies, then Buddhism's actions will be tantamount to shooting itself in the foot."

"But if it really comes to that, Buddhism, and even the Heavenly Dao, might step in to protect Ksitigarbha to the death, right?"

"..."

Considering the nature of the Wu tribe, all the gods of the primordial world turned their attention to the underworld.

Unfortunately, Yin and Yang are different. Apart from a very few deities who possess sufficient strength or have unique expertise in deduction, it is very difficult for others to clearly perceive what is happening in the underworld.

Therefore, countless ancient deities began to enter the underworld through various methods, attempting to "watch the show live."

Of course, there are risks involved in being a gossipmonger. These sacred beings dare to venture into the underworld rashly, and if something goes wrong, they will have to bear the consequences themselves!

East Kunlun, Taiqing Palace!
"Humph!"

"Although the two Western Saints are shameless, they do have unique skills in these kinds of conspiracies and tricks!"

"As long as Ksitigarbha can stand firmly in the Underworld, it is equivalent to our Heavenly Dao opening a gap in the Underworld that belongs to us!"

"In the future, if we want to use Ksitigarbha to plot against the underworld, it will be much easier!"

Just after Ksitigarbha made his great vow, Yuanshi, who was in seclusion, quickly came out of seclusion and came to Taiqing to speak.

The meaning is clear: although Ksitigarbha is not a disciple of the Chan Sect, he doesn't mind going to the underworld to protect Ksitigarbha in order to maximize his own interests!
"Hmm!" Upon hearing Yuanshi's words, Taiqing nodded, his gaze profound as he agreed, "This may be the best opportunity for our Heavenly Dao to intervene in the affairs of the Underworld. We must not let anything happen to Dizang!"

"However, we don't need to rush into the fray. After all, since the two Western Saints have instructed Ksitigarbha to do this, they can't easily let anything happen to him."

"If even the two Western Saints cannot protect Ksitigarbha, then it's not too late for us to step in!"

"Just in case, we can now send one of our three-corpse clones to Zixiao Palace to ask our master for help!"

“Brother is absolutely right!” Yuanshi’s eyes lit up and he nodded in agreement, but he quickly changed his tone and snorted coldly, “Hmph, once things get out of hand, then both the Underworld and the Primordial Beginning may get involved.”

"In this case, even if the four sages of the Heavenly Dao were to descend together, they might not be able to protect Ksitigarbha."

"Simply sending our three avatars to Zixiao Palace to ask our teacher for help feels a bit too slow."

"I'll go myself!" After saying that, without waiting for Taiqing's reaction, Yuanshi directly used his saintly power to open a spacetime passage and went straight to Zixiao Palace!
“Although it would be safest for my second brother to go to Zixiao Palace in person, isn’t he being a little too eager this time?” Taiqing frowned.

For some reason, he always felt that something was off about Yuanshi after meeting him this time.

But for a moment, he didn't know where this strange feeling came from.
"Perhaps it's because he suffered too many losses at the hands of Tai Chu and the others, and now that he finally has a chance to get some revenge from the underworld, that's why he seems a bit anxious?"

Thinking this, Taiqing shook his head and began to focus on the situation in the underworld.

As someone whose cultivation level has reached the limit of the Primordial (Saint) Realm, he naturally doesn't need to personally enter the Underworld to perceive most of what is happening there!
The West, Mount Sumeru!

"Good!" Zhunti's expression was very excited: "Ksitigarbha has made a great vow!"

"As long as we stabilize the Wu Clan, we will be able to gradually gain control of the underworld through Ksitigarbha!"

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy!" Jieyin wasn't as optimistic as Zhunti: "The Wu Clan is quite powerful, and with Houtu Niangniang in charge, Taichu and the others might even be caught off guard!"

"Most importantly, given the nature of the Wu clan, they might not care about cause and effect at all and would still try to kill Dizang!"

It's obvious that Ksitigarbha's actions will surely enrage the Wu tribe.

The Wu tribe is fearless, so they might actually be willing to bear the consequences of karma in order to kill Ksitigarbha.

If that happens, wouldn't all the commotion caused by Ksitigarbha and the West be meaningless?
"Senior brother, don't worry too much!" Zhunti replied confidently, "It's true that most of the Wu Clan are a bunch of brutes, but Houtu is not!"

“Even if the Witch Clan really intends to suppress and kill Dizang, we brothers and sisters can step in at any time.”

"Even if Tai Chu and the others get involved, Tai Qing, Yuan Shi, and our teacher will definitely not stand idly by."

"After all, if Ksitigarbha succeeds, not only will we in the West benefit, but it will also be beneficial to the entire Heavenly Dao!"

“Yes, junior brother, you’re right!” Jieyin nodded, but still said, “However, to avoid any accidents, we brothers should hurry to the underworld.”

"That way, if something really happens to Ksitigarbha, we can provide timely support!"

“What you say is absolutely right, senior brother!” Zhunti nodded and added, “And please bring along the Buddhist disciples as well.”

"Over the years, we have also managed to create our own array formations!"

"This is also a good opportunity to let all living beings in the primordial world see the current power of our Buddhist sect!"

Jieyin naturally wouldn't object to this.

And so, after Jieyin and Zhunti had taken all the Buddhist disciples into their Buddha Kingdom, they opened the space-time passage together and entered the underworld!
Tianyuan Mountain!
"The Western religion has been converted into Buddhism, and Ksitigarbha has made a great vow?" Tai Chu murmured.

As a time traveler, he wasn't too surprised by what happened!
"I must say, the methods of the two Western Saints are truly extraordinary!" Tai Chu nodded in praise, then shook his head and said, "However, in the current underworld, the Netherworld is very powerful. Even if Ksitigarbha is forced to stay, what role can he play?"

"Moreover, it wasn't easy for Ksitigarbha to survive!"

In the original timeline, the reason why Ksitigarbha was able to influence some of the authority of the underworld after making a great vow, and why Western Buddhism was able to use this to exert a certain degree of control over the underworld, was mainly because after the Lich War, the Lich and Demon races perished together, and Houtu, disheartened, stopped caring about the affairs of the underworld. The Five Ghost Emperors and the Fengdu Emperor in the underworld were also in a state of not caring about right or wrong in the underworld!
However, in this world, the underground passage appeared ahead of schedule, the witch clan collectively moved to the underworld, and avoided the fate of perishing together with the demon clan.

Houtu has always been in charge of all aspects of the underworld, and the Fengdu Emperor and the Five Ghost Emperors each have their own duties.

With the addition of Styx, a sage of the underworld, does the West really think it can place Ksitigarbha in the underworld with just a grand vow?

Is this a joke?
Even if Ksitigarbha were to survive and establish himself in the underworld as he wished, what could he do after that?
With the entire Witch Clan and Styx and others as his backers, the Ten Kings of Hell will no longer give him any face!
Once Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun have both become Earthly Saints, it will be even more impossible for Dizang to influence the Underworld on his own.

Even if he has the support of the West and even the entire Heavenly Dao, it would be extremely difficult for him to do anything in the Underworld!
In the process, the Underworld and the Primordial Era have become much stronger!

Therefore, Taichu always maintained an indifferent attitude towards the matter of Ksitigarbha entering the underworld.

"However, if Hongjun really suffers because of this, then Qinglian and I will have no choice but to go to the underworld as well!"

Upon this thought, Tai Chu rose and left the seclusion.

"Ha!" As soon as Tai Chu emerged from seclusion, he saw Qing Lian, who had also emerged from seclusion. The other party sneered, "The West has even resorted to such methods to interfere with the underworld?"

"Let's see what kind of trouble they can stir up this time."

"The matter of Ksitigarbha entering the underworld is more symbolic than practical. Hongjun might not personally intervene for such a trivial matter!" Tianyan also emerged from seclusion and shook his head, saying, "But no one knows what he is really thinking."

"Just in case, we might as well go to the underworld."

"At worst, we can still enjoy a good show."

"At least the underworld will not let the West have its way so easily!"

Thus, Tai Chu, Qing Lian, and Tian Yan opened a spacetime passage together and headed to the underworld!
"Humph!"

"Did Ksitigarbha make a great vow to gain the qualification to reside in the underworld through this great cause and effect?"

"As expected of the shameless Two Saints of the West, they even resort to such tactics!"

"Very well, let's go and see how far the West will go to protect Ksitigarbha."

"..."

After some deliberation, the top deities of the primordial world, such as Tongtian, Xi Wangmu, Fuxi, and even Dijun Taiyi and Kunpeng, all descended to the underworld.

In fact, this is also so that they can help the underworld at any time!
Chaos, Purple Cloud Palace!

"Should I protect Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva or not?"

Hongjun, who was originally focused on refining the Heavenly Dao Will within the Heavenly Punishment Seal, fell into deep thought after sensing what was happening in the Underworld. (End of Chapter)