Primordial Era: Becoming the Great Emperor of Humanity from the Start

Chapter 200 The Grand Gathering!

On their way out of Wuzhi Mountain, Houtu, the Ancestral Witch, spoke with Jiang Heng about the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West. Houtu spoke first:

"Five hundred years from now, the journey to the West to retrieve the scriptures will begin, and Sun Wukong will be freed from his predicament around that time!"

"According to the script set by Heaven and Dao Ancestor Hongjun, Sun Wukong will become the disciple of the pilgrim and escort him to the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures!" Jiang Heng said.

Because of Jiang Heng's existence, the primordial world has undergone many changes, but the course of the Journey to the West has remained unchanged.

Jiang Heng was extremely knowledgeable about the Journey to the West. He even knew exactly who the pilgrim was.

"Given Sun Wukong's unruly nature, how could he possibly become the disciple of the pilgrim? Come to think of it, the pilgrim should be a human!" said Houtu, the Ancestral Witch.

Although Houtu, the Ancestral Witch, knew some details about the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West, Jiang Heng never spoke of the crucial core points.

"It was not easy to make Sun Wukong submit, but in the great calamity, Sun Wukong finally had no choice but to submit."

As for the pilgrim, he should have come from the Western religion, but now, Mahayana Buddhism is not out of the question!

"However, no matter who the pilgrim is, they will eventually fall into the human race!" Jiang Heng said.

The essence of the Journey to the West is the eastward transmission of Buddhism, which led to the flourishing of Western religions. To achieve this, the human race cannot be bypassed.

Only if the pilgrims were human could Buddhism be transmitted eastward in a natural way, and thus flourish among the human race.

Once faith spreads, it can influence the spirit and will of the entire human race silently.

Jiang Heng was naturally extremely wary of this. If possible, he certainly did not want Buddhism to be introduced into the human race.

But this is the script set by Heaven, and it concerns whether Heaven can achieve its goal. If Jiang Heng were to intervene, how could Heaven possibly allow it?

During the Investiture of the Gods, although Jiang Heng forced the Heavenly Dao to compromise, it was an unrepeatable miracle, and once it happened, it could not be repeated.

Jiang Heng is currently in a crucial period of accumulating power and does not want to completely turn against the Heavenly Dao right now, so he must find another way.

In Jiang Heng's plan, the Journey to the West calamity will still unfold according to the script of Heaven, but the final result will not be as Heaven wishes.

This is a silent game of strategy. The Heavenly Dao and Dao Ancestor Hongjun may not seem to have made a move, but they have been secretly controlling everything.

"The pilgrims are human, which is the only good news for us!" said Houtu, the Ancestral Witch, with a smile.

Jiang Heng nodded. The fact that the pilgrims were human could not be changed even by the Heavenly Dao and the Dao Ancestor Hongjun.

There's nothing we can do! After all, the human race is the main protagonist of the primordial world, and most of the fortune is concentrated among them.

If Western religions want to flourish, Buddhism wants to spread eastward, and the Journey to the West wants to truly end, they cannot bypass the human race no matter what.

But for Jiang Heng, as long as the pilgrims are human, as the first ruler of the human race, there is room for him to manipulate certain things.

While Jiang Heng was discussing the Journey to the West calamity with Houtu, the other saints in the prehistoric world were naturally not idle either.

The Supreme Sage, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, and the Heavenly Court are all secretly plotting various schemes for the Journey to the West calamity.

Perhaps only the sage Tongtian Jiaozhu remained indifferent, sitting on Jinbie Island and showing no concern for the Journey to the West calamity.

The two saints of the Western religion were in a bit of a mess, and the reason actually lies in the Mahayana Buddhism of today.

After the Buddha Mahavairocana suppressed Sun Wukong, the task of obtaining Buddhist scriptures from the West officially fell to Mahayana Buddhism.

In this way, Mahayana Buddhism has become extremely important in the Journey to the West kalpa, and can even influence the course of the Journey to the West kalpa.

For this reason, the two saints of the Western Sect naturally wanted to completely subdue Mahavairocana Buddha and bring Mahayana Buddhism under the control of the Western Sect.

However, behind the Great Sun Tathagata stood a host of saints, including Jiang Heng, the Sage of Taiqing, and the Master of Tongtian.

The two saints of the Western Sect could not personally intervene, so they could only place their hopes on Dipankara Buddha and his disciples.

It was from this point onward that the struggles within Mahayana Buddhism intensified, with both sides engaging in a fierce and back-and-forth battle.

Overall, because of his suppression of Sun Wukong, the Great Sun Tathagata still had a slight advantage and could be considered to have taken the initiative in the great calamity.

However, the Western Sect had a large number of disciples, and with saints standing behind them, even the Great Sun Buddha could not completely control Mahayana Buddhism.

Spring came and autumn went, and a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. The Mahayana Buddhist sect was embroiled in internal strife, and it was during this time that Jiang Heng received an invitation from Zhen Yuanzi.

Originally, it was just that the fruits on the Rensheng Fruit Tree were ripe, so Zhen Yuanzi invited many friends to come and taste them.

During the Lich Wars, Jiang Heng had a good relationship with Zhen Yuanzi, and the two formed a bond as a result.

Zhen Yuanzi didn't invite many friends this time, but Jiang Heng and Houtu Zuwu were definitely among them.

After receiving the invitation, Jiang Heng and Houtu Zuwu did not hesitate much and gladly went to Zhen Yuanzi's Wuzhuang Temple.

"The presence of the Human Emperor and the Ancestral Witch Houtu in person truly honors our Wuzhuang Temple!"

As soon as Jiang Heng and Houtu Zuwu arrived at Wuzhuang Temple, they were greeted by Zhen Yuanzi, the ancestor of earth immortals, who was beaming with joy.

Although Jiang Heng and Zhen Yuanzi had a decent relationship, Jiang Heng had become a powerful figure at the Saint level, which was completely different from his previous status.

Even Zhen Yuanzi, upon seeing Jiang Heng, had to bow respectfully. In the primordial world, this was the most basic courtesy to a sage.

The same goes for Houtu, the Ancestral Witch. As the master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, she is an existence on par with the Heavenly Dao, and Zhen Yuanzi cannot help but show her respect.

"I've been having some free time lately, and it's been many years since I've seen my old friends. This is a good opportunity to meet them!" Jiang Heng said with a smile.

As Zhen Yuanzi recounted some past events to Jiang Heng, he welcomed Houtu Zuwu and Jiang Heng into Wuzhuang Temple with a beaming smile.

At this time, Wuzhuang Temple was already full of distinguished guests, all of whom were powerful figures from the Earthly Immortal Realm, including Yun Zhongzi, who was acquainted with Jiang Heng.

After becoming the Fengdu Emperor of the Underworld, Yun Zhongzi enjoyed boundless merits from the six realms of reincarnation, and his cultivation level became increasingly profound.

By the time of the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West, Yun Zhongzi had already reached the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm, becoming the second strongest in the Chan Sect after Yuanshi Tianzun.

In the current world of Heaven, Earth, and Man, Yun Zhongzi is a powerful figure standing at the pinnacle, and his status is naturally extraordinary.

At this moment, Yun Zhongzi sat in the center, while the other powerful figures from the Earthly Immortal Realm could only sit below him.

However, upon seeing Jiang Heng and Houtu, Yun Zhongzi immediately stepped forward and bowed to them.

From the old ancestor Hongyun in his previous life to Yun Zhongzi in this life, Jiang Heng has been of great help to him, and Yun Zhongzi has always kept this kindness in his heart.

Moreover, Jiang Heng is now a sage, and even if he is only here in an avatar, Yun Zhongzi would not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

Needless to say, Houtu, the Ancestral Witch, is Yun Zhongzi's superior in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and is herself a sage.

Not only Yun Zhongzi, but everyone who knew Jiang Heng's identity was already bowing. Even those who didn't know were starting to bow after being reminded by others.

After this, the powerful figures present sat down again and, under Zhen Yuanzi's guidance, began to discuss the Dao.

Jiang Heng and Houtu Ancestral Witch listened quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words with Yun Zhongzi, but did not participate in this discussion.

There's no way around it! The gap in skill level between the two sides is too great. If Jiang Heng were to participate, it would only make this grand event less interesting.

"Now that we are in the midst of a great calamity, the Human Emperor and the Ancestral Witch Houtu seem to be quite leisurely!" Yun Zhongzi said with a sigh.

"It's just a little break from my busy schedule. This great calamity isn't that terrifying. As long as you don't actively get involved in karma, you don't need to worry!" Jiang Heng said.

Upon hearing this, both Zhen Yuanzi and Yun Zhongzi breathed a sigh of relief. How could they not be worried about something as terrifying as a Great Calamity?

After all, Yun Zhongzi and Zhen Yuanzi had experienced the Investiture of the Gods and the Lich King calamities, and had witnessed the terror of these calamities firsthand.

Now is the time of the Great Tribulation, and as long as one has not yet become a saint, no one can guarantee that they will not fall into the Great Tribulation.

As a Saint-level expert, Jiang Heng's understanding of the Great Tribulation was naturally superior to theirs. With Jiang Heng's assurance, they could feel much more at ease.

Jiang Heng did not deliberately hide his words, and many powerful figures present heard them, which made them breathe a sigh of relief.

This time, Zhen Yuanzi convened a grand gathering, and the reason so many powerful figures came was perhaps because they intended to inquire about the situation of the Great Tribulation.

Jiang Heng's words put aside the worries of the assembled experts, making the event more lively.

Zhen Yuanzi timely presented the ginseng fruit, which brought the event to its climax. Afterwards, the powerful figures exchanged ideas.

Just as Jiang Heng was chatting with Yun Zhongzi, a young man came up to Jiang Heng and offered him a cup of tea with the courtesy due to a junior.

Jiang Heng glanced at the young man, took the cup of tea, slowly sipped it, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Excellent tea! It can be said to be the essence of heaven and earth, but unfortunately, this cup of tea is useless to me!" Jiang Heng said.

The tea served by the young man was no ordinary tea; it was made from rare herbs gathered from heaven and earth. If an ordinary person drank it, they would immediately gain immortality and become a celestial being.

In a sense, the effects of this tea are no less than, and may even be greater than, those of ginseng fruit.

Unfortunately, at Jiang Heng's current level, no matter what kind of rare and precious materials they are, they are of little help to him.

"I have long admired the Emperor's reputation, and to have the opportunity to serve him tea today is an immense honor!" the young man said with a smile.

"Since I have already drunk your tea, I cannot leave without showing any appreciation. So I will grant you a chance!"

As for whether you can seize the opportunity, that depends on your own abilities! Jiang Heng smiled slightly and said.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Heng pointed a finger at the boy's brow.

(End of this chapter)