Investiture of the Gods: I am Bigan, the Master of Conspiracy

A hundred million years have passed in the blink of an eye. The primordial world is full of spiritual energy as in ancient times. The mountains and rivers are covered in green, the starry river is dazzling, and everywhere is a golden age of cultivation.

On this day, auspicious clouds swirled within the Nuwa Palace of Humanity. Nuwa was deducing the fate of humanity when she suddenly heard a familiar presence coming from outside the palace. Looking up, she saw Yin Ziyu and Houtu Jiufeng entering side by side.

"Fellow Daoist Houtu has arrived as well. Ziyu, Jiufeng, what brings you here today?"

Nuwa rose to greet them, her gaze falling upon the two, noticing that the Great Dao around them was becoming increasingly refined.

Yin Ziyu gestured for Jiufeng to sit down and slowly said, "I specially invited the two ladies here to talk about the matters of the Human Path and the Earth Path, and also to talk about Jiufeng and my plans. Now that the foundations of the two paths are stable and the primordial world is operating in an orderly manner, the two of us plan to travel through the chaos to find the path to the future."

Houtu nodded upon hearing this: "Having reached this level, everything in the primordial world has no meaning for you anymore. Being trapped in the primordial world will only hinder your cultivation. The immeasurable calamity will eventually come. It is the right thing to do to explore for life in the chaos in advance."

Nuwa, however, looked worried, pointing her fingertip to the River of Humanity before her: "Now that the primordial world has prospered to this extent, its spiritual energy is comparable to that at the beginning of creation. Could it be that we are still unable to escape the immeasurable calamity?"

Yin Ziyu's expression was solemn: "Your Majesties, please listen to my explanation of this immeasurable calamity. It is not unique to the primordial world, but is the number of the Great Dao's self-purification. It is the ultimate sign when the universe is annihilated, and it is also the inevitable destiny when chaos is reborn. According to the Yuan Accounting system, 50,000 Yuan Hui constitutes one calamity, and it takes 480 million calamities to form an immeasurable calamity."

Yin Ziyu traced streaks of light with his fingertips, creating illusory images of the river of time.

"When the long river has flowed for three hundred and ten trillion years, the Heavenly Dao will show three signs of decline. First, the innate spiritual energy will wither like dry wood, and cultivators will absorb spiritual energy as if drinking poison to quench their thirst. Second, the threads of cause and effect will entangle and block out the sun, and karmic power will spread like a carbuncle clinging to the bone. Third, the laws of the Great Dao will collapse like shattered jade, and the order of heaven and earth will be impossible to maintain."

"At that time, the earth, water, fire, and wind will rage, and the Thirty-Three Heavens will collapse into a vortex of nothingness, swallowing everything. Even saints will be like mustard seeds floating in the water."

"There are three root causes of this calamity: spiritual decline, caused by cultivators' excessive consumption of spiritual energy, leading to the depletion of the Heavenly Dao; karmic devouring, caused by the karmic power condensed by the greed, anger, ignorance and resentment of sentient beings, which in turn corrupts the Three Realms; and the collapse of the law, as the old laws are unable to support the evolution of the new world, like rotten wood supporting a jade palace."

Houtu, upon hearing this, said, "In that case, there might be a place within this chaos where the primordial world can find a glimmer of hope for survival?"

Yin Ziyu shook his head and chuckled, “What we should seek is not strength, but true transcendence. As for all living beings… even if we can delay the calamity, what is the point? After countless eons, everything will repeat itself. Trillions of billions of dollars will be gone, the mountains and rivers will remain the same, and all living beings will return. Only those who transcend can escape the cycle of fate.”

Nuwa remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly: "You mean, we don't need to be so fixated on protecting all living beings?"

"It's not that we don't want to protect it, but that we know it's impossible."

Yin Ziyu gazed at the vastness of the Jianmu tree: "It is already the limit to upgrade the primordial world and allow all living beings to enjoy a few more years of peace. The Great Dao is predetermined, like the cycle of heaven and earth, and no one can stop the world from perishing. All we can do is find the path to transcendence before annihilation, so that when chaos is reborn, we will not repeat the same mistakes."

Jiufeng, holding Houtu, said, “The origin of the Earthly Dao is gradually strengthening. We can choose one person to be the Earthly Dao Saint. In the Human Dao, Luoshen is gradually comprehending the Saintly Dao. Let us go to the Chaos to explore the path. If we can find true transcendence, we may be able to leave together in the future. Now we protect the Primordial World and reverse the trend. The cause and effect of the Primordial World has been settled, and it is time to seek eternity!”

Houtu nodded after hearing this and said, "Those who prove the Dao through force will inevitably seek the eternal path. Jiufeng, you may go now. I only wish to escape the eternal variables that Father God spoke of!"

Nuwa looked at Yin Ziyu with a hint of curiosity in her eyes and asked softly, "Where can one find a way to transcend the cycle of reincarnation in the primordial world?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Ziyu's expression shifted slightly, and he slowly said, "We have already made progress. My Chaos Compass can guide us to the Chaos World where the Chaos Pearl is located, and from that Chaos World, we can smoothly escape the Chaos of this Realm and reach the Great Chaos Beyond the Realm."

"The Great Chaos Beyond the Boundary?"

Nuwa and Houtu gasped in shock upon hearing this, their eyes filled with disbelief.

All living beings in the primordial world knew that chaos was vast, but they never imagined that there was another world beyond chaos.

Yin Ziyu nodded: "That's right. The Chaos Pearl is not within the chaos of this world. This treasure is a primordial treasure, wandering on the edge of the current chaotic world. I once glimpsed the trajectory of the Chaos Pearl recorded by the Great Dao in the place of the origin of the Great Dao, so I condensed this Chaos Compass there by following the trajectory. The greatest supernatural power of this compass is that it can follow the trajectory to enter the world of the Chaos Pearl. One side of the Chaos Pearl is connected to the chaotic world we are in, and the other side faces the great chaos outside the world."

Nuwa suppressed her shock and murmured, "It's actually possible..."

Yin Ziyu sighed softly: "I have repaid the debts of the primordial world, and my grand ambition to restore the ancient splendor has also been fulfilled. The three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man are now sufficient to sustain the existence of this world. If in the future it truly reaches the point where only destruction is possible, then that is the destiny of the cycle of Heaven. If even the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man cannot slow down the decline of time, it means that this era has come to an end, which is beyond our control. At that time, we will not need to perish with this world; we can simply wait for the next cycle to begin."

Yin Ziyu rose to prominence after being enshrined as a god, relying on all living beings to attain this level of cultivation. He also gave back to all living beings, creating a golden age in the primordial world, just like in the ancient times!
Now it's time for Yin Ziyu to go his own way. After guarding for a hundred million years, the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man are now completely stable.

As for the future, it is no longer something that Yin Ziyu can continue to protect. If even the saints of the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man cannot maintain the prehistoric world and it will decline, then it is beyond human power to do!
Nuwa then looked at Yin Ziyu and continued to ask, "What crises will the prehistoric world face in the future? With the continuous increase in innate spiritual energy, the strength of the prehistoric immortals has also greatly increased. The power of a Golden Immortal is now several times that of one who was once a Golden Immortal. As innate spiritual energy continues to rise, the strength of the immortals will further increase. In this case, where will this decline come from?"

After listening, Yin Ziyu said calmly, "The foundation of the primordial world's prosperity stems from the Jianmu tree's absorption of chaotic spiritual energy. If the innate spiritual energy were to increase without limit, it would propel the primordial world to expand infinitely, nurturing an infinite number of beings. However, even the vast chaos has its limits. If the number of beings exceeds the Jianmu tree's carrying capacity, decline will begin. If the number of beings exceeds the Great Dao's carrying capacity, it might trigger a deliberate destruction of the world. These are all ways in which crises arise. When that time truly comes, what choice should we make?"

Houtu said after hearing this, "In just one hundred million years, the innate spiritual energy has filled the primordial world, and we have reached the ancient times. Now, this innate spiritual energy has begun to assimilate the chaos and new continents have begun to appear. From now on, countless billions of years will pass. Perhaps the entire primordial world will double in size. If several hundred million billion years pass, the primordial world will truly be infinitely vast, and the innate spiritual energy consumed every day will be indescribable!"

Nuwa frowned and said, "The only way is to unleash a great calamity to reduce the number of living beings! Shatter the world to reduce the consumption!"

Yin Ziyu nodded: "Periodic calamities may delay the crisis, but eventually the limits set by the Great Dao will be reached. Of course, the future is incredibly long, so Your Majesty need not worry too much!"

Nuwa nodded after hearing this: "What Ziyu said is very true! Alas, I did not understand the Way of Heaven before, but now that I am in the realm of humanity, I can understand the Way of Heaven. Is there not a way to have both?"

Yin Ziyu shook his head: "Sometimes, only a saintly ruthlessness can bring balance to the world!"

As the primordial world expands continuously due to the push of spiritual energy, the entire primordial world will expand. This expansion will double the daily consumption of spiritual energy. As a result, the Jianmu tree will reach its limit, and the entire primordial world will be degraded.

After the Investiture of the Gods, Tongtian shattered the primordial world, which was actually a way of shrinking the world. By artificially shrinking the world, the consumption of spiritual energy would be reduced.

Once the Jianmu tree reaches its limit, it will be unable to supply the enormous consumption of innate spiritual energy, leading to a great decline and the arrival of the two realms.

When the territory expands to a great extent but the spiritual energy is insufficient, an unstoppable great decline will occur throughout the world.

When a person lives in the countryside, their daily expenses may be almost zero, and they can be self-sufficient in food and vegetables. However, once they move to the city, countless expenses will arise instantly for housing, water, electricity, gas, property management, cars, etc. If their income is insufficient, and their expenses cannot be reduced, they will inevitably go into debt, and the debt will eventually become irreversible.

This is the threat that the Primordial World is facing today. Like pressing down one gourd only to have another float up, the problem of the Primordial World being downgraded in the past has been solved, but the current problems have arisen instead.

This is equivalent to artificially reducing expenses in rural life before the Investiture of the Gods. Poverty and a lack of future were the norm. Now, it's like moving to the city, where the expenses are terrifyingly high. This is the expansion of carrying capacity and the expansion of daily consumption, ultimately producing this effect.

If a place experiences a 20% food shortage, then 60% of the population will have to die to achieve a balance between supply and demand.

Even if a great calamity is launched to reduce the population, the world still needs to be shattered to reduce consumption in order to maintain recovery and growth. However, launching a great calamity to shatter the primordial world is an extremely ruthless act.

Looking at the current situation, the collapse of Mount Buzhou may not have been a choice made by Heaven, allowing the sages to take action. It's no wonder that Hongjun made Heaven bear these consequences.

Those who are not in a position should not concern themselves with its affairs. When one truly stands in the position of controlling the survival of the world, there are not many choices; the key is to start with constraints.

Even if the contradiction of the Jianmu tree's bearing capacity is resolved, the contradiction of the Great Dao's bearing capacity still awaits. Because the primordial world will not break through the chaos, it will inevitably face the Great Dao. Once the Great Dao reaches its bearing capacity peak, it will restart.

Spiritual decay, karmic depletion, and the collapse of the Dharma will all arise as the world develops, creating new problems that will eventually lead to an unmanageable situation.

Nuwa sighed, "In that case, as the world grows, countless problems will arise. It might not have been a mistake for Heaven to push down Mount Buzhou and make the prehistoric world completely controllable!"

Yin Ziyu laughed: "Back then, we were in different positions, so our thinking was different, and therefore there was no right or wrong! However, at least now the primordial world can continue for countless eons without any problem!"

This is also why Yin Ziyu didn't pursue the matter too much with the sages. The sages acted according to the will of Heaven, which led to the establishment of a position with Tongtian regarding whether the world's development was controllable.

There is no right or wrong, only different perspectives. The general trend of Heaven will lead to the decline of the world, but the advantage is that it is absolutely controllable.

Yin Ziyu's current approach of establishing the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man, along with the Jianmu tree to complete Buzhou Mountain, follows a developmental path. However, the future challenges will be limited by these developmental limitations, potentially leading to unmanageable problems.

This is somewhat similar to the worlds on either side of the 38th parallel: one is absolutely controllable, while the other is a seemingly prosperous but out-of-control situation.

It's not wrong to stand from the perspective of the Heavenly Dao, but from the perspective of Yin Ziyu proving the Dao by breaking the general trend of the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao is wrong.

However, although problems will eventually arise, the timeframe will be indefinitely postponed. If the general trend of Heaven is not broken, the great calamity of the end of Dharma will be imminent.

At least in the present primordial world, many eons have passed without any problems. Whether or not they can break through the shackles and attain enlightenment during this period depends on their individual opportunities.

Nuwa and Houtu remained silent for a moment, carefully considering Yin Ziyu's words, and finally nodded in agreement.

"What Ziyu said is very true."

Nuwa spoke slowly, a hint of expectation in her eyes: "In that case, I hope that Ziyu can truly leave the Great Chaos Beyond the Boundary and find the true eternal law. Now that the origin of humanity has been elevated, and the sages of humanity are being made, I will appoint my elder brother as a sage of humanity. As for Mi Fei, let her walk the path of proving the Dao. Now that she has already condensed the heart of transcendence, it is no longer appropriate for her to become a sage of humanity!"

Houtu nodded and said, "If we can unravel the mysteries beyond the boundary, we might truly be able to break free from the shackles of the cycle of reincarnation. The two of us will guard this primordial world and await good news from Ziyu. As for the Earthly Saint, in my opinion, only Zhen Yuanzi, the ancestor of the Earthly Immortals, is most suitable. Therefore, we will appoint him as the Earthly Saint!"

After listening, Yin Ziyu pondered for a moment and nodded: "Very good. Emperor Fuxi was originally the emperor of the human race and was also the demon emperor. He enjoys great merit and prestige, so it is most appropriate for him to become a saint of the human path! Zhen Yuanzi is also suitable to be a saint of the earth path."

Since Yin Ziyu and Jiu Feng are seeking the eternal path of the Great Dao, the change in the Dao of Earth and the Dao of Humanity is only to be expected!
"."

Over these 100 million years, the origin of heaven and earth has grown, and the origins of the three paths have also improved. The primordial world is quietly brewing a great change, and the three paths of heaven, earth, and humanity are each ushering in a new turning point.

Above the Heavenly Dao, the Jade Void Palace shone with countless rays of light. The Primordial Celestial Venerable sat cross-legged on a cloud bed, his three illusory corpses swirling and intertwining around him, eventually transforming into a dazzling divine light that merged into his body.

Yuanshi Tianzun opened his eyes, his gaze devoid of any emotion, only the coldness and majesty of the Great Dao's laws remained. At this moment, Yuanshi Tianzun's three corpses merged into one, achieving the Ruthless Great Dao.

From then on, the aura of the Primordial Celestial Venerable became increasingly unfathomable, perfectly merging with the laws of Heaven and becoming the foundation for maintaining the order of Heaven.

After all, Yuanshi Tianzun himself represents the Heavenly Dao, so it is only natural that the Heavenly Dao would support Yuanshi Tianzun with its origin in order to maintain the supreme status of the Three Daos.

Inside the Nuwa Palace of Humanity, auspicious clouds swirled, and the essence of humanity surged like a tide.

The goddess Nuwa sat regally on her throne, her gaze fixed on Fuxi.

Fuxi, who held the power of the Eight Trigrams and understood the rise and fall of humanity, was heard to have his voice resound throughout the Three Realms: "Fuxi is well-versed in the workings of humanity and has made outstanding contributions. Today, I bestow upon him the Primordial Purple Qi, making him a sage of humanity, so that he may assist humanity in its prosperity!"

Although Nuwa's bestowal of the Primordial Purple Qi upon her brother was somewhat biased, there was indeed no more suitable sage than Fuxi, so no one in the Three Realms said anything.

At this moment, the Great Immortal Yuanzi of Wanshou Mountain Town was sitting cross-legged at the core of the earth's veins.

For millions of years, it has continuously repaired the primordial earth veins with its own great Dao, connected with the spiritual apertures of mountains and rivers, and made the foundation of the earth's channels increasingly stable.

At this moment, a thick, earth-yellow divine light suddenly erupted from his body, causing the earth to tremble, and endless earth primordial energy converged towards Zhen Yuanzi.

Zhen Yuanzi slowly opened his eyes, his gaze reflecting every inch of the primordial earth. He received the Primordial Purple Qi from Houtu and finally comprehended the ultimate Dao of the earth, successfully attaining the position of Earthly Saint.

With the dust settled from the three great upheavals, the primordial world became increasingly orderly. In this peaceful atmosphere, Yin Ziyu and Jiufeng stood side by side atop the Jianmu tree.

Yin Ziyu took out the Chaos Compass. Chaotic energy surged on the compass, reflecting a trajectory leading to the unknown.

"time to go."

Yin Ziyu looked at Jiu Feng, his eyes filled with a hint of reluctance, but even more so with curiosity about the unknown.

Jiufeng nodded: "Let's go see what that Great Chaos Beyond the Realm looks like." (End of Chapter)