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

"And..." As if trying to completely crush Jieyin and Zhunti's confidence, Styx spoke again: "The Five Ghost Emperors, the Ten Kings of Hell, and countless Yin soldiers and ghost generals, plus the various formations of my Underworld, can still create one or even several Saint Realm level combat power!"

"Even the Goddess Houtu can create a clone with the ultimate combat power of a Saint!"

"In this situation, do you really think you have a chance of winning?"

"..." Silence fell upon Jieyin and Zhunti, as well as all the disciples of Buddhism.

On the one hand, what Styx said makes a lot of sense.

Since Buddhism can use its disciples to set up a "Ten Thousand Buddhas Formation" to enhance the combat power of Jieyin and Zhunti, why should the Underworld only send out a local saint to fight them?

Or rather, from the very beginning, this was not a simple contest between Buddhism and the underworld, nor was it a fair duel between Jieyin and Zhunti and the Styx River!
Rather, it was because Ksitigarbha made the great vow of "I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty" and attempted to seize power in the underworld that aroused the dissatisfaction of the underworld. The eleven ancestral witches intervened and wanted to destroy Ksitigarbha, which triggered this series of events!

Buddhism and the underworld are inherently hostile, and the underworld can use any means necessary to deal with Buddhism if it so chooses!

But as Styx said, the Underworld could easily recreate several beings at the limit of the Primordial Chaos (Saint) Realm if it so desired!
In Buddhism, the only two Saints at the Hunyuan (Saint) Realm are Jieyin and Zhunti!
In this situation, it is utterly foolish for Jieyin Zhunti to think that he has a numerical advantage in the Hunyuan (Saint) realm.

On the other hand, neither Jieyin nor Zhunti expected that their intense desire to win would cause them to subconsciously overlook such an important matter.

Even now, after Styx's reminder, they have come to their senses, but Jieyin, Zhunti, and their disciples still don't understand why they thought that defeating Styx would be a victory for them.

During this process, strands of black demonic light, unnoticed by Jieyin Zhunti and the others, and even by the vast majority of the saints in the outside world, flashed past their eyes!
"Hmm?" But at this moment, Tai Chu frowned: "Something's not right!"

"Even if it's true that the blows they suffered in the past made them too eager for victory this time, thus making them prone to overlooking some important things, isn't it a bit abnormal that they didn't realize anything was wrong with their behavior this time?"

“If you put it that way, it is indeed a bit strange!” Upon hearing this, Qinglian’s expression also turned slightly serious, and she nodded, saying, “Although the two Western Saints have always been shameless, this also proves that they are definitely not truly stupid!”

"Their actions this time are definitely not how they should behave!"

"Brother, Qinglian, do you suspect that someone is influencing Jieyin and Zhunti behind the scenes?" After understanding Taichu and Qinglian's meaning, Tianyan asked with some confusion, "But in the current prehistoric world, shouldn't only the Heavenly Dao be able to influence the two saints silently?"

"But why would He do this to the Heavenly Saints on His side?"

"No, upon closer reflection, Fellow Daoist Houtu should also be able to influence the thoughts of Jieyin and Zhunti through the underground passage."

"However, the underworld could suppress the entire Buddhist community in a just and aboveboard manner; she had absolutely no need to!"

“Fellow Daoist Houtu has no need to do this, nor would her personality allow it.” Taichu nodded slightly and further analyzed, “Therefore, the only thing that could have secretly influenced Jieyin and Zhunti is the Heavenly Dao!”

"Don't forget, ninety percent of the Heavenly Dao's will has already been refined by Hongjun!"

"The remaining ten percent of the Heavenly Dao's will may not truly regard Jieyin and Zhunti as Heavenly Dao Saints on their side!"

"Tai Chu, do you mean that this is actually the Heavenly Dao's counterattack against Hongjun?" Qinglian was taken aback at first, then shook her head: "I still don't quite understand. Even if the Heavenly Dao wants to resist Hongjun's refinement of him or to take revenge on Hongjun, then what is the point of it influencing Jieyin and Zhunti under the current circumstances?"

"On the contrary, this might expose Him!"

"Even if we now suspect that His influence might be behind this, Hongjun might be able to see it too!"

“No, you may have misunderstood the chronological order!” Upon hearing this, Tai Chu pondered for a moment and corrected him, “It’s not that the Heavenly Dao only began to influence their thoughts after Jieyin and Zhunti arrived in the Underworld!”

"But even before this incident, the Heavenly Dao had already been subtly influencing the thoughts of Jieyin and Zhunti."

"However, since His own will is now reduced to only one-tenth, and He cannot arouse the vigilance of Jieyin and Zhunti, nor can He be discovered by Hongjun, He will naturally make some mistakes in His actions!"

“Under normal circumstances, Heaven would certainly not allow Jieyin and Zhunti to make such a serious mistake at this time.”

"But this is the underworld, and the Heavenly Dao can only do so much. In addition, with 90% of His remaining power on Hongjun's side, Jieyin and Zhunti are very likely to continue some of His past influences and thus do such a foolish thing!"

"Of course, it's also possible that Heaven did this deliberately for some purpose!"

"But in the end, these are all just my guesses."

Whether the Heavenly Dao is truly behind the actions of Jieyin and Zhunti is something only He Himself knows for now!

"I don't think it matters!" Qinglian shook her head, unconcerned. "Whether Jieyin and Zhunti acted foolishly, were truly influenced by the Heavenly Dao, or were influenced by other factors, it may not be a bad thing for us now!"

"On the other hand, I actually quite hope that this matter is related to the will of Heaven."

"In that case, Hongjun will be even less inclined to deal with us!"

"Yes, you make a good point!" Tai Chu nodded, agreeing with Qing Lian's statement.

Regardless, their greatest threat now is Hongjun!

If the remaining ten percent of the Heavenly Dao's will truly intends to resist, or even retaliate against, Hongjun's refinement of him, it could actually help Taichu and the others further weaken Hongjun.

Even if Jieyin and Zhunti's foolish act had nothing to do with the Heavenly Dao, it wouldn't have any negative impact on Taichu and the others at present!
Therefore, after the discussion just now, the three of them once again entered "watching the show" mode!
at the same time!

"Something's not right!" Hongyuan, an avatar of Hongjun, suddenly stared intently at Jieyin and Zhunti: "This isn't how they should be behaving!"

"There must be some secret here that we don't know about yet!"

"What secret could there be?" Yuanshi said dismissively, "It's just that those two are too stupid, blinded by the possibility of victory!"

“The way Jieyin and Zhunti behaved this time was indeed quite different from their usual behavior!” Taiqing nodded first, then shook his head and said, “However, I think now is not the time to think about these things.”

"If Jieyin and Zhunti are defeated, then we need to consider whether we should even step in?"

"..." Hongyuan did not answer immediately, but stared at Yuanshi and Taiqing in silence for a while before nodding slightly: "You are right!"

"But even if the underworld defeats Jieyin and Zhunti, it may not want to continue to suppress Ksitigarbha."

"As long as Ksitigarbha can stay in the underworld smoothly, then there is no need for us to participate!"

In fact, at this moment, Hongyuan was not only doubting Jieyin and Zhunti, but also Yuanshi and Taiqing! Yuanshi goes without saying; if it weren't for Taiqing's help, he wouldn't have seen the problem with Jieyin and Zhunti's behavior either.

Taiqing's words just now seemed clear-headed, but they also seemed to be a way of changing the subject.

Moreover, neither Jieyin Zhunti nor Yuanshi Taiqing would feel that their behavior was problematic without external reminders!

Hongyuan knew that he might be overthinking things.

Perhaps Taiqing and the others really have no problems, and their so-called abnormalities are just coincidences.

After all, even if they are saints of the Heavenly Dao, they cannot guarantee that they will not make any mistakes, right?
Once the seed of doubt is planted, no one can stop it from taking root and sprouting!

No matter how hard Hongyuan tried to stop himself from thinking about it, he couldn't help but start to doubt Taiqing and the others.

So Hongyuan simply passed on all his discoveries and doubts to Hongjun, letting the latter make the decision!

Chaos, Purple Cloud Palace!

"All four Heavenly Sages have shown abnormalities?"

Upon receiving the message from Hongyuan, Hongjun's expression immediately changed.

There was no other way; all he had left were the Four Sages of Heaven, who were truly capable of serving him.

If all four Heavenly Saints encounter problems, it will undoubtedly make his subsequent plans even more troublesome!

"Only the Way of Earth and the Way of Heaven can influence a sage silently!"

"Houtu has no reason to do this... so only the Heavenly Dao remains!"

Just like Tai Chu and the others, Hongjun suspected the Heavenly Dao the moment he discovered the anomaly!
Since Hongjun began refining the Heavenly Dao's will within the Heavenly Punishment Seal, the Heavenly Dao has never offered any resistance, which is abnormal in itself!

Hongjun guessed that the will of Heaven was trying to lower his guard so that it could launch a big attack on him at a crucial moment in the future!
The Four Sages of Heaven are controlled by the Heavenly Dao, so it is reasonable that He would secretly influence their thoughts.

"Could it be that the Heavenly Dao wants the Four Sages of the Heavenly Dao to rebel and become pawns for Him to use against me?"

Hongjun quickly formed a guess in his mind.

It goes without saying that if the Heavenly Dao succeeds, it will indeed have some impact on his overall strength!

But how could the Four Sages of Heaven possibly have any real influence over Hongjun, who has already mastered ninety percent of the power of Heaven?

Moreover, the latter doesn't think things will be that simple!
"Perhaps, the Heavenly Dao is indeed influencing the Four Sages of the Heavenly Dao in secret, but not to control them to rebel against me, but to deliberately make me doubt the Four Sages of the Heavenly Dao and make us kill each other?"

"During this process, did He continue to accumulate power or make other arrangements?"

Hongjun thought about it and felt that the same possibility existed.

This also further explains why the Four Sages of Heaven all exhibited different degrees of abnormality during this Underworld event!
“But I have always had a lingering unease in my heart.” Hongjun frowned slightly: “If the Heavenly Dao were to truly take action against me, it would not be as simple as creating a rift between me and the Four Sages of the Heavenly Dao.”

"He is definitely plotting something in secret, but what exactly is he plotting?"

While Hongjun currently desires to eliminate Taichu, the Heavenly Dao remains a thorn in his side.

He will not have peace of mind as long as this thorn is not removed!
Hongjun would never underestimate the Heavenly Dao!

The Heavenly Dao must be secretly making plans, and the more Hongjun cannot fathom His plans, the greater the threat he will face in the future!

"In that case, I can't personally intervene to protect Ksitigarbha too much this time. At most, I'll launch some probing attacks!"

Hongjun's eyes flickered, and he quickly made a decision.

If he actually goes into battle and something goes wrong in his fight against Tai Chu and the others, wouldn't that just give the Heavenly Dao an opportunity to deal with him?

"As long as nothing happens that forces me to intervene, all I need to do next is continue refining the Heavenly Dao Will within the Heavenly Punishment Seal!"

"However, we also need to keep a close eye on Hongyuan's side, as the Heavenly Dao may have some other backup plans!"

Upon realizing this, Hongjun closed his eyes again and conveyed his thoughts to Hongyuan!

Hell!

"I see!" Hongyuan understood upon receiving the message: "The main body's considerations are good. Hongjun is one of our greatest threats, but we must also be wary of the Heavenly Dao!"

"Even if Ksitigarbha really perishes in the underworld this time, his true form must not suffer any mishaps, lest the Heavenly Dao exploit his weakness!"

Hongyuan did not tell Taiqing and the others about these thoughts.

Firstly, there was no need for it, and secondly, he still harbored some doubts about them in his heart!
Just as Tai Chu, Qing Lian, Tian Yan, Hong Yuan, and Hong Jun were beginning to have doubts about Jie Yin and Zhun Ti's performance, a new change was discovered on the battlefield!

"hateful!"

"Is the difference between Buddhism and the underworld really that great?"

"Can the so-called great rise of the West really make Buddhism as powerful as forces like the Underworld or the Jie Sect?"

After being awakened by the Styx River, Jieyin and Zhunti felt a deep sense of resentment and even despair!

Before coming to the underworld, they actually knew that Buddhism would definitely not be a match for the underworld!
They just didn't expect that the gap between Buddhism and the underworld would be so great that the underworld could completely destroy Buddhism if it wanted to!
Adding to this the previously formidable Jie Sect and the human and demon races, Jieyin and Zhunti suddenly saw no hope for the goal of "the great prosperity of the West"!
"No, there must be a way, there must be!"

"No matter the cost, we must ensure the rise of the West!"

But soon, the same thought echoed in the minds of both Jieyin and Zhunti! (End of Chapter)