Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1093 - 782 Ming Si_2

Chapter 1093: 782 Ming Si_2

"At the beginning, the ancestor had so much confidence in me, he actually believed that I could become the Fengdu Great Emperor..."

Thinking back to the time when the Fengdu Great Emperor had just fallen, the words that the ancestor Jiang Xuan had said to himself made Jiang Chen embarrassed.

At that time, Jiang Chen was merely at the realm of an Innate Dao Monarch, yet Jiang Xuan had encouraged Jiang Chen to charge toward the position of the Fengdu Great Emperor, assuring him that the human race would support him from behind.

Back then, Jiang Chen didn’t think much about it, believing it shouldn’t be difficult for him to become the Fengdu Great Emperor, but now that he reflected on it, he felt thoroughly ashamed of his naivety.

With his cultivation at that time, let alone competing with other contenders, he couldn’t even handle the experts within the Netherworld’s own ranks, not to mention being nothing but cannon fodder.

It was just that at that time, nobody else knew about this matter, otherwise, if word got out, Jiang Chen feared he would become the laughingstock of all.

"The Netherworld is so powerful; without significant strength, how can one command respect? To become the master of the Netherworld, I still need to work hard!"

"However, what the ancestor said, that the human race would lend me a helping hand, was not empty talk."

Having seen the situation in the Netherworld, Jiang Chen knew that it would be very difficult for him now to take charge of the Netherworld and become the Fengdu Great Emperor.

Because his strength was too low, he was only at the great perfection realm of an Innate Taoist Master; relying on external forces was obviously not an option. The mainstream of the Prehistoric World still looked down on external forces. How could one command respect by using them?

Therefore, if Jiang Chen wanted to become the Fengdu Great Emperor, he at least had to elevate his cultivation to the realm of a Quasi-Saint.

With a more respectable level of cultivation, at least he could save some face for the people of the Netherworld. Otherwise, it would be inappropriate for three Quasi-Saints to obey the orders of an Innate Taoist Master.

However, that quick glance just now also allowed him to discern many things, such as the origins of those three Quasi-Saints in the Netherworld—very telling indeed. One was born from the human race, another from the ghostly gods of the Netherworld, and the third, from the Innate Divine Demons.

Three Quasi-Saints, from three different factions, showed the complexity within the Netherworld. No wonder the ancestor Jiang Xuan was so confident that he could elevate Jiang Chen to the position of Fengdu Great Emperor.

Because, after the fall of the Fengdu Great Emperor, the human race controlled at least one-third of the power in the Netherworld. In such circumstances, Jiang Chen’s chance of becoming the Fengdu Great Emperor, with the help of the human race, was much greater than others.

...

After understanding the power structure of the Netherworld, Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze. With those three Quasi-Saint powerhouses in charge, the Netherworld wouldn’t fall into chaos, and outsiders would find it difficult to interfere.

This way, Jiang Chen could carry out his plan with peace of mind. He didn’t know how others were plotting for the position of the Fengdu Great Emperor, but his own strategy had always been clear.

The chenghuang system within the Divine Dao was what he prepared for plotting the position of the Fengdu Great Emperor. Besides that, the Fengdu City he established at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain, aimed at gathering the hearts of ten thousand ghosts, was also in preparation for the bid for the Fengdu Great Emperor’s position.

The Fengdu Great Emperor, being the Ghost Emperor, was the divinely-appointed master of the Ghost Dao, and both the ghostly deities emerging from the chenghuang system and the ghost cultivators from Fengdu City were the foundation of the Ghost Dao.

Jiang Chen refused to believe that in such a situation, where he held all the advantages, anyone else could compete with him.

...

"If I become the Fengdu Great Emperor and bring the Netherworld under my control, then the Netherworld will basically be completely within my grasp."

After observing the Netherworld, Jiang Chen turned his gaze toward the Court of Hell.

Jiang Chen was different from others; even if other powerhouses got a hold of the Netherworld, they wouldn’t dare to meddle with the Court of Hell. But Jiang Chen could, because he himself wielded the supreme authority of the Court of Hell.

Yes, the Court of Hell was established by the Heaven Court, but the eighteen levels of Hell were built by the Buddhist door. And Jiang Chen, being the current master of the Buddhist door, naturally became the master of Hell as well.

According to this reasoning, doesn’t Jiang Chen hold the supreme authority of the Netherworld?

Once he purges the influence of the Heaven Court from within, then the Netherworld will completely fall under Jiang Chen’s control.

With the Netherworld and Ming Si both under his sway at a time when Mother Earth has entered seclusion and the Sea of Blood does not make its presence known, Jiang Chen could truly be deemed the ruler of the Netherworld. (In the absence of a tiger in the mountains, the monkey claims to be king.)

"Netherworld!"

Jiang Chen silently observed the Netherworld for a while, his expression gradually becoming strange.

The strength of the Netherworld is actually not strong, far inferior to Ming Si. If Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva were alive, then the Netherworld would still have an Innate Dao Sovereign presiding over it. But after Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was suppressed by Mother Earth, the strongest in the Netherworld became the Dark Son of Heaven and the Ten Halls Yan Luo.

The strength of the Dark Son of Heaven is not bad. With the support of the fate bestowed by the Heaven Court, he is well-matched against an Innate Dao Sovereign. Unfortunately, his luck was poor, and he was ousted from the Netherworld. Now, he either recuperates at Mount Tai or resides in the Heaven Court, not daring to return to the Netherworld.

As for the Ten Halls Yan Luo, the strength of the very first generation was indeed not lacking, possessing the cultivation of Innate Dao Monarchs. Sadly, they have died, and the subsequent Ten Halls Yan Luo have grown weaker with each generation. Previously, they were at the level of ancient Daluo, but now they are not even that—just ten Daluo Golden Immortals.

It’s estimated that this trend will continue until there aren’t even ten Daluo Golden Immortals to make up their number.

The Dark Son of Heaven, also known as the Great Ren Saint Emperor of Heaven Qi, is also revered as the god of Mount Tai, but he is not the Innate Mountain God born from Mount Tai itself.

The original Five Sacred Mountains’ gods were all born Innate Divine Demons, especially the god of Mount Tai, who was even revered by the world as the Duke of Mount Tai. During the time before the existence of the Netherworld, before Mother Earth took on the role of reincarnation, it was he who governed the domain of the dead. After one’s life ended, their soul would belong to Mount Tai.

After the birth of the Netherworld, the Duke of Mount Tai was once a dominant force there. Unfortunately, when the Heavenly Earth Calamity erupted, the gods of the Five Sacred Mountains were affected and perished in the disaster.

However, although the gods of the Five Sacred Mountains had died, their divine positions were preserved. Among them, the divine position of the Duke of Mount Tai, when Jiang Ziya conferred titles upon the gods, was granted to Huang Feihu.

Huang Feihu, originally a great general of the Shang Dynasty who later defected to the Zhou Dynasty, made considerable military achievements in the battle to destroy the Shang and, after his death, was conferred the titles Great Ren Saint Emperor of Heaven Qi, Dark Son of Heaven, and Duke of Mount Tai, becoming the highest ruler of the Netherworld.

It must be said, Jiang Ziya truly did not mistreat Huang Feihu. The divine position of the Dark Son of Heaven is one of the foremost among the three hundred and sixty-five righteous divine positions in the Investiture of the Gods, prestigious and influential.

It’s just a pity that Huang Feihu, being purely of Human Race origin with no formidable background, found it difficult to command respect across the Three Realms even though he was conferred the title of the Dark Son of Heaven.

Thus, after becoming the Dark Son of Heaven, he was attacked. While patrolling the Netherworld one day, he was killed by an Asura who suddenly appeared.

This Asura was presumed to be the remnant of the Asura sect, a conclusion reached after the Buddhist door’s investigation.

Because Huang Feihu was a righteous god listed in the Investiture of the Gods, as long as the Investiture of the Gods existed, he could not die, so he was quickly revived. But it was futile. Every time Huang Feihu returned to the Netherworld, it wouldn’t be long before he would be ambushed and killed again, each assailant stronger than the last. Huang Feihu couldn’t even think about resisting, let alone escaping.

Eventually, with no other options, the Dark Son of Heaven hid in Mount Tai and thus avoided disaster.

Without any doubt, those who struck to kill the Dark Son of Heaven were all from the Buddhist door.

Many were aware of this point, and even Huang Feihu himself knew it. But he had no proof. Moreover, even with proof, what could he do? Taking control of the Netherworld was part of the Western Saints’ plan; even the Jade Emperor had no choice but to endure, let alone a minor figure like him.

Not long after the Dark Son of Heaven hid in Mount Tai, the Buddhist door’s experts began to take up residence in the Netherworld. Firstly, they created the eighteen levels of hell, further refining the Netherworld.

Then, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva made the great vow ― ’Until the hells are empty, I shall not become a Buddha’ ― and plunged headlong into hell without emerging, becoming the de facto ruler of the Netherworld.

But in the end, the Netherworld is still subordinate to the Heaven Court. The Buddhist door could snatch the power of the Netherworld, but its administrators still had to be appointed by the Heaven Court, otherwise, control of reincarnation couldn’t be upheld.