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*****
According to George's plan, for the Heavenly Tribulation to successfully strike Ne Zha, it first had to penetrate five distinct layers of defense.
The first layer was the Mountain and River State Map, controlled by Taiyi Zhenren.
The second layer was the "Five-Element Cabala Barrier: Supreme Edition," personally arranged by George.
The third layer was a Faraday Cage constructed from Uru metal.
The fourth layer was the "Myriad Dragon Armor," a defensive magical treasure forged from the hardest scales of the entire Dragon Clan, worn by Ao Bing.
The fifth layer was the combined obstruction efforts of George and Shen Gongbao.
Only after passing these five layers would Ne Zha and Ao Bing join forces to physically resist the thunder tribulation together.
If they could withstand it, all would be well. But if they failed and their physical bodies crumbled, Taiyi Zhenren would use the Seven-Colored Precious Lotus to protect their souls and subsequently reconstruct their physical forms using lotus roots.
If, after all these measures, the plan still failed, George would simply dust off his hands and leave. After all, he wouldn't really lose anything.
However, he felt the issue wouldn't be significant.
Ne Zha was, after all, one of the key generals of the impending Investiture War. Regardless of which parallel universe this was, it was impossible for him to truly die before the war even began.
Moreover, he now had George's assistance.
"I guess this counts as entangling myself in karma," George murmured to himself as he stood inside the Faraday Cage.
What was most feared in the Primordial World?
Naturally, it was the fear of becoming tainted by karma (cause and effect). Once one was entangled in karma, they would be dragged into the Investiture of the Gods to face the tribulation.
Although one wouldn't truly die—those with strong souls would enter the Investiture of the Gods list to become high-ranking deities in the Heavenly Court, and those without strength would become celestial soldiers—the reality was that no cultivator was willing to take a position in the Heavenly Court in such a manner.
If one was deified after death, their soul would leave a brand on the Investiture of the Gods. Their future life and death would be entirely subject to a single thought from the Jade Emperor; they would forever be the Heavenly Court's lackeys.
However, if one was deified while still alive—like Yang Jian (Erlang Shen)—even if they pledged loyalty to the Heavenly Court, they could maintain a status of "listening to orders but not summons." Even without Yang Jian's overwhelming strength, they would at least not have their life and death completely controlled by the Heavenly Court.
George, however, did not fear karma; in fact, he had decided to actively seek it out.
Ordinary cultivators dared not touch karma because they did not know the true purpose of the Investiture War, nor did they know the ultimate outcome.
But George was different. He understood that, simply put, the Investiture War was a means for Ancestor Hongjun to ensure the Heavenly Court truly ruled the Three Realms and to establish a new order.
In the current Three Realms, although the Heavenly Court and the Jade Emperor existed as the nominal rulers, it was in name only.
Because they lacked sufficient power, few took the Jade Emperor, the Lord of the Three Realms, seriously.
In the long run, this was detrimental to the entire Three Realms.
Cultivators possessed immense power and could not be restrained; at the slightest conflict or disagreement, the fragile mortals would suffer the consequences.
Through the Investiture War, the majority of powerful cultivators would be placed on the Investiture of the Gods list. The Heavenly Court would instantly become the strongest faction in the Three Realms, and the Jade Emperor would become the true ruler.
Thus, with a new order established, the mortal realm would become relatively peaceful.
Understanding this, as long as one acted in accordance with this goal and avoided doing things detrimental to it, the problems wouldn't be too great.
Within this framework, George could establish karmic ties with most cultivators who had investment value, making them owe him favors.
This way, even after the Investiture, when he inevitably followed the trend and entered the Heavenly Court, the majority of people there—from top to bottom—would have to give him face.
In the future, this clone of his would be able to flourish in this world.
Of course, there were risks. Even though he knew the general outline of the Investiture, the schemes of the Saints were not something his current strength could easily contend with.
If he truly lost his physical body and entered the Investiture of the Gods as a soul, it wouldn't be a catastrophic issue.
This was, after all, merely one of his clones. Even if he entered the list as a soul, as long as he did well in the Heavenly Court and continued to improve his strength, it was acceptable.
When his main body and other clones eventually entered the multiverse, or even merged to break through to the multiverse level, this clone could rely on his own strength to break the restrictions of the Investiture of the Gods and reshape his body.
The Investiture of the Gods was powerful, but no matter how powerful, it could not seal a Saint.
Therefore, rather than fearing karma and eventually hiding away only to end up on the list anyway, it was better to go all out, form good ties, gather as many benefits as possible, and improve his strength as quickly as he could.
Just like now—by helping Ne Zha survive the Heavenly Tribulation, he would inevitably fall into the Saints' calculations and be drawn into the subsequent Great Tribulation of the Investiture.
But it didn't matter. He would harvest a massive amount of favors and potentially have the chance to become a disciple of the Primeval Lord of Heaven (Yuanshi Tianzun), gaining access to the cultivation techniques and magic treasures of the Chan (Elucidation) Sect.
If that didn't work, he could go cast his lot with Sect Master Tongtian; entering the Jie (Interception) Sect wouldn't be bad either.
"Fellow Daoist, if we succeed this time, I hope we can have a chance to exchange insights on the Art of Artifact Refining in the future," Taiyi Zhenren invited George, simultaneously controlling the Mountain and River State Map to resist the lightning.
George nodded without hesitation.
"Consider it done! Absolutely!"
In ordinary worlds, magic weapons and artifacts were merely auxiliary; strength primarily depended on one's own cultivation base, techniques, and spells.
But the Primordial World was different. While cultivation and spells were certainly important, the most conspicuous factor was magic treasures.
Possessing a powerful magic treasure could allow one to defeat an opponent several levels higher.
The top-tier magic treasures of the Primordial World were simply too overpowered.
Take this Mountain and River State Map for instance: if its full power were unleashed, it would be more terrifying than the world George himself had created. His current world couldn't trap Yuan Hong, who possessed at least the cultivation of a Great Luo Golden Immortal.
So, since he had come to this world, he naturally had to study the Art of Artifact Refining seriously.
Fortunately, he had researched refining techniques in various worlds and was not lacking in that area; he could already be considered a master refiner.
BOOM!
A bolt of world-destroying thunder descended from the heavens, slashing ruthlessly onto the Mountain and River State Map.
Unlike the nine bolts of lightning George had faced previously, this thunder was clearly on a different level. It contained the aura of laws, such as Annihilation.
However, the Mountain and River State Map was worthy of being an Innate Spirit Treasure. After being struck by the terrifying lightning tribulation, it showed no sign of damage, forcefully withstanding the heavenly thunder.
But the heavenly thunder did not vanish after the attack. Instead, it continued to pour out power, displaying a momentum that suggested it would not rest until it broke the map and destroyed the Demon Pill.
Thus, the Heavenly Tribulation and the Mountain and River State Map entered a scorching stalemate.
During the confrontation, the power of the tribulation noticeably decreased, but while the map wasn't destroyed, a spatial crack was gradually torn open within it.
"My cultivation is too low! I can't even exert one ten-thousandth of the Mountain and River State Map's power! The Tribulation is breaking through!"
Taiyi Zhenren shouted a warning, his face covered in sweat.
He had only just reached the Golden Immortal stage, and his cultivation was even worse than Shen Gongbao's. He simply couldn't bring out the true power of this Innate Spirit Treasure bestowed upon him by his master.
Therefore, he couldn't rely on the map to completely block the Heavenly Tribulation.
BOOM!
The thunder shattered the sky inside the Mountain and River State Map and slashed viciously toward Ne Zha below.
However, halfway down, it was obstructed once again.
It was the "Five-Element Cabala Barrier: Supreme Edition" that George had set up.
(End of Chapter)