Traveling Through Journey to the West: I Am the Dragon King

The goddess continued, "Furthermore, the lifespan of immortals is not like that of mortals, ranging from hundreds to thousands of years. If they were to leave their offspring in the mortal realm, who knows how many people would there be after hundreds of generations? If, at that time, an immortal in heaven fell in love and descended to the mortal realm to marry another immortal, and that immortal's offspring happened to be their own, wouldn't that disrupt the moral order? Therefore, immortals must absolutely not marry mortals."

Yun Chonghua listened and nodded thoughtfully. Then he asked, "Does that mean immortals cannot fall in love with mortals, and are even forbidden from developing feelings?"

The fact that Chonghua was willing to continue listening to her incessant chatter only made the Empress appreciate the little dragon even more.

My feelings of goodwill towards them have grown even stronger.

After all, over the past millions of years, there haven't been many people who could talk to her about these things.

Even the Jade Emperor's sister, his own daughter, did not understand the painstaking efforts behind the Heavenly Laws' prohibition of sexual desire.

Now that Yun Chonghua was willing to listen to her, the Empress was very pleased. Naturally, she spoke frankly and without reservation.

The Empress wanted to pour out all the bitterness that had been accumulating in her heart for thousands of years before Chonghua today, hoping to alleviate some of her suffering.

The empress did not answer the question directly, but instead asked, "Chonghua, what do you think is the difference between immortals and demons?"

Upon hearing this question, Yun Chonghua recalled the various interpretations of Journey to the West he had read in his previous life, and then stated directly: "Those above are immortals, and those below are demons."

But the goddess shook her head and said, "No, all beings in the world with nine orifices can become immortals. Immortals and demons are both spirits created by heaven and earth, and there is no difference between them. The only difference lies in their thoughts. Immortals undergo arduous cultivation through countless tribulations and can control their desires. Even if they have desires, they know what is important. But demons rely on their power to act recklessly, even calling it 'freedom' and 'carefree.' Unrestrained power is a disaster."

The Empress continued, "I often say, 'When immortals are moved by love, the Three Realms are in turmoil.' This is not an empty saying. Because with love comes selfishness. And with selfishness comes desire. Desire is not entirely without merit; if used properly, it can motivate one. But if it is not restrained and becomes evil desire, it will create endless karmic obstacles."

"Immortals and gods are not like mortals. If mortals have evil desires, at most they will kill and set fires. At worst, they will massacre cities and destroy countries. But the power of immortals and gods is much greater than that of mortals. If they want to cause the suffering of the people, it may only be a matter of moving a finger. If immortals and gods develop evil desires, for the people, it will be a catastrophe that overturns mountains and seas and causes the sky to collapse and the earth to split. If a powerful being were to destroy the entire human world, it would not be too difficult for them."

"Take Qi'er for example. Qi'er is a naturally born immortal. She has never experienced the trials of the mortal world, nor has she understood the suffering of all living beings. With her not-so-strong innate immortal power, she can easily cause the river to churn, flooding hundreds of acres of fertile land and killing dozens of people. If it were a powerful being, what would happen? I don't need to say it."

Speaking of the Seven Fairy Maidens, the Empress couldn't help but think of Princess Yaoji and Erlang Shen Yang Jian from the mortal realm.

"This disregard for heavenly rules, even if they use some high-sounding 'love' to embellish themselves, cannot conceal their lustful nature. If immortals indulge in lust, using their powerful abilities to do whatever they desire without restraint, then these immortals are no different from demons. Therefore, immortals need to sever their emotions and desires, and need the constraints of heavenly rules."

Upon hearing this, Chonghua was startled.

Yun Chonghua nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right, I understand."

Yun Chonghua was deeply moved after listening. It was the first time he truly understood the meaning of "the difference between immortals and mortals".

It seems that the affairs of the immortal realm cannot be viewed solely through the eyes of mortals.

If the order established by these heavenly rules and ironclad laws were truly and completely broken, it would indeed lead to a "huge" disaster.

Finally, the Empress sighed and said, "To be honest, even I and His Majesty were tempted by our daughters and acted out of personal feelings, let alone the other deities. So, Chonghua, you don't need to feel that my reward is too generous. Your actions saved Qi'er for me, and for His Majesty, they protected the overall situation and maintained the order under the Heavenly Laws. Therefore, your contribution is indispensable."

Hearing the Empress's praise, Chonghua smiled憨厚ly and said, "Your Majesty flatters me. I never expected that my momentary action would have such a significant impact."

Just then, the White Crane Fairy, who had gone to the Lingxiao Palace to report, slowly returned.

He informed Chonghua of his journey to the Lingxiao Palace to receive his official title.

So Chonghua bid farewell to the Empress and followed the White Crane Fairy to the Lingxiao Palace to receive his investiture.

Although the Empress's words of instruction enlightened Chonghua, he also felt a little regretful.

Now that I've become an immortal, I can't have emotions. That's somewhat of a regret.

Although they have a lifespan of thousands of years, they cannot experience love, which can be somewhat boring.

On the way to Lingxiao Palace, Fairy White Crane noticed that Yun Chonghua looked troubled, so she asked, "What's wrong? You're about to be conferred your title, why do you look so distressed? Tell your sister, I'm thousands of years older than you, perhaps I can help you find the answer."

The fact that the White Crane Fairy addressed Yun Chonghua so intimately was also at the behest of the Empress.

There are many immortals in the Heavenly Court. Although they all serve in the Heavenly Court, the relationships between the various factions are actually quite complicated in private.

Before His Majesty the Jade Emperor, the only close advisors he could fully trust were Li Tianwang, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, Venus, and a few others.

Most of the other capable people, although serving in the Heavenly Court, belong to other sects.

Aside from the Four Heavenly Kings, the Five Directions Protectors are from the Western Paradise Buddhist sect. Most of the rest are from the Three Pure Ones sect.

Those who belong to the Sanqing Sect are all extremely powerful.

Leaving aside Nezha, Yang Jian alone, who only obeys orders and not summons, is enough to give the Jade Emperor a headache.

Even the four Celestial Masters who guarded the Tongming Hall were all disciples of the Dao Ancestor.

The Three Pure Ones are arguably the largest force in the Heavenly Court.

The remaining few who were not affiliated with any sect mostly adhered to neutrality.

Although they were acting on orders and each had their own duties, they still had the mentality of employees. They were present but not necessarily putting in any effort; they only did their job and didn't get involved in anything else. They focused on one thing, didn't express any stance, and didn't offend anyone.

Such figures include the Nine Luminaries Star Officials, the Three Stars of Fortune, Prosperity and Longevity of Penglai Immortal Island, and Zhenyuan Daxian of Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain.

As an emperor, the most important thing to master is to balance the various forces in the court, and the Three Pure Ones Sect has become too powerful since the Investiture of the Gods. It has become a major concern for the old man.

If this is the case even for those under the Jade Emperor's throne, then it goes without saying that it is even more true for the Empress.

Nowadays, the only people who can be considered confidantes around the Empress are a few female immortals such as the White Crane Fairy, the Seven-Clothed Fairy, the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, and the Weaver Girl.

However, there are some things that these female immortals cannot say or do.

Therefore, both the Empress and His Majesty wanted to groom Yun Chonghua to be a trusted confidant outside the Heavenly Court, and to become their assistant.

From now on, any matters that are inconvenient to disclose will be handled by him.

Although there are many capable and powerful immortals in the Three Realms.

However, it is rare to find a person who is not from a religious sect and whose interests are barely aligned with theirs.

Such a person can be won over and cultivated by receiving some "favors and imperial favors".

However, the Empress and His Majesty could not personally convey their intentions to win over Yun Chonghua and make him serve them, so they could only instruct Fairy White Crane to relay their message.

Therefore, the dignified Grand Steward of Yaochi became "brother and sister" with a young dragon who had just entered the path of immortality.

Yun Chonghua didn't feel anything was wrong. He sighed and said, "It's good to have received a divine duty and become a god, but you'll also be bound by heavenly rules and regulations. You can't marry or have romantic love."