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

The White Crane Fairy shook her head and said, "I'm not too sure about that either. The Xuanyuan Divine Sword is a magical artifact of the human realm. Since the time of the Yellow Emperor, it has been passed down through generations of emperors in the human world. It is one of the symbols of the legitimate power of the emperor. However, since King Yu, subsequent emperors have been unable to unleash the full power of this divine sword. Instead, each generation has become weaker than the last."

"When Han Zhuo usurped power, although he obtained the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, he was unable to unleash even a fraction of its power and was ultimately defeated by Shao Kang. After Xia Jie lost his virtue and was exiled by Shang Tang, the divine sword completely disappeared. Shang Tang only obtained nine other human treasures left behind by King Yu, the 'Nine Tripods of King Yu,' from the Xia capital. The Xuanyuan Divine Sword was lost from then on, and its whereabouts remain unknown."

The White Crane Fairy added, "Although this divine sword is lost and unclaimed, it is a magical treasure of the human realm, protected by the fortune of the human realm. You and I are both immortals and gods, not belonging to the human realm. Even if you find it, just like my Ice Feather Fan before, without the recognition of the magical treasure and the fortune of the human realm, you will not be able to pick it up, let alone use it."

Yun Chonghua murmured, "So that's how it is. What a pity. But what is this 'human destiny'? We have magic power, which isn't enough, so how can we have destiny?"

The White Crane Fairy wasn't impatient with Yun Chonghua's questions; he was to serve by the Emperor's and Empress's side, and there were certain things he needed to know.

After all, if he is capable, he can live as long as heaven and earth. If he does not understand this great Dao, he may not be able to withstand the next "Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth".

The White Crane Fairy said, "That's a long story. We have to start from the beginning."

The White Crane Fairy then explained, "This world is not static. The number of days in the universe is 129,600 years, which is called a 'cycle'. And a cycle is divided into twelve periods. Each period is 10,800 years. And this cycle is one lifespan of the universe."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chonghua asked in surprise, "What? The lifespan of this world is only less than 130,000 years?"

The White Crane Fairy nodded and said, "That's right. In the Immortal Realm, those whose lifespan reaches one 'hui' are considered to have achieved immortality, like you and me. Only those whose lifespan reaches one 'yuan' are qualified to be called 'equal to the lifespan of Heaven and Earth'."

"In the beginning of time, when chaos first opened, the pure energy rose to become the heavens, and the turbid energy sank to become the earth. The four fundamental forces of wind, fire, earth, and water constitute the three realms as we know them today. The essence of heaven and earth, the 'chaotic energy,' transformed into the three powers of 'heaven, earth, and man,' maintaining the balance of heaven and earth. And these three powers can be said to be chaos itself, the true authority of the three realms."

The White Crane Fairy not only spoke, but also conjured an image in her palm, allowing Yun Chonghua to witness firsthand the workings of heaven and earth, the division of chaos into three realms, and the emergence of the four elemental primordial forces.

"His Majesty endured 1,750 tribulations, each lasting 129,400 years, finally gaining the recognition of the Heavenly Dao's fortune. He resides in the Heavenly Realm as the Supreme Heavenly Emperor, ruling over all the gods of the Heavenly Realm. The Earthly Dao's fortune is governed by the Earth Mother, Houtu, who protects the prosperity and growth of all living things on Earth. As for humanity..."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chonghua retorted, "Wait! Isn't the Mother Earth Goddess Nuwa? How come it's Houtu Goddess?"

The White Crane Fairy explained, "Nuwa is the reincarnation of Houtu. After the chaos was separated, the Three Realms were born. The interaction of the elements in this world gave birth to all things. We five insects grew on the earth, but the earliest humans were entirely born from nature."

At this moment, the image of heaven and earth uniting to give birth to the three realms slowly transformed into a Taiji diagram in the White Crane Fairy's palm.

Yang represents heaven, Yin represents earth, and the "primordial line" that interrupted the interaction between Yin and Yang is the human world that appeared after the creation of heaven and earth.

"The human race back then was far more powerful than it is now. They were the rulers of the three realms, born from heaven and earth with intelligence, who maintained the order of heaven and earth. They were also the carriers of the primordial energy of the three powers. Many of the earliest humans are still alive today, such as His Majesty, Empress, the Three Pure Ones, and those great beings who 'created ancestors,' all of whom were among the first 'celestial beings' after the creation of chaos."

"But the universe is not static. When the universe reaches the first cycle, one cycle of the universe ends. Then the universe closes, causing an anomaly and creating a great calamity, which is called 'the beginning of the primordial chaos'. At that time, most of the three elements' fortune will temporarily return to chaos. And the disasters that come with each beginning of the primordial chaos are different, the extent to which the power of the universe overflows is also different, and the damage caused is also different in magnitude."

At this moment, the illusory image in the White Crane Fairy's palm, with its Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang attracting each other, caused the separated primordial chaos line to quickly close.

"The last time the 'Xuanyuan Rebirth' occurred, the great calamity that descended was the collapse of the heavens and the cracking of the earth. Heavenly fire and the Weak Water of the Heavenly River poured down on the human world. The earth also split apart and became the four continents and overseas islands that we see today. At that time, His Majesty, with the supreme power of the Heavenly Dao, together with the Three Pure Ones, prevented the heavens and earth from closing up again and returning to chaos, and had no time to care for the living beings on earth."

After saying this, the White Crane Fairy conjured a split earth in her palm, along with four "little people" supporting the sky and shaking the earth. This prevented the Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang from attracting each other, and caused them to close again.

"Although the goddess Houtu led all the celestial beings of the Heavenly Court in their utmost efforts, they could not completely stop the heavenly fire and the Weak Water from flooding into the mortal realm. In order to deal with this calamity and save all living beings in the world, Houtu was reborn in the ancient country of Huaxu and became the goddess Nuwa, Feng Lixi. She became siblings and husband and wife with the Great Emperor Fuxi, who possessed the power of humanity."

But at this point, the White Crane Fairy withdrew the illusionary display in her palm, as if she was unwilling to recall that memory.

"After that came the story of Nuwa refining stones to mend the sky and rebuilding the celestial realm. But the calamity of the previous era was so immense that even His Majesty, a great being who has experienced 1,750 kalpas, felt that the last calamity was the greatest in history. His Majesty even said that the calamity seemed to have been deliberately caused by someone using the laws governing the operation of heaven and earth. Fortunately, we survived it. Heaven and earth did not return to chaos."

"After this great calamity, apart from your dragon race, the divine beasts that remained in the heavens, and the various demonic beasts that miraculously survived in Beiju Luzhou, there were not many living beings left on earth. And the immortals and gods in the heavens did not completely escape this calamity either, and most of them perished."

"For example, His Majesty's trusted followers, such as Jumang, the god of spring; Rushou, the god of autumn; Xuanming, the god of winter; Zhurong, the god of summer; and Gonggong, the god of water, all perished in this calamity. The three great divine beasts, the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, and the Vermilion Bird, as well as His Majesty's mount, the Yuanlong, all perished in this calamity."

"Fortunately, Zhu Rong and Gong Gong left behind a lineage in the human world, namely the Zhu Rong clan and the Gong Gong clan. The clan leaders among their descendants inherit the names of their ancestors. The one I mentioned earlier who angrily struck Buzhou Mountain and destroyed the pillar of heaven was a descendant of the water god Gong Gong."

"After that great calamity, apart from me, there were very few confidants left around Her Majesty and Her Majesty. It was because too many immortals in the Heavenly Court perished in this calamity that the normal order of Heaven and Earth could not be maintained, which led to the Investiture of the Gods more than 800 years ago."

At this point, the White Crane Fairy let out another long sigh, as if she was grieving over the last catastrophe that ravaged the Three Realms.