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

After letting out a sigh, the White Crane Fairy continued to tell the story.

"If even the celestial beings and gods in heaven suffered such a fate, then the human race of the Upper Realm was ravaged to the point of near extinction by the heavenly fire and floods, with only Emperor Fuxi and the goddess Nuwa surviving. The Netherworld was also filled with countless souls. With the help of the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa used the pure energy of heaven to transform into water and the turbid energy of earth to form her body, and molded clay to create a new human being, 'born of heaven and earth.' This gave the vengeful spirits of the Netherworld a place to rest, and the Six Paths returned to normal order."

"In order for these new humans to survive after the great chaos, and also to revive the power of humanity and restore the balance of heaven, earth, and humanity, Emperor Fuxi, with the help of the Three Pure Ones, drew the Eight Trigrams to spread the Dao, imparted fire, subdued the six domestic animals and made a contract with them, so that they and their offspring could be used by humans. He taught them marriage, so that humans could multiply and thrive as quickly as possible."

"In return for their assistance in reviving humanity, the Three Pure Ones also spread their teachings in the human world and recruited many disciples. Many of these people attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven, holding important positions in the Heavenly Court."

After hearing this, Yun Chonghua felt he had received a lot of information. He said, "I never imagined there were so many stories in this world. The world could actually close up again. By the way, sister, did the Western Paradise Buddhist sect still exist during the last Great Calamity?"

The White Crane Fairy replied, "Of course it exists. That Dipankara Buddha is a Buddha of the past, and a powerful being with a lifespan spanning many lifetimes."

Yun Chonghua then asked, "Then why didn't the Western Sect come to help in this great calamity that has affected the Three Realms?"

The White Crane Fairy said, "This originates from the teachings of their Western religion. Dipankara Buddha believed that the calamities of heaven and earth are predetermined and cannot be resisted by human power. Life, death, existence, and extinction are all ordained by fate, and everything is subject to destiny. The disciples under Dipankara Buddha all cultivate to be without desire or seeking, without sorrow or joy, and content with whatever comes their way."

"Therefore, during every great calamity in the world, the gods and Buddhas of the Western religions sit on Mount Ling, neither hiding nor helping, but simply chanting scriptures. But the last calamity was unprecedented in history. Heavenly fire burned the earth, and countless Buddhas on Mount Ling also perished. Of those ten thousand Buddhas, only a few remained."

After hearing this, Yun Chonghua was both amused and exasperated. The only word in his mind right now was "Buddhist-like," and this was "truly Buddhist-like."

However, Yun Chonghua remembered something at this moment and asked, "Just now, my sister said that there are three kinds of destiny in the world, and the holders of these three forces are the rulers of this realm?"

The White Crane Fairy nodded.

Yun Chonghua then asked, "If that's the case, then why is His Majesty now the ruler of these three realms? Is it because Heaven is above, and the other two realms are below, requiring their reverence?"

Upon hearing this, Fairy White Crane shook her head.

After hearing Yun Chonghua's question, Fairy White Crane shook her head and said, "That's not it. His Majesty is now the ruler of the Three Realms entirely because the power of humanity is weak, and Goddess Nuwa has exhausted herself in mending the sky and creating humans, so she has relinquished power to recuperate."

"The creation of humans from clay may seem simple, but it actually simulates the process of the birth of all things by the interaction of the primordial energy of heaven and earth. The amount of energy consumed is beyond our imagination. Therefore, after the beginning of this era, Goddess Nuwa has been resting and recuperating."

"The last time I saw Goddess Nuwa was after the Investiture of the Gods, which was the last time she came to the Heavenly Court. Goddess Nuwa had a private conversation with His Majesty and Empress in the Jade Pool. But after that, Goddess Nuwa left the Heavenly Court and her whereabouts became unknown. Now, apart from His Majesty and Empress, no one knows Goddess Nuwa's whereabouts."

"The power of reincarnation in the netherworld, which was once controlled by the Earth Emperor, was taken over by the Heavenly Court and became the Netherworld, ruled by the Ten Kings of Hell. Although the Human Emperor had a successor, his abilities were far inferior to those of the previous one. Therefore, the Goddess Nuwa also handed over the rule of the human realm to Your Majesty, hoping that Your Majesty would help the newly born humans in the mortal world. Thus, Your Majesty became the ruler of the three realms in this cosmic cycle."

The White Crane Fairy then said with a puzzled expression, "I understand that Goddess Nuwa is tired and needs to rest. But I don't know why the human race's fortune is so weak in this realm."

Yun Chonghua asked, "Weak? Was the aura of humanity very strong before?"

The White Crane Fairy replied, "That's natural. The three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man are the three supreme authorities that evolved from the primordial chaos. They are chaos itself. It's just that after the creation of heaven and earth, the pure and the impure separated, and these three powers were divided into three parts."

At this moment, the White Crane Fairy sneered and said, "Although the Three Pure Ones are quite capable and fortunate, they still have to acknowledge His Majesty as the ruler of the Heavenly Realm. This is because the Heavenly Dao and its fortune only recognize His Majesty as their master. Although the three of them are powerful, without the blessing of good fortune, they cannot surpass His Majesty."

"The same applies to the same earthly energy and human energy. The three powers stand separately, maintaining the balance of the three realms, and there is no inherent distinction between superior and inferior. Before this primordial era, the human emperor was equal to heaven and earth. Although the ruler of the human realm did not receive nourishment from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he still possessed this fortune and could live for ten thousand years, or even a primordial era. This is why the human world respectfully calls emperors 'Long Live the Emperor.'"

"Before this era, the Three Sovereigns of Heaven, Earth, and Man jointly governed the Three Realms, each with their own duties. Your Majesty only governed the immortals of the Heavenly Realm and did not need to work as hard as you do now. But since this era, for some unknown reason, the fortune of humanity has greatly diminished."

"Even the Human Emperor only lived for a little over a hundred years. Even the husband of the Goddess Nuwa, Emperor Fuxi, only lived for a thousand years. Although my lifespan is less than a decade, I have never seen anything so strange."

At this moment, the White Crane Fairy sighed and said, "However, the important matter of wielding power over the Three Realms is not something that we lowly immortals can concern ourselves with. It is enough for us to enjoy the blessing of immortality by Her Majesty's side."

Yun Chonghua sighed and said, "Alas! The blessing of immortality is wonderful, but I don't know if I can survive the next great calamity and continue to enjoy this blessing."

The White Crane Fairy laughed and said, "Hehe, don't worry. Only a few thousand years have passed since the last Xuan Yuan Rebirth, which is less than 'a moment' since then. There are still more than 100,000 years until the next one. Besides, although you have gained immortality by eating the peaches of immortality, your lifespan is only 10,000 years. You have not reached the level of immortality that comes with the Xuan Yuan Rebirth. If you do not continue to consume spiritual items to prolong your life, you will die of old age in 10,000 years."

Yun Chonghua asked with a smile, "If I go to the underworld and have my name removed from the register of the dead, will I not have to die?"

The White Crane Fairy laughed and replied, "Hehe, what are you thinking? Going to the underworld to have your name removed from the register of the dead only means that the underworld won't accept your soul, preventing you from entering reincarnation. Although your primordial spirit is not damaged, your body will still decay and perish with the passage of time, rotting away little by little. If you want to survive at that time, you can only seize another's body and commit this unjust act."

Hearing this, Yun Chonghua finally understood why, when saving the King of Wuji, having only his soul was not enough; he also needed to use the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill to heal his body, which had been soaked in water for three years.

The White Crane Fairy said, "But don't worry, as long as you remain loyal to Her Majesty, you will always have a place at every Peach Banquet. As long as the great calamity of the Xuan Yuan Rebirth does not harm us, we can always stay by Her Majesty's side."

Yun Chonghua replied, "Sister, rest assured. Even for the sake of ten thousand years of carefree life and immortality, Chonghua will certainly go through fire and water for Your Majesty and Her Majesty."

The White Crane Fairy nodded and said, "Hmm! This child is teachable."