Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1095 - 783 Noble Yin God_2

Chapter 1095: 783 Noble Yin God_2

Ever since the establishment of the Underworld, none of the successive Yamas of the ten halls have been free from bias, so very few have met with a good end.

This is precisely the result of karma and reincarnation, where retribution is unavoidable.

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"The Underworld governs the reincarnation of living beings, which is of utmost importance. If this chaos continues, it will be of no benefit to Heaven, Earth, or humanity."

"If I ever come into power, I will certainly reestablish order in the Underworld, restore its authority, and implement the principles of utmost fairness!"

As one who aspired to become the Emperor of Fengdu, Jiang Chen naturally disapproved of the Underworld’s conduct and secretly resolved to reorganize the Underworld when he had the chance. At the very least, he believed, fairness must be ensured.

The reason the Heavenly Dao is supreme is because it is wholly impartial and selfless. However, that was the Heavenly Dao of a very distant past, and except when Heaven and Earth were on the verge of destruction, it seldom intervened in the world.

Later on, Honjan Daizu merged with the Tao, influencing the Heavenly Dao with his own heart, which led to some changes. It was still fair, just not as pure as before.

If the Heavenly Dao is impartial, whence comes the distinction between good and evil?

It was after Honjan Daizu merged with the Tao that good and evil came to be ascribed to the Heavenly Dao, but this good and evil were not inherent to the Heavenly Dao; they were a result of the influence from the Taoist Ancestor.

Therefore, many people might not say it out loud, but they could not help but wonder inwardly whether the Heavenly Dao remained utterly impartial and selfless after the Taoist Ancestor’s merge.

Nevertheless, regardless of everything, the merge of the Taoist Ancestor was more beneficial than detrimental. All living beings between Heaven and Earth were indebted to his kindness.

Had it not been for the Taoist Ancestor’s merge, which brought the distinction of good and evil to the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao would not intervene when powerful cultivators wantonly slaughtered weaker beings.

Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they regard all creatures as straw dogs. Thus, when a powerful ant kills a weaker one, why should the Heavenly Dao care? To it, they are but ants, and there is no difference between them.

It was the merge of the Taoist Ancestor that brought about the existence of divine punishments, imprecations, and Heavenly Tribulations, restraining cultivators and preventing them from harming living beings recklessly.

This is precisely what makes the Taoist Ancestor so great!

The Taoist Ancestor is revered not because he is the strongest, but because his heart is full of great compassion. Great power can only inspire fear, not respect. People revere the Taoist Ancestor because they are grateful for his moral virtue.

From a certain perspective, it was precisely because the Taoist Ancestor was selfless that he chose to merge with the Tao. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be better for him to live contentedly as a detached Daluo Jinxian of Primordial Chaos?

It should be noted that the Taoist Ancestor and the Six Saints are different; he first became a Daluo Jinxian of the Primordial and then a saint. The Six Saints, on the other hand, first became saints and then Daluo Jinxians of the Primordial.

In other words, Honjan Daizu had a choice and could refuse to become a saint. The Six Saints, however, had no choice but to become saints.

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The Heavenly Dao endures because of its impartiality, and the Taoist Ancestor endures because of his selflessness. It can be said that impartiality and selflessness are the foundation that remains unchanging through the ages.

If the Underworld wishes to return to its pinnacle, it must achieve utmost impartiality and selflessness. How living beings are reincarnated depends entirely on their actions and merits accumulated in life, rather than on how powerful their backers are.

Of course, this is also the merit of the Taoist Ancestor. Before the Taoist Ancestor, a person’s morality was not determined by his actions but by how much spiritual energy he had absorbed. The more spiritual energy absorbed, the greater the presumption of guilt.

After the Taoist Ancestor, the morality of a person began to be measured by the amount of merit he possessed.

Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but to ordinary people, the latter is clearly preferable. After all, those with more merit are less likely to kill the innocent recklessly.

"If the Underworld can achieve fairness, then all Yin gods will be able to trace their origins and become the most noble officials between Heaven and Earth. At that point, a great many masters will emerge."

Jiang Chen’s interest in the Underworld was not without reason; he saw its potential. If the Underworld could trace back to its origins and achieve relative fairness, it would become an enormous generator of merit.

Every one million years, the Underworld would produce several Innate Dao Sovereigns who had attained their way through merit. Such a place was of paramount importance, and whoever could control it would truly have an immense advantage.

This is why the Heaven Court and the Buddhist door vied for control over the Underworld, seeing the benefits of wielding such power and the ability to generate a vast amount of merit. The disarray in the management of the Underworld can be said to be a deliberate creation of these two forces.

The purpose was to prevent the other party from benefiting, thereby hoarding the advantages brought by the underworld. Once a certain faction had completely seized control of the underworld’s situation, it would immediately set things right, restoring fairness to the underworld once again.

Without fairness in the underworld, where would merit come from?

"It’s all about interests!"

"The world bustles for profit, and scrambles for it too; Sima Qian truly did not deceive me!"

After observing the situation, Jiang Chen saw the intense politicking around the underworld, aimed at vying for the benefits it could offer.

If it were merely a struggle for profit, that would be understandable, as it is human nature. However, when their fights came at the expense of the interests of heaven and earth, then they were in the wrong.

An unfair underworld causes great harm to heaven and earth.

Where there is unfairness, resentment is born!

After death, the souls of all living beings are committed to the underworld. If one or two souls harbored resentment, it wouldn’t be a significant issue. But if the number of resentful departed souls multiplied, that would be a serious matter.

With enough resentment, the Heavenly Dao would sense it, and tribulation numbers would arise from it.

Jiang Chen could be certain that if Heaven Court and the Buddhist door continued their struggle for power and profit, they would eventually pay a price for it. Perhaps, in the not-so-distant future, a mighty tribulation would erupt in the Netherworld, aimed directly at Heaven Court and the Buddhist door!

"If the situation in the underworld is not stopped, the Jade Emperor might face the danger of falling, and the Buddhist door, weaker than Heaven Court, is likely to decline because of it."

Recently, Jiang Chen had made small achievements in the Yijing, gaining a deeper grasp of future changes. He seemed to have comprehended the true essence of great tribulations and saw the bitter fruits that would result from the continued deterioration of the underworld.

The Tiandi loses virtue, once again entering tribulation;

The Buddhist door sinks into decay, falling in a single dynasty.

This is the backlash of countless lost souls!

"Why do I feel like the Jade Emperor is doing this on purpose? Deliberately making the situation in the underworld worse..."

At that moment, Jiang Chen could only lament that his cultivation was not strong enough, that he had not yet grasped the Great Yan divine calculation. Otherwise, his grasp of the future would be even more precise, and it would no longer be a suspicion but a certainty.

Whether in cultivation or insight, the Jade Emperor was far superior to Jiang Chen. Therefore, it made no sense that the Jade Emperor could not see what Jiang Chen could. Yet, the Jade Emperor saw and did nothing.

That was quite thought-provoking.

Was it confidence, that the tribulations of the underworld could not harm him, or was it intentional, to strengthen the underworld’s tribulation, dragging himself into the abyss?

Jiang Chen’s suspicion was not unfounded. Xing Tian had mentioned that the Jade Emperor’s tribulation number was not yet complete; he still needed to reincarnate to replenish the missing tribulation number.

But the Jade Emperor had already fallen once. Who would kill him a second time? And with the Jade Emperor’s cultivation even greater than before, infinitely close to a Daluo Jinxian of the Primordial, who could kill him?

Thus, under these circumstances, Jiang Chen had reasons to suspect that the Jade Emperor did not merely fail to foresee the underworld’s tribulation but rather saw it coming, chose not to interfere, and perhaps even intended to exacerbate it, using the tribulation to aid his own entry into tribulation.

In the saying ’breaking before rebuilding,’ it is nothing but this!

"I am about to meet with Mother Earth shortly, and I could consult her. If I can’t discern the Jade Emperor’s intentions, her venerable cultivation penetrating the mysteries, she might see through them."

After calming down, Jiang Chen felt that if he found an opportunity, he could consult Mother Earth about this matter. Otherwise, no matter how much he speculated, he could never arrive at the right answer.

Jiang Chen was very curious about this answer because it concerned his future planning. Since he had committed to becoming the Tiandi, it was inevitable that he would be the enemy of the Jade Emperor in the future.

Knowing he was an adversary, Jiang Chen naturally wanted to pay close attention to the Jade Emperor’s planning. If he truly sought death with all his heart, then the issue would be much simpler.

An enemy who earnestly seeks death is much easier to deal with than one who passionately wants to live.

If he wishes for death, his wish should be granted. Indeed, when the time comes, the Jade Emperor may not even resist. It might just be that with a gentle push, Jiang Chen would kill him.