Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1167 - 820 The Heavenly Duty of the Saint’s Disciples

Chapter 1167: 820 The Heavenly Duty of the Saint’s Disciples

From life to death, this is an act of defying the Heavenly Dao. Indeed, the Innate Dao Sovereign can easily do so, but this does not mean that the act itself is right.

It is wrong, for it goes against the Heavenly Dao. Although the Heavenly Dao will not punish you for this, it will silently take note of it. Accumulate such actions too many times, and a final tally will be made.

Therefore, unless it is for a very close relative, or to say, the resurrected is one with great merit, the Innate Dao Sovereign generally would not use the power to bring the dead back to life.

Rather than reviving them, it is better to send them through reincarnation, as this carries a smaller price to pay.

Of course, reincarnation is only a lighter cost, not without consequence. The Six Paths of Reincarnation are Mother Earth’s domain, and her relationship with the Mystic Sect is well known to be not good.

The transmigration of Great Divine Transcendents’ disciples can be given preferential treatment, which is not without cost. They have negotiated such privileges with Mother Earth in exchange for various benefits.

The cost of favors amongst saints is unimaginable. How could such dearly bought privileges be lightly given to outsiders? Without significant assistance to the Shangqing Palace, such opportunities would certainly not arise.

Those lone ghosts and lost spirits that think to take advantage of the Shangqing Palace are utterly delusional. Instead, they should find ways to accumulate merit. With a body full of merit, anyone they turn to for help would likely make an exception.

No one will refuse to form ties with those who have merit.

"Since you have come to Wrongful Death City, you must follow the rules of Wrongful Death City. If they do not listen, then they should experience the consequences of violating the city’s rules."

"Your methods are still too gentle. Being appropriately intense, even appearing cruel, may not be a bad thing."

"As for those stubborn ghosts of North City, don’t be too concerned. Take direct action, capture them all, and depending on the karma they bear, either send them through reincarnation or to hell."

Rarely, Jiang Chen began to instruct these juniors. The strength of cultivators needs to be known not only to themselves but also to others. Only then will others fear and not dare to provoke them lightly.

The methods of the North City lord are too soft, always waiting for the other party to make a mistake before taking action. For such recidivist groups, one should not be so merciful but instead take decisive actions to set an example.

Regardless of whether they have made mistakes in Wrongful Death City, as long as they carry karma, they are guilty. Just send them straight to hell.

After a few such instances, those lone ghosts and lost spirits will become compliant.

"Alas, they were once our fellows, and we do not wish to see them end up in such a state," lamented the South City lord.

After all, their reluctance to act against these lost spirits is due to a sense of kinship. If it weren’t for their association with the Shangqing Palace changing their fate, how would their ends differ from these ghosts?

"Hmph, there are rules in Heaven and Earth. After death, living beings should either undergo reincarnation or return to Heaven and Earth. Where is the logic in forcibly lingering?"

"If all beings were like them, clinging to the mortal world and unwilling to depart, where would the Samsara Law stand?"

The North City lord did not sympathize and was resolute in believing that these lone ghosts and lost spirits should be eradicated. Their existence only disturbs the order of the Netherworld.

Now that the Ghost Dao of the Prehistoric World is not prominent, those living beings that linger forcefully in the Netherworld or the human realm are defying the rules of Heaven and Earth. If everyone did as they did, what is the point of reincarnation?

The rationale behind reincarnation is to give the deceased a chance to start anew. Otherwise, the pressure brought by a large number of lingering souls between Heaven and Earth can only be imagined.

There should be an increase and a decrease according to Heavenly Dao. Should the increase continue without decrease, even the vast Heaven and Earth could not bear it. In the cycle of reincarnation, souls will be shattered and transformed into pure energy to alleviate the pressure on Heaven and Earth.

As for transmigration, it is the True Spirit that should transmigrate, not the soul. The soul is merely the True Spirit’s garment and is not essential.

It could be said that the thoughts of the North City’s ruler align with the mainstream in the Prehistoric World. Once you die, don’t think too much; just peacefully reincarnate. Heaven and Earth gave birth to you and nurtured you, and after death your soul transforms into power that returns to Heaven and Earth. Isn’t this fair?

However, "it’s easy to speak of death when facing great difficulty," but how many can truly achieve this?

"The laws of Reincarnation are the ultimate truth of Heaven and Earth and an essential part of their cyclical nature. Since you have embarked on the Divine Dao, you must remember that maintaining the law of Heaven and Earth is your divine duty, which requires the protection of gods. Only by doing so can you journey farther on the Divine Dao."

Jiang Chen was becoming increasingly satisfied with the ruler of North City, who was simply a natural seed of the Divine Dao.

What is most important to the Divine Dao? It’s not talent, but stance. The authority of the Divine Dao comes from the rules of Heaven and Earth, so as a member of the Divine Dao, you must remember to uphold the stance of the Heavenly Dao at all times. Even if it means making enemies of your followers, such sacrifices are negligible.

Gods who lose their followers may lose power at most, but when the followers return, they can recover. But once you betray your stance and become despised by Heaven and Earth, you are truly beyond redemption.

Gods have the responsibility to protect their followers, but they cannot just do whatever their followers tell them to do. If a follower asks you to kill a good person, how could you comply?

When it comes to the requests of followers, gods may only respond if those requests don’t go against the ultimate principles of Heaven and Earth. Otherwise, gods would simply become the enforcers of their followers, doing whatever they’re told to do.

So, the stance of a god is very important.

Just like these five individuals, they are Yin Gods, so their stance must be to uphold the Samsara Laws. Anything contradictory to that, they must oppose.

"The Grandmaster instructs well!"

Upon hearing these words, the five became alert and realized that they had made a serious mistake. Now they were gods, not of the Immortal Dao, and yet they were still considering issues from the standpoint of the Immortal Dao. Continuing like this would surely lead to disaster.

How could they continue on the Divine Dao if they couldn’t even understand their stance? They were deluding themselves.

"But Grandmaster, from the start of our cultivation, we were taught that Heaven possesses the virtue of cherishing life; there is a glimmer of hope for all things in existence."

"Thus, ghosts should also have this glimmer of hope and not just be subjected to reincarnation or return to Heaven and Earth." The East City ruler hesitated for a moment then couldn’t help speaking.

In his view, it was unacceptable to be massively destructive to ghosts, as such actions were too damaging to the harmony of Heaven and violated the concepts of Heaven and Earth. There should be a glimmer of hope left for them.

Moreover, as the followers of the Saint of Taiqing who had vowed to secure a glimmer of hope for the living beings of Heaven and Earth, they should definitely not ruthlessly destroy ghosts but instead seek that glimmer of hope for them.

Indeed, theoretically speaking, the lineage of the Saint of Taiqing has the duty to seek out that glimmer of hope for all living beings of Heaven and Earth.

After all, the Saint of Taiqing had taken a grand vow to achieve sainthood, which was to grasp a thread of hope for all living beings between Heaven and Earth.

The grand vow undertaken by the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign was to expound the Heavenly Dao to all beings. Therefore, this Venerable Saint loved to preach, and his disciples did likewise.

And the grand vow of the Saint of Taiqing was to establish virtue for all beings, to enlighten all living beings. Thus, this Venerable Saint wrote the Dao De Jing and even condensed eighty-one incarnations to preach among the myriad tribes. Among the Saints, the Saint of Taiqing had the most incarnations.

"A glimmer of hope, huh?"

"Ghosts are also among the multitudes of beings, and for all creatures of Heaven and Earth, naturally there is a glimmer of hope, which just has not yet appeared."

Jiang Chen nodded, acknowledging his words.