Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1484: Nine hundred and ninety is the result of cause and effect

Chapter 1484: Nine hundred and ninety is the result of cause and effect

"Let him in!"

The voice of the Saint of Taiqing rang in the ears of the mountain god of Shouyang Mountain, dispelling his hesitation. He straightened his face, made way for a passage, and bowed toward Jiang Chen saying, "Immortal Venerable, please!"

Jiang Chen nodded, and walked straight into Shouyang Mountain. After only a few steps, he saw a white-haired Taoist with a staff approaching him.

This was the Evil Corpse, Daoist Heavenly Venerable of Moral Principles, left by the Saint of Taiqing on Shouyang Mountain, specifically to guard the seal of Kongtong. Among the six saints of the Heavenly Dao, the Saint of Taiqing was the only one who had severed his three corpselike selves before attaining sainthood.

Thus, he had three avatars: the Good Corpse as the Primordial Lord Laozi, the Evil Corpse as Daoist Heavenly Venerable of Moral Principles, and the Self Corpse as the Saint of Taiqing himself.

The term ’Evil Corpse’ did not mean being evil, but a counterpart to the Good Corpse.

Heaven and Earth bring forth myriad beings. However, once these beings are born, they will inflict damage upon Heaven and Earth. Thus, to be kind to all beings is to be cruel to Heaven, and the severed corpselike self is the Good Corpse. To be kind to Heaven and Earth is to be cruel to all beings, and the severed corpselike self is then the Evil Corpse.

Therefore, the Good Corpse is kind to all beings, while the Evil Corpse is kind to Heaven and Earth.

...

Jiang Chen is the Star Lord, the supreme authority of Heaven and Earth. His arrival at Shouyang Mountain would not have required the personal reception by the Saint of Taiqing himself if he were present. However, in his absence, only an avatar remained, and naturally, it did not compare to Jiang Chen in status.

Therefore, upon detecting Jiang Chen’s arrival, Daoist Heavenly Venerable promptly rose to greet him.

"Greetings, Heavenly Venerable!"

Jiang Chen came intending to persuade through reason, and thus greeted Daoist Heavenly Venerable from afar with great sincerity.

"The Star Lord is too courteous!"

Daoist Heavenly Venerable hastily returned the greeting.

When the Great Divine Transcendents of the Prehistoric World saw Jiang Chen, they would call him Star Lord instead of Human King, as the title of Human King did not entitle him to be on par with them; rather, it was one level below.

On the contrary, the Star Lord, due to being the supreme authority of Heaven and Earth, far exceeded them in status.

"The purpose of the Star Lord’s visit is already known to me, please forgive my inability to comply. The seal of Kongtong is the foundational treasure of the Human Sect. It is the foundation of the sect and also my founding element as a saint. It is absolutely impossible for me to hand it over to the Star Lord."

After the pleasantries, Daoist Heavenly Venerable did not beat around the bush. Without waiting for Jiang Chen to speak his part, he directly refused.

His meaning was clear: regardless of who came, he would not hand over the seal of Kongtong. Having proclaimed the seal as his very foundation for attaining the Dao, it was definitely not negotiable.

Moreover, Daoist Heavenly Venerable did not lie; the seal of Kongtong had indeed become the foundational treasure of the Human Sect. Though, at the onset of the Human Sect, the treasured artifact that oppressed fate was the Tai Chi Diagram, an artifact from the dawn of creation, but that was a long time ago.

As early in the establishment of Taoism, the Saint of Taiqing replaced the Tai Chi Diagram with the seal of Kongtong as the foundational treasure of the Human Sect, and the Tai Chi Diagram became the foundational treasure of Taoism.

It must be said that the Saint of Taiqing was indeed remarkable, belonging to both sects as a unique among the saints.

"Do you not think your actions to be somewhat excessive, Heavenly Venerable? The seal of Kongtong is a treasured artifact of the Human Race. Your taking it has already been a source of great discontent. Now, to establish it as the foundational treasure of the Human Sect, you clearly do not take the Human Race seriously?"

Jiang Chen felt a fire burning in his chest, raising his tone by a few notches, imbued with feelings of anger and questioning.

He had anticipated, before arriving, that retrieving the seal of Kongtong from the hands of the Saint of Taiqing might be an impossible task.

Yet, even so, he had not expected the Saint of Taiqing to be so excessive, directly converting the Human Race’s treasured artifact into the foundational treasure of the Human Sect – he was planning to permanently bind the Human Race to the Human Sect!

No wonder the Saint of Taiqing had established Taoism; he was ready to abandon the Human Sect at any time.

If the Human Race were to prosper, then the Human Sect, by virtue of the seal of Kongtong, would be tied to the Human Race and could usher in prosperity simultaneously.

Conversely, if the Human Race were to decline, it was not a big deal. With the existence of Taoism, it could completely supplant the Human Sect.

Truly, the Saint of Taiqing was worthy of his reputation - proclaims inactivity and non-contention, yet, in reality, there is nothing in the Prehistoric World he does not yearn for.

Inactivity means not abstaining from action.

It seems that he vies for nothing, yet his hand is visible in every major event.

No matter how the situation evolves, whoever claims the final victory, he will benefit from it. The only difference lies in the extent of the benefit.

"The Star Lord speaks too gravely!"

"This seal of Kongtong was not taken by me, but it flew to me on its own accord."

"The so-called treasures have spirits and choose their own masters. The seal of Kongtong chose me over the Human Race, which clearly indicates a problem."

"Instead of blaming me here, Star Lord, you might do well to reflect on why the Human Race failed to win the favor of the seal of Kongtong."

Even when questioned by Jiang Chen, Daoist Heavenly Venerable did not get angry, responding cheerfully instead. However, his words landed in Jiang Chen’s ears with great force.

Because the Saint of Taiqing was not wrong, the seal of Kongtong indeed flew towards Shouyang Mountain on its own initiative. But this did not mean that the seal acknowledged the Saint of Taiqing as its master; it simply indicated that the Human Race at that time was too weak to compete with the Saint of Taiqing.

The seal of Kongtong appeared in the early ancient times, at a point when the environment of Heaven and Earth was transitioning from Innate to Acquired. It was during this time that the seal of Kongtong, as the foremost treasure of the Acquired realm, manifested according to destiny.

This treasure was inherently connected to the Human Race. Thus, upon its emergence, it immediately flew towards the land where the fate of the Human Race was most concentrated. And at that time, Shouyang Mountain was where the fate of the Human Race was indeed most dense.