Chapter 225

Fuxi the Great Sage sighed with emotion, seeming to miss his past achievements.

Translation: "Fuxi the Great Sage sighed with emotion, seeming to miss his past achievements."

Note: The translations are correct: Fuxi the Great Sage, sighing with emotion, seeming to miss his past achievements.

A single stroke opens heaven—Fuxi!

Translation: "A single stroke opened heaven—Fuxi!"

The truly experienced supreme god of creation causes countless primordial deities to look up to his majestic stature; beneath the gleam of the heaven‑splitting divine axe, each follows his will wholeheartedly, to the point that not even calling him 'father' would be necessary.

Meaning: "The supreme god who genuinely experienced the act of creation lets many innate divinities look up to his towering figure… Under the edge of the divine axe that opened heaven, each one is very willing, not even needing to shout 'dad'."

But we need to keep meaning. Let's produce: "The true supreme god who had genuinely undergone the creation experience lets many innate divinities gaze up at his majestic stature… Beneath the blade of the heaven‑opening divine axe, each one is completely willing, hardly needing to call out 'father'."

We need to keep it concise but include all info. Let's try: "The true supreme god who had genuinely undergone creation lets many innate divinities look up to his towering form… Under the edge of the heaven‑opening divine axe, each is wholly willing, hardly needing to shout 'father'."

Ok.

Fengxi was astonished at this great one's glorious achievements, yet doubt rose in his heart: 'Holy Emperor, you have ascended to the position of the Primordial Ancestor God Pangu, so why does the present age have such chaos?'

Translation: "Fengxi marveled at this big shot's glorious achievements, yet doubt rose in his heart: 'Holy Emperor, you have ascended to the position of the Pangu Ancestral God, so why does the present age show such chaos?'"

We need to keep quotes. Use double quotes as in Chinese? We'll keep English quotes.

Fengxi is full of curiosity.

Translation: "Fengxi had too much curiosity."

Xihuang shook his head and said, 'So I'll say, I've messed up, huh!'

Translation: "Xihuang shook his head and said, 'So I'll say, I broke it!'"

"Eh?!" Fengxi stroked his chin, 'If there were a new Pangu, wouldn't that put him on par with you? Two Pangus? Could someone fall from this level of achievement?'

Note: The dialogue "Eh?!" Fengxi stroked his chin, 'If there were a new Pangu, wouldn't that put him on par with you? Two Pangus? Could someone fall from this level of achievement?' is actually line 7, not line 8; please check the numbering.

Given lines:

Xihuang shook his head and said, 'So I'll say, I've messed up, huh!'

Therefore, it's impossible to serve another term, and a new opportunity for competing Pangus has arisen.

"Eh?!" Fengxi stroked his chin, 'If there were a new Pangu, wouldn't that put him on par with you? Two Pangus? Could someone fall from this level of achievement?'

"How could that be?" Xihuang said dumbfoundedly, 'All Great Luo are eternally certified and permanently achieved, never regressing… let alone Pangu.'

'Once certified, it's certified; it won't fall.'

'Don't even speak of two Pangus coexisting; even several or a dozen Pangus standing side by side would not be impossible.'

Fuxi, as an experienced one, simply explained the mystery to the novice Fengxi: 'Of course, when put into concrete manifestation, it takes the form of transformation.'

'Pangu… eighty‑

Hearing this, you should understand.

Each transformation is essentially the embodiment of those who have achieved Pangu's feat, reversing cause and effect, as shown by the imprint on the Pangu who opened heaven and earth.

One of these transformations is my becoming Fuxi, manifesting the Dao form of a human body with a dragon's tail.

The Great Sage Fuxi spoke calmly, yet it left Fengxi no choice but to gaze up with reverent admiration, as if looking up at a towering peak.

Pangu is Fuxi, but Fuxi is merely Fuxi.

The Emperor Xi said gently, "You may think Pangu's position is lofty, but essentially it's just that."

His mission is simply to open heaven and earth, nothing more, to forge the eternal wilderness; as for handling other matters, that is not his concern.

It's like a number jointly created by everyone, for public use—similar to Hongjun's foundation and the Heavenly Dao, but with far greater power.

As for the materials?

It is everything in the wilderness—viewing the wilderness, heaven and earth, and all living beings as a single complete living entity, helping it achieve true Daluo, traverse eternity, and never perish or sink.

Then, the most outstanding active Daluo among them seizes all authority, manipulates the ages, using false cultivation to enter Pangu's achievement—"one verification, eternal verification; one fulfillment, eternal fulfillment"—reversing cause and effect from the outset to set the rules, thus creating the concept of Daluo's boundless, eternal, free spacetime and showing the wilderness the path to eternity.

Fuxi finished his explanation.

Fengxi was initially confused, but gradually sorted it out, feeling deep down a sense of shock and terror.

This grand scheme of false cultivation thoroughly explains the wondrous way in which Daluo reverses cause and effect.

Did heaven and earth come first, or Pangu, or perhaps first came those supremely wise beings who attained the highest achievement?

It's no longer clear.

No wonder this highest honorific title is called "Pangu"... this is the genuine Pangu! Fengxi sighed lightly, "Reversing cause and effect, manipulating the ages—making the epoch ancient—so there is no more vivid description than 'Pangu'."

"Exactly." Fuxi nodded, "This name originally meant to serve as a milestone, guiding those who come after."

So that each Daluo knows their goal of struggle… hence the occurrence of great calamities.

They all ponder how to silence opposition, command the wilderness, unlock the final gate, and become one of Pangu's eighty-one transformations… The act of opening heaven and earth seemed to be done by one person alone, but in fact it involved far more.

It contains the innate tendency of the eternal wilderness, the opinions of each Pangu true person… but in the end, the minority followed the majority, determining the final layout of heaven and earth, thus forming the scene you see now.

Pangu opening heaven—that was the ultimate game!

As for the three thousand demons blocking the way?

Fengxi wondered what role they played here.

The so-called three thousand chaotic demons blocking the way… this is actually the manifestation of each Pangu true person's journey of eliminating and suppressing opposition, unrelated to the overall situation.

The Emperor Xi said indifferently, "For example, you now stand on the side of the Wu tribe, right?"

Then if in this era, Nüwa fails while Hongjun and Pangu succeed… in the end, you would be deemed a chaotic demon and walk onto the battlefield of opening heaven and earth.

So the number of chaotic demons is not fixed; "three thousand" is merely a figurative number meaning many.

It could be more than three thousand, or even far exceed three thousand.

But no matter how many, they are all just easily cut down.

The Great Sage Fuxi shrugged, "Under Daluo, all beings are equal."

Under Pangu, Daluo and beings are also equal.

Whether many or few come, they're just sending themselves to death.

Fengxi listened, speechless.

Boss is awesome!

Boss is imposing!

Boss is invincible under heaven!

But…

"You're so powerful, why are you acting so sneakily now?"

"Have you turned into a clandestine meeting of an underground organization's members?"

Perhaps Fengxi's eyes revealed a hint of his thoughts, which Fuxi perceived.

That holy emperor merely sighed, "Only someone of the same level could make Pangu so embarrassed."

"But as you said, now among heaven and earth there is only you as Pangu; the remaining Pangu true persons, although essentially transcendent due to the one-verification-eternal-verification trait, must still complete the process of reversing cause and effect to manifest and gain authority, otherwise they remain forever Pangu's successors." Fengxi blinked.

One verification, eternal verification; one fulfillment, eternal fulfillment—future achievements may be extraordinary, but that doesn't mean no effort is needed now.

Otherwise, the final achievement stays the same, but the process could be incredibly arduous, with all kinds of flashy beatings.

Worse still, one's achievement could be stolen—just as living Daluo and innate spiritual treasures are both proofs of the Dao, but who would want to become an innate spiritual treasure?

Pangu is the same.

Everyone will sharpen their minds, push their rankings forward a bit—competition is inevitable… Under these circumstances, to be able to sit in the position of the first Pangu, one can imagine Fuxi's scheming and wisdom.

Is there still anyone who can make him utterly embarrassed?

Fuxi the Great Sage shook their head, saying, "That's because back then there were special circumstances that let some rascals pull off a 'draw lots and call for a two‑on‑one'… utterly shameless!"

"How dare you lay a hand on me, this universally acclaimed, noble‑charactered, morally sublime flawless white lotus!"

"Utterly insane!"

Xihuang grew angry for a while, then gradually calmed down again.

"And the root of all this, traced back to its source, is precisely the job you are now filling."

Fuxi pointed at Fengxi, and a water curtain of fortune descended, connecting to the origin of Honghuang.

"The Master of Fortune Dao?" Involving the quota issue, Fengxi instantly became serious and listened attentively.

"Yes." Fuxi the Great Sage nodded, then countered, "Do you know the essence of fortune?"

"I do; you told me that back then." Fengxi said.

"No… not that." Xihuang waved their hand, "That's just an explanation for laypeople."

"Ah?" Fengxi was somewhat taken aback.

"Actually, the source of the Grand Dao of Fortune is my Yi Dao." Fuxi smiled faintly, "Fortune requires a framework in which movement and change occur, only then does it have significance for calculation and consideration."

"And Yi is about pursuing change, seeking motion."

"The Grand Dao of Fortune was my expansion upon the Yi Dao back then, racking my brains to think—how could I, by relying on the existence of heaven and earth and all beings, make use of their functions to aid my path?"

"I thought and thought, and finally I created the Grand Dao of Fortune outside of Yi Dao."

"And as I proved the Dao and became Pangu, this Grand Dao of Fortune also became one of the most fundamental foundations of Honghuang… that I inscribed myself."

What is a foundation?

Anything that can be used to measure and calculate is a foundation!

In the Honghuang cosmos, the vast majority can be measured and exchanged using fortune… that's why even mighty divine powers covet it.

"The Grand Dao of Fortune can fully utilize heaven and earth and all beings to create value… thus, back then I gained much divine acclaim and also earned the trust of humanity."

As they spoke, Fuxi suddenly laughed, looking at Fengxi, "With your wisdom, you should be able to deduce what the human environment would be like in a cultivation world without fortune."

"Hmm." Fengxi nodded.

This isn't hard.

The splitting of life forms renders the weak useless to the strong, so naturally there's no need to care about their life or death.

When cultivators clash, what's the death of tens of millions of mortals?

They wouldn't care at all.

"With fortune, a bridge is built between the strong and the weak, creating a relationship of use and being used, which can be loosely called a win‑win." Fuxi the Great Sage laughed, "Don't look down on being used—after all, it's proof of value."

"I found a prime buyer for the lowest, most numerous stratum of humanity at that time—the innate divinities, the Great Luo Heavenly Will."

"So that there would be no middlemen skimming profits, letting top and bottom communicate directly… the Great Luo Heavenly Will won't deliberately make things hard for humanity, nor will it pay them any mind—because the gap is too vast, there's hardly any room for interaction. As for the middle tier, they barely qualify as cannon fodder, and they've served as happy middlemen for a long time."

"But when I opened up the Grand Dao of Fortune, profit drove the Great Luo Heavenly Will to cast its gaze downward, begin to monitor humanity's development, and choke off the middlemen."

"Under the Great Luo, all beings are equal!"

"With this step, I directly kicked humanity's development in the Honghuang cosmos onto the right track, letting cultivation civilization enter explosive growth, and it will inevitably continue forever."

"In a world where the Grand Dao of Fortune exists, humanity can't get any worse… who would kill a hen that lays golden eggs?"

"Before, either the hen laid no eggs and you had to eat meat, or the profit from laying eggs didn't even cover the feed cost. But now, the hen lays golden eggs… hey!"

"As long as one isn't stupid, knowing they still have a bite to eat, they'll surely feed that hen well… even if their original intention isn't very kind, even if it's malicious."

Fuxi let out a muffled laugh.

Fengxi did not laugh, but gazed at Xihuang with a very solemn, reverent look.

—This is a true, supreme sage of humanity!

The whole person transcends eternity, radiating the brightest holy light, blazing like a great sun!

"Once humanity's problem is solved, many things become easy."

Fuxi propped their chin on one hand, "Especially, they can still grow… even if it's a spiral‑style upward advance."

"You know, what Honghuang lacks least is time."

"As ages pile up, a sound foundation for humanity can nurture excellent civilizations, outstanding talents, and quicken the pace of transforming Honghuang… when they are paired with a figure of great talent and strategy, efficiency will increase by thousands or even tens of thousands of times."

"And I am exactly such a figure!"

Fuxi is quite shameless… no, it's a confident self‑affirmation.

"Back then, I not only had wisdom, but also strength, and the people's hope."

"After all, the Grand Dao of Fortune is what I opened up."

"I first held a long‑term patent on it, letting me cultivate connections and raise my cultivation… humanity trusted and admired me, and fellow innate divinities of the same rank respected and followed me."

"Of course, I differ from fortune itself… everyone likes fortune, but as the one who issues it, some people have major objections to me."

Fuxi sighed, "For example, Rahu, the Azure Dragon… many mountain lords."

"Finally, I exhausted my wits to settle them… among them were many righteous individuals who made great contributions."

This is a tumultuous, sweeping history, a pity that Fuxi only gave a brief summary.

Fengxi was very curious.

But his instinct warned him… the content that the parties involved glossed over likely involves dark history.

Those who don't want to die are better off not asking.

"Rahu was suppressed, the Azure Dragon lay low for a long time, the Heavenly Dao server is in place… the only trouble left is the primordial phoenix."

"But I also settled that, granting many benefits—since the phoenix doesn't alight on a place without treasure, I appointed her as the manager of the Heaven‑Earth Bank's fortune treasury, so she can go count money and keep accounts every day."

"All my opponents have temporarily ceased, the remaining Great Luo beings encircle me, heeding my commands… but there is still a problem."

Everyone's eyes are on money.

Fuxi smiled, he first pointed at himself, then pointed at Fengxi, "We two Great Luo, I will contribute plans and strategies, you will contribute labor, together we will develop Honghuang."

Suppose... we used one share of fortune as cost to create a hundred shares of fortune as profit.

The cost is split, each person bears half a share, right?

Then when we finally divide the profits, I will take ninety-nine shares of fortune, you take one share... are you willing?

Fengxi instinctively wanted to shake his head.

This method is too unfair!

You think it's unfair, right?

My allies, many of them also think that way... but I am also quite helpless.

If we don't take the largest share of fortune, how can we maintain the strongest combat power to deter?

Before becoming Pangu, we cannot relax even for a moment; we must guard against all competitors.

The higher has policies, the lower has countermeasures." Fuxi sighed, "Those who are money-eyed, my good comrades, have all evolved.

Or they study my fortune's Great Dao, produce inferior fortune, wash it back and forth in the Honghuang world, substituting fake for real.

Or they painstakingly study loopholes in the game rules, using a method faster than robbery to rise overnight... Among them, my good sister stands out as the most outstanding.

Nüwa Real Estate — Buzhou Youchao Co., Ltd. — has written a myth.

I watched helplessly as she leapt up and down, in one fell swoop she swept away half of the middle-layer wealth of the entire Honghuang world... Moreover, this isn't the end; she joined forces with a certain executive of the Heaven and Earth Bank, launching a lending business.

Anyway, they are all cultivators above the immortal level; they have plenty of time to repay.

It's just that the time is a bit longer... must they work hard for hundreds of millions of years? Or tens of billions of years? Using most of the money they earned to repay.

Fuxi rubbed his brow.

Fengxi's face turned ashen.

'I heard nothing, I know nothing...'

'Lady Nüwa is gentle and approachable; surely she has not a single blemish in her history...'

Fuxi, however, continued speaking, reminiscing about the past: 'Back then I had it so hard... so many good comrades!'

Although I once wanted to kill them immediately, upon reflection, it was precisely because of these comrades' support, uniting them, that I was able to win against enemies like Rahu, the Dragon Ancestor, and Hongjun, etc.

Burning the bridge after crossing the river is never good; we need a tolerant heart to forgive them, not solve problems with force but with wisdom.

Fortunately, my wisdom and talent are top-notch; when pressed, I can always think of a solution... In the game with my comrades, I have further enhanced myself.

To solve the problem of these good comrades, I successively opened up the three Great Daos of merit, morality, and holiness... Finally, I settled them all, confiscating all illicit funds.

It is precisely with the help of this wealth that thousands of Great Luo, who had scrimped and saved day and night, especially Nüwa's entire fortune, were thoroughly cleared out by me, used for basic construction, instantly letting Honghuang, on the basis of explosive development, surge even further, letting my path to Pangu make a great leap forward.

Fuxi wore a look of satisfaction, an expression of a bad deed yielding a good result.

But Fengxi always felt something was off.

His eyes shifted, he was quite suspicious.

'All the illicit funds? All the family assets? Real or fake? Can it be determined so accurately?'

'Those are all Great Luo... could they not even hide private stashes?'

'Could they be completely wiped out by a bottom‑out confiscation?'

'This... could it not be that they had long prepared and set an ambush?'

'For example, Lady Nüwa's wealth...'

'Isn't it that this exalted person, outwardly unwilling to harm sentient beings to enrich himself, therefore deliberately turns a blind eye, allowing other Great Luo to act with the highest subjective initiative for their own benefit, exploiting every means to make money...'

'Then, after they have fattened themselves, strike them with a thunderbolt!'

'To have everyone completely cleared out, all family assets confiscated...'

Fengxi, putting himself in their shoes, thought that if he had the means, he would probably do the same.

(End of chapter)