Chapter 253

Fengxi guessed that the development of the matter might be quite interesting, giving many people a huge "surprise".

Huangdi

He always felt that Huangdi—the holy sovereign of humanity—was not so easy to deal with.

Nüwa ordered her trusted minister Fengxi to go undercover at Huangdi…… It might succeed, but the final result may not necessarily match her planned arrangement.

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

"This is the Central Heavenly Emperor among the Five Directions Heavenly Emperors!"

Fengxi let out a soft sigh from the bottom of his heart, "No matter how much one overestimates, it is necessary."

The Five Directions Heavenly Emperors…… have a subtle difference from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors speak for humanity, and their rule is over humanity.

Red Emperor

The object they face is the entirety of Honghuang, and they rule over the entire human Dao!

Central Heavenly Emperor

Then they are marked with the five colors—azure, white, vermilion, black, yellow—to correspond to the five directions and five phases.

Eastern Heavenly Emperor Azure Emperor, Western Heavenly Emperor White Emperor, Southern Heavenly Emperor Vermilion Emperor, Northern Heavenly Emperor Black Emperor, Central Heavenly Emperor Yellow Emperor.

These Five Directions Heavenly Emperors are all selected from humanity's Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors——this is the victors' prerogative, a natural hegemony of the protagonists of heaven and earth.

If humanity can rule the universe, then the foremost human king naturally ought to also serve as Heavenly Emperor, overseeing all living beings.

And even though they are all Heavenly Emperors, they are also different.

Some people are just a bit stronger than others.

Among the Five Directions Heavenly Emperors, without a doubt…… Huangdi and Qingdi should be the strongest.

Xuanyuan

Peach Banquet

Jade Pool Wine Immortal

Central, the authority is greatest, the dignity highest…… throughout history, anyone bearing this prefix has never been a pushover.

Heavenly Court Banquet

It represents a very special status, a kind of directional worship and respect, carrying a degree of transcendent reverence.

Like Donghuang, Dong Wanggong…… they bear the "East" prefix, which does not mean merely ruling the East, but rather being boundless, with an extremely transcendent status.

Five Virtues Great Dao

Even Yandi, who flickers faintly behind Fengxi…… his status may be slightly inferior to theirs by a hair.

But in Nüwa's plan, Fengxi must first neutralize Qingdi's hidden hand left among the Feng clan, then go head-to-head with Huangdi…… this difficulty is by no means low; a moment's inattention could spell disaster.

Between those two figures…… Qingdi Fuxi is indeed a big shot capable of rivaling Pangu, having pressed Nüwa for many years until she could barely breathe, occasionally pulling a "zero savings, total withdrawal," turning her private stash into shared sibling property; after years of painstaking saving, it was all snatched away by a shameless elder brother with a casual flick; as for Huangdi Xuanyuan, it's hard to say—Fengxi has never met him, but just seeing his tremendous authority, at least on par with Qingdi, shows he is also an existence of terrifyingly formidable means, capable of presiding as the top sage sovereign over the central Honghuang.

Facing such an opponent, even if Fengxi were ever more confident, he would inevitably feel a lack of confidence in his heart.

"My mistake is small, but if I let Lady Nüwa's grand plan explode right on the spot, getting my face covered in blood from the pit… wouldn't my guilt be huge?"

"But Lady Nüwa insists so… on one hand she wants to establish the supreme status within the family, on the other hand she wants to establish the supreme status among humanity."

"I am insignificant and my words carry little weight; what else can I do?"

"If she could just give up one side, that would be fine—either focus solely on family status, turning the younger sister into the elder, regarding her position among humanity as fleeting clouds, not worth a thought; or focus solely on managing humanity, compromise with Fuxi, thereby gaining the strongest ally…"

"What can be done? What can be done!"

"Lady Nüwa, however, wants to have it all… This is too dangerous; one careless move and someone could overturn the chessboard, possibly making us guests at the Peach Banquet, immortals in the Jade Pool's wine."

"Drinking too much alcohol without eating vegetables, the Heavenly Court's banquet fills the peach tubes."

"But since the Lady has made up her mind… as this great loyal subject, I can only sacrifice my life to accompany the gentleman."

"Take control of the Wind Clan, to check and balance the Yellow Emperor."

"If we ultimately lose, the worst is to pay with one's life… later we can still return."

"Moreover, in that variable scene I witnessed, Nüwa still holds the advantage…"

"The only thing off is Yandi's manifestation—he only shows the authority of Yin virtue and blessings, not the true peak state of my Five Virtues Great Dao, casting doubt on the authenticity of the script."

"This is also why I feel uneasy about the Wind Lord plan…"

"Fengxi's thoughts turned over and over, considering many things."

"But in the end, these thoughts settled—because those schemes and struggles all have prerequisites."

"Wanting internal strife, to split the gains."

"At the very least, first kill all external enemies."

"Defeat the Demon Race!"

"Let humanity become the protagonists of heaven and earth!"

"Oh… right!"

"When will humanity appear?"

"If humanity doesn't appear, and the Wind Clan doesn't exist… where would I go to become the Wind Empress?"

"Fengxi discovered something subtle."

"\"Over ten million years ago, I heard Lady Houtu tell me about the Wind Lord plan. I vaguely recall that back then she also said humanity's birth was imminent…\""

"\"But up to now… there seems to be no trace of humanity? \""

"He, filled with great doubt, asked Xin Yin."

"That goddess blinked and said, 'The birth of humanity… in fact, as early as ten million years ago, Lady Nüwa had already made all the material preparations.'"

"\"And the investments that could be secured have already been secured. \""

"\"If we want to create humanity, we can do it at any time. \""

It's just that now we're stuck on a timing issue, stuck with a top‑notch figure.

Hongjun!

Xinyin looked solemn: 'Nüwa must ensure she can kick him out before she will act to create humanity, truly opening the curtain on the Wu‑Demon war, rather than being lukewarm as now. Although there was a bloody battle at Buzhou Peak, strictly speaking it's just minor skirmishes; overall both sides remain calm and rational.'

We must keep the quote marks? The Chinese includes 「」 quotes. We should preserve them? The instruction: translate faithfully, never skip, summarise, or merge paragraphs. Keep each translation on a single output line. It didn't say to keep the Chinese quotation marks; we should translate the content, but we can keep the quotes as English quotation marks? Usually we translate the quoted speech into English with quotation marks. We'll keep the quotes as English double quotes.

Thus: Xinyin looked solemn, "Nüwa must ensure she can kick him out before she will act to create humanity, truly opening the curtain on the Wu-Demon war, rather than being lukewarm as now. Although there was a bloody battle at Buzhou Peak, strictly speaking it's just minor skirmishes; overall both sides remain calm and rational."

Xinyin looked solemn,

Nüwa must ensure she can kick him out before she will act to create humanity, truly opening the curtain on the Wu-Demon war, rather than being lukewarm as now.

Although there was a bloody battle at Buzhou Peak, strictly speaking it's just minor skirmishes; overall both sides remain calm and rational.

We need to keep the period.

Thus final line: Xinyin looked solemn, "Nüwa must ensure she can kick him out before she will act to create humanity, truly opening the curtain on the Wu-Demon war, rather than being lukewarm as now. Although there was a bloody battle at Buzhou Peak, strictly speaking it's just minor skirmishes; overall both sides remain calm and rational."

Make sure it's one line.

Don't look over there—millions of lives die at the drop of a hat—but as long as there aren't dozens of Great Luo killed or a few great powers lost on our side, it will all be counted as mere friction.

We need to keep the ellipsis? Chinese uses 「……」. We can translate as ellipsis "…". We'll keep.

Thus: "Don't look over there—millions of lives die… but as long as there aren't dozens of Great Luo killed or a few great powers lost on our side, it will all be counted as mere friction."

Millions of lives die…

But as long as there aren't dozens of Great Luo killed or a few great powers lost on our side, it will all be counted as mere friction.

We'll output: "Don't look over there—millions of lives die… but as long as there aren't dozens of Great Luo killed or a few great powers lost on our side, it will all be counted as mere friction."

Everyone is very restrained.

Being restrained naturally has a reason… it falls on Hongjun.

He is capable of being a fisherman.

So, only by ensuring this fisherman cannot fish will everyone go all out.

Rather than fighting directly, in the end a third party would reap the benefits.

Xinyin said, shaking his head, 'Just, how could Hongjun possibly be willing? He controls the Heavenly Dao and holds the nominal highest position; who would willingly be kicked off the board to do thankless work day and night?'

We need to keep punctuation. We'll translate: Xinyin said, shaking his head, "Just, how could Hongjun possibly be willing? He controls the Heavenly Dao and holds the nominal highest position; who would willingly be kicked off the board to do thankless work day and night?"

We've been secretly obstructing… fortunately, recently we've made some breakthrough progress, with great confidence we can block the Dao Ancestor in the Purple Cloud Palace.

However, the external explanation will be more tactful—Hongjun, as Dao Ancestor, feeling that the Heavenly Dao is lacking, thus 'willingly and voluntarily' sacrificing himself to merge with the Dao, after which Hongjun is the Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Dao is not Hongjun.

We need to keep quotes around the Chinese phrases? We'll translate them as English phrases: "willingly and voluntarily". Keep single quotes? We'll keep double quotes.

Thus: "However, the external explanation will be more tactful—Hongjun, as Dao Ancestor, feeling that the Heavenly Dao is lacking, thus 'willingly and voluntarily' sacrificing himself to merge with the Dao, after which Hongjun is the Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Dao is not Hongjun."

But no matter how nice the words, the essence remains the same.

Fengxi listened, clicking his tongue in amazement.

'This matter, when I was still weak back then, I followed the two Ancestral Wu elders to Phoenix Resting Mountain and heard only a few words… now it actually might succeed?'

'Just, Hongjun should be the true big boss behind the Demon Race, right?'

'Now sealing Hongjun in the Purple Cloud Palace… our Wu Clan doing this is understandable; will the Demon Race cooperate?'

'Although the process was troublesome, after long discussions the work got done.' Xinyin said, 'Those demon gods primarily focused on demon race affairs… also have ambitions deep down!'

'If Hongjun were still around, managing them, they'd essentially be just workers.'

'Even the Demon Emperor is the same—like Di Jun and Taiyi.'

'Nominally, Hongjun has the authority to depose them.'

'Who would accept having a Retired Emperor above their heads?'

'Especially now, calculating the numbers, the Wu and Demon sides' strength comparison shows the Demon Race holds a certain advantage.'

'Hongjun's existence can be allowed, but it is not necessary.'

'It can only be the icing on the cake, not the charcoal in the snow.'

'Naturally someone would want to move his share of the cake, wanting to become the Supreme Heavenly Emperor rather than face the Heavenly Dao and have to make concessions as a defective Demon Emperor.'

'While the Wu Clan still exists, let's all vote to kick Hongjun out, then happily play, decide the winner, winner takes all… wouldn't that be wonderful?'

Xinyin smiled.

'Is that so… but I have a question.' Fengxi pondered, 'What if Hongjun absolutely refuses to compromise, even if he overturns the board and does not retreat?'

Hongjun's origins are special; the Heavenly Dao gave him achievement, but it also actually restrained him… the board isn't so easy to overturn. Xinyin explained, 'The Heavenly Dao is the management intelligence and highest server created together by all the Primordial Divine Sages in the primordial era… the access rights, we still have.'

……

Thus: "Is that so… but I have a question." Fengxi pondered, "What if Hongjun absolutely refuses to compromise, even if he overturns the board and does not retreat?"

Hongjun's origins are special; the Heavenly Dao gave him achievement, but it also actually restrained him… the board isn't so easy to overturn." Xinyin explained, "The Heavenly Dao is the management intelligence and highest server created together by all the Primordial Divine Sages in the primordial era… the access rights, we still have."

'If it weren't for Hongjun having refined three thousand Great Luo Dao Fruits, his strength wouldn't be so extraordinarily strong, how could he be so lively and energetic?'

'It requires the consent of the vast majority of Ancient God Great Sages to unite, in order to restrict him to some extent.'

'Nüwa has coordinated all sides; now the conditions are finally met… the next Purple Cloud Palace assembly will be the moment when the plot is revealed and the dagger appears.'

the plot is revealed and the dagger appears

A quick calculation shows only a dozen or so Yuan Hui remain.

Fengxi's eyes instantly lit up, his heart burning hot.

The real-life version is the ultimate grand palace coercion!

I never expected to actually have the chance to witness it firsthand.

Xinyin glanced at him and knew this hot‑blooded youngster, like many newbies just entering the circle who are Great Luo, had a heart that loves to watch the excitement without finding things too big, enjoys following the crowd to stir things up and eat the melon, especially the big melon—the showdown of top‑tier Divine Ability Practitioners—yet he didn't think much of it.

We need to keep the em dash? We'll use —.

Thus: Xinyin glanced at him and knew this hot-blooded youngster, like many newbies just entering the circle who are Great Luo, had a heart that loves to watch the excitement without finding things too big, enjoys following the crowd to stir things up and eat the melon, especially the big melon—the showdown of top-tier Divine Ability Practitioners—yet he didn't think much of it.

However, Hongjun is not an easy opponent…… Perhaps long ago he already foresaw this day and prepared in advance." Yin Yin said leisurely, "Even if we join forces, at most we can only restrain his body, not his heart."

He can still intervene in this era, having pawns and chips.

You must have heard of these things before—Hongmeng purple qi, the Heavenly Dao Saint?" She looked at Fengxi and asked with a smile.

Fengxi was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

This legend is not false." On the other side, Yin Yin sighed, "Purple qi? Saint position? Those do exist."

They originally didn't exist…… but in this era, Hongjun specially made them.

By splitting part of the origin of the Heavenly Dao and transforming it into Hongmeng purple qi, those who obtain the purple qi can become a Heavenly Dao Saint.

This Saint does not refer to a realm, but a position.

Bound to the Heavenly Dao, assisting in handling work, and thereby gaining combat power boost, receiving great fortune's aid to enhance cultivation.

At the first Zixiao Palace conference, Hongjun already proposed this.

Once he succeeds, he will gain many more helpers…… Even if he himself cannot personally take the field, he will still have sufficient resources.

Yin Yin praised this greatly, "Hongjun's realm is indeed outstanding…… Even before Nüwa began to coordinate, he had already taken this step."

In the Zixiao Palace, he openly put out a bid, luring with benefits, facing the vast innate divinities, he released several Saint positions, righteously declaring 'let the virtuous reside,' offering a fast track for cultivation advancement...

This is actually just looking for enforcers.

Of course.

We can tacitly accept this——we want to seal him in the Zixiao Palace, block the door, but we must leave a window, give him leeway, not push him too hard…… but he also needs to know his limits, not go too far, playing any underhanded tricks.

So there are no futons or seats or the like…… In this regard, the outside rumors are somewhat distorted.

After all, if Hongjun dares to appoint, perhaps one day the Wu Clan's Pangu true form or the Demon Race's Zhou Tian Star Dou Great Array, in the midst of fighting, might 'accidentally' slip…… Look at the appointed target—what virtue and ability do they have that is more blessed than theirs?

And that fortune—can it protect them from withstanding the roundhouse kicks of the two major camps?

Yin Yin's face lit up with a bright smile, "The position of Saint, everyone can choose not to want or not to contend for, but it is not a reason for Hongjun to arbitrarily appoint…… After all, we all have shares in the Heavenly Dao, merely differing in amount."

Whoever wishes to take the Saint's position must at least on the surface accomplish some merit, have fame spread throughout heaven and earth, be known to all beings, and possess prestige…… Of course, the most basic requirement is that one's strength cannot be too weak; at least one must be a first-rate great divine ability wielder to sit firmly in the Saint's position.

Then…… isn't Hongjun afraid that this Saint position will be cheaply taken by the great powers of the Wu Clan or the Demon Race?" Fengxi wondered.

How could they be afraid? The Saint's position originates from the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao belongs to Hongjun, who is responsible for it, so the Saint and Hongjun have a direct subordinate relationship. Xin Yin beside him shook his head repeatedly, "This is a matter of cause and effect; the core powerhouses of the witch and demon sides won't want to get involved...... Moreover, even if they wanted to, Hongjun wouldn't give it."

Yes, he cannot do too obvious behind-the-scenes manipulation, but making subtle adjustments in secret is not difficult.

Kick out some powerful beings who deliberately come to cause trouble and disrupt, ensuring the basic situation of the Heavenly Dao...... Even if they cannot make a big profit, they at least will not suffer a loss.

In this regard, for Hongjun, those neutral powerful beings who have no opinion about Pangu in this era are the most suitable targets...... And these powerful beings, each one is actually eager to try.

Like now, those participating in the competition and with the greatest hope...... are the three Heavenly Lords on Kunlun.

(End of chapter)