Chapter 54

Fuxi lectures on antiquity, reminiscing about the years.

The struggle for qi luck had already begun as early as the Dragon-Phoenix Great Calamity.

Even according to Xihuang, the Dragon and Phoenix clans succeed because of qi luck and fail because of qi luck!

Finally, Rahu took advantage, and the camp collapsed utterly.

"The Ancestral Dragon fell in battle, leaving only a strand of innate spiritual light, which only returned after ages."

"The Phoenix Primordial Ancestor has entered nirvana, constantly slumbering in the Immortal Volcano, and the day it reveals itself is distant and uncertain."

"The demon ancestor Rahu, for a time, his demonic might grew great, shrouding the entire Honghuang in darkness and despair."

"Moreover, he plans to execute a world-ending act, to destroy heaven and earth, seeking to achieve ultimate exaltation through the annihilation of himself and the Great Dao, so as to stand on par with Pangu."

Xihuang's tone was heavy, imbued with a divine rhythm, making Fengxi feel as if he had crossed time into that ancient Dragon-Phoenix era, personally experiencing the terrifying age when the demon ancestor Rahu held sway over all.

"But in the end, heaven and earth naturally have enduring righteous qi, and evil cannot overcome good!" Fuxi spoke solemnly: "Hongjun holds the Creation Jade Disk, inviting many primordial deities… using their status and rank to concentrate the heavenly mandate granted by their positions, calling upon Pangu, the god who opened heaven and earth, to suppress the Honghuang world destined for destruction, thereby breaking the situation constructed by Rahu."

"Finally, Rahu was given a just trial, and the demon ancestor met his doom."

"The era of heaven and earth thus turned a new page… arriving at this age!"

Fengxi listened, dazed.

Hearing such ancient secrets from beginning to end was truly shocking.

After all, even the Wu Clan's library lacks clear records on this matter.

At most, only a few brief mentions were made—the Dragon-Phoenix era saw the two clans vying for supremacy; the demon ancestor took advantage to rise, while the Dao ancestor quelled the turmoil.

As for the cause of the struggle for supremacy, how each side responded, and how the demon ancestor seized the opportunity—

None of it.

Even Bai Ze's *Honghuang Chronicles* speaks in half-truths, unclear and vague.

Such a vast, tumultuous era, with countless beings playing out their rises and falls on the stage of heaven and earth, and the primordial deities contending with each other—how could it possibly be simple?

But now, as Fengxi looks back, he suddenly gains some understanding.

—Who knows which big shaman with thick eyebrows and big eyes in the Wu Clan now, back then printed counterfeit money so profusely that he flew off, swallowing the wealth value created by all beings of Honghuang.

How could such deeds possibly be written down?

As Fengxi thought this, his face suddenly turned ashen and deathly pale.

He felt... that he perhaps knew too much.

Even if this information lacks any concrete point toward a particular Great Luo being, it still makes his breathing somewhat difficult.

Too many people are involved!

"Relax." Fuxi glanced at him, "Being with me, the heavenly secrets are hazy; this information is a mist, and others won't see through it."

"As long as you don't foolishly spread it yourself, others won't know—unless they give you a soul search."

"But if it really comes to a soul search… I reckon you're beyond saving, whether you leak it or not makes no difference."

Fengxi drew a long breath, forced a smile, and said, "Well… if in the future I'm not among the Great Luo and they drive me to a dead end, I can always drag a scapegoat along, shout this information out loud to them, or to them?"

"This is a not-bad mutual-destruction method… Great Luo beings have endless time-space, eternal and free; wherever there is a call, there is a response." Fuxi nodded in approval, "As long as you, when you shout, specifically carry your dao title, you will instantly be sensed—whether you are in the past or future, or in some corner of the vast Honghuang."

"Of course, this must be a truly dead-end situation. Otherwise, if in the end you discover there is actually some life left…" Fuxi's smile was playful, "Then you'd still have to die, and die miserably."

"Moreover, just dying might not even be the end… you can look into the eighteen-layer hell package."

"Does the reincarnation underworld already exist now?" Fengxi's face turned pale.

"Not now, but later there will be… and once it exists, for us Great Luo beings, what's the difference from now?" Fuxi countered, "So you'd better take it easy."

"Only those who can keep a secret can accomplish great things."

—A ruler who is not discreet loses his ministers; a minister who is not discreet loses his person; affairs that are not discreet come to harm. Therefore the prudent person is discreet and does not reveal.

Fengxi nodded repeatedly, indicating understanding.

He is definitely not the type to joke about his own life.

"However, this qi luck and merit system, if you can use it well… I think normally there wouldn't be a situation where you're driven to a desperate strait." Fuxi smiled, eased the atmosphere, "Turning desperation into survival, turning misfortune into fortune… very easy and simple."

"But you also need to have qi luck to expend…" Fengxi muttered, weighing the qi luck and merit system, "Qi luck and merit are both valued by Great Luo beings… so wanting to obtain them, the difficulty isn't ordinary, right?"

"Moreover, I estimate, even if there were an opportunity, I'd be watched to death… and Great Luo beings can know past and future, where would there be a chance for me to intervene?"

He thought for a moment, not mentioning qi luck first, as for acquiring merit… Fengxi indeed knows quite a bit.

But, is it useful?

Can he go help create humans?

Or help mend the heavens?

Or even propose to initiate reincarnation?

Is Nüwa actually a tough character?

Or is Houtu very cute and soft?

Could it let people come over, flaunt some information whose truthfulness and usefulness are unknown, and thus divert their profits?

Do they really think the goddesses of Honghuang only act gentle and never kill?

Fengxi understood from what Fuxi had previously revealed that those sent to appear before the various female divinities, to grandly display their "masculine" prowess, likely meet a most unpleasant end.

Moreover, Fengxi's own experience.

After he was talked into the Honghuang era by Houtu the ancestral witch with just a few words.

Thereafter he no longer dared to underestimate those mighty and fearsome goddesses.

How many years have they lived?

How much of the world's rise and fall have they witnessed?

With his meager cultivation, if he runs over there, besides delivering vegetables, what other outcome could there be?

Great Luo beings are all queuing up for merit; what right does he have to cut in line?

After careful consideration, Fengxi felt—this luck and merit system might actually be a pitfall!

No matter how high-end the equipment, if it lacks even the energy to drive it, what use could it have?

"Don't lose heart." Xihuang looked at Fengxi's worried frown, calmly providing after-sales service, explaining the mysteries to him, "Actually, luck and merit aren't as out of reach as you imagine."

"They're right beside you!"

"You just lack the method to use them."

"Oh?" Fuxi's words were like a bright lamp in the darkness, illuminating Fengxi's confusion.

"Speaking of luck and merit, if you want to explain them clearly, you cannot avoid explaining their source." Fuxi said slowly, "This thing, after countless Great Luo pioneers' painstaking research, its essence is no longer a secret."

"It's very high-end, yet it can be seen everywhere."

"They... originate from Pangu, and also from myriad beings!"

Fengxi felt a bit dizzy.

Originating from Pangu, he could understand—after all, something useful even to Great Luo beings is hard to separate from such a supreme expert.

But, myriad beings?

"Those incredibly weak beings, with no cultivation at all—do they also have luck?"

"Yes, they also have luck and merit... even though they are ordinary beings, they still nurture great power." Fuxi's expression was rare in its solemnity.

He stood up, pointing at the vast heavens and earth, the boundless starry sky, and said, "You see... this world is vast, magnificent; in its constant motion it enacts the supreme Dao and its laws."

"Beings themselves are tiny; compared to heaven and earth they are like a grain of sand in the sea—an ordinary individual, how insignificant they are!"

"But no matter what, we cannot overlook that life itself is also part of the world's order."

"Each weak being's birth, growth, strengthening, aging, death... essentially are tangible enactments of the many order pathways between heaven and earth, and in their simplicity they are filled with mystery."

"They are ordinary, common, found everywhere, but that doesn't mean they are useless."

"If you can gather and refine them, you will discover that this is a treasure of immeasurable value, surpassing anyone's imagination!"

"The essence of luck is to thoroughly penetrate the interaction between heaven and humanity, gathering it into a great trend—a trend capable of overturning heaven and earth!"

Xihuang smiled, "No matter how weak a being, its place in heaven and earth is unique... each has its own developmental trajectory, its fate and future."

"Every instant of these trajectories is an interaction with the Honghuang world, with immeasurable amounts of information influencing and interfering with each other, determining the world's appearance."

"Although these trajectories are fleeting, more like scattered sand, they are often independent or even clash, canceling each other out."

"But once one can break through layer after layer of restraint and gather them together in unity... that will be a qualitative transformation!"

Fengxi seemed to understand something.

"What is qi? Qi is the fundamental essence of all things. What is yun? Yun is the power brought by the flow."

"This flow is like wind and water, countless in number, big or small... the Way of luck and merit is a framework that lets them gather and advance in the same direction!"

Fuxi whispered, "A more concrete description is an infinitely wide river channel, letting countless tributaries converge and flow into the vastest sea!"

"The so-called sea, where all beings' luck converges—what does it ultimately point to?"

"It is the ultimate Dao, it is Pangu!"

"He is the creator of the world; Honghuang is his manifestation, beings are his formation, and the entire human Dao fruit is contained within."

"Using the countless beings of his evolving world as reliance, building one's own ship, the far shore ultimately reached—is it not Pangu?"

"Of course, the Way of luck and merit, namely in an environment like Honghuang where everything originates from a supreme being, can exert its greatest effect."

"Because, even the weakest being possesses a trace of that supreme essence!"

"By now you should understand." Xihuang looked at Fengxi, "The essence of luck and merit is actually calculating all the resources of the entire Honghuang world, all beings' productive capacities, everything that can be created as wealth value under the era's background."

"The wealth thus created, every being possesses a share of it, and it can be shared."

"Of course, there is distribution... but how much each gets from the total? That's hard to say."

"Some are rich to the billions, others can only sustain their own existence, not even thinking of using it for anything..."

Fuxi smiled, yet with a hint of indifference, "For example, you work hard, creating wealth worth tens of millions, but what you actually take home... they might give you only a few thousand in wages."

"This, is the rule of the Honghuang world's game."

PS: This is a supplement for yesterday's.

(End of chapter)