Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

"The war between the Lich and the Demon race was fierce, often resulting in the collapse of the heavens and the fall of stars. In the end, both were severely damaged and withdrew from the stage of history."

Lin Zhu's tone was calm, yet it painted a vast and cruel epic picture.

"Then, the human race rose up. At that time, although the human race was weak and vulnerable, it was blessed by the fortune of heaven and earth, and had the power of creation of the Holy Mother Nuwa, so its potential was limitless."

"Since the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi drew the Eight Trigrams and established human relations, the Earthly Emperor Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and promoted agriculture, and the Human Emperor Xuanyuan unified the tribes, fought against Chiyou, and cast tripods for the nine provinces... the three emperors of the human race ruled the world, the fortune flourished, and civilization began."

A hint of reminiscence flashed in Lin Zhu's eyes.

"By the time of the Five Emperors, Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao, Shun, and Yu, carrying on the legacy of the past and ushering in the future, spread virtue throughout the world, and the human race's footprints covered the prehistoric land, with their strength and status continuously rising."

At that time, the leader of the human race was called the "Human Emperor," who controlled the fate of humanity and was worshipped by all people. His status... was vaguely on par with the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court. In fact, because he ruled over the vibrant and limitless potential of humanity, in some aspects, the sheer power of his fortune made even the Heavenly Court of that time somewhat wary.

"The Human Emperor...standing shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Emperor?"

Li Shimin gasped, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock. In his understanding, and in the understanding of all mortals in later generations, the emperor was merely the "Son of Heaven," acting as the ruler on behalf of Heaven, his status forever lower than that of "Heaven." Who could have imagined that our ancient ancestors had such a glorious and illustrious era?
"good."

Lin Zhu affirmed.

"At that time, the human race was not an appendage of gods and Buddhas, but a powerful race that held great influence in the world, possessing independent voice and immense fortune! The Human Emperor's word could mobilize the fortune of humanity and influence the pattern of the world. Even ordinary immortals and gods dared not easily disobey the Human Emperor's will. The human race almost had the potential to dominate the world."

"And...and then what happened?"

Li Shimin asked eagerly, sensing that a huge truth concerning a turning point in the fate of humanity was about to be revealed.

Lin Zhu's expression became somewhat subtle, carrying a hint of mockery and coldness.

"What happened next? The rise and fall of a dynasty is an age-old truth. The prosperity of the human race naturally attracted the jealousy of all sides. The Heavenly Court wanted to strengthen its control, and the Sage Sect wanted to spread its teachings and recruit disciples to share in the fortune. The turning point was the last emperor of the Shang Dynasty—Di Xin, also known as 'King Zhou' in later historical records."

"King Zhou?"

Li Shimin frowned. Historical records of King Zhou mostly portray him as licentious, tyrannical, and cruel, which led to the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, resulting in the rise of the Zhou dynasty.

Lin Zhu glanced at him and said slowly.

"History is written by the victors, so it is inevitably biased. The truth is more complicated and...more intriguing. It is said that when King Zhou was worshipping the goddess Nuwa, he saw the beautiful statue of the goddess and was so captivated that he picked up his brush and wrote a poem on the wall of the palace that expressed his admiration."

"This...blasphemes against the Virgin Mary?!"

Li Shimin was greatly alarmed.

"If it were just an ordinary emperor, such behavior would be easily taken by the goddess Nuwa in a fit of anger."

Lin Zhu's tone turned cold.

"But the problem is that King Zhou at that time was burdened with the powerful imperial fortune accumulated by the Shang Dynasty over six hundred years! This fortune protected him, and even a saint could not directly inflict fatal damage on him, otherwise he would suffer a backlash from the human fortune and become entangled in cause and effect!"

Li Shimin was shocked once again. Could the Emperor's fortune really protect him to the point that even a sage couldn't directly harm him?!

"The goddess Nuwa was furious that she could do nothing against King Zhou, but she came up with another plan."

Lin Zhu continued.

"She summoned three demons, including the nine-tailed fox who had been cultivating in Xuanyuan Tomb, and ordered them to infiltrate Chaoge to bewitch King Zhou, causing him to act increasingly absurdly and tyrannically, gradually losing the hearts of the people and diminishing his imperial destiny. At the same time..."

Lin Zhu paused, her voice growing even colder.

"She may have also reached some kind of tacit understanding with other beings. Not long after, at the Jade Void Palace of Kunlun Mountain, Jiang Ziya, a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, was ordered to descend the mountain with the 'Investiture of the Gods' and enter the Western Zhou Dynasty to assist King Wen and King Wu of Zhou. Thus, the rumor began to circulate in the world that 'King Zhou of Yin was tyrannical, the phoenix cried on Mount Qi, and the Zhou Dynasty was about to rise.'"

A cataclysmic event sweeping across almost every sect and countless beings in the Three Realms—the 'Investiture of the Gods Tribulation'—has thus begun!

"Investiture of the Gods... a great calamity?"

Li Shimin murmured repeatedly. He had vaguely seen this word in some ancient Taoist scriptures, but he never thought that it had such a direct and profound connection with the change of dynasties in the mortal world!

"During the Great Tribulation, various forces, including the Chan Sect, the Jie Sect, the Human Sect, and the Western Sect, entered the fray, using the Shang-Zhou conflict as a chessboard and the lives of mortals and cultivators as pieces, to wage a fierce battle."

Lin Zhu's tone carried a barely perceptible sigh.

"In the end, the Jie Sect was almost completely eradicated. Countless disciples and wandering immortals were either killed or their true spirits were listed on the 'Investiture of the Gods' list and appointed as one of the 365 righteous gods of the Heavenly Court, subject to the jurisdiction and command of the Heavenly Court."
Or they were forced to defect and join the Western Religion. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Western Religion recruited a large number of talented individuals, causing its power to surge and laying the foundation for its later prosperity and dominance of the Western Continent.

He looked at Li Shimin, who was completely dumbfounded, and uttered the final, and most crucial, insightful words.

"After this calamity, the most core and most feared 'heaven-defying' fortune of the human race was completely scattered and weakened! After Shang Tang, there was no more 'human emperor', only 'son of heaven'! The Zhou emperor called himself 'I am the only one', but still had to worship heaven and submit to the emperor. The status of the human race's leader plummeted from then on, and it was difficult to sit on equal footing with the emperor of heaven and the Buddha.

The human race, once a powerful race poised to control its own destiny and enjoying immense fortune, has gradually transformed into what it is today: seemingly independent in its own realm, yet in reality, its fate is controlled by heaven, its incense offerings to gods and Buddhas are plentiful, and its life and death are largely determined by the whims of these deities…

"The so-called 'King Zhou's tyranny,' the so-called 'Phoenix Cries on Mount Qi,' the so-called 'Zhou Dynasty's rise to power over Shang'..."

Lin Zhu's lips curled into a cold smile.

"It was nothing more than a grand performance meticulously planned and orchestrated by sages and various forces in order to divide up the destiny, control the human race, and redefine the three realms. The human race, once again, has transformed from a player into a chess piece on the chessboard, or even... the soil beneath the chess piece."

"boom--!"

Li Shimin felt as if a million thunderbolts were exploding in his mind at once! His face instantly turned ashen, his body swayed, and he instinctively grabbed the edge of the sand table beside him to barely keep from collapsing. Blasphemy? A pawn in the great calamity? His destiny scattered? The Human Emperor reduced to a Son of Heaven?

This information, like the most violent hurricane, completely shattered all the historical classics, ethical principles, and understanding of heaven, earth, gods, and Buddhas he had learned in the past! His worldview was completely shattered, and he stood there dumbfounded, his mind blank, with only Lin Zhu's calm yet weighty words echoing and roaring incessantly!
As Lin Zhu recounted the beginning and end of the Investiture of the Gods, the mocking sneer on his lips never faded, as if he were looking through the dusty clouds of history to see some unchanging, chilling truths.

"Your Majesty, don't you think that the so-called 'King Zhou's lewd poem that triggered a great calamity' is similar to the story of 'Sun Wukong guarding the Peach Garden that caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace'? In fact... the similarities are somewhat bizarre."

Lin Zhu's voice carried a coldness that seemed to have seen through the ways of the world.

Li Shimin barely recovered from the immense shock, and was startled again upon hearing this.

"Even though King Zhou's poem may be considered blasphemous to the Holy Mother, surely a sage would have a hundred or a thousand ways to give him the punishment or warning he deserves without triggering a catastrophe or endangering millions of people?"

Lin Zhu countered with a sharp glint in his eyes.

"Why go to such great lengths, even at the cost of triggering a cataclysmic event that will sweep across the three realms?"

He asked and answered himself, his tone growing increasingly chilling.

"Because King Zhou at that time was burdened with the powerful imperial fortune accumulated since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors! This fortune protected him so much that even a sage could not directly attack him, otherwise he would suffer a backlash! Therefore, the Goddess Nuwa could not punish him directly, so she sent the three demons of Xuanyuan Tomb to 'bewitch' him, making him 'tyrannical and wicked,' thus diminishing his fortune and losing the hearts of the people."

At the same time, they sent Jiang Ziya, a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, down the mountain with the Investiture of the Gods, to preach about "the tyranny of King Zhou of Yin" and "the phoenix's cry on Mount Qi," thus giving this pre-planned "great purge" and "redistribution of resources" targeting the Jie Sect and the fate of humanity a seemingly righteous and divinely ordained veneer!

Lin Zhu paused, his voice filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"During the Great Calamity, countless people died and were injured. The Jie Sect's lineage was almost severed. Its elite members either became gods subject to the Heavenly Court by being listed on the Investiture of the Gods, or were forced to join the Western Sect. The Western Sect rose to power and occupied Xiniu Hezhou."

And what about the human race? Their most core, heaven-defying fortune, which even gods and Buddhas feared, was shattered. From then on, there were no more "human emperors," only "sons of heaven" who had to offer sacrifices to the heavens and submit to them! A race, because of a "small mistake" that its leader might have made, suffered the fate of having its entire race's fortune diminished and its status drastically reduced!

Even King Zhou himself was portrayed as a pitiful wretch bewitched by a demon; all the 'evil' was attributed to him, while all the 'justice' was attributed to the Zhou dynasty's conquest of Zhou and the gods and Buddhas behind it!

His gaze was like a sharp sword, as if trying to pierce through the fog of history.

"Your Majesty, think about Sun Wukong. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, how arrogant he is! To send a monkey to guard the Peach Garden is no different from sending the Taotie to guard the granary. Isn't this arrangement itself a deliberate 'enticement' or 'arrangement'? After his havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain and became the pilgrim appointed by the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures. Everything seemed to have returned to the 'right track'."

People only know Sun Wukong as mischievous, but few consider whether there is one, or even several, unseen hands driving the 'script' behind it all.

Li Shimin felt a chill run through his body upon hearing this, as if a cold air rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

In the past, when he read history books and myths, he only felt that they were magnificent and full of heroes. Although there were conspiracies and schemes, there was always a sense of "good and evil" and "fate".

But after listening to Lin Zhu's meticulous and insightful analysis, he was horrified to discover that behind that magnificent epic, there might be such cold, cruel, and... high-handed manipulation and calculation! And the world is often still cheering and praising that whitewashed "justice" and "merit"!
“But…but,” Li Shimin’s voice was dry, filled with immense confusion and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

"The Goddess Nuwa... is the Holy Mother of Humanity. She created humans from clay and bestowed life upon our race. Why... why would she... weaken the human race she created?"

This was also a question that Lin Zhu had long held in his mind.

He shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of uncertainty.

"The mind of a sage is as deep as the ocean, unfathomable. Perhaps, in her eyes, humanity is merely one of her 'works,' and the 'strength' of these works needs to be controlled within a suitable range so as not to threaten the balance between the 'creator' and other 'works'?"

Or perhaps, behind the Investiture of the Gods calamity, there lies a deeper game of 'Heavenly Dao' that even sages must abide by? I am not omniscient either. I simply have a vague feeling that the Investiture of the Gods calamity's weakening of the human race was... far too targeted.

Li Shimin fell into a long silence, his expression shifting rapidly. What he had heard today had completely overturned his worldview. After a long while, he finally raised his head, his eyes filled with a mixture of understanding and deeper worry, and slowly asked.

"Lord Prison God... According to what you said, the Western Buddhist sect is now supporting the Indian Buddhist Kingdom and repeatedly invading our borders, even going so far as to massacre cities and commit atrocities... Is this also an imitation of the old story of the Investiture of the Gods?"

To regard the mortals of Jambudvipa as... a group of 'ants' with a 'destiny' to fulfill, but who can be arbitrarily pruned or even wiped out on a large scale if they disobey...?

Lin Zhu fell silent.

He couldn't answer this question easily. Because he knew very well that the current "Journey to the West Calamity" was, in a sense, indeed a link in the operation of the Heavenly Dao, requiring the cooperation of various forces, including the "participation" of the human race.

As the main promoter and beneficiary of the Journey to the West, the Western Paradise's operating logic was undoubtedly influenced by the "greater good" and "sacrifice the part" mentality prevalent during the Investiture of the Gods era. In fact, the final approval and execution of the Journey to the West plan likely required the tacit approval or even support of the human saint, Nuwa!

Thinking of Nuwa, Lin Zhu felt a heavy weight in his heart.

His understanding of this sage was extremely limited. Aside from knowing she was the mother of humanity, in charge of creation, and of unparalleled renown, he also knew that she had once sent her Nine Heavens Mystic Phoenix to deliver a gift to Fairy Rainbow Robe, seemingly showing him a subtle but unspoken interest. But was this interest benevolent or malevolent? What was its purpose? He had absolutely no way of knowing.

Even he, a mere half-step quasi-saint, felt deeply insignificant and powerless in the face of a sage.

That feeling is perhaps like a mortal looking up at a god in the clouds—no, it's even greater than that! It's an absolute chasm between the level of life and the dimension of cognition.

Lin Zhu's silence was itself an answer. Seeing this, the last glimmer of hope in Li Shimin's eyes vanished, leaving only the cold reality.

"King Tang," Lin Zhu saw that Li Shimin's face was ashen, as if he was about to fall into the confusion and despair that comes with the collapse of his cognition, so she reached out and patted him lightly on the shoulder, waking him from his reverie.

"History is already set in stone, and dwelling on it too much is pointless. What matters is the present, and what you want to do."

Li Shimin was startled by the slap and came to his senses.

He shook his head vigorously, as if trying to temporarily cast aside the suffocating shadows of history. (End of Chapter)