Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Di Xin nodded and said, "Yes, the totem of the newly established Great Xuan Dynasty can no longer be the Black Bird. This nine-clawed golden dragon is just right."

Even Emperor Xin agreed, so Wu Geng naturally couldn't refuse. He immediately ordered two ornamental columns to be erected outside the palace gate.

As the two ornamental columns were properly placed, two golden dragons symbolizing good fortune instantly soared into the sky, replacing the Black Bird.

The replaced Xuan Bird materialized, spread its wings, and headed towards the Fire Cloud Cave. It had finally completed its mission.

Two nine-clawed golden dragons also circled above the palace, becoming the totem of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the golden dragons symbolizing the fortune of the human race.

Seeing the golden dragon churning in mid-air, Di Xin spoke to Daoist Duobao, saying, "I would like to ask Daoist Duobao to convey my gratitude to the Sage Qinglian upon my return to Qinglian Island."

Daoist Duobao smiled and said, "As for expressing gratitude, let the Human Emperor finish his own business and go to Qinglian Island to see the Ancestor in person."

"Because after I leave Chaoge, I will be going to the Six Paths of Reincarnation. So I have no way to help the Emperor convey his gratitude."

Upon hearing that Daoist Duobao was going to reincarnate, Emperor Xin was understandably puzzled. The Daoist disciples serving as officials in the court wore expressions of disbelief.

Wen Zhong went even further and said, "Senior Uncle, you are already a half-step saint, why do you still need to reincarnate?"

Daoist Duobao smiled and said, "This is the destiny of our eldest master. Only after reincarnation can he find his own path."

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhong frowned, and a golden light appeared in his eyes. He then spoke to Daoist Duobao.

"Is our eldest grandmaster going to follow the example of Grandmaster Fuxi, reincarnate first, and then become a Primordial Golden Immortal?"

Daoist Duobao smiled and said, "Everything is predestined. As for whether I can attain the Great Luo Golden Immortal of Hunyuan, that depends on my fate."

After speaking, Daoist Duobao bid farewell to Emperor Xin. He then gave a few instructions to Wen Zhong and the other Daoist disciples, and a gate to the underworld appeared out of thin air.

Then two people emerged from the Gate of the Underworld. These two were not the Black and White Impermanence, nor the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, nor ordinary soul-collecting ghosts.

The ones who arrived were Houtu, the ruler of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and Dijiang, the Emperor of Fengdu.

As soon as the two emerged from the Gates of the Underworld, a host of civil and military officials of the Shang Dynasty immediately knelt on the ground. Even Emperor Xin bowed halfway to Houtu.

Houtu waved her hand and helped everyone up. Then she said to Daoist Duobao, "Nephew Duobao, your uncle has come to welcome you in person."

Daoist Duobao bowed to Houtu again and said, "Thank you for your help, Uncle Houtu and Saint Dijiang."

Then, Daoist Duobao followed Houtu and Dijiang and stepped into the Gate of the Underworld.

As the Gate of the Underworld disappeared, Di Xin and the others recovered from their shock. Although they didn't say anything, they already understood one thing.

That is the reincarnation of Daoist Duobao today, and it is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface. There must be some earth-shattering scheme involved.

However, these were not things they could worry about, so Di Xin simply waved his hand and completely erased this memory from most people, including Wu Geng.

He then instructed the civil and military officials who were to accompany him to the Fire Cloud Cave: "You saw nothing today. If anyone leaks even a single word, don't blame me for taking action and annihilating their soul."

...On Qinglian Island, Chen Xuan was personally brewing tea for Yang Mei and the other two. While brewing the tea, he spoke as he did so.

"Are the three of you really determined to stay in this primordial world? That would be tantamount to entering this great calamity. I can't guarantee whether you'll be able to escape unscathed."

Ancestor Qiankun smiled and said, "Even if we leave now, if Fellow Daoist Qinglian is in trouble during the next great calamity, how could we stand idly by?"

"Since I have to come back to help Fellow Daoist Qinglian anyway, why bother about whether I've entered the tribulation or not?"

The Yin-Yang Ancestor, standing to the side, also said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Qiankun is right. Since we are all destined for the calamity, we might as well stay in the prehistoric world and share some of Fellow Daoist Qinglian's fortune with him for cultivation."

"Of course, if Fellow Daoist Qinglian is unwilling to share her fortune with us, we can also return to the Chaos and wait for Fellow Daoist Qinglian's summons."

Chen Xuan smiled and said, "I am not Hongjun, thinking of monopolizing the destiny of the primordial world. What I want is the development of the primordial world."

"So if you fellow Daoists are willing to stay in the Primordial World, it would be a wonderful thing for me. After all, with a few of you in charge, I won't have to worry about what Hongjun is up to."

Yang Mei, who hadn't spoken, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid things aren't that simple. Calamity and destruction have already brought help to Hongjun."

"Although it is still unclear who they have invited, one thing is certain: their goal is the next great calamity."

Chen Xuan nodded and said, "When the underground passage awakened, Hongjun attempted to have Zhen Yuanzi replace Houtu and become the representative of the underground passage."

"Unfortunately, it ended in failure in the end. Now that Buddhism and Taoism are about to awaken, Hongjun is naturally worried. What he did, I will do as well."

"After all, the Western religion founded by the two Western Buddhists is the precursor to Buddhism in the future. From any perspective, the two Western Buddhists should become the representatives of Buddhism and Taoism."

The Yin-Yang Ancestor, standing to the side, smiled and asked Chen Xuan, "Then, Fellow Daoist Qinglian, I wonder if Hongjun guessed correctly?"

Chen Xuan placed the teacup in front of the three people and then said, "The idea that the two Western monks are destined to be the representatives of Buddhism and Taoism is just wishful thinking on Hongjun's part. I have never recognized it."

"Because Western religion is ultimately Western religion, and Buddhism is ultimately Buddhism. Western religion can never completely separate itself from Taoism, but Buddhism and Taoism have absolutely no connection."

"His attempt by Hongjun to rename the Western religion as Buddhism in order to sever its connection with the Xuanmen sect is nothing but wishful thinking."

Chen Xuan's words boil down to one point: Hongjun's concerns were valid. He would definitely send someone to seize the representative of Buddhism and Taoism.

Even if Hongjun had considered this, he would still have believed that Chen Xuan would send one of the Three Pure Ones to seize the position of the representative of Buddhism and Taoism.

After all, Houtu represents the earth, and Nuwa represents humanity. Fuxi, on the other hand, was the emperor of the human race. These identities already determined that they could not become representatives of Buddhism or Taoism.

Therefore, there are only the Three Pure Ones, although they jointly govern Taoism. However, the separation of one of them would not affect the development of Taoism. Most importantly, their status allows them to become representatives of Buddhism and Taoism.

Unfortunately, Hongjun never dreamed that the person Chen Xuan sent out to seize the representatives of Buddhism and Taoism was not one of the Three Pure Ones, or even a sage.

If Chen Xuan were to summarize, he would surely say, "The renowned Brother Lai of later generations is under my tutelage; why would I need anyone else's help?" (End of Chapter)