Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 920 Revisiting the Question of What it Means to Be Human

"Is this still possible?"

Chu Tai himself couldn't help but murmur to himself. The Heavenly Emperor laughed and said, "I can't afford to gamble on this kind of thing, and he can't bear to do it either. I really regretted what happened earlier. If he had seized the opportunity, it would have been his chance to weaken me or even escape."

"All he needs to do is accumulate experience over a few years. If you were in that situation, would you be willing not to give it a try?"

Hearing this, Chu Tai felt that he couldn't possibly give up such an opportunity to try.

Looking at the results, Chu Tai sighed, "It's a pity. Every attempt was a dangerous one. Otherwise, we could have further suppressed the Heavenly Demon."

Despite this, Chu Tai's tone didn't convey much regret.

After all, this matter is extremely dangerous. The Heavenly Demon is not an ordinary being. Even if the Heavenly Emperor, who manifests the Dao and transforms the Great Heaven, wanted to deceive him, he would have to have a trace of genuine emotion. Once genuine emotion is exposed to the other party, he might be exploited by them.

Even when facing such a scoundrel, your act of targeting him in this way is itself a form of obsession, and you may be exploited by him.

"If I could defeat him so easily, I wouldn't have had to fight him for so long and wait for your arrival."

After the Heavenly Emperor finished speaking, he looked at the changes during the Journey to the West period and the incarnation of Chu Tai sitting in the Eastern Palace of Wonderful Splendor, and sighed, "Your incarnation is not simple either. You saw the difference between Heaven and Heavenly Demon so quickly and sensed a trace of the essence of Heaven."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tai asked, "I am actually quite curious as to why the manifestation of your Great Heaven is like this. As far as I know, the Heaven of the Eastern Pole Chenguang Great Heaven once showed signs of activation."

"Regarding this point, your ancestor and I have discussed it before. This issue might arise because the sources of power that activate the Heavenly Organisms are different. It's like how our powers are very similar; often, we can directly encompass each other's Dao achievements. However, there are subtle differences between our Dao achievements, and our approaches to dealing with sentient beings also differ. I tend to… um…"

The Heavenly Emperor paused for a moment and said, "In mortal terms, it is rationality; in the words of your ancestor, it is divinity. In other words, it is to look at things from the perspective of heaven and earth and civilization. As long as heaven and earth and civilization can continue to evolve, I do not care about the existence of certain individuals, unless the number of these individuals increases to a point that I cannot ignore."

"In comparison, your ancestor adhered to the Taoist philosophy of valuing life and did not like me to focus more on grand concepts such as all living beings, civilization, and heaven and earth. He paid more attention to each and every person he came into contact with."

“Even on the concept of seeing all beings turn to good, we have different views. I am happy because I have lived long enough to know that as long as one person turns to good, then over time, there will be an opportunity to help all beings, which is for the continuation of civilization and the world, and I am happy to see the good results of all beings. But he is truly happy for the appearance of a person who turns to good, even if this person is an exception and not repeatable, and has no meaning for the continuation of the entire civilization and the world.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Tai frowned and said, "If we only focus on meaning and rationally analyze existence, then emotions and the soul will have no place to reside. Your Majesty, you focus on the whole, and you are likely to overlook the feelings of many people."

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Emperor paused for a moment and said, "Perhaps. Although I remember everyone's past and experiences, and I am happy and delighted for their success and transcendence, when I put them on the scales of civilization and heaven and earth, I still chose heaven and earth and civilization."

"Life itself should not be placed on either side of a scale because of its quantity."

After Chu Tai finished speaking, he asked again, "Would you do the same if it were your close friend or old acquaintance?"

"Why not?"

The Heavenly Emperor looked at Chu Tai with some curiosity and asked in return, "We have long lifespans and infinite time, and my friend has innate spiritual light. Even if we are separated for a while, we will meet again sooner or later."

"But was he still the same person back then?"

As he spoke, Chu Tai took out what he had discussed with Shen Gongbao: what standard should be used to determine a person's existence.

Although the entire cultivation world determines a person's existence based on their innate spiritual light, when a person loses all their memories, are they still the same person they were before? Or, after reincarnation, can they still be considered the same person?
Most people might think the former is the same person, but the latter is much more controversial.

Having lost the memories that anchor the self and the physical body that supports social relationships, even with innate spiritual light as the core, can the two still be considered as one person?
At first, Shen Gongbao could not answer, but the Heavenly Emperor laughed and said, "Why not? The innate spiritual light carries everything. Even if you lose all your memories, as long as the spiritual light does not die, you can always find those memories."

"But when so many memories intertwine, who truly survives? Through countless cycles and changes, with the accumulation of countless memories, will the final version still be the same person from the past?"

Chu Tai asked again, and the Heavenly Emperor looked at Chu Tai with some curiosity and asked, "I remember that your basis for separating the Heaven and Man in your Taiyi Dao is that Man is a part of the universe, and Man's understanding of the universe is also the universe's understanding of itself."

Do you think that when your understanding completely surpasses your understanding of the universe, the universe will no longer be the original universe?

"Nature remains the same universe, and my understanding can only add to its glory..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Tai paused, realizing the Heavenly Emperor's meaning.

Just as Chu Tai believed that humans and heaven and earth are one, human movement is also part of the changes in heaven and earth, and human cognition is a way for heaven and earth to cognize themselves. Even if one eventually attains enlightenment, it can be regarded as a kind of self-exploration by heaven and earth.

Under this theory, the countless memories carried by the innate spiritual light are like the universe itself.

People in a certain lifetime are just like people in the universe; their behavior and cognition are part of the universe and there is no difference between them and the universe.

Chu Tai paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "But the priorities are ultimately different, and the perspectives are also different, the two..."

"So, are you the same now as when you first entered the Dao?" the Heavenly Emperor asked again, casually glancing at a middle-aged man from a certain time period.

“Look at this man. Twenty years ago, he was a spirited and famous chivalrous knight-errant in the area. But since his wife left him for childbirth fifteen years ago, he has treated his child like a treasure and forbids him from getting involved in any dangerous things. Let alone being a chivalrous knight-errant, he gets out of breath after running two laps. This is completely different from his thinking twenty years ago. Can you say that the two are not the same person?”

"Human hearts are fickle, and the thoughts of all beings rise and fall unpredictably. Their thoughts are like waves, surging and rolling endlessly. Although they may have courage, wisdom, and benevolence, they may also have cowardice, greed, ignorance, and tyranny."

"A person experiences so much in their lifetime, accumulating so many emotions and memories. Those who can always uphold their original aspirations and remain impartial can be called sages. At this point, are they truly the same as the naughty children who told lies and even hurt others in their childhood?"

"If so, what's the difference between such beings and those of us who have achieved cultivation? If not, their bodies and souls haven't changed, only their memories and ways of thinking have. Could it be that memories and thoughts are the core of a person? If so, can someone who has lost their memories be freed from the sins left by their past memories?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Tai was swayed by what the Heavenly Emperor said.

However, Chu Tai also understood that the Heavenly Emperor, in order to pay more attention to all living beings and civilization, and not so much to individuals, spared no effort to help those illusory beings after they formed a bond with the illusory existence, giving them the opportunity to perceive the power of the Supreme Dao Ancestor and nurture their own innate spiritual light.

In the eyes of the Heavenly Emperor, as long as there is innate spiritual light, all living beings will eventually reunite at the end of time; before that, it is merely a period of separation.

Therefore, the most important things are protecting individual memories, maintaining all living beings, protecting the civilizations of all living beings, and housing the heavens and earth of all living beings.

Looking at Chu Tai, the Heavenly Emperor smiled and said, "It seems you have come to understand what it means to be a person."

"No, I'm even more confused now. After all, according to this logic, our innate spiritual light all originates from the Supreme Dao Ancestor, so our Supreme Dao Ancestor..."

Chu Tai didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already very clear. The Heavenly Emperor laughed and said, "Before we become innate beings, we are the incarnations of the Supreme Dao Ancestor. However, the Dao Ancestor will not interfere with us and will allow us to have our own consciousness and thoughts."

At this point, the Heavenly Emperor stared into Chu Tai's eyes and said with some excitement, "Do you know? When I tried to break through, before the Heavenly Demon appeared, I saw the Dao Ancestor. He was there, never leaving, quietly and peacefully watching me, encouraging me to continue forward, break free from the path he left behind, step on him, and walk towards my own future."

"Therefore, I believe that all living beings, civilization, and the universe are more important than individuals. If I could infinitely extend the time of the universe, then everyone I encountered in the past would have the opportunity to transcend the limitations imposed by our past."

"It's like the world where your avatar resides; several have already stepped out. And you've seen them too."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tai was taken aback. At his level of cultivation, as long as there was a trigger and the other party's status was not higher than his, he would be able to sense it.

The Heavenly Emperor's words left Chu Tai in a daze. He whispered, "The Celestial Masters Dao's Dragon Tiger True Lord? No, it shouldn't just be him. The Shangqing Dao's Great Cave True Lord, the Quanzhen Dao's Lesser Yang True Lord, the Qingwei Dao's Cave Illumination True Lord, the Yuanling Dao's Year-Chasing True Lord, the Xuanming Dao's Dark Illumination True Lord, the Jade Emperor Dao's Golden Palace True Lord, the Feathered Immortal Dao's Flying Immortal True Lord, the Qiankun Dao's Great Void True Lord, the Zhixu Dao's Secret Treasury True Lord, the Wenxian Dao's Myriad Spirits True Lord, and the Marketplace Dao's Nine Streams True Lord—the twelve True Lords who now support the Immortal Dao must have all been affected."

"I see. No, I should say that's exactly how it should be. This is the most important reason why they are able to maintain most of their rationality and wisdom, and preserve the order of this world. This is the true path to salvation you have prepared?"

Looking at Chu Tai, who was staring intently at him, the Heavenly Emperor chuckled lightly: "It's just a bit of hard work out of necessity. Most of the spiritual beings sent out become ordinary people. Only a very few who achieve success in cultivation can slightly influence those twelve little ones after reincarnation. It will take at least 100,000 years for them to fully recover, since they themselves are also influenced by the Three Pure Ones Heaven."

"But things are different now. With your help, everything will go much more smoothly. After this journey to the West, you can take many normal spirits out, enough to restore some gods and true lords to normal and repair the Pure and Eternal Blessing Heaven."

"But hard work is best for you, isn't it? If I bring out your spirituality, your achievements will be significantly diminished. And..."

Chu Tai paused there, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Under the Three Pure Ones Heaven, you fight against Heaven and Heavenly Demons, constantly saving the spirituality of all living beings, endowing illusory beings with spirituality, and then letting these spiritualities continuously influence the Twelve True Lords and the gods. Their power then influences you in turn, gradually suppressing Heaven and Heavenly Demons."

"The whole process is a huge ritual that spans countless years, a ritual that aims to help you defy your innate nature."

"Once you succeed, the heavens will be you, the demons will be you, the gods will be you, heaven and earth will be you, the universe will be you, everything will be you, and your Dao fruit will reach the most perfect level, encompassing the past, present, and future of the entire universe, and all changes in time, space, physics, energy, and life."

"Are you willing?"

The Heavenly Emperor's gaze softened: "But that would take too long, long enough for many people to accumulate countless painful emotions and memories. Although I care more about all living beings, civilization, and the world than about individuals, why not do it if it can make individuals' lives better?"

"As for your so-called rituals, I can prove the truth myself. Why do I need them to suffer as stepping stones?"

As the words fell, layer upon layer of divine light surged from the Heavenly Emperor's body, spreading outwards in all directions from him, reaching the main branches and trunks of the Three Pure Ones world.

During the Journey to the West timeline, the Heavenly Emperor looked up at the divine light in the void, which even the gods could not see, and sighed, "Alas, now the time for the monkey to steal the peaches will have to be postponed again."

At this moment, Chu Tai's avatar in this world happened to be nearby. He had come to discuss the Dao with the Heavenly Emperor, explore cultivation, and incidentally suppress the turbid energy within the Heavenly Court.

Upon hearing this, Chu Tai looked towards the void and laughed, "This divine light is pure, true, benevolent, and boundless. It suppresses the filth and turbidity in the world, making it even weaker. It has also purified our Dao hearts considerably. I imagine that Wukong's mind will also undergo a transformation, enabling him to withstand the peaches of immortality... I..."

Halfway through his sentence, Chu Tai looked towards the direction of the Peach Garden and his eyes widened.

(End of this chapter)