I am a fairy in Journey to the West

The Great Luo Heaven, the Palace of the Mortal Realm.

Eight human emperors sat on the throne, while numerous celestial children and goddesses served them tea and fruit.

A moment later, Zhuang Yan walked in from behind the hall, turned around the screen and laughed loudly. He cupped his hands and smiled at the eight emperors, saying, "I apologize for keeping you waiting, sages."

The eight emperors immediately stood up, cupped their hands in greeting to Zhuang Yan, and said, "Greetings, Great Emperor Shenxiao."

"Sit down, sit down," Zhuang Yan said with a smile, then sat down first.

Seeing Zhuang Yan take his seat, the eight emperors sat down as well. Then Zhuang Yan waved his hand, and immediately eight celestial children came forward, each carrying a palm-sized white jade plate.

The eight celestial children placed the white jade plates on the tables in front of the eight human emperors, and then reached out to lift the jade covers on them.

When the eight emperors saw what was on the jade plate, each of them narrowed their eyes, for the object on the jade plate was none other than the 'ginseng fruit'.

"When I attended the Dharma assembly at Mount Sumeru that day, the Great Immortal Zhenyuan gave me a basket of ginseng fruits, exactly eight of them. Please, fellow Daoists, enjoy them," Zhuang Yan said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the eight emperors curiously picked up the ginseng fruit and examined it closely.

"I've heard of this innate spiritual root, the ginseng fruit, before, but I've never had the chance to see it. I never imagined that I would be rewarded by the Great Emperor of Shenxiao today and be able to taste the flavor of this innate spiritual root," Suirenshi said with a smile.

Da Yao, holding the ginseng fruit, cupped his hands and said to Zhuang Yan, "Thank you, Great Emperor Shenxiao, for bestowing this fruit."

Zhuang Yan said with a smile, "I've invited you all from so far away to Da Luo Tian, ​​how could I not show my appreciation? Please, fellow Daoists, don't stand on ceremony."

The eight emperors no longer stood on ceremony, thanked Zhuang Yan, and began to enjoy the ginseng fruit.

A moment later, the Yellow Emperor took the jade handkerchief from the fairy beside him, wiped his hands, and then said with a smile, "As expected of an innate spiritual root, it tastes really good! This adds another 47,000 years to my lifespan."

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "I'm glad Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan is satisfied."

“Satisfied, extremely satisfied.” As he spoke, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan straightened his expression and said, “When Venus came down to deliver the decree, he said that great things awaited us and told us to come to the Mortal Palace to see the Divine Firmament Emperor first.”

At this point, the Yellow Emperor looked at Zhuang Yan and asked, "I wonder what great thing the Divine Firmament Emperor has to bestow upon us?"

At this moment, the other seven emperors had also finished eating the ginseng fruit, and upon hearing the words of the Yellow Emperor, they all turned their gazes toward Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan sat up slightly, then picked up the spiritual tea in front of him, took a sip, and put down the teacup, saying, "This matter was actually discussed with eight fellow Daoists as early as Mount Sumeru."

"Oh?" The eight human emperors were slightly taken aback, then Shennong realized what was going on and said, "Is it about Xiniu Hezhou?"

“Yes,” Zhuang Yan said, “Xiniu Hezhou is still missing a Great Emperor of the Western Mountain.”

Upon hearing this, the eight emperors immediately straightened their postures, then looked at each other and exchanged glances.

Fuxi asked, "Judging from what the Divine Firmament Emperor means, the Great Emperor of the Western Peak will be chosen from among the eight of us?"

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "The Jade Emperor has made a decision. The new Emperor of the Western Peak will definitely be chosen from among the eight fellow Daoists. However, as the supreme ruler of the mortal realm, the Jade Emperor asked me to inform you fellow Daoists first."

Upon hearing this, the eight human emperors present became solemn. If the Jade Emperor had already decided to select the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain from among them, it was almost a foregone conclusion.

But there are eight of them, while there can only be one position for the Great Emperor of the Western Peak.

Suirenshi said, "The position of a Heavenly Emperor is indeed too tempting. Is this going to cause infighting among the eight of us?"

The Yellow Emperor immediately said, "Everyone should rely on their own abilities. The eight of us are all human emperors, and we are all bound by the destiny of the human race. Fighting is fine, but let's not hurt our harmony."

Fuxi said, "Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan is right. We may argue, but we must always put the human race first."

“I don’t think there’s any need to argue,” Emperor Ku said. “I support Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan in becoming the new Great Emperor of the Western Mountain.”

Just as Emperor Ku expressed his opinion, Emperor Zhuanxu, Emperor Yao, and Emperor Shun also followed suit, saying, "We also support Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan in becoming the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain."

Seeing that Emperor Ku, Emperor Zhuanxu, Emperor Yao, and Emperor Shun were fully supporting Emperor Xuanyuan, Fuxi and Shennong exchanged a glance and then quickly followed suit, saying, "Then we two will support Suihuang as the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain."

Zhuanxu laughed and said, "Four against two, it seems that the position of Great Emperor of the Western Mountain is rightfully yours, Fellow Daoist Fei Xuanyuan."

Faced with the support of Emperor Ku and the other three, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan did not show any joy. He simply said slowly, "In terms of prestige and achievements, Emperor Sui is the most suitable to serve as the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain."

When the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan said this, not only were Fuxi, Shennong, Emperor Ku, Zhuanxu, Yao, and Shun stunned, but even Suihuang himself was full of surprise.

It should be noted that among the eight human emperors present, the one with the highest prestige and achievements was not only Suirenshi, but also Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, who could be ranked alongside Suirenshi.

Fuxi is said to have created the world with a single stroke, establishing the earliest written language and human ethics for humankind, which is why humankind reveres him as the 'ancestor of civilization'.

Needless to say, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan is the first emperor of the human race. The first "state" recorded by historians was established by him. Before the Yellow Emperor, the human race consisted of tribes and clans, without a unified nation. The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan was the first emperor of the human race.

Now that the Yellow Emperor has made this statement, not only are the four Emperor Ku speechless, but even Fuxi and Shennong are at a loss for words.

Suirenshi couldn't figure out the Yellow Emperor's intention in saying that. Although the human emperors in front of him were his descendants, he dared not underestimate them.

Especially the Yellow Emperor, who became the first human emperor by relying entirely on politics and military force. Even when he was still the human emperor, no god or Buddha in the Three Realms dared to underestimate him.

After a long silence, Suirenshi slowly said, "The reason why everyone is vying for the position of the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain is simply because they want to achieve new merits and realize the revenge they failed to achieve when they were the Human Emperor. Am I right?"

“That’s right,” Fuxi said. “At our level, there’s really no need to fight tooth and nail for a little power. Even if we don’t become the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain, as human emperors, we are on equal footing with the Five Great Emperors.”

Shennong said, "If we have no disagreements, it doesn't matter who becomes the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain."

“It’s impossible to have no disagreements.” Fuxi looked at Xuanyuan Huangdi and Shennong and said, “You two are called ‘Yanhuang,’ didn’t you fight so fiercely back then that rivers of blood flowed?”

"Let's not dwell on the past," said the Yellow Emperor. "As the eight of us who are emperors, we should be of one mind and work together."

At this point, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan said directly, "I support Suihuang to become the new Great Emperor of the Western Mountain."

Seeing that the Yellow Emperor was not being modest in deferring to a senior, but genuinely wanted to support Suirenshi as the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain, Emperor Ku, Zhuanxu, Yao, and Shun followed suit. "Then we will also support Suirenshi as the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain. The Yellow Emperor is right. As emperors, we should be of one mind and one heart!"

Upon seeing this, Emperor Sui suddenly lost interest in vying for the position of the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain.

First of all, he did not have the idea of ​​human supremacy, and he upheld the concept of equality for all beings. Therefore, even if he did not become the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain, he could still benefit all beings.

But the Yellow Emperor was different. He had an extremely strong drive for advancement and an ambition to achieve great things, which made him more suitable to serve as the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain than the Yellow Emperor.

Thinking of this, Emperor Sui immediately voiced his thoughts, saying, "Even if I become the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain, I can only maintain the status quo at most. In that case, it would be better to let Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan take over. It is very important that you young people have ambition."

Seeing the two of them start to politely decline each other's offer, the other six emperors were quite helpless.

At that moment, Zhuang Yan suddenly spoke up: "Is it possible that all eight Human Emperors went to serve in the Western Mountain Divine Palace?"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent. The eight emperors looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, Emperor Sui asked incredulously, "Does the Divine Firmament Emperor mean the eight Great Emperors of the Western Mountains?"

"No, no, no!" Zhuang Yan quickly said, "Where could there be eight Great Emperors of the Western Mountains? Isn't that absurd?"

At this point, Zhuang Yan shared his thoughts with the eight people: "The Great Emperor of the Western Mountain is still only one person, but the other seven can assist him. In this way, the eight human emperors can work together to govern the people of Xiniu Hezhou."

Zhuang Yan pointed at Emperor Sui and said, "What I mean is, let Emperor Sui take on the position of Great Emperor of the Western Mountain, and let the other seven fellow Daoists hold deputy positions to jointly assist Emperor Sui in governing Xiniu Hezhou. What do you think?"

"This..." The crowd began to ponder.

The Yellow Emperor frowned, seemingly realizing that things were probably not so simple.

At that moment, Suihuang's gaze became extremely profound. He looked up at Zhuang Yan and then suddenly smiled, "I have no objection."

"This old fellow saw through it." Zhuang Yan was slightly surprised. He could tell from Suirenshi's gaze in that instant that Suirenshi had already discerned the deeper meaning behind his arrangement.

Without a doubt, Zhuang Yan did not want an independent Western Mountain Divine Palace, so the Yellow Emperor could never become the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain.

Although Suirenshi did not have such a strong ambition, Zhuang Yan would not risk gambling on whether Suirenshi had hidden his own thoughts.

Therefore, Zhuang Yan proposed the idea of ​​eight human emperors jointly governing Xiniu Hezhou. This seemed to strengthen the power of Xiyue Divine Palace, but it actually divided Xiyue Divine Palace into two factions that checked and balanced each other, with Chenhuan Jade Palace in the middle in charge.

In short, Zhuang Yan wants to consolidate power; he wants to transfer the authority of the Five Sacred Mountains to the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm. Or, to put it even more simply, he wants to centralize power.

Suirenshi understood this, but Xuanyuan Huangdi and others did not realize it, or rather, they did not think about it in this way.

Therefore, Suirenshi answered so readily because he was actively cooperating with Zhuang Yan's idea.

Zhuang Yan quickly realized that Suirenshi wanted to cooperate with him, so he immediately continued Suirenshi's words, saying, "Emperor Suirenshi is benevolent and righteous, and I admire him greatly."

After finishing his sentence, Zhuang Yan asked the Yellow Emperor and the others, "What do you fellow Daoists think?"

Seeing that Suirenshi agreed to Zhuang Yan's proposal without any doubt, and that the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan had not seen through Zhuang Yan's intentions, he nodded in agreement after a moment's thought.

What else is there to say? The two leaders have agreed, so there's no reason for the rest to disagree.

Thus, the matter was decided. Zhuang Yan immediately went to report to the Jade Emperor, who was very satisfied upon learning of it. He immediately issued an edict arranging for the eight Human Emperors to reside in the Great Luo Heaven, and a court assembly would be held in the Lingxiao Palace in seven days to formally appoint the new Great Emperor of the Western Mountain and all the officials of the Western Mountain. (End of this chapter)