89: Chapter 89 Investiture of the Gods Journey to the West

Returning from Black Water Lake, Lu Mingyuan remained silent the whole way.

The story of Hou Tu transforming into Reincarnation weighed on his heart like a stone. The image of that woman who disliked conflict, the Ancestral Witch who sacrificed herself for all living beings, lingered in his mind for a long time.

He remembered what Xuanweizi had said—where there is light, there is love; where there is love, there is protection; and where there is protection, there is restoration.

Hou Tu's light was having all living beings in her heart.

What about him?

What was his light?

He thought all night but found no answer.

At the hour of chen on the third day, Yunhua arrived punctually as usual to collect him.

It was the same path: through the Peach Forest, past the Jade Pool, into the ruins, through the stone gate, and into the wasteland.

But this time, the Queen Mother of the West was neither on the Nine-layered Platform nor by Black Water Lake. She stood in the center of the wasteland, with a low table before her holding a bamboo scroll, a wooden sword, and an alms bowl.

Lu Mingyuan approached and saw three ancient seal script characters written on the bamboo scroll—

"investiture of the gods."

His heart jolted.

investiture of the gods.

The legendary list that decided the destiny of the three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods, the root cause that triggered the split between the Chan and Jie sects, the karmic tool that caused countless Cultivators' Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering to be enshrined on the list.

It lay right here, like an ordinary old object.

Seeing him staring at the bamboo scroll, the Queen Mother of the West smiled slightly.

"Is it real or fake?"

Lu Mingyuan nodded.

The Queen Mother of the West picked up the bamboo scroll and gently unfurled it. The scroll was densely packed with names, each followed by an official title—Righteous God of the Thunder Department, Righteous God of the Fire Department, Righteous God of the Star Department, Taisui God, Day-Duty God...

"This is a copy," she said. "The true investiture of the gods is in the Heavenly Court, suppressing the true spirits of the three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods."

She set down the scroll and pointed to the wooden sword.

"This is the Grandmaster of Heaven's Qingping Sword. Of course, it is also a copy."

She then pointed to the alms bowl.

"This is the alms bowl of Daoist Jieyin. Also a copy."

She looked at Lu Mingyuan.

"Do you know why I have placed these copies here?"

Lu Mingyuan shook his head.

The Queen Mother of the West looked into the distance.

"Because the Investiture of the Gods Calamity is the greatest Karma in the Three Realms. Its influence persists to this day."

"To explain The Rift clearly, one must explain the Investiture."

The Queen Mother of the West began her narration.

"After the Witch-Demon Calamity, heaven and earth were shattered, and all living beings suffered. Nuwa mended the heavens, and Hou Tu transformed into Reincarnation, barely stabilizing the world. But the gap in the Heavenly Dao was never truly mended."

"Afterward, the Human Race rose to prominence."

"Fuxi, Shennong, and Xuanyuan, the Three Sovereigns, ruled the world. Zhuanxu, Di Ku, Yao, Shun, and Yu, the Five Emperors, established the social order. The Human Race gradually became the protagonists of heaven and earth."

"But the rise of the Human Race also brought new problems."

She paused and said slowly,

"Luck."

"Before the Witch-Demon Calamity, Luck resided with the Witch and Yao Races. After their fall, Luck flowed toward the Human Race. But Luck is not infinite; when someone gains, someone else must lose."

"The gainers are the Human Race. The losers are those ancient existences that survived the Witch-Demon Calamity—the Jie Sect, the Chan Sect, the Ren Sect, and Buddhism from the west."

As Lu Mingyuan listened, he began to understand.

"So, the Investiture of the Gods Calamity was a struggle for Luck?"

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"Yes. It was a struggle for Luck, for orthodoxy, and even more so for the future."

"The cause of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity was a shortage of personnel in the Heavenly Court."

The Queen Mother of the West continued slowly,

"After the Witch-Demon Calamity, Dijun and Tai Yi died in battle, and the Yao Race's Heavenly Court collapsed. Emperor Haotian succeeded the throne and rebuilt the Heavenly Court. But the Heavenly Court was empty, with most of the three hundred and sixty-five righteous god positions vacant."

"Emperor Haotian sought help from the Dao Ancestor, Hongjun. Hongjun summoned the leaders of the three sects—Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian—to discuss the matter of enshrinement."

"The three sects signed the investiture of the gods, agreeing: among the Disciples of the three sects, those with deep roots would achieve the path of Immortality; those with slightly lesser roots would achieve the path of Divinity; those with the least roots would enter Reincarnation and return to the Mortal World."

She looked at Lu Mingyuan.

"Sounds fair, doesn't it?"

Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment and nodded.

"But the problem is," the Queen Mother of the West said, "who would be willing to be enshrined on the list?"

"Becoming a god sounds prestigious, but the path of Divinity is not as carefree as the path of Immortality. Once on the investiture of the gods, one's true spirit is suppressed by the Heavenly Court, losing all freedom and being forced to serve and follow the orders of the Heavenly Court forever."

"Which Disciple of the three sects would be willing?"

She gazed into the distance, her eyes deep and profound.

"So, although the investiture of the gods was signed, it was not decided who would be enshrined on the list. The three sects agreed: everything would depend on destiny and Karma. The war of the Investiture was used to determine who would be enshrined."

"Thus, a great catastrophe that swept through the Three Realms began."

"The fuse for the war of the Investiture was the transition from the Shang to the Zhou."

"King Zhou of Shang offered incense at the Nuwa Palace and wrote a poem desecrating Nuwa. Enraged, Nuwa sent the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb into the palace to bewitch the king's heart. This was the apparent cause."

"But the real cause lay beneath the surface."

The Queen Mother of the West looked at Lu Mingyuan.

"The Luck of the Shang Dynasty had already run out. The Luck of the Zhou Dynasty was rising. When Luck shifts, it is the time for a calamity to erupt."

"The Chan Sect supported the Zhou, while the Jie Sect supported the Shang. On the surface, it was a transition of mortal dynasties, but in reality, it was the decisive battle between the Chan and Jie sects."

Lu Mingyuan listened intently.

"How many years did that war last?"

The Queen Mother of the West said,

"From the time Jiang Ziya descended the mountain to the Martial King's campaign against Zhou, it lasted thirty years. But the true tragedy occurred at the very end."

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Formation."

"Grandmaster of Heaven laid out the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, gathering the ten thousand immortals of the Jie Sect for a final showdown with the Chan Sect. Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti, the four saints, arrived together to break the array."

"In that battle, the ten thousand immortals of the Jie Sect were almost entirely wiped out. Daoist Duobao was taken by Laozi, the Holy Mother of Golden Spirit was killed, the Holy Mother of Wudang fled, and the Holy Mother of Turtle Spirit was devoured. The Grandmaster of Heaven's Four Swords of the Immortal Slaying were taken by the four saints."

She paused, her voice low.

"After the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, the Jie Sect existed in name only. Grandmaster of Heaven intended to re-establish the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, but was stopped by Hongjun and taken back to Zixiao Palace to be confined."

"Most of the positions for the three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods on the investiture of the gods were filled by Disciples of the Jie Sect."

Lu Mingyuan fell silent.

He remembered the legends he had heard at Mount Qingcheng—the Three Goddesses of Xiao, Zhao Gongming, Grand Preceptor Wen... those names turned out to be Disciples of the Jie Sect.

"Were they... content with that?" he asked.

The Queen Mother of the West looked at him.

"What do you think?"

Lu Mingyuan thought about it.

"They weren't."

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"Of course they weren't. Most of the ten thousand immortals of the Jie Sect were innocent. They only came to face the calamity and were swept into this struggle, only to be enshrined on the list in the end, their true spirits suppressed and their freedom lost for all eternity."

"Their resentment is no less than that of the Witch-Demon Calamity."

She pointed into the distance.

"Where did all that resentment go?"

Lu Mingyuan's heart jolted.

"To The Rift?"

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"After the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, The Rift grew larger again. The resentment from the Witch-Demon Calamity had not yet dissipated when the resentment from the Investiture of the Gods Calamity was added to it."

"And the next calamity came very soon."

"The Journey to the West Great Tribulation."

The Queen Mother of the West picked up the alms bowl and gently stroked it.

"On the surface, the Journey to the West was about fetching scriptures and spreading Buddhism to the east. But in reality, it was also a calamity, a redistribution of Luck."

"After the Investiture, the Chan Sect's Origin Qi was greatly damaged, the Jie Sect existed in name only, and the Ren Sect remained detached. Buddhism from the west took the opportunity to rise."

She set down the alms bowl.

"The two saints, Jieyin and Zhunti, helped the Chan Sect greatly during the Investiture and took away three thousand guests of the Mortal World from the Jie Sect. Those people became the foundation of Buddhism."

"But for Buddhism to flourish, it needed Luck. Where would that Luck come from?"

Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.

"The Eastern Lands?"

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"Yes. The Eastern Lands were the Great Tang, the place where the Human Race's Luck was at its peak. Spreading Buddhism to the east was meant to share in the Luck of the Eastern Lands."

"But Luck is not given for free. Buddhism had to offer something in exchange—and what they exchanged it for was the hearts of the people."

She looked at Lu Mingyuan.

"Do you know what the greatest secret of the Journey to the West is?"

Lu Mingyuan shook his head.

The Queen Mother of the West said slowly,

"Many of the demons on the Journey to the West were arranged by the Buddhists. Some were mounts from the Heavenly Court that descended to the Mortal World, some were reincarnated Disciples of Buddhism, and others were Loose Cultivators who were forcibly conscripted. Their task was to create trouble for the scripture-seeking team, and then be subdued or killed."

"Why?"

"Because Karma was needed."

"Every time the scripture-seeking team killed a demon, a portion of Karma was established. The resentment of those demons and the little demons who were killed fell upon the scripture-seeking team and upon Buddhism."

"Where did all that resentment go in the end?"

Lu Mingyuan's heart tightened.

"The Rift?"

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"Yes. After the Journey to the West Great Tribulation, The Rift grew larger yet again."

She stood up and walked over to Lu Mingyuan.

"Do you understand now?"

Lu Mingyuan remained silent for a long time.

"That Rift... is the accumulation of resentment from all the calamities?"

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"The Ferocious Beast Great Tribulation, the Initial Calamity of Dragon and Phoenix, the Witch-Demon Calamity, the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, and the Journey to the West Great Tribulation. In every calamity, countless beings perished, and countless amounts of resentment were generated. That resentment did not dissipate; instead, it settled and converged together."

"After settling for eons, it finally transformed into that Rift, into the core of resentment deep within it, and into Emperor An."

She looked into Lu Mingyuan's eyes.

"And the Dharma-Ending Kalpa is the final calamity. If it is not mended this time, heaven and earth will collapse, and everything will return to Chaos."

Lu Mingyuan's heart shook violently.

"The final one?"

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"Hongjun once said that the Heavenly Dao is flawed and can only endure seven calamities at most. After seven times, it must either be mended or it will collapse."

"The Heaven-Opening Great Tribulation was the first, the Ferocious Beast Great Tribulation was the second, the Initial Calamity of Dragon and Phoenix was the third, the Witch-Demon Calamity was the fourth, the Investiture of the Gods Calamity was the fifth, and the Journey to the West Great Tribulation was the sixth."

She said word by word:

"The Dharma-Ending Kalpa is the seventh."

Silence.

A long silence.

Lu Mingyuan stood there, gazing at the grey sky in the distance and the crisscrossing fissures on the wasteland, thinking of the countless fallen beings and the eons of accumulated resentment.

Seven Great Calamities.

Eons of time.

Countless lives.

In the end, they all converged in that Rift, on that thing called An.

And he, a mere small Cultivator who had just entered the realm of Earth Immortal, was expected to mend it?

He suddenly found it laughable.

But he couldn't bring himself to laugh.

Because the Queen Mother of the West was watching him, Zhang Qingyuan was watching him, and all those who had died and the lessons bought with their lives were watching him.

He took a deep breath.

"Goddess, this Junior would like to ask a question."

The Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"Ask."

Lu Mingyuan looked at her.

"When Hou Tu transformed into Reincarnation, did she know she would succeed?"

The Queen Mother of the West was silent for a moment.

"She didn't."

"Then why did she still do it?"

The Queen Mother of the West looked at him with something in her eyes—was it approval, relief, or something else?

"Because if one doesn't do it, success is impossible."

Lu Mingyuan fell silent.

Then, he smiled.

"This Junior understands."

The Queen Mother of the West looked at him and smiled as well.

"It's good that you understand."

She turned and walked back toward the way they came.

"That is all for today. Tomorrow, I will tell you about the cause of the Dharma Ending Age—the origin of Emperor An."

After a few steps, she suddenly stopped.

"Lu Mingyuan."

"This Junior is here."

The Queen Mother of the West did not turn around.

"The fact that you could ask that question shows that you and Hou Tu are the same kind of person."

With that, she walked away.

Lu Mingyuan stood in place, watching her figure disappear into the depths of the wasteland.

Zhang Qingyuan walked to his side, carrying the heart lamp.

"Let's go."

Lu Mingyuan nodded.

The two turned and walked toward the stone gate.

Behind them, the copy of the investiture of the gods lay quietly on the low table, thirty thousand years of Karma weighing behind every name.

But he knew those names were not just individuals, but also threads of resentment.

And all that resentment was waiting in The Rift.

Waiting to be mended, or waiting to be devouring everything.