The waves crashed against the shore, making a continuous, resounding sound, much like Zheng Fa's state of mind.
He was now as if he had opened an answer book, which read, "Easy to find, the answer is to create humans."
Then I looked at the question, and it clearly stated: Please explain in detail why we need to create humans.
Seemingly noticing his surprise, Nuwa turned and chuckled, "You're surprised?"
"A little."
Looking at Nuwa's relaxed expression, Zheng Fa sincerely said, "Your Majesty is more—" He paused, then used a word that suddenly popped into his mind. "More decisive."
Nuwa, with a nonchalant expression, tossed the seashell in her hand and walked forward, with Zheng Fa following behind her.
The two walked for a while longer before Zheng Fa heard Nuwa speak:
"Because the key now doesn't lie with me, it lies with you, with your generation."
Nuwa stopped in her tracks.
"There are some things I've figured out. And you?" She looked at Zheng Fa, her gaze deep, as if she could see into the deepest part of his soul. "Do you know why I created a new race?"
Why Human Race of all races?
"And can you tell me...?" Nuwa chuckled softly, "Was it right or wrong for me to create humans?"
Zheng Fa finally realized. "This is the Empress's test?"
Nuwa chuckled again, neither commenting on whether the idea was right or wrong, but simply saying, "You can think of it this way: neither Merit nor Primordial Purple Qi comes easily."
"I see."
Zheng Fa said softly.
Nuwa nodded gently, then suddenly reached out and pressed her hand lightly against the sea surface. A handprint appeared on the sea, and the seawater beneath it was squeezed and surged wildly in all directions, revealing a magnificent underwater dragon palace.
"Greetings, Nuwa!"
A man flew out of the Dragon Palace and knelt before the Nuwa, filled with fear and unease.
"Don't be afraid, I'm just somewhat interested in the true form of the Dragon Clan."
The man had a sudden inspiration; he rolled on the sea and transformed into a Azure Dragon.
The Nuwa examined it for a moment before saying, "Go."
The Azure Dragon kowtowed again, then plunged into the sea, never daring to emerge again.
"Your Majesty, what is this...?"
"I wish to create a new species," Nuwa explained, "But I do not know what this new species will look like."
She added, "I didn't know that before I met you."
Zheng Fa nodded slightly.
"So I observed all things in heaven and earth, the Witch Race, the Demon Race, Precelestial Divine deities, trying to find the most suitable species."
At this point, she smiled and added, "Part of the reason I joined the Demon Race was because of this."
"I see..."
According to Nuwa, her trip to the Demon Race was more like a data collection mission.
This also explains why, in legends, Nuwa, though a member of the Demon Race, always remained aloof and acted very differently, even ultimately creating the Human Race —humans and demons were originally in a competitive relationship.
Originally, she and the Demon Race might have had a cooperative relationship.
Nuwa continued, "I have compiled a chart of seventy-two of the most powerful creatures, including dragons, Qilin, qilin, liches, demons, and all sorts of strange beings, hoping to combine the strengths of each to create a perfect race."
This ambition is undeniably grand.
At this point, Nuwa stretched out her right hand, raised her index finger, and touched Zheng Fa's forehead.
Zheng Fa felt a torrent of information explode in his mind, containing countless divine beast totems and various complex runes.
It contains many of the life secrets of the Precelestial Realm beings.
"Your Majesty?"
"Tell me, why did I choose the weak Human Race instead of these powerful ones?"
Zheng Fa then understood why the Nuwa had shared these precious data with him.
He nodded, then suddenly remembered something and asked the Nuwa:
"Your Majesty, do you know about the Cosmos Cauldron?"
"It's my Law Treasure." Nuwa paused, then suddenly understood. "In your hands?"
Zheng Fa was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, the names of those things in the inscription on the Cosmos Cauldron may have been different in later generations. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."
Nuwa glanced at him. "Want to know?"
Zheng Fa cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.
Answer my question first.
In a conference room at Nine Mountains University, in the Xuanwu Black Tortoise Lodge of the Nine Mountains Realm.
"Why create humans?" Xie Qingxue opened her mouth, somewhat bewildered, and asked, "Isn't it obvious...?"
Uncle-Master Pang asked curiously, "How is it obvious?"
" Human Race now controls the Xuanwei Realm."
Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Emperor Body slowly nodded and smiled, "I believe that Goddess Nuwa did not lack the desire to create humans, but rather wanted us to truly understand something."
"What?"
What makes a person?
The meeting room fell silent. The Old Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue and sigh, "This topic is a bit too broad."
"No, Nuwa has already given some hints." The Heavenly Emperor Body shook his head. "Firstly, she asked me why she wanted to create a new race."
Why?
"In other words, what kind of problems can this new race solve?"
Upon hearing this, everyone understood, Old Yuan nodded, saying, "So that's what you mean?"
There are some things that the Heavenly Emperor Body did not say aloud.
After meeting Nuwa, Zheng Fa was already pondering the true meaning of the Fusang Wood Illusion, and even re-examining the context of some Primordial Wilderness legends.
By now, he had some guesses in his mind.
The Heavenly Emperor Body addressed the Old Yuan, saying, "From the time the teachings began at the Purple Cloud Palace, there has only been one main thread running through the Ancient Era."
"What?"
"The propagation and evolution of the Tao."
"Preaching? Preaching requires a new population?"
The Heavenly Emperor Body shook his head and explained, "The species is not the fundamental issue. The fundamental issue lies in what kind of species is better able to deduce the Dao."
The Old Yuan was taken aback, then murmured, "Deduction? This... you mean, humans are only used to deduce Daoist techniques?"
"From Nuwa's perspective, this is how I feel."
From Zheng Fa's perspective, Nuwa didn't know what humans were, so naturally she had no innate affection for the Human Race. She didn't initially intend to create Human Race, and even her creation of Human Race wasn't due to any divine mandate.
She created the Human Race simply because the Heavenly Dao taught by Daoist Hongjun needed a better vessel.
To use an imperfect analogy, Nuwa creating the Human Race and humans creating computers seem to have very similar goals.
A silence fell over the meeting room. "So, we... are merely tools?"
Despite his reluctance to admit it, the Heavenly Emperor Body nodded slightly and said, "From Nuwa's perspective, that is probably indeed the case."
Looking at the silent crowd in the conference room, Zheng Fa spoke again, "If Nuwa has any destiny, it is to strengthen the Dao and the Human Race; this is the means by which she fulfills this destiny."
From Venerable Tianhe, Zheng Fa learned that cultivating the Dao is itself the self-propagation of the universe—and the process of strengthening the Dao is the process of propagation.
"..."
After a long while, a soft laugh finally broke the silence of the otherwise lifeless conference room.
"Regardless of what Nuwa thinks," Xie Qingxue laughed, "Regardless of the origins of our Human Race, aren't we now standing at the pinnacle of all heavens?"
Seeing the bright smile on Xie Qingxue's face, Uncle-Master Pang chuckled, "I don't think as clearly as Fairy Xie."
The Heavenly Emperor Body echoed, "This is Nuwa's second question: why the Human Race, or rather, why is the Human Race the best vessel for the Dao?"
"... That's a big problem," Senior Sister Zhang shook her head, "And it's even difficult to answer."
"I have an idea," the Heavenly Emperor Body said, "Or rather, I have an idea."
"What?"
"We discard the answer of 'human' and deduce a new species."
Everyone in the conference room was stunned. It was Senior Sister Zhang who finally came to her senses. "You mean, deduce from scratch the best vessel for Daoist magic? To see if it's Human Race?"
"That's right." The Heavenly Emperor Body nodded slightly. "Just as my senior sister said, answering this question is too difficult and too vague."
"I wish to establish a new research topic called the Dao Body Design."
" Dao Body?"
"This Dao Body is not that Dao Body," the Heavenly Emperor Body explained. "The so-called Dao Body here refers to the vessel of the Great Dao, or, to put it another way, let's assume we are Nuwa."
Now everyone understood and nodded.
"There are two important principles to consider when designing Dao Body."
"Those two important principles?"
"First, is the new Dao Body conducive to the inheritance of the Great Dao?"
"Secondly, is this Dao Body conducive to the development of the Dao?"
The Heavenly Emperor Body spoke of Zheng Fa's thoughts on this matter, and then said:
"To ensure succession, three things are needed: compatibility, learning ability, and stability."
"To achieve development, what's needed is the ability to calculate, deduce, and iterate."
Seeing everyone deep in thought, the Heavenly Emperor Body explained, "These are just some initial thoughts of mine. Please feel free to share any different opinions you may have."
Senior Sister Zhang remained silent for a moment before nodding and saying, "In that case, we do have a clue."
"Regarding compatibility..." Zheng Fa's eldest disciple Gu Chang, suddenly spoke up, "Isn't it just Spirit Root?"
" Spirit Root?"
" Spirit Root are not something every species possesses; in fact, it could be said that they are a unique characteristic of humans."
Upon hearing this, Jiao Wuji nodded and said, "Most Demon Race rely on bloodlines; they don't have the concept of Spirit Root."
" Spirit Root..."
"I've always wondered why only Human Race have Spirit Root, and why there are so many Spirit Root, and why human Spirit Root are all complete with the Five Elements..." Gu Chang said, "When Master talked about compatibility, I suddenly understood. Spirit Root aren't for making people cultivate faster, but for making people able to cultivate most Cultivation Method."
In the conference room, everyone felt convinced. Uncle-Master Pang repeatedly said, "This theory... is correct. If I were to design a Dao Body, the first thing I would consider is not how fast one can cultivate, but how many Cultivation Method one can practice. Among all the races in the heavens, the Human Race has the most diverse and numerous cultivation Cultivation Method."
Even the Heavenly Emperor Body felt a sudden realization:
He always felt that there were too many types of Spirit Root. There were five types of Single-Spirit Root, Dual-Spirit Root, Three-Spirit Root... and if you subdivided them by percentage, the number of Spirit Root was almost endless.
He previously thought this was the origin of inequality among cultivators, with the advantage of having Single-Spirit Root being too great, while cultivation was extremely difficult for cultivators with Multi-Spirit Root. From the Nine Mountains Sect to the Xuanwei Realm, countless conflicts arose because of this.
But Gu Chang's words made him look at Spirit Root from a different perspective. Perhaps this thing is not perfect, but it gives the Human Race the most possibilities.
Seeing that everyone else was deep in thought, the Heavenly Emperor Body continued, "The research on the Dao Body Design concerns the Primordial Purple Qi. On the other hand, it may also allow us to glimpse the essence of a cultivator's body, which is no small matter."
Senior Sister Zhang's expression was also very serious. "We will select disciples and form a project team as soon as possible."
The Heavenly Emperor Body nodded slightly.
Zheng Fa did not place all his hopes on the Nine Mountains Realm.
He also included similar topics in the Modern World.
According to Zheng Fa, compatibility corresponds to Spirit Root, while learning, calculation, and deduction abilities are all related to human wisdom.
Modern research in this area far surpasses that of the Nine Mountains Realm.
To put it simply, the Dao Body Design studies the relationship between biological structure and Daoist principles.
Nine Mountains Realm excels in Daoist practices, while Modernity excels in biological structure; the two regions are almost complementary in this project.
Both the Nine Mountains Realm and the modern world are busy with the Dao Body Design project, while everyone in the Nine Luminaries Heaven has also gained something.
Inside the Five Organs Temple, the Creation Daoist and others surrounded the White Lotus, marveling at its beauty.
"Is this the culmination of Merit?"
White Lotus was no longer as composed as before; a smile graced her face, and a dazzling golden wheel floated behind her head.
Zheng Fa couldn't help but walk over as well.
"This is a method passed down to me by two Founder, called the Merit Golden Wheel," White Lotus explained to the crowd. "Actually, there's nothing special about it; it's just that in this world, Merit inherently possesses various Divine Ability powers."
The crowd grew even more curious upon hearing this, and the Grand Elder of the Lu Clan asked, "What's so special about this Merit Golden Wheel?"
"This humble monk has only just begun to understand the Merit Golden Wheel; it only has the functions of enlightenment and exorcising evil," White Lotus explained. "If this humble monk accumulates more Merit, this Golden Wheel can materialize, even becoming comparable to a Spirit Treasure, which would be most useful for self-defense and overcoming tribulations."
These words only aroused envy from others.
The Merit Golden Wheel is one thing, but what's even more enviable about the White Lotus is that he's managed to latch onto two powerful figures and has already reaped considerable benefits.
The Grand Elder of the Lu Clan seemed to have thought of something and added, "In that case, wouldn't the White Lotus Saint Monk have a chance to sit on that seventh futon?"
Everyone else was stunned for a moment, then they understood.
This White Lotus has not only gained a lot of Merit, but the Merit Golden Wheel also has the ability to help cultivators comprehend the Dao. Moreover, this person also has the Bodhi Seed.
It seems that he possesses both great Merit and great enlightenment!
"To receive guidance from the two Founder is already a great fortune, and I dare not have any more expectations," White Lotus said humbly. "However, the two Founder have also earnestly urged me on, so I naturally dare not slack off."
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed inwardly: With powerful backers, one can truly do whatever one wants.
Zheng Fa was also feeling envious when he suddenly saw the Lu Clan's Grand Elder looking at him with a mocking gaze.
Seeing Zheng Fa looking at him, the Lu Clan elder turned his head back and began to fawn over White Lotus with all his heart.
(End of this chapter)