Heaven and Earth were unfeeling, treating all things as straw dogs. Sages were emotionless, regarding all living beings as mere weeds. In the eyes of the Heavenly Dao and the Sages, the human race was no different from races such as the Demon Clan, Witch Race, and dragon race.
This was not necessarily a bad thing.
For the Heavenly Dao's lack of emotion was better than partiality. Only an impartial Heavenly Dao could be fair and just, never favoring any race because of its own likes or dislikes.
But for the current human race, this was absolutely not good news!
Of course, Sages were also people. They possessed human joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures, and could not truly be called emotionless. Each of them had things they cared about!
Nuwa cared about Fuxi.
The Three Pure Ones cared about their own orthodox teachings, their doctrines, and their disciples.
As for the Two Sages of the West, though Xuan Qing had never encountered them, they most likely hoped for the prosperity of the West so they could repay the Merit they had borrowed from the Heavenly Dao when they made their great vows to attain Sainthood.
"Heaven covers all without favoritism; Earth bears all without favoritism!"
A new question arose in Xuan Qing's heart. "If the Heavenly Dao is utterly impartial, why would it later allow the human race to become the so-called protagonists of Heaven and Earth?"
"Could it simply be because the word 'human' happened to align with the Three Talents?"
"But the Human Dao should be the Dao of all beings, the Dao of all spirits. It should not be limited to a single race!"
"Moreover, this world is exceedingly strange. Mortals are considered three-dimensional lifeforms, while Sages are at least eight-dimensional, perhaps even nine-dimensional lifeforms. They are fundamentally not on the same level, yet they coexist within the same Great Primordial Realm!"
"Chaos, order!"
"The Primordial World is like the point where multiple dimensions overlap. Amid chaos lies a trace of order, while within order lurks imperceptible chaos!"
In truth, the stronger one's cultivation, the more reverence one held for this world. Mortals feared consequences, immortals feared causes, and the Primordial World was a place where countless causes and effects intertwined.
However, with Xuan Qing's current cultivation and knowledge, he was still unable to see through this world's true nature.
Some things appeared inherently contradictory and impossible to explain in his eyes, such as "the Heavenly Dao is utterly impartial" and "the human race becomes the protagonist of Heaven and Earth."
If the Heavenly Dao was utterly impartial, then all living beings ought to be equal. There should be no such thing as a protagonist of Heaven and Earth!
But if the Heavenly Dao had selfish motives, why would it treat the human race this way—allowing them to be slaughtered by the Demon Clan's overwhelming momentum on one hand, yet making them the protagonists of Heaven and Earth on the other?
He could not understand it!
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him. He thought of Dao Ancestor Hongjun, and of what Sect Master Tongtian had once said: the Heavenly Dao was incomplete, and Dao Ancestor Hongjun had merged with the Dao to make up for it!
"Could it be that the Heavenly Dao is impartial by nature, but incomplete? And Dao Ancestor Hongjun attempted to correct and mend it, only to create new flaws in the process?"
Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain it!
Of course, this was only Xuan Qing forcefully giving himself a relatively reasonable explanation.
He did not know what state Dao Ancestor Hongjun had been in when he merged with the Dao, what his purpose had been, or whether anything had gone wrong during the process.
With a thought, he looked toward Nuwa. "May I ask, Holy Mother, after that Dao Ancestor merged with the Dao, did the rules of the Heavenly Dao undergo any changes?"
"You noticed that as well?"
A trace of surprise appeared on Nuwa's face. "The Heavenly Dao has indeed been constantly changing! It is evolving in the direction desired by all living beings!"
Evolving in the direction desired by all living beings?
Xuan Qing furrowed his brow slightly, then suddenly understood. "The unity of Heaven and man... it is drawing upon the power of all living beings?"
"Correct!"
Nuwa nodded.
Xuan Qing's expression eased somewhat, but he could not help recalling what Lord Zhí Míng had once said.
The hearts of men were the greater trend!
The direction of the Heavenly Dao's evolution was guided by the thoughts of the majority of living beings. The greater trend of the Heavenly Dao followed the hearts of men, and using the hearts of men to shift the greater trend of Heaven and Earth was no empty phrase.
But...
"Are the thoughts of all living beings necessarily correct?"
Xuan Qing voiced the doubt in his heart.
It was not that he stood opposed to all living beings. Rather, before his transmigration, he had seen far too many cases where people made wrong choices out of temporary blindness.
A large number of people did not necessarily make something right!
He had once seen a place struck by a flood. After the flood, an official resolved to build flood-control embankments, but his actions were deemed wasteful and burdensome to the people, stirring up public outrage for a time.
Although that official ultimately defied all opposition and expended vast resources to construct the flood-control embankments, not many people thanked him.
It was only years later, when an unprecedented flood erupted, that the people protected by those embankments came to understand the official's painstaking intentions.
There were many similar incidents.
He had heard of a principal somewhere who frequently conducted earthquake drills. Many parents believed he was neglecting his proper duties, but when an earthquake came, they instead admired his foresight.
Everything had two sides. The opinion of the majority was not necessarily correct.
Xuan Qing had seen far too many such things before his transmigration.
Just as most people hoped to buy cheap grain, yet low grain prices harm farmers. Once grain prices fell, farmers who grew grain would be forced to seek other livelihoods, creating a vicious cycle.
Therefore, more people did not necessarily mean they were right!
Xuan Qing pondered for a moment, sorting through his thoughts before cupping his hands toward Nuwa. "Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness, but I do not agree with the Heavenly Dao evolving according to the will of the masses!"
"Suppose a person commits a minor mistake, one not deserving of death. Yet someone who bears a grudge against him bribes those qualified to judge him with benefits. Could the final result still be just?"
"I have heard that Di Jun refined the Monster Summoning Banner to control all demons under Heaven, their life and death resting on a single thought of his. In that case, are the thoughts expressed by those demons truly their own, or are they the thoughts of Demon Emperor Jun?"
Xuan Qing could not tell Nuwa about examples from before his transmigration, but he had always been skilled at drawing inferences from one example to another. Di Jun's refinement of the Monster Summoning Banner was the best evidence.
"What you say does make some sense!"
Nuwa nodded. "But Dao Ancestor Hongjun has already merged with the Dao, and the Heavenly Dao is evolving in the direction desired by all living beings. This is an unchangeable fact!"
At this moment, she also began to doubt her own convictions and the direction in which the Heavenly Dao was evolving.
But the die had been cast!
Nor did she possess the ability to change it!
She said frankly, "Sages have selfish desires as well, and I am no exception! But since these are the thoughts of all living beings, then regardless of whether the final result is good or bad, regardless of where the greater trend of the Heavenly Dao leads, it is something they should bear!"
"This..."
Xuan Qing was left speechless.
Just as Nuwa said, since the Heavenly Dao followed the hearts of men, then even if the beings of the Primordial Wilderness one day fell into self-imposed entrapment, they would have no reason to blame the Heavenly Dao.
For the greater trend of the Heavenly Dao had been guided by the majority among them.
At that moment, Xuan Qing seemed to understand why the future would follow the trajectory he remembered.
The Witch-Demon War caused the Pillar of Heaven to break and hundreds of millions of living beings to perish. Naturally, the survivors hoped that the future protagonists of Heaven and Earth would no longer be as brutal as the Witch and Demon Clans.
With two Sages endorsing them, the harmless-looking human race naturally inherited the mandate of Heaven and became the eternal protagonists decreed by the Heavenly Dao.
Later, acquired living beings grew ever more numerous. Unable to reach the heights of Innate Divine Beings, the Primordial Wilderness entered the acquired era to narrow the gap between the two.
There was also Zhuānxū Fells Jiànmù, Severing the Connection between Heaven and Earth, followed by Jiang Ziya's Enfeoffment of the Gods, allowing many acquired living beings to wield the authority of a Dao just like Innate Divine Beings.
In the end, it even brought about the Calamity of the End of Dharma, completely severing the possibility of cultivation.
"The hearts of men..."
Xuan Qing could not help revealing a bitter smile.
Although all this was merely his speculation, he seemed to see that predetermined future. All living beings of the Primordial Wilderness had paid the price for their own thoughts.
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