The sacred land of the Human Race, Fire Cloud Grotto-Heaven.
The Three Sovereigns, who held sway over the Human Race's highest fortune, each sat cross-legged on a cloud shaped like a cushion. In the middle was Fuxi, the Human Heavenly Sovereign, flanked by Shennong, the Earth Emperor, and Xuanyuan, the Human Emperor.
Xuanyuan gazed toward Chang'an in the Great Tang and said, "The Human Kings of this world really are getting worse with every generation. To think he fell for Buddhism's schemes so easily. In his youth, Li Shimin was a formidable ruler in his own right. Who would have thought he would become so pathetic in his old age? A sovereign begging gods and praying to Buddhas-that is a sign of a nation's impending decline!"
Shennong said, "There is great terror between life and death. You and I have attained immortality, so naturally we have no such worries, but they are different. Never mind him-even that boy Ying Zheng yearned for immortality in his old age, did he not?"
Xuanyuan turned to Shennong and said, "But Ying Zheng failed. He could not rule his Great Qin Empire forever. In the end, he still perished. If even he met that fate, why does Li Shimin not learn from history in this matter? Our Human Race is not an immortal race, so naturally we cannot have an eternal sovereign. To gain something, one must give something up. Since Li Shimin became a Human King, he ought to have that understanding! He is spending the people's blood and sweat on begging gods and worshipping Buddhas for his own immortality. Calling him a benighted ruler for what he is doing now would not wrong him in the slightest!"
Shennong also looked toward Chang'an and said, "He has few years left to live. Even