What was behind the door?
The moment Zhang Fan boldly entered the door, he unexpectedly thought of his past life that had been covered in dust for hundreds of years.
Looking back at that incomparably strange world, he had once heard such a saying.
The world is actually made up of many doors. Each of our choices, each of the stars in the sky, are all doors that lead to a different kind of world.
From this door, walk in; from another door, walk out.
Forever like this, the cycle repeats. There was only a tiny possibility that the door you opened would lead to the final destination, and then everything would come to an end.
That was a kind of eternal peace, a world where there was no need to choose, no need to feel pain, no need to feel lost.
Apart from this, there was no other way. Even if you died, you would not be able to escape.
That world, that kind of peace, the Buddhists called it the Pure Land, the Daoists called it the Immortal World, the West was the Garden of Eden … and so on, there were countless such sayings. That door, it was called Transcendence, also known as the Paramita …
For some reason, the moment Zhang Fan stepped into the door of the circle of light, this saying surged out from the deepest part of his memory, and his heart became clear.
"Eternal peace, the transcendence of the Paramita, what does it look like?"
Zhang Fan smiled, his whole body merging into the circle of light. In his heart, he knew that there would be someone waiting for him on the other side.
…
"Rumble …"
This was the loud sound of a waterfall rushing down from the Ninth Heaven, smashing into the lake.
"Crash …"
This was the sound of the long river slapping against the reef, splashing the sky full of crystal clear sounds.
"Swish swish swish …"
This was the sound of the sandbar in the river, separating the torrent, rotating and reverberating.
"Plop … plop …"
This was the sound of a tenacious fish leaping out of the water, trying to jump as high as possible, but ultimately inevitably falling back down.
…
There was no source, no end, only such a long river, surging since ancient times. Every drop of water, every speck of light, even every fish, was both ordinary and extremely unusual.
On the bank of this long river, there was a withered old tree that did not fall. On the branches of the tree was a crow's nest. It was simple and unadorned, but it gave people the urge to lie down and not think about anything until they fell asleep.
Next to the old tree, under the crow's nest, a man in plain clothes, who looked extremely ordinary from head to toe, sat lazily against the tree trunk.
In front of him, the branches were piled messily, and the messy flames licked the bottom of the cauldron.
It was a small bronze cauldron that was only a square foot in size. It was exquisite, simple, and dignified.
The fragrance of wine wafted out of the small cauldron.
The ordinary-looking man twitched his nose, nodded in satisfaction, and drew out the firewood.
The wine was already warm.
After doing all this, the ordinary-looking man raised his head with a smile and looked into the distance as if he was waiting for something.
It was obvious that the heavens didn't want the wine to cool down any longer. Almost at the same time he raised his head, a circle of light suddenly appeared, and a man with white hair on his temples stepped out.
— Zhang Fan!
"Good wine!"
Zhang Fan twitched his nose, glanced at the ordinary-looking man, the old tree, and the crow's nest, and spat out such a sentence.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
The ordinary-looking man spoke for the first time, and it sounded as familiar as the previous call.
"It would be impolite to refuse."
Zhang Fan smiled, stepped forward, and sat opposite the ordinary-looking man with the small bronze cauldron between them.
Unknowingly, two wine spoons appeared beside the ordinary-looking man and Zhang Fan, within arm's reach.
Neither of them felt strange. They took the spoons and, without a word, scooped them into the bronze cauldron and drank directly.
In this place, time had no meaning at all. Zhang Fan didn't know how long the two had been drinking the wine in the cauldron. He only knew that when the bottom of the cauldron was reached, the two had reached the end of their enjoyment.
"This wine, I have been warming it for three days. When you come, it is ready to be drunk."
The ordinary-looking man smiled and stretched out his hand to wipe it. The bronze cauldron, wooden spoons, and even the fragrance of wine floating in the air were all gone.
"How long have you been here?" Zhang Fan asked.
"Three days!"
After receiving that answer, Zhang Fan suddenly raised his head. His surprised gaze met the ordinary-looking man's eyes, which were as deep as the stars. He immediately seemed to have understood something.
The entire world also rumbled at that moment, and it became completely different.
The waterfall was still rushing, but one could see the solemnity of it rolling down.
The long river was still surging, and one could see the helplessness of flowing east.
The sand continent was still divided, as if the choices were leading all living beings in different directions.
The water droplets were still crystal clear, reflecting rays of light. One could see the complexity of all living beings.
The fish still jumped out, its eyes clearly filled with curiosity and desire. In the end, it could only stay in the air for a moment …
At some point in time, Zhang Fan stood up and stopped by the riverside. He was silent.
"This is the long river of fate, the long river of the heavens …"
That was what Zhang Fan said. The ordinary-looking man, no, the first-generation Demon Emperor, also said the same.
The first-generation Demon Emperor took a step forward and stood beside Zhang Fan. He stretched out his hand and pointed at a fish that jumped out of the water tenaciously. "Zhang Fan, what do you think of it?"
Zhang Fan was silent for a while, then he said slowly, "It is like looking at myself, looking at the countless immortal cultivators around me for hundreds of years."
"Yes!"
The first-generation Demon Emperor retracted his hand and said sadly, "We cultivators struggle bitterly and cultivate for ten thousand years, just to transcend. It is like a fish that jumps out of the water, and in the end, falls back down again. Looking at it for one more time is all in vain."
"Only you and I are different!"
The first-generation Demon Emperor changed the topic, and there was a hint of joy in his voice. It was the joy of meeting an old friend after loneliness.
"Why did you make so many preparations for me? Do we know each other?"
Zhang Fan's expression didn't change, and he asked calmly. His gaze never left the surface of the long river of the world, as if he wanted to find that familiar world and that familiar person there.
"I didn't do anything for you."
"It is just an opportunity."
The first-generation Demon Emperor shook his head and said, "The opportunity is there, it depends on whether you can grasp it or not."
"If you succeed, it is your ability. If you fail, it is your fate."
"What does it have to do with me!"
"It is just three days of loneliness, just wait for another round."
"I can't help you directly. I have great karma on me, and the Heavenly Dao of that world is jealous of me. If I help you, it will be harming you."
Zhang Fan was silent for a while, then he nodded and said, "Why?"
"Why do you have to do this?"
Hundreds of years of doubt, those bronze cauldrons, and the fate of two worlds were accumulated. In the end, there was only one sentence, "Why?"
"Because I owe you."
The first-generation Demon Emperor laughed and stretched out his hands, as if he was embracing fate and the long river of the world. "In my life, I have fought against heaven and earth, and I have never owed anyone karma. Only you, I owe you great karma. I gave you a chance, left you a great opportunity, and gave you great transcendence."
"We are even now."
The first-generation Demon Emperor smiled. He didn't look like a supreme expert who ruled the world, but his smile was clean and sincere.
"You owe me?"
Zhang Fan asked curiously. The first-generation Demon Emperor's era was too far away from his, and the two of them shouldn't have had any interactions.
"A long, long time ago, there was a person called Zhang Fan who bought a broken piece of copper in the antique market. It seemed to be a broken piece of a bronze bell …"
"There was an indestructible original spirit on the copper piece, and even the original spirit didn't know whether it was a bell or something else."
"Zhang Fan and the copper piece were drawn into a branch of fate and the long river of the world. They floated together in that passage for countless years …"
As the first-generation Demon Emperor narrated, Zhang Fan's dusty memories were slowly uncovered.
"In that passage, Zhang Fan had a complete human soul, which was the best food for the demonic creatures."
"Whether it was the original spirit or Zhang Fan, neither of them had the strength to fight. Escape together, escape, escape …"
"All of the demonic creatures were attracted by Zhang Fan's divine soul, and the original spirit was easily able to escape from the passage through an exit, arriving in a newly created world."
As the first-generation Demon Emperor spoke up to this point, Zhang Fan completely understood. His memories had rewound to hundreds of years ago, when Zhang Yuantu's grandson, Zhang Fan, was born at the foot of the Dharma Characteristic Sect.
At that time, there were many strange phenomena. Even after many years, Zhang Fan still remembered the ferocious strange bird that came out of the passage, drooling.
"So … that's how it is."
Zhang Fan suddenly understood. In that passage, he had attracted all of the demonic creatures, giving the weakest original spirit a chance to be reborn.
Therefore, hundreds of thousands of years later, he had also obtained a chance to transcend. It was indeed a great karma and a great reward.
After understanding this, Zhang Fan also sighed. In that passage, the original spirit had only been ahead of him for a moment, but in the end, it was a difference of millions of years.
After hundreds of thousands of years, the two of them finally met again on the long river of fate and the world.
"I waited in that world for hundreds of thousands of years, but I couldn't wait for you to appear. Although I knew that you would eventually appear, and that I would repay you with great karma, I couldn't wait any longer."
The first-generation Demon Emperor smiled, as if he were immersed in his memories. "My strength had already reached the limit of what heaven and earth could bear. Even if the Heavenly Daos were shattered, and nothing could restrict me, my very existence would cause that world to collapse.
"Therefore, I could only come here three days early, warm my wine, and wait.
"Three days, but hundreds of thousands of years!"
Zhang Fan sighed, not knowing what he was feeling.
"Zhang Fan, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"
"From the moment you left that world, you didn't belong there."
"Look at this huge river, which water droplet can bear you?"
The first-generation Demon Emperor's words made Zhang Fan think for a while, and he shook his head. "I don't want to live in the water droplet, and I don't want to become that fish. It's just that there are some things that I have to do, and some people that I have to accept!"
"Alright, I'll help you one more time!"
The first-generation Demon Emperor casually scooped up the river of fate and the world, and a crystal-clear water droplet floated in front of Zhang Fan.
"This is the world that I have struggled in for hundreds of years!"
Zhang Fan let out a long sigh, and he pointed his finger at the water droplet.
In a split second, his voice reached the ears of Xi Ruo, who was crying under the divine ability tree.
The First Phoenix was free, the Saint Emperor was free from his shackles, and the Spirits of the Immortals fell into the human world …
His wish, his great wish, was so easily fulfilled in front of a water droplet.
"If I achieve the Great Dao, I hope that all sentient beings can live freely, do things according to their hearts, without interference, and not be subdued by power!"
"If I achieve the Great Dao, I hope that all the immortals in the world will not be limited by their natural endowments, and will not be buried by their fate. As long as their hearts are towards the Great Dao, they will be able to seek the path of immortals."
"If I achieve the Great Dao, I hope that all the lights in the world will be illuminated …"
"If I achieve the Great Dao …"
…
"… I hope that everyone can be like dragons, and comprehend immortals and gods!"
"… I hope that the gap between immortals and mortals will be cleared, and the human world will be a paradise!"
"I want … to rebuild the path of immortals!"
…
The great wish of the past still echoed in Zhang Fan's mind, so he sighed.
"That's it!"
A spot of light flashed on the tip of his finger that touched the water droplet, and 90% of the spiritual energy in the Three Realms dissipated. All living beings were born with mortal bodies. No one was born noble and powerful. Only by comprehending the Dao and comprehending their own hearts could they use the limited spiritual energy to achieve the infinite Immortal Dao.
A spot of light flashed, and all the spiritual roots in the world disappeared. There were no longer any ranks for cultivators.
A spot of light flashed, and countless seeds of the Great Dao scattered on the bodies of billions of living beings. Once they were enlightened, they could become immortals and Buddhas regardless of anything else.
…
"Immortal Dao, rebuild!"
The water droplet trembled violently. The immortal cultivation world that developed abnormally after the Heavenly Dao was shattered became a thing of the past. The weak were prey to the strong, and there was no longer any meaning in seeking benefits.
Only by comprehending the heart and putting it into practice, the merit of good, and the punishment of evil were the brand-new path of immortality.
"It's all in the past!"
Zhang Fan slowly retracted his finger, and the water droplet fell into the long river of fate and the world again. It was swallowed by a wave, and no one knew where it would go.
After that moment, in the Human Realm, Xiruo and the others suddenly disappeared, never to be seen again. Only one of Zhang Fan's disciples remained to inherit the orthodoxy.
Compared to the orthodoxy, the newly established order of the Immortal Dao was the most profound mark that Zhang Fan had left in that world.
…
On the banks of the long river of fate and the world, the First Generation Demon Emperor looked at Zhang Fan's actions and smiled. "Very interesting."
"Zhang Fan, why don't we work together and send an opportunity out? Let's see if there will be another companion after countless years. That way, we won't be lonely anymore."
"Wonderful!"
Zhang Fan clapped and laughed.
The First Generation Demon Emperor flipped his palm, and a resplendent golden feather appeared in his hand. With a wave of his hand, it condensed into a jade.
"It's your turn."
With the jade feather in hand, Zhang Fan pondered for a moment. He thought back to the space-time power that he had experienced in the passage, and the feeling of the difference between three days and hundreds of thousands of years. In the end, he pressed his palm and imprinted all of it on the feather.
In an instant, the radiance surged, and in the end, it retracted and laid quietly in Zhang Fan's palm, becoming a black jade pendant. It looked simple and unadorned, without the dominance of the First Generation Demon Emperor's feather, nor the mysteriousness of Zhang Fan's space-time comprehension. It was as ordinary as a rock.
"Go!"
Zhang Fan casually tossed it and said, "Let's see what kind of companion you can bring us when you travel through the heavens."
The black jade pendant flew out of his hand and directly into the long river of fate and the world.
At the same time, circles of light lit up behind him. Those were his relatives.
Behind the First Generation Demon Emperor, a flock of Fire Crows suddenly flew over from afar, holding branches in their beaks as they continued to build their nest.
For some reason, when Zhang Fan looked at those Fire Crows, he felt that they looked familiar.
Soon, he let go of everything. The prosperity was gone, the fatigue was gone, and all that was left was eternal peace and reunion.
…
"Plop!"
The black jade pendant silently sank into the long river of fate and the world, drifting with the waves and gradually disappearing.
Its past was right in front of him, but its future was another story.
[End of Book]
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