Chapter 662: Chapter 386: I Have Journeyed Since the Dawn of Antiquity
The Female Immortal was suppressed with a flip of the palm. As the Jade Ruyi fell from the sky to crush her,
the Immortal Deer leaped forward, blocking the Jade Ruyi — thus, the Immortal Deer died before the Female Immortal.
The Female Immortal wailed in sorrow.
The first life thus came to an end.
In a daze, Zhang Fusheng was thus reborn into the second life,
In this life, he became a gourd vine on a Divine Mountain, majestic as the Profound Yellow Waterfall, enduring the wind, sun, and rain, eternal through countless ages,
As time swiftly passed, the gourd vine bore little gourds, and Immortal Gods arrived, bowing to it and taking the gourds one by one,
Eventually, a stunning woman, half human half serpent, came to the Divine Mountain, gently caressing the gourd vine:
"I wish to borrow your form, to fashion the ruler of all beings in heaven and earth — its name shall be man."
"From this moment on, the Human Race owes you a debt of cause and effect, as do heaven and earth — and I too owe you."
The gourd vine swayed gently, bewildered, allowing the striking woman to pluck it,
Upon plucking, it had not yet matured, but began to perish — before its demise.
"Oh vine, you should remember this."
"Those three who seek transcendence must first achieve Perfection, but there are three Buddhas vying with them for power share..."
"Yet, the Celestial Lord of Tao and Virtue is close to reclaiming the authority of the [now], should He succeed, Shakyamuni Buddha will fall from the Supreme Fruit Position, becoming a part of the Celestial Lord of Tao and Virtue."
"Therefore... Shakyamuni Buddha and the Celestial Lord of Tao and Virtue are locked in an endless struggle."
The gourd vine listened in a daze, unable to understand the meaning.
Consciousness faded away.
Then came the third life.
In this life, Zhang Fusheng transformed into a tree, reaching the heavens, thorough and complete, revered as [Jianmu], witnessing countless ages, until it was struck halfway by a Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron, with heaven and earth collapsing, ushering in the final calamity.
In another life, Zhang Fusheng seemed to return to the era of the Great Wilderness, becoming another tree, known as [Fusang], upon which grew two suns and two divine birds,
Later, it was felled by an enormous, majestic being and forged into a treasure, with its consciousness fading away.
In the fifth life, Zhang Fusheng reincarnated as a colossal turtle, cradling the arcane within the waters,
until one day, a being named [Fuxi] removed its shell, declaring it the River Map and Luo Book,
and as the turtle’s shell was removed, it once again entered an eternal rest.
In the sixth life, he was still a giant turtle, as vast and boundless as heaven and earth, witnessing the collapse of the sky-supporting Divine Pillar,
when there appeared the stunning woman, half human half serpent, saying:
"I am again indebted to you by a cause and effect."
The giant turtle was bewildered, with its limbs severed.
"Heaven and earth owe you three parts of cause and effect." So declared the stunning woman.
In the seventh life, Zhang Fusheng was a tree, beside which an old man sat for days, suddenly giving a Flower-picking Smile, awakening and becoming a Buddha.
In the eighth life, his form was like a valley of coffins, within it containing a [Past Majestic World], nurturing a single pristine candle flame;
In the ninth life, he was a divine crane, raising a little girl to maturity, who later, amidst ever-changing history, was a Goddess, then an Ancestor Witch, finally descending to the Nine Netherworld,
People said she was the mistress of the Nine Netherworld, as for the divine crane?
Long ago, in fulfillment of her Tao, the Self perished, transforming into the Six Paths of Reincarnation that guided her to enlightenment.
The tenth life, the eleventh life, the twelfth life...
Zhang Fusheng continually reincarnated through the illusory river of years,
He was once human, also a tiger or leopard, or mountains, rivers, the sun, moon, and stars...
But without exception,
in every life, there was always being, or beings, indebted to him for a cause and effect and a great favor—heavenly in scope.
Some of these beings died, others lived for a very long time, some becoming the will of heaven...
The illusory yet unfalse years surged and surged.
Ninety-nine lifetimes passed in a blink, from the first to now, he experienced boundless time and ages, as if traveling from immemorial times to the present,
In the river of illusory time, he left footprint after footprint,
these footprints were deeply imprinted in the illusory river,
and this illusory river often surged, frequently intersecting with the river of real time,
Whenever they intersected, in real-time, faint footprints would also emerge... but they vanished in an instant.
The illusion remains an illusion, not refined from illusion into reality, thus the footprints ingrained in time—or rather [Dao marks], naturally appear faintly and intermittently.
Time shines brightly, springs fly and autumns come, a billion years pass in a blink of an eye.
The hundredth life, also the final life.
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