Secret Buyer

Chapter 436 - 301: Dialogue Across Endless Ages, Celestial Emperor Celestial Position

Have these ancient beings all become incapable of setting foot in the "present time"?

Yet earlier, the Cyan Emperor came and offered me a salute...

Zhang Fusheng found it increasingly difficult to understand.

For a long time.

He saw the being upstream gently wipe away blood tears and exclaimed:

"That thing has actually fallen into your hands, I see, I see..."

Zhang Fusheng asked in a deep voice:

"Are you... is Fellow Daoist referring to the Contract?"

The being upstream simply smiled:

"Do you call it a Contract? It seems your understanding of it is still quite shallow, but that is to be expected."

After a pause,

sitting in the past, the Celestial Emperor gently inquired:

"I observe your experiences, you live by the Heaven-Interchangeable Tao, how about we make a trade, you and I?"

Zhang Fusheng raised an eyebrow, thunder in his heart, his face like a calm lake, asked in a deep voice:

"What trade?"

"You are on the path to becoming Taiqing, Yuqing, and World Venerate, which is beneficial to you now, but in the long run, it is easy to lose yourself, you will no longer be you."

"Houtu might have warned you?"

Listening to the Celestial Emperor’s words, Zhang Fusheng remained silent for a moment and nodded:

"Wa told me to be myself first."

The Celestial Emperor nodded slightly:

"It’s easy to say, but how difficult it is to do? I can help you be yourself, and in return, you help me with something, an equal exchange, how about it?"

"What do you need help with?"

"It’s quite simple."

The Celestial Emperor smiled, his gaze extremely deep:

"After you become Taiqing, Yuqing, and World Venerate, cut out these appearances and selves, then lower by one rank, one position."

Zhang Fusheng was a bit confused, pondered for a moment:

"Then how will Fellow Daoist help me ’be myself’?"

The being upstream raised its eyelids slightly, its voice lengthened:

"I will anchor your true heart and True Spirit, anchor time and your true self, so no matter how far you go in the future, with an anchor, you will not lose yourself."

"Would you agree?"

Zhang Fusheng’s mind turned rapidly. Up to now, he still couldn’t fully understand the words of the being upstream, only vaguely aware that he was caught in a gigantic whirlpool.

He hesitated for a moment and asked:

"Where are The Three Pristine Ones at this moment?"

The being upstream smiled without answering, just said:

"Rest assured, They cannot see you now, for they cannot behold the ’present time’; in fact, if you had not actively traced my existence, I too could not see the ’present’."

Zhang Fusheng’s heart relaxed slightly, he asked a second question:

"And why has all this come to be? Why are past events reoccurring in a different form? After the Divine Enthronement and the Journey to the West, what happened next?"

The Celestial Emperor still smiled without answering, but narrated another matter:

"So, Fellow Daoist Zhang, do you wish to make a trade with me?"

Zhang Fusheng replied frankly:

"I don’t know."

The Celestial Emperor was not surprised, just waved his hand:

"Then we will discuss it again later, but since you and I have met above the river of time, it is fate, I must gift Fellow Daoist a present."

His voice drifted from upstream, not overwhelmingly, not heavily, but lingering endlessly in Zhang Fusheng’s ear,

following the sound, it seemed something also drifted along the river of time.

Zhang Fusheng had no time to react; he saw something crash into his body, and when he wanted to examine it,

he heard the being upstream speak again:

"Keep that little fellow, when you’ve thought it through and wish to make a trade with me, you can follow the cause and effect on that little fellow to trace your way here."

"At that time, I shall sit above the river of time and converse with you once more."

The imperial voice was like a tide, incessant, and Zhang Fusheng perceived himself falling, falling,

The river of time also began to blur,

During the fall, the being upstream was sighing softly, the sound echoing in his ears, lingering unceasingly.

"That little fellow called Jinchi, Fellow Daoist, you might make some use of him, maybe, in the future, he could become a pawn for you to break away from the Buddha."

"I will quietly wait here for our next meeting, Fellow Daoist Zhang."

Zhang Fusheng ultimately fell back into the Eight Sceneries Palace.

In the final moment, in the last fleeting glance, he saw the being upstream seemingly coughing violently, seemingly cracking, suffering a great wound.

Afterwards, the river of time vanished from sight, and all around was once again chaotic fog, in front of him, the various seats.

The stagnant time began to flow slowly again.

The Taoist Palace lay in silence, the various seats still in reverence.

Again for a long time.

The seats heard a gentle sigh. They, along with the first arriving Kong Shentong, instinctively looked up towards the Great Celestial Venerate,

only to see that, under the cover of the Chaos Fog, the originally indescribably lofty figure of the Great Celestial Venerate seemed to have grown even taller.

Seemingly exuding an unspeakable majesty.

"Praise, Infinite Celestial Venerate!"

Once again, the seats proclaimed.

The Great Celestial Venerate said nothing, only stared blankly, inwardly viewing the ancestral acupoint at his brow, observing the object gifted by the being upstream.

It was a fragment of a Celestial Position, exuding a faint light.

The name of the Celestial Position was—"Celestial Emperor".

"This guy..."

Zhang Fusheng muttered to himself in his heart, it’s not something good either.

Celestial Emperor, it is the Celestial Emperor of the Jade Emperor above Houtu, is it not the Jade Emperor?

Saying they would help me maintain my true self,

but then immediately sent something like this?

Just....

Just, what exactly is the Contract, that makes so many terrifying Supremes fixate upon me?

Zhang Fusheng did not comprehend.

Nor could he understand, why such a mysterious artifact chose to fall upon him, embedded within his brow’s ancestral acupoint.

"Yet it is fine; at least with this Celestial Emperor Celestial Position—or rather, the Celestial Emperor Celestial Position, I can fill ten sacred grotto heavens, cultivate the Saint’s Golden Body."

An idea flashed in Zhang Fusheng’s mind as he silently sensed the vast and immeasurable majesty of the cracked Celestial Emperor Celestial Position at his brow,

as he sensed, he noticed something seemed amiss.

Within the Celestial Position, something was clearly lying.

He tried to communicate with the Celestial Position, attempting to understand, trace back, yet couldn’t clearly see what the item was,

if he wanted to use it, it would likely have to wait until after Ascension to God—ultimately it must come to Ascension to God.

His thoughts tumbled, sinking into his heart.

Thus, the Great Celestial Venerate raised his gaze, fixing it upon the seats within the Taoist Palace.

The seats again offered their respects, bowing once more.