Communicating with the Future, All Things Illusory
"Pick it up high, put it down gently."
Yuan Feidao spoke absentmindedly:
"This World Honored One, who appeared out of nowhere, is no ordinary person."
The novice monk poured him tea, equally surprised.
"One arrow caused the heavens and earth of thirty-three cities to fade, pierced the governor's palm, yet only shattered a plaque."
"I heard that a young man from the Cui family was wronged, so he kowtowed three thousand times before the Cui family's gate to obtain this earth-shattering arrow."
Yuan Feidao shook his head:
"Have you heard of the World-Honored One before?"
The novice monk recalled:
"The Confucian Sect classics comprise seventy-two volumes, the Daoism one hundred and eight books, and the Buddhist scriptures three hundred and sixty-five volumes—none of these bear the name of the World-Honored One."
Yuan Feidao nodded, drank his tea, and asserted:
"Is the World Honored One going to preach in the Golden Province?"
The novice monk was startled:
"Shouldn't they have spread the word quietly? Why did they make such a fuss and let the whole world know?"
He scratched his bald head, completely bewildered, and waited for the old man to explain.
The old man put down his teacup and spoke softly:
"An arrow capable of piercing an entire city's heaven and earth can only destroy the lintel of a single family. After this, no one can accurately gauge the World Honored One's true strength."
"Let me ask you."
He looked at the novice monk and used examples from everyday life:
"If a chivalrous hero were to wield a divine sword and slay forty-eight bandits in the marketplace, what would you think?"
"What a hero!" The novice monk gave a thumbs up.
Yuan Feidao asked again:
"What if it were Zheng the Butcher at the end of the street, using this divine weapon to butcher pigs, cattle, chickens, and dogs? What would you think then?"
The novice monk stood in solemn respect:
"Unfathomable".
Yuan Feidao sighed:
"Yes, he is unfathomable, more profound and wicked than the God of Plague of Jiangzhou, or the Golden Governor of heaven. Now, when people do things, who doesn't think of that World Honored One first?"
"This time, the World Honored One shot an earth-shattering arrow for a mere Cui family lad; what about the future?"
"If someone were to inadvertently offend the World-Honored One, who may be nowhere to be found, would the matter still be handled with a 'high' attitude and a 'light' one?"
The novice monk suddenly realized:
"The more mysterious, the more terrifying; the more uncertain something is, the less one dares to touch it lightly, for fear it may be an unfathomable and dangerous place."
Yuan Feidao nodded:
"Therefore, monarchs of the old era were always very wary of having their thoughts clearly understood. Just like now, no one understands the thoughts of this mysterious Buddha."
He stood up, extinguished the wisps of smoke from the incense burner, and sighed:
"The landscape of the Golden Province is about to change—the landscape of the Federation has already changed."
The novice monk clasped his hands together and chanted a prayer of compassion.
A secluded and dark place.
The Other Shore Flower swayed in the breeze, like a strong wind.
But there was clearly no wind.
Zhang Fusheng sat cross-legged, nestled among the flowers, letting the dappled sunlight from the other shore envelop and soak him, his eyes fixed intently on the muddy ground.
For a long time.
The river laps against the bank.
Words slowly emerged from the mud.
[Who sent you?]
Zhang Fusheng's tense body suddenly relaxed.
There was no response.
That is already an answer.
He was lost in thought; he was truly a spirit bamboo.
An incredible place, indeed, what place could be more incredible than the future?
The entire Nine Netherworld was placed in the future—no wonder they say the Nine Netherworld is untouchable!
The past can be cherished, but what about the future?
Enjoy it only.
No one can touch the future in the next second, because there will always be a next second.
Unless everything comes to an end.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Fusheng used his finger as a pen.
[My name is Zhang Fusheng, and I am currently sitting upright on September 19th, 2142.]
The flowers swayed even more fiercely.
The ancient sage's answer: [Nonsense]
Zhang Fusheng pondered for a moment, then decided not to explain to the ancient sage, nor did he need to.
He exited the divine realm, found Wei Lingzhu, and looking at the bewildered girl before him, simply handed her a letter.
"We'll open it tomorrow."
He then returned to the divine realm, leaving the girl alone, lost in the wind.
Once again, they journeyed to their final resting place on the other shore.
Zhang Fusheng carefully recalled the past, and his memory was accurate; history did not seem to have changed because of that single piece of letter paper.
He stood on the muddy ground, dipped his finger in the river water, and wrote two words.
[Taiqing]
A fierce wind blew, and the river crashed against the bank.
A thunderous roar seemed to rise from the divine realm.
Zhang Fusheng waited patiently.
For a long time.
Two characters appeared crookedly on the muddy ground, the mud sinking deep into them, indicating that the person who wrote them had used a great deal of effort.
[Master?]
The last vestige of doubt in Zhang Fusheng's mind vanished.
Instead, an inexplicable emotion spread throughout my body, even making my tailbone numb!
He feared that drastic alterations would cause the mysterious ancient saint to no longer be in the Yellow Springs River, so he only wrote one thing and two sentences on the letter to Wei Lingzhu.
Many years later, the Other Shore Flower blooms.
When you see Taiqing, that is when I have come.
Zhang Fusheng wrote the words.
[It is I, you are in the future, and I sit here in the present.]
He was absolutely certain of this, because the reflection Gate of the Present the Eight Sceneries Palace was precisely this very moment.
This means that this very moment is [now].
But a greater question quickly arose in my mind: Is the future certain?
Definitely not.
How could there be a future where the Spirit Bamboo is banished to the Nine Netherworlds?
The Nine Netherworlds are a constant in the future, and for the Spirit Bamboo of the 'future,' they are still even further into the future.
Or does it mean that once you enter the future, the Nine Netherworlds become something that exists in the 'present'?
Zhang Fusheng preferred the latter.
His heart suddenly sank.
"If I really go very far, to the level of gods or even higher, how could I sit idly by and watch Lingzhu be banished to the Nine Netherworlds?"
"No, no, no!"
Zhang Fusheng's heart grew heavier. In an era when even Lingzhu Becoming a God, he hadn't yet taken control of the Nine Netherworlds?
Where was I back then?
He was about to write a question when he saw two sentences carved into the mud.
Such a strange thing truly exists in this world; I can actually see you again!
I will never forget the kindness of those who taught and guided me.
The ominous premonition grew stronger.
[Lingzhu, where did I go in the years that followed?]
The ancient sage, who was nine-tenths likely to be Wei Lingzhu, quickly answered.
[On September 19, 2142, you gave me a letter and then disappeared.]
[Master Lu and I have searched for you for many years, but to no avail—perhaps you perished on that day.]
Zhang Fusheng's mind went blank for a moment.
A chill burst forth from the tailbone, instantly surging throughout the entire body!
"Am I dead?"
"Just today??"
A storm raged in Zhang Fusheng's heart, but then the storm subsided, and the bone-chilling cold dissipated.
Things are different now.
Even if I were to perish at any moment, while I wouldn't be able to face it calmly, I wouldn't be so terrified that I would lose my composure.
"Who is it today?"
"Yuan Feidao? The Golden Governor? The God of Plague?"
"The divine ancestor of the Qinghe Cui Clan? Or perhaps the Ancestor of Land Immortals?"
Zhang Fusheng's mind raced. With the Old Master by his side, there was no reason for even Celestial Person being to kill him, unless a being above the Celestial Person intervened!
Wait a minute— Old Master?
Zhang Fusheng suddenly shuddered.
Could the Old Master secretly assassinate him so that his master, who was making the Spirit Bamboo alone, could do so?
His thoughts raced, but then he suddenly relaxed.
"At any other time, it might be possible, but not today? Not today, the day I drew my arrow and shot at the Golden City?"
Zhang Fusheng was certain that even if the Old Master truly intended to assassinate him, it wouldn't be today.
How did I die? How did I disappear?
He squatted down and wrote in the muddy ground, "[What happened after I disappeared?]"
Since we can't figure it out completely, let's deduce the present from the future!
The earth writhed, and the ancient sage answered word by word.
[The following February, the Double Ninth Festival fell; in April, the Golden Governor declared independence.]
[A century later, the Federation was destroyed.]
[Six thousand years later, Different Dimension descended upon reality, and all those Becoming a God but possessed divine potential became fertile ground, vanishing into nothingness.]
The brushstroke paused abruptly here, then turned.
[I've been thinking, and you did indeed leave me a note and then disappear.]
[But was it after our conversation that you left the note?]
Did I change the past?
This sounds like a question, but in reality, it's the soliloquy of a future ancient sage.
Zhang Fusheng was both amused and exasperated. After much deliberation, he finally made his move.
[To you, I am in the past, but on a true time scale, I am here, and that is the real present.]
[I will change the two characters "Taiqing" on the note to "Laozi," leave that line of text, and see how your memory changes.]
Zhang Fusheng left the divine realm, snatched the note from the still bewildered girl, changed his mind, and handed it back to her.
"Here you go, remember, check it again tomorrow."
After a pause, Zhang Fusheng gently stroked her cheek, Wei Lingzhu quickly lowered her head:
"Master."
She heard her master say something inexplicable.
"If I disappear after today, please trace my origins back to the day you enter the Netherworld."
Wei Lingzhu felt a pang of panic:
"Disappeared? Master, has something happened?"
Zhang Fusheng shook his head, closed his eyes, and his thoughts returned to a state of divine awareness.
Stand before the line of words left behind.
[Now, how is it?]
After a long silence, long enough that Zhang Fusheng thought the future would change drastically, Wei Lingzhu was not banished to the Netherworld.
New characters emerge from the muddy ground.
[In my memory, you showed me the two characters "Laozi," but the characters on the ground were too clearly visible.]
[Reality and my memory have clashed.]
I've thought about it for a long time, but I still can't figure it out.
Zhang Fusheng felt a sense of relief.
The present moment does indeed influence the future every moment, but it is not entirely so; the Taiqing on Earth has never changed.
This further illustrates that the future in which the Spirit Bamboo resides is in a very mysterious state.
At the same time.
This also clearly demonstrates that the future is not predetermined.
[To be discussed later]
He left these words behind, decisively withdrew, returned to reality, activated the altar, and entrusted a wisp of the Miss Mingyue's will to protect him for twelve hours.
He then entered the Eight Sceneries Palace, holding Nine-Ringed Zen Staff in one hand Nail Head Seven Arrows Book in the other, sitting cross-legged on a futon, ready for battle.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Until the early morning of the following day.
The date changed from September 19th to September 20th.
Nothing happened.
Zhang Fusheng opened his eyes, first bowed to Miss Mingyue to express his gratitude, then saw Wei Lingzhu in person, and then recited the words of the Return to the Divine Realm.
He wrote among the Other Shore Flower: "[On what day did I disappear?]"
Moment.
[On the morning of September 20, 2142, after you summoned me to see you, you disappeared and could never be found again.]
The ancient sage's handwriting emerged from the ground.
I have searched for you for a long time, following your words, investigating for three thousand years, until time has erased all traces, yet I still have not found you.
Zhang Fusheng remained silent, leaving a note: "[Wait a little longer]".
He returned to the Eight Sceneries Palace and sat cross-legged.
One day, two days, three days.
Every day that passed, he would ask the ancient sage once more about the time of his disappearance.
Every day is the 'day'.
The ninth day, September 28th.
This time, Zhang Fusheng gritted his teeth and did not stay at the Eight Sceneries Palace for long, nor did he invite a wisp of Miss Mingyue's will to protect him.
He spent the day uneventfully, dismissing the five Divine Envoy and letting them leave with their respective followers.
Then comes simple meals, which are good for nourishing the mind and cultivating character.
Nothing happened.
Day 10.
On what day did I go missing?
[September 29, 2142, I have never seen you since that day.]
Zhang Fusheng breathed a sigh of relief and murmured to himself:
"It's not that I've disappeared, nor that I've perished or died."
Time, however, failed to record my future.
"Therefore, as far as He is concerned, I only exist until the day that the true 'now' ends."
Zhang Fusheng stared at the Other Shore Flower, and suddenly fell silent.
This shows...
This ancient sage, in fact
It's illusory, it's 'fake'.
The future holds endless possibilities.
He resides in that possible future without himself.
Therefore, every time I see Wei Lingzhu in reality, it is the last time the ancient sage will see me.
Words appeared on the ground.
Master, are you still there?
[Have you found the source of the trouble? Will I ever see you again in the future?]
Zhang Fusheng looked at the writing on the ground, but suddenly couldn't bear to answer.