On the Contract Book, the Eastern Emperor Left His Name!

Zhang Fusheng had never seen such a scene before.

He gazed at the broken, lonely head, staring into the eyes of the Supreme Beings, and saw only a magnificent scene of creation.

A series of different magnificent scenes at the dawn of creation.

Indistinct beings stood in a place of absolute nothingness, where time ceased to exist, and yin and yang were nonexistent.

As the indistinct creatures unfurled the scroll, a ray of light emerged, piercing through this absolute nothingness.

Another figure, axe raised high, eyes wide with rage, brought it down, the axe cleaving through absolute nothingness.

An endless stream of energy bursts forth from it.

There are many, many similar scenarios.

Someone embraced nothingness, and from his embrace a mysterious drop of water; the water fell, and all things came into being!

An elderly man sighed and stretched out his hands horizontally.

A piece of sky appeared, and a piece of land also appeared.

It includes these, but it's not just these.

There was also Buddha Light piercing through nothingness, blossoming into a new world; and a Daoist priest draped in seventy-two colors exhaling a wisp of Primordial Auspicious Cloud, which evolved into all things.

Everything was so dazzling that Zhang Fusheng was completely captivated, and he found himself unconsciously engrossed in it.

Thoughts arise, emotions sway, the Taiyi Chapter, the Heaven-Opening Chapter, the Fuli Chapter

Zhang Fusheng's understanding of the Primordial Ancient Scripture is progressing by leaps and bounds.

In the Taiyi Chapter, he only touched upon the superficial concept of "All Things Are Empty," and in the Heaven-Opening Chapter, he similarly only obtained a rudimentary form of the killing technique "Pangu Banner."

They are all being truly comprehended, without Contract Book, for a moment, a thousand years, ten thousand years, just being comprehended directly.

One day, two days, three days.

By the tenth day.

A single killing move, a single principle of cause and effect, that originally required millions, even hundreds of millions of years of cultivation to comprehend.

Zhang Fusheng had thoroughly understood all of this.

He sat cross-legged in the great chaos, letting himself sink and perish in all contradictions.

Suddenly, he stopped sinking into despair and was no longer in a state of confusion.

Zhang Fusheng raised his head, his Ancestral Aperture between his eyebrows wide open, from which Primordial Auspicious Cloud burst forth, Thirty-six colored light floated behind him.

He sat there, yet it was as if he sat outside of everything, above cause and effect, untouched by anything— All Things Are Empty.

The Great Accomplishment state of All Things Are Empty.

Beside him, a large banner, composed entirely of the same chaotic energy, swayed quietly.

The Taiyi Chapter, "All Things Are Empty; this is complete."

The Heaven-Opening Chapter, the ultimate move, the Pangu Banner, is complete.

"Maintaining the All Things Are Empty and the Pangu Banner for an extended period of time..." Zhang Fusheng quietly sensed himself. "With my current cultivation level, maintaining this for ten breaths should have exhausted my Essence, Qi, and Spirit."

He muttered to himself, puzzled, why hadn't he exhausted himself?

Is it because... within this great chaos? Within the [Chaos Bell]?

Zhang Fusheng looked at the mutilated head again; the burning sensation had subsided.

When gazing upon it, one feels only awe and a slight tremor.

There is also a misconception of one's own extreme insignificance.

"Thank you for your kindness, senior," Zhang Fusheng said softly.

"I am unworthy of the title 'senior'." The broken head, floating in chaos, spoke in a deep voice:

"You may simply address me as 'fellow Daoist'."

Zhang Fusheng raised an eyebrow. It's the same thing again. The Heavenly Emperor says so, and this Eastern Emperor Taiyi says so too.

He paused for a moment, then asked the question that had been troubling him most:

"Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist, why are you helping me?"

Zhang Fusheng was completely baffled and frankly said:

"Every incredible being I've encountered has been helping me. I don't understand."

A clear voice echoed in the chaos; in a state of All Things Are Empty, nothing about him was disturbed by the chaos.

The sound it emitted was never shattered in the chaotic, distorted vortex of colors.

The head remained silent.

For a long time.

After a long while.

The mutilated head slowly opened its mouth:

"Perhaps I wanted to disgust the other fellow cultivators... Look at me, I'm already like this."

His head swayed and turned around, revealing the large wound on his head.

Zhang Fusheng's eyes flickered slightly:

"Fellow Daoist, do you mean that helping me will displease the other Supreme Beings?"

The mutilated head smiled without speaking, and instead said:

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you only need to remember one thing: you are yourself, and then everything else."

Zhang Fusheng's pupils contracted. The Pangu Banner beside him swayed, and the golden Buddha body was Heaven-Opening Sword Qi.

That same phrase again.

Empress Nüwa said these words to herself, and now, upon meeting Eastern Emperor Taiyi, she said the same thing to him...

This is not the demon emperor from some stories of the past life; this is the true supreme god version of the Eastern Emperor, the creator of heaven and earth!

Zhang Fusheng spoke in a low voice:

"Senior, I still don't quite understand."

His gaze was deep and unfathomable as he calmly said:

"Throughout history, there has never been a gift or favor given without reason. Everything has a cause, and every favor has a purpose."

Zhang Fusheng listened quietly, understanding the meaning of this Creator of the Eastern Heaven.

It refers to the Supreme Being, the Primordial Beginning, and also to Empress Nüwa and herself in the present moment.

So.

What, then, is the purpose of these repeated gifts?

Zhang Fusheng asked the question directly, but the head once again fell into a long silence.

A while passed.

The mutilated head opened its mouth and emitted a sound that, though not loud, was deafening: Thus it spoke:

"Does Fellow Daoist Zhang know his Fruit Position?"

"Know."

Zhang Fusheng nodded:

"In the Daoist school, the pinnacle of humanity is the True Person, True Lord, Heavenly Venerable, Daluo, Supreme, and the Fruit Position of the Dao."

The head hummed in response:

"That's right. Among the seven levels of Fruit Position, the Dao Fruit is unattainable, the Daluo transcends time, and if one wishes to attain the Supreme Fruit Position, besides cultivation, Law Power, and virtue, there is one more crucial factor."

Zhang Fusheng listened intently:

"Please enlighten me, Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist."

He nodded slightly and continued:

"This crucial point is a fulcrum, a fulcrum that can leverage the very essence of the True Great Heaven and Earth."

"In layman's terms, it can be understood as an [event]."

"It is as if it created heaven and earth, or as if it continued the teachings of antiquity, or perhaps it created all things and governed all ages."

Zhang Fusheng listened quietly, then murmured:

"The Destiny Event?"

"That's one way to put it, but not entirely accurate."

The head said calmly:

"The higher this fulcrum, the more of the Great Heaven and Earth can be leveraged—for example, the creation of the world."

"Therefore, many years ago, we were all vying for and competing in the long river of history, trying to seize the Rank/Status of the first to create the world."

"Therefore, the Supreme Being created the heavens, Lingbao created the heavens, Yuanshi, Buddha Ancestor, Fuxi, Empress Nüwa, and me."

"Even the Queen Mother of the West once created the heavens and the earth."

The voice from the head gradually rose and fell, as if chanting:

"For us, history can be rewritten at will, so the pioneers have changed again and again, but such major events always leave their mark."

"Thus, throughout the Myriad Worlds, various legends of the creation of the world circulated, and all of them were true events."

Zhang Fusheng listened, his eyes glazed over, as if he heard the head recounting:

"All the creation myths you've heard were the work of a certain fellow Daoist."

"Brahma created the world and was an incarnation of Amitabha; God said, 'Let there be light'—that was because the Holy Teacher briefly held the Rank/Status of creator."

"Azathoth created the world and is also an incarnation of Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun."

Ancient creation stories, ones Zhang Fusheng had heard in his previous life, flowed from the mouth of that broken skull.

Whether it's an Eastern story or a Western one, they are all incarnations of a certain "fellow Daoist." All Creation God have been enacted, representing the repeated changes in history.

Zhang Fusheng's heart pounded violently as he listened and pondered.

"Therefore, many of the different versions of myths and legends I've learned about, perhaps like the creation myth, were actually based on real events."

"These are all real events that happened in history—only perhaps not for long, altered or buried after a certain power struggle, becoming a vague and unreal thing that never happened."

The Eastern Emperor's head appeared as a virtual dot in the chaos:

"That's exactly right."

After pausing, He continued:

"For example, among the Three Pure Ones, Yuanshi sits in the past, Taishang resides in the present, and Lingbao represents the future, the end, and the [fruit]."

"In Buddhism, there are also three Buddhas: the past, the present, and the future."

"At its core, it's a struggle for these Rank/Status."

"You should have heard the story that Past Buddha Ancestor the year of the Investiture of the Gods, the Buddha and the Primordial Heavenly Venerate both stood in the same sect."

Zhang Fusheng listened intently, stunned for a long time. In some stories, Randeng Buddha Ancestor was indeed once the Vice Cult Leader of the Chan Sect.

Both He and Primordial Heavenly Venerate are symbols of the past.

He couldn't help but ask:

"So, right now, in this very moment, who occupies the past, present, and future?"

"And who was the creator?"

The head answered:

"The past, present, and future are still vying for dominance, and no clear winner has been determined. These six fellow Daoists currently occupy all of them."

"As for the current creator of the world, he is an incarnation of Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, named Daoist Pangu."

Zhang Fusheng understood immediately; Pangu creating the world.

He took a deep breath and asked the question that had been nagging at him:

"Since everyone is vying for Rank/Status and trying to be the leader of some major event."

"Then why did the Supreme Lord allow me to travel west beyond Hangu Pass and transmit the Dao De Jing?"

"Why was I able to sit under the Bodhi Tree for forty-nine days, forty-nine thousand years, and become the Buddha Ancestor?"

"Since everyone is vying for Rank/Status, why would they give it to me? Why would they make me the protagonist of one Destiny Event after another?"

In response to his question,

The mangled head merely shook slightly, offering no explanation, but instead saying meaningfully:

"The Supreme Fruit Position is attained through the fulcrum, but the higher Fruit Position of the Tao—that is, the Dao Fruit —requires the support of all the fulcrums to be realized."

Zhang Fusheng frowned:

"Then I understand even less. If that's the case, then those fellow Daoists shouldn't have entrusted me with handling one major Destiny Event after another."

The head chuckled softly:

"As for the Dao Fruit, even I cannot describe or depict it. The realm of the Dao Fruit is wrong to speak of and err to think of. But as I said before, there is no such thing as a free gift in this world."

Zhang Fusheng remained silent.

He suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness, but he quickly shook it off.

I feel like I'm just a pawn.

However, pieces also have the opportunity to jump off the board.

The important thing is to keep going, accumulate knowledge and skills, cultivate virtue, seek fortuitous opportunity, increase wisdom, and enhance Law Power.

Then comes the waiting—waiting for the chance to reshuffle everything, waiting for the opportune moment to arrive, and finally leaping off the chessboard to take the high position.

This is his realization of himself.

Since some things cannot be resisted, it is better to accept them and then try to transform them into your own strength.

For example, the various Destiny Event, and Rank/Status bestowed upon him by the Supreme Beings.

"You are very optimistic."

The head suddenly opened its mouth:

"I can sense that you are not negative, but rather full of vitality and positivity—this is something I didn't expect."

Zhang Fusheng raised his head and simply smiled brightly:

"Lamenting the passing of spring and grieving over the passing of autumn is of no use."

"In addition."

His smile faded, replaced by an extremely serious and earnest expression.

He stared at the broken head, at the head of the Eastern Emperor who had created all things and separated heaven and earth.

Zhang Fusheng began:

"Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist."

"Are you interested in making a deal?"

The clear sound, amplified by the All Things Are Empty, resounded unaffected throughout the great chaos.

Passing through a distorted and chaotic vortex of colors, through the most contradictory and complex point of convergence of all things in the great chaos, crossing the boundary, colliding with the bell wall, and then echoing and reflecting back.

And so it echoed over and over again.

Its head swelled slightly in surprise as it gazed at the tiny, pure gold Buddha statue before it, and at the humble Soul Spirit contained within it.

For a long time.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and he spoke with a smile:

"Why don't you tell me about it? What kind of deal?"

Zhang Fusheng's eyes shone brightly as he spoke in a low voice:

"Judging from Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist's appearance, his true form may be shattered into pieces, suppressed or hidden in various places."

"I suspect that Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist was defeated in the final battle?"

The Eastern Emperor's head remains undecided.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, please continue."

Zhang Fusheng took a deep breath, his eyes shining brightly:

"Since Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist has spoken so much to me, I suppose you must have something to ask for. Why don't you speak frankly?"

The Eastern Emperor remained silent.

Seeing this, Zhang Fusheng didn't take it to heart and continued speaking to himself:

"Perhaps I can help Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist regain his true form, or even help Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist rise again? After all, I heard a fellow Daoist say that even the Supreme Beings find it difficult to look at the present."

The Eastern Emperor pondered for a moment, then spoke softly:

"This place is within my Supreme Treasure, isolated from everything else, so that our conversation can be absolutely private."

"But if you go out into the world to find another body for me, to plot my rebirth, or even just to reveal something of myself, it will be noticed."

"At that time, my body hidden here might be discovered, and you might be abandoned—they don't only have one choice."

Zhang Fusheng listened quietly, and said with some regret:

"Does that mean I can't directly obtain anything related to you from Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist?"

He clicked his tongue, still wondering if he could directly exchange the mutilated head for cultivation at the True Saint or Heavenly Venerable level.

The Eastern Emperor's head seemed to see through Zhang Fusheng's thoughts; it seemed to know that this fellow Daoist Zhang could exchange time, and said speechlessly:

"Of course not. You can't even take my past to use for cultivation; it would be detected."

"Just like the aura emanating from you right now, the Supreme Being, the Primordial Beginning, Shakyamuni, Empress Nüwa, and the Heavenly Emperor—they shine brightly and dazzlingly in my eyes."

Zhang Fusheng was even more disappointed, but he was not discouraged.

He stared intently at the Eastern Emperor's head, his eyes shining:

"What if Eastern Emperor Fellow Daoist only helps me transform into Great Spirit in this world? At that time, you and this Chaos Bell, hidden within my world, might be even more concealed?"

Donghuang remained silent, seemingly pondering something, and murmured thoughtfully:

"It's darkest under the lamp."

After thinking for a long time,

He asked:

"What do I gain from taking such a huge risk? After all, our relationship is a transaction, not a one-sided gift from me."

Zhang Fusheng took a deep breath:

"Age of Great Strife is approaching, and more and more ancient spirits are emerging in this age."

"I think that when the Age of Great Strife reaches its zenith, the Supreme Beings will also return, won't they?"

"Since you call me a fellow Daoist, we may well be able to support each other—even though I am still very weak now."

After pausing for a moment, Zhang Fusheng said seriously:

"But as long as I don't perish along the way, under the influence of many Supreme Beings, I will eventually rise to a high position, won't I?"

The head burst into laughter:

"Are you asking me to trade my present for your future?"

"That's right!" Zhang Fusheng said firmly. "Investment is, in itself, a transaction, a cooperation, isn't it?"

The Eastern Emperor's head stared silently at Zhang Fusheng.

After a long while, He sighed:

"You're quite bold, not the kind of kid who just got Supreme Treasure and became famous overnight because of some rare treasure."

"Fine."

The Eastern Emperor nodded.

"Since I've already reached this point, I can't get much worse off. Since you have the courage to take a gamble and the determination to step out of the game, how can I be cowardly?"

"So, now."

His voice suddenly became loud and powerful, carrying a hint of laughter:

"Open your mind, open your spiritual realm."

"Then let the Chaos Bell disguise itself as this subspace, with you as its master, transforming it into the dark side of your divine realm's three realms."

The head seemed to know everything, seeing through Zhang Fusheng completely.

Zhang Fusheng nodded, but did not act immediately.

Instead, he reached out and sketched out light and shadow, sketched out the Contract Book.

He spoke in a deep voice:

"To enter into a contract?"

The Eastern Emperor's head stared at the illusory contract, a hint of apprehension flashing across its face. It hesitated, it wavered—

It's as if Contract Book is equally binding on someone like Him, the "Supreme Beings."

Zhang Fusheng keenly noticed this, and his heart trembled slightly.

Contract Book, oh Contract Book, what exactly are you?

As thoughts turned,

Zhang Fusheng saw that the Eastern Emperor's head ultimately remained in a void, his voice booming like a bell:

"Then let's draw up a contract."

His true name appeared on the Contract Book, and then—

"The contract has been established."

A vast celestial sound resounded, the Chaos Bell swayed, and great sounds arose from all directions at this moment.