I Gently Knocked on the Past

Zhang Fusheng didn't dare to swallow two ounces of Star Beast Meat in one gulp.

He took a deep breath, glanced at the window without glass, rubbed his forehead, and then forgot to call someone to fix it.

It doesn't matter anymore.

The house was almost completely emptied by thieves; they took the TV, the computer, and even the dining table and coffee table.

Fortunately, the pots and pans in the kitchen were still there.

Turn on the fire, pour in the oil.

He gripped the cleaver, his control over the portions incredibly precise, and perfectly sliced the first piece of Brave Lion meat into fifty even, thin slices.

The weight of each piece is controlled to be '1'.

After briefly frying it in oil, Zhang Fusheng tried swallowing a piece. The lion meat melted in his mouth, dissolving into a vast array of Mysterious Factor and an indescribable Buddha-nature Golden Light.

Mysterious Factor surged through the body, while the Buddha-nature Golden Light naturally settled on the skin without any guidance!

Meanwhile, the cooling-off period for Contract Book changed from 1999 to 1998.

Then came the second and third films.

After swallowing the entire portion of fried lion meat, Zhang Fusheng let out a painful howl. There were just too many Mysterious Factor, almost making him burst!

He silently circulated the Great Sun Scripture, causing the Dead Man's Bones to glow, yet over 99% of the Mysterious Factor still escaped from his body.

This directly led to a 50% increase in the concentration of Mysterious Factor throughout the entire block!

Under the baptism of the Buddha-nature Golden Light, his skin already possessed a unique charm, and Zhang Fusheng himself seemed to exude an extra touch of 'Buddha-like nature' and compassion.

"Forty-nine years. A full ounce of lion meat, and it hasn't lost any of its flavor!"

He excitedly licked his lips, enduring the throbbing pain in his veins, and divided the second piece of lion meat into fifty equal portions.

Keep eating.

After finishing fifty servings, he collapsed to the ground. The second shackle in his large tendons had been broken, signifying that Zhang Fusheng had successfully broken through from the Seventh Refinement of Perfection to the eighth level, gaining an additional five thousand jin of strength!

However, the cooling-off period for Contract Book is still two years away.

"It's starting to decline."

Zhang Fusheng was breathing heavily:

"One gram of lion meat, after a year of cooling, degrades to about three hundred days. The difference isn't significant."

Three grams were cut from the last portion of lion meat and eaten raw. The Contract Book in the Ancestral Aperture between the eyebrows shone brightly.

Cooling complete.

You can enter the [Eight Sceneries Palace] now.

But Zhang Fusheng was completely unable to move; the Great Sun Illuminates Seventy-Two Snow Mountains True Scripture was operating uncontrollably.

But what the true scriptures drive is not Mysterious Factor, but light—that thick, Buddha-nature-filled golden light that permeates the skin!

'When!'

Zhang Fusheng heard a deep, resonant sound like a morning bell.

That was my own heartbeat.

The sound of my heartbeat has somehow transformed into the sound of morning bells and evening drums.

With each heartbeat and the tolling of a bell, Buddhist nature takes root in the skin.

With two heartbeats and two chimes, the Buddha-nature Golden Light intertwined within the skin, forming the shape of a sapling of Bodhi Tree.

Three heartbeats, three chimes, the seedling grows strong, and the first green leaf emerges.

The heartbeat returned to normal.

Zhang Fusheng suddenly felt an infinite emptiness and silence. He stood up; his skin had now returned to normal.

But when he tried to visualize the sun shining on the snow-capped mountains...

The fair skin truly resembled sunlight shining on pristine white snow, presenting a soft, golden hue.

He flicked his palm with his finger.

'When!'

The resounding sound spread out, like the tolling of a bell, calming the mind and spirit.

"This is... Buddhist Golden Body?"

"No, it's still far from perfect, but it has already laid a foundation."

Zhang Fusheng whispered, hearing a commotion outside—the concentration of the Mysterious Factor in the entire block had more than doubled!

Many residents practicing Breathing Technique and Visualization Method were awakened from their sleep, greedily inhaling the rich, Mysterious Factor.

Zhang Fusheng calmed his breathing and his consciousness sank into a state of divine awareness.

Longevity Mountain remains unchanged, Five Villages Temple ancient and solemn, and the desolate wilderness stretches as far as the eye can see, where dozens of skeletal remains roam.

He looked up at the sky, where the Six Ding Divine Fire was like a flowing Rosy Clouds, obscuring the sky and the sun.

Rosy Clouds suddenly appeared, then rolled and receded to both sides.

"The Contract Book, go!"

The Contract Book extended, transforming into a golden bridge that stretched towards the infinitely high Eight Sceneries Palace, arriving in an instant.

The faintly glowing Contract Book also possesses the characteristic of 'infinity'.

Zhang Fusheng stepped on the Contract Book, and he himself was also imbued with its infinite characteristics.

The Dao Palace, which was originally untouchable,

Suddenly,

It's right in front of me.

He gazed at the eight wondrous sights rising and falling outside the Dao Palace, then reached out and gently placed his hand on the door formed by the chaotic mist.

They haven't even exerted their full strength yet.

The door opened.

The chaotic energy surged and receded to both sides, revealing a place that was neither a palace nor a temple, but simply a dark and gloomy area.

The endless darkness resembled absolute emptiness.

Zhang Fusheng cautiously walked inside.

As soon as he stepped inside, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a profound and silent atmosphere, and all the darkness and gloom suddenly collapsed into an ordinary, quiet room.

Stretching for hundreds of feet, at its deepest point was a futon. Behind the futon, on the white jade wall, where a Tai Chi diagram should have been hanging, was empty.

Zhang Fusheng walked in, went to the only remaining futon in the Dao Palace, squatted down, and gently stroked it.

Nothing special.

Inside the Five Villages Temple, there are still memorial Heaven and Earth Tablet and Earth and a Ginseng Fruit Tree that was struck by lightning.

He frowned in confusion, walked around the white jade wall, and behind the wall were three quiet rooms, each with double doors, except for the rightmost room, whose door was tightly closed.

Both the left and middle doors have a half-finger-width gap split in the middle.

Zhang Fusheng tried to push it away with his hands, but he couldn't budge it.

He frowned, walked to the quiet room in the middle, leaned close to the crack in the door, and squinted to look inside.

He saw a face, and a pair of wide, staring eyes peering out from the other side of the door.

"Your mother!"

Zhang Fusheng shuddered in fright, jerked his head back, and stumbled back three steps!

He was panting, his hair stood on end, and his spine trembled, but he suddenly pressed his eye to the crack in the door again and squinted to peek!

Through the crack in the door, one eye was still staring, and a hint of fear could be seen in it!

Zhang Fusheng shuddered and blinked.

The eyes on the other side of the door blinked nervously.

Why?

He blinked, and the person opposite him blinked too.

He rolled his eyes, and the person opposite him rolled their eyes too.

Um, a mirror?

Zhang Fusheng reached out and knocked on the door, and a knock came from the other side of the door.

You can't knock on a door in a mirror.

Zhang Fusheng moved his head slightly further away, trying to get a wider view to see if he could see the face behind the door.

But even a slight distance away, the light through the crack in the door became hazy and indistinct, and nothing could be seen.

"I've seen a ghost!"

He walked suspiciously to the left door, stuck his butt out, pressed his face against the crack in the door, braced himself, and squinted to take a look.

This time, at least there wasn't another eye staring at him.

Beyond the door was a luxuriously decorated... hotel room?

Zhang Fusheng was dumbfounded. How could a hotel room end up in the Eight Sceneries Palace?

It looks so familiar?

The person lying on the bed looked quite familiar.

Isn't that me?!

He was stunned. This was clearly the Ping'an Hotel in Longzhou City, and he was lying on the bed... wait a minute.

This is the past.

Zhang Fusheng swallowed hard. The door on the left led back to the past, to the middle door from just now.

Is it now?

Therefore, one can see oneself.

Then, wouldn't that door on the right... represent the future?

Zhang Fusheng's heart pounded. He peered through the crack in the door, looking at his own body lying peacefully.

It was impossible to determine the exact day, because he had been lying like this for the past week, immersed in a divine state.

"Can we see what happened a month ago?"

Zhang Fusheng thought to himself.

The scene within the crack in the door suddenly collapsed into a dark and chaotic state, then quickly transformed into a kaleidoscope of colors.

Things have changed.

Imagine yourself living in that small room for ten years, back when you were just an ordinary person, studying late into the night, preparing for the college entrance exam.

Zhang Fusheng's heart was pounding, and the tips of his ten fingers felt numb.

He continued to imagine his past moments, from the time of his birth to his first birthday, then elementary school and junior high school.

The scene inside the door collapsed into a dark, chaotic void time and time again, then was painted with vibrant colors.

As Zhang Fusheng's thoughts unfolded, his past was revealed!

The image shown was of the moment he and Chen Nuanyu entered Bar No. 19, with the bartender, whose eyes were dark, discussing 'special constitution'.

Zhang Fusheng observed quietly and even discovered that his perspective could be extended to a higher level.

Only by expanding from being confined to a small room to encompassing a radius of forty meters around oneself can one reach their limit.

This 'high' perspective is amazing; the walls are clearly still there, yet they can be seen through at the same time.

This is not perspective, but a unique viewpoint that is difficult to describe in words, as if it were from a higher 'dimensional'.

At that moment, everything in Number 19 was visible to Zhang Fusheng through the crack in the door, every detail crystal clear.

Even the dust on the first-floor bar is the sound of every customer's conversation, and the sound of the smiling bartender standing behind the counter.

He tried to probe the crack in the door with his Mental Intent, but was blocked by a thick, indescribable barrier.

Zhang Fusheng suddenly recalled the gentle knock he had made at the door just now.

He reached out and tentatively knocked on the door.

'Thud!'

Through the crack in the door, Zhang Fusheng, with his unique [high-dimensional perspective], saw the guests, the bartender, and the waiters.

And Chen Nuanyu and her past self.

They all subconsciously looked up.

Looking through the crack in the door.