Chapter 905 - 350: Immeasurable Fate_2
The Dao Ancestor left the Mortal World, creating countless Cave Heaven Blessed Lands, partly to bless the world, and partly to find the predicted "one who accidentally enters the Peach Blossom Spring."
Thus, he was able to witness the scene of the Dao Ancestor teaching in the Peach Blossom Spring at that time.
Reflecting more on that scene, one could indeed see a little girl with white hair. That should be the Celestial Venerable Zizai now.
Because of that wisp of purple aura, the Celestial Venerable Zizai confirmed his identity and began preparing for a new path of the Great Li Dynasty.
Looking back, many events that seemed to be "coincidences" now had reasons.
Fan Wubing couldn’t help but laugh and said,
"Those who plan for millennia use the world as a game board and beings as pieces. Whether it’s the Dao Ancestor or the Master, it’s all the same. But why were you the one to seek the Chronicles of Time? When the Master died, the Dao Ancestor was still alive, right? Why didn’t he come personally? And the Master, if he knew he would never return, why did he take the Chronicles of Time with him?"
The Celestial Venerable Zizai looked at him and said, "You ought to be able to understand."
Fan Wubing shook his head,
"If I truly understood everything, the Celestial Venerable wouldn’t have come personally to dispel my doubts. I don’t know what secrets the Chronicles of Time and this book impersonating the Chronicles of Time hold." He displayed the book taken from the Wenxin Stele.
The Celestial Venerable Zizai let out a heavy sigh,
"You truly are adept at making decisions."
"I’ll take it as a compliment from the Celestial Venerable."
"Come with me to White Jade Capital for a visit."
"Alright."
The three crossed the barrier of space, returning from the deep cosmos to the Mortal World, ascending to White Jade Capital.
At the end of White Jade Capital, after passing through a corridor of time and space, an immense and boundless dark blue sea appeared before them.
What is called a person’s awareness is that Fan Wubing, upon seeing this sea, knew its special nature without needing an explanation from the Celestial Venerable Zizai.
It is definitely not an ocean born of this world, nor is it even an ocean at all. It is a sea mixed with traces of "chaotic and unordered" fate. Its existence cannot simply be measured by the Dao of time and space.
If one compares the fate of things to a line, this Great Thousand Worlds is a tangled skein of threads.
And this ocean is the "dead knot" in the orderly skein.
The Celestial Venerable Zizai said,
"This sea is named the Infinite Sea. A spiral of ’immeasurable’ and ’unpredictable’ fate. It was brought back from Everlasting Mountain by the Dao Ancestor. He said it’s the lifelong essence of those who sought to defy fate. The Great Thousand Worlds are vast and boundless; many like you wish to defy fate, but they all failed."
Guan Xin said heavily, "Is this what is meant by there’s always a sky beyond the sky? In the Small Thousand World, people resist the Heavenly Dao. And in the Great Thousand Worlds, one must still resist fate."
The Celestial Venerable Zizai shook his head, "It’s wrong to think like that. Don’t simply view fate as the villain in a dramatic script that should be vanquished. Our existence, our significance, is constructed by fate. And we in turn construct fate. The Dao Ancestor and others are not so much resisting fate as seeking the true path of transcendence. Because if you accept fate, whether willingly or forcibly, you must face the ultimate eternal conclusion. But who can say the ultimate eternal conclusion is what everyone desires?"
She looked at Fan Wubing,
"And you, what kind of conclusion do you desire?"
Fan Wubing smiled,
"I hope for a future without a conclusion."
The Celestial Venerable Zizai was taken aback, looking deeply at him,
"An unexpected answer should come from an unexpected person."
Fan Wubing shook his head and walked towards the Infinite Sea,
"This isn’t a Flower Picking Play, why must there be a conclusion?"
Seeing that he was about to enter the Infinite Sea, the Celestial Venerable Zizai’s eyebrows twitched, quickly calling out to him,
"Stop!"
Fan Wubing turned to look at her,
"Man’Er should be in this Infinite Sea, right? Other than here, I can’t think of a place I couldn’t find."
The Celestial Venerable Zizai fell silent.
"Is this also arranged by the Dao Ancestor?" Fan Wubing asked.
The Celestial Venerable Zizai shook her head,
"This is my own choice."
"Why?"
The Celestial Venerable Zizai stared at him without blinking, "Have you... ever had experiences outside of fate?"
Fan Wubing neither confirmed nor denied, "Outside of fate? How would I know."
The Celestial Venerable Zizai looked towards the Infinite Sea,
"The Three Ancestors returned from the Path of Eternity, saving this world, each walked a different path.
"The Master firmly controlled the Chronicles of Time, because it records the truths about fate, eternity, and true dragons, seeking truth is his path to salvation.
"The Dao Ancestor tended this Infinite Sea, exploring unpredictable fate, seeking a way out in the void is his path to salvation.
"The Buddha preached the sutras, sowing the seeds of enlightenment in people’s hearts, allowing everyone to become a Buddha, is his path to salvation.
"So, until his death, the Master held onto the Chronicles of Time. The Dao Ancestor did not personally seek the Chronicles of Time because the path of seeking truth left by the Master should be walked by the people. By rights, it should have been your Master, the Jade Ancestor, to seek the Chronicles after writing the ’Book of Seeking Truth’; his intention to seek truth would make retrieving the Chronicles very easy. But an accident occurred, so I went instead."
"What accident?"
The Celestial Venerable Zizai frowned, "My senior brother, Qing Ke, followed another path. I had to retrieve the Chronicles of Time before him."
Qing Ke, the highest-ranking Ancestor Qing in the Three Elders Pavilion of White Jade Capital.
"Ancestor Qing he..." Guan Xin stopped. Following another path... probably means having views different from the Celestial Venerable Zizai, or even the Dao Ancestor.