Chapter 756: Dao Lord Persona

"Fellow Daoist Changqing, look, what is that?"

Li Heng pierced through time and space, pointing at a certain spot in the Zhongmo Zhidi.

There, a massive book floated and sank continuously, as if all the Reason in the Da Xu Kong were recorded within it, radiating a profound and mysterious Dao charm.

Zhongjie Daozhu Changqing remained silent for a moment before opening his mouth to answer.

"That is the 'Fruit'. From Cause to Fruit, this book is the final fruit transformed from the cause of all things, recording every final possibility in the Da Xu Kong."

"Doesn't that mean the future is already completely predetermined? Isn't this fatalism? How can you still have the nerve to say that all sentient beings have meaning?" Li Heng said with a smile.

"Just because I think so, it doesn't mean others think the same. Perhaps in the eyes of others, making all sentient beings have meaning is a mistake, which is why they established the Ultimate Book here, symbolizing the final fruit, to determine fate—that is not impossible."

Changqing said.

"The 'others' you speak of surely wouldn't be some insignificant ants, would they? And it seems you truly know the person behind this book."

Changqing nodded.

"Things have come to this, and I do not wish to hide it. Just as Fellow Daoist Li said, I do indeed know this person. In a sense, I knew him as he was before, and we were even close friends."

As Changqing spoke these words, his expression became somewhat complex.

"You say 'before', so what about now?"

"Now, I can say that I do not know him anymore. All that happened yesterday is dead, all that happens today is born; it is not as if any Dao Lord would still identify with their former self after returning from death."

At this moment, there was a trace of sorrow on Changqing's face.

At the same time, this revealed to Li Heng the final identity of the mysterious person he had been tracking: he was also a Dao Lord, or rather, a Dao Lord who had returned from death!

It was just that he seemed to be the same as Changqing?

Was his state somewhat special?

"It seems this matter is worth discussing."

Li Heng's words were pregnant with meaning.

"This kind of thing..."

Changqing shook his head.

"How should I put it? Perhaps his appearance tore away my last fig leaf? Even if I identify with my former self, or even inherited the name Changqing, am I truly still the Changqing of before? Have I always been the same person?"

He sighed with emotion, his expression melancholy.

"Fellow Daoist Changqing, I don't want to hear your lamentations. I only want to know what is going on, such as your relationship with that person, and why things became like this."

Li Heng shook his head. He shrank the Ultimate Book, broke through its defenses across infinite time and space, and took it, shrinking it into a book that fit in his palm.

He slowly flipped open the book, watching page after page.

He discovered that the content was indeed as Changqing had said: it was the final result of all origins. For instance, for certain civilizations that had just been born in their infancy, their final ending was already recorded in this book—destroyed by a robot rebellion, without the slightest discrepancy.

Changqing's face stiffened; could he not let him lament a bit more?

Forget it, forget it. He sighed in his heart and spoke solemnly.

"The person who left this book is indeed a Dao Lord from before. You could call him 'Freedom' in the past, but now you can call him 'Fate'. Freedom is the uncertainty of all things, while Fate is the sole certainty of all things; the two are opposites and relative..."

"It is truly ironic and ridiculous. That guy used to advocate for freedom, always feeling that the influence of Dao Lords on the Da Xu Kong was too great, making all sentient beings meaningless."

"But what about now? After dying once and being resurrected, he only feels that freedom is meaningless and wants to dictate the fate of all beings. Perhaps, as I just said, these are actually two different people."

He began to feel sorrowful again.

Li Heng closed the Ultimate Book and raised an eyebrow.

"Since that is the case, why don't you stop him? This Ultimate Book standing here is equivalent to gathering all possibilities of the Da Xu Kong, making everything already predetermined."

"I cannot beat him."

Changqing was very frank.

"Aren't you also a Dao Lord?"

Li Heng frowned.

"What Dao Lord? You should also know that the true Dao Lords are all dead; at most, they have only left behind traces of their existence. Like me, or like him, who is now named Fate."

"But the traces left behind must have depths and shallowness, sizes and scales. My trace is smaller than his, so I cannot beat him. Perhaps you can understand it this way: he resurrected earlier than I did, and his recovery time has been longer than mine."

Changqing said.

"Then you wouldn't happen to be the weakest of all the Dao Lords, would you?"

Li Heng's expression was somewhat suspicious.

He had seen this routine too many times.

"I will not belittle myself. Unless I encounter the traces left by other Dao Lords, I will not consider myself the weakest." Changqing shook his head, not intending to admit defeat.

"Did you two fight before?"

Li Heng asked.

"Naturally, we fought. After all, bestowing meaning upon sentient beings was something all of us Dao Lords decided before we died, and it was also decided by the entire Da Xu Kong and all sentient beings. As a result, after this guy appeared, he wanted to oppose this, so I naturally had to step in to stop him."

"But as I just said, I couldn't beat him."

"If I am a wisp of the remnant soul of the Zhongjie Daozhu, then perhaps he might be the reverse of that Dao Lord formerly named Freedom? The dark side of the Way of Freedom?"

Changqing also guessed with some confusion.

"Then I have obtained this book, wouldn't that ruin his purpose? Why haven't I seen him pop out?"

Li Heng continued to ask.

"How would I know? At the time, he said that he only left this book to leave a little fun in this layer of Reality; it didn't matter who got it, as long as it wasn't me."

Changqing indicated that he was also very helpless.

"However, I suggest you don't go looking for him. He used to be a prankster, and now he is probably an even crazier prankster. If you go looking for him, you will only give him more fun."

"Moreover, based on my understanding of him, he might not be in this layer of Reality right now; he has probably already run off to other Realities. But I am also very strange about this point. After all, this kind of running around and traveling was the personality of Freedom back then, but now that he has become Fate, why does he still like to run around?"

Changqing could not help but ponder.

"I said it just now, he was a fun-seeker before, and he is a fun-seeker now; doesn't that amount to an inheritance of personality? What is there to get used to about this?"

Li Heng said.

"This is different. Seeking fun is his inherent personality, while traveling everywhere and running about is a personality of freedom; the relationship between them is like the relationship between Changqing and the Zhongjie Daozhu."

"Hmm, can you understand it as a persona?"

"For example, when I am the Zhongjie Daozhu, I like to practice every aspect of the Dao of Ending, such as destroying space-time and ending everything. But if I get tired of it and change to another path, such as the Origin Dao Lord, then I will not perform those acts of destruction."

"Although this persona is not necessarily unbreakable. After all, whether it is the Zhongjie Daozhu or the Origin Dao Lord, we can be them whenever we want, but generally, we do not go against it."

Changqing explained it this way.