Fusion of Dharma and Self

Yet Meng Chen's enlightenment did not stop. Or rather, it simply could not stop.

"Divine powers are merely outward appearances; the Great Dao is the truth. Though Law Embodies Spirit is powerful, it is the law that attains the Dao, not me. The highest realm of the sword path is the unity of man and sword: the sword is the man, and the man is the sword. The highest realm of Daoist arts should be Fusion of Dharma and Self."

Amid the saints' wondrous teachings, Meng Chen comprehended more and more insights, more and more principles.

People often clung to the outward forms of Daoist arts, thereby overlooking their essence. Daoist arts could, in truth, be regarded as extensions of a cultivator's body, much like Heavenly Giant Form.

The essence of Heavenly Giant Form was a divine power, except that it was unleashed through the physical body. Other divine powers were activated outside the body; that was where the difference lay.

Yet even Heavenly Giant Form could not be considered a top-tier divine power.

Heavenly Giant Form was merely an explosive divine power, with a limited duration. Once that duration passed, its might vanished.

The realm of Fusion of Dharma and Self was to combine the principles contained within divine powers with one's physical body and primordial spirit, cultivating oneself into an invincible divine power.

Upon reaching this realm, one could cultivate the mysteries possessed by divine powers into one's own body. Without activating a divine power, one could still unleash all of its might.

Divine powers could attain the Dao and become immortals, so why could immortals not cultivate themselves into divine powers?

Meng Chen's thoughts churned like a storm, and that storm blew forth even more ideas. If he cultivated the mysteries of multiple divine powers—including the Three Corpses Severing Technique, Mystic Arts of Eight Nine, Primordial Nine Seals, Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation, and Twelve Divine Demon Capitals Great Formation—to the level of Fusion of Dharma and Self, how far would his cultivation advance?

Still, he knew that these divine powers could only serve as subsidiary arts. He also needed to comprehend an overarching doctrine capable of commanding all laws, one that could suppress, organize, and fuse these divine powers, integrating all their strength.

Having realized this, Meng Chen gradually saw his own direction clearly. His mind had never been so lucid, and his Dao heart had never been so clear.

In the future, he would not attain the Dao by severing the Three Corpses, nor would he attain the Dao through merit, much less through strength. He would attain the Dao through Dharma.

Meng Chen turned his thoughts to analyzing the Nine Great Divine Powers of Jade Void Palace.

At this time, the other saints' disciples had already begun making breakthroughs.

The first to break through was still Daoist Duobao. Though he had plenty of petty schemes, his comprehension was undeniably exceptional. The moment he broke through, Master Tongtian revealed a gratified expression.

During this time, Daoist Duobao had "turned over a new leaf." He no longer formed factions, instead becoming a "warm-hearted Eldest Senior Brother," speaking kindly, doing good deeds, keeping good intentions, and treating every disciple of the Intercepting Teaching with friendliness.

Now, Daoist Duobao had overtaken the others and broken through to the Golden Immortal Third Step before Our Lady of Wudang, making Master Tongtian even more satisfied.

Yuanshi Tianzun did not feel much. Back when Meng Chen was in the Golden Immortal Realm, he had already suppressed Daoist Duobao so thoroughly that he could not raise his head. Now that Meng Chen had cultivated to the Grand Golden Immortal Realm, his cultivation would only advance faster than Daoist Duobao's.

Golden Immortals and Grand Golden Immortals were listening to a saint expound the Dao together; naturally, Grand Golden Immortals would comprehend more. The realm of a Grand Golden Immortal was clearly much higher.

Our Lady of Wudang was no ordinary person either. After Daoist Duobao, she, Guang Chengzi, and Grand Master Xuandu all began to break through. Just as the Three Pure Ones were about to nod and smile, they sensed that Maitreya and Bhaisajyaguru of the Western Church had also broken through together.

Only then did the Three Pure Ones, who had never paid much attention to the Western Church, realize that it too possessed outstanding talents—and that these talents were no less gifted than their own disciples.

During the following discussion of the Dao, disciples continuously advanced, streaks of brilliant spiritual light shooting straight into the heavens.

But Meng Chen did not care about any of their breakthroughs. Within his Immortal Kingdom, the Nine Great Divine Powers of Jade Void Palace moved like nine swimming fish, endlessly darting about. The divine powers expanded against one another, evolving infinite mysteries.

He wielded his wisdom, unraveling the strands and peeling back the layers as he sought the origins of the divine powers.

What was the origin of divine powers? It was laws, it was the Great Dao—not incantations or the pathways through which mana circulated. When a divine power took form, it possessed its own Dao within it.

That was why, as long as a divine power was successfully cast, it could be controlled as one wished.

"All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows; like dew and lightning. Thus should they be contemplated..."

Just as Meng Chen launched his final assault on the Nine Great Divine Powers of Jade Void Palace, a profound sequence of sounds entered his mind. It was a passage in Sanskrit; the saint of the Western Church was expounding his own Great Dao.

Upon hearing those sounds, Meng Chen instantly understood. His consciousness pierced through layer upon layer of fog and saw the essence of the Nine Great Divine Powers.

The Nine Great Divine Powers of Jade Void Palace were actually nine Great Daos. The Seal of Infinity, Seal of Dao's Oneness, Seal of Creation, Seal of Heaven Overturning, Seal of Yin and Yang, Seal of Four Symbols, Seal of Void, Seal of Earth, and Seal of Primordial Heart respectively corresponded to the nine Great Daos of chaos, karma, strength, destruction, the Four Symbols, Yinyang, void, earth, and the mind.

The Primordial Nine Seals were, in fact, divine powers that Yuanshi Tianzun had created with these nine Great Daos as their foundation.

At this moment, breakthroughs continued atop Sacred Spring Peak. Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, Juliusun, Wu Liangzi... along with the main group, also advanced into their next realms.

Chijingzi and Yellow Dragon True Man of the Chan Sect refused to be outdone and broke through one after another. Bilanpo, Imperial Tutor King, and Lapis Treasure Light King of the Western Church quietly made breakthroughs once again.

Meng Chen, however, ignored all of it completely. He immersed himself wholeheartedly in deducing the fusion of the Nine Great Divine Powers and the nine Great Daos.

He let go completely, allowing the Nine Great Divine Powers to evolve. He brought the divine powers into the state of Law Embodies Spirit, then pushed them toward the verge of taking form. Using that instant when the divine powers were about to take form yet had not fully done so, he observed the changes in their forms.

When a divine power was on the verge of taking form, the body it possessed was closest to the Great Dao.

Then Meng Chen comprehended his first divine power: the Innate Wu Ji Dharma Form.

The Seal of Earth originated from the Innate Wu Ji Apricot Yellow Banner. The divine power comprehended through the Seal of Earth was the Innate Wu Ji Dharma Form.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

With a thought from Meng Chen, an enormous vortex appeared around him, sweeping the Mana Golden Flowers produced by the saints' discussion of the Dao into his body.

At the same time, an apricot-yellow phantom several thousand zhang tall appeared above Meng Chen's head.

The phantom wore apricot-yellow armor all over, its aura steady and profound, giving off a feeling that no evil could invade it and no law could touch it. After receiving the saints' Mana Golden Flowers, the apricot-yellow phantom swiftly solidified, transforming into a towering giant of flesh and blood.

And this was merely the Dharma Form he had just condensed.

Once the Innate Wu Ji Dharma Form took shape, it opened its mouth and inhaled. More laws of heaven and earth and saintly mana entered its mouth, and it began growing at an even faster rate.

One thousand li, two thousand li, three thousand li... It did not stop growing until it reached ninety thousand li in height.

Boom!

Having cultivated his first Dharma Form, the mana within Meng Chen's body began to surge explosively, increasing to nine times its original amount.