Fusion of Dharma and Self

However, Meng Chen's insights did not stop—or rather, they simply could not stop.

"Divine powers are only the surface; the Great Dao is the truth. Law Embodies Spirit is formidable, but it is the law that attains the Dao, not me. The highest realm of the sword is the fusion of man and sword—the sword is the man, and the man is the sword. The highest realm of Daoist arts should be the Fusion of Dharma and Self."

Within the sage's wondrous tones, more and more insights and principles were comprehended by Meng Chen.

Mortals often cling to the superficial forms of Daoist arts, thus overlooking their essence. In truth, Daoist arts can be seen as an extension of the cultivator's body, much like the Heavenly Giant Form.

The essence of the Heavenly Giant Form is a divine power, but it is activated using the physical body as a vessel. Other divine powers are activated outside the body—that is the difference between them.

Yet even the Heavenly Giant Form is not considered a top-tier divine power.

The Heavenly Giant Form is merely an explosive divine power with a time limit. Once the limit passes, the power's might vanishes.

The realm of Fusion of Dharma and Self is to combine the principles contained within a divine power with one's own body and Primordial Spirit, refining oneself into an invincible divine power.

Cultivating to this realm allows one to refine the mysteries of a divine power into their own being. Without activating the power, they can still unleash all its might.

If a divine power can attain the Dao and become an immortal, why can't an immortal cultivate into a divine power?

Meng Chen's mind stormed, and the storm blew on, birthing even more ideas. If he could cultivate multiple divine powers—including the Three Corpses Severing Technique, the Mystic Arts of Eight Nine, the Primordial Nine Seals, the Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation, and the Twelve Divine Demon Capitals Great Formation—all to the level of Fusion of Dharma and Self, to what heights would his cultivation rise?

Yet he also understood that these divine powers could only serve as subsidiary ones. He still needed to comprehend a master outline to govern all laws, to suppress, organize, and fuse these powers, integrating their strength into one.

With this realization, Meng Chen gradually saw his path clearly. His mind had never been so sharp, his Dao heart never so pure.

In the future, he would not prove the Dao by severing the Three Corpses, nor by merit, nor by strength. He would prove the Dao with Dharma.

Meng Chen's thoughts turned, and he began to dissect the Nine Great Divine Powers of Jade Void Palace.

At this moment, the other sage disciples had already begun to break through.

The first to break through was still Daoist Duobao. Though he harbored many petty schemes, his comprehension was undeniably formidable. As he broke through, Master Tongtian's face showed a look of relief.

During this time, Daoist Duobao had "repented wholeheartedly," no longer forming factions but instead becoming a "warm-hearted Eldest Senior Brother," speaking kindly, doing good deeds, harboring good intentions, and treating every Disciple of Intercepting Teaching with friendliness.

Now, Daoist Duobao had come from behind to break through to the Golden Immortal Third Step before Our Lady of Wudang, making Master Tongtian increasingly satisfied.

Yuanshi Tianzun, however, felt little reaction. In the past, at the Golden Immortal realm, Meng Chen could already suppress Daoist Duobao. Now that Meng Chen had cultivated to the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm, his progress would only outpace Duobao's.

When a Golden Immortal and a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal both listen to a sage's lecture, it is naturally the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal who comprehends more, as his realm is far higher.

Our Lady of Wudang was no ordinary figure either. After Daoist Duobao, she, along with Guang Chengzi and Grand Master Xuandu, began their breakthroughs. The Three Pure Ones were about to nod and smile when they sensed that Maitreya and Bhaisajyaguru of the Western Church had also broken through.

The Three Pure Ones, who rarely paid attention to the Western Church, now realized that it too had talents, and these talents were no less gifted than their own disciples.

As the discourse continued, disciples kept advancing, one after another, with brilliant spiritual lights shooting into the sky.

Yet Meng Chen paid no attention to these breakthroughs. Within his Immortal Kingdom, the Nine Great Divine Powers of Jade Void Palace swam like nine fish, ceaselessly interweaving, evolving into infinite mysteries.

He wielded his wisdom, peeling away layers like silk from a cocoon, tracing the origin of the divine powers.

What is the origin of a divine power? It is law, it is the Great Dao—not the incantation or the path of mana circulation. When a divine power takes form, it contains its own Dao within.

This is why, once a divine power is successfully activated, it can be controlled at will.

"All conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, like dew, like 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 mysterious syllable entered his mind. It was a passage of Sanskrit, as the sage of the Western Church expounded his own Great Dao.

Hearing this syllable, Meng Chen instantly grasped its meaning. His mind pierced through layers of fog and saw the essence of the nine divine powers.

The Nine Great Divine Powers of Jade Void Palace were actually nine Great Daos: the Seal of Infinity corresponded to Chaos, the Seal of Dao's Oneness to Causality, the Seal of Creation to Strength, the Seal of Heaven Overturning to Destruction, the Seal of Yin and Yang to Yin and Yang, the Seal of Four Symbols to the Four Symbols, the Seal of Void to Void, the Seal of Earth to Earth, and the Seal of Primordial Heart to the Heart—these nine Daos.

The Primordial Nine Seals were, in truth, divine powers created by Yuanshi Tianzun based on these nine Daos.

At this moment, breakthroughs continued on Sacred Spring Peak. Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, Juliusun, Wu Liangzi... all advanced to the next realm along with the main group.

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

Yet Meng Chen paid no heed to any of this. He was wholly immersed in the fusion and deduction of the nine divine powers and the nine Daos.

He let loose, allowing the nine divine powers to evolve freely, letting them enter the state of Law Embodies Spirit, then pushing them toward the edge of transformation. He seized the moment when the powers were about to take form but had not yet done so, observing their morphological changes.

In that instant before a divine power took 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 source of the Seal of Earth was the innate Wu Ji Apricot Yellow Banner. The divine power comprehended from the Seal of Earth was the Innate Wu Ji Dharma Form.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

With a thought from Meng Chen, a massive vortex appeared around him, drawing in the Mana Golden Flowers produced by the sages' discourse into his body.

At the same time, an apricot-yellow phantom, thousands of feet tall, appeared above Meng Chen's head.

This phantom was clad in apricot-yellow armor, its aura thick and steady, giving a sense of being impervious to all evils and immune to all laws. After absorbing the sages' Mana Golden Flowers, the apricot-yellow phantom quickly solidified into a flesh-and-blood giant.

And this was merely the dharma form just taking shape.

Once the Innate Wu Ji Dharma Form was complete, it opened its mouth and inhaled. More heavenly laws and sage mana poured into its mouth, and it began to grow at an even faster rate.

One thousand li, two thousand li, three thousand li... until it reached ninety thousand li in height, only then did the Innate Wu Ji Dharma Form stop growing.

Boom!

Having cultivated his first dharma form, Meng Chen's mana began to surge, increasing to nine times its original amount.