Five Elements Mountain Discusses the Dao! The Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Takes Shape!

Five Elements Mountain!

Unable to discern Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti's intentions, Gu Xi proposed:

"The Great Dao is hard to attain. By exchanging insights, we may deepen our understanding."

"Why not discuss the Dao here today and verify each other's paths?"

"Fellow Daoist Gu Xi, an excellent suggestion!" Daoist Jieyin said with a smile.

"Mutual verification is indeed beneficial to the Great Dao." Daoist Zhunti nodded.

"Hahaha! If we discuss and verify the Great Dao here today, it will surely become a celebrated tale in the future."

Ying Long laughed heartily, his voice shaking Five Elements Mountain.

"What? Holy Father is going to discuss the Dao with Daoist Jieyin, Daoist Zhunti, and Patriarch Ying Long?"

When Suiren Shi and the other Human Race experts heard Gu Xi and the others' conversation, every one of them was overjoyed.

"Four Great Supernatural Beings are actually going to discuss the Dao at Five Elements Mountain... We came at the right time."

"This... this is our fortunate opportunity!"

The many Gods and Demons who had come to Five Elements Mountain to congratulate Gu Xi were all beside themselves with excitement.

When Great Supernatural Beings preached the Dao, it was a rare and precious opportunity for the Primordial Populace.

Especially since when many Great Supernatural Beings preached, not just anyone could listen. They would often screen the living beings who came to hear the Dao.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun claimed to enlighten all living beings, but in truth, only the three thousand Great Supernatural Beings capable of reaching Zixiao Palace in the chaos were qualified to hear Dao Ancestor Hongjun's Great Dao.

As for the other living beings, they naturally had no such fate.

Public sermons like this, with no threshold imposed, were not unheard of in Hong Huang, but they were rare.

This time, in particular, four Great Supernatural Beings would be preaching at once, making it even more extraordinary.

Whether it was Suiren Shi and the other Human Race experts,

or the many Gods and Demons who had come to offer congratulations,

they all knew this was an exceptionally rare opportunity.

Therefore, they immediately found places on Five Elements Mountain and sat down, focusing intently as they waited for Gu Xi and the others to begin expounding the Great Dao.

"Today, I shall cast the first brick to draw jade."

Ying Long sat upright on his meditation cushion. Silver-white Star Constellation Dao patterns suddenly emerged across his Daoist robe.

"What I have comprehended is the Innate Star Constellation Great Dao!"

The moment Ying Long spoke, his words seemed to carry the authority of Heaven. The Heavenly Laws around Five Elements Mountain began to shift.

A corner of the primordial starry sky suddenly appeared above Five Elements Mountain.

Countless stars glittered as hundreds of millions of rays of starlight descended.

In an instant, all of Five Elements Mountain became a place where the stars dwelled.

Countless enormous Primordial Stars seemed to hang right before their eyes.

"Constellations are the outward manifestations of the Great Dao!"

"As the Great Dao operates, stars rotate and shift, yin and yang alternate, the five elements cycle, and all things transform!"

"The stars of the heavens revolve around the sun, moon, and Five Elements Stars, with the sun, moon, and Five Elements Stars at their center."

"Beyond the sun, moon, and Five Elements Stars lie the Twenty-Eight Mansions: the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions, Vermilion Bird Seven Mansions, White Tiger Seven Mansions, and Black Tortoise Seven Mansions."

"The Azure Dragon in the east, Vermilion Bird in the south, White Tiger in the west, Black Tortoise in the north... these are the Four Symbols!"

"There are also the Big Dipper: Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, and Yao Guang!"

"The Four Symbols, Twenty-Eight Mansions, and Big Dipper revolve together around the sun, moon, and Five Elements Stars. Their cycles repeat endlessly, and so too do the Heavenly Laws, primordial qi, and the waxing and waning of all things."

"Understand the laws of the constellations, and you can grasp the transformations of the Great Dao!"

Ying Long's voice resounded in every direction. Divine power surged around him like the ebb and flow of tides, resonating with the unseen Innate Star Constellation Great Dao.

The vast starry sky before everyone's eyes began to move, hundreds of millions of stars following mysterious trajectories.

The Sun Star, Moon Star, and Five Elements Stars manifested one after another, radiating Boundless Light that illuminated the vast universe.

Then the Big Dipper also shone brilliantly, forming the shape of a ladle.

The Four Symbols and Twenty-Eight Mansions also appeared. Amid them, the phantom forms of the four great sacred beasts—Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise—faintly emerged.

Endless mysteries of the constellations were displayed before everyone in such an intuitive manner.

For a time, the many Gods and Demons all gained greatly.

Even Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti wore smiles, having benefited immensely.

"This path of the constellations will play an extremely important role in the Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches I intend to create next."

Gu Xi was even more delighted.

He firmly memorized the Great Dao Ying Long had explained and did his utmost to imprint the changes in the celestial phenomena before him into his Primordial Spirit.

After perfecting the Four Seasons and Twenty-Four Solar Terms, his next step would be to derive the Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches from its foundation.

The Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches encompassed more Great Dao Laws and would have an even greater influence on Hong Huang.

Once he created and perfected the Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the merit and fortune he could obtain would far surpass what he had gained from creating the Four Seasons and Twenty-Four Solar Terms.

The Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches was closely connected to the patterns of change among the stars of the heavens.

Now that Ying Long was explaining the Innate Star Constellation Great Dao in this manner and directly displaying the laws behind the movements of the stars before him, it was simply an enormous help.

With today's gains, Gu Xi believed he would soon be able to derive a complete Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

At some unknown point, Ying Long had already finished his sermon.

The hundreds of millions of stars before everyone's eyes also vanished like an illusion.

Gu Xi, Daoist Jieyin, and Daoist Zhunti all revealed expressions of lingering fascination.

As for the many Human Race experts and visiting Gods and Demons, each of them felt a sense of loss.

The Star Constellation Great Dao just now had been too profound and exquisite. They were reluctant to leave that state of enlightenment!

"Fellow Daoist Ying Long's Innate Star Constellation Great Dao has left me in awe and benefited me immensely." Daoist Zhunti lavishly praised him. "Next, let me expound the Innate Nirvana Dao!"

"Nirvana means stillness! To be free of all forms is nirvana!"

"Nirvana means transcending life and death and entering a realm of tranquil non-action. This realm lies far from the deluded world and contains the meaning of bliss; thus, nirvana is called joy."

"All conditioned things are impermanent. Those born must die; what is unborn cannot die. This cessation is the greatest bliss. Compared to the restless turmoil of life and death, the tranquil stability of neither birth nor death is called nirvana."

"Nirvana is not death! Stillness means quietude, while cessation means eliminating vexations and delusions!"

"Should one attain great nirvana, there will be no sorrow, no worry, no obsession, no deluded thoughts. All will be tranquil. One will draw close to the Great Dao and may enter cessation to become a Saint!"

Daoist Zhunti's voice was thunderous and enlightening.

The phantom of an enormous Bodhi Tree emerged behind him.

Countless worlds also appeared, arising and perishing in endless succession.

At that moment, guided by the voice filled with Zen, everyone's minds seemed to enter a land of absolute serenity and bliss. The Great Dao itself seemed to stand before their eyes.

Countless insights surged into their hearts like spring water.

Many Gods and Demons broke through on the spot.

Several Heavenly Immortals of the Human Race who had been stuck at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm for nearly ten thousand years manifested their Three Flowers, condensed them into Dao Seeds, and actually broke through to Golden Immortal!

"Daoist Zhunti's comprehension of the Dao is even deeper than Ying Long's."

"The path of nirvana he expounded is indeed a path to sainthood."

"Unfortunately, he has essentially mastered the Innate Nirvana Dao. On this path, no one can rival him. In the future, the one to attain sainthood through the Innate Nirvana Dao will certainly be him."

"As for those who come after, at most they can only become Quasi-Sages. Moreover, they will be naturally restrained by Daoist Zhunti!"

Gu Xi sighed, yet he had once again benefited greatly.

After Daoist Zhunti finished preaching, Daoist Jieyin took over.

"What I shall expound is the Innate Nirvana Dao!"

"So-called nirvana is the elimination of the karma of life and death, transcendence beyond life and death, and a different kind of rebirth!"

"Living beings suffer under vexations, desires, and other torments, falling into endless pain, while also being bound by the karmic power of life and death. Nirvana is the final overcoming of all suffering from vexations, desires, and life and death..."

"Nirvana is further divided into 'Nirvana with Remainder' and 'Nirvana without Remainder.'"

"...Nirvana with Remainder means vexations have been severed, desires are gone, and the spirit has entered the state of nirvana while the physical body remains. Nirvana without Remainder means both spirit and flesh are gone, completely escaping the worldly cycle of life and death..."

The Innate Nirvana Dao expounded by Daoist Jieyin was no less profound than Daoist Zhunti's Innate Nirvana Dao.

Countless golden lotus flowers drifted from his body and fell upon everyone.

Many members of the Human Race and visiting Gods and Demons broke through one after another.

"These two truly are Saints ordained by Heaven... They have gone farther than I have. They have nearly comprehended the Great Dao they cultivate completely. They likely need only one opportunity to attain the Dao and become Saints."

Ying Long looked at Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti, feeling inferior to them.

Although he had gained fame earlier,

and believed that he was no weaker than either of them in accumulated divine power,

their comprehension and mastery of the Great Dao clearly surpassed his own.

"These are the true top-tier Quasi-Saint Heavenly Venerates of Hong Huang!"

Gu Xi was also astonished. Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin, in their preaching states, seemed to have completely transformed into the embodiments of the Great Dao itself. They were terrifying.

Naturally, they had also brought him enormous gains.

"The next one to preach will be me!"

"As the master of this place, I cannot fall too far behind them."

"However, though I cultivate many Great Daos, my degree of comprehension and control is far inferior to those three Quasi-Saint Heavenly Venerates."

"Perhaps I should bring out the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches!"

"That will surely give them a huge 'surprise'!"

As Gu Xi pondered inwardly, a thought stirred, and he immediately activated the "Enlightenment" system of the Heavenly Dao Faith Card.

The enlightenment function activated, and he entered a state of enlightenment.

Then, he began combining his own thoughts on the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches with the Dao of the stars he had heard from Ying Long, deriving the Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

Countless insights into the Great Dao surged into his heart like a tidal wave.

It seemed as though only an instant had passed.

Yet it also seemed as though hundreds of millions of years had gone by.

Gu Xi awakened, and the Way of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches had taken shape in his heart.

Though this chapter was not long, only 3,000 words,

it took more than half a day of research to write.