Debating the Dao at Azure Ox Ridge, Astonishing All Present

Qing Shi accepted the statue and sensed the faint yet incomparably pure Dao aura of creation upon it. His heart trembled.

The few traces of disdain he had harbored immediately faded considerably.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan Ming, you are too courteous. Please take your seat."

Qing Shi solemnly placed the statue beside the seat of honor. Its sacred aura seemed like an invisible barrier, causing the atmosphere of the banquet to deviate from the path the great demons of the four clans had expected from the very start.

Yuan Ming took his seat calmly.

At the same time, the four great demons swept their divine senses over him in unspoken accord, and all of them were startled.

This man was clearly only a True Immortal, yet the Dao aura circulating around him was perfectly harmonious, and his blood and qi were contained like a blazing furnace. His aura was as steady as a mountain and as deep as the sea, in no way inferior to theirs as Golden Immortals. It even carried a faint ancient majesty that made their hearts palpitate.

This made them even less daring to underestimate him.

The wine was demon wine brewed from spiritual fruits, potent beyond compare, while the meat served at the feast was all imbued with spiritual qi. As cups were raised and drained, the atmosphere in the hall appeared to grow lively after several rounds of wine.

Yet as they conversed, the great demons of the four clans became increasingly astonished.

Whether discussing the geography of the primordial world, identifying spiritual treasures, cultivation insights, or the profound principles of heaven and earth, this human leader's views were often incisive and thought-provoking. His knowledge was so vast, and his understanding of the Great Dao so profound, that he seemed far superior even to ancient demons like them who had cultivated for countless years.

Having integrated the essence of the Dao De Jing with insights from numerous cultivation arts, Yuan Ming's words often struck directly at the essence of things, carrying unfathomable profundity.

For a time, Calamity Star of the Calamity Hound Clan and Black Baleful of the Black Ox Clan, who had originally intended to make things difficult for him, could not find an excuse to provoke him.

Seeing this, Qing Shi knew he could not let things continue this way. He set down his wine cup and spoke aloud, his voice overpowering the clamor in the hall.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan Ming's knowledge is extraordinary. We are truly impressed. On such a fine occasion, how can we go without discussing the Dao? We have long sat idle in these mountains and rarely have such an opportunity for exchange. Why not discuss the Dao and verify one another's insights?"

His gaze swept across the crowd as he proposed, "Let this old man begin with a humble contribution. Then Fellow Daoist Black Xiong, Fellow Daoist Dou Cang, and Fellow Daoist Hei Tian may each expound upon your Great Dao in turn. Finally, Fellow Daoist Yuan Ming may conclude this discussion for us. What do you say?"

At these words, a gleam flashed through the eyes of Black Xiong, Dou Cang, and Hei Tian.

The Dao discussion was merely a pretext. Their true aim was to use the sound of the Great Dao to pressure Yuan Ming and probe his foundations!

"Excellent!"

"Just as it should be!"

"We shall follow Fellow Daoist Qing Shi's suggestion!"

The three great demons all agreed, their gazes converging on Yuan Ming. Invisible pressure surged toward him like a tide.

The ancestor of the Azure Ox Clan, an ancient-faced old man in yellow robes with two horns growing from his head, spoke first. His voice boomed like muffled thunder, breaking the silence.

"As cultivators, we place discussion of the Dao first. This old man shall begin by speaking of the Earth Dao."

As soon as he spoke, a heavy yellow radiance spread from his body. The entire palace seemed to become one with the earth, and boundless power from the earth's veins blessed his form, giving him an immovable, indestructible presence.

Immediately afterward, a mass of shadow squirmed. The ancestor of the Ghost Lion Clan seemed to exist between illusion and reality, his voice drifting and elusive.

"Earth bears all things, yet light and darkness intertwine, while illusion and reality give rise to one another. My Dao lies in shadow."

In an instant, the light within the hall twisted. Countless ghostly shadows emerged from the walls, the floor, and even the void itself, letting out silent howls filled with eerie malice and killing intent.

"Shadows are everywhere and can penetrate anything. They are weapons of slaughter."

Dou Cang, leader of the Calamity Hound Clan, was thin and gaunt, with ominous red light flickering in his eyes. He gave a sinister laugh.

"Heaven and earth have constants, but they also have unpredictability. Calamity and misfortune are manifestations of that unpredictability. My Calamity Dao draws upon the negative qi of heaven and earth, cursing and slaying the soul, binding one in misfortune. It is impossible to guard against!"

As his words fell, a strange force field seemed to spread through the air, stirring unease and causing fortune to plummet.

Finally, Hei Tian, leader of the Black Ox Clan, spoke in a voice like a great bell, carrying savage dominance.

"Water is both the softest and the strongest! It can nourish all things, yet it can also drown all living beings!"

Water vapor swirled around him, and the faint image of rushing rivers and towering waves emerged.

"Water benefits all things without contention, but when it contends, it is heaven-shaking fury!"

The four powerful Dao auras intertwined and collided within the hall, forming invisible pressure like four great mountains crushing down upon the lone Yuan Ming, intending to suppress him first in the realm of the Dao.

Faced with the pressure of these four Great Daos—heavy, eerie, calamitous, and violent—Yuan Ming's expression remained unchanged as he slowly rose to his feet.

He did not reveal any earth-shattering aura. He merely spoke calmly, yet his voice rang clearly in every great demon's ears.

"The Daos of my fellow Daoists each expound upon one aspect of heaven and earth, and are all profoundly mysterious. Yet before heaven and earth began, when chaos remained undivided, where could there have been earth, shadow, calamity, or water?"

That single sentence made the expressions of the four great demons shift.

Yuan Ming continued, tracing through the air before him with both hands. A hazy stream of clear qi flowed from his fingertips.

"At the beginning of the Great Dao was Taiji. Taiji arose from Wuji; it is the pivot of motion and stillness, the mother of yin and yang."

As he spoke, that wisp of clear qi began to evolve, splitting into two and transforming into black and white qi.

The black qi sank, faintly resonating with the heaviness of earth and the yielding nature of water. The white qi rose, corresponding to the changes of light and shadow and the flow of fortune.

"Yin is still and yang moves; yang transforms, and yin unites."

The black and white qi were not wholly opposed. Instead, they intertwined, each containing the other, forming a continuously circulating, endlessly renewing pattern—the embryonic form of a Taiji Diagram!

"The heaviness of earth is yin, while the strange transformations of shadow are yang within yin. The movement of water is yang, while the still annihilation of calamity is yin within yang."

With casual ease, he cleverly incorporated the Great Daos discussed by the four demons into the framework of Taiji yin and yang.

"All things bear yin and embrace yang, blending their qi to achieve harmony." Yuan Ming's voice carried a strange Dao aura.

"The Daos of you all may appear vastly different, but in truth, they all lie between yin and yang, motion and stillness. All can return to Taiji."

He did not suppress them through force. Instead, from a loftier and more fundamental perspective, he encompassed and contained their Dao lineages.

"This is the Taiji Great Dao I have comprehended. Grasp the one and govern all methods; yin and yang revolve, bringing balance, and also... the source."

As his words fell, the small phantom of the Taiji Diagram contained no vast power, yet it seemed to hold the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, the very source of the Great Dao.

When the four Dao auras that had been crushing toward him touched the Taiji Diagram, they no longer seemed aggressive. Instead, they appeared to find their places within a grander system and became orderly.

The hall fell silent.

The way the four great demons looked at Yuan Ming changed completely.

Their former contempt and probing vanished, replaced by solemnity and even a barely perceptible trace of reverence.

To expound such a Dao—one that encompassed all things and pointed directly to the source—while only in the True Immortal realm, this man... was far from ordinary!

In this discussion of the Dao, Yuan Ming had not made a single move. Yet with the Dao of Taiji, he had deftly dissolved the combined pressure of the four clans. Not only had he not fallen behind, he had faintly surpassed them in the realm of the Dao.

The Azure Ox ancestor drew a deep breath and said gravely, "Fellow Daoist Yuan Ming's Dao is profound and unfathomable. We... have learned much."