Heaven-Earth-Human Forty-Nine Return-to-Truth Method

Upon stepping into the True Immortal Realm and bearing [Human Ancestor's Fortune], Yuan Ming could clearly feel the leap in his very level of life.

Yet a new sense of "emptiness" followed.

It was like a burly man possessing immense strength yet knowing no fighting techniques—he had cultivation, but could not turn it into true combat power.

In the danger-filled Primordial World, lacking powerful divine abilities and spells for protection was no different from a child carrying gold through a crowded market.

"The Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture is the foundational art; it raises my cultivation realm. But methods to protect the Dao and powers of slaughter are equally indispensable."

He once more sank his consciousness into his sea of awareness, and the seemingly plain yet profoundly mysterious Dao De Jing emerged again.

"Dao gave birth to One, One gave birth to Two, Two gave birth to Three, and Three gave birth to all things... Since the Dao can give rise to all things, then in theory, every divine ability and spell can be derived from it."

Rather than recalling the names of specific, powerful spells from immortal cultivation novels, he began grasping the "imagery" and "principles" behind them.

For instance, a sword qi was essentially a manifestation of laws such as "sharpness," "penetration," and "destruction."

For instance, an escape light was essentially an application of "speed" and "space."

"The Great Dao is simple at its core and infinitely complex in its transformations. I don't need to learn or imitate others' divine abilities. I can create a spell system uniquely my own, one that perfectly suits [Great Dao Comprehension] and the Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture."

The moment this thought arose, the nine-colored radiance of [Great Dao Comprehension] blazed once more, merging with the profound principles of the Dao De Jing.

No longer constrained by form, he took the Dao De Jing as his guiding outline, his True Immortal mana as ink, and the heavens and earth of the Primordial World as his scroll, then began to write with sweeping strokes.

"Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows Dao, and Dao follows nature... My spells shall take the 'Dao' as their root, Heaven-Earth-Human as their framework, and the number 'forty-nine' as their application!"

"The Great Dao has fifty, while Heaven unfolds forty-nine; man escapes into the one. That 'one' is the variable, the spark of life. And what I intend to create is precisely the way of forty-nine that can be controlled and evolved!"

In an instant, countless profound truths concerning the workings of heaven and earth, the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements, and the transformations of yin and yang flowed through his mind.

When he thought of "supreme goodness is like water," he derived the Supreme Goodness Is Like Water Curse, capable of turning all things supple as silk. It could defend, trap enemies, and nourish himself.

When he thought of "the utmost softness under heaven gallops through the utmost hardness under heaven," he combined imagery of water and wind to outline an invisible, formless art that specialized in breaking all kinds of protective divine light: Imperishable Heavenly Dipper.

When he thought of "being and nonbeing give birth to each other; difficulty and ease complete each other," he attempted to construct the Formless Divine Light, which could freely shift between illusion and reality and even briefly affect karma.

He regarded all phenomena of heaven and earth—wind, rain, thunder, lightning, mountains, marshes, water, fire, and even the transformations of time and space—as manifestations of the Dao, then categorized and refined them.

This process was more complex than creating the Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture, because it involved not a single path, but a comprehensive framework for countless arts.

Countless spell models were constructed, dismantled, and optimized.

Some were overly complex and discarded; some lacked power and were strengthened; some conflicted with the nature of the Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture and were adjusted.

Under the absolute control of [Great Dao Comprehension], these deductions were not chaotic, but systematically classified and integrated.

In the end, a phantom scripture exuding the aura of Chaos, as though it encompassed every possible transformation between heaven and earth, slowly condensed into form.

The Great Dao script upon it was even more ancient and profound than that of the Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture—

<Heaven-Earth-Human Forty-Nine Return-to-Truth Method>!

This True Method was not forty-nine fixed spells, but a dynamic, growing framework of spellcraft.

It took the Heaven-Earth-Human triad as its foundation and forty-nine as the ultimate number of transformations.

In theory, so long as Yuan Ming's understanding of the Dao ran deep enough and his control over laws was strong enough, he could continuously derive from this framework specific spells suited to his current circumstances.

For example, if he needed a bolt of lightning at this moment, he could instantly derive from the framework a lightning art best suited to the current timing of heaven, advantage of terrain, and his own harmony with man.

If the environment changed, such as entering a body of water, the derived lightning art would carry water-element transformations.

It was both a collection of "arts" and an extension of "law," an application of the "Dao."

The True Method had only just taken shape when Yuan Ming eagerly attempted one of its most basic derived spells: [One-Qi Capturing Hand].

With a thought, the mana cultivated through the Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture, carrying devouring properties, surged forth. Rather than scattering, it condensed in midair under the restriction and guidance of the True Method framework into a semi-transparent giant hand, faint ghostly light flowing around its edges.

The giant hand was not inanimate. As its five fingers twitched, it seemed capable of drawing in the surrounding light and spiritual qi. Carrying an irresistible binding force, it reached through the air toward a massive boulder in the distance and grabbed!

"Buzz!"

The boulder did not move in the slightest, yet five deep finger marks instantly appeared on its surface, as if an invisible force had eroded it and devoured a portion of it.

"Wonderful!" Yuan Ming praised inwardly.

This [One-Qi Capturing Hand] was not only immensely powerful; it also contained a trace of the devouring Dao resonance of the Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture, making it far stronger than ordinary capturing techniques.

More importantly, he could sense that as his comprehension of various laws deepened, the potential of these Forty-Nine True Methods was nearly limitless.

From this day onward, Yuan Ming had finally made up for his weakness in offensive methods.

Though the power of the spells he could currently derive was limited by his own cultivation and understanding of laws, with this framework in place, his combat ability would grow geometrically alongside his cultivation.

Yuan Ming stood atop a cliff, his left hand slightly raised as the ghostly glow of [One-Qi Capturing Hand] flickered in and out of sight within his palm.

"Though I still need to keep a low profile, I finally have some confidence to establish myself in this Primordial World."

Yuan Ming's gaze was deep as he looked into the distance. Within him, the Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture and the <Heaven-Earth-Human Forty-Nine Return-to-Truth Method>, two powers born from the same source yet focused in different directions, echoed with one another and formed the foundation of his unique Dao.

But when he thought of the coming Demon Clan massacre, he knew he was still far from strong enough. Forget the Demon Clan's ten great demon sages—he could not even defeat a random demon general.

To travel the Primordial World, one needed more than personal strength; having a powerful backer was also essential.

Yuan Ming had read no fewer than eight hundred, if not a thousand, Primordial World novels, so he naturally knew the benefits of joining a Sage Realm great sect.

Just look at the Twelve Golden Immortals of Jade Void Palace. Their eyes were practically in the sky, and even when facing Quasi-Sage Realm great powers, they still acted arrogant as hell.

They did not even respect the boy attendants of Sage Hongjun. Otherwise, how could they have provoked the Investiture Tribulation?

Of the three Sages, Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing, Yuan Ming most wanted to enter under Sage Taiqing. Unfortunately, that strongest Sage chose disciples based solely on fate.

His second choice was Sage Yuqing. Although that Sage was the coldest, he was also truly protective of his disciples.

His last choice was Sage Shangqing. Though that Sage accepted all kinds of beings, he was also the least attentive to his disciples.

By the middle of the Investiture Tribulation, how many disciples of the Intercept Sect had already died? Yet that Sage still clung to his brotherly affection.

He seemed the most straightforward, but in truth, he was the most indecisive!