This essay provides a general outline of the concepts and system of magic in Dust Along the Immortal Road.
The magic system in Dust Along the Immortal Road can be understood through the following three classifications, each marked with a ★ for emphasis:
★ By attribute, there are two classifications:
I. Supreme Ultimate, Yin and Yang;
II. Water, fire, wood, metal, earth, wind, and thunder.
A brief explanation follows:
"Supreme Ultimate" in classification I refers figuratively to the most fundamental power. For example, the extraordinary book Xing Yan obtained, the Refining Spirit into Void Treatise, described it thus:
"... (Primordial chaotic qi) I know not its name. Compelled to name it, I call it Dao Power; compelled to give it a designation, I call it Great Splendor. 'Great' expresses its vastness; 'Splendor' expresses its loftiness."
The "great splendor dao power" described here may well be a fundamental power akin to Supreme Ultimate. Generally speaking, a fundamental power possesses none of the layered characteristics or individual qualities of known powers, such as the seven elemental powers listed in classification II. It does, however, possess their shared qualities, which are the simplest and most essential characteristics of all power.
"Yin and Yang" in classification I, also often called "Heaven and Earth" or the "Two Modes," broadly refers to the opposing sides of all things. Examples include heaven and earth, sun and moon, mountains and waters, male and female, cold and warmth, motion and stillness, gathering and dispersal, light and darkness. Its essence is "two opposing sides," with no absolute designation. For example, a mountain is yang in relation to a marsh, but in relation to heaven, it is earth, the Earth Trigram, and yin.
The categories in classification I intertwine and interact with the attributes in classification II, forming this novel's magnificent