Constructing the Dao-Protecting Divine Ability

The majestic Dao sounds of the third lecture at the Purple Cloud Palace still echoed in his ears, and the shockwaves from his self-severing of the Past Self had yet to fully settle when Ming Xin, following the two saints Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti, transformed into flowing light.

Leaving behind the chaotic, surging Dao field beyond the thirty-third heavens, they returned directly to Mount Sumeru in the West.

The moment he landed in the ancient, quiet Stone Hall, cutting off all external prying and clamor, Ming Xin bowed deeply to his two masters: "Masters, your disciple has gained some insights and needs to go into seclusion for a time."

Daoist Jieyin looked at his disciple, whose aura had grown increasingly profound, even having already severed his Past Self. The bitter sorrow on his gaunt face faded considerably as he nodded: "Good.

The Primordial Dao is profound, and the method of severing corpses is mysterious. My disciple should calmly comprehend and solidify his foundation."

His heart, too, was stirred; the surprises this disciple brought were simply too great.

Daoist Zhunti was even more beaming with smiles, lightly waving his whisk: "Go on, go on.

With your first and second masters guarding Mount Sumeru, no one dares to disturb you. If you encounter difficulties, come at any time."

He looked at Ming Xin, growing more satisfied the longer he gazed—the future light of the Western Teachings rested largely on this disciple's shoulders.

Ming Xin bowed once more, and with a flicker of his form, he returned to his own secluded cave dwelling.

Inside the cave, his newly severed Past Self, whose aura was pure yet tinged with a hint of compassion and regret, sat quietly in meditation.

Seeing him enter, it opened its eyes, clear and bright, meeting his main body's gaze like a mirror's reflection, yet existing independently.

Ming Xin sat down on his main body's cushion, facing the Past Self. After a moment of deliberation, he spoke: "You and I are one, yet our paths diverge.

My Main Body shall take the extremes of slaughter, annihilation, and the Five Elements, wielding the authority of life and death, breaking all laws, and pointing straight to the core of the Primordial Dao.

But the vast Red Dust, the myriad forms of sentient beings, the cycle of reincarnation with its warmth and cold, the work of salvation...

The 'emotions,' 'thoughts,' and 'karma' contained within are also part of my Dao, yet they are too chaotic. If the Main Body bears them all, it may hinder purity and easily breed Inner Demons."

The Past Self listened quietly, its expression serene.

Ming Xin continued: "Therefore, I intend to strip away everything related to the 'Red Dust Great Dao' that I have comprehended—

the true essence of the Red Dust Law, the Great Red Dust Palm Seal technique, the essence of the Immortal Crossing Art, and even the fragments of sentient emotions and insights into karmic entanglements I have witnessed and absorbed since beginning my cultivation...

All of it, peeled off and transferred to you."

He gazed intently at the Past Self: "You inherit the purity of my past, with a nature inclined toward compassion, making it easier to grasp the true meaning of the Red Dust.

From now on, you will walk the Primordial World in my stead, cultivating by entering the world, refining your heart amidst the boundless Red Dust, and comprehending the Dao through the myriad states of sentient beings.

With your eyes, observe the joys and sorrows of the world; with your heart, ferry those who need ferrying.

What you see, hear, feel, and comprehend will all be my insights, yet you may also grow on your own.

This is a method of dual fulfillment, and it can complete my Dao principle: 'Killing to protect life, severing karma, not people.'"

Upon hearing this, the Past Self's clear eyes flashed with understanding and agreement. It pressed its palms together and bowed slightly: "Good.

The Red Dust is chaotic; I shall go to it. Rest assured, Main Body—I will bear all this karma alone."

Ming Xin nodded and said no more. He closed his eyes, and the Dark Gold Killing Buddha Wheel slowly emerged at his brow.

But now, at the wheel's center, besides the Killing Buddha Dharma Image and the Merit Green Lotus, countless dense, dazzling, and bizarre runes swirled—the manifestation of the Red Dust Law!

He formed a sword finger with his hand and pointed it at his own brow, while his divine sense churned violently.

All his insights into the Red Dust Law, the divine abilities, and the fragments of emotional memories absorbed from sentient beings and settled in his sea of consciousness—

like pulling silk from a cocoon, he carefully peeled them away, transforming them into a vast, colorful torrent containing endless meanings of joy, sorrow, parting, and reunion, slowly ferrying it toward the Past Self across from him!

The Past Self accepted it calmly, its body radiating a gentle, tolerant aura, absorbing the immense Red Dust Dao blessings entirely into itself.

Its aura began to change, no longer purely faint and compassionate, but gaining a weathered wisdom from experiencing the world and an insight into human sentiment.

At its brow, a strange rune embodying the myriad states of the Red Dust flickered briefly and vanished.

This process lasted a long time. When the last thread of Red Dust Dao blessings was fully stripped away, Ming Xin's Main Body slowly opened his eyes, feeling his mind utterly clear and empty.

The sea of consciousness, once slightly cluttered by absorbing too many sentient emotions, had become like a polished mirror, leaving only the purest Dao rhythms of slaughter, annihilation, and the Five Elements flowing within—more focused, more sharp!

It felt as if an invisible burden had been lifted; his Dao heart was transparent, pointing directly to the origin.

Across from him, the Past Self's aura had grown much deeper and heavier. Though its cultivation realm remained unchanged, deep within those clear eyes, the phantoms of the boundless Red Dust were now reflected, as if it could see through all worldly karmic entanglements.

It smiled gently at Ming Xin's Main Body, a smile carrying compassion and detachment: "Thank you, Main Body. I am off."

With that, the Past Self stood, bowed with palms together to Ming Xin's Main Body, and its form gradually faded, as if merging into the void, silently leaving the cave dwelling.

It left Mount Sumeru, stepping toward the endless, chaotic lands of the Primordial World.

It would walk in Ming Xin's place, to experience, to feel, and to practice the path of 'Red Dust Salvation.'

After sending off the Past Self, Ming Xin's Main Body let out a long breath of turbid air, the breath carrying a cold sharpness.

His gaze turned to the greatest gain from this trip to Buzhou Mountain—the mass of the Primordial Five Elements Ancestor Origin, dormant deep in his dantian, radiating a five-colored light.

And the Innate Spiritual Root Five-Needle Pine, which had already begun to fuse with his flesh and Primordial Spirit.

"The Five Elements Great Dao is the foundation of all things, the hub of the Life and Destruction Cycle. Though I have comprehended the Five Emperors Great Demon Divine Ability, my understanding of this Dao is still shallow, far less than even a fraction of the Five Elements Ancestor's."

Ming Xin's heart was clear: "To use the power of the Five Elements to bolster annihilation and slaughter, and to wield the cycle of life and death, I must first deeply study the fundamental essence of the Five Elements!"

With a thought, he connected to the deduction system in his sea of consciousness. "System, maximum authority!"

Using the Primordial Five Elements Ancestor Origin Qi as supreme nourishment and the Innate Spiritual Root Five-Needle Pine as the core dao marker, he fully pushed forward the deduction and analysis of the fundamental laws of the Five Elements Great Dao!

Deduction direction: the wondrous uses of Five Elements mutual generation and restraint, the secret of Five Elements returning to oneness, the principle of Five Elements evolving all things... The ultimate goal: condense the fundamental talisman of the Five Elements Great Dao, and... attempt to deduce and construct the method for the 'Chaos Five Elements Pagoda'!"

[Command confirmed! Highest authority deduction initiated!] [Core energy source connected: Primordial Five Elements Origin (Legacy of the Five Elements Ancestor)...

Analyzing...] [Core dao marker locked: Innate Five Elements Spiritual Root (Five-Needle Pine)... Dao resonance guiding...]

[Deduction direction: Fundamental laws of the Five Elements Great Dao (generation, restraint, over-restraint, insult, regulation, five flavors, five colors, five qi...)...

Five Elements returning to oneness (Chaos Five Elements)... Evolving all things...]

[Ultimate architecture deduction: Chaos Five Elements Pagoda (Conception: using Five Elements origin as foundation, reversing into chaos, suppressing all heavens, evolving a Five Elements world, governing the birth and death of all things)... Deducting...]

As the cold system notification sounded, that dormant mass of Primitive Five Elements Origin was suddenly stirred!

Like a sleeping river of stars awakening, a vast, majestic, and supremely pure torrent of Five Elements dao resonance erupted violently, following the system's guidance as it madly surged into Ming Xin's limbs, bones, meridians, acupoints, sea of consciousness, and Primordial Spirit!

At the same time, the Five-Needle Pine rooted within him shook violently, its five-colored radiance blazing brilliantly, as countless runes representing the ultimate principles of the Five Elements flowed, lived, and died among its branches and leaves.

It resonated intensely with that torrent of Five Elements Origin, acting like the most precise navigator, guiding this terrifying energy along the most correct and profound trajectory to operate, analyze, and absorb!

Ming Xin instantly sank into a pure Five Elements world! He seemed to witness the first opening of heaven and earth, the separation of clear and turbid, and the establishment of the Five Elements!

He saw the East's Jia Yi Wood, vitality bursting forth, all things competing in glory! He saw the South's Bing Ding Fire, blazing and soaring, incinerating all things!

He saw the Center's Wu Ji Earth, heavy and bearing all, nurturing everything! He saw the West's Geng Xin Metal, sharp and killing, discarding the old and bringing forth the new!

He saw the North's Ren Gui Water, supremely soft yet supremely hard, moistening and nourishing!

Five Elements mutual generation: Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood—a cycle without end, life force unceasing!

Five Elements mutual restraint: Wood restrains Earth, Earth restrains Water, Water restrains Fire, Fire restrains Metal, Metal restrains Wood—a balance of checks, order well-established!

There were also the subtle relationships of over-restraint and insult, and regulation, infinitely profound, evolving all matter, energy, and even the changes of laws within heaven and earth!

His body became a furnace for the Five Elements dao principles. The liver belonged to Wood, the heart to Fire, the spleen to Earth, the lungs to Metal, the kidneys to Water... His five viscera and six bowels corresponded perfectly to the Five Elements.

Beneath the scouring of the Origin Qi, they underwent earth-shaking transformations, becoming tougher and more capable of communicating with the Five Elements power of heaven and earth!

Within his Magic Power, the pale-golden Merit Immortal Power perfectly merged with the Five Elements essence, becoming heavier and more majestic, its operation naturally carrying the wondrous rotation of the Five Elements!

Within his sea of consciousness, countless runes condensed from Five Elements essence and dao principles frantically lived, died, combined, and coalesced!

Gradually, five prototype fundamental talismans, radiating Primordial dao resonance, incomparably complex and profound, as if containing all the mysteries of the Five Elements Great Dao, began to slowly condense!

The Azure Emperor Wood Emperor Talisman! The Crimson Emperor Fire Emperor Talisman! The Yellow Emperor Earth Emperor Talisman! The White Emperor Metal Emperor Talisman! The Black Emperor Water Emperor Talisman!

And at the center of these five talismans, the system, using unimaginable computational power, combined the wondrous principle of Five Elements returning to oneness with Ming Xin's faint perception of chaos (mainly from Buzhou Mountain's Pangu's Pressure).

Was deducing and constructing a blurry phantom of a pagoda that radiated a terrifying aura of suppressing all heavens and evolving all things—the Chaos Five Elements Pagoda!

If this pagoda could be completed, it would undoubtedly become his supreme foundation for future enlightenment as a Golden Immortal of the Origin and his strongest dharma treasure for protecting the Dao!

Time flew by at an extreme pace within this ultimate enlightenment. Ming Xin completely forgot the outside world, throwing his entire being into devouring, analyzing, and merging with the Five Elements Great Dao.

His aura, under the mad infusion of the Five Elements Origin, though his realm remained at the early stage of Golden Immortal of the Origin, its depth and his degree of control over the Five Elements power of heaven and earth.

Were climbing at a terrifying speed! Like a bottomless pit, he greedily absorbed this tremendous stroke of fortune.

Outside the cave dwelling, Mount Sumeru remained clear and still.

Jieyin and Zhunti's divine thoughts gently enveloped this place, sensing their disciple's continuously thickening, majestic aura that grew ever more aligned with the Five Elements of heaven and earth. A gratified and expectant smile appeared on the faces of the two sages.

The future of the Western Teachings was quietly gestating a power that would shake the Primordial World within this simple cave dwelling.

And Ming Xin's Dao, nourished by the Five Elements Origin, was unwaveringly extending itself toward greater depths and farther distances.