Constructing Divine Abilities to Protect the Dao

The grand Dao sound from Purple Sky Palace's third lecture still echoed in his ears, and the shockwaves from severing his Past Self had yet to fully subside when Ming Xin followed the two Sages, Jieyin and Zhunti, and transformed into a streak of light.

They left the Dao ground beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, where Chaos churned endlessly, and returned directly to Mount Sumeru in The West.

The moment they entered the ancient, tranquil Stone Hall, all outside prying eyes and clamor were cut off.

Ming Xin bowed to his two masters. "Masters, this disciple has gained some insight and needs to enter seclusion for a time."

Daoist Jieyin looked at the disciple before him, whose aura had grown ever deeper and who had even severed his Past Self. Even the sorrow on his gaunt face had faded considerably as he nodded. "Good.

"The Primordial Dao is profound, and the method of severing the three selves is mysterious. My disciple should calm his heart, comprehend it carefully, and solidify his foundation."

His heart, too, was surging with emotion. The surprises this disciple had brought him were simply too great.

Daoist Zhunti wore a broad smile and lightly waved his whisk. "Go, go.

"With Mount Sumeru guarded by your second master and me, no one would dare disturb you. If you encounter any difficulties, come to us at any time."

The more he looked at Ming Xin, the more satisfied he became. Much of the future flourishing of the Western Teachings rested on this disciple.

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

Inside, the "Past Self" he had just severed sat quietly in meditation, its pure aura carrying a trace of compassionate regret.

Seeing him enter, it opened its eyes. Its gaze was clear as it met that of Ming Xin's true body, like a reflection in a mirror, yet existing independently.

Ming Xin sat upon the cushion reserved for his main body, facing his Past Self. After pondering for a moment, he said, "You and I are one, yet our Dao paths differ.

"My main body must pursue Slaughter, Nirvana, and the ultimate extremities of the Five Elements, grasping the authority of life and death, shattering all laws, and striking directly at the core of the Primordial Dao.

"But the boundless Mortal World, the myriad forms of living beings, the warmth and coldness of Reincarnation, the merit of delivering others...

"The 'emotion,' 'thought,' and 'Cause and Effect' contained within them are also part of my Dao, yet they are too complicated. If my main body bears all of them, they may impede purity and easily give rise to Inner Demons."

The Past Self listened quietly, its expression peaceful.

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

"The true essence of the Red Dust Law, the divine ability of the Great Red Dust Palm Seal, the profound meaning of the Immortal Crossing Art, and even the emotional memory fragments and insights into karmic entanglements I have witnessed and absorbed from all living beings since beginning cultivation...

"I will transfer them all to you."

His gaze burned as he looked at his Past Self. "You inherit the purity of my past and possess a compassionate nature, making you better suited to comprehend the true meaning of the Mortal World.

"From this day onward, you will walk the Primordial World in my stead, cultivate among the world of men, temper your heart amid the boundless Mortal World, and attain enlightenment among the myriad forms of living beings.

"With your eyes, observe the joys and sorrows of the world; with your heart, deliver those who should be delivered.

"Everything you see and hear, feel and comprehend, will become my insight as well, but you may also have your own growth.

"This is a method that serves both purposes, and it may also perfect my Dao principle: 'Slaying to protect life; severing karma, not people.'"

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

"The Mortal World is full of turmoil, yet I shall go there. Rest assured, Main Body. I alone shall bear the Cause and Effect within it."

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

But at this moment, beyond the Killing Buddha Dharma Image and the Merit Green Lotus at its center, countless tiny, resplendent, bizarre runes flowed and shifted. They were the manifestation of the Red Dust Law!

He raised two fingers like a sword and pointed them at his brow, while his divine sense whirled violently.

All his insights concerning the Red Dust Law, its divine abilities, and those emotional memory fragments absorbed from living beings and accumulated within his sea of consciousness...

Were carefully peeled away as though unraveling silk from a cocoon, transforming into a vast, brilliant torrent containing the boundless artistic conception of countless meetings and partings, joys and sorrows, which slowly flowed toward the Past Self opposite him!

The Past Self accepted it openly. A gentle, accommodating aura radiated from its body as it absorbed all that immense Red Dust Dao essence.

Its aura began to change. It was no longer merely pure, faint, and compassionate; it now possessed the weathered vicissitudes of one who had experienced worldly affairs and the wisdom to perceive human hearts.

Between its brows, a strange rune containing the myriad forms of the Mortal World flickered briefly before vanishing.

The process lasted for a long time. When the final trace of Red Dust Dao essence had been stripped away, Ming Xin's main body slowly opened his eyes and felt only clarity and emptiness within his mind.

His sea of consciousness, once somewhat cluttered from absorbing too many emotions from living beings, had become like a polished mirror. Only the purest Dao rhythms of Slaughter, Nirvana, and the Five Elements remained in circulation, making him more focused and sharper than ever!

It felt as though he had cast off an invisible burden. His Dao heart was utterly clear, pointing directly toward the origin.

Meanwhile, the Past Self opposite him had become far deeper and more substantial in aura. Though its cultivation realm had not changed, the depths of its clear eyes now reflected phantoms of the boundless Mortal World, as though it could see through every entanglement of love and fate in the world.

It gave Ming Xin's Main Body a slight smile, its expression carrying both compassion and calm indifference. "Thank you, Main Body. I am leaving."

With that, the Past Self rose to its feet, pressed its palms together in salute toward Ming Xin's main body, and gradually faded away, silently leaving the cave dwelling as though merging into the void.

It left Mount Sumeru and strode toward the endlessly troubled lands of the Primordial World.

It would experience, feel, and practice the Dao of "delivering the Mortal World" in Ming Xin's stead.

After seeing off his Past Self, Ming Xin's main body let out a long breath of turbid air, which carried a frigid sharpness.

His gaze turned toward the greatest harvest of this journey to Buzhou Mountain—the Primordial Five Elements Ancestor Origin that lay dormant deep within his dantian, radiating five-colored divine light.

And the Innate Spiritual Root Five-Needle Pine, which had already begun to merge with his physical body and primordial spirit.

"The Five Elements Great Dao is the foundation of all things and the pivot of the Life and Destruction Cycle. Though I have comprehended the Five Emperors Great Demon Divine Ability, my understanding of this Dao remains shallow, far inferior to even one ten-thousandth of the Old Ancestor of Five Elements."

Ming Xin's thoughts were clear. If I wish to use the power of the Five Elements to bolster Nirvana and Slaughter, to grasp the cycle of life, death, and Reincarnation, I must first thoroughly study the fundamental mysteries of the Five Elements!

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

"Using the Primordial Five Elements Ancestor Origin Qi as supreme fuel and the Innate Spiritual Root Five-Needle Pine as the core Dao marker, fully deduce and analyze the fundamental laws of the Five Elements Great Dao!

"Deduction direction: the wondrous applications of generation and restraint among the Five Elements, the secret of the Five Elements returning to one, the principle by which the Five Elements evolve all things... Final objective: condense the origin talismans 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 Old Ancestor of Five Elements)... Analysis in progress...]

[Core Dao marker locked: Innate Five Elements Spiritual Root (Five-Needle Pine)... Dao rhythm guidance in progress...]

[Deduction direction: fundamental laws of the Five Elements Great Dao (generation, restraint, excess, insult, regulation and transformation, five flavors, five colors, five qi...)...]

[Five Elements returning to one (Chaos Five Elements)... evolving all things...]

[Ultimate structural deduction: Chaos Five Elements Pagoda (concept: using Five Elements Origin as its foundation, reverting to Chaos, suppressing all heavens, evolving a Five Elements world, controlling the life and destruction of all things)... Deduction in progress...]

As the cold system prompt sounded, the dormant Primordial Five Elements Ancestor Origin was suddenly stirred!

Like a sleeping galaxy awakening, an immense and boundless torrent of Five Elements Dao rhythm, pure to the utmost extreme, erupted thunderously. Guided by the system, it surged madly 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 swayed violently. Five-colored radiance burst forth, while countless runes representing the supreme principles of the Five Elements flowed through birth and destruction among its branches and leaves.

It resonated intensely with that torrent of Five Elements Origin. Like the most precise navigational instrument, it guided the terrifying energy along the most correct and profound trajectory for circulation, analysis, and absorption!

Ming Xin instantly sank into a pure world of the Five Elements! He seemed to see heaven and earth first opening, the clear and turbid separating, and the Five Elements establishing their foundations!

He saw the Jia and Yi Wood of the east, bursting with Life Force as all things competed in flourishing! He saw the Bing and Ding Fire of the south, blazing fiercely and burning away all things!

He saw the Wuji Earth of the center, bearing all things with its heaviness and nurturing everything! He saw the Geng and Xin Metal of the west, sharp and austere, abolishing the old and establishing the new!

He saw the Ren and Gui Water of the north, soft to the utmost yet hard to the utmost, nourishing and sustaining all things!

The Five Elements generated one another: Wood generated Fire, Fire generated Earth, Earth generated Metal, Metal generated Water, Water generated Wood. The cycle repeated endlessly, and Life Force never ceased!

The Five Elements restrained one another: Wood restrained Earth, Earth restrained Water, Water restrained Fire, Fire restrained Metal, Metal restrained Wood. Their mutual checks maintained balance, and Order was flawless!

There were also the relationships of excess, insult, regulation, and transformation among the Five Elements—subtle and inexhaustible—evolving all changes in matter, energy, and even laws between heaven and earth!

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

Washed by the Origin Qi, they underwent earthshaking transformations, becoming tougher and more capable of communicating with the power of the Five Elements between heaven and earth!

Within his Magic Power, the pale-gold Merit Immortal Power fused perfectly with Five Elements essence, becoming heavier and more majestic. Every circulation naturally carried the mystery of the Five Elements Cycle!

Within his sea of consciousness, countless runes formed from Five Elements essence and Dao laws frantically underwent birth and destruction, combining and condensing!

Gradually, the embryonic forms of five origin talismans began to slowly take shape. They radiated innate Dao rhythm, were incomparably complex and profound, and seemed to contain every mystery of the Five Elements Great Dao!

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

At the center of these five talismans, the system used unimaginable computational power, combining the mystery of the Five Elements returning to one with Ming Xin's faint perception of Chaos—primarily gained from Pangu's Pressure on Buzhou Mountain.

It deduced and constructed a blurry pagoda phantom that radiated the terrifying aura of suppressing all heavens and evolving all things—the Chaos Five Elements Pagoda!

If this pagoda could be completed, it would surely become his supreme foundation for attaining the Primordial Dao in the future, as well as his strongest treasure for protecting the Dao!

Time flowed rapidly amid his ultimate enlightenment. Ming Xin completely forgot the outside world, devoting his entire being to devouring, analyzing, and merging with the Five Elements Great Dao.

Under the frenzied infusion of Five Elements Origin, his aura remained at the early stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, yet the depth of his foundation and his control over the power of the Five Elements between heaven and earth...

Were rising at a terrifying pace! Like a bottomless pit, he greedily absorbed this immense fortuitous opportunity.

Outside the cave dwelling, Mount Sumeru remained tranquil.

The divine senses of Jieyin and Zhunti gently enveloped the place. Sensing their disciple's aura becoming ever heavier, more majestic, and increasingly aligned with the Five Elements of heaven and earth, the two Sages wore gratified, expectant smiles.

The future of the Western Teachings was quietly nurturing power within this simple cave dwelling that would shock the entire Primordial World.

And nourished by the Five Elements Origin, Ming Xin's Dao continued extending steadily and resolutely toward deeper, farther reaches.