Mount Sumeru, a place bathed in Buddhist light. Yet today, its gates appeared especially solemn and grave.
Ming Xin and his three fellow disciples returned from outside, and before they could even rest, they headed straight into the mountain's core forbidden land.
"Senior Brother, there is no time to lose!" Daoist Zhunti's expression was more serious than ever. He tightly gripped the hard-won Fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation, whose swirling Chaos aura stirred even a Sage like him.
Daoist Jieyin nodded heavily, a rare trace of excitement appearing on his austere face. "This concerns the opportunity for the Prosperity of the West and contains the supreme Great Dao. We must enter seclusion and comprehend it at once!"
Ming Xin and the Past Self followed close behind, all four of them filled with surging emotions.
They could clearly sense the vast Dao Rhyme contained within the fragment, far surpassing any treasure or opportunity they had encountered before.
"Activate the Mountain-Protecting Array! Maximum power! No one is to disturb us!" Jieyin ordered gravely.
In an instant, all of Mount Sumeru hummed. Hundreds of millions of brilliant Buddhist lights shot into the sky, forming an enormous golden barrier that enveloped the entire sacred mountain.
Countless Buddha phantoms sat cross-legged atop the barrier, chanting scriptures. Sanskrit chants rang throughout the universe, while the shadows of bodhi trees swayed and phantoms of Eight-Treasure Merit Pools rippled, sealing off all heavenly secrets from the outside world!
The four master and disciples entered the core paradise formed from Jieyin's Nine-Ranked Golden Lotus of Merit.
Time flowed differently here than in the outside world, and the spiritual energy was so dense that it had liquefied. It was the perfect place for secluded cultivation and Dao comprehension.
The four sat in a circle as the Fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation floated at the center, radiating hazy yet boundless light.
"Steady your minds and comprehend the Great Dao together!" Jieyin shouted, taking the lead in sinking his divine sense into the fragment.
Zhunti, Ming Xin, and the Past Self did not dare delay and likewise poured their divine senses into it.
Boom—!!!
It was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, or like a mortal abruptly opening a door leading to the origin of the universe!
Countless immense, complex, and incomparably profound fragments of law information surged into the four men's minds like a primordial torrent!
Reincarnation! Fate! Time! Space! Five Elements!
The law fragments of the five Supreme Daos roared like five colossal Chaos dragons within their minds, twisting and howling as they revealed the ultimate mysteries of cosmic birth and destruction, the reincarnation of all things, the changes of time and space, the uncertainty of Fate, and the generation and restraint of the Five Elements!
Any one of these Great Daos would have been enough for a great cultivator to pursue for an entire lifetime.
Yet now, all five Supreme Daos had appeared at once. The sheer volume of information and the profundity of their Dao Rhyme nearly burst their Sacred Souls apart!
"Guard your minds! Each choose a Dao!" Daoist Jieyin's voice boomed like a great bell within their consciousnesses, carrying a power that calmed the heart.
The four immediately restrained their greed. Rather than attempting to comprehend everything at once, they selected their primary directions according to their foundations and Karmic Fate.
Daoist Jieyin cultivated Nirvana and Cause and Effect, so he was naturally most compatible with the fragments of the Great Dao of Fate. He immersed himself within them, deducing the karmic destinies of all living beings.
The sorrow on his face deepened, as though he bore the fates of all creatures.
Daoist Zhunti had once made a Great Vow and possessed Karmic Fate with Reincarnation. He also cultivated the wondrous arts of the Five Elements, so he comprehended both the Great Dao of Reincarnation and the Five Elements at once.
At times, phantoms of the Six Paths of Reincarnation appeared around him; at others, the Five-Colored Divine Light flowed endlessly. His aura became ever more mysterious.
The Past Self cultivated the Red Dust Great Dao, which shared similarities with the Great Dao of Reincarnation. He immersed himself in the fragments of the Great Dao of Reincarnation, while the Power of Reincarnation and the power of the Mortal World continuously intertwined around him.
The Myriad Forms of the Mortal World and the struggle to cross through Reincarnation replayed without end.
As for Ming Xin, whose foundation was the most unique and whose comprehension was the highest among the four, his choice was the boldest and most astonishing!
Rather than focusing solely on any one Great Dao, he immersed most of his mind in the region where the laws of the five Great Daos intertwined, collided, and fused!
He saw the Five Elements reverse, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind replay themselves, and return to Chaos!
He saw time and space intertwine, the River of Fate surge onward, and the wheel of Reincarnation turn!
He saw that everything ultimately pointed toward a single origin—the beginning of all things, and also the end of all things—Chaos!
"The Five Elements are not the end. Chaos is the source!"
Enlightenment struck Ming Xin, and brilliant light burst from his eyes. "When the boundless Five Elements unite and evolve into Chaos, that too is a... Supreme Dao!"
He frantically absorbed the true meaning of Chaos born from the collision of the five Great Daos, using it to verify all that he had learned.
His aura began to become indescribably chaotic. He no longer seemed like a mere Buddhist Sect cultivator, but some more ancient and primordial existence!
During this process, he gained a clearer understanding of his own "Dao" and a more definite grasp of the "future"!
Rumble!
No one knew how much time passed within the paradise. It seemed like an instant, yet also like ten thousand years.
Ming Xin's aura suddenly surged. A vague yet majestic figure, containing endless possibilities and the light of an infinite future, slowly stepped forth from above his head!
The figure looked exactly like Ming Xin, yet it was more profound and imposing. Chaos aura and fragments of time coiled around it, as though it controlled countless possibilities of the future!
Future Self! Sever!
At the same time, his main body's aura soared madly, instantly breaking through the barrier of the middle stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm and stepping into the Late Golden Immortal of the Origin realm! Moreover, his foundation was incomparably solid, stabilizing directly at the late stage!
This sight immediately awakened Jieyin and Zhunti, who were still deeply immersed in comprehending the Dao beside him.
When the two saw that Ming Xin had used this opportunity to sever his Future Corpse in one stroke and break through to the Late Golden Immortal of the Origin realm, their eyes shone with shock and immense gratification!
"Excellent! Truly excellent!" Jieyin praised repeatedly.
"Our West has worthy successors! Hahaha!" Zhunti clapped his hands and laughed.
Ming Xin's breakthrough seemed to ignite some kind of opportunity as well!
The vast phantom of the River of Fate around Daoist Jieyin suddenly contracted and merged into his body. His already unfathomable aura rose again, crashing through the barrier as he too entered the Late Golden Immortal of the Origin realm!
His grasp of Fate became a little clearer.
Daoist Zhunti was even more impressive! The phantoms of the Six Paths of Reincarnation and the Five-Colored Divine Light around him suddenly fused, transforming into a Chaos-colored auspicious cloud that covered the top of his head!
Within that auspicious cloud, worlds seemed to be born and destroyed, Reincarnation shifted endlessly, and the Five Elements evolved!
His aura soared all the way upward, instantly reaching the Late Golden Immortal of the Origin realm. Its momentum did not stop until he reached the perfected Primordial Golden Immortal realm, where it finally slowed!
He was only one final step away from severing all Three Corpses and attaining the Dao Fruit of the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm—a Sage!
Secluded cultivation knew no years.
When the four gradually awoke from their deep Dao comprehension, they looked at one another, their eyes filled with irrepressible joy and shock.
This period of seclusion had brought them enormous gains!
The Fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation still floated in the air, but its radiance seemed to have dimmed slightly. Clearly, their comprehension had consumed much of its Origin Dao Rhyme.
"Congratulations to both Masters on your great advancement in Dao Cultivation!" Ming Xin congratulated them.
"It is all due to Creation, and also to your Karmic Fate." Jieyin smiled and nodded, his gaze upon Ming Xin especially satisfied.
Zhunti was even more high-spirited. Feeling the vast power of his perfected Primordial Golden Immortal realm, he declared loudly, "Heaven favors the West! With this supreme treasure, our Great Dao is within reach! The Prosperity of the West is no longer far away!"
He looked at the Fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation with blazing eyes. "This treasure's mysteries are infinite. We have only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg. Once we fully comprehend it, why should we fear failing to attain the Great Dao?"
Jieyin was more cautious. "What Junior Brother says is true, but this treasure is of immense importance. News of it must never leak. We must make long-term plans and proceed gradually."
Ming Xin withdrew the phenomena around him, and his Future Self merged back into his body. He said respectfully, "Both Masters are absolutely right.
"From this comprehension, this disciple has gained some insight into the Chaos Dao. Perhaps it can be combined with the West's methods of Nirvana and Transcendence, allowing us to forge a new path."
"Oh?" Jieyin and Zhunti's eyes both lit up upon hearing this, and they carefully listened to Ming Xin's insights.
The four master and disciples remained within the paradise, once again immersing themselves in discussion and deduction of the Great Dao's mysteries.
Outside Mount Sumeru, the Mountain-Protecting Array still shone with boundless radiance, isolating the inside from the outside.
No one knew that within this sacred mountain of the West, the core strength of the Western Teachings had quietly undergone earth-shaking changes because of a single Fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation!
A power capable of influencing the future structure of the Primordial World was quietly taking shape.
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