The Dao Path

Deep within Mount Sumeru's Secret Realm, the Dao resonance gradually settled. Though Ming Xin's Three Bodies were linked by aura, they had already taken on clear divisions of duty and focus.

With a slight stir of thought, he looked toward his Future Self, whose aura was ethereal and who held dominion over future possibilities, and said in a low voice, "Fate is unpredictable, and Cause and Effect is difficult to discern. This path places the greatest emphasis on deduction and planning; move one thread, and the whole body is affected.

"The changes of the future shall be entrusted to you."

Having said that, Ming Xin's main body raised a hand and pointed. The many profound mysteries and insights regarding the two Supreme Daos of "Fate" and "Cause and Effect" that he had comprehended from the Jade Disk of Creation fragment

turned into two streams of light glittering with countless tiny runes and Threads of Karma, slowly flowing into the Future Self's body.

The Future Self accepted them calmly. His form became even more illusory and uncertain, while in the depths of his eyes, billions of Rivers of Fate seemed to surge, converge, and branch apart.

The phantom compass in his hand became somewhat more solid, its needle turning on its own as it calculated endless variables.

He nodded slightly, his voice carrying an ethereal echo. "Fate is woven like cloth, Cause and Effect spread like a net. I shall hold the pieces and place them upon the board."

Then Ming Xin's gaze returned to himself. A resolute, razor-sharp killing intent and the heavy, majestic power of the Five Elements rose from within him.

"To kill is to protect life; Slaying Karma is not killing people. This True Meaning of Slaughter is not for destruction, but for purging karmic obstacles and safeguarding the righteous path. The true self shall wield it as a thunderous means.

"The Five Elements Cycle gives rise to all things and forms the foundation. The Chaos Source, too, shall be borne by the true self, stabilizing the Dao Foundation."

He deeply imprinted his comprehension of the Great Dao of Killing and his ultimate insights into the Five Elements Great Dao within the main body's primordial spirit.

At this moment, Ming Xin's path became increasingly clear: Main body: governs the present, founded upon the Five Elements Great Dao (evolving Chaos), with the Great Dao of Killing as its primary method (Slaying Karma to protect life), supplemented by the power of the system's mainframe. It commands the overall situation and possesses the strongest combat power.

Past Self: governs the past, founded upon the Red Dust Great Dao, with the Great Dao of Reincarnation as its primary method. It tempers itself amid the mortal world and the reincarnation of all beings, draws strength, and spreads the Dao in The West.

Future Self: governs the future, founded upon deduction and calculation, with the Great Dao of Fate and the Great Dao of Karma as its primary methods. It lays plans and places pieces in silence, guides the greater tide, and avoids danger.

The Three Bodies stood apart yet remained united under "Ming Xin." Linked through the system's mysteries, they shared all information and insights. Their potential was boundless.

With everything arranged, Ming Xin rose to his full height. The Past Self and Future Self transformed into two streams of light, one red and one white, and entered his body to be nurtured in secluded cultivation.

He left the Secret Realm and arrived outside the cave dwelling where Jieyin and Zhunti were cultivating in seclusion. He respectfully sent them a voice transmission. "Masters, this disciple wishes to enter the Primordial World once more, temper myself in the mortal world, consolidate my gains, and seek opportunities to sow the karmic affinity of our Western path."

After a moment, Daoist Zhunti's pleased voice emerged from the cave dwelling. "Good. Your Dao lies in the mortal world, among all living beings. On this journey, remember that caution comes first. Opportunities cannot be forced."

Daoist Jieyin's voice followed. "You have grasped only the surface of Creation's mysteries, but the subtlety of its use lies within the heart. Go."

"This disciple obeys Master's command."

Ming Xin bowed, then his figure flickered, and he was already beyond Mount Sumeru's Mountain-Protecting Array.

Upon returning to the Primordial World, heaven and earth remained vast, but the world in Ming Xin's eyes had become entirely different.

Mountains and rivers were manifestations of the power of the Five Elements; the myriad states of living beings were the flow of mortal desires.

He could even faintly see vague Threads of Karma entwined around all things. At times, a flash of inspiration would come, and he seemed able to glimpse fragmented scenes of the future.

He did not use divine powers to fly at high speed. Instead, like a true ascetic, he measured the lands of the Primordial World step by step, experiencing this world through his new perspective.

One day, he reached a barren stretch of mountains. The Spiritual Veins here were thin, and living creatures were scarce, yet an exceedingly hidden killing intent and resentment seeped faintly from the land.

Ming Xin frowned slightly and followed that trace of sensation deeper into the mountains.

At last, within a deep valley, he saw a field of ruins.

The broken walls and crumbling remains seemed to have belonged to an ancient village, but they had long since been destroyed by time and some unknown force.

At the center of the valley, the earth was dark red. An indissolubly dense aura of resentment and death had gathered there, and countless vague, suffering soul phantoms could faintly be seen howling and struggling within it.

They seemed to be imprisoned there by some force, unable to be reborn. Their resentment had accumulated over countless years, forming a natural death zone that disrupted the surrounding earth veins.

"So this is an abandoned site of an Ancient Battlefield. The dead are trapped, their resentment congealed, blocking Reincarnation." Ming Xin understood at once.

In the past, he might have used Buddhist teachings to deliver these souls, or directly annihilated them with the Dao of Slaughter. But now, something stirred in his heart.

The Past Self stepped out from behind him. The aura of the mortal world and the Dao resonance of Reincarnation flowed naturally around him.

"The Mortal World Sea of Suffering has no gate to Reincarnation. How pitiful." The Past Self sighed softly. He did not unleash any powerful divine ability, but slowly sat cross-legged at the edge of the resentment's core.

He began chanting a strange scripture. It was not purely a Buddhist scripture, but a unique Dao Sound that blended the sounds of the Myriad Forms of the Mortal World, the words of all beings' seven emotions, and the intent of Reincarnation Rebirth.

As he chanted, scene after illusory scene emerged: the joy, sorrow, rage, and love of living beings... the rise and fall of dynasties... the withering and flourishing of grass and trees... It was as though a condensed span of the Myriad Forms of the Mortal World was displayed before those resentful souls.

At the same time, a faint thread of the Power of Reincarnation, like a tiny door opening amid endless darkness, revealed a sliver of hope for release.

The violent resentful souls first grew even more agitated, but were soon drawn in by those scenes of the mortal world. Within them, they saw shadows of their former lives and felt those complex, real emotions.

The violent resentment gradually calmed, replaced by confusion and remembrance, then finally by deep exhaustion and a yearning for release.

They began instinctively gathering toward that Reincarnation Gate. Their forms gradually faded as they merged into it, gaining rebirth.

The process was not accomplished overnight, but the Past Self was exceedingly patient. He continued chanting, using the Dao of the mortal world to dissolve mortal attachments and the Power of Reincarnation to guide souls into rebirth.

Ming Xin's main body stood quietly at the side, protecting the ritual. Witnessing this scene, his understanding of "to kill is to protect life; Slaying Karma is not killing people" and the Path of Mortal World Reincarnation deepened another level.

Pure deliverance or slaughter alone might not be as fundamental as such "understanding" and "guidance."

After a long while, most of the resentment and death aura in the valley had dispersed. Though it remained desolate, it was no longer suffocating.

Just then, a crystalline blood-colored gleam at the very core of the resentment caught Ming Xin's attention.

With a wave of his hand, the object flew into his palm. It was a naturally formed Blood Jade, cool and smooth to the touch. Within it lay pure killing intent and the essence of remnant souls, along with a strange law capable of calming souls and stabilizing spirits.

"Myriad Souls Blood Rosary?" Ming Xin recognized it. This was an extraordinary treasure that could only be born in a place of extreme yin through the fusion of countless soul essences and killing intent. It had remarkable effects for cultivating the soul and resisting Inner Demons, and could also serve as material for refining special spirit treasures.

"To resolve resentment and calamity, only to gain a treasure material in return—was this exchange of cause and effect predetermined?" Ming Xin put away the Blood Rosary with a faint smile and continued his journey through the Primordial World.

His footsteps crossed mountains and rivers, and he experienced the myriad forms of the mortal world. At times, he used the Dao of Slaughter to kill vicious beasts and demon fiends that plagued entire regions, purging karmic obstacles.

At times, he used the Dao of the Five Elements to regulate earth veins and nourish a region. More often, however, the Past Self manifested.

Among all living beings, he used the Path of Mortal World Reincarnation to forge countless ties, deep or shallow, quietly sowing the seeds of the Western Dao.

And though the Future Self did not appear directly, he was constantly deducing heavenly secrets and Cause and Effect, avoiding danger and guiding the main body toward nodes that seemed accidental but in truth contained opportunities.

Ming Xin's name did not resound like thunder, yet it began to spread quietly through certain corners of the Primordial World in a peculiar manner.