The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 240 Returning to Emptiness, Five Elements Returning to the Origin

Xuanming raised his arm and swung the scripture.

A giant sword slashed down.

There was no clanging of swords.

The light also faded away.

When it landed in front of the Night Demon's divided spirit, it was just an ordinary sword strike, yet the sword flashed and the head fell to the ground.

The Night Demon's distraction led to his demise.

But it wasn't completely dead.

A large amount of memory was lost.

Various mysterious and magical arts and secret techniques flooded into his mind.

He exists in a special way.

If Xuanming is even slightly tempted and cannot resist practicing one of the secret techniques, the Night Demon's divided spirit can be resurrected.

This is a strange technique, a technique that allows living beings to know everything yet resist everything.

Distractions and lingering thoughts can bewitch you at any time.

Unfortunately, Xuanming didn't care.

Compared to demonic arts and secret techniques, he cared more about the realm of great power, or rather, the realm above the level of spiritual refinement.

Moreover, he has ways to deal with the predicament.

The Yellow Court Jade Scripture returned to its original position, and Xuanming's palm shone brightly, suppressing this lingering resentment and hatred within the Taiji Heaven.

After doing all this, Xuanming focused on regulating his breathing and restoring his energy and spirit. Once he was back to normal, he appeared in Taiji Heaven.

After glancing at the demon kings who were focused on cultivating herbs or driving the evolution of heaven and earth, Xuanming, satisfied, went to the place where the remnant spirit of the sealed soul was located and accepted and reviewed its memories.

Two hours later, he opened his eyes, a wisp of Yellow Court Qi swirling around his fingertips, cleansing his acupoints and meridians, examining and purifying himself from the inside out.

A few breaths later, a scream rang out, and a demonic aura was forced out—a demonic thought that lingered in the memory.

Although not as intense as demonic arts and secret techniques, its lingering resentment should not be underestimated. Moreover, it is silent, invisible, and intangible. Over time, it will nurture a demonic seed within the body, secretly absorbing the Xuanming energy and becoming the resources for the Night Demon's reappearance.

Because it was a demon seed that Xuanming raised himself, it was more compatible with his Dao body and soul. The newly born Night Demon's divided spirit would no longer be rejected, making it easier to possess his body.

Even if Xuanming suppresses it again, it will be as difficult to completely remove as a maggot clinging to the bone.

Fortunately, Xuanming possessed the Yellow Court Scripture, and he was the master of the Taiji Heaven. He promptly extracted the demonic seed, sealed it tightly, and nipped the danger in the bud.

Once his three flowers have gathered at the top of his head, he will completely destroy the demon.

Having dealt with the demonic seed, Xuanming's mind left Taiji Heaven and returned to his original body. He began to organize the chaotic information in his mind and tidy up the memories of the Night Demon's divided spirit.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.

The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

The Night Demon's distraction vividly illustrates these two points.

Even if it was just a partial transmission of consciousness, and only a portion of the memories were inherited, the information was still vast and boundless.

Various ancient secrets, mysterious stories, geographical records, extensive knowledge, and even some cultivation insights broadened Xuanming's horizons and greatly enhanced his understanding.

He figured out why the Night Demon's divided spirit had targeted him, and he also learned about the realm beyond the Refinement God.

---

Night Demon is cunning and shrewd, well-versed in the art of having multiple escape routes, and has prepared many backup plans.

After his spirit possessed the demonic phoenix, he did not completely devour the phoenix's soul. Instead, he used secret demonic techniques to tempt her, causing her to gradually fall into depravity. The phoenix's descent into demonic possession was partly due to the temptation of the spirit and partly due to her own voluntary choice.

It is accompanied by a fire phoenix.

The Night Demon's attention was diverted, and it hid even deeper.

This is also one of the reasons why the Wutong Tree God did not notice the Fire Phoenix's abnormality. Otherwise, although the Night Demon's Concealing Form and Breathing Technique is powerful, its Divine Transformation is at most comparable to a half-step Great Power, and it is on par with the Tree God.

Of the two, the Night Demon is dominant.

The Demon Phoenix could only know what the Night Demon's Divide wanted her to know; without her knowledge, the Night Demon's Divide had already planned his escape route.

If the plan to rescue the main body succeeds, everyone will be happy; if it fails, the Night Demon's divided spirit will escape unscathed.

After failing in the first attempt, he devised a counter-strategy.

When the Tree God descended and suppressed the Demon Phoenix, he instantly severed his arm and fled, even confusing the Demon Phoenix's memories. This led her to believe that she was a fragment of the Night Demon's spirit.

The possession of Xuanming was a scheme by a split soul that had long ago used the power of the original body to set a trap in the cave. If the plan failed, the Phoenix Clan would inevitably repair the seal. Once inside the cave, the soul would be unknowingly eroded by the power of the original body, leaving a mark on its body.

To avoid giving away the mark, the mark itself is neither harmful nor beneficial and will disappear within a day, making it difficult to detect.

Because it had exhausted its own power, the Night Demon Ancestor fell into a deeper slumber, which is why it showed no reaction when Xuanming, Fengxi, and the Wutong Tree God sealed it.

Xuanming had been to the underground cave and was tainted by its mark, which led to him being targeted by the Night Demon's distraction, making him the next unlucky victim.

Of course, the Night Demon's split-off spirit also chose to bully the weak and fear the strong. The Wutong Tree God had no chance, while Feng Xi was a veteran Three Flowers Gathering at the Top powerhouse, holding the Phoenix Clan's inherited secret treasure.

Only Xuanming seemed slightly inferior.

In addition, he was a guest of the Phoenix Clan and the master of the Black Swallow Clan, so he would not easily be suspected.

The Night Demon, having divided its mind, planned to possess Xuanming and then repeat its old trick, having Xuanming provide cover and continue to hide, waiting for the Five Phoenixes to awaken the powerful Phoenix Clan before launching a surprise attack and severely injuring the powerful Phoenix Clan member.

He simply underestimated Xuanming.

In the end, all their efforts were in vain, and they ended up benefiting Xuanming.

After understanding the cause and effect, Xuanming felt both relieved and sighed. Indeed, these old-timers' methods were more and more insidious than the last.

He is still too inexperienced; we must not be careless when dealing with him in the future.

After calming down, Xuanming focused on his cultivation insights and was overjoyed to see the information he wanted to know.

---

The white jade capital in the sky has five cities on the twelfth floor.

Immortals caress my head, knotting my hair and receiving immortality.

This poem has been passed down from ancient times to the present day.

In the memories of the Night Demon Ancestor, Baiyujing was the Daoist temple of the Boundless Dao Ancestor, who was not only the ancestor of the Daoist sect, but also the ancestor of all Daos.

Ten thousand years ago, spiritual energy revived, and celestial demons wreaked havoc, strange creatures roamed freely, and extraterrestrial beings rampaged. The Dao Ancestor appeared out of nowhere, took the stage to preach, impart the Dao and teach the Dharma, and led the resistance against celestial demons and the suppression of evil spirits.

After thousands of years of accumulation, all races have gained something from their cultivation, gradually merging into six lineages: humans, demons, witches, the underworld, monsters, and gods.

Under the leadership of the Taoist Ancestor, they quelled the chaos.

After the Taoist patriarch became an immortal, this poem was widely circulated throughout the world.

The twelfth floor refers to the combination of the three major realms of refining essence, refining qi, and refining spirit, and the twelve minor realms, which are exactly the twelve floors.

The Five Cities represent a higher realm in spiritual cultivation, known as Returning to Emptiness. It is divided into five levels, aiming to refine the five vital energies within the chest.

The beings that return to the void possess the power to reverse yin and yang, the ability to suppress heaven and earth, the destiny to create small worlds, and the power to destroy the world.

Its methods are unimaginable. Unless it suffers the three calamities and five declines and dies of old age, it is very difficult to kill. Its supernatural powers are far above those of the Great Cultivation of the Spirit, and it is even a part of the Dao itself.

Therefore, those who cultivate to return to emptiness are revered as great beings.

When the three flowers gather at the top and the five elements converge, the primordial energy will return to its origin.

That is the time when one attains enlightenment and becomes an immortal.

There are three levels of great power:
Condensing immortal clouds of auspiciousness makes one an unparalleled being, also known as a half-immortal.

The perfection of the five elements signifies ultimate power.

Those whose five elements are not fully developed are ordinary great beings.

The strength of powerful beings at each level varies drastically.

The Night Demon Ancestor has already condensed four types of energy, and is only one step away from stepping into the ranks of the ultimate powerhouses.

To condense the five elements, one must internally stimulate the innate source of the five internal organs, condense the innate five elements, and construct an internal five-element cycle; externally, one must collect the innate five elements from heaven and earth.

They can either gather chaotic energy from the crevices of the world at the edge of heaven and earth to evolve the five innate energies, or collect innate five elemental spiritual objects to refine the five innate energies.

Regardless of the method, the goal is to construct the external Five Elements, integrate them with the internal Five Elements, harmonize the internal and external elements, and achieve the convergence of the Five Elements.

Unfortunately, the Night Demon's divided consciousness did not have the cultivation method for the Returning to the Void Realm in its memories. Although it was a pity, Xuanming only sighed briefly and put the matter aside. It was already commendable that he had a detailed understanding of the Returning to the Void Realm and pointed out the direction for him.

Specific methods of practice require personal effort.

Xuanming silently digested the memories of the Night Demon's divided consciousness. It wasn't until three days later that he emerged from seclusion. Soon after appearing, he was invited by Fengxi.

(End of this chapter)