Chapter 372: The Sound of the Origin of the Dao

The Dao is deficient—nineteen!
Once the emotional runes that Chen Xiao has grasped and mastered, namely the Dao runes, exceed nineteen, he will merge with the Dao, becoming part of it and completely losing his independence.
Chen Xiao listened to Po Wang’s words and nodded slowly. In fact, he was already aware of this, but he wasn’t sure exactly what caused this so-called deficiency in the Dao.
“Friend Po Wang, I now have a Dao to offer you. What do you think?”
After some thought, Chen Xiao spoke again.
“A Dao for me?” Po Wang was stunned.
“The place I’m in now is a city formed from fragments of one of the Seven Treasures of the Dao—the City of Scholars. Though this city is currently shrouded in the aura of decline, the essence of the Dao of Scholars still remains. If you merge with this city, using it as your foundation, it will likely greatly benefit your understanding of the Dao of Life.”
Chen Xiao bit his lip slightly before finally making up his mind and speaking.
In truth, this Fallen Heavenly Capital did not belong to Chen Xiao; all decision-making power lay with the Spirit of Decline.
“Fragments of the City of Scholars?” Po Wang’s expression changed. “That’s good. If I merge with this city, I may not regain my full strength from before, but my understanding of the Dao will deepen.”
“Mm.”
Chen Xiao nodded and then withdrew his thoughts from the Realm of Reincarnation. With a light touch of his hand, the Reincarnation Array surrounding them dissipated.
Mo Xian was still in a state of enlightenment, while the Spirit of Decline had already awakened. His gaze was vacant as he stared at the old man with white hair and clothes sitting cross-legged before him—his own body, his own agile form.
“This…”
The Spirit of Decline looked at Chen Xiao, his face filled with disbelief. He knew exactly where the Gate of Life and Death was—it was extremely far from this chaotic realm, even beyond the reach of those who could cultivate. Yet his own body was truly right before his eyes. And Chen Xiao remained seated in that array, never leaving.
Everything had gone beyond his understanding.
“The Gate of Life and Death no longer exists,” Chen Xiao said calmly, looking at the Spirit of Decline. “As for Xianxian and Xixi, I will take care of them and ensure they’re never in danger… As for you, I hope you’ll give this Fallen Heavenly Capital to someone else.”
Chen Xiao didn’t beat around the bush; he expressed his intentions directly.
“You’ve already brought my body back to life, turning it into a real person. That’s better than being an immobile dead city, right?”
The Spirit of Decline had originally had no choice but to abandon his body and merge with this Fallen Heavenly Capital, the fragments of the City of Scholars. Now that Chen Xiao had brought his body back from the Gate of Life and Death, any further hesitation would be foolish. This body contained all his past strength, and with proper consolidation after merging, he could return to his peak condition. As for where the Gate of Life and Death had gone, the Spirit of Decline didn’t care.
“I don’t know… To whom should I give this Fallen Heavenly Capital?”

The Spirit of Fall hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Give one to someone like me…” Chen Xiao said. Immediately, a flash of light appeared in the Mirror of Reincarnation, and the form of Pohuang gradually took shape.
“As expected, it is the City of All Beings. Though later occupied by the Will of Fall, the Way of All Beings still exists and has not been extinguished.”
Pohuang sensed it slightly before exclaiming in joy.
“The City of All Beings?” The Spirit of Fall was momentarily stunned, but in the next instant, he understood what was happening and no longer hesitated. His thoughts returned to his own soul.
The next moment, the old man with white hair and white robes slowly opened his eyes. Streams of spiritual light intertwined with life and death burst forth from them.
As the Spirit of Fall left, a gray mark slowly rose in the Fallen Heaven Capital and merged into the old man’s body—this was the essence of the Way of Fall.
The predecessor of the Spirit of Fall had grasped the Way of Life and Death. Although it had not fully taken the form of a rune of the Way, it had already surpassed the Immortal Lord, namely the so-called Supreme Lord of Life and Death.
As for the Way of Fall, it was something he had understood after enduring three thousand calamities in chaos.
The moment the essence of the Way of Fall left, the entire city trembled slightly before falling into utter silence, a void-like stillness.
“His mindset is excellent. It’s a pity he took the wrong path; from the rules of life and death, he will never become a rune of the Way.”
Pohuang shook his head slowly as he looked at the old man.
Then, Pohuang’s thoughts shifted, and in an instant, they flowed into the city.
“The Way of All Beings, the City of All Beings, returning to the origin, the will of all beings, the spirit of all beings, the desires of all beings, the fears of all beings—arise!”
Boom!
The next moment, the entire city trembled violently. It shook violently as if something was breaking free, and a brand-new consciousness slowly spread out.
The will of all beings! The thoughts of all living things!
Pohuang’s thoughts had split into countless strands, flowing into every corner of the City of All Beings. The will of all beings became his spirit, while the thoughts of all living things became his soul.
With his soul complete, he took the city as his body!
“Congratulations, fellow Daoist Pohuang,” Chen Xiao said with a smile.
“If it weren’t for your help, I might have also gone down the wrong path.” Suddenly, the entire City of All Beings moved slowly and transformed into a human figure, identical in appearance to Pohuang’s transformed thoughts.
It was an ordinary young man, nothing outstanding, even his eyes lacked luster, just like an ordinary human youth.
Yet, his ordinariness precisely embodied his Dao. The City of All Beings represented the Way of All Living Things, and the Way of All Living Things represented all beings in the world.
Pohuang’s demeanor at this moment was precisely that of all beings, their true form.
“Not a problem,” Chen Xiao said with a bow. At this moment, they were in a marginal space layer in the heavens. The true form of the City of All Beings had become Pohuang’s body in human form, while two Mirrors of Reincarnation remained in this space layer.
In one mirror was Moxian, who had attained enlightenment, and in the other was Xixi, who was asleep for some unknown reason.
“Elder…”

At this moment, the Spirit of Collapse, that is, his former self—the old man named Yu Hua—turned to Po Wang and asked, “Elder, I wonder why you say that the way of life and death cannot be condensed into tangible runes?”
By now, he had returned to his true form, and his strength had somewhat recovered. Naturally, he was no longer as narrow-minded as before. He asked humbly, “The rules of life and death… are merely a part of the way of reincarnation, even just a direct manifestation of it. They are not the complete way of reincarnation… How can an incomplete way give rise to runes that embody the way?”
Po Wang had already grasped the true essence of the way of living beings, letting go of his attachments and no longer suppressing his emotions.
“Uh…”
The Spirit of Collapse shook his head with a wry smile. He knew nothing about reincarnation or the way.
But just as he was about to ask further, the void trembled again suddenly.
“The Way…”
A voice slowly echoed through this layer of space.
“The Source Sound of the Way?” Po Wang was utterly shocked.