I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 799: Chapter Ninety-Three: On Tao

After the Spiritual Envoy finished praising Tang Luo, he tried to step down from the sacred altar. However, before his foot could touch the stone steps, he was already frozen in place.

Not just him, but all the citizens of Hou Tu City were frozen in the same manner, rigid like mannequins. Even the Spiritual Power flowing between heaven and earth had ceased.

“I thought that I could take everything away.”

Tang Luo looked up regretfully and chuckled, “Nice to see you again, elder one.”

A figure formed from the Four Imperial Spiritual Energies appeared in mid-air, gradually descending towards the sacred altar from the heavenly vault. It was the Dharma Body of Chen Menglu who could not bear not to interfere after witnessing Tang Luo pursuit the truth of the ancient times in this Illusionary Dream Space.

Chen Menglu’s Dharma Body looked at Tang Luo and sighed softly, “Young man, there are some things that you should let go with the wind. Knowing too much may not always be a good thing.”

“Thank you for your reminder, elder one. However, I believe that understanding does not bring danger, but rather incorrect knowledge does.” Tang Luo chuckled. “After all, you’ve put so much effort into creating this Illusion Dream Space. You surely wouldn’t want the sages of the Four Imperial Spirit Realms to be forgotten, would you?”

“How did you find out?”

“Are you asking about the Illusionary Dream Space, or that I realized you’re a descendant of the Four Imperial Spirit Realms?”

Chen Menglu was silent for a while before he praised, “You are very smart.”

Tang Luo shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I’m not really smart. The only reason that could convince me was that who else, other than the descendants of the Four Imperial Spirit Tribe, would practice the Four Imperial Spirit Seals.”

“Is that so?” Chen Menglu sighed, “Does it look so foolish to practice the Four Imperial Spirit Seals in your eyes?”

“Without cultivating the nature or life, I really can’t figure out how a person can achieve truth (Dao) in this way.”

As a Martial Arts researcher, Tang Luo had already confirmed the limitations of the Four Imperial Spirit Seals at the first sight. However, Chen Menglu’s sudden appearance still astonished him, after all, the Seal of a Dharma Body was never counterfeit. So, he curiously asked, “May I ask how you, as an elder, have used the Four Imperial Spirit Seals to achieve the level of Grandmaster? Without the spiritual soul, it should be impossible to accomplish the spiritualization of the body, right?”

“You’re quite clever. Why not make a guess?” Chen Menglu chuckled, “If you guess correctly, I will let you take away the scriptures of the earth tribe. How about that?”

“Is that so?” Tang Luo considered it and replied, “Then I will give it a try.”

Walking back and forth on the sacred altar, Tang Luo carefully pondered over various aspects of the Four Imperial Spirit Seals with a frown, murmuring to himself:

“The Four Imperial Spirit Seals are a cultivation method derived from the Four Imperial Spirit Realms. Flame, Earth, Water, and Cloud are the four basic elements of the Four Imperial Spirit Realms. In other words, before the Four Imperial Spirit Realms shattered into the Minor Spiritual Realms, the main world where the Four Imperial Spirit Realms once existed was composed of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air.”

“In that world, chaos gave birth to the two fundamental principles, from which the Four Seals were derived, creating everything. All matter was composed of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. These elements were eternal and merged or separated due to two other elements.”

“Yang energy ascends, so Fire and Air are Yang. Fire is old Yang and Cloud is young Yang. Yin energy descends, so Earth and Water are Yin, Earth is old Yin and Water is young Yin. The changes from the fusion of Yin and Yang are cyclical. Fire transforms everything into Earth, and water evaporates into clouds. This is the essence of the Four Imperial Spirit Seals. Therefore, if you only cultivate one seal, you won’t be able to gain complete control. To achieve full effect, you have to cultivate all four seals, reverse the two fundamental principles. The order of cultivation should be old Yang against old Yin, young Yang against young Yin, only then one can attain the supreme realm.”

“I understand now, so that’s how it is!”

Tang Luo suddenly realized and looked up to smile at Chen Menglu, “So, the elder’s ability to demonstrate the realm of Grandmaster is due to the separation, mutual attraction and fusion of the four major elements. The Qi of the two fundamental principles born from the unity of the four spirits, even in the absence of a spiritual soul, can still control the spirits with the divine seals, achieve the spiritualization of the body, and prove the realm of Grandmaster, right?”

While Chen Menglu kept a calm face, his heart was stirred like a stormy sea. This test was not a test at all, but merely a trap he set for the young man in front of him.

Because he never expected to let the scriptures of the earth tribe see daylight again, as they contained much of the history that had already been erased. It would be of no benefit to anyone to resurface these scriptures.

The reason why he asked Tang Luo to guess his method of achieving Dao was because he seriously doubted that Tang Luo would figure it out. Even he had spent sixty full years immersing himself in the Way of the Four Imperial Spirit Seals before he finally reached the unprecedented state of merging the four spirits. To verify this hypothesis, he had to try several times.

However, he never thought that this young man would unveil the entire secret of the fusion of the four spirits after mere moments of contemplation. Among these, there were some things that he never thought of.

What impressed Chen Menglu the most was Tang Luo’s thinking method. Although he had practiced the Four Imperial Spirit Seals to an unprecedented state, he had never thought that martial arts could be described in a way akin to creating the world. The young man in front of him was different from all the Martial Arts researchers he had ever met.

If other people were trying to break down an already complex martial art, then Tang Luo was reassembling them, as if he was clearing the fog of long years to find the original source, and began to analyze from the initial chaos where there was nothing.

Surprisingly enough, he was a descendant of the Four Imperial Spirits and the master of the Illusion Dream Space, yet he felt as if the young man in front of him understood the Four Imperial Spirit Realms more than he did.

This shock far exceeded the limits of what Chen Menglu could imagine, leaving him dumbstruck for a moment.

“Hmm? Did I get it wrong?” Seeing Chen Menglu’s expressionless and silent demeanor, Tang Luo thought he’d made a mistake. He sat down cross-legged again, picked up a paper booklet from beside him, and began to carefully sift through his thoughts for a second time.

A quarter of an hour later, the previously blank pages were full of writing. Tang Luo closed the booklet and stood up confidently, saying, “I’m absolutely certain. The Four Imperial Spirit Seals have their limits when practiced to the extent of merging the four spirits, and there is no way forward. If elder didn’t attain Dao in this way, why not try my method? The process of proving the Dao would not only be easier, but the speed would be quicker too.”

Chen Menglu had actually recovered from his shock while Tang Luo was going through his thoughts for the second time. But seeing the young man meticulously sorting out his thoughts, he didn’t interrupt him. In the depths of his heart, there was a tiny spark of anticipation.

Perhaps the reason he couldn’t see a path forward was due to the wrong method of merging the four spirits. Maybe if he took a different approach, he could find a way forward. He was hoping that Tang Luo would surprise him, but he didn’t expect the young man to bring such bad news, sparking an argument…

“I did indeed use the fusion of the four spirits to achieve the realm of Grandmaster. What makes you think the Four Imperial Spirit Seals have no way forward?”

“If I can become a Grandmaster, why can’t I go further? Just because there was no precedent, does this mean it will never happen in the future?”