I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1676 - 115: If You Desire to Take, You Must First Give

Chapter 1676: Chapter 115: If You Desire to Take, You Must First Give

"If we talk solely about might, before creating a system, the specialized extreme Spiritual Power far surpassed the balanced and moderate Spiritual Power that encompasses all the Five Elements. Even after the completion of the Five Elements system, the comparison with such domineering specialized Spiritual Power is merely a matter of different merits, without any absolute hegemony."

"But why do groups that cultivate the righteous path grow stronger day by day, while those notorious demonic techniques and heretical methods from ancient times wane? To a great extent, it is related to lifespan. The positive impact of balanced and grand Spiritual Power on one’s lifespan is significant. Cultivators with longer lives have more time to breakthrough, offering opportunities to disciples of ordinary or above-average talent."

"On the other hand, those who cultivate biased and domineering techniques, except for disciples with extraordinary talent, almost never have the chance for lower and middle-ranked disciples to achieve breakthroughs. Over time, heretical practitioners increasingly disdain ordinary disciples, preferring to recruit only those with stunning talents for an easy solution. Yet they forget to seek the cause within their own techniques for their decline, which then becomes only natural."

"Looking at the techniques of the current sacred lands and sects, which is not balanced and grand? Can it be that those martial arts researchers do not understand that this kind of moderate Spiritual Power is at a disadvantage in battle? That’s impossible. Thus, we can determine that the type of Spiritual Power has the greatest positive influence on lifespan!"

"Secondly, the other factor influencing lifespan is the physical body and vitality. However, the key to preserving vitality and maintaining the physical body is not through workout. It is to reduce strife. Whether it is the meridians torn by surging Spiritual Power during battle, or the external physical body wounded by Spirit Arts or weapons, all affect the overall vitality."

"The process of restoring the physical body is by no means healing, but rather a compensatory depletion of the original essence before its time. An injury is an injury, even for an Innate Dao Body that contains a breath of innate true qi, it is only because they have more substantial origins and vigorous vitality than ordinary people. But this substantiality and vigor are not endless, and if one crosses the limit through relentless conquest, irreversible damage will still be inflicted on the physical body."

"Which of the Ancient Sages was not an Innate Dao Body with a Heaven-level Bloodline and blessed with fortune, exceptional among their peers? But in order to expel the Demon Race, engaging in continuous battles, which of them lived to the lifespan that their realm would ordinarily allow."

"Therefore, the fundamental key to long life lies in reducing conflicts and ailments. This also generally explains why those ordinary Martial Ancestors in noble families tend to have longer lifespans than those with dazzling talents."

"There are countless outstanding individuals in the world, and even more with extraordinary wisdom. However, most of these heroes focus on studying martial arts rather than fate, and even fewer, like Tang Luo, regard fate and cultivation as interconnected concepts."

"Even Master Chen, who has cultivated in martial arts sacred lands, found Tang Luo’s exposition on fate refreshing after hearing it and affirmed it deeply with his past experiences."

"However, after understanding this, a deeper melancholy inevitably took hold in his heart."

"Tang Luo’s judgment on the mutual influence of Spiritual Power and lifespan perfectly explains why, despite being cultivators, the lifespan of Divine Spirits and Spirit Kings in the divine realm is so short."

"Though Chen Menglu has not been injured since leaving Fierce Realm, the domineering Spiritual Power contained within the Four Imperial Spirit Seals will ultimately harm the body..."

Chen Menglu shook his head and sighed deeply, "This is fate, I suppose."

"Master Chen, don’t lose heart just yet. Apart from vitality, Spiritual Power, and combat, other factors also influence one’s lifespan."

Tang Luo said with a smile and a wave of his hand, "This is the greatest gain from my trip to the Nanshan Legal Realm—the number and complexity of secret techniques can indeed affect a martial artist’s lifespan!"

"What do you mean by that?"

Chen Menglu asked doubtfully.

"The essence of secret techniques is to establish new Sea of Qi channels within the physical body and acupoints, either for storing special types of Spiritual Power or for amplifying Spirit Arts during their execution.

From the standpoint of conflict, naturally, the more secret techniques, the better. However, from the standpoint of the physical body and fate, this increase is essentially overloading the meridians and the body."

Human organs and meridians have their limits, but secret techniques and methods attempt to mimic the divine powers of demons and gods, requiring the creation of similar organs to achieve such divine powers.

This practice not only wears down the martial artist’s vital essence but also increases the difficulty of transforming the physical body into one of spiritual essence.

Therefore, if one desires longevity, aside from the rare secret techniques that unlock one’s Divine Storage, all other external divine powers and inherent secret arts must be discarded."

Had they not known each other well, Tang Luo’s proposal for extending life would sound much like suggesting Chen Menglu sever his own arms.

From Xiehe’s martial arts perspective, the Four Domains Divine Seal is considered a type of divine power technique, not a fundamental technique.

Although at this point, the Illusionary Master has mastered the Four Imperial Spirit Seals to an unprecedented level with no way forward, not expecting any breakthroughs in his lifetime.

Yet after over a century of cultivation, the Four Imperial Spirit Seals have become integrated with his flesh and blood, especially after the unity of the four seals, where there is no distinction between them, making it difficult to abandon.

Aside from the Four Imperial Spirit Seals and the Illusionary Dream Space, Chen Menglu has not cultivated any other secret techniques or divine powers, so even if he wanted to discard them, he wouldn’t know where to begin.

Fortunately, Tang Luo did not emphasize this aspect and shortly moved onto the next topic, saying: "Next is the Vajra Entering Wisdom, the South Heavenly Buddha has such longevity mainly because he maintains his body exceptionally well. Or rather, the South Heavenly Buddha has always been in a sort of active hibernation state, similar to the winter dormancy of snakes, rats, and bats."

"The inner breath circulates, the Qi meridians are prolonged, like time flowing slowly; even when preaching the Dao, he is not in a fully conscious state but communicates with others through dreaming and projecting his consciousness."

"Master Chen might take a leaf out of his book."

Hearing this, a look of joy finally appeared on Chen Menglu’s face. As a Martial Arts Grandmaster like him, what he lacked was never the means to solve problems, but rather the correct direction of research.

Perhaps it was the dilemma of being too close to the issue - he had thought of many methods for extending life, but many seemingly feasible solutions became unexecutable due to the responsibilities of overseeing the Four Imperial Kingdoms.

However, the winter dormancy technique used by the South Heavenly Buddha could become his main research direction.

"The winter dormancy state of the South Heavenly Buddha is evolved from the meditation and fasting methods of Zen."

As Tang Luo spoke, he conjured two books from the Void Stomach, placing them on the desk beside him: "These two books are from Zen, ’Meditation and Subtlety’ and the exoteric ’Diamond Entering Wisdom’, containing methods of fasting and deep meditation. I believe with Master Chen’s martial prowess, he will soon grasp the essence of the dormancy techniques, so I won’t offer any further suggestions."

"You’ve been a great help!"

Chen Menglu exclaimed, "Without the guidance of the young friend, Chen might not have been able to hold out until the children of the central courtyard have grown."

"But it happens at the right time, even without the young one’s help, with Master Chen’s capabilities, he would inevitably come up with ways to prolong life."

Tang Luo did not dare to take credit, simply responding modestly, before continuing, "Actually, aside from visiting the Grandmaster, I also have a question regarding illusion techniques that I wish to consult with the Grandmaster about."