Chapter 637: The End of the Concealing Heaven Era

Carrying the soul and embracing unity, it is called dual cultivation of life and spirit, uniting essence and form, gathering primordial qi, soft and gentle, harmonizing with the spirit, as if the law possesses a primordial soul—spirit and qi united, mind clear and flawless.

Although the Ferocious Empress never truly switched to the Luo Tian Fa pioneered by Luo Fu, she had already glimpsed several truths of its essence.

This is hardly surprising, for the Ferocious Empress’s talent, even across the boundless ages of the Concealing Heaven Era, remained unparalleled throughout history.

In the Concealing Heaven Era, due to the Dao’s imperfection, the combat power of those who attained Dao-ascension as Emperors was inevitably far greater than that of the Supreme Beings of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands era, or the Chaos Realm cultivators of the future Sacred Ruins era.

Do not forget: in the Concealing Heaven Era, even a Dao-ascended Emperor lived only ten thousand years.

But what of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands era and the future Sacred Ruins era? The longevity granted by time greatly reduced the difficulty of achieving Dao-ascension.

The degree of reduction was unimaginable.

Luo Fu’s Luo Tian Fa itself originated from coveting the primordial qi of life’s very motion.

Although the Ferocious Empress had never cultivated the Concealing Heaven Method and had no prior knowledge of Luo Tian Fa, even a fleeting glance was enough for her to sense its threefold profundity.

The Ferocious Empress herself has already traveled far along the path of achieving Red Dust Immortality through nine reincarnations.

From such a height, discerning three parts of its profundity was naturally simple.

Yet the Ferocious Empress would at most borrow a few principles from it—she would never switch to cultivating Luo Tian Fa.

After all, the Ferocious Empress is nearing the end of her path in the Concealing Heaven Method; even though achieving Red Dust Immortality through nine reincarnations grows harder with each life, the cost is still far less than switching to Luo Tian Fa.

Of course, the Ferocious Empress could at most comprehend a few nuances of Luo Tian Fa—she would not penetrate its true essence.

Otherwise, Luo Fu’s Luo Tian Fa would appear far too shallow.

This is not to say Luo Tian Fa is overly complex; any cultivation system, unless one has truly reached the pinnacle and deduced it from a higher dimension, will remain blind to its true form—unable to see the mountain for being within it.

No matter how simple Luo Tian Fa may seem, it is a complete framework capable of leading one all the way to Dao-ascension; even with the Ferocious Empress’s wisdom, she could never easily penetrate its true essence before stepping into the Immortal Dao realm.

After expressing admiration and openly acknowledging her borrowing from Luo Fu’s wisdom, the Ferocious Empress sighed: “It seems Itachi will reach that step before me.”

That “step” is something the Ferocious Empress has only sensed vaguely—she lacks clear understanding.

Before the Ferocious Empress, only the Vast Heaven Emperor had achieved Red Dust Immortality.

Yes.

From the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands era until now, after the Vast Heaven Emperor as the pioneer, only he had ever walked this path to completion.

Only now, in the Concealing Heaven Era, has a Ferocious Empress emerged.

Of course, though the Ferocious Empress and the Vast Heaven Emperor both achieved Red Dust Immortality, their paths differed vastly.

The Ferocious Empress truly and faithfully cultivated the Concealing Heaven Method, repeatedly achieving Dao-ascension as Emperor, living life after life, until finally leaping forward to attain it.

In contrast, the Vast Heaven Emperor, the pioneer of Red Dust Immortality, had a far more complex path.

It combined repeated cultivation and abandonment of cultivation, with processes like reversing life and death, as the Emperor Corpse Awakened, like Cao Yusheng the Tribulation Sovereign—a fusion impossible to replicate.

The Vast Heaven Emperor’s Red Dust Immortality relied too heavily on fate; so heavily that even Cao Yusheng, who fully understood the Vast Heaven Emperor’s path, ultimately chose to create the Tribulation Heavenly Art instead.

The Vast Heaven Emperor’s achievement was the union of the Tribulation Sovereign’s and the Ferocious Empress’s paths.

Red Dust Immortality is a generational leap in power, utterly separating itself from Emperors—it is true Immortal Dao.

Without truly reaching this step, even standing before Luo Fu, the Ferocious Empress could never know all the mysteries of Luo Tian Fa unless taught by him.

Yet the Ferocious Empress could see that Luo Fu’s accumulation was already so profound it surpassed her comprehension—even her ability to perceive it.

Even now, the Ferocious Empress herself has no hundred percent certainty on her path to Red Dust Immortality; after all, on her chosen path, there is no pioneer, no experience to borrow, not even a single soul to debate with.

Having reached this stage, the Ferocious Empress, as she defied heaven and lived life after life, gradually began sensing her own transformation.

That intangible sensation—like sudden inspiration, like innate foreknowledge—made the Ferocious Empress certain her path was correct; yet she could only know it was walkable, not how long it would take to reach the end. Only upon meeting Luo Fu did she truly understand.

The Ferocious Empress’s nine-life accumulation paled before Luo Fu’s shared power across twelve heavenly realms.

This is precisely why the Ferocious Empress believed Luo Fu had moved ahead of her.

Though Luo Fu is currently only at the fifth layer of the Refining Void and Merging Dao realm, the power of his twelve heavenly realms grants him the foundation of nine lives in one—exceeding even that foundation.

Once he reaches the ninth layer, Luo Fu will leap directly into Immortality, bypassing True Immortal stage, even surpassing the Semi-Immortal King level, reaching the true Immortal King realm—and even among Immortal Kings, he will not be weak.

The Ferocious Empress’s praise stirred no excitement in Luo Fu.

Perhaps due to a shift in mindset, Luo Fu increasingly felt the loneliness of standing at great heights.

His Luo Tian Fa remains only at the fifth layer, yet as the Dao and principles of his twelve heavenly realms continuously localize, Luo Fu himself is constantly ascending.

Almost every moment, Luo Fu undergoes unimaginable change.

This change accelerates the localization of his power and draws him ever closer to the Immortal Dao realm.

“Itachi’re about to spread your teachings, aren’t Itachi?” the Ferocious Empress said, gradually suppressing the primal qi of her unique life motion. “Your path will be harder than Amitabha Buddha’s. I hope Itachi do not interfere with him.”

The “him” the Ferocious Empress mentioned—Luo Fu knew well—it was Ye Hei.

After all, to the Ferocious Empress, Ye Hei embodied her obsession with her brother; in some sense, he was the key to her own Dao-ascension. She naturally did not wish for a disruptor like Luo Fu.

Though Luo Fu had forged a path so astonishing the Ferocious Empress had borrowed from it,

in her eyes, to Ye Hei, Luo Fu was indeed a disruptor.

For in the Ferocious Empress’s heart, Ye Hei was the vessel for her obsession with her brother.

As such, the vessel of her obsession, she naturally intended to arrange the optimal path for Ye Hei’s Dao-ascension.

Thus, Luo Fu, who walked a path harder than Amitabha Buddha’s, became a massive variable disrupting Ye Hei’s path.

No matter how much she valued Luo Tian Fa, this fact could not be ignored.

As the founder of Luo Tian Fa, Luo Fu is still merely a cultivator comparable to a fifth-layer Immortal Platform Saint.

Even if Luo Fu’s foundation has surpassed the Ferocious Empress’s—nine lives in one, capable of instantly achieving Red Dust Immortality—

the fact remains: Luo Fu is still only a fifth-layer Refining Void and Merging Dao cultivator.

Talent is one thing; achievement is another.

Especially since the Ferocious Empress herself, after years of cultivation in the Concealing Heaven Method, is the only one since the Vast Heaven Emperor—who pioneered “body as seed”—to truly approach completing nine lives of accumulation toward Red Dust Immortality.

If Ye Hei walks the Concealing Heaven Method, the Ferocious Empress can grant him unprecedented support; but if Luo Fu’s influence leads Ye Hei to Luo Tian Fa, everything changes.

Even Luo Fu, the founder of Luo Tian Fa, has not yet reached Dao-ascension—let alone any successor.

Especially since Luo Fu’s Luo Tian Fa is entirely independent of the Concealing Heaven Method; the Amitabha Buddha’s fate was nothing compared to Luo Fu’s complete isolation from the Concealing Heaven Method.

At least Amitabha Buddha was a reigning Dao-ascended Emperor of his age; even if his Emperor status differed from other Concealing Heaven cultivators, he still fared better than Luo Fu, who severed all ties to the Concealing Heaven Method.

Amitabha Buddha in his time faced relentless persecution from Concealing Heaven cultivators.

That was merely targeting Amitabha Buddha—he could endure it through his own strength.

The truly unfortunate were the Buddhist cultivators he influenced—they suffered terribly.

If Ye Hei is swayed by Luo Fu’s Luo Tian Fa and walks that path, the dangers Luo Fu will face are unimaginable—and Ye Hei will suffer even more.

Concealing Heaven cultivators who cannot defeat Luo Fu but despise Luo Tian Fa will surely shift their hatred onto Ye Hei.

Even the Ferocious Empress wishes Ye Hei to endure trials to complete his Dao-ascension—but not trials like these.

If Ye Hei walks the Concealing Heaven Method, it is a Great Dao rivalry with other cultivators; but if he walks Luo Tian Fa, it becomes a fight to the death.

Concealing Heaven cultivators unable to confront Luo Fu will not wish for another terrifying being like Luo Fu to emerge—they will direct their spears at Ye Hei.

More crucially, if Ye Hei truly walks Luo Tian Fa, all of the Ferocious Empress’s prior arrangements must be overturned.

Can the Ferocious Empress really watch over Ye Hei constantly, acting as his nanny?

That would not be trial—it would utterly defeat the purpose of her obsession with her brother.

Understanding the Ferocious Empress’s concerns, Luo Fu nodded without hesitation: “Empress, rest assured. Though I shall spread my teachings, my path lies not now, but in a far distant future!”

Luo Fu knew well: this post-Huanggu era was nearing the end of the Concealing Heaven Era.

The Concealing Heaven Era is, in truth, a Dharma-End age; the Dao’s imperfection means even Dao-ascended Emperors live only ten thousand years.

In the future, a more brilliant era of spiritual energy revival will arrive—the same era as the Sacred Ruins.

From the ancient Emperor-Fallen Era, through the Immortal Ancient Era, to the Chaotic Ancient Era that birthed the Vast Heaven Emperor, when the Vast Heaven Emperor slashed through all past and future time before ascending to Heaven, he plunged the lower realms into what is called the Dharma-End age—the very Concealing Heaven Era in which Luo Fu now dwells.

As for the so-called Minggu Era, Mythic Era, Ancient Era, and Huanggu Era—they are merely subdivisions within this Dharma-End age.

Luo Fu and others dwell in the post-Huanggu era of this Dharma-End age—the final glorious age of the Concealing Heaven Era.

Though after Ye Hei and others, the era continued for a long time, within this vast age, eras are never defined merely by time span.

Do not forget: since the ancient Emperor-Fallen Era, true supreme beings could transcend the river of time, traveling freely through past and future—though heavily restricted, time no longer decisively affected such power.

Even the Ferocious Empress’s paper boat could cross the river of time, reversing the flow of years, journeying to the primordial past; other mighty ones could likewise interfere with time.

After the Concealing Heaven Dharma-End age ends, a spiritual energy revival era will immediately follow—the very era Luo Fu believes is most suited for Luo Tian Fa.

Of course, whether the perfect methods of the ancient Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, the Concealing Heaven Method derived from the Vast Heaven Emperor’s “body as seed,” or the myriad breathing arts of the future spiritual revival era—

fundamentally, their greatest distinction lies only in the stages before the Immortal Dao realm.

Whether perfect method, Concealing Heaven Method, or future Sacred Ruins Method, once reaching the Immortal Dao realm, all ultimately converge into the same destination.

Though the breathing arts of the spiritual revival era are powerful, they need not exclude Luo Fu’s Luo Tian Fa.

Just as “body as seed,” pioneered in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands era, flourished in today’s Dharma-End age, Luo Tian Fa too can be pioneered in this Dharma-End age and flourish in the future spiritual revival era.

Even if it cannot replace the future Sacred Ruins Method, Luo Fu has confidence his Luo Tian Fa will shine brilliantly in that age.

The Ferocious Empress seemed to understand something, nodding slightly: “I know who Itachi are.”

Luo Fu was baffled, staring in astonishment at the Ferocious Empress.

But the Ferocious Empress clearly had no intention to explain; in the instant her words ended, she slowly closed her eyes.

The next moment, the vitality radiating from her vanished completely—clearly, after uttering that cryptic phrase, the Ferocious Empress resumed her transformation.

(End of Chapter)