The Power of His Talent, Chen Du Who Could Never Be Detected
Chen Du sat quietly on the futon in the cultivation room. In his sea of consciousness, the laws of thunder and fire shone brightly, and two faint lights, one purple and one red, flowed slowly, echoing each other.
He had just properly placed the Great Void Burning Heaven Seal, and had not yet had time to continue to comprehend the profound Burning Heaven Laws in the Record of the Great Void Burning Heaven.
A faint, almost imperceptible probe bypassed the simple protective array surrounding the outer courtyard and gently swept across the entire compound.
This thought was not crude, but carried the composure and weight of someone who had long held a high position, and contained a penetrating scrutiny.
The newcomers did not intend to take action immediately, but instead followed the residual fire energy emanating from the Sealed Ruins to trace the source of the disturbance.
A glint flashed in Chen Du's eyes, but his expression remained as calm as still water.
With a thought, the Fourteenth Tier Soul Heart within his sea of consciousness trembled slightly.
A layer of concealing power, so faint as to be imperceptible, silently spread out, hiding the Nine Heavens Thunder Abyss True Explanation, the Record of the Great Void Burning Heaven, and the Great Void Burning Heaven Seal deep within the Soul Heart, without revealing even a trace of the Dao Resonance of these supreme treasures.
Immediately afterwards, he simply and casually revealed the Twelfth Tier cultivation level manifested by this physical body.
His breathing was steady and relaxed, just like that of a genius disciple who had just made a breakthrough and was immersed in arduous nighttime cultivation, without the slightest abnormality.
Outside the courtyard, in the void, stood an elder dressed in a cyan-gold Daoist robe.
This is the Guardian Elder of the Ancient Path Holy Land, responsible for overseeing the forbidden area behind the mountain. His cultivation level is as high as the Late Stage of the Thirteenth Tier.
Tonight, while he was on duty in the inner ring of the Holy Land, he suddenly sensed a long-lost surge of fire energy rising into the sky from the direction of the Sealed Ruins.
That power was profound and vast, far beyond the reach of ordinary disciples. He was immediately alarmed and set off towards the Sealed Ruins.
He first personally landed before the entrance to the Sealed Ruins cliff and carefully surveyed the entire area.
The dark red mist still silently shrouded the cave entrance, and the many seals laid down since time immemorial remained intact, showing no signs of being forcibly broken.
The raging fire at the bottom of the ruins continued to rise and fall at its original rhythm, with only a thin wisp of the Heavenly Dao Daoist aura slowly dissipating in the air.
The elder raised his hand and waved it, sending a gentle force of law sweeping across every inch of rock and every crack inside and outside the Sealed Ruins.
He carefully examined the remaining aura, but could only detect the pure Dao Resonance that had dissipated, and could not find even a trace of the life imprint belonging to a living being.
It was as if the awe-inspiring power of fire that had just been unearthed was not something someone had comprehended inside, but rather a great Dao that had been Sealed Ruins and accumulated for hundreds of millions of years, which, by some chance, spontaneously leaked out.
Elder Shouxu frowned, his heart filled with doubt.
The Sealed Ruins have been silent for countless years, and the source of fire here has long been dead. How could such a powerful surge of Dao Resonance suddenly erupt?
He then followed the direction in which the aura dissipated, searching outwards little by little, until he finally tracked it to the courtyard area where the outer disciples lived.
He released his Divine Thought, scanning each courtyard one by one. Most of the disciples were already fast asleep, and a few rooms still retained a faint spiritual light of cultivation, including the courtyard where Chen Du was located.
The moment the elder's Divine Thought penetrated Chen Du's cultivation room, he clearly sensed that a Sixth Tier disciple was meditating inside.
His aura was solid and stable, and his spiritual energy circulated smoothly without the slightest hint of panic or attempt to conceal it.
In the elder's perception, this was an outer sect genius who cultivated diligently day and night, steadily improving his cultivation level.
The elder's Divine Thought lingered briefly over the courtyard, but finding no power of the same origin as the Sealed Ruins Fire Path, he slowly moved away and continued to explore the next dwelling.
Chen Du sat calmly on the futon, letting the other's Divine Thought sweep over his body. His breathing remained perfectly steady, and not even his eyelashes trembled.
His Soul Heart's concealment technique was flawless, and he also had the aid of his innate talent.
Let alone a Late Stage- Thirteenth Tier guardian elder, even if the ancestors at the pinnacle of the Holy Land came in person, they would have no chance of seeing through his true cultivation level and treasures hidden beneath the surface unless they deliberately spent a huge amount of money to dig deep.
The Elder Guardian of the Ruins searched the entire outer gate area but found nothing.
He then flew to other areas, including the inner sect, the residences of core disciples, and even the old courtyard of servants, examining each place meticulously with his Divine Thought, but still could not find any suspicious persons.
The power attributes of all the disciples were clearly distinct, and none of them carried the unique Heaven-Burning Aura of Sealed Ruins.
He hovered high in the sky, gazing at the continuous cliffs where the Sealed Ruins were located, and murmured to himself.
"Strange, could it be that the lingering ancient flame deep within the Sealed Ruins has been briefly awakened today, causing it to exude the Daoist aura of burning Heavenly Dao?"
This conjecture is the only plausible explanation at present. The Sealed Ruins are the burial place of ancient fire-element masters who perished, and it is theoretically not impossible for the remaining embers of fire to occasionally revive.
Such a thing might only happen once in billions of years, yet he happened to stumble upon it tonight.
After pondering for a long time and confirming repeatedly that the forbidden area's seal was intact and there were no signs of intrusion by external enemies, he stopped investigating.
He secretly noted this strange event in his heart, intending to report the unusual phenomenon of the Sealed Ruins to the sect leader and the elders of the Holy Land when he went to court the next day.
The elder guarding the ruins turned around, his figure transforming into a streak of azure-gold light, disappearing into the deep night, and returning to his post.
Only when the aura of the Thirteenth Tier had completely disappeared and could no longer be sensed did Chen Du slowly raise his eyelids, a faint glimmer flashing in his eyes.
A crisis was resolved quietly and without fanfare.
He raised his hand and gently stroked his chin, pondering to himself.
The aftershocks left by Sealed Ruins's enlightenment finally caught the attention of the Holy Land's higher-ups.
When visiting ancient sites to sign in and gain enlightenment in the future, one needs to be more careful to conceal one's power and avoid leaving any trace of Dao Resonance leaking out, lest it attract the elders' attention again.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he closed his eyes again, his mind sinking into his sea of consciousness, and once more opened the scroll of "The Record of the Great Void Burning Heaven" to carefully study the mysteries of the Burning Heaven Law.
Thunder is the divine blade of slaughter, and fire is the furnace that burns the world. The two great paths complement each other, giving him endless variations in his methods.
As the night passed swiftly, a faint, pale light appeared on the horizon, and the gentle morning sun pierced through the thick darkness, slowly bathing the endless mountains of this Ancient Path Holy Land.
The morning bell tolled throughout the entire sacred land, its deep and resonant sound spreading outwards in layers, awakening the thousands of disciples from their slumber.
Footsteps and laughter echoed from the outer gate, inner gate, and core area, marking the start of a new day of cultivation.
Elder Shouxu had already tidied his robes and set off for the Soaring Firmament Hall, the most central building of the holy land.
The Soaring Firmament Hall stands atop the main peak of the sacred land, carved from a single piece of Eternal Divine Jade. The palace is magnificent and grand, with its pillars carved with countless divine and demonic patterns and the Great Dao, and is perpetually surrounded by a faint auspicious light.
This is the imperial court where the Ancient Path Holy Land discusses important matters. Normally, the elders would not gather here unless there are important matters.
When Elder Shouxu stepped into the main hall, there were already quite a few people inside.
The elders were seated in two rows, left and right. The highly respected Supreme Elder sat in a high position at the back of the hall, sitting motionless, his aura unfathomable.
At the head of the table, the sect leader of the Ancient Path Holy Land, dressed in a plain white Daoist robe, waited for everyone to arrive with a peaceful expression and calm gaze.
This sect leader is one of the few top-tier Fifteenth Tier experts in the Holy Land.
Elder Shouxu entered the hall, bowed to the sect leader and the elders, and then recounted in detail the strange phenomena he had encountered in the Sealed Ruins of the back mountain the previous night.
He didn't hide anything, starting from how he sensed that vast and boundless Daoist aura of burning Heavenly Dao, and then going to the Sealed Ruins for on-site investigation.
He recounted how he confirmed the seal was intact, there were no signs of intrusion within the ruins, and he had searched all the residences of disciples from both the outer and inner sects with his Divine Thought, ultimately finding nothing.
After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a moment.
An elder with white hair leaned forward slightly, his brows furrowed, and asked a question.
"Are you certain that the Dao Resonance truly originated from within the Sealed Ruins? Could it be that a powerful expert from elsewhere passed by the back mountain and inadvertently leaked their power, causing you to misjudge the source?"
The elder guarding the ruins nodded slowly, his tone resolute.
"There is no mistake, that is the aura of the ancient Heaven -Burning Heaven Law, imprinted with the unique and profound charm of the underground fire of the Sealed Ruins. Apart from the Sealed Ruins, there is no other place in this small heaven that can give birth to such Dao Resonance."
But I searched every corner and couldn't find a trace of any living being. It was as if that power appeared out of thin air and vanished just as suddenly.
Another red-faced elder stroked his long beard and slowly spoke.
"The Sealed Ruins are the burial place of ancient fire-path masters. The original fire seeds left by them lie dormant underground. It has been recorded in ancient books that the fire seeds may briefly revive every long period of time, spreading outwards with Dao Resonance."
It's just that the interval is extremely long, a once-in-a-millennium event. Perhaps last night, the spark spontaneously awakened.
Inside the hall, people began to whisper among themselves, and all sorts of speculations arose one after another.
Some people became wary and suggested sending more people to guard the entrance to the Sealed Ruins day and night, and to check the seal every half hour to prevent powerful enemies from outside the region from secretly infiltrating the forbidden area and stealing opportunities.
Some people think it's making a mountain out of a molehill. If it's just a natural disturbance of the spark, mobilizing a large number of people to guard it would only disturb the primordial power sleeping deep within the forbidden area, which would be a loss.
Everyone chimed in with their opinions, dividing into two camps, and no final decision was reached for a long time.
In the end, everyone's gaze fell upon the Holy Land Sect Master in the main seat, awaiting the decision of this Fifteenth Tier supreme expert.
The sect leader sat quietly in his high position, listening to the debate from beginning to end without interrupting.
Only after the discussions in the main hall gradually subsided did he slowly open his eyes.
His gaze was deep and far-reaching, as if he could see through eternity and understand all the secrets hidden beneath this world.
A faint wisp of Divine Thought silently spread out, sweeping across the Sealed Ruins a thousand miles away. In just a moment, he withdrew his senses and gently shook his head.
"There's no need for such a large-scale operation. I have already used my Divine Thought to survey the entire Sealed Ruins. The seal there remains as solid as ever, and the underground fire is dormant and stable, with no signs of external disturbance. The wisp of Heaven-Burning Heavenly Dao aura from last night was indeed spontaneously released from within, not caused by any outsider intrusion."
He paused, then continued slowly:
"The Sealed Ruins have been silent for countless years. Occasionally, a trace of Dao Resonance leaks out, which is a natural change in the world and cannot be considered a calamity. Even if some being were to secretly visit, with our abilities, if the other party deliberately conceals its tracks, a single search would be insufficient to find it."
Upon hearing this, many elders in the hall suddenly understood.
To be able to enter the Sealed Ruins without making a sound, comprehend the Heavenly Dao -Burning Dao within, and erase all life force without leaving the slightest flaw, such a person's cultivation must be unfathomable.
If the other party intends to hide, simply increasing the number of guards will be of no use at all, and will only waste the energy of the elders and disciples.
The sect leader raised his hand and waved it gently, delivering the final verdict.
"Let this matter rest. There's no need to send additional troops to guard the Sealed Ruins. From now on, simply follow the usual practice of periodically checking the seal for any damage. There's no need to be distracted by this matter and delay your own cultivation."
All the elders bowed and accepted the order, and no one raised any further objections.
Upon hearing this, Elder Shouxu finally felt a great weight lifted from his heart.
He had been worried that it was his negligence that allowed the enemy to infiltrate the forbidden area, but now that the sect leader had personally inspected and confirmed it, he felt no more burdened.
The meeting in the Soaring Firmament Hall came to an end. The elders rose one after another, bowed, and left the hall to attend to their respective duties.
No one paid any attention to the strange phenomenon of the Sealed Ruins last night, regarding it simply as a rare natural wonder.
Meanwhile, in the outer courtyard, Chen Du had already completed his daily tasks.
He stood in the courtyard, seemingly tending to a few spiritual herbs, but in reality, a faint wisp of Divine Thought extended far out, taking in all the conversations inside the Soaring Firmament Hall.
He also sensed the Divine Thought of divine thought from the sect leader of the Ancient Path Holy Land probing the Sealed Ruins. He secretly admired the other party's profound cultivation, but he also knew that the other party still had not been able to see through the truth.
A very faint smile appeared on Chen Du's lips.
The turmoil vanished without a trace.
He raised his head and looked at the distant, rolling mountains. He had already explored Thunder Abyss and Sealed Ruins. The Ancient Path Holy Land had been passed down for thousands of years, and there must be other unknown ancient lands and secret palaces hidden in the back mountains.
Since the higher-ups of the Holy Land have determined that the anomaly was merely a natural occurrence and will no longer investigate it, he can now continue to search for other opportunities with peace of mind.
During the day, he continued to play the role of an ordinary, talented disciple who was steadily cultivating his skills, thus concealing his true identity.
As night fell, they continued their journey to find the next ancient forbidden land with boundless secrets, to begin a new round of signing in and enlightenment.