Combat Power
Inside the cave.
"Has the Dragon Transformation Realm reached its peak?" Ye Fan asked, looking at Zhou Tong who had returned.
Zhou Tong nodded. "Not bad, it's perfect! I plan to consolidate my strength for a while before breaking through to the Immortal Platform Secret Realm. There's no need to rush for now."
"Zhou Tong, how exactly can one increase their combat strength?" Ye Fan finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask for the past few months, which was also the reason why he wanted to go into seclusion with Zhou Tong in the first place.
He was eager to know how to improve upon the six, seven, and Eight Restrictions.
Zhou Tong glanced at Ye Fan and chuckled, "If I'm not mistaken, you should have eaten the Sacred Fruit in the Primordial Forbidden Land!"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ye Fan gave an awkward laugh.
"You gave me the True Dragon Divine Medicine Fruit, probably out of a sense of 'owing' you!" Zhou Tong saw right through Ye Fan's thoughts. "Your physique and mine are on the same level. Do you think I don't know what kind of transformation you'll undergo when you cultivate to the Four Extremities Realm?"
"Clearly, your transformation is illogical, far exceeding normal circumstances. You don't possess any incredibly powerful secret techniques, so what's the reason for this transformation? Do you think you can hide it from me? I'm just too lazy to argue with you about these things; twenty-six Sacred Fruit are enough to satisfy my needs..."
Before Ye Fan could answer, Zhou Tong said, "Let me tell you about your current problem!"
Ye Fan's expression immediately turned serious, and he focused his attention, wanting to hear what Zhou Tong had to say.
Zhou Tong, "Ye Fan, your current combat strength is at the sixth level. Based on the scriptures, secret techniques, and physique you have learned, it should be around the Four Restrictions. The reason you were able to reach the sixth level is because you ate those Sacred Fruit in the Primordial Forbidden Land. Your entire body, from blood, bones, vitality, and divine consciousness, has undergone a transformation."
"With a stronger foundation, your combat power has naturally increased significantly, which is why you are at the sixth level of the Forbidden Realm. What you lack is a secret technique, a perfected secret technique."
"Although you obtained some secret techniques from the Northern Region from Tu Fei, some basic secret techniques from me, and some scattered and incomplete secret techniques from the Jade Pool Ruins, these things are either of low quality or incomplete, and most importantly, they are not systematic. It is not enough to improve your combat power with these things!"
"Upgrading from the sixth level of forbidden techniques to the seventh or even Eight Restrictions is far more difficult than upgrading from the previous levels. Ordinary secret techniques are useless; you need secret techniques created by peerless Great Sage, Quasi-Emperor, or even Great Emperor!"
"Therefore, once you use the Nine Secrets: Jie, you can immediately surge to the level of the Seventh Forbidden Realm. This is the terrifying aspect of Great Emperor -level secret techniques. If you cultivate a complete set of Great Emperor -level secret techniques and then use the Nine Secrets: Jie Technique, you can directly reach the combat power of the Eight Restrictions Realm."
Ye Fan fell silent. He had always known what he lacked, but Great Emperor- level secret techniques were not easy to obtain.
Having been in the cultivation world for so long, he had not obtained any particularly powerful secret techniques.
Even ancient scriptures were obtained through all sorts of strange and unusual reasons.
The Dao Scripture was obtained by Pang Bo after he was possessed, using his last bit of strength; the Empress West Scripture was obtained because he owed Zhou Tong a favor, which he has yet to repay; the Hengyu Scripture was obtained by exchanging the Dao Scripture with Zhou Tong.
Even after the Four Extremities Realm, I still don't have the scriptures for the Dragon Transformation Realm or the Immortal Platform Secret Realm, and I don't know what to do in the future.
He wanted to ask Zhou Tong, but he still owed him a favor, so how could he bring himself to ask again?
Should we give him the True Dragon Divine Medicine as well?
This is the greatest opportunity I've ever had since I entered the world of cultivation!
While Ye Fan was pondering, Zhou Tong continued, "In fact, the so-called combat power, apart from some objective factors such as sneak attacks and injuries, is actually just foundation, secret techniques, and comprehension of the Great Dao. These three factors combined form combat power."
"The foundation includes the cultivator's physique and the ancient scriptures they cultivate, and even some acquired opportunities, such as your body tempering with the Demon Emperor's Essence Blood, and the transformation of your body by the Sacred Fruit... You yourself are the Primordial Sacred Body, you cultivate the Emperor Scripture, and you also have endless acquired opportunities, so you already have the combat power of the Six Forbidden Realms based on your foundation."
"Secret techniques, on the other hand, represent the extent to which you can utilize your foundation. The more powerful the secret technique, the higher the requirements for your foundation. In fact, some of the most powerful secret techniques in the Emperor Scripture require a foundation of Four Restrictions or five restrictions to be qualified to cultivate."
"Finally, there is the comprehension of the Great Dao. This is related to both secret techniques and the most basic cultivation."
"The deeper one's understanding of the Great Dao, the more fully one can unleash the power of secret techniques, and even combine two secret techniques to amplify their power. Moreover, the deeper one's understanding of the Great Dao, the easier it is to perceive the essence of cultivation."
Ye Fan sighed, "To put it Dao Yi, it's because my secret techniques are too poor... I don't have the various secret techniques from those holy lands, so my combat strength has never improved."
Zhou Tong nodded. "That's right, that's the point. So you haven't actually gone down the wrong path, you're just lacking a little bit of opportunity..."
"Moreover, there are many kinds of secret techniques. For example, the Nine Secrets: Xing that I promised you is the ultimate in speed. If you obtain this secret technique and combine it with the Nine Secrets: Jie, your speed will be absolutely unparalleled in the world. Among those of the same level, almost no one can rival you!"
"But that's just the power to escape!" Ye Fan muttered to himself.
"Why think so much? Focus on cultivation. As long as you're in a high enough position, ancient scriptures and secret techniques are easier to obtain. Low-level cultivators, unless they join a holy land or similar place, will find it difficult to acquire various secret techniques; but once their cultivation reaches a certain level, secret techniques become much easier to obtain!" Zhou Tong said calmly.
"This is also the path that independent cultivators must take!"
"You're also a rogue cultivator, and I haven't seen you lacking any secret techniques!" Ye Fan glanced at Zhou Tong, clearly unconvinced.
"The situation is different. I entered the cultivation world three years earlier than you, and I received a sufficiently powerful inheritance as soon as I entered!" Zhou Tong continued, "Instead of comparing yourself to me, you should find a way to cultivate what you have learned to its peak! No matter how bad a secret technique is, once it is cultivated to the highest level, or even beyond the highest level, it will be extremely powerful!"
"What happens when you cultivate the Embrace Mountain Seal to its ultimate level?" Ye Fan's eyes seemed to gleam. "Your Embrace Mountain Seal Embrace Mountain Seal to be somewhat different from mine!"
Zhou Tong glanced at Ye Fan: "You wouldn't be trying to steal my secret technique, would you? My Embrace Mountain Seal is something completely different from the original Embrace Mountain Seal, based on my deductions."
"Rather than calling it the ' Embrace Mountain Seal,' it's more accurate to call it a secret technique I created myself— the Thousand Mountain Seal!" Zhou Tong glanced at Ye Fan and laughed. "If you call me 'Master,' I will pass on the Thousand Mountain Seal that I comprehended and created in the Jade Pool Ruins to you."
"Cut!"
Ye Fan rolled his eyes at Zhou Tong and said nothing more.