Chapter 73: The Art of Great Strength and the Art of Concealing Jade

“One hundred and fifty trillion merit points!”
“To merge the power and Dao resonance from the Divine Elephant Crossing River Diagram into the Mighty Strength Technique actually requires such an astronomical amount of merit?”
“What kind of existence was that divine elephant, truly?”
After a long while, Lu Sheng finally recovered from his shock at the staggering number, sighing inwardly.
This endless string of digits made Lu Sheng realize at last—
Just how limited his current perspective truly was:
“If killing a fourth-tier White Jade Elephant grants me 150,000 merit, I would need to slay a hundred million of them to gather the required amount!”
“But with my present strength, had that White Jade Elephant not already suffered damage to its essence, how could I possibly have slain it?”
“Moreover, this world doesn’t even have so many White Jade Elephants—”
“In fact, the total number of all fourth-tier and above demon beasts combined probably doesn’t exceed a hundred!”
“I fear that even if I slaughtered every living thing in this world, I’d still never amass one hundred and fifty trillion merit points!”
“It seems, for now, it’s impossible to merge the Dao resonance from the Divine Elephant Crossing River Diagram using merit alone!”
With these thoughts, Lu Sheng set aside the idea of directly fusing the Dao resonance of the Divine Elephant Crossing River Diagram into the Mighty Strength Technique by means of merit. Instead, he instructed Ruyi to integrate only the strength-related aspects of the Divine Elephant’s Power into the Mighty Strength Technique.
This time, nothing unexpected occurred. Consuming just over ninety thousand merit, Lu Sheng succeeded in merging them—
He could finally cultivate the Mighty Strength Technique, the auxiliary art to the first level of the Ninefold Profound Art, in this world!
———
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…”
Above, the Sunset Blade Sovereign and that great bird were still locked in fierce battle. The eagle feathers occasionally falling reminded Lu Sheng he was not yet out of danger.
Noticing the light, he realized dusk was already approaching. Lu Sheng knew this battle was nearing a turning point, and he could delay no longer—he had to grow stronger!
“Although, since I do not follow the path of merit, I cannot use merit to directly advance my cultivation—”
“Still, when it comes to various techniques, there’s no such obstacle!”
“Right now, I can use merit to directly master the Mighty Strength Technique and perfect it!”
With a thought, the merit stored in Ruyi began to rapidly deplete, channeling into the Mighty Strength Technique—
In an instant, not only did Lu Sheng master the technique, but he swiftly reached the limit of his current realm, unable to progress further.
“Twenty-four thousand catties—another three thousand gained. Not bad at all!”
Feeling the surging strength within, Lu Sheng nodded in satisfaction.

The Mighty Strength Technique is not a cultivation method but rather a spell, one that consolidates all the strength in the body and manifests it as the most direct physical power.
Whether it be bodily strength, profound energy, or even spiritual force… the Mighty Strength Technique can weave them all into one, manifesting as pure physical might!
That is the current effect of the Mighty Strength Technique.
At this moment, though Lu Sheng’s cultivation had not advanced, his strength, newly consolidated, now reached twenty-four thousand catties—
Compared to the previous twenty-one thousand, he had gained an extra three thousand catties!
“Twenty-four thousand catties—tripled, that’s seventy-two thousand—”
“A gain of nine thousand more than before!”
“Compared to the previous Shi Ying, I can now hold a steady advantage!”
However, because Shi Ying possesses the White Elephant Jade Transformation Divine Power, it is still nearly impossible for Lu Sheng to kill him without the power of heaven and earth or other means to breach his defenses.
But with his current augmented strength, Lu Sheng could now claim the upper hand in any contest of force against Shi Ying, who himself excelled in raw power—
At the very least, if he focused solely on defense, Shi Ying would be unable to do anything to him.
“Excelling in strength is Shi Ying’s advantage, but also his shortcoming.”
“When faced with an opponent of equal strength, Shi Ying’s options are severely limited!”
Though Shi Ying was the strongest adversary Lu Sheng had ever faced, in terms of true peril, he was far less dangerous than the likes of Wan Gu Xiao and others Lu Sheng had encountered in the past.
This was partly due to Lu Sheng’s greatly increased strength, but also because Shi Ying had only recently advanced to Grand Martial Master and relied solely on overwhelming force.
Such tactics are invincible when facing weaker opponents—
But when confronted by those with equal or greater strength, they become all but useless.
This was why Lu Sheng now found their encounters so much easier!
———
“Thirty-six thousand, one hundred and twenty merit left—”
“Should I use it to cultivate the Stone Concealment Technique, or the White Elephant Jade Transformation Divine Power?”
“Or perhaps, merge them together!”
The Stone Concealment Technique came from Shi Yin Jian, a secret art passed down in the western region’s Shi clan, whose own Stone Concealment Art was derived from it.
Its effect is similar to the White Elephant Jade Transformation Divine Power, only weaker.
Because of this, after acquiring the White Elephant Jade Transformation Divine Power from the fourth-tier White Jade Elephant, Shi Ying soon wielded it with ease—so much so that, unless they were paying special attention, even grandmasters found it difficult to sense his presence.
“Because of the matter with the sixth-grade snow lotus, this region has already seen battles between grandmasters and fifth-tier demon beasts.”

“What’s more, it’s predictable that other grandmasters are on their way.”
“I must urgently improve my ability to hide and avoid any potential crises!”
Though among the younger generation he now ranks among the best, and after killing Shi Ying would be in the top ten of the Talented List—
Lu Sheng was well aware that his strength meant nothing before a grandmaster!
“Staying alive comes first!”
With that in mind, Lu Sheng spent his merit to merge the Stone Concealment Technique and the White Elephant Jade Transformation Divine Power into a new secret art, which he quickly mastered.
“It seems my skin has improved again—now I truly have the countenance of flawless jade!”
Feeling his skin, now gleaming with a luster like Shi Ying’s, Lu Sheng could only laugh in spite of himself—
Though this made him appear even more handsome, it also made hiding much harder.
For someone skilled at disguise, this was hardly a blessing!
“Fortunately, with the Stone Concealment Technique integrated, I can mask it for now!”
Circulating his profound energy, the sheen on Lu Sheng’s skin quickly faded, returning to its prior appearance.
Satisfied, he nodded and named the new secret art:
“Hidden Jade within Stone, radiance concealed—”
“I’ll call this the Jade Concealment Technique!”
Afterward, Lu Sheng glanced at the sky to find the sun already setting—
He knew the turning point of the battle above was imminent!
———
“Four Seas—Suppress!”
“Sunset—Slash!”
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, two voices rang out by Lu Sheng’s ear.
Contrary to his expectations that the Sunset Blade Sovereign would strike at dusk—
The Four Seas Lord had arrived at some unknown moment, and together with the Sunset Blade Sovereign launched an attack upon the fifth-tier Twin Eagle King!