The Invincible Dragon Emperor
chapter-1196-30041322

Chapter 1196: Truth, vanity, Void, and Illusionary Perceptions

Once again, Lu Li came to the valley in the Prison of Wind. This was where he got inspired last time around.

He closed his eyes and let the wind take his body around in the sky, tumbling over and over.

The wind was so fierce that Lu Li was swept into the air together with the sand. Gradually, he and the sand became one; they became one big grain of sand.

“Bang!”

Lu Li was blown out of the valley and was smashed into the deserted land. He was covered entirely with sand and dust, including his robe and hair, making him a man made of sand.

“Whoosh!”

He flew up and went to the other end of the valley. Then, he was carried from this end to the other end of the valley by the wind after he became a big grain of sand again until he fell to the ground, eventually.

Once, twice, 10 times, fifty times!

At the 67th time, Lu Li did not fly back after he landed on the ground. Instead, he sat on the ground with his legs crossed. That misty and faint root of inspiration in his heart was growing clearer. He felt he was reaching the turning point of breakthrough.

“The sand can be an organic whole because of the wind. Driven by the fast travelling wind, sand grains are minced before they are fused together. This is just like the situation in the Earth Imperial Universe. There’s no making without breaking. Only by destroying the old can the new come together!”

Lu Li had a ball of sand in his hand. He squeezed it and the ball of sand fell apart, turning into dust. This ball was made up of countless grains of sand. The strong wind rippled the sand grains into dust at a fast pace, and that dust formed into huge balls of sand.

Lu Li now had a clear understanding of the direction he should be going. The fact that he could not integrate the 12 Profound Meanings was because he had studied them all, and that was already a fact.

The 12 Profound Meanings were like the many families in the Earth Imperial Universe. To take complete control of the Earth Imperial Universe, those families should be disrupted. Regrouping was the best way to go.

The 12 Profound Meanings were just like 12 ropes with varied sizes. To make them one, they must be separated first, dividing them into a fine thread. That was the way to regroup the thread into one huge rope.

“Wind is the origin, the essence of wind-related Profound Meanings. Emperor of Heaven Reverse said that to learn about the Fundamental Principle, the keywords are origin and truth. Now I have found the origin. What does he mean by truth?”

Lu Li could not find the answer to this question. He decided not to mind this baffling matter. First, he should break up the 12 Profound Meanings and put them together.

“Phew, phew~”

The storm went on. Sand was drifting everywhere. Countless grains of sand fell on Lu Li’s body, covering him up gradually until he turned into a sandman.

Time flew by rapidly especially when one was cultivating.

A month later, the 12 Profound Meanings began to show initial signs of integration. All things were difficult before they were easy. Once the right path was found, what came next was easy, and Lu Li could continue to integrate the Profound Meaning.

Three months later, the 12 Profound Meanings were basically integrated. He believed that in one to two months, the 12 Profound Meanings would be put together completely. He would master the Fundamental Principle, and he could become an immortal.

However…

Two months later, Lu Li opened his eyes in surprise and complete disbelief!

Just now, he had completely integrated 12 Profound Meanings together. He had mastered a wind-related Fundamental Principle. That being said… he did not have a sense of breakthrough. There was no sign that he was becoming an immortal.

He mastered the Fundamental Principle, but why could he not become an immortal? What had gone wrong?

A glint of confusion and fear rose in Lu Li’s eyes. He had learned something about achieving the breakthrough of becoming an immortal from the Deaf Taoist and Blazing Huo. That was why Lu Li was in a panic.

Over the history of the nine universes, whenever a mortal became an immortal, anomalies would happen in heaven and earth nearby that universe. Xuan Qi would have unusual fluctuations.

The reason was that once one became an immortal, that warrior would have proven to have the ability to defy the laws of nature. That would stir up a reaction in heaven and earth, and by the same logic, the laws in nature would react accordingly. What was more, when a warrior became an immortal, heaven and earth would grant the warrior some special energy to help that warrior turn his or her physical body and soul into that of an immortal!

But… while Lu Li had mastered the Fundamental Principle, there was no reaction in nature, and he did not receive any special energy that could help him refine his body and build his soul.

Lu Li believed that with the legacy from Emperor Heng, it was a sure thing that he could become an immortal.

Besides him, the majority from the nine universes believed that it would be easy for Lu Li to become an immortal. After all, he had gained such stunning abilities in his thirties and Emperor Heng’s legacy. Wouldn’t it be simple?

At the moment, Lu Li felt this was a huge joke. Mastering the Fundamental Principle should mean that he would become an immortal. But there was no anomaly in heaven and earth. Was he… never going to achieve this breakthrough?

“No. There must be something I’m doing wrong!”

Lu Li stood up all of a sudden. He used Xuan Energy to shake the sand off. Glaring at the sky, he sunk into deep thought. After the time for one incense stick to burn, he felt something.

“Origin Fundamental Principle, everything with an origin. Truth, vanity, void and illusionary perceptions are intertwined together. The focus is on the origin and truth!”

Lu Li remembered the words said by Emperor of Heaven Reverse. Lu Li suddenly had an epiphany—at the moment, he only understood “origin” but not “truth”. This might be the problem.

“Truth, vanity, void, and illusionary perceptions are intertwined together. It is difficult to distinguish the real and fake. The void is boundless…”

Lu Li murmured. Could it be that the Fundamental Principle he mastered was fake? Had he, as a matter of fact, not mastered the Fundamental Principle? Now, everything was just an illusion? All he had learned were fake, and he had not reached the core of the Fundamental Principle?

“What is the truth? What is fake? If the Profound Meanings I have studied are not real, then what is real in this world?”

Lu Li was perplexed. He began to wander around nearby slowly. Though he had shaken off the sand, his hair and robe were still messy and dirty. He had not shaved in months. At the moment, he was more like a homeless man with an unsound mind.

Lu Li would walk around, and every now and then, he would mumble something nonstop. Sometimes, he would find a place and sit down. Jiang Qiling or the others would not have recognized this person as Lu Li…

Five days, 10 days!

Lu Li felt he was becoming insane. He could not tell what was real or fake in this world anymore, nor distinguish a dream from reality.

He devoted such a great effort in learning these Profound Meanings. He was sure that he had mastered the Fundamental Meaning, and it turned out to be a fake? Right now, he felt everything was fake in this world.

Half a month later, Lu Li came to a small mountain. He had no idea where he was at since he had been in a confused state.

At the foot of this mountain, he suddenly stopped. He spotted a grass growing out from under a stone!

The Prison of Wind was covered with desert. There was hardly any plant. Surprisingly, there was this grass! This grass was growing bit by bit even though it was being pressed down by the stone.

Lu Li looked at the grass for a moment and then gazed at the desert. In a world of desolation, the little piece of green stood out, lighting up and clearing out the world for him.

“A mixture of truth and falsehood, the truth mingled with the fake?”

Instantly, confusion left Lu Li’s eyes, which were emitting clarity and firm conviction.

A moment of astonishment later, Lu Li became high spirited. He laughed out loud. “Ha, ha, ha… God, you are doing this on purpose. You stop people at the last step. You confuse them with truth and falsehood, so they will lose themselves. They are stuck in self-doubt and therefore cannot achieve the final breakthrough. Now, I have mastered the Fundamental Principle. Why don’t you bestow me with divine energy to reform my body and soul?”

“Boom, boom, boom, boom~”

Lu Li had just finished his words when anomalies rose in heaven and earth. Clouds were changing. The nine universes were shaking!