Chapter 2706 — An Analysis of the Problem

"Let me look into the matter of your constitution right now!" said White Leader. Without delay, he produced a flashlight and began carefully reading through the pages of this Record of Strange Tales and Curious Matters...

Wei Zhao and Yu Xiaoke did not dare disturb him. They waited quietly to one side for White Leader's findings.

Time crawled by exceedingly slowly just then. Wei Zhao had waited only half an hour, yet it felt like half a day. At last, White Leader set the book down, nodded gravely, and said to Wei Zhao, "Our founding patriarch discussed the question of a cultivator's constitution in detail in these notes, and he also gave a method for verifying it!"

"Oh? What does it say?" Wei Zhao asked at once.

"A cultivator's constitution falls into three kinds: true attributes, false attributes, and illusory attributes. True attributes are those one is born with. No matter how many attributes a body may hold, they all blend and circulate together perfectly. This is innate, so no conflict arises among the attributes. Even if they would otherwise oppose one another, they still form a cycle within the body and bring the cultivator no trouble whatsoever!" said White Leader.

"True attributes, false attributes, illusory attributes?" Wei Zhao pondered briefly, and then thought of Bingtang's false Ice Heart Jade Bone constitution. He hastened to describe the matter to White Leader: "Could this sort of attribute be what the book calls a false attribute?"

"Indeed it is. That sort of attribute is a false attribute!" White Leader nodded and said, "This kind of attribute is also innate. It exists within the body from the moment the cultivator is born, but before it is activated, it neither affects nor conflicts with the true attributes in the body. And when it is activated, it is done with a matching elixir. Take the case you mentioned: the Ice Heart Jade Bone Pill can activate the ice attribute, which is a branch of the water attribute. Once activated, a false attribute is no different at all from a true attribute. If the cultivator's body also holds other attributes, no conflict will arise; instead, these several attributes will form a new cycle."

"So that is how it is. Then what about illusory attributes?" Wei Zhao suddenly understood. No wonder the Ice Heart Jade Bone Pill was so important to Bingtang—it could alter her constitution and turn her false Ice Heart Jade Bone constitution into a true Ice Heart Jade Bone constitution!

"What are called illusory attributes are those that were not present in the cultivator's body to begin with, but are produced within the body later, either by taking a matching elixir or by cultivating some special mental method!" White Leader said. "For example, a person whose body holds the wood attribute who takes a Blazing Flame Pill will gain a fire-type illusory attribute and can then become an alchemist. So long as the attributes within the body do not exceed three, they will not restrain one another, nor do they need to circulate. Illusory attributes and true attributes can also coexist."

"Oh? So you mean the attributes in my body are all illusory attributes?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. "But I have never taken any elixir that alters one's constitution!"

"That I cannot say, but the book states that a certain treasure can be used to test the attributes within the body—whether they are true attributes, false attributes, or illusory attributes," White Leader said. "Still, from what we see now, there is no doubt that illusory attributes exist in your body!"

Wei Zhao nodded. Could his illusory attributes have been added by the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art? That was the only explanation. He had never taken any elixir that altered his constitution, and as for mental methods, he knew only this one. It seemed beyond doubt.

"Does the book mention any way to resolve illusory attributes?" Wei Zhao asked.

"It does... but the method is not written here. It is only touched upon briefly; the specifics are all kept in the sect's library," White Leader said with some regret.

"The Five Luminaries Sect's library?" Wei Zhao gave a faint sigh and asked.

"Indeed, but in my present position I have no way to return and consult it..." White Leader said apologetically.

"I understand," Wei Zhao nodded. If White Leader went back, whether he could return alive was another matter entirely, so Wei Zhao could never let him take such a risk. "What does the book say about the methods it does contain?"

"Accept an inheritance!" White Leader said. "Under special circumstances, illusory attributes can receive an inheritance. Whichever attribute in a cultivator's body is illusory, he goes to the place where that attribute originated, and stimulates the attribute. If he can stimulate that attribute's source attribute, he can obtain the inheritance and directly raise the illusory attribute in his body to a true attribute!"

"Oh? So I too must accept an inheritance, like Bingtang?" Wei Zhao asked, somewhat surprised.

"Indeed, but their case was different. They already possessed true attributes or false attributes, so they had no need to raise their attributes; they simply accepted the inheritance and gained the source power directly. You are different. You must use a special method, something akin to a formation, to stimulate the source attribute at the attribute's place of origin, and thereby alter and raise your constitutional attribute!" White Leader explained. "But the way of setting that formation and stimulating it is in the Five Luminaries Sect's library. I do not have it, and this Record of Strange Tales and Curious Matters by our founding patriarch does not mention the specifics either."

"Hah..." Wei Zhao let out a long sigh. He had come to the ancient tomb full of joy, and the upshot was that he had clarified the question of his constitution, yet in the end it was all for naught—a basket dipped in water for nothing. The way to change his constitution lay within the Five Luminaries Sect, and there was no way Wei Zhao could obtain it now.

"Do not be too disappointed. At the rate your strength is growing, the day we return to the Five Luminaries Sect may not be far off," White Leader said, patting Wei Zhao on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Mm... I understand," Wei Zhao nodded. Without White Leader's information, he could neither practice alchemy nor change his constitution; but to glimpse hope and then have it shattered was truly somewhat hard to accept.

"According to what you say, Teacher Bai, so long as I find this method, I will certainly be able to change my constitution successfully?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Not necessarily. Changing one's constitution is a stroke of fortune that comes once in a thousand years. Even if two people with illusory attributes stood together to receive the inheritance, one of them might fail, or both might fail..." White Leader said.

"Could both of them succeed?" Wei Zhao asked.

"That is impossible. The inheritance at an attribute's place of origin that changes one's constitution can only be released once every thousand years. If one person succeeds in the inheritance, the other has no chance left. Even if that other person could succeed on his own, he could not receive the inheritance at the same time."

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