Chapter 60: Chapter 60: The Mystery of the Constitution

Chu Xuan was a bit surprised as he opened the book, "Earth Escape Technique?"

"No, no, no, this is too precious..."

Before he could finish his refusal, Qin Mengyao smiled and pressed his hand, "Just take it, and thank me when you manage to master it."

"It’s not like our sect doesn’t have these Five Elements Escape Techniques. In the fifth floor of the Scripture Repository, there’s a copy of ’Wood Escape Technique’, but over the past thousands of years, few have managed to master it."

Jiang Yiyi also nodded and said, "Escape Techniques heavily rely on one’s aptitude and understanding, and it’s best to have a special physique for them."

"Otherwise, even the most common Five Elements Escape Technique is a lifelong endeavor that most people can’t even begin to master."

Despite this, Chu Xuan knew that his senior sister was looking out for him, because even if he couldn’t learn it, handing it over to the sect could earn him considerable contributions.

After all, a Wood Escape Technique of similar level is stored on the fifth floor, where even the Ice Sea Demon Monarch can’t reach.

After pondering for a while, Chu Xuan stopped refusing and silently remembered his senior sister’s kindness, thinking of ways to repay her in the future.

...

Thus, Chu Xuan’s life returned to a peaceful routine.

He focused most of his energy on cultivating the ’Jade Capital Secrets’, followed by various divine techniques and skills, knowing that cultivation was the foundation.

In truth, this recent venture had stirred something in Chu Xuan, although he did not openly express it like his junior did.

If possible, Chu Xuan wished to be the one protecting his senior sister rather than the other way around.

However, after returning to the mountain, Chu Xuan felt slightly melancholy as Qin Mengyao didn’t interact much with him, choosing instead to focus on her closed-door training, everything seemingly returning to how it was before.

Furthermore, just a month later, Chu Xuan learned from his master that his senior sister was going down the mountain for training.

Early the next morning, Chu Xuan hurried to the mountain gate to see her off.

Seeing Qin Mengyao still tying her long ponytail, looking spirited and brave, Chu Xuan couldn’t help but feel a bit worried; if the Divine Command wasn’t bound to him, he might have wanted to lend it to his senior sister.

Seeing her junior brother this way, Qin Mengyao couldn’t help but smile and extend her hand to gently caress his cheek, "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine."

As if to reassure Chu Xuan, Qin Mengyao continued, "This time, I could be gone for three to five years, or as long as ten before I return."

"Our sect elders are all worried I might perish midway and have secretly given me lots of good stuff."

"Like last time’s ’Heavenly Flying Immortal’, I now have the means to use it twice in a short period with enough strength leftover to escape; so you, stay and cultivate at the mountain gate, and wait for my return, okay?"

Chu Xuan then felt a bit reassured, and he pressed his hand on his senior sister’s hand, nodding firmly, "I’ll be waiting for you to return."

He didn’t even know what kind of feelings he had for Qin Mengyao at the time; logically, it should only be the kinship a younger brother has for an older sister, but after this adventure, it seemed that something had quietly changed...

A thousand miles to send a friend away, an inevitable farewell.

Chu Xuan sent his senior sister all the way to the foot of the mountain and even out of the mountain gate before she urged him to return.

Nevertheless, Chu Xuan kept turning back with every step until Qin Mengyao’s figure completely disappeared beyond the horizon, then he quietly walked back to the sect.

It’s time to train; the next time, I will be the one protecting you.

-----------------------

Time flies, flowers bloom and wither, and three years have swiftly passed.

In these three years, Chu Xuan’s cultivation progress could be considered swift, breaking through almost every year, having moved from early Foundation Establishment to the late stage; given another year or two for refinement to reach the perfect realm, he could start considering Core Formation.

In contrast, a genius like Qin Mengyao started cultivation at fifteen and took half a year to go from a mortal to Foundation Establishment, spending another fourteen years to move from early to the perfect stage.

Chu Xuan’s entire Foundation Establishment phase took at most five years, nearly one-third of Qin Mengyao’s time.

Aside from basic understanding, it was certainly thanks to his uniquely powerful cultivation physique, ’Celestial Marrow’.

Ji Mingyu once said that this kind of physique was innately aligned with the Dao and extremely rare, so its effects were unsurprising.

Curiously, Chu Xuan couldn’t find any descriptions related to this physique in the Cloud-Born Sea Tower.

He remembered his master saying, "In this world, the ones who can recognize it shouldn’t exceed five fingers in number."

Yet, Chu Xuan was baffled, given how rare it was, how did Ji Mingyu happen to recognize it? Was it simply because she was one of those five?

Furthermore, she insisted Chu Xuan must keep this secret, externally referring to himself as having an ’Innate Dao Body’ only.

As for why, she didn’t say.

In the years that followed, Chu Xuan asked his master about it, but Ming Yu never provided an answer, always glossing over it lightly.

Due to this, Chu Xuan hesitated for a long time, eventually choosing not to disclose the truth to his master, Fuyunzi.

Of course, his master never asked about it, seemingly considering him to have an Innate Dao Body.

Chu Xuan was unaware of Celestial Marrow’s specific properties, only knowing the effects of the Innate Dao Body:

Innately aligned with the Dao, this body seemed born for cultivation, not only speeding up cultivation progress but also making the understanding of divine techniques and skills easier, even allowing one to gain insight while simply eating or drinking.

Moreover, the Innate Dao Body typically does not face the embarrassing situation of being stuck at a certain realm, and even when traversing the substantial gaps between major breakthroughs, it’s the same.

It can be said that as long as one lives long enough, an Innate Dao Body is highly likely to breakthrough to the seventh realm, and going further, aiming for the ninth realm isn’t beyond reach.

Thus, the preciousness of such a physique is understandable, explaining why the Hehuan Sect, despite breaking ties with Primordial Monarch Taixu, still sought to compete for it.

Ji Mingyu mentioned that the external manifestation of the two physiques was very similar, which Chu Xuan also believed; normally, he didn’t delve into what distinguished them, until...

He realized he couldn’t master the Earth Escape Technique?

This isn’t logical, is it?

Chu Xuan’s awareness of Earth Escape initially came from Sun Xing in ’The Investiture of the Gods’, though his ability was termed ’Earth Travel Technique’.

In this world, similar abilities seemed uncommon, with few able to cultivate them; it was said only those with a Five Elements physique could easily master the corresponding escape technique.

But I have ’Celestial Marrow’, isn’t there any special privilege?

Or is it that Celestial Marrow and Innate Dao Body are ultimately different physiques, with subtle differences in talent trees, where the latter excels more in cultivation and understanding divine techniques?

Regardless, Chu Xuan refused to give up and began thinking about the Divine Command...

Among the four divine techniques of the Intelligent Stone Monkey, there was one: Knowledge of the Land.

This involved understanding terrain and topography, to the point where at an advanced stage, with a mere glance, the entire landscapes and mountains are imprinted in one’s mind, easily perceiving things like dragon vein winding and the flow of earth’s energy.