Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 94: Chapter 92: Recovery

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Essence is what transforms from the Five Grains.

Qi is the Inner Qi and True Qi.

Spirit is the Primordial Spirit and spiritual power.

But this common knowledge doesn’t apply to the Heart Inquiry Saber Skill.

The Essence consumed by the Heart Inquiry Saber Skill is not from the Five Grains.

The Heart Inquiry Saber Skill channels the Essence, Qi, and Spirit of the whole body into one blade. Both Spirit and Qi can be restored, but Essence cannot be replenished; eating and sleeping won’t bring it back.

So how can one replenish it?

The next morning, he found that his weakness and fatigue had greatly eased, but he hadn’t fully recovered.

Falling into a deep sleep last night, he hadn’t noticed the changes in his Insight body. Now awake, he had mostly recovered, and his Super Sense re-illuminated.

He re-detected the consumed strange aura.

This strange aura did not originate from the stomach or any other internal organs, but actually came from the bones.

On deeper examination, it was from the depths of the bones—the marrow.

Essence and marrow, could marrow actually be the Essence?

Amid the morning sunlight, under the concerned gaze of Mo Yi and the four women, accompanied by Zou Fang, Guo Chi, Gao Jiong, Sun Yanwu, and Ji Dongxiao, he entered the Imperial Palace.

At the Martial Arts Training Ground beside Mingwu Hall, he consulted Chu Qingfeng on what Essence truly was.

Chu Qingfeng grasped his wrist and stared at him with a frown.

Chu Zhiyuan knew he looked pale, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, feeling this way for the first time since he became Innate.

"The Qi of the Five Grains is Essence, kidney Qi is Essence, and the Qi of blood and flesh is Essence."

"What about the marrow?"

"Oh—?" Chu Qingfeng’s eyes revealed a hint of surprise. "You even know there’s a connection between marrow and Essence?"

"The connection is significant, right?"

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have thought that Essence Qi actually comes from the marrow.

"The sea of marrow is the residence of Spirit. Spirit transforms into Qi, which then transforms into Essence, so there will be Essence Qi seeping from the marrow."

"This Essence is one level higher than the previously mentioned Essence Qi, often unable to be utilized directly, which is the grand mystery of cultivation."

"Unless you take the path of Body Refinement, but we follow the path of Qi Cultivation. Whether you know it or not doesn’t matter much... why are you so exhausted? Did you have a Qi deviation during your practice?"

Chu Zhiyuan then spoke of the Heart Inquiry Saber Skill matter.

"Heart Inquiry Blade..." Chu Qingfeng thought for a moment and finally shook his head.

Chu Zhiyuan was not surprised.

The Heart Inquiry Saber Skill was too tyrannical, either bringing life or death. Those who saw the Heart Inquiry Blade would likely become corpses, so naturally, others wouldn’t hear its name.

"However, since it was obtained from Cheng Tianfeng, it must not be ordinary, and might be related to Wentian Cliff," Chu Qingfeng said.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

"Use this blade sparingly; it damages the body too much and isn’t worth the cost," Chu Qingfeng said slowly.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Uncle, then how can I replenish marrow?"

"Marrow can transform into blood, so the approach often starts from the blood," Chu Qingfeng replied.

Chu Zhiyuan thought of the fourth layer of the Dragon Transformation Technique, which involves Marrow Refining, and thus inquired about it.

"As for Marrow Refining... I’m really not sure," Chu Qingfeng said. "The Dragon Subduing Sect’s inheritance has only been practiced by you, no one has accomplished it since. I can only make an educated guess."

"Uncle, please speak."

"Leaving aside the complexity of the fourth layer’s mental method, which is hard to grasp, that shouldn’t be a problem for you. But it seems you can only train the fourth layer once the third layer is perfected; have you perfected the third layer?"

"Third layer perfection... almost there."

Chu Zhiyuan had also realized this.

He attempted to practice the fourth layer mental method but found it ineffective.

So he understood that this fourth layer was different from the previous three and could only be practiced after perfecting the third layer.

Despite having never practiced the Dragon Transformation Technique, Chu Qingfeng could still see this point, showing that a Grandmaster is indeed a Grandmaster.

"The Dragon Subduing Sect... It’s understandable why this inheritance has been cut off, you should now understand a bit about the true nature of the Dragon Subduing Sect, right? Subduing Dragon, hehe, it shouldn’t be called Subduing Dragon, but Descending Dragon! Not subduing as in conquering, but descending as in coming down!"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Uncle, one must first transform into a dragon, then surpass the dragon to truly subdue the dragon. There’s nothing wrong with that, as the Dragon Subduing Scripture clearly states."

"Heh, anyway, this Dragon Subduing Scripture is not something people nowadays can practice," Chu Qingfeng said. "If it weren’t for the four Secret Lands, could you have practiced to the current layer?"

"...Indeed, I couldn’t," Chu Zhiyuan agreed.

Without the Dragon Blood Stone and Dragon Bone, he would still be at the first layer, unable to achieve the second layer, much less the third.

From this, he could deduce that the world where the Dragon Subduing Sect resides must be a world with dragons, just like within the four Secret Lands.

This world has no dragons, and without the four Secret Lands, it’s nearly impossible to practice the Dragon Subduing Scripture, so the severance of the inheritance is only natural.

As for the Taiqing Primordial Sect and Yu Xu Sword Sect, their legacies are too difficult, and later generations’ aptitudes are hard to reach that level.

He speculated that the thinning of the world’s Primordial Energy led to the decline in human talent and aptitude, unable to meet the standards of the Taiqing Primordial Sect and Yu Xu Sword Sect disciples.

——

Amidst their conversation, others arrived one after another.

Chu Mingxuan and his companions were in high spirits.

Chu Zhiyao, who hadn’t been to Mingwu Hall for the past two days, now looked somber and serious.

Chu Mingxuan was immediately dissatisfied, "Old Third, what have you been busy with these past two days, always nowhere to be seen. Why do you have that expression, are you not happy for us?"

"Happy," Chu Zhiyao said with a composed face.

"Is this happy?!" Chu Mingxuan pointed at his plump face, "My! Not! Happy! is written all over my face... Is it not? Don’t you think it’s worth being happy that the three of us advanced to Innate together?"

"Okay, really happy." Chu Zhiyao conceded.

Chu Mingxuan snorted, "Come on, what happened? Did Fourth Brother make a fuss again?"

The Fourth Prince, Prince Xuan, liked to create a spectacle and make a fuss, which was harmless, and everyone even enjoyed watching the commotion.

"No," Chu Zhiyao said, "Father has been quite restrained recently, with the Great Sect watching closely."

"Then what’s there to worry about? Hurry and spill it, we still need to practice!" Chu Mingxuan urged.

Chu Zhiyao glanced around.

"Oh, does it need to be kept secret?" Chu Mingxuan chuckled, "Shall we talk about it privately?"

Chu Zhiyao sighed, "Forget it, you’ll know sooner or later anyway. I’ve received military news that the Da Meng mission is also coming to Yujing."

"Hm—?" Chu Mingxuan’s big eyes widened even further, looking around before turning to Chu Zhiyao, "Aren’t we currently at war with Da Meng?"

"That doesn’t prevent the Da Meng mission from coming," Chu Zhiyao snorted. "During wartime, diplomats are not harmed."

"What’s their purpose?"

"Afraid it’s not something good."

"To destroy our alliance with Da Zhen, I’d say?"

"Most likely."

"But the alliance has been set; how could they sabotage it?"

"Who knows, but when the Da Meng mission arrives, trouble is endless!"

"This indeed is getting lively!" Chu Mingxuan laughed heartily, "Will there be another contest among the Princely Heirs?"

He turned to look at the pale-faced Chu Zhiyuan, "They surely know how to choose a time; now that Fourth Brother is injured, if there’s a Princely Heir contest, that would indeed be troublesome."

"The Da Meng mission hasn’t arrived yet; it’ll take a few days," Chu Zhiyao said. "By then, Fourth Brother should have recovered."

Chu Zhiyuan pretended not to hear their conversation, standing in the Purple Sun Stance, feeling the Great Purple Sun Technique absorbing rays of purple light from the heavens and earth.

However, as the Great Purple Sun Technique progressed to the Tenth Layer, the Super Sense allowed him to see strands of purple light in the Void, freely weaving like little fish in water.

The purple light came from the sky, from the rising sun’s purple glow.

And as the sun rose higher, these purple lights became more sparse until they vanished.

He gained a deeper understanding of the Great Purple Sun Technique.

At the same time, he didn’t miss the conversation between Chu Zhiyao and Chu Mingxuan.

The Da Meng mission?

If the Da Meng mission truly comes, it’ll be problematic; shouldn’t the Da Zhen mission be sent away first? Cheng Tianfeng won’t be able to stay for many days!

With this in mind, he decided not to miss the opportunity.

As the sun rose, and the purple light disappeared, Chu Zhiyuan left Mingwu Hall to check in at the Ministry of Rites Government Office.

He didn’t ask Gao Lingfeng much about the progress on the Military Suppression Department’s side; he checked in and left, heading directly to the new residence near Thick Earth Hall.

As he arrived in the backyard of the new residence, he performed sealing and murmuring while opening his Super Sense to observe the Earth Venerate Divine Statue picture.

The Emperor Earth Scripture circulated.

Strands of golden light emerged from the Earth Venerate Divine Statue, entering his body.

In the vision of Super Sensing Illumination, the golden light fell onto the bones and was absorbed.

Then the strange aura surrounding the marrow quickly restored, and after a while, he suddenly felt mentally disoriented.

Restoring Essence Qi greatly consumes Spirit!

He hurriedly maintained a trace of clarity to activate the Heavenly Yuan Technique, quickly replenishing his spirit.

Then he continued practicing the Emperor Earth Scripture.

An hour later, his complexion was rosy, radiant.

He had fully recovered.

The Emperor Earth Scripture indeed restores Essence Qi!

With the Emperor Earth Scripture, he felt full of confidence, the flying knife reappeared at his left fingertips, spinning lightly between his fingers.

By spinning it on his fingertips, he strengthened his muscles’ perception and precise control over the flying knife, enhancing accuracy.

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