Chapter 2706 — An Analysis of the Problem
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"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.