Eternal Life Begins Chapter 77: Knowing the How and the Why

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Knowing the How and the Why

Chu Mu flipped through the book page by page, the dense illustrations and text clearly reflected in his eyes.

By now, the great hurdle of literacy was all but gone for Chu Mu.

He wouldn’t claim to recognize every single character, but at the very least, he could now read a specialized book like this one with no significant hindrance.

The book’s contents were much as Chu Mu had anticipated.

The fundantal theory of the Yin Yang Five Elents corresponded to the body’s internal organs. Combined with structural theories of ridians and acupoints, it ford the foundation of the dical system in this era—and, for that matter, in his past life as well.

Though he had only read through less than half of the dical text, Chu Mu was becoming increasingly certain that he had made the right decision. ’It couldn’t have been more correct!’

Qi and Blood Cultivation, within the theoretical frawork of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, was a process of slowly evolving the human body.

He could imagine that higher levels of the Extraordinary, whether they fit into the Essence, Qi, and Spirit frawork or not, would also inevitably involve the body’s evolution to a higher plane.

And the foundation of it all had to be the human body!

True, one only needed a general understanding of the human body to practice Qi and Blood Cultivation by the book. Perhaps the sa was true for higher-level Extraordinary cultivation.

But if one could gain a deeper, more detailed understanding of the human body—and of the external forces that acted upon it—then the combination of the two...

...the effect would be the difference between knowing *that* sothing works and knowing *how* it works.

The human body was the self; dicine was the external force he could currently access.

The dical knowledge described in the book made it clear his assumptions were correct.

The dicinal formulas in the Body Refining Technique he practiced were clearly universal, aning they were suitable for anyone.

Anything designed to be universally applicable inevitably involves significant compromises.

The sa was true for dicinal formulas.

It was like treating a patient: prescribing dicine based on a specific diagnosis versus simply following a textbook were two entirely different things.

’Besides...’ Chu Mu even had his doubts. ’Are the formulas in the Body Refining Technique truly the most effective? Is there no room for improvent?’

It was an unknown.

If he never studied it, it would remain an unknown forever.

But if he studied and researched it, he could judge for himself what was right and what was wrong.

Dialectical thinking had been crucial in the scientific age of his past life. In Chu Mu’s opinion, it was bound to be just as important in this unknown, Extraordinary era.

He continued flipping through the pages, slowly committing the contents to mory and pondering their aning.

Ti slipped by as he remained completely absorbed.

In the days that followed, Chu Mu’s life seed to fall back into a familiar rhythm.

The storm at the mine, the Rebels in town—none of it seed to have anything to do with him anymore.

Chu Mu’s daily routine consisted of practicing his martial arts at dawn, going on duty, reading and practicing more during his breaks, getting off duty, and then heading to Mingxin Hall to study dicine and continue his training.

Everything was thodical and orderly.

Of course, this thodical order was limited to Chu Mu’s own life.

The turmoil roiling Nanshan Town, however, had not subsided in the slightest.

Under a strict quarantine, the situation at the mine was now unknown to outsiders.

In fact, under Li Jinghong’s orders, several mining districts had been completely locked down. No one was allowed out, only in. This applied to the n performing Forced Labor and the Inspectors alike.

But the black smoke from burning corpses, visible daily from the mine pits, was a clear testant to the cruel reality.

At the morial archway in the Northern District, the corpse still hung high. Below it, Nanshan Town remained under heavy, round-the-clock guard.

Yet, after more than half a month, no further trace of the Rebels had appeared. The town was so calm it felt as if things had truly returned to normal...

...

Snow drifted through the early morning air.

Chu Mu was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of shorts. His attire looked jarringly out of place amidst the falling snow.

As if oblivious to the cold, Chu Mu swung his blade, and faint wisps of steam rose from his body.

His blade moved slowly, even deliberately. Compared to his previous practice sessions, it almost looked as if he had regressed.

Slash after slash, he moved slowly through the swirling snow.

After about a quarter of an hour, Chu Mu finally lowered his weapon. He relaxed his grip, and the blade’s tip sank into the snow, standing upright in the ground.

A thoughtful look on his face, Chu Mu then assud the Pile Skill stance. As he cald his mind, his Qi and Blood surged, and the steam rising from his body grew noticeably thicker.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and his Qi and Blood Cultivation session ended. Chu Mu stood motionless in the snow, lost in thought.

Standing nearly naked in the snow wasn’t due to so peculiar fetish. It was rely an experint based on his recent dical studies.

And the results were quite promising.

The cold stimulated his senses, improving his perception and circulation of Qi and Blood. Even its refinent and nourishnt were slightly enhanced.

While the effect wasn’t significant, it was undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

After taking a mont to savor the feeling, Chu Mu turned his attention to the Light Curtain Panel in his field of vision.

[Na: Chu Mu.]

[Skill: Basic Blade Technique (Initial Glimpse) 463/500]

[Body Refining Technique (54/1000)]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 508.1%]

Over the past half-month, his Blade Technique had progressed by leaps and bounds as usual. In contrast, his Body Refining Technique cultivation remained as slow and arduous as ever, only improving by about two Skill Level points per day on average.

Of course, this was also because Chu Mu had returned to a normal cultivation rhythm. After gaining so dical knowledge, he had a much deeper appreciation for the dangers of overusing dicinal aids.

With his new mindset and goals, he had abandoned his previous frenzy of consuming a new dose of dicine every single day.

This return to a normal cultivation rhythm naturally resulted in such slow and difficult progress.

However, his greatest gain over the past half-month had been in the field of dicine.

In a little over twenty days, he had used a "Spiritual Radiance Blessing" to gain a comprehensive understanding roughly every five days, consuming nearly five hundred points of Spiritual Radiance Value in the process.

Combined with his own diligent studying, he had gained a foundational dical expertise that was already beginning to show results.

Unfortunately, dicine, being a knowledge-based category, did not appear on the Light Curtain Panel.

As a result, Chu Mu couldn’t be certain what level his studies had reached.

However, making a rough comparison, Chu Mu suspected his theoretical knowledge of dicine already surpassed that of the apprentices at Mingxin Hall who had been studying for nearly a year.

Of course, this expertise was purely theoretical, not practical.

His official duties as an Inspector ant he couldn’t observe Elder Li diagnosing patients, much less see patients himself.

For now, he could only rely on his own contemplation to gain any sort of practical experience...

...