Chapter 43: My Daughter Xiuxiu Has Mahayana Aptitude

Although as time passes and through the tireless efforts of later generations,

this gap might gradually narrow, it can never be completely eliminated.

Companion arts are entirely different from the conventional arts described above.

The starting point of a companion art is exceedingly high,

with even the lowest grade already reaching the divine level.

More crucially, it possesses a one-hundred-percent perfect compatibility with the cultivator themselves.

This means that as long as one possesses a companion art,

the cultivator can at the very least steadily cultivate to the peak state of the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Once they successfully cross that terrifying Immortal Ascension Tribulation,

they can ascend to the Immortal Realm in one stroke, from then on embarking upon the transcendent path of immortality.

If it were a sage-level art,

one could even cultivate past the Tribulation Transcendence stage to the legendary Mahayana stage.

And the Mahayana stage,

no one has ever reached it to this day,

because after crossing the tribulation at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, they all ascended,

and no one paid any attention to the Mahayana stage.

No one knows what kind of realm the Mahayana stage is; they only know the name exists.

Ye Qingping's eyes went wide,

staring fixedly at the companion art Ye Xiuxiu had displayed,

his face filled with disbelief and extreme excitement,

he could not help but cry out aloud:

"My daughter Xiuxiu has Mahayana aptitude!"

"Such aptitude will surely make her a titan of her domain in the future, her name renowned throughout the world!"

Ye Xiuxiu, who had been immersed in a state of steady cultivation,

suddenly heard her father Ye Qingping's agitated words,

her delicate frame trembling sharply as though struck by lightning, and she instantly stopped cultivating.

She cried out inwardly in alarm, thinking: "Father, oh Father, you absolutely must not say such things recklessly!"

"The last person praised like this — I'm afraid the weeds on their grave have already grown several zhang tall by now."

Meanwhile, Bai Qingxia walked over quickly with a face full of joy, her eyes brimming with love and doting affection for her daughter.

She gently drew Ye Xiuxiu into her embrace and said softly:

"My precious darling daughter," not only do you possess an acquired special physique to strengthen the body,"

"you even carry a companion art."

"Such extraordinary talent is truly astounding!"

However, Ye Ruyan, standing not far away, was now surging with turmoil in her heart,

as though a violent earthquake had struck.

She bit her lip hard, her gaze locked tightly on Ye Xiuxiu,

her heart filled with doubt, jealousy, and unwillingness.

Ye Ruyan had long since secretly planned that during the talent examination at age six,

she would use the secret manual of the Heaven and Earth Immortal Art to disguise it as her own companion art, thereby stunning everyone,

and attracting everyone's attention.

But now, seeing that Ye Xiuxiu actually possessed a companion art,

her carefully laid plans seemed about to fall through...

The two of them had not even reached six years of age yet,

being only a little over four years old,

and yet Ye Xiuxiu had already taken the lead in stunning everyone and drawing all eyes to herself?

Even if she later pretended to possess a companion art,

she would probably always be overshadowed by Ye Xiuxiu.

Especially now that Ye Xiuxiu already possessed an acquired physique to strengthen her body,

her cultivation speed was faster,

and she had set foot on the path of cultivation a full two years earlier than herself,

how could she possibly compare!

Ye Ruyan cried out silently in her heart: "No!"

Then she firmly declared in her mind,

"I must start cultivating ahead of time!"

Even if doing so would have adverse effects on her subsequent physical development, she would not hesitate!

Then Ye Xiuxiu muttered to herself inwardly:

"A companion art?"

"How could I have a companion art?"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her mind,

and she sharply recalled the second reward she had previously received,

the Hongmeng Creation Scripture,

Could it be that this mysterious cultivation technique had directly transformed into an innate technique and merged into her body?

That was why she hadn't detected anything unusual at all,

so it turned out this was the reason!

At this moment, Ye Songzhi said with a face full of smiles:

"Since Xiuxiu already has the ability to begin cultivating,"

"then let's make preparations to have Xiuxiu start Body Refining as soon as possible."

Others usually first build a solid foundation through arduous Body Refining,

thereby making full preparations for subsequently entering the Qi Refining Stage.

However, Ye Xiuxiu was completely different from the norm,

for she, before she had even begun formal Body Refining,

had already successfully stepped into the Qi Refining Stage and could begin cultivating.

However, it should be noted that

Body Refining is equally crucial for those who do not specifically follow the body cultivation path,

because regardless of anything else, the body is always the foundation and vessel of all cultivation.

At this moment, Ye Songzhi nodded slightly, expressing agreement:

"Indeed so, our ancestral land stores many extremely rare top-tier Body Refining spiritual medicines."

Then he turned to look at Ye Xiuxiu and said with eyes full of tender affection:

"We might as well take out all these precious spiritual medicines for Xiuxiu to use. After all, they were originally kept precisely for the young descendants of the family to use in the future."

When Ye Xiuxiu heard these words,

her eyes instantly burst forth with excited light.

Top-tier Body Refining spiritual medicines,

if used on herself to strengthen her body,

that would be nothing short of invincible!

Her goal was to become a sage,

so not only must she be strong in the literary arts, she could not be weak in the martial ones either.

After all, in Ye Xiuxiu's view,

those beings hailed as sages were not merely renowned for their Confucian Way scholarship,

their martial power was even more formidable to the point of leaving people speechless.

If they did not possess such transcendent strength,

how could they make others willingly follow their teachings?

Could it be merely because their words were pleasing to hear?

Obviously not,

the actual situation was often that absolute martial force was used to compel the other party into submission,

and if you didn't listen,

those big fists would be smacking you in the face.

The sage had seventy-two disciples,

three thousand followers,

over three thousand people standing there alone,

who among ordinary people wouldn't be afraid?

Why was it only after the sage that a hundred schools of thought contended?

Because when the sage was present,

all the other schools had been beaten numb.

"Grandfather, I want to undergo Body Refining too and cultivate ahead of time!"

Ye Ruyan shouted toward Ye Songzhi.

Everyone in the room was visibly taken aback upon hearing Ye Ruyan's words.

Ye Qingping immediately tried to dissuade her,

"Ruyan, it would be the same if you started cultivating in two years,"

"Don't let these two years affect your entire life."

Liu Yuesong likewise tried to dissuade her,

"Ruyan, Mother doesn't agree with you doing this."

Ye Ruyan's face was written all over with determination,

"I must do this,"

"I must cultivate ahead of time,"

"I refuse to be left behind by my sister!"

To choose between being a normal person with only a few years left to live, knowing in fear when one would die,

and being slightly flawed but able to survive properly with the possibility of seizing another's body to remedy the flaw,

she chose the latter without hesitation.

Liu Yuesong tried to dissuade her again, "Ruyan, if you do this, you might end up staying this way for the rest of your life. You won't grow up."

(End of this chapter)