The ability to clearly perceive everything gave Jiang Xuan room for precise micro-adjustments.
’This part is wrong. This meridian is bent, so the flow of Spiritual Qi needs to slow down to avoid hitting the walls and causing waste...’
’This section of the meridian is straight and clear. I can speed things up here, saving time on the Circulation of Qi...’
’Hmm, this is my heart, the core of my qi and blood. The efficiency of Spiritual Qi’s Refinement is highest when passing through here... I can’t go fast. I have to be as slow as possible...’
Without the Mirror of Clarity to provide a complete overview, Jiang Xuan could only guide the Spiritual Qi at a constant speed during its entire Circulation of Qi.
But now, with the Mirror of Clarity allowing him to perceive the entire system, he discovered that refining Spiritual Qi was different from casting Magic.
For the latter, the goal was to cast the Magic as quickly as possible, so faster was naturally better. But the key to Cultivation was the infusion of qi and blood and the Refinement of the Divine Soul. Here, one couldn’t pursue speed. In some critical areas, slowness was the guiding principle—the slower, the better.
At the same time, the Mirror of Clarity also showed Jiang Xuan the most efficient amount of qi and blood to use for infusing the Spiritual Qi.
’Before, I was just indiscriminately piling my qi and blood onto the Spiritual Qi. With such a crude method of infusion, nearly half of my qi and blood was being pointlessly wasted.’
’Now I use a precise amount of qi and blood to infuse a corresponding amount of Spiritual Qi. This meticulous process has reduced my consumption of qi and blood by at least half. In turn, this means I can effectively cultivate for almost twice as long.’
By understanding the secrets of ’Refining Essence and Qi’ and by varying the speed of the Spiritual Qi’s Circulation of Qi appropriately, Jiang Xuan’s Cultivation efficiency took a quantum leap.
Now, he only needed to have the Spiritual Qi complete three Circulations within his body to convert it into his own Magical Power.
Furthermore, the precise control reduced his consumption of qi and blood, nearly doubling the amount of time Jiang Xuan could spend on Cultivation.
The end result was that by the time Jiang Xuan finished his Cultivation, he had opened three acupoints in one go!
’I can open three in the morning and another three in the afternoon—that’s six a day... If I had become a Clear Heart Swordsman on the very first day, I would have had a shot at an ’excellent’ rating for the Chengdao Class!’
The moment he calculated this, Jiang Xuan’s heart began to pound relentlessly. He was excited, but even more so... regretful.
’Unfortunately, this is no longer the first day. It’s the fourth. There are only three days left before the deadline for an ’excellent’ rating.’
’Opening and nourishing another thirty acupoints in three days... It’s impossible for me.’
Having the ability to reach the very top, yet missing the perfect opportunity—that kind of regret was the most agonizing, the kind that was hardest to accept.
Fortunately, Jiang Xuan had always possessed a firm will. With the Purifying Heart Spell also protecting his Spirit Platform, the two complemented each other perfectly. After only a few deep breaths, all feelings of bitterness and regret in his heart dissipated.
But as the negative emotions faded, the glint in Jiang Xuan’s eyes only grew more intense.
’Three days. Almost thirty acupoints. It’ll be difficult, but it’s not like I don’t have a chance!’
Something that had happened during his Cultivation session just now, in particular, ignited a raging fire of hope in Jiang Xuan’s heart.
During his several hours of Cultivation in the evening session, he had opened three acupoints. Part of that process, naturally, was finding the acupoints in the first place.
A Cultivator’s acupoints are located at the junction of spirit and flesh, existing in a superimposed state of the illusory and the real.
Previously, this meant that for Jiang Xuan to find a single acupoint, he had to expend a great deal of Heart Power. He would have to concentrate his senses for at least the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before he could catch a glimpse of an acupoint’s starlight amidst the endless turbid qi in his body.
But now, with the Purifying Heart Spell protecting his Spirit Platform and the Mirror of Clarity perceiving the very source of things, the instant he focused his senses, he immediately saw more than ten points of brilliant starlight!
This meant that in a single moment of concentration, he had found eleven hidden acupoints!
’With the Mirror of Clarity and the Purifying Heart Spell, finding acupoints is no longer the hard part for me. The challenge is filling them with Magical Power to make them manifest from illusory to real.’
’But there’s always been a shortcut for refining Magical Power.’
’Elixir Pills. As long as I have enough Elixir Pills, even with only three days left, I can open thirty-six acupoints and enter the Chengdao Class with an ’excellent’ rating!’