Analysis of Pros and Cons

Having analyzed the situation clearly, the next step was naturally to think of a solution. He tried increasing the speed at which the light spots moved, so they would have greater energy to drive the impurities out.

But the difficulty lay in how much to increase it. Too little energy would be useless; too much, exceeding what the pill could withstand, would make it burst apart and become ruined.

Lin Xuan tried increasing it bit by bit. The light spots around the impurities grew denser and denser until, at last, the impurities began moving again. Lin Xuan became even more cautious, controlling them as he slowly expelled the impurities...

About an hour later.

"Phew!"

Lin Xuan lay on the bed, utterly exhausted. His clothes had been soaked through with sweat. This purification process had been even more tiring than meditating and cultivating for an entire day without pause.

Yet a trace of gratification appeared at the corner of his lips. Lin Xuan raised his right hand before his eyes and opened his palm. Resting inside was a tiny pill, giving off a refreshing fragrance.

Mid-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill!

Though he had never seen one before, Lin Xuan had read its exact description in Annotations on Pills. Its color and appearance were exactly as recorded in the book. It was a genuine Mid-Grade Pill.

Its surface was pale blue, and its medicinal fragrance was far richer than that of a low-grade pill. One had to know that in the Cultivation World, pill refining was an extremely technical craft. Even for low-grade pills, the success rate was only fifty to sixty percent. For Mid-Grade Pills, it was less than one in five. In other words, to refine Mid-Grade Pills, one would often prepare materials for five batches, only for four batches to be ruined. And that was under the hands of an exceptionally skilled and experienced pill refiner. Such extravagance was something only a handful of major sects could afford. A small sect like Floating Cloud Valley simply did not possess the means to refine Mid-Grade Pills.

In theory, one Mid-Grade Pill could be exchanged for ten low-grade pills of the same kind. In reality, however, they were priceless and unavailable. Take Marrow Cleansing Pills, for example. Low-Grade Pills were rare, but every sect and school still possessed some. Mid-Grade Pills, on the other hand, were found only in a few major sects, and even there their numbers were exceedingly limited. They were reserved for gifted disciples to consume when breaking through bottlenecks.

This showed just how precious Mid-Grade Pills were!

Turning the spirit medicine over in his hand and reviewing the information on Mid-Grade Pills in his mind, Lin Xuan decided to personally test its effects.

Getting up from the bed, Lin Xuan pulled over a meditation cushion and sat cross-legged on the floor. He placed the pale-blue spirit medicine in his mouth, where it melted as soon as it touched his tongue.

Then he sank his divine sense into his dantian and began refining it. Before long, the medicinal power spread out, releasing a vast wave of heat within his dantian.

This was different from taking several Low-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pills at once. Although that also produced a warm current, it was scorching, making one feel as though one had been thrown into a furnace. It was extremely uncomfortable.

The sensation after consuming a Mid-Grade Pill was entirely different. Though this heat was rich and powerful, its temperature was moderate, making him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

Because it contained fewer impurities than a low-grade pill, its medicinal power was purer and more potent.

Though Annotations on Pills contained scattered records about this, experiencing it firsthand was entirely different. Lin Xuan was delighted, but his mind did not stir in the slightest. He concentrated all his divine sense on refining the medicinal power.

He gathered the spiritual power in his dantian. Compared to when he had been at the first layer of the Spirit Movement Stage, the quantity and quality of his spiritual power had undergone earth-shaking changes.

What had once been as thin as strands of hair were now each as thick as matchsticks, and their color had deepened considerably. They had previously been nearly transparent white, with only the faintest hint of blue-green, but now they were almost pure blue-green.

Very soon, they converged into a stream of spiritual power. He then controlled it through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, blending it with the medicinal power of the Mid-Grade Pill.

This process was extremely important. Put simply, he was using the refined pill's power to nourish his spiritual power.

Like the roots of a plant absorbing abundant nutrients, his spiritual power grew stronger. Lin Xuan then controlled it through a great circulation.

He completed it nine times!

By the time Lin Xuan finished his cultivation and rose from the floor, it was already noon. Refining the medicinal power this time had taken far longer than when he had previously taken three Low-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pills at once. Of course, the effects were also far more obvious.

After examining himself with his divine sense, Lin Xuan found that the spiritual power within his body had increased noticeably. This was worlds apart from the weakened effects of low-grade pills after he had mastered the fourth layer of the cultivation technique.

In other words, Mid-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pills could indeed meet the demands of his cultivation.

Through personal experimentation, Lin Xuan came to this conclusion. But another difficult problem still lay before him: Mid-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pills were extremely difficult to refine.

Over the past half year, Lin Xuan had gained considerable insight into using the Blue Light Spot. Purifying low-grade pills had become second nature to him, but Mid-Grade Pills...

To be honest, the pill he had just consumed had only been successfully purified by luck. If he tried again, Lin Xuan was not confident. Of course, this did not mean he could no longer purify Mid-Grade Pills. It meant that the process consumed an enormous amount of time and energy, and the success rate was low.

For example, Lin Xuan could now spend a day and a night purifying an entire bottle of Waste Pills, with a success rate above one-third. Without resting, the Star Sea inside him could continuously support the purification of six or seven low-grade pills.

But for Mid-Grade Pills, the current size of his Star Sea could support the purification of one at most without rest, and even then, failure was highly likely.

In other words, he could produce Mid-Grade Pills, but the efficiency was extremely low. If that continued, his cultivation progress would certainly be affected and slow down.

What should he do?

Lin Xuan lay on the bed and began thinking. After a moment of silence, he clapped his hands. He had made his decision: he would still purify Mid-Grade Pills.

He made this choice because continuing to cultivate by taking low-grade pills would produce only negligible effects. As for breaking through the bottleneck, who knew how many years or months he would have to wait?

Purifying Mid-Grade Pills would temporarily cost him more time, but when doing anything, one had to look further ahead. As the saying went, practice made perfect. When he had first begun purifying low-grade pills, had his success rate not been very low as well? Every step had been difficult. But what happened later? It became effortless.

So he could not develop thoughts of retreat merely because Mid-Grade Pills were difficult to purify. Cultivation was bound to bring all manner of obstacles. What was this little difficulty worth?

He only needed to find a way to overcome it.

He believed that with continuous practice, his efficiency in purifying Mid-Grade Pills would grow higher and higher. With their miraculous medicinal effects, his cultivation speed could once again advance a thousand miles in a day.

In other words, in the long run, spending time now to practice and master the purification of Mid-Grade Pills was absolutely worthwhile.

Having carefully analyzed the pros and cons, Lin Xuan now had a new plan for his future cultivation. He would continue working hard.