Half a minute later, Anna gave her answer.
"Based on deductions from the principles of the technique and searches through historical cases, the dangers of cultivating [Heart Fire Condensing Spirit] ahead of time mainly manifest in three aspects."
"First, low efficiency. With insufficient mental strength, one cannot effectively guide the heart fire to 'shape' the mind. The vast majority of mental power will dissipate during attempts at condensation, resulting in twice the effort for half the result."
"Second, enormous consumption. Each attempt consumes a great deal of mental power, extending the recovery period and affecting progress in other areas of cultivation."
"Third, there is a risk of backlash. If forced condensation fails, mental power may be damaged. In severe cases, it can lead to mental shock, requiring a long period of recuperation."
Xu Wuyi listened quietly, his expression unchanged, but he had already more or less rejected the idea.
Efficiency and backlash were manageable. The increased consumption from cultivating ahead of time was the truly fatal issue.
The point of cultivating the complete Visualization Method ahead of time was to trigger "a hundred epiphanies." If each session consumed too much mental power, then that would be impossible.
It was like when Xu Wuyi had previously practiced Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear, and now practiced God-Shocking Spear.
With those fully focused thrusts, he could complete at most around thirty a day before his mental power began to run dry, forcing him to stop and rest.
Mental cultivation differed from ordinary martial arts. It was not something one could simply persist through with willpower.
Physical exhaustion could always be recovered from, but repeatedly overtaxing the mind could easily leave irreversible damage.
"What a pity—although my mental power is growing, the grade of the techniques I cultivate is rising as well."
Xu Wuyi shook