Nine-Aperture Heart Palace, Seven-Aperture Liver Palace

"Was that... Unity of Man and Sword?!"

No wonder Dong Hao's heart had been violently shaken, and he had nearly cried out in shock.

He truly had not expected that after merely one night, Jiang Xuan's bearing would undergo such an earth-shaking transformation.

The Dong Household was considered a somewhat renowned cultivation Aristocratic Clan, with its own inherited foundations. One of them was the "Treasure-Discernment Spirit Eye."

Any direct descendant of the Dong Household could open this eye through a secret family ritual. It could not only distinguish the grade and authenticity of heavenly treasures and earthly materials, but also vaguely glimpse the fortune surrounding cultivators.

The reason he had taken the initiative to befriend Jiang Xuan yesterday, even going so far as to gift him a cultivation art, was certainly because he had been moved by Jiang Xuan's meticulous sincerity during the cleansing ritual. Yet the more fundamental reason was that, through the Treasure-Discernment Spirit Eye, he had seen Jiang Xuan's aura to be pure and flawless, faintly suffused with a layer of lustrous white treasure light.

Even then, he had been certain that Jiang Xuan was no creature meant to remain in a pond, and was worth placing a wager on.

But now, when he observed him again with the Spirit Eye, the pure and flawless aura around Jiang Xuan remained unchanged, yet it had gained a natural quality that seemed to blend with heaven and earth, along with a thread of peerlessly sharp fierceness concealed within.

How could someone as knowledgeable as him fail to recognize it? This was clearly the threshold of Unity of Man and Sword. Jiang Xuan had even produced a faint, barely perceptible embryonic Sword Intent!

Such a Jiang Xuan was even more worth winning over than he had expected.

Of course, that alone would not have left him so stunned and uncomposed.

For sword cultivators, Unity of Man and Sword was merely the beginning.

What made his clenched knuckles turn white and sent stormy waves surging through his heart was that, unaware Jiang Xuan possessed an attribute panel and had received a burst of good fortune yesterday, becoming a Clear-Heart Sword Disciple—a rare-grade profession—he attributed all of Jiang Xuan's changes to the One Qi Sword Art.

And that cultivation art had only been personally handed to Jiang Xuan by him yesterday.

"Just one day... and he could use a single cultivation art to polish out the realm of Unity of Man and Sword. Just how terrifying is Jiang Xuan's talent for the sword?!"

The extreme shock changed his expression for an instant.

Fortunately, the composure forged by years of Aristocratic Clan upbringing allowed him to quickly suppress his turbulent emotions. Nor did he rashly step forward to disturb Jiang Xuan.

Still, during cultivation, the frequent glances he cast toward Jiang Xuan were eventually noticed by some observant people nearby.

Naturally, Jiang Xuan was completely unaware of the countless waves surging through Dong Hao's heart.

Once he arrived at the seat he had found for himself, he settled down and began making preparations before cultivation.

Cleanse the body, cleanse the hands, cleanse the mouth.

This time, he did not merely complete his own cleansing ritual with meticulous care. With a solemn expression, he also performed each step for the Azure Glaze Sword in his hand.

Afterward, he stroked Qingli inch by inch, establishing a sensory connection with her.

—With his profession passive, that final step could have been accomplished in a single thought.

Yet his utter sincerity toward the sword, and his respect for this blade that accompanied him, made him unwilling to omit even half a step. He sought only for heart, intent, and hand to all arrive together, leaving nothing imperfect.

This set of rituals was quite cumbersome and consumed considerable time.

Naturally, when the students nearby saw him treating a bamboo sword like a precious treasure and solemnly cleansing it, many showed disdain. They only thought he was putting on airs again, trying to attract attention with some absurd spectacle.

"Yesterday it was cleansing himself, and today he brought a longsword. Is he planning to play more tricks?"

"Hmph, I refuse to believe anyone will be fooled by you today."

"Just crooked paths and evil ways. We cultivators should take breathing and Qi refinement as our foundation. What future can come from spending every day on such empty, flashy nonsense?"

The scattered discussions drifted over, but naturally, other people's remarks did not affect Jiang Xuan in the slightest.

With his entire focus placed upon the Azure Glaze Sword, Jiang Xuan spent a full incense stick's time before entering the perfect state where spirit and sword were united, clear and empty.

By the time Jiang Xuan had finished everything, Instructor Song Zhou had also arrived.

He raised his eyes toward the eastern horizon. Seeing that the morning sun was on the verge of rising, the finest hour for breathing cultivation had arrived. He immediately gave the order in a deep voice.

"Cultivation begins."

"Hu..."

At his command, the three thousand students on the mountainside began breathing in unison. Their vast breaths converged into a current, beginning another morning cultivation session.

Jiang Xuan, who had long been fully prepared, likewise entered meditation.

Yet unlike the others, who directly used breathing methods to absorb spiritual energy, Jiang Xuan first completed the final synchronization between his mind and the Azure Glaze Sword in his hand. Then, using Qingli as a medium, he began drawing in the natural spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

"Ring..."

As Jiang Xuan poured in his divine intent, the reawakened Azure Glaze Sword immediately released a clear sword cry. Then, with Qingli's blade trembling faintly, she used sound to stir the wood-element spiritual energy within sixty meters, drawing all of it toward Jiang Xuan.

Although more than half of that spiritual energy was absorbed by Qingli's sword body, the remainder flowing into Jiang Xuan still exceeded by several times the amount he could normally absorb through breathing alone.

This also caused a realization to arise in Jiang Xuan's heart.

"Looking at it this way, spiritual materials are actually far more compatible with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth than human bodies are. That makes sense. Vegetation and spiritual materials are born of heaven and earth and grow in nature, so they are naturally more intimate with the laws of heaven and earth than humans."

"Moreover, their lifespans are quite long. They can easily live for centuries, even thousands of years."

"But where there is gain, there is loss. Though close to nature and long-lived, they also possess one great weakness... they struggle to develop spiritual intelligence."

"Humans, on the other hand, have never been most praiseworthy for the strength of their bodies or the length of their lifespans, but for their abundant spirituality and wisdom passed down without end."

The stray thoughts rising in his mind were swiftly severed by Jiang Xuan with Clear-Heart Sword Intent.

After entering meditation with sword in hand, Jiang Xuan first circulated the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Art after drawing the natural spiritual energy of wood into his body.

Because he had maintained the synchronized state of Unity of Man and Sword, the natural spiritual energy mistakenly regarded Jiang Xuan as part of Qingli. This further accelerated his refinement speed.

Yet halfway through cultivation, his love for the sword caused Jiang Xuan to subconsciously begin circulating the One Qi Sword Art.

"Shing!"

Under Jiang Xuan's will, the spiritual energy circulating through his body first gathered into a single stream. Then, like a flying sword drawn from its sheath, it swiftly coursed through his meridians in Cosmic Cycle Circulation.

Doing this was actually extremely dangerous.

In this world, there was no saying that spiritual energy could not harm its own wielder.

Gathering spiritual energy into the shape of a sword made it incomparably sharp, and its circulation was so swift that the slightest mistake could pierce the meridians and damage them.

This was why cultivators most feared disturbance during cultivation, and why sword cultivators were so difficult to cultivate.

Fortunately, this danger, which others avoided like the plague, was not worth mentioning to Jiang Xuan.

The profession enhancement of [Clear-Heart Sword Disciple] made his mind clear as a mirror, while he and the sword had become wholly one. Even the sword-current formed from spiritual energy within his body was an extension of the sword in his hand, a part of himself.

Wherever his mind went, the sword-current followed. No matter how fast it circulated, there was absolutely no possibility of it harming him.

Once spiritual energy had gathered into sword form, the tempering effect of qi and blood was not very effective, but the efficiency of tempering through spirit and intent greatly increased.

Yet his current cultivation still did not encompass the entirety of the One Qi Sword Art.

"Hum!"

As Jiang Xuan's thoughts shifted again, the sword-current that had been endlessly rushing through his meridians abruptly turned and plunged directly into his liver.

"The liver belongs to wood, and Qingli is also wood. Nurturing the liver organs with wood-element Sword Qi is the most compatible method."

"Hum—!"

The sword-current entered his liver, and vast wood-element spiritual energy instantly swept through it. A faint stabbing pain came to his liver, but that stimulation was also the beginning of transformation.

Under the unique method of the One Qi Sword Art, spiritual energy continuously blended with and tempered his liver. A thread of pure wood-element life-origin Qi slowly began to emerge from within it.

Beyond that, through the ability of [Clear-Heart Mirror], Jiang Xuan clearly saw several glimmering points of light appearing upon his liver.

Those were secret apertures hidden within the five viscera, and also the Aperture Opening method of the One Qi Sword Art.

This cultivation art was not merely a set of sword techniques for slaughter and battle, but a complete Qi-refinement method. Its way of opening apertures was to use Sword Qi to stimulate the five viscera, allowing the hidden and unseen secret apertures within the organs to reveal themselves directly.

With his mind crystal clear, Jiang Xuan had long memorized the general outline of this cultivation art by heart.

"The first step in cultivating the One Qi Sword Art is to first condense a mouthful of innate Qi, then refine that Qi until it becomes purer. Only when Qi is pure and flawless can it merge into the five viscera without harming the organs or contaminating the source."

"The second step—or rather, the third stage of cultivation—is to use this mouthful of innate Qi to stimulate the five viscera in sequence, nurturing the corresponding origin Qi of the five elements."

"Once the five Qis are complete, they can be united into one and condensed into innate origin Qi."

"And during this process, not only will my Sword Qi grow stronger, but the secret apertures within the five viscera will also be opened one by one. The power of the One Qi Sword Art depends upon the number and depth of apertures opened."

Even at this point, it was still not the end of this cultivation art.

"The five viscera, the five elements, and the human body are closely interconnected. Take the lungs, for example. They are the ministerial official, the root of Qi, the canopy of the body's Qi mechanism. They correspond to skin in the body, their radiance lies in body hair, they open into the nose, their emotion is sorrow and worry, their fluid is tears, they are internally and externally paired with the large intestine, and they also correspond to autumn."

"The spleen is the official of granaries, the foundation of postnatal life, and the source of Qi and blood transformation. It corresponds to flesh in the body, governs the four limbs, its radiance lies in the lips, it opens into the mouth, its emotion is thought, its fluid is saliva, it is internally and externally paired with the stomach, and it corresponds to late summer."

"The heart is the sovereign official..."

Each of the five viscera had its own domain. Tug one hair and the whole body moved, for they were linked to every layer of flesh and every meridian in the human body. Through these connections, the apertures the One Qi Sword Art could open were by no means limited to the five viscera. Following the links between the organs and the entire body, it could reach every bone and limb.

This was the general outline of the One Qi Sword Art's Aperture Opening method.

"However, although the five viscera are closely connected to the human body, beginning with the internal organs and attempting to reach the skin, hair, flesh, and pores ultimately adds another layer of obstruction."

"Furthermore, this method uses Sword Qi to stimulate the internal organs, and the slightest carelessness can damage the origin of the five viscera. This is also why the One Qi Sword Art is ultimately ranked below the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Art."

"The latter circulates Qi with balance and gentleness, carrying no danger of Qi deviation. Any kind of Root Bone can cultivate it, and it can steadily open every aperture throughout the body step by step. Even changing to a higher-grade cultivation art in the future poses no obstacle..."

Overall, the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Art was superior to the One Qi Sword Art. Unfortunately, although the former was excellent, its strength lay in versatility, accessibility, and perhaps comprehensiveness at most.

In terms of compatibility with Jiang Xuan, however, it was inferior to the One Qi Sword Art. After all, Jiang Xuan had become a Clear-Heart Sword Disciple and had achieved Unity of Man and Sword with Qingli. For him as he was now, the dangers of the One Qi Sword Art could basically be ignored, while all its benefits could be fully obtained.

Therefore, Jiang Xuan planned to focus on cultivating the Innate One-Qi Sword for the time being.

Of course, this did not mean he intended to abandon the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Art.

For ordinary people, cultivating one cultivation art was the most suitable choice. It was not enough to simply cultivate a cultivation art—you also needed to raise it to a higher realm. One high-realm cultivation art was more useful than a hundred low-grade ones.

Thus, almost no one cultivated multiple arts simultaneously. The value for the effort was simply too low.

But Jiang Xuan was different. He possessed the profession system.

"Since I became a Clear-Heart Sword Disciple, following the One Qi Sword Art is smoother for me at present."

"Once I become a Qi Refiner in the future, cultivating the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Art will likewise grant me the corresponding enhancement."

"The profession's exclusive bonuses allow me to cultivate two, even three cultivation arts at once without any obstruction."

"Still, there is reason in the saying, 'Grasp too much, and you cannot chew it.' For me, cultivating two cultivation arts at once is already the limit. Any more would only waste time."

These thoughts passed through his mind in but an instant.

Jiang Xuan swiftly severed all stray thoughts, returning his focus to his liver. He concentrated on sensing the sword-current's continuous stimulation of his liver, as well as the apertures becoming increasingly distinct under that stimulation. Then, using the wood-element origin Qi nurtured by his liver together with pure wood-element spiritual energy, he slowly nourished those newly revealed apertures.

Wood governed vitality and possessed an innate nourishing bonus toward the liver apertures that also belonged to wood. Under the effect of like sources generating one another, Jiang Xuan only needed to expend seventy percent of his mana to steadily nourish the apertures until they solidified.

Furthermore, after attaining Unity of Man and Sword, Jiang Xuan had drawn a great quantity of wood-element spiritual energy into his body through the Azure Glaze Sword's attraction to natural spiritual energy. The abundant spiritual energy, combined with his compatibility with Qingli, allowed him to convert vastly more mana than an ordinary person.

With all these factors combined, before the morning cultivation session had even ended, Jiang Xuan had already steadily opened three secret apertures within his liver.

"In the remaining time, I can open two more apertures. That will make five... If I can open five more this afternoon, that will be ten apertures in one day. Thirty in three days—just enough to receive an Excellent rating!"

An Excellent evaluation was within arm's reach, and a trace of anticipation appeared in Jiang Xuan's eyes.

However, his cultivation was not entirely smooth sailing.

The One Qi Sword Art was, in the end, a sword cultivation art of slaughter and battle. While peerlessly sharp, its cultivation process could also easily harm one's own origin.

Just like now, Jiang Xuan could feel that his liver had already reached its limit. The One-Qi Sword used stimulation to reveal the apertures within the liver, and Jiang Xuan had then extracted a great deal of liver-origin Qi. This had enormously depleted his liver. Even with spiritual energy replenishing it, he could still feel a faint pain coming from his liver.

"I can't keep focusing on my liver. It needs rest."

With that thought, Jiang Xuan shifted his attention to his heart.

He chose the heart for two reasons. First, the heart was the sovereign official and the root of life, the great ruler of the five viscera and six bowels, with abundant origin. Second, the heart belonged to fire, and within the cycle of the five elements, wood generated fire. He could use the abundant wood-element spiritual energy within his body to fuel his heart-fire.

At a shift of thought, Jiang Xuan guided all the rushing wood-element spiritual energy in his body into his heart.

"Boom!"

With the influx of wood-element spiritual energy, the Qi and blood within Jiang Xuan's heart instantly ignited, transforming into blazing heart-fire.

The scorching flames spread a burning sensation through his meridians and filled both body and mind. Yet the effect was immediate—using heart-fire to refine spiritual energy, such a violent and direct method, refined every trace of spiritual energy entering Jiang Xuan's body into pure mana in an instant.

Then, this condensed fire-element mana flowed toward the secret apertures revealed within his heart, slowly beginning to nourish them.

With [Clear-Heart Mirror], Jiang Xuan could very easily observe the apertures within his body.

The heart was also a part of Jiang Xuan, so naturally it could be observed by [Clear-Heart Mirror].

What made Jiang Xuan sigh in admiration was that the heart truly deserved its title as the sovereign official and great ruler of the five viscera and six bowels. There were actually nine apertures within it.

One had to know that there had only been seven secret apertures within his liver just now.

"Nine-Aperture Heart Palace, Seven-Aperture Liver Palace. That does fit the number of the five elements—and the dignity of a sovereign."