And in the early stages of Spirit Pivot Aperture Opening, the core principle ultimately came down to four words—Refining Essence into Qi.
This condition of a strong soul and weak body meant that after every cultivation session, Jiang Xuan's physical body would suffer an uncontrollable sense of depletion. Even with nourishing spiritual meals and medicinal pills, he needed a long period of rest before he could recover.
But only his body was depleted. Relying on his incomparably powerful Divine Soul, his mind remained clear and brimming with vigor.
Taking advantage of his remaining mental energy, Jiang Xuan sat down cross-legged and began chanting incantations once more.
Naturally, what he chanted this time was no longer the familiar Heart-Purification Divine Incantation, but the Mouth-Purification and Body-Purification Divine Incantations.
"Among the Eight Divine Incantations, the foremost Heart-Purification Divine Incantation, Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation, and Body-Purification Divine Incantation are collectively known as the Three Purification Incantations. Aside from being the first compulsory practices of the Mystic Sect's morning and evening lessons, Daoist fasting and ritual ceremonies, talisman-drawing and spellcasting, and daily cultivation, they are also foundational methods for cultivators to forge a True Communion Vessel and build bridges between man and gods, man and heaven and earth."
A True Communion Vessel could also be called a "Pure Vessel." Jiang Xuan still did not understand what practical use this so-called Pure Vessel had.
Yet he vaguely had an intuition that if all Three Purification Incantations reached Minor Achievement, the three transformations layered together might bring about a bone-cleansing, marrow-changing transformation in his body.
That was also why Jiang Xuan remained so driven whenever he cultivated the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and Body-Purification Divine Incantation.
"Cinnabar Mouth Deity, expel filth and dispel foul vapors; Tongue Deity Zhenglun, open the gate of life and nourish the spirit..."
"Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure, soothe and settle this form; disciple's soul and spirit, Five Viscera Dark Nether..."
The only thing Jiang Xuan found regrettable was that although Clear-Heart Sword Disciple was a Sword Cultivator profession, it was one centered on the heart. It was highly compatible with the Heart-Purification Divine Incantation, allowing him to cultivate several methods at once.
Moreover, the methods mutually confirmed one another, letting him gain several points of experience with every single recitation.
But the Body-Purification Divine Incantation and Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation had nothing to do with Clear-Heart Sword Disciple, so he no longer received that special bonus while cultivating them.
"Forget it. I'll cultivate them slowly. From the Second Realm to the Third Realm, the Three Purification Incantations only need three hundred experience points. There's no rush."
That day, Jiang Xuan continued chanting in his room without pause until midnight before finally stopping.
Then, after sleeping for only two or three hours, Jiang Xuan rose and continued chanting the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and Body-Purification Divine Incantation.
Such round-the-clock cultivation did take a certain toll on him.
"But I can still hold on for just one day!"
Jiang Xuan was young, after all. Even in his previous life, if he forced himself, he could stay awake for three days and three nights.
In this world, with Spell Power supporting him, he could force himself through ten days or half a month without rest or sleep.
Of course, forcibly draining Origin Energy like this not only harmed the body, but also greatly reduced cultivation efficiency when the mind grew weary. However, Jiang Xuan had never intended to keep it up for long. It was only one day, and he had rested for more than two hours. He could afford this small amount of depletion.
"...Tongue Deity Zhenglun, open the gate of life and nourish the spirit..."
"Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure, soothe and settle this form; disciple's soul and spirit, Five Viscera Dark Nether..."
The clear, ringing chants echoed endlessly through the hall. Sitting cross-legged, Jiang Xuan repeatedly recited the incantations before the two characters "Heaven and Earth" hanging on the wall.
And this unceasing cultivation through day and night finally brought tangible results.
At dawn, just as a streak of fish-belly white appeared in the Eastern Domain sky, Jiang Xuan finished his final recitation. After hundreds of complete cultivation cycles, both his Mouth-Purification and Body-Purification Divine Incantations entered the Third Realm: Proficient together!
Almost at the same time, system notifications rang out one after another in his sea of consciousness:
[You have continuously recited the Body-Purification Divine Incantation and Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation. Your cultivation of both incantations has reached completion and has advanced to the Third Realm: Proficient.] [Your Daoist Acolyte profession experience is full. You can level up. Advance?]
For a Daoist Acolyte, chanting incantations was cultivation. Since he had successively cultivated all Three Divine Incantations to the Third Realm, it was only natural that his Daoist Acolyte profession experience had also filled up.
Of course, this was also inseparable from the fact that Daoist Acolyte was only a first-tier profession.
"First-tier professions are quick to advance to begin with. In the Celestial Immortal Realm, they can't even be considered proper professions—they're apprentices."
"Because they're only beginners, professionals at this stage don't have much combat power. Only from the second-tier official professions onward do players truly gain combat strength and the qualifications to venture through the Celestial Immortal Realm."
Thinking over his own situation, Jiang Xuan realized that excluding this world's immortal arts, he truly had little combat power if he relied only on the Celestial World's professions.
There was no need to mention the support profession, Daoist Acolyte. Its three attached skills were divine abilities when it came to cultivation preparation, but if used in a spell duel, they were less practical than raising his fists and smashing wildly.
As for Clear-Heart Sword Disciple, it only had the barely usable Sword of the Mind skill. Trying to roam the world with that alone was undoubtedly a fantasy spun from thin air.
"The second-stage official advancement is where the Profession System truly begins to exert its strength, and I've already touched its threshold."
With that thought, Jiang Xuan did not hesitate in the slightest. He silently said in his heart, "Advance."
"Buzz—!"
At Jiang Xuan's command, a clear cry exploded deep within his sea of consciousness. Then, a pure and ethereal aura instantly surged through his entire body, gently washing over his Soul Spirit and flesh before vanishing without a trace.
After all, this was merely an entry-level support profession. The improvement brought by its advancement was indeed not particularly significant.
Fortunately, Jiang Xuan had never expected to break the deadlock with that little improvement. What truly exhilarated him was this—his Daoist Acolyte level had risen to Level 3, and all Three Divine Incantations had been cultivated to Minor Achievement. He had already perfectly fulfilled the first two conditions for transferring into Scripture Mystic Daoist!
"Adding the fourth task I completed ahead of time, I only need to memorize three hundred volumes of Daoist Scriptures and the Daoist Canon, then construct a Scripture Repository, and I can complete the transfer to Scripture Mystic Daoist."
His first official profession seemed within arm's reach, making Jiang Xuan's heart pound uncontrollably.
But he quickly remembered that he had no Daoist Scriptures or Daoist Canon in hand to read. As for personally building a Scripture Repository, he had no idea how many years or months that would take. Jiang Xuan immediately let out a sigh.
However, that disappointment lasted only an instant before he quickly pulled himself together again.
"Forget it. The transfer to Scripture Mystic Daoist may still take some time, but the linked effect of the Three Purification Incantations can be tested right now!"
After murmuring that, he focused and summoned his attribute panel. Two brand-new ability descriptions immediately leaped into view:
[Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation] [Realm: Third Realm · Proficient] [Ability Description: Through years upon years of recitation and cultivation, your understanding of the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation has deepened... The duration of your Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation's enhancement has increased; the sound of your scripture recitations and incantations will become pure and clear, making others more likely to believe you; when you loudly recite incantations, their power will increase accordingly; your rebukes carry innate authority and can make those with guilty consciences feel shame; the divine incantation can be cast on others; you can actively exhale the turbid qi within your body; you have gained the permanent effect "Transcendent Purity."]
[Body-Purification Divine Incantation] [Realm: Third Realm · Proficient] [Ability Description: Through years upon years of recitation and cultivation, your understanding of the Body-Purification Divine Incantation has deepened... The duration of your Body-Purification Divine Incantation's enhancement has increased; when the Body-Purification Incantation enhances yourself, your body will become clear and ethereal, and can dispel negative conditions such as poisoning, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, illness, and more; when you encounter curses, you may also use the Body-Purification Divine Incantation to alleviate or even purify them; your Body-Purification Divine Incantation can be cast on others; you have gained one layer of the "Transcendent Purity" effect.]
After reading the system's descriptions, Jiang Xuan found that the latter two Divine Incantations were both highly useful. The Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation increased the power of his incantation recitals, while the Body-Purification Divine Incantation was practically a divine skill. With it, whether his physical body encountered illness or curses, he could directly purify them and restore his body to a perfect state.
"No wonder Gu Masters and curse masters have always been classified as unorthodox paths in Huaxia legends. Orthodox Mystic Sect cultivators restrain those two Dao Paths far too effectively."
"Whether it is gu poison or curses, they must ultimately fall upon a cultivator's body and mind. But orthodox Daoists recite the Three Purification Incantations year-round, leaving body and mind free of stain. Evil entities cannot come near them at all, and even if they do, they will be purified in an instant..."
Shaking his head and no longer dwelling on Gu Masters, Jiang Xuan's gaze fell on the final notification in the system log:
[You have cultivated all Three Purification Incantations to the Third Realm: Proficient, triggering the incantation linkage effect.] [Release the Three Purification Incantations in sequence according to the ritual procedure to gain the special enhancement state: Communion with Truth.] [Three Purification Incantations · Communion with Truth] [Rank: Purple Premium Grade] [Effect Description: By reciting the Three Purification Incantations in sequence, you will achieve all-dimensional purity of "no distracting thoughts within, no filthy words in speech, no evil qi in the body"; "when man can remain ever pure and still, heaven and earth shall all return." Having maintained your own purity, you will become the finest vessel for sensing deities and communing with heaven and earth. In this state, your perception of heaven-and-earth spiritual resonance will be greatly enhanced, and you will receive the active affinity of the world's pure and ethereal qi.] [Note: The enhancement granted by the Three Purification Incantations is capped at Purple Rating (Earthly Spirit Root).] [Note ②: Warning! In the Communion with Truth state, your perception of spiritual resonance will be indiscriminately amplified, and you will also become more vulnerable to the disturbance and possession of evil spirits.]
"My guess was right after all!"
The description of Communion with Truth made Jiang Xuan fiercely swing his fist.
Though the game panel's description was lengthy, its core effect could be summed up in one sentence—it was equivalent to directly raising the grade of his Spirit Root!
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Xuan immediately calmed his mind and regulated his breath, reciting the Three Purification Incantations in sequence according to the ritual procedure.
"Supreme Dais Star, respond to transformations without cease; drive away evil and bind demons, preserve life and protect the body..."
The Purifying Heart Incantation steadied his spirit, the Mouth-Purification Incantation cleansed his speech, and the Body-Purification Incantation purified his body. When the final syllable fell, the "Communion with Truth" state instantly descended upon him. An unprecedented sensation of purity soaked through his Divine Soul and physical body in an instant.
At that moment, Jiang Xuan felt as though his body had become three parts lighter. What filled him with even wilder joy was that the spiritual qi previously drifting between heaven and earth, which had always been aloof and indifferent toward him, now actively gathered around him like weary birds returning to the forest. Quite a bit of spiritual qi even entered his limbs and bones on its own, without him needing to activate any cultivation method.
With heaven-and-earth spiritual qi actively drawing close to him, the difficulty of refining Spell Power had dropped by another thirty percent!
"So this is what it feels like to have outstanding Spirit Root talent? This is far too satisfying!"
The exhilarating sensation of resonating with heaven, earth, and nature nearly made Jiang Xuan lose himself in it.
However, he also noticed that his Spirit Root talent had currently risen only two minor stages, from Middle Profound to Supreme Profound Grade. He had not yet touched the threshold of Earth-Rank.
Jiang Xuan was already very satisfied with that.
"Earthly Spirit Roots are far too rare. In the entire Star Daoist Academy, most prodigies, people like Dong Hao, only possess Earthly Spirit Roots."
Yes, after observing for the past few days and speaking with Dong Hao and the others, Jiang Xuan learned that the prodigies seated in the front rows possessed Earthly Spirit Roots as well, rather than the Heaven-grade Spirit Roots he had previously assumed.
He still remembered Dong Hao's expression of astonishment and helplessness when he spoke of it.
"How could I possibly have a Heaven-grade Spirit Root? You're underestimating the value of Heaven-grade Spirit Roots too much. If we truly had Heaven-grade Spirit Roots and privileged backgrounds, we wouldn't have waited until the third or fourth day for someone to open thirty-six Apertures and receive an Excellent Rating. Someone would have met the standard perfectly on the second day, or even the first."
"It's not as though the Divine Firmament Sect has no Heaven-grade prodigies, but they all cultivate in Daozi Academy." At this point, Dong Hao's expression was difficult to read, somewhere between relief and reflection. "Also, once someone's Spirit Root is rated Heaven Grade, they directly secure a place in the inner sect. Even if they take the assessment, they won't compete with us for these limited spots."
Those words made Jiang Xuan thoroughly understand the value of Heaven-grade talent. He also learned that Qin Feng and Xie Hanyan, the first in their class to open their Apertures, both possessed Supreme Earth-Grade Spirit Roots, while Dong Hao himself had a high Earth-Rank Spirit Root.
"I'm still somewhat behind them now, but as long as I persist in reciting incantations and cultivating, gradually washing away the turbid qi in my body, my Spirit Root talent will only grow stronger and stronger."
"Moreover, the Communion with Truth state can raise my Spirit Root talent by two additional minor grades. That means as long as my innate Spirit Root rises once more, I can directly step into Low Earth-Rank when the Three Purification Incantations are upon me!"
Thinking that he was only one step away from becoming a "genius" in the eyes of others, Jiang Xuan could not suppress his excitement.
At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to sit cross-legged on the spot and begin cultivating immediately.