And this surprise was far from over.
Though they were not incantations used for combat or attack, but ones commonly seen in Daoist Fasting and Ritual Ceremonies, the Eight Divine Incantations possessed boundless wondrous uses.
Especially the first three divine incantations—their core purpose was comprehensive purification of the cultivator himself.
And since they purified oneself, they naturally could not merely prevent external filth from entering Jiang Xuan's body.
"Exhale..."
As his breathing continued, the spiritual energy was refined. Next came Jiang Xuan's "exhalation"—expelling the waste air within his body through his mouth and nose.
Originally, Jiang Xuan's exhalation merely expelled waste air.
But now, with Clarity of the Spirit Platform, Jiang Xuan noticed that many old impurities hidden deep within his flesh, meridians, and marrow were also being drawn out of his body in fine wisps with that breath!
The expulsion of foul air made Jiang Xuan's body feel a little lighter. His pupils abruptly contracted, and his hand clenched tightly.
"I guessed right. The Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and Body-Purification Divine Incantation do more than stop external filth from entering my body. They can cleanse and expel the foul air accumulated within me from its very roots!"
The latter possibility excited Jiang Xuan so much because: "Though a Spirit Root's quality is not judged purely by how clean a cultivator's body is, qi belongs to purity and ethereality. If I expel all the foul air from within and return my body to its innate state of clear purity, such a physique will definitely raise my Spirit Root's grade by an entire major tier."
"The Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and Body-Purification Divine Incantation—these are spells capable of Meridian-Cutting Marrow-Washing and improving one's foundation!" Jiang Xuan's heart churned like storm-tossed waves, unable to settle for a long while.
Yet the first two divine incantations possessed such tremendous effects. It seemed strange, but in truth, it was not.
The Taoist Eight Divine Incantations had never been weak. The Golden Light Incantation, ranked fifth, was said to make one invulnerable to all spells and drive back every evil force once cultivated to the master realm.
And this was no empty boast. Heavenly Masters truly had cultivated to that realm and achieved exactly that.
Standing alongside the Golden Light Incantation, it would have been strange if the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and Body-Purification Divine Incantation lacked such effects.
However, after his excitement subsided, Jiang Xuan discovered that although the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and Body-Purification Divine Incantation were powerful, they were not without shortcomings.
Or rather, this was not a flaw in the divine incantations, but in Jiang Xuan himself.
"My two great spells are only at Realm 1, Beginner. To completely expel the foul air fused into my flesh and marrow will be no easy task. In fact, it is not something Realm 1 divine incantations can accomplish at all."
"Also, my divine incantations currently last too short a time."
One incense-stick's time—only fifteen minutes. Jiang Xuan had barely completed three rounds of breathing cultivation when all the effects of the spells on him dissipated.
Yet Jiang Xuan felt neither disappointment nor frustration.
He merely rose calmly and cast the spells once more.
He bowed toward the earth, cleansed his body, hands, and mouth with water... As he performed these actions, his inward chanting never ceased.
At the same time, throughout the process, there was not a trace of impatience on his face.
Such steady emotions were not the lingering effect of Clarity of the Spirit Platform.
Rather, Jiang Xuan understood that every chanting and spellcasting session was itself a form of cultivation for him.
[You cast the Body-Purification Divine Incantation once. You gained the 'Untouched by Dust' effect. Body-Purification Divine Incantation experience +1] [You cast the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation once. You gained the 'Purification of Verbal Karma' effect. Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation experience +1] [...]
The higher his spell level, the better its effects. And every cast granted him +1 spell experience. Such a positive cycle naturally did not make Jiang Xuan find it troublesome.
He only felt that he was not casting enough times.
What was more, every chanting and spellcasting session could also increase his Daoist Acolyte profession experience.
[You carried out a Daoist Acolyte's regular duties. Daoist Acolyte experience +3. Current: 1/3 (7/300)]
The profession experience for the various occupations in the Celestial Firmament Spirit Realm was not gained by killing enemies, but by carrying out the corresponding work.
For example, woodcutters chopped firewood, cooks prepared meals, swordsmen practiced sword arts. For a Daoist Acolyte, this meant that as long as he performed work a Daoist Acolyte ought to do, he could gain experience.
Reciting Daoist Scriptures, sweeping floors in a Daoist temple, sprinkling water, wiping offering tables and divine statues, lighting lamps, burning incense, receiving resident guests... each and every one of these could become cultivation experience for a Daoist Acolyte.
However, Jiang Xuan also understood that such simple methods of gaining experience only existed for low-tier professions.
Once one advanced to a high-tier profession, the threshold for gaining experience would rise as the tide lifts all boats.
A Daoist Acolyte could gain experience simply by sweeping the courtyard, but after becoming a formal Daoist priest, one would need to conduct rites to ferry souls beyond, pacify spirits, avert calamities, and resolve misfortune in order to gain professional growth.
But that was still far from him, so Jiang Xuan did not dwell on it.
After once again covering himself in the blessings of the Three Divine Incantations, Jiang Xuan returned to his meditation cushion, closed his eyes, entered stillness, and resumed his breathing cultivation.
"Exhale, inhale..."
With long, unhurried breaths, foul air within his body streamed out in fine threads, while ever more spiritual energy from heaven and earth was drawn into him and refined into pure Spell Power.
Because the Spell Power refined this way was pure and spotless, its effect when nourishing his Apertures far surpassed normal.
Before long, the third Aperture he had opened at midnight was fully nurtured and capable of storing Spell Power.
With the Aperture complete, Jiang Xuan did not pause in the slightest. He immediately focused his mind and gathered his thoughts, beginning to search for the next Aperture hidden within his flesh.
Since he had only cultivated for a short while and both the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and Body-Purification Divine Incantation remained at Realm 1, Jiang Xuan had expelled little foul air.
But Clarity of the Spirit Platform still allowed him to find the fourth Aperture faster than before.
It was a point of light visible only to his soul. At the moment, it was faint and blurred, but as Jiang Xuan guided the pure Spell Power throughout his body into that tiny gleam in an endless stream, the hazy point of light gradually solidified.
"Buzz—!"
Buzz—!
The instant the Aperture fully solidified and took form, an indescribable sense of fullness spread from Jiang Xuan's chest, flowing through his meridians and reaching all four limbs and every bone.
"My body has become a little more complete."
And so, time quietly flowed past amid Jiang Xuan's breathing cultivation. Soon, his second round of cultivation ended, and the spell enhancements around his body quietly faded with the passage of time.
The moment he noticed the enhancements dissipating, Jiang Xuan did not hesitate at all. He immediately rose, preparing to cast the spells for a third time.
"Splash..."
Following the ritual procedures, he worshipped the earth, straightened his robes, cleansed his hands, rinsed his mouth... But this time, someone noticed his actions.
"Hm?!"
"What is he doing?"
Previously, everyone had been immersed in cultivation. Jiang Xuan also knew that his sequence of actions was far too conspicuous, so he had deliberately chosen the last row, in the most secluded corner. Thus, no one had noticed his first two rituals.
But now, nearly an incense-stick's worth of intense cultivation had already left many people mentally scattered.
Across the plaza, some rested and regulated their breathing, some looked around, and some swallowed pills to clear their minds. Amid so many eyes, even though Jiang Xuan stood in a remote corner, his actions—utterly out of place amid the atmosphere of bowed heads and bitter cultivation—were still noticed by quite a few people, stirring their curiosity.
However, because Jiang Xuan silently recited all his divine incantations in his heart, no one realized that he was casting enhancement Spell Arts on himself.
Those who noticed Jiang Xuan's actions only felt that... he was deliberately putting on airs.
It was no wonder they thought so. The Eight Divine Incantations and the related series of Daoist Fasting and Ritual Ceremonies were rituals for worshipping heaven, earth, and deities.
Anyone carrying out such rites had to wear a solemn expression and maintain dignified conduct, without the slightest slackness.
After all, the essence of Taoist fasting and ritual ceremonies was "using my sincerity to commune with heaven and earth." Thus, ritual procedures, speech and conduct, and one's state of mind all had to center on reverence for the Great Dao of heaven and earth and veneration for immortals, perfected beings, and patriarchal masters. There could be no worldly clamor or irreverence.
It was a solemn pilgrimage in which body, speech, and intent were all brought into order.
But ordinary Daoist fasting and ritual ceremonies came with ritual vessels, assisting Daoists, grand halls, and majestic divine statues, all of which could easily bring out that sacred solemnity.
Yet Jiang Xuan was alone. And as a mere little Daoist Acolyte, his cultivation and prestige were insufficient to create such a sacred aura through his own efforts.
Under such circumstances, his meticulous actions appeared to others as nothing but bizarre behavior utterly out of place with his surroundings.
Being different naturally invited whispers.
"Cleansing his hands and rinsing his mouth? He's only cultivating. What's with all this pomp? Is he imitating those Aristocratic Clan youths, trying to make himself seem different?"
"Heh, he's just Dong Shi frowning in imitation of Xi Shi. Those Aristocratic Clan youths do have rules about cleansing themselves before cultivation, but they have maidservants attending them—that is true aristocratic grandeur. What is this? A grotesque mishmash copied by force."
"He really is acting like a clown leaping about on a stage. Does he think putting on airs will let him squeeze into the circle of Lineage disciples?"
Only when granaries were full did people understand ritual propriety.
Those elaborate rites, composed cultivation, and reserved bearing were things that could only be cultivated by wealthy households free from worries over food and clothing, with ample leisure to polish themselves.
For Jiang Xuan, who came from the Cold Gate, to behave this way looked to many like learning the Handan walk—losing one's own gait while failing to imitate another's—and earned nothing but their scorn.
Of course, although many people were watching Jiang Xuan, few actually voiced mockery. Most were simply treating it as entertainment, coldly watching the joke unfold.
But if an ordinary person were watched by so many gazes, he would certainly have felt embarrassed and stopped awkwardly.
Jiang Xuan did not. This was partly due to the effect of Clarity of the Spirit Platform, but even more because he knew what mattered most to him right now.
Mockery, misunderstanding? There is no need to pay them any mind. Strength is the root of everything.
Since this set of rituals can help improve my cultivation efficiency, then I should simply do it. If I gave up halfway because of a few idle remarks and strange looks, that would be true weakness of will—and all my cultivation would have been in vain!
Those students who mocked him never would have imagined that their words not only failed to disturb Jiang Xuan, but instead made his resolve even firmer.
And with the thought that since he was doing this beneath so many watchful eyes, he ought to do it as well as possible, Jiang Xuan no longer performed the following actions perfunctorily. He carried out the entire ritual procedure with meticulous precision, complete and seamless.
Then, a change Jiang Xuan had never anticipated quietly occurred.
The instant the entire ritual concluded, the familiar game notification sounded in his ears as expected. But this time, the increase in spell experience far exceeded his expectations. It was no longer merely +1 as before: