Cultivation Speed Soars

Phew!

After a busy afternoon, Chen Daoxuan looked at the neatly stacked Blue Stone Bricks filling the entire courtyard, a sense of satisfaction welling up inside him.

He turned to Chen Beiwang beside him. "There are enough bricks to build the workshop now, right?"

"Enough, enough! Absolutely enough!"

Chen Beiwang nodded woodenly.

"Then I require the Directorate of Works to complete the workshop within a month. Can you accomplish that?"

"Yes!"

Chen Beiwang glanced at Chen Daoxuan, afraid he would not believe him, and stressed, "We definitely can!"

"Good."

Chen Daoxuan nodded in satisfaction, then immediately cast the Wind Riding Technique and rode the wind away before everyone's eyes.

Before leaving, his voice sounded beside Chen Beiwang's ear. "Don't forget about drawing a map of Twin Lakes Island."

"Yes, Young Clan Leader!"

Chen Beiwang bowed deeply.

One incense stick later.

Chen Daoxuan, riding the wind, returned to his Cave Mansion in the Red Copper Mountain Range.

He had spent more than two full months in Guang'an Prefecture this time, yet the Cave Mansion was still spotless.

He knew it was because the clan had sent someone to clean it every day.

Entering the training room of the Cave Mansion.

After carefully inspecting the Spirit Eye and finding it completely intact, with no signs of spiritual energy depletion, Chen Daoxuan finally let out a slight sigh of relief.

As dusk gradually descended.

The mountain night was cool as water, but Chen Daoxuan paid it no heed.

He sat cross-legged on the Pouf, wholly focused.

Before him lay a Brocade Box and a jade bottle—the Water Spirit Pearl and Qi Gathering Pill, the two treasures that aided cultivation which he had obtained from Guang'an Prefecture.

"According to the clan's ancient records, the Qi Gathering Pill can double a cultivator's efficiency in refining spiritual energy, allowing a cultivator with an Upper Spiritual Root to cultivate at a speed comparable to one with a Heavenly Spiritual Root in just a month."

"I wonder whether that's true!"

Chen Daoxuan lightly toyed with the jade bottle in his hand before placing it before him.

He then opened the Brocade Box. A Water Spirit Pearl the size of a marble, brimming with vigorous vitality, appeared before his eyes.

"The Water Spirit Pearl can purify spiritual energy, thereby increasing a cultivator's speed of refining it. More importantly, unlike pills, it carries no pill toxicity and can benefit cultivation indefinitely."

Chen Daoxuan looked at the Water Spirit Pearl, then at the jade bottle containing the Qi Gathering Pills, and took a deep breath. "I wonder just how much faster my cultivation will become if I use these two cultivation aids together."

After pondering for a moment.

Chen Daoxuan opened the jade bottle, poured out a Qi Gathering Pill, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed it.

At the same time, he opened the Brocade Box and guided the Water Spirit Pearl within to absorb the spiritual energy emerging from the Spirit Eye. Then, an even purer stream of spiritual energy was fed back by the Water Spirit Pearl.

Seeing this.

Chen Daoxuan did not dare waste the pure spiritual energy before him. He immediately circulated the Returning Origin Technique and began absorbing the pure spiritual energy exhaled by the Water Spirit Pearl.

As that pure spiritual energy entered Chen Daoxuan's body.

Every cell throughout his body immediately leaped with joy.

The spiritual energy first entered the body's meridians through the crown of his head, then circulated through the meridians throughout his body, where it was slowly refined and transformed into true qi, stored within his dantian.

Chen Daoxuan had carried out this process of refining spiritual energy for more than five years.

Chen Daoxuan was confident that even without consciously controlling it, he could refine spiritual energy by instinct alone.

But today, Chen Daoxuan felt something different.

The cultivation speed was simply too fast!

If Chen Daoxuan's usual speed of refining spiritual energy was one, then today's speed was a full five!

He was not exaggerating in the slightest. It really was that fast.

So fast that he could vaguely feel the spiritual energy supplied by the Spirit Eye becoming insufficient.

"How can it be this fast?"

After circulating it through one major cycle, Chen Daoxuan opened his eyes, his face full of shock. "No wonder cultivators flock to Spirit Pills like ducks to water, valuing pills even more highly than Magic Artifacts.

If it were me, I would make the same choice!"

It was no wonder he was shocked—the cultivation speed was simply too fast.

Compared with before, the results of his two hours of cultivation had matched two or three days of his usual arduous practice. His cultivation speed had increased by far more than four or five times.

What cultivator in the world could withstand such temptation?

Thinking this, Chen Daoxuan did not dare waste any time and closed his eyes to continue refining spiritual energy.

The next day.

When he felt a faint ache begin to spread through his meridians, Chen Daoxuan ended a full day of cultivation.

"I actually cultivated one hour longer than usual last night."

After opening his eyes, Chen Daoxuan counted on his fingers and quietly calculated the time.

A cultivator's cultivation was not a matter of going without food, drink, sleep, or rest—the more time spent cultivating each day, the better.

For cultivators, the amount of time spent cultivating each day had to be appropriate.

What constituted an appropriate amount depended on each cultivator's physique.

For instance, Chen Daoxuan's ideal daily cultivation time was around four shichen, or eight hours.

It was roughly equivalent to the amount of time mortals spent sleeping at night.

That was why Chen Daoxuan generally chose to cultivate at night.

Exceeding that time might not show any problems in the short term, but over time, it would cause irreversible damage to a cultivator's physical body and meridians, casting dust over their Dao path.

And last night.

Chen Daoxuan had clearly exceeded his normal cultivation time.

However, this had happened because he had become so absorbed in cultivation that he neglected the time.

Of course.

Such wholehearted cultivation had also produced gratifying results.

Chen Daoxuan discovered that at this cultivation speed, he was confident he could break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining within half a year at most.

Once his cultivation broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, Chen Daoxuan's strength would surely undergo another qualitative leap.

At the very least, when wielding the Flying Snow Sword, he would no longer be like he was in the early Qi Refining stage, able to strike only a few times before his true qi ran dry and he was left at others' mercy.

He estimated that after breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Thanks to the growth of his true qi and the surge in his Divine Sense, he would be able to strike down enemies with at least ten sword blows before exhausting his true qi.

When good fortune came, one's spirits naturally rose.

Chen Daoxuan's cultivation was progressing smoothly and his Dao path lay clear before him, so the smile on his face naturally grew more frequent.

Half an incense stick later.

When Chen Daoxuan flew to the clan's old Earth Fire Chamber with the Wind Riding Technique, he found a group of sixteen- and seventeen-year-old youths already waiting in the jade plaza outside.

Seeing these youths his own age.

Chen Daoxuan smiled at Chen Liangyu. "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Upon hearing this apology, Chen Liangyu immediately looked flattered beyond measure. "Young Clan Leader, why say such a thing? We are the ones who arrived earlier than the appointed time."

Chen Daoxuan had no intention of arguing over the matter and changed the subject. "Are these the apprentices you found?"

"Reporting to the Young Clan Leader, yes."

Chen Liangyu remained bowed. "These young men can read, and they are all quite clever. They should be more than capable of serving under the Young Clan Leader."

Although Chen Liangyu did not know why Chen Daoxuan had gathered these youths.

He knew that the time for Chen Liangyu's fortunes to turn had arrived!