Gu Yuan bid farewell to the two and returned home.
Opening his room door, Gu Yuan tidied up the courtyard, then locked the house. He was about to begin compressing his blood qi.
Just acquiring this method of compressing blood qi made the journey worthwhile. Upon returning to his true body, Gu Yuan would implement this method there, and with the abundant resources of the Myriad Spirit Continent, the quality of his blood qi would multiply.
His strength would then increase significantly. He wondered how his old friends were faring.
Gu Yuan felt a pang of nostalgia. Including the previous trial world, it had been about twenty years since he had seen them. He even felt like challenging them with his martial arts prowess, having become the champion of the martial arts league.
Shaking his head to dispel the scattered thoughts, Gu Yuan began to compress his own blood qi.
Once the compression of all his blood qi was complete, any subsequent absorbed medicinal power and converted blood qi would also be in its compressed form, saving him the time of further compression.
Therefore, each person had only one chance to compress their blood qi. According to the technique, the more intensely one compressed, the better. A higher quality of compressed blood qi would lead to a stronger increase in Gu Yuan's power.
Gu Yuan calmed his mind and slowly released his soul power, directing it into his body.
He began to control the streams of blood qi for compression.
Previously, in front of Guan Ye and Cui Hua, Gu Yuan had not dared to unleash his soul power.
The first attempt at compressing blood qi also required extreme caution. Once he grasped the concept, Gu Yuan could compress blood qi with his soul power, which far surpassed that of his peers.
With his current soul power, he could compress ten streams of blood qi at a time.
This greatly increased efficiency, as Gu Yuan's body currently contained only over eighteen thousand streams of blood qi.
Roughly calculating the time, it took Gu Yuan about ten minutes to compress ten streams of blood qi.
His soul power could sustain him for one hour of blood qi compression; any longer, and he would need to rest for an hour.
In a day of twelve hours, Gu Yuan could compress for six hours, or twelve hours, without eating, drinking, or sleeping.
Sixty minutes in an hour, Gu Yuan could compress sixty streams of blood qi per hour.
By this calculation, it would take him over three hundred hours to compress all his blood qi, which amounted to twenty-five days, but this was under the most ideal circumstances.
Factoring in rest time, meals, sleep, and dealing with tasks, not to mention his continuous cultivation which would increase his blood qi reserves, it would take Gu Yuan at least a month and a half to fully compress his blood qi.
Gu Yuan fell into contemplation. Based on his rate of improvement, he could either fully convert his blood qi, or cultivate and increase his blood qi while also converting it. However, Gu Yuan felt this latter approach would be very slow.
He decided to seize the current opportunity when his blood qi reserves were not yet too large to compress them quickly. Once his blood qi increased, compression would become more difficult.
Having determined his plan, Gu Yuan began to diligently compress his blood qi.
Except for meals and rest, Gu Yuan was constantly compressing his blood qi. Time flowed by as he compressed, and in a single day, he converted approximately four hundred streams of blood qi.
During the compression process, Gu Yuan was surprised to discover that as the total amount of compressed blood qi increased, these compressed streams began to drive the compression of the uncompressed ones as well.
This meant that the more blood qi Gu Yuan compressed, the less time he would need for future compressions.
Knowing this, Gu Yuan dedicated all his time to compressing blood qi, save for essential rest periods.
A night passed quickly. Gu Yuan did not sleep continuously, only resting when his soul power was depleted. He spent the time continuously compressing blood qi.
Gu Yuan also discovered a benefit: after his soul power was repeatedly consumed and then restored, the total amount of his soul power increased by a minuscule but measurable amount.
This pleased Gu Yuan greatly. He hadn't expected his soul power could also be trained. When he returned to his true body, the benefits he would gain would be even greater.
Glancing outside, sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Gu Yuan stood up, stretched his back, and his bones popped with a series of clicks.
He let out a long sigh, then walked out of the room and into the small courtyard to wash up before heading to the Demon Suppressing Division.
On the way, he bought some breakfast as usual. While eating his steamed buns, Gu Yuan pondered the situation with his blood qi compression.
After a day and a night of effort, Gu Yuan had successfully compressed around eight hundred streams of blood qi. If he did not increase his current blood qi reserves, it would still take him over twenty days to compress it all.
Gu Yuan exhaled softly, wiped the oil from his lips with a tissue, and a determined glint appeared in his eyes. He resolved to complete the compression of all his blood qi within twenty days, ideally within half a month, so as not to significantly impede his cultivation time.
Lost in thought, Gu Yuan continued walking, arriving at the Demon Suppressing Division.
As soon as he entered the gates of the Demon Suppressing Division, a voice called out to him.
"Gu Yuan, wait a moment!"
Gu Yuan turned and saw Lu Yi hurrying towards him from a distance.
A smile appeared on his face as Lu Yi approached.
Gu Yuan asked curiously, "What is it, Brother Lu? Is there something you need?"
"Hoo~ Brother Gu, I don't know who you are, but you've been summoned to the main hall of the Demon Suppressing Division for a meeting by the Division Master again," Lu Yi panted, his gaze towards Gu Yuan shifting.
This Gu Yuan was actually being summoned by the head of the Demon Suppressing Division multiple times, and he was personally tasked with escorting Gu Yuan.
He knew that some Heaven-tier Demon Suppressors did not receive such treatment.
Hearing Lu Yi's words, Gu Yuan's brow furrowed. He also didn't understand why the head of the Demon Suppressing Division kept seeking him out.
Mulling over possibilities, he maintained a calm demeanor externally, "Then I'll trouble Brother Lu to lead the way."
Lu Yi nodded and led Gu Yuan towards the main hall of the Demon Suppressing Division. The two engaged in a deep conversation along the way, further solidifying their friendship.
Upon reaching the entrance of the Demon Suppressing Division, Gu Yuan bid farewell to Lu Yi and entered the main hall.
The moment he stepped into the hall, Gu Yuan felt three scorching gazes fixated upon him.
Gu Yuan felt a sense of helplessness. This was the second time he had experienced this. He was baffled by the attention from these three powerful figures of the Demon Suppressing Division, considering he was merely a lowly cultivator at the Blood Qi realm.
Why?
Though his mind was racing with questions, he showed no outward emotion. With a respectful expression, he strode towards the three.
"Greetings, Division Master, Captains!" Gu Yuan said, cupping his fists.
"Gu Yuan, I ask you..."