Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques-Chapter 37: Blood Qi Turns to Silken Threads; Stepping into the Organ Refinement Stage!
The snow raged on. The blood spilling from the Ghost Mask's lifeless body quickly froze over, its metallic scent suppressed by the biting cold that seeped into the flesh.
Lu Changsheng crouched beside the corpse and searched it carefully. He found nothing of worth, just a few pieces of shattered silver. Perhaps the Ghost Mask had never planned to stick around in Mount Wu.
Lu Changsheng cast a closer look at the mask itself. He reached out to remove it, wanting to see the Ghost Mask's real face. What lay beneath the mask was horrifying—a visage scarred by fire, one that would make anyone recoil. He had obviously worn this mask to hide his deformity.
It wasn't long before the body froze over completely, essentially turning into a statue of ice. Lu Changsheng walked over to Long Fei, lifted him off the ground, and headed for the cave, followed by Liu Hongluan. Once inside, he lit a bonfire, which finally eased Liu Hongluan's painful shivering.
"G-Great Hero Lu, how is Brother Fei?" she asked anxiously.
Lu Changsheng was already checking Long Fei's pulse. Having studied medicine under Physician Wu Jing for a long time, assessing someone's basic condition posed no problem for him. The only thing he lacked was practical experience.
"Long Fei's injuries are not too severe, but his yuan qi[1]has been damaged. It will take him a long time to make a full recovery. For now, brew him some medicine and wake him."
Before entering the depths of Mount Wu to cultivate, Lu Changsheng had prepared ample supplies, including many medicinal herbs. Liu Hongluan brewed the medicine at once and carefully fed it to Long Fei.
By the next day, Long Fei opened his eyes, feeling as though he had awakened from an endless dream. He was dazed at first, but the sight of Lu Changsheng jolted him fully awake, and all color drained from his face.
"Brother Lu, leave quickly! The Ghost Mask is still after us. He's one of the strongest Organ Refinement martial artists beneath the Divine Strength Realm. He's unrivaled..."
He drifted off, puzzled by Lu Changsheng's composure in spite of his warning.
"Brother Fei!" Liu Hongluan cried as she leaned against him.
He grimaced, his wounds throbbing from the suddenness of her embrace. The pain stirred his memory, and he realized he had lost consciousness while she was carrying him.
"Hongluan, what happened after I passed out?"
"Brother Fei, after you fainted, I carried you deeper into Wu Mountain, but the Ghost Mask kept chasing us. Fortunately, we found Great Hero Lu..."
Liu Hongluan recounted in detail how Lu Changsheng had slain the Ghost Mask, and Long Fei's eyes widened in shock. He knew well how strong the Ghost Mask was. Even at the peak of his strength, Long Fei likely wouldn't have been a match for him.
And yet, Lu Changsheng had killed the Ghost Mask in a one-on-one clash—something unimaginable. Long Fei had once thought them equals, but now he realized how terribly wrong he had been.
Long Fei let out a long sigh. "Brother Lu, you possess great skill but so little fame in the jianghu. Clearly, you care nothing for reputation or fortune. That is the mark of a true martial artist."
Lu Changsheng made no reply. Even if he told him that this journey into Mount Wu had been his very first step into the jianghu, Long Fei wouldn't believe him.
"Brother Long, don't try to speak further. Please, just rest," Lu Changsheng advised.
With that, he walked away toward a corner of the cave. He searched his belongings and took out a martial arts manual titled Silken Thread Organ Refinement. Having attained Jade Bones, the only path forward was to temper his internal organs to become an Organ Refinement martial artist.
He had previously obtained three manuals for Organ Refinement and chose to begin with the Silken Thread Organ Refinement. Organ Refinement was entirely different from Bone Tempering. Bones, being hard by nature, could withstand the constant impact of blood qi. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Organs, on the other hand, were fragile and could easily be damaged by excessive force. In case of an injury, one might spend months healing if they were lucky; at worst, they would be forever crippled.
For this reason, absolute control of blood qi was vital. In Silken Thread Organ Refinement, the key lay in transforming blood qi into threads as delicate as silkworm silk. Naturally, such a level of control demanded absolute precision. Without it, merely activating the art would be nearly impossible.
The true difficulty of Organ Refinement lay precisely in that kind of control. Many Bone Tempering martial artists spent decades without ever achieving it, leaving them unable to advance further. Even those who managed to step into Organ Refinement often achieved poor results, struggling to temper their organs effectively.
Following the method of the Silken Thread Organ Refinement, Lu Changsheng proceeded to compress, divide, and guide his blood qi. Before, the guiding principle had been simple—the stronger the blood qi, the better. But now, the kind of refinement he was trying to achieve required delicate precision, not sheer power. Lu Changsheng needed to separate and compress his blood qi until each strand was as thin as a silken thread.
Fortunately, with his Perception over 300, separation and compression posed no real difficulty. It was simply a matter of time.
After two hours, Lu Changsheng had compressed his blood qi until it was as thin as chopsticks. With another four hours, he could refine it to the fineness of silver needles. At last, after ten hours, he had refined a strand of blood qi as delicate as a silken thread.
It worked! Lu Changsheng smiled faintly and willed it forward. At once, a strand of blood qi surged forth.
Swish!
In an instant, the strand split into countless filaments, each as fine as silk. Lu Changsheng's heart stirred at the sight. Such refined blood qi could temper his organs, but it might also serve as a deadly offense method.
No wonder Organ Refinement martial artists can manipulate their blood qi into strange and uncanny martial techniques. It all comes from this fine control of blood qi.
Lu Changsheng suddenly understood. He even suspected that Ghost Mask's uncanny mastery of hidden weapons, which never seemed to miss their mark, might have stemmed from his Organ Refinement cultivation. Most likely, the precise control of blood qi demanded by that cultivation was what had honed his technique to perfection.
Lu Changsheng had now succeeded in transforming blood qi into silk, but one or two strands would never suffice; he needed many more. Fortunately, having grasped the art, producing more threads came easily. Hence, four more hours had passed, and by then, nearly all of his blood qi could be refined into silk.
"Time to begin."
Lu Changsheng drew a deep breath. With his mind focused, his blood qi surged slowly into his five viscera and six bowels[2]. Countless strands of blood qi as fine as silk seeped within, beginning the tempering process.
"Ghh—!"
Agonizing pain coursed through Lu Changsheng. His internal organs were far too fragile, and even the fine threads of blood qi put tremendous strain on them. However, with time, he managed to endure it.
"Haaah..."
Two hours later, he exhaled deeply, and a sharp gleam flickered in his eyes. At once, he invoked his status panel.
[Status Panel]
Host: Lu Changsheng
Perception: 367 (Full of Potential)
[Skills]
Silken Thread Organ Refinement: First Layer
Nine-Character Thunder Chant: Adept
The display confirmed what he had hoped: he had reached the First Layer in Silken Thread Organ Refinement. By transforming blood qi into silk, the method allowed him to temper his internal organs. The fact that the process had begun meant that he had successfully stepped into the Organ Refinement Stage.
With this, Lu Changsheng was truly an Organ Refinement martial artist!
1. Yuan qi (元气) is the primordial life force. It is the original "energy" that gives rise to all existence. It's the purest, most essential form of qi, often described as the source of vitality. ☜
2. 五脏六腑 (wǔ zàng liù fǔ) refers to the body's five yin organs (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys) and six yang organs (gallbladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, and triple burner). In Daoist cultivation and TCM, they are seen as the foundation of vitality, essence, and spirit. ☜
