Snow was still falling.
The blood flowing from Ghost Face quickly froze into ice crystals.
Even the scent of blood in the air seemed frozen solid, with only the endless, biting chill boring incessantly into one's body.
Lu Changsheng crouched down and searched Ghost Face's corpse for a while.
Unfortunately, Ghost Face had nothing on him except some loose silver.
Perhaps Ghost Face had never planned to stay in Mount Wu for long, so he naturally had not carried much on his person.
Lu Changsheng took another careful look at the mask on Ghost Face's visage.
He was curious to see Ghost Face's true appearance.
And so, he reached out and took off Ghost Face's mask.
Beneath the mask lay a hideous, terrifying face.
One look showed it had been scalded or burned, inspiring dread in anyone who laid eyes upon it.
No wonder Ghost Face had always worn a mask—it was all to conceal his hideous face.
Before long, Ghost Face's corpse turned into an ice sculpture.
Lu Changsheng walked over to Long Fei, scooped him up, and carried him toward the cave.
The three arrived inside the cave.
Lu Changsheng lit a bonfire. Liu Hongluan, who had been shivering from the cold, finally felt a trace of warmth.
"Hero Lu, how is Brother Fei?" Liu Hongluan could not help asking.
Lu Changsheng was feeling Long Fei's pulse.
Having studied medicine under Wu Jing for such a long time, standard pulse-taking and diagnosing ailments were no trouble for him; all he lacked was accumulated experience.
"Long Fei has no major problems, and his injuries aren't severe. However, his vitality has been depleted, so I'm afraid it will take a long time to make a full recovery."
"Let's brew some medicine for him first to help him wake up."
To cultivate deep within Mount Wu, Lu Changsheng had prepared plenty of provisions, which included a large store of medicinal herbs.
Once the medicine was brewed, Liu Hongluan carefully fed it to Long Fei.
The next day, Long Fei woke up. It felt as though he had had an exceptionally long dream, and he remained somewhat dazed upon opening his eyes.
Yet when he caught sight of Lu Changsheng beside him, he seemed to snap awake in an instant. His expression shifted drastically as he cried, "Brother Lu, hurry and run! Ghost Face is about to catch up! He's a top-tier Refining Organs martial artist, virtually without rival beneath the Divine Strength Realm..."
However, as he spoke, his voice faltered.
For he noticed that Lu Changsheng's expression had not changed in the slightest.
"Brother Fei!"
Liu Hongluan threw herself onto Long Fei.
The sudden movement jarred his injuries, making him grimace in pain.
Even so, he remembered what had happened earlier: he seemed to have lost consciousness while on Liu Hongluan's back.
"Hongluan, what happened after I fainted?" Long Fei asked.
"Brother Fei, after you passed out, I carried you on my back and fled into the depths of Mount Wu. Ghost Face chased us the entire way. Fortunately, we ran into Hero Lu..."
Liu Hongluan recounted everything from start to finish, explaining how Lu Changsheng had slain Ghost Face.
Long Fei's eyes widened, his face filled with astonishment.
He was an experienced man of the jianghu.
He knew all too well how formidable Ghost Face was.
Even in his prime, he was likely no match for him.
Yet Lu Changsheng had actually killed Ghost Face—something Long Fei could never have imagined.
Before, he had assumed Lu Changsheng's strength was roughly on par with his own.
Looking back now, he had misjudged him completely.
Long Fei let out a deep sigh and said, "Brother Lu possesses such incredible skill, yet remains unknown in the jianghu, keeping a heart detached from fame and wealth. That is what a true martial artist is!"
Lu Changsheng said nothing.
Was he supposed to tell him that this journey to Mount Wu was his very first time venturing into the jianghu?
Even if he said it, Long Fei probably would not believe him.
"Brother Long, you shouldn't speak too much. Rest well and recuperate."
With that, Lu Changsheng walked over to a corner of the cave.
He brought out a martial manual titled the "Silkworm Silk Organ Refining Technique."
Lu Changsheng had already attained "jade bones." If he wished to advance further, his only path was to attempt tempering his internal organs—that was, becoming a Refining Organs martial artist!
He had previously acquired three Refining Organs cultivation methods, and he chose to begin with the Silkworm Silk Organ Refining Technique.
Refining Organs was completely different from Tempering Bone.
Bones were inherently rigid and could endure the continuous scouring of qi and blood.
The internal organs, however, were another story.
The human body's five zang and six fu organs were exceedingly delicate. If subjected to even a slightly excessive shock, they would be damaged.
At best, one would spend months convalescing; at worst, it would inflict irreparable damage, completely wrecking one's foundation.
Thus, absolute control over qi and blood was imperative.
For instance, the crux of the Silkworm Silk Organ Refining Technique was that qi and blood had to be transformed into threads like silkworm silk.
This placed extraordinarily high demands on one's control of qi and blood.
Failing to achieve this made even basic entry nearly impossible.
The difficulty of Refining Organs lay precisely in controlling qi and blood. Countless Tempering Bone martial artists squandered decades without developing sufficient control over their qi and blood, which directly barred them from stepping into Refining Organs.
Even if some managed to cross over, the results were dismal, making it hard to effectively temper their organs.
Lu Changsheng followed the guidance of the Silkworm Silk Organ Refining Technique and began attempting to compress, divide, and control his qi and blood.
Previously, when he controlled his qi and blood, greater volume had been better.
Now, however, it required fine, precise manipulation.
He had to separate his qi and blood, dividing and compressing it until it was roughly as fine as silkworm silk.
Fortunately, Lu Changsheng possessed over three hundred points of comprehension. Dividing and compressing qi and blood was not difficult for him; it merely took time.
In two hours, Lu Changsheng was already able to compress qi and blood down to the thickness of a chopstick.
In four hours, he had separated qi and blood as fine as a silver needle.
In ten hours, he finally separated a strand of qi and blood as fine as silkworm silk.
"It worked!"
Lu Changsheng smiled faintly, then focused his mind.
Instantly, a wisp of qi and blood emanated outward.
*Swish.*
In a flash, this wisp of qi and blood split into countless threads as slender as silkworm silk.
Lu Changsheng's heart stirred.
Qi and blood this fine could not only temper the internal organs, but could also serve as an offensive weapon.
"No wonder Refining Organs martial artists can manipulate their qi and blood to perform bizarre martial skills."
"It turns out that stems from their fine control over qi and blood."
Lu Changsheng came to a sudden realization.
He even suspected that Ghost Face's supernatural skill with concealed weapons and uncanny accuracy might also be tied to Ghost Face's Refining Organs martial arts.
Most likely, Ghost Face's Refining Organs technique placed extremely high demands on qi and blood, which in turn had enabled him to master such exquisite concealed weapon techniques.
Lu Changsheng had succeeded in turning his qi and blood into silk, but a wisp or two of silken thread was far from enough.
He needed to amass a great deal of it.
Fortunately, now that he had mastered the method of converting qi and blood into silk, producing more silken threads of qi and blood was relatively easy.
After another four hours, nearly all the qi and blood within Lu Changsheng's body could be transformed into silk.
"It's about time to begin!"
Lu Changsheng took a deep breath.
Then, with a shift of his mind, the qi and blood inside him gradually flowed into his five zang and six fu organs.
Countless threads of qi and blood, fine as silkworm silk, began permeating his internal organs to temper them.
*Boom.*
Lu Changsheng felt excruciating agony within his internal organs.
After all, internal organs were simply too delicate.
Even when tempered by qi and blood as fine as silk, they were still subjected to tremendous strain.
However, as time went by, Lu Changsheng gradually grew able to endure tempering of this intensity.
"Phew..."
Two hours later, Lu Changsheng exhaled a long breath, a glint of sharp light flashing across his eyes.
He promptly summoned his attribute panel.
Host: Lu Changsheng
Comprehension: 367 (considerable potential)
Silkworm Silk Organ Refining Technique: First Layer
Nine-Word Thunder Sound Secret Method: Proficient
Lu Changsheng saw that the Silkworm Silk Organ Refining Technique had indeed reached the first layer.
The Silkworm Silk Organ Refining Technique allowed qi and blood to transform into silk and then temper the internal organs.
Once organ tempering began, it meant Lu Changsheng had successfully stepped into the Refining Organs Realm!
At this moment, Lu Changsheng was truly a Refining Organs martial artist!
Chapter 37