Chapter 355: Cunning and Calculating Long Long Daizhu

"Internal Organ Refinement?"

Li Yuan froze.

With Long Long Daizhu's eyesight, seeing his Qi was already sufficient was no surprise—he truly stood at the threshold of Internal Organ Refinement, but why summon him now, and demand he refine his organs today?

Thinking of that Bronze Tower Master, Li Yuan could no longer doubt it.

"You indeed know."

Li Yuan lifted his head, not particularly surprised.

"Know what?"

Long Long Yingchan glanced at him, expression unchanged: "I summoned you here today solely to explain how to refine your organs. As for other matters, I know nothing—and wish to know nothing."

"Uh."

Li Yuan had wanted to explain, but this sentence shut him down; his mind raced instantly to the Bronze Tower Master.

Does Long Long Daizhu mean he doesn't want me to draw the sword for that Tower Master? That doesn't seem right—if he didn't want it, even if the Tower Master were a terrestrial immortal, he'd have been taken long ago.

Li Yuan's thoughts turned subtle, speculating on Long Long Yingchan's intentions.

He doesn't oppose me drawing the sword for him—but not yet?

Seeing Li Yuan lost in thought, Long Long Yingchan nodded inwardly—the boy was sharp, likely guessed his intent; he didn't reveal it, instead asked:

"Do you have any confusion about Internal Organ Refinement?"

"Please, Long Daizhu, guide me."

Li Yuan snapped back to attention; between Long Long Daizhu's order and that Tower Master's request, he didn't hesitate a single second.

"Force enters the interior, tracing a circulation among the organs—that is Inner Strengthening. You have no doubts about this, correct?"

Li Yuan nodded; his Wu Gong progress had been swift, but also solid.

"An Inner Strengthening martial artist uses force to stimulate the organs, thereby unleashing great power—but it cannot be sustained, and easily harms the body. Internal Organ Refinement, however, uses True Qi to nourish and forge them, causing the organs to undergo rebirth; once accomplished, every organ sees immediate, dramatic improvement."

Long Long Yingchan spoke slowly.

Li Yuan listened beside him, matching it against his own knowledge, pondering or asking questions—soon, all confusion vanished from his mind.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Long Long Yingchan spoke.

"According to your words, Internal Organ Refinement and Marrow-to-Blood Refinement are merely methods—the goal being to push the body to its absolute limit. Is there a way to reach that limit without refining organs or marrow-to-blood?"

Li Yuan's martial arts mastery was deep; this had been a lingering doubt of his.

"Yes."

Long Long Yingchan spoke.

"Really?"

Li Yuan's spirit surged.

"It is said the Great Yun imperial family possesses a Mi Fa that reaches the Master threshold without needing Internal Organ or Marrow-to-Blood Refinement—but it is passed only to direct bloodline heirs."

Long Long Yingchan replied.

Li Yuan's heart jolted: "Then doesn't the Great Yun imperial family produce Masters endlessly?"

"The Great Yun imperial family's Mi Fa reaches the Master threshold; Internal Organ and Marrow-to-Blood Refinement also reach the Master threshold. Which sect do you think produces Masters endlessly?"

Long Long Yingchan chuckled wryly, remembering his sect's lazy members, then sighed:

"There's a saying in the Jianghu: if you don't enter the Dao before a hundred, your chance is slim. Why do you think that is?"

"This..."

Li Yuan had never considered this question.

Long Long Yingchan didn't wait for an answer—he asked and answered himself:

"The older a man grows, the wealthier he becomes, the more he fears death. Even Jianghu cultivators feel this—how much more so the imperial family?"

In short: the older one is, the more one fears death.

"Is entering the Dao really that dangerous?"

Li Yuan thought Long Long Daizhu's reasoning flawed; fear of death was human nature, unrelated to age.

He was only in his twenties, yet he still preferred to live.

"Entering the Dao is like leaping through the Dragon Gate—this trial is far more dangerous than all previous ones. There have been cases in the Jianghu where ten who broke through all died."

Long Long Yingchan glanced at him:

"Still, with your talent, you likely have a ninety percent chance."

"Only ninety percent?"

Now, not only did Li Dao-ye's face turn Solemn, his heart sank too.

Ninety percent was solid—but if betting his life, he wanted one hundred percent.

"Only ninety percent?"

Long Long Yingchan nearly laughed in anger, abruptly ending the topic and returning to Internal Organ Refinement:

"If you have no more questions, refine your organs here."

Li Yuan stilled his thoughts; entering the Dao was still too distant—what mattered now was Internal Organ Refinement:

"Long Daizhu, before, while browsing the Scripture Library, I came across the phrase 'Form Enters the Organs' in an ancient text. Do you know of it?"

"'Form Enters the Organs'? Found in the Scripture Library?"

Long Long Yingchan fell silent, realizing the Qin Tower Master was truly stingy—hiring someone to draw the sword, yet paying with Baishen Sect material.

He shook his head inwardly but didn't expose it, instead explained:

"'Form Enters the Organs' is a Mi Fa of the Baishen Sect. Legend says, through this method, one can forge the six bowels and five viscera to an extreme degree."

"Form-Entering the Viscera is a visceral-tempering Mi Fa of the Baishen Sect. Legend has it that, by tempering the viscera in this way, one can hammer and refine the six bowels and five organs to an extremely high level."

Li Yuan concentrated his attention and listened very carefully.

After obtaining the Divine Palm Scripture and Divine Viscera Scripture from that Tower Master, he had originally intended to seek out Old Long Tou for an explanation, but the latter was in closed-door cultivation and unavailable, so it had been delayed.

"Qi originates from blood; once the viscera are successfully refined, qi and blood will flourish, the physique will be strong and healthy, and the spirit will be abundant. Among the thirteen most famous Mi Fa of the Baishen Sect, the Divine Viscera Scripture is the most important."

Speaking to this point, Long Long Yingchan paused slightly:

"Form entering the viscera means that after this Divine Viscera Scripture is cultivated to great completion, the five viscera and six bowels become like fierce beasts; even mud, sand, stones, or poison entering the belly can be ground up and digested."

"Immunity to all poisons?"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up.

"It is also said to delay aging. Furthermore, the ability to digest medicinal pills can increase substantially, but as for exactly how much, this old man does not know."

After saying a few words, Long Long Yingchan had him sit cross-legged and refine his viscera right there.

"Many thanks, Dao Master, for resolving my doubts."

Li Yuan bowed in thanks and did not refuse. Besides the fact that Long Dao Master was watching right here, he also did not believe that after refining his viscera he would still be unable to defeat that Wan Wan Zhuliu.

Long Long Yingchan nodded.

Li Yuan did not hesitate either, and immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered meditation.

The medicinal power of the Longhu Longhu Dadan circulated within his body. Following the movement of his thoughts, the already somewhat vigorous true qi suddenly accelerated its circulation, piercing out of his body and emitting a 'whooshing' sound.

Hum~

Li Yuan steadied his spirit, switched to items like the Divine Fire Bone-Forging Ring to bolster his spirit, and immediately the various viscera appeared in his mind's eye, vivid and clear in every detail.

As for how to refine his viscera, he had long deliberated many times in his heart and did not hesitate. Vigorous true qi flowed through his qi channels and meridians into the spaces between his viscera.

"Divine Viscera Scripture."

He murmured to himself, and the somewhat incomplete text of the Divine Viscera Scripture welled up in his mind.

Just like the Divine Foot Scripture, entering this Divine Viscera Scripture also required beginning with visualization.

Hum~

As his thoughts turned, in the place of spiritual light, his spirit-self—which had transformed into a thunder dragon chasing the Wan Wan Leishi—had taken human form and also sat cross-legged, glowing within its body, as if there were various meridians inside.

Li Yuan had never let up his cultivation of the Bai Shen Zheng Fa. Although the later portions were missing, he was still accumulating and settling it; the Baishen visualization method had long become thoroughly familiar and fluid.

Beyond his sinews, bones, skin, and flesh, he had even constructed a network of qi channels within his body—also thirty-six, identical to Li Yuan's.

Li Yuan silently recited it only once in his heart, and the Divine Viscera Scripture had already been entered.

Crackle~

It seemed as though arcs of electricity flashed across Li Yuan's hair, then emerged from his entire body. In less than a moment, dazzling true qi radiance was already flickering over him.

After comprehending the lightning form, the thunder dragon's qi lost some of its ferocity but gained a measure of rounded harmony.

"Thirty-six qi channels—this kid's ambitions are not small. Well, most masters of Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing are like that."

By the stream, Long Long Yingchan did not keep staring at Li Yuan. This kid's five senses were too keen; if he himself stayed at his side, Li Yuan's spirit would be taut, and that would inevitably cause some interference.

Moving a bit farther away in any case would not delay his observation.

"A once-in-a-millennium talent is truly extraordinary. Refining the viscera goes so smoothly, as if water flowing into a channel, without the slightest ripple."

viscera goes so smoothly, as if water flowing into a channel, without the slightest ripple."

Long Long Yingchan sighed with some feeling, and then set his mind at ease.

He strolled along the stream, his gaze seemingly piercing through the Dragon Tiger Tower and falling upon Li Yuan's small courtyard.

As for that Tower Master Qin, he was naturally very concerned about her.

"With this one present, at a critical moment one never knows when he might prove greatly useful."

Long Long Yingchan pinched his long brows, his face bearing a slight smile.

He did not oppose Li Yuan drawing a blade for him. The relationship between Star-Plucking Tower and the several great Daoist Sects was far closer than that with the imperial court, but when to draw the blade, and how to draw it, that required careful deliberation.

Coming to Dragon Tiger Temple for shelter without paying some price—would he not then be a fool?

The night deepened gradually. Moonlight passed through the window paper and fell into the room. Little Mouse bathed in the moonlight, occasionally throwing punches, occasionally kicking legs. Though his four limbs were not coordinated, he already had some semblance of form.

On the windowsill, Little Tiger Cub was thoroughly bored, her tail flicking back and forth. She glanced at Little Mouse, and a touch of impatience inevitably rose in her heart:

"Why hasn't this kid come back yet?"

She looked out the window, with a hint of gazing-until-eyes-wore-out longing. After agonizing for six or seven days, she had still made up her mind: even if it meant going against the rules left by her ancestors, she had to get past this hurdle first.

If she vanished for two years, there might well be some upheaval within the Tower.

"First I'll transmit part of the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture to him. Once my injuries heal, taking him into the Tower won't count as breaking the rules... This kid's talent is also sufficient to be admitted as a disciple under this Tower Master."

Little Tiger Cub was muttering to herself when she suddenly sensed something amiss. She raised her eyes and looked; through the fence at San Yuan Wai, she could clearly see the small temple beneath the moonlight.

That was Long Xi Xiang's residence, which she seldom approached in the past.

And at this moment, beneath the moonlight, a shadow seemed to drift and land outside the small temple, then, taking advantage of dark clouds covering the moon, slipped in through the crack of the door.

"Dragon Shadow Guard?"

Little Tiger Cub's eyes turned cold.

The Dragon Shadow Guards were Wan Wan Zhuliu's personal guards—not living people, but the traces left behind by those devoured over the decades by his Demon-Subduing Dragon God Aspect, ghost-like in nature.

They retained some memories and Wu Gong from their lives, and because they originated from the Demon-Subduing Dragon God Aspect, ordinary methods found it very hard to destroy them.

"Wan Wan Zhuliu!"

Little Tiger Cub growled lowly, yet regained her composure. With a newly-advanced Grandmaster at her side, why would she need to act?

Cry~

Dark clouds covered the moon, and a wisp of shadow flowed into the small temple like ripples of water.

Merging into the shadow, Shadow Heart surveyed its surroundings and soon caught sight of Long Xi Xiang sitting cross-legged inside the temple, as if asleep yet not asleep.

"His Highness sent me to see him..."

Within the shadow, Shadow Heart stared coldly at Long Xi Xiang's back. Just as it hesitated, it suddenly heard a sound by its ear:

"Dragon Shadow Guard?"

"Mm?!"

Ying Xin was startled—Long Xi Xiang had somehow already turned around and was studying him with great interest.

Free reading.