"Refining Viscera, to put it simply, is a fundamental strengthening process that moves from the outside in, with the Five Viscera and Six Bowels as its Core. This is what separates it from Qi and Blood Refining... Inner Strength, Breathing, and Strengthening the Foundation are the three stages of this Realm. We usually call it Crossing the Three Gates."
Zhai Jia mulled it over, considering his words. "The Blood Tempering stage is primarily about honing the physical body—skin, flesh, muscles, and bones. The goal is to make your Qi and Blood abundant and powerful, allowing it to circulate unimpeded... Once you reach the Refining Viscera Realm, the focus shifts from the quantity of Qi and Blood to its quality and control. It’s no exaggeration to say the physical enhancement is immense... This stage is a process of moving from the external to the internal, from the coarse to the refined. It’s simply not on the same level as the Blood Tempering Realm..."
"So, the Core of it is a process of Inner Strength?" Wan Ze asked thoughtfully.
"Correct." Zhai Jia nodded in affirmation. "First, you gain full mastery over your Qi and Blood, then you guide it to permeate your viscera and bowels to nourish them. It’s like... if you think of your internal organs as a machine, you need to add a protective casing. That’s Inner Strength for the Five Viscera and Six Bowels..."
He offered an example. "The other day, Jie Zhengyang was able to fall from the sixth floor, get back up, and fight you to the death. This shows that his Five Viscera and Six Bowels were indeed strengthened in some way to a level approaching or even reaching the Refining Viscera stage. He was incredibly durable, but... he wasn’t a true Refining Viscera Martial Artist."
"How could you tell?" Wan Ze pressed.
"The state of his Qi and Blood," Zhai Jia said, cutting right to the heart of the matter. "A true Refining Viscera Martial Artist begins to internally refine their viscera and bowels on the foundation of having perfected their Qi and Blood Tempering. The state of their Qi and Blood is overflowing yet full, pure and controllable.
But Jie Zhengyang that day... he felt more like he was strong on the outside but empty on the inside. His Qi and Blood was wild but unstable, as if it had been forcibly stimulated. He had no staying power and was even severely depleted. That’s likely the fatal flaw of their Divinity Transformation technique."
Wan Ze nodded silently, committing this to memory.
Zhai Jia clapped his shoulder and smiled. "You don’t need to worry about these unorthodox methods. Just follow the steps and continue your Cultivation normally. You can think of Qi and Blood Tempering as climbing a tall mountain. When you feel the growth of your Qi and Blood becoming extremely slow, or even stagnating, as if you’ve reached the summit with nowhere left to go, that means your Qi and Blood Tempering has reached the peak for its current stage...
When that time comes, you circulate your Breathing Technique and try to mobilize your Qi and Blood to refine your Five Viscera and Six Bowels... However, refining the viscera and bowels isn’t done randomly; there’s a strict order to it."
"What’s the order?" Wan Ze’s spirits lifted.
"First the Six Bowels, then the Five Viscera. And within the Five Viscera, there’s a specific order... Kidneys, lungs, liver, heart, and spleen. The process concludes with the spleen, the ’central earth,’ which unifies the qi of the Five Viscera," Zhai Jia stated clearly.
"This order... is there some special significance to it?" Wan Ze pressed, wanting to get to the bottom of it.
’This sequence seems to align with medical principles, but it also feels like there’s a deeper, more profound mystery to it.’
Zhai Jia smiled. He recalled how he had pestered his own Senior Brother with the same questions when he first learned of it.
It wasn’t that his Master, Situ Bai, was being secretive. It was just that the core points were always the same, and once a disciple truly reached that threshold, their Master would naturally provide detailed guidance.
’It’s just that young people are always eager to know things ahead of time.’
"There’s a saying in medicine... ’If the Six Bowels are not clear, the Five Viscera cannot be nourished; if turbid qi is not expelled, clear qi cannot be born.’ This means that if we don’t clear the Six Bowels first and go straight to refining the Five Viscera, the turbid qi and excess Qi and Blood energy generated during the process will just stagnate in the body. Not only would it be useless, it would actually damage the Five Viscera. It’s... like trying to pour fresh water into a clogged pipe. You’ll just burst the pipe, and the water will become stagnant."
A look of sudden realization crossed Wan Ze’s face. "I see! So the Cultivation order for the Five Viscera is based on the principle of the five elements generating one another?"
"Smart!" Zhai Jia praised with a smile. "The kidneys belong to Water. They are the root of one’s innate constitution, the very foundation of life. Inner Strength starts there to build a solid base. The lungs belong to Metal; they govern qi and control respiration, serving as the gateway for the circulation of qi. The liver belongs to Wood; it governs the smooth flow of qi and stores blood. It’s the pivot for the rise and fall of qi, regulating the entire body. The heart belongs to Fire; it is the sovereign organ, governing the spirit and driving the circulation of Qi and Blood. It is the Core of the viscera and bowels. Finally, there’s the spleen, which belongs to Earth. It is the root of one’s acquired constitution and the source from which Qi and Blood are generated. It resides in the center, governing all four directions.
You must remember this order, and be especially cautious with the final step, the spleen. At this stage, the goal is to transform and transport the subtle essences and solidify your Inner Strength. You are ’digesting’ all the results of your previous Cultivation. When the spleen is full and robust, the viscera and bowels will connect into a single, integrated whole. This establishes the prerequisite for Refining Force."
Wan Ze now completely understood the key points and sighed with feeling. "It seems the Refining Viscera Realm is far more complex and difficult than Qi and Blood Tempering. It also requires a much more systematic approach."
"Yes, it’s much more arduous." Zhai Jia shared the sentiment, sighing. "With Qi and Blood Refining, you can at least rely on some Secret Medicines to accelerate the process. But once you reach the Refining Viscera stage, you either take Secret Medicine or you rely solely on your Breathing Technique to slowly nourish and hone your organs.
The latter method is slow, and its effects aren’t immediately apparent.
That’s why Master said you’re only allowed to take on those special missions after you truly step into the Refining Viscera Realm. You can then use your mission contributions to exchange for rare resources that are truly helpful for Refining Viscera."
As he said this, Zhai Jia’s gaze toward Wan Ze was filled with complex emotion.
’The more I look at this kid, the more he reminds me of Senior Brother back in the day!’
’Both are heaven-sent geniuses, and their progress is terrifyingly fast.’
’Most importantly... each one is better than the last at ’stirring up trouble.’ Their ability to attract animosity is practically a shared family trait!’
"Ah Ze..." Zhai Jia’s tone suddenly became complicated.
"Hm?" Wan Ze looked up.
"You... have to take good care of yourself," Zhai Jia said this out of the blue.
Wan Ze was baffled by the comment and looked at him in confusion.
Zhai Jia just smiled and didn’t say anything more, his heart filled with unspoken feelings...