Chapter 172: The Jianghu of Gu and Martial Arts
Chapter 172: The Jianghu of Gu and Martial Arts
“The third artificial dantian experiment for a Body Forging Warrior commences. Experimental Dantian: Synthesized Gu Number Seven.”
Chen Xiyi murmured to himself as he logged the experiment into his System.
Lying before him was a middle-aged man whose dantian had been completely destroyed.
Internal Energy resided within the dantian. It had now been a full month since Chen Xiyi finished reading every book in the Miaojiang Five Immortals Cave.
During this time, he had attempted several times to practice martial arts. He failed utterly. The reason was simple: he lacked the necessary organ. To be more precise, he didn’t have a body at all.
He had dissected himself and looked. There were no internal organs within him, not even flesh, blood, or bones. All that remained was his Primordial Spirit, merged with his Soul.
This meant that if he wanted to cultivate within this system, he either needed a corresponding game module or had to make adaptations based on the Qi Refiner system. Success was impossible otherwise.
Therefore, Chen Xiyi had no choice but to adapt it himself.
To reach the level of ordinary Jianghu martial artists, the first essential requirement was Internal Energy.
Every type of martial artist needed to accumulate Internal Energy within their dantian. Without it, sword techniques or fist techniques were just movements, utterly devoid of their special effects.
With Internal Energy, everything changed.
For instance, the Five Immortals Sect’s body hardening method truly required external stimuli and resources like poisons, antidotes, and tonics. But the most crucial factor was still Internal Energy.
Without Internal Energy, one would die from the toxins during the very first step of the training.
So, Chen Xiyi’s first step was to create an artificial dantian. Naturally, he used local resources—the Gu insects of the Five Immortals Sect. Swords, knives, or such were illogical choices.
He had initially considered using flesh and blood. But upon reflection, he had no body; transplantation was impossible. He had to abandon that idea.
Moreover, a Gu-based dantian offered significant advantages: it could grow, and multiple Gu could potentially coexist within it.
Medicine, Gu techniques, and poison arts were all interconnected. Chen Xiyi planned to create something new: Gu Martial Arts.
This wasn’t without precedent. Early records within the Five Immortals Cave showed that when martial arts were underdeveloped in Miaojiang, people relied heavily on medicine, Gu techniques, and poison.
Long ago, women of Miaojiang would breed Gu insects and implant them in their husbands.
This wasn’t the simple toxic Gu of today. It involved Gu designed for symbiosis between host and insect.
Take the Bone-Strengthening Gu, for example. Resembling a centipede, it would be placed into the body through an incision. It would consume bone marrow and secrete a special Gu liquid to repair it. After multiple cycles, the bone would become incredibly strong.
However, this process involved excruciating pain. True masters of Gu breeding could transform their husbands into powerhouses riddled with Gu.
But these Symbiotic Gu practices declined with the rise of martial arts. Why? Symbiosis tested not only the husband’s physical endurance and willpower but also the wife’s skill in breeding Gu and the strength of their marital bond.
Consequently, it was phased out.
Well, not entirely. The Symbiotic Gu techniques were partially absorbed and integrated into martial arts.
Superficially, Symbiotic Gu resembled some unorthodox, forbidden methods from the immortal cultivation world. But the risks were immense, particularly the life-threatening rejection when the Gu insect entered a human body.
Chen Xiyi didn’t blindly copy the original Symbiotic Gu model. Instead, he experimented with his own approach.
Why was this the third attempt? Because the first two test subjects had died.
Meticulously, Chen Xiyi cleaned the ruined dantian area of his current test subject. Then, he inserted the Synthesized Gu Number Seven, roughly the same size. He connected it to the surrounding organs, enabling symbiotic integration with what remained of the dantian.
The subject’s original dantian was useless, a severely damaged organ still lodged within his body.
Strangely, this ruined organ hadn’t caused disease or complications. It merely prevented Internal Energy.
Synthesized Gu Number Seven, painstakingly cultivated by Chen Xiyi, possessed the ability to transform and store Internal Energy.
Originally a beetle-like Gu insect thumb-sized, he had nurtured it to the size of a fist.
“The connection is smooth. No signs of rejection currently. Internal Energy is manifesting… it looks successful.”
Chen Xiyi observed the Synthesized Gu Number Seven within the dantian area. Due to his modifications, this Gu essentially lacked claws. It only had an intake orifice and an outlet, one for input, one for output.
This structure allowed Internal Energy to circulate through the meridians. Fed by Internal Energy and the host’s body, the Gu’s lifespan would essentially match that of its martial artist host.
Excrement? It did produce some, but it wasn’t conventional waste.
Internal Energy entered through the input orifice, providing most of the Gu’s nutritional needs. A smaller portion came from the connected organs, and this part generated the waste.
However, this waste could actually be absorbed and utilized by the martial artist. Consider it similar to bird’s nest or civet coffee from cats.
Chen Xiyi found this aspect… inadequately elegant.
Understandable. This was a martial world, not an immortal cultivation one.
It was called “Gu,” but fundamentally, it was still an insect.
This was biological transplantation technology, not true Gu refinement.
Furthermore, early Symbiotic Gu primarily utilized such insects for enhancing strength.
The Bone-Strengthening Gu consumed bone, then secreted substances that strengthened and promoted bone growth. That secretion was its waste product – waste beneficial to the bones.
“The natural dantian is an organ I cannot possess. While my Gu Martial Arts approach currently functions like an external attachment, perhaps it serves as a stepping stone toward Divine Martial Arts: Primordial Soul Martial Dao.
“In this way, I might break through the Qi Refiners’ physical limitations.”
Chen Xiyi’s body had reached its limits, constrained by the limitations of the Qi Refiner path – limitations inherent to him. Qi Refiners in the previous world undoubtedly surpassed this flaw, evident in capabilities like the Phoenix Bloodline, which allowed Immortality. They had found bodies capable of eternally housing their Primordial Spirits.
Their technology was likely mature. Essentially, what Chen Xiyi possessed now were probably outdated Qi Refiner teachings, obsolete for an indeterminable Time.
Chen Xiyi remained stuck at this step. Fortunately, being a Player freed him from many restrictions.
Yet, this was still merely the first step. The path ahead was steep. After Gu Martial Arts and Divine Martial Arts, he needed to integrate all his Qi Mechanisms into an Internal Energy-like synthesis. Only then could the Divine Martial Arts plan truly begin.
The complexity made Chen Xiyi’s head throb.
“What a long, tough road lies ahead!”
Several minutes later, the Body Forging Warrior on the operating table slowly stirred awake.
Sensing Internal Energy flowing through him once more, he was overwhelmed with joy.
“Thank you, Senior, for repairing my dantian.” After a brief internal assessment, the man hastily got up and bowed. “If you ever need assistance in the future, Senior, command me, and I shall obey.”
Chen Xiyi wasn’t a villain, of course. This test subject, with his damaged dantian, had been recruited publicly through the Five Immortals Sect.
As a major sect, finding individuals with ruined dantians wasn’t difficult.
“Senior… why is my Internal Energy cycling through my meridians autonomously? How…?” He hadn’t noticed at first, but now the state of frightful excitement returned. This meant his Internal Energy was increasing constantly.
“This is Gu Martial Arts. Since you survived, you possess the aptitude. Go recuperate. Return in some Time, and I shall teach you other Gu Martial Arts techniques.” Chen Xiyi stated plainly.
[Qi Bin (A Jianghu Practitioner), Health Points: 67%, Status: Excited, Gu Insect Symbiosis]
[Ability 1: Body Forging Warrior]
[Ability 2: Sword Arts Novice]
[Ability 3: Gu Martial Artist]
Originally, the third ability had been “Unknown.” But as the creator Chen Xiyi confirmed it, it shifted to [Gu Martial Artist].
“Yes, Senior.” Internally, Qi Bin found “Gu Martial Arts” an awkward name. But as long as it made him stronger, he didn’t care what it was called.
As Qi Bin turned to leave, a shadowy figure lightly attached itself to his back before fading away entirely.
Qi Bin could leave freely, but Chen Xiyi needed to observe him afterward. He couldn’t exactly detain the man. Plus, Qi Bin served as a living advertisement, helping him attract more experimental subjects.
Constantly hunting for unwilling participants wasn’t feasible. Chen Xiyi presented himself as a peaceful scholar, powerless against a chicken, positively scrupulous—certainly not engaging in deceit, theft, arson, or murder.
Having volunteers come to him was infinitely preferable.
“Synthesized Gu Number Seven can be renamed Internal Force Gu Version 1.0. Consider it transitioning from beta testing to open release. Next, I just need feedback data from a few more test subjects for optimization.”
“The following focus should be on developing Gu for enhancing physical attributes – strength, flexibility, and so on. Specialized Gu will be needed.”
“Integrating Gu insects into body hardening techniques seems odd at first glance, yet it fits perfectly. Especially so for the Five Immortals Sect’s poison-based hardening arts when paired with toxin-related Gu insects.”
“And if, ultimately, this setup influences the Internal Force Gu itself, causing the generated Internal Energy to become virulent poison energy… would that not be ideal?”
“‘Secret Gu Martial Arts: Calamity Poison Body’ – would stitching together such concepts attract accusations of plagiarism?”
The purpose of Gu Martial Arts was straightforward: swarm the body with numerous Gu insects, using an Internal Force Gu as the core control unit. For instance, this Calamity Poison Body system, constructed upon the Five Immortals Sect’s foundation, synthesized the paths of medicine, Gu, and poison.
Enhancing strength was one thing; helping with actual combat techniques was another. Chen Xiyi couldn’t assist much there. People differed too vastly.
Gu Martial Arts was a biological tech, not some method to fundamentally rebirth a person.
Unless one implanted a Gu into the brain… that might work. But Chen Xiyi wouldn’t experiment on the brain until he was absolutely certain. He treated the heart with caution, let alone the brain.
“After I complete the Calamity Poison Body, I’ll need to acquire martial arts manuals from other sects. The Five Immortals Sect’s techniques are truly unconventional, even if highly suitable for my purposes.”
To develop other branches of Gu Martial Arts, he needed secrets from other martial sects.
Relying solely on Five Immortals Sect techniques would only produce further poison or medicine-oriented systems.
“The second step for the Calamity Poison Body involves developing Gu insects for the internal organs. For the body to endure poisonous Gu, the detoxification functions of these organs are critical. After symbiosis with the Gu, this function needs to transform into consuming poison to grow stronger. This is fundamental. Otherwise, dying from self-poisoning would be absurdly foolish.”
He had initially considered starting with the blood. But that wouldn’t work. Blood infused with toxicity would overwhelm the detox organs, leading to rapid death.
Therefore, he had no choice but to target the internal organs first. Once the organs were fortified, he could move to the meridians, bones, and finally, the blood.
Only at the very end would the brain be involved.
After achieving complete internal Gu symbiosis, forming the Calamity Poison Body within, he could proceed externally: the Nine Apertures, or perhaps the Ten Fingers.
Chen Xiyi estimated that a completed Calamity Poison Body would at least place the user at the level of a Grandmaster Martial Artist.
That was just the beginning. With the Internal Force Gu acting as the central engine, it could intricately link all the Calamity Poison Body Gu insects together. This network would foster continuous enhancement, pushing the martial artist far beyond the realm of a Grandmaster.