I feel as if time is crawling by in slow motion. The world I see is one of brightness, modulated by the pain I feel, and a cacophony of bestial voices chanting for my inevitable success.

But my success is not inevitable. The only thing that I, in the moment, feel is coming is my death.

What would the monkeys think if their God or Master remained lifeless on the altar? Broken and warped, and no matter how many of their numbers they sacrifice, never to be whole again?

Would they even care?

Of course not. They are just monkeys. A collection of thinking carbon molecules. Blood Points to be collected and spent.

I might have missed the monkeys, once our paths separated. They will not miss me. They will forget about me, and perhaps even learn something about worshiping alien and foreign influences. But they will not miss me.

They don’t even know what I am.

Nine revolutions.

The catastrophic impact of my revolving blood splits the azure jade fuller, the most important part of my vessel for my internal structure, and the crack runs along through the entirety of what remains of my split-in-half vessel.

[ Mid Vessel Refining Progress: 99% ]

My blood slows to a crawl and then stops. The pain subsides.

For a brief moment, I feel rapture — more so because the pain is gone than any possibility that I might survive this episode of stupidity.

It occurs to me in that moment of lucid clarity that, normally, sapient creatures do not cultivate their bodies because it comes with an extreme resource cost to do so safely. The chances of breaking through even once, without assistance, is pitifully small — I reckon it around 10%.

I am about to do so twice in a row.

Another emotion I’ve never felt is fear, but I am immediately introduced to its cold grip around my sentient core In such a way that all the processes of my consciousness freeze at its touch.

My blood moves once more. Its circular voyage through what remains of my vessel carries an inexorable momentum, gaining speed and power like a wrecking ball falling from the apex of its pendulum.

And like a wrecking ball it pummels into the very core of my being, and my being shatters.

[ Mid Vessel Refining Progress: 100% ]

[ Current stage: Black Jade Transformation (Late Vessel Refining) ]

The rest of my blade explodes and my fuller also shatters in half. Now, the only thing remaining of my vessel is the pommel, grip, ruined and gem-less cross-guard, and two thirds of my fuller. The green jade gem embedded in my fuller also explodes, and black blood spills out from the socket, oozing over my fuller.

I scream — internally and voicelessly. If I thought I knew pain before, then I was now regrettably re-examining my definition of how high the pain scale runs. What I thought was a 10 before was a 6 at best, considering what I am experiencing now.

In another moment of futile, but lucid clarity, I reach out for the only recourse left to me.

I did not want to be awake to experience my death, so I directed my [Critical Analysis] talent towards the very method I was cultivating and that was killing me.

[ Analysis: Gained Deep Insight on the Dao of Essence after studying Black Jade Blood Refinement. ]

[ Critical Analysis: Grade E -> Grade D ]

[ Dao of Essence: Grade D -> Grade C ]

I gain an insight into the Dao of Body Cultivation — called Essence — and my [Critical Analysis] improves in rank. My Dao also improves immediately.

But I do not lose consciousness.

In the aftermath of my attempt, I am left thoughtless and shocked to the core. I realize I would have to bear this until the end, only to witness my own death.

As my blood — my actual blood — oozes out of the gem socket and coats my fuller, I feel something changing. An incredibly dense metal begins to form within the blood and to replace the parts of my vessel which I’ve lost.

[ Late Vessel Refining Progress: 20% ]

I think if I was a mundane, sapient creature, with a normal brain made out of meat, I would’ve surely lost my sanity.

Was I really going to breakthrough three times in a row?

The chances of survival were so pitifully low, they were not even worth discussing.

I did not even understand how I was still alive.

Not that I had any capacity to entertain that question. The pain alone would’ve killed me on the spot if I were a creature of meat and pain receptors.

In a desperate attempt to distract myself from the pain, I try to steer my thoughts towards the Insight I gained and the subroutine immediately triggers.

[ Black Jade Blood Refinement is an Emperor Grade body cultivation method. Refine the Qi into true Blood Essence and use it to destroy the body and reforge it as an Immortal Grade foundation after the Black Jade Transformation stage. Once the Blood Essence is compressed, the process cannot be stopped until the final stage is reached and the new body is forged. ]

[ Late Vessel Refining Progress: 60% ]

The Blood Essence pouring out of my socket leaves behind a pristine, silver metal that feels just as heavy as the blood that formed it. It feels like a metallic crystal that has been folded into itself a dozen times, denser than even the heaviest elements. Just looking at my sharpened edge feels like it might cut my perception.

The azure jade fuller caves and warps under the black blood as it oozes lower to reform the tip of my blade, its blackness fading to a pure silvery white that could reflect its surroundings like a mirror.

[ Late Vessel Refining Progress: 80% ]

The azure jade then cracks and begins turning black.

The monkeys howl and drop to their knees once more. They kowtow to me as if they can somehow sense that my transformation is coming to an end.

I cannot comprehend their behavior. I cannot rationalize their intelligence. I cannot deny their instinct.

Of course, I realize. Only demonic beasts are foolish enough to attempt body cultivation with no resources. Only the strong will survive the attempt. Only the ones blessed by the Heavens would walk this path. They are not afraid of death. They do not pity those others who must die — like those who are sacrificed to me.

This is their world. This is the jungle in which they thrive or die.

They know I am at my apex because they are experts of body cultivation.

I have underestimated them.

[ Late Vessel Refining Progress: 100% ]

Finally, my fuller turns completely black, with a faint sheen of blood red coloration refracting within the blackness of my jade.

My vessel is completely reforged. I no longer possess such luxurious gems as before. I am a pristine silver sword, around a black jade core, that could cut through mountains with ease.

I am complete.

[ Current stage: Blood Core Refinement (Peak Vessel Refining) ]

I am hungry.