# Chapter 2: Four Spirit Blood
Granny Si pulled him along excitedly toward the village, laughing: "Stop looking, come quickly, today is your big day! Village Chief, Uncle Ma, everyone come out!"
A bonfire had been lit in the village. The Village Chief was carried out again on a stretcher, his voice deep and solemn: "Have all four spirits been found?"
"All found."
One-armed Uncle Ma dragged over a huge snake several zhang long, emerald green in color, still alive, giving off a fishy stench. He held it firmly by the seventh inch with one hand, rendering it unable to move.
The mute blacksmith brought over a massive bird, even taller than the mute himself, but its wings and feet were bound. When the great bird struggled, sparks of fire flew from its feathers, crackling and popping, quite frightening.
The blind man carried over a giant turtle larger than a tabletop. No one knew how many years this turtle had lived; its shell had turned a golden yellow. The turtle's four limbs were retracted into its shell, occasionally sneaking a claw out. Qin Mu saw that when its claw emerged from the shell, water vapor formed beneath it, as if it could use the vapor to lift itself and escape.
However, the blind man had pierced the golden turtle's nostrils with a fishhook, preventing its escape.
"Dragon, Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise—though we can't get the blood of the true four spirits, using the Green Flood Dragon Snake, Iron Bone Tiger, Thunder Bird, and Golden Turtle as substitutes, we can still refine a bit of spirit blood. That will be enough."
The Village Chief nodded to the village butcher. The butcher grinned, propping himself up with both hands on the ground and moving forward. He was a man with only an upper body, his waist severed cleanly.
Four jars were placed before the green snake, tiger, thunder bird, and golden turtle. The butcher took one creature at a time with his knife and bled them. After a while, all four prey had bled dry.
"Apothecary," the Village Chief said.
The village apothecary stepped forward. He had no face—the skin of his face seemed to have been cut off, along with his nose and half of his upper and lower lips. He was the ugliest and most frightening person in the village, but Qin Mu felt that Grandpa Apothecary was the kindest person to him in the village.
The apothecary approached and took out four peculiar red leaves, each with a snow-white insect egg on it. He dropped one leaf into each jar, and the eggs cracked open. Silkworms lay on the leaves, drinking the blood.
These silkworms grew as they were exposed to air. The more blood they drank, the larger their bodies became. Soon, the blood in all four jars was drained, leaving one fat, oversized worm in each jar.
The apothecary grabbed a handful of white crystalline powder like salt and sprinkled it into the jars. Qin Mu watched in amazement as the four fat, oversized worms rapidly shrank.
After a moment, the apothecary picked up the four worms, each now only the size of a palm. He took out four white porcelain cups, grabbed one worm, and squeezed it hard. The worm squeaked, and a cup of amber-like, crystal-clear blood plasma flowed from its mouth.
The apothecary repeated the process, squeezing the blood from the other three worms' bellies. He placed the four cups before Qin Mu, shaking his head: "After all, they aren't true spirit beasts. This is all the spirit blood I can extract."
"Mu'er, the human body contains seven great treasure vaults: Spirit Embryo, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Man, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge. These seven treasure vaults are naturally sealed, like hidden treasures, and are therefore called the Seven Divine Treasures."
The Village Chief's voice carried a hint of authority. In the firelight, his face flickered between light and shadow as he spoke solemnly: "The Seven Divine Treasures exist in a sealed state, requiring a martial artist to open them themselves. The obstacles preventing martial artists from opening the divine treasures are called walls—Spirit Embryo Wall, Five Luminaries Wall, Six Harmonies Wall, Seven Stars Wall, Heavenly Man Wall, Life and Death Wall, and Divine Bridge Wall. The process of breaking through these seven walls is called wall-breaking."
One-armed Uncle Ma gently stroked Qin Mu's head and laughed: "If the wall can't be broken, cultivation is impossible. Some people are blessed by heaven—born with their Spirit Embryo Wall already broken, their Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure naturally opened. This constitution is called a Spirit Body, a heaven-blessed physique, a seedling for cultivation. Those with Spirit Bodies have talent far surpassing ordinary people, achieving twice the results with half the effort in cultivation. The Spirit Embryo has four attributes, so there are also four types of Spirit Bodies: Azure Dragon Spirit Body, White Tiger Spirit Body, Vermilion Bird Spirit Body, and Black Tortoise Spirit Body. To check whether one has a Spirit Body, you need this Four Spirit Blood."
The apothecary said: "If you are an Azure Dragon Spirit Body, after drinking the Azure Dragon Spirit Blood, it will stimulate the Azure Dragon Qi. Uncle Ma is an Azure Dragon Spirit Body."
One-armed Uncle Ma untied his clothes, stood bare-chested before Qin Mu, turned his back to him, and let out a low shout.
Qin Mu immediately saw a green aura emerge from Uncle Ma's back, extending from his tailbone to the back of his head. The green aura gradually transformed into an azure dragon, every scale and whisker vividly detailed. One dragon claw extended to Uncle Ma's single arm, while two other dragon claws coiled around his legs.
"This is the Azure Dragon Spirit Body."
One-armed Uncle Ma put on his clothes: "Old Lady Si is a White Tiger Spirit Body."
Granny Si shot him a glare: "I'm not taking off my clothes to satisfy you old ghosts. I'll use Qi manifestation to show Qin Mu."
Her body trembled slightly, and behind her came a faint tiger roar. A massive, man-tall white tiger with staring eyes appeared faintly behind her.
"Everyone in the village has a Spirit Body. We once had our glory days, but now we're just a bunch of old, crippled men and women."
Granny Si laughed: "We crippled old folks have nothing to give you. These four cups of Four Spirit Blood are the materials to stimulate your Spirit Body. If you are a White Tiger Spirit Body, drinking the White Tiger Spirit Blood will activate the White Tiger Qi in your Spirit Embryo. If you are a Vermilion Bird Spirit Body, the Vermilion Bird Spirit Blood will awaken the Vermilion Bird Qi in your Spirit Embryo. The same goes for the Black Tortoise Spirit Body."
"Drink."
The Village Chief, Granny Si, and the others all looked at Qin Mu in unison, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Qin Mu's heart pounded nervously. Although he had been fed countless strange things while learning herb gathering and medicine making from the apothecary, none had been as strange as this.
He picked up a white porcelain cup. The spirit blood inside was scalding hot—this was a cup of Vermilion Bird Spirit Blood. Qin Mu drank it in one gulp. He felt a line of fire enter his throat, spreading through his limbs and bones, making him feel as if a blazing inferno had ignited inside him, burning his blood until it seemed ready to boil.
After a while, the burning sensation faded.
"Mute, is he a Vermilion Bird Spirit Body?" the Village Chief asked.
The mute blacksmith shook his head.
The Village Chief said: "Qin Mu, continue."
Qin Mu picked up the second white porcelain cup. Inside was White Tiger Spirit Blood. Drinking it felt like swallowing molten copper mixed with iron filings—astringent, stabbing, and after entering his body, a piercing pain spread throughout. Soon, the stabbing pain disappeared.
"He's not a White Tiger Spirit Body." Granny Si shook her head, somewhat disappointed.
"Qin Mu, the third cup." The Village Chief's voice was deep.
Qin Mu drank the third cup, the Azure Dragon Spirit Blood refined from the great green snake. This cup of spirit blood made him feel his muscles swelling and expanding, his blood swelling and expanding, his internal organs squeezed uncomfortably. But the swelling sensation quickly faded as well.
Uncle Ma showed disappointment, shaking his head: "He's not an Azure Dragon Spirit Body."
"Then he must be a Black Tortoise Spirit Body." The apothecary rarely showed a smile, making his face appear even more ferocious.
Qin Mu drank the last cup of Black Tortoise Spirit Blood. It made his body feel light, as if he were immersed in river water. But this sensation also quickly faded.
"He's not a Black Tortoise Spirit Body either." The apothecary shook his head.
The villagers by the bonfire fell silent. The butcher said: "So that means he's just an ordinary, common person."
Granny Si suddenly burst into tears, choking: "We're all old, all crippled. If we die, he won't survive. It's so dangerous here—he couldn't last a single day..."
Qin Mu held her hand, speaking softly: "Grandma, don't cry. Grandma and Grandpa are all good people, none of you will die..."
"Good people? Heh heh..."
Uncle Ma laughed bitterly: "We cripples were forced into the Great Wasteland, barely surviving until now. The Great Wasteland is too dangerous. Without us, Mu'er would indeed find it hard to survive. We should send him out of the Great Wasteland—it's much safer outside..."
The butcher said coldly: "If we send him out, our enemies will find us, and we'll all die. He'll be implicated by us and die too."
The Crippled Elderly Village fell silent again. Suddenly, the Village Chief said: "Good."
Granny Si was puzzled: "What's good?"
The Village Chief showed a smile: "I said his constitution is good. He's a good seedling."
The butcher, apothecary, and the others were all startled, not understanding his meaning. The Village Chief laughed: "I think Mu'er has another kind of constitution—a Dominating Body that combines the strengths of the four major constitutions!"
"Dominating Body?" Granny Si and the others showed confused expressions. They were all experienced and knowledgeable people, but none had ever heard of the name "Dominating Body."
"Yes, it's the Dominating Body."
The Village Chief laughed: "Ordinary spirit blood is hard-pressed to stimulate the Dominating Body. It requires gathering the blood of the true four spirit beasts to make it manifest. There are no four spirit beasts in the Great Wasteland, but finding the descendants of spirit beasts isn't too difficult. You all continue capturing tigers and great snakes, refining spirit blood. Drink enough, and naturally his Dominating Body will be stimulated."
The Village Chief had great authority. The old men and women missing arms and legs in the village were all delighted to hear this. Granny Si laughed: "Tomorrow I'll go with that crippled old man to catch tigers! Mu'er, you go to bed early too. Tomorrow you'll drink more spirit blood!"
The crowd dispersed. The apothecary and the mute blacksmith carried the Village Chief back to his room. The mute left, but the apothecary stayed, speaking in a low voice: "There has never been such a thing as a Dominating Body."
The Village Chief nodded: "I made it up on the spot. If I hadn't said that, the people in the village would have found it hard to go on."
The apothecary was stunned. The villagers of Crippled Elderly Village each had their own backgrounds, but all had been forced into the Great Wasteland to come to Crippled Elderly Village, barely surviving. They had once resented heaven, resented earth, resented fate itself, their resentment too heavy. The fact that they had survived until now couldn't be said to be without Qin Mu's contribution.
It was this little child with all his limbs intact who had dispelled the resentment in everyone's hearts. Everyone had raised Qin Mu, treating this little boy as their closest kin. Qin Mu held together the fragile hearts of the Crippled Elderly Village villagers.
If the villagers knew that Qin Mu only had the most ordinary constitution and couldn't survive alone in the Great Wasteland, these people would likely lose control and do who knows what.
The apothecary said expressionlessly: "But you can't hide it forever. We'll all eventually die of old age, leaving only Qin Mu."
"So don't tell him that there has never been a Dominating Body. Never tell him."
The Village Chief's voice was deep: "Let him believe that he is the one and only Dominating Body!"
The apothecary was stunned, carefully examining his face. The Village Chief's face appeared especially charismatic in the dim lamplight. He laughed: "I want to see if an ordinary person, armed with unparalleled belief, can transcend the mundane and accomplish things that even we Spirit Bodies cannot! Perhaps in the future, he really can forge a path where the mortal body is the Dominating Body!"
The apothecary was dazed: "Mortal body is Dominating Body?"
The Village Chief nodded emphatically: "As long as there is belief, the mortal body is the Dominating Body!"