Chapter 22: The Secret of the Stone Statues
In the valley beneath the cliff, thud, thud—a series of heavy impacts rang out continuously. The loud crashes shook the leaves, causing them to rustle and sway, while birds in the mountains flapped their wings and fled, not daring to linger.
In the valley, the demon ape leaped into the air, clutching a massive boulder, and slammed it down toward Qin Mu from midair with all its might. Qin Mu dodged to the side. The ape missed with its strike, picked up the boulder again, and smashed it down once more, but Qin Mu leaped onto the boulder, bounced off it, landed on the ape's nose, and planted a palm strike on its face.
The third form of the Thunderclap Eight Forms: Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder!
His palm strike contained nine layers of force. The first layer of power erupted from the center of his palm, surging like an enraged dragon, causing the demon ape to topple backward. Qin Mu's shoulders and hips moved in unison, channeling strength through his entire body, mobilizing every muscle, and concentrating it all in his palm. The second layer of power exploded, slamming the ape's head into the ground, cracking the rubble beneath its skull.
Qin Mu's muscles writhed like coiling flood dragons, rippling as they triggered the third layer of power from Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder, shattering the already broken stones. His muscles twitched violently, and the fourth layer of power erupted, driving half of the ape's head into the earth.
The fifth layer of power from Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder burst forth, sending a dull tremor through the ground, burying the ape's entire head beneath the surface!
The sixth layer of power from Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder erupted, striking like six dragons charging. Just as this layer of force exploded, the demon ape reacted, swinging a fist the size of a small hill from the side, slamming into Qin Mu and sending him flying like a fly!
Qin Mu tumbled and rolled across the ground. The demon ape struggled to pull its head out of the earth, shook it, and sent broken stones flying from its thick fur, which shot out with sharp *thud* sounds.
On the other side, Qin Mu flipped back to his feet and charged again with a roar. The demon ape, with its massive head, thought for a moment, then leaped onto the cliff, crouching on the rock face, and waved a hand: "Little one, no."
Qin Mu's feet moved like the wind as he rushed forward, his steps rapidly tapping across the steep cliff face, running upward from below to attack the ape. The demon ape grew furious, and the two of them stood atop the cliff, leaping and bounding like flying creatures, sending rubble scattering everywhere.
After a long while, the medicinal power within Qin Mu's body gradually faded, and the demon ape was also exhausted, unable to move. Both of them lay on the cliff, panting heavily.
A stick of incense's time later, Qin Mu caught his breath, sat up, and began breathing and exhaling to regulate his energy. A surge of joy welled up inside him—his primordial energy had made significant progress in this short time, becoming stronger and more resilient. It could now reach every corner of his body, flowing freely and joyfully.
More impurities had emerged from his body, likely from the battle with the demon ape, as the medicinal power had strengthened his primordial energy and refined out more waste.
Qin Mu flicked his finger, and a sharp *whoosh* cut through the air like an arrow breaking the sound barrier!
The demon ape was startled and quickly sat up, assuming a defensive posture.
Qin Mu stretched his body, feeling soreness in his muscles, and shook his head: "No more fighting."
The demon ape understood his words, let out a sigh of relief, reached out to uproot a tree as thick as an arm, stripped off a handful of leaves, and slowly chewed them. Then it brought the tree to Qin Mu and rumbled: "Little one, eat."
Qin Mu picked a bright red fruit from the tree, peeled it, and ate it. It was sweet and smooth as it went down his throat.
The demon ape gave him a disdainful look, annoyed by how little he ate, and slapped its chest forcefully: "Eat! Strong!"
Qin Mu, bruised and swollen from the beating, endured the aches throughout his body, stood up, and performed the Thunderclap Eight Forms in front of the demon ape. Then he slapped his own chest: "Practice, strong!"
The demon ape rolled its eyes at him, slowly continued munching on leaves, and said contemptuously: "Believe, ghost."
After Qin Mu had rested enough, he leaped off the cliff, his feet racing down the rock face: "Tomorrow, fight!"
The demon ape blinked, and once Qin Mu was far away, it immediately jumped up and clumsily imitated Qin Mu's earlier movements. Although the Thunderclap Eight Forms were rough, the ape was immensely strong and managed to capture some of their essence. With a punch, it produced the sound of wind and thunder.
The demon ape was stunned, then burst into wild joy, continuing to punch with a *whoosh*, filling the cliff with roaring winds. It shouted: "Strong! Strong! Strong!"
When Qin Mu returned to the village, Medicine Master immediately approached him nervously, examining his body while applying some medicinal ointment to his face: "Any unusual symptoms?"
Qin Mu nodded, making Medicine Master even more anxious.
"Grandpa Medicine Master's elixir really works. My primordial energy has grown stronger," Qin Mu said.
Medicine Master finally relaxed and laughed: "This elixir is indeed effective for Overlord Body primordial energy. Since it didn't kill you, it means my approach is correct. Keep this jar of pills for now; I'll go figure out other formulas!" With that, he hurried off.
Blind came walking over, leaning on his bamboo staff, and smiled: "Mu'er, are you tired? If you are, I'll teach you a superior eye technique."
Qin Mu coughed and said: "Grandpa Blind, I'm over here. That's the latrine over there."
Blind turned around, facing Butcher, who was sunbathing on the millstone, and laughed: "I've thought it over for a long time. Your Overlord Body primordial energy has no attribute, so my techniques are unteachable to you. But this eye technique doesn't require attribute-based primordial energy; Overlord Body primordial energy should be trainable too. Come with me. This skill of mine is called the Nine Heavens Opening Eye Method…"
Qin Mu's head ached, feeling that Blind was a bit unreliable, but he reluctantly followed him.
He was puzzled. Blind said he would teach him the Nine Heavens Opening Eye Method, but instead of instructing him on how to train his eyes, he brought him to observe the four stone statues in the village.
The two sat in front of the statue at the eastern corner of the village. Blind's eye sockets were empty, yet he stared intently at the statue as if he could see something.
Qin Mu knew that everyone in the village was strange, and even the stone statues at the four corners of the village were peculiar—in Cripples' Village, nothing was normal.
These four statues were not tall, but they were incredibly heavy, so heavy that Qin Mu couldn't budge them at all. His strength was now considerable, especially after taking the Four Bloods, which had made him stronger. Recently, his primordial energy had begun to temper his body, washing his marrow and strengthening his physique, but he still couldn't move the statues an inch.
As a child, he often climbed onto the statues to play, but Granny Si and the others always chased him off, telling him not to be disrespectful to the statues. During festivals, they would offer sacrifices to the statues, light incense, and pray for the statues to protect the village's peace and the villagers' lives. These four statues were not carved in human likeness but had humanoid forms. The statue at the southern corner had a bird's head, crouching on a stone pedestal, with both hands resting on its knees and two wings carved on its back, as if about to take flight.
The statue at the northern corner was an old man with a hunched tortoise-like back, holding a horsetail whisk. The whisk was carved into a pure white serpent, which slithered out from the handle, coiled around the old man, and raised its head to gaze into the distance.
The statue at the western corner was a woman, wearing a feathered crown, with a tiger crouching at her feet.
This woman's statue was also strange. A third eye was carved on her forehead, and inside that eye was a bird's nest with three little birds.
The statue before him, at the eastern corner, was a dragon-headed monster carrying a medicine basket on its back, with a few plants inside.
Blind wanted him to carefully observe this statue, but Qin Mu had already seen it countless times and had even climbed on it to play. He really didn't know what was so special about it.
"Mu'er, can you lift this statue?" Blind asked, noticing his lack of focus.
"No."
Qin Mu shook his head. The statue was too heavy, heavier than stone should be. A man-sized stone would weigh about a thousand catties, and with Qin Mu's current strength, carrying a thousand catties was easy, but he couldn't budge these four statues at all.
Blind guided him patiently: "Do you know why the statues are so heavy?"
Qin Mu shook his head again: "I don't know."
"The statues aren't actually heavy at all. Not a bit."
Blind said calmly: "What's heavy isn't the stone, but the thing carved from the stone."
Qin Mu didn't understand. Wasn't the thing carved from stone still stone?
Blind said: "For example, you learned painting and calligraphy from Deaf. Your paintings and writing are worthless nonsense, but Deaf's calligraphy and paintings are worth ten thousand gold pieces and can't be bought! Both paintings are made of paper and ink, so why is Deaf's more valuable?"
Qin Mu vaguely understood. Deaf's paintings indeed had an extraordinary spirit and charm that far surpassed his own.
Blind raised his bamboo staff and pointed at the statue: "If these statues were carved by an ordinary person, they wouldn't be heavy at all. But the one who carved them has an immense background, and the subject matter is even more terrifying. So the weight of the statues can no longer be judged by common sense. Carrying one of these statues is like…"
His expression turned strange, and after a moment, he said: "It's like carrying a god!"