Chapter 92: Breaking Through the Barriers
Qin Mu reached out his hand, gently touching the spot, but found no trace whatsoever that the other world had ever existed there.
The village chief hesitated for a moment, then still told him what he had seen and heard in the Realm of the Living Dead. Qin Mu’s eyes widened. The village chief had such an incredible experience?
“The Realm of the Living Dead has a King Yan, which probably isn’t the Demon Heavenly Realm, but rather a remnant from before the darkness, a part of the Great Ruins before the darkness descended.”
The village chief analyzed, “The King Yan of the Realm of the Living Dead should also be a kind of divine office, just like the Sun Guardian and Moon Guardian. But Wandering Village isn’t there. As for where it actually is, I couldn’t find out. The reason your jade pendant was pulled and flew into the Realm of the Living Dead is probably because the Moon Boat and your jade pendant both originated from Wandering Village.”
He sighed. “The world of the Great Ruins is just too vast. I used to live here, but I never imagined there would be multiple layers of worlds. There are at least three layers of worlds here!”
Qin Mu nodded. The Great Ruins during the day, the Dark Realm at night, and the Realm of the Living Dead within the Dark Realm—that night, they had witnessed the three layers of the Great Ruins. This kind of wondrous experience was not something to share with outsiders, because even if they told it, few would believe them.
They headed back. Passing by the small village where they had encountered the Yin emissary by the river the night before, Qin Mu stopped and looked at it. It was dilapidated, covered in cobwebs everywhere, clearly uninhabited for a long time.
But that wasn’t what they had seen last night. Last night, there had been an old man there, carrying a lantern and pasting paper boats. This was the wonder and the eeriness of the Great Ruins, something baffling.
“Is there a connection between the Realm of the Living Dead and the Yin emissary?” Qin Mu asked.
The village chief shook his head. “I don’t know either. But my view is that the Yin emissary doesn’t belong to the Realm of the Living Dead. The King Yan of the Realm of the Living Dead should only be the King Yan of the Great Ruins, whereas I’ve encountered the Yin emissary and villages like this in the outside world. They are gods of the Netherworld…”
Qin Mu scratched his head. The Netherworld? The Realm of the Living Dead? King Yan? Yin emissary? It was too complicated. Thinking about it in detail would make his head explode.
“Wandering Village is even more mysterious than this Realm of the Living Dead. Finding that mysterious place won’t happen anytime soon.”
The village chief said, “Mu’er, if you want to find out about your own origins, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a little longer. Don’t worry. As long as Wandering Village is within the Great Ruins, it can definitely be found.”
Qin Mu nodded. “Once I become strong, I can go find out about my origins myself. Village Chief, I…”
He hesitated, but the village chief understood his intentions and smiled. “You want to leave the Crippled Elderly Village, leave the Great Ruins, and go out to train?”
Qin Mu nodded, feeling uneasy.
“The Demon Sect Founder sent a letter, one for you and one for Grandma Si. I read it too. He has seven more years of his natural lifespan. Logically and emotionally, you should go to Yan Kang Kingdom to see him.”
The village chief said leisurely, “A fledgling always has to leave the nest one day, to see the wider world. Before entering the darkness, I discussed this matter with Medicine King, Grandma Si, and the others. They all agreed.”
Qin Mu’s eyes lit up. The village chief continued, “They said that as long as you pass their trials, you can leave the village to train and explore.”
Qin Mu slumped. After all that talk, he still needed to pass trials to leave the village.
The village chief laughed. “And I am your ninth trial. Mu’er, once you pass these nine trials, you’ll be considered an adult, and you can soar freely.”
Qin Mu’s face darkened even more. The eight trials from Ma Ye and the others were already extremely difficult, and the village chief’s trial felt like an insurmountable mountain. How was he supposed to get through these nine challenges?
Suddenly, Qin Mu felt a surge of warmth flowing from between his brows, spreading through his limbs and bones, soothing his body, mind, and soul. His primal energy began to circulate vigorously. He let out a surprised sound.
The village chief’s expression shifted. He could feel the boy beside him brimming with vigorous primal energy, as if a small sun were hidden between his brows!
“Mu’er, has your spirit embryo awakened?” the village chief asked.
Qin Mu said, “It has awakened. My spirit embryo doesn’t seem any different from before… It’s just that the primal energy is a bit different.”
The village chief knew very little about the Overlord Body that Qin Mu had single-handedly created, and he was helpless when it came to the problems Qin Mu faced. He comforted him, “A spirit embryo awakening four times—I’ve never encountered such a thing. As long as it’s a good thing, don’t worry too much about it. Is the change in your primal energy a good thing?”
Qin Mu nodded repeatedly. The village chief smiled. “Then that’s good.”
Crippled Elderly Village.
The darkness receded, and the morning sun rose. It was already the third month of spring, but there was still a chill in the early morning. Qin Mu got up early, stripped to the waist, and drew a bucket of cold water from the village well, pouring it over himself to wake up.
His primal energy erupted, transforming into Vermilion Bird primal energy, evaporating the water from his body. Soon, he was full of energy.
“Mu’er, give me a bucket too.” Butcher supported himself on his hands and walked over.
Qin Mu drew another bucket of water and poured it over Butcher’s head.
“Ah, that feels good!”
Flames blazed all around Butcher, turning the bucket of water into white steam. Then he waved his hand, and his butcher knife flew over. He grabbed the big knife and used it to shave his beard in the steam, making a scraping sound.
Ma Ye pushed open his door, took the two doors off and set them aside, stretched lazily, his bones cracking and popping. A green dragon coiled around him. He raised his hand to seal his Five Radiances, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Man, Life and Death, and other divine repositories, leaving only the Spirit Embryo divine repository open. He called out, “Dead Cripple, are you up yet?”
“I’m up.”
Cripple limped out of his room, combing his hair with a small comb, dressing himself neatly like a refined old man. He laughed. “Today is a big day, so of course I have to get up early. Is Deafie up yet?”
“What’s all the noise?” Deafie was in his study, grinding ink and painting, with iron earplugs stuck in his ears. He didn’t even look up.
Mute was dumping furnace slag. Medicine King was at the window feeding a few fire-spitting little birds. Then the birds flew to the village chief’s house and pecked at the window lattice. The village chief’s voice came from inside. “I know. I’m awake.”
Grandma Si was stir-frying at the stove and steaming rice in a wooden bucket. Cripple ran over to lift the lid, and Grandma Si hit him with the spatula, glaring. “What’s the rush? Have you washed your hands and face? Brush your teeth with the medicinal paste.”
Cripple quickly went to get water to wash his hands and face, asked Medicine King for the medicinal paste, and used a twig to brush his teeth. Grandma Si called for Qin Mu, and the two of them busied themselves bringing out the dishes and serving the rice. Ma Ye tidied up the table and chairs. Before long, all the villagers of Crippled Elderly Village were gathered around the table. Qin Mu set out bowls and chopsticks for everyone, then picked up the village chief and placed him in his recliner before sitting down.
Qin Mu stood up and poured wine for each villager, then poured a cup for himself. Grandma Si raised her glass, her eyes reddening. Butcher said, “It’s a happy day, why are you crying? You clearly want him to go out and see the world, but you can’t bear to let him go. Women just have too many tears!”
Grandma Si was furious and glared at him, but then laughed. “Today is Mu’er’s happy day. I won’t argue with you. Mu’er, everyone, let’s drink this cup!”
Everyone drank it all in one gulp. Qin Mu cheerfully refilled their cups and said cautiously, “Uncles, please go easy on me later. Cut me some slack.”
Butcher laughed. “You little rascal, don’t get too happy. You might end up flat on the ground after the first round.”
Grandma Si’s eyes reddened again. “Mu’er, after you leave the village, you must come back to visit us often…”
Butcher laughed. “He won’t even get past you, let alone my round…”
Grandma Si was furious. She shoved his face into a bowl and hit him on the head with her chopsticks. “You talk too much! My Mu’er is the Overlord Body. He can beat you until you cry for your mom and dad!”
Butcher cried out for his parents and begged for mercy, and Grandma Si finally let him go.
After breakfast, Qin Mu cleared the table. The village chief said, “Everyone has sealed their other divine repositories, right?”
Everyone nodded silently.
“Then let’s begin.”
Ma Ye stepped forward and said calmly, “Mu’er, I taught you your fist techniques. If you fight me using my own techniques, you will definitely lose. You can use everything you’ve learned. If you can beat me, you pass.”
Qin Mu bowed. With a dragon’s roar, his primal energy transformed into a green dragon coiling around him. He said resolutely, “I want to receive Ma Ye’s teachings through fist techniques!”
Ma Ye revealed a faint smile. “Ambitious! But if that’s the case, you might not even pass this first round.”
The two of them each extended their hands. Suddenly, Qin Mu took the first step. His primal energy exploded, and his very first punch was the Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder. His primal energy surged mightily, and as he punched, dragon patterns faintly appeared in the air.
Ma Ye also countered with the Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder. “Are you trying to test my mastery of the dragon force’s variations…”
Boom—
Ma Ye’s face changed drastically. It felt as if he had been slammed by a ten-thousand-jin beast charging at full speed. His body flew backward, crashing through Mute’s blacksmith shop, shattering it into pieces, and still didn’t stop.
Mid-air, he was forced to unseal his Five Radiances divine repository. With a hum, the terrifying power stored within the Five Radiances divine repository erupted, finally halting his momentum. But at that moment, the back of his robe burst open with a series of pops, shredding into countless fragments. The fragments vaguely formed forty-nine green dragons charging backward, kicking up a fierce wind. The leaves of several large white poplars outside the village rustled violently, scattering wildly.
Ma Ye twisted his waist and landed on the ground, shocked and uncertain.
Cripple was eating a braised pig trotter. Startled, the trotter shot straight into his mouth, leaving only the hoof sticking out. Butcher was sharpening his knife, and the whetstone split with a crack.
Medicine King and the village chief were drinking tea. The teacups and teapot all exploded. Blind’s bamboo staff was crushed into a bundle of bamboo splinters. Deafie’s ink spilled all over the table. Grandma Si crushed a stack of porcelain bowls. The chicken-dragon clucked and flapped its wings, diving headfirst into the chicken coop, trembling as it reached out a claw to pull the wicker door shut.
Medicine King looked at the village chief and whispered, “What happened after you two went out the night before last? How did Mu’er’s cultivation increase so much?”
The village chief was also bewildered. Then he suddenly realized and whispered back, “His spirit embryo awakened for the fourth time. He said his spirit embryo hadn’t changed much, just that his primal energy was a bit different…”
Medicine King’s eyelid twitched. He muttered, “Just a bit different?”
“How was I supposed to know that his ‘a bit different’ meant his primal energy had doubled…” the village chief muttered back.