If Granny Si or the Village Chief were here, they would surely berate him for his recklessness, gambling with his own life.After all, the divine sound that appeared when breaking the barrier was different from the divine sounds emitted by the maidens in the ruins. Using the demonic sound that countered the maidens' divine sounds to oppose the one from barrier-breaking—being ineffective was the least of his worries; the key danger was that if the divine and demonic sounds underwent other eerie changes, the consequence would be far worse than death, possibly even the complete annihilation of his soul!
However, Qin Mu had no one to guide him and knew nothing of these perils. As soon as he learned the demonic sound, he immediately set out to test it.When his vital energy reached his brow, the faint divine sound, as if coming from beyond the nine heavens, rang out again as expected. His vital energy retreated automatically upon encountering the divine sound. Qin Mu silently recited the demonic sound, and the two sounds immediately clashed, colliding and attacking each other.Seizing the opportunity, Qin Mu urged his vital energy to charge toward the Spiritual Embryo Barrier. Yet the divine sound repeatedly broke through his demonic sound, forcing his vital energy back.He failed time and again but refused to be discouraged, continuously surging his vital energy to attack. After hundreds of failures, his vital energy finally struck the Spiritual Embryo Barrier—only for the barrier to remain unbroken.
"I was distracted by the divine sound and couldn't gather all my vital energy for a full assault, which is why I couldn't break the barrier," he summarized his mistake briefly, then launched another attack at once. After countless more failures, he managed to send his vital energy crashing into the barrier a second time—with the same result.Soon came the third attempt, then the fourth, fifth…
When learning alchemy from Pharmacist Xiang, he had already cultivated great patience. Alchemy demanded immense patience, wisdom, eyesight, and skill—patience above all else. Without it, one could never refine a good medicine.
After an uncountable number of failures, Qin Mu suddenly heard a soft crack from his brow.The sound was as beautiful as celestial music; even with his strong will, he could not contain his excitement.A crack, shaped like lightning, appeared on the Spiritual Embryo Barrier.
The Spiritual Embryo Barrier was intangible, invisible—perceivable only through sensation. Yet when this crack formed, Qin Mu felt a beam of light shoot forth from his brow, like a lightning-shaped symbol.The sensation was extraordinary.
When your eyes are closed, all you see is darkness, no light at all. You cannot see your brow, the Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasury, or the barrier itself.But when the barrier is cracked by vital energy, you can see lightning-like light piercing through the darkness—and only then can you see the barrier.
Qin Mu not only saw the barrier but also glimpsed the Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasury through the lightning-shaped crack.Inside the treasury, radiant golden mist swirled, and abundant, dense vital energy overflowed through the crack, merging with his own repeatedly.The vital energy in the treasury was purer and more powerful, yet like his own cultivated energy, it had no attributes.Qin Mu firmly believed his cultivated energy was unique to the Overlord Body—the Overlord Body Vital Energy—and paid no mind to this.
The treasury contained more wondrous things besides vital energy, but he had only blasted open a single lightning-shaped crack, not fully broken the barrier, so he could not see what else lay within.
The crack was slowly healing, and Qin Mu's heart sank. Clearly, the Spiritual Embryo Barrier was not as simple as he had imagined. Tangible yet formless, it was like viscous liquid—even a hole would seal itself.Only by mustering all his strength to shatter the barrier completely could he open the Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasury!
"My vital energy cultivation is still not strong enough, but breaking a crack allows my energy to improve rapidly! Before long, my vital energy will be enough to break the barrier!"
Emboldened, Qin Mu suddenly heard a rooster's crow. His heart stirred, and he quickly opened his eyes.
Among the exotic beasts that had taken refuge in the ruins were several bald-necked roosters—extraordinarily tall and majestic, over a man's height, with gorgeous plumage but bare necks. The crow had come from them.
"Dawn is breaking," Qin Mu thought. The eastern sky was already growing dimly bright, signaling the sun would rise soon. He no longer had time to fully break the barrier.Fortunately, he had grasped the method to break it. As long as he could escape from Senior Brother Qu and Senior Sister Qing, he would have plenty of time to make the breakthrough later.Though he had not fully broken the barrier, even a single crack had boosted his cultivation significantly. He was confident enough to escape the two!
"Dawn is breaking," Senior Brother Qu said meaningfully.
Senior Sister Qing's voice was cold: "Three junior brothers died to eliminate demons. If this little demon spawn escapes, wouldn't we betray their spirits in heaven?"
Qin Mu ignored them, stood up, and stretched his muscles.
In the square, the maidens still clashed with the darkness, locked in a stalemate, light and darkness battling fiercely.
Before long, another rooster crowed. The darkness grew agitated, its voice turning deep and thunderous, while the maidens' divine sounds rose to a passionate, resounding pitch. Divine light and darkness collided violently, creating a stunning spectacle.
Suddenly, a third crow rang out. A ray of sunlight pierced the eastern darkness, landing on the tallest nearby mountain peak.
At the touch of sunlight, the pitch-black darkness retreated like a tide, speeding into the distance as swiftly as it had come, until it vanished over the horizon.
Morning sunlight spilled over the canyon, though it had not yet reached the ruins in the valley when the suspended pearl slowly descended, and the colorful glow filling the square poured back into it.
As the glow faded, the maidens in the square reverted to skeletons, sitting motionless—as if their nightlong battle against darkness had been nothing but a magnificent dream.
Qin Mu had long heard the villagers speak of strange occurrences in the Great Wastes, but experiencing them firsthand was far more shocking.
Every night, darkness invaded, bringing faces in the shadows and mysterious demonic sounds; the pink skeletons in the ruins transformed into maidens after dark; light and darkness clashed relentlessly—each was an incomprehensible mystery, waiting to be uncovered.
Qin Mu hid among the moving herd of beasts, slipping quietly outward. The beasts clearly followed an unspoken rule: no fighting within the ruins. But outside, they would likely turn extremely dangerous.
On the other side, Senior Brother Qu exchanged a look with Senior Sister Qing, and the two slipped into the beast herd, gradually closing in on Qin Mu.
The beasts continued moving in an orderly flow when suddenly a sword light glided silently through the air, heading straight for Qin Mu's back. Qin Mu twisted aside, narrowly avoiding it—the sword almost stabbed into a nearby exotic beast.
The beast let out an agitated roar.
"Junior Sister! Don't control your sword here! If you injure the herd and they go berserk, we'll all die!"
Senior Brother Qu's voice rang out, and Senior Sister Qing hurriedly recalled her sword. She flipped onto the back of one beast, then leaped to another, rapidly closing the distance to Qin Mu. Qin Mu couldn't help feeling a surge of admiration—gathering qi into silk threads and controlling a sword to kill from dozens of yards away… Although not as shocking as the Butcher's divine abilities, it was still an impressive skill.
Senior Sister Qing moved lightly, her skirt swirling like a pink lotus blossom. Beneath that lotus, her toes became sharp as blades as she kicked at Qin Mu!
Her leg techniques were fierce; every strike carried the weight of a massive hammer tipped with spikes, the air humming with each blow.
Such leg techniques could easily shatter a boulder or pierce copper walls and iron fortresses!
But Qin Mu's eyes lit up. He stepped forward to meet her whirlwind kicks head-on.
The Cripple had once told him: the Stealing-Heaven Leg Technique he taught Qin Mu feared no other leg technique in this world!