"What about this Senior Sister Qing?" Qin Mu forced himself to stand and looked at the terrified girl beside him.
"Well…"
Granny Si's eyes lit up. She bumped Qin Mu's shoulder with her own—almost knocking the boy back down—and smiled mischievously. "Why not keep her here as your little wife? You were so adorable when you were small. Now that you've grown, you're not as cute. But if you and this little girl have a chubby baby, that child would definitely be adorable. Granny has always loved children…"
Qin Mu glanced at Senior Sister Qing—whose face now looked like a swollen pig's head—and hesitated. "Granny… maybe let's not."
Pff.
The cripple appeared behind the girl at some unknown moment. With a simple thrust, his blade pierced straight through her heart. He still wore his honest, simpleminded smile. "Then we kill her."
Qin Mu's eyes bulged. "Grandpa Cripple, why did you kill her?"
"You said you didn't want her. So of course I killed her." He pulled out the knife, his smile growing even more sincere, as if he genuinely didn't understand the problem.
Qin Mu deflated. He had never intended to marry Senior Sister Qing. He was just an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy after all. The people he saw every day were monsters like Grandpa Ma and Granny Si, and the kids in the neighboring villages were all vicious little devils. He had almost no peers to play with.
No playmates—but his heart was still a child's.
"Let's go back." The village chief spoke, glancing once more at the ruins inside the gorge.
The apothecary smiled at Qin Mu. "We're all missing arms or legs. No one's carrying you. You'll have to walk back on your own. Ah yes, here is your Four Spirit Blood. You didn't come home last night, so I prepared it for you."
Qin Mu nodded, took the four white porcelain cups, drank the blood in one gulp, and staggered forward. As he activated the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique to digest its power, he told them everything that had happened in the ruin.
Granny Si's expression shifted slightly. "Gods and devils? A giant dark face, a skeletal girl? Interesting…"
The others also found it interesting, but none had further opinions.
"Aren't you curious about the story behind the ruins?" Qin Mu couldn't help asking.
The apothecary sighed. "A divine kingdom that once flourished—now nothing but ashes. Divine bones rattling, dancing in the night… perhaps unwilling to rest?"
The deaf old man stared at the apothecary's lips. "Even if they're unwilling, they're still dead. What's the point? Being curious about this place won't change anything."
"Deaf one, are you truly deaf?" The apothecary stared at his ears—two white iron ear-pieces, forged completely solid, even the ear holes sealed. Curious, he asked.
The deaf man pulled the metal ears off, revealing iron plugs three inches long that fit into his ear canals. His expression was cold. "Let me shove these into your ear holes. Then you'll know whether I'm deaf."
The apothecary smiled gently and said no more.
The deaf man shoved the two metal ears back in with a clack, then said to the mute blacksmith, "These ear pieces feel uncomfortable lately. Re-forge them for me."
The mute nodded.
Qin Mu was speechless. These people were more interested in the deaf man's ear holes than in the ancient ruins. He truly couldn't understand them.
Granny Si laughed. "Mu'er, there are far too many secrets in the Great Ruins. More than just this divine city in the gorge. If you waste your curiosity on all of them, you won't have time to do anything else."
As they walked toward Disabled Elderly Village, the village chief said, "Your blade strikes were impressive. The blade reached one foot three inches—able to match that young man's sword. This trial has improved you greatly."
Qin Mu hesitated and voiced his doubt. "Why can't my vital qi control objects like theirs? My qi can only extend one foot three inches into a willow branch. No further."
He deeply envied sword control.
The apothecary secretly shook his head. Ordinary people's vital qi had no properties; without the special attributes that spirit bodies had, they could not perform object control at all. There simply was no technique to make ordinary qi do it.
For an ordinary boy like Qin Mu to extend his qi into a willow branch at all—and even clash head-on with Qu Senior Brother's sword without breaking it—was already astonishing.
The village chief said calmly, "Your Overlord Body has not fully awakened. Your Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure hasn't opened. No need to rush. Before awakening, you can already slay a peak Spirit Embryo practitioner. After awakening, you will surpass your peers."
Granny Si and the others were extremely satisfied. That Senior Brother Qu was a peak Spirit Embryo cultivator, already able to control a sword—and likely not far from the Five Elements Realm.
Yet Qin Mu, without awakening the Overlord Body and using only a small wooden stick, killed him. Clearly, he truly was the unheard-of Overlord Body the village chief claimed.
The apothecary's eyelid twitched. Mu'er being an ordinary body… it will be exposed sooner or later. When that happens, these lunatics might overturn the heavens… But how did he kill a peak cultivator with a wooden stick? Could the Overlord Body truly exist? Or was it the Four Spirit Blood?
Even his knowledgeable mind was uncertain.
After drinking the Four Spirit Blood, Qin Mu's vital qi became lively, circulating faster and faster. The swelling in his muscles eased, his blood flow accelerated, and the fatigue faded. His steps quickened—then quicker still.
Grandpa Ma, the cripple, and the others exchanged surprised looks but stayed silent, following behind him.
Running while cultivating the Three Elixir Technique increased his progress even more—another new discovery for Qin Mu. With Four Spirit Blood fueling him, the improvement multiplied. Without noticing, he ran faster and faster.
He soon forgot his soreness. His speed surpassed even his previous full-force sprint. His qi surged through his limbs, bones, and even seeped into his hair, nails, and skin.
His sweat oozed from his pores—dark, murky sweat mixed with filth and white fatty granules—but Qin Mu didn't notice.
The villagers exchanged shocked glances.
"When did you begin body-refining with qi?" the apothecary suddenly asked Grandpa Ma.
"At the peak of Spirit Embryo," Grandpa Ma said. "I threw a punch one day and triggered my first divine ability. It was a body-refining punch—qi coiled like a green dragon around me."
They looked to the cripple.
"Also peak Spirit Embryo," the cripple said. "I was running with the wind, trying to catch up to it so I could step on its tip and walk the sky. That's when I discovered qi-refining the body—qi like wind blowing through a hundred apertures. Then I got excited, fell off the wind, and almost died."
The apothecary sighed. "Same for me. I tried to use my Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure as a furnace and refine myself into a medicinal pill. That's when I discovered qi-refining the body—qi like fire roasting flesh. But Mu'er… he hasn't even broken his wall and he's already begun body-refinement."
The cripple laughed. "That's the Overlord Body for you—beyond what us spirit bodies could ever dream of."
The apothecary's expression grew strange.
Overlord Body?
If that were truly the case, he wouldn't be so surprised.
They could still attribute everything to the Overlord Body. But he knew the truth. Qin Mu was doing something an ordinary human body should never be able to do—refining the body with qi before even breaking through.
Granny Si was thrilled. "Once Mu'er awakens the Overlord Body, he'll gain Overlord Body qi—able to control weapons! Heh, even the old Imperial Preceptor of Yankang might not compare to him!"
The apothecary's heart sank. He glanced at the village chief.
The village chief was also silent.
There had never been an Overlord Body in this world—naturally, no Overlord Body qi. Ordinary qi could never control objects. The moment Qin Mu discovered he couldn't perform the technique, the truth would come out.
But before that, Qin Mu must first awaken this so-called Overlord Body—which required breaking the Spirit Embryo wall.
How could an ordinary person break the wall?
The village chief's brow creased. Would drinking more Four Spirit Blood help? How long can we keep this hidden…?