Chapter 11: Breaking the Wall

If Granny Si or the Village Chief were here, they would certainly scold him for acting recklessly and playing with his life.

After all, the divine sound appearing during the wall-breaking was different from the divine sound emitted by the girls in the ruins. Using the demonic sound that countered the girls' divine sound to counter the divine sound appearing during the wall-breaking was not just a case of misapplying medicine; the crucial point was that if the divine sound and demonic sound underwent other strange transformations, it wouldn't be as simple as losing one's life. He might even be annihilated!

However, Qin Mu had no one to guide him and was unaware of the inherent dangers. After learning the demonic sound, he immediately began to experiment.

As his vital qi reached his glabella, the divine sound, ethereal as if from beyond the heavens, resonated again as expected. His vital qi automatically retreated upon encountering the divine sound. Qin Mu silently recited the demonic sound, and the divine sound and demonic sound immediately intertwined, clashing and attacking each other.

Qin Mu seized the opportunity to propel his vital qi towards the Spirit Embryo Wall. However, the divine sound occasionally broke through his demonic sound, forcing his vital qi back.

He failed again and again but remained undeterred, continuously pushing his vital qi forward. After hundreds of failures, his vital qi finally struck the Spirit Embryo Wall.

Yet, the Spirit Embryo Wall remained intact; it had not broken open.

"I was interfered with by the divine sound and couldn't gather all my vital qi for a full impact, which is why I couldn't break the wall."

Qin Mu briefly summarized his mistakes and immediately prepared for the next impact. After experiencing yet another series of failures, his vital qi finally struck the Spirit Embryo Wall for the second time.

This time, too, he failed to break the wall.

Soon after, he attempted a third impact, then a fourth, a fifth…

While learning alchemy from the Apothecary, he had developed excellent patience. Alchemy heavily tested patience, wisdom, keen observation, and technique, with patience being the most crucial; without it, one could never concoct a good medicine.

After countless failures, Qin Mu suddenly heard a faint cracking sound from his glabella.

This soft sound was as beautiful as celestial music, and even with Qin Mu's strong composure, he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart.

A crack appeared on the Spirit Embryo Wall, a lightning-shaped crack.

The Spirit Embryo Wall was an invisible barrier, one that could only be sensed. Yet, when this crack emerged, Qin Mu felt a light radiating from his glabella, like a lightning-bolt symbol.

This sensation was truly marvelous.

When you close your eyes, all you see is darkness, without any light. You cannot see your glabella, the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, or the Spirit Embryo Wall.

However, if the Spirit Embryo Wall is breached by vital qi, forming a crack, you can then see lightning-shaped light radiating from the darkness. At this point, you can finally see the Spirit Embryo Wall.

Qin Mu not only saw the Spirit Embryo Wall but also glimpsed the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure through the lightning-shaped crack on its surface.

Inside the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, light shimmered and golden brilliance radiated, while abundant and dense vital qi flowed out from the lightning-shaped crack, continuously merging with his own vital qi.

The vital qi within the divine treasure was purer and stronger, yet like the vital qi he cultivated himself, it possessed no specific attributes.

Qin Mu firmly believed that the vital qi he cultivated was unique to the Hegemon Body, the Hegemon Body's vital qi, and therefore he was not at all concerned about this.

The Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure contained not only vital qi but also something even more wondrous. However, he had only blasted open a lightning-shaped crack, not completely broken the wall, so he couldn't see what else was inside.

The lightning-shaped crack slowly began to heal. Qin Mu's heart sank slightly. Clearly, the Spirit Embryo Wall was not as simple as he had imagined. It had form but no substance, like viscous fluid that could mend itself even after a hole was opened.

Unless he could completely break through the Spirit Embryo Wall in one go, he wouldn't be able to open the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure!

"My vital qi cultivation isn't strong enough yet, but creating this crack will rapidly boost my vital qi! It won't be long before my vital qi can break through the Spirit Embryo Wall!"

Qin Mu, reinvigorated, suddenly heard the crow of a rooster. 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, unusually majestic and tall, over a person's height, with magnificent wings but featherless necks. The crowing he'd just heard came from these roosters.

"It's almost dawn."

Qin Mu's heart stirred. A faint light had appeared in the eastern sky, indicating that the sun would soon rise. He no longer had enough time to completely break through the Spirit Embryo Wall.

Fortunately, he had now understood how to break the wall. As long as he could escape from Senior Brother Qu and Senior Sister Qing, he would have plenty of time for the breakthrough.

Although he hadn't fully broken the wall, just opening a crack had significantly boosted his cultivation, giving him enough confidence to escape from the two of them!

"It's almost dawn," Senior Brother Qu said meaningfully.

Senior Sister Qing said coldly, "Our three junior brothers died demon-slaying. If this little demon brat escapes, wouldn't we be letting down their spirits in heaven?"

Qin Mu paid them no heed, stood up, and stretched his limbs.

In the plaza, the girls were still contending with the darkness, back and forth, locked in a stalemate, as light and darkness fiercely battled.

Soon after, another rooster crowed. The darkness grew agitated, its sound becoming incredibly resonant and heavy, while the divine sounds from the girls grew more fervent and clear. Divine light and darkness clashed intensely, point against point, in a truly awe-inspiring spectacle.

Suddenly, a third rooster crowed, and a ray of sunlight pierced the eastern darkness, landing on the highest peak nearby.

As this ray of sunlight shone, the inky darkness immediately receded like a tide, swiftly retreating into the distance. The darkness was as rapid in its departure as it had been in its arrival, moving faster and faster until it vanished below the horizon.

As the morning sunlight streamed down, illuminating the canyon, and before it even reached the ruins within, the high-hanging luminous pearl was seen slowly descending, and the vibrant glow filling the plaza surged back into the pearl.

With the glow gone, the girls in the plaza reverted to their skeletal forms, sitting motionless, as if their brave battle against the darkness during the night had merely been a magnificent dream.

Qin Mu had long heard the villagers speak of the strange occurrences in the Great Ruins; the events here were bizarre and inconceivable. However, hearing about them was one thing; experiencing these oddities firsthand was far more shocking.

Every time night fell, and darkness encroached, the faces within the darkness, the mysterious demonic sounds, the pink skeletons in this ruin that transformed into young girls each night, and the confrontation between light and darkness—all were inexplicable oddities.

These secrets awaited discovery.

Qin Mu concealed himself within the moving beast horde and quietly made his way outward. The beast horde clearly had an unwritten rule: no fighting within the ruins. However, outside the ruins, the horde would likely become incredibly dangerous.

On the other side, Senior Brother Qu exchanged a glance with Senior Sister Qing, and both blended into the beast horde, steadily approaching Qin Mu.

The beast horde continued to move outward in an orderly fashion when suddenly, a sword light silently arrived behind Qin Mu. Qin Mu sidestepped, and the precious sword narrowly missed striking an exotic beast.

The exotic beast roared anxiously.

"Junior Sister, don't control the sword! If you injure the exotic beasts, the horde will go berserk, and we'll all die here!"

Senior Brother Qu's voice came, and Junior Sister Qing quickly retracted her precious sword, flipped onto the back of one exotic beast, then leaped onto another, swiftly closing in on Qin Mu. Qin Mu watched enviously; condensing qi into threads to manipulate a precious sword to kill enemies dozens of yards away, such a skill, while not as astonishing as the Butcher's divine arts, was still remarkable.

Senior Sister Qing's steps were light, her skirt swirling like a pink lotus. Beneath the lotus, her toes, like sharp knives, kicked towards Qin Mu!

Her leg techniques were sharp; each kick was like a massive hammer with sharp spikes, making the air hum.

This leg technique could easily shatter a large rock or pierce through copper walls and iron barriers!

Qin Mu's eyes, however, lit up, and he met Senior Sister Qing's whirlwind-like leg techniques!

The Cripple had once told him that the Heaven-Pilfering Leg Skill he had taught him feared no other leg techniques.