Chapter 14: Vitality Body Tempering

"How should we handle Senior Sister Qing?" Qin Mu struggled to stand up, looking at the still-shocked girl beside him.

"Or maybe..."

Grandma Si's eyes immediately lit up. She nudged Qin Mu's shoulder with her own, nearly knocking the struggling boy over, and chuckled mischievously, "Why not keep her to be your little wife? You were so adorable when you were little, but now that you've grown up, you're not as cute. Still, if you and this little girl had a chubby baby, that would be very cute too. Grandma still loves children..."

Qin Mu glanced at Senior Sister Qing, whose face was swollen like a pig's head, and hesitated, "Grandma, maybe not..."

Thud.

The Cripple had appeared behind Senior Sister Qing unnoticed. He raised his hand and stabbed the girl straight through, his face still bearing a simple, honest smile. "Then kill her," he said.

Qin Mu was dumbfounded. He stammered, "Grandpa Cripple, why did you kill her?"

"You said you didn't want her anymore, so of course I killed her." The Cripple withdrew his knife, his smile even more guileless, seemingly a little puzzled.

Qin Mu felt helpless. He certainly hadn't intended to have children with Senior Sister Qing. However, he was still only an eleven or twelve-year-old boy. Usually, he only saw old eccentrics like Grandpa Ma and Grandma Si, and the people from neighboring villages were all fierce and intimidating. He rarely encountered boys or girls his own age.

He had no playmates, yet his heart was still that of a youth.

"Let's go back," the Village Chief said, glancing back at the ruins in the canyon.

The Apothecary smiled at Qin Mu, "We're all missing arms and legs, so no one can carry you. You'll have to walk back yourself. Oh, and here's your Four Spirits Blood. You didn't come home last night, but we prepared it for you."

Qin Mu nodded, took the four white porcelain cups, and drank the Four Spirits Blood. He struggled to move forward, simultaneously circulating the 'Three Elixirs Overlord Body Technique' to dissolve the blood's power, while recounting the strange things he had encountered in the canyon ruins.

Grandma Si's expression shifted slightly. "Gods and devils? A giant dark face, a skeleton girl? Interesting..."

The other villagers also found it interesting, but offered no further opinions.

Qin Mu couldn't help but ask, "Grandma, aren't you curious about the story behind these canyon ruins?"

The Apothecary sighed, "A once-prosperous divine kingdom has now turned to ash. Its divine bones clatter, dancing in the night. Perhaps they are unwilling to rest?"

The Deaf Elder stared at his lips and said, "Even if they're unwilling, they're dead. What good would it do? So, being curious about the story here is probably useless."

"Deaf Elder, are you truly deaf?" The Apothecary looked at his ears, which were made of snow-white iron, even blocking the ear canals. He asked curiously.

The Deaf Elder pulled the two iron ears out of his head, revealing three-inch long iron plugs that secured the ears in his ear canals. He said coldly, "If I plug these two ears into your ear holes, you'll know if I'm deaf!"

The Apothecary smiled faintly and said nothing more.

The Deaf Elder then plunked the two iron ears back into his ear canals and said to the Mute Blacksmith, "These two ears have been bothering me lately. Could you fix them for me?"

The Mute Blacksmith nodded.

Qin Mu was speechless about his family. The Apothecary and the others seemed more interested in the Deaf Elder's ear canals than in the ruins, which he found utterly baffling.

Grandma Si chuckled, "Mu'er, there are just too many secrets in the Great Ruins. Besides the divine city in the canyon, there are countless more. If you spend all your curiosity on these secrets, you won't have time for anything else."

The group walked towards Crippled Elder Village. The Village Chief said in a deep voice, "I see your saber technique is quite strong. A saber one foot and three inches long, able to contend with that boy's treasured sword. You've made significant progress in this trial."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly, and he voiced his confusion, "Why can't my vital qi control objects or wield weapons like theirs? My vital qi can only extend one foot and three inches into a willow branch; it can't go any further."

He greatly admired the ability to wield a sword with vital qi, but he couldn't do it.

The Apothecary secretly shook his head. The vital qi cultivated by ordinary people has no special attributes, making it impossible to control objects or wield weapons. This is because there are simply no techniques that allow ordinary vital qi to perform such functions.

For Qin Mu, an ordinary person, to be able to use vital qi to support a one-foot-three-inch willow branch and clash head-on with a warrior like Senior Brother Qu's treasured sword without it being severed, was already remarkable.

The Village Chief's expression was calm. "Your Overlord Body has not fully awakened yet, and your Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure has not been unearthed. There's no need to rush. Even without an awakened Overlord Body, you can kill a warrior at the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm. Once your Overlord Body awakens, your strength will far surpass your peers."

Grandma Si and the others were also very satisfied with Qin Mu's performance. Senior Brother Qu was a warrior at the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm and could even control his sword with vital qi, making it orbit around him, clearly not far from the Five Luminaries Realm.

Yet Qin Mu, without an awakened Overlord Body, had beaten him to death with a small stick. Clearly, Qin Mu truly possessed the unprecedented "Overlord Body," and the Village Chief had not deceived them!

The Apothecary's eye twitched. He thought to himself, "The fact that Mu'er has an ordinary physique will eventually be impossible to hide. When these guys get disheartened, they might even turn the world upside down... However, it truly is strange that Mu'er managed to beat a peak warrior to death with a small stick. Could an Overlord Body truly exist? Or is it the effect of the Spirit Blood?"

He was knowledgeable, but at this moment, he was also puzzled, his mind clouded with confusion.

After taking the Four Spirits Blood, the vital qi within Qin Mu's body became increasingly active, its circulation speed gradually accelerating. His swollen muscles and tendons slowly recovered, and his blood circulation quickened. The fatigue in his body gradually receded, and unconsciously, his pace quickened, becoming faster and faster.

Grandpa Ma, the Cripple, and the others showed surprise but said nothing, continuing to follow him.

Qin Mu had discovered that cultivating the "Three Elixirs Overlord Body Technique" while running increased his cultivation speed even more. With the replenishment of the Four Spirits Blood, his cultivation would improve significantly faster. Thus, he unconsciously increased his running speed, somewhat lost in the moment.

He quickly forgot the soreness in his muscles. His speed continuously increased, and the vital qi within him circulated faster and faster, reaching his limbs, bones, and even gradually permeating his hair, nails, and skin texture.

Gradually, his speed surpassed his previous full-sprint pace, yet Qin Mu remained unaware, only feeling more exhilarated and invigorated the faster he ran.

Sweat began to seep from his skin pores. This sweat was not transparent; instead, it was quite murky, containing not only dark grime but also white fat particles. However, Qin Mu did not notice these changes in his body.

The Apothecary, the Village Chief, and the others each showed surprise, exchanging silent glances.

"Grandpa Ma, when did your vital qi begin to temper your body?" the Apothecary suddenly asked.

Grandpa Ma said in a deep voice, "At the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm. While practicing my boxing, I suddenly manifested my first divine ability. My first divine ability was body tempering through boxing, with vital qi like a coiling green dragon."

The Apothecary looked at the Cripple, who said, "I was also at the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm. One day, I was running in the wind, trying to catch up to the gale. I wanted to ride on the wind's crest and walk in the sky. That's when I discovered the mystery of vital qi tempering: my vital qi was like wind blowing through a hundred apertures. In my excitement, I fell off the wind's crest and almost died."

The Apothecary sighed, "It was the same for me. I wanted to use my Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure as a refining furnace, and my own vital qi as medicine, to refine myself into an elixir. That's how I discovered the mystery of vital qi tempering: my vital qi was like fire burning through my flesh. Yet Mu'er is already tempering his body without even breaking through the wall yet."

The Cripple chuckled, "The Overlord Body is indeed powerful; it's something us Spirit Bodies can only envy."

The Apothecary's expression was odd; he said no more.

An Overlord Body?

If it truly were an Overlord Body, he wouldn't be so surprised.

The Cripple and Grandpa Ma could attribute all of this to the Overlord Body, but he knew the truth: Qin Mu, with an ordinary physique, had achieved vital qi body tempering a step ahead of Spirit Bodies. This truly astonished even him, a knowledgeable and powerful individual.

"Mu'er's Overlord Body hasn't awakened yet," Grandma Si said excitedly. "If it awakens and his Overlord Body vital qi can control objects and wield weapons, hehe, even the Imperial Tutor of Yan Kang back then probably wasn't as formidable as he'll be, right?"

The Apothecary's heart sank. He glanced at the Village Chief.

The Village Chief also remained silent.

There was no Overlord Body in this world to begin with, and naturally no Overlord Body vital qi. Ordinary vital qi cannot control objects or wield weapons. When Qin Mu discovers he cannot do this, the truth will be exposed.

But before that, Qin Mu first had to achieve the so-called "Overlord Body awakening," and achieving that awakening required breaking through a 'wall' – the Spirit Embryo wall.

How could an ordinary person break through that wall?

The Village Chief's brows furrowed. Would continuing to drink the Four Spirits Blood still be useful? How long could he keep it a secret?