Chapter 15: Water Walking

Qin Mu ran swiftly, his vital qi growing stronger and stronger. He ran for an unknown number of miles, yet the villagers of Disabled Elderly Village always kept pace with him. Even the Blind Man moved as if on level ground, steadily staying with the others.

As Qin Mu dashed into a mountain forest, a dark figure suddenly rose from the trees, roaring, "Little one, die..."

The enraged creature was none other than the demon ape. Seeing "little one" intrude into its territory once more, its fury was imaginable. However, when the one-armed Old Man Ma glanced at the furious beast, the demon ape suddenly shuddered. Abandoning its territory, it immediately turned tail and fled.

There was not a trace of emotion in Old Man Ma's eyes, which caused the massive creature to feel an instinctive fear, as if death was imminent. Thus, it dared not act arrogantly and immediately escaped.

The others paid no mind. Qin Mu ran at full speed, his vital qi surging, and only when he returned to Disabled Elderly Village did he snap out of his trance. He then realized he was covered in grime, a thick layer of filth having accumulated on his body; whether it was black blood or greasy fat, he couldn't tell.

Granny Si instructed, "Mu'er, go wash by the river. Blind Man, go with him and be careful not to get caught by the monsters in the river."

The Blind Man, leaning on his bamboo staff, followed Qin Mu to the riverbank. Qin Mu immediately stripped naked and jumped into the river to wash off the grime. The Blind Man gently tapped the river water with his bamboo staff. A large fish that had been lurking near Qin Mu was startled and quickly leapt out of the water, splashing more than ten *zhang* away. It was a massive grass carp, over two *zhang* long, with whiskers like eight *zhang*-long tentacles.

After cleaning himself, Qin Mu looked at the shimmering river surface. Suddenly, a surge of heroic spirit rose from his young chest, burning like a raging fire.

His vital qi immediately became agitated, surging like a rolling river, rushing straight to his throat. As if a celestial musical treasury had suddenly opened, a deep, resonant cry erupted from his throat!

His long cry echoed through the mountains and forests, causing ripples on the river surface!

Amidst his prolonged cry, Qin Mu leapt from the water and suddenly began to run wildly, his feet splashing on the river's surface!

The moment his foot touched the river, the power stored in his sole merged with the descending vital qi. The two forces fused and erupted, causing the water to explode outwards in all directions where his foot landed!

Before the water could fall back, Qin Mu's body had already advanced over a *zhang*, and simultaneously, his other foot touched the water.

*Thump-thump-thump-thump—*

A series of crisp splashing sounds came from the river. Qin Mu ran across the river, swiftly covering over two *li* while stepping on the water.

His cry became increasingly joyful, unrestrained and carefree, like heavenly music, a celestial ensemble playing, dragons and phoenixes singing in harmony. His steps were equally uninhibited, indulging freely, galloping wildly on the river surface as if frolicking!

Gentle breezes stirred ripples on the river surface. The young boy's pace was astonishingly fast; he quickly ran from one bank of the Surging River to the other, then stepped across the river and returned.

The Blind Man stood by the riverbank, leaning on his bamboo staff. The river breeze blew, stirring his white hair. Listening to Qin Mu's cry from the middle of the river, the old man nodded gently, a smile appearing on his face. Suddenly, he sang loudly, "The apes on both banks cannot cease their cries, and the wind sighs, chilling my groin! Mu'er, you're running wild on the river with a bare backside, swimming naked in the river, don't you feel cold?"

A gasp came from the middle of the river, and with a *plop*, Qin Mu fell into the water.

A moment later, the boy swam to the bank, wiped himself dry with a crimson face, and put on his clothes.

During his epiphany by the river, he had gotten carried away with pride, completely forgetting that he had leaped up naked and walked across the river. That entire frantic journey across the river had truly been cool and refreshing, a naked swim.

"Good thing Grandpappy Blind can't see..."

As Qin Mu finished tidying his clothes, he suddenly looked up. To his surprise, Old Man Ma, Mute, Deaf, and the others were all standing in the woods by the river. Even Granny Si had come over, and the Village Chief had been carried there on a stretcher.

Qin Mu's face flushed crimson. He stammered, "Granny, when... when did you all get here?"

Granny Si chuckled, "Mu'er, we've seen your backside countless times. What's there to be shy about? We heard your cry, brimming with vital qi, and came over to see."

The Village Chief coughed. "Mu'er, come here. You were chased by five martial artists at the Spirit Embryo realm; it's hard to say if any hidden dangers remain. Let the Apothecary check you."

Qin Mu walked forward. The Apothecary examined him carefully, then shook his head. "Nothing serious, just superficial wounds."

The Village Chief also performed a check and signaled that he could leave. Qin Mu, however, was immediately called by the Butcher for blade training.

The Butcher was quite displeased that it took Qin Mu over five thousand strikes to defeat Senior Brother Qu, and even more so that he ultimately used a sword to kill his opponent. Therefore, he intended to rigorously train him.

"What did you discover, Village Chief?" The Apothecary walked to the Village Chief's stretcher, his gaze on Qin Mu, who was vigorously practicing blade techniques with the Butcher, and asked in a low voice.

"His vital qi cultivation is progressing at an alarming rate."

The Village Chief did not conceal it. "Extremely fast! From yesterday until now, the pace of his progress is beyond imagination. I just heard his cry; it's a sound that can only be produced by vital qi resonating with the throat, subtly imbued with the sound of gods and demons. Let alone him not having broken through the Spirit Embryo barrier, even martial artists at the Spirit Embryo realm cannot achieve divine-demonic resonance! If I were an ordinary person like him, it would take twenty years to cultivate vital qi to his current level."

When Qin Mu cried out on the river, his vital qi resonated with his throat, unconsciously producing the cry. However, unbeknownst to him, he had integrated the demonic sounds he heard in the canyon ruins into his cry.

What was even stranger was that while he carefully pondered the dark demonic sounds last night, he also heard and memorized the divine sounds of the goddesses in the ruins. Every subtle fluctuation of the divine sound was familiar to him.

As a result, his cry naturally incorporated the divine sounds of the goddesses.

To others, this was nothing special; they couldn't discern its profundity. But to the Village Chief's ears, it was extraordinary; he heard it clearly.

"Divine-demonic resonance?"

The Apothecary was startled. "How did he achieve that? And to gain twenty years' worth of a normal person's cultivation overnight, isn't that too terrifying? Is it truly the effect of the Four Spirits' Blood?"

The Village Chief shook his head. "While the Four Spirits' Blood can enhance his body and vital qi, it couldn't possibly boost it this quickly."

The Apothecary pondered, "Could Mu'er be a natural prodigy? Was he born with a talent for cultivation?"

The Village Chief frowned. "If he's a natural prodigy, why does he still have an ordinary physique? A true natural prodigy should have a spirit body. Furthermore, which prodigy could achieve divine-demonic resonance?"

The Apothecary asked, "His cry contains divine-demonic resonance; is it good or bad?"

"I don't know."

The Village Chief said, "I heard divine-demonic resonance in his cry, with divine and demonic sounds warring fiercely against each other. But whether it's good or bad, I'm not certain."

The Apothecary's eyes flickered. "Where did the divine and demonic sounds in his cry, this divine-demonic resonance, come from?"

"I don't know!"

The Apothecary developed a headache, and so did the Village Chief. It had been a long time since they had headaches over incomprehensible matters. Since they adopted Qin Mu, the little boy who floated down from upstream, the number of things they couldn't understand had steadily increased.

As night fell, Disabled Elderly Village quickly plunged into darkness. Qin Mu slept in the outer room, while Granny Si slept in the inner room. In the middle of the night, a faint demonic sound unconsciously emerged in Qin Mu's mind, followed by a divine sound. The divine and demonic sounds attacked each other, and soon, the noise grew louder and louder.

The sound of divine-demonic resonance gradually transformed in his mind into a fierce struggle between darkness and light. Qin Mu felt as if he had lost his physical form, becoming a soul floating above the conflict of gods and demons, staring blankly at the dark and light forces battling below.

The area where darkness and light clashed resembled the scene he had witnessed in the canyon ruins last night, but it was even more spectacular and vast. Darkness, like tentacles, repeatedly pierced through light, while light suddenly erupted, sweeping away the darkness.

After a moment, Qin Mu realized what the light and darkness truly were. Within the darkness were endless demon gods, surging like a tide towards the light. The demonic sounds were not mere sounds but the cries of billions of demon gods!

And the light was likewise: a vast ocean of gods, clad in golden armor, battling the surging demon gods!

He "stood" too high; these gods and demons appeared like tiny droplets, indiscernible from afar. So at first, he thought it was a conflict between light and darkness, but now that he saw clearly, he felt shock and terror!

Qin Mu suddenly awoke, drenched in sweat. He opened his eyes, only to find his mind filled with those divine and demonic sounds, so loud that his head felt as if it would explode.

Just then, the jade pendant on his chest gently floated up to his brow, then slowly descended. Qin Mu felt a clear current surge through him, and the divine and demonic sounds in his mind instantly vanished.

He sat up abruptly, panting heavily, filled with apprehension and uncertainty about what had just transpired.

A moment later, he walked out of the house and, bathed in the faint glow emanating from the village's stone statues, examined the jade pendant.

Beyond the village lay darkness, and the jade pendant also emitted a faint light. Qin Mu stared blankly at the pendant, lost in thought, his gaze as ethereal as its glow, unable to tear his eyes from the small object for a long time.

Behind him, Granny Si had arrived unnoticed and happened to witness the scene. A pang of sadness struck her. "Although we raised him, Mu'er never truly belonged to Disabled Elderly Village. He is merely a child raised by Disabled Elderly Village, and eventually, he will leave..."

Her spirits brightened, and her eyes glinted. "The outside world is far too dangerous compared to the Great Ruins! He doesn't have enough strength yet!"