Chapter 18: Bad Children

Qin Mu’s vision suddenly plunged into darkness. When his consciousness resurfaced, he was shocked to find it was inside the stone statue!

"What happened?"

He opened his eyes and tried to move them. To his surprise, "his" eyes could move, and then he tilted his head, realizing his consciousness now had a head.

He looked down and found that his consciousness had merged with the "stone statue," whose hands and feet had become his own!

Consciousness was formless, yet now his consciousness had a form, which was incredibly strange!

He felt that this "stone statue" was a type of spirit, neither energy nor soul, strange and difficult to explain.

"Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure... Could this stone statue be my spirit embryo? Does my consciousness entering it awaken the spirit embryo? Is this what the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure refers to?"

Qin Mu’s spirit embryo blinked, and in that instant, he understood many things.

The human body contains seven great divine treasures, with the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure being the first. However, this treasure is sealed, and ordinary people cannot open it, thus preventing the spirit embryo from awakening.

For spirit bodies, the divine treasure is naturally open. Therefore, all that is needed is the corresponding spirit blood to guide consciousness into the spirit embryo and awaken it.

The spirit embryo refers to this embryo that houses consciousness.

As for the divine treasure, was it not granted by gods as a spirit embryo, but rather intentionally sealed away by them?

Just as he thought this, vital qi suddenly surged from outside, flowing into the sea of light. This vital qi was absorbed by the small spirit embryo, thread by thread, and a wisp of it was exhaled gently through its nostrils, providing great comfort.

With each breath the spirit embryo took, his vital qi became much purer!

Furthermore, Qin Mu noticed the spirit embryo was absorbing golden light from the sea of light. This golden light moved in and out of his body along with the vital qi, speckles of it adorning the qi, though he didn't know its purpose.

He tried to make the spirit embryo stand, but found that this tiny infant couldn't stand or even move its body.

"How does a spirit embryo move? Well, I'll ask the Village Chief and Grandma when I get back."

As Qin Mu pondered this, his consciousness suddenly returned to his body, and he opened his eyes.

Inside the temple, violent coughing echoed. The monster wasn't dead; it was sprawled before the Buddha statue, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. After a moment's thought, Qin Mu stepped through the temple entrance.

When the monster saw him enter the ancient temple, it didn't know whether to be startled or pleased, and quickly struggled to its feet.

As Qin Mu walked towards it, he chanted, "Qikeduo Samoye, Bore Bore Samoye, Qikeduo Bore Samoye!"

"How dare you be so impudent, you demon!"

The monster's hair stood on end. It heard the golden Buddha behind it begin to shake again, radiating brilliant golden light. Chains clanked, pulling the monster back down to its knees.

"Om, Mani, Padme, Hum!"

The Buddhist chant resounded loudly, causing the monster to vomit blood and become listless.

Qin Mu stopped chanting the demonic words, and the golden Buddha's chant also ceased after a single utterance. The monster beneath the statue panted heavily, about to rise, when the demonic words once again emerged from Qin Mu's mouth. The monster shrieked and quickly hid behind the Buddha statue, but unexpectedly, Qin Mu only uttered a syllable or two before stopping.

"You are a demon..."

The monster cautiously peeked out, staring in horror at Qin Mu, who was walking into the main hall. Its voice was hoarse: "You are the demon! You are the truly evil devil!"

Qin Mu didn't reply. He walked straight to the Buddha statue, hesitated for a moment, then finally decided to follow the advice of the experienced old Blind Man. He respectfully began, "This humble one has been weak and frail since childhood, with a deficiency in vital essence..."

Hearing this, the monster's eyes widened. It chuckled, coughing blood, "Youngster, you're telling the Buddha statue you're weak and frail? A Buddha statue won't 'replenish' you!"

Qin Mu glared at it: "Qikeduo Samoye..."

The Buddha statue trembled: "You demon!"

The monster was scared out of its wits. It quickly begged for mercy, shouting, "Don't chant anymore! Have mercy!"

Qin Mu stopped chanting, but the golden Buddha still recited one mantra, causing the monster to cough up blood.

Qin Mu looked around but found nothing good. However, the mountain of white bones piled behind the Buddha statue still startled him, indicating how many people had evidently died in this dilapidated temple, killed by the monster.

The young man couldn't help but shake his head. "The bones are hidden behind the Buddha statue, and the statue has become your accomplice, helping you conceal your misdeeds and trick more people. If I were to use the Buddha statue to kill you, it would only add to its merit, and I won't do that. Monster, what treasures do you have in this temple?"

The monster trembled. "What treasures could I possibly have? I was suppressed here by that bald rogue; he plundered all my treasures."

"Qikeduo..."

"Don't chant!"

The monster forced a smile. "In my years of dwelling here, besides occasionally indulging my appetite, I did manage to collect a few good things. They're yours." With that, it struggled to its feet, hobbled to the top of the main hall, and lightly poked. A movable secret compartment in the hall opened.

From the secret compartment, weapons and armor clattered down. There were also a few garments, mostly women's undergarments, but judging by the material, they seemed to be clothes only worn by wealthy families.

"This is all there is," the monster said with a forced smile.

Qin Mu frowned, disappointed. "Only these? No elixirs or miraculous medicines?"

"If there were any elixirs, I would have eaten them already."

The monster stretched its centipede-like body, its joints cracking. It chuckled, "I've been imprisoned here for too long; I want to eat everything! Elixirs taste even better than these people, so how could I pass them up? Don't underestimate these weapons; they're good stuff. These weapons are treasures that can only be forged within the Six Harmonies Divine Treasure. They are naturally nurtured by vital qi and possess astonishing power. They're called spirit weapons!"

Qin Mu picked up a goose-wing saber, half-believing. It felt astonishingly heavy in his hand, much heavier than the pig-butchering knife on his back. Strangely, the pig-butchering knife was much larger than this seemingly ordinary saber, yet it didn't weigh as much.

The goose-wing saber was long and narrow, while the pig-butchering knife was broad and thick.

Qin Mu took out his pig-butchering knife and lightly tapped it against the goose-wing saber. With a clang, the goose-wing saber snapped in half, its blade falling to the ground.

The monster's eyes widened, staring blankly at the pig-butchering knife in his hand, unable to speak.

Qin Mu was utterly disappointed and tossed the goose-wing saber aside.

"Who forged this knife of yours, that looks like a chopping board?"

The monster shrieked, stammering, "A spirit weapon nurtured by a master of the Six Harmonies realm broke with a single touch! Your knife, which looks like a chopping board, absolutely cannot have been forged by an ordinary person!"

Qin Mu caressed the pig-butchering knife. Its blade was cool, and a chill seeped into his chest. The pig-butchering knife was forged for him by Mute, the village blacksmith, who was a famous smith in the area. His creations were highly sought after, and people from other villages often came to him to forge cleavers, hoes, and iron plows.

"It's not made of ordinary iron!"

The monster frothed at the mouth. It wanted to step forward for a closer look but didn't dare, fearing Qin Mu would resume chanting those strange, demonic words. It exclaimed, "Feel it! Is there a chill? If there's a chill, then it's Cold Iron Gold Crystal!"

Qin Mu was surprised and nodded, "There is indeed a chill."

The monster cried out, "To forge a chopping board like this from Cold Iron Gold Crystal? And with such exquisite crafting techniques, to make a knife that resembles a chopping board? What a waste of precious materials and masterful skill!"

Qin Mu glared at it, put the pig-butchering knife behind his back, then picked up the weapons and other treasures from the ground, carrying them out of the dilapidated temple one by one and placing them in front of the temple gate.

The monster was furious. "You already have such a good weapon, why are you taking my things?"

"Grandma said that anything acquired through skill must be taken away."

Qin Mu turned back, giving a simple, honest smile. "I acquired all these things by my own ability, so I must take them all."

The monster was half-dead with rage but didn't dare to cross him. It could only watch helplessly as he emptied its painstakingly collected treasures.

"Do you have any bundles or bags here?" Qin Mu suddenly leaned in and asked.

"No!"

"Oh." Qin Mu pulled his head back.

The monster cautiously stepped out of the main hall. Outside the temple, Qin Mu was cutting bamboo on the island. Before long, he had fashioned a bamboo raft, placed the treasures on it, and then used a long bamboo pole to punt upstream.

"Who taught this wicked child to even dare rob me?"

The monster was seething with rage, finally daring to curse aloud: "Are you lawless? You even have the nerve to ask me for a bag to carry your stolen goods! You infuriate me!"