Chapter 6: Little One, Death

"Is she controlling this sword with that thin thread? But with such a fine thread, how does she make the sword turn?" Qin Mu had no time to ponder the mystery; he immediately sprinted away. He heard a *thud* as the sword grazed past him, piercing deep into a large tree.

The sword, like a living thing, twitched twice within the tree but couldn't be pulled out. Immediately, the woman glided over, her slender hand grasping the hilt, and pulled the sword from the tree. Annoyed, she muttered, "My White Tiger True Qi is still not strong enough; I can't wield it as effortlessly as my own arm..."

"Sister Qing, it's already impressive that you can condense True Qi into fine threads to control your sword and attack enemies," said the man who had been walking on water with her, approaching her side. He smiled gently and continued, "What you lack isn't cultivation, but refinement. Master brought us to the Great Ruins for this trial precisely to address this weakness. Before, we only practiced on our own and lacked real combat experience. Now, this little devil is our chance for practical training. You'll soon master sword control with Qi."

The other three youths arrived. One of them chuckled, "This little devil changed into a deer, and deer are naturally very agile, which is why he managed to dodge your sword control, Senior Sister." Sister Qing's spirits lifted. She resumed her sword control, aiming to stab Qin Mu, and playfully laughed, "Brother Qu, don't intervene yet. Leave this little devil for me to practice my swordsmanship on." Brother Qu, the young man who had been walking on water with her, nodded at her words and smiled, "Junior Brothers, let's all admire Senior Sister Qing's swordplay."

Qin Mu dodged the sword light flying at his back with all his might, his mind filled with confusion: "Sword control with Qi? Was the thread in that woman's hand not a real thread, but her vital qi? Can vital qi be used to this extent, to control a sword? Can I do it?" He had learned pig-slaughtering knife techniques from the Butcher, who only taught him to control the knife with both hands, never with vital qi. He knew nothing about this. Seeing Sister Qing control her sword with Qi, Qin Mu also had a thought: if one could control a sword with Qi, could vital qi be used to manipulate other things?

However, Sister Qing resumed her pursuit with the sword, giving him no time to ponder. Moreover, he had been transformed into a deer by Granny Si, making his limbs clumsy, and his vital qi was stagnant, less lively than usual.

*Whoosh*—The sword light flashed, striking from behind, grazing Qin Mu's back. Qin Mu felt a chill, followed by a burning pain, realizing he had been wounded on his back by Sister Qing's sword.

"This is bad. Though a deer is fast, it's not as agile as my true body. Granny turned me into a deer, and now I'm injured. I might not escape this..." Just as this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt his mouth split open. It wasn't a literal splitting, but the deer hide around his mouth was coming off him! Qin Mu immediately remembered Granny Si quietly removing a needle from his brow when she told him to run – that very needle which had sealed his Celestial Soul!

Soon, his head separated from the deer hide. Behind him, sword qi tore through the air with a *whoosh*, aiming to strike him down. Qin Mu desperately rushed forward, bursting out of the deer hide, tumbling and rolling over a dozen *zhang* away. He then sprang to his feet and ran wildly. Behind him, the deer hide was shredded to pieces by Sister Qing's sword control. Her sword moved like a drifting flower, swift as lightning, clearly showing her swordsmanship had greatly improved during her pursuit of Qin Mu!

Although Qin Mu had escaped the deer hide, it had still caused a momentary delay. A youth, stepping on leaves high above the forest, descended from the sky to land in front of him, blocking his path. They were only two or three *zhang* apart—a distance that would be covered in an instant. The next moment, they would be face-to-face!

Qin Mu had no time to change direction. With no other thoughts in his mind, his body instinctively performed the leg technique the Cripple had taught him: head down, feet up, legs sweeping out like a whirlwind!

"Azure Dragon Arm!" The youth, a few years older than Qin Mu, revealed a mocking smile. He blocked with both hands, his arms emitting a faint azure glow, and dragon claws covered in scales emerged from his skin. Immediately after, Qin Mu's legs collided with his arms, producing two metallic clangs. Before the smile could vanish from the youth's face, he grunted, lost his footing, and was forced to retreat.

The sleeves of his two arms burst open with *pops*, fluttering like paper butterflies, sending shreds flying everywhere. His arms appeared to be sculpted with dragon claw patterns, the claws intertwining with his limbs. However, after taking Qin Mu's two kicks head-on, his arms instantly became red and swollen.

"Are there iron ingots hidden in your legs?" The youth's hands trembled from pain, both surprised and enraged. His gaze then fell upon Qin Mu's feet: "Are your shoes made of iron too?"

Qin Mu propped himself with his hands, landed on both feet, and sprinted away.

But the youth's words reminded him: there were indeed iron ingots tied to his legs. The Cripple, when teaching him leg techniques, had required him to keep iron ingots tied to his legs at all times, never removing them while sitting, standing, or walking. Lately, seeing Qin Mu's body grow sturdier and his strength increase, the Cripple had progressively added heavier ingots to his legs. Not only that, the Cripple had also asked the mute blacksmith to forge a pair of iron shoes for Qin Mu to add even more weight. A pair of thick-soled iron shoes weighed ten *jin*, and a single leg's ingots weighed twenty *jin*. Qin Mu had fifty *jin* of weights tied to his legs!

The Cripple demanded that he continue training until he could no longer feel the weight of the iron shoes and ingots before he could remove them. By now, Qin Mu had grown so accustomed to the iron shoes and ingots that he hadn't even thought about the fact that he was running with weights when he sprinted just now. However, stopping to remove his shoes and untie the weights would surely get him caught, so he absolutely could not stop.

"Trample Mount Sumeru!" As Qin Mu ran, he suddenly exerted force with his right foot, executing the "Trample Mount Sumeru" technique. The thick sole of the iron shoe on his foot splattered like mud, and the shoe itself burst into pieces, sending fragments scattering everywhere. At the same time, the muscles in his calf tensed, bulging outwards in clusters, breaking free the iron ingots, which shot out like sharp arrows, embedding themselves in the surrounding trees.

Qin Mu stepped forward with his other foot, landed, and similarly shattered the iron shoe and broke free the ingots.

*Whoosh*—His body suddenly felt light, and he leaped onto a treetop, which startled him. Barefoot, Qin Mu stood on the treetop, his body beginning to sink. Below, sword light glittered, striking upwards, revealing dozens of sharp sword tips!

Sister Qing's method of controlling her sword with Qi was becoming increasingly formidable. She wasn't controlling dozens of swords, but rather, a single sword was producing dozens of sword flowers!

Qin Mu suddenly recalled the Cripple's words: "Don't think about whether the ground beneath your feet can bear your weight. As long as you run fast enough, water is solid ground, grass is solid ground, air is solid ground—everywhere is a smooth path!" He tapped his toes and sprinted wildly. Behind him, sword light shot skyward, utterly pulverizing the crown of the tree he had just stood on!

Two youths sprang up, leaping to the treetops, watching in astonishment as Qin Mu raced across the canopies of trees like a whirlwind, his speed utterly astounding!

"This guy, he's younger than us, but how is he so fast? His cultivation seems... seems even stronger than ours..." Just as the two youths thought this, they saw Brother Qu shoot up like a wisp of smoke, chasing after Qin Mu, his speed even greater than Qin Mu's.

"Brother Qu truly lives up to his reputation as a Spirit Embryo realm peak martial artist; his strength is far superior to ours." They exclaimed admiringly, "With Brother Qu personally taking action, that little devil has no escape."

Just then, a colossal shadow suddenly rose among the mountains and forest. A furry palm, the size of a mat, swung towards Brother Qu, striking him as he sped through the air!

Brother Qu was sent spinning like a top, flying backward, crashing to the ground with a *rumble*. He tumbled and rolled countless times before finally stopping. As soon as he sat up, he spat out a mouthful of blood and shouted sternly, "Don't go there! That's the Demon Ape's territory; a Demon Ape lives there!"

The other four immediately stopped. They saw that the shadow in the forest was indeed a terrifyingly large black ape, its eyes blood-red, its fangs protruding. It beat its chest with both fists, its voice thundering like war drums: "Little ones! Die!"

And Qin Mu, who had just been sprinting ahead, was also swatted down by the Demon Ape's palm, falling motionless beside the ape's giant foot, his fate unknown.

Sister Qing whispered, "Brother Qu was heavily wounded by that Demon Ape's slap. That little devil was also hit by the Demon Ape; he must be dead, right?" Before she finished speaking, she saw Qin Mu, who was lying motionless next to the Demon Ape, subtly turn his head and open his eyes, secretly observing the ape. Sister Qing gasped in shock: "That guy isn't dead?"

The jet-black Demon Ape roared a few times. Seeing that the others dared not approach, it ceased its threats. It lowered its head to look at Qin Mu, then extended two fingers to flip Qin Mu over. "Little one, dead?"

Qin Mu's eyes were wide, blood streamed from his seven orifices, and his tongue lolled out – he was clearly as dead as could be! The Demon Ape grunted twice, tossed Qin Mu's "corpse" aside, and sat down, casually pulling up a tree and eating its leaves.

"This Demon Ape is so fierce, yet it's a vegetarian," Qin Mu thought, continuing to stream blood from his seven orifices and keeping his eyes wide open, as he subtly shifted his shoulders, trying to inch away.

The Demon Ape suddenly turned its head. Qin Mu's "corpse" remained motionless. The ape stared intently at him, and Qin Mu's "corpse" still didn't stir.

The Demon Ape extended a finger and poked the "corpse," finding it cold and stiff. Satisfied, it grunted, "Little one, dead." It then ignored Qin Mu, turning its head to focus on eating leaves.

In the distance, Sister Qing couldn't help but say, "Big guy, don't you think it's strange that the little one's corpse became stiff so quickly?" The Demon Ape seemed to understand her words. It slapped its forehead, then immediately turned around, only to see the "corpse" of the little one stand up stiffly and bolt away at full speed.