Chapter 2

Old Lady Si pulled him along excitedly towards the village, laughing, “Don’t look anymore, come quickly, today is your big day! The village chief, Uncle Ma, they’ve all come out!”

In the village, a bonfire was lit, and the village chief was carried out on a stretcher, his voice deep, “Have all four spirits been found?”

“They have all been found.”

One-armed Uncle Ma dragged a huge snake, several yards long, emerald green, still alive, emitting a fishy smell, but immobilized by Uncle Ma’s single hand gripping its vital point.

The mute blacksmith brought a large bird, which was even taller than the mute, but its wings and feet were tied. When the bird struggled, sparks flew from its feathers, crackling, quite frightening.

The blind man brought a giant turtle, larger than a table, its shell turned golden yellow, having lived for many years. The turtle’s limbs were retracted into its shell, occasionally sneaking out a claw. When Qin Mu saw the claw, steam rose from under it, as if it could lift the golden turtle and escape on the steam.

But the golden turtle was hooked through the nose by the blind man, unable to escape.

“Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, although we cannot obtain the blood of these four spirits, using the green python, iron-boned tiger, thunderbird, and golden turtle as substitutes can still refine a bit of spirit blood, enough for use.”

The village chief nodded to the village butcher, who grinned, his hands on the ground, a man with only his upper body, his lower body cut off, the wound smooth.

Four large jars were placed in front of the green python, tiger, thunderbird, and golden turtle. The butcher slit each one, letting the beasts bleed. After a while, the four beasts were drained of blood.

“Pharmacist,” the village chief said.

The village pharmacist stepped forward, his face skinless, as if it had been cut off, along with his nose and the upper and lower lips of half his mouth, the ugliest and most terrifying person in the village. However, Qin Mu felt that Grandpa Pharmacist was the most kind to him in the village.

The pharmacist took out four peculiar red leaves, each with a snow-white insect egg. He put a leaf in each jar, and the insect eggs hatched, the silkworms drinking the blood.

The silkworms grew rapidly, the more blood they drank, the bigger they became. Soon, the blood in the four jars was drained, leaving a fat and large worm in each jar.

The pharmacist sprinkled a white crystal powder like salt into the jars, and Qin Mu saw the four fat worms rapidly shrink, amazed.

After a moment, the pharmacist picked up the four worms, each the size of a palm. He took out four white porcelain cups, grabbed a worm, and squeezed it, the worm squealing, a cup of amber-like blood plasma flowing from its mouth.

The pharmacist repeated the process, squeezing the blood from the other three worms, placing the four cups in front of Qin Mu, shaking his head, “After all, they are not true spirit beasts, the amount of spirit blood that can be refined is only this much.”

“Mu-er, the human body contains seven great treasures: the spirit fetus, the five stars, the six directions, the seven stars, the celestial and human, life and death, and the spirit bridge. These seven great treasures are naturally sealed, like sealed treasures, hence called the seven divine treasures.”

The village chief’s voice was authoritative, his face flickering in the bonfire’s light, “The seven divine treasures are in a sealed state, and need to be opened by the martial artist themselves. The obstacles preventing the martial artist from opening the divine treasures are the walls: the spirit fetus wall, the five stars wall, the six directions wall, the seven stars wall, the celestial and human wall, the life and death wall, and the spirit bridge wall. The process of breaking these seven walls is called breaking the walls.”

One-armed Uncle Ma gently stroked Qin Mu’s head, smiling, “If the walls cannot be broken, one cannot cultivate. Some people are blessed by heaven, born with the spirit fetus wall already broken, naturally opening the spirit fetus divine treasure. This constitution is called the spirit body, naturally blessed by the gods, a seed for cultivation. People with the spirit body have talents far surpassing ordinary people, making cultivation much easier. The spirit fetus has four attributes, so the spirit body also has four types: Azure Dragon spirit body, White Tiger spirit body, Vermilion Bird spirit body, and Black Tortoise spirit body. To check if one has a spirit body, the blood of these four spirits is needed.”

The pharmacist said, “If you are an Azure Dragon spirit body, drinking the Azure Dragon spirit blood will activate the Azure Dragon aura. Uncle Ma is an Azure Dragon spirit body.”

One-armed Uncle Ma took off his shirt, standing bare-chested in front of Qin Mu, turned his back to him, and let out a low cry.

Qin Mu immediately saw a green aura appear on Uncle Ma’s back, extending from the tailbone to the back of the head. The green aura gradually transformed into an Azure Dragon, with every scale and whisker clearly visible, one dragon claw extending to Uncle Ma’s single arm, and two dragon claws wrapping around Uncle Ma’s legs.

“This is the Azure Dragon spirit body.”

One-armed Uncle Ma put on his shirt, “Old Lady Si is a White Tiger spirit body.”

Old Lady Si glared at him, “I won’t take off my clothes to make it easy for you old ghosts. I’ll use my aura to show Qin Mu.”

Her body trembled slightly, and a faint tiger roar came from behind her, a twelve-foot-tall white tiger with black stripes faintly appeared behind her.

“All the people in the village are spirit bodies. We were once glorious, but now we are just a bunch of old and useless old men and women.”

Old Lady Si smiled, “We, these old and useless ones, have nothing to give you. These four cups of spirit blood are the materials to activate the spirit body. If you are a White Tiger spirit body, drinking the White Tiger spirit blood will activate the White Tiger aura in your spirit fetus. If you are a Vermilion Bird spirit body, the Vermilion Bird spirit blood will make the Vermilion Bird aura in your spirit fetus active. The same goes for the Black Tortoise spirit body.”

“Drink it.”

The village chief, Old Lady Si, and others all looked at Qin Mu expectantly.

Qin Mu’s heart was pounding. Although he had been given many strange things to drink while learning herbal medicine and alchemy with the pharmacist, none were as strange as this.

He picked up a white porcelain cup, the spirit blood inside was scalding, a cup of Vermilion Bird spirit blood. Qin Mu drank it in one go, feeling a line of fire enter his throat, reaching every part of his body, making him feel as if a raging fire was burning inside him, his blood almost boiling.

After a while, the burning sensation subsided.

“Mute, is he a Vermilion Bird spirit body?” the village chief asked.

The mute blacksmith shook his head.

The village chief said, “Qin Mu, continue.”

Qin Mu picked up the second white porcelain cup, containing White Tiger spirit blood. Drinking it felt like drinking copper juice mixed with iron slag, bitter and painful, causing his whole body to ache. Soon, the pain subsided.

“He is not a White Tiger spirit body,” Old Lady Si shook her head, somewhat disappointed.

“Qin Mu, the third cup,” the village chief said solemnly.

Qin Mu drank the third cup of Azure Dragon spirit blood extracted from the green python. This spirit blood made his muscles and blood vessels swell, his internal organs feeling compressed, but the swelling soon subsided.

Uncle Ma looked disappointed, shaking his head, “He is not an Azure Dragon spirit body.”

“Then he must be a Black Tortoise spirit body,” the pharmacist rarely smiled, his face looking even more terrifying.

Qin Mu drank the last cup of Black Tortoise spirit blood, which made his body feel light, as if immersed in river water, but this feeling soon disappeared.

“He is not a Black Tortoise spirit body,” the pharmacist shook his head.

The villagers around the bonfire fell silent. The butcher said, “So, he is just an ordinary person.”

Old Lady Si suddenly burst into tears, sobbing, “We are all old and useless. If we die, he won’t be able to survive. It’s so dangerous here, he won’t last a day…”

Qin Mu held her hand, whispering, “Grandma, don’t cry. You and Grandpa are good people, you won’t die…”

“Good people? Heh heh…”

Uncle Ma laughed bitterly, “We, these useless people, were forced into the Great Ruins, barely surviving until now. The Great Ruins are too dangerous. Without us, Mu-er would indeed find it hard to survive. We should send him out of the Great Ruins, it’s much safer outside…”

The butcher said coldly, “If we send him out, our enemies will find us, and we will all die. He will also be implicated and die.”

The village of the elderly and disabled fell silent again. Suddenly, the village chief said, “Good.”

Old Lady Si was puzzled, “What’s good?”

The village chief smiled, “I mean his constitution is good, he’s a good seed.”

The butcher, the pharmacist, and others were stunned, not understanding. The village chief smiled, “I think Mu-er has a different constitution, a dominant body that combines the strengths of the four major constitutions!”

“Dominant body?” Old Lady Si and others looked puzzled. They were well-informed, but had never heard of a dominant body.

“Yes, a dominant body.”

The village chief smiled, “Ordinary spirit blood is hard to activate a dominant body. It requires the blood of the true four spirits to make the dominant body manifest. The Great Ruins do not have the four spirits, but their descendants are not hard to find. Continue capturing fierce tigers and large snakes, refine the spirit blood, and drink more. Naturally, his dominant body will be activated.”

The village chief was very authoritative, and the elderly and disabled villagers were very happy. Old Lady Si smiled, “Tomorrow I’ll go with the lame man to catch a tiger! Mu-er, go to bed early, you’ll drink spirit blood tomorrow!”

The crowd dispersed, and the pharmacist and the mute blacksmith escorted the village chief back to his room. The mute left, but the pharmacist stayed, whispering, “There has never been a dominant body.”

The village chief nodded, “I made it up. If I didn’t say this, the villagers would find it hard to survive.”

The pharmacist was stunned. The villagers of the village of the elderly and disabled had various backgrounds but were all forced into the Great Ruins, barely surviving. They originally resented heaven and earth, their resentment too heavy. They could survive until now, and Qin Mu had a part to play.

The arrival of this healthy little boy had dispersed the resentment in the hearts of the villagers. Everyone raised Qin Mu, treating him like their closest family. Qin Mu maintained the fragile hearts of the villagers.

If the villagers knew that Qin Mu was just an ordinary person, unable to survive alone in the Great Ruins, they might lose control, and who knows what they might do.

The pharmacist, expressionless, said, “But you can’t hide it forever. We will eventually die, leaving only Qin Mu.”

“So don’t tell him there has never been a dominant body, never tell him.”

The village chief said solemnly, “Let him believe he is a unique dominant body!”

The pharmacist was stunned, looking at his face carefully. The village chief’s face, in the dim oil lamp light, looked particularly charming, smiling, “I want to see if an ordinary person, with unparalleled belief, can transcend the ordinary and do what we spirit bodies cannot! Perhaps in the future, he can really pave a path where an ordinary body is a dominant body!”

The pharmacist was stunned, “An ordinary body is a dominant body?”

The village chief nodded heavily, “As long as there is belief, an ordinary body is a dominant body!”