Qin Mu ran with startling speed, his vital energy growing ever stronger. He sprinted for countless li, yet the villagers of Disabled Elder Village kept pace, even the blind elder treading as if on level ground, steady at the edge of the group.
As Qin Mu burst into a swathe of mountain forest, a pitch-black shadow abruptly rose from the trees, roaring: "Little sprout, die!"
The roar belonged to none other than the demon ape. Seeing the "little sprout" once again invade its territory ignited its fury. The one-armed Elder Ma cast a glance at the enraged monstrous beast. The demon ape shivered, its territory forgotten as it immediately turned and fled.
That single glance from Elder Ma held no trace of emotion, yet it instilled an involuntary dread in the colossal creature, as if the next moment would bring its demise. Thus, it dared not be arrogant and instantly made its escape.
The crowd paid it no mind. Qin Mu flew along, his vital energy circulating robustly. It wasn't until he returned to Disabled Elder Village that he roused from his trance. He discovered his entire body was covered in filth, a thick layer of grime having formed unknowingly – whether black blood or greasy fat, he couldn't tell.
Granny Si instructed, "Mu'er, go wash by the river. Blind old man, you go with him, be careful the monsters in the river don't snatch him."
The blind elder, propping himself with a bamboo staff, followed Qin Mu to the riverside. Qin Mu immediately stripped naked and plunged into the water to cleanse his body. The blind elder gently tapped the river water with his bamboo staff. A large fish that had submerged near Qin Mu was startled and swiftly leaped out of the water, splashing down more than ten zhang away. It was indeed a massive green fish, over two zhang long, with barbels resembling eight zhang-long tentacles.
As Qin Mu finished cleaning, he saw green waves rippling across the river surface. Suddenly, a surge of heroic spirit slowly rose from his young chest, burning like a fierce fire.
His vital energy suddenly became restless, surging and flowing directly to his throat. It was as if an immortal's musical treasure trove had suddenly opened, and a thick whistling sound erupted from his throat!
His long whistle echoed through the mountain forest, stirring waves on the river surface!
Amidst the long whistle, Qin Mu leaped from the water and suddenly began to sprint wildly, his feet stepping upon the water's surface as he ran!
The instant his foot touched the river, the power contained within his sole merged with the sinking vital energy. The two forces became one and exploded. Where his foot landed, the water surface erupted outwards in all directions!
Before the water fell back, Qin Mu's body had already advanced over a zhang. At the same time, his other foot also stepped onto the water.
Step, step, step, step—
A series of crisp splashing sounds echoed from the river surface. Qin Mu stepped across the river the entire way, quickly running over two li.
His whistle grew more and more carefree and unrestrained, like heavenly music, an immortal's melody, dragons and phoenixes harmonizing. His footsteps also became open and unrestrained, indulging wantonly, like a joyous romp across the river surface!
On the river's surface, a gentle breeze slowly created patterns in the water. The young man's steps were astonishingly fast. Soon, he ran from this bank of Surging River to the opposite bank, then stepped back across the river.
The blind elder stood by the river's edge, propped with his bamboo staff. The river wind blew gently, stirring his white hair. Listening to Qin Mu's whistle from the heart of the river, the old man nodded gently, a smile appearing on his face. Suddenly, he sang aloud: "Ape voices cry without end on both banks, the wind whistles, chilling one's nether regions! Mu'er, you frolic and run wildly on the river surface with a bare bottom, swimming bare-assed in the river, don't you feel cold?"
An exclamation came from the heart of the river, and with a splash, Qin Mu fell into the water.
After a moment, the young man swam to the shore, his face shyly red as he dried himself and put on his clothes.
He had been in a state of sudden enlightenment by the river just now, so delighted he had forgotten himself entirely. He had completely forgotten that he wasn't wearing a thread when he leaped up and stepped across the river. That entire dash across the river surface had truly been refreshing – swimming bare-assed in the river.
"Fortunately, Blind Grandpa can't see..."
Qin Mu tidied his clothes and suddenly looked up. He saw Elder Ma, Dumb Man, Deaf Man, and others all standing in the forest by the river's edge. Even Granny Si had come over, and the Village Chief was being carried on a stretcher.
Qin Mu's face suddenly turned red, and he stammered, "Granny, when did you all come over?"
Granny Si let out a chuckle, saying, "Mu'er, we've seen your bottom many times, what's there to be shy about? We heard your whistle, so full of vital energy, that's why we came to take a look."
The Village Chief coughed and said, "Mu'er, come over. You were chased and killed by warriors of the Five Spirit Fetus realm, leaving hidden troubles. Let the Medicine Master examine you."
Qin Mu walked forward. The Medicine Master carefully examined him and shook his head, saying, "No major obstacles, just external skin injuries."
The Village Chief also examined him and indicated he could leave. Qin Mu was then immediately called over by the Butcher to train knife techniques.
The Butcher was very dissatisfied that his over five thousand knife strikes had only defeated senior brother Qu and even more dissatisfied that Qin Mu had used a sword to kill his opponent in the end. Therefore, he intended to teach him a harsh lesson.
"Did the Village Chief discover something?" The Medicine Master walked to the Village Chief's stretcher, his gaze fixed on Qin Mu who was currently vigorously comparing knife techniques with the Butcher. He asked in a low voice.
"His vital energy cultivation, the progress is terrifying."
The Village Chief made no secret of it. He said, "Very fast! From yesterday to now, the rate of progress is beyond imagination. I just heard his whistle – vital energy resonating with the throat can produce sound, vaguely carrying the sounds of gods and demons. Not to mention that he hasn't broken through the Spirit Fetus barrier yet, even a warrior of the Spirit Fetus realm cannot achieve god-demon resonance! If I were an ordinary person like him, it would take twenty years to cultivate vital energy to this stage."
Qin Mu's long whistle over the river surface, his vital energy resonating with his throat, had unconsciously produced a whistling sound. But this whistle had unknowingly fused with the demon sounds he had heard in the valley ruins.
Even stranger was that last night, while carefully pondering the dark demon sounds, he had also listened to and recorded in his mind the divine sounds of the various goddesses in the ruins. Every subtle fluctuation of the divine sounds was familiar to him.
Therefore, his whistle naturally also incorporated the divine sounds of the goddesses.
This fell upon the ears of others without significance; they couldn't discern the mystery within. But when it reached the Village Chief's ears, it was extraordinary; he heard it clearly.
"God-demon resonance?"
The Medicine Master was startled. "How did he do that? Moreover, in a single night, he has the skill of an ordinary person's twenty years. It's too terrifying. Could it truly be the effect of the four spirits' blood?"
The Village Chief shook his head. "Although the four spirits' blood can enhance his body and vital energy, it's impossible for it to improve so quickly."
The Medicine Master pondered, saying, "Could it be that Mu'er is an innate genius? Was he born with cultivation materials?"
The Village Chief frowned. "Why is an innate genius still of an ordinary constitution? An innate genius should be a spirit body, right? Moreover, god-demon resonance, which genius can achieve that?"
The Medicine Master asked, "His whistle has god-demon resonance. Are these god sounds and demon sounds good or bad?"
"Unknown."
The Village Chief said, "I heard god-demon resonance in his whistle, god sounds and demon sounds battling intensely. But whether it's good or bad, I'm not clear."
The Medicine Master's gaze flickered. He said, "The god-demon resonance in his whistle, where do these god sounds and demon sounds come from?"
"Unknown!"
The Medicine Master's head began to ache, and the Village Chief's head also began to ache. It had been a long time since they had headaches from matters they couldn't comprehend. Ever since they adopted Qin Mu, this small boy who had drifted down from upstream, the things they couldn't understand had become more and more numerous.
Night fell, and Disabled Elder Village quickly plunged into darkness. Qin Mu slept in the outer room, and Granny Si slept in the inner room. Sleeping until midnight, a faint demon sound unconsciously transmitted into Qin Mu's mind. Then, divine sounds rang out. The god sounds and demon sounds attacked each other, and it wasn't long before the sounds became more and more noisy, louder and louder.
That kind of god-demon resonance sound gradually turned into darkness and light contending with each other in his mind, a fierce slaughter. Qin Mu felt as if he had no form, becoming a soul floating in the air above the god-demon struggle, staring blankly at the darkness and light slaughtering below.
The place where darkness and light warred was like the scene he had witnessed in the valley ruins last night, but more magnificent, more vast. The night was like tentacles, continuously piercing the light. The light would suddenly erupt, sweeping away the darkness.
After a moment, Qin Mu clearly saw what the light and darkness were. The darkness was actually infinite and endless demon gods, surging towards the light like a tide. The demon sound was not pure demon sound, but the shouts of billions of demon gods!
And the light was the same – gods like a vast ocean, wearing golden armor, slaughtering the surging demon gods!
He was "standing" too high. These gods and demons were all like tiny water droplets, too far to see clearly. So at first, he thought it was a struggle between light and darkness. Now that he saw clearly, he only felt shock and terror!
Qin Mu suddenly awoke, drenched in sweat. He opened his eyes, yet discovered the sound of those god sounds and demon sounds everywhere in his mind, making his head feel as if it would explode from the noise.
Just then, the jade pendant on his chest lightly floated up, rising to his brow, and gently settled down. Qin Mu felt a clear current surge, and the god sounds and demon sounds in his mind instantly disappeared.
He suddenly sat up, panting heavily, his heart shocked and uncertain, not knowing what had happened.
After a moment, he walked out of the room, came outside, and took advantage of the faint light emitted by the stone statues in the village to examine the jade pendant.
Outside the village, it was just darkness. The jade pendant also emitted a faint light. Qin Mu stared blankly at the jade pendant, lost in thought, his gaze as faint as the jade pendant's light. For a long time, it was difficult to pull his gaze away from this small piece of jade.
Behind him, Granny Si had walked over at some point and witnessed this scene. Her heart ached: "Although we raised him, Mu'er ultimately doesn't belong to our Disabled Elder Village. He is just a child raised in Disabled Elder Village, and he will eventually leave..."
Her spirit suddenly sharpened, a sharp light appearing in her eyes: "Outside, it's far more dangerous than the Great Ruins! He doesn't have enough strength yet!"
