Chapter 2: Four Spirits' Blood

With a joyous pull, Si Po Po half-dragged him towards the village path, her laughter ringing out. "Don't just stand there staring, come on! Today's your big day! Village Chief, Ma Ye, everyone, come out!"

A bonfire blazed in the heart of the village. The Village Chief, once more carried forth on a stretcher, his voice deep and resonant, inquired, "Have all four spirits been found?"

"All found."

The one-armed Ma Ye dragged forward a serpent several *zhang* long, its scales a brilliant emerald green. It was still alive, emitting a foul odor, yet rendered immobile by Ma Ye’s single-handed grasp on its vital seven inches.

Dumb Blacksmith then carried in a massive bird, taller even than himself, its wings and legs bound tight. As the great bird struggled, sparks of fire crackled forth from its feathers, a fearsome sight indeed.

The Blind Man then moved a colossal turtle, larger than a tabletop. This ancient creature must have lived for countless years, its shell a burnished gold. Its four limbs were drawn into its shell, yet every so often, a single claw would cautiously emerge. Qin Mu observed that as its claw emerged, mist formed beneath it, as if capable of lifting the giant turtle and allowing it to escape on a cushion of vapor.

However, the Blind Man had pierced its nose with a fishhook, rendering escape impossible.

"Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise – while we cannot obtain the blood of true Four Spirits, we can use the Green Flood Dragon Snake, Iron Bone Tiger, Thunder Bird, and Gold Turtle as substitutes. They will still yield enough spirit blood for our needs."

The Village Chief nodded towards the Butcher in the village. The Butcher grinned, supporting himself on his hands as he shuffled forward. He was a man with only his upper body; the lower half of his torso had been severed, the wound flat and smooth.

Four jars were placed before the green snake, tiger, thunder bird, and gold turtle. The Butcher, with swift strokes, bled these fierce beasts. Before long, the fresh blood of the four creatures had drained empty.

"Pharmacist," the Village Chief called out.

The village Pharmacist stepped forward. He had no face; his facial skin, along with his nose and half of his upper and lower lips, seemed to have been sliced away, making him the most hideous and terrifying person in the village. Yet, Qin Mu felt that Grandpa Pharmacist was the kindest person to him in the entire village.

The Pharmacist advanced, taking out four strange red leaves, each bearing a single snow-white insect egg. He placed one leaf into each jar, and observed as the insect eggs hatched, the silkworms crawling onto the leaves to drink the blood.

These silkworms grew visibly as they drank, their bodies expanding rapidly. Soon, the blood in all four jars was depleted, leaving a single fat and enormous insect in each.

The Pharmacist grabbed a handful of white crystalline foam, like salt, and sprinkled it into the jars. Qin Mu watched in amazement as the four fat and large insects rapidly shrunk.

After a moment, the Pharmacist picked up the four insects; each was now only palm-sized. He produced four white porcelain cups, grasped one insect, and squeezed it forcefully. The insect squeaked, and a cup of amber-like, crystalline blood pulp flowed from its mouth.

Following the same method, the Pharmacist squeezed the blood from the bellies of the other three insects. He placed the four cups before Qin Mu and shook his head, saying, "They are not true spirit beasts after all; this is all the spirit blood we could refine."

"Mu'er, within the human body lie seven great treasure vaults: the Spirit Fetus, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heaven Human, Life Death, and God Bridge. These seven great treasure vaults are sealed at birth, like hidden treasures, hence they are called the Seven Great Divine Storehouses."

The Village Chief's voice held a hint of majesty, his face alternating between light and shadow in the bonfire's glow. He spoke deeply, "The Seven Great Divine Storehouses are in a sealed state and must be opened by the martial artist themselves. The obstacles blocking a martial artist from opening the divine storehouses are the walls: the Spirit Fetus Wall, Five Luminaries Wall, Six Harmonies Wall, Seven Stars Wall, Heaven Human Wall, Life Death Wall, and God Bridge Wall. The process of breaking open these seven walls is called Breaking the Wall."

The one-armed Ma Ye gently stroked Qin Mu's head, a smile on his face. "If the wall cannot be broken, then cultivation is impossible. Some are favored by Heaven; at birth, their Spirit Fetus Wall is already broken, and the Spirit Fetus Divine Storehouse is naturally open. This kind of constitution is called a Spirit Body, born with the blessings of Heaven, a true seedling for cultivation. Those with a Spirit Body possess talent immeasurably higher than ordinary people, and their cultivation is twice as effective with half the effort. The Spirit Fetus has four attributes, thus there are also four types of Spirit Bodies: Green Dragon Spirit Body, White Tiger Spirit Body, Vermilion Bird Spirit Body, and Black Tortoise Spirit Body. To check if one is a Spirit Body, one only needs the blood of these Four Spirits."

The Pharmacist added, "If you are a Green Dragon Spirit Body, after drinking the Green Dragon Spirit Blood, it will inspire the Green Dragon Qi. Ma Ye is a Green Dragon Spirit Body."

The one-armed Ma Ye undid his clothes, baring his upper body before Qin Mu, and turned his back to him, letting out a low roar.

Qin Mu immediately saw a green qi emerge from Ma Ye's back, rising from his tailbone straight to the back of his skull. The green qi gradually transformed into a green dragon, its scales, whiskers, and fine hair all distinct. One of its dragon claws extended to Ma Ye's single arm, and two other dragon claws coiled around his legs.

"This is a Green Dragon Spirit Body."

The one-armed Ma Ye put his clothes back on. "Old Lady Si is a White Tiger Spirit Body."

Si Po Po gave him a side glance, saying, "This old lady won't strip naked for the likes of you old ghosts. I'll manifest my qi form for Qin Mu to see."

Her body trembled slightly, and vaguely, the roar of a tiger echoed from behind her. A two-*zhang* tall, fierce-eyed white tiger appeared behind her, sometimes visible, sometimes not.

"Everyone in the village is a Spirit Body. In our time, we were once glorious, but now we are merely a group of old, broken, and useless old men and women."

Si Po Po chuckled. "We crippled old wastes have nothing we can give you. These four cups of Four Spirits blood are the materials to inspire a Spirit Body. If you are a White Tiger Spirit Body, drinking the White Tiger Spirit Blood will awaken the White Tiger Qi within your Spirit Fetus. If you are a Vermilion Bird Spirit Body, the Vermilion Bird Spirit Blood will activate the Vermilion Bird Qi within your Spirit Fetus. The same goes for the Black Tortoise Spirit Body."

"Drink it."

The Village Chief, Si Po Po, and the others all looked at Qin Mu with expectant eyes.

Qin Mu's heart pounded. Although he had been given countless strange concoctions while learning to gather and refine medicine with the Pharmacist, none were as peculiar as this.

He picked up a white porcelain cup. The spirit blood within was fiery hot; it was a cup of Vermilion Bird Spirit Blood. Qin Mu swallowed it in one gulp, feeling a line of fire enter his throat and spread throughout his limbs and bones. It made him feel as if raging flames had ignited within him, his blood seemingly boiling.

After a moment, this burning sensation dissipated.

"Dumb, is he a Vermilion Bird Spirit Body?" the Village Chief asked.

Dumb Blacksmith shook his head.

The Village Chief said, "Qin Mu, continue."

Qin Mu drank the second white porcelain cup, which contained White Tiger Spirit Blood. Drinking it felt like swallowing a mixture of iron slag, copper juice, and molten iron – astringent and painful. After it entered his body, he felt a stinging pain all over. Soon, the stinging pain disappeared.

"Not a White Tiger Spirit Body," Si Po Po said, shaking her head, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Qin Mu, the third cup," the Village Chief said in a low voice.

Qin Mu drank the third cup, the Green Dragon Spirit Blood refined from the large green snake. This cup of spirit blood made his muscles and blood surge and swell, his five viscera and six bowels feeling squeezed and uncomfortable. However, the swelling sensation quickly subsided.

Ma Ye showed disappointment, shaking his head and saying, "Not a Green Dragon Spirit Body."

"Then he must be a Black Tortoise Spirit Body." The Pharmacist rarely showed a trace of a smile, making his face appear even more ferocious.

Qin Mu drank the last cup of Black Tortoise Spirit Blood. The Black Tortoise Spirit Blood made his body feel light, as if submerged in river water, but this feeling also quickly disappeared.

"He is not a Black Tortoise Spirit Body either," the Pharmacist said, shaking his head.

The villagers around the bonfire fell silent. The Butcher said, "So, he's just an ordinary, ordinary, ordinary person."

Si Po Po suddenly shed tears, choking back sobs. "We are all old and broken. If we die, he won't survive. It's so dangerous here; he won't last even a day..."

Qin Mu held her hand, his voice low. "Po Po, don't cry. Po Po and the grandpas are all good people, and you won't die..."

"Good people? Heh heh..."

Ma Ye gave a self-mocking smile. "We wastes were forced into the Great Ruins and have barely survived until now. The Great Ruins are too dangerous. Without us, it will indeed be very difficult for Mu'er to survive. We should send him out of the Great Ruins; it's much safer outside..."

The Butcher said in a cold, icy tone, "If we send him out, we will be discovered by our enemies, and we will all die. He will also be implicated by us and will also die."

Disabled Old Village fell silent once more. Suddenly, the Village Chief said, "Good."

Si Po Po was puzzled. "What's good?"

The Village Chief smiled. "I mean his constitution is good, he's a good seedling."

The Butcher, Pharmacist, and the others were all startled, not understanding his meaning. The Village Chief laughed. "I believe Mu'er has another kind of constitution, a Tyrant Body that combines the advantages of the four great constitutions!"

"Tyrant Body?" Si Po Po and the others showed doubt. They were all experienced individuals, but they had never heard of a Tyrant Body.

"That's right, it's a Tyrant Body."

The Village Chief laughed. "Ordinary spirit blood is very difficult to inspire a Tyrant Body; it requires the blood of true Four Great Spirit Beasts to manifest a Tyrant Body. There are no Four Great Spirit Beasts in the Great Ruins, but their descendants are not hard to find. All of you, continue to capture fierce tigers and large snakes, refine spirit blood, let him drink more, and his Tyrant Body will naturally be inspired."

The Village Chief held great prestige. The old men and women in the village, lacking arms and legs, were all happy to hear this. Si Po Po laughed, "Tomorrow, I'll also go with the old cripples to catch tigers! Mu'er, you should go to bed early too. You still need to drink spirit blood tomorrow!"

The crowd dispersed. The Pharmacist and Dumb Blacksmith helped the Village Chief back to his room. Dumb left, but the Pharmacist did not. He said in a low voice, "There's no such thing as a Tyrant Body."

The Village Chief nodded. "I just said it casually. If I didn't say that, it would be very difficult for the people in the village to survive."

The Pharmacist was startled. Each of the villagers in Disabled Old Village had their own origins, but they had all been forced to enter the Great Ruins and come to Disabled Old Village, barely surviving. They originally resented Heaven, resented Earth, resented the common people, their resentment was too heavy. That they could live until now was, in a way, also Qin Mu's merit.

It was precisely the arrival of this intact little baby that dispersed the resentment in the hearts of the crowd. Everyone raised Qin Mu to grow up, and they all treated this little boy as their closest person. Qin Mu maintained the fragile hearts of the villagers of Disabled Old Village.

If the villagers knew that Qin Mu had the most ordinary constitution and could not survive alone in the Great Ruins, they would likely lose control and do something unimaginable.

The Pharmacist's face was expressionless. "But you cannot hide it forever. We will sooner or later grow old and die, leaving only Qin Mu."

"So, you don't tell him there's no such thing as a Tyrant Body. Never tell him."

The Village Chief said in a deep voice, "Let him believe that he is a unique Tyrant Body!"

The Pharmacist was startled, carefully examining his face. The Village Chief's face appeared particularly enchanting under the dim oil lamp. He laughed. "I want to see if an ordinary person, under incomparable belief, can become extraordinary and achieve things that even we Spirit Bodies cannot! Perhaps in the future, he truly can forge a path where a mortal body is a Tyrant Body!"

The Pharmacist was slightly dazed. "A mortal body is a Tyrant Body?"

The Village Chief nodded heavily. "As long as there is belief, a mortal body is a Tyrant Body!"