Chapter 20: The Humanoid Spirit Fetus

The Village Chief, his face serene, offered a calm smile. "Even before his spirit embryo awakened, his vital energy cultivation surpassed that of ordinary Spirit Embryo realm warriors, swiftly catching up to my own past level. Now that it's awakened, it will only grow stronger. Mu'er has toiled for so many years, and with the countless drops of Four Spirits Blood you've all used to nourish him, achieving this level is not entirely unexpected."

The Apothecary, still reeling from shock, murmured, "But... it's even thicker than yours was back then. You were..."

"I am merely an old cripple, nothing more." The Village Chief interrupted, his smile unwavering. "One cannot use me to measure the youths of today. My current worry is that Mu'er's vital energy lacks any attribute; how will he manifest its power? Let us go over there and not keep them waiting anxiously."

The Apothecary's heart jolted slightly. It was precisely the presence of attributes that allowed vital energy to manifest its power. Qin Mu's vital energy, devoid of any attribute, naturally could not display power. While his spirit embryo was awakened and his cultivation vastly surpassed ordinary individuals, the inability to manifest power rendered it useless in a practical sense.

The two men approached the crackling bonfire. Deaf, pulling out his iron ear, submerged it in wine to cleanse it, then reinserted it into his ear. He poured the remaining wine into the bonfire, causing the flames to leap higher. He chuckled, "Village Chief, we just attempted a little test. Although Mu'er has awakened the Overlord Body, he cannot yet unleash the power of his Overlord Body vital energy. You are widely read and knowledgeable; surely you know how to manifest the power of Overlord Body vital energy?"

At that moment, the Apothecary felt as though the old man beside him's head had swelled three times in size. The Village Chief raised his head, his gaze fixed expectantly on the Apothecary beside him. The Apothecary promptly averted his gaze, toasting and drinking with Grandpa Horse.

"Hmm, is Mu'er's Overlord Body vital energy strong?" the Village Chief finally asked.

Deaf understood his meaning and praised, "Strong! His vital energy is incredibly tough, difficult to disperse." The others wholeheartedly agreed, all nodding in affirmation. During Qin Mu's duel with Qu Shixiong, one of Li Jiang's Five Sons, they had already witnessed the extraordinary nature of Qin Mu's vital energy. When his vital energy permeated the small wooden stick, Qu Shixiong's treasured sword could not even chop through it, demonstrating the true toughness of Qin Mu's vital energy.

The Village Chief continued, "Is his vital energy abundant?"

Deaf replied, "Frighteningly abundant! At his current realm, my vital energy cultivation was not as potent as his!" As he spoke, the others also expressed their strong agreement. Qin Mu's vital energy was simply too abundant, abundant to an unreasonable degree. It was as if his spirit embryo, just awakened, had already cultivated for several decades.

The Village Chief guided them step by step: "Since his vital energy is so strong and tough, so abundant, why can it not display power?"

This time, Deaf didn't continue speaking. Instead, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Yes! Village Chief, why indeed?"

The Village Chief nearly choked to death on his own words. He felt as if two knives had been plunged into his chest by this Deaf. Fortunately, Mute became agitated beside him, gesticulating wildly and "ah-ah"-ing incessantly.

"Mute is right!" Deaf suddenly realized. "Mu'er's vital energy is so strong, so tough, and so abundant, yet it cannot display power. This indicates that the problem is not with Mu'er's Overlord Body vital energy, but rather that our cultivation methods are not suitable for him, preventing him from manifesting power. The problem lies with us!"

The Village Chief felt a burden lift from his shoulders and was about to let out a sigh of relief when Deaf spoke again, "Then the question arises, how do we manifest the power of Overlord Body vital energy? None of us understand. Village Chief, you are widely read and knowledgeable; what are your insightful thoughts?"

The Village Chief wished he could grow two additional arms to strangle the fellow, but regarding why Qin Mu's vital energy could not display power, he knew the reason behind it. The vital energy of the Four Great Spirit Bodies each possessed their own characteristics. For instance, White Tiger vital energy had the characteristic of metal and could transform into blades and weapons, exhibiting strong defense and attack. White Tiger vital energy transforming into sharp claws could tear opponents, while transforming into a shield could block their attacks.

Azure Dragon vital energy possessed the characteristic of thunder, allowing control over lightning, and also some healing properties.

Vermilion Bird vital energy, on the other hand, had the characteristic of flame, fierce and domineering. The Apothecary and Blacksmith Mute were of this spirit body type. The Apothecary's medicine refining and the Blacksmith's furnace all relied on their vital energy's characteristics.

And Black Tortoise vital energy primarily focused on defense and controlling water. When manifested, its vital energy had the characteristic of water.

Since Qin Mu's vital energy lacked these characteristics, its power could not be displayed. Although his cultivation was formidable, it seemed to offer little practical enhancement to his actual strength. However, knowing the reason did not mean he knew the solution.

"Mu'er, what does your spirit embryo look like?" the Village Chief asked Qin Mu.

Qin Mu described the strange spirit embryo within his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury. The crowd gathered around the bonfire were all startled, exchanging glances. A human-shaped spirit embryo? It was the first time they had ever heard of such a thing existing!

Qin Mu was also somewhat puzzled. "Grandma, Grandpa Horse, aren't your spirit embryos your respective appearances from childhood?"

Grandma Si shook her head, sighing. "No. No wonder he's an Overlord Body; even the appearance of his spirit embryo is different from ours, making one unable to help but feel envious. Grandma's spirit embryo is a White Tiger spirit embryo, a little white tiger."

"My spirit embryo is an Azure Dragon," Grandpa Horse said.

Blind stated, "My spirit embryo is a Black Tortoise."

Mute again gesticulated wildly, "ah-ah"-ing something about his spirit embryo being a Vermilion Bird.

The Village Chief narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought. The Four Great Spirit Bodies were heaven-blessed; their Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury naturally opened, requiring only the awakening of the spirit embryo to become a warrior. And even if the spirit embryos of the Four Great Spirit Bodies had differences, they were often similar, rarely deviating from these four categories. Some spirit bodies were not White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, or Black Tortoise, but they still fell within these four categories. Therefore, the vital energy of the Four Great Spirit Bodies possessed four different attributes.

Qin Mu's spirit embryo was human-shaped, without attribute, making it difficult to awaken and the power of his vital energy hard to manifest. The Village Chief sank into bitter contemplation, trying to find a way to stimulate the power of the Overlord Body vital energy. Even with his exceptional talent, he couldn't come up with an idea in that moment.

Grandma Si, seeing his expression, suddenly understood and laughed. "Village Chief knows Mu'er is an Overlord Body, but he doesn't know the cultivation method for the Overlord Body?"

The Village Chief's face flushed slightly, and he nodded.

A wave of disappointment spread among the villagers. Blind murmured, "You are the most knowledgeable among us, and even you don't know the cultivation method for the Overlord Body. Then, won't Mu'er's Overlord Body be wasted?"

The crowd around the bonfire fell silent.

Butcher suddenly spoke, "The Overlord Body method was created by people, wasn't it?"

The crowd didn't understand and all looked towards him.

Butcher chuckled, "Since the Overlord Body's method was created by people, and others can create it, why can't we create it? Even if we can't create it, Mu'er himself can! I yield to no one, so my pig-slaying knife method is self-created. If you're all intimidated by the difficulties before you, I'll look down on you too! Mu'er, don't let me look down on you!"

Qin Mu nodded heavily, feeling a surge of hot blood within him. He declared loudly, "Grandpa Butcher, rest assured, I will certainly not disappoint your expectations!"

Butcher roared with laughter and clapped him heavily on the shoulder. The others also burst into laughter, the solemnity of moments before completely vanishing.

Seeing this scene, the Village Chief's inner knot also unconsciously untied, and he laughed heartily. "I deceived them by saying Mu'er is an Overlord Body, giving them the courage to continue living. I didn't expect to corner myself, fixated on how to make the lie convincing. I hadn't considered that they already had motivation, while I was still worrying about making the lie round."

With his inner knot untied, his body and mind felt comfortable. Qin Mu's arrival had given the villagers of Disabled Elderly Village a reason to live on, and it had also given him a reason to strive!

The Apothecary looked at him, a smile on his face. It had been a long time since the Village Chief had been this happy, had shown such a smile.

"I believe we must push the Overlord Body to its limits to manifest the power of its vital energy." Under the flickering firelight, Butcher's face appeared even more fierce. He said viciously, "One cannot live without being a madman. The Overlord Body is stronger than a Spirit Body, and Overlord Body vital energy is certainly stronger than Spirit Body vital energy. Therefore, the conditions for manifesting it are certainly more stringent. We must reach the limit to force out its power!"

Cripple nodded. "Mu'er's iron shoes need to be made thicker, more iron ingots tied on, to force him to run faster!"

Blind paused with his bamboo staff and said, "Before, his cultivation was too easy. From now on, it definitely needs to be doubled, to force out his potential."

Grandpa Horse said, "Not bad, force out his potential. We also need to double our efforts."

Mute gesticulated with his hands, "ah-ah"-ing something.

Qin Mu felt deeply moved, yet at the same time, a sense of unease. He was indeed touched by the villagers' enthusiasm for his matters, but why did every sentence they spoke have to include the phrase 'force out'?

The Apothecary narrowed his eyes and joined the discussion. "Supplement! Continue to supplement him! Supplement him until his vital energy is tough enough to display power! I have many strange treasures and beasts, strange flowers and grasses in Great Ruins. I can concoct spiritual pills and medicines. The medicine garden outside our village has all sorts of spiritual medicines! It's enough to supplement him until you can pinch his skin and squeeze out spiritual liquid!"

"Apothecary, you're trying to spend all your blood money!" The crowd all laughed.