Chapter 402: Star Canine

In Crippled Elder Village, everyone except Granny Si possesses unique skills, each having cultivated to the Divine Realm.

When the Divine Bridge path was severed, they were unable to advance to higher realms. Consequently, they dedicated their entire lives to specializing in a single area, which ironically allowed their power to rival the gods of the High Heavens, making them no weaker than false gods like Dragon Herder.

If merely reaching the Divine Realm in one aspect enables someone to contend with a powerhouse from the High Heavens, what if someone could achieve the Divine Realm in every aspect?

Wouldn't that be a true god?

Clearly, this is the path chosen by the powerful individual named Xing An. However, his strategy isn't to study and cultivate himself, but to directly acquire abilities from others.

After all, a person's energy is limited, and without repairing the Divine Bridge, their lifespan is also finite, lasting only around eight hundred years. If he were to diligently research and cultivate on his own, he might only reach the Divine Realm in one or two aspects during his lifetime. But by directly acquiring from others, he could potentially gather all Divine Realm aspects, becoming like a true god!

He is a powerful figure from the same era as the Village Chief. By rights, he should be as old as the Village Chief, yet he still appears youthful. This indicates that he didn't just take Cripple's legs and Blind Man's eyes; other powerful individuals must have also fallen victim to him!

No one can truly say what level his current power has reached.

Blind Man's eyes, the strongest divine eyes, and Cripple's legs, the fastest divine legs—these two alone are enough to place him among the most powerful.

He must have acquired divine realm parts from other powerful individuals as well.

Such a formidable opponent has set his sights on Grandpa Ma's arms. Even though Grandpa Ma is already a Tathagata, he might not be Xing An's match.

Butcher stood up and walked out, saying, "I'm going to see Old Grandpa Ma."

"Butcher, is your strongest asset your blade?" the Village Chief suddenly asked.

Butcher stopped. "No. My strongest asset, in fact, is my heart."

A sudden roar erupted from within him, like thunder shaking the heavens, like giants beating war drums on a battlefield. It was his heartbeat, and with each throb, everyone's eardrums buzzed.

As he surged his qi and blood, his heartbeat resonated, creating the sensation of the sharpest, heaviest Heavenly Blade being unsheathed—immense, incisive, and unstoppable!

The 'blade' of the Heavenly Blade wasn't the pig-slaughtering knife in his hand, but his very being was a blade.

This Heavenly Blade of his required a powerful source of energy to be unleashed, and that source of energy was his heart.

Qin Mu opened his Fiery Firmament Divine Eyes and looked at Butcher, seeing not a person, but a blade!

At the center of the blade, a pulsating heart resided, with blood vessels extending from it like great dragons, spreading like a network throughout the blade's form.

As the heart pulsed, it transported unparalleled qi and blood to every part of the Heavenly Blade!

Butcher had refined his heart into a divine heart.

The Village Chief said, "He needs your heart, a divine heart."

Butcher shook his head. "I'm not afraid of him."

The Village Chief said, "He isn't afraid of you either. Even if I were to contend with him, the chances of victory are slim. If you go alone to find Grandpa Ma, he'll surely intercept you on the way. Mute, what is your strongest asset?"

Mute sat there smoking his water pipe. Hearing this, he tapped the pipe, then tucked it back into his waistband.

The forge behind him suddenly ignited without a flame. However, everyone immediately noticed that it wasn't his vital qi that lit the forge, nor was it the forge itself emitting immense heat; the fire originated from within his body.

His vital qi became incredibly scorching. Within his abdomen, it was as if a massive furnace was ablaze, like a small sun furiously spinning. His terrifying vital qi surged even more powerfully and majestically!

As he sat there, he was like a sun accumulating energy, awaiting an earth-shattering eruption!

"Mute, you've refined your Dantian into a divine furnace. Xing An will also need your Dantian."

The Village Chief looked at Deafy, shook his head, and said, "Deafy, although you've reached the pinnacle in painting, Xing An doesn't need anything from your body. He can't take your skill."

Deafy looked up, glanced at Apothecary, and said, "That quack probably isn't even on his radar. His cultivation is too low, just at the Celestial Being Realm."

Apothecary chuckled, "I, a traveling quack, will never starve wherever I go. It's the painters who almost starved to death."

Deafy smugly said, "The money I earn from one painting can buy several large mansions in the capital. You, on the other hand, just bankrupt yourself by killing patients."

The Village Chief suddenly said, "Xing An needs Apothecary."

Everyone was slightly startled. The Village Chief said, "He needs Apothecary's skill to replace his body."

Apothecary shivered.

The Village Chief said in a deep voice, "You don't need to worry. Butcher, Mute, Apothecary, you three come with me. We'll go to Grand Thunderclap Temple together. Deafy, Cripple, Blind Man, you stay here. Xing An's target is us, so he won't come looking for you. It's settled, let's leave now. Mu'er, you stay behind too and celebrate New Year here; we'll go to Grand Thunderclap Temple for vegetarian food. Let's go!"

Blind Man calmly said, "My Dragon An also wishes to meet Xing An again. This divine spear was defeated by him and has long awaited revenge."

The Village Chief shook his head. "This isn't just about you. It concerns Grandpa Ma's safety. This place also needs a master. Cripple is useless now; he could run with one leg, but with both gone, he can't move. You should stay."

Blind Man frowned, but said nothing.

Apothecary retrieved his medicine basket, placed the Village Chief inside, and departed with Butcher and Mute. Many women gathered around, intending to leave with Apothecary. Apothecary quickly pleaded, "My dear sisters, I'll be back in a few days. I won't run away, you can rest assured!"

Only then did the women relent and allow him to leave.

In the great hall, only Cripple, Blind Man, Deafy, and Qin Mu remained. Cripple started weeping again, saying, "Mu'er is now the fastest runner in the village, and I can't even run anymore..."

Qin Mu quickly comforted him. Cripple's emotions gradually stabilized, but then he suddenly saw the emptiness below his waist and, overcome with sorrow, burst into tears again: "When I had one leg, I could still hop around, and even walk quickly with just one. Now, hopping isn't even possible!"

"Grandpa Cripple, I could attach two deer legs for you. I've seen quite a few deer demons in the mountains, and with my skills, it wouldn't be hard to attach them," Qin Mu offered.

"Deer legs are bent! I'd fall to my knees after a few steps! No!"

Qin Mu had no choice but to give up. Deafy, finding Cripple too noisy, ran back to his own hall.

Cripple, tear-streaked, mumbled, complaining that Deafy despised him. Blind Man also intended to leave, but Qin Mu quickly said, "Grandpa Blind Man, I encountered the eyes of Sister Qing, the First Divine Eye of the Kaihuang Era. Her divine eyes imprinted some runes into my own, but it's just the imprints, no cultivation method. I don't understand how to activate these rune marks."

"I saw your eyes when you came in; they're very peculiar. I sensed a strange energy brewing within them, but it's not stable."

Blind Man set aside the thought of searching for Xing An. His interest in the Kaihuang Era's First Divine Eye was strong. He said, "Can you make these rune marks light up? I'd like to examine their operational patterns."

Cripple wailed, "My legs..."

Blind Man frowned. "This Cripple fellow is just wailing. Let's go outside to talk and let him grumble to himself."

Qin Mu quickly apologized to Cripple. The two went to the lake outside the hall, where several fish-headed merfolk ran over, holding plates of fruit picked from the mountain. "Masters, have some fruit," they said.

Qin Mu told them to put the plates down, then picked up a red fruit. The fruit shrieked, "Don't eat me!"

Qin Mu hastily put the fruit down. The dozen or so fruits in the plate rolled around, crying out, "It hurts, it hurts! I'm bleeding!"

"Don't look anymore. The divine blood spilled onto the mountain, making all the fruit trees strange."

Blind Man shook his head. "All these fruits are turning into monsters."

As he spoke, a crimson fruit grew two arms, touched its oozing red juice, and cried out, "I'm bleeding, I'm going to die!" With that, it fainted.

The other fruits quickly rolled over, wailing and lamenting, utterly miserable.

Qin Mu's scalp tingled. He quickly dumped out the fruits from the plate. The dozen or so fruits became overjoyed, and the fainted fruit demon also woke up. The fruit demons rapidly rolled, latching onto a tree demon passing by, hanging onto its head, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a deer demon next to the tree demon opened its mouth and secretly bit off a fruit from its head. The fruit demons immediately cried out, wailed, and cursed the deer demon. The tree demon, enraged, started fighting with the deer demon again.

Qin Mu was astonished, staring blankly at the two fighting monsters. A few more merfolk ran over, picked fruits from the tree demon's head, and offered them to Qin Mu and Blind Man.

"I've gotten used to it," Blind Man said. "You haven't been up the mountain; that's where the real rebellion is happening. Those grasses and vines are simply infuriating. Ignore them. Mu'er, activate the imprints in your divine eyes and let me see!"

Qin Mu, as instructed, activated the Sun Star Ring transmitted by Yan Jingjing. Immediately, rings of starlight lit up in his eyes, and the sun within the star rings instantly erupted. In a flash, blinding sunlight radiated, scaring the noisy group of monsters into prostrating on the ground, afraid to move.

Blind Man was surprised. After pondering for a moment, he said, "This Sister Qing is indeed remarkable. This ocular ability is certainly superior to mine. However, you can only activate the light of her divine eyes, without any of its power... Activate it again."

Qin Mu activated the Sun Star Ring again. Blind Man chuckled, "That's right, you have the ocular technique, but the power of the various rune marks hasn't been unleashed. These runes are quite interesting. If my eyes were still intact, I could certainly take it a step further. Alas... Mu'er, I'll try to integrate the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Method with these rune marks, but it will take a few days. Once I've perfected it, I can pass it on to you."

Qin Mu nodded.

Blind Man carefully memorized the imprints in Qin Mu's divine eyes, then chuckled, "Go spend time with your lovely wives and concubines; you don't need to keep following this old man. I won't go looking for Xing An, you can rest assured."

Qin Mu was also worried he might run off to seek revenge on Xing An, and still felt somewhat uneasy.

Ling Yuxiu and the other girls called out from a distance, "Cowherd, we're going up the mountain to pick fruits and prepare for New Year! Are you coming?"

"Go," Blind Man said with a faint smile.

Qin Mu had no choice but to run over and tell Ling Yuxiu and the others, "The fruits on the mountain have turned into monsters; they bite."

Hu Ling'er said, "Granny Si said some fruits on the mountain haven't turned into monsters and are edible. It's just that those merfolk don't recognize them."

They arrived at the mountain and saw many fruit trees. However, upon hearing that they had come to pick fruits, the trees quickly uprooted themselves and ran off, leaving everyone wide-eyed.

"You stepped on me!"

A small blade of grass angrily cried out, "Where are my sworn brothers?"

Everyone immediately ran off. Behind them, a group of grass people relentlessly pursued them. After a commotion, they finally found the orchard Granny Si had mentioned. The fruits on these trees hadn't turned into monsters. Qin Mu tasted one; it was very sweet and fragrant.

Yan Jingjing, Ling Yuxiu, and Si Yunxiang picked fruits with their baskets, while Hu Ling'er hopped onto a tree and sat in a fork, eating fruits. Soon, her belly was round, and she lay there with her tail hanging down.

"What fragrant fruits!"

Suddenly, a voice drifted over. Qin Mu looked in its direction and saw a white-clothed youth walking out from the mountains, carrying a large box on his back. He bowed to everyone and chuckled, "Does this fruit orchard have an owner? I am a wandering hermit passing through this place, and I ask for a few fruits as charity."

Qin Mu took a few fruits from his basket and chuckled, "Brother, where are you from? And where are you going?"

The youth thanked him, tasted a fruit, and praised it effusively, saying, "It has the taste of divine blood; truly exquisite. I have no fixed abode, always wandering freely like a cloud and wild crane. I've come to see a divine physician named Qin and ask for his help with an illness."

Qin Mu blinked. "Divine Physician Qin? Treating an illness? What illness do you have, brother?"

The youth sighed. "A terminal illness."

Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "What's your name, brother?"

The youth buried the fruit in the soil, carefully mounding earth around it, and said, "Xing An."