Grandma Si pulled him excitedly toward the village, beaming. "Don't just stand there staring—quickly now! Today is your big day! Village chief! Master Ma! Come out!"
A bonfire was lit in the center of the village. The village chief was carried out on a stretcher. In a deep voice, he asked,"Have the four spirit creatures all been found?"
"Yes, all of them have been brought back."
Master Ma dragged a several-meter-long green serpent with only one arm. It was still alive, its body reeking of blood, but Ma had its neck firmly pinched so it couldn't move.
The mute blacksmith brought a giant bird—larger than the blacksmith himself. Its wings and legs were tightly bound. When it struggled, its feathers sparked with crackling fire, frightening everyone nearby.
The blind man carried a massive turtle, bigger than a table. It looked ancient, its shell golden in color. Its limbs were withdrawn into the shell, but occasionally a claw would poke out; each time it did, steam hissed around it, as if the creature could use that burst of vapor to propel itself away.
But the blind man had pierced its nostril with a fishhook, preventing its escape.
"Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—while we cannot extract their true blood, we can use the green serpent, the iron tiger, the thunder bird, and the golden tortoise to draw a bit of spirit blood. That will be enough."
The village chief nodded toward the butcher. The butcher grinned and stepped forward. He had only his upper body—his lower half had been cleanly severed long ago.
Four large troughs were placed before the green serpent, the tiger, the thunder bird, and the golden tortoise. The butcher lifted his knife and bled each creature one by one. After a while, the blood drained completely, and the four beasts collapsed in exhaustion.
"Herbalist," the village chief called.
The village herbalist approached. He had no face—his skin had been flayed off, and his nose and half his lips were missing. He was the ugliest and most terrifying-looking person in the village, yet in Qin Mu's eyes, the herbalist was the kindest of them all.
The herbalist took four peculiar red leaves from his pouch. Each leaf had a small white egg on it. He dropped a leaf into each vat, and soon, the eggs cracked open, revealing worms that began to drink the blood.
These worms grew rapidly when exposed to the blood. As they drank more, their bodies became larger, and before long, the blood in all four vats was consumed, leaving behind only fat, swollen worms.
The herbalist then sprinkled a handful of white crystal powder into each vat. Qin Mu was amazed to see the worms shrink rapidly.
After a short while, the herbalist picked up the four worms, each now only the size of a palm. He squeezed one of them, and it let out a screech as amber-like blood flowed from its mouth into a porcelain cup.
The herbalist repeated the process for the other three worms, collecting their blood into four cups, which he placed in front of Qin Mu. He shook his head, "These are not true spiritual beasts, so the blood we've extracted is very limited."
"Mu'er," the village chief began, his voice full of authority. In the flickering firelight, his face seemed to shift between light and shadow. He spoke with gravity, "The human body contains seven great treasures: the Spirit Embryo, the Five Luminaries, the Six Harmonies, the Seven Stars, Heaven and Man, Life and Death, and the Divine Bridge. These treasures are naturally sealed, like treasures locked away, hence they are called the Seven Divine Vaults."
"These Divine Vaults are closed by barriers, the Spirit Embryo Barrier, the Five Luminaries Barrier, the Six Harmonies Barrier, the Seven Stars Barrier, the Heaven and Man Barrier, the Life and Death Barrier, and the Divine Bridge Barrier. The process of breaking these barriers is called breaking the wall."
Master Ma gently patted Qin Mu's head and laughed, "If you can't break the wall, you can't cultivate. Some people are lucky enough to have their Spirit Embryo Barrier broken from birth. These people are born with a special body called a 'spiritual body.' They are naturally favored by the heavens and have the potential to become great cultivators. Those with a spiritual body have much greater talent than ordinary people and can cultivate much faster. There are four types of spiritual bodies, corresponding to the Four Spirits—Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. To determine which spiritual body one has, we need to test with the blood of the Four Spirits."
The herbalist spoke up, "If you are a Blue Dragon spiritual body, drinking Blue Dragon blood will awaken the Blue Dragon energy within you. Master Ma is a Blue Dragon spiritual body."
Master Ma took off his clothes, stood before Qin Mu, and turned his back. With a low growl, Qin Mu immediately saw a blue aura emerge from Ma's back, extending from the tailbone to the back of the head. The aura slowly transformed into a Blue Dragon, its scales and whiskers clearly visible. One dragon claw extended to Master Ma's one arm, and two other claws coiled around his legs.
"This is the Blue Dragon spiritual body."
Master Ma put his clothes back on. "Grandma Si is a White Tiger spiritual body."
Grandma Si shot him a glance. "I won't strip for you old fools. I'll just show you with my aura."
Her body trembled slightly, and a faint tiger's roar could be heard as a large, fierce white tiger appeared behind her.
"Everyone in the village is a spiritual body. We were once glorious, but now, we are just a bunch of old, useless fools."
Grandma Si laughed. "We can't give you much, but these four cups of spiritual blood are the materials needed to awaken a spiritual body. If you are a White Tiger spiritual body, drinking White Tiger blood will awaken the White Tiger energy within you. If you are a Vermilion Bird spiritual body, Vermilion Bird blood will awaken that energy, and the same applies to the Black Tortoise."
"Drink up."
The village chief, Grandma Si, and the others all stared at Qin Mu, their expressions filled with anticipation.
Qin Mu's heart raced. Although he had drunk many strange substances while learning herbal medicine from the herbalist, nothing had felt as strange as this.
He picked up one of the porcelain cups. It contained Vermilion Bird spiritual blood, which was burning hot. As soon as he drank it, a fiery sensation coursed down his throat and spread through his body, making him feel as though his blood was boiling.
After a moment, the burning sensation faded.
"Is he a Vermilion Bird spiritual body?" the village chief asked.
The mute blacksmith shook his head.
"Continue, Mu'er," the village chief urged.
Qin Mu picked up the second cup, which contained White Tiger blood. Drinking it felt like swallowing a mixture of iron shavings and copper, bitter and painful. The pain soon subsided.
"Not a White Tiger spiritual body," Grandma Si shook her head in disappointment.
"Third cup, Qin Mu," the village chief said in a deep voice.
Qin Mu drank the third cup, which contained Blue Dragon spiritual blood. This made his muscles and blood feel as if they were swelling and stretching, but the discomfort quickly faded.
Master Ma shook his head, looking disappointed. "Not a Blue Dragon spiritual body."
"Then it must be the Black Tortoise spiritual body," the herbalist said, a rare smile on his face.
Qin Mu drank the final cup, which contained Black Tortoise spiritual blood. It made his body feel light, as if submerged in water, but the sensation soon vanished.
"He's not a Black Tortoise spiritual body either," the herbalist said, shaking his head.
The villagers fell silent. The butcher said coldly, "So, he's just an ordinary person."
Grandma Si suddenly started crying, choking on her words, "We're all so old, so useless. If we die, he won't survive here. It's too dangerous. He won't last a single day..."
Qin Mu grabbed her hand and whispered, "Grandma, don't cry. You and Grandpa are good people. You won't die..."
"Good people? Heh..." Master Ma smiled bitterly. "We've all been forced into the Great Ruins, struggling to survive. It's too dangerous there. Without us, Mu'er wouldn't last a day. We should send him out of the Great Ruins. The outside world is safer."
The butcher replied coldly, "If we send him out, our enemies will find us, and we'll all die, including him."
The village fell silent again. Suddenly, the village chief spoke.
"Alright."
Grandma Si was puzzled. "What do you mean, 'alright'?"
The village chief smiled. "I meant that his physique is good. He's a promising seed."
The butcher, herbalist, and the others all froze, confused by his words. The village chief smiled and continued, "I believe Mu'er has another kind of physique, a 'dominant body'—one that combines the strengths of the Four Spirits!"
"'Dominant body'?" Grandma Si and the others looked puzzled. They were well-traveled and knowledgeable, but they had never heard of a "dominant body."
"Yes, a dominant body."
The village chief smiled. "Ordinary spiritual blood can't activate the dominant body. You need the true blood of all four spiritual beasts to awaken it