"Grandpa Lame's leg skills are so fast he can run into the sky—so who cut off his leg? Grandpa Ma's fists are so powerful—so who cut off his right arm? And Grandpa Butcher's blade—who could break through his defense and cut him in half?"
After witnessing the true abilities of the Butcher, Ma Ye, and the Lame Man, Qin Mu felt both admiration and confusion. Having finished learning the Lame Man's leg skills, he had finally digested the power of the Four Spirit Blood, and his physique had improved. However, this round of training had exhausted him to the point of collapse; he simply wanted to flop down and sleep like a log.
Yet this was only the beginning of his suffering.
Almost every day, the old men and women in the village would catch a few fierce beasts, refine them into Four Spirit Blood, and force him to drink it. After drinking, he would be subjected to frantic training until he was completely drained.
In addition to the Lame Man's leg skills, the One-Armed Ma Ye's fists, and the Butcher's blade, he also had to learn blacksmithing from the Mute, calligraphy and painting from the Deaf, and wind-listening for positioning from the Blind. He even blindfolded himself to compete with the Blind in staff fighting.
When he was too tired to move, the Village Chief would call him over to practice breathing exercises. The Chief said the method he taught was specifically for training the Tyrant Body, called the Tyrant Body Three Elixirs Art, which was extremely powerful.
Qin Mu didn't notice how powerful this so-called Tyrant Body Three Elixirs Art really was, but after practicing breathing with the Village Chief, his fatigue faded quickly, and before long he was full of energy again. Thus, he thought this technique was truly mystical.
"Village Chief," the Medicine Master's eyes flickered as he whispered after Qin Mu had walked away, "what you taught him seems to be the most ordinary Dao Yin Art, right?"
"That's correct—it's the Dao Yin Art."
The Village Chief didn't deny it. "The Four Spirit Bodies each have their own cultivation methods. The Azure Dragon Spirit Body cultivates Azure Dragon Qi, the White Tiger Spirit Body cultivates White Tiger Qi, the Vermilion Bird Spirit Body cultivates Vermilion Bird Qi, and the Black Tortoise Spirit Body cultivates Black Tortoise Qi. But Mu'er has none of these four types of essence in his body, so he can't cultivate any of the Four Spirit Body methods. None of our techniques will work for him. That's why I can only teach him the simplest method—the Dao Yin Art—which even ordinary people can practice, because it has no elemental attribute."
The Medicine Master frowned. "But the Dao Yin Art is too simple and ordinary. At most, it can only make someone a martial artist, with no great achievements."
The Village Chief's expression turned strange. "I used to think so too, but now I realize we may have underestimated the most basic Dao Yin Art. Mu'er has practiced it since childhood, and now his essence is already extremely powerful—only it has no attribute, so he can't unleash its full strength."
The Medicine Master's eyes lit up. "How powerful?"
"If his essence had the Azure Dragon attribute like yours, his current cultivation would already be fifty percent of your Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury."
The Medicine Master was shocked. "I've already broken through the Heavenly Man barrier and opened the Heavenly Man Divine Treasury. Over the years, I've developed my Spirit Embryo, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, and other divine treasuries to their limits! Fifty percent of my Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury is already at the peak martial artist level! He hasn't even opened the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury yet and he's already at the peak of martial artists—if he opens it, wouldn't his cultivation be several times that of the Four Spirit Bodies who have opened theirs? Is this still the Dao Yin Art?"
The Village Chief shook his head in confusion. "This common Dao Yin Art really is mysterious. Although it's simple, its foundation is incredibly solid—unimaginably so. Mu'er has actually been practicing it for eight years, which is not a short time. At first, progress was slow, but recently I've noticed it's accelerating—especially these days after drinking the Four Spirit Blood, it's growing frighteningly fast! If the Dao Yin Art weren't so common, I'd almost think it was some incredible divine technique..."
Both men wore strange expressions.
The Medicine Master exhaled. "No matter how deep his cultivation is, it's useless without an attribute—he can't unleash any power. What do you think his limit with the Dao Yin Art will be?"
The Village Chief's expression grew even stranger. "I don't know."
The Medicine Master nodded, understanding what he meant.
The Dao Yin Art was the lowest and most basic cultivation method, usually used to lay a foundation for children. After the age of ten or so, when their bones were set and they could withstand the impact of Spirit Blood, their Spirit Body type would be confirmed, and the Dao Yin Art would be abandoned.
After breaking through the barrier, there were far better techniques, so there was no need to waste effort on the Dao Yin Art.
Even an ordinary person who devoted their entire life to cultivating spirit blood would never have the chance to drink it every day the way Qin Mu did.Only great clans possessed such resources—but they would never waste them on a disciple with average talent. No family would capture Four-Spirit Beasts every single day just to raise someone like Qin Mu.
The village chief had never even heard of anyone pushing the Dao Yin Technique to its limits—much less reaching the level Qin Mu had now attained.So he truly didn't know how far the boy could go.
What shocked both the chief and the apothecary even more was that, in the days that followed, Qin Mu's cultivation continued to deepen rapidly. The Dao Yin Technique—considered the most basic of all methods—was now revealing extraordinary potential, giving him an incredibly solid foundation.
After a month, the amount of Four-Spirit Blood he could withstand was several times what he could handle before. His essence had grown so profound it felt as though he had already opened his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury—perhaps even more.
Though his vital energy was profound, it lacked any attribute and could not exert the slightest power—thus failing to reveal his cultivation.
Yet there was a silver lining: his resilience was extraordinary, and his recovery speed unparalleled. Right after dueling the Butcher with a knife, he practiced boxing with Master Ma, then blindfolded himself to spar with the Blind Man using staffs, followed by learning leg techniques from the Lame Man, and finally heading to the blacksmith's to swing a hundred-jin hammer at iron. Despite such intense training, he merely regulated his breathing, practicing the so-called "Overlord Body Three Elixir Art," and in just a moment, he was refreshed and full of vitality once more!
The effects of the "Overlord Body Three Elixir Art" shocked the Village Chief, who urged the Apothecary to secretly examine Qin Mu's body, fearing he might leave hidden damage from excessive excitement.
After the examination, the Apothecary wore a strange expression and said: "It's not excitement, nor are there any hidden dangers. His vital energy is simply that powerful—it has already begun to enhance his physical constitution."
The Village Chief was stunned. Even though he had once dominated the battlefield and seen much of the world, he had never encountered someone like Qin Mu, who had cultivated the most basic energy-guiding technique to such heights—this surpassed all common understanding of energy-guiding arts.
"Qin Mu, today you'll learn to make clothes with Granny. No more practicing martial arts," called Granny Si. The hunchbacked old woman carried a small basket filled with needles, thread, and other sewing supplies, tiptoeing outward. Qin Mu hurried to follow, taking the basket from her hands and wondering: "Granny, shouldn't making clothes be done in the village? Why are we going outside?"
"Today we'll learn to make clothes beyond the village—real clothes," Granny Si chuckled. "These past few days, Old Ma, the Lame Man, and the others have taught you many genuine skills. Granny can't be stingy either; today I'll teach you a tailor's true masterpiece."
A tailor's true masterpiece? Isn't it still making clothes?
Puzzled, Qin Mu followed Granny Si out of the village and downstream along the riverbank. Though hunchbacked, Granny Si moved surprisingly fast—Qin Mu had to use the leg techniques taught by the Lame Man to run with all his might just to keep up. After walking more than ten li, they entered a mountain valley. Up ahead, a herd of elk grazed and played in the forest, about two hundred steps away.
Granny Si plucked an embroidery needle from the ball of thread in her basket, flicked her finger, and the silver needle vanished in a flash. Qin Mu then saw one of the elk two hundred steps away collapse to the ground with a thud. The others scattered in panic.
Granny Si tiptoed forward, and Qin Mu followed. He saw that though the elk lay on the ground, it was still alive—only pinned between the eyebrows by Granny Si's silver needle, unable to move.
"Mu'er, watch closely. This needle pins down its Heavenly Soul," Granny Si told him to remember the position of the needle between the elk's eyebrows, then took another embroidery needle from the thread ball and pricked the base of the elk's tail. "This needle pins down its Earthly Soul."
She took a third needle and pricked the elk's navel: "This one pins down its Life Soul. With the three souls pinned, there are still the seven spirits. The first spirit is called Corpse Dog, which resides at the top of the skull—the Heavenly Spirit Point."
She took another silver needle and pricked the elk's navel, saying: "The second spirit is called Fu Shi, located at the eyebrow chakra. Note that Fu Shi is easily confused with the Heavenly Soul—though these two needles are in the same position, one is deep and the other shallow; don't mix them up.
"The third spirit, Que Yin, is at the Adam's apple. Feel your own Adam's apple—isn't there a triangular indentation? That's where Que Yin hides; this needle pins it down."
"The fourth spirit, Tun Zei, is at the heart, where the cardiac orifices converge—right here."
"The fifth spirit, Fei Du, is at the navel. Be careful not to confuse it with the Life Soul."
"The sixth spirit, Chu Hui, is at the perineum, the place where impurities are excreted."
"The seventh spirit, Chou Fei, is in the lung chamber, where breath is exchanged."
After pinning the elk's three souls and seven spirits, Granny Si said: "This is the most crucial step before making clothes—locking the soul, binding the three souls and seven spirits. Mu'er, did you see everything clearly? If so, we'll start making the clothes."
Qin Mu didn't understand how this related to making clothes, but he carefully memorized all the positions and replied: "I remember."
Granny Si took a pair of scissors from her basket and cut along the elk's lips. Before long, she peeled off the entire deer hide. Strangely enough, even though the hide was removed, not a drop of blood flowed from the elk.
"When I locked its soul just now, I sealed all its blood, essence, spirit, and soul within this hide," she explained. "The deer is dead, but the hide is still alive. However, to truly refine it into clothes, we need a few more techniques. Mu'er, watch closely—remember the positions I poke with my fingers!"
Granny Si tossed the deer hide into the air. As it fell, the hunchbacked old woman moved her small feet swiftly, using her fingers as needles to poke continuously at the hide.
Qin Mu focused intently. He saw Granny Si poke 316 times before the hide hit the ground—each poke landing in a different spot, with vital energy infused into the hide with every touch.
When the deer hide finally landed, it stood there like a living elk, shaking its head and wagging its tail—completely indistinguishable from a real one!
Qin Mu froze.Suddenly, Grandma Si laughed, spread open the deer hide, and wrapped it around him."This is what a real tailor should make," she said.
Qin Mu felt the hide tighten around him, as if it were growing into his flesh. The pressure forced him down to his knees.
He even felt himself turning into an elk—he could feel a short deer tail sprouting behind him!
Grandma Si took a bright mirror from her basket and held it up before him.In the reflection, Qin Mu saw that he had really transformed into an elk!
He tried to speak, but only a soft, trembling "yuu–yuu" deer cry came out of his mouth.
"Devil-Transforming Arts! What a sinister technique!"A booming voice erupted."Never thought that in a barren, savage land like the Great Ruins, we would encounter a surviving devil—and her demonic offspring—teaching such harmful tricks!"