The demon ape, enraged, leapt after Qin Mu, but after only a few strides, its massive body slowed it down—its speed was no match for Qin Mu’s. Furious, the ape yanked up a towering tree, stripped its leaves and branches with a sweep of its hand, turning it into a gigantic spear, then hurled it with tremendous force!
"You little brat—die!"
The strike was packed with power—domineering and swift—but its aim was off; the giant spear shot past Qin Mu at a distance of more than ten zhang.
The demon ape grew even more furious, stripped another tree bare for a second throw, but Qin Mu had already run too far ahead, leaving the ape pounding its chest in frustration.
Senior Brother Kurt muttered, "That little demon spawn’s cultivation is far weaker than ours. His injuries must be worse than mine—he won’t get far."
He forced himself upright but let out a muffled groan—his chest ached terribly, and several ribs must have been cracked by the demon ape’s blow. Still, if even that little demon spawn could survive the ape’s brutal attack, he figured he could hold out too.
What Kurt didn’t realize was that Qin Mu wasn’t weak at all—his cultivation was every bit as strong. It was only because his vital qi lacked any attribute that its power couldn’t be fully unleashed.
In terms of cultivation alone, Qin Mu—though young—wasn’t inferior to any of them, not even Senior Brother Kurt!
The five disciples skirted around the demon ape’s territory and picked up Qin Mu’s trail again. Just as Kurt had said, Qin Mu was badly injured by the ape, and once he escaped its domain, he had to slow down—giving them a chance to catch up.
But as they continued the chase, they noticed Qin Mu’s speed kept increasing—as if his wounds were healing right before their eyes.
"That little demon spawn must have some miracle healing medicine!"
The five disciples felt a twinge of envy. Kurt had already taken his sect’s injury medicine, but it wasn’t nearly as effective as Qin Mu’s supposed "miracle pill." Judging by how fast Qin Mu’s speed was climbing, his wounds were healing at a rate visible to the naked eye!
This kind of medicine made all five of them burn with desire.
"Our sect’s medicine isn’t top-grade. If we could get the recipe for this little demon spawn’s superior healing pill, our master would be thrilled—and reward us handsomely!"
But at that moment, Qin Mu wasn’t taking medicine at all. Instead, he kept running while breathing and circulating his qi, practicing the so-called Overlord Three-Core Art taught by the Village Chief—which was actually just the most basic Guiding Art, though he didn’t know it.
This time, using the Overlord Three-Core Art while fleeing, Qin Mu made a new discovery—his vital qi became livelier and circulated faster when he was running!
But this was different from what the Village Chief had taught him. The Village Chief always had him sit still, regulate his breathing, slowly inhale and exhale, nurture his vital qi, move it around, and use it to nourish his body.
For over ten years, Qin Mu had cultivated the Overlord Three-Core Art exactly as the Village Chief instructed—until now, when he realized it might actually work better while running.
When sprinting at full speed, the Overlord Three-Core Art ran faster, nourishing his vital qi more quickly, and healing his body much more efficiently!
Not only that—waves of vital qi washed over his internal organs, limbs, and bones, even scouring the fascia between muscle and bone, again and again.
He’d been struck by the demon ape’s palm, injuring his abdomen and bones, but under the wash of vital qi, the cracks in his organs and bones steadily healed.
Kurt and the others assumed he was relying on some superior medicine, never guessing it was actually that unreliable Overlord Three-Core Art.
Gradually, Qin Mu discovered a spot in his body—a layer of fascia between bone and skin—where his vital qi could not reach. That place was right between his brows.
Between his eyebrows, there was only a space about a finger wide.
At that spot, his vital qi couldn’t penetrate. It could scour beneath his scalp, strengthening his skull, but whenever it reached his brow, it was blocked—as if by an invisible wall, barring the way.
When he tried to force his vital qi against that unseen wall, something even stranger happened—a mysterious voice rang out.
The voice seemed to come from beyond the heavens—distant, lofty, rising and falling in a sacred melody, like some god on high proclaiming a decree.
And every time that voice sounded, his vital qi retreated uncontrollably, ebbing away like the tide and skirting around his brow.
"Could this be the Spirit Embryo Wall?"
Qin Mu was puzzled. The Village Chief and Granny Sue had mentioned 'walls' and 'Breaking the Wall'—seals over treasure houses within the body. Breaking a wall meant opening the seal and claiming the treasure.
But the Village Chief and Granny Sue had never told him where the Spirit Embryo Wall was, nor how to open it.
What Qin Mu didn’t know was that it wasn’t because the Village Chief and Granny Sue were keeping secrets—there simply was no method or cultivation art in existence to break the Spirit Embryo Wall!
Ordinary people and Spirit Body cultivators are two entirely different classes—two separate worlds.
For Spirit Bodies, the Spirit Embryo Wall is open from birth—they’re born superior. Ordinary people’s Spirit Embryo Wall is sealed, making them inferior, and those high above rarely care about the needs of commoners.
Few ordinary people ever become warriors, and as for those who’ve opened the Spirit Embryo Wall, even the Village Chief and Granny Sue have never heard of such a case—so naturally, they don’t know how to break it.
Qin Mu kept running, driving his vital qi again and again against the invisible wall at his brow. That mysterious voice rang out repeatedly, forcing his qi to retreat each time. Even though he couldn’t break through, he had patience—and absolute faith that he would succeed one day.
He didn’t plan to tell the Village Chief about his discovery with the Overlord Three-Core Art today. He wanted to wait until he’d broken the wall—then surprise them all.
Whether it would be more of a surprise or a shock for the elders, though, was anyone’s guess.
The five River Lee disciples grew increasingly anxious as they chased. That little demon spawn wasn’t just healing—his speed was actually increasing!
It was terrifying—this meant Qin Mu’s cultivation was rising as he fled!
Though the increase was slow, it was still terrifying!
Everyone cultivates step by step—even after breaking through a wall, improvement comes gradually. No one becomes powerful overnight. It takes days, months, even years of perseverance to make progress.
But this little demon spawn was actually getting stronger as he ran—that was truly frightening!
Luckily, Qin Mu had started out weaker than them. Even though he was improving, he was still a bit behind.
Still, catching up to Qin Mu wasn’t easy. Ever since he’d suffered a setback, he’d grown much more cautious—avoiding the territories of wild beasts as he ran.
The Apothecary had told him, when taking him out to gather herbs, that the Great Ruins’ beasts were intelligent and all had their own domains. These creatures left signs—a tree stripped of bark, bones planted in the ground, beast heads hung on stakes, urine marks, and more. If you spotted anything unusual, you just had to steer clear.
Earlier, the cliff beside the demon ape’s territory had fist marks, showing it was the ape’s domain. Qin Mu hadn’t noticed the marks and blundered in, but now he was much more careful and wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
Still, even if you didn’t trespass, many beasts would leave their territory to hunt—making the Great Ruins dangerous everywhere.
When Qin Mu crossed a marsh, he ran into a battle between two lord-level beasts—a Crested Serpent-Neck Snow Eagle and a Marsh Venom Flood Python. One giant creature swooped from the sky, its wings stirring up a storm, while the other coiled in the swamp, whipping up waves and chaos, shaking the very mountains.
Before he could dash into the marsh, the hurricane stirred up by the two monsters blew him away. He landed among a herd of startled wild cattle and was nearly trampled to death.
"I’m getting farther and farther from the village..."
Qin Mu felt a chill. The five disciples were still hot on his heels, making it impossible to return home—and something even more terrifying was looming...
The sun was about to set!
He and Granny Sue had left home in the afternoon, and now the sun was sinking fast. If he couldn’t reach the village before nightfall, he’d be in grave danger!
"Senior Brother Kurt, it’s almost dark!"
Behind Qin Mu, Kurt and the others noticed the setting sun too. The boy Qin Mu had kicked looked uneasy. "Master warned us—the Great Ruins is a cursed land. After dark, it becomes a forbidden zone. We must get back to a village protected by stone statues, or we’re dead!"
Kurt shook his head. "It’s too late to turn back now. We’ve gone too far—there’s no way to reach our old village before dark. Nightfall is just as dangerous for us as for that little demon spawn. There’s only one thing to do: see where he tries to hide!"