Quinn Shepherd reached out his hand, gently touching the air, but could find no trace that world had ever existed.
After a moment’s hesitation, Village Chief decided to share his experiences in the Dead-Alive Realm. Quinn’s eyes widened—Village Chief had gone through something so incredible?
“The Dead-Alive Realm has Lord Hades, so it’s probably not part of the Heavenly Demon world, but rather a remnant from before the darkness—a fragment of the Great Ruins as it was before night fell.”
Village Chief reasoned, “Lord Hades of the Dead-Alive Realm is likely a kind of divine office, just like Sun Warden or Moon Shepherd. But Carefree Haven isn’t there—and I couldn’t find out where it actually is. As for why your Jade Pendant was drawn to the Dead-Alive Realm, it’s probably because both the Moon Ship and your pendant come from Carefree Haven.”
He sighed. “The Great Ruins is just too vast. I’ve lived here for years and never imagined it could hold so many overlapping worlds. There are at least three layers here!”
Quinn nodded. The daytime Great Ruins, the nighttime Dark Realm, and the Dead-Alive Realm hidden within the darkness—tonight, they’d glimpsed all three. Such a strange experience couldn’t be shared with outsiders; no one would believe it anyway.
They hurried back, passing the riverside village where they’d met the Underworld Courier the night before. Quinn stopped and looked at the village: it was now dilapidated, covered in cobwebs, clearly abandoned for ages.
But last night, it hadn’t looked like this at all. There’d been an old man carrying a lantern, making paper boats. That’s the uncanny side of the Great Ruins—strange, inexplicable, and impossible to unravel.
“Are the Dead-Alive Realm and the Underworld Couriers connected?” Quinn asked.
Village Chief shook his head. “I don’t know. My guess is, Underworld Couriers aren’t part of the Dead-Alive Realm. Lord Hades there is just the Great Ruins’ own Hades. But I’ve seen Couriers and villages like this outside, too. They’re gods of the Netherworld…”
Quinn scratched his head. Netherworld? Dead-Alive Realm? Lord Hades? Underworld Couriers? It was all too complicated—just thinking about it made his brain want to explode.
“Carefree Haven is even more mysterious than the Dead-Alive Realm. It’s not a place you can find in a hurry.”
Village Chief said, “Quinn, if you want to find out where you come from, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Don’t worry—if Carefree Haven exists anywhere in the Great Ruins, you’ll find it eventually.”
Quinn nodded. “Once I’m strong enough, I’ll go search for my origins myself. Village Chief, I…”
He hesitated, but Village Chief understood and smiled. “You want to leave Oldridge Village and the Great Ruins, to temper yourself out in the world?”
Quinn nodded again, nerves jangling inside.
“The Heavenly Demon Patriarch sent letters—one for you, one for Granny Sue. I’ve read them too. He only has seven years left to live. By justice and sentiment, you ought to go see him in the Everpeace Empire.”
Village Chief said softly, “Every fledgling leaves home someday, to see the wider world. Before the darkness fell, I already discussed this with Apothecary, Granny Sue, and the others—they all agreed.”
Quinn’s eyes lit up. Village Chief went on, “They said, as long as you pass their trials, you can leave the village and go out to test yourself.”
Quinn slumped. So in the end, he still had to pass their tests before he could leave.
Village Chief smiled. “And I’m your ninth and final trial. Quinn, if you pass all nine tests, you’ll be considered an adult—and free to spread your wings.”
Quinn’s face darkened. Grandpa Mark and the others’ eight trials were already brutal; Village Chief’s test felt like a mountain he could never climb. How was he supposed to get through all nine?
Suddenly, Quinn felt warmth streaming from his brow, flowing into his limbs and bones. His body and soul relaxed, his yuanqi surged, and he couldn’t help but let out a surprised noise.
Village Chief’s expression shifted slightly; the youth beside him radiated blazing vitality, as if a tiny sun was hidden between his brows!
“Quinn, did your Spirit Embryo Treasury awaken again?” Village Chief asked.
Quinn replied, “Yeah, it did. But it doesn’t feel much different than before… except my yuanqi seems a little off.”
Village Chief didn’t know much about the Overlord Body he’d invented, nor could he help with Quinn’s unique problems. He comforted him, “Awakening the Spirit Embryo Treasury four times—that’s something I’ve never seen. If it’s a good thing, don’t worry about it. Is the change in your yuanqi a good sign?”
Quinn nodded repeatedly. Village Chief grinned. “Then it’s fine.”
Oldridge Village.
The darkness faded, morning sun rose—it was already March, the heart of spring, but the air was still chilly. Quinn got up early, stripped to the waist, and hauled up a bucket of cold water from the village well, splashing it over himself to wake up.
His yuanqi flared, transforming into Vermilion Bird energy that instantly evaporated the water on his skin. In moments, Quinn was wide awake and full of spirit.
“Quinn, bring me a bucket too.” Butcher planted his hands on the ground and shuffled over.
Quinn hauled up another bucket and dumped it over Butcher’s head.
“Ah, that hits the spot!”
Flames roared around Butcher, turning the bucket of water into a cloud of pure white steam. He beckoned with one hand, and his pig-slaying cleaver flew over. Using the blade and the swirling mist, he shaved his stubble, the sound sharp and crisp.
Grandpa Mark pushed open his door, took both doors off their hinges and set them aside, then stretched with a crackle of bones. A green dragon coiled around him as he sealed away his Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heaven-Man, and Life-Death Divine Treasuries, leaving only the Spirit Embryo Treasury active. He called out, “Crippled Joe, you up yet?”
“Up.”
Crippled Joe limped out, carefully combing his hair and dressing sharp, looking for all the world like a refined old gentleman. He grinned, “Big day today—gotta be up early. Is Deaf awake yet?”
“What’s all the racket?” Deaf was in his study grinding ink and painting, iron plugs stuck in his ear-holes, not even looking up.
Mute Smith was dumping furnace slag; Apothecary fed a few fire-breathing birds at the window. The birds flew to Village Chief’s house and pecked at the window frame. From inside, Village Chief’s voice called out, “I hear you, I’m up.”
Granny Sue was at the stove, frying vegetables and steaming rice in a wooden bucket. Crippled Joe dashed over to lift the lid, only for Granny Sue to smack him with her spatula. She glared, “What’s the rush? Did you wash your hands and face? Brush your teeth with Apothecary’s paste!”
Crippled Joe hurried off to wash up, begged some tooth paste from Apothecary, and scrubbed his teeth with a twig. Granny Sue called Quinn over, and the two of them busied themselves serving dishes and rice. Grandpa Mark tidied up the tables and chairs. Soon, all the villagers of Oldridge were gathered at the table. Quinn set out bowls and chopsticks for everyone, then lifted Village Chief into his reclining chair before finally sitting down himself.
Quinn got up and poured wine for each villager, then for himself. Granny Sue raised her cup, eyes already red. Butcher said, “It’s a day for celebration—what are you crying for? You want him to go, but you can’t bear to let him. Women always have leaky eyes!”
Granny Sue glared fiercely, then smiled. “Today is Quinn’s big day. I won’t stoop to your level. Quinn, everyone—let’s drink!”
Everyone drained their cups. Quinn grinned and refilled the wine, carefully warning, “Grandpas, go easy on me later—don’t forget to add more water.”
Butcher laughed, “Don’t get cocky, brat. You might not even make it past the first trial!”
Granny Sue’s eyes reddened again. “Quinn, after you leave the village, you must come back often to see us…”
Butcher chuckled, “You might get past everyone else, but you’ll never get past me…”
Granny Sue flew into a rage, shoved his face into his bowl, and rapped his head with her chopsticks. “You talk too much! My Quinn’s an Overlord Body—he’ll beat you till you’re bawling for your parents!”
Butcher wailed and begged for mercy until Granny Sue finally let him go.
After breakfast, Quinn cleared the dishes. Village Chief asked, “Has everyone sealed away their other Divine Treasuries?”
The elders nodded in silence.
“Then let’s begin.”
Grandpa Mark stepped forward, his tone calm. “Quinn, I taught you boxing. If you face me with my own techniques, you’ll lose for sure. Use everything you’ve learned—if you can beat me, you pass.”
Quinn bowed. With a sound like a dragon’s roar, his yuanqi became a coiling Azure Dragon. Resolutely, he said, “I want to learn from Grandpa Mark through boxing!”
Grandpa Mark smiled faintly. “Ambitious! But that means you might not make it past the first trial.”
Both raised their hands. Suddenly, Quinn struck first—his yuanqi erupted, and his opening punch unleashed Nine Dragons Ride the Wind and Thunder. His energy surged, and faint dragon patterns shimmered in the air.
Grandpa Mark countered with Nine Dragons Ride the Wind and Thunder as well. “So you want to test your dragon force against mine…”
Boom—
Grandpa Mark’s face changed drastically, as if struck by a rampaging beast weighing ten thousand pounds. He flew backward, crashing into Mute Smith’s forge, shattering it to pieces—and still couldn’t stop.
Still airborne, Grandpa Mark instinctively opened his Five Luminaries Divine Treasury. With a buzzing roar, its terrifying power exploded, finally halting his momentum. But at that moment, his shirt burst apart behind him, shredding into countless scraps—each fragment turning into forty-nine azure dragons that shot backward, stirring up a wild gale. Outside the village, the leaves of several poplar trees rustled and flew everywhere.
Grandpa Mark twisted in midair and landed, bewildered and shaken.
Crippled Joe was eating braised pig’s trotters; the shock made him shove the whole trotter into his mouth, leaving only the hoof sticking out. Butcher was sharpening his blade—the whetstone split with a snap.
Apothecary and Village Chief were having tea—teacups and teapot exploded. Blindeye’s bamboo cane was crushed into splinters. Deaf’s ink spilled all over his desk. Granny Sue shattered a stack of porcelain bowls. The Chicken Dragon flapped its wings, dove into the coop, and trembling, poked out a claw to shut the door.
Apothecary glanced at Village Chief and murmured, “What happened after you all went out the other night? How did Quinn’s cultivation rise so much?”
Village Chief looked just as baffled, then suddenly understood. He whispered, “His Spirit Embryo Treasury awakened a fourth time. He said it didn’t change much, just his yuanqi feels a little different…”
Apothecary’s eye twitched. He muttered, “You call that ‘a little different’?”
“How was I supposed to know his ‘different’ meant his yuanqi doubled…” Village Chief muttered back.