Qin Mu tried to struggle up, when suddenly a crackling sound came from his legs—the two leg bones he had smashed were covered in fissures, and the moment he put strength into them they snapped clean through.
The pain sent spasms convulsing through his whole body, and then both his arms broke as well. Qin Mu dared not move a muscle, dared not even twitch, dared not draw more than the shallowest breath.
He dared not use any strength at all now, for fear that one coarse breath would shatter every one of his ribs.
His magic power was exhausted too, so he could not take out the dragon saliva from the Taotie Bag to treat his wounds.
Pain drowned him, and beads of sweat kept pouring out.
Every sword wound on his body burst open at once, blood streaming forth. Qin Mu felt his body burning hot, scalding like molten lava, but he knew this was only an illusion: he had lost too much blood, his body was gradually cooling, and it was that cooling which had deceived his brain.
He had studied such matters under the Herbalist.
If his blood kept flowing, he would surely die.
From the great pit beside him came a series of thumping sounds, and Qin Mu's heart sank in despair: "Could it be that I am the false Overlord Body... No—it's only that I haven't worked hard enough, that I failed to bring out the Overlord Body's full strength..."
He had very nearly traded his life for the win, taking the victory by barely half a move, and now his fighting strength was gone entirely.
Suddenly, three currents of qi split off from the great pit beside him, falling like three long rainbows onto Qin Mu's side and boring into his body.
At once Qin Mu felt the bones in his body shifting, broken bone rejoining, the fissures in the bone mending themselves without pause—and the wounds on his body were healing at astonishing speed!
He had even had several teeth knocked out just now, and those, incredibly, were growing back!
Qin Mu was taken aback, and then he heard a sound like surging tide, coming from within his own body—the roar of his qi as it swelled and churned. His cultivation was recovering at a mad pace!
His strength was returning as well, and the wounds in his muscles were repairing themselves. Very quickly Qin Mu felt that his injuries were already seven or eight parts healed.
More than that, he felt a strange power within those three long rainbows, sending drastic changes through his Spirit Embryo divine treasury. Qin Mu immediately saw that his qi seemed to have liquefied, cradling his Spirit Embryo and whirling around it, so that his Spirit Embryo seemed to be soaking in a warm sea, indescribably comfortable.
"The last time I felt this comfortable was when I was about three years old. I fell asleep in Grandma's bed, and in my dream I went looking for the privy. After great difficulty I finally found it—and then I wet the bed. After that, Grandma seized me by the legs and tossed me into the snow cave."
Qin Mu blinked his eyes. This must be what was called the Three Origins: the Heaven Origin, the Earth Origin, and the Water Origin.
The power of the Three Origins poured in, and drastic changes were still unfolding in his Spirit Embryo divine treasury. His Spirit Embryo was growing at tremendous speed, and the spirit platform beneath its feet kept expanding, until it was like a tiny continent.
Meanwhile the qi breathed out from the Spirit Embryo's mouth and nose rose streaming upward, rolling waves of qi gathering together, glowing crimson, suspended in midair.
But that did not look like a sun.
And the liquefied qi gathered together like a great ball of water, which did not look like a moon either. His Spirit Embryo divine treasury still could not rival the divine treasury of a god.
Qin Mu tried urging the Overlord Body Three Elixir Art into motion, and found the art still running with some roughness and obstruction; there must be hidden injuries that had not yet faded.
"Congratulations to the Human Emperor on his Three Origins breakthrough."
The mountains vanished in an instant, and the sun and moon in the sky disappeared without a trace. Qin Mu was lying in a great hall, on cold, hard stone slabs.
Qin Mu struggled up and saw five elders seated in five directions, lofty and aloof, as ancient as the elders of Three Origins themselves.
He looked around. This was not the Three Origins Hall he had entered, but seemed to be another great hall, and these five elders looked nothing like the elders of Three Origins.
Qin Mu steadied himself. Every muscle in his body ached, and his legs and arms were still trembling.
"Where are the three old immortals from just now?" Qin Mu asked, his voice quavering.
"The elders of Three Origins are not here."
One of the old hermits, though short of stature, had a voice of tremendous resonance, full of vigor from his very core. "We are the Five Luminaries Hermits, and this is the Five Qi Hall. From within the Five Qi Hall we watched the Human Emperor achieve the Three Origins breakthrough, and our admiration was truly boundless. The moment the Human Emperor broke through, he was brought here to the Five Qi Hall, where he is about to face the trial of the Five Qi."
"I completed the Three Origins breakthrough?"
Qin Mu was both startled and overjoyed—only his legs were still trembling disobediently, and he could not make them stop.
"He really was a false Overlord Body. I am the one and only true Overlord Body!" the boy said smugly.
At these words the Five Luminaries Hermits were utterly bewildered, puzzlement written across their faces; they knew nothing of Overlord Bodies, true or false.
Qin Mu did his best to stand, but his legs were still quaking and both his arms kept shaking uncontrollably.
One of the old hermits frowned slightly and said, "The Human Emperor is only the second person ever to complete the Three Origins breakthrough. Does he intend to attempt the Five Qi breakthrough as well?"
Qin Mu simply sat down on the ground, lest his unsteady legs drop him in disgrace, and asked, "How does the Five Qi breakthrough compare with the Three Origins breakthrough?"
"A little more difficult."
An old woman said with a kindly smile, "Since the Human Emperor could achieve the Three Origins breakthrough, his foundation has grown that much deeper. The Five Qi breakthrough should not be too difficult for him."
"Even more difficult?"
Qin Mu's heart went cold, and he shook his head. "Five honored seniors, might you make an exception and allow me to come challenge it another day?"
He truly had no strength left for the Five Qi breakthrough.
Though he had defeated the young deity to obtain the Three Origins and his wounds were essentially healed, the soreness in his flesh had yet to disperse. And that final strike—leaping down from a mountain several thousand zhang high—had dealt his spirit a shock too great to bear. It was not only his body that trembled; his very soul was quivering back and forth, his spirit unmoored from its shell.
The five hermits could see his state was poor. They exchanged a glance, and one of the old men said, "Our Little Yujing never had such a rule before. Whoever passed the trial of the Three Origins Hall could enter our Five Qi Hall, and whoever lost would leave. A trial stopped midway has never once happened."
But another of the old women said, "Still, the Three Origins breakthrough is truly rare. The last person to accomplish it did so seven thousand years ago. Since the Human Emperor has come this far, denying him the right to challenge us another day would be going too far."
The five elders conferred among themselves, and then the one who led them said, "Since the Human Emperor has spoken, our Little Yujing is not so rigid as to refuse all change. Very well—when the Human Emperor has recovered, he may return to challenge the Five Qi Hall."
"My thanks!" Qin Mu struggled to his feet and saluted the five elders.
The moment he straightened his back, the scene before his eyes shifted once more: he was standing outside the Three Origins Hall. The True Master of Heavenly Origin, the True Master of Earthly Origin, and the True Master of Water Origin were talking with the Qingyou Hermit, whose face was full of shock, while the Village Chief wore an expression of modest self-satisfaction.
"Human Emperor."
The elders of Three Origins saluted together, and the True Master of Heavenly Origin asked in wonder, "Why has the Human Emperor come out without undergoing the Five Qi trial?"
Qin Mu's legs were still trembling. "The Five Luminaries Hermits saw that I was in poor condition, and have granted me leave to reenter the Five Qi Hall another day and challenge it again. Hermit Qingyou, could the trial of the Five Qi Hall be put off a few days?"
The Qingyou Hermit's expression eased, and he said gravely, "The Human Emperor's condition now is indeed unfit for further battle. Beyond the Five Qi Hall there is still the Six Harmonies Hall, and the old Dao Master and the old Tathagata will need some time yet to grow familiar with it. Very well—let the Human Emperor return to our Little Yujing after a while, and break through the Five Qi Hall and the Six Harmonies Hall together."
Qin Mu probed cautiously, "Then the matter of inviting the masters of Little Yujing down the mountain..."
The Qingyou Hermit laughed. "My original intent was merely to follow you down the mountain once you defeated my three disciples of Little Yujing. Now you have completed the Three Origins breakthrough—you have exceeded my every expectation. I gave my word, and naturally I will not go back on it."
Qin Mu was astonished. Ever since he had come up the mountain, the Qingyou Hermit had not given him a single kind look, mocking and jeering at every turn—why had he become so easy to talk to now?
The Qingyou Hermit turned to the elders of Three Origins and said, "Three senior brothers, I will accompany the Human Emperor down the mountain to attend to some worldly affairs. I will not be on the mountain these next days, so I beg my three senior brothers to take on the extra burden."
The True Master of Water Origin said, "The red dust is full of disturbances, and hard for an immortal's heart to settle. Junior Brother, as you descend the mountain, take care not to disturb the purity of that heart of yours."
The Qingyou Hermit laughed. "I have already made one round through the mortal world, and my worldly heart died long ago. Rest assured, I will come back."
He then called over Wang Muran, Mu Qingdai, and Long Yu. "I am going down the mountain with the Human Emperor, and you three will come with me. There is no need to wither away in Little Yujing your whole lives—keeping company with us old folks and old women is no fun at all."
The three were startled and overjoyed. They had long yearned to go down the mountain, but the rules of Little Yujing were strict, and the Qingyou Hermit had never allowed them to descend for training.
The Qingyou Hermit next went to take his leave of the old Dao Master and the old Tathagata. The two old men laughed. "We have only just escaped worldly affairs and come to Little Yujing seeking tranquility, and now you are leaping back into the red dust. Hermit Qingyou, we fear the mortal dust will stain you so badly you will never climb out again!"
The Qingyou Hermit said sternly, "You worry too much. I am only descending the mountain to fulfill a promise, and once the promise is fulfilled I will return. Worldly affairs cannot entangle me."
"One can only hope."
The Qingyou Hermit then summoned two more old immortals. "Youyun, Youhe, the two of you are masters of the mystic arts of calculation. Will you come down the mountain and make this journey with me?"
The two old immortals laughed. "A stroll down the mountain would do us good."
Wang Muran rode up on a great stag. The stag had been the mount of Hermit Zhen, and since Hermit Zhen had died at the hands of the State Preceptor of Yankang, Wang Muran had been keeping the beast.
This great stag was not a whit inferior to the Dragon Qilin; indeed, because the Dragon Qilin was so fat, the stag looked several degrees more magnificent by contrast. It gave the Dragon Qilin a disdainful sidelong glance, looking down its nose at that fat-cat creature.
The Dragon Qilin had long since grown used to such treatment and paid it no mind. Xiong Qi'er whispered, "Fatty Dragon, the big stag is despising you."
"Let them spit; I'll let it dry."
The Dragon Qilin spoke with all the serenity of one who had attained the Dao: "Let him be fierce as he pleases—the clear breeze brushes the mountain ridge."
The company left Little Yujing. The Qingyou Hermit looked back once, moved by some feeling, and said to the Village Chief, "All those years ago, when I followed you away from this place, my heart was full of grand ambitions, dreaming only of achieving some earth-shaking deed. When I came back, my will was broken, and those lofty aspirations had been ground away to nothing. I thought I would never leave again—yet in the end it was your disciple who asked me out of Little Yujing. How fate loves to toy with men."
"It was not Mu'er who asked you—it was your own heart that stirred."
The Village Chief's words were laden with meaning. "Does the wind move, or does the banner move? It is only the heart of the benevolent one that moves."
The Qingyou Hermit roared with laughter. "You are wrong! My worldly heart is dead, and it will not come back to life!"
The Village Chief shook his head, smiling. "A knife's mouth and a tofu heart. Mu'er, don't be fooled by how fiercely this old fellow always snaps at you—in truth he is the most fragile of anyone. If you ever make him heartbroken, that tofu heart of his will shatter into pieces all over the ground, too pulpy to be pasted back together!"
The Qingyou Hermit sneered, "My heart shatters and can't be pasted back? Just now you were sprawled on the ground bawling!"
The Village Chief flew into a rage. "When Fairy Xueqi left you back then, who was it that lay on the ground crying like a water-sprite?"
"You cried far more miserably just now, and even demanded the Human Emperor hold you."
"And when you shamelessly wept and begged me to take you back, did you ever imagine I would use it to mock you today?"
"You even wiped your snot on the Human Emperor's chest!"
...
Qin Mu stared wide-eyed. The two old men's ages combined must have come to some sixteen hundred years, yet they went on bickering without end, raking up each other's shortcomings, digging out each other's most shameful old tales.
"They're living themselves younger and younger—a pair of old children."
Qin Mu shook his head and thought to himself: "Where has Grandpa Cripple gone? If the Dao Sect masters did not catch up with him, he has likely already entered Little Yujing. I delayed two or three days here in Little Yujing, and in two or three days, Grandpa Cripple could turn the place over several times. And besides—I wonder how the war on the grassland is going. Has the State Preceptor reached the Loulan Golden Palace?"
On the Great Snowy Mountain, outside the Loulan Golden Palace, the air was grim with slaughter.
The State Preceptor of Yankang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his face expressionless, his gaze resting on that resplendent, towering golden palace. Behind him, the army of the State of Yankang stood in tens of thousands, ranks in perfect order, without a single sound—even the exotic beasts of the army made no noise.
"Preceptor, Khan Luandi has come to surrender!" A general stepped forward and bowed.