In the forest outside Canlao Village, Qin Mu slapped his palm, and qi surged out from his arm like a coiling fire dragon. The air in front of him instantly became extremely hot, as if it had been ignited!
As he moved his feet and continued to strike with his palms, the air grew increasingly dry and scorching, resembling the scorching hot desert with the sun high in the sky, burning intensely!
He was using Sir Ma's boxing technique, the fourth style of the Eight Thunderous Roars, the Wind and Thunder of Kuafu Chasing the Sun.
Suddenly, Qin Mu's footwork and techniques changed. Each move was like a river flowing vigorously into the sea. His qi directly transformed from the fire attribute to the water attribute. Water dragons formed by water qi wrapped around his arms, and the sound of waves surged between each move, as if a large body of water surrounded and flowed around him.
His techniques changed once again. With his hands loosely gripping, the water vapor formed spear-like weapons, resembling a mighty dragon flipping rivers and overturning seas.
These past few days, he had been honing his sword manipulation using qi in the village, focusing on refining his qi. However, he still needed to observe fire first in order to imbue his qi with the fire attribute and then perform sword manipulation using qi.
With each practice session, the time he needed to observe fire became shorter and shorter. Now, he no longer needed to look at the furnace. As long as he thought of the flames in the furnace, his qi would automatically become scorching hot.
However, using the Pig-Killing Knife technique taught by the butcher to refine his sword manipulation using qi didn't yield significant results. The effects were always limited.
On the other hand, he made considerable progress in practicing Sir Ma's Eight Thunderous Roars and the blind man's spear technique. His progress was rapid.
Now, as he executed the fourth style of the Eight Thunderous Roars, the Wind and Thunder of Kuafu Chasing the Sun, it felt like a giant running, causing the air to burst and explode. This was the power of qi!
Of course, the Vermilion Bird qi with its fire attribute couldn't perfectly unleash the power of Sir Ma's Eight Thunderous Roars. The most suitable qi for the Eight Thunderous Roars was the Azure Dragon qi.
On the other hand, the Tortoise qi with its water attribute allowed him to fully display the blind man's spear technique.
After a long while, Qin Mu stopped and took two Solidifying Essence Pills to replenish the rapidly consumed qi. He carefully pondered on the shortcomings in his use of qi.
He used to only be able to take one Solidifying Essence Pill, or it would drive him crazy from the overwhelming qi. However, ever since his Lingtai awakened from its slumber, taking two Solidifying Essence Pills was no longer a problem, although it made him feel bloated.
"Can the Magic Ape eat Solidifying Essence Pills? Probably not. Grandpa Pharmacist said that Solidifying Essence Pills contain four attributes, which are toxic to those who don't possess the Tyrant's Physique. I should refine a vat of Solidifying Essence Pills for the Magic Ape another day."
Qin Mu thought of the giant creature that fought alongside him and felt a slight movement in his heart. He hadn't gone to find the Magic Ape these past few days, and he didn't know how it was progressing with the "Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique."
he couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic after not seeing the Magic Ape for several days. Being a young boy in the village, he didn't have many friends as everyone there was older. The Magic Ape was the closest thing he had to a companion, and he had been wondering how it was progressing with the "Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique."
Before long, Qin Mu leaped into the air and swiftly made his way towards the Magic Ape's territory. Soon, a figure the size of a small mountain rose from the forest, revealing the Magic Ape.
In the few days they hadn't seen each other, the Magic Ape had become even more majestic. It was overjoyed to see Qin Mu and pounded its chest, gesturing for him to jump onto its shoulder.
Qin Mu leaped onto its shoulder, and the Magic Ape bounded through the air, carrying him into the valley and running towards its dwelling.
It was Qin Mu's first time entering the Magic Ape's lair. The valley was filled with wild deer, wild horses, and some roe deer, as well as the foolish-looking muntjac. There was an ancient ruin in the vicinity, with crumbling walls and ruins.
The place where the Magic Ape resided was a half-collapsed palace. In front of the palace stood a broken statue, half beast and half human. Qin Mu activated his Heavenly Vision Technique, and his heart trembled slightly.
This statue was the same as the statues in Canlao Village that he had observed with his Heavenly Vision Technique. The divine aura within the statue seemed like a towering beast deity, fierce and formidable, with an overwhelming presence.
It seemed that the Magic Ape relied on this statue to resist the darkness and protect its life every night.
"The aura of this statue is extraordinary. Could it also be carved by gods like the divine statues in Canlao Village?"
Qin Mu jumped off the Magic Ape's shoulder, and a foolish-looking muntjac approached him, sniffing at his clothes and mistaking them for food. The Magic Ape picked up the muntjac and carefully set it aside before waving its hand, signaling Qin Mu to follow.
As the ruler of this valley, the Magic Ape was also its protector, guarding these animals and being fierce towards invaders.
Qin Mu followed it into the dilapidated palace. He frowned as he noticed the scent left behind by the wild beasts permeating the place. It seemed that the animals from the valley would seek refuge in the palace during the night to avoid the darkness.
"Little one, look!" the Magic Ape pointed at a wall and said.
Qin Mu looked up and saw some damaged murals on the palace walls. The murals were faded and some parts had peeled off, leaving only a few intact pieces.
These murals depicted various patterns of people cultivating, with some arrows representing the flow of their qi.
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the path of qi circulation for the "Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique" in the first mural.
The Magic Ape must have practiced the "Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique" and noticed the resemblance to the patterns on the mural, which led it to bring Qin Mu here.
However, Qin Mu quickly noticed something amiss. The second mural was slightly different. Although it still followed the path of the Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique, it became more complex.
In the second mural, the path of qi circulation entered the spiritual womb in the center of the forehead.
After the qi entered the spiritual womb, it led to the third mural. In this mural, the path depicted the circulation of qi within the spiritual womb. The qi didn't directly circulate through the spiritual womb's breathing, but instead formed intricate patterns beneath the spiritual womb's feet.
These patterns were extremely complex, surpassing even the Heavenly Astral Array that the blind man had taught Qin Mu. Qin Mu carefully observed and memorized the patterns while using his own qi to simulate them, forming the pattern beneath the spiritual womb with his qi.
Once he completed the pattern beneath the spiritual womb, his body trembled slightly, feeling an inexplicable connection between him and the spiritual womb.
He breathed, and the spiritual womb also breathed. He moved, and the spiritual womb mirrored his movements. When he activated the Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique, the spiritual womb also activated it!
Qin Mu was dumbfounded, then ecstatic. "If that's the case, doesn't it mean I can cultivate as if there were two of me?"
However, he quickly realized that activating the Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique through the spiritual womb didn't increase his qi cultivation but instead refined his qi.
His qi moved within the pattern beneath the spiritual womb, absorbing the golden light from the Golden Sea, entering the spiritual womb, and being exhaled by it. After merging with the golden light, his qi became even more resilient and pure.
In the past, his spiritual womb also faintly absorbed the golden light, but it was never as efficient as depicted in the third mural.
"Could this be the cultivation method for the spiritual womb realm of the Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique?"
Qin Mu's heart pounded with excitement. The village chief had mentioned that he didn't know the subsequent techniques of the Tyrant's Physique, but he never expected to encounter the cultivation method for the spiritual womb realm here!
He looked at the fourth mural and furrowed his brows. Half of the mural had already crumbled, and it should have depicted the techniques of the Five Elements realm.
There were scratches from some animal's claws on this mural, likely caused by the animals living here, destroying the artwork.
fifth picture was also heavily damaged, and the sixth mural had mostly crumbled away. The subsequent murals were even more tattered and difficult to discern.
"This palace has fallen into such ruin. I wonder how much longer the murals can withstand."
Qin Mu sighed. It was already remarkable that a few murals had survived to this day. He memorized the second and third murals completely, silently recalling them several times before finally feeling relieved.
Even if the murals in the palace were completely destroyed, they would continue to exist through him, passing on the knowledge to the next "Tyrant."
Among the remaining intact murals on the palace walls, besides the "Tyrant's Physique Three-Pill Technique," there was one mural that remained relatively intact.
It was a map. Qin Mu carefully examined it and found the location of the Yong River. He couldn't help but feel a slight excitement, "Could this be a map of the Great Expanse?"
He followed the course of the Yong River, tracing its twists and turns, until he finally found the location of Canlao Village.
"Hmm? Why is there a dragon drawn here?"
Qin Mu's gaze fell on the map, specifically on the area one hundred miles upstream of Canlao Village, where the Yong River was depicted in the shape of a dragon. It puzzled him.
"The Dragon King of the Yong River!"
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. The words "Dragon King of the Yong River" were written beside the dragon, but he didn't know what it meant.
This mural had not only this strange detail but also other peculiarities. Thirty miles east of Canlao Village, there was a well drawn on the map, with four words written beside it: "Heavenly Well Dragon King."
There was another well in a different location, with the words "Sea Eye Dragon King" written beside it.
He also noticed a ship depicted in a more distant part of the Great Expanse map. The ship had a sun drawn on it, with the words "Sun Ship" written beside it. Not far from the Sun Ship, there was a place called the "Sun Well." In a faraway location from the Sun Ship, there was another ship depicted, this time with a moon drawn on it. Beside the Moon Ship, there was a strange place called the "Moon Well."
Qin Mu's gaze scanned the map, but he couldn't find the ancient temple where Jiang Xin suppressed Wu Nü, nor could he locate the Dragon-Embedded City a thousand miles downstream.
"Could this map be from before the catastrophe in the Great Expanse?"
After searching for a while, Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. He found the gorge ruin where he had taken refuge from the darkness, but on the map, it wasn't labeled as a ruin. Instead, it was called "Goddess Pass!"
"It truly is a map from before the catastrophe in the Great Expanse!"
