Chapter 168: The Old Fellows
In the Great Wasteland, at the Remnant Elder Village.
Village Chief, as usual, lounged in his reclining chair at the village entrance alongside the Medicine Master, slowly sipping tea. Suddenly, the Medicine Master turned sideways and said, "Village Chief, you've been sprawled there for quite a while now, haven't you? Seems like you've been lying like this for the past two days. You didn't even move during the Dark Tide, and you didn't go back to your room to sleep, did you? When I got up this morning, I saw you already sprawled here."
The Village Chief, lazy and languid, squinted his eyes and said, "Medicine Master, your heart is troubled. Ever since Mu'er left, your heart has been troubled."
The Medicine Master sneered, "My heart is troubled? Clearly, it's your heart that's troubled! Look at me—I still wash up and keep myself neat and clean every day. But you? You're disheveled and unkempt, just short of dying right there in that chair."
The Village Chief said, "Clearly, it was you who moved me to the village entrance yesterday morning, and then in the evening, you forgot to carry me back to my room. Isn't that your heart being troubled? It's something you do every day, and suddenly you forgot to do it."
The Medicine Master laughed in exasperation: "I forgot to carry you back to your room? Can't you walk back yourself? Can't you fly back? What use is all your heaven-reaching cultivation for?"
The Village Chief was silent for a moment, then said gloomily, "You know I don't have legs, and I don't have hands either..."
The Medicine Master was about to tear his hair out. This damned old man had been left out in the darkness all night, and neither the curses nor the monsters of the dark had managed to kill him, yet he still had the nerve to say he had no legs.
He was just about to argue his point when he suddenly looked up. The Village Chief also perked up immediately, becoming spirited, and laughed, "Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Fellow Daoist, you seem completely at ease now."
An old man and a young man were coming up from the lower reaches of the Yong River, arriving outside the village and walking toward it.
The Village Chief looked at the Medicine Master and hastily said, "Where's your comb? Don't hide it—I know you always carry a comb on you, it's in your bosom! Hurry and take it out. I haven't washed or combed my hair for two days, how can I receive guests like this?"
The Medicine Master sneered coldly and remained unmoved.
The Village Chief smiled ingratiatingly, "It's my fault for being too lazy to move these past two days."
The Medicine Master handed him the comb. The Village Chief used his primordial qi to wield the comb and combed his hair, at least making it somewhat presentable.
The Young Patriarch and the Law Enforcement Elder walked over, stopped, and paid their respects. The Village Chief laughed, "A crippled man like me cannot return the courtesy, please forgive me, Fellow Daoist. Please, have a seat. Medicine Master, serve tea."
The Young Patriarch sat down, glanced at the Law Enforcement Elder standing beside him, and laughed, "I am no longer the Patriarch of the Saint Sect, there's no need for so many formalities. Sit down as well."
The Law Enforcement Elder also sat down, taking off the bamboo basket from his back and setting it aside.
The Medicine Master brought out the tea set, boiled a fresh pot of water, added the tea leaves, let it steep for a moment, and poured tea for the two of them.
"Medicine Master, that's the southern way of drinking tea," the Young Patriarch laughed.
The Medicine Master smiled, "I was born in the south, so I'm used to southern tea. Northern tea is about watching the tender buds rise and fall; southern tea has a clear, bright infusion that reflects the heart. Each has its merits."
The Young Patriarch laughed, "No wonder you two often sit here. Village Chief, I've come to stay for a few days. What do you think?"
Before the Village Chief could speak, the Medicine Master clapped his hands and laughed, "Good, excellent! Ever since Mu'er left, this old man has nearly bored me to death, just lying here dead every day, not talking, not moving."
The Village Chief glared at him, then said to the Young Patriarch, "You're free now, so coming to stay a few days to clear your head is also a pleasant thing."
The Young Patriarch said, "I have great admiration for you, Brother Dao. The Saint Sect Leader has received your nurturing and has become truly extraordinary, nothing short of remarkable. That is why I wished to come and seek your counsel. The Saint Sect Leader was born with the Overlord Body, and moreover cultivates the Overlord Body Three Elixirs Art. His skills are truly extraordinary. My knowledge is shallow—I never knew such a thing as the Overlord Body existed in this world. These few days, I would like to learn from you, Brother Dao..."
"Overlord Body!"
The Village Chief and the Medicine Master exchanged a glance, then suddenly burst out laughing. Both old men were well along in years, yet they laughed with mouths wide open, tears and snot streaming down, laughing until they couldn't breathe.
"Overlord Body... hahaha!"
The Village Chief laughed so hard he fell off his reclining chair and rolled onto the ground. The Medicine Master also laughed so hard he toppled from his chair, pounding the ground with both hands, unable to get up.
The Young Patriarch and the Law Enforcement Elder were baffled by their laughter. The Law Enforcement Elder felt a chill in his heart: "How bored must these two be on a daily basis? There's clearly nothing funny, yet they're laughing until they're almost out of breath. If the Patriarch and I stay here for long, will we end up as crazy as them?"
The Village Chief calmed down for a moment, lying on the ground panting. The Medicine Master pointed at the Young Patriarch and laughed, "We even fooled the Demon Sect Patriarch! Hahahaha!"
The Village Chief burst into wild laughter again, and the Medicine Master was pounding the ground once more.
After a long while, the Village Chief floated up and landed back in his reclining chair, using his primordial qi to guide the comb through his messy hair. The Medicine Master walked a bit further away, dusted off his clothes, washed his face, then pulled out another small comb from his bosom, tidied himself up, and came back. He sat down properly and said apologetically, "Two Fellow Daoists, there are only the two of us left in the village. We're bored to death every day. Even the hen-dragon ran off to hook up with a male and hatched a bunch of little hen-dragons. It's rare for someone to tell us a joke, so we couldn't help but lose our composure a bit."
The Young Patriarch looked behind them and saw a hen-dragon as tall as a person strolling around the village with a brood of little hen-dragons. The hen flapped its wings, kicking up a gust of wind.
"What exactly is the Overlord Body?"
The Young Patriarch asked humbly, "Please, do enlighten me. My horizons are indeed a bit narrow..."
"Say no more."
The Village Chief suppressed his laughter. "I'll tell you."
After a moment, the Young Patriarch and the Law Enforcement Elder, upon learning the truth, were stunned as if they had been struck by heavenly thunder a hundred times and then trampled by a herd of wild bulls a hundred times, unable to recover for a long while.
The most powerful Overlord Body turned out to be the body of an ordinary person! The most powerful Overlord Body Three Elixirs Art turned out to be a mere breathing exercise so common that even ordinary people used it to keep fit!
But the key point was that Qin Mu still cultivated this technique and believed himself to be an Overlord Body.
That wasn't even the crux of the matter. The crux was that Qin Mu, with his unwavering belief, using a mortal body and a breathing exercise, had beaten geniuses, prodigies, and talents until they fled in disarray—a veritable true Overlord Body!
The Village Chief and the Medicine Master exchanged smug glances. The Village Chief whispered, "Look at their expressions. Exactly as I imagined."
The Young Patriarch let out a turbid breath, his expression strange: "So that's how it is, so that's how it is... But the Overlord Body Three Elixirs Art does have its problems. It's truly extraordinary."
"Although the Overlord Body Three Elixirs Art is a breathing exercise you can find anywhere, it does indeed have its issues. However, those who can cultivate this art to the level Mu'er has reached are few and far between—one could say he's the only one."
The Village Chief said seriously, "At the very least, I've never seen another. I suspect this art is from before the Great Wasteland became the Great Wasteland. It shouldn't be a bad art. Somehow it was passed down and became the most common breathing exercise, but I can't be certain. No one would have thought this art would one day be cultivated to such a level."
The Young Patriarch's eyes flickered: "Perhaps one could say that before the Great Wasteland became the Great Wasteland, ordinary people could also cultivate, and this Overlord Body Three Elixirs Art was the cultivation method for ordinary people back then. But due to a great upheaval, ordinary people could no longer cultivate, and the Four Great Spirit Bodies appeared after that, becoming the mainstream of today."
The Medicine Master's heart stirred, and he said, "Ordinary people can't cultivate, so how was Mu'er able to? Saying it's just because he worked a hundred times harder than others doesn't hold up—there must be people in the world who work even harder. Saying he consumed a hundred times more resources than other ordinary people also doesn't hold up—someone might be willing to spend such vast resources to awaken a mortal body. So, he must have something different from ordinary people."
The Village Chief's heart jumped, and he said, "Perhaps he is an ordinary person from before the Great Wasteland became the Great Wasteland."
The three exchanged glances, each agreeing with this idea. The Young Patriarch said, "Then, this ordinary person from before the catastrophe—where did he come from?"
The Village Chief and the Medicine Master said in unison: "Worry-Free Village!" After saying this, they looked at each other, both feeling a tremor in their hearts.
Only the Law Enforcement Elder's mind wasn't as quick as theirs. He was completely lost, unable to get a word in.
"I feel like my thinking can't keep up with them..." The Law Enforcement Elder felt a natural sense of being left out.
"Worry-Free Village?"
The Young Patriarch's heart stirred, and he said, "May I ask where this Worry-Free Village is located?"
The Village Chief smiled faintly: "I don't know. But if you're interested, Fellow Daoist, tonight we can leave the village and go look for it."
"Leave the village?"
The Young Patriarch turned his head, looking at the vast, boundless Great Wasteland. His heart suddenly felt a bit tense, yet also a bit expectant.
Coming here was the right choice.
He thought to himself.
It had been a long time since he'd felt this excitement and thrill. The old rascals of Remnant Elder Village had made him feel the adventure and impulsiveness of his youth again.
Two old men with one foot in the coffin, plus another old man, and a not-quite-old Medicine Master, all going on an adventure into the mysterious depths of the Great Wasteland—and at night, in the darkness, no less. Just thinking about it was exhilarating.
At Saint Proclamation Mountain, Qin Mu instructed, "Ling'er, although this mountain is the sacred ground of my Saint Sect, this is my first time here. I don't know what other dangers lurk in this place. Don't run around. Once I master the teleportation technique on this wall, I'll take you out."
Fox Ling'er acknowledged with a sound, then turned and ran out of the palace.
Qin Mu sat down in front of the wall, carefully examining the teleportation technique carved upon it.
The teleportation technique on this wall was a method for refining treasures. The various runes, formations, and divine abilities within it could not be used individually—they had to be refined into a treasure before the teleportation effect could be activated.
This was the principle behind why many high-ranking members of the Demon Sect had refined teleportation banners and teleportation robes.
With a roll of the teleportation banner, everything the great flag covered could be teleported away, capable of carrying multiple people. A teleportation robe, covering the body, could teleport oneself away.
Qin Mu carefully comprehended the mysteries of the teleportation technique. After a day's time, he finally grasped the teleportation technique on the wall thoroughly, but his mind began to scheme.
The Demon Sect's teleportation technique relied on runes to activate formations, and formations to drive divine abilities. Because it was too complex, it was difficult to cast the divine ability directly, which meant one had to refine a treasure before teleportation could be performed.
If one could cast the divine ability directly, it would also have a teleportation effect, and it would certainly be more flexible than treasures like teleportation banners or robes.
Moreover, after contemplating for so long, Qin Mu discovered that this teleportation technique actually required advanced calculation skills. Only with a higher level of mastery in mathematics could one grasp the teleportation divine ability faster.
"I need more advanced mathematical texts!"
—Today has three updates, no fourth update. Brothers, don't wait for a fourth update.
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