Shen Mu ran faster and faster, the qi within him growing ever stronger. He covered countless li without knowing how far he had gone, yet the villagers of Hidden Remnant Village kept pace with him all the while. Even the Blind Elder moved as though walking on level ground, following steadily beside the others. Just as Shen Mu charged into a stretch of woodland, a dark, hulking figure suddenly rose from the trees and roared, "You little bean sprout, die..." It was the Dark-Tusk Demon Ape, and the sight of the little bean sprout trespassing in its territory once more had enraged it beyond measure. Lord Huo, with his single arm, cast the furious beast a sidelong glance. The Dark-Tusk Demon Ape shuddered, abandoned its territory without a second thought, and turned tail. There had not been the slightest trace of emotion in Lord Huo's gaze. The colossal beast could not help feeling a chill of terror, as though death itself would claim it in the very next instant. It did not dare bluster and fled at once. None of the others paid it any mind. Shen Mu raced onward, his qi surging vigorously through him, and only when he returned to Hidden Remnant Village did he awaken from his state of self-forgetfulness. That was when he discovered that he was covered in filth. At some point, a thick layer of grime had caked his body, though he could not tell whether it was black blood or slick, greasy fat. Granny Zhu instructed him, "Go wash yourself at the riverside, Shen-er. Blind Elder, go with him. Take care not to let the monsters in the river drag him away." Leaning on his bamboo staff, the Blind Elder followed Shen Mu to the riverbank. Shen Mu stripped completely and jumped into the river, washing the filth from his body. The Blind Elder lightly tapped the water with his staff. A great fish that had been swimming up beside Shen Mu was startled and leaped frantically from the river, landing more than a dozen zhang away. It was a massive blue carp, more than two zhang long, its whiskers like eight tentacles each a full zhang in length. After washing himself, Shen Mu suddenly gazed upon the jade-green river, its waves rippling in the light, and a mighty spirit rose slowly from the breast of the young boy, blazing like a raging fire. His qi instantly began to stir. It rolled and surged, rushing straight up into his throat, as though the treasury of divine music had suddenly been flung open. A deep, sonorous howl burst from his throat. His long howl shook the mountain woods, and waves stirred across the river. Amid the cry, Shen Mu sprang from the water. In the next instant he was racing forward, his feet pounding across the river's surface. The moment his first foot touched the water, the strength held within his sole merged with the qi descending through him. The two forces fused and erupted. Wherever his foot landed, the water exploded in every direction. Before the spray had even fallen, Shen Mu had already shot more than a zhang ahead, his other foot coming down upon the surface. Step, step, step, step. A string of clear footfalls rang across the river as Shen Mu ran straight over the water, soon covering more than two li. His howl grew ever more exhilarated, free and unrestrained, like heavenly music drifting down from above, an immortal orchestra performing, dragons and phoenixes singing in harmony. His footsteps were equally bold and unrestrained, heedless and joyous, as though he were racing wild with delight across the river. A gentle breeze brushed the surface, raising ripple after ripple. The boy's feet moved with frightening speed. Before long he had run from one bank of the Yong River to the other, then turned and raced back across the water. The Blind Elder stood at the riverbank, leaning on his bamboo staff. The river breeze stirred his white hair. Listening to Shen Mu's howl rising from midstream, the old man gave a slow nod and smiled. Then he suddenly began to sing at the top of his voice, "The apes on both banks cry without end, the bleak wind blows and my crotch grows cold! Shen-er, you're running naked as a jaybird across the river, swimming bare-bottomed for all you're worth. Don't you feel cold?" A cry of alarm came from midstream, followed by a loud splash as Shen Mu fell into the water. A short while later, the boy swam back to shore, his face burning with embarrassment as he dried himself and put on his clothes. He had suddenly awakened to insight at the riverbank and become so carried away with himself that he had completely forgotten he was stark naked when he leaped into the air and began treading across the river. His wild dash along the water had indeed been cool and refreshing, but he had crossed the river bare-bottomed. "At least Grandpa Blind can't see..." Shen Mu had just straightened his clothes when he abruptly looked up. In the woods beside the river stood Lord Huo, the Carpenter, the Blind Elder, and all the others. Even Granny Zhu had come, and the Village Head had been carried over on a stretcher. Shen Mu's face flushed scarlet. Stammering, he asked, "Granny, when did you all get here?" Granny Zhu burst out laughing. "Shen-er, how many times have we seen your bottom already? What is there to be shy about? We heard your howl, heard how full of qi it was, and came over to take a look." The Village Head coughed once. "Come here, Shen-er. You were hunted by five warriors of the Spirit Embryo Realm. We cannot be sure you suffered no hidden injuries. Let the Alchemist examine you." Shen Mu stepped forward. The Alchemist gave him a thorough examination, then shook his head. "Nothing serious. They are all superficial wounds." The Village Head examined him as well and signaled that he could go. Shen Mu was immediately summoned away by the Butcher to practice his saber technique. The Butcher was deeply dissatisfied that it had taken Shen Mu more than five thousand cuts to defeat Senior Brother Chu. What displeased him even more was that Shen Mu had ultimately killed his opponent with a sword, and so he intended to give the boy a merciless drilling. "What did the Village Head discover?" The Alchemist walked to the Village Head's stretcher and lowered his voice, his gaze fixed on Shen Mu, who was now brimming with energy as he exchanged saber blows with the Butcher. "His cultivation of qi. The speed of his progress is frightening." The Village Head did not hide the truth. "Extremely fast. The extent of his advancement from yesterday until now is beyond imagination. I heard his howl just now. It was produced by the resonance between his qi and his throat, and it faintly carried the sound of gods and demons. Even a warrior who has not yet broken through the Origin Embryo Wall should be incapable of such a thing, let alone one who has. If I had been an ordinary man like him, it would have taken me twenty years to cultivate my qi to that level." When Shen Mu had howled over the river, the qi within him had resonated with his throat and produced the sound without conscious intent. Yet, without realizing it, he had fused into that howl the demonic music he had heard in the ruins of the Hidden Valley. Stranger still, while he had carefully pondered the dark demonic music the night before, he had also listened to and committed to memory the divine music of the goddesses in the ruins. Every subtle fluctuation of that divine music was familiar to him. Thus, his howl had naturally absorbed the goddesses' divine music as well. To anyone else it meant nothing. They could not hear the mystery concealed within it. But to the Village Head, it was an entirely different matter. He had heard it all with perfect clarity. "A resonance of gods and demons?" The Alchemist was startled. "How did he manage that? And to possess the power of twenty years of an ordinary man's cultivation after a single night... That is far too terrifying. Could it truly be the effect of the Four Symbols Blood?" The Village Head shook his head. "The Four Symbols Blood can indeed strengt