Qixia'er's face changed abruptly, turning in an instant hideous beyond measure. The little girl's body swelled; from her lower half came a hissing, chittering sound, and one after another knobby, bony leg pierced through her skirt and struck the ground with a clang, while her body grew thick and long, like a giant centipede built of bone!

Behind her upper body a bony carapace rose high, hunching her over, and arms made of one bone after another unfolded, their finger-bones taloned, sharp beyond compare!

From the back of her head sprouted curved bone spikes like deer antlers; her face was a maze of ridges and gullies, unspeakably dreadful, and from her mouth came a sound of the utmost shrillness, like the screams of countless women hoarse with shrieking blended into one. "Get in here!" she cried fiercely.

Shen Mu lifted his head and studied this bone-covered woman-centipede, surprise on his face, and shook his head. "No."

The monster in the temple howled with rage, its legs racing, circling the temple again and again, then suddenly it lunged at the temple doorway — but there came a clattering of chains, the oasis trembled, and thick chains swayed and rattled.

Shen Mu looked hastily. One end of those chains sank into the river; the chains wound about the great golden Buddha in the temple, and the other end was locked to the monster's body.

Golden rings hung all over the monster, and the chains were fastened to those rings; whenever she tried to rush out through the temple door, the chains dragged her back.

The monster clawed and gnashed, but could not step half a pace beyond the temple gate.

Shen Mu sat down at his ease and went on with his breathing and exhalation, cultivating the Mystic Body Three Cinnabar Art, recovering his strength.

After a while, all was quiet behind him. The monster, unable to break free of the chains, suddenly turned and charged at the golden Buddha in the temple, crying, "You damned bald thief, you've got me pinned down here! Do you mean to starve me to death? This brat never offered you incense — why won't you let me eat him?"

The Buddha image took the impact and did not stir. The monster went wild with fury, wheeling round and round the Buddha, and behind the image, who knew how many white bones were sent flying by her blows.

Shen Mu looked back, secretly startled: those bones were all human bones. Who knew how many people had died in this little ruined temple!

Soon after, the monster in the temple quieted. It gathered the white bones up one by one and hid them behind the golden Buddha, then glared at Shen Mu outside the temple with bloodshot eyes.

"Bald thief, meat delivered to the door, meat delivered to the door..." It came again behind the temple gate, staring at the back of Shen Mu's head, drool flowing from it in an unending stream.

Before long it took on again the form of the little girl Qixia'er, clothes half undone, and giggled. "Young man, come be shameless with me—"

Shen Mu's concentration was excellent; he shut his ears to it. At last his strength returned, his vital essence back at its peak, and he felt that after this day's bitter cultivation his vital essence had advanced considerably.

His heart stirred, and he simply roused his vital essence, silently recited the demonic chant, and once more struck at the Primal Fetus Wall.

"Qi ke duo, suo mo ye, bo re bo re suo mo ye, qi ke duo bo re suo mo ye..."

Scarcely had his vital essence rushed at the Primal Fetus Wall when rumbling rolled through the ancient temple. Beneath the gold leaf of that great golden Buddha, the strange patterns began to run with threads of blood-light; the blood-light was shrouded by the gold leaf, and the gold leaf itself gave off a brilliant golden radiance!

Boom—

In the violent quaking, the Buddha image — copper core clad in gold — opened its eyes. A towering momentum burst forth, and a stern shout rang in Shen Mu's ears: "Heretic! You dare run wild before this seat, chanting the true words of a demon god, lawless and heaven-defying! I subdue you with the true words of the Buddha!"

The monster's face changed drastically. The golden Buddha had raised a hand and seized the chain, hauling the monster in, so that it could not hold its ground and was dragged willy-nilly before the image.

Thud.

The monster was pressed to its knees by the Buddha's majesty, kneeling right before the image, unable to move.

"Om, Ma, Ni, Ba, Mi, Hum! Om, Ma, Ni, Ba, Mi, Hum! Om, Ma, Ni, Ba, Mi, Hum..."

The golden Buddha opened its mouth and gave forth Sanskrit tones, like a true Buddha reciting true words. Hearing the Buddhist sound, the monster felt its soul crushed by an invisible force and screamed in agony.

And outside the temple, Shen Mu, battered by the Buddha's true words, was thrown into confusion — yet just then his vital essence reached the Primal Fetus Wall, and from beyond the nine heavens came divine tones, like a god enthroned beyond the sky chanting scripture.

The divine tones met the Buddhist tones in the temple, and at once grew loud, contending with them, and the pressure on his vital essence eased greatly.

"A fine chance!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Shen Mu voiced the demonic chant aloud: "Qi ke duo suo mo ye, bo re bo re suo mo ye, qi ke duo bo re suo mo ye! Qi ke duo suo mo ye, bo re bo re suo mo ye, qi ke duo bo re suo mo ye!"

The Buddhist tones in the temple swelled: "Om, Ma, Ni, Ba, Mi, Hum! Om, Ma, Ni, Ba, Mi, Hum!"

At the same time, the divine tones from beyond the nine heavens, coming from between Shen Mu's brows, rose high as well: "Guan, Ming, Duan, Jing, Wu, Si, Jiang, You! Tian, Shi, Dui, Xi, Wei, Ling, Nu!"

The three sounds mingled, and the barrier blocking his rush at the Primal Fetus Wall between his brows vanished at once!

Shen Mu pressed his advantage, driving the Mystic Body Three Cinnabar Art, rousing all his vital essence to charge the Primal Fetus Wall!

Crash—

The waters of the Yong River surged, great waves split the banks, and as the waves struck the shore, Shen Mu's Primal Fetus Wall gave a great crash and collapsed, letting his vital essence pour in a mighty flood into the Primal Fetus Divine Treasury!

Then an even more violent vital essence came gushing out of the Primal Fetus Divine Treasury, in an instant piercing through his whole body, his four limbs and hundred bones; even his hair and skin were washed by the surging vital essence, and his hair stood on end!

The Primal Fetus Wall was utterly gone!

The wall was broken!

Shen Mu was stunned for a moment and stopped the demonic chant, and the divine tones abruptly vanished too. In the temple, the golden Buddha's Buddhist tones, having no opponent, ceased as well; the image returned to normal, motionless, and only the monster beneath it, refined by the Buddhist sound until no one could tell if it lived or died, lay there without stirring.

In Shen Mu's brow, the invisible barrier that had blocked him from opening the Primal Fetus Divine Treasury had finally disappeared; the Divine Treasury was revealed at last, with nothing in its way!

"I really did break the wall?"

Joy beyond containing filled Shen Mu's heart, and he cheered before the temple.

He had drunk no one knew how much Four Symbols blood, and still the Overlord Body had been slow to awaken; and now, by the mutual strife of three sounds — divine, demonic, and Buddhist — he had broken the wall. His small chest swelled with a vast sense of accomplishment.

Presently Shen Mu calmed down and thought, "The Primal Fetus Wall, the Primal Fetus Divine Treasury — if it is a divine treasury, then surely there is a treasure the god left inside for me..."

He closed his eyes and "saw" the brilliant golden light between his brows. Cautiously his consciousness "entered" that mysterious treasury, and he saw that the Primal Fetus Divine Treasury was a strange space, filled everywhere with golden radiance, like an ancient cave-heaven of blessing.