Chapter 59 — The Third Awakening

It seemed no different from before, save that the ocean of golden light within the primal-embryo divine treasury was now much thinner.

The golden sea was thin now; the golden light within it no longer seemed to generate itself, and each portion the spirit embryo absorbed left less behind. Shen Mu stirred his primal qi, and his spirit embryo stirred the primal qi as well: at one moment he was wreathed in an azure dragon, at another he trod a dark tortoise with a great serpent draped over him, at another wings sprouted from his back. His primal qi changed with his every intent — no longer did he need to watch water, watch fire, watch dragons!

Shen Mu told the others, and the village head and the rest looked at one another, unable to say why such a change had come. "This is a good thing.

" The village head let out a breath of turbid air.

"When the Overlord Body's spirit embryo awakens a third time, its attributes switch at will, and in battle he can bring out the full power of every technique with ease. That is the marvelous use of the Mystic Body Three-Cinnabar Art. " The others nodded one after another.

The alchemist was about to speak, but the village head glared him into silence; he had to swallow his words and grumbled inwardly, "When Shen'er awakens a fourth time, let us see how you patch it then!

" "Breath entering and leaving the nose like smoke; body and mind illumined within; the rounded cavern of the world, wholly become void and pure, like crystal. .

.

" Beneath the waterfall of Jade Cloud Valley, a slightly callow, ringing voice came from the thatched hut. Looking through the hut's window lattice, one saw a boy of fourteen or fifteen, a scroll in one hand, pacing the room and reading aloud, while a fox with fur white as snow watched him without blinking. That boy was Shen Mu; the white fox was Snowfox, the great demon of Jade Cloud Valley.

Before long, Snowfox's breathing grew long, and two trails of white vapor like smoke passed in and out beneath the little fox's nostrils — one breath out, one breath in, the white vapor advancing and retreating. Snowfox's primal qi grew ever richer, its quality reaching an extremely high realm: breath like smoke. Two years and eight months had passed since the visit from the Nether Demon Cult.

Winter had just ended and all things were reviving; it was still the chill season of early spring, and the surface of the Surging River had not fully thawed, broken ice drifting downstream. Where the river bent, the channel was often choked with ice; the ice piled higher and higher until it formed a dam, and the water rose and rose, and when the ice wall could bear no more, a great flood burst forth and swept the lower reaches of the Surging River, drowning countless people and strange beasts.

These past days Blind Grandpa, Granny Zhu, the Lame Old Man and the others had gone downstream in search of the dammed lakes and were not in the village, so Shen Mu had come out to find Snowfox and expound the scriptures to him.

In the two years and more, his stature had caught up with Blind Grandpa's, though he was still a head shorter than the burly alchemist. Suddenly a roar came from beyond the window, shaking the mountain forest. Shen Mu closed his scroll and laid it on the shelf, and the white fox was startled awake as well.

Man and fox went out to look, and saw a huge beast more than ten zhang long charging straight for the thatched hut. The beast was covered in bone plates and came on like thunder, its head like a dragon's, its legs like an elephant's, of immense strength — a dragon-elephant, a hybrid born of dragon and elephant. But upon this dragon-elephant's back sat a Xuanliao demon ape, dark as pitch from head to tail, thick-limbed and burly, hefting a monk's staff ringed with twelve golden rings, riding the dragon-elephant and charging savagely at the hut. Snowfox leaped in front of Shen Mu, opened his mouth to inhale, pursed his lips, and blew forward.

Whoosh — a wild wind howled straight at the dragon-elephant and the demon ape.

Snowfox wagged his tail, and the wind blew fiercer still, whirling and howling until it became a tornado that lifted the dragon-elephant and the demon ape on its back into the air.

The demon ape sprang, leaping up from the dragon-elephant's back, both hands gripping the staff — and the staff grew larger and larger! "Ximilo—" The demon ape roared, and came crashing down from midair like a small mountain, both hands clenched on the staff as it drove the staff savagely into the earth. A blast of wild air burst out in every direction and shattered the little fox's tornado spell.

The demon ape wrenched the staff free, leaping as if flying, and swung it down at Snowfox.

With a great clang, Shen Mu raised his hand and blocked the blow for Snowfox.

But at that very moment Snowfox leaped aside, opened his mouth, and spat: the wind became curved blades more than a zhang long, six or seven of them wheeling up and down — not attacking the demon ape, but slashing at Shen Mu.