"An oasis a hundred li downstream?"

Shen Mu returned to Yincan Village as the light was failing. The youth unloaded the treasures from the bamboo raft and carried them back into the village; the villagers, understandably startled, crowded round to ask their questions.

Shen Mu told the tale of what he had been through. The Blind Elder's face shifted a little, and the words burst from him: "What is pinned down in that oasis temple is a lord-rank monstrous beast -- a demon sprite, a master of transformation, and a formidable one at that. Her name is Sang E. You went into that temple? And you actually carried off the whole of her treasure?"

Granny Zhu blurted out as well: "That Sang E? I passed by that broken-down temple once, and when I saw how many people she had eaten, I gave her a thrashing. In the end she hid behind that Buddha statue of hers. The statue struck me as uncanny, and I thought it meant to bring me down, so I did not beat her to death. That statue is very strange..."

"I have seen her too. Formidable indeed -- a great demon, a match for a powerhouse of the Seven-Star realm."

The Lame Elder said, "Shen-er, how did you manage to steal Sang E's belongings and slip out of her hands?"

Seeing there was no hiding it, Shen Mu told them all of the demon tongue he had learned in the ruins of the hidden valley, and then laid out from first to last how he had roused the three voices -- divine, demonic and Buddha -- to refine Sang E.

The villagers were struck dumb, mouths hanging open. After a long while Grandpa Huo let out a breath of turbid air and said, "Young and accomplished. Young and accomplished."

The Lame Elder, the Deaf Elder and the rest all nodded, thumbs up, praising without end.

Sang E, a great demon with the strength of a Seven-Star realm powerhouse, had in truth been blackmailed and robbed by Shen Mu -- young and accomplished indeed, and worthy of their teaching, which brought them no small share of glory!

The Silent Smith picked up a few weapons, hefted them, made a pass or two, and shook his head, gesturing with his "ah, ah" sounds: these primordial weapons were of poor quality and not much use.

"Tomorrow I will take them to Crimson Dragon City and sell these primordial weapons off, and pick up some oil, salt, sauce and vinegar on the way, along with a little cloth and good wine."

Granny Zhu laughed. "Those few head of livestock of mine ought to be sold off too."

Shen Mu's spirits surged. To Crimson Dragon City?

He had grown up in Yincan since he was small, and only lately had he been permitted to go outside. He had only ever heard of Crimson Dragon City; he had never once been there!

"I cannot take you along. You are still young," said Granny Zhu, shaking her head.

Disappointed, Shen Mu hesitated, then gathered up his courage. "Granny, Grandpa Huo -- there is one more thing."

"My Overlord Body has awakened."

Everything around them went still.

A moment later Grandpa Huo, the Lame Elder, the Blind Elder and Granny Zhu all broke into cheers, and the Silent Smith ah-ahed without cease. Only the Deaf Elder, who had not seen what Shen Mu said, could not fathom why these old fellows had suddenly gone mad -- until he watched Shen Mu say it again, and then he understood, and burst out laughing!

The Blind Elder bawled at the top of his lungs: "Headman! Alchemist! Come quickly! The Overlord Body has awakened!"

The Butcher, stirred to the depths, roared at the sky: "Headman! Alchemist! The Overlord Body has awakened at last!"

When Shen Mu came back to the village, the Headman was in front of the house, and the Alchemist sat to one side, having brewed a pot of tea and poured for the Headman -- only the Headman had no hands, so the Alchemist lifted the cup to his lips.

The two often drank tea like this, leisurely and refined, perfectly at ease.

The Headman had just got halfway through this cup when he heard the clamor from the Blind Elder and Grandpa Huo. The tea at once sprayed from his nose, his eyes and his mouth, and from the small holes in his lower eyelids two thin jets hissed out, spurting up very high.

Crack.

The teacup in the Alchemist's hand was crushed as well, tea splashing across the Headman's face. The two stared wide-eyed at each other, mouths falling open of themselves, unable to close.

The Alchemist came to his senses and stammered, "The O-Overlord Body... awakened?"

The Headman wore just as blank a look, plainly not yet recovered.

The Lame Elder came limping up, nodded heavily, and laughed: "That is right, the Overlord Body has awakened! I examined him just now -- his primordial qi is three times more vigorous than this morning, and purer still, and between his brows the spirit fetus has woken, giving off a strange fluctuation, clearly merged with his consciousness! These are precisely the signs of a spirit fetus awakening!"

Shen Mu walked over. The Alchemist's mouth had opened even wider, as though two big duck eggs had been wedged into it, and the Headman's lower eyelids were still seeping water. He thought to himself, "Grandpa Headman and Grandpa Alchemist really are surprised -- though is this not a little too surprised?"

The Alchemist shut his mouth and asked hurriedly, "Shen-er, has your Overlord Body truly awakened?"

Shen Mu nodded. "It awakened when I was not paying attention."

The Alchemist nearly choked to death. "Awakened when you were not paying attention..."

The Headman finally came back to himself and chuckled. "Shen-er is an Overlord Body -- that is certain beyond any doubt. How vast is my learning? Naturally I would not be mistaken. Awakening was only a matter of course... cough, cough, cough!"

The Alchemist's face turned exceedingly strange. He hastily coughed a few times as well to cover it, then laughed: "The Overlord Body awakening is a grand thing! But Shen-er, you have only just awakened it -- you are not permitted to be proud. Your road of cultivation has only just begun. Do you understand?"

Shen Mu nodded and said that he did.

The Headman laughed. "The Alchemist speaks truly. The road of the Overlord Body is exceedingly hard; you must never, ever slacken. Alchemist, I am rather tired -- take me back to my room first."

The Alchemist understood, and took him back to the room.

Inside, the two old men looked at each other. After a good while, the Alchemist lowered his voice with an effort: "Headman, is Shen-er really an Overlord Body?"

"Of course not!" said the Headman flatly.

"Then how did he awaken..."

"How should I know?"

The two old men looked at each other again, at a loss how to explain Shen Mu's case. After a long while the Alchemist ventured, "Can a mortal body open the primordial-fetus wall?"

"A mortal body breaking the wall? I have never heard of such a thing. Shen-er is the first."

The Headman suddenly laughed. "Alchemist, perhaps Shen-er really will become an Overlord Body and walk out a road unlike any other. Was that not our aim from the beginning?"

The Alchemist laughed too. "The mortal body is the Overlord Body. Shen-er has already made his mortal body awaken; his road as an Overlord Body is about to begin. I can almost see him striking a dragon dead with a single punch!"

The Headman nodded and laughed. "Just so. Who knows -- with that spirit, that will of his, he may walk further than we ever did."

The two old foxes exchanged a knowing smile and walked back out of the room.

The Headman coughed once, called Shen Mu over, and asked how he had awakened his spirit fetus. Shen Mu recounted how, in the instant when the divine voice, the demonic voice and the Buddha voice struggled against one another, his primordial qi had smashed through the primordial-fetus wall and broken it.

The Headman's gaze went dull, and he murmured, "There is such an operation as that?"