荒墟牧神 - 第2章 四極靈髓入體 - 雲海書庫

cup. It held White Tiger spirit blood, and in his mouth it was like molten copper laced with iron dross—astringent, stabbing—and once it entered him, his whole body prickled with sharp pains. Not long after, the pain faded. "He is not a White Tiger Spirit Constitution." Granny Zhu shook her head, somewhat disappointed. "Shen Mu, the third cup," said the Village Head in a low voice. Shen Mu drank down the third cup, the spirit blood refined from the great azure serpent. It made his muscles bulge and strain, his blood swell and press, his organs squeezed until he felt miserable. Yet the distended feeling vanished as quickly as the others. Master Huo's face fell. "Not an Azure Dragon Spirit Constitution," he said, shaking his head. "Then he must surely be a Black Tortoise Spirit Constitution." For once the Pill Master allowed a faint smile, which made his face look all the more ghastly. Shen Mu drank the last cup, the Black Tortoise spirit blood. It made his body feel light and buoyant, as though he were soaking in the water of a great river. But this feeling, too, was soon gone. "He is not a Black Tortoise Spirit Constitution either." The Pill Master shook his head. The villagers by the bonfire all fell silent. The butcher said, "If that's so, then he is just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill person." Granny Zhu suddenly burst into tears and sobbed, "We are all old, all crippled. If we die, he cannot go on living. This place is so treacherous—he could not survive even a single day..." Shen Mu clutched her hand and murmured, "Granny, don't cry. Granny and the grandpas are all good people—none of you will die..." "Good people? Heh, heh..." Master Huo laughed at himself. "We broken wrecks were hounded into this Wasteland and have been hanging on by a thread ever since. The Wasteland is too dangerous; without us, Shen'er truly would find it hard to survive. We ought to send him out of the Wasteland—outside, it is much safer..." The butcher said coldly, "Send him out and our enemies will discover us. We will all die, and he, dragged down with us, will die as well." Hidden Remnant Village fell quiet again. Then, abruptly, the Village Head said, "Good." "What's good?" Granny Zhu was baffled. The Village Head smiled. "I said his constitution is good. He is a fine seedling." The butcher, the Pill Master, and all the rest were startled, unable to grasp his meaning. The Village Head laughed. "I think Shen'er carries a constitution of another sort, one that combines the virtues of all four—the Overlord Constitution!" "Overlord Constitution?" Granny Zhu and the others all wore dubious expressions. They were practiced, worldly people, yet not one had ever heard the name Overlord Constitution. "Indeed, the Overlord Constitution." The Village Head smiled. "Ordinary spirit blood can hardly rouse it. Only when the genuine blood of the four great spirit beasts has been gathered can it be brought to light. The Wasteland has no four great spirit beasts, but the offspring of spirit beasts are not hard to seek. Keep on catching tigers and serpents, refining spirit blood; once he has drunk enough of it, his Overlord Constitution will emerge of itself." The Village Head was a man of commanding prestige, and the one-armed, one-legged old men and women of the village all brightened at this. Granny Zhu laughed, "Tomorrow I'll go catch tigers with that good-for-nothing Lame Weng! And you, Shen'er, get to bed early—you've more spirit blood to drink tomorrow!" The crowd dispersed. The Pill Master and the Silent Smith carried the Village Head back to his room. The Silent Smith left, but the Pill Master lingered, and said under his breath, "There has never been any Overlord Constitution." The Village Head nodded. "I said it off the top of my head. If I hadn't, these villagers could hardly have gone on living." The Pill Master was taken aback. The residents of Hidden Remnant Village each had a past of their own, but all had been forced into the Wasteland, forced to