Under Li Tiangang's control, the sheet of paper arrived before the waterfall in the blink of an eye.
Lin Cheng looked at the water, now frozen into ice crystals, and felt that it didn't seem like it had been intentionally caused by a spell technique, it was most likely just the result of a released aura.
He looked into the deep cave and vaguely felt a soul-shaking fear, as if a child were about to face a ferocious beast.
What kind of strength could reach this level? Could it already be a third-time Mutation?
Or perhaps it was a so-called Perfected Ghost Envoy Realm?
The top of Zhong Hulu's head split open with a seam, and a tongue extended to lick his eyeball. His expression turned filled with suspicion and unease.
Because the main aberration was in his head, the madness in his eyes was even more severe than Shui Hulu's.
Li Tiangang didn't rush into the waterfall. Dozens of familiar Restraint Officers flashed through his mind, but none of them seemed to match.
Not long after, the aura within the waterfall gradually settled down.
Its rapid dispersal made it seem as if, after the person's spell technique ascended to the Ghost Envoy Realm, they no longer even needed time to adjust, able to retract and release at will.
Li Tiangang turned his head toward the forest. The sudden birdsong that rang out confirmed this point.
Boom...
A flash of searing heat passed through, and the waterfall resumed its flowing state. One could even see several fish swimming downstream.
The fish were still lively and vigorous.
Then, a man's voice came from within the water curtain cave.
"Senior Li Tiangang, it's been a long time..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Cheng inexplicably felt a deep familiarity, and couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, subconsciously taking a step forward.
Had it not been for Li Tiangang grabbing Lin Cheng's arm, the latter might have nearly fallen off the edge of the paper.
Li Tiangang seemed to have already recognized the person's identity. His expression relaxed slightly as he said, "Indeed, it has been a long time."
A figure within the water curtain cave slowly approached.
Looking in from the outside, however, there wasn't even a reflection on the water's surface, making it appear extremely strange.
A name suddenly popped into Lin Cheng's mind, but it made him unable to believe it, for Ren Qing had been someone who entered as a trainee alongside him.
The waterfall split apart. The ghost shadow formed a staircase that led directly to the paper under Li Tiangang.
"Senior Li, it just so happens that you're going my way. Would you give me a lift."
Li Tiangang's attitude softened. "Come on up. I still need to ask you quite a bit about the situation in the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone."
Ren Qing walked out quickly. At first glance, he didn't seem much changed, but there was a tremendous feeling of a world-shaking transformation.
The previously slightly dark skin was now clean and pale, exuding a profoundly transcendent aura, as if he were a true immortal descended from the heavens.
However, the abnormal mouth on Ren Qing's right palm and the slightly reflective pupils revealed his otherworldliness.
Of course, there was also the twisted, terrifying ghost shadow.
Zhong Hulu's pupils contracted. He didn't recognize Ren Qing, but he felt an abrupt, intense sense of danger that vanished as quickly as it came.
But when he heard Ren Qing and Lin Cheng's conversation, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
This person was actually Ren Qing...
Zhong Hulu's face twisted slightly.
He lowered his head, hiding the venom in his eyes, not just aimed at Ren Qing, but also at Shui Hulu, who had sent him here.
Ren Qing didn't pay it much mind. Faced with cultivators whose reality could be seen through at a glance, it wasn't worth wasting effort.
In his mind, anyone connected to Shui Hulu was already a dead man.
Lin Cheng respectfully made way.
After clearly seeing the gap between him and Ren Qing, he could no longer feel the slightest bit of jealousy, only a deep-seated awe.
Ren Qing closed his eyes to rest briefly. Under the effect of the Human Skin Book, his skin underwent a slight adjustment and turned a healthy wheat color.
His breakthrough this time had gone smoothly, and the three spell techniques didn't take much time to upgrade.
Spine Bearer advanced to Bone-Clad Spinal Apparatus (背附骨器).
Dragon-Snake Spine, due to reaching the Ghost Envoy Realm and the influence of the Ghostly Spirit Root, entered a stage of metamorphosis.
Ren Qing discovered that the Spine Bearer's aberration path focused primarily on the life-bound artifact. After its metamorphosis, what level it would reach, even he could not yet predict.
Human Skin Book transformed into Scapegoat Skin. Any flesh wounds could be transferred, so long as they didn't involve the bones.
When combined with Shadow Ghost Technique's Ghost Substitute, the effect would be terrifying.
However, the two weren't invincible. After all, there were plenty of spell techniques in this world that could kill invisibly, and damage transference always had its limits.
As for Food-Consuming Immortal Technique's King of the inner Furnace Kindling, that one was a bit unusual.
The Flesh Furnace now had a slightly metallic quality, though it still pulsated with his heartbeat.
Supernatural Remnants of the Martial Practitioner Realm that previously required days to refine now only took half a day; those of the Half-Corpse Realm took about three days.
It seemed the Food-Consuming Immortal Technique had been created by the Meat and Wine Taoist as an auxiliary method.
Its effect was to seal a soul inside the furnace and burn it as kindling.
Ren Qing upgraded the Food-Consuming Immortal Technique first. He simply caught a wild beast and extracted its soul, but not even a breath passed before the soul vanished.
The target of the kindling could be a cultivator. Hmm, and there just so happened to be one nearby...
Ren Qing opened his eyes.
Li Tiangang asked, "Ren Qing, you've reached one Mutation already, haven't you?"
Ren Qing nodded. "Yes."
Lin Cheng looked dazed.
He had only heard of Mutations, and even his uncle Zhang Qiu had only recently undergone one. He hadn't expected Ren Qing to already be at this level.
Zhong Hulu's expression grew darker, and a thread of despair was brewing in his eyes.
Li Tiangang didn't say anything further. He pointed a finger at the Restraint Officer token at Ren Qing's waist. On the back, the Yin Runner Realm imprint increased by one.
Moments later, they arrived at their destination. The camp had already been set up, though there weren't many Restraint Officers present.
Most of them were scattered around the edges of the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone.
Jiang Feng rushed up to greet them and began reporting on the events that had occurred in the Forbidden Zone recently.
Li Tiangang pulled a page from his head and casually recorded necessary information. His expression remained calm.
Lin Cheng and Zhong Hulu took their leave, Lin Cheng to make arrangements near the rice fields, while Zhong Hulu seemed more like he was avoiding Ren Qing.
Ren Qing glanced at Zhong Hulu as he left.
He appeared to be strolling idly, but in fact, he had split off a thread of ghost shadow and attached it to Zhong Hulu's shadow.
Even with Zhong Hulu's strength, he posed no real threat to Ren Qing, but caution had long been carved into Ren Qing's bones.
Since Shui Hulu had to die, the disciple naturally couldn't be spared either. Moreover, it was clear Zhong Hulu had come specifically for him.
It was just that there were too many people in the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone for now, he'd have to find an opportunity later.
Li Tiangang inquired about the situation inside the Forbidden Zone. Ren Qing quickly offered supplementary details.
At that moment, tremors arose in the distant rice fields. As the area expanded, more tombstones burst up from the ground.
It seemed another Restraint Officer had died inside the Forbidden Zone.
The Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone only stopped expanding once it reached a thirty-li radius.
The rice within had grown to three meters tall, and the grains had all become skulls, sending chills down the spine.
The situation faced by Song Zongwu and the others must be extremely difficult.
Ren Qing had no good solution. The Restraint Officers' Hall also couldn't afford to send in a second Yin Runner Realm cultivator, the risk was simply too great.
Upon seeing this, Li Tiangang's expression changed slightly. He pulled a page from his arm, and the entire camp turned into a picture on the page.
"Order all Restraint Officers to withdraw to forty li."
After saying this, he rushed toward the rice field.
As he walked, he drew page after page, transforming them into vividly lifelike paper men, seemingly intended to probe the Forbidden Zone.
Ren Qing watched Li Tiangang's back, then turned and headed thirty li away with Jiang Feng.
With his current cultivation, it would be hard to assist Song Zongwu. The best he could do was wait in the Forbidden Zone, regardless of how the situation developed.
Ren Qing chose a nearby mountain slope with a clear view of the rice fields.
He split off some attention to monitor Zhong Hulu, discovering that he was hunting beasts in the mountains, seemingly preparing something.
Currently, due to the ghost shadow reaching Foundation Establishment through the Heavenly Dao Worm, parts of its body could separate and persist for up to two days, during which Ren Qing could perceive everything Zhong Hulu did.
Ren Qing directed his sub-soul and ghost shadow to enter the Wuwei Daoist Altar, intending to investigate the Fire Refining Palace.
As the sub-soul exited the council hall, it noticed the surface of the pond was no longer calm. The water flowed toward the Doushuai Palace.
Looking toward the pond's edge, Ren Qing noticed that the perimeter had a breach, allowing the pond water to drain away slowly.
It seemed that the lifespan of the Heavenly Dao Child had taken a major hit. For someone at the Yang God Realm, having only four years left signaled the flame's final flicker.
Ren Qing didn't have much time left.
He had to move all useful resources from the Wuwei Daoist Altar into the Prison Within the Abdomen soon, or else all would be lost.
Ren Qing knew that the Heavenly Dao Method was centered around the Heavenly Dao Worm. After death, it likely wouldn't become a Forbidden Zone, but the Heavenly Dao Worm would surely escape.
The Wuwei Daoist Altar would inevitably be shattered.
Suddenly, a thought struck Ren Qing, and his expression stiffened.
If cultivating the Beast Pen required one's body to be used as kindling for the soul-flame, then what exactly was the Wuwei Daoist Altar built upon?
Could it be that Yang God Realm Heavenly Dao Worm...?
The more Ren Qing thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
The damage to the Wuwei Daoist Altar must signify that the Heavenly Dao Worm was gradually breaking free.
He had no desire to get entangled in affairs between the Supreme Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly Dao Worm. Even if Xiangxiang was sealed off by a Yang God Realm Forbidden Zone, that didn't guarantee safety.
Ren Qing made up his mind. His sub-soul guided the ghost shadow to the edge of the pond.
Looking at the seemingly bottomless pond made him somewhat uneasy. The Heavenly Dao Worm had already been refined by the information stream, what if he got attacked again?
However, once Ren Qing entered the water, he found everything remained peaceful. Even though a few juvenile Heavenly Dao Worms swam past him, nothing happened.
Seeing this, he quickened his pace while staying alert.
Every time, that Heavenly Dao Child always intervened, he truly didn't want to run into that figure again, especially if it involved the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
Ren Qing intentionally dove down half a meter. The journey went smoothly without surprises.
The Fire Refining Palace came into view. The Daoist temple radiated heat, somewhat akin to the Flesh Furnace.
He opened the door and stepped inside. Everything was still in place.
Ren Qing began searching, primarily for books related to artifact refinement.
Eventually, he found some in a side chamber of the Fire Refining Palace.
He leafed through the books and, after reading them, stored them into the Prison Within the Abdomen, only for his expression to grow more and more serious.
The disciple in charge of the Fire Refining Palace was named Zhuo Liuzi. On the surface, the books recorded methods for exploring artifact refinement, but between the lines, two words leaked through: "cannibalism."
Most importantly, the texts mentioned how the Blind Daoist had come to Xiangxiang, it was through an extremely cruel blood-flesh artifact.
Named... Other Shore Flower.