Ren Qing guessed that the key lay in the juvenile Heavenly Dao Worm that controlled the Tombstone Furnace; perhaps only after advancing to the Golden Core Realm of the sect's elders could it be relocated.
During this period, he could only continue to explore the uses of the Tombstone Furnace.
But he still needed to wait for the Ghost Market to open and go to Great Dream Pavilion to buy the required materials.
By then, Ren Qing planned to try using artifact refinement to earn lifespan.
Once he fully mastered the Tombstone Furnace, he could even mass-sell artifacts like Great Dream Pavilion.
Ren Qing's main body opened its eyes.
He planned to ask Jiang Feng whether there had been any unusual developments in the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone, to see if there was any way he could assist Song Zongwu.
Just as the Ghost Shadow returned to the main body, it immediately issued a warning to Ren Qing, Zhong Hulu had appeared nearby.
Ren Qing showed a hint of amusement.
Truthfully, the Flesh Furnace did indeed lack souls to serve as fuel, someone delivering themselves right to his door was perfect.
As for why Zhong Hulu would come to kill him, he didn't care.
From Shui Hulu, one could already tell, they had a kind of inherited madness, probably deeply tied to the techniques they cultivated.
Ren Qing remained expressionless on the surface, while the Ghost Shadow gradually disappeared into the underbrush.
Zhong Hulu panted heavily, his gourd-shaped head had grown a few sizes larger, veins bulging all over his forehead, as if it might explode at any moment.
He walked up the mountain, continuously stuffing meat into the mouth atop his head, causing his aura to grow increasingly unstable.
"I'll kill him... stop staring at me, stop staring at me..."
Zhong Hulu muttered to himself, glancing around nervously, trembling at even the slightest rustling of the grass.
Ren Qing found this somewhat strange. He didn't see any traps left behind in Zhong Hulu by Shui Hulu, it seemed like he was talking entirely to himself.
The Ghost Shadow hid stealthily in the shadow of a tree. Even as Zhong Hulu walked right past, he failed to detect anything unusual.
The flesh of Zhong Hulu's entire body gradually converged into the head, reaching a half-meter in size. Finally, he took out a blood-filled bottle and drank it in one gulp.
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. The Ghost Shadow activated the Ghost Substitute ability, slipping into Zhong Hulu's shadow while the technique was fully prepared.
He wasn't in a hurry to strike, he wanted to test his technique's capabilities on Zhong Hulu.
Just then, another sneaky figure appeared on the mountain path.
Lin Cheng's face was filled with urgency, his steps quickened, heading straight for the mountain's summit.
The Snake Molting Method he cultivated was extremely sensitive to living beings, and upon accidentally detecting Zhong Hulu's intent, he came to inform Ren Qing.
Zhong Hulu seemed to notice Lin Cheng, his gaze turning venomous. The gourd head opened and closed repeatedly, as if concealing something.
He simply stood in place and waited.
Lin Cheng's beast-like instincts caused him to hesitate, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
The forest was eerily silent, not even the presence of birds, only a few annoying insects buzzing nearby.
He suddenly realized that Ren Qing was probably in seclusion, which meant he might run into Zhong Hulu himself.
Lin Cheng spat the blood from his mouth, but by the time he thought of retreating, it was already too late.
A snake's tongue could sense auras.
He could feel a terrifying presence nearby, not human, and certainly not a cultivator.
The grass was parted.
Zhong Hulu, with his half-meter-sized head, approached Lin Cheng. The oppressive pressure made his hair stand on end, filling him with the urge to flee.
But Lin Cheng knew that if he turned his back on Zhong Hulu, it would be certain death.
The muscles in his legs tensed, he prepared to find an opportunity to get close for hand-to-hand combat. Otherwise, there was no hope of survival.
"You're close to Ren Qing, so I'll kill you, otherwise, I'll die..."
Crack crack crack crack...
Zhong Hulu's head peeled open like a banana, revealing a slightly smaller head underneath, vaguely resembling Shui Hulu.
Lin Cheng's face was filled with shock, staring at Zhong Hulu in disbelief. All strength to resist vanished instantly.
"Treasure Gourd good... Treasure Gourd wondrous..."
Zhong Hulu muttered inexplicably, his gaze never lingering on Lin Cheng as he strode toward the summit.
Just as he passed by Lin Cheng, he casually splashed some droplets of water toward his forehead.
Bang!
Lin Cheng quickly covered his face with snake scales to block the attack, but the moment the water droplets touched his forehead, they vanished without a trace.
He instinctively touched his face, a thread of Ghost Shadow flowed slowly from his fingertips and quickly disappeared into the shadows of the forest.
Lin Cheng looked toward the end of the mountain path.
Ren Qing was slowly approaching Zhong Hulu.
Ren Qing studied Zhong Hulu closely. The latter's technique piqued his interest, his soul hadn't changed, so how did he suddenly become Shui Hulu?
Could it be related to the blood he drank?
Simulating spell abilities by ingesting another's blood?
Zhong Hulu continued his eerie laughter. Though a glint of intelligence remained in his eyes, it was clear he had devolved into a primal killing urge.
Ren Qing remained calm, quietly clearing out a cell in the Prison Within the Abdomen.
"Die die die die..."
Zhong Hulu opened his mouth. The water droplets he spat out shot forward like a rain of arrows, capable of easily smashing tree branches or piercing stone.
"Ren Qing, look out!"
Lin Cheng hurriedly shouted. Zhong Hulu had a fierce reputation in the Restraint Officers' Hall, several reserves had died on missions with him.
It was said their corpses were mutilated beyond recognition.
Most of the incidents had been suppressed by Shui Hulu, but after that, the Hall no longer allowed Zhong Hulu to leave.
He was only allowed into the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone because there was a Yin Runner Realm stationed there.
Ren Qing still didn't move.
He let the water droplets strike his body. Blood instantly dyed the front of his robes, but he remained motionless.
Instead, Zhong Hulu suddenly let out a pained scream and collapsed to his knees. A deep, bone-revealing wound appeared on him in the exact same spot.
Lin Cheng stood dumbfounded, mind blank, unable to make sense of the situation.
The pain only intensified Zhong Hulu's madness, his eyes grew even more crazed.
"He's watching me... only by killing you..."
Zhong Hulu's head peeled like a banana once more, the revealed face increasingly resembling Shui Hulu, even the aura grew stronger.
Suddenly, the surrounding moisture dried up. A stream of water built up in his mouth.
BOOM!!!
The water shot forward.
It struck Ren Qing squarely in the face, blood splattering.
But when Ren Qing wiped the blood away, his skin remained perfectly intact, not a single wound in sight.
Lin Cheng looked at Shui Hulu again.
He saw the head inflating like a balloon, its surface distorting constantly, seemingly on the verge of exploding.
Ren Qing was about to test other techniques when his expression suddenly darkened.
The Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone had changed again, and apparently, two Restraint Officers had died in quick succession. Now, Song Zongwu was left alone.
All other Restraint Officers were retreating, only Li Tiangang and Jiang Feng had gone to investigate.
Ren Qing no longer hesitated.
He pushed off with his legs, vanishing from the spot. His right hand brushed past Zhong Hulu's head, and the latter was instantly pulled into the Prison Within the Abdomen.
To be honest, Zhong Hulu hadn't even undergone a single aberration, it was likely just Shui Hulu testing him.
Not killing him would indicate fear.
Ren Qing didn't hurry to kill Zhong Hulu, but locked him in the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Otherwise, once the Ghost Envoy Realm Supernatural Remnant broke out, it would take focus to suppress. He'd rather deal with it later and observe the function of King of Kindling in the Furnace.
Still, Ren Qing checked Zhong Hulu's techniques.
[Flesh Gourd]
[Inscribed into the immortal gourd body. Cultivation requires sealing an infant inside the gourd and daily infusion of filth. It remains undead as it grows, and only when the gourd naturally falls can the technique be completed.]
No wonder both men were so extreme.
Ren Qing hadn't interacted with Shui Hulu personally, but their techniques were likely the same, with only differing paths of aberration.
At present, Ren Qing lacked the strength to fight Shui Hulu, so he could only hope the other had reservations.
But if it truly came to a fight, relying on Ghost Wolf, he could still protect himself.
The rice field continued to spread.
He grabbed the stunned Lin Cheng and sprinted down the mountain.
The rice field expanded at an incredible speed, far faster than the previous two times, spanning over ten li in the blink of an eye.
At its center, Ren Qing noticed, a giant stone gate had appeared, like a portal connecting to Nether Hell.
The Restraint Officers retreated dozens of li.
Once in a relatively safe area, Ren Qing put Lin Cheng down.
"Lin Cheng, if you ever encounter serious trouble and can't find me, go to the camp and look for Huang Ziwan."
Ren Qing patted Lin Cheng's shoulder and quickly turned to leave.
He felt Lin Cheng, aside from the exhaustion of potential due to forced advancement through spell techniques, was quite capable otherwise.
If he got the chance, he could use the information stream to help Lin Cheng pick a suitable technique, perhaps there was still hope for him to advance to the Yin Runner Realm.
Ren Qing headed toward the Forbidden Zone, soon arriving beside Li Tiangang and Jiang Feng.
Boom boom boom...
Heavy pounding came from the stone gate, it cracked open slightly.
Li Tiangang's aura surged without reservation. Sheets of paper were pulled from his body, transforming into hundreds of paper men flying toward the gate.
Ren Qing noticed that, after a few days of attempts, Li Tiangang's paper men were no longer absorbed by the Forbidden Zone, instead able to move freely within the rice field.
The paper men swarmed the gate, trying to force it open.
Just then, an arm extended through the gap.
Ren Qing's expression turned grave. With his Double Pupils, he saw the arm was covered in wounds, the blood flowing blackish-red.
It was clearly Song Zongwu.
Song Zongwu threw punch after punch, but the gap never widened enough for a person to pass through, even with hundreds of paper men helping.
Moments later, Song Zongwu's head appeared.
He looked around, his gaze finally landing on Ren Qing. He gave a nod and threw a blood-soaked bundle out of the Forbidden Zone.
BOOM!!!
The stone gate slammed shut and slowly sank into the earth.
Li Tiangang grabbed the bundle. Upon opening it, he saw it was filled with Other Shore Flowers, and couldn't help but tremble.
Jiang Feng asked what to do next.
Li Tiangang shook his head and said, "Wait a little longer. If Song Zongwu still doesn't come out, then we'll evacuate Annan Town."
Ren Qing frowned.
He knew he had to do something, otherwise Song Zongwu was doomed. Unless...
Unless he revealed the location of the core Supernatural Remnant...
Wait, he actually already knew.