To Ren Qing, the inexplicable craving that arose in his heart actually felt more like the Flesh Furnace was indirectly affecting him.
He could indeed suppress it, but he truly did want to know the function of the King of the Inner Furnace Kindling.
The Food-Consuming Immortal Technique must be connected with the Taotie Method, and even the techniques passed down by the Meat and Wine Taoist should all be part of a complete system.
The Forbidden Zone continued to collapse.
Ren Qing's divided soul had the sensation of nearly shattering into pieces, indicating that this situation was enough to tear apart even a Yin Runner realm, but he still forcibly endured it.
Meanwhile, the ghost shadow had been sent back to his main body.
The kitchen's range was shrinking smaller and smaller, and beyond the collapsing walls was nothing but twisted, endless light and shadow. Very soon, even the stove platform began to collapse.
Ren Qing's gaze was fixed tightly on the stove eye, only to see the dust inside scatter away.
The surroundings turned into darkness.
At the instant before the stove eye disappeared, faint points of flame suddenly lit up within.
That too was Kindling Flame, likely left behind by a cultivator who had lived in the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone.
Ren Qing hastily guided the Kindling Flame in, then immediately withdrew from the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone.
Because of this, a large chunk of the divided soul was torn off. After returning to his main body, he couldn't help but suck in a cold breath, pain spread through his head.
Ren Qing raised his eyes again. Li Tiangang was already gone from his side, and the rice field had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a vast expanse of desolation.
In the distance, Restraint Officers began arriving one after another, clearly drawn by the signs of the Forbidden Zone's dissolution.
Jiang Feng also had no time to waste.
He had been pulled into Avici Hell along with Li Tiangang to inspect the Supernatural Remnant inside the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone, after all, there were too few Jailers, and unnecessary chaos had to be avoided.
Ren Qing had no time to join in the bustle. Taking advantage of the confusion, he returned to the temporary camp, found a random open space, and sat cross-legged.
The Kindling Flame automatically merged into the Prison Within the Abdomen, causing yet another subtle change.
The lamp oil inside the candle lanterns quickly overflowed.
Then the candles on the walls transformed into tattered lanterns, the light they emitted illuminating the dark corners.
Ren Qing examined carefully, but still found no useful clues.
Whether it was the imprisoned Supernatural Remnants, the husky, or the Prison Within the Abdomen itself, none had changed, which left him puzzled.
The only benefit was that the fire inside the Flesh Furnace burned even hotter, even Supernatural Remnants of the Ghost Envoy realm had started to melt.
Ren Qing shook his head. Perhaps the secret of the King of the Inner Furnace Kindling lay in a more advanced realm?
As he prepared to exit the Prison Within the Abdomen, his gaze swept across the storage cell.
His expression became strange.
Ren Qing looked several times in succession, then placed the wounded divided soul inside.
The divided soul drew close to the wall and stared at a newly grown fungus, falling into deep contemplation.
His main body came back to itself, grabbed some weeds from outside and brought them into the Prison Within the Abdomen, then closed his eyes and patiently waited.
After over half an hour passed, the weeds had only lost a bit of moisture, no other changes had occurred.
Ren Qing had tried bringing plants into the Prison Within the Abdomen before, but they quickly withered, indicating that plants couldn't grow in there.
Animals were still alright, as long as there was food and water, they could survive for extended periods.
The function of the Kindling Flame was thus self-evident, it substituted for the external sun's effect, bringing the Prison Within the Abdomen closer to the real world.
This indicated that the Meat and Wine Taoist must have developed many more techniques, all revolving around the Prison Within the Abdomen, gradually refining the pseudo-world.
Ren Qing speculated that the other two mutation paths of the Food-Consuming Immortal Technique must have similar effects.
Only, the Fuel-Bearer and Self-Feeder likely both required sacrificing oneself, while the Furnace Tender was a bit better, it used others' souls.
When Huang Ziwan noticed that the Forbidden Zone had vanished, he couldn't help but relax. He then returned to camp and saw Ren Qing, who had been seated for a long while.
Lin Cheng and Lu Xiaoyu followed behind.
The three of them, seeing that no one else was around, began chatting.
Huang Ziwan thought of the abrupt disappearance of the Forbidden Zone and couldn't help showing some suspicion. He looked Ren Qing over and asked, "Brother Ren, haven't seen you around lately, where've you been?"
Ren Qing answered half-truthfully, "I went into the Forbidden Zone, took care of some trouble while I was at it."
"You must be joking, hahaha."
The doubts in Huang Ziwan's heart were completely dispelled, and he couldn't help feeling relieved.
According to rumors circulating among the Restraint Officers, it was Song Zongwu who eliminated the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone.
Some Restraint Officers had found the heavily injured Song Zongwu inside Avici Hell, even someone at the Yin Runner realm had ended up in such a sorry state. How could Ren Qing have possibly intervened...
Over half an hour later, Restraint Officers began returning to camp one after another.
Also arriving were the Nether Crows circling overhead, all issuing missions to go into Avici Hell to deal with Supernatural Remnants.
Seeing this, Ren Qing entered Avici Hell.
Though he hadn't visited in a while, the place was still filled with the stench of blood and wind.
Only now, at the junction between ribs and stomach wall, a structure resembling an altar was gradually taking shape.
Ren Qing suspected this altar was specifically for the Summoning Spirits Art, it seemed that the Restraint Officers' Hall had truly decided to summon those bizarre souls.
Restraint Officers scattered to deal with the Supernatural Remnants.
Huang Ziwan was about to say something, but in the blink of an eye, Ren Qing had already vanished.
Ren Qing found that although Avici Hell had been formed by a Yang God realm technique, due to the lack of Ksitigarbha's soul overseeing it, it remained relatively rigid.
However, the Supernatural Remnants' strength was subtly suppressed, so they couldn't stir up much trouble.
Ksitigarbha's gradually deteriorating body made Ren Qing uneasy.
If they really used the Other Shore Flower together with the Beast Pen ritual drum to extract the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, wouldn't that make things worse?
Or perhaps...the Restraint Officers' Hall had ulterior motives...
Ren Qing quickly headed toward the few Supernatural Remnants, but he quietly broke off from the main force, choosing to act alone.
The ghost shadow easily locked onto a Supernatural Remnant.
Before the Supernatural Remnant could react, Ren Qing had already used the Prison Within the Abdomen to imprison it.
The Restraint Officers' Hall only said to pacify the Supernatural Remnants, they never said what method to use, so of course he used them as fuel for the Flesh Furnace.
Unknowingly, Ren Qing had already collected four Supernatural Remnants this way, three of the Half-Corpse realm, one of the Ghost Envoy realm.
The chaos inside the Restraint Officers' Hall gradually subsided, and the Restraint Officers returned to the outside world.
Since the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone had already been completely eliminated, Jiang Feng did a headcount of the Restraint Officers and then allowed them all to leave.
The transport of the Other Shore Flower was also handed over to Li Tiangang.
But during the headcount, Jiang Feng didn't mention Zhong Hulu at all.
Ren Qing was slightly surprised, he had been prepared to be held accountable, but it seemed Li Tiangang had forcibly covered it up.
He released the husky from the Prison Within the Abdomen, planning to rely on the dumb dog's speed to rush back to Sanxiang City to avoid complications.
Seeing this, Huang Ziwan came over and unceremoniously climbed onto the dog's back.
Although the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade and other events had all been triggered by arriving at Annan Town early, walking really was too time-consuming.
Seeing this, Ren Qing simply brought Lin Cheng and Lu Xiaoyu along too.
The four of them rode the dog along the official road at high speed. Every Restraint Officer they passed looked stunned.
The more ignorant ones even thought Ren Qing and the others were riding a Restraint Officer who had transformed into a beast form, which was rather absurd.
What should have taken six or seven days took only two.
Ren Qing finally relaxed his tightly furrowed brow.
After all, he had killed Zhong Hulu, he had some worries that Shui Hulu might come seeking revenge, but it seemed he had overthought it.
With a large number of Restraint Officers outside the city, there would certainly be Yin Runner realm cultivators keeping watch.
Besides, the imprint on the back of Ren Qing's token had already increased to four.
Unless he spat out Zhong Hulu's remnant soul in front of Shui Hulu, and unless there was sufficient profit to be had, the other party wouldn't take such a desperate risk.
The husky came to a stop, Sanxiang City was faintly visible in the distance.
Ren Qing retracted the husky into the Prison Within the Abdomen. The group entered the bustling city, as if they had returned to the human world.
Especially for Lu Xiaoyu, who was still a reserve officer, having participated in the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, the Food-Consuming Immortal Forbidden Zone, and the elimination of the Forbidden Zone...
The experience had been excessively dangerous.
Even now, she still felt like she was dreaming.
It wasn't until they entered a quiet alley and were about to part ways that Lu Xiaoyu finally reacted.
After hesitating for a moment, she spoke: "Sirs, the blood crystals I've gathered this time are already sufficient..."
Her expression became resolute. "I'm preparing to advance to the Ghost Envoy realm by consuming a Supernatural Remnant, otherwise, I won't be able to protect myself."
Ren Qing wanted to speak but stopped himself, to be fair, even the Ghost Envoy realm couldn't guarantee self-preservation.
After meeting the Dao Child of Heaven, he felt that even the Yang God realm was powerless against beings like the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
Huang Ziwan said seriously, "Don't want to reconsider?"
"I understand my own talent, even with ten more years, I'd struggle to break through. So once I return to the Restraint Officers' Hall, I'll exchange for a Supernatural Remnant."
Lu Xiaoyu didn't say more. The risk of advancing through consuming a Supernatural Remnant was high, this trip could very well be her final farewell.
"Don't force it."
Huang Ziwan patted Lu Xiaoyu on the shoulder. He felt a vague, indescribable complexity, clearly worried about his own second aberration.
Ren Qing's thoughts moved.
He immediately took out three portions of Ghost Envoy realm Eerie Dust from the Prison Within the Abdomen, all refined from beastified Supernatural Remnants.
Compared to Half-Corpse realm Eerie Dust, Ghost Envoy realm Eerie Dust had far fewer restrictions.
[Eerie Dust]
[Condensed through the Food-Consuming Immortal Technique. When applied to the whole body or ingested, it can suppress Supernatural Remnants and alleviate the trend of beastification.]
"This was a gift from a senior of the Restraint Officers' Hall, take it at a critical moment during advancement. It might save your life."
Huang Ziwan accepted it without hesitation, he was nearing his second aberration.
Lin Cheng and Lu Xiaoyu hesitated slightly.
They both felt it was too precious and didn't dare accept.
Ren Qing forcibly gave it to the two of them.
He himself didn't suffer from aberration, and he had little demand for Eerie Dust in artifact refining.
After he advanced to the Yin Runner realm, he would still need a few trustworthy subordinates.
Besides, Ren Qing felt that Eerie Dust might not offer much practical help, the most important thing was the boost in morale during advancement.
Ren Qing then returned to the Corpse Burners' Hall. Smoke from burning corpses drifted from the courtyard, but Xiao Wu and the others were all safe and sound.
Under Bo Feng's guidance, they were gradually becoming independent.
Ren Qing felt relatively reassured about this. Since the Restraint Officers' Hall was preparing for soul summoning, they absolutely would not let anything go wrong inside the city.
During the meal, he learned from Xiao Wu that his younger brother, Little Third, had joined the Blood Dog Gang. Whether that was a blessing or a curse was unknown.
Ren Qing told Xiao Wu that if he ran into trouble, he could go find Butcher Zhang for help, then he began preparing to refine artifacts, planning to reopen the Great Dream Forge.