Ren Qing strolled idly through Sanxiang City, taking the opportunity to get a grasp on the current situation in Xiangxiang.
He noticed that all the city gates were now open, and he could see some merchants and escort agencies leaving Sanxiang City.
This meant that the towns and villages in Xiangxiang had already been resettled, and the disturbance caused by Ksitigarbha's soul-retrieving ritual had more or less come to an end.
Ren Qing also noticed undercurrents stirring between the gangs, indirectly affecting the underworld trades and even the whole of Sanxiang City.
It wasn't about fighting over turf.
Rather, ever since news about the Yang God Realm had spread, the gangs had completely changed their previous stance of resistance, now all of them were eager to send their most gifted cultivators to the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Since the Hall was bound to expand and there was no way to stop it, they might as well try to get a share of the pie.
If they could gain recognition from the Restraint Officers' Hall like the Rotten Mud Gang, the resources their gangs could acquire in the future would greatly increase.
The existence of the Yang God Realm at least meant that the Hall allowed certain gangs to have Yin Runner Realm members, though they would inevitably have to hand over proof of allegiance.
Yet only a few months ago, they had all sneered at the Rotten Mud Gang.
Without realizing it, Ren Qing wandered into some remote streets and found that many martial arts schools were recruiting apprentices, even waiving tuition fees entirely.
Most martial schools had some gang background.
Naturally, the Restraint Officers' Hall turned a blind eye, as long as the gangs didn't cause civilian casualties. In fact, such activities were tacitly permitted by the authorities.
The streets were a chaotic mix of all sorts, with vendors' cries ringing out constantly.
"Bull Strength Pills! Just one will make you strong as an ox..."
"Smash a boulder on my chest..."
"Come, come, take a look at these martial arts manuals! Learn them and you'll leap over roofs and walls, lift giant rocks as easily as picking up a feather!"
Ren Qing stopped with a complicated expression, bent down to pick up a martial arts manual, flipped through a few pages, and then put it back on the stall.
Seeing this, the stall owner hurriedly said, "Don't want the manual? Just a few taels of silver and it's yours."
"No need."
Ren Qing shook his head and turned to leave.
The stall owner, with sharp eyes, spotted the Restraint Officer token at Ren Qing's waist and immediately showed a frightened look, cursing himself inwardly for not recognizing someone important.
Ren Qing hadn't expected these manuals to actually be genuine.
They must have leaked from the martial halls under the government's control, almost certainly with the Restraint Officers' Hall's consent.
That explained a lot, everyone knew the saying "the poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts." Since martial arts were no longer banned, more grain would be needed to feed the warriors.
The Restraint Officers' Hall was probably planning to expand farmland in Annan Town. The same logic applied to animal husbandry, food prices would inevitably drop.
The changes in Xiangxiang might seem subtle, but in truth, tugging on one thread moved the whole web.
Ren Qing shook his head. No matter what, strengthening his own abilities came first.
Even if the situation became turbulent, as long as he had the cultivation to protect himself, he wouldn't have too much to worry about. His top priority was to advance to the Yin Runner Realm.
But it required a full two hundred years of lifespan. If he relied only on the ghost market on the fifteenth of each month, it would take quite some time to accumulate.
Ren Qing pondered for a while.
He planned to find an opportunity to visit the Hall's repository of spell manuals. Even if he couldn't find a longevity technique, he could at least master techniques suited for a Jailer.
He also wanted to understand exactly how the Yin Runner Realm differed from his current level, so he could plan ahead.
His ghost wolf form was indeed powerful, once he completed all three strange transformations, it might even rival a Yin Runner Realm focused on support-type spells.
But the ghost wolf form would be heavily restricted in desert terrain.
He couldn't remain in Xiangxiang forever, and eventually he would have to enter marshlands.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ren Qing suddenly remembered that the Wuwei Daoist Altar still needed to be emptied out, there was no shortage of matters pressing on him.
He decided to take advantage of the Hall's current period of repairs to enter a proper closed-door cultivation, which might last several years, until he advanced to the Yin Runner Realm.
Through the Nether Crow, Ren Qing sent letters to the Restraint Officers he was familiar with, then returned to the Corpse Burners' Hall, preparing to head to Avici Hell.
Bo Feng and the others were in the courtyard, with no corpses to handle in recent days, but each of them wore a troubled expression.
They were startled to see Ren Qing, as it had been quite some time since they last met.
Ren Qing froze briefly, then asked, "Where's Little Martial Practitioner?"
Bo Feng hesitated for a moment before smiling bitterly and explaining the whole story, it was because of Little Third.
According to him, Little Third had gone mad and gouged out his one good eye, then swallowed it.
On top of that, Little Wu's mother had fallen ill, so he had taken leave to stay home these past few days.
Before leaving, Little Wu had specifically told Bo Feng not to tell Ren Qing, mainly to avoid causing him trouble.
Ren Qing shook his head helplessly.
Truly worrisome, Little Third was probably trying to master the Blindless Method, but the difficulty of cultivating such a technique was extremely high.
After getting Little Wu's address from Bo Feng, he set off at once.
The courtyard was rather secluded, but with Little Wu's official status as a government runner, and Little Third's membership in the Blood Dog Gang, no one dared provoke them.
In fact, residents passing by even made a point of detouring away.
As Ren Qing approached, he caught a strong scent of herbs wafting through the air, along with a cough that could not be suppressed.
Several children were playing a stone-throwing game at the door, but when they saw Ren Qing, fear flickered in their eyes.
Ren Qing knew these were Little Wu's younger siblings. He took out some broken silver to give them, but the children scattered at once.
The noise outside drew Little Wu out, carrying a porcelain bowl of medicine.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he greeted, "Brother Qing..."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Little Wu, not having seen him in so long, couldn't help feeling a little distant, especially since Ren Qing was now spoken of among government runners as an immortal.
Ren Qing patted Little Wu on the head.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an elderly woman sunning herself in the courtyard and asked, "Little Wu, how's your mother?"
Little Wu, surprisingly calm, replied softly, "It's fine. The doctor said it's just the Celestial limit, her lifespan's nearly up, she won't last much longer."
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes to examine her, he didn't even need the aid of the information flow to see her vitality clearly declining.
Though mortals could live to around fifty at most, they usually reached their end in their early forties.
This reminded him of the old mother in Bazi Village, he should visit her before entering seclusion, to settle at least one thread of karma from his predecessor's life.
Ren Qing had no good solution. Eating corpses could extend life by only two hundred days, and in any case, birth, aging, sickness, and death were all part of the natural order.
The old woman spoke weakly, "Ah Wu, who's here?"
Little Wu started to answer, but Ren Qing cut in, "Madam, I'm a doctor from the city, here to check on Little Third's condition."
"Oh, please, please come in, sir."
Her vision was clearly failing, she struggled to get up.
Ren Qing, seeing this, cast the Dream Ingress technique, and she drifted into sleep, her breathing softening, her expression relaxing.
Such techniques could have quite an effect on mortals, at the very least, her sleep would be better from now on.
"Thank you, Brother Qing."
"Go check on Little Third."
Little Wu led him to a side room, where silence reigned.
Ren Qing waved a hand, pushed open the door, and saw Little Third squatting in the corner, showing no reaction even when someone entered.
"Little Third."
Little Third turned his head, his mouth moving as if he didn't know what to say.
Ren Qing gave a wry smile. "I can help you regain your sight, but whether you can cultivate spells afterward will be up to you."
"Thank you, Immortal Ren."
Little Third kowtowed respectfully, the impatience in his heart had long been worn away by the past days' suffering.
Ren Qing closed his eyes, sending a soul fragment into the Wuwei Daoist Altar.
The pond there was even more damaged, and from the Wuwei Hall came the sound of furious roars, it seemed Heavenly Daozi was losing his mind again.
Seizing the chance, Ren Qing returned to the Assembly Hall and pulled Little Third's consciousness into it.
Fabricated spells were of little practical use, but for physical disabilities, they could work wonders. The drawback was that such enhanced flesh became especially appetizing, and each person could undergo this process only once.
Ren Qing created a fabricated technique called the "No-Worry Eye-Birth Art" and applied it to Little Third.
Little Third felt a warm current surge into his head, when he reached up to touch his eye sockets, something seemed to be growing rapidly within.
"Cherish it."
Ren Qing tossed him the Blindless Method manual, filled with annotations to help him avoid unnecessary detours.
Declining Little Wu's invitation to stay for dinner, Ren Qing went straight back to the Corpse Burners' Hall.
He dripped blood onto his Restraint Officer token, and a familiar doorway appeared before him. Stepping through, he soon reached Avici Hell.
The first sight that greeted him was the vast Taisui Forest, but instead of vitality, it gave off an eerie, chilling sense of gloom.
In the sky, Grand Duke Taisui still lay there, his skin mottled with corpse spots.
Without the blood rain obscuring the view, Ren Qing stood on high ground and looked around, discovering that the Hall's terrain had changed considerably.
The Knot Cave was nowhere to be seen.
There were few Restraint Officers around, and with the stomach wall's entrance gone, one could barely spot anyone at a glance.
He had originally intended to check the spell manuals or exchange for Supernatural Remnants at a place called the Mountain Ghost Cavern.
But now, there was no sign of it, only the distinct Secret Pavilion still stood.
Ren Qing decided to head there instead, to ask the jarred head about the Mountain Ghost Cavern.
He even summoned the husky, and in a few minutes they arrived at the tower.
Inside, the Pavilion's décor was much the same, books still aged and worn, the place still cold and deserted.
Only the second-floor wall now hung a new map.
It marked the location of marshlands, right beside the Yang God Realm's forbidden zone on the edge of the desert, the nearest entrance was north of Heshan Town.
Now that Avici Hell covered part of the marshlands, Restraint Officers going there could still enter and exit the Hall freely.
Ren Qing even suspected that some Yin Runner Realm cultivators had already set foot in that vast desert.
He went up to the third floor, where he indeed found the jarred head in its corner.
Ren Qing hesitated for a moment before deciding not to disturb it, instead browsing the books for material on spell techniques.
At the same time, he split his attention, his soul fragment in the Wuwei Daoist Altar had already gone to the Fire Refining Palace, looking for any clues to clear out the Tombstone Furnace.
Several hours later, the jarred head finally awoke.
It looked at Ren Qing in surprise, muttering, "Didn't I seal the third floor? How did someone get in, oh... I must have given this kid the mark."
The jarred head asked, "Ren Qing, if you've got something to say, make it quick, I'm injured and need to rest."
"How would I dare disturb you, senior? Just a small question..."