Ren Qing spoke as he took out a piece of corpse meat.
This material indeed had some healing properties, and more importantly, it had no side effects.
The expression on the head in the jar softened. It appeared to reluctantly accept the corpse meat, yet the smile at the corner of its mouth could not be concealed.
Ren Qing smoothly continued, "Senior, has something changed within the Restraint Officers' Hall? I wanted to ask, where is the place where spell manuals are kept?"
The head in the jar looked slightly surprised.
Logically speaking, the number of spells Ren Qing had mastered within the Restraint Officers' Hall was already unprecedented. Could it be he still felt it wasn't enough?
Just the spells he had shown so far numbered five or six...
Ren Qing's advancement to the Yin Runner Realm had been somewhat troublesome, but according to Great Dream True Person, once he reached the Yang God Realm, he would soar like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.
Of course, that was on the premise of actually reaching the Yang God Realm. At present, in the Yin Runner Realm, only Li Tiangang and Song Zongwu seemed to have some possibility.
The head in the jar found it hard to dissuade Ren Qing, after all, Song Zongwu, as his guide, had no objections, so naturally, he wouldn't meddle.
"Great Dream True Person intends to strip the Supernatural Remnant out from Avici Hell. Next, the Restraint Officers' Hall will separate the inheritance of spells into its own system, but it will take some time."
"I see. Thank you, Senior."
Ren Qing nodded.
Previously, to obtain a Supernatural Remnant, one had to venture alone into the Mountain Ghost Den, the danger of which was self-evident.
Now, it seemed that Great Dream True Person intended to simplify the process of acquiring spells, likely because upon reaching the Yang God Realm, he had gained enough confidence to eliminate the restricted zones.
Ren Qing suddenly realized that Great Dream True Person also possessed the Blindless Method of the Double Pupils.
If Ren Qing could use the ability of the Twin Nightmare Ghosts to send his soul into the restricted zones, then with Great Dream True Person's cultivation, he could do it even more comprehensively.
Moreover, the Butterfly Dream Technique inherently involved dreams.
Eliminating the Ghost Envoy Realm's restricted zones might no longer entail any real risk.
As the Restraint Officers' Hall acquired more and more Supernatural Remnants from the restricted zones, the number of Restraint Officers would surely surge explosively.
An age of great contention indeed.
Ren Qing probed, "By the way, Senior... about Shui Hulu, "
"Don't ask me about that. Li Tiangang is in charge of Shui Hulu. I have no idea how he plans to deal with him."
The head in the jar hesitated for a few breaths, then added, "But you probably won't be seeing Shui Hulu anytime soon. Even if he isn't killed, he'll still be skinned alive by Great Dream True Person."
Right now, manpower was badly needed. Theoretically, Shui Hulu should have been forgiven.
But during Ksitigarbha's soul-calling process, Shui Hulu had fled in the middle of battle, a huge problem. On top of that, his usual conduct was far too extreme.
Thus, how to handle Shui Hulu had been left unresolved, with the matter resting on Li Tiangang's desk.
Ren Qing fell into deep thought.
This was an excellent opportunity. If they waited until Shui Hulu escaped confinement, killing him would surely trigger an investigation by the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Huang Ziwan's life or death was unknown, and it was highly likely Shui Hulu had something to do with it. He had to find a way to ruin him completely, best if his soul was utterly annihilated.
Ren Qing returned to the second floor of the Secret Pavilion, choosing to sort out his own spells there while waiting for the changes in Avici Hell that the head in the jar had mentioned.
Before he knew it, more than half a month had passed.
The Secret Pavilion occasionally saw Restraint Officers visit, but most were reservists. They didn't know Ren Qing, so their reactions were indifferent.
But once news spread that Ren Qing was cultivating in the Secret Pavilion, the reservists' gazes carried more respect.
Some even came specifically to the Secret Pavilion just to befriend the rumored strongest Restraint Officer below the Yin Runner Realm.
Ren Qing paid them no mind at all.
The Restraint Officers familiar with him didn't come to disturb him, instead sending messages through the Nether Crow about their current situations and cultivation problems.
Ren Qing answered them without reservation, and in return, he learned more about the Restraint Officers' Hall's plans.
Lin Cheng had been dispatched to search for restricted zones in the wilds and had recently discovered several Half-Corpse Realm restricted zones hidden in remote places, which were quickly handled by Yin Runner Realm-led teams.
Yan Jun had reached a bottleneck at the Ghost Envoy Realm and chose to enter seclusion somewhere in the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Lu Xiaoyu remained in Heshan Town, where at least four or five full Restraint Officers were stationed, according to her.
Their mission was mainly to gradually build outposts to the north, laying down spells for vigilance, clearly to monitor the marshes.
Still, no word had come from Huang Ziwan. This made Ren Qing increasingly worried, further strengthening his resolve to eliminate Shui Hulu.
He contacted Song Zongwu to confirm the situation in the Stomach within the Stomach.
Song Zongwu came directly to the Secret Pavilion.
Before Ren Qing could react, Song Zongwu interrupted his visualization practice. "Ren Qing, just in time, come with me to the Stomach within the Stomach."
"Senior Song, what happened-?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Song Zongwu's legs powered up, turning him into an afterimage as he sped through Avici Hell. Ren Qing had no choice but to follow closely to avoid falling behind.
They stopped in front of a hill.
Song Zongwu stomped the ground.
Boom.
As the tremor subsided, the entrance to the Stomach within the Stomach revealed itself before them. The two immediately stepped inside, one after the other.
Ren Qing noticed many marks on the walls inside, even some lingering bone fragments.
Clearly, when suppressing Non-Poison, there had been a fierce battle here, likely between two Yin Runner Realm cultivators.
The narrow corridor contained dozens of cells, each holding a Restraint Officer who had lost control due to aberration.
Even without Non-Poison present, the place was still eerily silent, oppressive in atmosphere.
Ren Qing was about to ask Song Zongwu about Huang Ziwan when curses suddenly came from one of the cells, his own.
His mouth twitched. That monster was unmistakably Huang Ziwan.
"Old Huang, how did you end up in here?"
As soon as Ren Qing spoke, many Restraint Officers in the Stomach within the Stomach recognized his voice. The atmosphere instantly grew lively, prompting the little man in the jar to poke his head out.
Huang Ziwan pressed up to the iron door and whispered, "It's all that bastard Shui Hulu. To lure out Non-Poison, he forced me to be bait, and I got swallowed for half an hour..."
"Now it's too late to say anything. My aberration has completely lost control, it's... not something I can suppress anymore."
His tone was filled with despair. Though he didn't say the words "Eerie Dust," it was obvious he had already tried it many times.
When he'd first been locked in the Stomach within the Stomach, he'd thought he could get out, after all, Ren Qing had done it before.
But after hearing the truth from Li Fangtan, he felt there was no hope left in this life.
Ren Qing glanced at Song Zongwu, unsure of his purpose in bringing him here, and so he didn't know how to speak.
"Little man in the jar, seal the sound."
The little man in the jar cut off their voices from the surroundings, preventing the nearby Restraint Officers from hearing.
Song Zongwu said calmly, "The Restraint Officers' Hall needs manpower, but it takes years for a reservist to advance to the Ghost Envoy Realm."
"Li Tiangang proposed selecting some Restraint Officers from the Stomach within the Stomach whose aberration traces are lighter. I've been here for some time now, what do you think?"
Ren Qing knew that Song Zongwu was asking him because he could transform into a ghost wolf without side effects.
But honestly, he had no good method for loss of control from aberration, Eerie Dust could only slow the aberration of the body, not the soul.
Unless he used the Flesh Furnace to refine a Ghost Envoy Realm's Supernatural Remnant.
At that moment, Ren Qing thought of a plan to kill two birds with one stone, if Ghost Envoy Realm Eerie Dust could slow the aberration of the soul, it might also be used to deal with Shui Hulu.
"Senior Song, take a look at this material."
He handed Eerie Dust to Song Zongwu, who studied it for a moment, his expression growing increasingly complicated before shaking his head regretfully.
"It's far from enough. The Restraint Officers in the Stomach within the Stomach are all suffering from uncontrolled soul aberration."
The little man in the jar let out a breath, Restraint Officers here were resources to him. Losing even a few would have an impact.
Ren Qing smiled. "Senior Song, this was actually refined from my spell techniques. The raw material is a Half-Corpse Realm Supernatural Remnant."
Song Zongwu narrowed his eyes and turned to the little man in the jar. "Over the years, quite a few Restraint Officers in here have died. You should have some Ghost Envoy Realm Supernatural Remnants saved up, right?"
Meeting Song Zongwu's sixfold gaze, the little man obediently fetched a Supernatural Remnant stored in a jar from within his glazed bottle.
Ren Qing took it and tossed it into the Flesh Furnace.
Under the boost of the pseudo-soul-turned Fuel King, the flames roared. Even a Ghost Envoy Realm's Supernatural Remnant was helpless, turning to ash at a visible speed.
After a long wait, a black-grey Eerie Dust appeared in Ren Qing's palm.
[Eerie Dust]
[Condensed through the Food-Consuming Immortal Technique. Consuming it can slow the aberration of the soul.]
Song Zongwu picked up a pinch, frowned, and said, "Seems workable."
"Let's try it."
He kicked open Huang Ziwan's iron door and grabbed a poisonous toad.
The toad was, of course, Huang Ziwan, who had no time to resist before being force-fed some Eerie Dust. He then closed his eyes and went still.
Ren Qing placed the Heavenly Demon Dream Seed on his brow to examine Huang Ziwan and saw that his twisted soul indeed bore fewer aberration marks.
Overjoyed, Ren Qing fed him the rest of the Eerie Dust.
Huang Ziwan hurried to absorb it, like clutching a life-saving twig on the edge of a cliff.
Ren Qing tentatively asked, "Senior Song, with enough Supernatural Remnants, could all the Restraint Officers in here be freed?"
The little man in the jar floated in the air, poking his head out and staring hard at Ren Qing.
Song Zongwu replied, "Impossible. The Stomach within the Stomach revolves around the little man in the jar. The Restraint Officers' Hall could at most take a few away."
He patted Ren Qing's shoulder. "This is already very good, at least it gives those who've lost control some hope."
Ren Qing smirked. "Senior Song, I've heard the Restraint Officers' Hall doesn't know how to deal with Shui Hulu. Personally, I think no number of Ghost Envoy Realms compares to a single Yin Runner Realm..."
The little man in the jar froze, almost breaking the sound seal.
Song Zongwu's mouth curled upward.
Chuckling, he said, "That's true enough, but after all, it's a Yin Runner Realm. Keeping him in the Stomach within the Stomach would be too dangerous."
"There's always a way to make Shui Hulu not dangerous."
"Ahem."
Song Zongwu's face turned serious. "Don't go blabbing this outside. The decision lies with Great Dream True Person. But if you can advance to the Yin Runner Realm, you'll have more say."
Ren Qing's mind stirred. Curious, he asked, "What exactly is the Yin Runner Realm?"
"The Yin Runner Realm is the beginning of the Great Dao."