Ren Qing left the Stomach within the Stomach, and in the next instant the entrance and exit closed up and disappeared.
However, relying on the Restraint Officer token, he could sense the Stomach within the Stomach constantly moving, it was just somewhat troublesome to catch up.
The tremors grew increasingly intense.
Ren Qing looked toward the source.
He saw that in the center of the Taisui Forest, there was a giant tree slowly growing. Its appearance resembled a fungus tree, but there were no souls within it.
The fungus tree grew to several dozen meters in size, until its branches pierced into the top of the stomach wall.
The branches, originally dead white, gradually turned dark red, like blood vessels spreading from the stomach wall, occasionally even writhing.
This tree should have replaced the original brain tree as the core of Avici Hell, thereby maintaining the operation of the small world.
One could see the power of the Yang God realm.
Although he did not know whether the Great Dream True Person had mastered both the Cordyceps sinensis spell techniques, since he could so easily alter Avici Hell, he had most likely inevitably cultivated spell techniques involving the Grand Duke Taisui.
Sure enough, after reaching a high realm, mastering spell techniques became easier.
The fungus tree then spread its branches and leaves, countless young buds growing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and emitting a dreamlike halo.
It was somewhat inaccurate to call this tree a fungus tree, it was more like a dream tree.
What shocked Ren Qing the most was that buildings were actually gradually forming at the top of the tree, clearly moving the original Ghost Market here.
However, only five shops remained, among which of course there was still the Great Dream Weapon Forge.
This way, wouldn't the Ghost Market change from the fifteenth of every month to a permanent presence, and with the needs of the reserves added, it could earn a good deal of lifespan.
Ren Qing felt invigorated and immediately set off toward the dream tree.
Restraint Officers with the same goal were not few, and even mixed in were dozens to hundreds of reserves, their various spell techniques strange and diverse.
After the Restraint Officers' Hall had Yang God realm cultivators, it was no longer afraid of restricted zones formed by Supernatural Remnants, and the trend of expansion was growing ever stronger.
Ren Qing quickly arrived under the dream tree, climbed toward the top along the vines, and in a short moment stood at the entrance to the Ghost Market street.
At the entrance stood a notice board, posted with tasks from all over Xiangxiang, with quite a few Restraint Officers examining the details of the tasks, preparing to take them.
Ren Qing did not join the crowd at the notice board.
He stepped into the street with a complicated expression, trying to find the differences between the Ghost Market before and after, perhaps the distinction between the Yin Runner realm and the Yang God realm was hidden there.
The Double Pupils turned, and in the space between Ren Qing's brows appeared the eye formed from the Heavenly Demon Dream Seed.
He saw people streaming along the street, the passersby showing almost no flaws, and even the snacks sold at the stalls emitted an enticing aroma.
The details of the Ghost Market were becoming increasingly realistic; perhaps after the Great Dream True Person achieved the Heavenly Abomination realm, it would completely detach from the false dreamscape.
However, since Ren Qing possessed the Twin Nightmare Ghosts, he faintly noticed that the Ghost Market was somewhat stiff, indicating that the Great Dream True Person was still stabilizing the Yang God realm.
He headed toward the Great Dream Pavilion.
But before Ren Qing had gone more than a few steps, he suddenly felt something amiss.
Several buildings came into view, with the Great Dream Pavilion still the same as before.
Next to the Great Dream Pavilion was a somewhat shabby tavern, where over a dozen Restraint Officers were drinking Drunken Life, Dreaming Death, its aroma even richer.
Leaning against the Great Dream Weapon Forge, since Ren Qing had not opened for business, the doors were tightly closed, with over a dozen reserves waiting outside.
Next were the shops dealing in cultivation techniques and Supernatural Remnants, their signboards named very much in the Great Dream True Person's style.
They were respectively "Great Dream Technique Tower" and "Great Dream Strange Way", their purposes obvious at a glance, clear and straightforward.
Restraint Officers could not enter the Great Dream Strange Way; it seemed to require permission of the Yin Runner realm.
But what astonished Ren Qing was: why was there a dilapidated Daoist temple at the end of the Ghost Market?
Clearly, when Ren Qing was under the dream tree, he had seen that the Ghost Market had only five shops; how could there be an extra one?
No Restraint Officers stayed in front of the temple, clearly they could not see it.
When the Heavenly Demon eye between Ren Qing's brows disappeared, the Daoist temple vanished without a trace as well, most likely only the Twin Nightmare Ghosts could perceive it.
He hesitated for a moment, then once again attached the Heavenly Demon Dream Seed to himself.
Ren Qing pretended to head toward the Great Dream Strange Way, but in fact, using the reflection from the Restraint Officers' eyes, he glanced through the temple window.
His pupils dilated slightly.
On the surface he forcibly maintained calm, but inwardly his heart was surging with waves.
Inside the temple lay a Daoist corpse, incomplete, with all four limbs gone, and its head nowhere to be seen, only the Daoist robe still relatively intact.
On the corner of the robe a character could be clearly seen.
"taisui".
Ren Qing's entire body instantly broke out in goosebumps.
Not only because he saw Grand Duke Taisui in the Ghost Market, but also because this broken corpse was actually the Great Dream True Person's split soul.
Yes, the very split soul condensed after advancing to the Twin Nightmare Ghosts.
Ren Qing was not surprised that the Great Dream True Person's The Blindless Method had reached the Ghost Envoy realm, but for the split soul to appear in the form of Grand Duke Taisui was truly chilling to think about.
All Yin Runner realm cultivators generally believed that the Great Dream True Person was intending to use Grand Duke Taisui's dreamscape to touch upon the rumored Heavenly Abomination realm.
This was indeed the safest route, although even Song Zongwu felt the certainty was low, after all, Grand Duke Taisui had been dead for who knew how many years.
But clearly, the Great Dream True Person was underestimated.
He was plainly intending to refine his split soul into Grand Duke Taisui, and thus directly advance to the Heavenly Abomination realm.
Ren Qing had his eyes opened.
The Twin Nightmare Ghosts could be used like this?
Were all the Yang God realm cultivators in this world lunatics?
Heavenly Daozi and Ksitigarbha cultivated the Beast Pen Method to transform into the Supreme Heavenly Demon, and the Great Dream True Person, having just advanced to the Yang God realm, was already scheming for the Heavenly Abomination realm.
Ren Qing's expression grew grave, perhaps the Great Dream True Person was merely seeking to protect himself.
If one followed the "Dark Forest" law, every region with an existing power was a hunter holding a weapon, and upon meeting, the only outcome was to fight to the death.
If Xiangxiang developed in isolation, its final fate would be the same as Wuwei Monastery, only a dead end with a desperate bid for life.
Ren Qing dismissed the Heavenly Demon Dream Seed, and then walked into the Great Dream Technique Tower; its interior decoration was not much different from the Great Dream Pavilion.
The Great Dream True Person's twisted illusion still stood behind the counter.
Ren Qing felt a little guilty at the sight, having just spied upon the other's split soul.
But clearly he was overthinking; this was merely an avatar of the Great Dream True Person, even with hardly a trace of spell technique detectable.
The spell technique manuals of the Restraint Officers' Hall were not so many as to overflow the shop, so they were placed on each counter, all categorized.
Ren Qing found he could still touch the manuals, even open the first few pages; at least the information flow had a use here.
He casually picked one up.
[Poison Bone Art]
[Created by the Five-Poisons Daoist; soak one's bones in poison water for thirty-six days, then reimplant into the body to complete cultivation.]
The Poison Bone Art was quite suitable for Huang Ziwan, but of no use to Ren Qing.
He continued flipping through the manuals, and soon noticed that one-third of them did not receive the recognition of the information flow.
It was not that the spell techniques were false, but rather that they were missing some possibly non-critical parts, causing the information flow to show them as incomplete.
Also, spell techniques involving various Yin Runner realm Restraint Officers were absent.
Ren Qing shook his head in disappointment.
In the end, among the over a hundred spell techniques in the Great Dream Technique Tower, he found only three somewhat useful ones.
In theory, he could directly consume lifespan to master them, but on one hand he did not want the Great Dream True Person to notice, and on the other, he already had more blood crystals than he could spend.
[Nightmare Art]
[Imagined by Li Yiyang; requires ten days without sleep, then visualizing the Nightmare Demon lying down to sleep, and only without dying can cultivation succeed.]
[Wind and Sand Method]
[Inscribed on an unnamed stone; daily feed three jin of sand into the five senses until the blood shows signs of sandification, then cultivation can succeed.]
[Kunpeng Art]
[Created by the Tianpeng Daoist through visualizing the Kunpeng of the Northern Sea; requires consuming Kunpeng blood until seven bodily mutations appear to complete cultivation.]
Ren Qing left the Great Dream Technique Tower with the manuals.
He had indeed found longevity methods similar to The Blindless Method's eye-swallowing, but the effect was mediocre, at most raising the lifespan limit to about fifty years.
If cultivating such a technique affected Merging the Yin God, it would be a complete loss.
Fortunately, Ren Qing's current means of extending lifespan were barely sufficient; even after advancing the Heavenly Dao Method, it would be enough to bring two or three spell techniques to the Yin Runner realm.
As for the three techniques he chose, their uses varied.
The Nightmare Art was clearly related to the Twin Nightmare Ghosts, and could serve as a supplementary technique, though he did not plan to cultivate it for now.
The remaining two were for Jailers he planned to imprison in the Prison Within the Abdomen.
The Wind and Sand Method delighted him, because its mutation path "Sand Burier" was recorded in the Secret Pavilion, similar to the Mountain Deity.
The Sand Burier could enlarge its body by absorbing sand, and at the Ghost Envoy realm its "Boundless Sand" was enough to form a small desert.
Most importantly, it suited marshes, and counted as preparation for the future.
Ren Qing thought he might encounter more harsh environments, whether high mountains or deep seas, and would need corresponding spell techniques.
He chose the Kunpeng Art.
The "fish-bird" form of the Kunpeng Art could remain in water for long periods, and even briefly fly, barely meeting his requirements.
But these two spell techniques still required the Taotie Method to reach three strange transformations, or even advance to the Yin Runner realm, before they could be used for Jailers.
Ren Qing planned to master them when he went into seclusion.
He had his split soul go to the Great Dream Weapon Forge, then entered the Great Dream Pavilion to purchase resources, conveniently spending some blood crystals.
After replenishing his resources, Ren Qing remained in the Ghost Market, and only left after the number of reserves outside the Great Dream Weapon Forge had lessened somewhat.
Considering that the Great Dream Weapon Forge needed to remain open, and that his split soul could not remain outside for long, he planned to use a Ghost Shadow to mind the shop in the future.
Once the Shadow Ghost Technique completed the strange transformation [No Shadow], he could in fact leave the body for long periods.
Then he could change the business model, have Restraint Officers drop off materials and leave, and once the Ghost Shadow finished forging, place the item on the counter for pickup.
Even if the Tombstone Furnace were moved into the Prison Within the Abdomen, it would be fine; the method would still work, and with the Ghost Shadow's concealment, coming and going would be very convenient.
But for now, to save lifespan, he could only go to the Ghost Market every seven days to "harvest leeks" once.
After preparing for seclusion, he told Xiao Wu, Butcher Zhang, and the others that he was going out on a mission, and then left Sanxiang City.
He went to Bazi Village in the mountains to see his old mother, whose lifespan was nearly exhausted.
Seeing this, Ren Qing chose to go into seclusion in a secluded mountain cave nearby, occasionally visiting the village to see his mother, as his final filial effort.
Anyway, since his lifespan had not yet reached two hundred years, his free time was relatively plentiful.
His mindset gradually slowed, and in daily life he would help farm and till the fields in the village, his aura becoming increasingly in harmony with nature.
On occasion, even passing Restraint Officers failed to recognize Ren Qing himself.
However, no news from the Restraint Officers' Hall regarding the Eerie Dust and Shui Hulu had come at all.
Until this day.
Ren Qing took off his straw hat and hung it in the forest, and with a few flickers of movement, disappeared without a trace.