Ren Qing had long since prepared the place for his closed-door cultivation. It was a pit dug in advance, simply lined with dry grass inside.
He stretched his muscles and bones.
Thinking carefully, it had unknowingly been more than a year in the mountain village.
Ren Qing had not deliberately sought to accumulate lifespan; two hundred years had come naturally.
During that time, the Chen family had treated him with great generosity. No matter how relatives tried to persuade Ren Qing about marriage, he was unmoved.
It was evident that even though Ren Qing had not explained in detail, the Chen family had guessed that he had touched upon the Immortal Path, and naturally would not force him to marry and have heirs.
As Chen grew older, the number of times she went to sweep the graves also increased.
She constantly muttered her wish that after death she be buried together with Old Man Ren, using the apricot tree growing in the courtyard as the coffin.
Ren Qing sighed as he stood before the pit. Birth, aging, illness, and death were the normal course of human life.
To escape suffering, one could only ascend to immortality and attain the Dao.
He was about to touch upon the Yin Runner realm, and could not help but have many thoughts.
The increase in strength meant that the scenery he could see would be even more splendid, but who knew when he would be able to touch upon true immortality.
Ren Qing blocked the entrance and exit of the pit with a large boulder, then sat cross-legged on the ground.
Information flow surged; the interface was slightly different.
[Ren Qing]
[Age: Twenty]
[Lifespan: Two hundred and nine years]
Ghost Envoy realm techniques:
The Taotie Method (Prison Within the Abdomen)
[Eerie Mutation: Jailer]
The Blindless Method (Twin Nightmare Ghosts)
[Eerie Mutation: Dream Seed, Soul Garb, Dream Device]
Divine Leg Sutra (Marching Calamity Wolf)
Human Skin Book (Scapegoat Skin)
Bone Armor Technique (Bone-Clad Spinal Apparatus)
Immortal in the Mirror (Mirrored Entity Emergence)
Shadow Ghost Technique (Yin Ghost Demon Shadow)
[Eerie Mutation: Ghost Substitute]
Food-Consuming Immortal Technique (King of the Inner Furnace Kindling)
Nether Sea Breathing Art (Yellow Spring Immortal Bone)
...
The current two hundred-plus years of lifespan could only be used for advancing Twin Nightmare Ghosts, after all, Prison Within the Abdomen had not yet completed its third Eerie Mutation.
Ren Qing gathered his thoughts.
He temporarily set three techniques as his core techniques: Prison Within the Abdomen, Twin Nightmare Ghosts, and Yin Ghost Demon Shadow.
Twin Nightmare Ghosts seemed auxiliary, but in fact was a soul-focused technique that could increase his foundation when facing the Supreme Heavenly Demon in the future.
Within the Restraint Officers' Hall, techniques specializing in the soul were relatively rare, and most had considerable drawbacks, highlighting the uniqueness of those with Double Pupils.
After visualizing The Blindless Method several times, the restlessness in his heart turned to calm.
[Advance to branch Lord of Absolute Darkness? Will consume 200 years of lifespan]
As his lifespan gradually ebbed away, Ren Qing suddenly lost control of his body, then fell into boundless darkness, his eyes beginning to squirm.
He could not help but feel a chill; he could clearly sense the Supernatural Remnant formed by The Blindless Method constantly reviving.
Binding the Yin God was indeed more bizarre than words could describe; the horror of body parts developing sentience was enough to shatter one's psychological defenses.
Ren Qing forcefully endured the discomfort and visualized The Blindless Method, trying to suppress distracting thoughts.
But the Supernatural Remnant was like a demon enticing one into the abyss, constantly muttering in his mind, trying to make Ren Qing mutate and lose control.
The Supernatural Remnant in Ren Qing's body stayed utterly still, as if afraid of being noticed by the gradually awakening Lord of Absolute Darkness.
The process of advancing to Yin Runner realm was even longer than imagined.
Three Dream Seeds radiated bursts of light; after long cultivation, they had completely transformed into eye-shaped artifacts half a year ago.
The advancement of The Blindless Method naturally also affected the Dream Seed artifacts.
The Dream Seeds appeared on Ren Qing's forehead, three eyes growing side by side.
The Heavenly Demon Dream Seed was a pure, strange black, located in the center.
The Heavenly Dao Dream Seed on the left was like the eye of an immortal, radiating rainbow-colored glazed light, but on closer inspection resembled the egg of a Heavenly Dao Worm.
The Fire-inheritance Dream Seed on the right was like a blazing flame, as if capable of arousing the seven emotions and six desires deep in the heart of an ordinary person.
The Dream Seeds forcibly suppressed the changes brought about by the activation of the Supernatural Remnant, causing the birds and beasts in the mountain forest around the pit to flee in all directions.
But the Lord of Absolute Darkness' Supernatural Remnant also began to absorb the aura contained within the Dream Seeds, the auras of Heavenly Demon, Fire-inheritance, and Heavenly Dao.
A strange change immediately occurred.
Before Ren Qing could confirm the situation, veins bulged around his eye sockets; the Supernatural Remnant seemed on the verge of losing control.
The information flow exerted force, violently suppressing the Lord of Absolute Darkness' Supernatural Remnant, ending this long and dangerous advancement.
Ren Qing's expression was one of uncertainty.
The Yin Runner realm was achieved.
His eyes displayed a mysterious pattern of five pupils converging, and the pattern gradually changed, exuding a terrifying aura that inspired fear without anger.
But the feeling of the Supernatural Remnant being out of control still had not dissipated.
Ren Qing looked toward the top of the pit, staring at the sun through the thick layer of soil.
He forcibly suppressed the throbbing in his heart, then closed his eyes.
Binding the Yin God, as the beginning of the Yin Runner realm, was also the time when a technique's power was greatest, representing the awakening of the Supernatural Remnant within the body.
Ren Qing felt that if he wished, he could cause a solar eclipse to cover a hundred li.
All living beings here, if their souls could not withstand the corrosion of the technique, would immediately fall into the dream of the Lord of Absolute Darkness.
But Ren Qing's instincts prevented this act, it was a premonition of death.
An ordinary Binding the Yin God Restraint Officer, if not restraining the use of the technique, could easily cause bodily or even soul mutation and loss of control.
But after absorbing the aura within the Dream Seeds, his Lord of Absolute Darkness' Supernatural Remnant had become more unstable, and correspondingly, more powerful.
Once the technique was used, the risk borne was several times that of an ordinary Binding the Yin God.
Ren Qing quickly visualized The Blindless Method, feeling the malicious consciousness in his eyes begin to stir restlessly.
He could only be as careful as possible; erasing the consciousness of the Supernatural Remnant was a matter of persistence.
Ren Qing would have to be extremely cautious when using the abilities of the Lord of Absolute Darkness.
Because of the risk of losing control, it was best to keep the power limited between Ghost Envoy realm and Yin Runner realm; otherwise, it would be very easy to suffer a disastrous reversal.
Of course, as the Supernatural Remnant came under control, things would naturally improve.
Ren Qing summoned the information flow.
[Advance to Merging the Yin God? Will consume 500 years of lifespan]
His expression immediately darkened; to actually require 500 years as the exemption cost, even with preparation, he could not help but feel surprised.
Even with Ren Qing's current efficiency at extending life, 500 years would take only a few years, but there were still many techniques that needed advancement.
The Mutation Tree had also not yet revealed the Yang God realm mutation path, it seemed he could only wait until Releasing the Yin God.
He looked at his own lifespan.
Fortunately, with the first advancement to Yin Runner realm, he had gained an additional 170 years of life.
After hesitating a moment, Ren Qing decided to first complete the remaining two Eerie Mutations for Prison Within the Abdomen.
He immersed himself in the Mutation Tree in his mind, carefully inspecting each bud, searching for the most suitable Eerie Mutation branch.
Ren Qing made a discovery, a somewhat ambiguous Eerie Mutation branch.
[Boundless] : Every five days, the secondary stomach's area expands by four zhang, without limit.
At first glance it seemed not very useful, but in fact it could expand over three hundred zhang each year, which over a hundred years was rather astonishing.
From the Yang God realm Avici Hell, it could be seen that even when The Taotie Method advanced to Yang God realm, the area was not particularly large.
Aside from perfecting various techniques, space itself was also extremely important in balancing the potential of a small world, Boundless could well make up for this.
He chose "Boundless" as the Eerie Mutation path without hesitation.
Prison Within the Abdomen immediately trembled, the stomach swelling, but under the residual might of the Lord of Absolute Darkness' Supernatural Remnant, it quickly calmed.
Ren Qing's mouth twitched.
No wonder Great Dream True Person's The Blindless Method could advance to Ghost Envoy realm so quickly, after all, there was an even stronger Supernatural Remnant suppressing it within the body.
Next, Ren Qing found it difficult to decide on the branch ability for the third Eerie Mutation.
Indeed, there were many Eerie Mutation branches that could increase the technique's power; there was even one called [Remove Stomach] , allowing Prison Within the Abdomen to temporarily leave the body and become a pseudo-artifact.
After much consideration, he decided to prioritize potential.
Ren Qing's vision was too limited; even of Yin Runner realm, he only had a half-understanding.
Rather than trusting his own judgment, it was better to follow the Meat and Wine Taoist's path, with the goal of constructing Prison Within the Abdomen into a real world.
Ren Qing could bring the three Eerie Mutations to their utmost, something Meat and Wine Taoist absolutely could not do, this was his advantage.
After much thought, for the last Eerie Mutation branch he chose the ability called [Crescent Moon] .
[Crescent Moon] : Every six hours, a crescent moon rises; when it illuminates Prison Within the Abdomen, the healing of the stomach wall is accelerated.
It seemed useless, but Ren Qing could find no Eerie Mutation branch more fitting to world construction than Crescent Moon.
Fifty years of lifespan disappeared, and the changes within Prison Within the Abdomen were earth-shaking.
A hook-shaped crescent moon hung in midair.
Cool moonlight poured down.
Under the moonlight, the prison cells faintly gained a trace of vitality.
Blood vines grew luxuriantly, bearing blood-colored fruits the size of fists, which made the husky drool as it circled around.
With Ren Qing's permission, the husky eagerly devoured the blood vine fruits, its head swelling from the mild toxins.
The Fire-inheritance light of the Flesh Furnace moved toward the crescent moon, and was soon completely absorbed.
Ren Qing's expression showed slight amazement.
After that, Prison Within the Abdomen now had a division between sun and moon, alternating every six hours.
He patiently waited half a day; the crescent moon's glow receded, finally turning into a small burning sun of Fire-inheritance.
Ren Qing withdrew his consciousness; Prison Within the Abdomen still needed time to be tested.
Perhaps it really could become a real world?
Ren Qing shook his head, taking out a technique manual to read carefully.
After three Eerie Mutations of The Taotie Method, the number of captives Jailer could hold increased to three, just right for Wind and Sand Method and Kunpeng.
He casually spent lifespan to complete the second Eerie Mutation of the ghost shadow, "No Shadow."
With "No Shadow," the ghost shadow could remain outside the body for long periods, ensuring that the Great Dream Weapon-forging would not fall into the awkward situation of a closed shop.
During his time in seclusion, there was also progress in the Wuwei Daoist Altar.
The first Tombstone Furnace was successfully removed, without damaging the flesh-artifact itself.
He placed the Tombstone Furnace in a certain prison cell within Prison Within the Abdomen; as long as the ghost shadow actively provided Nether Yuan, forging could begin.
Ren Qing put away the book.
Since he did not have enough lifespan for two techniques to reach Ghost Envoy realm, he might as well first deal with the recent orders for Great Dream Weapon-forging.
He used the Restraint Officer token to activate the pathway, stepping into Avici Hell.
As Ren Qing approached the Dream Tree, a leaf happened to fall not far away.
He helplessly picked up the leaf.
The moment he touched it, the surface revealed over a dozen lines of text, recording the methods for handling Eerie Dust and Shui Hulu.
It was clearly the work of Great Dream True Person.