Eerie Dust's matter was still easier to speak of; after all, the Restraint Officers' Hall would provide the Supernatural Remnant, and Ren Qing only needed to refine it, with the reward being Blood Crystals.
But the Restraint Officers' Hall's handling of Shui Hulu was somewhat thought-provoking.
It was precisely to strip away his soul and then imprison him in the Stomach within the Stomach.
Not much different from what he imagined, so why did it take more than a year to make the decision?
Ren Qing furrowed his brow.
And the timing was so coincidental, it was chosen after he advanced to the Yin Runner Realm.
He tentatively muttered to himself: "Senior Great Dream, Blood Crystals aren't of much use to me, it's better to have a longevity trade like in the Ghost Market."
The leaf revealed a large "Yes" character, then burned without flame, not giving him any chance to make further requests.
Ren Qing gave a helpless smile.
It seemed that Great Dream True Person already knew he had advanced to the Yin Runner Realm, though the news should not spread out.
From this it could be seen that the Restraint Officers' Hall originally had great internal disagreement in handling Shui Hulu.
In the end, only after Ren Qing demonstrated his value did Great Dream True Person make the final decision.
He was not worried that Shui Hulu would have a chance to make a comeback.
With the meticulousness of the Restraint Officers' Hall, they would surely do things to the absolute end, even if Shui Hulu's soul was completely scattered, he would not be in the least surprised.
However, the Restraint Officers' Hall would inevitably entrust him with more important responsibilities; though it would not go so far as to let a Yin Runner Realm take risks, it might very well involve the marshlands.
He could only make preparations as soon as possible.
Ren Qing came to the Great Dream Forge, trying to have the ghost shadow sit in charge of it, changing to the rule of retrieving one magic tool every seven days; as a result, after running for one day, nothing went wrong.
This showed the deterrence of the Great Dream True Person's persona, if it had been on his own credibility, the business would quickly have become deserted.
After Ren Qing finished handling the matters of the shop, he returned to the underground cave to continue seclusion.
The days ahead were still relatively busy.
Techniques only needed to consume lifespan to advance, so there was no need to waste too much time.
As for the Tombstone Furnace, it could be slowly stripped away; the main thing was still the refining of Eerie Dust.
According to Great Dream True Person's meaning, next, the Stomach within the Stomach would withdraw three-quarters of the out-of-control Restraint Officers, to be stationed in Heshan Town.
The Restraint Officers' Hall gradually shifted its manpower northward, this said a lot.
There must be something in the marshlands that made Great Dream True Person so apprehensive; as to whether it involved the adjacent Jingzhou, that was hard to say.
Ren Qing inspected each Supernatural Remnant; all were the most common techniques, mostly contributed over the years by various gangs.
He threw the Supernatural Remnant into the Flesh Furnace.
Considering that he was now not in the desert, Kunpeng's ability to fly in the sky and dive into the sea would be quite useful; the Wind and Sand Method could only be delayed slightly.
Ren Qing multitasked, picking up the secret manual, and after consuming thirty days of lifespan, his whole body began to feel a tingling numbness.
The technique began to affect his body.
Webbing like that of a frog grew between Ren Qing's fingers, his skin became delicate but was covered in a layer of mucus, there were traces of fish gills on his neck, and sparse feathers grew along his back.
The Kunpeng's drawbacks were enormous, even preliminary mastery required seven mutations.
Ren Qing forcefully suppressed the urge to swim in water, preparing to continue advancing to the Half-Corpse Realm.
The Half-Corpse Realm was divided into:
[Fish-Bird Form: Resembling Fish, Resembling Bird]
[Swimming Fish Form: Breathe Underwater]
[Flying Bird Form: Wings Grow on the Back]
The cost to exempt the Fish-Bird Form was even greater, requiring the consumption of one and a half years of lifespan.
Ren Qing felt a bit of heartache; fortunately, after advancing to the Ghost Envoy Realm, there would be no lifespan differences, all aberrations would uniformly be fifty years.
[Whether to choose the Fish-Bird Form branch, will consume lifespan of one year and six months]
Kunpeng immediately reached the Half-Corpse Realm.
Ren Qing's body was covered with numerous scales, with some feathers also growing on his arms, simultaneously possessing the traits of both fish and bird.
The drawbacks of bodily mutation gradually emerged, techniques involving the body were all affected, though not as exaggerated as with ghost wolf transformation.
Ren Qing then examined Fish-Bird Twin Life.
He frowned; the ability felt ordinary, showing no connection with Kunpeng, more like some malformed aquatic monster.
Ren Qing stared at the aberration tree in disbelief; the Ghost Envoy Realm information was rather intriguing.
[Shedding the Mortal Twin Life: Kunpeng as One]
The name was indeed imposing, but perhaps the cultivator who created the technique had only imagined Kunpeng as an illusion.
The so-called Kunpeng blood was probably from the cultivator himself, which was why the technique's inheritance had been severed.
Ren Qing's current twenty-plus years of lifespan was still sufficient.
Might as well advance to the Ghost Envoy Realm in one go, if the technique's effect was mediocre, he could just lock it up in the Prison Within the Abdomen to gather dust.
[Do you want to choose the Shedding the Mortal Twin Life branch, will consume lifespan of fifteen years]
His body immediately began to undergo drastic change.
Ren Qing's muscles swelled, his skin turned bluish-purple, his fish traits became even more apparent, and soon his height surpassed three meters.
Fins grew on the sides of his head, thin membranes covered his eyes, and protruding fangs filled his mouth.
Every movement was brimming with explosive power.
Ren Qing panted heavily, his sweat turning into floating water droplets.
After the Fish-Bird Form reached the Ghost Envoy Realm, he could freely switch between "Kun" and "Peng" forms, adapting to both aquatic and aerial environments.
The Kun form clearly had some degree of water control ability.
Ren Qing then tried the Peng form, large quantities of metallic feathers grew along his arms, and his muscles became streamlined.
His teeth transformed into a bird's beak, in appearance he could be called a roc, but he resembled a vulture more.
Since he was a Jailer, how could he not push aberration out of control to the limit to bring out his full potential?
Ren Qing took out the materials he had prepared in advance, blood from various birds and fish, which was not very expensive.
He drank several jin in one go, but it was absorbed within just a few breaths.
Fortunately, Ren Qing had exchanged for quite a lot; blood was swallowed continuously, the sound of bones colliding like exploding firecrackers.
It took more than ten jin of blood to reach the limit, and terrifying aberration appeared alongside it.
Ren Qing had thought there would be more inhuman features, but unexpectedly it was complete beastization.
The underground cave in which he was in shook, forcibly expanded several meters by Ren Qing's swelling size, causing a large pit to sink into the outside.
Bang!!
Ren Qing broke through the soil.
A Peng bird over seven meters tall stood atop the hill, its feathers a dark golden color.
It looked like a winged beast, and the sounds it emitted were like metal striking metal, incomparably resonant and forceful.
Ren Qing then transformed into the Kun form, flesh, blood, and bones reorganized, revealing an armored Kun whale, utterly unlike any creature that could exist on land.
A farmer returning from chopping wood in the mountains suddenly heard a strange sound in the distance.
They instinctively looked up, only to see a giant monster bird soaring into the sky; they were instantly so frightened they fell to the ground trembling.
From then on, the hill came to be called "Wenzhu Hill."
Passed down through generations, whenever children mentioned it, elders would say the appearance of the Zhu was like a hawk, but with clawed hands like those of a human, and its voice was as unpleasant as a buzzing screech.
It was an omen of disaster, once encountered, one must flee as quickly as possible.
Ren Qing spread his wings and soared in the sky, covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye, the feeling of breaking free from restraints was utterly delightful.
But after all, like the ghost wolf, it was an aberration out of control; maintaining the form for too long could damage the body, which would not be worth the loss.
Ren Qing planned to find a secluded place to continue seclusion until the Wind and Sand Method reached the Ghost Envoy Realm.
At this time,
Li Tiangang was traveling along the official road, heading toward Heshan Town.
He suddenly became aware and raised his head, sensing a black shadow passing in the distance, seemingly a completely aberrated out-of-control Restraint Officer.
"A bird-type transformation technique, could it be the Restraint Officer who recently advanced to the Ghost Envoy Realm?"
"Too reckless... The news of the Eerie Dust shouldn't have spread yet, right?"
Li Tiangang's face was unpleasant; in truth, he had opposed the release of Restraint Officers from the Stomach within the Stomach, even with materials like Eerie Dust.
If Blood Crystals could be used to suppress aberration, then many Restraint Officers would take the risk, and the rate of out-of-control aberration would only increase.
But Li Tiangang also knew the current predicament of the Restraint Officers' Hall.
The number of reserves was indeed not small, but to grow into the Ghost Envoy Realm might take more than ten years, manpower was already somewhat insufficient.
He instinctively headed toward where the shadow had been, but before he could get close, that aura of out-of-control aberration suddenly disappeared.
Li Tiangang was deeply puzzled.
Until he saw a figure run over the hilltop, and moments later vanish into the depths of the forest.
"Ren Qing, you rascal..."
Li Tiangang smiled wryly and shook his head, another strange aberration ability like The Taotie Method, truly and inexplicably worrying.
"But if I have not yet broken through to the perfected Yin Runner Realm, Ren Qing should be able to catch up before long..."
He pushed aside the absurd thought.
No matter how great the talent, Ren Qing could not possibly advance to the Yin Runner Realm in a short time.
Rather, those two young girls had a chance to touch the Yin Runner Realm; when they advanced, Great Dream True Person would surely personally guard them.
Li Tiangang no longer concerned himself with Ren Qing, turning his head northward.
Ren Qing had also sensed a Yin Runner Realm nearby, so he could not afford to maintain the Peng form; he hurriedly sprinted and fled deep into the mountains.
After confirming no one was following, he casually found a cave.
Ren Qing visualized The Blindless Method, using it to gradually erase the consciousness of the Supernatural Remnant, while also accumulating the lifespan needed for the Wind and Sand Method.
Several months passed in a flash.
A sandstorm suddenly rose in the forest; a sand figure a little over two meters tall stood before the cave.
Ren Qing looked at the Wind and Sand Method, now advanced to "Boundless Sand," and could not help but laugh and cry.
Compared to the imagined giant sand figure of a dozen or even dozens of meters, a height of around two meters was barely acceptable.
Ren Qing tried all sand-related materials in the Great Dream Pavilion, but none could cause the Supernatural Remnant to aberrate out of control.
It turned out, according to books, that Boundless Sand only needed to devour ordinary sand and gravel to grow its size without limit.
This thing seemed to exist only at the borders of Heshan Town...
Ren Qing then imprisoned the Wind and Sand Method.
In the Prison Within the Abdomen, the Kunpeng and ghost wolf Supernatural Remnants were extremely ferocious, coiled like massive beasts in the central area.
But the wind and sand was just a pile of sand in the corner, looking utterly unremarkable.
Ren Qing sighed, summoned the husky, and headed toward Bazi Village.
In the village he left some ghost shadows, thereby learning that the Chen clan was about to exhaust their lifespan, naturally he thought to accompany them through their last days.
Ren Qing glanced back in the direction of the marshlands.
Lately the Restraint Officers' Hall had indeed issued him tasks related to the marshlands; although none were too serious, it was clear that Restraint Officers were preparing to build a fortress on the edge of the desert.
The wind has risen.