Ren Qing returned to the room and put the dried corpses into the Prison Within the Abdomen, and used corpse-eating to maintain their remaining vitality.
Immediately after, Ren Qing ground the Water Soul into powder, mixed it with water, and fed it to the dried corpses.
At first, after the dried corpses ingested the Water Soul, nothing unusual appeared, but very soon their bodies began to tremble violently, and their withered skin gradually recovered.
Ren Qing had no confidence upon seeing this.
After all, the three souls and seven spirits of the Dao boys had already scattered more than half; not to mention spiritual intelligence and awareness, even the tiniest bit of memory was hard to preserve.
A moment later, the Water Soul was shoved into the dried corpses' mouths as if it cost nothing, and the aura of aberration and loss of control appeared along with it, and grew more and more intense.
The dried corpses' skin became transparent, their flesh and bones dissolved and turned into a jelly-like state, yet traces of muscle fibers could still be seen.
They were not soft and boneless, still not much different from an ordinary person, except all their bones and flesh had fused into one.
The remnants of soul also gradually disappeared.
If the corpses were placed in a water source, they would probably be impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.
Seeing this, Ren Qing continued feeding them Water Soul, but apart from causing large amounts of water to gush out from their mouths and noses, it had little effect.
He couldn't help feeling puzzled , the aberration from the Water Soul had clearly reached its limit, yet it still had not formed a fog-like form.
Ren Qing extended his palm onto the surface of the corpse, and an information stream surged forth.
[Ze People]
[Aberrated from the Wine God Technique, when soaked in clear water for three days, it turns into fine wine, which when drunk allows one to breathe underwater for a short time.]
Ren Qing's expression showed some astonishment.
The information stream would definitely not be mistaken, and this indicated that the Ze People were not living beings, but more like a medicinal ingredient or food.
But if this thing was a Ze Person, then what were those kept by the Daoist temples in Huang Sand City...
Ren Qing helplessly shook his head.
He indeed had never used the information stream to examine the Ze People, after all, such fog-like creatures really required extra caution.
But if he could manufacture fake Ze People, that might be worth a try.
Ren Qing thought to himself.
Normally, only after undergoing the scorching of the waters could Ze People form, but unless he left Huang Sand City, how could he conceal it from the temples in the city.
Ren Qing decided to treat a dead horse like a living horse, planning to use high heat in place of the blazing sun of the waters.
Ghost shadows covered the corpse, so that ghost shadows and Ze People would be inseparable.
Then Ren Qing employed the ability of Immortal in the Mirror, illusions turning into flames that wrapped around the corpse, raising the temperature as high as possible.
After a while, the corpse turned to ashes.
But only some smoke and dust could be seen slowly dispersing, where was any fake Ze Person.
Ren Qing's expression shifted unpredictably, unconvinced, and he took out more Water Soul to feed another corpse.
When the corpse's aberration was complete, he directly threw it into the Flesh Furnace.
Ren Qing controlled the fire as much as possible to the size of a palm, burning the corpse, and crackling sounds followed.
Water vapor gradually gathered, forming a human shape floating within the Flesh Furnace.
But it was obvious that gray-black from the ghost shadows was mixed in, so it had no immortal aura at all, instead appearing extremely eerie.
The fire continued burning, and when the corpse completely disappeared, the fake Ze Person was thus formed.
The fake Ze Person stood in the middle of the Flesh Furnace, its intelligence extremely dull.
From atop the white bone throne, the Fuel King's gaze looked over, causing the fake Ze Person to tremble and hide in the corner, not daring to show itself.
Ren Qing's expression was one of interest.
If it weren't for the white bone throne being guarded by the remnant soul of Heavenly Daozi, he might have found a chance to make a third-realm Ze Person to act as a Fuel King.
Then, under the control of the ghost shadows, the fake Ze Person turned into water vapor and was put into a container.
Ren Qing extended his arm into the earthen jar container; although he didn't touch any substance, he still felt a chill at his fingertips.
An information stream surged forth.
[Ant Immortal (fragment)]
[Aberrated from the Wine God Technique, after digesting the soul before death, it can inherit memory.]
Ant Immortal???
Ren Qing let out a dumbfounded laugh.
Why call it Ant Immortal, it seemed to have no connection at all to the Wine God Technique, let alone the Water Marsh Method, it felt utterly baffling.
He immediately realized, just like how fabricated techniques were named by oneself, Ant Immortal was very likely a name given by the cultivator who created the Water Marsh Method among the Ze People.
Ren Qing decided to keep calling it Ze Person, after all, it represented this eerie immortal better.
Then he repeated the process, very quickly refining five fake Ze People, while leaving one corpse unburned by the fire.
After the corpse swallowed the Water Soul, he stored it in a cell of the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Ren Qing took out the manual of the Water Marsh Method and carefully read it a few more times, confirming the troubles he might encounter upon advancing to the Other-Consumption Realm.
Unknowingly, he had already stayed in the room for two days.
His confidence grew stronger and stronger.
Ren Qing now only lacked the right timing, whether it was holding an Ascension Assembly, or something going wrong with the Huangsha Daoist Assembly.
But Daoist Changshi suddenly came visiting again, his complexion extremely pale.
"Help me go take a look, the Huanghe Immortal might have gone insane..."
This sentence of Daoist Changshi's had probably been held back for a long time, but after saying it he regretted it a little.
He silently led Ren Qing toward the Yellow Crane Temple.
On the surface the Yellow Crane Temple was still bustling, with worshippers constantly arriving, but the faces of the welcoming Daoists seemed shrouded in a thick haze.
When the two opened the stone gate, Daoist Changshi couldn't help but mutter to himself: "If this keeps up we'll all be dead..."
This time in the rear courtyard there were more than twenty corpses, but only eight were Dao boys, the rest all being various duty Daoists of the temple.
The manner of death was rather strange, not even looking like the handiwork of the Huanghe Immortal.
In the eyes of the Gobi people, death of unknown cause was an ominous sign, portending disaster, and thus Daoist Changshi was deeply uneasy.
Ren Qing examined the corpses and discovered that before death they had been used to rear gu insects, with the flesh and bones inside their bodies completely gnawed away.
The Huanghe Immortal seemed for the time being not to plan to strike at Li Yaoyang, instead expending great effort using flesh to feed the gu insects that Li Yaoyang had transformed into.
But Ren Qing always felt that Li Yaoyang must have some anticipation.
The Great Dream True Person would also not let Li Yaoyang go to his death, the Ascension Assembly was bound to have variables, although possibly variables of nine deaths and one life.
Ren Qing dragged the corpses to the mass grave.
Although this world had no concept of souls reincarnating, with death of soul like the extinguishing of a lamp, his attitude was not at all perfunctory.
Ren Qing recited the Rebirth Mantra several times, then returned to the courtyard, letting ghost shadows carry fake Ze People to lurk around the Self-Consumption Realm.
He silently waited for the timing to come.
Chaoyangzi still had one hundred and thirty days of lifespan left, but he absolutely could not last that long, because Daoist Chenfeng was already at the brink of death.
Ren Qing knew Chaoyangzi would not be resigned, his last actions before death would absolutely not be small.
Time gradually passed.
The building of the Immortal Ascension Ladder was also nearing completion.
Ren Qing, who had been meditating, opened his eyes, stood up, and went to the courtyard to look outside.
There he saw Qingmuzi passing by panting, his body weight at least three to four hundred jin, and when he walked strange water flow sounds came from inside his body.
His obese body drew the attention of the surrounding townsfolk.
The Gobi people were lean by nature, even malnourished one might say, not a few fat men could be found in the whole city.
But Qingmuzi didn't care at all, carrying a sickly joy as he ran toward the sand river.
His body size did not affect his speed, he still appeared very agile, only inevitably drenched in sweat, causing the smell of wine to spread.
When Qingmuzi arrived at the sand river, over thirty people had already gathered around. They had clearly been carefully chosen, displaying a Wind and Sand Qi Refining Method that was extremely pure.
The crowd impatiently discussed, their words full of desire to grasp cultivation.
Having witnessed the Ascension of the Ze Immortal, faced with the possibility of becoming an immortal, how could they restrain themselves.
Daoist Chenfeng, old and frail, arrived a little late.
He no longer showed any former vigor, not only with a head of white hair, but coughing from time to time, blood seeping from between his teeth.
"Quickly, come in, cough cough cough..."
"Daoist Chenfeng, you must take care of your health."
"Don't sacrifice the big for the small."
...
The Daoists' words were full of concern, but the looks they gave Daoist Chenfeng were filled with naked greed, as if he were a cup of fine wine.
Daoist Chenfeng paid no attention, smiling as he walked into the house.
The stone gate quickly closed.
As day and night alternated, inside came the sounds of lofty talk, then turned into a group of people's wanton laughter, the wine aroma growing stronger and stronger.
Daoist Chenfeng clutched the area of his lungs, because of having cast spells three times his body was already weakened to the extreme.
The atmosphere of the Huangsha Daoist Assembly grew more and more frenzied, nothing of Daoists' manner remained, rather like drunken revelers indulging to their fill.
Daoist Chenfeng's eyes darted about restlessly, and from his mouth came a strange cold male voice: "How goes the brewing of the wine?"
He looked around and continued muttering to himself: "Three parts drunk, seven parts mad, enough."
"Fellow Daoists, I toast you all a cup."
The Daoists looked at Daoist Chenfeng, who reached his right hand into his throat, and forcibly tore out a bloody lung to place before him.
Chaoyangzi spat out the blood in his mouth, propped himself up with blood vessels.
The Daoists stared wide-eyed, much of their drunkenness dissipated, sweat carried the wine reek out from their backs, filling the house with a sour stench.
"Finally... can drink the wine."
Bang bang bang bang bang.
All the Daoists turned into corpses.
Chaoyangzi walked with difficulty, putting his mouth to the backs of the corpses, licking the wine that stained them, his aura beginning to boil.
When he had drunk all thirty-six kinds of wine, it also meant the Wine God Technique was fully entered.
Chaoyangzi felt himself gradually turning into wine vapor, seeming about to depart his dying body and step into a brand new realm...
The city was silent, every Daoist temple mute as crows.
A Ze Person stood atop a rooftop, casting an indescribable gaze toward the sand river.
Until Chaoyangzi walked out of the house, when the Qingxu Temple in the clouds suddenly appeared, and dozens of Ze People descended toward Huang Sand City.
The face of the Ze Person of Five Qi Facing the Origin spat out a long tongue, binding Chaoyangzi tightly, dragging him toward the location of the Qingxu Temple.
"Impossible... I..."
Chaoyangzi desperately tried to struggle, but had no power to resist at all.
The ulcer-ridden old Dao suddenly opened his eyes wide, but his gaze was filled with death, like a corpse long dead.
Stiffly he used his hand to grab Chaoyangzi.
The group of immortals withdrew, the clouds gradually dispersing.
Ren Qing pushed his Double Pupils to the extreme, staring fixedly at the Qingxu Temple.
Just as the clouds were about to disappear, the ulcer Daoist's arm bent backward, and on the back of his head there was actually another face hidden.
Ren Qing could faintly make out this face.
It was not a human face.
He forced himself to calm down. When the Ze People disappeared, Liu Chuan's advancement began.