Chaoyangzi was like a fish in the pond that had been fattened, easily caught by the fisherman, and no matter how much he struggled, it was useless.
The Daoist temples in the city simultaneously shut their gates, as if waiting for Chaoyangzi to be consumed.
Ren Qing's pupils dilated, constantly recalling the face on the back of the head of the sore-covered old Daoist.
He forcibly suppressed his shock. Right now was the best time for Liu Chuan to advance to the Other-Consumption Realm; if he missed it, it would be rather a loss.
Ren Qing couldn't help but let out a foul breath.
With a slight movement of his thoughts, the ghost shadow slipped along the shadows outside the Self-Consumption Realm toward Liu Chuan.
Even if a Daoist passed by, they would be unable to notice it.
Liu Chuan seemed to sense danger and tried to flee, but the ghost shadow within his body surged violently, binding him inside the house.
He curled up in a corner, his eyes becoming extremely terrified, muttering to himself.
"Kill you, kill you, but just a mortal..."
At this moment, black liquid seeped from the cracks of the doors and windows, flowing toward Liu Chuan like a living creature, sending chills down one's spine.
Liu Chuan could not move, watching helplessly as the ghost shadow wrapped around him.
If one were to look in from the window outside, they would only see complete darkness, and the occasional strange noises would not attract attention.
Ren Qing set out and walked out of the courtyard, heading toward the Self-Consumption Realm.
He had already figured out all aspects of the Water Marsh Method. He didn't need Liu Chuan's cooperation; he would just directly force the advancement to be done.
Otherwise, it was simply too much of a waste of time.
The abnormality of the sore-covered old Daoist had already made Ren Qing feel something was off.
When he glanced at that strange face, for some reason there was a sense of inexplicable familiarity, and it grew stronger with time.
Ren Qing wanted to think deeply but was left in a fog.
He planned to obtain the Water Marsh Method as quickly as possible, then leave this ghostly place of Huang Sand City.
When Ren Qing arrived near the Self-Consumption Realm, the ghost shadow had Liu Chuan firmly bound, and a mass of fake Ze People was forcibly stuffed before his forehead, with lotus-shaped mouthparts opening to absorb it.
The advancement of the Ze People was extremely unusual, feeling like a merging between the same kind, with the weaker becoming some kind of organ.
It was hard to imagine that this thing was called an "Immortal."
Liu Chuan trembled with excitement, the lotus mouthparts on his forehead stretching out a long tongue.
On the surface of the tongue gradually formed a five-colored human face, not much different in appearance from the fake Ze People, but the expression was extremely stiff.
Liu Chuan felt his cultivation increasing, giving rise to a feeling that with a wave of his hand he could destroy a Daoist temple, and his mentality became unbalanced.
If not for the ghost shadow acting as shackles, he might have lost control and harmed people.
Ren Qing frowned.
He feared that the ghost shadow, not yet at the Yin Runner Realm, would be unable to restrain Liu Chuan, so he drove the Heavenly Demon Dream Seed through the wall into the wing room of the Self-Consumption Realm.
Liu Chuan's emotions were soothed, but his mentality became strange, taking the initiative to absorb the fake Ze People, his gaze becoming more and more venomous.
Next came the second mass of fake Ze People, quickly swallowed by the mouthparts in Liu Chuan's left ear, and the five-colored human face once again grew out.
The third mass of fake Ze People was also fed into the mouthparts of his right ear.
Liu Chuan could not bear the rapid elevation of his cultivation in such a short time, and his whole body began to mutate, his neck growing to more than half a meter.
He no longer resembled an ordinary Ze Person, as if mixed with some indescribable aura, transforming at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Ren Qing was somewhat surprised, but fortunately Liu Chuan did not fail in his advancement. Such a situation was actually more suitable for acquiring the Water Marsh Method.
After confirming there was no abnormality nearby, he climbed over the courtyard wall and entered the Self-Consumption Realm.
But just as Ren Qing was preparing to head toward the wing room, the ghost shadow under his feet suddenly boiled up. To be precise, it was the Heavenly Dao Worm larvae among them.
Even though the Heavenly Dao Worm had already been turned into a puppet, it inexplicably produced an uncontrollable reaction, because of Liu Chuan.
The Heavenly Dao Worm instinctively wanted to tear Liu Chuan apart, continuously letting out strange insect cries.
Ren Qing showed a doubtful expression. The Heavenly Dao Worm had not reacted even when facing Huanghe Immortal, so what was so special about Liu Chuan?
He walked into the wing room and stared at Liu Chuan, his expression becoming solemn.
The ghost shadow representing the Restraint Officer Method and the Ze People representing the Water Marsh Method were intersecting, as if there were a sign of impending fusion.
From Ren Qing's observation, the fusion seemed to be led by the ghost shadow, but there was indeed a strange connection between the two.
Ren Qing thought of the strange behavior of Huanghe Immortal when facing Li Yaoyang, and from this it was evident that the third realm of becoming Immortal must be entangled with the Restraint Officer Method.
Wait!!!
He immediately reacted.
The Water Marsh Method was originally derived from the Food-Consuming Immortal Technique. The technique itself very likely retained defects, resulting in the inability to advance to the third realm.
The defect must be the aspect of the Restraint Officer Method that differed from other techniques.
That would only be the Supernatural Remnant...
After mastering the Restraint Officer Method, even at the Martial Practitioner Realm, a Supernatural Remnant would form within the body.
Ren Qing had always thought the Supernatural Remnant was a flaw of the Restraint Officer Method.
But from the perspective of the later realms, the Supernatural Remnant was the key to opening the gate to the Great Dao, and at the Heavenly Abomination Realm it could even become part of the body.
The Water Marsh Method probably required the Supernatural Remnant to advance to the third realm, which was why the appearance of Li Yaoyang would cause Huanghe Immortal to be ecstatic.
Ren Qing's act of fusing the ghost shadow into Liu Chuan's body had inadvertently compensated for part of the defect of the Water Marsh Method, and its aura changed.
But why did it cause the Heavenly Dao Worm larvae to riot? How could that possibly be related?
Ren Qing closed his eyes, and information about the Water Marsh surged in his mind.
When he opened them again, an answer that was horrifying to contemplate surfaced.
Ren Qing forcibly quieted the Heavenly Dao Worm, fine beads of sweat emerging on his back, and he couldn't help but look toward the clouds.
[Ant Immortal]
[Derived from a mutation of the Wine God Technique. After digesting the soul of its former life, it can inherit the memory.]
Ant Immortal... Ant Immortal...
The Ant Immortal was named by the cultivator who created the Water Marsh Method, and ants were indeed insects that herd.
They preferred the sap secreted by aphids, and so carried them to tree branches to pen and raise, providing a continuous supply of food.
So that meant...
The strange face on the back of the sore-covered old Daoist's head was very likely a mature Heavenly Dao Worm, and the Ze People were the ants feeding the Heavenly Dao Worm.
The ascension of the Ze People was to feed the Heavenly Dao Worm parasitizing the sore-covered old Daoist.
But there were still many doubts, such as why the Heavenly Dao Worm would parasitize a corpse.
The Ze People did not seem to care much about collecting food for the Heavenly Dao Worm. Chaoyangzi seemed more like something to maintain the vitality of the corpse.
After Ren Qing figured out the situation in Huang Sand City, even though he knew the Gobi People, the Ze People, and the Heavenly Dao Worm had already formed a symbiotic relationship,
As long as he did not attempt to break the symbiosis, there would be no danger.
But he also did not plan to stay long.
However, if he wanted to pass through the sandstorm from this side of Huang Sand City, he would have to be much more careful, so as not to alarm the Ze People in the city.
As Ren Qing pondered, Liu Chuan's advancement was already nearing its end, and the characteristics of Five Qi Facing the Origin appeared on his body.
Liu Chuan gradually regained consciousness, sensing his swelling cultivation. His fear of Ren Qing immediately vanished.
He took a deep breath, and a black Daoist robe appeared on his body.
In his left hand a ruyi, in his right hand a horsetail whisk.
Liu Chuan seemed like a different person, his eyes openly displaying contempt.
"Mortal, you dare..."
Ren Qing could not be bothered with Liu Chuan, and directly put him into the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Although the Taotie Method had not yet reached the Yin Runner Realm, since Liu Chuan had the ghost shadow in his body, it was still easy to handle him.
His split soul entered into the Prison Within the Abdomen.
...
The blazing sun hung high.
Sha Shanzi walked through the corridor. After cultivating the Wind and Sand Qi Refining Method, his blood mixed with sand and gravel, and his body became more robust.
In the past half month, he had already figured out the rules of the Prison Within the Abdomen.
As long as he did not approach the monster on the open ground, there would be no danger. At most it was just rather dull, with nowhere to pass the time.
Sha Shanzi opened a cell near the outer edge, took some food and water skins, and prepared to continue closing himself off to study heretical techniques.
Boom!!!
A figure smashed down onto the open ground, and even the Prison Within the Abdomen faintly trembled.
Sha Shanzi swallowed his saliva, tiptoed out of the corridor, poked his head toward the source of the sound, and was instantly dumbfounded.
It was a Ze Immortal, high and lofty in Huang Sand City, but now smashed into disarray.
Ren Qing stood in midair, continuously wielding the Dragon-Snake Spine. Liu Chuan could only dodge in a sorry state, trying to escape from within the Prison Within the Abdomen.
"You..."
Ren Qing raised his right arm, his split soul controlling the sand man, and with just one punch simply and neatly shut Liu Chuan's mouth.
Then he unleashed a continuous flurry of attacks.
Sha Shanzi's breathing became more and more rapid as he watched, and he couldn't help but look at his own hands.
Could this be the power of the Wind and Sand Method? The last of the resistance in his heart also vanished, and he gave rise to respect for Ren Qing far exceeding that for a Ze Immortal.
Afraid of being affected, Sha Shanzi quickly ran back into his cell.
Ren Qing only stopped after fighting for quite a while.
Liu Chuan had just advanced to the Other-Consumption Realm, and with part of his cultivation restricted by the ghost shadow, he had not even the strength to fight back.
"Immortal, don't kill me."
"How could I kill you? Don't forget, I was the one who helped you become an Immortal."
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. The death of a Ze Person would certainly attract the attention of the Daoist temples. There was no need to take such a risk, so...
The ghost shadow fixed Liu Chuan in place, leaving only his head exposed.
Three Dream Seeds were cast simultaneously.
The residual ghost shadow in Liu Chuan's body was forcibly stripped away, his consciousness blurred, and his memories were stolen by the Dream Seeds.
After he successfully advanced, the content of the third realm naturally surfaced in his mind, and was immediately taken by the Dream Seeds.
Ren Qing obtained the complete Water Marsh Method. The third realm, "The Strange Food Realm," appeared before his eyes, and as expected it was closely related to the Supernatural Remnant.
After recording it, he brought Liu Chuan back to the outside world, throwing him into the corner of the wing room.
Liu Chuan clutched his head with both hands, his intelligence once again descending into madness, unable to speak even a single clear sentence.
The dim oil lamp flickered with unsteady light. The disturbances of the outside world had long since settled, leaving heaven and earth in silence.
Using the power of the Yellow Spring Immortal Bone to transform into a ghost shadow, Ren Qing silently left the Self-Consumption Realm without leaving the slightest trace.
Liu Chuan's advancement to the Other-Consumption Realm would inevitably attract the covetous eyes of the other Daoist temples.
But the Self-Consumption Realm would certainly do its utmost to cover it up, since a mad Ze Immortal was easier to control, and in the short term it should not be exposed.
Even if it was exposed, Ren Qing had already distanced himself from it.
The only thing to consider was how to leave Huang Sand City. The appearance of Li Yaoyang would definitely make some of the Ze People deliberately pay attention to the sandstorm.
If Ren Qing tried to be as reckless as when he came, it probably would not work.
It seemed he would have to wait for the Ascension Assembly. As long as the Ze People all focused on Huanghe Immortal, there should not be much of a problem.
After wandering in the city for several hours, Huang Sand City finally became lively again.
The common folk did not feel terror at the death of dozens of officially appointed Daoists.
After all, in their eyes, as long as it concerned becoming Immortal and attaining the Dao, it was not a big deal.