The news of the demon immortal's descent spread outward.
This was mainly because the demon beasts of White Bone Mountain secretly used birds to contact their respective factions, causing the news to quickly trigger a chain reaction.
Ren Qing had more or less anticipated this, but he did not expect even the Restraint Officers' Hall to be alarmed.
When Li Tiangang mobilized manpower to head toward White Bone Mountain, Ren Qing hurriedly informed him of the cause and course of events. Fortunately, it did not lead to greater trouble.
If the Restraint Officers' Hall and the demon beasts were to clash at White Bone Mountain, it would very likely cause the various demon beast factions to unite against the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Ren Qing broke out in a cold sweat, but his movements did not pause in the slightest.
From time to time, he bestowed immortal techniques, his generosity directly leaving the demon beasts stunned, such that every demon mastered at least one technique.
However, as the demon beasts cultivated, they discovered strange aberrations appearing in their bodies.
Nothing was more terrifying than internal organs suddenly developing intelligence, and worse still, the organs were secretly discussing making a move against the main body.
Hu Wen cultivated the Five Viscera Gods, only for his head to detach from his body, with his facial features growing on his chest and abdomen, nearly driving him to collapse.
With this, after transforming into his demon body, he was practically crippled. After all, with his facial features facing the ground, he could only move by standing upright on two legs.
The demon beasts did not dare vent their anger on Ren Qing, but they could not help stepping forward to cry out their grievances.
Ren Qing merely told them that the Great Dao was simple, and immortal techniques inevitably caused bodily abnormalities, just as demon beasts transformed from beast form into human form.
What he said was essentially saying nothing, yet after hearing it, the demon beasts firmly believed that through cultivation, they could gradually return to their original appearance.
As for the demon beasts cultivating the Entering God Art, many had already reached the Half-Corpse realm, which the information stream displayed as "Body Gestating Heavenly Demon."
Once the majority of demon beasts advanced to Body Gestating Heavenly Demon, it would be time to attack the White Bone Four-Armed Guanyin.
Meanwhile, a red mole appeared between Ren Qing's brows, precisely transformed from the Buddhist Dream Seed, absorbing the Buddhist qi roaming the surroundings.
Yet what deeply puzzled him was that the Buddhist qi seemed inexhaustible, not at all like something a cultivator at Yin Messenger consummation could contain.
Ren Qing could only suppress the turmoil in his heart and continue merging Winter Insect and Summer Grass.
Within a hundred li of White Bone Mountain, large numbers of demon cultivators transformed into various demon forms and rushed over, their expressions extremely reverent.
According to memories engraved deep into their bones, once a demon immortal descended upon Jingzhou, they would bestow methods of longevity and ascension to immortality, making it inevitable to yearn for such a thing.
A burly tiger demon moved as if walking on flat ground, and nearby demon beasts did not dare approach him.
The tiger demon was named Zhang Yi. Although he did not come from a faction, among rogue demon cultivators he was truly renowned, of course, for his ferocity.
Upon realizing that a demon immortal had descended, he headed toward White Bone Mountain without the slightest hesitation.
Opportunities were like this: one step slower meant falling behind at every step. Moreover, with no faction to rely on, taking some risks was only natural.
The demon beasts soon approached White Bone Mountain, and from afar they could see the four-armed phantom.
Zhang Yi could not help narrowing his tiger eyes. His body gradually shrank, and he then transformed into a robust man, running on foot toward White Bone Mountain.
But before he could see the situation at White Bone Mountain clearly, he discovered that the demon beasts on the mountain stood there dumbfounded, their eyes filled with inexplicable fear.
"They're just livestock, not even the courage-"
"Hm?"
Zhang Yi sucked in a cold breath and stopped in his tracks, his pupils shrinking directly to needle size.
At the foot of White Bone Mountain in the distance sat hundreds of temples, with various demon beasts cultivating within them, looking rather ordinary at first glance.
Yet the appearances of the demon beasts were like evil ghosts from the Yellow Springs, sending chills down one's spine.
Headless fox demons ate food with their navels; horse demons had fissures in their chests and abdomens, from which internal organs would occasionally crawl out; pig demons reduced to just heads bore a single eye...
Not to mention the various ferocious disembodied souls drifting through midair.
Where was there even half a trace of immortal aura?
Zhang Yi swallowed, hesitated for a long while, then followed the other demon beasts into White Bone Mountain, as if entering the bizarre depths of an underworld within a dream.
For a moment, he felt lost, and then he was brought by demon beasts to cultivate the Entering God Art.
Ren Qing was very satisfied with the speed at which techniques were spreading. Many demon beasts held the thought, "I already look like this, might as well cultivate together," and simply gave up resistance altogether.
As time passed, more and more demon beasts gathered at White Bone Mountain, the number nearly breaking a thousand, with Restraint Officer techniques accounting for a large proportion.
Previously, White Bone Mountain still had a bit of the flavor of a Buddhist monastery; now it had completely become a gathering place of demons and monsters.
Seeing that the timing was more or less ripe, Ren Qing began arranging various tasks.
This assault on the White Bone Four-Armed Guanyin Temple would mainly rely on demon beasts cultivating the Entering God Art, with the rest serving auxiliary roles.
After another half day passed, the demon beasts, each performing their own duties, surrounded White Bone Mountain.
"All demons, heed my command!!"
"Yes!"
Ren Qing raised his hand to point at the sky. Dense clouds gathered, intermingled with five-colored lightning, the momentum incomparably vast.
Some demon beasts who had never seen Ren Qing take action could not help gaping in awe.
"Souls leave the body, disturb the Buddhist qi."
After Ren Qing finished speaking, thirty demon beasts separated their souls, circling White Bone Mountain and forcing the Buddhist qi into a passive tornado formation.
"Go."
He suspended the Buddhist Dream Seed between his brows at the center of the tornado, assuming a whale-devouring posture.
The Buddhist qi was temporarily absorbed by the Dream Seed. To completely digest it would still require a great deal of time; for now, it could only barely be maintained.
Seeing this, the demon beasts charged toward White Bone Mountain, then used various techniques to move the bones, preparing to resolve the problem from the root.
White Bone Mountain was not very tall to begin with, and under the frenzied labor of nearly a thousand demon beasts, it visibly lowered at a speed discernible to the naked eye.
Boom...
Several tentacles pushed aside the bones from beneath the mountain, directly grabbing demon beasts and flinging them a hundred meters away.
Ren Qing frowned slightly. These tentacles came from part of the body of the White Bone Great Sage, though it had not appeared for a long time.
After checking with Double Pupils, he discovered that the White Bone Great Sage was in a state of slumber, and the Buddhist qi's conversion of it was more like subtle influence.
It was far less direct than with demon beasts.
The cultivation of the White Bone Great Sage had already reached the Yin Messenger realm. Even relying purely on its physical body, it was not something ordinary demon beasts could withstand.
As its tentacles swung, casualties quickly appeared.
Ren Qing looked at the Buddhist Dream Seed. If this did not end quickly, the Buddhist qi it contained would reach the Dream Seed's upper limit.
"Everyone, move back."
Hearing this, the demon beasts' spirits jolted, and they all retreated more than a hundred meters.
Immediately after, lightning descended from the sky. Ren Qing rode Dragon Spine as it circled above White Bone Mountain, while the ghost shadow adhered to Dragon Spine inch by inch.
The aura displayed by Dragon Spine grew even more terrifying, making the demon beasts unable to keep their eyes open.
"Lightning, fall..."
Ren Qing gave a low shout. Endless lightning poured down, turning heaven and earth into a field of daylight, as if nothing else existed.
Each bolt of lightning manifested as one of the five colors, and while still in midair, it was transformed into pseudo-dragons by Boxed Dragon Roar, striking the tentacles with pinpoint accuracy.
The charred tentacles snapped in two, and the White Bone Great Sage immediately felt pain, its entire body trembling uncontrollably.
The demon beasts, fearless of death, immediately stepped forward to move the bones, causing the true appearance of the White Bone Great Sage to gradually reveal itself.
It was a gigantic bone turtle. Its limbs and head were composed of countless tentacles, while White Bone Mountain itself was supported by its hard shell, with a foul, decayed stench wafting from the wounds.
Seeing this, Ren Qing realized the truth.
The so-called White Bone Great Sage was an aberration, though not one of the earliest to descend upon Jingzhou, and thus it had not formed a large-scale faction.
He then looked toward the White Bone Four-Armed Guanyin Temple located at the center of the shell.
Ren Qing clenched his teeth, directing lightning toward the temple, while the Buddhist Dream Seed increased its absorption of Buddhist qi and guided part of it into the Flesh-and-Blood Furnace.
The voice of the White Bone Great Sage sounded from within the shell: "It hurts, it hurts, who is disturbing my peaceful dream? I am about to become Buddha, become Patriarch..."
The tiles on the eaves shattered, revealing not wooden structures but walls like flesh and blood, faintly writhing.
Yet under the effect of lightning, the flesh began to melt.
When more than half the temple had turned to ash, one could vaguely see a six-eyed, four-armed statue inside, precisely what Song Zongwu had transformed into.
Song Zongwu's eyes were tightly shut, his body resembling a dried corpse, clearly on the brink of death.
Without even using the information stream, Ren Qing knew that Song Zongwu's lifespan was about to be exhausted. Even if rescued, he would likely not have much time left.
Ren Qing could not help cursing inwardly.
He tried stopping the Buddhist Dream Seed, but the Buddhist qi rushed toward Song Zongwu like fledgling swallows returning to their nest, quickly disappearing into his body.
Combining this with the situation of the White Bone Great Sage, Ren Qing had already guessed eight or nine tenths of the truth.
It was very likely that Song Zongwu's Buddhist techniques had gone out of control, causing the Buddhist qi within his body to rampage and continuously erode his body and soul.
Song Zongwu had no choice but to release small amounts of Buddhist qi.
The White Bone Great Sage had been in slumber at the time. As an aberrant flesh artifact, it would instinctively absorb all kinds of surrounding qi.
Song Zongwu wanted to use the White Bone Great Sage to pacify the Buddhist qi, so he released even more Buddhist qi.
Aberrations could indeed contain Buddhist qi; even the Spiritual Response King, after long-term erosion, had seen changes appear in its demonic markings.
But Song Zongwu clearly did not know one thing.
Aberrations were originally used by the Blood Moon to alter environments. Aside from absorbing qi, they would also continuously release qi to influence their surroundings.
Song Zongwu released Buddhist qi, the White Bone Great Sage absorbed it, the Buddhist qi returned to Song Zongwu, and then...
The two formed a bizarre cycle, like the Grand Zhou Cycle of Heavenly Dao techniques.
Seeing that Song Zongwu's situation was far from optimistic, Ren Qing completely shattered the White Bone Four-Armed Guanyin Temple.
Freed from the Buddhist qi, the White Bone Great Sage immediately regained consciousness: "Mm..."
The ghost shadow spread over a thousand meters, forming a gaping bloody maw that swallowed the White Bone Great Sage into the Eternal Prison, just in time to use it to refine a Dragon Tree.
The demon beasts were so frightened by Ren Qing's methods that they fled several mountain ranges away.
Ren Qing then fed Song Zongwu Peach Wine to stabilize his injuries. The latter suddenly woke up, his six eyes flashing with brilliance.
Song Zongwu's expression showed nothing amiss, and he said helplessly, "I recalled many forgotten memories. Truly..."
"It is time and fate."
"Senior Song, you need to urgently extend your lifespan."
Song Zongwu shook his head, staring into the distance. "It's too late. I am now like a porcelain bowl full of holes, I cannot hold even half a drop of water, and I may dissipate in body and soul at any moment."
"Look."
Ren Qing could not help following Song Zongwu's gaze, only to see a thousand-meter colossus striding toward White Bone Mountain in the distance.
"Corpse Elephant?"
Likely due to the Buddhist qi, that Corpse Elephant had been drawn here once again.
Song Zongwu snatched the Peach Wine from Ren Qing's hand and drank it in one gulp.
"Good wine, I go as well."