The waning moon hung high in the sky, its reflection mirrored on the surface of Wine Lake.
The world was shrouded in darkness. Only Dream City remained brilliantly lit, bustling with activity. Faint sounds of noisy chatter could be heard from within.
As Dream City continued to expand, its area had already grown to more than ten times that of Sanxiang City, enough to support the lives of several million mortals.
Just as Ren Qing had predicted, the city's prosperity never distinguished between day and night.
The doors of most shops remained open nearly all the time, with waiters from the "Land of Longevity" attending to customers.
The waiters placed their right hands on teapots. As the Pure Yang Palm of the High Fever Disease strain was activated, wisps of steam soon rose from the spouts.
Martial Physique cultivation had already been spread among all the populace, but there were always people whose aptitude made further progress impossible.
They usually entered Dream City while asleep, finding decent jobs to help support their families' daily expenses.
Because time flowed faster within the Longevity Forbidden Zone than in the outside world, only a dozen or so years had passed outside, while several decades had already gone by within.
Some children who had entered the forbidden zone in their youth had now become white-haired elders.
Even though some mortals had broken through the limits of lifespan through Martial Physique cultivation, most still could not escape birth, aging, sickness, and death.
As generations of mortals passed down stories about it, the Longevity Forbidden Zone gradually came to be known as the "Land of Longevity."
The streets were crowded with traffic as several giant lizards carrying goods passed through.
There were not many merchant caravans in Dream City, and their routes were generally limited to a few destinations: the Land of White Bones where the zombies cultivated; the mountain wilderness inhabited by demon-kind tribes; and Cishi Heaven Above Heaven beside the Sea of Wine...
There were also several smaller villages established by mutants.
These mutants were the population Ren Qing had exchanged Revival Pills for back in Dead Man's Forbidden Zone, and they had been settled throughout the Stomach World.
If they wished to join the Restraint Officers' Hall, they had to travel to Wuwei City beside Wine Lake after reaching adulthood to receive the inheritance of the Restraint Officer techniques.
Excluding the population of the Land of Longevity, the number of cultivators in the Restraint Officers' Hall had already reached forty thousand.
Since cultivators could switch to zombie cultivation after death, their numbers only increased and never declined. The strength of the Restraint Officers' Hall was expanding at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Tang Sheng walked through the streets in the western district of the city. There were many temples here, and most of the population consisted of Cishi people who worshipped Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva.
The Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva statues in these temples were somewhat different. Their appearance resembled Ren Qing by fifty to sixty percent, earning them the title "Cishi Buddha."
The Cishi people no longer acknowledged the original Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva. They even regarded him as a false Buddha and despised him deeply.
As Tang Sheng walked along the road, monks continuously greeted him with palms pressed together. It was obvious how much prestige he held among the Cishi people.
He responded helplessly, clearly troubled by something, while simultaneously contacting Jade Splendor through an avian Strange Beast.
The Cishi people belonged to a branch within the Soldier Vein of the Restraint Officers' Hall, similar to the Goddess of Fertility Temple that specialized in the Cordyceps cultivation method.
Tang Sheng quickly passed through the lively district and arrived at a deserted temple area.
At least a dozen Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva temples stood here, but judging from the incense altars at the entrances, they had been abandoned for a long time.
The Cishi people were also extremely wary of these temples and would deliberately stop before getting too close.
Tang Sheng's movements were not quiet, yet not a single monk appeared. The temples seemed like isolated islands floating upon the sea.
The entire area was filled with a gloomy and terrifying atmosphere.
His expression grew serious, and he instinctively maintained his cultivation method, causing the muscles of his over two-meter-tall body to tense.
Through resources and hard training, Tang Sheng's primary cultivation method, Vajra Body, had already undergone two aberrations. His two secondary methods had also reached the Ghost Envoy Realm.
He stood at the mouth of an alley for a moment before Daoist Yuhua descended from the sky on a flying sword.
"Relax a little..."
"I'm fine."
Daoist Yuhua wore an elegant brocade Daoist robe, and even the material of his flying sword was extraordinary. His cultivation had faintly touched upon the Spirit Division stage.
In fact, he was only one opportunity away from breaking through to the Spirit Division stage. As for cultivation resources, he was even wealthier than Tang Sheng.
Ever since the affiliated forces of the Restraint Officers' Hall had been further refined, each branch had been assigned leadership.
Daoist Taihan had directly refused command of a branch in exchange for fully integrating into the Restraint Officers' Hall. As a result, Daoist Yuhua became the leader of the Insect Vein.
Among the remaining factions, the Soldier Vein, which had the largest number of cultivators, was managed by Ren Qing, with Li Tiangang overseeing daily affairs.
The Winged Vein of Wuwei Daoist Temple was under Qingsongzi's control. However, Han Li had already entered seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to the Yin Difference Realm, so leadership would likely change soon.
The Cocoon Vein belonged to Sen Sheng. Since cocoon people needed to soak in vitality to slow aging, their cultivation levels were somewhat lower and still at the first aberration.
The Corpse Vein was naturally controlled by Corpse Ghost, who had already recovered his Yang Spirit Realm cultivation. However, Corpse Ghost spent most of his time out of sight.
Li Yaoyang had entered seclusion to break through to the Yang Spirit Realm, and as his disciple, Corpse Ghost naturally protected him throughout the process to prevent accidents.
The Demon Vein was the most unique. Since the various demon-kind differed vastly from one another, they were managed separately, with Hu Wen serving as the chief coordinator.
At present, the Restraint Officers' Hall allocated extra resources to those leading branches in order to establish healthy development cycles for all affiliated factions as quickly as possible.
"Let's go, Jade Splendor. Something has probably happened again."
"It's already been several years..."
The two hurried forward side by side, seemingly searching for something.
The closer they approached the remote temples, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. They could even smell a sharp scent of blood.
Under normal circumstances, Dream City was created through Ren Qing's cultivation method. Backed by the foundation of the Earth Immortal-level Zhili Technique, instability should have been impossible.
Yet the incidents occurring within the temples were strangely bizarre.
Ever since Ren Qing entered seclusion, all kinds of strange occurrences had begun appearing within Dream City's temples, and they only occurred around dawn.
At first, monks merely heard sounds of a head striking the ground. Later, the situation gradually worsened, accompanied by spreading blood odors that made one's hair stand on end.
Li Tiangang took the matter extremely seriously and personally came to investigate.
He suspected that Ren Qing had been corroded by yin energy during seclusion, causing signs of corpse transformation in his body and soul, which in turn affected Dream City.
However, after consulting Corpse Ghost, the latter had failed to detect even the slightest trace of yin energy.
Li Tiangang spent several nights guarding the temple district, but even several Yang Spirit Realm cultivators working together failed to uncover the truth, forcing them to give up.
Every day, the sound of heads striking the ground continued to echo through the temples, while the smell of blood grew increasingly intense, making it impossible for monks to peacefully conduct their morning lessons.
Unable to find another solution, Tang Sheng simply cleared out the temple district and had the monks perform their morning lessons and cultivation inside the stomach of the Forbidden Corpse.
The incidents had now continued for over a year. Fortunately, no one had been harmed.
Li Tiangang had conducted multiple inspections but only detected illusions and auditory hallucinations. Even ordinary mortals living there for extended periods suffered little impact.
Seeing this, Li Tiangang stopped wasting manpower and merely assigned Tang Sheng responsibility for monitoring the temples.
Given the complexity of Dream City, even if Great Dream Master personally arrived, he would likely find no clues. It was better to wait until Ren Qing emerged from seclusion.
Tang Sheng did not dare relax and constantly monitored the abnormalities within the temples.
The temples barely maintained a fragile calm. The sounds of heads striking the ground grew louder and louder, while the scent of blood became overwhelmingly pungent.
The temples had become like a malignant tumor growing within Dream City, completely out of place.
The reason Tang Sheng was so anxious was because a monk had reportedly witnessed an indescribable horror at dawn the previous day.
An unspeakable figure had been sitting cross-legged before a Buddha statue, muttering to itself.
When the monk listened carefully, the voice seemed to be continuously reciting incomprehensible scriptures. The tone carried neither joy nor anger, completely devoid of emotion.
The monk immediately turned and fled. After contacting Tang Sheng, he returned to the temple.
Yet the figure had already disappeared.
What greeted him was a sunlit courtyard covered with scattered fallen leaves. There was not the slightest trace of gloom.
To Tang Sheng, the temple incidents were simply too bizarre.
An anomaly capable of appearing under the watchful eyes of Yang Spirit Realm cultivators, yet leaving no trace whatsoever. And despite how strange it was, no cultivators were ever harmed.
After informing Li Tiangang through the avian Strange Beast, Tang Sheng and Daoist Yuhua hid in a corner and waited for sunrise.
The two remained silent, their eyes fixed upon the outermost temple.
Yesterday, it was this one...
"It's here!"
Tang Sheng was about to stand when Daoist Yuhua pressed him down and signaled him to wait.
The sounds of a head striking the ground rang out repeatedly, followed by the foul scent of blood and low murmurs reciting scriptures.
The two exchanged glances before slowly walking toward the temple.
The anomaly within the temple was not dangerous. Otherwise, it would never have remained unnoticed in the bustling Dream City without causing even the slightest disturbance.
Yet there was an invisible pressure hanging over everything.
It felt as if they were about to come into contact with an unknown existence. Their heartbeats accelerated, and veins bulged across their foreheads from the rush of blood.
Daoist Yuhua possessed the higher cultivation, so he stepped into the temple first.
Tang Sheng followed closely behind.
He surveyed the courtyard. Inside stood only a withered mulberry tree and a deliberately sealed well.
Neither of them relaxed as they headed toward the main hall housing the statue.
Under the moonlight, the main hall looked completely different from how it appeared during the day.
It radiated an inexplicable sense of dread.
"What the hell?!!"
The blue bricks beneath Tang Sheng's feet shattered.
His mental state had become so disturbed that he lost control of his strength. His pupils shrank until they were no larger than pinpoints.
Following his gaze, Jade Splendor could not help but suck in a sharp breath.
The statue of Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva inside the main hall had vanished.
Seated upon the altar was a figure reciting scriptures of unknown meaning.
The figure was tall and possessed six arms, yet it had no head.
It seemed to be conducting morning prayers, carrying both Buddhist sanctity and demonic malevolence simultaneously.
The scent of blood originated from the figure's neck.
The voice came from there as well, as though it were speaking directly through an exposed windpipe.
"It sounds like an esoteric Buddhist language?"
After listening for several breaths, Tang Sheng muttered, "Ten Spiritual Bodies manifested simultaneously?"
"What does that mean?"
"I'm not sure. It seems to say that a Buddha possesses ten bodies."
Tang Sheng wore a puzzled expression.
It felt as though the figure was trying to warn them.
But why would it appear within Dream City, which had been created through Ren Qing's cultivation method?
The two retreated from the main hall and quietly waited.
Only moments later, Li Tiangang hurried to the temple.
Upon seeing the six-armed figure seated on the altar, his breathing immediately became rapid.
"Song Zongwu?"
The moment he spoke, the figure suddenly vanished like a phantom.
The statue of Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva once again sat upon the altar.
Tang Sheng and Jade Splendor had heard Song Zongwu's name before. They knew he was a Yang Spirit Realm cultivator of the Restraint Officers' Hall, though neither had ever met him personally.
Li Tiangang did not explain anything to them.
He immediately turned around and summoned his subordinates for discussion.
The Forbidden Corpse had remained within the canyon for five years, and the temple incidents had gradually intensified over time.
If they were not connected to Ren Qing, then they likely originated from the outside world.