According to Daoist doctrine, Primordial Heavenly Venerable was the original source, standing above all immortals and deities, with a status even slightly higher than Daode Heavenly Venerable and Lingbao Heavenly Venerable.
Not only did Ren Qing fail to relax because Primordial Heavenly Venerable appeared normal, but his expression became incomparably tense, and his breathing quickened.
Primordial Heavenly Venerable carried an indescribable sense of intimidation. That appearance which seemed both real and unreal was enough to stir discomfort in the depths of anyone's heart.
Amid the praises of countless voices, Primordial Heavenly Venerable slowly opened his eyes.
In an instant, the darkness vanished completely. The surroundings transformed into a space shrouded in brilliant light and shadow, as though he had entered a dream where reality and illusion could not be distinguished.
Heat arose within Ren Qing's three souls and seven spirits. It felt as if his desires had been magnified countless times over.
He immediately stopped looking directly at Primordial Heavenly Venerable and hurriedly recalled the contents of The Taotie Method, hoping to comprehend its corresponding Ascension Method as quickly as possible.
The voices continued roaring, attempting to force Ren Qing to bow before Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
An invisible and terrifying pressure came crashing down. It felt as if countless arms were grabbing him and dragging him into a boundless abyss.
Ren Qing's soul was completely defenseless before Primordial Heavenly Venerable. The agitation of his three souls and seven spirits grew increasingly obvious, yet no matter how carefully he inspected himself, he could detect nothing abnormal. Everything seemed to be an illusion.
An unbelievable thought surfaced in his heart. Why did it feel as though Primordial Heavenly Venerable possessed a certain degree of intelligence?
Left with no choice, Ren Qing awkwardly performed a cupped-fist salute.
The voices abruptly ceased, and Primordial Heavenly Venerable's face immediately became filled with smiles.
Ren Qing could not help but curse inwardly.
The first Primordial Heavenly Venerable he had encountered had possessed a far stranger and more indescribable appearance than the current one. Yet he would rather face that version.
A chill ran down his spine.
Since Primordial Heavenly Venerable had already awakened, he hurried to complete his comprehension of the Ascension Method.
The Ascension Method still leaned toward the concept of a "real world." Merely perfecting that aspect was already terrifying enough, because it represented Stomach World becoming independent from this world.
He had prepared in advance. Although his emotions were difficult to calm, they would not affect him.
The five mutually complementary Restraint Officer methods gradually fused together.
The words seemed to engrave the Great Dao itself, continuously constructing a cultivation method capable of achieving immortality.
In only a few moments, the complete Ascension Method had already taken shape within Ren Qing's mind.
He looked up at Primordial Heavenly Venerable and immediately felt his pupils contract.
In just a few short minutes, an unexpected change had occurred to Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
The jade-like material covering his body became covered in marks resembling high-temperature burns. Blisters emerged from his skin and slowly spread over time.
A thought surfaced in Ren Qing's mind.
Perhaps this was the true appearance of Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
He silently summoned the information flow.
The details of the Ascension Method appeared before his eyes. Overall, nothing had exceeded his expectations.
[Penglai World]
Created by Ren Qing. Cultivation requires feeding on mountains and lakes, expanding the stomach to its limit every day. The method is completed only after devouring one mountain and one lake.
The upper limit of Penglai World reaches Earth Immortal and can be cultivated alongside other techniques.
[Immortal Position: Penglai Immortal Elder]
When creating the Ascension Method of The Taotie Method, Ren Qing had chosen the core concept of "Mount Sumeru hidden within a mustard seed, a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru," essentially the infinitely vast three thousand worlds.
Overall, Penglai Immortal had not escaped the fundamental nature of Stomach World. It merely used mountains and lakes as its foundation, the sun and moon as its form, refining the three thousand worlds.
Not wanting greed to bring danger upon himself, Ren Qing prepared to return to his body.
However, at that moment, more and more blisters appeared across Primordial Heavenly Venerable's body. It was as if flesh and blood were boiling, and even space itself began to distort.
Ren Qing's state of mind was affected as well, becoming somewhat restless.
What shocked him most was that as soon as the blisters drifted three inches from Primordial Heavenly Venerable's body, they transformed into grotesque and twisted corpses.
Among them were birds, beasts, insects, men, women, old people, and children. There were even bizarre demons and ghosts mixed in. Before long, they piled into mountains of corpses.
The temperature within the space began rising.
Primordial Heavenly Venerable's body, once resembling white jade and amber, started melting into a pool of viscous gelatinous liquid.
Ren Qing froze in place.
He still had plenty of time. Completely dismantling and rebuilding Penglai Immortal would be more than possible.
But once he returned to his body, the Ascension Method would become fixed forever.
Countless thoughts raced through his mind.
Within half a breath, he sorted through the entire situation and once again recalled that unrealistic plan.
If the Three Dao Ancestors stood behind the Turbid Immortals, or if even the Three Dao Ancestors were not the true source, then the dangers hidden within the path of immortality were beyond imagination.
The Penglai Immortal he had comprehended seemed safe enough, but it was far from sufficient.
Suppressing his discomfort, Ren Qing erased Penglai Immortal from his memory and began comprehending the Ascension Method anew.
This time, his ideas were naturally much more radical.
The multicolored blisters continued spreading endlessly, showing no signs of stopping, as if they could fill every corner of existence in the blink of an eye.
Ren Qing gradually approached the sea of corpses formed by the blisters.
His soul could still sense the lingering might of Primordial Heavenly Venerable. It felt like hundreds of millions of ants gnawing at him.
The moment the Ascension Method was completed, Ren Qing glanced at its information and immediately broke free from Primordial Heavenly Venerable, returning to his body.
He did not even dare look directly at Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
Protected by the information flow, his consciousness gradually ascended until it merged with his physical body inside the underground cave.
The instant he opened his eyes, his stomach churned violently.
He could not help but retch.
Brilliant acidic liquid erupted from his throat. Organic matter within the soil dissolved into residue, including roots, insects, moss, and more.
Before Ren Qing could suppress the mutation, the information flow acted first.
The bone-chilling horror within both body and soul receded like a tide, disappearing without a trace.
The acid emitted shrill screams and roars before perishing on its own.
Ren Qing lay weakly within the cave, gasping for breath.
His face was filled with the joy of surviving a disaster, along with anticipation for the Ascension Method.
Even now, lingering fear remained in his heart.
After all, Wuying Ghost and Disaster-Dispelling Method had not yet advanced to Ascension Ladder.
He was not worried about Wuying Ghost. It was fundamentally different from the three Ascension Methods he had already advanced. It would likely encounter the never-before-seen Daode Heavenly Venerable.
The only thing Ren Qing truly worried about was Disaster-Dispelling Method.
He feared encountering Primordial Heavenly Venerable once again.
He could feel that each repeated encounter with Primordial Heavenly Venerable made the latter increasingly real and increasingly bizarre.
Who knew what indescribable form Primordial Heavenly Venerable would take next time?
After calming himself for a long while, Ren Qing concluded that no matter what happened, a road would appear when the cart reached the mountain.
Even if he had to face Primordial Heavenly Venerable again, as long as he prepared thoroughly, comprehending the Ascension Method would take only a few breaths.
It might seem as though he had spent several hours comprehending the Ascension Method.
In reality, only a few minutes had passed.
His thoughts had simply accelerated countless times, making time appear extraordinarily slow.
Ren Qing then summoned the information flow.
[Lifespan: None]
[Techniques: Heaven and Earth Genesis (Initial Opening)]
[Strange Object: Myriad Phenomena World]
[Divine Ability: Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth]
[Immortal Position: Zhenyuan Earth Ancestor (Pseudo)]
...
[Heaven and Earth Genesis]
[Created by Ren Qing. Cultivation requires residing within an extremely cold region covered in frost while swallowing red-hot branding irons for five years before completion.]
The upper limit of Heaven and Earth Genesis reaches Earth Immortal and can be cultivated alongside other techniques.
[Immortal Position: Zhenyuan Earth Ancestor]
A smile appeared at the corner of Ren Qing's mouth as he absorbed the contents of Heaven and Earth Genesis.
Only now did he truly gain confidence in achieving immortality.
He had indeed thought of Zhenyuanzi.
After all, the latter's Universe Within the Sleeve divine ability was similar to Stomach World.
However, the uncertainties involved in forming an Ascension Method were simply too numerous.
As the "Ancestor of Earth Immortals," Zhenyuanzi was said to be "a lord alongside the world itself." His status within Daoism was extraordinary, and it was said that he could discuss the Dao with the Three Pure Ones.
This demonstrated just how much potential the primary and auxiliary techniques of The Taotie Method possessed.
Even Disaster-Dispelling Method likely could not compare.
Ren Qing recalled the explanations of Earth Immortals from the Daoist traditions of his previous life and suddenly realized there was much information he had previously overlooked.
Of course, it might also be because of the blessings of the Heavenly Dao he had just received, causing dormant memories to awaken.
In this world, Earth Immortals referred to True Immortals who advanced from the Heavenly Aberration realm.
Yet within Daoism, immortals who remained in the mortal world were called Earth Immortals.
After an Earth Immortal ascended in a blaze of glory and resided within celestial grotto-heavens, they became Heavenly Immortals.
If the Earth Immortals of this world truly advanced into Heavenly Immortals, then did a heavenly realm similar to the Heavenly Court actually exist?
Ren Qing thought of Ratnasambhava Buddha.
The Tathagata Fruit Position existed above Earth Immortals.
If an upper realm truly existed, why was Ratnasambhava Buddha in the mortal world?
And what exactly did the Three Pure Ones and Dipankara Buddha represent?
Ren Qing sighed helplessly.
His perspective was still too narrow.
Even after reaching Heavenly Aberration, his understanding of the world remained incomplete.
The core concept of Heaven and Earth Genesis was "the body contains the world, and the Dao follows nature."
The phrase "the Dao follows nature" originated from the Dao De Jing.
To be precise, it came from: Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows nature.
With that single phrase, the Dao De Jing succinctly encompassed the laws governing Heaven, Earth, humanity, and the entire world.
Ren Qing found himself somewhat puzzled.
How exactly was "the Dao follows nature" connected to Zhenyuanzi?
Still, from his preliminary understanding of Heaven and Earth Genesis, its potential was certainly greater than Penglai Immortal's.
It even seemed faintly superior to Zhili Technique and Corpse Fengdu.
He glanced at Stomach World.
Everything inside remained calm and undisturbed, as though advancing to Ascension Ladder had produced no aftereffects whatsoever.
Ren Qing continued absorbing the contents of Heaven and Earth Genesis.
The details would have to wait until he fully mastered it.
This Ascension Method truly possessed an unfathomable profundity.
The cultivation realms of Heaven and Earth Genesis were divided into: Initial Opening at the Martial Practitioner realm, Primordial Unity at Half-Corpse, Clear and Turbid at Ghost Envoy, Five Gestations at Yin Difference, Four Divisions at Yang Spirit, and Return to One at Heavenly Aberration.
[Would you like to advance to Primordial Unity? This will consume one year of lifespan.]
Ren Qing closed his eyes and immediately began advancing Heaven and Earth Genesis.
His current Heavenly Dao Crack was sufficient to support the technique reaching Yin Difference realm.
However, Primordial Unity only seemed to increase the size of Stomach World.
The expansion was not instantaneous.
Instead, it proceeded at a remarkably stable pace.
What truly intrigued him was what kind of transformation Stomach World would undergo...
Ren Qing understood that as the Ascension Method of Stomach World, Heaven and Earth Genesis involved matters of tremendous importance.
Thus, he had already informed the Restraint Officers' Hall beforehand.
Every branch gathered its cultivators and instructed them to head toward Wuwei City or Dream City as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary trouble.
When The Taotie Method advanced to Multitude Yang Immortal, the expansion of the Sea of Wine had triggered the simultaneous eruption of numerous volcanoes.
Naturally, no one dared treat such matters lightly.
Unfortunately, there were always people cultivating in seclusion throughout Stomach World who never received the message.
Fortunately, ordinary cultivators did not seclude themselves as recklessly as Ren Qing.
They usually packed their cave residences full of protective magical artifacts.
As a result, even if they were affected by disasters, it would not be a major problem.