Ren Qing could only clearly sense the bacterial souls trapped within the darkness when the Corpse Firewood was ignited. This showed that even the Dao Gives Birth to One level of the Zhili Technique was incapable of influencing Dingguang Buddha's domain.
It was now proven that Dingguang Buddha was even more troublesome than imagined.
More precisely, Ren Qing probably did not yet know the true nature of Dingguang Buddha at all. After the Tathagata Buddha was possessed by the Supreme Heavenly Demon, what kind of bizarre and indescribable monster had he become?
There was little information available for now. The only thing that was certain was that the darkness spreading across tens of thousands of miles was the Buddhist Realm formed by Dingguang Buddha. It had already developed rules similar to those of a forbidden zone, allowing cultivators to fall into it with ease.
Fortunately, the Buddhist Realm was not particularly dangerous. At least the Ghost Envoy realm cultivators trapped inside were still alive.
The Restraint Officers' Hall's exploration of the Buddhist Realm soon reached a bottleneck, especially after they discovered that the darkness continued to expand.
Seven days after the first expansion passed without incident, the Buddhist Realm underwent another change.
The darkness spread outward like a tsunami, centered on Jingzhou. It eventually expanded by another thousand miles before stopping. This showed just how terrifying Dingguang Buddha was as an existence above the Earth Immortal realm. Even his residual might was already this frightening.
Dingguang Buddha could be said to have perfectly inherited the characteristics of both Buddhism and the Supreme Heavenly Demon, displaying a horrifying ability to corrode all things.
Ren Qing gradually evacuated the Dragon Blood Sea Region. Transferring an Immortal Position was fairly simple, but the Matchmaking Immortal beneath the sea was difficult to move.
He could only cultivate giant dragon beasts first and prepare to slowly relocate the Matchmaking Immortal.
Fortunately, the Buddhist Realm's expansion had slowed somewhat. It would take at least a dozen years for it to spread to the Dragon Blood Sea Region, so there was still ample time.
Ren Qing could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The slowing frequency of the darkness's expansion at least indicated that Dingguang Buddha's Buddhist Realm had a limit.
If its expansion were truly endless, it might be able to cover this entire world within a century.
After the cultivators of the Restraint Officers' Hall tried all kinds of conventional methods and discovered that they could not shake the boundless darkness, they gradually withdrew from its perimeter.
Li Yaoyang's Gu insects were like mud cows entering the sea the moment they entered the Buddhist Realm. He could neither summon them back through techniques nor sense whether they were alive or dead.
As for Xiao San'er's artifact puppets, they were completely delivering gifts to Dingguang Buddha.
The demon-kind's plan to excavate their way toward Jingzhou was equally unrealistic. Before long, it was halted, and they were all sent back to Stomach World.
No matter how deep a tunnel was, as long as it lay within the Buddhist Realm's coverage, it would fall into endless darkness.
What made the Restraint Officers' Hall most wary was that even Yang God realm cultivators inside the darkness would gradually lose their perception of time and direction.
The Restraint Officers' Hall had conducted an experiment by tying cultivators to artifact ropes before sending them into the Buddhist Realm.
Although they were clearly only three or four meters from the outside world, they wandered around like headless flies, groping about for several hours without finding a way out.
Corpses within the Buddhist Realm would mutate into shriveled Corpse Firewood.
After the Corpse Firewood was ignited, cultivators seemed to see indescribable horrors. Most of them fell into madness and began calling out to Dingguang Buddha.
Ren Qing completely abandoned the possibility of escaping the Buddhist Realm independently. Instead, he simply divided his Ghost Shadows into multiple groups and sent them into the darkness to search for survivors.
The Ghost Shadows could also determine the locations of the two True Immortals.
Through Heaven and Earth Genesis, Ren Qing could sense that Taiyin Star Lord's injuries were extremely severe, while Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal had not suffered damage to his foundation.
With the vitality of an Earth Immortal, he should not die within the Buddhist Realm.
However, the conditions of the two True Immortals showed no signs of improving. They seemed to be barely hanging on, and were probably buried somewhere in the central region of Jingzhou.
While Ren Qing was troubled by this, the Restraint Officers' Hall shifted most of its attention to Insect Nest. Taking advantage of the four Matriarchs being trapped in Jingzhou, a large number of cultivators began stationing themselves around Insect Nest.
The Insect Nest region looked like a desolate Gobi. There was not a trace of useful resources to be found, and the difference between day and night temperatures reached forty to fifty degrees.
On the surface, no force would have any interest in Insect Nest.
After several probes, the Restraint Officers' Hall found that Insect Nest's response was rather subdued. They then marched into the Gobi in force, using techniques to break through the layers of earth.
Daoist Taihan watched the busy cultivators of Insect Vein. Quite a few had already burrowed underground, following his directions toward the gathering grounds of Insect Nest.
Song Zongwu deliberately stayed half a step behind, his gaze discreetly sizing up Daoist Taihan.
Although they were cooperating with Insect Vein, Song Zongwu was certainly on guard against Daoist Taihan. He had even had Li Heavenly Spirits bring Jade Splendor to surround Insect Nest from the opposite direction.
Only by dispersing Insect Vein could they ensure absolute security.
Even though Song Zongwu knew that the probability of Insect Vein rebelling was extremely low, he had to consider the Restraint Officers' Hall and eliminate every possibility of an accident.
Daoist Taihan did not mind. After officially joining the Restraint Officers' Hall, he had already expected that one day he would become a guide for an invasion. He simply had not expected that day to come so quickly.
"A hundred years ago, Insect Nest's ecology was still relatively lush. However, because the Heavenly Dao insect people completely hollowed out the underground, the soil lost a tremendous amount of nutrients and eventually became a Gobi."
Daoist Taihan spoke as though he were recounting something completely ordinary, but Song Zongwu could hear a trace of confusion in his words.
If Insect Vein and the Heavenly Dao Insects were compared, they were already two completely different races, with their habits transformed beyond recognition in every respect.
Daoist Taihan looked at the Insect Vein cultivators coming and going across the surface. Because they also cultivated the Restraint Officer Method, their bodies were not limited to maggot-like forms. They could even take beast or human forms.
They did not care about Insect Nest. Instead, they were filled with greed for resources.
Song Zongwu asked curiously, "Taihan, Insect Nest's resources are so scarce. You must have a habit of migrating, right?"
"Indeed. Because food is scarce, we migrate once every thousand years."
Daoist Taihan hesitated for a moment before adding, "It is almost time for another migration, but without the Matriarchs, the other Insect Nest cultivators simply have no authority to make decisions."
He shook his head, his tightly furrowed brows never relaxing.
More than a hundred years had passed since Daoist Taihan last returned to Insect Nest, and Jade Splendor was no better off.
Neither of them understood the current situation within Insect Nest very well, and they were afraid of making a mistaken judgment.
Song Zongwu said calmly, "According to the information collected by our cultivators, Insect Nest seems to have fallen into internal strife after the four Matriarchs left. The tunnels leading deeper underground have already been sealed."
"As for the exact situation, we will have to see it for ourselves underground."
As they spoke, the Insect Vein cultivators flew into the tunnel on their artifacts. The commotion was not particularly noticeable, and the entrance was only a little over ten meters wide.
They discovered that the deeper layers of soil had already begun showing signs of Sandification.
It was clear that Insect Nest's destruction of its environment had taken only a century. It had nearly squeezed the resources dry across thousands of miles of Insect Nest territory.
By comparison, Wuwei Daoist Temple sought to transform the ecosystem. Spiritual ley lines instead allowed plants and animals to reproduce and thrive even more abundantly.
Song Zongwu was responsible for exploring the interior of Insect Nest, while Li Heavenly Spirits remained on guard, stationed among the mountains and peaks with unobstructed visibility.
Even Ren Qing did not know why Insect Nest and Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal had gone against each other. Some kind of drastic upheaval must have occurred between the two sides.
Ren Qing occasionally used Spirit Division to observe Insect Nest. The Restraint Officers' Hall had already found the gathering grounds of the human-insects.
The situation there was not optimistic. The tunnels leading deeper had been sealed, leaving the human-insects short of food and causing them to slaughter one another.
Although it was merely a nest belonging to human-insects, it was still grand and exaggerated. This demonstrated the creativity of Insect Nest's cultivators in excavating underground cities.
Countless tunnels intertwined like tangled roots. The structure of the underground dwellings looked crude, but every part had its own purpose.
The houses were built from stone bricks, while fungi and moss were planted in the courtyards, providing barely enough food for the insect beasts.
Before the tunnels leading deeper were sealed, the cultivators of Insect Nest provided them with a sticky form of dried rations every day. It was said to be a gift bestowed upon Insect Nest by Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal.
But after Song Zongwu examined the remnants of the dried rations, he discovered that their main ingredients were shed skin from the Matriarchs mixed with the ashes of burned human-insects that had died.
Even Song Zongwu could not help being shocked by the cruelty Insect Nest showed toward the human-insects.
Insect Nest never guided the human-insects in cultivation. They were not even allowed to possess written language, and even their food was provided free of charge.
Free food meant that there was no supply relationship between Insect Nest and the human-insects. The human-insects had therefore become an insignificant subordinate race.
Although the Restraint Officers' Hall was somewhat hostile toward foreign races, it would at least give them a path to climb upward. The three-realm system of Stomach World was also relatively fair.
The hierarchy within Insect Nest was extremely distinct. The higher one's status, the deeper underground one lived. At the very bottom were the Matriarchs' caves, which even Daoist Taihan had never entered.
At first, Song Zongwu was extremely cautious, but he soon realized something was wrong.
All the tunnels leading deeper had been completely sealed to prevent the human-insects from accidentally entering. The Restraint Officers' Hall could only forcibly excavate through the rock.
The rock layers of Insect Nest were also extremely unusual. It was said that they had been coated with saliva secreted by the Matriarchs. They were not only as hard as steel, but also possessed an indescribable defense against techniques.
Song Zongwu had a premonition that the depths of Insect Nest might already be completely deserted. The four Matriarchs had probably never intended to return after going to Jingzhou.
After all, Insect Nest's resources were already nearing exhaustion. It was perfectly normal to seek another place to settle.
Daoist Taihan questioned the human-insects and discovered that most of them had very low status. The Heavenly Dao insect people clearly looked down on them, so naturally they could not know any useful information.
The human-insects followed the orders previously issued by the cultivators of Insect Nest, remaining in their caves and not daring to rashly venture to the surface.
Song Zongwu could only return to his old methods. He had Insect Vein take over control of the human-insects, then led a group of cultivators to excavate new tunnels.
Reinforcements from the Restraint Officers' Hall soon arrived at Insect Nest, and their numbers quickly surpassed five thousand.
Ren Qing's Ghost Shadow had already discovered Han Li's whereabouts, but the latter was in no hurry to return to Stomach World. He insisted on searching for his fellow cultivators.
The Buddhist Realm was indeed relatively stable, and no cultivators had suffered further casualties.
How should it be described? The Buddhist Realm seemed to be at a delicate point of balance. There was no great danger for the moment, but something seemed to be brewing in the shadows.
Ren Qing vaguely suspected that the four Matriarchs might cause trouble within the Buddhist Realm, especially since there were spies planted by both Wuming and Buddhism among them.
He did not intend to continue waiting for things to develop. He used Heavenly Demon Possession to descend upon Insect Nest.
Ren Qing had not gone very deep when he noticed the chaotic town built by the human-insects. A foul stench assaulted his nose.
Human-insects and insect beasts lived together, occupying the lowest level of Insect Nest's hierarchy.
Their purpose seemed to be to raise insect beasts and, whenever the Matriarchs needed cannon fodder, immediately serve as expendable resources.
Even after the Restraint Officers' Hall took over, the human-insects continued to maintain their monotonous lives.
Ren Qing stood at the entrance of the town. Several dozen human-insects dragged insect beasts past him, while the Insect Vein of the Restraint Officers' Hall distributed food.
The so-called insect beasts were actually giant maggots several meters long. Unlike the Heavenly Dao Insects, they possessed none of the physical characteristics of humans.
The intelligence of the insect beasts was extremely low, but they could produce a sugary gelatinous substance that served as food for Heavenly Dao larvae.
After the Restraint Officers' Hall took control of the town, the insect beasts were kept in captivity. Even so, the human-insects remained submissive and fearful whenever they faced them.
Song Zongwu did not want to waste time on the human-insects. They could simply be taken to Stomach World in the future. After several generations of reproduction, all their bad habits would naturally disappear.
The human-insects looked at the passing Insect Vein cultivators with envy.
In their understanding, the Heavenly Dao insect people were descendants of immortals, naturally possessing long lifespans.
Unlike them, the oldest members of their clans only lived into their early twenties before dying for one reason or another.
The Insect Vein cultivators seemed exceptionally disdainful when faced with the human-insects' ingratiating attitudes.
If Ren Qing revealed the aura of Ancestral Lineage Derivation, even if it only contained an inconspicuous trace of Heavenly Dao Law, it would be enough to make the human-insects kneel and kowtow.
The human-insects' bloodlines had already been engraved with the distinction between high and low status, noble and base.
Ren Qing shook his head and vanished from the spot. He then arrived at a mine being excavated, where a group of Corpse Vein zombie cultivators were vigorously swinging mining picks.
The advantage of zombies in heavy labor was displayed to perfection.
They did not need rest and could work without sleep. Even if their muscles were damaged, they could consume Yin Qi pills to recover from their injuries.
Under such circumstances, their excavation efficiency naturally exceeded all expectations.
Ren Qing's expression became somewhat strange. He suddenly remembered the time when he had just joined the Restraint Officers' Hall, when he and Huang Ziwang and the others had relied on their strength to hollow out a mountain outside the Disaster-Relief Forbidden Zone.
He soon found Song Zongwu. To his surprise, Song Zongwu had chosen to excavate alongside them.
Song Zongwu's six arms swung his fists at a speed invisible to the naked eye. Cracks immediately appeared across the rock wall in front of him.
Ren Qing discovered that Song Zongwu's aura was condensed and did not disperse. He had already reached the pinnacle of Multitude Yang Immortal, only half a step away from advancing to No-Birth Immortal.
Ren Qing intended to give Song Zongwu a hand, so he canceled the Heavenly Demon Tribulation without concealing his presence in the slightest and openly walked into the mine.
After sensing Ren Qing's arrival, the corners of Song Zongwu's mouth rose into a smile.
"Ren Qing, let me see what is different about the Heavenly Aberration realm."
Ren Qing took out his long-unused great saber. A blade forged from ordinary materials could not withstand the destruction of Insect Nest's rocks at all.
"Senior Song, you're already more than five hundred years old, yet your skills haven't diminished at all."
Ren Qing swung down with all his strength. Although he had not used a cold weapon in a long time, Stomach World could digest the memories of others. Without him realizing it, his saber technique had made tremendous progress.
Boom!!!
The rock wall exploded, revealing a saber mark half a meter deep.
The surrounding zombie cultivators were startled by the commotion. They could not help stopping their work and turning their gazes toward the end of the mine.
Song Zongwu burst into laughter and, unwilling to fall behind, swung his fists like a pendulum.
Under the successive bombardment of his six arms, the excavation speed immediately increased severalfold. Shattered stones flew everywhere with sharp crackling sounds.
Ren Qing deliberately guided Song Zongwu to unleash his strength without reservation, and he could see the latter's laughter becoming increasingly uninhibited.
However, Song Zongwu was ultimately only at the Yang God realm. His body and soul had not fused with a Strange Object, so his strength was not inexhaustible.
Ren Qing stimulated Song Zongwu and even used "Hyperthyroidism Disease Seeds," which silently burrowed into Song Zongwu's heart and brain.
The Hyperthyroidism Disease Seeds could make Song Zongwu excited. His fists gradually lost all structure, pursuing only raw strength and speed.
The zombie cultivators were horrified.
A fragment of stone blasted loose from the rock struck the abdomen of the nearest zombie cultivator, leaving a gash deep enough to expose bone.
Watching the countless fragments of stone rain down like drops of water, they naturally did not dare approach again.
If cultivators from the other branches had been in their place, there might already have been casualties. Only zombie cultivators could remain unafraid of such bodily damage.
Ren Qing put away his great saber and looked with satisfaction at the blade, which remained as pristine as new.
He had primarily been assisting Song Zongwu. Even when he needed to act, he left it to his Ghost Shadow, constantly keeping Song Zongwu's nerves taut.
After Song Zongwu continued working in the mine for ten days and ten nights, his body and soul finally began to feel fatigue.
His fists began to slow. A trace of exhaustion appeared in his six blazing eyes, and at some point the tip of his tongue had been bitten through by his teeth.
Ren Qing studied Song Zongwu. His aura had already reached the absolute pinnacle of Multitude Yang Immortal, only half a step away from No-Birth Immortal.
"Senior Song, I remember your martial path is Death Gives No Birth, right?"
A flash of light passed through Song Zongwu's eyes. The Hyperthyroidism bacterial soul burrowed into his Mud Pellet Palace, and his Three Souls and Seven Spirits immediately began to boil.
Faint smoke emerged from the pores across his body, and the temperature inside the mine rose rapidly.
"Everyone out."
After Ren Qing spoke, the zombie cultivators dared not remain. They scattered in all directions, with some already developing blisters across their flesh.
Ren Qing frowned as he stared at Song Zongwu. Karmic Fire still remained.
The Fleshly Tathagata absorbed the Karmic Fire from Song Zongwu's body and soul, but the temperature did not decrease. This showed that the Karmic Fire had already penetrated deep into his bones.
Whether this was good or bad for Song Zongwu was difficult to say. The Karmic Fire had become intertwined with his foundation, replacing his original Buddhist Fruit Position.
"Break!!!"
Song Zongwu roared and struck out with all six arms simultaneously.
The rock wall emitted a sound of unbearable strain. The blows sank more than a dozen meters before finally stopping. Asura Dharma successfully advanced to No-Birth Immortal.
Song Zongwu closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. The Strange Objects of Asura Dharma and Truth-Listening Technique fused together, though both carried traces of Karmic Fire.
Ren Qing did not disturb Song Zongwu and directly sent him into a cave dwelling within Stomach World.
The subsequent Ascension Ladder was actually simpler than No-Birth Immortal. It only required patient accumulation over time, though facing the Heavenly Dao would still carry risks.
Before long, the Restraint Officers' Hall would have another Ascension Ladder cultivator.
Great Dream True Person now largely ignored worldly affairs, devoting his mind entirely to advancing to the Heavenly Aberration realm. Given his talent, it should not be much of a problem.
Ren Qing opened his mouth and swallowed the remaining Karmic Fire completely, then walked toward the end of the mine.
An exaggerated dragon head emerged from his shadow, and corrosive Nether Yuan poured forth, acting upon the rocks reinforced by the Insect Nest Matriarchs.
The rocks became like tofu. Wherever the Ghost Shadow passed, the rock walls melted into pus.
With a sharp slap, the tunnel leading deeper was finally cleared. Ren Qing sensed no cultivators within.
Instead, there were only several dozen faint auras at the very bottom of Insect Nest.
"What on earth is Insect Nest doing?"
Ren Qing did not send the zombie cultivators into the tunnel. He walked alone into the depths of Insect Nest, where he immediately sensed extremely dense True Essence.
Under normal circumstances, only Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal could produce True Essence, because the core of an Immortal Position was "transforming into a spiritual ley line and nurturing spiritual opportunity."
He had never expected Insect Nest to be filled with enough True Essence to satisfy the Heavenly Aberration realm.
But just as Song Zongwu had predicted, Insect Nest was already deserted. The four Matriarchs had clearly taken several million people with them to Jingzhou.
"An all-or-nothing gamble?"
Ren Qing swept his gaze over the buildings hanging from the underground cavern. The Heavenly Dao insect people had not evacuated Insect Nest in a hurry. Everything looked calm and orderly.
The residences of the Heavenly Dao insect people were particularly neat. The buildings were arranged with clear divisions, and flags embroidered with Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal could be seen everywhere.
Ignoring the appearance of the Heavenly Dao insect people, Insect Nest was actually a traditional Daoist force.
Their worship of Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal was unwavering. Even the Insect Nest Method retained traces of Heavenly Dao Law, particularly in the introductory Qi Refinement stage.
Ren Qing spread the Disease Seeds throughout the area. It took more than half a day for them to permeate every corner.
After confirming that there was no danger, he had Daoist Taihan lead the Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators inside to conduct a thorough sweep of Insect Nest.
When Daoist Taihan arrived at the familiar underground cavern and gazed at the empty town, his expression became extraordinarily complicated.
The Insect Vein cultivators, however, could not share Daoist Taihan's feelings.
They simultaneously rushed toward the various temples and Daoist temples, searching for abandoned resources and not even sparing the buildings themselves.
Daoist Taihan saw no sign of Ren Qing anywhere. Knowing that the latter had probably gone to the Matriarchs' caves, he chose to remain silent.
The tunnel leading to the Matriarchs' caves had not been deliberately rigged with any traps.
Ren Qing soon arrived before a resplendent palace. The True Essence in the air had already become almost tangible, and its source was inside the cave dwelling.
The plaque on the palace was engraved with the words "Scale Armor Cave," referring to the Scale Armor Matriarch.
The Heavenly Dao insect people under the Scale Armor Matriarch were all covered in thick scales. Their role was similar to that of the Cocoon Vein within the Restraint Officers' Hall, responsible for bearing enemy attacks during battle.
Ren Qing discovered quite a few resources that the Scale Armor Matriarch had considered unworthy of keeping inside the Scale Armor Cave. There were also tens of thousands of Heavenly Dao Insect eggs, but they no longer possessed any vitality.
He collected the insect eggs into Stomach World and handed them over to Li Yaoyang, who could forcibly hatch them.
While collecting the insect eggs, Ren Qing noticed something unusual. Nearly ninety percent of the eggs had physiological defects.
The Heavenly Dao insect people should all have been carefully selected by the Matriarchs.
He had thought that the Scale Armor Matriarch had deliberately extinguished the vitality of the eggs before leaving. He had not expected the Heavenly Dao Insect eggs to have already been dead at birth.
Ren Qing followed the tunnels to the other three palaces, respectively called "Blood Bat Cave," "Earth Serpent Cave," and "Black Crow Cave." The Black Crow Matriarch was the Heavenly Aberration realm existence controlled by the Corpse Immortal.
Inside the caves, he noticed even more horrifying Heavenly Dao Insect Dead Eggs.
"This is..."
Ren Qing collected roughly seven to eight hundred thousand Heavenly Dao Insect Dead Eggs. There were so many that they could be piled into mountains, enough to raise the True Essence content of the Heavenly Dao Palace to a level comparable to that of the "Immortal Realm."
But several Heavenly Dao Insect Dead Eggs particularly caught his attention.
The insect eggs were amber-colored. Inside each was the corpse of a half-human, half-insect infant. The more Ren Qing looked at the infant's features, the more familiar they seemed.
"Heavenly Daozi?"
Ren Qing slowly exhaled. He suddenly realized that the hundreds of thousands of insect eggs had all originated from Heavenly Daozi, who had died several hundred years ago.