Ren Qing sat cross-legged in the temporary cave abode he had opened beside the underground river, his eyes closed, with all kinds of materials that assisted cultivation surrounding him.
For example, sandalwood incense that calmed the mind and settled the qi, worth at least three thousand units of Blood Crystal per tael. Or the meditation cushion that consolidated qi and blood, a magical artifact personally refined by Ren Qing that was priceless and unavailable even within the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Even the seemingly ordinary formation could isolate the strange aura from the outside world, making the circulation of his techniques through the Grand Zhou Cycle much smoother.
Ren Qing controlled the entire Restraint Officers' Hall, so naturally, the resources at his disposal far exceeded imagination.
Although his advancement in cultivation mainly relied on the Information Flow, he was still never stingy about consuming resources during his daily cultivation. After all, the Stomach World had already entered a stable cycle, with a continuous output of resources.
After completing the Grand Zhou Cycle of his five techniques, Ren Qing glanced at the Heavenly Dao Crack on the surface of the tortoise shell. Before he knew it, it had already recovered by more than half.
He was in no hurry to break through the bottleneck. After all, the Heavenly Dao Crack represented his ability to withstand Heavenly Dao Transformation. Once it exceeded fifty percent, there was a possibility of losing control.
Since Ren Qing intended to make a trip to the Buddhist World, he would rather err on the side of caution and keep the Heavenly Dao Crack below thirty percent. Even if he faced the Three Dao Ancestors directly, he would not panic.
While he was in seclusion, the situation in this world had fallen into stagnation. Almost no factions were willing to show themselves in public, which made life considerably easier for rogue cultivators.
The claim that there were two types of Immortals, Weird and Turbid, had already spread.
Most cultivators were aware of the existence of Turbid Immortals. Some had even encountered them more than once. However, they were extremely unfamiliar with Weird Immortals.
They had never imagined that becoming an immortal and attaining the Dao was not necessarily a dead end.
They secretly attempted to verify the existence of the two types of Immortals, and the clues they obtained were horrifying. It seemed that the greatest enemy on the path to becoming an immortal actually came from the Heavenly Dao.
The momentum of the War of Enfeoffing Immortals was still building, but regardless of what the various factions did, upheaval in this world was already unavoidable.
No one knew what would happen after Dipankara Buddha completed his transformation in the Beast Pen.
Because of the pressure brought by the Supreme Heavenly Demon, Black Goat Dharma Robes had gradually become highly sought-after goods, and hunting Black Goats was no longer uncommon.
Although wearing the Dharma Robes meant that the soul would be eroded by the residual Heavenly Demon aura, it was still far better than having no protection whatsoever against the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
Ren Qing knew that if he wanted the old undying monsters of the Heavenly Aberration realm to step forward, he was still missing one final spark, a raging fire capable of burning this entire world to ashes.
His moves and Nameless's moves were different, but their desire to become immortals was the same.
The two of them pushed the world's progression forward. The general momentum was like a rolling wheel that could not be stopped. Even if cultivators of the Heavenly Aberration realm wanted to block it, they would only be like an arm trying to stop a chariot.
Ren Qing's gaze turned toward Jingzhou as he closed his eyes and continued waiting.
He remained in a state of cultivation, and the passage of time went unnoticed.
More than half a year passed. The progress of the War of Enfeoffing Immortals seemed to have yielded no results, yet it also seemed to have imperceptibly changed something.
No new Immortal Positions had appeared. The Immortal Positions that had already manifested were being watched by the various factions, yet no one could find the Immortal Positions themselves.
Ren Qing took a deep breath. As Dipankara Buddha's transformation slowly approached its end, there would inevitably be some cultivators who fell into madness.
"One person attains the Dao, and even the chickens and dogs ascend to Heaven."
"A hundred people attain the Dao, and not even the chickens and dogs are spared."
He took out a stack of papers and digested the information recently reported by the Restraint Officers' Hall.
He noticed that Li Heavenly Spirits had already deployed more than thirty thousand Ghost Envoy realm cultivators in the Beast Pen, solely to assist the various factions in hunting Black Goats.
Dipankara Buddha and the Supreme Heavenly Demon simply did not care about the numerous cultivators rampaging through the Beast Pen.
Of course, perhaps in their eyes, cultivators of the Heavenly Aberration realm were no more than ants, while Black Goats were merely expendable commodities that could be discarded at will.
Li Heavenly Spirits was also selling Black Goat pelts through various black markets, causing the various factions to focus their attention on the Buddhist World.
The collection of Corpse Fuel was not very substantial, mainly because it could not be carried out of the Buddhist World.
The Restraint Officers' Hall stored the Corpse Fuel in the caves excavated underground. Transportation relied on the disciples of the Daoist Temple, whose Wuying Ghosts could travel through gaps in soil and rock in shadow form.
The situation in the Beast Pen had not exceeded Ren Qing's expectations. What came next concerning the Restraint Officers' Hall, however, was an unexpected delight.
"Not bad..."
When Ren Qing saw the notes left behind by Great Dream Perfected Person and Song Zongwu, a smile involuntarily appeared at the corners of his mouth. He then had the Heavenly Dao of the Stomach World constantly monitor the condition of the two.
Great Dream Perfected Person's foundation was extremely solid, and the technique he primarily cultivated was one he had created himself. The Dream Butterfly Method was highly suited to his divine soul's tendency toward loss of control through mutation.
There were few resources within the Restraint Officers' Hall that could reach the Earth Immortal level, but materials of the Heavenly Aberration realm were plentiful in its reserves. To cultivators of the Yang God realm, they were likewise an extremely rare source of assistance.
Great Dream Perfected Person possessed favorable circumstances, advantageous conditions, and harmonious support from others. Naturally, his progress in cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
Although he had yet to reach the bottleneck of the perfected Yang God realm, he had already begun preparing for his advancement to the Heavenly Aberration realm and had formally entered death seclusion.
Ren Qing did not hesitate and upgraded Great Dream Perfected Person's Human Immortal Office to the Earth Immortal Office.
If Great Dream Perfected Person successfully advanced to the Heavenly Aberration realm, the Earth Immortal Office would naturally follow. If he died and his Dao vanished, at least he could still reincarnate.
Song Zongwu, meanwhile, had just completed his breakthrough into the Ascension Ladder. Because he only had two primary and secondary techniques, and their contents did not conflict with each other, comprehending the Ascension Method was actually not particularly difficult.
What he faced was Primordial Heavenly Venerable, and his advancement to the Ascension Ladder came naturally.
Ren Qing had originally thought that the Ascension Method Song Zongwu comprehended would at most reach the Yang God realm. He had even planned to find a Heavenly Aberration realm Ascension Method for him. Unexpectedly, the latter had actually created a Heavenly Aberration realm Ascension Method himself.
Half-Mind Demon
Created by Song Zongwu. Cultivation requires possessing the Asura form with six arms and six eyes, then enduring three years of burning by Karmic Fire without falling, only after which can it be cultivated successfully.
The upper limit of Half-Mind Demon is the Heavenly Aberration realm, and it can be cultivated alongside other techniques.
Ren Qing knew from the harsh entry requirements of Half-Mind Demon that aside from Song Zongwu, only he himself could master it in the entire world.
No cultivator could withstand the pain of Karmic Fire Burning the Body. Let alone maintaining their sanity for three years, they would completely die and lose their Dao within a few days at most.
Ren Qing secretly asked Song Zongwu about it.
He noticed that Half-Mind Demon was different from other Ascension Methods. It could actually break through the minor realms of the Heavenly Aberration realm by absorbing Karmic Fire.
This meant that the upper limit of Half-Mind Demon was not the "Dharma-Birth Path", but the perfected Heavenly Aberration realm.
Ren Qing guessed that this was related to the Karmic Fire contaminating Song Zongwu's body and soul. The Karmic Fire had replaced the Fruit Position and formed a subtle symbiotic relationship with him. It was an unrepeatable coincidence of fate.
Once Song Zongwu mastered Half-Mind Demon, he should be able to smoothly break through to No-Birth Immortal.
Ren Qing likewise bestowed the Earth Immortal Office upon Song Zongwu, increasing the chances of both of them advancing.
Only when the Restraint Officers' Hall had cultivators of the Heavenly Aberration realm that it had nurtured itself could it form a virtuous cycle and stimulate more Yang God realm cultivators to seek breakthroughs.
Perhaps influenced by Song Zongwu and Great Dream Perfected Person entering seclusion, the other Yang God realm cultivators in the Restraint Officers' Hall likewise chose to enter seclusion in unison.
They might not necessarily be trying to break through to the Heavenly Aberration realm, but at the very least, they could not fall too far behind.
Ren Qing also tried his best not to assign them missions outside.
The next hundred years should be a period of explosive growth for the high-level cultivators of the Restraint Officers' Hall. Who knew how many cultivators would reach the Yang God and Heavenly Aberration realms?
Not long after Ren Qing put down the papers in his hand, he suddenly realized something.
The underground river, which had originally been surging violently, suddenly became as calm as still water, resembling an unruffled lake reflecting the stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cave.
Ren Qing rose unhurriedly and transformed into a True Dragon before leaping into the water.
A moment later, he arrived at the end of the tributary of the underground river. The rock wall was already covered in cracks, and the salty, fishy scent unique to the ocean permeated the air.
"Finally."
Ren Qing stroked the cracks on the surface of the rock wall, his palm already stained with seawater.
Crack, crack, crack, crack...
Seawater as thick as a finger poured backward into the underground river, mixed with a large number of sea fish. A terrifying aura emanated from the inner side of the rock wall.
The cracks grew denser and denser. With a crisp sound, thousands of meters of rock wall shattered, and Matchmaking Immortal's head was inside.
Bang!!!
Kunpeng hurriedly pulled the ropes. It and the various dragons had all grown considerably thinner, showing just how strenuous it was to pull the body of a True Immortal.
The Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators responsible for transporting Matchmaking Immortal were all beaming with joy.
Several years of high-intensity labor had made them miserable, especially having to face a True Immortal, which had subjected their minds and spirits to tremendous tempering.
"Immortal Elder, we have fulfilled our duty."
Blackwater Daoist cupped his fists in both hands. Gu Immortal stood half a meter away from him, looking as though he had already become extremely familiar with the Human Insect faction.
Ren Qing nodded in satisfaction and had the Ghost Shadow tear open a passage into the Stomach World.
"You have worked hard. Return to the Stomach World. Every cultivator can go to the Great Dream Pavilion and claim an additional six months of remuneration."
"Thank you, Immortal!!"
"We're rich!!"
"The Demon Immortal has attained the Dao! The Demon Immortal has attained the Dao!!"
If not for their concern about Matchmaking Immortal, the cultivators probably would not have been able to resist releasing the aura of their techniques. Every one of them was filled with uncontrollable joy.
Ren Qing's peripheral vision swept over Gu Immortal, and a trace of oddness appeared in his eyes.
He really was bold.
Gu Immortal was still in the Ghost Envoy realm, but he had already undergone three Weird Transformations without making a sound. All the credit went to his natal Gu Worm, "Crabmen", on his back.
Crabmen was a semi-parasitic Gu Worm that could absorb the host's nutrients to grow.
Gu Immortal had actually taken advantage of his contact with Matchmaking Immortal to briefly allow Crabmen to parasitize the True Immortal's body. This had allowed the Gu Worm to reach the perfected Ghost Envoy realm, indirectly pushing his own cultivation forward.
Seeing that Ren Qing was relatively easy to talk to, Gu Immortal asked, "Immortal, may I ask what level this giant fish is?"
Ren Qing did not expose Gu Immortal's little scheme and answered frankly, "A True Immortal."
The cultivators were dumbstruck. A bone-chilling terror swept through their minds, and their entire bodies trembled uncontrollably as they hurriedly fled into the Stomach World.
They had never imagined that the creature they had accompanied day and night was actually a True Immortal.
Had they not been constantly testing the boundary of death? The slightest mistake could have resulted in their souls being scattered.
Only Gu Immortal showed an unusual expression. It was not greed, but relief. His right hand subconsciously reached toward the storage pouch at his chest.
Ren Qing immediately understood that Gu Immortal's opportunity was not limited to the Gu Worm's parasitism. He might also have obtained some skin flakes shed by Matchmaking Immortal.
He was too lazy to investigate further. If Matchmaking Immortal made any instinctive movement, he could detect it immediately through the Zhili Technique and respond accordingly.
Only after all the Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators had withdrawn did Ren Qing use the Ghost Shadow to bind Matchmaking Immortal and return along the original route to the temporary cave abode where he had been cultivating in seclusion.
His current location was relatively safe. Ever since Dipankara Buddha had stopped presiding over the Buddhist World, the expansion of the darkness had completely ceased.
After Ren Qing settled Matchmaking Immortal, he could go search for the whereabouts of the three Immortal Positions.
Wherever Matchmaking Immortal passed, a layer of dead fish floated on the surface of the water. Fish with even a little intelligence scrambled to swim away into the distance.
Ren Qing slightly furrowed his brows and looked toward the school of fish, noticing that they were actually following the same route.
Could there be something hidden in the underground river?
He shook his head. The disease seeds had already covered most of the river channels, while enormous numbers of Fungus People were stationed along the rock walls. Even the vegetation contained dragon blood, and the fish were gradually transforming toward Scaled Carp.
If something really were hidden there, Ren Qing could not possibly have remained completely unaware for so long.
However, after transporting Matchmaking Immortal outside the cave abode, he still spent additional effort reinforcing its defenses. Even a Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator could not easily break through them.
Even if something unexpected happened, Ren Qing had means to deal with it remotely.
After carefully confirming several times that nothing had been overlooked in the cave abode, he cast Heavenly Demon Possession, and his body and soul disappeared into the pitch-black cave.
Not long after Ren Qing left, the school of fish in the underground river returned to the area around the cave abode and continued swimming around Matchmaking Immortal.
But once they approached within a hundred meters, they would be killed by the formation Ren Qing had established.
At this moment, Ren Qing had already descended into the Buddhist World, his body buried in the mud, with an imperceptible coldness flashing through his eyes.
"There really is something hidden. Could Huang Ling still be alive and hiding deep within the river channel?"
Ren Qing did not alert the hidden presence. One of the jade bottles protecting Matchmaking Immortal's formation cracked, and crystal-clear dragon blood dripped into the water.
The dragon blood concentration within the fish surged. Their scales immediately became denser, while ferocious fangs grew inside their mouths.
Dragon beasts were born one after another, mixing among the school of fish and watching them menacingly.
Even if Huang Ling was hiding somewhere in the underground river, he should be barely clinging to life. Otherwise, his aura would definitely have been detected.
Ren Qing was still quite interested in the creators of these techniques.
Unfortunately, the Mountain Gods bred from their false souls and memories had made extremely mediocre progress in cultivation. He did not know why.
Ren Qing pushed aside the mud covering his body and formally entered the Buddhist World.
What entered his eyes was darkness so complete that he could not see his own hand in front of his face, mixed with an extremely dense Heavenly Demon aura and a small amount of Dipankara Buddha Qi.
Ren Qing had never encountered such a strange and inexplicable environment.
Ren Qing exhaled somewhat uncomfortably. Darkness clearly had no physical volume, yet the sensation on his skin told him that he seemed to be standing in an ocean made from densely packed hair.
In a certain sense, Buddha Qi and Heavenly Demon aura were both pervasive strange auras.
Ren Qing felt strands of hair trying to burrow into his flesh. If the strange aura truly succeeded, his fate might resemble that of the Wind Void People, with black hair wrapping around his entire body.
What surprised him was that among the secondary techniques of Ancestral Lineage Derivation was the Human Skin Book.
Ren Qing's skin had undergone more than a hundred years of tempering and had developed some resistance to the Heavenly Demon aura, but within the Buddhist World, it seemed completely defenseless.
This was only the outskirts of the Buddhist World. Jingzhou was located in its deepest region, where the Heavenly Demon aura was probably so dense that it was unimaginable.
Tap, tap, tap, tap...
Dense footsteps approached from afar. Clearly, the commotion Ren Qing had made had attracted monsters from the darkness, numbering at least ten thousand.
But he was maintaining Heavenly Demon Tribulation. His presence should have been diluted to the extreme.
"Damn..."
As expected of an existence above the Earth Immortal realm. Even with Dipankara Buddha absent from the Buddhist World, Ren Qing's techniques were still severely weakened.
Ren Qing did not retreat because of this. At least his divination indicated "ominous with auspiciousness."
The monsters surged toward him crazily, yet Ren Qing could not use his naked eyes to see their forms. They were like Heavenly Demons, formless and colorless.
The Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators had only one way of dealing with monsters.
They could only assign part of their cultivators to delay the monsters' attacks and ignite a bonfire before the situation completely spiraled out of control. They had no confidence whatsoever in directly confronting the enemy.
Ren Qing swept his right arm, and the Ghost Shadow formed a huge net that descended toward the monsters.
Unfortunately, the shadow seemed unable to capture the monsters' forms. They passed directly through the Ghost Shadow and continued swarming toward Ren Qing.
Ren Qing refused to believe it. While agilely dodging, he used all kinds of methods to deal with the monsters.
Ghost Shadow, useless.
Magical artifacts, useless.
Lightning, useless.
As Ren Qing's temper flared, countless monsters gathered. They piled upon one another like waves, surging forward in one wave after another.
"Am I really only able to avoid their edge?"
Ren Qing became somewhat furious and directly pushed Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth to its utmost limit.
He transformed into the form of the Primordial Ancestral Dragon. Under the effects of Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth, dozens of heads with different appearances grew from his body, while his hands and feet increased to a thousand.
Ren Qing projected all the prison wardens from the Stomach World onto himself. The Primordial Ancestral Dragon instantly transformed into a thousand-legged, many-headed centipede dragon.
Although it was hideously deformed, it could simultaneously control thousands of techniques.
Dozens of heads spewed breaths containing mixed elemental powers. Wind blades, flames, corrosion, frost, ash, explosions...
The monsters were drowned beneath the techniques, and a several-hundred-meter-deep pit appeared in the ground.
Yet even this failed to inflict any substantial damage. Instead, a colossal creature from the southern part of the Buddhist World was attracted.
Ren Qing raised an eyebrow. The newcomer was similar to the dark monsters, but its body was nearly a thousand meters tall, and its strength was comparable to a late-stage Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator.
He quickly realized that the Endless Forest had already become a wasteland.
It seemed that the Heavenly Demon aura had revived that Heavenly Aberration realm corpse. Truly troublesome. It might even be capable of breaking through the restrictions of the Heavenly Aberration realm.
Ren Qing had no intention of testing whether the flames produced by burning Corpse Fuel could drive away a Heavenly Aberration realm monster, so he once again cast Heavenly Demon Possession.
He chose to descend near the outskirts of the Buddhist World to the north.
Ren Qing was especially cautious this time. After transforming into shadow form, he emerged from the soil and immediately ignited Corpse Fuel, burning pale gray flames.
He hesitated for several breaths before finally severing the nerves connected to his eyes.
Ren Qing had more or less figured it out. As long as he was within the Buddhist World's domain, even a Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator had to follow Dipankara Buddha's rules.
He obediently took out a Black Goat Dharma Robe.
However, Ren Qing did not put it on immediately. Instead, he chose to impose restrictions on the Dharma Robe, lest it absorb too much Heavenly Demon aura and suddenly come to life.
First, he spread the deformed disease seeds throughout the inside and outside of the Black Goat Dharma Robe. Then he used dragon blood to imbue the Dharma Robe with the characteristics of dragons. The Ghost Immortal Office of Heaven and Earth Genesis followed closely behind.
The Yin Qi of Corpse Fengdu conflicted with the Heavenly Demon aura, while Heavenly Demon Tribulation had no similar method.
Ren Qing could sense the Black Goat Dharma Robe twitching beside the bonfire, as though it were a fanatic worshiping an evil god.
The horns of the Black Goat Dharma Robe transformed into long, narrow dragon horns with branches. The deformed disease seeds made the Dharma Robe more malleable, while the smoothly fused Ghost Immortal Office revealed an otherworldly aura.
Although the Black Goat Dharma Robe was said to be a magical artifact, it was actually more like a unique living creature.
Ren Qing stored the Dharma Robe in the Stomach World and examined it in minute detail.
The Black Goat Dharma Robes mass-produced by the Restraint Officers' Hall were styled like Daoist robes, except that their surfaces were covered in fine hair, making it actually quite difficult to associate them with Black Goats.
But Ren Qing's Dharma Robe had become completely different after three successive transformations.
If not for an inconspicuous crack on the abdomen of the Dharma Robe, its overall appearance would be that of a Black Goat wearing dragon horns, making it difficult to distinguish from the real thing.
Fortunately, Ren Qing had complete control over the Black Goat Dharma Robe. Otherwise, how could he possibly put on such a strange and inexplicable Dharma Robe?
More precisely, it should be called the Black Goat Skin Sac.
Ren Qing casually took out a piece of Corpse Fuel and threw it into the bonfire, then began examining the skin sac.
The Black Goat Skin Sac was noticeably more restrained within the Buddhist World. It lay limp and motionless, deliberately slowing down its absorption of the Heavenly Demon aura as well.
With an Immortal Office present, the skin sac would not develop true intelligence, but its instincts were already extremely clever.
Ren Qing pried open the crack in the skin sac and then crawled inside.
The Black Goat Skin Sac perfectly adhered to his skin. Countless tentacles connected to Ren Qing's flesh, causing their senses to be shared.
Ren Qing moved his hands and feet beside the bonfire and found that there was not the slightest hindrance.
His techniques could also be cast freely, and whenever he released a technique, it would come with the augmentation of Heavenly Demon aura. The only limitation was that his body could not undergo drastic changes in size.
After all, the Black Goat Skin Sac was not a part of Ren Qing's body. If he merely expanded to around ten meters, it would be fine, but if he became several thousand meters like the Primordial Ancestral Dragon, the skin sac would immediately be torn apart.
While Ren Qing wore the skin sac, the aura he revealed was only at the Martial Practitioner realm. This showed that before the Black Goat Skin Sac matured, it was actually rather fragile.
He intended to cultivate the Black Goat Skin Sac to the Heavenly Aberration realm, after which he would be able to move freely throughout the Buddhist World.
But there was one drawback. When the Black Goat Skin Sac absorbed Heavenly Demon aura, it inevitably absorbed Dipankara Buddha Qi into its body as well.
If this continued for a long time, the skin sac would inevitably be eroded by Buddha Qi.
Ren Qing simply used two Dreamflowers in place of the skin sac's eyes. The left eye was responsible for absorbing excess Heavenly Demon aura and assisting the skin sac in digesting it, while the right eye was responsible for absorbing the mixed Dipankara Buddha Qi.
The Black Goat's appearance became even stranger. Aside from the dragon horns, it now had an additional pair of Double Pupils.
Coincidentally, the bonfire completely burned out, leaving behind a pile of ashes. As gusts of wild wind swept through, the ashes scattered in all directions.
The surroundings fell into deathly silence.
Ren Qing's figure was not particularly conspicuous in the darkness. The eyes transformed from Dreamflowers also allowed him to see in the dark with some difficulty.
He looked around and discovered that monsters had indeed noticed the extinguished bonfire.
Footsteps sounded one after another. Large numbers of monsters gathered around, and only then did Ren Qing clearly see what they looked like.
The monsters were almost identical to Black Goats, except that traces from before their transformation remained.
When they were not stimulated by sound, their behavior was extraordinarily strange, as though they were constantly repeating meaningless movements.
From their physical characteristics, Ren Qing could tell that they had probably transformed from Heavenly Dao insect people. There were likely several million of them within the Buddhist World.
"Could it be that the Insect Nest has already completely fallen within the Buddhist World?"
Ren Qing immediately rejected his own guess. When the Buddhist World had first appeared, there had not been many Black Goats, and their strength had not been enough to threaten the Matriarch.
As long as the Matriarch burrowed deep underground, she could recuperate and recover her strength.
Groups of Black Goats passed by. They all ignored Ren Qing, presumably because the Black Goat Skin Sac was simply too lifelike.
Ordinary Black Goat Dharma Robes could at most help cultivators resist the Heavenly Demon aura.
Ren Qing studied the Black Goats for a moment before walking toward Jingzhou, intending to first investigate the place where the Medicine-Pounding Rabbit Immortal had disappeared.
As the skin sac digested the Heavenly Demon aura, it gradually showed signs of transformation.
However, Ren Qing noticed that there was actually a bottleneck between the Martial Practitioner realm and the Half-Corpse realm. The skin sac's advancement was not that simple.
It was possible that this was caused by the rules of the Buddhist World.