Cultivating in a Bizarre World

The shadow’s pattern vaguely resembled a beast’s head. It constantly coalesced and dispersed, feeling incompatible with the Taotie Technique.

Additionally, Ren Qing spotted the two words "Prison Guard" deep within its pupils, seemingly representing its identity within Abi Hell.

Ren Qing was reminded of the twelve herbs that had grown on Camel Peak Mountain due to the influence of the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area.

There was an inexplicable similarity between the two.

A thought suddenly struck him.

’Could it be that after the Taotie Technique was promoted to Abi Hell, the space inside my abdomen developed the characteristics of a forbidden area?’

ROAR!!!

The monkey Prison Guard shattered Ren Qing’s train of thought. It broke free from the wall and lunged at him with incredible speed.

Unfortunately, in Ren Qing’s eyes, the monkey Prison Guard was at best in the early stages of the Half-Corpse Realm, not even a match for the gravely injured and dying Song Rong.

The Great Miao Blade left its sheath, its edge perfectly timed to deflect the monkey Prison Guard.

Ren Qing took half a step back, surprised that the monkey Prison Guard was stronger than he had expected.

Seeing its attack had failed, the monkey Prison Guard grew increasingly agitated, relentlessly hammering at Ren Qing with its arms.

Ren Qing dodged and weaved, pushing his Double Pupils to their absolute limit as he tried to figure out just what this Prison Guard was.

While he was fighting, a rat-like head poked out from a corner of the Prison Cell’s bars. It turned out to be a possum the size of a cat.

The possum’s eyes were filled with venom as it extended a long, thin tongue to lick the tip of its nose.

Ren Qing caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye.

He was surprised to see a living creature inside Abi Hell. The internal space of a Yang God Realm was no place for ordinary Creatures to survive.

Then, Ren Qing realized.

’This must be the work of one of the other Cultivators, controlling the possum to get through the blood-vessel bars.’

’I don’t know what their goal is, but I doubt they have good intentions. In that case, I’d better finish off this Prison Guard quickly.’

His Double Pupils activated, and countless openings flooded his vision.

With his current power, Ren Qing could easily seize upon an opening and counterattack, without even needing to use his Werewolf Transformation.

The first strike.

Blood spurted from the joints in the monkey Prison Guard’s legs. It fell to the ground instinctively, but its claws remained poised to attack.

Before its arm could reach Ren Qing, the long, narrow blade was already blocking its path.

SWOOSH...

A whoosh tore through the air. A flash of light from the blade shot upward, and the monkey Prison Guard’s arm was cleanly severed at the shoulder. A pained howl followed.

Blood rained down.

Ren Qing even had the presence of mind to use the tip of his blade to deflect the droplets, keeping them from staining his clothes.

The possum outside held a blood-red bead in its mouth. Seeing Ren Qing cut down the Prison Guard as easily as dicing vegetables, it hesitated.

Then, he remembered Ren Qing’s privileged status compared to the other Cultivators upon entering the Forbidden Soldier Hall, and his heart twisted with resentment.

’Why?! Why don’t you have to risk your life with some crazy Magic Technique? Why don’t you have to walk around looking like something neither human nor ghost? Just die, die, DIE!!!’

The possum spat the bead into the Prison Cell.

The bead shattered, releasing a pale yellow gas.

A look of glee spread across the possum’s face as it quietly scurried into a corner of the hallway.

Inside the Prison Cell, however, the situation was the exact opposite.

Ren Qing avoided the gas and, with a clean and simple motion, beheaded the monkey.

The monkey’s corpse fell heavily to the ground and then merged into the wall of flesh, giving the distinct impression of being a Mysterious Object.

Ren Qing wiped the blood from his blade with a coarse cloth. He patted the blood-vessel bars and felt they were far less durable than before.

’I should be able to get out now.’

THUMP THUMP THUMP.

A faint tremor came from outside the Prison Cell.

At this, Ren Qing’s limbs underwent a subtle Werewolf Transformation. His constitution was instantly enhanced, and he gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands.

He slashed with his blade.

The flash of his blade was too fast for the naked eye to see.

A white line suddenly appeared on the blood vessels, and then they snapped cleanly in two.

Ren Qing stepped out of the Prison Cell. A thick, metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils, mixed with the stench of rot.

The possum shuddered in fright, its expression turning grim.

’He could never have imagined Ren Qing escaping the Prison Cell so easily,’ he thought, a pang of regret for his earlier actions hitting him.

’I’m afraid I’ve brought trouble on myself.’

’Fortunately, the scent has already spread. It should be enough to attract the Prison Guards.’

The vibrations intensified.

A ball-shaped Prison Guard came rolling along. It seemed to sense the scent, and it merged directly into the wall, heading for Ren Qing’s Prison Cell.

The possum hid in the shadows of the corridor, intending to wait until either the Prison Guard or Ren Qing was dead before emerging, so as not to get caught in the crossfire.

Though it was just a clone, its death would still affect his main body, potentially even causing a backlash that would damage his qi and blood.

A loud commotion erupted around the Prison Cell, but to the possum’s astonishment, it only lasted for a few moments.

’The last Prison Guard at least fought Ren Qing for a while. Surely the new one couldn’t have been defeated in mere moments?’

’Regardless, I should pass this information back to my main body first.’

After waiting a moment longer, the possum crept out from its corner.

But before it had gone more than a few meters, it suddenly felt a shadow fall over it, accompanied by a penetrating killing intent.

The possum stiffly raised its head. It saw Ren Qing, blade in hand, looking down at it with an unreadable smile.

The corpse of the ball-shaped Prison Guard lay nearby, apparently sliced in two by a single strike. The cut was perfectly clean.

"How... how is this possible..."

The possum stood frozen in astonishment. A moment later, Ren Qing’s right hand clamped down on it, squeezing so hard its eyes bulged.

Ren Qing summoned the Information Flow.

[Wang San]

[Age: Thirty-six]

[Lifespan: Eleven years]

[Skill: Rat Pest Technique (Rat Mother)]

[Created by the Plague Daoist. To cultivate this technique, one must continuously ingest a special plague poison for sixteen days. It can only be mastered if one’s body is afflicted by the poison but does not die.]

Ren Qing thought for a moment. He remembered a similar, low-level gang in the eastern part of the city that specialized in petty theft and other dirty deeds.

’I think it was called the "Mud Association."’

’Wait a minute... if a Cultivator dies in Abi Hell, they should also generate a Mysterious Object, right?’

Woohoo!!!

’Doesn’t that mean I can pick and choose a Magic Technique that suits me...?’

He deliberately held back his strength, allowing the possum to let out a piercing shriek just before he crushed it into a pulp that splattered onto the ground.

At the same time, a rustling sound could be heard from the far end of the corridor.

More than a dozen possums scurried out from a nearby Prison Cell, trying to flee.

"Ha, there aren’t any side paths around here. Where do you think you can run?"

Ren Qing pushed off with his legs, rushing forward with his blade in hand. He closed the distance in a few large strides, and nearly every swing of his blade precisely struck a possum.

Screams of agony echoed nonstop.

In the time it would take to drink half a cup of tea, the floor was littered with possum corpses, only to be devoured by the wall of flesh moments later.

Ren Qing followed the trail to the Prison Cell from which the possums had emerged.

Lying inside was a scrawny, emaciated man who was on his last breath.

The man’s eyes were wide with terror as he stared at Ren Qing.

Then, his mouth gaped open. A four- or five-pound possum slowly crawled out of his esophagus and tried to scurry out of the Prison Cell.