Cultivating in a Bizarre World

Ren Qing withdrew his gaze and glanced at the trembling Lin Cheng on his shoulder.

Lin Cheng barely held onto consciousness and said, "Brother Ren, the rib bone might be the token for entering and exiting the Forbidden Soldier Hall. Don’t forget it."

"Let’s get out of here first."

Lin Cheng didn’t reply. He passed out as soon as he had given the warning.

Ren Qing sighed.

’If I can save Lin Cheng’s life, it will only benefit me.’

’There’s so much deception among the Forbidden Guards; it’s always good to have more friends.’

Fine wolf hair sprouted on his legs. His speed increased again, and his stamina consumption decreased accordingly.

As Ren Qing got closer and closer to the rib bone, the rain of blood gradually turned into a downpour, making it difficult for even him to keep his eyes open.

Fortunately, the blood wasn’t corrosive. Otherwise, it would have been a dead end.

Ren Qing silently committed the direction to memory and sprinted toward his destination. Lin Cheng was already on the verge of death.

When he arrived beneath the rib bone, he couldn’t help but open his eyes and scan his surroundings, discovering that the Forbidden Soldier Hall was incredibly vast.

’I wonder where they store the Mysterious Objects.’

Ren Qing drew his Great Miao Blade and slashed down with all his might. Sparks flew, leaving a white mark on the rib bone’s surface.

He couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. The rib bone wasn’t as tough as he had imagined, which, of course, also meant the Yang God Realm being was truly on the brink of death.

Ren Qing struck several more times, breaking off two thumb-sized fragments.

The notch in the rib bone healed at a visible rate. The surrounding walls of flesh and blood trembled slightly before returning to calm.

Ren Qing toyed with the bone fragments.

He discovered they had a very strange property: they would turn to dust if they touched each other.

He tucked one fragment into Lin Cheng’s clothes and stored his own in his Abnormal Stomach, then followed the rib bone toward the opening in the Forbidden Soldier Hall.

The path was uneventful, and Ren Qing soon reached the edge of the opening.

Looking out from inside, he could see a massive, mountain-like heart, beating at an extremely slow frequency.

The heart was dark red, and the blood flowing from its connected vessels was as black as ink.

Normally, only a corpse would look like this.

Ren Qing couldn’t help but frown.

He couldn’t see any other internal organs besides the heart, though he wasn’t sure if it was due to his limited line of sight.

Ren Qing reached the wound and sent Lin Cheng through first.

Lin Cheng vanished into thin air.

’It seems the stomach wall completely separates it from the outside world, making Abi Hell like a Mini World—a Mini World formed by a Magic Technique.’

Ren Qing had already made his choice. Once he had enough Lifespan, he would advance his Taotie Technique.

’As for the newly acquired Armor-Wearing Technique, if I can figure out how to cultivate it, I could choose to break through to the Half-Corpse Realm on my own.’

He glanced back at the Forbidden Soldier Hall, then turned and squeezed through the hole in the stomach wall.

Ren Qing felt the world spin, and the flow of blood and qi in his body accelerated several times over.

When he came to his senses, the familiar rockery stood before him, but the wooden door was long gone.

Ren Qing greedily inhaled the pure air, feeling as if his Body and Soul had been cleansed.

A Forbidden Guard in charge of records was standing by the rockery. Seeing him emerge, the guard began making corrections in a book.

Lin Cheng lay not far away, his breathing as faint as a thread. He could lose all Vitality at any moment.

Just as Ren Qing was about to go check on him, Zhang Qiu suddenly appeared at his side.

Zhang Qiu looked slightly anxious. He fed Lin Cheng a few blood-red Elixir Pills, then slapped him on the back.

Fearing he would be blamed, Ren Qing explained, "Lin Cheng’s injuries came from a Cultivator named Sun Yishan. I’ve already killed him."

"I’m not the type to repay kindness with malice."

"Thank you."

Zhang Qiu picked up Lin Cheng and vanished on the spot in just a few flashes.

Ren Qing shook his head. He was about to return to the Firework Hall when he realized he was covered in blood and looked like a complete mess.

If he walked through the Government Office like this, he’d probably be detained by patrolling constables before he took a hundred steps.

He found a nearby corner and changed into the clothes he had prepared in his Abnormal Stomach before heading to the Firework Hall.

After returning to the Firework Hall, not even Xiaowu and the others noticed he had been gone. After all, Ren Qing’s trip in and out of Abi Hell had only taken a little over half a day.

Ren Qing walked straight into his room.

As soon as he opened the wooden door, he noticed Song Zongwu sitting cross-legged inside.

Song Zongwu’s four arms were each forming different Magic Formulas as he chanted scriptures, his muscles flexing at a specific frequency.

Although Ren Qing was full of questions, he didn’t disturb Song Zongwu. Instead, he poured himself some tea and waited quietly for him to finish.

Not until night fell did Song Zongwu open his eyes, a smile in his gaze.

"You were faster than I expected."

’If you had told me anything about the situation, I might have even made it out in time for lunch,’ Ren Qing wanted to retort.

"Elder Song, am I a reserve member now?"

"Hmm?"

"I forgot to remind you to get a Bone Key. You should take another trip to the Forbidden Soldier Hall. It’ll be easier the second time around, anyway."

Ren Qing’s mouth twitched. He then spat out a bone fragment from his Abnormal Mouth.

Song Zongwu nodded and said, "This is indeed a Bone Key."

"Feed the Bone Key your blood for more than ten breaths, and it will create a Gate to the Forbidden Soldier Hall. But it can only be used once."

"You must also nourish it with blood every five days, or it will turn to ash."

Ren Qing used his Great Miao Blade to cut his palm. The Bone Key began to absorb the blood greedily, just as described. After a few breaths, he swallowed it back into his Abnormal Stomach.

Song Zongwu said in a deep voice, "Go ahead, ask whatever you want to know."

"What exactly is the deal with the Forbidden Soldier Hall...?"

"The Forbidden Soldier Hall is actually located inside the body of a certain Yang God Realm mighty one. For some unknown reason, his soul scattered, but his body barely survived."

Song Zongwu hesitated for a moment before continuing, "The Secondary Stomach User of the Taotie Technique and the Forbidden Soldier Hall share the same origin. Their potential is immeasurable."

"Because the Secondary Stomach User of a Yang God Realm cultivator becomes Abi Hell, that Cultivator was known as the Ksitigarbha King."

Ren Qing changed the subject. "Elder Song, I encountered a monster with a human face and a dog’s body inside the Forbidden Soldier Hall. Is it related to the Mysterious Objects?"

"So you even ran into a Corpse Dog."

Song Zongwu looked slightly surprised. He then proceeded to explain the origin of the Forbidden Soldier Hall.

Which Cultivator established the Forbidden Soldier Hall is long forgotten.

They probably entered Abi Hell by chance, because they have no idea where the Ksitigarbha King’s body is located.

Hundreds of years have passed, and Abi Hell has barely maintained its current state.

During this time, the Forbidden Guards have continuously tried to find any trace of the Ksitigarbha King, but to no avail.

Ren Qing’s scalp tingled. "Can you at least narrow down the area?"

"As long as you are in Xiangxiang, you can use a Bone Key to enter the Forbidden Soldier Hall. Therefore, we speculate it must be somewhere within Xiangxiang."

Ren Qing didn’t actually know much about the general region called Xiangxiang. Most people never even left their city in their entire lives.

He only knew that the area centered around Sanxiang City was called Xiangxiang.

’Wait, don’t tell me the Government Office uses the Forbidden Soldier Hall to transport grain? You can bring items inside, after all.’

’There must be a town in Xiangxiang dedicated to producing grain.’

Song Zongwu noticed the confused look on Ren Qing’s face. "Once you get your reserve member’s Token, you can go to the Secret Pavilion inside the Forbidden Soldier Hall to look at the maps. It also contains information on the various forbidden zones."

In fact, to minimize the impact of the forbidden zones, the Government Office usually blocks any news from the outside world. Only Forbidden Guards have access to it.

"As for that Corpse Dog, it’s actually related to a Magic Technique called the ’Soul Summoning Skill.’"

"We... once tried to resurrect the Ksitigarbha King..."