Chapter 66: Advancing to the Ghost Envoy Realm
After the Third Deceitful Transformation, even identical mutation paths would diverge, a difference that would only be magnified upon advancing to the Yin Messenger Realm.
Ren Qing quickly became engrossed, even forgetting the passage of time.
But even so, he instinctively continued to devour the pig eyes, stuffing them into his mouth as soon as he felt they were almost digested.
Much of the books’ content was rather extreme, the lines even filled with madness, but there was always something of value to be found.
When Ren Qing put down the book, his eyes were actually starting to ache slightly. The Lifespan shown by the Information Flow had just passed nine years.
He was a little disappointed by this; ’I thought I could accumulate at least ten years.’
’It seems that even though the Taotie Technique has sped up my digestion considerably, the effect on Life Extension is truly getting worse and worse.’
’Therefore, trying to use the No-Eyes Technique to advance to the Ghost Envoy Realm or beyond is somewhat unrealistic.’
He stretched and stood up to move his stiff limbs.
Ren Qing suddenly felt a gaze on him. He turned to see it was the head in the Glazed Jar.
"Senior, may I go upstairs?"
The head stared at Ren Qing for a moment, then spoke, "Show me your Forbidden Soldier Token."
"Thank you, Senior. I’ll take my leave."
Ren Qing turned and left without the slightest intention of staying.
’It’s better to return to the Firework Hall soon to prepare for my advancement. Besides, the pig eyes in my Abnormal Stomach are almost gone; I have to restock my resources.’
The head muttered a few words before falling back asleep.
Wearing his Conical Hat, Ren Qing headed for the exit of the Forbidden Soldier Hall. He found that he had unknowingly grown somewhat accustomed to the bizarre weather.
So much so that his speed on the muddy roads, instead of decreasing, had actually increased.
The massive rib cage drew closer.
Ren Qing came and went through wind and rain but encountered no danger.
When he returned to the Firework Hall, he asked Xiaowu and learned that his round trip had taken the better part of half a month.
「In the days he was gone.」
On the surface, Sanxiang City had calmed down. The struggles between gangs had become slightly more restrained, but no matter how you looked at it, it was the calm before the storm.
The Government Office dispatched a large number of constables to patrol, hoping to prevent ordinary people’s lives from being affected.
On the streets, almost every intersection had gang members standing watch, with Cultivators of the Martial Artist Realm mixed among them.
The common folk could vaguely sense that something was wrong. At night, they even kept their windows tightly shut, not daring to go out until the sky was bright.
Seeing this, Ren Qing breathed a sigh of relief. The situation should still be within a controllable range, at least not yet at the point where the Forbidden Guards would intervene.
’Next will likely be the division of spoils among the gangs.’
’Of course, if they can’t come to an agreement, the situation will continue to deteriorate.’
Ren Qing replenished his stock of pig eyes and then went into seclusion in the Firework Hall, paying no mind to the fermenting situation outside.
His Lifespan was still a few years short of fifteen, so going into seclusion now was indeed a bit early. But cultivation was a process of gradually elevating one’s Mental Realm.
Reaching the Ghost Envoy Realm wouldn’t be difficult with the Information Flow, but he didn’t plan to use his Lifespan to advance all his Magic Techniques.
’Unless I can master the Dead Man’s Scripture, I’ll inevitably have to advance on my own. Cramming at the last minute would be too risky, so I have to prepare in advance.’
He closed his eyes and began to review his own abilities.
He then began the Contemplation of the Eyeless Method. Boundless darkness enveloped his vision, as if he were standing at the entrance to the Forbidden Soldier Hall.
Ren Qing was already well-practiced, capable of maintaining the Visualization for several hours at a time.
He also incorporated the Taotie Technique into his Visualization. At once, a strange humming sound emanated from his stomach as the pig eyes began to digest at several times the normal speed.
In the past, Ren Qing would have concealed this to avoid being discovered by the Forbidden Guards in the Government Office, but now that he was a reserve, he didn’t need to worry so much.
This caused the strange sound to grow even louder.
Bo Feng happened to be passing by. He couldn’t help but look around, only to find that the other Government Constables were ignoring the source of the sound.
He glanced at Xiaowu, who was chatting nonchalantly with Zhu Ding.
The two of them had grown used to it back on Camel Peak Mountain. After witnessing the cataclysm within the sealed-off forbidden zone, it was hard for them to be fazed by a slight tremor.
As for the Li Brothers, they were simple folk. They were engrossed in burning corpses and probably didn’t even know if Ren Qing was in his room or not.
Bo Feng sighed at the sight, and the surprise on his face faded considerably.
’Ren Qing is a capable man, so it seems normal that he would know some Immortal Techniques...’
Inside his room, Ren Qing focused on his visualization technique, and the speed at which he digested the pig eyes naturally rose with it.
As a result, his demand for pig eyes increased dramatically, to the point where even the daily supply from the west side of the city seemed insufficient.
Ren Qing had to interrupt his seclusion several times to go out and restock, buying up all the eyes of various livestock in the market.
He also made a trip to the Immortal Buddha Temple to leave a message about the Land God, so that Song Zongwu would see it if he went there.
Under these circumstances, his Lifespan increased faster than expected, but he was still more than half a year away from fifteen years.
Just as Ren Qing steadied his Heart Spirit, preparing to continue his seclusion.
Trouble suddenly came knocking.
The hoarse caw of a crow sounded from outside the window, followed by the sound of pecking on the roof.
Ren Qing frowned and opened the window. A bizarre, black-feathered crow flew in and circled continuously above his head.
The crow’s head was a deformed fleshy tumor, with protruding eyeballs growing on it.
After circling a few times, it landed on the wooden table in front of Ren Qing and spat out a rolled-up piece of paper from its beak.
Before Ren Qing could react, the crow’s body stiffened and shuddered.
POP!
The crow exploded into a spray of minced flesh.
Ren Qing wiped the gore from his face and proceeded to clean up the room.
’Such an infernal method... Only the Forbidden Soldier Hall could pull off something like this.’
He carefully examined the paper.
Although Ren Qing was mentally prepared, his heart still sank when he saw the mission issued by the Forbidden Soldier Hall.
The mission concerned a gang, but it wasn’t a large one. It was the Mud Association, a group with little presence in Sanxiang City.
According to the message, several Cultivators from the Mud Association at the Half-Corpse Realm had died one after another, with no trace of any Mysterious Object near the bodies.
That was why it had alarmed the Forbidden Soldier Hall.
If Ren Qing remembered correctly, the Mud Association was the gang Wang San belonged to.
’But the Rat Pest Technique is supposed to be excellent for self-preservation.’
The Forbidden Soldier Hall had already been involved for several days but still had no leads, which was why they were calling on Ren Qing, a master of an Eye Pupil Technique.
In two days, he was to rendezvous with the Forbidden Guards.
On the surface, the mission didn’t seem dangerous. But since Half-Corpse Realm cultivators were dying so easily, it was possible a Ghost Envoy Realm entity was involved.
Ren Qing hesitated for a moment.
To ensure his safety, he decided to advance to the Ghost Envoy Realm right then and there.
Ren Qing sat cross-legged on the floor. As he performed the Contemplation of Gluttony Method, the Information Flow converged before his eyes.
[Do you wish to advance the Abdominal Prison? This will consume ten years of Lifespan]
The moment he confirmed, all the strength was instantly drained from his body, and a wave of hunger washed over him.
Inside his Abnormal Stomach, an earth-shattering transformation was taking place.
Ren Qing fought the urge to devour food, clenching his jaw so tightly that blood dripped from his gums.
The Mutated Tree in his mind immediately began to branch out and sprout leaves, and countless new buds could be seen ready to burst forth.