Cultivating in a Bizarre World

The advancement of a Magic Technique was like the mutation of one’s body—the higher the Realm, the more obvious it became.

Just as Ren Qing suppressed his appetite, a bone-piercing pain shot through his abdomen, as if his Abnormal Stomach was churning violently.

All the blood in his body surged uncontrollably into his Abnormal Stomach. He had experienced a similar transformation when he advanced to the Half-Corpse Realm.

Ren Qing’s flesh and blood gradually withered, but his belly swelled as if he were ten months pregnant.

He completely lost his connection to the Abnormal Stomach and could only endure by continuously contemplating the Taotie Technique.

A strange buzzing sound caused the furniture in the room to vibrate violently. A teacup fell to the floor and instantly shattered into pieces.

No one in the Firework Hall dared to disturb Ren Qing.

Fortunately, the vibrations were fleeting.

The Information Flow had not only completely eliminated the price but had also compressed the advancement time. Otherwise, it would have taken at least several days and nights.

Once the blood began to flow back, Ren Qing’s body returned to normal, and his Abnormal Stomach immediately shrank to the size of a fist.

He lay on the ground, panting heavily, and fell asleep before he knew it.

When Ren Qing woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day. He felt his strength had multiplied several times over, and his bones and muscles had become much stronger.

However, the Taotie Technique did not primarily focus on the physical body, so the improvement to his constitution was not significant. But there was no doubt that the Magic Technique itself had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

The Information Flow surged.

[Ren Qing]

[Age: 17]

[Lifespan: 39 years, 25 days]

[Skills: Taotie Technique (Abdominal Prison), No-Eyes Technique (Repeater), Divine Sutra (Wolf-footed Man), Human Skin Book (Skin Refiner), Armor-Wearing Technique]

As expected, his Lifespan had increased after advancing to the Ghost Envoy Realm.

Unfortunately, although a Lifespan of 39 years gave him a little more breathing room, it was still a far cry from true longevity.

Still, at least he no longer had to worry about his Lifespan running out in the short term. He even had a surplus to consider which Magic Technique to advance to the Ghost Envoy Realm next.

Ren Qing opened his palm.

The Abnormal Mouth opened, revealing two rows of newly grown teeth, giving it a hideous and terrifying appearance.

Ren Qing focused his mind on his Abnormal Stomach. The once-cramped space inside had become much more spacious, now measuring about ten cubic meters.

All six sides of the space within the Abnormal Stomach were composed of fleshy walls, similar to Abi Hell, but they showed no signs of decay.

This was the "Abdominal Prison."

The pig eyes he had collected were now resting in a corner of the prison.

With a single thought from Ren Qing, the fleshy walls instantly devoured the pig eyes, replenishing his own qi and blood in the process, though the effect was not very noticeable.

However, if he wished, the current Abnormal Stomach could easily digest an ordinary wild beast.

Of course, how it would fare against a Cultivator remained to be seen.

However, he felt that besides those in the Ghost Envoy Realm, any Half-Corpse Cultivator trapped inside his Abnormal Stomach would likely be completely helpless.

Ren Qing tried to control his Abnormal Stomach.

The Abnormal Stomach gradually split into two parts, each an independent prison cell separated by a wall of flesh.

If he wanted, he could even divide the Abnormal Stomach into seven or eight cells without issue, though the space within each would become exceedingly cramped.

Ren Qing turned his head to look at the bed in his room. Although it was several meters away, he could easily pull it into the Abdominal Prison.

The collected item could not be larger than the prison, and the strength of the repulsive force was directly related to his own power.

But to use it on a Cultivator, it would be best to supplement it with other methods.

From the looks of it, the Abdominal Prison had indeed reached the level of the Ghost Envoy Realm, but it still fell far short of Ren Qing’s expectations.

He could only place his hopes on the three transformations.

Ren Qing focused his attention on his mind. The Mutated Tree for the Taotie Technique had already begun to take on the appearance of a towering giant.

The branches of the Mutated Tree were covered in new buds.

After a brief mental touch, he received a flood of information. To his surprise, the buds were actually individual Deceitful Transformation branches for the Ghost Envoy Realm.

Ren Qing focused his mind on one of the young shoots, and information about that Deceitful Transformation branch was revealed.

[Soul Devouring]

[Choose the Deceitful Transformation branch "Soul Devouring"? Cost: 50 years of Lifespan.]

He immediately received more detailed information about Soul Devouring. After choosing this type of Deceitful Transformation branch, the Abdominal Prison would gain the ability to capture souls.

Furthermore, Soul Devouring would grow stronger as his Realm increased, making it equivalent to a Divine Power.

Seeing this, Ren Qing couldn’t help but beam with joy.

Under normal circumstances, a Ghost Envoy Cultivator’s three Deceitful Transformations were uncontrollable, resulting in all sorts of strange and unpredictable abilities.

Some Deceitful Transformation branches could even have negative effects.

For example, there was a Deceitful Transformation branch for the Abdominal Prison called [Creatures]. Choosing it would grant the Abnormal Mouth spiritual wisdom, but this would also introduce new risks.

Another, [Sharp Teeth], merely made the Abnormal Mouth’s teeth sharper.

Ren Qing searched through the young shoots one by one, his eyes scanning over all sorts of Deceitful Transformation branches.

It took him several hours before he finally found a Deceitful Transformation branch called [Prison Guard].

Its function was to imprison Mysterious Objects within the Abdominal Prison, though for now, it was limited to Mysterious Objects formed from his own Magic Techniques.

This was the very same Deceitful Transformation branch as the Ksitigarbha King’s Abi Hell.

[Prison Guard] might not seem very useful, but for Ren Qing, it was undoubtedly the foundation for his survival in this world.

Once he mastered [Prison Guard], he could practice Magic Techniques like that of the Hill Spirit without having to worry about the mutations affecting his body.

He could keep the Magic Technique’s Mysterious Object imprisoned in his Abdominal Prison on a daily basis, and when needed, he could fuse his body with it to instantly transform into a Hill Spirit.

At higher Realms, the Abdominal Prison could even hold more Mysterious Objects.

Ren Qing mused to himself.

’A Beastification Magic Technique like the Divine Sutra should have Deceitful Transformation branches at the Ghost Envoy Realm that involve numerous bodily mutations.’

’When the time comes, I’ll find the three Deceitful Transformation branches that provide the greatest boost to my strength.’

He was finally starting to understand. In this world, the less human one became, the stronger one grew.

And with [Prison Guard], the Spine User state would be virtually without weakness.

The Lifebound Spiritual Artifact forged by a Spine User was connected to the spine, meaning it could indirectly harm its wielder. However, he could simply store the Spine User’s Mysterious Object in his prison, wait until he had fully recovered, and then re-integrate it into his spine.

As for any injuries to his spine, he imagined the next advancement for Skin Refiner would allow him to transfer them away.

The only downside was that choosing a Deceitful Transformation branch actually cost fifty years of Lifespan.

At this rate, with three Deceitful Transformations plus the advancement to the Yin Messenger Realm, he could potentially spend two hundred years of Lifespan just in the Ghost Envoy Realm alone.

The corner of Ren Qing’s mouth twitched. He had to figure out where the Forbidden Soldier Hall stored its Magic Secret Manuals and Mysterious Objects.

Swallowing pig eyes raw was simply too inefficient; he needed to prioritize finding a new Longevity Technique.

The upcoming mission with the Mud Association was an excellent opportunity. As long as he could demonstrate his value, the rewards would surely be substantial.

Ren Qing looked at his 39 years of Lifespan, hesitated for a moment, then dismissed the Information Flow.

’Before the Abdominal Prison undergoes the [Prison Guard] Deceitful Transformation, I should save every bit of Lifespan I can.’

’I’ll try to cultivate my other Magic Techniques on my own for now, especially the No-Eyes Technique. I’m actually already close to figuring out the bottleneck for advancing it to the Ghost Envoy Realm.’

As for the Armor-Wearing Technique, he didn’t need to deliberately save Lifespan for its advancement to Spine User.

However, the Spine User realm required a weapon of superior materials. His Great Miao Blade was acceptable for everyday use, but it was a bit of a stretch to use it as a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact.

Ren Qing could only resolve to keep an eye out for suitable materials and then find Liu Hu to forge the weapon when the time came.

He then continued his seclusion to stabilize his Cultivation.