Cultivating in a Bizarre World

Ren Qing didn’t wait for Huang Ziwang to sober up. It would probably take until the Ghost Market closed to finish that jar of Drunken Life and Dream Death, and Ren Qing had no time to waste.

He immediately returned to the Firework Hall, planning to advance to the Spine User realm then and there.

However, Ren Qing first made a trip to the Immortal Buddha Temple to stuff the note he had prepared under the Lotus Throne where Song Zongwu performed his morning recitations.

But as soon as he reached into the crevice, he felt something was wrong. The note he had left before was still there, untouched.

The note described the strange things he had noticed when he encountered the Land God in the Secret Pavilion.

Clearly, Song Zongwu hadn’t been to the Immortal Buddha Temple at all in recent days.

Ren Qing decided to just leave both notes in the crevice of the Lotus Throne. He then slipped past the patrolling constables and returned to the Firework Hall the way he came.

He wasn’t worried. The Mud Association’s activities had already alarmed the Forbidden Soldier Hall, so the Land God was certainly a wanted man by now.

After witnessing the might of the Great Dream True Man, he didn’t believe the Land God could survive for much longer.

’For all I know, Song Zongwu is dealing with this matter himself.’

It was nighttime by the time Ren Qing entered his room. Bo Feng and the other Government Constables had just recently fallen asleep, making it the perfect time to break through with his Armor-Wearing Technique.

He first performed the Visualization for the No-Eyes Technique a few times to confirm everything was normal, then summoned the Information Flow and saw that the Lifespan section had changed considerably.

Only six to eight hours had passed since Ren Qing swallowed the Stone Eye, but his Lifespan had already increased by nearly ten days. The efficiency was far greater than that of the Beast Eye.

The only thing that worried Ren Qing was that extending his life by swallowing eyes with the No-Eyes Technique likely had a limit. It would be impossible to live past a hundred this way; even reaching fifty would be a long shot.

Otherwise, Song Rong wouldn’t have been desperate enough to consider retrieving a Mysterious Object from the Disaster Mitigation Forbidden Area.

Ren Qing shook his head, doing his best to calm his mind so as not to affect his Armor-Wearing Technique’s advancement to the Half-Corpse Realm.

’No need to overthink it for now. I’ve only just joined the Prison Guard Reserve, and I already know of another Longevity Technique.’

[Choose branch: Spine User? Cost: 1 year of Lifespan.]

The moment his Lifespan drained away, Ren Qing’s eyes flew open and he collapsed to his knees as his back began to squirm like a living creature.

There wasn’t much pain, but the sensation of his spine—the body’s central axis—suddenly mutating was unimaginable.

Ren Qing felt completely paralyzed. The skin on his back was stretching taut, as if something was about to burst forth from his body.

"Holy shit..."

His scalp went numb with dread. Fortunately, the advancement didn’t last long, ending after just over ten minutes.

Ren Qing hurriedly reached for his back. His spine felt a little thicker than before, but there were no other significant differences.

’Without integrating a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact, this mutation path is pretty much useless.’

The Mutated Tree in his mind changed accordingly.

[Iron Bone Cloak: Skin to Bone]

[Backbone Bone Artifact: Incorporate Bone as Artifact]

[Bone-Birthed Seed: Bone Tree of All Living Beings]

’Does this mean that once a Spine User advances to the Ghost Envoy Realm, their entire skeleton will transform into a Magical Artifact?’

Ren Qing had no way of knowing.

He took the Dragon and Snake Spine from his Abnormal Stomach and carefully examined the spine, which resembled a Silver Whip. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

Then, Ren Qing ran into a problem.

He had never even opened the Magic Books for the Armor-Wearing Technique, relying entirely on the Information Flow to master it. He had no idea how to actually integrate the Dragon and Snake Spine into his own spine.

Ren Qing first tried pressing the Dragon and Snake Spine against his back, but it had no effect.

Seeing this, he simply took out his Great Miao Blade and slashed at the back of his own neck.

Blood sprayed.

Ready to transfer the injury at any moment using his Skin Refiner ability, Ren Qing grabbed the Dragon and Snake Spine and placed it into the gash, which was deep enough to reveal bone.

A slurping sound of something drinking blood rang out.

Before he could react, the Dragon and Snake Spine suddenly began to move.

Ren Qing sucked in a sharp breath.

He couldn’t tell if his own spine was devouring the Dragon and Snake Spine, or if the Magic Technique had caused the latter to mutate. All he felt was a sensation like a Python drilling into his bones.

But this also proved that Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts were not, in fact, limited to traditional weapons.

After the entire Dragon and Snake Spine had vanished, the wound healed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Soon, not even a scar remained on the surface.

Ren Qing closed his eyes to feel it. A cool sensation was indeed flowing within his spine, spreading through his marrow to all his other bones.

This was a pleasant surprise. He never expected the Armor-Wearing Technique to automatically nourish his bones at all times without any active cultivation.

He placed his right hand on the back of his neck and drew out the Dragon and Snake Spine.

The Dragon and Snake Spine had transformed from its original silver-white to a bone-white color. It had sprouted barb-like Bone Blades, giving it an extremely sinister appearance.

As Ren Qing gripped the Dragon and Snake Spine, the entire Magical Artifact twisted like a long serpent.

His arm didn’t need to exert any force. The Dragon and Snake Spine shot out to a length of over ten meters, punching a fist-sized hole in the wall.

Most terrifying of all, the Dragon and Snake Spine was both swift and sharp; it passed through the wall without making a sound.

Ren Qing’s Double Pupils shifted slightly, and he spotted a few bats in the night sky through the window.

WHOOSH!!!

The Dragon and Snake Spine shot out instantly. As it pierced a bat, the Bone Blades expanded and brought the corpse directly back to Ren Qing’s hand.

His Abnormal Mouth swallowed the bat’s corpse, which was then absorbed by his Abnormal Stomach.

Ren Qing was slightly disappointed. The Lifebound Spiritual Artifact was indeed very easy to use and met his expectations, but pulling it out of his back was difficult to do discreetly.

’Unless the Magical Artifact could be more flexible.’

He retracted the Dragon and Snake Spine into his own spine, then closed his eyes and tried to sense the Magical Artifact.

But that cool sensation felt as if it possessed Spiritual Wisdom; it wouldn’t respond no matter how long he tried to communicate with it. Finally, getting vicious, Ren Qing threw the Dragon and Snake Spine into his Abdominal Prison to lock it away.

Under the threat of being devoured, the Dragon and Snake Spine naturally submitted.

Ren Qing willed the Magical Artifact to flow throughout his skeleton, then made it emerge from between the ribs in his torso.

However, it tore through his flesh, leaving a gaping wound...

’Why does it feel like I’m injuring myself before I even hurt an enemy? Wait... aren’t the only exposed bones in the body the teeth?’

’No, there’s also the Abnormal Mouth.’

Ren Qing continued experimenting. Using the teeth of his Abnormal Mouth was indeed the most convenient, as he could pull opponents directly into his Abnormal Stomach.

The Abnormal Mouth also had its Repulsive Force to provide support. With the two Magic Techniques working in concert, an ordinary Cultivator would be completely unable to resist.

’And I’ve only just finished refining my Lifebound Spiritual Artifact. Once I advance from the Spine User realm to the Ghost Envoy Realm, its power will definitely jump to another level.’

’It might even develop a Divine Power after a Deceitful Transformation. The growth potential of this Magical Artifact is incredible.’

Ren Qing took advantage of the remaining time before dawn to practice in the courtyard, mainly focusing on more quickly extending the Dragon and Snake Spine from his Abnormal Mouth.

’It’s a pity there’s only one Dragon and Snake Spine. If it could split into dozens, the sight would be unimaginable.’

Ren Qing retracted the Dragon and Snake Spine. Seeing that Bo Feng had woken up after daybreak, he hurriedly told him to contact Clerk Zhao to repair the room and the backyard.

Bo Feng dazedly rubbed his eyes, his face a mask of disbelief.

The courtyard wall had been perfectly intact when he went to sleep, but he woke up to find it riddled with hundreds of holes, allowing the morning sun to shine through onto the ground.

’This doesn’t look like damage from Ren Qing’s Great Miao Blade at all. It feels more like repeated thrusts from a military-grade iron spear.’

Bo Feng reported the matter to Clerk Zhao with great trepidation.

He had expected to be held accountable, but to his surprise, Clerk Zhao not only allocated over a hundred taels of silver for the repairs but also had the area expanded in the process.