[Proceed with branch selection: Double Pupils. Will consume 1 year of lifespan.]
The moment Ren Qing made his decision, blood vessels around his eye sockets burst. A wave of dizziness nearly plunged him into darkness, while cold sweat drenched his clothes.
Then, the heat in his stomach began spreading, laboriously sustaining the eye mutation. The pig's eyes were completely digested within moments.
All the blood in his body rushed toward his head. Ren Qing immediately felt the effects of severe blood loss, even his heartbeat slowed drastically.
Just a wall away, the others were cleaning the courtyard, unaware that Ren Qing had been drained of most of his blood, his body now resembling a desiccated corpse.
Yet Ren Qing's consciousness remained clear. A terrifying sensation gripped him, it was as if he was floating in endless void.
Time lost all meaning.
He even wondered if he'd died from cultivation deviation, since even his information flow had vanished.
After an immeasurable period, a single red dot appeared in the monotonous darkness.
Instinctively focusing on it, Ren Qing felt an ineffable clarity emerge from within, gradually restoring his unbalanced mental state.
The red dot began extending, sketching line after line in midair like an invisible painter.
Suddenly, Ren Qing understood.
These red lines were the blood vessels forming an eye. Under the mutation's influence, his eyes were evolving toward something completely inhuman.
What slightly reassured him was that the mutation only affected his eyes, at least he wasn't growing a hundred eyeballs all over his body.
Once the blood vessels outlined the basic structure, Ren Qing's consciousness finally returned to his body.
His chest heaved violently as he gasped for air like a drowning man.
Lifting an arm, he could see bones through the withered skin, he looked like a corpse that freshly crawled out from its coffin.
"So this 'Half-Corpse' realm... is the process of returning from death to life..."
A breeze brushed the window, allowing light to fall upon Ren Qing.
His amber-like eyes reflected starlight, the twin pupils forming an infinity symbol, radiating a profound sense of mystery.
"The price for becoming Double-Pupiled is too steep..."
Suddenly, blood seeped from his eyes, flowing through vessels toward his heart.
Thump!
Thump!!
Thump!!!
His stopped heart began beating again, accelerating rapidly, reviving his internal organs.
Mustering some strength, he barely managed to swallow the pig's eyes placed by his bedside. The heat further accelerated his blood flow.
The blood in his mutated double pupils had become mercury-thick, already undergoing unknown changes.
His muscles plumped with renewed toughness, skin regaining luster, even old scars were vanishing completely.
Ren Qing couldn't help marveling, breaking through to the Half-Corpse realm truly deserved being called "transcending mortality."
This was indeed a rebirth.
Coincidentally, a fly attracted by the pig's eyes buzzed around the room. It landed on the bloodstained oiled paper, greedily licking up the pork residue.
The twin pupils in Ren Qing's eyes rotated, accelerating his blood flow.
He reached for the fly.
The fly's compound eyes detected the movement, easily dodging with a wingbeat, even circling mockingly.
The buzzing persisted.
The fly landed on the oiled paper again, preparing to feast once more.
Suddenly, Ren Qing reached out again. Though the fly dodged, his hand moved half a step ahead as if predicting its path.
He pinched the fly between his fingers, this was the Double Pupil ability: anticipating the enemy's moves.
Ren Qing maintained his double-pupil state for a full two hours before feeling slight eye strain, at which point he reverted them to normal.
Beyond this, his strength and speed had improved remarkably, now comparable to wild beasts.
His system interface appeared:
[Ren Qing]
[Age: Seventeen]
[Lifespan: Seven years, two hundred thirty days]
[Arts: Blindless Method (Double Pupils), Human Skin Book]
The sudden surge in lifespan surprised Ren Qing, but he quickly understood.
Breaking through to Half-Corpse had healed all his accumulated injuries, adding over four years to his lifespan.
Unfortunately, having technically "died once," his body could only recover partially, at this point; four years was already fortunate.
Relieved, Ren Qing closed his eyes to examine the sprouts in his mind.
The Human Skin Book sprout remained unchanged, but the Blindless Method had grown into a small sapling.
The branch representing his Double Pupils stretched upward, crowned by a large leaf with black-gray veins forming a double-pupil pattern.
When Ren Qing's consciousness touched the leaf, brief information emerged:
[Twin Nightmare Ghosts: Yin-Yang Dual Souls]
[Advance to Twin Nightmare Ghosts? Will consume 15 years of lifespan.]
Ren Qing covered his face in frustration. The joy of reaching seven years of lifespan evaporated instantly.
If advancing to Double Pupils cost 1.5 years, and Twin Nightmare Ghosts required 15, the next step would likely demand 150; an impossible price.
And this was just one technique. With more techniques, no amount of lives would suffice.
Thankfully, Ren Qing could still advance through cultivation; heaven hadn't sealed all paths for him.
He named the sapling "Mutation Tree." Further inspection revealed information on the other branches; the two alternative paths for Blindless Method:
From Hundred-Eyed One to [Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord: Soul Devourer]
Or from One-Eyed One to [Soul-Snaring Brain Demon: Soul Enslavement]
Ren Qing realized: all Blindless Method mutation paths involved souls in some way. He naturally wondered what Yin-Yang Dual Souls could do.
A thought struck him; if different techniques emphasized different aspects, perhaps one out there could extend lifespan. That would be the ultimate path.
But the immediate priority was eliminating the Hundred-Eyed One. Leaving this threat unchecked was intolerable.
If the Hundred-Eyed One advanced to a Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord, he might trace Ren Qing through their shared technique; leaving Ren Qing completely defenseless.
Still, Ren Qing had advantages: his Yamen backing and the Restraint Officers weren't to be underestimated.
After some hesitation, Ren Qing chose not to advance the Human Skin Book yet. He needed to understand each mutation path first.
The risk was too great, while Double Pupils could be hidden by squinting, what if his entire skin vanished next?
Ren Qing left his room and chatted with Xiao Wu and the others. Seeing they noticed nothing unusual about his eyes, he relaxed.
Only Bo Feng sensed a sharp, newfound edge to Ren Qing's presence, all despite just one night apart.
Leaving the Corpse Burners' Hall, Ren Qing's hunger led him to the kitchen, where he ate enough for several men.
Only then did he realize that his digestion had accelerated dramatically, indirectly enhancing the lifespan-extending effects of the pig's eyes.
But buying pig eyes in bulk would obviously alert the Hundred-Eyed One, he had to stay discreet for now.
As for human eyes? The uncontrollable mutations and psychological toll made them impractical.
Ren Qing's eyes flashed with killing intent.
For this reason alone, the Hundred-Eyed One must die.
Even if Ren Qing couldn't kill him alone, flushing him into the open would still force the Restraint Officers to act.