Among the four technique manuals, two were clearly selected by the Heavenly Dao Child deliberately, and the entry requirements weren't too high.
These two involved insects, one cultivated a Gu worm within the body, the other transformed into a half-human, half-insect.
But they obviously didn't work, since although the Heavenly Dao Worm's name contained the character for "worm," its essence wasn't that of a crawling insect.
Rather, it resembled a guai entity.
Ren Qing didn't know whether cultivators of Heavenly Dao techniques would create a forbidden zone after death; perhaps the Heavenly Dao Worm could still search for a new host body.
These two techniques were of little use to him.
Based on Ren Qing's current rate of lifespan increase, any technique he chose had to compensate for his flaws, otherwise, it would be too wasteful of lifespan.
The remaining two were somewhat different.
[Corpse Hound Technique]
[Created by the Daoist of Corpse Hounds. To cultivate, one must feed a newborn puppy with one's own flesh and blood. After it grows up, fragments of internal organs are used to stimulate its ferocity, until it dies violently, at which point the technique is complete.]
Once this technique is completed, there will be a corpse hound to command.
But the corpse hound must normally be fed with the cultivator's own flesh and blood.
If Ren Qing cultivated the Corpse Hound Technique, he wouldn't need to find a puppy, he could just use the husky as raw material.
But how would he have the flesh to feed it?
It would be difficult to solve the food source issue.
So Ren Qing chose to give it up.
Let the husky obediently remain as reserve rations and a mount.
The final technique was called "Shadow Ghost."
[Inscribed beneath the skin of a Shadow Ghost. To cultivate, one must remain in an extreme Yin location for five years, pouring fresh blood onto one's own shadow daily, until the shadow gains consciousness, then the technique is complete.]
To say Shadow Ghost was especially unique wasn't quite right, it mainly turned the shadow into a Shadow Ghost, which could be controlled.
What drew Ren Qing's interest,
Was that the Shadow Ghost was technically a part of the body and could potentially pair with the Human Skin Book's "Scapegoat Skin" ability to form synergy between techniques.
He didn't plan to master it immediately, he'd wait until the Human Skin Book reached the Ghost Envoy realm.
Once he confirmed the abilities of "Scapegoat Skin," he'd decide whether to learn Shadow Ghost and how to proceed with his aberration route.
Since he couldn't enter the Wuwei Daoist Altar again in the short term, he might as well seclude himself inside the Stomach within the Stomach to cultivate.
The only issue was having to replenish his depleted resources, or else cultivation would inevitably stagnate.
Ren Qing silently estimated when the ghost market would open. There was bound to be some error, so he had to leave the Stomach within the Stomach early.
During this period, he mainly visualized The Blindless Method, and in passing, used the Bottle Man to fully subdue the Supernatural Remnant of the Bone Armor Technique.
Ren Qing planned to master all his techniques except the Divine Leg Sutra before leaving the Stomach within the Stomach.
As for the Divine Leg Sutra, there was no need to waste effort on it, it had already aberrated to the extreme.
No matter how it was subdued, the soul would still mutate. Within the Restraint Officers' Hall, it was classified as incurable.
What's more, since the Divine Leg Sutra had already been separated from Ren Qing's body as a Jailer, there was no need to suppress it intentionally.
Even if suppression was completed, once it was transferred to the Prison Within the Abdomen, it would still be a waste of effort.
As the ghost market approached opening, Ren Qing had his soul clone leave the body.
Honestly, there was still some risk, it might draw the attention of others.
Luckily, Ren Qing's soul clone was inconspicuous, and once the Restraint Officers had all entered the ghost market, he slipped in quietly.
He replenished his resources and immediately threw himself into the Dream Blacksmith.
The Restraint Officers hadn't expected the Dream Blacksmith to reopen after several months and gathered curiously at the entrance.
Ren Qing proceeded as usual, selecting a few reserves.
His crafting skills had improved only slightly, if he wanted to earn large amounts of lifespan in the ghost market, he had to invest more effort.
But crafting involved many aspects; achieving mastery through self-study was extremely difficult.
However, Ren Qing had already found a method.
According to rough descriptions in the Wuwei Daoist Altar's technique books, Heavenly Dao techniques and Restraint Officer methods achieved the same result through different paths.
All materials were related to techniques, Wuwei Daoist Altar just extracted the "residue" left after Heavenly Dao Worms absorbed True Yuan from Heaven and Earth.
Ren Qing speculated that the Fire Refining Palace must contain methods that assist with crafting.
If he could improve his crafting efficiency through it, his lifespan earnings would greatly increase.
He would no longer lack blood crystals, effectively gaining resources from both sides.
Ren Qing decided to wait around ten more days before entering the Wuwei Daoist Altar again.
For now, he set aside his goal of Doushuai Palace and planned to cross the water to attempt the Fire Refining Room for crafting.
He suppressed his restlessness and forcibly visualized The Blindless Method.
Unconsciously, Ren Qing had grown used to the quiet cultivation environment of the Stomach within the Stomach, he even found it quite nice.
There weren't so many tasks and errands, not even Restraint Officers could locate him.
The Stomach within the Stomach, being inside Avici Hell, wasn't fixed, it constantly shifted, making it hard to pinpoint.
Ren Qing used the connection between his main soul and clone to retrieve the clone, then swallowed some eyeballs and resumed visualization.
Cultivation knew no concept of time.
By the time Ren Qing regained awareness, fourteen days had passed.
He cautiously projected his soul clone into the Wuwei Daoist Altar.
The Hidden Treasury Pavilion had become a ruin, its ground littered with shattered tombstones.
Seven of the Heavenly Dao Child's corpses were gone, likely burned as fuel, only to sustain fleeting moments of lucidity.
Buildings in the Wuwei Daoist Altar could recover slowly, but only the Pavilion itself. A full restoration here was clearly unrealistic.
Good thing Ren Qing had already moved the technique manuals to the Prison Within the Abdomen, or his efforts would've been in vain.
The pond still floated with countless corpses, same as before.
He circled the Hidden Treasury Pavilion a few times without finding any trace of the Heavenly Dao Child.
Then he went to the edge of a lotus leaf, preparing to wait for an opportunity to cross the water.
Ren Qing suddenly noticed the water surface was even calmer than usual.
He crouched beside the lotus leaf and observed for a long time, still seeing no sign of any maggots.
It seemed the place had fallen silent due to the Heavenly Dao Child.
He pondered silently.
The pond's maggots couldn't have all been wiped out by the Heavenly Dao Child, there were no insect corpses or signs of battle.
It was more likely that the aura radiating from the Heavenly Dao Child had suppressed the Heavenly Dao Worm larvae.
To be precise, after transforming into a Heavenly Demon via the Beast Pen Technique, he had instilled fear in the larvae of the Heavenly Dao Worm.
Ren Qing took out a stone and threw it into the water. It did splash considerably, but the pond remained perfectly still.
Seeing this, his heart leapt with joy.
Ignoring whether there was a suitable corpse to use as a boat, he jumped straight into the water and swam toward the Fire Refining Palace.
His swimming speed wasn't fast, but the soul clone had the main soul's constant support, its stamina could last several hours.
But as he neared the Fire Refining Palace, the larvae of the Heavenly Dao Worm finally reacted.
The maggots turned into black shadows, converging toward Ren Qing, but they weren't moving fast.
Ren Qing took the opportunity to flip onto the Fire Refining Palace's lotus leaf.
What had once required a long wait now only took the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
He calmed his mind and began observing the Fire Refining Palace.
Aside from the Daoist structure itself, not even a blade of grass grew on the lotus leaf.
The Fire Refining Palace was much larger than the Hidden Treasury Pavilion, and even though the sect had been destroyed, it still billowed with thick smoke.
The structure itself was strange, shaped like a hill and radiating heat, with walls that faintly writhed.
Ren Qing arrived at the Fire Refining Palace's iron doors, unlocked them with the Dao Ancestor's finger, and pushed them open with force. Heat surged out in waves.
What he saw inside exceeded his imagination.
Corpses of cultivators were hung from the rafters. Their skin had a metallic sheen, and their veins flowed with magma-like liquid.
In the center of the room rose a massive cocoon, inside which a five- or six-meter-long Heavenly Dao Worm larva was trapped.
The cocoon extended filaments that coiled around the corpses and connected to their nine orifices.
The corpses had their chests and abdomens opened, with various materials placed inside. Using flesh and blood as vessels, magical tools were being slowly cultivated.
But since no one was feeding the larva or controlling it, the crafting process had come to a standstill.
Ren Qing paused in astonishment, he hadn't expected the Wuwei Daoist Altar's method of artifact refinement to be like this.
His gaze landed on walls full of carved writing, which he read carefully.
They mostly recorded the origins of the corpses within the Fire Refining Palace, most were sect elders who had volunteered to become tools before dying.
The Wuwei Daoist Altar must have explored ways to coexist with the Heavenly Dao Worms. This Fire Refining Palace was the best proof.
But the Heavenly Dao Worms didn't care about such methods, they sought to make everyone in Jingzhou a parasitic container.
Ren Qing frowned in thought.
If he could take control of the Fire Refining Palace, he could meet the crafting demands of the Restraint Officers' Hall, the lifespan gains would be unimaginable.
But there was a problem, the Fire Refining Palace could only be used by disciples of the Wuwei Daoist Altar, which likely required cultivating Heavenly Dao techniques.
He was caught in a loop.
Ren Qing himself absolutely couldn't cultivate, it was far too risky.
Nor could he let others do it, if the Wuwei Daoist Altar was exposed, it would be a huge loss.
"Wait, actually, the solution, the Heavenly Dao Child already found it..."
Ren Qing was now holding a technique manual, Shadow Ghost, which, after cultivation, would turn one's shadow into a being of flesh and blood.
The Heavenly Dao Child had intended to use Shadow Ghost to replace his own body and avoid being parasitized by the Heavenly Dao Egg.
Unfortunately, due to their physique, the people of Jingzhou couldn't cultivate the Restraint Officer method at all.
Corpse Hound Technique likely followed the same logic.
But the Heavenly Dao Worms weren't fools, by the Nascent Soul Stage, they could briefly leave the body and parasitize flesh just the same.
Moreover, the entire Wuwei Daoist Altar was composed of parasitized cultivators, such methods might not work.
Still, it created a buffer.
And the Heavenly Dao Child had clearly had contact with the Restraint Officers' Hall, that's how he obtained these four techniques.
Ren Qing didn't hesitate long, he decided to cultivate Shadow Ghost.
As long as the parasite wasn't in his own body, worst case, he could forcibly extract the Heavenly Dao Egg without damaging his foundation.
Most importantly, the information stream could negate the drawbacks of the Heavenly Dao Worm.
The downsides of the Heavenly Dao techniques, no matter what realm Ren Qing reached, could all be nullified. Once he earned enough lifespan, it would be free profit.
"In theory, the so-called Core Formation Stage, equivalent to the Restraint Officers' Yin Runner Realm, should be relatively safe."
Ren Qing exited the Fire Refining Palace, frowning tightly.
The current situation was very complicated, he had the Wuwei Daoist Altar's techniques, and Shadow Ghost could be cultivated at any time, but what about the Heavenly Dao Egg...
His gaze unconsciously drifted toward the pond. After all the commotion, the larvae of the Heavenly Dao Worm had become active once again.