Ren Qing felt a bit of a headache.
Acquiring the Heavenly Dao Egg really was a huge problem.
Forget about the pond...
Even if there were Heavenly Dao Eggs at the bottom, the number of Heavenly Dao Worm larvae was simply too many.
Judging from the current situation, the Heavenly Dao Egg was most likely located in the residence of the Wuwei Daoist Altar's core disciples, that is, the Wuwei Hall deep within the pond.
But the Wuwei Hall was too far from the Fire Refining Palace, and it would be hard to ensure safety on the way.
If he were to rely on luck and drift there on a corpse, who knows how long that would take.
Ren Qing scratched his head.
Given the reproductive capacity of the Heavenly Dao Worm, Heavenly Dao Eggs likely weren't rare in the original Wuwei Daoist Altar, probably granted upon initiation.
But now, trying to cultivate Heavenly Dao techniques, he was completely stuck at the very first step.
Ren Qing pondered for a long time, and gradually formed an idea in his mind, but he'd settle the Shadow Ghost Technique and the Heavenly Dao Technique first.
He summoned the information stream and consumed thirty days of lifespan to master the "Shadow Ghost Technique."
After this period of cultivation, Ren Qing had accumulated five years of lifespan.
Unfortunately, it had been on and off, and he hadn't been eating eyeballs consistently.
Otherwise, he might have already been able to attempt advancing to the Ghost Envoy stage.
The mutation from the Shadow Ghost Technique was mainly concentrated in the shadow, and there wasn't much pain.
Ren Qing only felt that some of the blood in his feet had been inexplicably absorbed, and then the Shadow Ghost Technique reached the level of Martial Practitioner.
He suppressed distracting thoughts in his heart.
The main body pushed open the door and entered the corridor; the shadow on the wall gradually lengthened.
Ren Qing closed his eyes and tried to control the ghost shadow.
He had thought he wouldn't be able to sense it, yet, to his surprise, it responded as if it were his own arm.
It was likely due to having advanced using lifespan while within the Stomach within the Stomach, giving him a tighter grasp of the Shadow Ghost Technique than expected.
But the shadow only extended about half a meter before stopping, and it moved slowly, with somewhat sluggish movements.
Currently, it could only move along flat surfaces, the effects of the Shadow Ghost Technique left much to be desired.
Ren Qing frowned slightly.
He tried to make the shadow lift heavy objects, and this part was decent.
The ghost shadow proved it wasn't entirely useless, but anything over ten catties was beyond its strength, showing the limitations of the technique.
Ren Qing also couldn't summon the ghost shadow in total darkness; there had to be at least a little bit of light in the surroundings.
He knew he shouldn't expect too much from the Shadow Ghost Technique, given it had just reached Martial Practitioner, and many techniques only showed their true potential upon mutating into something strange.
He glanced sideways, and the ghost shadow disappeared into his feet again.
The Bottle Dweller poked its head out, observing the strange-behaving Ren Qing.
But after seeing that Ren Qing wasn't doing anything interesting for a long time, it quickly lost interest and vanished to who knows where.
Ren Qing carefully considered the three mutation paths of the Shadow Ghost Technique.
[Shadow Fuser: Human and shadow become one]
[Ghost Warrior: Ghost shadow possesses the body]
[Shadow Striker: Ghost shadow acts as a weapon]
He immediately ruled out Shadow Striker. That path seemed similar to the Spine Bearer, turning the ghost shadow into a weapon.
But Ren Qing intended for the ghost shadow to serve as the host for the Heavenly Dao Worm.
If it turned into a weapon, it would cease to be flesh and blood, likely rendering it useless.
The Shadow Fuser also felt like a stretch.
Merging the ghost shadow with the cultivator's own body, wasn't that just letting the Heavenly Dao Worm directly transfer into the main body?
Better not.
Only the Ghost Warrior path remained, but even then Ren Qing had concerns.
To be safe, he had his Spirit Division sneak over to the Secret Pavilion, specifically looking up the book that recorded the Shadow Ghost Technique.
During the trip, the Spirit Division was nearly discovered by a Restraint Officer, thankfully, it came out unscathed.
However, Ren Qing noticed that the severed head in the jar inside the Secret Pavilion gave him a rather odd look.
After investigating, Ren Qing completely understood the Shadow Ghost Technique.
The Shadow Fuser mutation route was deeply connected to shadows. At the Ghost Envoy stage, it was known as the "Hundred Shadows Demon Soul," able to absorb others' shadows.
By absorbing cultivators' shadows, the Hundred Shadows Demon Soul could temporarily borrow their abilities and strengthen the ghost shadow within itself.
This mutation path had strong growth potential, suitable for cultivators with only a single technique.
As for Shadow Striker, it was just as Ren Qing had suspected, it turned the ghost shadow into a weapon, mainly attacking enemies through their shadows.
Somewhat like using a straw doll to curse someone, affecting the body via the shadow.
The Ghost Warrior path suited Ren Qing best.
After advancement, the ghost shadow would develop flesh and blood and could briefly possess the body, enhancing physical capabilities.
This way, the Leather Refiner's ability to transfer injuries could be put to good use.
Ren Qing returned to the room and sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and spent one year of lifespan. The Shadow Ghost Technique underwent a new transformation.
The ghost shadow clearly gained a physical form. It crawled onto Ren Qing's body, furiously sucking blood to complete its advancement.
Ren Qing did not stop it.
After advancing to the Ghost Envoy stage, his blood had become as thick as mercury; a single drop was worth a hundred drops of ordinary blood.
After consuming several dozen drops, the ghost shadow felt full and calmed down, outwardly appearing unchanged.
Ren Qing closed his eyes and sensed the ghost shadow's abilities, shaking his head in disappointment.
Functionally, the ghost shadow overlapped with the Dragon-Snake Spine. Whether in speed or sharpness, it fell far short, only its stealth was superior.
Ren Qing tried the ghost shadow's possession.
It split a portion and slowly merged with his right arm. His muscles swelled, and his skin turned pitch-black.
When Ren Qing gave a light swing, the air exploded.
His strength had increased by at least threefold, and this wasn't even full possession.
The reason for such a good effect was mainly because the surroundings were relatively dark. Under blazing sunlight, the possession would be somewhat diminished.
What surprised Ren Qing most was that after possession, the ghost shadow enhanced the body in all aspects, including skin, flesh, and bones.
He took out the Great Miao Blade and sliced across his right arm, which left only a shallow, bleeding wound.
He had used over half of his strength. The wound should have been a finger deep, but it barely broke the skin.
He transferred the wound to the ghost shadow, which writhed like flowing water.
The ghost shadow wasn't actually harmed, it just wasn't used to the sudden pain, so it quickly calmed down.
After advancing to Ghost Envoy, the Ghost Warrior was known as the "Yin Ghost Demon Shadow." Upon possession, the body's enhancements would be greatly increased.
As long as it remained in darkness, the Yin Ghost Demon Shadow would be immortal and indestructible, immune to conventional means of killing.
Combined with the Scapegoat Skin, this perfectly compensated for Ren Qing's defensive weakness.
If paired with the Lord of Absolute Darkness from the Double Pupils mutation upon advancing to the Yin Runner stage, he could even become invincible for a short time.
Ren Qing nodded to himself and summoned his personal information stream.
[Ren Qing]
[Age: Eighteen]
[Lifespan: Four years, sixty-seven days]
[Techniques: Taotie Method (Prison Within the Abdomen), Blindless Method (Twin Nightmare Ghosts), Divine Leg Sutra (Marching Calamity Wolf), Human Skin Book (Leather Refiner), Bone Armor Technique (Spine Bearer), Immortal in the Mirror (Mirror-Faced), Shadow Ghost Technique (Ghost Warrior)]
[Dao births Dao (Path Grasper)]
He frowned slightly. Having too many techniques made the information crowded, if only it could be reorganized...
As soon as he had the thought, the characters in front of him began shifting and rearranging.
Upon interacting with them mentally, he found that limited modifications were possible, though not to the content's accuracy.
He ultimately organized the techniques into categories:
[Ghost Envoy Techniques: Taotie Method (Prison Within the Abdomen), Blindless Method (Twin Nightmare Ghosts), Divine Leg Sutra (Marching Calamity Wolf)]
[Half-Corpse Techniques: Human Skin Book (Leather Refiner), Bone Armor Technique (Spine Bearer), Immortal in the Mirror (Mirror-Faced), Shadow Ghost Technique (Ghost Warrior)]
[Aberration: The Taotie Method (Jailer)]
Ren Qing closed the information stream. He had a vague sense that the interrelations between techniques would become crucial at higher realms.
The Shadow Ghost Technique had reached the Half-Corpse level and could now serve as a host for the Heavenly Dao Worm.
To be safe, he planned to keep the Shadow Ghost Technique at a higher level than any Heavenly Dao Technique he used, so the worm wouldn't affect his main body.
Ren Qing's Spirit Division entered the Prison Within the Abdomen to inspect the twelve Heavenly Dao Techniques he had obtained from Wuwei Daoist Altar's Hidden Treasury Pavilion.
He wanted to select a Heavenly Dao Technique for the Shadow Ghost Technique.
But after flipping through them all, he was still dissatisfied.
All twelve Heavenly Dao Techniques involved internal organs, in the Wuwei Daoist Altar's words, "recasting immortal bones", which weren't suitable for the Shadow Ghost Technique.
What the Shadow Ghost Technique needed was something more unconventional.
Ren Qing pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. If he couldn't find anything, he might have to use the Xuan Tian Method as a last resort.
With that mindset, he began inspecting the loose technique scrolls he had gathered, hoping to find a clue.
When he picked up a few scattered pages, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Though the contents weren't extensive, the words made clear that the technique, called "Nether Sea Breathing Art", cultivated by placing the Heavenly Dao Egg into the stomach and intestines.
Nether Sea Breathing Art didn't quite fit with the other Heavenly Dao Techniques, it was likely created by the Heavenly Dao Child specifically for the Shadow Ghost Technique.
Like the Xuan Tian Method, it belonged to Wuwei Daoist Altar's core bloodline.
And since it was stored in the Hidden Treasury Pavilion, that meant some disciples had indeed practiced it back then.
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. It seemed he had no choice but to make a trip to the Wuwei Hall.
As for how to cross the water, he set his sights on the entry-level cultivation methods.
These methods would adjust one's constitution to accept the Heavenly Dao Egg, laying the foundation for Heavenly Dao Techniques, and might help reduce hostility from the Heavenly Dao Worm.
Ren Qing quickly located the entry-level method for Nether Sea Breathing Art, titled "Nether Sea Breathing Technique."
The ghost shadow could briefly leave the body, so pulling it into Wuwei Daoist Altar shouldn't be a problem.
However, since the Nether Sea Breathing Technique was cultivated by the ghost shadow, he couldn't advance it via lifespan expenditure through the information stream without first mastering it.
Ren Qing had no choice but to slowly figure it out.
First, he used the Bottle Dweller to suppress the Supernatural Remnant of the Immortal in the Mirror, then used Mirror-Faced's illusions to create a training environment for the ghost shadow.
With most of the room transformed into roiling waves, the ghost shadow soaked within, cultivating with a specific breathing rhythm.
Lacking intelligence, the ghost shadow couldn't master the method, so Ren Qing's Spirit Division had to control it directly.
After several days of cultivation, there were indeed results.
With Ren Qing's guidance, the rippling waves gradually synchronized with the ghost shadow's breathing.
He grew excited and patiently continued guiding the ghost shadow's training.
Before he knew it, more than half a month had passed.
The Shadow Ghost Technique's aptitude could be described as utterly dull, under normal circumstances, it would've long since reached mastery.
It had only just barely reached entry level.
The gains were minimal, only a slight increase in resilience.
Now it remained to be seen whether it would have any use against the Heavenly Dao Worm.