After the sun rose, Annan Town returned to its usual peace.
Compared to other places in Xiangxiang, Annan felt more like a densely populated village.
The people, having nothing else to do, began preparing for the spring planting, though signs of the New Year still lingered in some of the decorations.
The inn promptly opened its doors to welcome guests.
Huang Ziwan stepped onto the outer steps and gazed at the endless stream of people before him, finding it hard to imagine what kind of demonic revelry had taken place the night before.
Lu Xiaoyu sighed helplessly.
Her cultivation was the shallowest; under the protection of the copper mirror talisman within the room, she hadn't sensed the earth-shaking events outside at all.
Ren Qing was the last to come downstairs, sorting through the gains from last night as he walked.
After devouring two beast ghosts, the Ghost Shadow's Heavenly Dao method, Nether Yuan, had advanced considerably, nearly reaching mid Qi Refining.
But for now it was still just small progress; Foundation Establishment was the true starting point for the Nether Sea Breathing Art.
Huang Ziwan suggested, "Since the task is to transport the Other Shore Flower, why don't we go check on the situation in the Other Shore Flower fields first?"
Ren Qing nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we can also ask about the strangeness in Annan Town."
The three of them headed toward the fields. Even if it would attract the attention of other Restraint Officers, it was still better than remaining ignorant.
As Ren Qing stepped outside the city,
He noticed that the soil in the fields was dark in hue, making it quite suitable for growing grain; the yield must be considerable.
The Other Shore Flower fields were located further in. As they approached a certain range, a strange fragrance wafted into their nostrils.
The soul immediately stirred with delight; Ren Qing couldn't help but take several deep breaths.
The Heavenly Dao Worm within the Ghost Shadow involuntarily became active; had Ren Qing not suppressed it, it would have been unable to control its reaction.
Why would the Other Shore Flower elicit such a response from the Heavenly Dao Worm?
Before he could dwell further, he looked up to see large amounts of vine plants covering the flower fields.
Muyi, upon seeing Ren Qing, did not obstruct them, allowing the three to approach the Other Shore Flower.
The Other Shore Flower didn't differ much from ordinary flowers, except that its petals bore many strange patterns, with no two flowers alike.
Bees flitted about in the air; judging by the season, this was likely the result of some Restraint Officer's technique.
Ren Qing looked toward the central Other Shore Flower.
He saw that its petals were a deep violet, and the soil near its roots even had a faint greenish tint, giving a sense of dissonance.
All of the flower buds appeared slightly swollen, as if wrapping something inside.
Before he could investigate further, a sparrow landed not far from the three of them.
The sparrow spoke in a spiritual tone, "Don't worry. The blooming is only a few days away. When the time comes, I will transport them together with you."
Huang Ziwan couldn't help but ask, "Can the Other Shore Flower really cause such a large-scale anomaly?"
Muyi didn't answer. Seeing this, Huang Ziwan wisely shut his mouth.
There were many secrets within the Restraint Officers' Hall that could not be spoken of in detail, especially those involving the Summoning Spirits Art.
Muyi paused a moment and continued, "Ren Qing, since you've already stepped into the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts, you must be careful about some things..."
"Don't think those ghosts are just fish on a cutting board. The closer it gets to the blooming, the more unexpected phenomena will appear."
Huang Ziwan looked at Ren Qing in surprise, multiple Restraint Officers had participated in the Night Parade last night, and he had actually gotten involved as well.
But thinking about it, it made sense. If residual souls weren't of much use to him, such an opportunity naturally wouldn't be let go easily.
Of course, the risks were inevitable.
Could it be that Ren Qing was already capable of contending with those Ghost Envoy realm cultivators who had undergone two or three transformations...
Ren Qing asked further, "How does the Other Shore Flower cause the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts?"
"The Other Shore Flower needs to be nourished with residual souls, and it also contains Ksitigarbha's blood. As it nears blooming, the residual souls it attracts become more and more bizarre."
Muyi said no more.
She didn't know much of the inside story; after all, her cultivation hadn't reached the Yin Runner realm and she couldn't participate in the Restraint Officers' Hall's decision-making.
Ren Qing's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, though it was still within expectations.
Since the Restraint Officers' Hall was taking the risk to send Restraint Officers here, it proved that the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts wasn't just about harvesting residual souls.
The sparrow promptly flew away.
Huang Ziwan patted Ren Qing on the shoulder, reminding, "Ren Qing, be more cautious. Generally speaking, Restraint Officers whose techniques involve souls are at least somewhat..."
As he spoke, he suddenly realized that Ren Qing used similar techniques, and his words sounded a bit like veiled criticism.
Huang Ziwan gave an awkward laugh.
Ren Qing didn't mind, and turned to ask about the Restraint Officers they had encountered last night.
But Huang Ziwan didn't know much, people like Yu Dachuan were reclusive, and rarely seen in Sanxiang City.
He cursed under his breath, "Damn it, who knows how many Restraint Officers are hiding, hoping to play fisherman."
Ren Qing saw that it was nearing midday and said proactively, "Let's go. Staying in the Other Shore Flower fields is too conspicuous."
The three of them walked through the fields, not far from the main road.
Ren Qing halted and signaled to Huang Ziwan. They saw a burly man riding a fine horse, quickly entering the town.
The man was clearly also a Restraint Officer. There would likely be many more arriving soon.
Huang Ziwan and the others returned to the inn, intending to rest during the day so they could stay alert when night fell, avoiding getting caught up in the Night Parade.
Ren Qing, meanwhile, strolled around Annan Town.
He didn't see the figure of the water gourd, but the Restraint Officers were already beginning to set their plans in motion.
Ren Qing felt a touch of heaviness in his heart.
Even though his strength stood out among the Ghost Envoy realm, it didn't mean the other Restraint Officers were helpless lambs.
Yu Dachuan's Daoist temple had been simply repaired.
Worshippers came in an unbroken stream.
The heirs of the dead wealthy merchants were donating money beside the temple. Judging by their proud expressions, they clearly wished their fathers would hurry to the grave.
Yu Dachuan stood at the entrance of the temple, smiling warmly as he greeted those coming and going, occasionally giving out so-called blessed talismans.
Ren Qing paused his steps, Yu Dachuan was clearly selecting targets for his spells.
Yu Dachuan was clever in his own way; all his targets were ordinary people near the end of their lifespan.
"Boundless Heavenly Lord..."
He gently stroked the forehead of a devout worshipper, chanting non-stop, drawing in many passing citizens to stop and watch.
Ren Qing's mouth twitched.
If it weren't for the water gourd presiding over Annan Town, if it were Song Zongwu instead, such behavior skirting the edge would have been exposed long ago.
Yu Dachuan suddenly sensed hostility, glancing sideways into the crowd, only catching the sight of Ren Qing's slowly retreating back.
He muttered a few things to himself, then refocused his attention on the people before him.
Ren Qing came to a northern street in the city, overhead drifted a few shadows. Looking up, he saw that they were kites flown by children.
The kite patterns were unusual, they depicted human faces, and when fluttering in the wind, seemed to be grinning sinisterly.
Ren Qing looked toward an elder in the distance.
Wan Qi wore a straw hat, looking like a peasant going to farm. Whenever children asked him for kites, he would immediately begin crafting them.
As the children flew their kites, some of their yang energy would be drawn away. It wouldn't shorten their lifespan, but might cause chills and illness.
Such a method was still relatively restrained, the bat-man had already sent swarms of bats to attack the livestock of farmers.
When the true Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts came, it was hard to imagine what the scene would be like.
But in a sense, these Restraint Officers' methods hadn't crossed the line, at least they followed the rules set by the water gourd.
If Ren Qing rashly intervened, it would only cause the situation to spiral into chaos.
Moreover, the water gourd was extremely sinister, even targeting Restraint Officers wouldn't be surprising; Ren Qing had seen that firsthand in the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone.
Ren Qing returned to the inn.
After eating a bit, he sat cross-legged on the bed.
Until the sun set, the lively town gradually fell into silence, and the struggling residual souls slowly emerged from the shadows.
Yet no Restraint Officers made a move, they were all watching from the dark.
Ren Qing didn't act recklessly this time either.
If the Ghost Shadow hadn't instinctively sensed danger last night, he might've drawn the water gourd's displeasure.
He opened the window a crack.
Feeling the cold wind blow in from outside, his Double Pupils rotated.
He needed to observe not just the street, but also the Other Shore Flower fields on the distant hill.
Ren Qing had realized during the day that this plant was extremely strange.
The Ghost Shadow became a little excited, spreading itself to cover every corner of the room.
From the outside, the guest room appeared like a pitch-black abyss, even the light of a candle couldn't be seen.
Ren Qing stared at a corner, there, a worm egg the size of a head pulsed.
The Heavenly Dao Egg, which had been no bigger than a fingernail upon parasitizing, had grown to this size in such a short time, it was simply unbelievable.
The Heavenly Dao Egg seemed to grow alongside its host; this was evident from the corpse in the pond at the Wuwei Daoist Altar.
Those cultivators who resembled giants likely possessed some special Heavenly Dao method, which led to the Heavenly Dao Worms being extraordinarily enormous.
It could be foreseen that the ghost shadow would inevitably grow larger, perhaps even the Heavenly Dao Worm would eventually become as huge as a mountain...
Ren Qing came back to his senses. There seemed to be something unusual happening at the distant Other Shore Flower fields.
It was now already the si hour. Soon it would be the chou hour, the time to witness how the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts truly formed.
Ren Qing was more interested in peeking into the Summoning Spirits Art.
His split soul separated from his body.
Ren Qing activated Twin Nightmare Ghosts, using two different perspectives to observe the Other Shore Flower fields, but for now, there was no difference.
Time passed slowly.
He wasn't the only Restraint Officer watching the Other Shore Flower fields.
As it approached the chou hour, the first to make a move was not the Other Shore Flower, nor the rib buried in the soil.
Instead, Muyi spread out her tree limbs.
Countless vines grew, directly covering the flower fields.
Ren Qing's vision now differed from before, Muyi's aura was stable, likely nearing a third transformation.
Such a method resembled a seal, likely a branch of a transformation technique.
Dong, dong, dong...
A muffled sound came from the mountain.
Because of the copper mirror talismans, the townsfolk inside their homes wouldn't notice anything strange.
Ren Qing couldn't tell what was happening to the Other Shore Flower, but he could clearly feel something like a ferocious beast trying to break free.
After about ten minutes, the vines split open a gap.
The Other Shore Flower shot out madly like climbing vines; judging by the number of buds, it was about a third of the field.
The buds seemed to be brewing something.
Ren Qing felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn't recall its source no matter how he tried.