The opening of the Immortal Market was restricted by Ren Qing to nighttime, mainly because one had to enter it in a state of sleep, so as not to interfere with daily life.
When the temple disciples departed, the vast Immortal Market was left only with the coffin elder, who was studying artifact refining, and a few courtesans who cleaned the shops.
As for Yuan Si, Ren Qing had him search for suitable young children in Morning Street, preparing to gradually spread the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method.
The morning sun poured over the earth.
When the light covered the shadows in the forested mountains, Ren Qing's body emerged from within them.
"It truly is astonishing. When Wuwei Monastery's power reaches the level it had hundreds of years ago, wouldn't it be possible to use this to advance to the Yang God Realm..."
Ren Qing's eyes were slightly bloodshot, after staring at his own lifespan for an entire night, his eyes were somewhat dry, and his breathing involuntarily quickened.
Although the Spirit Crystals circulating within the Immortal Market were currently limited, everyone had exchanged materials to some extent, so in truth the trading frequency was quite high.
In addition, because of the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone, the Restraint Officers' Hall was gripped by fear; none of the cultivators involved planned to hoard Blood Crystals.
The layout of the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone would likely still take a few months; during that time, he could obtain a great deal of lifespan, soon enough to reach five hundred years.
Ren Qing glanced at the increasingly lively Wuwei Monastery. It seemed the changes brought by the Immortal Market were subtle yet pervasive, and their influence was even greater than he had imagined.
After Wuliangzi regained his clear-mindedness, he began advocating for expanding the mountain gate's grounds, attempting to add more residential quarters.
This was not due to any secret prompting by Ren Qing but rather Wuliangzi's own initiative.
It was just a pity that although Wuliangzi was the abbot of Wuwei Monastery, in fact, he could not command the disciples scattered throughout Jingzhou.
For Wuwei Monastery, the disciples in the outside world were the true continuation of its Dao lineage.
Some managed legitimate businesses, some were merchants navigating between factions, others hid among the crowds as fishmongers or old men hawking candied hawthorn in the streets.
Wuwei Monastery's development to its current state was, in truth, very much like the Beggars' Sect in a Jin Yong novel, hidden in plain sight.
But the drawback was that once disciples left the mountain, they would rarely return to the sect.
Even if Wuwei Monastery were destroyed, they would merely reestablish the Dao lineage elsewhere.
Wuliangzi had no authority to summon the disciples; he could only use ancestral tablets to confirm the lives of those in the outside world, guessing at Jingzhou's situation.
Ren Qing felt that, in some sense, Wuwei Monastery's way of operating indeed had its logic, but it was also born of helplessness.
After all, once a power became fragmented, its avenues for growth would be tightly constrained.
Ren Qing found it somewhat regrettable, otherwise, the number of people he could bring into the Immortal Market would have multiplied several times over.
Fortunately, he had already set up Soul Butterfly projections; at least none of the Dao children recruited on the fifteenth of each month would be overlooked again.
He continued meditating for a few more days. After confirming that the Tu Di cultivator had taken no further action, he simply remained in the mountains to cultivate in seclusion.
Wuwei Monastery seemed to have returned to a state of detachment from worldly strife; each morning, the orderly recitations of The Rapid Primer by the Dao children could be heard.
Unknowingly, Ren Qing's state of mind had also become calm and relaxed.
He had never before experienced this sort of secluded sect life, and it was clear that Wuwei Monastery indeed embodied orthodox cultivation.
By the time two new quarters had been built on the mountain, his lifespan had exceeded five hundred years.
Ren Qing's eyes revealed fervent joy. As long as the Immortal Market's growth continued steadily, extending his lifespan seemed to be progressing even more smoothly than expected.
"After the Shadow Ghost Technique advances to Merging the Yin God, the Heavenly Dao Worm's Nascent Soul stage can be pursued next... I wonder how much lifespan that might grant?"
He took a deep breath; the Nether Yuan in his body was drawn out by the ghost shadow, and his location shifted from the Crescent Moon Layer back to the relatively safe New Moon Layer.
A flow of information surged forth.
[Do you wish to advance to Merging the Yin God? This will consume five hundred years of lifespan.]
When Ren Qing silently confirmed, the ghost shadow beneath his feet trembled wildly, like boiling water.
The human skin covering his body began to writhe; bone spurs slowly protruded from his back, and the Heavenly Dao Worm tried to drill its way out of his body.
The anomalies had already developed awareness, if the ghost shadow advanced to Merging the Yin God, they would be completely subordinated, and so they struggled to escape.
Ren Qing endured the pain, suppressing his aura to three inches beyond his body.
If a Restraint Officer saw him now, they would surely think Ren Qing had fallen into a state of losing control of his Supernatural Remnant, but that was not the case.
Ren Qing was completely confident; since the advancement consumed lifespan, the risk had already been minimized by the flow of information. The Supernatural Remnants had no chance to resist.
Each Supernatural Remnant shuddered violently, then fell back into stillness like calm water.
The Shadow Ghost Technique thus advanced to Merging the Yin God. The aberrant tree in the Niwan Palace immediately changed, its roots spreading toward the secondary techniques.
The aberrant trees representing the Human Skin Book and other techniques offered no resistance, letting their roots be entwined.
Not only that, the aberrant tree of the Shadow Ghost Technique even reached out and seized a massive maggot from thin air, raising it among the trees in the same way.
Everything seemed ordinary, yet the Shadow Ghost Technique soon displayed something special, it began to exert influence over the secondary techniques.
Ren Qing's expression froze in surprise, but he quickly understood.
Unlike the dream techniques, the Shadow Ghost Technique, Human Skin Book, Nether Sea Breathing Art, and Bone Armor Technique were only loosely connected.
By Ren Qing's estimation, even if a primary-secondary relationship were formed, it should be far from the seamless fusion of the three dream techniques.
But clearly, he had underestimated the flow of information.
The secondary techniques began to take on ghost shadow traits, forcibly uniting the techniques into a whole, laying the foundation for the Yang God Realm.
Of course, the flow of information was not forcibly fusing the techniques but making them more tightly bound, such effects could not occur with just any technique.
The first to transform was the Heavenly Dao Worm within the ghost shadow's body.
After reaching the Core Formation stage, the Heavenly Dao Worm had turned into an egg, its body sealed within a hard shell, unable to move or resist.
The amber hue of the egg gradually darkened, until it became completely ink-gray.
The Heavenly Dao Worm within was now half-real, half-illusory, having transcended its former level of life, becoming closer in nature to a ghost shadow.
Even the Nether Yuan was now tinged with the ghost shadow's aura, appearing eerily strange.
The pain that had just subsided in Ren Qing flared up again, this time far exceeding what he had expected, forcing him to clench his teeth tightly.
"Damn it..."
The bones represented by the Nether Sea Breathing Art, the skin represented by the Human Skin Book, and the Dragon-Snake Spine represented by the Bone Armor Technique all began to take on ghost shadow characteristics.
Ren Qing could not help but roar in agony, sending flocks of birds fleeing from the mountains, and beasts rushing away in terror.
If he were not in the New Moon Layer, he would have alarmed the entire Qingyan Town.
Even so, the farmers gathering firewood in the mountains faintly heard the roar and thought some man-eating demon had appeared.
The torment Ren Qing endured was longer than in any previous advancement.
Even the Yellow Spring Immortal Bone was transforming into a physique more compatible with the Restraint Officer Method.
What he could not have imagined was that even after coming to the New Moon Layer, he still unwittingly caused strange changes in the Crescent Moon Layer.
At that moment within Wuwei Monastery, the Dao children had just finished their morning recitation.
When Tianfuzi left, they immediately reverted to their childish nature, playing and laughing noisily.
Han Li sat blankly in the corner, surrounded by a dozen other Dao children who also seemed out of place.
They were all born in the closed Morning Street's Furong Tower. From childhood, they had met only a handful of people, some still spoke clumsily.
Though the Dao children were mostly peasants' sons, without ill intent, Han Li and the others still could not blend in.
Wuliangzi stood outside the classroom, looking in with concern.
He could not help but care about Han Li and the others, afraid they might be neglected because of him.
After all, these Dao children had been brought by the Earthly Immortal. Even if their physiques seemed ordinary and their progress in cultivation slower than the others, there were surely hidden depths he could not see.
After a moment's hesitation, Wuliangzi decided to enter the classroom and speak with them.
But just as he took a few steps, he heard the screams of the other children.
Wuliangzi's pupils contracted, he saw the dozen children in the corner trembling violently, black blood seeping from their facial features.
He knew instantly what it meant, it was the sign of soul-body aberration and loss of control.
But how could that be? These Dao children had not even reached the Qi Refining stage! How could they lose control of aberration? It defied all logic.
Wuliangzi hurriedly ordered the other children to evacuate the temple atop the mountain, then quickly stepped into the classroom.
Within ten meters of them, the surrounding light dimmed, and black lines appeared on the faces of every Dao child.
Han Li's condition was the most severe.
The black lines spread across his entire body, transforming into shapes resembling worms or snakes.
Half the classroom was shrouded in black mist.
Wuliangzi gasped, the chrysanthemum-like mouthpart on his forehead exhaling mist, sealing every door and window crack tight.
Seeing this scene, his first thought was of the Heavenly Dao Worm, long said to have vanished from the world, but he immediately denied it inwardly.
He knew that the Heavenly Dao Worm was not composed of black lines. According to the ancient texts, it was an innate spiritual treasure capable of communicating with the Heavenly Dao.
Then what was this...
A thought stirred within him, and his expression turned to sudden realization.
Could this be the substitute that the Earthly Immortal found after the Heavenly Dao Worm vanished, a replacement to continue the severed path to immortality?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
He did his best to suppress the aura emanating from the Dao children, lest the spies within Wuwei Monastery notice something and leak word to the outside.
Suddenly, shadows surged in the corner.
A man stepped out, his form covered in darkness that devoured all light, revealing only his double pupils and the third eye on his forehead.
"Wuliangzi..."
Wuliangzi froze for a moment, then bowed his head respectfully. "Earthly Immortal Huang Qi."
Ren Qing waved his hand, and the black insects crawling beneath the Dao children's skin calmed, finally merging into the shadows at their feet.
"The Great Dream Hidden Treasury contains a copy of the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method. The medicinal guide for cultivation is in the Great Dream Pavilion."
"Within one year, have the Dao children all transfer to cultivating the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method. Within five years, you shall transfer as well."
"This is the Heavenly Dao Method. Do you understand?"
Ren Qing had already prepared his explanation, intending to use dream techniques to plant the thought.
"I understand," Wuliangzi replied without hesitation.
He showed not a trace of doubt. "I welcome the descent of the Nether Earthly Immortal. Dao births Dao, the Dao of Non-Action."
"Act with caution, do not attract attention."
After Ren Qing finished speaking, he vanished.
Outside the classroom, the laughter of the children returned, as if the memory of that moment had been erased from existence.