Even Ren Qing himself hadn't expected that, because of the Shadow Ghost Technique's advancement to Merging the Yin God, all the other techniques would undergo a domino effect.
Unintentionally, it even solved a difficult problem.
Ren Qing had been quite troubled about perfecting the Heavenly Dao Law, since linking this technique to the Restraint Officer Law was a task far beyond imagination in difficulty.
But after the Heavenly Dao Worm was shadow-ified, those cultivators who had entered the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method through the worm saliva also underwent transformation correspondingly.
Ren Qing had already figured out the pros and cons of this through the flow of information.
Han Li still looked the same as before, but the marrow blood within his bones now showed a pitch-black misty hue, indicating that he had taken a step closer toward the Yellow Spring Immortal Bone.
Their aptitudes were no longer inferior to the insectified Dao children. Cultivating the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method would be like a fish in water, progressing extremely quickly.
Of course, these were secondary matters; the most important was that black insect made of shadow.
The black insect could be regarded as the reproduction of Ren Qing's Heavenly Dao Worm, a split body. It possessed some of the Shadow Ghost Technique's power and could grow along with one's realm.
In theory, there was almost no difference between the black insect and the Heavenly Dao Worm. It would also go through the egg-forming phase of Core Formation, and the adult form at Nascent Soul Stage...
When it matured, it would develop spiritual intelligence, at that point it would completely become a Supernatural Remnant.
The cultivator would then need to follow the Restraint Officer Law's Yin Runner-stage process:
– Binding the Yin God to wear away the black insect's consciousness,
– Merging the Yin God to fuse the black insect with one's shadow, and
– Releasing the Yin God to fully control the black insect.
As for advancing to the Yang God Realm, that would have to be explored on one's own.
Of course, the drawbacks of the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method still remained, being bound to the mother worm, even one's life could not be completely self-controlled.
Ren Qing's Nether Sea Breathing Art was at Core Formation, so anyone cultivating the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method under him could not advance to Core Formation, only remain at Foundation Establishment.
But in any case, the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method fulfilled his design.
However, he had to be cautious. The method to control the black insect had to be hidden for now, lest it draw the attention of the Earthly Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm.
Ren Qing flashed several times and arrived in his former seclusion cave.
Then he closed his eyes and sensed the changes brought by the Yin Runner-stage Shadow Ghost Technique.
His skin, together with his body, became a state of black mist, that was the shadow-ification of the Nether Immortal Body, now further empowered by the Human Skin Book.
Ren Qing twisted and moved within the narrow cave, his movements becoming increasingly agile.
The ghost shadow was not to be outdone, it immediately transformed into a dragon-snake body, constantly shifting between reality and illusion, like a fish leaping from the water.
Ren Qing's lips curled up; his body suddenly rammed toward the ghost shadow.
The two fused together midair, and in the darkness, blood-red eyes lit up, the dragon head screamed and revealed itself clearly.
Ren Qing did not maintain it for long before returning to normal. The ghost shadow quietly rested beneath his feet.
He touched the bones along his back, regretting that his life-bound artifact, the Dragon-Snake Spine, was still in metamorphosis, otherwise he could have witnessed its current might.
Ren Qing chose to continue secluded cultivation. His strength had indeed greatly increased because of the Shadow Ghost Technique's advancement to the Yin Runner Realm.
But it was still far from his goal.
Ren Qing planned to raise all three of his core techniques, except for the Disaster-Dissipating Method, to the level of Merging the Yin God.
The road was still long, yet the transformation of the Nether Immortal Body had extended his lifespan by eighty years, so gathering two hundred more would not be difficult in the short term.
Winter passed, and spring came.
Ren Qing maintained his meditative visualization techniques, occasionally paying attention to the Wuwei Monastery.
Wu Liangzi's temple expansion hadn't caused any waves, he merely added several side halls and expanded the main one.
The main hall, which had previously housed statues of Heavenly Daozi and the disciples' memorial tablets, now had several statues of Earthly Immortals.
At the center was the pitch-black, formless Nether Immortal Huang Qi, and on both sides were figures in the image of Song Zongwu and others of the Yin Runner stage.
Although in Qingsongzi's eyes these Earthly Immortals looked completely different from the records in the scriptures, since Wu Liangzi was the headmaster, he must have more access to hidden truths, and having found the Celestial Market, a heavenly dao artifact, it was quite possible that Earthly Immortals truly appeared this eerie.
The Wuwei Monastery flourished; the Dao children advanced in cultivation ever faster.
After the other Dao children switched to the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method, black insects were born in their bodies, and soon they began advancing to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Everything indicated that Wuwei Monastery was gradually returning to its glory from centuries ago.
Only Ren Qing could see the surging waves beneath the calm surface, time was running out for Wuwei Monastery; calamity was brewing.
Each month fewer and fewer children could be recruited. Apart from nearby farmers' kids, almost no one came from the rest of Jingzhou.
The Aberrant Cultivators were trying to cut off Wuwei Monastery's lifeline at the root.
If it were merely an issue of recruitment, it wouldn't be so bad, the sect could barely sustain itself.
But Ren Qing had noticed something wrong with the memorial tablets months earlier.
Normally, when a disciple's tablet dimmed, it meant that person had died and their soul had dispersed.
Yet some tablets had developed fine cracks and even appeared moldy on the surface, eerily so.
Wu Liangzi was used to such things. He simply sighed and removed the tablets.
From his memories, Ren Qing learned that only disciples who touched Aberrant Techniques would have their soul aura altered, rendering their tablets void.
This wasn't rare, every year some disciples joined the Aberrant Factions.
But Ren Qing sensed from the soul aura that all those disciples were clustered in the southern part of the city.
That couldn't be coincidence, most likely, Aberrant Cultivators had begun purging the monastery's disciples.
He didn't believe so many had defected at once; perhaps the Aberrants had found a way to forcibly convert them.
That region, he knew, was governed by the Aberration known as "Corpse Elephant."
Wuwei Monastery managed the funeral business there, as well as some corpse-driving work, usually posing as wandering Daoists.
They and the Corpse Elephant's cultivators had long been mutually beneficial, no conflicts, steady business.
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. Even though he had secretly warned Wu Liangzi, the puppet abbot could change very little.
He felt it necessary to visit Qingyan Town,
at least to grasp the situation, lest Wuwei Monastery be wiped out unknowingly, which would affect his longevity accumulation.
This was tied to his chance to advance to the Yang God Realm.
Ren Qing didn't rush to leave. On one hand, his lifespan was already enough to upgrade the Nether Technique, and for ensuring the disciples' smooth Core Formation, it couldn't be delayed.
On the other, the Restraint Officers' Hall in Xiangxiang had begun tackling the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone.
With the Great Dream True Person's protection, even if the zone contained dozens of Supernatural Remnants, it would not be a problem, the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone could not stump the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Then, through contact with those Supernatural Remnants, Ren Qing could master the Disaster-Dissipating Method.
With that concealment technique, he could barely infiltrate the Aberrant Factions; otherwise, he would stand no chance against pseudo–Yang God Aberrations.
He looked at Wuwei Monastery, now home to over 120 disciples, their recitation of The Rapid Primer loud enough to reach the foot of the mountain.
Ren Qing then withdrew back into the New Moon Layer.
He dared not waste time and immediately began advancing the Nether Sea Breathing Art.
Previously, when advancing to Core Formation, Ren Qing's bones had been forced out of his body, ultimately turning into the Yellow Spring Immortal Bone; the Nascent Soul Stage was no exception.
Blood seeped through his pores, and newly thick black blood circulated from his spine throughout his body.
The Nightmare Art's Supernatural Remnant had originally attached itself to his blood, but before the information flow, it dared not stir and obediently hid within his heart.
The Yellow Spring Immortal Bone completed its transformation into the Immortal Body.
Though it seemed like a small improvement, in reality every aspect benefited greatly, the Human Skin Book, Bone Armor Technique, and Shadow Ghost Technique all received significant boosts.
Crack, crack, crack...
Strange sounds rang out.
The juvenile Heavenly Dao Worm gnawed on its eggshell, stretching out its body as it gradually took on a humanoid shape, its head increasingly resembling Ren Qing's.
But before its features could settle, the interconnected techniques exerted influence.
The final adult form bore no trace of a Heavenly Dao Worm, its head had turned entirely into a bizarre dragon-snake visage, while the body remained insectoid, extremely strange.
A Nascent Soul-stage Heavenly Dao Worm had a distinct trait, it could briefly leave its host, making the ghost shadow's means even more versatile.
Ren Qing soothed the newly advanced Heavenly Dao Worm, just about to release it into the outside world.
Then the mountains trembled slightly, like an earth-dragon turning; many trees toppled, cracks spreading outward.
Ren Qing's brows furrowed. Without showing any panic, he quickly drew the ghost shadow back into the Prison Within the Abdomen.
The earthquake stopped immediately.
His expression grew complex. It seemed that the Earthly Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm was right beneath Jingzhou, most likely slumbering.
Ren Qing could faintly sense a blurred consciousness trying to connect with his own Heavenly Dao Worm, probably an unconscious reflex from that Earthly Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm.
"Could it be that only two of them remain in Jingzhou...?"
He gave a bitter smile and released the ghost shadow again. As long as the Heavenly Dao Worm stayed within the New Moon Layer and did not enter the real world, it would not draw the attention of the Earthly Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm.
Information flow surged.
[Lifespan: 837 years]
The Nether Sea Breathing Art's advancement to Nascent Soul granting about 800 years of lifespan wasn't bad, but advancing to Spirit Division would require at least 1,500.
Ren Qing intended to use his "harvesting" strategy to accumulate Nether Yuan, after all, as a core technique, the Shadow Ghost Technique wouldn't reach the Yang God Realm anytime soon.
As for those 800-plus years of lifespan, he planned to spend them all to enhance his strength.
Ren Qing looked toward the Prison Within the Abdomen. His original plan was to advance the Taotie Method.
But upon reflection, Prison Within the Abdomen didn't add much to his power, it merely made his inner world more tangible, allowing life to multiply within.
"Better to wait..."
With the Restraint Officers' Hall mobilizing fully, the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone wouldn't last much longer.
If he could master the Disaster-Dissipating Method, advance it to Merging the Yin God, and link Immortal in the Mirror as a secondary technique, only then would he have enough strength to protect himself.
Ren Qing then practiced the Dream Techniques.
To master the Disaster-Dissipating Method, he needed to use the Dream-Stacking ability to pull the Ghost Market into the Prison Within the Abdomen, mere thought alone couldn't trigger the information flow.
While he remained in seclusion, the Dao children of Wuwei Monastery had all become full disciples and were descending the mountain to different parts of Jingzhou.
The people of Jingzhou matured early; cultivating only accelerated their growth. Boys and girls of twelve or thirteen marrying was commonplace.
Ren Qing had never intended to keep the disciples confined within the mountain gate, greenhouses were only for delicate flowers, and besides, it would hinder the spread of the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method.
Moreover, the Wuwei Monastery's very location was a target, the more disciples it had, the greater the danger.