Ren Qing could not help but feel lingering fear.
If he had tried to advance on his own while being unable to sense the Supernatural Remnant inside his body, he might not even have known when it would seize his flesh.
Fortunately, Ren Qing had advanced in one go to the Disaster-Dispelling Method's Merging the Yin God stage; otherwise, he could not have imagined how terrifying it would be if the Supernatural Remnant lost control.
But he still felt deep dread toward the Wugui, and since it involved the changes following the Disaster-Dispelling Method's Yin Runner realm, he could not help organizing his cultivation methods.
Ren Qing looked toward his Niwan Palace, where the alienation tree of the Disaster-Dispelling Method appeared half-transparent, as if it could vanish at any moment.
The Disaster-Dispelling Method's alienation tree had tightly entangled Immortal in the Mirror.
Information flow surged.
Ren Qing had already simplified the information content during leisure time, no longer forcing it to display the hierarchy of primary and secondary techniques, as that was too cumbersome for quick reference.
Only the three arts of The Taotie Method remained without hierarchy, but they were almost complete.
[Ren Qing]
[Lifespan: Ninety-Seven Years]
[Techniques:The Blindless Method (Butterfly Dream Technique, Nightmare Art)
Darkest Nightmare Demon (A Moment of Light, Nightmare True Person)
[Aberrations: Dream Seed, Soul Garment, Dream Apparatus, Butterfly Molt, Butterfly Infatuation, Messenger, Dark Light, Recollection, Dream Overlap, Shadow Ghost Technique (Human Skin Book, Bone Armor Technique, Nether Law)
No-Shadow Yin Demon (Scapegoat Skin, Bone-Clad Spinal Apparatus, Nether Immortal Body)
[Aberrations: Ghost Substitute, No Shadow, Night Roaming, Disaster-Dispelling Method (Immortal in the Mirror), Mirrored Belly, Hidden Gate (Mirrored Entity Emergence), Endurance of Hunger, Endurance of Thirst, Endurance of Killing]
...
From the Disaster-Dispelling Method's information alone, one could sense inexplicable strangeness.
When Ren Qing first grasped the Disaster-Dispelling Method, its effect had been extremely weak, it could only erase the existence of objects, and even that could not last long.
But when he saw the Half-Corpse realm alienation routes shown in the information flow, he felt an indescribable chill crawl through him.
[The Wugui One: Wugui without and within]
[The Heartless One: No Heart, No Emotion]
[The Selfless One: Erased Trace, Destroyed Form]
Ren Qing had originally planned to choose The Selfless One, but he realized that his instincts subconsciously ignored The Wugui One, so he chose without further thought.
The Wugui One, as he had guessed, created a creature called Wugui, one that could devour "existence" itself as food.
The Heartless One likely could erase its own emotions, entering a state of neither joy nor sorrow, or alter the hearts of others.
If such power worked in harmony with the arts of dreams, it could yield astonishing effects.
The Selfless One might erase traces of the self, and upon advancing to the Yin Runner realm, it could become a weakened version of Wugui.
After Ren Qing advanced to the Ghost Envoy realm of "Wugui Like a Ghost," he had been glad to have chosen The Wugui One, but soon, he regretted it.
The Wugui was in a constant state of hunger.
It was completely beyond Ren Qing's control, madly devouring the existence of surrounding things, and its form was colorless and shapeless.
Ren Qing even felt that if the Wugui continued devouring for long, his own existence would permanently vanish.
Like those whose names the information flow could no longer display, he too might follow the path of the Wugui One and end up with not even a name remaining.
At that time, Ren Qing hurriedly examined the aberration branches of the Disaster-Dispelling Method and unhesitatingly chose three powers to restrain the Wugui..
Endurance of Hunger, Endurance of Thirst, Endurance of Killing.
Whenever the Wugui felt hunger, thirst, or killing intent, it would devour the surrounding existence, yet could never be satiated, only grow worse.
Ren Qing could also actively erase those same impulses, hunger, thirst, and bloodlust, from living beings.
Only after he completed the three aberration evolutions did the Wugui quiet down, reducing its feeding to once every few months.
Of course, Ren Qing could still voluntarily command the Wugui to devour existence.
And the Yin Runner realm ability, Mirrored Belly, Hidden Gate, was even more sinister.
Whenever the Wugui opened its mouth, a mirrored door would appear before Ren Qing.
He could use this door to amplify Immortal in the Mirror's power, or he could open it and enter, behind it lay a sealed chamber.
Inside the room, there was no concept of time, no life or death.
But the door was peculiar: it could not be opened from within. Once someone entered, it became a prison, until the next opener arrived.
Ren Qing did not know whether any cultivators of the Disaster-Dispelling Method were inside that door, but he would never open it; the thought alone chilled him.
The Disaster-Dispelling Method's powers were still in exploration; he had not yet tried using them in combat and could only proceed cautiously, step by step.
All the spirit grain had been loaded onto the carts, the total was one-third more than before.
The bodyguards, their wounds bandaged with gauze, had recovered some vitality after a brief rest.
Some who were too gravely injured stayed behind in Wuwei Monastery, waiting until the Qingqiu aberrations ceased their frenzy before returning.
Deng Chuan spat out his bitter leaf and clapped his hands hard.
"Brothers! We've all crossed blades and fire before. If you've got bitter leaves, chew them; if you've got smoke tea, chew that.
We must reach Changning Street by the second watch, or we'll risk encountering Granny Fox Immortal."
The bodyguards were not cowards; they responded together, quickly packing up and directing their horses down the mountain road.
Wuliangzi watched the convoy leave, silently cursing the damned times.
Farmers stepped aside to clear the road.
The convoy soon left the bounds of Wuwei Monastery. The escorts all looked tense, their breathing rough.
Though they were heading toward the city, it felt more oppressive than entering the deep mountains.
Fortunately, Deng Chuan had planned the route in advance, avoiding the areas where Qingqiu cultivators were active, ensuring as much safety as possible.
Ren Qing still lay on the cart, watching the bodyguards.
Each of them held faint traces of true yuan, though unstable, likely from crude beginner techniques.
Ren Qing's thoughts stirred: since the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method required little innate talent, relying instead on black insects as substitutes for spiritual roots, perhaps the age limit for novice Daoists could be abolished.
He wondered whether Wuliangzi would be flexible enough to realize that; otherwise, the mountain gates would soon stand empty.
Deng Chuan, uneasy still, called out again, "Keep your wits sharp! No matter what you see, don't panic."
Sensing the tense mood, Ren Qing released several Soul Butterfly projections from his fingertips, letting them drift around in silent vigilance.
Wuwei Monastery was already on the outskirts, so the convoy gradually moved deeper inward.
Yet as they stepped onto the streets, they saw no one, the houses' doors and windows were shut tight, making the scene all the more desolate.
Though it was broad daylight, a chill crept into their bones.
With his Double Pupils, Ren Qing saw that every household had dug cellars, the townsfolk were hiding below with stored food.
Deng Chuan signaled the convoy to quicken its pace. This district was close to the suburbs, difficult to bypass; fortunately, Changning Street was near.
Ren Qing remained curious about aberrant cultivators, especially their techniques, they might hide much information.
But surely there was no danger...
Just as that thought formed, a sound of bronze bells rang out.
Ren Qing instantly became alert. The ghostly shadow beneath his feet solidified, like a massive venomous serpent ready to strike.
Yet nearby residents relaxed and emerged from their cellars, and even the convoy breathed a sigh of relief.
Deng Chuan laughed. "Seems Granny Fox Immortal has calmed down."
But Ren Qing felt something was wrong, multiple cultivator auras were rushing from the southwest, all faint, likely wandering rogue cultivators.
Were they after an aberration?
Come to think of it, could aberrant cultivators be recruited? Both Flame-Seed Dream and Demon-Seed Dream could construct dream markets, after all...