All the patients were locked inside the iron cages in the courtyard, greeted by an unknown life or death, but judging from their expressions, everyone seemed to take pleasure in it.
Ren Qing didn't expect that Gao Liang was actually still alive, and even living quite well. Normally, Undying Town replaced its people every ten days or half a month; most patients died due to being plagued by illnesses.
Gao Liang had already become a Celestial Master among the patients, half his body completely transformed into a horse form, even the soles of his feet showing the shape of horse hooves. As he chanted scripture, he also clearly noticed Ren Qing.
Ren Qing merely leaned against a corner with his eyes closed resting, utterly incompatible with the fanatical patients, showing not the slightest hint of madness. For some unknown reason, Gao Liang felt a nameless fire rising in his chest when he saw Ren Qing.
Due to weakness, he crawled toward him using both hands and feet, eyes filled with desire for bloodshed, planning to secretly use a spell.
Gao Liang did not know that the ghost shadow had already coiled around his body; as long as Ren Qing moved a thought, his head would immediately be separated from his body.
At that moment, footsteps approached.
Gao Liang hurriedly stopped and hid back among the crowd again.
The elder came with two men and one woman; one could see that all three had Tree Seedlings sprouting from their foreheads, showing that their disease-seed realms were similar to Liu Qian's.
"I am the five-hundred-sixty-third disciple under the Longevity Immortal, called Medicine Daoist."
"Today I will take a few of you to personally transmit the Dao. The rest will follow my sect disciples to cultivate. No need to be too regretful."
The patients did not dare make a sound, but their gazes burned intensely.
Medicine Daoist casually reached out and tapped several times, selecting exactly four people, Ren Qing and Gao Liang both included, then led them out of the cage.
The remaining two were fifty- to sixty-year-old old men; compared to the still-young Ren Qing, they were practically at death's door, naturally behaving meek and obedient.
From the ranks of the personal disciples stepped out a burly man, respectfully asking: "Master, why not let me escort the junior brothers to Foundation Establishment?"
"Hehehe, then I'll trouble you."
The burly man was named Chunyangzi. He looked relatively normal on the surface and was fairly courteous to Ren Qing, though his words clearly carried hostility.
Chunyangzi guided them toward the side rooms; all disciples they passed kept their heads lowered.
Ren Qing noticed medicinal herbs drying beside the courtyard walls, but Undying Town had no fields at all, so he let the Dream Seed protect his perception.
It turned out they weren't medicinal herbs at all, but dried organs, only concealed by a spell.
Gao Liang glanced at Ren Qing ahead, faintly feeling that Chunyangzi seemed to pay the most attention to him, could it be due to his aptitude?
Chunyangzi did not immediately head to the destination but wandered the back courtyard for no reason. He finally walked toward the Longevity Immortal statue, a bit of flushing appearing on his pale face, as if he cared greatly about cultivating.
But his short delay caused that, by the time they arrived at the statue's surroundings, the other two personal disciples of Medicine Daoist had already arrived, bringing a dozen patients with them.
The Longevity Immortal statue held an immortal peach, its root-tendril hanging down, wrapped around the patients' necks as they reverently closed their eyes and recited scripture.
The statue appeared carved of verdant jade, located in the medical hall's back courtyard; within a hundred meters, not a single blade of grass grew, yet several skeletons lay there.
Chunyangzi gestured for Ren Qing and the others to look at the Longevity Immortal statue: "You junior brothers are all new disciples; it's perfect for you to witness what the Great Dao is."
Gao Liang stared wide-eyed at the statue, nearly unable to restrain himself from kneeling, his breathing growing heavier.
At this time, the personal disciples stepped in front of Chunyangzi. The female disciple, whose Dao-name was Fuyao, spoke with a smile that didn't reach her eyes: "Senior brother, since you're here, we will take our leave first."
"Cultivate diligently. Don't regret it when the time comes," Chunyangzi said. The two did not reply and turned to leave the open space.
Not long after, screams echoed from beneath the statue. Some patients began violently convulsing and then turned into dried corpses.
Gao Liang and the others were somewhat terrified; Chunyangzi, with a sickly expression, enjoyed watching their reactions, though he seemed displeased with the composed Ren Qing.
From the real world's perspective, Ren Qing saw the immortal peach of the Longevity Immortal statue abruptly grow blood vessels; the vessels connected to the patients, extracting nutrients.
The reason this medical hall existed was likely solely to feed the Longevity Immortal statue.
But after only one patient remained, some unknown liquid flowed through the blood vessels into his body, making him appear reborn.
The patient's originally white hair turned black, the wrinkles on his skin disappearing completely, he looked thirty or forty years younger.
Chunyangzi explained: "Their aptitudes were insufficient; only one could enter the immortal gate. But you all are different..."
"Among you, only the weakest will become nourishment, granting longevity to the rest."
He stared at Ren Qing for a long time, wanting to see hidden fear, yet was clearly disappointed, his expression twisting further.
According to Medicine Daoist's instructions, Chunyangzi should have given the four spirit medicine to survive Foundation Establishment; only afterward would life and death be decided in the next cultivation session.
However, he concealed this, instead bringing the four beneath the Longevity Immortal statue.
The surviving patient quickly retreated to a distant corner, clearly aware that his life hung by a thread.
Gao Liang and the others were slightly relieved, after all, Ren Qing's cultivation was the shallowest; from his still-normal outward appearance, one could tell.
Ren Qing asked curiously: "Senior brother Chunyangzi, do you all also need to cultivate?"
Chunyangzi's face twisted with ferocity; he spoke each word venomously at Ren Qing: "Of course not. But every ten days, one of us must cultivate together with Master..."
He flicked his arm; blood vessels wrapped around the necks of the four, drilling into their spines, slowly absorbing their blood.
Chunyangzi muttered in despair: "I'm still alive... I can keep living forever."
He wore an expression of pleasure, as if anticipating the life and death before him, curious who would survive and what shape it would take.
Ren Qing felt that the blood-vessel draining him was acting fastest; in a few minutes he would be completely emptied.
He summoned the information stream, focusing his consciousness on each disease seed.
Advance disease seed, Insomnia? Costs one year of lifespan.
The Insomnia disease seed should be the least harmful and would not affect him.
When Ren Qing consumed a year of lifespan, the whites of his eyes disappeared instantly, and the light around his body seemed to dim.
The Longevity Immortal statue's absorption slowed.
Gao Liang originally thought Ren Qing wouldn't last long, but unexpectedly, the other two old men were starting to fail, their limbs spasming uncontrollably.
"I-"
With a dull thud, one old man became a dried corpse and died.
Gao Liang felt a warm current flow into his body; his originally aged and exhausted body started to rejuvenate.
But moments later, the warm current ceased, and his blood again surged toward the statue.
"How is this possible? Wasn't it supposed to be only one?"
Gao Liang forced his eyes open, seeing Chunyangzi staring cruelly at Ren Qing, clearly, if Ren Qing did not die, he would not stop.
While Gao Liang was stunned, another dried corpse fell. Only he and Ren Qing remained.
Then something unbelievable happened: Ren Qing emitted a powerful fluctuation, sign of a breakthrough.
Not only Gao Liang, even Chunyangzi froze.
Ren Qing's forehead swelled, a tender sprout emerging; Gao Liang's eyes closed uncontrollably, drowsiness consuming him.
In the dream, Gao Liang died with his eyes wide open.
Ren Qing felt the strengthening of the Insomnia disease seed; it should allow him to cast sleep-related abilities, though far inferior to the Eyeless Method.
The most absurd thing was that disease-seed techniques were fundamentally built atop hysteria.
Without hysteria, a disease-seed cultivator would instantly lose control and undergo aberration, with their range of activity confined strictly within Undying Town.
Chunyangzi's mouth and nose spewed thick smoke; his fear of Ren Qing drove him mad as he tried to spit fire to burn him.
Ren Qing ignored Chunyangzi and only looked up at the Longevity Immortal statue.
The tumor on the statue's forehead swelled imperceptibly; who knew what would happen when it matured?
Chunyangzi suddenly spat, only to bite off his own tongue.
His pupils dilated; beside him appeared Medicine Daoist without him noticing.
Medicine Daoist was both delighted and greedy beyond words at Ren Qing; then, coldly, he asked:
"Chunyangzi, Chunyangzi... did I ever tell you to act on your own?"
Chunyangzi repeatedly slammed his head on the ground: "Disciple was momentarily blinded by greed! Please, for the sake of my years of service, spare my life!"
Medicine Daoist gently helped him up: "How could I blame you? In a few days, cultivate with me."
Chunyangzi hung powerless in Medicine Daoist's grip.
Medicine Daoist was extremely satisfied with Ren Qing, unconcerned that the latter had broken through two realms in such a short time.
"A good disciple. From now on, every ten days I will send several people to assist your cultivation."
Ren Qing naturally nodded to this free benefit; just this session alone had earned him nearly twenty years of lifespan.
With his five disease seeds, consuming that lifespan would be easy.
Ren Qing did not care what Medicine Daoist planned; after all, once the avatar died, the main body would still gain the lifespan. He would take the benefits first.
Chunyangzi's limbs were twisted like braided straw.
He gritted out: "I'll wait for you in the Yellow Springs... Medicine Daoist, no matter how mighty you act, you're just a dog..."
Medicine Daoist snapped Chunyangzi's spine, then, with a stiff smile, pointed Ren Qing toward his residence and vanished from the courtyard.
Ren Qing let the ghost shadow spread through Undying Town to prevent accidents.
He felt the cultivators in the medical hall were more like farmers growing medicinal herbs, and the immortal techniques they taught were somewhat perfunctory.
But Ren Qing had plenty of time to explore the Longevity Forbidden Zone, and for now longevity was the priority, so he returned to his room and cultivated Nether Yuan.
...
Jingzhou.
Song Zongwu, covered in scales of wounds, walked through the dense forest; behind him lay a mountain of demon-beast corpses, the stench of blood overwhelming.
His four arms lacked one, and among his six eyes, two were blind, leaving him in a miserable state.
Song Zongwu bent down, panting as he inspected a demon-beast corpse, then seemed to discover something, muttering:
"'I swear to never give rise to killing intent, to never again eat flesh?'"
"This is troublesome..."