While Ren Qing spoke, the exposed Tree Seedling on his head uncontrollably began to grow, reaching several meters within moments.
The entire tree appeared extremely strange, entirely made of white bones, its surface covered in flesh, quickly forming a blurry humanoid shape.
It would probably not take long before the Tree Seedling atop Ren Qing's head fully grew into a Longevity Immortal statue.
The aura of Ren Qing's separated soul grew increasingly weak, seemingly on the verge of vanishing, though his speech remained completely stable.
Peach Blossom Immortal checked several times but found no problem. Nervously muttering, he said: "It must be from being around a pseudo-immortal too long, even I've caught hysteria. Tree Immortal cannot have consciousness..."
Once a Tree Immortal takes root and sprouts, it is impossible to move its body at will.
His gaze remained locked on Ren Qing, noticing that Ren Qing's aura had quieted and his soul had become barely perceptible.
Peach Blossom Immortal grabbed a nearby patient, asking in a threatening tone: "Did you hear a voice speaking from underground?"
The patient trembled all over, only shaking their head continuously.
Only then did Peach Blossom Immortal relax, turning toward the medical hall's side rooms, intending to properly digest the Longevity Immortal's fleshy tumor in his abdomen.
But at that moment, the ground of Weiwang Town slightly trembled.
Ren Qing's nearly extinguished soul suddenly surged, and the tree grew visibly with the naked eye.
Peach Blossom Immortal halted, repeatedly asking the patients if it was an illusion. Even without hysteria, he was on the verge of being driven insane.
Ren Qing's main consciousness descended into the separated soul and immediately understood the situation.
He did not expect the mysterious object in the Longevity Forbidden Zone to exist in the form of an immortal, nor that the object could break the limits of its realm.
Perhaps the Yangshen-level forbidden zones all follow such rules, closer to the real world.
He ignored Peach Blossom Immortal, estimating that if the Tree Immortal did not merge with the mysterious object, it would likely become some horrifying monster.
So when the Medicine Daoist cleverly tried to have Ren Qing replace him, Peach Blossom Immortal became extremely enraged, immediately intending to kill.
Peach Blossom Immortal's ability to separate his mysterious object must have limitations.
Now, with only Ren Qing's Tree Immortal remaining, he hesitated to act, wary of causing harm, and dared not suppress it with spells.
Ren Qing did not continue provoking Peach Blossom Immortal and directly summoned the information flow.
[Lifespan: 45 years, 133 days]
[Disease Types: Sleepless Disease Tree, Cancer, Night Blindness, Night Sweats, Wind-Cold, Hysteria]
After Ren Qing's Tree Seedling grew, the Sleepless Disease transformed into a Sleepless Disease Tree, forming a life form similar to Cordyceps sinensis, extremely bizarre.
He then focused his attention on the Sleepless Disease Tree.
Whether to ascend the Sleepless Disease Tree would consume 20 years of lifespan.
Accustomed to hundreds of years of lifespan in his main body, the separated soul had only decades to live, making each day feel frugal and powerless.
At the moment Ren Qing confirmed this, the strange tree atop his head again grew wildly, quickly surpassing the original statue's scope.
The mysterious object within him stirred, wanting to bear fruit parasitically, but the mere Ghost Envoy-level did not register in the information flow.
Soon the mysterious object was forcibly eliminated completely.
The strange tree increasingly approached a humanoid form, but it was not the Longevity Immortal; instead, it became a Three-Headed Immortal with Three Flowers Gathering at the Apex and Five Qi Returning to the Origin.
Patients knelt, repeatedly banging their heads on blue bricks.
Peach Blossom Immortal was slightly at a loss, having never seen such a situation; normally, Tree Immortals appear as the Three Star Gods of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity.
"All hysteria, I must be insane, I must be insane..."
He hugged his chest with both hands, laughing wildly, audible even to Jin Chengxiang outside the town.
The Three-Headed Immortal statue suddenly began to wither, its surface covered with scars of varying sizes.
Ren Qing, fed by the disease tree's nutrients, grew uncontrollably, causing earthquakes and tremors in Weiwang Town.
It was clear that a disease tree not merged with the mysterious object would become a monster.
He sensed the terrifying uncontrolled mutation affecting his soul; the rate of lifespan consumption could not be suppressed by the Dream Seed.
At the same time, Ren Qing realized he could possibly supplement the disease type's deficiencies by absorbing Peach Blossom Immortal, they were mutually reinforcing and restricting.
Looking at the information flow, he saw 25 years of lifespan remaining and had no intention of wasting it.
Without much deliberation, he chose the most special disease, "Cancer," which sounded terrifying even by name.
Whether to ascend the disease type, Cancer, would consume 2 years of lifespan.
The cost to ascend Cancer was even double that of Sleepless or Deformity diseases, showing the differences between disease types.
Ren Qing shivered all over as cancer cells began to spread, but the information flow forcibly sustained his life.
His body underwent unknown deformities, growing larger and larger.
Seeing the accelerated consumption of lifespan, he directly ascended Cancer to the tree stage, consuming eight years of lifespan.
The remaining lifespan was entirely invested in the Night Sweats disease type.
Peach Blossom Immortal's laughter abruptly stopped. Suddenly, a mound rose in front of him; the medical hall's buildings collapsed into ruins.
As the soil slid away, a massive underground creature gradually revealed its body.
It was an indescribable ape-like monster, covered in black blood-vessel-like fur, with three grotesque heads. The central head bore a statue of a Three-Headed Immortal.
Ren Qing reached thirty meters in height, radiating an aura surpassing Ghost Envoy level.
Peach Blossom Immortal retreated several steps, stammering: "You... how is this possible... Tree Immortal cannot..."
Breathing heavily, the originally floating blood mist fell like petals, easily breaking the wall.
Yet the petals could not harm Ren Qing, like a child being tickled.
Ren Qing bent down, lowering his head, and said in a hoarse voice: "Senior brother, have you decided on what I asked before?"
"I..."
Seeing his mind deranged and his lifespan nearing exhaustion, Ren Qing no longer hesitated; he decided to strike first.
His fists smashed down, directly sending Peach Blossom Immortal flying.
Peach Blossom Immortal spat blood, crashing into the rocks outside the town. The threat of death suppressed his fear.
He tore open his robe; the monkey face on his chest swallowed his own head.
Peach Blossom Immortal became a grotesque half-ape, his mysterious object's aura fully exposed; no trace remained of the original Longevity Immortal.
Feeling uneasy, he glanced at Jin Chengxiang hidden in the bushes, intending to temporarily augment his strength with his flesh and blood.
Peach Blossom Immortal ran toward Jin Chengxiang, who froze in terror, screaming unconsciously.
As his arm reached for Jin Chengxiang, Weiwang Town collapsed half a meter, spiderweb-like cracks spreading.
A shadow fell from the sky, smashing next to Peach Blossom Immortal.
The already small hill was flattened.
Peach Blossom Immortal was hurled three to four meters, right at Ren Qing's torso; he struggled, exhaling a long breath.
Petals formed a tornado, hitting Ren Qing's shoulder, grinding away most flesh, exposing the bones.
Ren Qing's lifespan could not support this body for long, so he paid little attention to it; if it died, so be it.
He had no intention to defend, raising both arms above his head.
Peach Blossom Immortal's pupils constricted; his voice trembled: "You cannot kill me, I am a disciple under Longevity Immortal, ruling the world..."
Before he could finish, a sandbag-sized fist met him.
Ren Qing realized how enjoyable it was to punch someone, each strike hitting flesh directly, incomparable to casting spells.
Night Sweats gave sustained stamina, Sleepless gave energy, Deformity reinforced the body.
Bang bang bang bang...
His arms became a storm of blows, casually throwing Jin Chengxiang away.
He deliberately spared Jin Chengxiang because he discovered the soldier's dantian had been deliberately destroyed.
He must have cultivated some method different from disease types or Longevity Seeds, providing insight into the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
Before losing consciousness, Jin Chengxiang still could not believe how a naturally immortal true immortal could be so miserable at the hands of a demon.
Peach Blossom Immortal's flesh was smashed into pulp, but inside the bones was a living mysterious object, not internal organs.
The mysterious object had five sensory organs, staring at Ren Qing in terror.
Ren Qing swallowed, instinctively desiring to consume the mysterious object, the urge intensifying.
The Three-Headed Immortal statue on his head extended its arms, branching into countless stems, entwining the mysterious object within Peach Blossom Immortal.
As the mysterious object was absorbed, Ren Qing's lifespan surged.
He poured it entirely into all disease types, his body showing signs of collapse. Even fully digesting the mysterious object could not prevent it.
The Sleepless Disease Tree ascended into a Sleepless Disease Demon.
The disease types in his body were near solidification, increasingly resembling mysterious objects, likely ultimately becoming disease-related spells.
Ren Qing understood: by continuously hunting Longevity Seeds, he could maintain his life by consuming mysterious objects.
He left Peach Blossom Immortal's corpse and, bursting with leg strength, disappeared from Weiwang Town.
Ren Qing could not locate Longevity Seeds in the short term, but due to mass disease ascension, he would soon exhaust his lifespan and die.
He planned to find a secluded spot to die, avoiding affecting the arrival of his new separated soul.
Ren Qing had ideas for refining artifacts from fungus trees; next time he came, the priority was to bring mysterious objects into the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
He also considered cultivating another disease-related spell, which, even if not forming a primary or secondary method, could serve Ghost Shadow as a secondary spell.
Ghost Shadow's characteristic seemed to be its capacity to absorb all spells, though it slightly affected dragon-serpent transformations.
The Ghost Shadow followed with Jin Chengxiang, leaving Weiwang Town in ruins.
Ren Qing tried not to leave traces while traveling; by dawn, he collapsed, and his corpse quickly turned to ashes.
The main body opened its eyes, with no time to organize the separated soul's memories, quickly summoning the information flow.
Temporary lifespan increased by 300 years, plus his own hundred years, approaching the 500-year cost needed to ascend to Yin-Shen.
Ren Qing could not guarantee that the Longevity Forbidden Zone's harvest would always be so abundant, so he poured half of the Peach Wine into the flesh-melting furnace.
His lifespan barely exceeded 500 years.