Ren Qing's reason for refining a pseudo spirit vein was mainly to account for the flaws of the Nether Heavenly Insect Method. It required a source capable of producing Nether Yuan; otherwise, the drawbacks were simply too great.
If circumstances forced it in the future, the Restraint Officers' Hall would inevitably have to withdraw back to Xiangxiang.
It was even possible that the situation in Jingzhou would be beyond what even Yang Spirit Realm cultivators could handle, forcing them to follow the contingency plan and head toward the southern forests.
At that time, without spirit veins formed from insect molts, Daoist temple disciples' cultivation would certainly stagnate, or even regress instead of advancing.
After all, even Ren Qing did not dare guarantee whether spirit veins, heaven-and-earth treasures involving the Earth Immortal Stage, could truly be transplanted multiple times.
Ren Qing's original plan had been to stockpile spirit crystals on a large scale through the immortal market, using them to refine an Artificial Spirit Vein that emitted Nether Yuan.
But now it seemed that the Spiritual Response King, combined with fungal trees and specific techniques, could indeed form an effect similar to a spirit vein.
Of course, the specifics would still depend on the results after refinement.
As long as it could be successfully transplanted into Eternal Prison, the supply of Nether Yuan would be guaranteed.
"Six Maladies Method, Six Maladies Method..."
"The great Dao that reaches the heavens is placed right in front of me, but grasping it is truly somewhat difficult."
Ren Qing shook his head helplessly.
The Longevity Forbidden Zone was composed primarily of the Longevity Method and the Six Maladies Method. Perhaps the aberrant objects there were all Yang Spirit Realm, with the two complementing each other.
If he could take the Longevity Method as the main path and the Six Maladies Method as the auxiliary, and then combine them with the Winter Insect Summer Grass techniques from the Child-Giving Goddess Temple,
Of course, Ren Qing did not actually understand the Longevity Method; he had only glimpsed fragments of it within the forbidden zone. It was entirely possible the techniques were not even named after longevity.
But as long as he obtained these two core techniques from the forbidden zone, wouldn't that directly piece together a primary–secondary technique system with potential comparable to the ghost shadow?
Winter Insect Summer Grass was manageable. Although there were no records of it in the Grand Dream Technique Pavilion, acquiring it would require a trip to the Child-Giving Goddess Temple, but his own organization should not find it difficult to obtain.
Only the Longevity Forbidden Zone...
Ren Qing sent a letter to True Person Grand Dream, inquiring about the origins of the Winter Insect Summer Grass technique, and then closed his eyes to meditate.
The split soul had already been close to gestation; after just a few days, it fully took shape.
Once the split soul's Marsh Immortal Method reached completion, the Nightmare Demon Head, Marsh Immortal Head, and Ghost-Shadow Head grew out. Ren Qing still had no intention of stopping.
He began using the demonic qi collected in the demon market to try gestating a fourth head.
Previously, Ren Qing had no concrete plan, so he followed the original framework of the Marsh Immortal Method, absorbing demonic qi to see whether changes would arise.
As a result, the split soul gradually swelled. The corrosive nature of the demonic qi caused black fuzz to grow all over its body, while its arms grew increasingly thick, giving off a distinctly deformed feeling.
As expected, a fourth head, the Demonic Aberration Head, appeared on its neck, resembling a ferocious human-ape hybrid monster.
Seeing how unrecognizable the split soul had become, Ren Qing's mouth twitched involuntarily.
The split soul's aura grew stronger, but there were signs of instability, indicating that the conflict among the four kinds of qi was severe, leaving the split soul strong in appearance only.
"The upper limit of the Marsh Immortal Method is just this. This technique can only be used by the split soul for rapid formation; it has no potential for deep excavation."
Ren Qing could refine the four heads of the Marsh Immortal Method further if he wished, spending more time. But not only would it be laborious, to achieve a qualitative change through quantitative accumulation would likely require at least dozens of heads.
He might as well force a rough fusion. It was being used as a consumable for exploring the forbidden zone anyway, so there was no need to worry about the split soul losing control.
Ren Qing controlled the split soul, carrying the ghost shadow, toward the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
At the same time, he prepared to continue fusing the aberrant transformation branches of the Shadowless Ghost, intending to reach Ghost Envoy Realm Perfection in one go.
Who knew what kind of divine ability prototype fifteen aberrant transformation branches could form?
Ren Qing steadied his mind and made contact with the aberrant object.
For now, Jingzhou was still developing steadily. If he waited until full Primordial Wilderness transformation, he feared he would no longer have such leisure.
The split soul fell into the dry well outside the Longevity Forbidden Zone, without stirring the slightest ripple.
Before his eyes was pitch-black darkness. His body began to gradually take shape, and the ghost shadow immediately moved to intercept the various disease types around him.
Unlike previous probes, this time Ren Qing had come to obtain techniques, so he had already given thought to the choice of disease types.
He deliberately brought more ghost shadows, allowing more flexible selection of disease types, even though some would cause severe damage to the ghost shadow's main body.
The ghost shadow transformed into a vast net and cast itself outward.
Disease type, Stomach Deficiency disease type, Polytheistic disease type, Limping disease type, Insomnia..
He came into contact with dozens of disease types. Even displaying them through the information stream nearly dazzled his eyes, not to mention that this was merely a drop in the ocean.
Ren Qing felt that the Cancer Disease Tree disease type had extraordinary potential. At critical moments, it could directly advance into a tree type, granting strength no weaker than the Ghost Envoy Realm.
He began searching for the Cancer Disease Tree disease type, while also selecting some disease types with relatively minor effects.
Ren Qing continuously skipped over one disease type after another, casually fusing the Insomnia disease type into his body. At least six or seven more disease types still needed to be selected.
Disease type, Depression disease type, Anemia disease type, Gigantism disease type, Qi Deficiency
His eyes immediately lit up, and he fused the Gigantism disease type into his body without hesitation.
If Ren Qing's guess was correct, the Gigantism disease type was likely uncommon. It referred to a congenital disease known as "gigantism."
So-called gigantism was actually caused by a deficiency of certain hormones within the body. In his previous life, it was not considered a particularly troublesome disease.
But if it was not controlled early on, the body would undergo excessive growth. Heights exceeding two meters were common, often accompanied by organ hypertrophy, leading to premature physical decline and weakness.
Ren Qing suddenly had an idea. If gigantism could maintain skeletal and organ strength, it would bring only benefits. This minor issue could be mitigated by cultivating the Nether Heavenly Insect Method.
The insect body formed from insect roots could also ensure that the physique would not suddenly collapse.
He no longer considered the Cancer Disease Tree, instead planning to use "gigantism" as the core structure.
Ren Qing focused his attention. Large numbers of disease types were rapidly filtered out before his eyes, and he soon noticed that the Deformity disease type was not far away.
He hesitated for a few breaths, but the Deformity disease type did not fuse immediately.
Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and Five Qi Facing the Origin were already frightening enough. With the split soul's four-headed appearance now, it probably would not even be able to enter a town.
The Deformity disease type could only be a backup option.
Ren Qing soon made another gain, his breathing involuntarily quickening.
Disease type, Hard Bone
Hard Bone disease was even rarer than gigantism. Its full name should be "osteosclerosis."
Under normal circumstances, it caused mutation and overgrowth of bone tissue. In severe cases, it could even lead to skeletal deformities and affect internal organs.
But Ren Qing felt that the Hard Bone disease type paired perfectly with the Gigantism disease type, at the very least, there would be no need to worry about excessive body weight crushing the bones.
After three disease types fused into his body, he discovered that he had vaguely reached a limit.
At most, he could fuse two more disease types, far fewer than the eight he had previously estimated.
After thinking carefully, Ren Qing realized that it was not actually due to the split soul itself.
It might be that after the split soul became four-headed, it attracted rarer disease types. Disease types like gigantism had never been encountered before.
And the Gigantism and Hard Bone disease types needed to occupy more of the body.
There were advantages and disadvantages.
"Wait, gigantism paired with hard bone, then if..."
Ren Qing suddenly thought of a disease extremely suitable for this body, and his eyes scanned through various disease-type information at ten lines per glance.
Disease type, Astigmatism disease type, Cancer Disease Tree disease type, Dark Skin
Upon seeing the Cancer Disease Tree disease type, Ren Qing's expression did not change at all. He casually fused it into his body, his gaze still searching.
Since he was aiming to obtain the core techniques of the Longevity Forbidden Zone, disease types had to be chosen carefully, better none than inferior.
Even the Insomnia disease type could ensure that Ren Qing maintained abundant mental energy at night.
But time was clearly running out. The speed at which the Longevity Forbidden Zone constructed the split soul's body was not influenced by disease types at all.
Ren Qing secretly made up his mind: if he still failed to obtain the Longevity and Six Maladies techniques this time, he would self-destruct the dream-seed artifact within the forbidden zone.
Then he would have the main body gestate a new dream seed, allowing the split soul to directly observe disease types during selection.
He believed that disease types like gigantism and hard bone were slightly different from ordinary disease types, and could be distinguished through the abilities of the dream seed.
The split soul's flesh and bones had already formed, though it was somewhat shorter than expected, perhaps the Gigantism disease type had not yet taken effect.
Only the skin remained. Once the skin fully formed, it would mean the split soul would be forcibly expelled from this space filled with disease types.
Ren Qing gritted his teeth. The ghost shadow moved faster and faster, repeatedly grabbing disease types and releasing them.
The dazzling stream of information made his head faintly swell; when it developed into stabbing pain, it rapidly intensified.
The split soul's body had no cultivation. Prolonged high-load concentration caused his blood pressure to skyrocket.
Over time, this would lead to cerebral hemorrhage, even threatening life.
But at this critical moment, Ren Qing did not care too much. As long as he did not die, with the Nether Heavenly Insect Method and ghost shadow, he could quickly recover fully by the Qi Refinement Stage.
Blood seeped from the split soul's facial features, slightly delaying things by a few breaths.
And at the instant the body finished forming, Ren Qing finally saw the disease type he wanted. He immediately fused it into his body, then fainted.
Disease type, Muscle Increase
Muscle Increase did not refer to fat, but solid, genuine muscle.
Ren Qing had to thank the era of information explosion in his previous life, and the fact that many television channels specifically popularized rare diseases.
This allowed him to learn of a disease called "muscle hypertrophy."
Muscle hypertrophy was similar to gigantism, both caused by hormonal issues within the body.
However, gigantism involved a lack of hormones that inhibited growth, causing height to continuously increase, while muscle hypertrophy was the exact opposite.
Muscle hypertrophy involved excessive secretion of hormones that stimulated muscle growth, causing muscles to continuously grow, with strength far surpassing ordinary people.
Of course, anything involving hormones would more or less reduce lifespan.
Before losing consciousness, Ren Qing had already prepared himself mentally. Insomnia and the Cancer Disease Tree should not affect lifespan, but the rest were all congenital issues, so shortened lifespan was foreseeable.
All he could do was break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage as quickly as possible, extending his lifespan by several decades, and then consider obtaining the core techniques.
Disease types: Gigantism, Hard Bone, Muscle Increase, Insomnia, Cancer Disease Tree
Even the main body, upon learning of the five disease types selected by the split soul, could not help but feel anticipation for what the body would look like upon entering the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
The premise was that it would not die upon exposure to light. After all, obtaining such a disease-type combination again, even with a dream seed, would likely not be easy.
Before the main body entered aberrant transformation branch fusion, he recalled how the split soul had previously been inexplicably ambushed by civilians, poisoned, and forced to flee.
At the time, he had found a secluded place before dying.
Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any accidents, right?