When the Corpse Elephant let out its howl, all those at the Ghost Envoy Realm within the city sensed an overwhelming pressure, fear even rising in their hearts.
The three walls of Wuwei City facing Jingzhou emitted a faint glow; clearly, wartime defenses had already been activated, making entry into the city extremely cumbersome.
Ren Qing wore a helpless expression. At the city gate, a queue of more than ten meters had formed; it was estimated that they might not even get inside by nightfall.
Even official Restraint Officers queued obediently, no one wanted to invite bad luck.
If they were sent back to Xiangxiang, wouldn't that mean wasting opportunities that were within arm's reach? Quotas for Jingzhou were extremely scarce.
They chatted casually among themselves, even lighting campfires to roast the meat they carried, fragrant aromas spreading everywhere.
Seeing this, Ren Qing relaxed a little and went to ask for some roasted meat to fill his stomach.
The middle-aged man roasting the meat was a Restraint Officer by background, named Yu Dou. Many people present recognized him, and even those unfamiliar quickly mingled in.
Yu Dou noticed Ren Qing standing alone and called out, "Eat more. Your Brother Yu specializes in the Taotie Method of Vast Belly Capacity, food is practically inexhaustible for me."
Joking voices immediately came from the crowd: "Brother Yu, they say you eat a lot, but you also produce a lot of filthy excrement."
"Go, go, go..."
Yu Dou waved his hand, drawing good-natured laughter from everyone.
In Jingzhou, where gold littered the ground, it was hard to see the tense hostility of Xiangxiang. After all, resources were right outside the city, obtainable with a simple reach.
Ren Qing's expression was somewhat complicated.
Once the Primordial Wilderness transformation arrived, cultivators' living space would be further compressed; scenes this harmonious would probably be hard to see again.
Yu Dou patted Ren Qing's shoulder and couldn't help asking, "You got separated from your companions, right? Being able to come back alive is truly good fortune."
"Indeed..."
Ren Qing nodded. The two chatted idly about the current situation as time passed, and the line gradually moved into Wuwei City.
Yu Dou felt Ren Qing suited his tastes well, especially his insights into the Taotie Method, which hardly seemed like they came from a Ghost Envoy Realm Restraint Officer.
Just as he was about to ask more, he suddenly noticed Ren Qing frowning and looking into the distance.
Yu Dou turned his head toward the dim forest at dusk. The once-noisy birdsong abruptly ceased; even insects stopped moving.
More and more cultivators in the crowd fell silent, exchanging glances as they drew out their artifacts, nervously guarding against potential danger.
Yu Dou muttered, "What's going on?"
No sooner had he spoken than a pair of enormous red eyes lit up within the forest shadows, accompanied by the stench of a carnivore's breath.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
The cultivators reacted immediately, this was clearly the movement of a giant demonic beast.
The Daoist temple disciples guarding the city struck bronze gongs; the heavy city gates slowly opened, intending to let the cultivators outside enter first.
But clearly the beast had been lying in ambush for a long time. A four-to-five-meter-tall body emerged from the shadows, its appearance resembling a deformed bat.
Its wings beat powerfully, demonic qi rushing straight at them.
The bat demon lunged eagerly at the nearest cultivator, moving so fast that there was no time to react, its claws snatching and carrying him off.
Yu Dou failed to evade; sharp claws pierced through his shoulder.
Such giant demonic beasts already possessed strength approaching the Ghost Envoy Realm; normally, killing one required multiple cultivators with three aberrant transformations working together.
Alternatively, a Ghost Envoy Realm cultivator had to intervene.
Just as everyone thought casualties were inevitable, the bat demon suddenly froze, its ferocity completely dissipating.
Yu Dou seized the chance to break free. Due to cultivating the Taotie Method, his exposed wound began scabbing over in just a few breaths.
He had no intention of counterattacking, such a great demon was not something ordinary cultivators could confront...
Bang!!
The bat demon exploded, turning into minced flesh scattered everywhere.
Everyone stood dumbfounded, utterly unable to understand what had happened; the bat demon's behavior had been far too strange.
Ren Qing walked toward the city gate.
He had used the aberrant transformation branch ability of the Hidden Gate of the Aberrant Belly. Just endurance against hunger and killing alone was enough to make the bat demon abandon resistance.
Yu Dou immediately reacted, casting a probing look at Ren Qing's back.
Could it be Ghost Envoy Realm...
Ren Qing entered the city. The one who came to support was an old acquaintance, Jiang Feng.
As Li Tiangang's capable assistant, and with techniques well-suited to setting up surveillance in the outside world, how could Jiang Feng not come to Jingzhou?
Seeing Ren Qing, Jiang Feng let out a sigh of relief and waved, signaling that Restraint Officers need not inspect him, before turning to handle the aftermath.
Though he didn't step forward to greet him, he was somewhat curious.
In many people's eyes, Ren Qing was someone who, as long as his cultivation went smoothly, could break into the Yang Spirit Realm. After coming to Jingzhou for several years, who knew how far his cultivation had progressed?
Perhaps he was already close to Spirit Release; being bolder, one might even guess Spirit Release.
As for Ghost Envoy Realm Perfection...
Jiang Feng didn't dare even think of it. Li Yaoyang and others who advanced around the same time were still stuck at Binding Yin Spirit, with no idea when they would break through.
Yu Dou moved beside Jiang Feng and asked, "Lord Jiang Feng, was that immortal just now a Ghost Envoy Realm expert from the Restraint Officers' Hall?"
"Ren Qing."
After saying that, Jiang Feng turned and walked toward the city gate, coordinating with the Restraint Officers' Hall to inspect incoming and outgoing cultivators to prevent further incidents.
Yu Dou fell into brief daze, repeatedly murmuring Ren Qing's name.
His pupils suddenly widened, wasn't the most mysterious master of the ghost market in the Restraint Officers' Hall also surnamed Ren? Could it really be him...
Realizing that he had just been shoulder to shoulder with the master of the ghost market, Yu Dou swallowed hard, his palms slick with cold sweat.
Ren Qing had already arrived at Changyuan Escort Agency. With no one stopping him, he walked into the courtyard, where the ghost shadow beneath his feet opened a rift.
The monks returned to Wuwei City, all of them momentarily incredulous; they had just thought Eternal Prison was the Yellow Springs of the afterlife.
They stood there with expressions as if reborn into another world.
The escorts who had planned to move away also stared wide-eyed, since nearly all the monks from the Spiritual Response Temple were missing escorts from Changyuan Escort Agency.
The Shen father and daughter were the first to react.
"Many thanks, Immortal..."
Shen Qiuteng tried to kneel together with Qingzhu before Ren Qing, but felt invisible force propping up their knees, making it impossible to bend.
Ren Qing had already asked Xiao San'er to purchase a courtyard. After glancing at the message left by the latter, he prepared to leave without delay.
"A new government office has been established in Wuwei City. You can go there and report the situation."
He vanished instantly, leaving the crowd at a loss.
With a few flashes, Ren Qing reached the southern area. Not far away was an elegant courtyard, where the concentration of true essence in the air was higher.
Compared to the surrounding three- or four-story buildings, the courtyard looked somewhat out of place.
Seeing this, Ren Qing shook his head with a wry smile.
His original intention had simply been to have Xiao San'er find a place to live, but he hadn't expected him to be so inventive and specially build a courtyard.
However, the courtyard was close to the city wall, rarely passed by civilians, and thus fairly quiet, perfect for seclusion cultivation.
Ren Qing entered the house. Inside, everything was clean and orderly, the furniture complete, clearly specially tidied up.
Though he and Xiao San'er had no formal master-disciple relationship, there was indeed a teaching relationship.
Ren Qing decided that in his spare time he would guide Xiao San'er in the Eyeless Method; it could also indirectly improve refining skills and help him earn more lifespan.
He released the ghost shadow to spread around the courtyard, conveniently clearing weeds as well.
Ren Qing did not rush to deal with the matter of the Spiritual Response King, instead first focusing on the flesh furnace burning with kindling fire.
Most of the Buddhist aura had already transformed into a pale golden powder; the rest was sealed within Eternal Prison, to be explored slowly.
Condensed by the Food-Consuming Immortal Technique, obtained by burning Buddhist souls as material; after consumption, the body would gradually transform into an indestructible golden body.
Ren Qing looked astonished.
He had always believed Buddhist aura was cultivated through Buddhist techniques, but why was it connected to so-called Buddhist souls? Could it really be a living thing?
Ren Qing had also observed the Buddhist aura emitted by Song Zongwu; it was identical to the collected Buddhist aura, indicating both were composed of "Buddhist souls."
Buddhist techniques felt inexplicably aberrant...
Ren Qing couldn't contact Song Zongwu, and the latter also lacked childhood memories, knowing nothing about the nameless ascetic.
He stored the Buddhist powder away. An indestructible golden body sounded impressive, but by the rules of this world, it was certainly extremely sinister.
Ren Qing then brought part of the ghost shadow into Eternal Prison, using its all-pervasive ability to inspect the body of the Spiritual Response King.
The Spiritual Response King struggled desperately, but was no match for the ghost shadow.
Dense patterns came into view, somewhat similar to demonic patterns, yet clearly influenced by Buddhist aura, becoming strangely twisted.
Compared to aberrations, special artifacts like the Spiritual Response King were simply impossible to replicate.
It felt...
It felt like the Buddhist aura had forcibly remodeled the Spiritual Response King into its current form through the method of "conversion", definitely irreversible.
After understanding the structure of the Spiritual Response King, Ren Qing's interest only grew stronger.
He tried injecting vast amounts of Nether Yuan into the Spiritual Response King's body. The latter immediately convulsed, letting out extremely shrill screams.
However, the Spiritual Response King truly could contain Nether Yuan, just unable to bind it internally, as it would dissipate over time.
Seeing this, Ren Qing felt not the slightest disappointment; in his eyes, he saw astonishing business opportunities.
The Spiritual Response King sensed inexplicable terror, trembling as it muttered, "I am the Spiritual Response King, I have converted..."
Countless black cords dragged the Spiritual Response King into the depths of Eternal Prison.
Ren Qing then planted Tai Sui fungal strains all over the Spiritual Response King's surface, using its characteristic of absorbing and emitting Nether Yuan to stimulate fungal tree growth.
The source of Nether Yuan could conveniently be the wells in the immortal market where spirit crystals were exchanged; hundreds of Daoist temple cultivators used them daily.
The fungal tree formed at a visible speed, its branches containing faint traces of Nether Yuan.
Ren Qing stared, pondering for a long time. If the fungal tree were refined into an artifact, it could indeed contain large amounts of Nether Yuan, but at the same time would be unable to regenerate.
"Seems only the disease tree will do..."
He recalled the Longevity Immortal statue formed from the disease tree in the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
The artifact Ren Qing envisioned should have branches capable of storing Nether Yuan and regenerating like a plant, its main body similar to a spirit vein.
The disease tree could precisely make up for the shortcomings, but the Six Maladies Method of the Restraint Officers' Hall had long been lost.
He had indeed encountered an Old Daoist of Six Maladies within the corpse of the Meat and Wine Taoist, but the aberrant object produced after that person's death had already vanished without a trace.
There was no choice but to pin hopes on the Longevity Forbidden Zone...