Ren Qing had never slept such an unsettled sleep. From all over his body came tingling, itchy pain, and the feeling of hunger kept surging up in his chest.
Because of growth and development, infants usually need to nurse six or seven times a day.
His current situation was exactly like that. His body's deficit was far too severe, and on top of that the disease types were acquiring nutrients every moment, making it truly unbearable.
Originally, Ren Qing had hoped that after fusing the insect roots, as his body gradually transformed into an insect body, the problem could be solved. After all, cultivating the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method more quickly could allow Nether Yuan to replace food and suppress hunger.
But he had clearly forgotten that transforming into an insect body also required time, and during this process the body's demand for food would increase once again.
Yet even if Ren Qing ate every moment, his digestion speed could not keep up.
He had also considered cultivating the Taotie Method, but the Longevity Forbidden Zone had unique rules, and Restraint Officer methods would be stuck at the bottleneck of gestating aberrant objects.
Fortunately, in theory, as long as Ren Qing endured the initial explosive growth period and entered a stable phase, he would not be in such a sorry state.
He glanced at his sixteen days of lifespan. In fact, extending lifespan was also closely related to digestive capacity.
Previously, when drinking Peach Wine, he had noticed a slight, unclear increase in lifespan, indicating that dietary supplementation to extend lifespan was still effective.
As for why it had not worked during the previous visits to the Longevity Forbidden Zone, it should have been because diseases entangled his body, causing the stomach to almost lose its function.
This body's disease types were exactly the opposite, and even helped with absorption.
However, those lifespan-extending materials, including the "corpse food" that extended lifespan by two hundred days, all involved Restraint Officer methods and were not things mortals could ingest.
Even if he swallowed the corpse food, he estimated it would only extend his lifespan by twenty or thirty days, far from meeting expectations, so he could only set it aside for now.
It would be better to wait until he came into contact with the martial arts Wang Qi had mentioned. Perhaps they could make up for the deficit.
Ren Qing came to the desolate courtyard. A distance of only a few meters left him drenched in sweat, and the faint breeze blowing toward him almost caused him to catch a chill.
The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and one could also see some earth-yellow, pungent powder scattered at the corners of the walls.
The powder was used to repel insects and rodents. The rodent plague in the Longevity Forbidden Zone was probably even more terrifying than outside, and might even involve aberrant objects.
The place where he lived was relatively remote within Weian Town. The surrounding air could clearly be smelled with a faint stench of decay.
Ren Qing had barely shown himself when he sensed gazes secretly directed at him.
Because his limbs were inconvenient, he could only move his steps slowly, while simultaneously using the Double Pupils formed from the dream seed to survey his surroundings.
Ren Qing immediately discovered that on a nearby roof eave, a concealed figure was hiding in the shadows.
If not for the dream seed's ability, it would have been impossible to find him with the naked eye, which showed that this person must have cultivated some unique method.
The other party was likely sent by the town to keep watch on him, fearing that Ren Qing, this outsider, might cause unnecessary chaos.
He did not know why those soldiers under Jin Chengxiang had specifically abolished their cultivation.
Ren Qing did not show anything unusual, continuing to maintain a taciturn image, seeking opportunities to come into contact with the things hidden behind the town.
However, the most urgent matter was still to make up for the deficit as soon as possible.
Relying solely on ordinary food carried by the ghost shadow was certainly unrealistic, and before the insect body fully transformed, the cultivation efficiency of the Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method truly left Ren Qing feeling helpless.
Ren Qing planned to first try other methods; if it really did not work, he would then use corpse food to extend his lifespan.
He began to wave his arms in the courtyard, his breathing gradually adjusting as well.
Besides reducing others' wariness, this could also allow him to quickly adapt to this body which appeared weak, yet in fact possessed far greater potential than ordinary ones.
The brawny man on the eaves showed disdain.
He felt somewhat unwilling that the clan elder had specially dispatched him to watch over a disease-ridden, dying man, so the more he looked at the other's foolish appearance, the more irritated he felt.
The brawny man simply turned his head away, pulled out a crude pipe, and only occasionally glanced over, cursing under his breath.
What he smoked was not tobacco leaves, but rather a diseased variant of rice plants, called "bitter rice."
Usually there were a few stalks per mu of field. When ground into powder and mixed with lime, smoking it produced a mild hallucinatory effect.
Seeing that the gazes falling on him had become intermittent, Ren Qing also felt at ease.
He began to practice an entry-level method of Wuwei Daoist Temple called "Tiger-Subduing Fist." Removing the inner cultivation portion that had drawbacks without benefits, the remaining external technique was just right for strengthening the body.
Tiger-Subduing Fist, one of Wuwei Daoist Temple's entry-level methods, created by Xiaochenzi. One orally consumes tiger blood to nourish the body. After completion, the physique becomes more compatible with the Heavenly Dao Egg, using this method to enter the Six Spirit Methods.
After throwing a few punches, Ren Qing was already panting heavily, but the feeling of fullness had indeed eased somewhat.
A thought stirred in his mind.
His main body was currently still in seclusion, fusing aberrant transformation branches. Once finished, it would certainly pay attention to the Longevity Forbidden Zone. At that time, he could use the Dao Ancestor statue to create an imagined method that increased digestive capacity.
At the same time, Ren Qing also felt some regret. Imagined methods could not take all aspects into account; otherwise, they could incidentally cure his blindness.
Although at the Foundation Establishment Stage he could recover from injuries caused by cerebral hemorrhage, and with the Double Pupils formed from the dream seed it did not affect him, the perspective of Double Pupils was completely different from naked eyes, and Ren Qing truly could not get used to it.
He practiced half a set of Tiger-Subduing Fist, leaned against the wall panting heavily, then discreetly took out some easily digestible food and stuffed it into his mouth.
When the brawny man looked over again, Ren Qing climbed back up and continued throwing punches.
Seeing this, the brawny man muttered to himself, "Old Wang, what use is picking up a freeloader like this? He'll probably die in a few months."
"At that time, won't he just be taken to feed-"
He shut his mouth, showing that certain things could not be said outside.
Ren Qing trained like this for half a day, during which he ate at least five or six jin of food. His originally deathly pale face gained some color.
If one looked closely, one could see that the skeleton-like body had already begun to grow flesh.
However, Ren Qing understood his own situation. Unless he ate continuously for twelve hours, one sleep would revert him back to his original state.
Even if he could manage to eat continuously, the food carried by the ghost shadow was limited, at most supporting the current level of consumption for about ten days.
Ren Qing continued to immerse himself in Tiger-Subduing Fist, becoming completely absorbed. Previously, even cultivating Restraint Officer methods, he had never been this focused.
Unconsciously, he began to imitate a tiger's movements.
Set after set of Tiger-Subduing Fist was thrown.
At this moment, from the alley outside the courtyard, light footsteps suddenly sounded.
Five- or six-year-old children clustered together as they came over.
They were all orphans whose parents had both died. They deliberately made no sound while walking, clearly coming with a purpose.
Xu Tu was the leader among the children, considered a small but notable troublemaker in Weian Town, specializing in petty theft.
They planned to search the courtyard for food.
At Xu Tu's signal, the children cooperated seamlessly to form a human ladder.
The brawny man frowned and hurriedly put away his pipe.
These children were accustomed to lawlessness, and it was inevitable they might clash with Wang Shanlu.
The brawny man was not afraid they would use lethal force, they would not be so bold, but Wang Shanlu even had trouble walking and could easily be frightened into illness.
If his life were endangered, it would be hard to explain.
Wang Shanlu was tied to Wang Qi. Even if he died of illness, that was acceptable, but under no circumstances could he die in their own courtyard just days after arriving.
There would be no way to explain it then.
Sweat appeared on the brawny man's forehead. Although Wang Qi did not cultivate "body martial arts," hole diggers were intimately familiar with plagues, and if they went mad, they were far more terrifying than imagined.
He took a deep breath, then a fish-gill-like organ beneath his jaw expelled gas.
The brawny man moved as lightly as a swallow, leaping between eaves, intending to stop the children and also check whether Wang Shanlu was truly stupid.
Ren Qing in the courtyard continued to maintain the posture of Tiger-Subduing Fist, imitating a tiger's breathing while resting, his body half-prone on the ground.
Xu Tu led several children jumping into the house, not noticing Ren Qing in the corner at all.
"Be quick. Old Wang left Weian Town early this morning to go elsewhere to eliminate disasters. Wang Ling is still doing odd jobs at the Martial Instruction Hall..."
Xu Tu opened the courtyard's rusted gate, let the rest of the children in, then carefully closed it again.
"Remember, don't take too much."
They licked their lips, then crept toward the kitchen on tiptoe.
But soon, Xu Tu and the others noticed Ren Qing in the corner, and recalled the rumors in the town over the past few days about an outsider.
The brawny man leapt onto the courtyard wall, his right arm muscles suddenly swelling.
Several fingernail-sized holes opened on the surface of his skin, within which air currents brewed. With a forceful slap, they could be fully released.
But the brawny man discovered that the children were frozen in place, unable to move.
Following their line of sight, he saw Ren Qing lying on the ground in a strange posture, his abdomen subtly writhing with each breath, causing strange tones to issue from his mouth.
The brawny man felt as if facing a formidable enemy, his muscles tensing involuntarily.
In his eyes, Ren Qing no longer looked human; what remained was a senescent, sick tiger, yet that aura seemed almost tangible.
Ren Qing appeared to be resting, but the low rumble from his abdomen was like a warning to intruders into his territory.
Xu Tu and the others were so frightened that their legs went weak and they fell to the ground, mouths agape without a sound, their breathing growing ever more rapid.
The gate opened.
"Little brother..."
Wang Ling broke the stalemate. She was clearly there to bring Ren Qing his midday meal, and after opening the door stood there at a loss.
Ren Qing also came back to his senses, surprised at the number of people in the courtyard.
He had informed the ghost shadow in advance that unless the other party had killing intent, it should refrain from acting, so it had not disturbed him.
The brawny man narrowed his eyes, then shouted angrily in a low voice, "Xu Tu, you little brat. The ancestral hall distributes dry rations every day, yet you still come here to do such underhanded deeds. Get lost."
Xu Tu hurriedly led the other children out of the courtyard, disappearing in a flash.
Wang Ling greeted the brawny man. "Uncle."
"I was sent by the clan elders to protect your younger brother..."
Xu Sanliang examined Ren Qing, his heart shaken by the talent Ren Qing had displayed.
If he was not mistaken, Ren Qing should have been imitating a tiger's movements, not only lifelike, but also grasping that inner spirit.
Xu Sanliang could not help asking a few questions, but he was certain he would not get any answers.
Ren Qing played dumb and acted foolish, eating the dry rations Wang Ling fed him, his whole body aching intensely because of Tiger-Subduing Fist.
Although most of the food in his stomach had been digested, it was truly not worth the cost. He still had to have his main body create an imagined method.
What made him even more curious was the cultivation method Xu Sanliang had displayed.