Ren Qing's thoughts stirred slightly, and the ghost shadow split off a portion to coil around the aberrant anomaly.
Before he could break open the anomaly's body, two black-furred arms suddenly extended from its chest and abdomen, forcibly tearing the flesh apart.
The enormous aberrant anomaly had long since been hollowed out and controlled; all of the flesh and bones inside had vanished, and even its last trace of vitality had already been severed.
A deformed monster crawled out from within.
Although it bore the appearance of a black goat, only its upper body remained; the tailbone and shattered internal organs could faintly be seen exposed to the air.
She let out a hoarse goat bleat, her eyes filled with naked greed.
Ren Qing frowned slightly.
It was obvious that the altar used to summon the demon immortal had already been activated, but due to the influence of the Heavenly Demon aura, the summoned target had instead become a black goat.
Most likely, the upper body of some Rabbit-Toad cultivator had been corroded by the Heavenly Demon aura, and as a result, under the altar's effect, was directly torn into two halves.
If this was the case, then in order to avoid the Heavenly Demon aura, Rabbit-Toad cultivators might very well descend into the Residual Moon Layer ahead of time. The Restraint Officers' Hall would have to make preparations.
Baa-
The black goat let out a deafening cry, and its crawling speed gradually increased.
The ghost shadow lay in ambush along the black goat's inevitable path. At the instant the two made contact, a dragon claw seized the black goat's neck with force.
The head rolled several times, yet the black goat's eyes continued to stare fixedly at Ren Qing.
Immediately after, the black goat visibly recovered at a speed discernible to the naked eye, though it still maintained its half-body form, causing its aura to be extremely unstable.
A sound of bones colliding rang out from Ren Qing's entire body. The ghost shadow surged into his right hand, forming a ferocious dragon claw five meters in size.
He struck the black goat with a single blow!
The once-famed Bottomless Pit of Jingzhou cracked apart instantly under Ren Qing's single strike. Fissures spread rapidly, followed by a thunderous collapse.
The ground caved in by more than ten meters, even causing the surrounding mountain ranges to shift.
Ren Qing shot up from underground, followed behind by boundless Heavenly Demon aura, as well as the black goat that continued to die and resurrect without end.
The black goat relied on instinct to pursue prey, unaware that its target was a truly hard bone to gnaw.
Ren Qing opened his mouth and inhaled. The ghost shadow fully returned to his body, and his physique expanded accordingly, taking on a half-dragon, half-human form.
He stood more than twenty meters tall, his head nearly indistinguishable from that of a coiling dragon, with only the iconic double pupils still retained.
His bare skin was covered in scales. A dragon spine burst forth from his tailbone, transforming into a dragon-shaped tail whose swings caused the air to crack loudly.
In truth, this half-dragon transformation could not unleash Ren Qing's strongest combat power.
But he had only just broken through to the Yang God Realm and could not yet fully control the This-Side Yin God, making it easy to cause unnecessary trouble.
Ren Qing extended a finger, and within a hundred meters the sky was engulfed by dark clouds. Lightning coursed through the cloud layers, gathering at a speed far surpassing that of the Yin Enforcer Realm.
Thunder struck the black goat directly, sending it crashing back to the ground once more.
From the deep crater it smashed into, it could be seen that even after the black goat had turned to charcoal, it still retained vitality and continued absorbing Heavenly Demon aura to recover.
"Truly troublesome. The combination of aberrant anomaly and black goat is simply absurd."
Ren Qing felt his scalp tingle.
Aberrant anomalies could release Heavenly Demon aura to rapidly affect the environment, while the black goat relied on the surrounding Heavenly Demon aura to stand undefeated.
The ghost shadow could devour Heavenly Demon aura, but this was limited only to what existed in the air; it could not consume the Heavenly Demon aura embedded within plants, rocks, and terrain.
And wasn't this all a bit too coincidental?
The Blood Moon had just completed its layout in the Residual Moon Layer, investing an unknown number of aberrant anomalies, when the Heavenly Demon Egg in the Lower Crescent Moon Layer suddenly encountered an unexpected change.
Could Jingzhou's final outcome become a case of the mantis stalking the cicada, only for the oriole to be behind?
But the Blood Moon would not be completely defenseless. After all, the Heavenly Demon Egg's position in the Lower Crescent Moon Layer was extremely obvious; sealing it should not be difficult.
Everything would depend on how the Blood Moon handled matters afterward.
The final outcome could not be predicted. It was unknown how many benefits the Restraint Officers' Hall might gain from it.
Baa-
The black goat recovered once again. Its expression remained dull, yet its greed did not diminish in the slightest, showing that such a monster was born filled with malice.
"Thunder, come."
Ren Qing's gaze sharpened. Using lightning to coil around his body, it transformed into a robe of intertwining azure and violet, the aura it emitted taking on a tangible presence.
His body of over twenty meters sat cross-legged upon the clouds, resembling the legendary Dragon King who commanded clouds and rain, exercising the immortal authority of controlling thunder.
Five-element lightning of various colors transformed into pseudo-dragons that crashed down one after another.
Lightning completely engulfed the black goat, making its figure impossible to see; only dense dragon roars could be heard.
Even though Ren Qing exerted great restraint while casting his techniques and also had Wu Deceit suppressing his aura, the commotion he caused was still far too great.
Several cultivators within Wuwei City clearly sensed the anomaly.
Judging by the location of the lightning, they quickly deduced that it originated from the Bottomless Pit, immediately drawing Li Tiangang's attention.
Although Restraint Officers could not leave the city, they could observe the Bottomless Pit through techniques. At once, the gu insects controlled by Li Yaoyang flew toward the Bottomless Pit.
In addition, more than ten demonic beasts were actually hiding among the nearby mountain peaks.
These demonic beasts were fellow cultivators summoned by Hu Wen, but when the moment arrived, they had a change of heart and chose to wait in secret for the situation to develop.
If Hu Wen emerged from the Bottomless Pit, it would mean he had completed the demon immortal's task, and they would naturally follow him without hesitation.
But who could have imagined,
When the demonic beasts looked toward the Bottomless Pit, a terrifying figure was seated in the clouds.
Just a trace of leaking aura forced them to kneel helplessly to the ground, their expressions filled with terror, not daring to even lift their heads.
Two streams of white vapor burst from the dragon head's nostrils as the dark clouds slowly dispersed.
Lightning struck near the demonic beasts; even the aftershock alone left them severely injured.
Yet none of the demonic beasts dared feel resentment. This method was clearly the demon immortal's minor punishment and warning for their retreat on the eve of battle.
Ren Qing secretly tried many methods. Only after the black goat was completely reduced to ashes did he finally stop at an unhurried pace.
To completely erase the black goat, continuous attacks were required.
By repeatedly destroying its body, forcing the Heavenly Demon aura to be wasted on recovery, lightning proved to be rather effective.
Ren Qing reverted to human form. The dragon spine burst from his back, transforming into a coiling dragon over ten meters long that carried him toward Wuwei City.
When the gu insects arrived at the Bottomless Pit, they were shocked by the scene before them.
Li Yaoyang had previously investigated the Bottomless Pit as well. Although there had been no Heavenly Demon-corrupted aberrant anomaly at that time, it was absolutely not this devastated.
Large swathes of mountain forest had been destroyed, and the ground bore craters resembling fallen meteors.
At the very center lay a dead zone ravaged by lightning; even after several hours had passed, lightning still flickered faintly within the soil.
Li Yaoyang's mouth twitched.
His main body subconsciously looked upward. The dragon spine carried Ren Qing as he drilled back into Wuwei City, a faint scorched stench lingering in the air.
Was this the embryonic divine ability nurtured by a perfected Yin Enforcer Realm?
How was it even more spectacular than what Great Dream True Person had described, or could it be...
Impossible. Ren Qing had only recently advanced to perfected Yin Enforcer Realm. Breaking through to the Yang God Realm silently was absolutely impossible.
Li Yaoyang shook his head. After reporting the Bottomless Pit situation to Li Tiangang, he returned his focus to the Heavenly Dao Worm dead eggs.
Ren Qing was just about to look for an inn when Li Tiangang found him.
Li Tiangang's gaze toward Ren Qing was extremely complex, though unlike Li Yaoyang, he did not suspect that Ren Qing had advanced to the Yang God Realm.
He had not personally seen the Bottomless Pit's condition. Based solely on Li Yaoyang's report, he naturally would not guess Yang God Realm, instead assuming Ren Qing had mastered yet another lightning-controlling technique.
Even with talent, was this not excessive?
Li Tiangang was just about to advise Ren Qing that techniques should be refined rather than numerous, lest this Yang God Realm seed of the Restraint Officers' Hall stray onto the wrong path.
However, Ren Qing spoke first about the incident at the Bottomless Pit.
Li Tiangang's expression turned grave. There were far too many forces entangled in Jingzhou now, and at any moment they could affect the Restraint Officers' Hall.
But even retreating back to Xiangxiang would not necessarily remove the danger.
The Blood Moon, the Heavenly Dao Worms, the Supreme Heavenly Demon, any of these forces could cross the marshlands to Xiangxiang in less than half a day.
"Although mutual destruction is possible, we still have to prepare."
Li Tiangang pondered for a long time, gazing at Wuwei City, which had been built with tremendous effort. Abandoning it would truly be a shame.
Ren Qing understood Li Tiangang's meaning.
The Restraint Officers' Hall had long had secret plans to migrate southward; otherwise, they would not have deliberately allocated manpower to explore that seemingly ordinary endless forest.
"Since Wuwei City is already a magic artifact, could we take it a step further and directly refine it into an aberrant fetus artifact, thereby granting it the ability for long-distance migration?"
Li Tiangang's eyes lit up, though turning theory into practice would require considerable time.
"We can only try."
The two discussed matters for a long time, roughly determining a general strategy. Li Tiangang then hurriedly went to the Ghost Market to contact Great Dream True Person.
A bold idea arose in Ren Qing's mind.
The altar that summoned the demon immortal was composed of complex patterns, sharing the same origin as the demon patterns within aberrant anomalies. If he could master them...
Could he operate them in reverse and summon an Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm from the No-Moon Layer into the Residual Moon Layer?
Would that not give them an extra trump card out of thin air, allowing both advance and retreat with greater ease?
Information on altar array patterns could be gathered by posting tasks in the demon market and having demonic beasts help collect data. That should not be a major problem.
But for now, Ren Qing only had an idea. If it were truly that simple, why would aberrant anomalies not directly drag the Blood Moon into the Residual Moon Layer?
Moreover, Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worms were both enemies and allies; communicating with them was extremely troublesome.
What Ren Qing could do was advance the Nether Sea Breathing Art to the Spirit Division stage. Even if he could not influence Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worms, he could still strengthen himself.
However, whether to forcibly advance the Nether Sea Breathing Art using lifespan left him somewhat conflicted.
The Nether Yuan generated by dao-temple disciples alone was far from enough for a Heavenly Dao Worm to break through its bottleneck, unless all the people of Jingzhou cultivated the Netherworld Heavenly Dao Worm Method.
That part was not difficult.
But collecting Nether Yuan required converting cultivation into spirit crystals through the Immortal Market. It was impossible to have tens of thousands of Jingzhou residents all enter the Dream Market.
With the current Dream Market, at most two or three thousand people could be accommodated.
Wait-
Ren Qing's gaze turned toward the White Bone Great Sage that had long been suppressed within Eternal Shackles. He planned to refine it into a flesh artifact similar to the Dragon Tree.
The White Bone Great Sage seemed to sense malicious intent. Its body, bound by black cords, struggled violently, but to no avail.