Ren Qing planned to harvest lifespan from the various factions within the town, but he was in no rush to act. After all, Dead Man's Forbidden Zone involved far too many things.
Moreover, Restraint Officers' Hall could also use this recovery period to turn its potential into actual strength.
Along the way, the giant Corpse Buddha had gathered an unimaginable amount of resources, causing many cultivators to reach the bottlenecks of their respective realms.
The Cocoonfolk had even relied on the Year-Year Technique to grow hundreds of layers of skin.
However, their bodies had aged terribly, forcing them under Sen Sheng's leadership to soak inside the Living Water of the Yellow Springs of Rebirth.
Meanwhile, Ren Qing prepared to enter seclusion to complete the Dead Man's Sutra and split apart its techniques.
As an Ascension Method, he suspected the Dead Man's Sutra consisted of three techniques. It likely would not take long before he fully mastered it.
Unfortunately, at Ren Qing's current level, it was difficult to completely erase the traces left behind by the creator of the technique without altering the foundation of immortality itself.
The reason for painstakingly splitting apart the Dead Man's Sutra was likely to imprint one's own mark upon the Ascension Method.
Ren Qing planned to later select two secondary techniques to fuse into the Dead Man's Sutra and see whether doing so could avoid the unknown side effects that even feared.
He was not confident about it, fortunately Stomach World could strip away the Dead Man's Sutra.
Ren Qing did not immediately head into seclusion.
His consciousness arrived at the Wine Sea within Stomach World, his gaze sweeping over the corpses upon the frozen island.
Originally, after leaving Dead Man's Forbidden Zone, Ren Qing had intended to refine all the corpses into zombies.
But now that he had obtained the Skeletal Corpse Method and understood the origins behind the Dead Man's Sutra, he could use the process of raising zombies to observe the differences between the various realms of the Skeletal Corpse Method.
The corpses were all sealed within ice coffins, their appearances still lifelike.
Back then, Ren Qing had insisted on taking away the corpses rather than burying them, which had earned criticism from many of the Thorn Envoys, who had no idea they could reincarnate.
Skeletal Corpse Method
Created by , cultivating it requires soaking a corpse within specially prepared corpse water for three days until yin energy corrodes every bone in the body. If the skeleton remains intact afterward, the technique is considered successfully cultivated.
Ren Qing noticed the Skeletal Corpse Method required corpse water imbued with yin energy.
He casually issued a task, and completed corpse water appeared shortly afterward, showcasing the terrifying efficiency of Restraint Officers' Hall.
Ren Qing mixed death qi into the corpse water before pouring it into each ice coffin.
At the same time, Ghost Shadow rapidly inscribed Yin Gathering Formations onto the coffin lids to prevent yin energy leakage and reduce the time needed to refine zombies.
The memories inside the Natal Golden Cores flowed into their respective bodies, while Ghost Shadow controlled the process and gradually fused them with their newly formed souls.
It was unrealistic for the resulting zombies to remain exactly the same as before death. After all, the influence of yin energy inevitably made their temperaments more rigid.
Fortunately, they would not completely devolve into mindless strange creatures.
Raising corpses still required long-term nourishment, and the most troublesome part was undoubtedly the fusion of memories.
Naturally, Ren Qing did not personally handle such matters and simply left corpse raising to Ghost Shadow before issuing another task to dissect the giant Corpse Buddha's main brain.
The main brain would be refined into a container capable of storing memories, replacing the Natal Golden Cores.
The freed Natal Golden Core could help either Li Yaoyang or Li Tiangang reach the Yang Spirit Realm, conveniently easing the shortage of successors.
Ren Qing had also considered directly recruiting Yang Spirit Realm cultivators from outside factions. The problem was that Restraint Officers' Hall itself possessed too few Yang Spirit Realm cultivators.
Aside from Ren Qing himself, Corpse Ghost and Daoist Taihan did not truly count as Yang Spirit Realm cultivators nurtured by Restraint Officers' Hall, making internal imbalance extremely likely.
Ren Qing used a bird-type Strange Beast to deliver the Natal Golden Core into Li Yaoyang's hands.
The Natal Golden Core was not omnipotent. Although its medicinal potency was sufficient to advance someone into the Yang Spirit Realm, a cultivator's own foundation remained equally important.
In terms of success rate, Li Yaoyang indeed had better odds than Li Tiangang, while the latter even faced the risk of complete death.
However, Ren Qing also made it clear that if Li Yaoyang did not wish to rely on external objects, he could let Li Tiangang consume the Natal Golden Core instead.
Of course, Lingxiao Daoist's true body might still possess another Natal Golden Core, though whether it remained usable after yin energy corrosion was another matter entirely.
Ren Qing's consciousness returned to his body. The refinement of the main brain had also been handed over to Little Third, leaving him pleasantly idle.
He fused Ice Crystal Mountain into his skull before immersing himself in the Dead Man's Sutra.
The bird-type Strange Beast possessed part of the Nether Crow's ability to traverse between illusion and reality and arrived at the temporary camp within the stomach in the blink of an eye.
It pecked open the window with its beak before tossing the letter and Natal Golden Core inside.
Li Yaoyang had just finished feeding the gu insects and quickly picked up the letter to read it.
His expression became extremely complicated as his gaze remained fixed upon the Natal Golden Core, his heart engaged in an indescribable struggle.
But in the end, Li Yaoyang let out a long sigh, his eyes subtly drifting toward the coffin outside the door.
He understood the difficulties facing Restraint Officers' Hall. If they could not quickly produce another Yang Spirit Realm cultivator, then should Ren Qing disappear into seclusion for decades, Corpse Ghost and Daoist Taihan might eventually seize control.
Yet Li Yaoyang truly did not wish to rely upon the Natal Golden Core.
It likely would not take long before he reached perfection in the Yin Difference Realm. Combined with the compatibility between himself and the Gu Refinement Method, the Yang Spirit Realm was within reach.
Li Yaoyang narrowed his eyes and immediately contacted Li Tiangang.
While waiting for Li Tiangang to arrive, he flipped through a thin booklet recording various gu insects and their methods of cultivation.
This was the source of Li Yaoyang's confidence.
He had yet to show Ren Qing the completed Gu Refinement Method, but during the creation process, he had consulted him numerous times.
It could be said this technique was tailor-made specifically for Li Yaoyang. Anyone else cultivating it would merely imitate poorly.
[Gu God Scripture]
[Created by Li Yaoyang, cultivating it requires turning the body into a breeding ground for insects, using Heavenly Dao Insects to replace the brain, Crabmen to replace the spine, blood insects to replace flesh and blood, and black insects to replace the shadow. Only then can the technique be cultivated successfully.]
Only Li Yaoyang and Ren Qing understood how extreme the Gu God Scripture truly was.
Once cultivated successfully, one's constitution would become perfectly suited to gu refinement. Strange transformations and fusion could be completed with ease, while the strange objects within the body would be fully controlled by the gu insects.
Naturally, the drawbacks were equally obvious.
Li Yaoyang's gu insects were equivalent to natal objects, and any damage to them would injure his foundation.
Many techniques within Restraint Officers' Hall formed natal objects, such as Bai Guniang's Lung-Born Sword and the "Spine Bearer" of the Bone Armor Technique.
Back then, if Ren Qing had not known Stomach World could strip away techniques, he might not have chosen the Spine Bearer either, precisely because the pros and cons were difficult to balance.
Yet the Gu God Scripture would create four natal objects.
More natal objects did not necessarily mean greater strength. Possessing four fatal weaknesses would inevitably make Li Yaoyang hesitant and restrained during battle.
Ren Qing had also tried persuading Li Yaoyang, but the latter had already made up his mind.
Seeing this, Ren Qing could only use the Information Flow to remove as many flaws from the Gu God Scripture as possible, though it still remained difficult to prevent Li Yaoyang from transforming from a combatant into a pure researcher.
Li Yaoyang put away the Gu God Scripture before closing his eyes to rest while waiting.
A moment later, knocking sounded outside the house.
Li Tiangang entered the room with a puzzled expression. He noticed the various hives in the corner, though they no longer housed Heavenly Dao Insects.
All Heavenly Dao Insect eggs had already hatched and been transferred to the internal organ region, where Daoist Yuhua was responsible for raising and cultivating the insectfolk.
The hives now contained the four gu insects required for the Gu God Scripture.
"Looks like your breakthrough is close, Yaoyang."
Li Tiangang knew Li Yaoyang was gradually catching up to him. Though he verbally congratulated him, complicated emotions inevitably surfaced in his heart.
Though his outward appearance was youthful, he was actually approaching two hundred years old.
To Li Tiangang, reaching perfection in the Yin Difference Realm was already his limit. If he wished to aspire toward the Yang Spirit Realm, he would certainly need to survive a near-certain death.
Li Tiangang understood he could not take such enormous risks. Before the new generation like Han Li reached the Yin Difference Realm, there could only be one person managing the overall situation.
"Same to you."
"Same to me?"
Li Yaoyang's lips curled slightly upward as he said with a smile, "Senior Li, Brother Ren asked me to give you something."
Li Tiangang accepted the Natal Golden Core with a puzzled expression.
The instant his palm touched it, his flesh uncontrollably transformed into pages while the strange object within him, dormant for so long, erupted violently.
"This is..."
"A golden core condensed by a Yang Spirit Realm cultivator of the Pill Dao. It possesses extremely powerful medicinal properties."
Li Tiangang's hands trembled slightly while holding the Natal Golden Core. The sudden opportunity had completely caught him off guard, leaving his mind blank.
"Yaoyang, you..."
"I can still advance into the Yang Spirit Realm without relying on a Pill Dao golden core. It's only a matter of time."
Li Tiangang did not know what to say. He was not hypocritical enough to refuse it with false modesty and could only bitterly smile as he stored it inside his personal storage pouch.
After calming down, he understood he could not recklessly consume it and planned to first prepare some resources.
Li Yaoyang reminded him, "The golden core may contain the soul of the Pill Dao cultivator. Although Ren Qing erased its memories, you still need to be careful of soul backlash."
"Thank you."
Li Tiangang nodded in acknowledgment. The two chatted casually for a bit longer before he left the house.
Restraint Officers' Hall was currently in a vacuum period. If he failed to advance into the Yang Spirit Realm now, then once they began interacting with outside factions, there would likely be no further opportunities.
Li Yaoyang watched Li Tiangang's departing figure as his state of mind suddenly became exceptionally open and unrestrained.
He abruptly felt the few remaining strange transformations within him begin to merge on their own. Perfection in the Yin Difference Realm was now only a single step away, causing him to hurriedly shout:
"Corpse Ghost, protect my cultivation. Don't let anyone approach the residence."
"Yes, Master."
The coffin lid slid open as Corpse Ghost crawled out and stood rigidly at the entrance to the courtyard, emanating a murderous aura.
Li Yaoyang forcefully suppressed the strange transformation fusion before beginning cultivation of the Gu God Scripture.
The four types of gu insects were placed within different parts of his body. The pain struck directly at his soul, soaking his back entirely in cold sweat.
Li Yaoyang endured the agonizing pain while feeding the natal gu insects with soul aura mixed together with essence blood, occasionally tossing a few medicinal pills into his mouth.
The natal gu insects had already been cultivated to the Ghost Envoy Realm back in the outside world, causing the progress of the Gu God Scripture to far exceed expectations, though the risks were equally greater.
Only after several months passed did Li Yaoyang gradually recover consciousness.
He continued stabilizing his cultivation with closed eyes. Perfection in the Yin Difference Realm remained only one final step away.
A sense of satisfaction unconsciously arose in Li Yaoyang's heart. Ever since meeting Ren Qing, even the Yang Spirit Realm now seemed within arm's reach.
Just as he was about to exchange for a batch of resources to seek an opportunity for breakthrough, a terrifying aura suddenly spread from nearby, mixed with a faint medicinal fragrance.
"Li Tiangang has started breaking through?"
Worry appeared on Li Yaoyang's face. Any breakthrough into the Yang Spirit Realm was filled with life-and-death uncertainty, especially with the unpredictable factor of the Natal Golden Core involved.
"Hm?"
His expression froze. Why did there also seem to be a faint corpse stench in the air? The source appeared to come from the stomach region. Just what exactly was Ren Qing cultivating?