Song Zongwu's condition had barely stabilized. Every so often, he would awaken from unconsciousness, and each time he would recall a small fragment of memory.
It was very likely due to his soul being affected by Sitting-Deer Buddhist Qi.
At the very least, however, the situation was gradually improving. The fact that it was no longer worsening was already fortunate, and it probably wouldn't be long before he regained full consciousness.
As long as Song Zongwu's mind was intact, finding Lingshan Temple shouldn't be difficult.
Ren Qing waited for the Heavenly Dao Crack to heal. By this time, the Restraint Officers' Hall had already withdrawn in advance and was constructing resource sites throughout Stomach World.
Seeing no reason to continue staying in the cave abode, he set off toward Jingzhou.
Ren Qing did not choose to return to the surface. Instead, he simply rode the ghost ship, allowing Ghost Shadow to carry him through the underground. The speed was not particularly slow.
The underground beneath the Beast Pen was certainly much safer, after all, it wasn't saturated with Heavenly Demon aura.
He set his destination at the border between Jingzhou and the Beast Pen, planning to observe the state of the True Immortals from afar, especially the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal.
Wars at the level of True Immortals usually lasted decades or even centuries unless one side possessed overwhelming strength.
Although Taiyin Star Lord seemed to hold the advantage, after the Supreme Heavenly Demon suddenly entered the fray, the course of the battle had completely changed.
After sailing aboard the ghost ship for several months, Ren Qing finally advanced The Taotie Method to No-Birth Immortal.
Among his five techniques, excluding Wuying Ghost, which had yet to advance, The Taotie Method caused the least disturbance, without even the slightest leakage of technique aura.
Thinking carefully about it, the compatibility between the primary and secondary techniques of The Taotie Method surpassed even Corpse Fengdu.
The Taotie Method formed the stomach space; Wine God Technique created water sources; Food-Consuming Immortal Technique nurtured flames; Dao Dao Dao established laws; Rebirth Technique influenced life, death, and reincarnation.
Even before the strange entities merged, all five strange entities had already gathered within the stomach. During advancement, there was not the slightest resistance.
One could say that every primary and secondary technique of The Taotie Method revolved entirely around creating a real world.
Its power was not the strongest, but its potential far exceeded imagination. The immortal position it would eventually construct would certainly suppress the other four.
If Meat and Wine Taoist learned about Ren Qing's Stomach World, he would probably be so shocked that he would be left speechless.
[The Taotie Method (Food-Consuming Immortal Technique, Wine God Technique, Dao Dao Dao, Rebirth Technique)]
[Strange Entity: Myriad Phenomena World]
[Divine Power: Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth]
Ren Qing reclined lazily on the deck. Beside him rose wisps of incense smoke from a censer, while the meditation cushion beneath him calmed his mind.
Closing his eyes, he examined his stomach. Its exterior had transformed into a pitch-black flesh embryo, seemingly nurturing something extraordinary.
The changes within Stomach World were not particularly obvious. In fact, they were far less dramatic than when Food-Consuming Immortal Technique advanced to the Yang Spirit Realm. Everything appeared rather calm.
However, Ren Qing knew that The Taotie Method's advancement was primarily focused on nurturing the strange entity.
Looking into Stomach World, he noticed the jailers appearing more frequently than before, especially since dozens of additional strange entities had been released there afterward.
Strange entities were forbidden from attacking living beings, yet their footprints spread throughout Stomach World.
From time to time, birds with wingspans of seven or eight meters could be seen soaring through the sky, while beasts as tall as mountains crossed the plains.
Since most of the strange entities were not produced through Ren Qing's own cultivation, their intelligence was relatively low and they were difficult to control, often causing destruction.
Seeing this, Ren Qing had the cultivators of the Restraint Officers' Hall use the jailers for training and coordination exercises.
Occasionally, he even issued missions to eliminate jailers. In any case, even if a strange entity died, it would revive again in Stomach World before long.
The strange entity inside Song Zongwu was also slowly recovering through Stomach World, causing his intelligence to gradually return to normal.
Next came the Divine Power Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth, which likewise grew stronger after advancing to No-Birth Immortal.
Ren Qing directed part of Ghost Shadow to cover the ghost ship's deck, then activated Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth. Mountains and rivers gradually emerged within the shadows.
Ghost Shadow could be considered an extension of his body. If it served as the vessel for Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth, it could project the entire Stomach World into the outside world.
Ren Qing repeatedly activated Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth, mainly to test the upper limits of the divine power.
His upcoming journey to the Longevity Forbidden Zone would certainly bring no shortage of trouble. Who knew what was hiding behind the Three Immortals?
Taking advantage of his free time, Ren Qing took out some flesh and blood and tossed it onto the bow of the ship.
Click... click... click... click...
As the smell of blood spread, crisp cracking sounds came from overhead. Cracks spread across the surface of the hard rock wall.
Ren Qing signaled the ghost ship to stop, then had Ghost Shadow actively slip into the cracks. It quickly located the source of the sound.
It was a Pangolin Rat covered in black fur, more than two meters long.
Beneath its forelimbs, several pairs of deformed human hands protruded from its sides. The erosion of Heavenly Demon aura had made it increasingly bizarre.
Ren Qing had encountered many similar creatures during his journey. They were likely beings from other regions that had wandered into the Beast Pen and mutated after absorbing Heavenly Demon aura.
Ghost Shadow silently seeped into the pangolin's internal organs.
Ren Qing activated Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth again. The pangolin immediately felt unbearable itching and pain, as if countless ants were devouring its organs.
That was exactly what was happening.
Using Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth, Ren Qing directly projected prison guards into the pangolin's body. It died without the slightest resistance.
Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth would only be truly complete once it no longer needed to rely on Ren Qing himself to activate it.
Ren Qing continued rehearsing the Ascension Method, thinking through every possible problem he might encounter so that he wouldn't be caught off guard when facing the Heavenly Dao.
The Taotie Method and the Disaster-Dispelling Method were relatively straightforward. The only major issue was the Shadowless Ghost.
He could sense that the fusion of the Shadowless Ghost's primary and secondary cultivation methods contained many flaws. The slightest mistake might affect the Ascension Method.
The ghost ship gradually approached the surface, and the surrounding soil began to contain traces of Heavenly Demon aura.
Ren Qing heard earth-shaking tremors coming from the distance. He had probably drawn very close to Jingzhou by now. He wondered what condition the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal was currently in.
Just before the ghost ship broke through the surface, he put away the magical artifact and headed above ground himself.
Ren Qing transformed into Ghost Shadow and emerged from underground. The Disaster-Dispelling Method was already operating at its absolute limit, causing even the surrounding air to sink inward slightly.
He was still within the Beast Pen. Looking around, everything was covered in pitch-black vegetation.
However, the Heavenly Demon aura in the air was surprisingly thin, making Ren Qing wonder whether this was really the Beast Pen. It was truly strange.
When Ren Qing looked eastward, a blood moon emerged from within the dense clouds. The gap bitten out of it by Ratnasambhava Buddha was still clearly visible.
But the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal churned beneath the earth, while the blood moon hung high in the sky. So where was the Supreme Heavenly Demon?
Could it be that the Supreme Heavenly Demon had voluntarily given up the opportunity to reap the benefits?
Ren Qing hurried toward Jingzhou while carefully observing his surroundings. If he encountered the Supreme Heavenly Demon, he would immediately activate Death Gives No Birth.
It was obvious that he had worried too much. The Heavenly Demon aura around the outskirts of the Beast Pen wasn't even enough to affect the bodies and souls of ordinary mortals.
Ren Qing examined the blood moon while quickening his pace.
The blood moon became increasingly clear. Even the clouds could not obstruct his eyes enhanced by Double Pupils, allowing him to notice many strange details.
The gigantic Rabbit-Toad had vanished without a trace, and all the buildings on the blood moon's surface had become ruins.
When Ren Qing came within a hundred li of Jingzhou, the entire blood moon came into view. The missing section had actually become covered in dense black fur.
Yet instead of weakening, the blood moon had grown even stronger. Its moonlight was almost reaching into the Beast Pen.
Wherever the demonic aura passed, all things showed signs of coming alive. True essence was completely dispersed, leaving the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal no chance to react.
Roar!!!
The Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal let out an agonized roar. Crack after crack spread across the land, even creating a deep canyon.
The Ghost Shadow beneath Ren Qing's feet immediately reacted, while the Heavenly Dao Insect parasitizing his body began to riot, though it was quickly suppressed.
"Something's wrong..."
Ren Qing accelerated while concealing his aura with various cultivation methods.
His heart pounded uncontrollably. The Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal had to be a Weird Immortal. Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao Insect inside Ghost Shadow would never have cried out in grief.
It took Ren Qing only a few hours to travel from the Beast Pen to the edge of Jingzhou.
He could see mountain after mountain flying toward the blood moon, only to be blocked by dense demonic aura. Instead, the mountains were corrupted by that aura, sprouting grotesque limbs before charging toward the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal.
The chaotic battle in Jingzhou had devastated all living beings, affecting an even larger area than the Corpse Immortal had.
Ren Qing's pupils contracted as he stood rooted in place. More than half of the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal's body emerged from the ground, only to burrow back into the mountain range in the blink of an eye.
Every hair on his body stood on end. Acting on instinct, he retreated several hundred meters.
Without looking back, Ren Qing rushed toward Xiangxiang. Meanwhile, his mind processed the shocking information, already considering his next move.
He had seen the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal's true appearance before, but now it was completely different.
The blood moon seemed more like it was restraining it. Massive quantities of Heavenly Demon aura poured out from the cracks in the earth, but the aura seemed somewhat different.
The Heavenly Demon aura was corroding the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal, trapping it firmly within Jingzhou.
The Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal's upper body should have belonged to a woman, but it had now been replaced by a mass of writhing tentacles. Hidden among them, a human face could vaguely be seen... no, it wasn't a human face. It was a flower stitched together from countless pieces of flesh.
Its lower body still retained its original form, but the tentacles had already begun spreading downward.
Before long, the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal would likely transform into a nauseating, absurd, grotesque monster.
It resembled the process of a Weird Immortal transforming into a Turbid Immortal.
Ren Qing found it baffling. Perhaps the blood moon's attack on the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal wasn't to devour it and recover from its injuries, but rather... to corrupt it?
If he himself attained immortality, would he also attract the siege of Turbid Immortals?
Most terrifying of all were the Three Dao Ancestors who served as the Heavenly Dao. There was no way of knowing what role they played in all this.
Ren Qing couldn't guarantee that advancing to Earth Immortal using the immortal position of the Disaster-Dispelling Method would allow him to escape disaster.
Of course, perhaps he was overthinking things. How could Turbid Immortals possibly possess intelligence? The Three Dao Ancestors had always given him the impression of being utterly insane and devoid of reason.
A bold idea suddenly surfaced in Ren Qing's heart. Even he was startled by it, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
He forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts. Scheming against immortals and buddhas had to be done slowly, and he would even have to make use of their own arrangements.
Ren Qing quickly moved several hundred li away from Jingzhou. While traveling, hundreds of bacterial souls within the Mud Pellet Palace helped analyze the information.
His greatest advantage was knowing things in advance. His plans might not fully unfold for several hundred years, and time was certainly on his side.
By then, Ren Qing might already have reached the peak of the Heavenly Aberration realm.