Ren Qing could not help but ask: "Could it be that the Heavenly Abomination Realm is already undying and indestructible?"
Song Zongwu shook his head: "Do you know, every Restraint Officer who saw that grain of the original Taisui, all had the illusion that it was a Supernatural Remnant."
He looked at the brain tree covered in mycelium and said: "The situation in Xiangxiang is too urgent right now, so the first one we attempted to resurrect was this Heavenly Abomination Realm."
"Although it failed, it also let us see a certain possibility..."
"The possibility of resurrecting Ksitigarbha."
Song Zongwu did not hold back, and slowly spoke of the specifics of resurrecting Ksitigarbha.
The earth body, through the fungus species, was inextricably linked to Ksitigarbha, and could be said to have already become a part of Avici Hell.
As long as the false soul was fused with the earth, and then, with the ability of the Rat Mother, a new soul could be born again.
Song Zongwu did not go into detail about the act of gestating the soul again.
But Ren Qing could guess that it was certainly because the false soul was split off from the remnant soul of the Heavenly Daozi, and retained the flaw of the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
The Supreme Heavenly Demon must be circumvented, otherwise how could there be any chance for survival.
Decades of planning, even Song Zongwu would feel waves in his heart.
He was somewhat eloquent, completely unlike his usually taciturn appearance; after all, he was in charge of the lives of two to three hundred thousand people in Xiangxiang, it was impossible not to feel pressure.
After hesitating for a moment, Ren Qing asked: "Senior Song, where exactly is Xiangxiang so urgent, that the Restraint Officers' Hall must take such a desperate risk?"
Song Zongwu did not say much, and used his finger to draw a rough map.
Ren Qing had thought that he already knew all the information on the map, but unexpectedly, on the northern side next to the Yang God Realm Forbidden Zone, connected to Jingzhou, the great desert was marked with the two characters "Marsh".
As for the seemingly safe south, it simply was not shown on the map at all.
"Marsh..."
He could not help but feel absurd, why would a Gobi desert be called Marsh; even if it was the original place name, it should not be continued.
However, according to Song Zongwu, although the desert expanded toward Xiangxiang only about a dozen meters each year, it was almost irreversible.
Even with spell techniques to bring down rain, it could not be alleviated in the slightest.
The Restraint Officers' Hall had not failed to think of sending a Restraint Officer there, but the Marsh was vast, and it was very easy to get lost in it.
The only Restraint Officer who returned also went mad not long after, shouting "Marsh" over and over before dying, and so the desert was named after it.
The rate of desertification was not fast, but sooner or later it would threaten the towns.
And the most fatal thing for the Restraint Officers' Hall was that in the Marsh, it was difficult to open the path to Avici Hell with the bone key.
Thus the expansion of the desert was like a tumor growing in Xiangxiang.
And sooner or later, Xiangxiang would be completely destroyed.
There were also troubles from the nearby Beast Pen and Jingzhou, which likewise could not be underestimated.
Song Zongwu only gave a brief description, saying both places had already been controlled by strange entities; now Xiangxiang was besieged on all sides.
Ren Qing suspected that the reason Xiangxiang could remain safe was likely because of the Yang God Realm Forbidden Zone, making it so that the Heavenly Dao Worm and the Supreme Heavenly Demon simply did not know about Xiangxiang.
Perhaps the two of them assumed that the humans of Xiangxiang had long since been devoured by the existence known as the Forbidden Zone.
After all, compared with the size of the Yang God Realm Forbidden Zone, Xiangxiang was not very big.
The road to life before the Restraint Officers' Hall was called Avici Hell, and Ksitigarbha was a hurdle that must be crossed.
As the two of them were speaking, the roots of the fungus tree completely covered the Scale-Cleansing Soul.
The bark wriggled continuously, and then pieced together a huge human face, showing that the consciousness of the earth was gradually reviving.
From outside the brain tree came deafening noises, faintly sounding like the croaks of Non-Poison, showing that the false soul had still sensed something.
Ren Qing continued to dig a deep pit, and then buried the Hidden Arrow Spirit inside.
Before he could cover it with soil, the roots impatiently wound around the Hidden Arrow Spirit, and the face on the fungus tree revealed greed.
The fungus tree absorbed nutrients and began to grow, gradually reaching just over four meters.
The brain tree, sensing the threat, made the whole area shake as if the earth and mountains were moving.
The temple attendant, seeing this, roared out scriptures, and the mycelium on the branches formed large swathes of text, thereby suppressing the riot.
Cracks spread in the ground, and even Ren Qing almost could not stand steadily.
After filling the pit, Song Zongwu walked toward the outside of the brain tree.
"After the original three souls are suppressed, then we should try to continue summoning souls."
Ren Qing quickly followed; the next soul summoning was the responsibility of those at the Yin Runner Realm, and someone like him at the Ghost Envoy Realm could not be of much help.
But now there were still many uncertain factors, so no wonder Song Zongwu would be nervous.
The two of them left the area of the brain tree, and the temporary camp had already been completed, and the Restraint Officers themselves had even surrounded it with walls.
The corpse dog and the other two souls were bound to the ground by vines, unable to move.
Their arrival caused a commotion; after all, the noise from the brain tree was growing more and more intense, likely caused by their actions.
The jarred head floated in midair; upon seeing Song Zongwu and the other, it slightly nodded, then closed its eyes again to rest, its snores like thunder.
Shui Hulu stood on the eaves with narrowed eyes, scanning Ren Qing with interest.
He wanted to speak, but several gazes came over at the same time.
Aside from Song Zongwu and Li Tiangang, even the jarred head had a warning intent, instantly isolating Shui Hulu.
Shui Hulu was not angry but laughed instead; the Flesh-and-Blood Gourd on his back opened its mouth.
A gust blew, Zun dove down and landed, and the splashing gravel struck Shui Hulu in the face, obviously also meant as a show of force.
Only the absent Great Dream True Person was missing.
"Ka ka ka ka... can't afford to offend."
Shui Hulu's expression darkened, and shaking his head, he vanished.
The dozens of Restraint Officers present, even if they had never heard Ren Qing's name before, now already had a deep understanding.
For Ren Qing to be recognized by almost all Yin Runner Realm cultivators naturally meant strength and talent far beyond his peers.
Like Li Bai, who originally might have had a bit of competitive intent, now wished he could slap himself twice.
When Ren Qing was preparing to rest, Li Bai came to apologize in front of everyone.
There was no thought for saving face.
The other Restraint Officers, seeing this, wanted to befriend him, and soon made Ren Qing so annoyed that later, to avoid it, he simply escorted the false soul to the fungus tree.
The jarred head guarded the camp, Li Tiangang commanded overall, and Zun was responsible for travel between the Nether Feather and the towns.
So only Song Zongwu could handle burying the false soul.
Because of the large size of the corpse dog soul, a deeper pit had to be dug; the Dragon-Snake Spine was comparatively easier.
However, after the third false soul was merged with the fungus tree, the tree itself had grown beyond ten meters, and its roots began to spread toward the brain tree.
The temple attendant's chanting was hysterical, even spitting blood, showing she was near her limit.
Their status in the Restraint Officers' Hall was rather special; they mainly handled childbirth, did not deliberately pursue strength, and rarely participated in missions.
Luo Niang's cultivation at the Ghost Envoy Realm was already the top in the past twenty to thirty years.
Ren Qing, feeling the riot of the brain tree, could not help but have his scalp tingle, but seeing Song Zongwu's calm face beside him..
Fortunately, the fungus tree did not take much time before its roots connected with the corpse dog soul.
"Senior Song, now..."
Ren Qing had just wanted to suggest letting the temple attendant recover a bit, but saw Song Zongwu say: "I already told Luo Niang beforehand, if she cannot hold on, give up immediately."
"If we bury the fourth soul, there is absolutely no way she could endure."
"So there is no need to wait."
Song Zongwu took out the Nether Feather to signal Luo Niang; the chanting of the temple attendant stopped abruptly, and then signs of an earthquake appeared.
Ren Qing had no choice but to comply.
After the burial pit was ready, Luo Niang had already taken the temple attendant to retreat to the outer area, and Song Zongwu, without hesitation, threw the Non-Poison inside.
The roots of the fungus tree went toward the Non-Poison, but the roots of the brain tree emerged from the other side.
The two collided with each other; clearly, the brain tree was stronger, and as a newly grown fungus tree it was no match at all.
"Do not act rashly."
Song Zongwu stopped Ren Qing, and then looked deeply at the brain tree.
And all the Yin Runner Realm in the camp were all looking at the brain tree at the same time, as if they had already foreseen something happening.
Ren Qing quickly retreated several meters.
The mycelium covering the branches of the brain tree gradually receded, along with the nearby fungal mist converging like a tornado.
Under Ren Qing's stunned gaze, a thousand-meter dust giant appeared.
The dust giant restrained the brain tree's riot; countless fungal mists spread over its branches, making the latter unable to move.
Ren Qing could not help but ask: "Does it have consciousness?"
"Of course not, but if the Taisui wants to reproduce, it will be instinctively stopped by the brain tree; the two have been entangled for decades."
Ren Qing's eyelids twitched.
Good grief, even the Taisui left by a Heavenly Abomination Realm is something to calculate against.
But since Song Zongwu had at first used the temple attendant to suppress the brain tree, it showed the Restraint Officers' Hall was still very wary of this Taisui giant.
The fungus tree took the opportunity to pull both the Foul Lung Spirit and the Non-Poison underground with its roots, its body becoming even larger, now over twenty meters.
The face on the trunk looked slightly more alive, and even paused its gaze on Ren Qing for a moment.
The brain tree did not want to sit and wait for death, pulling out roots to strike the fungus tree; with each swing the air was cut in two, the layers of mist sharply distinct.
Song Zongwu, seeing this, bent his legs in preparation to meet the attack.
An unexpected thing happened.
The Taisui giant actually stood in front of the roots, deliberately protecting the fungus tree.
Ren Qing realized that it was probably because the fungus tree was also made of Taisui, and such a mindless Taisui giant could not tell the difference.
"Hurry, we have become outsiders."
Song Zongwu immediately turned and ran toward the outer area.
Ren Qing sidestepped the fungus tree's roots, quickly moving away from their range.
Song Zongwu used the Nether Feather to inform Li Tiangang in the camp, and said firmly: "We cannot let the two determine life and death; we must speed up the soul summoning."
At present only the Que Yin and Tun Zei souls were left, which were easier to deal with.
But the three souls Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, and You Jing would certainly be inexplicably terrifying, after all they were summoned with the black goat as the base.
Who knew what might happen?
The camp began to operate; under Li Tiangang's command, even Shui Hulu had to obey obediently. They dismantled and moved away the houses.
The altar was placed in the center.