Ren Qing rushed out of the Meat and Wine Taoist's corpse without spending much time, and as soon as he reached the outer area of Qingxu Palace, a Nether Crow came to receive him.
The Nether Crow instantly turned into a mass of minced flesh, through which a flood of information poured into his mind.
Ren Qing's pupils dilated; in a trance, he saw the gigantic grotesque creature upon the blood moon.
At the same time, his main body also received a message from Great Dream True Person, the Restraint Officers' Hall had decided to cut through the chaos swiftly and end the situation in Shuize as soon as possible.
Ren Qing was not surprised.
The actions of the Restraint Officers' Hall might appear hasty, but they had already prepared thoroughly.
"Senior Sun, help me send this head to the Ghost Market."
He tossed the head upward, and a half-meter-long Nether Crow dove down, snatched the head, and plunged toward the ground.
A dozen tongues extended from various parts of Qingxu Temple, trying to devour the Nether Crow.
Ren Qing did not intend to hold back anymore, he knew that since Qingxu Temple could not influence the lower realm, Li Tiangang would definitely act against Yellow Sand City.
It was time to tear the mask off.
He took a deep breath, let out a strange laugh, and his body turned into dense black mist, spreading out in all directions, completely enveloping the Nether Crow.
Ren Qing was also testing whether the being behind Qingxu Temple was truly immobile.
Just like the Blind Daoist, a cultivator who had survived the calamity that destroyed Wuwei Monastery might very well have suffered damage to both body and soul.
The Ze People of Qingxu Temple immediately went into turmoil; the surrounding area became filled with immortal aura, but its core was made up of countless long, narrow tongues.
The ones taking action were Ze People of the He-Eating Realm, roughly equivalent to the Ghost Envoy realm.
They could barely handle Ren Qing's split soul before he had even grown his Nightmare Fiend Head, let alone now.
The Ze People of the Weird-Eating Realm mostly observed, cherishing their long lives and unwilling to risk themselves.
Ren Qing snorted coldly.
The black mist spread three to four meters out, with blood-red eyes blinking within.
The moment the tongues touched the black mist, they hissed and melted into pus; shrill screams echoed from all corners of Qingxu Temple.
Taking advantage of this, the Nether Crow flapped its wings and flew straight out of the Meat and Wine Taoist's range.
Sun secretly clicked his tongue.
Ren Qing had said his split soul had coincidentally become a Ze Person, but now it seemed that was entirely untrue, rather, it exuded an ominous, deathly aura.
He shook his head and crossed the boundary between the living world and Avici Hell.
Seeing this, Ren Qing immediately withdrew his power, as the full moon was gradually being shrouded by wind and sand.
When the Weird-Eating Realm Ze People saw the Dao Officials beginning to awaken, they feigned an attack on Ren Qing but clearly held back.
Ren Qing did not hesitate, he turned into black mist and slipped into a wound in the Meat and Wine Taoist's corpse. The branching blood vessels were a perfect hiding place.
In a way, he had indirectly helped Li Yaoyang; whether Li Yaoyang could ascend to the Yin Runner realm now depended on his own fate.
A remote temple collapsed with a loud rumble, and a solemn, majestic voice echoed out:
"Foreign evil dares trespass into Qingxu Temple! Do you not fear the awe of the Heavenly Dao..."
A Dao Official stood high above Qingxu Temple, over three meters tall, holding a horsetail whisk, his red beard very prominent.
With a strong wave of his hand, the clouds churned as though set aflame, and the air became scorching hot.
Ren Qing had already confirmed that no matter how high their cultivation seemed, Dao Officials were merely fleshly instruments, puppets, to put it simply.
Their spell power was immense, but their attacks could be predicted easily.
Even if there were two thousand of these puppets, they could never match the Restraint Officers' Hall, after all, any cultivator who reached the Yin Runner realm was a veteran of countless battles.
Ren Qing dodged the firelight, moving swiftly through the vascular tunnels. After shaking off his pursuers, he suppressed his aura and hid in the shadows.
The Dao Officials still raged, destroying many of Qingxu Palace's buildings.
Countless corpse-like Dao Officials tried to track Ren Qing, but found nothing; it was as if he had vanished into thin air.
Ren Qing made no deliberate move, letting his split soul serve as a hidden spy suited him perfectly.
His consciousness returned to his main body. The monster's head lay in his hand, blood still seeping from its neck.
Through his Double Pupils, the monster's head appeared to have the structure of a rabbit's.
The Information Flow surged.
[Xu Tong]
[Age: 570]
[Lifespan: None]
[Art: Moonward Method (First-Quarter Moon)]
[Moonward Method]
[Cultivation requires consuming a Moonfall until one mutates into a Rabbit-Toad, at which point it can be completed.]
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. His Dragon-Snake Spine split the skull apart, but there was no brain inside, only a single living finger.
Before he could pick it up, a stench filled the air, and it turned to ash.
"So that rabbit-like yet not rabbit-like creature was called a Rabbit-Toad..."
Ren Qing was astonished, staring at the information showing a lifespan of over five hundred years.
The creature's name was Xu Tong, five hundred and seventy years old, yet its cultivation was only at the Ghost Envoy realm.
How could it live over five hundred years?
Ren Qing furrowed his brow tightly. It seemed the situation in Jingzhou was even more troublesome than expected, he could only hope the flames of war wouldn't reach Xiangxiang.
He then transmitted his findings about Qingxu Temple to the Restraint Officers' Hall through Sun Feather.
However, he said little about the Supreme Heavenly Demon, after all, the matter of Heavenly Daozi was hard to explain.
Ren Qing only said that the Heavenly Dao Worm parasitizing the corpse emitted a strange aura, somewhat similar to that of a Weird Infant.
He was also hinting indirectly to Song Zongwu and the others, since the Heavenly Dao Worm alone had Yang God realm strength, the Supreme Heavenly Demon would be far beyond that.
Ren Qing closed his eyes to rest.
The Restraint Officers' Hall would soon launch its assault on Qingxu Temple, little time remained.
.....
The Restraint Officers' Hall was like a war machine, once orders were given layer by layer, it began operating with precision.
In just a few months, the number of corpses outside Yellow Sand City had doubled, all of them Gobi People who had died attempting ascension.
Li Tiangang stood atop the city wall, his gaze occasionally turning toward the north.
After waiting a while, he pointed his arm toward the sky.
Suddenly, yellow talisman paper drifted down slowly.
Whoever the paper touched vanished silently, only those hiding in their homes were spared.
The once-crowded White Dragon Temple had, at some point, fallen silent.
The Reception Daoist stood before the temple gate in confusion; usually, hundreds of pilgrims came at this hour.
His duty was to receive them, if something went wrong, he would be blamed, and angering the White Dragon Immortal would spell disaster.
He stepped toward the street to investigate.
The streets were empty; yellow talisman paper littered the ground, making the scene eerily strange.
Before he could react, loud shouts erupted throughout Yellow Sand City, coming from the Ze Immortals of various temples, a massive commotion.
The Reception Daoist's face turned pale, and he collapsed to the ground.
Even the Ascension Ceremony had never been so large, what on earth was happening?
"Foreign evil! Everyone must slay them!!!"
The one shouting was the Returning Dust Immortal, but before his words finished, his head was sliced off by a violent gust of wind, landing not far from the Reception Daoist.
The Reception Daoist was terrified to the point of paralysis.
A dozen figures, monstrous and demonic, charged forward, clashing with the Ze People, their battle explosions deafening.
Through their windows, some residents caught glimpses of the scene, growing increasingly bewildered.
In their understanding, the Ze Immortals possessed supreme power, there should be no being in the world that could rival them, let alone "foreign evils."
But reality was the opposite, the immortals were being slaughtered by demons, their screams unending.
The White Dragon Immortal, writhing under the effects of fire poison, was then forcibly stuffed into a jar by a grinning Restraint Officer.
A He-Eating Realm Ze Person still held some value, he could be traded in Feng Market for resources.
The Clear Wind Immortal rolled across the ground in disarray, utterly losing his former lofty demeanor.
Compared to the Ze People's immortal airs, the Restraint Officers were like wolves and tigers, their methods bizarre and ferocious, some even transforming into demonic beasts.
Sha Shan-zi was caught in a dilemma, he had an instinctive fear of Ze People.
But he feared even more that if he retreated, the Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators would casually eliminate him.
Several Self-Consumption Realm Ze People saw Sha Shan-zi hesitate, assumed it was fear, and struck out, hoping to escape through him.
By instinct, Sha Shan-zi performed the Wind and Sand Technique.
Having already ascended to the Half-Corpse realm, with a wave of his hand he sent out a storm of sand and wind.
The Ze People touched it and instantly scattered into dust, far more fragile than expected.
Li Tiangang's gaze remained calm and indifferent.
To him, the Gobi People were still human, so he warned his subordinates not to harm them.
As for the Ze People, they were merely monsters.
At that moment, a Nether Crow landed on Li Tiangang's shoulder. He seemed to receive a message and murmured, "Good, this prevents any sudden accidents."
Li Tiangang drew a page of paper from his head and used it to cover the entire Yellow Sand City.
All Restraint Officers immediately withdrew from battle and gathered outside Yellow Sand City to wait.
The paper generated a suction force, rolling Yellow Sand City into itself, within a blink, the whole town was sealed by Li Tiangang.
The traces left on the Gobi were quickly buried by the wind and sand.
Li Tiangang's aura wavered slightly, clearly, using a large-scale spell in Shuize consumed much more energy than it would in Xiangxiang.
He then summoned his sand ship, and everyone charged into the sandstorm.
Within a few breaths, most Yin Runner realm cultivators had received orders to head to the Restraint Officer Camp, while Xiangxiang was left in the care of Muyi alone.
Ren Qing wasn't surprised, the Restraint Officers' Hall was a highly efficient organization, especially when facing calamities.
He had just finished handling matters in the Ghost Market and was preparing to leave Avici Hell when he suddenly felt the ground tremble for no reason.
At the northwest edge, a ruined city had appeared, its entirety built from stone.
Ren Qing flashed to the gate of Yellow Sand City; inside, the residents were restless.
Tens of thousands of people had suddenly arrived in an unfamiliar place, and since Shuize and Avici Hell were vastly different, some discomfort was only natural.
Li Tiangang appeared beside Ren Qing, still holding Sha Shan-zi.
"Before you leave, Ren Qing, there's an issue to settle, the Gobi People's fear and hatred of Ze People runs deep; teaching them techniques will be difficult."
Ren Qing smiled and looked at Sha Shan-zi, who broke into a cold sweat. "Sha Shan-zi, Yellow Sand City's Dao transmission will be entrusted to you."
Sha Shan-zi was stunned. "Ah?"
Ren Qing directly took a massive pile of yellow sand from within the Prison Within the Abdomen and scattered it across an open space.
The lingering souls within the sand had already been ground away, perfect for Wind and Sand Method initiation.
Then a faint mist enveloped Yellow Sand City, preventing Restraint Officers from entering and keeping the residents from straying far.
Moments later, Sha Shan-zi found himself standing on the city wall in a daze.
He was dressed in the garb of an ancient Daoist immortal, holding a half-meter-long beast head in his hands.
Then, cheers erupted from the Gobi People.
Seeing this, Li Tiangang left Avici Hell directly, with Ren Qing following close behind.