Compared to the Yin Runner realm cultivators rushing to the Shuize encampment, some Restraint Officers received orders to leave, to return to the borderlands of Xiangxiang.
There were over a dozen of them, most being Restraint Officers who had only experienced one strange transformation, along with a few reservists; with their level of cultivation, it was difficult for them to handle the current situation.
The routes from Shuize to Xiangxiang were already well-charted; as long as one wore a Daoist robe and held a magical implement, even those of the Half-Corpse realm could travel across the great desert.
The reservists occupied the middle of the group. In the camp, they were mainly responsible for menial labor such as repairing the city walls, but the rewards given were extremely generous.
Yet, compared to the full Restraint Officers who moved with ease under the blazing desert sun, the reservists were clearly miserable.
Qin Jun wiped the sweat from his forehead; the hot air he exhaled distorted the air, and the effort of walking consumed more and more energy.
When exhaustion set in, he would drink a mouthful of beast blood to stimulate his body.
If he truly could not hold out, he would fall behind; the group would not stop to rest for his sake.
Qin Lan was in no better shape, the siblings both felt that the journey to and from Shuize had nearly cost them their lives.
Still, they had no regrets, for the Blood Crystals they earned were enough to let them assault the Ghost Envoy realm, a feat that would have taken at least ten more years had they stayed in Sanxiang City.
Little Third (Xiao San'er) was the weakest in constitution; stars danced before his eyes, and people appeared double.
He had in fact been the one to suggest going to the Shuize camp, mainly to practice the Living Spirit Technique he had obtained from Ren Qing.
The so-called Living Spirit Technique was the precise act of sprinkling Ze Sand onto the surface of a magical implement, stimulating it so as to give rise to a faint consciousness.
It was extremely difficult, no matter how much Ze Sand was applied, it directly affected the success rate of animating the spirit.
Fortunately for Xiao San'er, the Double Pupils granted by The Blindless Method made for the best innate talent. He mastered the Living Spirit Technique after wasting only four magical implements.
He took a gourd from his chest, took a sip of beast blood, and heat spread from his abdomen.
But if he wanted to hold out until the night's rest, relying on external force alone was not enough, Xiao San'er could only endure by sheer willpower.
Each breath felt like a year; every moment required his utmost effort.
The group suddenly slowed down. Everyone's gaze turned to the distance, where a vast shadow was rapidly approaching.
Qin Jun widened his eyes, nudged Xiao San'er's shoulder, and said, "Xiao San'er, look, it seems to be a sandship..."
Xiao San'er's eyes lit up.
As a large-scale magical implement, the Sandship was considered a new creation within the Restraint Officers' Hall. It was said that only Li Tiangang possessed one.
The Restraint Officers began murmuring among themselves, guessing what major operation might be underway.
It had only been a few years since Ksitigarbha's Soul Summoning, yet the Restraint Officers' Hall had already extended its reach into this seemingly barren desert, what were they planning?
Qin Lan couldn't help but ask in puzzlement, "Why is that sandship dark red? And why does it have three figureheads at the bow...?"
Xiao San'er replied excitedly, "The Lord of the Ghost Market! It's the Lord of the Ghost Market!"
"The sandship was forged by the Lord of the Ghost Market. Besides the one in Senior Li Tiangang's possession, there must be another."
The Restraint Officers all turned toward Xiao San'er.
There was no confirmation yet of who had forged it, in truth, they leaned more toward believing it was the work of the Great Dream True Person. Only someone of the Yang God realm could forge such an implement.
They sneered slightly, about to refute Xiao San'er's claim but then they saw the sandship, heading straight for a dune dozens of meters tall, not even attempting to evade, as though intent on mutual destruction.
ROAR!!!
A ghostly wolf's howl resounded from nowhere.
All the Restraint Officers stared in shock; the next scene left them dumbfounded for a long time.
The wolf-headed figurehead thrust forward like a living creature, its fur spreading madly to cover the ship's hull. Four limbs sprouted from beneath the vessel.
The ship transformed into a Ghost Wolf, crashing heavily into the dune. An explosion of sand and gravel erupted, shrouding heaven and earth in storming dust.
The Ghost Ship leapt into the air, and the instant its four limbs landed, the fur receded swiftly, once more turning into the dark-red vessel.
The Restraint Officers watched as the Ghost Ship vanished into the horizon.
Qin Lan belatedly spoke, "They say the Lord of the Ghost Market can transform into a giant wolf, could that really have been his ship?"
Xiao San'er smiled silently, but seeing the expressions of the Restraint Officers around them, it was clear they already believed the sandship had indeed been forged by the Lord of the Ghost Market.
The leader of the group hesitated for a few breaths, then said, "Xiao San'er, you look exhausted. Why don't we rest a bit?"
Xiao San'er stubbornly shook his head. "No need, just half a day more and it'll be night."
The group continued toward Xiangxiang, while Ren Qing had already arrived at the camp.
The camp was desolate; the few remaining Restraint Officers were either on patrol or had gone to the Ghost Market of Avici Hell to cultivate.
Li Tiangang and the others had yet to arrive, it seemed he was early.
Ren Qing stored away the Ghost Ship and entered the camp.
Everyone recognized his identity, but due to the Lord of the Ghost Market's fearsome reputation, none dared approach him, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.
Ren Qing showed no change in expression and casually chose a stone hut to stay in.
It was unrealistic to seek improvement before battle; he focused instead on stabilizing his cultivation, while his Spirit Division kept watch over Qingxu Temple's situation.
Ren Qing had thought that after Yellow Sand City vanished, the Dao Officials would inevitably undergo mutations.
Yet, to his surprise, Qingxu Temple was extremely calm, as if nothing had happened.
Still, Ren Qing could clearly sense that the number of dead and wounded Ze People was increasing, there was even a faint scent of wine in the vascular caverns.
The corpse-like Dao Officials searching for him had all disappeared, whether they had given up or been used to conserve alcohol, he could not tell.
After a moment's hesitation, Ren Qing controlled his split soul to quietly move toward the kidney area.
That Wine Pool had clearly been transformed into a Tombstone Furnace, capable of refining hundreds of magical implements simultaneously, it was worth investigating.
Ren Qing crept through the shadows with extreme caution.
But as he neared the kidney region, he sensed something amiss, it was far too quiet.
His pace quickened; soon, he stopped dead, face darkening.
Where once mountains of Dao Official corpses had lain, now nothing remained. The Wine Pool was dried up, and the Heavenly Dao Worm within had long since lost its vitality.
He turned and moved through the vessels toward the spleen, again, not a single Dao Official encountered.
It was as if they had all vanished into thin air, without leaving a trace.
The spleen, constructed as the Doushuai Palace, came into view, but the organ looked as though gnawed by worms, full of pits and hollows.
It too had been completely emptied.
Unwilling to believe it, Ren Qing went on to the lungs, only to find the same.
Could it be that the being behind Qingxu Temple was not rebuilding Wuwei Monastery after all? Why destroy everything after coming so close?
Ren Qing reported the situation inside Qingxu Temple to the Restraint Officers' Hall; Li Tiangang and the others were already hurrying toward the encampment.
When something strange occurs, a demon is surely at work.
Time was of the essence, since Qingxu Temple had made a move, the Restraint Officers' Hall had to react, and faster.
Ren Qing's split soul did not continue toward the lungs, for that area had been built into the Wuwei Hall and housed numerous Heavenly Daozi bodies.
Perhaps the being behind it all was hidden there, no need to act rashly and alert the enemy.
Li Tiangang's Sandship arrived almost simultaneously with Sun's.
Not long after, another figure flew rapidly toward the camp.
Miss Bai stood upon a deformed flying sword, its blade faintly gleaming, the implement clearly wanted to attack the Restraint Officers in the camp.
But once she landed, she sheathed the sword at her waist.
Ren Qing stepped out of the stone hut, his gaze resting briefly on the scabbard.
That item was clearly a Weird Fetus Implement, likely sharing the same origin as the sword's own spell, thus able to suppress its ferocity.
No wonder the Great Dream True Person had allowed Miss Bai to come to Shuize, with a Weird Fetus Implement like the scabbard, the chance of her Supernatural Remnant losing control was greatly reduced.
Li Tiangang frowned. Why had Song Zongwu not yet arrived?
After several months, whether his Yin Runner breakthrough had succeeded or failed, there should have been some word, could something have gone wrong...?
The thought brought a trace of worry to his eyes.
At that moment, Ren Qing suddenly said, "He's here."
Sun preened his feathers and asked, "Who's here?"
"Song Zongwu."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A distant figure tore through the air at full speed; with a wave of his hand, the dunes in his path disintegrated into nothing.
In the blink of an eye, Song Zongwu entered the camp, not a bead of sweat on his forehead.
"Thank you all for waiting. Amit-"
Ren Qing studied Song Zongwu carefully, feeling that his seclusion had not been merely for a Yin Runner breakthrough.
He could faintly sense an aura of Zen.
It must be related to the Buddhist arts Song Zongwu had once displayed.
Li Tiangang nodded. "No need to wait for the Great Dream True Person. With his divine powers, he can reach Qingxu Temple in an instant. Let's depart first."
"Get on my back. I'll take you there."
Sun boasted that he had fully grasped the method for entering and leaving Qingxu Temple.
Everyone climbed onto the bird's back. Besides the Yin Runner realm cultivators, more than a dozen Restraint Officers came along, in case of unforeseen events.
Among them was Huang Ziwan, who kept himself low-profile within the crowd.
At first, progress went smoothly, but when Song Zongwu stepped onto Sun's back, a cracking sound of bones colliding came from the latter's spine.
"Song Zongwu, old fellow, how have you grown so heavy? You nearly crushed me flat!"
"It's been like this since my breakthrough," Song replied.
Sun said with apprehension, "Two trips then, I'll take you alone."
With his Yin Runner cultivation, he could easily carry a mountain, yet before Song Zongwu, he felt as if his strength could not be exerted at all.
Truly strange.
Song Zongwu looked a bit helpless, closed his eyes to restrain his aura, but it didn't seem to help.
Seeing this, Ren Qing directly took out the Ghost Ship, jumped onto the deck, and said, "Senior Song Zongwu, please ride my implement."
Sun laughed. "That Sandship can only sail over water and desert..."
Before he could finish, the Kunpeng figurehead on the Ghost Ship came to life. Scales spread over the planks, and wings grew out from both sides.
In an instant, the Ghost Ship transformed into a vivid, lifelike Great Roc.
Li Tiangang also recognized the Kunpeng, it was clearly related to a technique Ren Qing had once cultivated.
Sun hesitated to speak. In his heart, he thought that even a Weird Fetus Implement should not be capable of such a feat, but then again, the Weird Fetus Refining Method had been invented by Ren Qing himself.
To refine a magical implement into something so lifelike, the Weird Fetus Refining Method was truly miraculous.
Still, if even he couldn't easily carry Song Zongwu, how could a mere implement...?
"Let's go."
Song Zongwu stood upon the Great Roc, and with a flap of its wings, the Ghost Ship slowly rose into the air.