Ren Qing arrived at the Knot Cave entrance to find Lin Cheng still barely clinging to life.
Lin Cheng's skin showed extensive acid burns, his right arm missing, and leg tendons severed by Sun Yishan.
Though less than a hundred meters from the Restraint Officers' Hall, he lay helpless in the acidic water, closing his eyes in despair.
Exhaustion was one thing, but severe blood loss was the main issue.
Despite his strong vitality staunching the bleeding, the injuries were too grave, those hundred meters might as well have been a thousand.
Moreover, the recently eliminated jailers were already reviving.
This practically sealed his fate.
In his final moments, Lin Cheng's life flashed before his eyes, finally recalling Ren Qing and wondering if he'd fallen to Sun Yishan.
"Not dead yet?"
Lin Cheng took several seconds before opening his eyes to see Ren Qing crouched beside him.
"Seems alive. Good you're not dead."
Grabbing Lin Cheng's right leg, Ren Qing dragged him toward the Restraint Officers' Hall, barely escaping the reviving jailers.
Lin Cheng rallied briefly, mustering strength to warn: "Be careful... there's an Ox Strength practitioner who kills for meat."
"No worries. He's dead."
Ren Qing wiped his great Miao blade clean to avoid injury.
Lin Cheng gaped speechlessly, noticing Ren Qing's bloodstained clothes, clearly proving a fierce battle occurred.
Spitting blood-tinged saliva, Ren Qing asked: "Can you last until we exit the Restraint Officers' Hall?"
Lin Cheng weakly closed his eyes. His organs were failing at varying rates, the missing arm being the least concern.
"Too severely injured... flesh keeps melting... won't make it."
Ren Qing pressed: "What with food?"
"Maybe..."
Lin Cheng suddenly stiffened, realizing something.
Where would food come from here? Sun Yishan had survived by cannibalism.
Surely not...
Ren Qing lifted Lin Cheng, his right palm splitting open to force-feed handfuls of pig eyeballs.
The rancid taste assaulted Lin Cheng's senses, making him nauseous, but his survival instincts prevailed.
Nourished, his body regenerated blood, stabilizing the injuries.
Some strength returned, though his failing organs remained a death sentence.
"But your arm..."
"The Snake Molting Method lets me regenerate through molting at each breakthrough, even from half a body."
Lin Cheng suddenly noticed Ren Qing's odd expression, like a butcher eyeing meat.
But it vanished instantly.
Eager to leave, Ren Qing asked: "The exit's near the rib, right?"
"Yes. My uncle said to collect a rib fragment, though I don't know why."
"I see."
Carrying Lin Cheng piggyback, Ren Qing headed out.
He wouldn't risk delaying his Ghost Envoy breakthrough for more techniques here.
"How'd you survive the cave's acid so long?"
Guiltily, Lin Cheng admitted: "Uncle gave me a pill protecting me for days."
"..."
Ren Qing's mouth twitched. Song Zongwu's negligence could have gotten him killed.
They proceeded toward the rib.
En route, Ren Qing checked Bone Armor Technique's mutation tree:
[Bone Armor Bearer: External Bone Growth]
[Spine Bearer: Internal Object Gestation]
[Living Bone Bearer: Body Bones as Vessels]
He'd consult Song Zongwu about paths later.
Passing cells containing dust-covered furniture suggested long-term Restraint Officer habitation.
Lin Cheng explained gravely: "Dying Restraint Officers choose cells to await death."
Ren Qing shuddered.
Who knew how many Supernatural Remnants Avici Hell had consumed?
Suddenly stopping, Ren Qing's abrupt motion pained Lin Cheng.
"W-what?"
Adjusting Lin Cheng, Ren Qing spotted a massive shadow distorting with candlelight ahead.
Detouring proved futile, the shadow paralleled them.
Lin Cheng hissed: "The Hall has strange rules."
"If you see a dog with a human face near cells..."
Trembling, he continued: "Ignore it. Don't believe its words. Just walk past."
Nodding, Ren Qing proceeded, hand on hilt.
Rounding the corner revealed a seven-meter dog with an elderly man's wrinkled, intelligent face.
The creature meant no harm, even cowering submissively.
Tense, Ren Qing passed by as whispered words entered his ears:
"Feed a living person's organs to the sick. If they survive organ removal, boil with herbs for thirty-six days to cure colds..."
Baffled by such insane remedies, Ren Qing looked back to find the creature gone.
"What was that?"
"Like jailer, they spout temptations but don't attack."
Ren Qing's double pupils revealed its illusory, soundless nature.
He shook his head, some Hall secrets likely eluded even Song Zongwu.
Ascending deeper, the rib drew near as Lin Cheng paled from internal bleeding. More pig eyeballs helped little.
Ren Qing hurried, taking hours to clear the prison area.
Other cultivators now emerged from the Knot Cave, likely using Restraint Officer pills.
It seemed the Restraint Officers' Hall's method of selecting reserves, having gangs supply cultivators, was merely a way to recycle Supernatural Remnants.
The true reserve candidates were all connected to the Restraint Officers by blood or other insider ties, like Lin Cheng.