After undergoing the Three Eerie Transformations, even identical mutation paths would begin to diverge, and these differences would amplify further upon advancing to the Yin Runner Realm.
Ren Qing soon became completely absorbed, even forgetting the passage of time.
Yet despite this, he instinctively continued swallowing pig eyes, stuffing them into his mouth the moment he felt they were nearly digested.
Much of the book's content was extreme, even laced with madness between the lines, but there were always valuable insights to be found.
By the time Ren Qing set the book down, his eyes ached slightly, and the Information Stream showed his lifespan had just surpassed nine years.
This left him somewhat disappointed, he had expected to accumulate at least ten years.
It seemed that despite the Taotie Method significantly speeding up digestion, the life-extending effects were indeed diminishing.
Thus, advancing beyond the Ghost Envoy Realm through The Blindless Method seemed unrealistic.
He stretched and stood up to loosen his limbs.
Suddenly, Ren Qing felt a gaze fixed on him. Turning, he saw the head in the glass jar staring.
"Senior, may I proceed to the upper floors?"
The head stared at him for a moment before replying, "Show your Restraint Officer token."
"Thank you, Senior. I'll take my leave."
Ren Qing turned and left without hesitation.
Returning early to the Corpse Burners' Hall to prepare for his advancement was preferable. Besides, the pig eyes in his Abnormal Stomach were nearly depleted, he needed to replenish resources.
The head muttered a few words before sinking back into slumber.
Wearing his rain hat, Ren Qing headed for the exit of the Restraint Officers' Hall. Unconsciously, he had grown somewhat accustomed to the eerie weather.
His speed even increased despite the muddy path.
The massive ribs gradually drew closer.
Braving the wind and rain, Ren Qing encountered no dangers.
Upon returning to the Corpse Burners' Hall, he learned from Xiao Wu that the round trip had taken over a month.
During his absence:
Sanxiang City appeared calm on the surface. Gang conflicts had subdued slightly, but it felt like the lull before a storm.
The yamen dispatched numerous constables to patrol, preventing ordinary lives from being affected.
On the streets, almost every intersection had gang members on watch, some even Martial Practitioner Realm cultivators.
The common folk sensed something amiss. At night, they kept their windows tightly shut, only daring to leave home after daybreak.
Ren Qing sighed in relief. The situation seemed still under control, at least not severe enough to alert the Restraint Officers.
Next would likely be negotiations over gang interests.
If talks collapsed, the situation could worsen.
Ren Qing replenished his pig eye reserves and secluded himself in the Corpse Burners' Hall, ignoring external developments.
His lifespan was still a few years short of fifteen. Secluding himself now was premature, but cultivation was ultimately a process of tempering one's mental state.
Advancing to the Ghost Envoy Realm wasn't difficult with the Information Stream, but he didn't plan to rely solely on lifespan consumption for all techniques.
Unless he mastered the Dead Man's Sutra, autonomous advancement was inevitable. Last-minute preparations were too risky, hence his early start.
He closed his eyes, organizing his system.
Then, he began visualizing the Blindless Method. Darkness engulfed his vision, as if he stood at the entrance of the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Ren Qing was already proficient, capable of sustaining the visualization for hours.
When he incorporated the Taotie Method, his stomach emitted a strange humming sound, and the pig eyes digested several times faster.
In the past, he would have concealed this to avoid detection by the yamen's Restraint Officers. But now, as a reserve, such concerns were unnecessary.
The noises grew louder.
Bo Feng happened to pass by. He glanced around, noticing the other constables ignoring the sound.
He looked at Xiao Wu, who was chatting casually with Zhu Ding.
Both had grown accustomed since Flat Top Mountain. After witnessing the apocalyptic sealing of a Forbidden Zone, minor tremors hardly fazed them.
The Li brothers were simple-minded. They focused on burning corpses, probably unaware if Ren Qing was even in his room.
Bo Feng sighed, his surprise fading.
Ren Qing had always been capable, him knowing some immortal techniques wasn't too strange...
Inside, Ren Qing focused on visualizing the techniques, accelerating the digestion of pig eyes.
Naturally, his demand for pig eyes surged, soon outstripping the daily supply from the western city.
He interrupted his seclusion several times to scour the market, buying up all the available livestock eyes.
Under these conditions, his lifespan grew faster than expected, though it still fell half a year short of fifteen.
Just as Ren Qing steadied his mind to continue seclusion..
Trouble arrived.
A crow's hoarse caw sounded outside the window, followed by pecking on the roof.
Frowning, Ren Qing opened the window. A grotesque black-feathered crow flew in, circling above him.
The crow's head was a malformed lump of flesh with bulging eyeballs.
After a few loops, it landed on the wooden table and spat out a rolled-up paper from its beak.
Before Ren Qing could react-
Thud!
The crow stiffened and exploded into a pulp of flesh.
Ren Qing wiped the gore from his face and cleaned the room.
Such underworldly methods could only come from the Restraint Officers' Hall.
He examined the paper carefully.
Though mentally prepared, Ren Qing's heart sank upon seeing the task assigned by the Hall.
It involved gangs, not a major one, but the obscure Rotten Mud Gang, which held little presence in Sanxiang City.
According to the notice, several Half-Corpse Realm cultivators from the gang had died consecutively, with no traces of Supernatural Remnants near their corpses.
This had alarmed the Restraint Officers' Hall.
If Ren Qing recalled correctly, the Rotten Mud Gang was where Wang San'er belonged.
But Rat Plague Technique users were supposed to excel at survival.
The Hall had intervened days ago but found no clues, hence summoning Ren Qing, a reserve with ocular techniques.
He was to meet the Restraint Officers in two days.
The task seemed harmless on the surface, but if Half-Corpse Realm cultivators died so easily, a Ghost Envoy Realm entity might be involved.
After a moment's hesitation, to ensure safety, Ren Qing decided to advance to the Ghost Envoy Realm immediately.
He sat cross-legged, visualizing The Taotie Method as the Information Stream materialized before him.
[Proceed with advancement to "Prison Within the Abdomen"? Cost: 10 years of lifespan.]
The moment he confirmed, his strength drained instantly and an intense, ravenous hunger surged forth.
His Abnormal Stomach underwent a cataclysmic mutation.
Ren Qing resisted the urge to eat, gritting his teeth until streams of blood dripped from his gums.
The mutation tree in his mind sprouted countless new branches, the buds on the verge of bursting forth.