The dao soldiers, as puppets specifically meant for combat, possessed abilities difficult for cultivators to match.
Their entire bodies glimmered with a metallic sheen, their arms directly transforming into blade-like forms, while their legs were covered in rune-like patterns.
Not only did the dao soldiers possess tremendous resistance to illusion techniques, ordinary spells also could not damage them in the slightest, and they could even rely on the remnant souls within their bodies for intelligence.
The Pill Dao Sect had relied on dao soldiers to suppress rebellions from mortals many times.
Moreover, the most terrifying aspect of dao soldiers was that as the number of casualties increased, the Pill Dao Sect could continuously create more dao soldiers.
This was also the source of Xuanchengzi's confidence. Inferior zombies that fought with the flesh alone could never possibly be opponents for dao soldiers.
And indeed, the results matched his expectations exactly. The dao soldiers completely overwhelmed the zombies.
The moment the dao soldiers came into contact with the zombies, cold flashes swept through the air. The zombies had no ability to resist, and their heads were instantly severed by the blades.
Several Pill Dao cultivators exchanged glances, then cast spells to envelop the stomach, preventing any zombies from escaping.
Even though the zombies outnumbered the dao soldiers ten to one, the battlefield had become a completely one-sided slaughter.
For a time, severed limbs and broken arms littered the ground.
"Just zombies..."
Xuanchengzi could not help grinning widely. The distracting thoughts he had finally suppressed intensified once more because of the killing intent, causing the flesh mutations to worsen.
However, his expression immediately stiffened, his eyes filling with astonishment.
Tian Fang's head smashed heavily onto the ground, yet he still remained alive, and his headless body actually nimbly dodged the dao soldier's attacks.
"How exhilarating."
Lü Liang let out a strange laugh. Inside his loose robes, the Crabmen parasitizing his spine could be seen, allowing him to maintain control even after his head had detached.
Tentacles immediately extended from the Crabmen's body, grabbing the severed limbs and reattaching them to his body.
Lü Liang immediately cast Year-Year Technique, and his flesh visibly healed at a speed perceptible to the naked eye, not affecting his limbs or head in the slightest.
He kicked off with both feet and pounced toward the dao soldier, his fangs biting into the latter's neck.
The dao soldier immediately retaliated, the blade slashing viciously into Lü Liang's shoulder.
Yet Lü Liang made no attempt to dodge, because the insect armor of the Crabmen had already covered his shoulder. At most, the blade could leave a wound one palm deep.
Although Li Yaoyang had not yet created the technique for unifying man and insect, using the Restraint Officers' Hall Blood Refinement Method artifacts as a foundation, he had found a method to refine Crabmen.
The Crabmen attached to zombie spines were, theoretically speaking, actually rather special zombies, only simultaneously possessing the characteristics of gu insects and magical artifacts.
To zombies, Crabmen could greatly make up for their lack of methods.
"Hahahahahaha..."
Lü Liang allowed the dao soldier to swing its blade freely. Even when the latter activated runes and wrapped the blade in flames, he still did not retreat in the slightest.
He maintained the use of Year-Year Technique. As his flesh regenerated, it continuously stimulated Corpse Refinement Method, causing the yin qi to increase slightly.
Zombies generally had lived for several hundred years. Trapped within Corpse City, their cultivation progress had crawled like ants. When had they ever experienced efficiency like this?
It was not just Lü Liang. Even Tian Fang had become somewhat addicted to Year-Year Technique.
The problem was that the zombies far outnumbered the dao soldiers. Once the dao soldiers became tools for tempering themselves, there ended up being too little porridge and too many monks.
They crazily attacked the dao soldiers, trying to draw the dao soldiers' attention so that they themselves could endure a few more slashes from the blades.
In a certain sense, zombies could also be considered the "dao soldiers" of Restraint Officers' Hall.
Very quickly, the dao soldiers began to suffer injuries. They did not possess the zombies' monstrous regenerative abilities, and bite marks and claw wounds covered their entire bodies.
Tian Fang spat out a severed arm with lingering dissatisfaction, along with half a tongue that had been sliced off by a blade.
Year-Year Technique at the Half-Corpse realm could restore flesh injuries. After advancing to Ghost Envoy realm, regenerating severed limbs was effortless.
Yin Difference realm could even heal the soul, at the cost of even more severe bodily aging.
The Pill Dao cultivators no longer retained any of their earlier composure. Their dao robes had already been soaked through with sweat, and they instinctively moved closer to Xuanchengzi for protection.
Lü Liang stared while panting heavily at several Pill Dao cultivators setting up formations. He wanted to approach them, but Tian Fang stopped him.
Tian Fang shook his head slightly, then signaled for the zombie horde to move toward the corner.
Li Tiangang had ordered the zombie horde to focus mainly on ambushes, delaying the enemy within the stomach and luring the Yin Difference realm Pill Dao cultivators into taking action.
If Xuanchengzi had not remained a spectator, Tian Fang and the other zombies had originally intended to feign weakness.
"I'll kill all of you..."
After a brief daze, Xuanchengzi immediately flew into a rage. The mutations of his flesh naturally became even more horrifying and bizarre.
His eyes became incomparably bright, and streams of flames actually erupted from them.
The zombies were not arrogant enough to tank a Yin Difference realm spell head-on. They all scattered, their expressions showing not the slightest panic.
Along the edges of the stomach wall, Restraint Officers' Hall had specifically had Little Third secretly place defensive magical artifacts, perfectly shielding the zombie horde within.
The Pill Dao cultivators had already begun thinking of retreating, but Xuanchengzi had completely lost his reason. The sea of flames released from his eyes caused the temperature within the stomach to rise continuously.
"Martial Uncle, we should still wait for the Sect Master..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xuanchengzi reached out and grabbed his head, snapping it off and pouring the blood mixed with brain matter across his own face.
Xuanchengzi's mutations became even more severe, and even his soul consciousness began growing unclear.
The disease seeds spread throughout the Giant Corpse Buddha's body were a concealed method capable of influencing the body and soul of others subtly over time.
Xuanchengzi recklessly cast spells. After sensing the zombies' auras disappearing one after another, he felt incomparably delighted.
He withdrew the flames, only to discover that there was not a single scorched corpse in the corner of the stomach wall.
Just as Xuanchengzi was puzzled, two more people appeared within the stomach, looking at him with investigative gazes as though considering something.
When he wanted to flee again, unfortunately his body had already become filled with deformed flesh.
Li Yaoyang's eyes revealed undisguised interest. "Just a few disease seeds already produced such effects. This person is a great medicine."
"Yes, Master."
Even though Corpse Ghost had gradually begun touching the Yang Spirit realm again, he still treated Li Yaoyang with utmost respect, clearly viewing the latter as his guide.
He dove toward Xuanchengzi, nimbly sidestepping the flames.
Compared to ordinary zombies, Corpse Ghost's use of Crabmen was undoubtedly far more skillful, casually transforming them into a weapon resembling a dragon-serpent spine.
He circled around Xuanchengzi, and wounds gradually spread across the latter's body.
Li Yaoyang, however, paid no attention to the outcome. Instead, he wanted to understand the technique Xuanchengzi cultivated.
The Pill Dao Method seemed to refine oneself as though one were a pill. Although the exterior showed nothing, the flesh in truth contained enormous medicinal properties.
If this technique were used to cultivate gu insect breeding beds, the results would likely be excellent.
What made Li Yaoyang most curious was how Pill Dao cultivators managed to survive. Had they not become supplementary medicine for certain immortals?
"Make sure not to kill him. Once it's about enough, bring him to the stomach world and seal him."
"Understood."
Corpse Ghost made a quick battle of it, fighting Xuanchengzi by exchanging injury for injury. Since he had not mastered Year-Year Technique, he quickly became covered in wounds.
However, he took the opportunity to bind Xuanchengzi tightly, then tossed him into the stomach world.
As for obtaining the Pill Dao Method afterward, Li Yaoyang was relying entirely on Ren Qing. Although he could also refine gu insects capable of reading memories.
Corpse Ghost was not very satisfied with himself. If it were one of Restraint Officers' Hall's Yin Difference realm cultivators, they absolutely would not have wasted so much time on Xuanchengzi.
The two then headed elsewhere. Just after leaving the intestines and stomach, they heard sounds of slaughter.
Looking up.
The five viscera and six bowels had all become battlefields between Restraint Officers' Hall and the Pill Dao Sect.
Xuanchengzi had taken away five to six hundred dao soldiers, leaving over three thousand remaining, and they were supported by Ghost Envoy realm Pill Dao cultivators.
The methods of Restraint Officers' Hall's people varied greatly, causing the battle to remain somewhat deadlocked.
The cultivators from Xiangxiang and Shuize had broken apart into small groups, coordinating with one another with exceptional tacit understanding, combining various Restraint Officer methods together.
The disciples of Wuwei Daoist Temple, led by Han Li, surrounded several hundred dao soldiers in the center, fighting remotely with magical artifacts and black insects.
The demon-kind fully displayed their own advantages.
Hu Wen, Zhang Yi, and the other Great Demons famous within Restraint Officers' Hall all possessed demon bodies over ten meters tall. The dao soldiers' blades found it difficult to cause decapitations or severed limbs.
Even relying purely on consuming pills, they could forcibly wear the dao soldiers to death.
Only the Cishi people appeared somewhat immature. When facing faster dao soldiers, they reacted too slowly, inevitably suffering casualties because of it.
The dao soldiers began absorbing the souls of the dead Cishi people. Female womb-like organs within their bodies actually started gestating new dao soldiers.
The other cultivators had no intention of interfering with the Cishi people, because everyone had grown through the baptism of bloody battle.
"Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva above."
Tang Sheng let out a furious roar. The aura of Vajra Body spread out, instantly transforming him into a bronze Buddha statue seven to eight meters tall.
With a single palm strike, dao soldiers were smashed into minced flesh. By his own strength alone, he protected the safety of the Cishi people, fully deserving the title of "Holy Monk."
As a Yin Difference realm seed cultivated by Restraint Officers' Hall, Tang Sheng had access to secrets ordinary cultivators could never know, including Buddhist techniques.
The dao soldiers' method of absorbing souls reminded Tang Sheng of how Buddhist qi toyed with souls, causing the swings of his arms to become increasingly wide and forceful.
He shouted the name of Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva with his mouth, yet in his heart he regarded Buddhism as his imagined enemy.
"Tang Sheng?!"
Daoist Yuhua narrowed his eyes. While controlling flying swords to help the Cishi people resist the dao soldiers, he tapped Tang Sheng's glabella with his tail.
"Many thanks, Brother Yuhua."
Tang Sheng let out a long breath. His state of mind had almost developed flaws.
"Reinforcements are here," Daoist Yuhua reminded him.
After some simple recovery, the zombies returned from the stomach world into the Giant Corpse Buddha's body, swarming toward the dao soldiers like a flood.
With these fearless meat shields, the situation immediately tilted toward Restraint Officers' Hall.
Seeing this, Li Yaoyang and Corpse Ghost headed toward the Giant Corpse Buddha's blood vessels. If nothing unexpected happened, the Pill Dao Sect's Yin Difference realm cultivators had all been forced into the Blood River.
Within the Blood River was another battlefield entirely.
The disturbances created by Yin Difference realm were enough to shake heaven and earth, yet the blood vessels had already been sealed shut by Nether Yuan.
Huolongzi also realized there was no escape. In despair, he could only choose to fight to the death, yet under Li Tiangang's divine abilities, he had no power to resist at all.
In Ren Qing's eyes, the conflict between Restraint Officers' Hall and the Pill Dao Sect was like microscopic activity at the cellular level. By using aberrated organs, victory could be decided instantly.
But aside from using disease seeds to investigate the Pill Dao Method, he had no intention of influencing the battle.
Ren Qing sat cross-legged, staring at the Daoist Lingxiao before him, unable to help curiously asking, "You've been here for quite a while already, haven't you?"
"Indeed, for a little while."
Daoist Lingxiao did not care in the slightest about the lives of the Pill Dao Sect disciples. He stared at Ren Qing and asked.
"Did you come out from the sect?"