Ren Qing immediately decided to copy the same method he had used when exploring the Longevity Forbidden Zone back then.
He released a bacterial soul at once. Since he was not expecting it to return safely, he chose the common cold disease seed with the largest quantity. Even if the bacterial soul was lost in the Mirror World, it would not be painful to lose.
Under Ren Qing's control, the bacterial soul gradually walked toward the pitch-black darkness where one could not see their own hand, as though it were entering the mouth of some gigantic creature.
The flesh inside the corpse's abdomen was filled with sand-like crystals, and the material increasingly resembled a cave.
The distance traveled by the bacterial soul quickly surpassed the depth of the corpse's stomach. It was obvious that it was already approaching the unknown Mirror World.
Ren Qing's perception of the bacterial soul became fainter and fainter.
Just as the bacterial soul was about to disappear completely, he suddenly sensed rejection coming from the Corpse Mirror.
To be precise, it was the unique laws of the Mirror World beginning to affect the bacterial soul, giving Ren Qing the illusion that his soul was about to be torn apart.
He hurriedly retreated over a hundred meters away from the Corpse Mirror. Just as his main soul felt a slight stabbing pain, the bacterial soul had already completely scattered in body and soul.
Ren Qing pinched the bridge of his nose and once again used the disease tree within the Mud Pellet Palace to nurture a common cold bacterial soul. Then his gaze landed on several flesh Dharma artifacts.
The Mirror World seemed to require a complete body and soul in order to enter.
The laws were likely constructed by Mirror Immortal. It was very possible that he wanted to use the bodies and souls of high-realm cultivators to study the secrets of immortality.
Ren Qing casually selected a humanoid flesh Dharma artifact and cast Dragon Roar Within the Casket.
The flesh Dharma artifact gradually showed traces of pseudo-dragonification. The newly born common cold bacterial soul drilled into its body and took control of it.
Ren Qing was somewhat nervous. After all, whether a pseudo-dragonified flesh Dharma artifact could gain the recognition of the Corpse Mirror was still unknown.
The flesh Dharma artifact was released into the Stomach World. Its appearance bore about fifty percent resemblance to Ren Qing.
However, the clone had been crudely refined, causing its flesh to be extremely unstable. Combined with the erosion of the common cold, it appeared exceptionally weak.
After only a few steps, the clone's face had already flushed red. Its body temperature rose due to the cold, accompanied by all kinds of inflammation.
Ren Qing had no choice but to spend additional time strengthening the clone before it could walk normally.
He watched as the clone entered the Mirror World. After waiting for a while, he turned and left the Corpse Mirror, silently heading toward the gigantic Corpse Buddha.
While the clone explored the Mirror World, he did not intend to stay idle. He planned to first translate the existing contents of the Dead Man's Sutra.
Ren Qing could vaguely sense the clone's position, which had appeared at the edge of the Dead Man's Forbidden Zone.
He carefully inspected the clone. Although he knew it was merely a substitute formed through Mirror Immortal's ability, he could not detect anything abnormal either inside or out.
If the clone had not been too far away, Ren Qing would have wanted to inspect its information with the Information Flow.
Ren Qing instructed the substitute not to move around recklessly and to bury itself beneath white bone remains to avoid affecting the true body inside the Mirror World.
He quickly returned to the gigantic Corpse Buddha. Quite a few cultivators were clearly watching the area around him, with monks from Lion Buddha Temple being the most numerous.
It was obvious that the various factions were far from peaceful on the surface. All of them were secretly at each other's throats.
Ren Qing deliberately made no effort to conceal himself and casually wandered around the gigantic Corpse Buddha, yet he discovered that only a portion of the cultivators paid attention to him.
What they feared was the gigantic Corpse Buddha. Since Ren Qing had never personally acted, they probably believed his strength mainly relied on external objects.
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Ren Qing's mouth. Even though they were all Yang Spirit Realm cultivators, the Restraint Officer techniques were far beyond comparison with ordinary techniques.
Bearing the risks of strange objects naturally came with greater rewards.
After several flashes, Ren Qing disappeared from the spot and entered the digestive region through the giant Corpse Buddha's mouth and nose. The place no longer possessed its former bustling atmosphere.
In order to maintain its rotten appearance, the gigantic Corpse Buddha could only shut down most of its mutated organs, causing the center of gravity of the Restraint Officers' Hall to shift toward the Stomach World.
There was no helping it. When the Restraint Officers' Hall acted, they either did not move at all or they struck like thunder and erased every trace.
Ren Qing did not want the other factions learning through the gigantic Corpse Buddha that he had once come to the Dead Man's Forbidden Zone.
Several hundred cultivators still remained within the stomach. As for the crack leading into the Stomach World, he had placed it deep within the intestinal jungle.
Ren Qing's arrival immediately drew the attention of the cultivators, and they all greeted him one after another.
While responding, he headed toward the southeast corner of the temporary camp, a place ordinary cultivators found difficult to approach. It was the residence of the Yin Difference Realm cultivators.
Ren Qing directly arrived before Li Yaoyang's house. Coffins containing Corpse Ghouls were placed in the courtyard, and a strange smell could be detected in the air.
After pushing open the door, what entered his sight were over a dozen honeycomb-like flesh Dharma artifacts, each containing a large number of Heavenly Dao Insect eggs.
Daoist Yuhua was also present, staring nervously at the honeycombs.
Upon noticing Ren Qing, he hurriedly took out a newly compiled book from his robes.
"Immortal Ren Qing, Daoist Taihan said the text on the surface of the Immortal Gate is Ancient Official Script, likely originating from an ancient era over ten thousand years ago."
"Daoist Taihan compiled annotations for the Ancient Official Script, but only partially. It definitely won't be enough to fully decipher the contents on the Immortal Gate."
According to Daoist Taihan, the Immortal Gate very likely recorded an immortal technique.
When they had first arrived there, over a hundred cultivators would go every day to study it. Even later, the reason they entered the Immortal Gate was because they longed for the immortal technique.
But after two hundred years had passed, who would still care about some so-called immortal technique?
"It's fine. This is enough."
Ren Qing accepted the book and flipped through it briefly before storing it inside the Stomach World with satisfaction.
Even though the Ancient Official Script was incomplete, the words and phrases were certainly interconnected. Translating the Dead Man's Sutra would not be difficult.
It would merely require an enormous amount of time. If he wanted to shorten the process, he needed more manpower.
And manpower was the one thing Ren Qing lacked the least. With a thought, hundreds of bacterial souls surged out from the disease tree.
The bacterial souls shared consciousness. After fully digesting the contents of the Ancient Official Script, they began a long-term translation effort on the Dead Man's Sutra.
Shock appeared on Daoist Yuhua's face. He saw wisps of white smoke rising from Ren Qing's head, causing the room's temperature to noticeably increase.
Ren Qing activated the Method of Modeling Heaven and Earth, merging the Ice Crystal Mountain from the Stomach World with his skull.
His skull instantly transformed into crystal, forcefully lowering the temperature within his cranium to normal levels while also allowing the bacterial souls to think more calmly.
Ren Qing then walked over beside Li Yaoyang and watched as the latter continuously scattered spiritual materials into the honeycombs.
Only then did Li Yaoyang react and apologetically say, "Brother Ren, sorry about that. I was too busy incubating the Heavenly Dao insect people and didn't notice you."
"How's the incubation going?"
Ren Qing was still very curious about the Heavenly Dao insect people. The collision between Heavenly Dao techniques and the Insect Nest Method would definitely produce something unique.
Even considering the risks involving Insect Nest, and that the Heavenly Dao insect people could not appear publicly for the time being, they could still indirectly increase the foundation of the Restraint Officers' Hall.
"Not bad. Out of the two thousand insect eggs, seven hundred are dead eggs. With the current progress, eighty percent of the remaining eggs should hatch successfully."
Ren Qing used his Double Pupils to inspect the honeycombs and noticed many innovations distinct from Restraint Officer techniques.
The honeycombs clearly incorporated the Pill Dao Method, making it easier for the medicinal properties of spiritual materials to be absorbed by the insect eggs. There were also Moon Patterns used to stabilize the temperature.
Daoist Yuhua sighed emotionally. "Fellow Daoist Li Yaoyang truly is remarkable. Even with the protection of a Matriarch in Insect Nest, the hatching rate is only around fifty percent..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ren Qing suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a large quantity of vitality mixed with Reincarnation Remaining Soul, directly acting upon the insect eggs.
Those underdeveloped eggs instantly became lively after receiving nourishment.
What shocked Daoist Yuhua was that the insect-human embryos inside the eggs began visibly fusing together at a speed discernible to the naked eye, quickly becoming inseparable from each other.
Crack crack crack crack...
The sound of eggshells breaking rang out, followed by rustling noises.
The amber-like shells shattered apart, and several hundred infants bearing insect characteristics crawled out, continuously devouring their own eggshells.
Daoist Yuhua noticed that these insect-human infants would all be considered top-grade talents even within Insect Nest.
Emotion welled up in his heart. As expected of the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal. With only a slight effort, he could achieve a one hundred percent hatching rate while even improving their aptitudes.
"Imm... Immortal Ren, the growth rate of the insect people is extremely fast. Within two years they can mature into adults. At that point they can cultivate both the Insect Nest Method and Restraint Officer techniques."
With the current nearly fivefold time flow inside the Stomach World, they could form a large-scale population in just over two months. The reproductive ability of Insect Nest was truly astonishing.
If the Heavenly Dao Insects of Wuwei Daoist Temple had possessed the characteristics of Insect Nest, the Blood Moon would never have been allowed to run rampant.
Of course, the two represented different evolutionary paths. Insect Nest sacrificed potential in exchange for focusing on population reproduction and environmental adaptation.
Ren Qing reminded him, "Brother Li, you can go to Dream City and post a task. Find a few cultivators who practice the Rebirth Technique to help nourish the insect eggs. Reincarnation Remaining Soul can be exchanged at the Great Dream Pavilion."
Li Yaoyang silently memorized Ren Qing's words. The effects of Reincarnation Remaining Soul might very well serve as a catalyst for the fusion of humans and insects.
The final missing piece of the perfected Gu Insect Method was about to be completed. The Yang Spirit Realm was now within reach.
Ren Qing sensed the Dead Man's Sutra within his Mud Pellet Palace gradually becoming complete. Eager to examine its contents, he found an excuse and departed.
He arrived at the residence prepared for him by the Restraint Officers' Hall and closed his eyes to digest the memories.
However, as the contents of the Dead Man's Sutra flooded into his mind, Ren Qing's brows could not help but tighten. The more he read, the stranger it felt.
After being translated from Ancient Official Script into Xiangxiang dialect, the Dead Man's Sutra became exceptionally awkward.
Ren Qing subconsciously summoned the Information Flow, only to discover that there was no longer even a notification indicating the technique was incomplete. This meant the Dead Man's Sutra had not gained recognition.
His first reaction was that Daoist Taihan had deceived him, and killing intent flashed through his eyes.
But he soon realized something was wrong. After all, the Dead Man's Sutra translated through Ancient Official Script was relatively coherent, proving the two indeed shared a connection.
"Could it be that the Dead Man's Sutra can only be mastered through Ancient Official Script?"
Ren Qing fully digested and organized the Ancient Official Script in his memory. When he looked at the Dead Man's Sutra again, it immediately regained the recognition of the Information Flow.
Dead Man's Sutra lacks portions of its contents and cannot be mastered through lifespan consumption.
"They're both techniques created by Corpse Immortal, so why can the Corpse Body Technique be cultivated using Xiangxiang dialect while the Dead Man's Sutra cannot?"
"Could their essence actually be different?"
Ren Qing suddenly recalled the "Ascension Ladder" of the Yang Spirit Realm. After techniques fused together, they would give birth to an Ascension Method capable of leading directly to the Heavenly Aberration Realm.
Could the Dead Man's Sutra actually be an Ascension Method...
As a one-of-a-kind technique, an Ascension Method could only be born from a perfected Yang Spirit Realm Ascension Ladder and possessed certain unique characteristics.
Mirror Immortal, as a Heavenly Aberration Realm cultivator, definitely had a deep understanding of Ascension Methods.
"It seems there's truly a need to explore the Mirror World. Otherwise I'll have to wait until my dream techniques advance to the Ascension Ladder before I can fully understand the Dead Man's Sutra."
Fortunately, the Information Flow only required five thousand years to advance to the Ascension Ladder.
Ren Qing canceled the Dragon Roar Within the Casket on the clone, immediately causing the substitute outside to die.
At the Corpse Mirror.
The clone once again walked out from within.