Ren Qing couldn't help taking a deep breath. The surrounding yin qi surged into his body like fledgling swallows returning to their nest, leaving not the slightest trace behind.
Fengdu Corpse Emperor's control over yin qi was terrifying. It felt as if yin qi were an extension of his body itself, something he could command as easily as moving his own limbs with a single thought.
Ren Qing chose to suppress the yin qi, afraid that an outburst might injure the other cultivators.
The celestial position of Fengdu Corpse Emperor was already nearly fifty percent Heavenly Dao-ized. Invisibly blessed by Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, it could lose control at the slightest mishap.
What he needed to do now was stabilize his cultivation while further strengthening his mastery of Corpse Fengdu.
"Heavenly Dao-ization truly is a double-edged sword..."
Ren Qing sat cross-legged in the center of the cave dwelling. Because of his breakthrough to the Heavenly Aberration realm, a pit over two meters deep had formed there.
He couldn't be bothered repairing the cave dwelling. Once he entered a state of complete tranquility, he would lose all sense of time anyway.
After breaking through to the Heavenly Aberration realm, Ren Qing had officially stepped into the first minor realm, "Dao Born from Technique."
"Dao Born from Technique" mainly involved refining one's control over the celestial position. The process could last decades or even centuries.
Because of the Information Flow, Ren Qing's body had fused perfectly with Fengdu Corpse Emperor, effectively placing him at the very peak of Dao Born from Technique.
What came next was establishing an immortal foundation. To put it plainly, the Heavenly Aberration realm was the process of gradually transforming a cultivator into a true immortal through a celestial position.
The second minor realm of Heavenly Aberration was called "Dao Gives Birth to One."
The "One" in Dao Gives Birth to One referred to the spine, the body's central axis. The celestial position would spread outward from the spine and eventually cover both body and soul.
What Ren Qing needed to do was control the celestial position to nourish his spine until it transformed into a fluid-like Immortal Bone, also known as an immortal root.
Of course, even within Dao Gives Birth to One, the location where the Immortal Bone developed could differ. For the Zhili Technique, it might manifest elsewhere. It was simply that Corpse Fengdu happened to center on the spine.
The cultivation of the Heavenly Aberration realm was actually quite similar to Heavenly Dao cultivation methods.
Ren Qing recalled the saying passed down for thousands of years within Wuwei Daoist Temple: "Dao births Dao, the Dao of Non-Action." It was clear those insects truly believed themselves to be the orthodox Daoist lineage.
His spine had previously fused with the strange object from Dragon-Serpent Spine. Later, after Shadowless Ghost reached the Yang Spirit realm, the strange object had transferred into Ghost Shadow.
Cultivating Dao Gives Birth to One wouldn't be a problem, though Dragon Spine would have to suffer a bit. The little dragon could only obediently remain inside the Stomach World.
Once the spine completely transformed into a fluid state and began radiating into flesh and bone, one would enter the third minor realm of Heavenly Aberration, "One Gives Birth to Two."
During One Gives Birth to Two, the spine would grow like the roots of a plant, eventually filling the body and replacing flesh and bone to form an immortal body.
Of course, what exactly an immortal body was remained unclear even to Ren Qing.
He always felt there was something strangely unsettling about it. This was only for Ghost Immortals. It was difficult to imagine how bizarre Turbid Immortals must be.
After progressing further beyond One Gives Birth to Two, one would reach the perfected stage of Heavenly Aberration: "Giving Birth to Myriad Things."
The immortal body would begin transforming into qi, while the soul would indirectly become tainted by the aura of the celestial position, allowing the cultivator to shift between corporeal and incorporeal states and become difficult for mortal things to harm.
Achieving Giving Birth to Myriad Things was equivalent to having one foot already in the Earth Immortal realm. The boundless immortal qi generated by the vaporized immortal body could easily alter the environment.
However, all cultivation within the Heavenly Aberration realm was built upon possessing a celestial position. Without the qualifications to become immortal, everything would ultimately amount to nothing.
If the potential of an Ascension Method only reached the Heavenly Aberration realm, then Dao Born from Technique was already its limit.
From this, it was evident that when Corpse Immortal cultivated Soul-Hooking Ghost Immortal, he had forcibly fused the celestial position into his spine during Dao Born from Technique to break through into Dao Gives Birth to One.
The danger involved was obvious.
If the celestial position tied to an Ascension Method was already occupied by a true immortal, the outcome wouldn't be much better.
Although cultivators could sense the true immortal occupying the celestial position, the true immortal would likewise detect the cultivator's existence and eradicate them completely.
To become immortal, one had to kill the Earth Immortal occupying the celestial position. In essence, the immortal path was already predetermined.
Ren Qing silently rejoiced that he possessed the Information Flow. Otherwise, no matter how extraordinary his talent, he could never have comprehended an Earth Immortal Ascension Method while facing the Heavenly Dao.
He had opened up a brand-new celestial position, meaning the road ahead was smooth. In theory, as long as he continued laying low, he would eventually attain immortality.
Ren Qing understood this, yet worries still lingered in his heart.
Ghost Immortals had already vanished from this world. He had no idea what kind of change had occurred. Rashly becoming immortal might trigger some unknown taboo.
Ren Qing already possessed immortality and eternal life. He certainly didn't want to suddenly perish right after becoming immortal.
He planned to uncover the secrets of the path to immortality during the Heavenly Aberration realm and make complete preparations before advancing. Otherwise, life and death would remain uncertain.
Ren Qing's aura gradually withdrew, and the bone-like cave walls began regenerating and transforming.
After fusing with the strange object, he was essentially a mobile forbidden zone. His mastery over strange objects had reached an extreme level.
If Ren Qing wished, he could release yin qi without exposing himself in the slightest, transforming hundreds of miles into a land of bones.
A land of bones filled with yin qi was essentially a forbidden zone.
He summoned the Information Flow.
[Lifespan: Infinite]
[Techniques: Corpse Fengdu (Heavenly Lord), Zhili Technique (Knowing Dream)..]
[Immortal Body: Undying Imperial Corpse (Pseudo)]
[Divine Ability: Death Gives No Birth]
[Celestial Position: Fengdu Corpse Emperor (Pseudo)]
[Strange Object: Plague Dream Tree]
[Divine Ability: The World Is Like a Dream]
[Celestial Position: Zhili Dream Immortal (Pseudo)]
Ren Qing noticed that within Corpse Fengdu's displayed information, the section for the strange object had disappeared, replaced by "Immortal Body."
The Undying Imperial Corpse was Fengdu Corpse Emperor's unique immortal body. Since it had not yet fully formed, it carried the designation "Pseudo."
Corpse Immortal seemed not to possess an immortal body. Could that be the price of becoming a Turbid Immortal?
Ren Qing was very curious. Once all five techniques reached the Heavenly Aberration realm, how exactly would their immortal bodies coexist within a single body?
He wasn't worried about conflicts between immortal bodies. He had already confirmed that the compatibility of Ascension Methods shouldn't be a problem.
The upper limit of Corpse Fengdu reached the Earth Immortal level and could accommodate the other techniques.
Ren Qing's state of mind gradually stabilized, and his aura diminished to a barely perceptible level, no longer causing the Yang Spirit cultivators to tremble in fear.
Even so, he still wasn't certain exactly how strong he had become.
Although Ren Qing was only at Dao Born from Technique, his actual combat strength should rival Dao Gives Birth to One, since his Heavenly Dao-ization was already extremely severe.
There was another difference after advancing to the Heavenly Aberration realm. The turtle shell had originally contained several fine cracks, yet they had now vanished completely.
While in seclusion, he also used Spirit Division to monitor the Beast Pen people settlement on the surface.
The Beast Pen people seemed to have recently suffered another destruction. Their population had only recovered to a few hundred, with crude houses surrounded by walls of flesh.
To his surprise, the Beast Pen people had connected themselves through umbilical cords, using them to circulate blood and maintain matching blood types.
This allowed their lifespans to remain highly synchronized.
As long as black goats continued being born, the number of connected Beast Pen people would increase, and their collective lifespan would slowly accumulate.
However, Ren Qing could tell that the Beast Pen people were still making a desperate final struggle. Their endless cycles of repetition were ultimately futile.
He couldn't help shaking his head inwardly. No matter how many times the Beast Pen people rebuilt their settlements, they could never exert the slightest influence on the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
The Supreme Heavenly Demon was very likely an existence above Earth Immortals. How could mortals possibly affect such a being?
Ren Qing glanced at the Heavenly Dao Crack on the turtle shell. After consuming larger amounts of lifespan, it had indeed affected the recovery speed somewhat.
Recovery was slower than expected, but he could first raise his Yin Difference realm techniques to the Yang Spirit realm. After all, it would only cost five hundred years.
Taking advantage of the spare time, Ren Qing planned out the Ascension Methods for his other three primary and secondary techniques, striving to fully unlock the potential of their celestial positions.
The Zhili Technique reaching the Earth Immortal level had involved a certain amount of luck. He didn't dare assume every attempt would be so successful.
He wasn't worried about the other techniques. The only concern was Ghost Shadow's collection of pieced-together primary and secondary techniques, whose potential might prove insufficient.
Facts had proven that more fused techniques were not necessarily better. Forcing unrelated techniques together would only make it harder for an Ascension Method to reach the Earth Immortal level.
Since Ren Qing had chosen the path of the Ghost Immortal, a gap in power between himself and Turbid Immortals was inevitable.
He needed to compensate through other means. Otherwise, if he became entangled in the struggles of immortals and Buddhas in the future, he could easily sink into the mire with no way to escape.
At that moment, Ren Qing realized there was actually no need to wait several more decades before returning to Xiangxiang.
Once the Heavenly Dao Crack had healed sufficiently, he could set out.
With the strength of the Heavenly Aberration realm, bringing the Restraint Officers' Hall out of the Longevity Forbidden Zone would not be difficult.
Chen Changsheng's situation was another matter. If necessary, Ren Qing could first help stabilize him and deal with the issue permanently after reaching the Earth Immortal realm.
Only then did Ren Qing remember to check on the Restraint Officers' Hall's development of the Beast Pen.
As Fengdu Corpse Immortal, he could obtain a general overview through the zombies spread throughout the cave network, and he was immediately astonished by the efficiency of the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Every area within ten miles had already been completely developed. All sorts of methods for harvesting resources could be seen everywhere, leaving one dumbfounded.
Take the Heavenly Dao insect people, for example. They used a species of turtle insect that only reproduced at the moment of death. Within the Beast Pen, a new generation could be produced almost every half day.
Jade Splendor had excavated seven cave dwellings specifically for breeding them, allowing the turtle insects to adapt to various environments. As a result, each breeding cave focused on a different direction.
Medicinal properties, heat resistance, cold storage, corrosion resistance...
Meanwhile, Wuwei Daoist Temple devoted itself entirely to artifact refinement. After all, artifacts forged within the Beast Pen would inevitably acquire a mysterious corrosive property.
Ren Qing had already removed the lifespan tax on Dream City transactions. This was precisely the period of explosive growth for cultivator professions, and the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
The amount of resources flowing through the Great Dream Pavilion each day was now dozens of times greater than before.
He felt somewhat regretful. If lifespan extension could accelerate the healing of the Heavenly Dao Crack, he probably wouldn't need long before attaining immortality.
However, the fact that lifespan extension was useless now didn't mean developing his forces was useless.
Ren Qing felt that the Earth Immortals and true Buddhas occupying various regions and participating in population harvesting must be doing so because there was profit to be gained.
Cultivation after becoming immortal might even be directly tied to the strength of one's faction.
After thinking for a moment, he slowly opened his mouth and exhaled yin qi, controlling it as precisely as possible so that it spread only half a palm above the ground.
The mist-like yin qi covered the cave network across ten miles, leaving the cultivators confused as to what was happening.
Only zombie cultivators could sense their Corpse Cores becoming active. Even without circulating their cultivation, the yin qi within their dantians was steadily growing denser.
Crack crack crack crack...
Bone after bone emerged from underground before assembling into simple rail tracks.
Then came mine carts formed from corpses. They traveled freely between cave dwellings at speeds too fast for the naked eye to follow.
Most importantly, the mine carts required no cultivators to operate them, making them ideal for transporting goods.
Since Ren Qing planned to return to Xiangxiang, he intended to gather as many resources as possible, even if it meant hollowing out the entire underground region.
He expanded the Disaster Dispelling Technique's range to twenty miles and encouraged all branches to continue expanding.
A portion of the Heavenly Dao Crack had already healed, making it the perfect time to advance Longevous Tortoise to the Yang Spirit realm and reduce the possibility of the Restraint Officers' Hall encountering danger.