Xiangxiang remained much the same as before, except its territory was steadily being compressed by the Endless Forest.
Several horse-drawn carriages traveled along the official road overgrown with weeds toward the former site of Heshan Town, with the occasional neigh echoing through the air.
The horses looked rather bizarre. Their necks had been severed at the end, and several insect-like antennae extended from the exposed blood vessels.
The antennae seemed to have become the horses' sensory organs, replacing their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
"Old Tang, how much longer until we reach the desert?"
A nervous young man's voice rang out from one of the rear carriages. His voice sounded like clashing metal, enough to make ordinary people shudder.
"At most another month."
Old Tang flicked the horse's hindquarters with a whip made of bone, and the horse obediently came to a stop.
"Let's all rest for a while. We've been traveling for more than half a year already. A little delay won't matter."
After parking the carriage securely, Old Tang flipped himself down from inside.
He wore earth-gray clothing, and his hands and feet showed obvious signs of insectification.
The others were much the same, each bearing insect-like organs.
He Si could not help but say, "The Insect Immortal ordered us to deliver it to the edge of the desert within two years, but almost a year has already passed..."
Old Tang's face was filled with concern as his gaze swept over the object inside the carriage.
Though it was covered with a black cloth, its oval shape was obvious, writhing rhythmically like a beating heart.
He withdrew his gaze, took out a palm-sized jade bottle from his robes, and smeared the pure white grease inside onto the joints of his limbs.
The insect limbs had most likely been stitched onto their bodies, and the grease served to suppress the body's rejection of the foreign organs.
The others also applied the grease while discussing the hardships of their journey.
Old Tang suddenly remembered something and asked, "He Si, are you sure we haven't gone the wrong way? We keep heading north?"
He Si nodded.
His insect characteristics appeared relatively minor, but in reality, the key alteration was his brain.
He placed a centipede beside his nose and mouth, allowing it to crawl into his brain through his nostril. His eyes rolled back as illusions appeared before him.
As his body convulsed, he saw his perspective speeding into the distance, quickly reaching the skies above the desert, followed by an enormous moon crashing downward.
He jolted awake because of it, his body visibly thinner than before.
"He Si, what did the Guide Insect discover?"
He Si shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, he realized his tongue had been bitten off between his teeth, forcing him to use a finger to write in the dirt.
"What a nuisance."
Old Tang sighed quietly as he treated He Si's wound.
If they had a choice, none of them would have come to this region.
Just the more than half a year spent traveling had already reduced the convoy by one-third.
But who would dare disobey the Insect Immortal?
Old Tang directed everyone to set up a temporary campsite.
Night gradually descended, and the chirping of cicadas immediately drove away the fear lingering in everyone's hearts.
They sat around the campfire, absentmindedly eating dried rations.
"What a nice place. If we arrive early enough, we could stay here..."
Before Old Tang could finish speaking, his expression changed drastically.
His limbs swelled to varying degrees as he sprawled across the ground in a bizarre posture.
He stared fixedly into the darkness.
The others immediately became vigilant.
One person's abdomen swelled, his skin turning translucent. He then spat out accumulated water from his mouth, extinguishing the campfire.
Silence instantly enveloped everything.
Soon afterward, rustling sounds emerged from the grass.
An inexplicable sense of tension welled up inside them.
Especially the insect-human standing watch. Three of the six eyeballs on his forehead exploded.
"You all fall back. I'll go see what's happening."
He Si warned worriedly, "Old Tang, you..."
Old Tang crawled toward the grass while quietly saying, "Don't forget how fast I can travel. Even if there's danger, I can retreat immediately."
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances before cautiously retreating in the opposite direction.
Old Tang could not help feeling apprehensive, but if they took a detour because of this, reaching the desert border within two years would become impossible.
Using both hands and feet, he slowly approached the grass.
Only then did he realize the sound seemed to be coming from underground.
Something appeared to be burrowing its way to the surface.
Old Tang finally let out a sigh of relief.
As long as it wasn't some demon or ghost, even if it were a mutated beast, the insect-humans could deal with it easily.
He parted the grass.
A steadily rising mound of earth came into view.
Not long afterward, a python emerged from the soil.
Its grotesque appearance immediately drained all color from Old Tang's face.
The python resembled an elongated human arm.
It had few joints, giving the impression that it had been pieced together from human bones.
When the snake's mouth opened, it looked like a clenched fist slowly opening.
A faint pressure enveloped the surroundings.
Old Tang collapsed awkwardly onto the ground, completely unable to move.
Under Old Tang's astonished gaze, the python shed its scales as flesh grew, bones continuously reorganizing themselves until it transformed into a human within only a few breaths.
Ren Qing stretched his limbs, still somewhat unaccustomed to using Heavenly Demon Possession for the first time.
Heavenly Demon Possession was divided into two forms.
Soul Possession left the main body behind while the soul descended into the target's Mud Pellet Palace. Of course, a bacterial soul could also be used instead.
Body-and-Soul Possession completely replaced the chosen target with both body and soul.
Ren Qing was using Body-and-Soul Possession.
After all, he intended to bring the Longevity Forbidden Zone into the Stomach World. That could never be accomplished with only a soul.
In just half an hour, under the effects of Heavenly Demon Tribulation, he had arrived in Xiangxiang, paying nothing more than the cost of a severed Flood Serpent limb.
After stabilizing his cultivation, the first thing he intended to do was take away the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
After obtaining the Freedom Heavenly Demon Immortal Position, Ren Qing had undoubtedly become much bolder, no longer fearing the person behind the Longevity Forbidden Zone's arrangement.
He did not believe there was any Heavenly Aberration cultivator in the world capable of killing him.
So he decided to move the Wind God Boqiang's Immortal Position into the deep sea first, since it would be useful for the plans that would follow.
Ren Qing walked over to Old Tang, his expression showing some surprise.
He tapped Old Tang between the eyebrows.
Zhili Technique digested his memories, only for Ren Qing to discover that they were actually connected to the Insect Nest tens of thousands of miles away.
Somehow, the Insect Nest had learned of the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal, so it had dispatched insect-humans in advance to prepare for establishing a brood nest in Jingzhou.
According to Old Tang's memories, insect-humans were a subordinate race that had emerged within the last century.
They were humans partially transformed into insects, with crudely stitched bodies.
Daoist Taihan and Jade Splendor had no idea that the Insect Nest had undergone such changes.
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes.
The Insect Nest heading toward Jingzhou could not simply be a coincidence.
The Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal had already fallen into a disadvantageous position and would likely become a Turbid Immortal in less than a century.
For the Insect Nest to head to Jingzhou at such a critical moment, it was impossible that they had no interest in the Immortal Position.
Among all Heavenly Aberration forces, only the Insect Nest was probably obsessed with the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal enough to mobilize its entire strength for such an opportunity.
It was as though an unseen hand were manipulating everything behind the scenes, influencing the battle between the Taiyin Star Lord and the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal while also directing the Insect Nest's involvement in Jingzhou.
This group of insect-humans was certainly not the only one.
The Insect Nest had dispatched at least thousands upon thousands of teams.
Although Ren Qing had not previously known about Jingzhou's abnormalities, the insect-humans would have triggered the surveillance he left behind after advancing only a few more miles.
From this, it was obvious that the Insect Nest did not know of Ren Qing's existence.
He erased Old Tang's memories concerning himself, attached Dreamflower to his soul, then flashed forward several times to catch up with the convoy.
The insect-humans stood frozen in place, their consciousnesses deeply trapped within dreams.
Ren Qing inspected the contents of the carriage and discovered a Flesh-and-Blood Artifact called a Mother Egg, something both bizarre and grotesque.
It was condensed by a Mother Insect and could give birth to an Insect Nest.
After confirming that there were no hidden tricks, he took one Mother Egg into the Stomach World and handed it to Li Yaoyang to investigate.
Whenever matters involving the Insect Nest were concerned, Ren Qing would never seek out the Insect Vein.
After all, he clearly understood that he was not the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal.
After Ren Qing departed, the convoy resumed its journey as though nothing had happened.
Ren Qing arrived underground where the Longevity Forbidden Zone was stored.
He collected the dried well into the Stomach World before activating Heavenly Demon Possession once more.
His body and soul gradually dissolved into mist.
Before long, they disappeared completely.
A crack suddenly opened in the clouds overhead.
A single beam of sunlight shone toward Jingzhou before vanishing again after only a brief sweep.
Ren Qing casually possessed a dragon beast and had already returned to the sea.
A cold smile appeared on his lips as he stared in Jingzhou's direction.
That beam of light had likely come from the mastermind behind everything.
There was even a good chance that the other party had interfered in Jingzhou as well.
"No matter what your goal is, if you dare touch the Immortal Position in Jingzhou, then even a tiger will break its teeth."
Ren Qing waited for Li Yaoyang's report while considering which cultivation method to advance next.
After thinking for a long while, barring any surprises, the choice came down to either advancing Heaven and Earth Genesis to Dao Gives Birth to One, or breaking Zhili Technique through to the Heavenly Aberration realm.
Heaven and Earth Genesis would expand the number of Immortal Offices, while the dream abilities of Zhili Technique would be extremely important for the coming plans.
Ren Qing sensed the Disease Seeds growing within the Matchmaking Immortal.
It likely would not take much longer before they completely saturated it, greatly increasing the possibilities offered by the True Immortal corpse.
Only a few days later, Li Yaoyang informed Ren Qing of the Mother Egg's purpose.
The Mother Egg was likewise something that had only emerged within the past century.
It could parasitize living beings, absorbing nutrients to breed all kinds of insects.
It somewhat resembled a Forbidden Zone.
A unique ecosystem would develop inside the host's body, and only by continuously feeding could the Mother Egg maintain its drain on nutrients.
Li Yaoyang also had a rather uncertain theory.
The Mother Egg seemed to possess a certain capacity for growth.
Multiple Mother Eggs could fuse together and even alter the surrounding environment, though only the Mother Insect of the Insect Nest probably knew how to accomplish such a thing.
While keeping watch over Jingzhou, Ren Qing had Spirit Division check on the situation at the Restraint Officers' Hall.
It would not be long before Li Yaoyang attempted to break through to the Multitude Yang Immortal realm.
After his Karmic Fire had been suppressed by his Immortal Office, Song Zongwu's cultivation had progressed somewhat faster, and he had already reached the Multitude Yang Immortal realm.
However, Song Zongwu only possessed two Restraint Officer Methods, making Multitude Yang Immortal comparatively much easier.
Jade Splendor successfully broke through to the Yang Spirit realm.
Bai Guniang, however, failed her breakthrough.
Fortunately, the bacterial souls mobilized the Heavenly Dao to suppress the Strange Object.
Otherwise, mere serious injuries would have been the least of the consequences.
Once Bai Guniang recovered, she would still have another opportunity to break through, making this a good chance for her to consolidate her foundation.
The number of Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators who had reached the Yin Difference realm continued to increase.
Aside from those who advanced by devouring Strange Objects, the remaining cultivators all clearly possessed the potential to reach the Yang Spirit realm.
It would not be long before the number of Yin Difference realm cultivators in the Restraint Officers' Hall exploded.
Ren Qing rubbed his temples with a headache.
It seemed he still had to advance Heaven and Earth Genesis first.
If he went too long without conferring Immortal Offices, it would easily cause the hierarchy to become rigid.
But if he did that, he did not know whether a Yang Spirit realm Zhili Technique would still be sufficient.
Ren Qing's consciousness descended toward the Matchmaking Immortal.
The Lost Soul Disease Seed had already spread throughout its flesh and bones.
Only the soulless Mud Pellet Palace remained untouched.