Cultivation: Tax Evasion!

According to the books recorded in the Secret Pavilion, livestockers can sew beast hides onto the surface of living humans, turning them into wild beasts or livestock.

After advancing to Human-Faced Beast Demon, this ability was further enhanced.

Cultivators could freely transform into beast forms by sewing beast hides onto their own bodies, though this would indirectly affect their intelligence.

Ren Qing suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, while Zhao Daniu before him had already transformed into a white tiger with hanging eyes and a broad forehead, licking its fur with a tongue covered in barbs, eyes filled with killing intent.

The two of them briefly stood off for a few breaths, and Zhao Daniu suddenly pounced toward Ren Qing.

Vendors nearby who heard the beast's roar turned pale, though they didn't understand the situation, under the urging of the constables, they quickly fled from the Qinghe Examination Yard.

Ren Qing deftly sidestepped to dodge, and the Dragon-Snake Spine flung Zhao Daniu away.

Zhao Daniu slammed heavily into the wall, bricks and stones scattering.

The tiger-beast shook its head, steam snorting from its nose, its body swelling several sizes, and its four limbs paced around Ren Qing.

Ren Qing was slightly disappointed. Though Zhao Daniu was indeed at the Ghost Envoy Realm, he had completely lost his intelligence, and combined with the effects of beastification, his strength wasn't all that impressive.

As if sensing the prey's contempt, Zhao Daniu let out a series of roars, erupting with terrifying speed and disappearing from the spot.

Ren Qing's Double Pupils caught sight of Zhao Daniu's figure, but his reaction was a beat too slow, leaving a bleeding wound on his shoulder.

Zhao Daniu wanted to press the attack, when suddenly the surroundings were covered in ice and snow.

Snowflakes gently fell from the sky.

Ren Qing's whereabouts were unknown, yet reflected in the ice, he seemed to be everywhere.

Mirror-Faced, Mirror Flower, Water Moon...

The Dragon-Snake Spine turned into an ice python and shot out from every angle. Zhao Daniu had no way to evade and was instantly tightly bound.

Stimulated by the cold, another patch of beast hide spread from Zhao Daniu's back.

He transformed from the white tiger into a mole, squeezing out from the gap between the ice python's coils, clinging close to the ground as he pounced at Ren Qing.

Ren Qing's expression remained calm. As Zhao Daniu approached him, he transformed into a black bear, exploding with force and leaving a long, narrow wound on Ren Qing's arm. Blood slowly dripped down.

"Human-Faced Beast Demon truly is bizarre."

Ren Qing raised his hand to block the attack, the injury being transferred to his leg under the effects of the Leather Refiner, sealed temporarily by taut muscle.

There was already commotion in the distance, indicating that the Restraint Officers were coming to assist.

Seeing this, he planned to finish the fight quickly.

The Dragon-Snake Spine pierced into Zhao Daniu's waist and abdomen from a tricky angle, and when it was withdrawn, the bone blade had carved off at least several catties of flesh.

Zhao Daniu's ferocity was provoked, and his bear claws struck out repeatedly.

Ren Qing's eyes focused. The moment Zhao Daniu attacked, Ren Qing appeared behind him, leaving only an illusion in place.

Thunder coiled around the Dragon-Snake Spine. A booming sound tore through the air, piercing straight through Zhao Daniu's chest. The flesh around the wound was scorched black.

Zhao Daniu let out a wail, beast hide spreading from beneath his feet.

His whole body grew feathers. He opened his wings and tried to flee into the sky.

Ren Qing naturally wouldn't give him the chance. His legs transformed into a werewolf's. In the blink of an eye, he leapt onto the rooftop, using momentum to reach Zhao Daniu's side.

The Dragon-Snake Spine emitted a harsh grinding sound of bones, merging together into a massive bone saber over ten meters long.

Three Restraint Officers had already arrived nearby. Shocked by Ren Qing's strength, they all stopped in their tracks.

"Slash!!!"

Ren Qing shouted angrily. The Dragon-Snake Spine swept from top to bottom in a single flash.

Zhao Daniu, half-kneeling on the ground, began to revert to human form as his body was split in two, twitching a few times before quickly going still.

Ren Qing recalled the "Dao Gives Birth to Dao" that had suddenly appeared after killing Wogu.

He didn't hesitate to perform body-soul separation, using the soul's perspective to look at the corpse.

As the corpse decayed, invisible five-colored light drifted toward him, then was absorbed into Ren Qing's body.

Somewhat like a curse, this was the eerie aspect of "Dao Gives Birth to Dao."

Ren Qing instinctively summoned the information stream. "Dao Gives Birth to Dao" still could not ascend, but its hue seemed to grow deeper and darker.

Could this be Dao Rhythm?

If that was really the case, he would need to kill a large number of cultivators who possessed "Dao Gives Birth to Dao," and perhaps even include the blind Daoist.

Ren Qing's eyes gleamed. He would think about it again after the Prison Within the Abdomen completed its first aberration.

Immediately, a Supernatural Remnant of the Human-Faced Beast Demon emerged from Zhao Daniu's body. But the Restraint Officers who had arrived suppressed it together, preventing the formation of a forbidden zone.

The one leading the Restraint Officers was Jiang Feng.

Seeing the alley had become a ruin, he quickly asked, "Ren Qing, are you alright?"

Ren Qing nodded and replied, "Only one student lost their life."

Jiang Feng personally brought the Supernatural Remnant to the Restraint Officers' Hall to prevent calamity.

The remaining Restraint Officers headed to the Qinghe Examination Yard.

Since there had been deaths, there was nothing more for Ren Qing to do, the Restraint Officers' Hall would fully take over the imperial examination.

Ren Qing chose to wait a while longer and took the opportunity to retrieve his soul fragment into the Niwan Palace.

He could now enter and exit the Dao of Non-Action Dojo at will, but to avoid being noticed by the blind Daoist, he did not plan to explore for the time being.

The Restraint Officers found nothing useful after searching, except for the corpse of the student stuffed with a human heart, which appeared slightly bizarre.

But with all kinds of strange techniques in the world, the Restraint Officers didn't pay much attention.

After returning to the real world, Jiang Feng specially summoned Ren Qing to submit their mission report together.

They used Zhun's feather to summon a Nether Crow and had it swallow the paper recording the information.

Ren Qing concealed the matter of the blind Daoist and the Dao of Non-Action Dojo.

Though he felt that "Dao Gives Birth to Dao" had already spread throughout Xiangxiang, most of those enlightened were probably ordinary people.

No wonder it was called "Dao Gives Birth to Dao."

"Dao Gives Birth to Dao" could still attach to other bodies after a person's death, continuing to spread endlessly in an unusual way.

After submitting the mission report, Ren Qing returned to the Corpse Burners' Hall.

The Dao of Non-Action Dojo was a headache, but the Restraint Officers' Hall was probably focusing all their attention on the incident involving Tu Di. Who knew how that was progressing.

...

Inside Ksitigarbha.

Song Zongwu sat cross-legged on Zhun's back as they traversed the Flesh Plain, heading toward that brain tree that pierced the heavens.

A corpse was laid before Song Zongwu. One could see that the inside was hollow, and the whole body was riddled with holes of various sizes.

Tu Di's appearance was no longer distinguishable, but from the mycelium covering its surface, it was definitely related to the Cordyceps sinensis-type techniques.

The two of them remained silent. A moment later, they arrived at the base of the brain tree.

Zhun couldn't help but urge, "Song Zongwu, hurry up. That person is about to awaken."

Song Zongwu's six eyes turned red. He placed the corpse directly at the base of the brain tree. The entire Flesh Plain trembled in response.

In an instant, a colossal dust giant began to take shape.

Zhun took Song Zongwu away from the brain tree.

"Will... this really work?"

"There's hope."

Song Zongwu's eyes were resolute.

The dust giant continued to scatter spores toward the brain tree. Tu Di's corpse gradually vanished, leaving only a fungus behind.

The fungus absorbed the spores as it grew. In a few moments, it had reached half a meter in height. A human face gradually emerged on its surface.

A strange cycle had been formed.