Cultivation: Tax Evasion!

Ren Qing intended to go against the grain and drive Wolf-Footed into complete aberration in order to master a power far beyond the spell itself.

In a world where even Yang God cultivators could die inexplicably, playing by the rules gave one no ability to survive natural or man-made disasters.

He closed his eyes and rested briefly, then picked up a bottle of wolf blood and drank it in one go.

The stench spread from the tip of his tongue to his stomach. Under the powerful digestion of the Taotie Method, the Divine Leg Sutra began absorbing the wolf blood.

Ren Qing wasn't cultivating the spell through slow refinement, procrastinating would only waste time.

After all, the seventeen kinds of wolf blood had cost over forty stones of blood crystals, basically all his earnings from this period.

He picked up more wolf blood and poured it into his belly. Howls echoed in his ears, and his whole body was covered in wolf fur, all signs of an aberration losing control began to emerge.

Another cultivator would've panicked by now, but Ren Qing showed no hesitation and directly drank all seventeen kinds of wolf blood.

Crack. crack.. crack... crack....

Aberration rampantly reshaped his body.

Ren Qing soon surpassed two meters in height, with no sign of stopping.

He had fully transformed into a half-man, half-wolf. Without the Prison Within the Abdomen to imprison the aberrant entity, this kind of transformation would be virtually irreversible.

Then came the sound of bones colliding.

Ren Qing's spine protruded bone spurs, his skin was covered in armor-like scales, and saber-tooth-like fangs grew from his mouth.

His beast claws turned a dark purple-red, infused with a toxin called "Canine Plague."

By the time daylight began to break, the aberration from the seventeen kinds of wolf blood finally ended.

Ren Qing was now over four meters tall and could only lie flat in the side room to avoid smashing through the roof.

The Wolf-Walker was still confined within the Half-Corpse realm, but it was enough to rival the Ghost Envoy Realm, and could even achieve instant kills by catching opponents off guard.

As a trump card, it was more than sufficient.

Ren Qing nodded in satisfaction, then reimprisoned the aberrant entity of the Divine Leg Sutra.

With the entity extracted, the aberration began to subside. The surging power faded, and for a moment, he felt slightly unaccustomed to the change.

Ren Qing knew that using the Prison Guard trick was not a long-term solution. Aberrant entities weren't obedient pets, they'd eventually look for a chance to lash back.

He looked into the Prison Within the Abdomen, where the Divine Leg Sutra's entity had also undergone further aberration.

The former white wolf had become a five-meter giant, also covered in bone armor. Its claws carried the plague toxin, and its temperament had grown more aggressive.

If Immortal in the Mirror projected it into the outside world, no one would be able to recognize that this aberrant entity had anything to do with the Divine Leg Sutra.

In the days following the aberration, Ren Qing stayed indoors accumulating lifespan.

He shaved his head to avoid suspicion.

After all, being under twenty years old and having broken into the Ghost Envoy realm should have granted him extended lifespan, nearing depletion was clearly abnormal.

When his lifespan had recovered to ten years, the ghost market happened to open.

He entered the bustling ghost market, sending a tool-person soul fragment into the shop, while his main body anxiously stepped into the Great Dream Pavilion.

The Great Dream True Person still stood behind the counter, his twisted-light form revealing no trace of emotion.

Ren Qing replenished some cultivation materials, then forced a smile and said, "Senior Great Dream, this junior has a favor to ask..."

The Great Dream True Person didn't respond, but an invisible pressure made it hard to breathe.

Ren Qing respectfully placed his Restraint Officer token on the counter, specifically turning the side with the imprint upward, his intent was obvious.

He waited a moment but got no response.

Just as Ren Qing was about to explain the situation, the Great Dream True Person suddenly waved him out of the pavilion.

Ren Qing left a bit disappointed.

Did he have to hope that the brain-in-a-jar in the Secret Pavilion was also of Ghost Envoy realm rank?

Otherwise he would have to wait half a year.

But just as he was about to put away his token, his expression grew complicated.

Next to the Evil Spirit and Raven imprints, a butterfly-shaped imprint had appeared, clearly a sign of the Great Dream True Person's approval.

Next, he needed to infuse his aura into the token and then inform Sun of his main cultivation techniques via a Nether Crow, then it would be complete.

Ren Qing didn't leave the ghost market but threw himself into artifact crafting at the Great Dream Artifact Shop.

Perhaps due to his cultivation breakthrough, previous obstacles were easily overcome, and his speed increased notably. He could even attempt more complex crafting methods.

But to be safe, he'd proceed gradually, lest he damage the Great Dream True Person's reputation.

After the market closed, Ren Qing found a quiet spot and began infusing the token with blood laced with Twin Nightmare Ghosts aura.

This was a slow grind.

After over two hours, crimson rust spots appeared on the surface of the Restraint Officer token, faintly revealing patterns resembling eyes.

The engraved word 'Restraint' turned silver-white, reflecting the early Ghost Envoy level.

Apparently, the token judged realm based on aura from cultivation techniques, meaning the Taotie Method would remain hidden.

Next, Ren Qing ignited a Sun Feather, summoning a regular Nether Crow.

He wrote his main techniques on a slip of paper, briefly describing Twin Nightmare Ghosts, and placed it in the crow's beak.

Ren Qing couldn't help stretching his limbs. Now that he was a formal Restraint Officer, he'd finally start receiving the monthly salary of fifteen stones of blood crystals.

He hung the token at his waist and was just about to leave the Restraint Officers' Hall when a half-meter-long Nether Crow suddenly flew over.

Ren Qing paused.

The crow landed nearby, its flesh and bones dissolving. A tombstone grew up from the ground, inscribed with a large amount of text.

Ren Qing studied it carefully and understood.

The tombstone bore task information, not only for Sanxiang City, but for all of Xiangxiang.

Official Restraint Officers could now actively take on missions, but only if they met the conditions.

For example, if a wanted rogue cultivator was involved, the Restraint Officer would need to possess a fire-poison immunity technique.

Ren Qing instinctively searched for missions related to the Wuwei Daoist Altar, and indeed found traces after some digging.

Mysterious corpses had appeared throughout Xiangxiang, showing signs of aberration before death, surely due to having their consciousness pulled into the altar.

The Wuwei Daoist Altar's method of transmitting aberrant entities was too covert, it was impossible to guard against.

Even if the preaching cultivator was killed, a new one would simply emerge.

Ren Qing hesitated for a moment, then focused on a task in the south of the city. It did seem to have ties to the Wuwei Daoist Altar.

In any case, eliminating the preachers within Sanxiang City came first.

He sent a soul fragment into the Wuwei Daoist Altar to see whether it could be sealed off from within.

Ren Qing then noticed something unusual about the three central Dao Ancestor statues, the right hand of Primordial Heaven Sovereign had been severed at the wrist.

He frowned, unsure whether it had always been that way.

After thinking for a bit, he walked to a wall in the Wuwei Daoist Altar, pried off a fingernail-sized fragment, and returned the soul to his body.

The wall instantly restored itself.

His main body opened its eyes, staring blankly at the stone fragment in his palm for several seconds.

The stone was made of ordinary material, but the key point was that something tangible had been extracted from the Wuwei Daoist Altar, which made Ren Qing even more unsure of when the Primordial Heaven Sovereign's hand had gone missing.