Cultivation: Tax Evasion!

Wu Piaotou had consumed a Supernatural Remnant originating from a technique called White Ape Technique, which, once mastered, allowed one to beast-transform into an ape.

He had no interest in the White Ape Technique, and naturally wouldn't go out of his way to expend lifespan to master it, so he directly handed Wu Piaotou over to the Restraint Officers' Hall.

He had originally thought Wu Piaotou was connected to the Wuwei Daoist Altar, but in hindsight that seemed unrealistic.

After all, no matter how deranged the Blind Daoist was, he still had an instinct to ward off disasters; it was unlikely he would approach a place like Sanxiang City where so many Restraint Officers were present.

Ren Qing placed a soul fragment inside the Daoist Altar; if the consciousness of any ordinary person were drawn into it, he would be able to detect it immediately.

At that point, he could determine the position of the preacher based on those consciousnesses.

But ever since the preaching during the imperial exam ended, the interior decorations of the Wuwei Daoist Altar had gradually begun to appear aged and decrepit.

Ren Qing suspected this might be related to the damage on the statue of Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Even the missing hand might have manifested during the period when the scholars entered, though what effect it would have was unknown.

What was even more bizarre was that the severed hand of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable statue had grown flesh and blood, giving the illusion that it was about to come alive.

Ren Qing decided to personally check every scholar who had participated in the exam in Sanxiang City, and without hesitation, to prevent them from returning home.

He had just finished examining the scholars from Heshan Town when Lin Cheng and Lu Xiaoyu hurriedly came looking for him.

The expressions on their faces were full of uncertainty, and upon seeing Ren Qing, they spoke at once: "Lord Ren, do you still remember the Wu Escort Agency from before?"

Ren Qing furrowed his brow slightly: "What's wrong?"

Lu Xiaoyu replied cautiously: "Everyone inside suddenly died, and the corpses are completely devoid of flesh and blood."

"Just now the Nether Crow has already posted a mission, presumably soon it will..."

Lin Cheng hadn't finished speaking when the caw of a Nether Crow echoed.

Since Ren Qing had been the one to handle it a few days prior, naturally the matter had come looking for him again.

Although the situation was urgent, as a formal Restraint Officer, Ren Qing had the right to refuse a task, yet something felt off.

Wu Mo? The imperial exam? Primordial Heavenly Venerable?

Wu Escort Agency had recently been holding a funeral, and Wu Mo being top scorer in the exam had drawn the attention of many Sanxiang City residents.

Ren Qing knew there was no time to delay and immediately said, "Let's go to the escort agency and take a look first."

The three of them headed straight for the escort agency. The gates had already been sealed by the yamen, with several constables guarding it.

The various parts of the compound were still decorated for mourning, but now there was no need for pretense, all were dead.

After Ren Qing presented his Restraint Officer token, the constables didn't ask many questions and let him in.

As soon as he stepped through the entrance, he smelled a faint scent of blood in the air.

The source of the blood was the courtyard, where dozens of corpses were piled, all covered in white cloth.

It happened to be the heat of summer, and a swarm of flies buzzed around.

The yamen had no way to deal with such inexplicably dead bodies and could only call for the Restraint Officers' Hall; if no Supernatural Remnants were involved, they would be cremated.

An old constable sat on the steps with a distressed expression, puffing away at his dry pipe. Noticing Ren Qing, he quickly stood up.

"My lord, Wu Escort Agency has seventy-eight corpses, all placed here."

"Seventy-eight?"

Ren Qing had previously looked through the records regarding the escort agency, and if he remembered correctly, excluding Wu Piaotou, there should have been seventy-nine people.

"Who's missing among the corpses in the escort agency?"

The old constable took a deep drag on his pipe, his hand trembling slightly as he held it.

"My lord, I don't know either. Please have a look yourself. This... is hard to explain."

Ren Qing nodded. With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind blew through, lifting the white cloths and scattering the flies. The corpses were revealed.

The seventy-eight corpses included men, women, young and old, but what was chilling was that their appearances were nearly identical, all looked exactly like Wu Mo.

Moreover, the flesh on the corpses had completely vanished, leaving only human skin clinging to the bones.

Ren Qing couldn't help but feel shocked. Even the bones of the corpses had undergone some changes, gradually becoming more like Wu Mo's.

Lin Cheng and Lu Xiaoyu, suspecting involvement of a cultivator, became alert.

Ren Qing signaled them not to panic and then activated soul-body separation.

With an all-encompassing view, he inspected the entire escort agency and suddenly noticed a footprint that seemed a bit odd.

The footprint extended several meters, and near the entrance it suddenly deepened slightly, indicating an increase in weight.

Ren Qing suspected the seventy-ninth missing person had been taken away by someone.

He turned to the old constable and said, "Have the constables search the nearby streets. If anything suspicious is found, notify me immediately."

The old constable quickly agreed, then skillfully organized his subordinates to spread out from the escort agency in patrol groups.

Lin Cheng and Lu Xiaoyu coordinated with the constables, after all, since this involved a cultivator, caution was necessary.

But Ren Qing still felt a vague sense of unease, seemingly from a premonition via Twin Nightmare Ghosts, so he headed to the rooftop of a building.

Wu Mo had participated in the imperial exam, and the missing hand of Primordial Heavenly Venerable may have vanished during that time, it was hard not to link the two.

Ren Qing scanned the surroundings, quietly waiting for the constables.

After about half an hour, they made a discovery. They had gathered in front of a shabby little shop but hadn't yet gone in.

Judging by the signboard, the shop seemed to be a mutton soup noodle restaurant, famous for its rich bone broth boiled over time.

But the restaurant's doors were tightly shut. A strong smell of mutton wafted out, mixed with a foul acidic stench.

In a few flashes, Ren Qing arrived at the shop. The surrounding area had already been sealed off, not a soul in sight.

Lin Cheng and Lu Xiaoyu watched him nervously.

Ren Qing said, "You two stay outside. I'll go in and check."

They both nodded.

Ren Qing pushed open the restaurant door. The stench grew stronger.

Directly inside was the kitchen, from which the smell originated, and a figure could be seen moving inside.

Ren Qing stepped into the kitchen.

Dragon-Snake Spine extended out.

An old woman stood stirring a large pot with a ladle. Inside, besides mutton offal and bones, there was actually an arm.

Her left hand was missing, the arm in the pot obviously came from her.

"If it's mutton soup, how can there be no meat..."

She muttered to herself, seemingly under the influence of a technique.

Seeing Ren Qing, the old woman put down the ladle and grabbed a kitchen knife, her gaze chilling.

Ren Qing didn't wait for her to move. He struck her neck with his palm like a blade, then tossed her outside to Lin Cheng.

Then he proceeded up to the second floor of the mutton shop. As he neared a room in the back, he could faintly hear the sound of bones clashing.

He opened the door and inside lay a bloated man, Wu Mo.

Wu Mo was lifeless, his belly swollen, and through it one could vaguely see a curled-up man inside.

The man slowly stretched out his limbs, putting Wu Mo on like clothing.

Moments later, Wu Mo's eyes opened and stared sharply at Ren Qing.

He murmured madly: "I am Wu Mo, top scorer of the imperial exam, heir to an escort agency of dozens..."

Then he said to Ren Qing, "Are you the escort come to receive me?"

Ren Qing's brows furrowed tightly. The man showed no signs of a Supernatural Remnant, yet had killed dozens with some unknown means.

Just as he prepared to knock Wu Mo unconscious and bring him back, he suddenly felt his heart pounding wildly, his blood reversing course.

An inexplicable force acted upon Ren Qing. His body began to change, his appearance morphing into that of a guard he'd seen at the escort agency.

Ren Qing summoned Dragon-Snake Spine without hesitation. Its sharp bone blade sliced open Wu Mo's skin, revealing a skinny man inside.

The man was covered in blood, his expression extremely twisted, and his forearm appeared petrified, resembling the statue of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

After Dragon-Snake Spine severed the stone-like arm, the mysterious force finally dissipated.

Without further delay, Ren Qing took the man's life and used a soul fragment to bring the stone arm back into the Wuwei Daoist Altar.

This thing was far too sinister.

Fortunately, Ren Qing had sensed something subconsciously. Had he not returned to the escort agency, a major disaster might have occurred.

He didn't know why Primordial Heavenly Venerable's arm had an effect akin to "words becoming reality."

But such an effect clearly came at the cost of human life; as the man's body petrified, the statue in the Daoist Altar was turning into flesh.

What would happen once the statue was fully flesh was unknown.

Ren Qing's hair stood on end.

He suddenly recalled the description of the Dao Dao Dao technique, requiring three Heavenly Dao Eggs to replace the brain, left lung, and heart.

Could it be that the Heavenly Dao Eggs hatch into the three Dao Ancestor statues?

Ren Qing suppressed his thoughts and motioned for Lin Cheng to contact the Restraint Officers' Hall.

Both the escort agency and the mutton shop needed to be sealed off for a while until deemed safe.

After reporting the mission, Ren Qing returned to the Corpse Burners' Hall and refocused on the Wuwei Daoist Altar.

The soul fragment held the left hand of Primordial Heavenly Venerable, preparing to restore the statue's missing part to prevent accidents.

Suddenly, a realization struck him.

Ren Qing looked at the altar's main gate. The lock hole appeared just large enough to fit a single finger, could it be related?

He walked to the door and, after a brief hesitation, inserted his left index finger into the lock. A clicking sound of unlocking was heard.

With a gentle push, the scene outside the altar came into view.

The Wuwei Daoist Altar sat on a massive lotus leaf, floating atop a pond of stagnant water, the edges enclosed by ceramic vats.

There were many such lotus leaves, each bearing a Daoist altar.

The altar Ren Qing was in was called the Hall of Deliberation.

In the pond, countless corpses soaked in the water, all dressed in Daoist robes. Their bloated skin resembled sponges saturated with water.

The corpses varied in size, the largest rivaling mountains.

Ren Qing was slightly astonished, every corpse faced the sky, with their backs submerged in inky black pond water.

Closest to him was a corpse roughly human-sized, leaning beside the lotus leaf, gently bobbing with the ripples.

He leaned over the corpse.

If he wanted to understand what had happened at the Wuwei Daoist Altar, he would have to take the risk, at worst, he'd lose a soul fragment.

Ren Qing touched the surface of the corpse. Nothing happened.

Then he summoned the information stream.

His pupils couldn't help but contract.