Cultivation: Tax Evasion!

When Ren Qing summoned the information stream, he didn't hold much hope.

After all, under normal circumstances, once death occurs and the Supernatural Remnant separates, it's no longer possible to obtain the cultivation technique information from before death.

But this corpse was exactly the opposite.

Possibly due to the Wuwei Daoist Altar, the corpse's skin still retained elasticity, and even a trace of warmth could be felt.

What surprised Ren Qing the most was that the technique shown on the corpse was again related to the Heavenly Dao Egg.

[Purple Firmament Technique: Created by the Heavenly Dao Child. To cultivate, one must place the Heavenly Dao Egg into the Niwan Palace, refining it over forty-nine days to complete the technique.]

First, it could be confirmed that the so-called Heavenly Dao Egg should be something unique to the Wuwei Daoist Altar.

Ren Qing even suspected that the destruction of the Wuwei Daoist Altar was closely tied to the Heavenly Dao Egg, an idea that grew more horrifying the more he thought about it.

He attempted to find more clues from the corpse. As a result, when he turned the corpse over, its back was exposed above the water.

Ren Qing inhaled sharply.

The corpse was completely hollow, with the internal organs nowhere to be seen, as if something had crawled out from within.

Heavenly Dao Egg, just from the name, could it really be the larval form of some kind of Supernatural Remnant...?

Cultivating the technique requires using the Heavenly Dao Egg, which then hatches within the body, thereby birthing an unknown entity?

Ren Qing couldn't help but gaze toward the other Daoist altars on the distant lotus leaves.

If he wanted to uncover the secret of the Wuwei Daoist Altar's destruction, he would certainly have to visit the other buildings. The Hall of Deliberation held too few clues.

Relying on his Double Pupils, he barely made out the writing on the plaques. They appeared to read "Hall of Non-Action," "Tusita Palace," "Cultivation Field"...

The ones that most caught Ren Qing's attention were the Tusita Palace and the Secret Repository Hall.

According to Daoist thought, Tusita Palace corresponds to the Supreme Elder Lord's domain, used specifically for refining pills and storing medicinal elixirs.

Ren Qing could faintly see a dilapidated three-legged bronze cauldron at the entrance to the Tusita Palace.

The Secret Repository Hall most likely contained the Wuwei Daoist Altar's technique manuals, perhaps even methods for extending lifespan.

Ren Qing didn't continue examining the corpse, as another one had floated over. He sat cross-legged on the lotus leaf and waited.

This corpse was slightly larger, about three meters tall, also with bloated skin, having soaked in the water for a long time.

Without hesitation, Ren Qing made contact with the corpse, and the information stream displayed a technique.

[Gale Art: Created by the Heavenly Dao Child. To cultivate, one must cut out the tongue and implant a Heavenly Dao Egg at the tongue's root for eighty-one days.]

Ren Qing pried open the corpse's mouth.

The oral cavity had already been hollowed out, and the tongue root was covered with severed tendrils, closely resembling a parasite called the fish louse.

Fish lice parasitize inside fish mouths, sucking blood until the tongue atrophies. Then the louse replaces the tongue's function.

Ren Qing examined several corpses in succession. All the techniques involved the Heavenly Dao Egg, indicating that the Wuwei Daoist Altar's doctrine was quite singular.

He also noticed that under their Daoist robes, the corpses wore ordinary clothes.

These garments were simple in color and bore embroidered patterns resembling Nian beasts.

Ren Qing thought back, he had seen similar clothing on a student from Heshan Town.

Heshan Town is located north of Xiangxiang, with somewhat different customs.

Compared to Annan Town to the south, the difference was like night and day.

The location of the Wuwei Daoist Altar was likely in northern Xiangxiang, that is, beyond the forbidden zone of the Yang God realm.

Ren Qing shifted his mind and entered the Prison Within the Abdomen. Inside, there was a cell specifically used to store materials.

He used his consciousness to affix a sheet of paper to the flesh wall, then drew a simple map with ink.

On the map, he extended beyond Xiangxiang toward the north.

[Place Name: Unknown]

[Faction: Wuwei Daoist Altar]

[Cause of Destruction: Suspected to be Heavenly Dao Egg]

Ren Qing stared at the map for a long time.

If this world had truly been broken into isolated islands, who knows how many places still carried the flame of civilization?

He gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

If the problem of Ksitigarbha's lifespan wasn't solved, then Xiangxiang might soon follow the Wuwei Daoist Altar into ruin.

Avici Hell is a forbidden zone of the Yang God realm. Even a cultivator as powerful as the Great Dream True Person had no power to resist. All of Xiangxiang would fall into catastrophe.

Unless... there was a way to leave Xiangxiang.

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes, the Blind Daoist had come from the outside world, hadn't he?

Perhaps the Wuwei Daoist Altar recorded this kind of information. Crossing the water might be simple, just ride on the floating corpses.

Still, something felt off. The pitch-black pond was bottomless, what might be lurking within?

Ren Qing hesitated for a few seconds, then tossed a piece of fresh flesh into the pond.

It quickly disappeared. The surface remained still.

Just as he turned to leave, he froze.

Under his gaze, ripples began to spread.

Ren Qing sighed. The corpses of the Wuwei Daoist Altar had all died in inexplicable ways, who knew what had burst from inside them?

He chose not to probe further and began searching the lotus leaf for other useful clues.

Since coming and going wasn't easy, he wouldn't leave the lotus leaf anytime soon. He'd wait until Dao Sheng Dao advanced.

The Hall of Deliberation was where the preaching occurred. He still hoped to find the preachers of Xiangxiang, maybe even the Blind Daoist.

After carefully searching, Ren Qing found in the corner of the lotus leaf a tomb made of broken stones. The words on the stele were gouged out with fingernails.

"Here lies the Wuwei Daoist Altar. Disciple Xiao Chenzhi left this behind."

Xiao Chenzhi was likely the Blind Daoist. At least, no other survivors had been found so far.

Ren Qing circled to the other side of the stele, and felt a chill.

"Disciple Xiao Chenzhi respectfully sends off the Wuwei Daoist Altar, ascending to immortality."

The handwriting here had become extremely twisted, clearly indicating that reason had already collapsed.

Ren Qing muttered to himself: "Ascending to immortality..."

Ascension can mean rising to heaven, but it also refers to the metamorphosis of insects from pupae into adults.

Judging from the state of the Wuwei Daoist Altar, it looked more like the latter. Had they become nonhuman entities after cultivating their techniques to a certain degree?

Ren Qing suppressed his thoughts. The truth could only be revealed in the Secret Repository Hall, there, through technique manuals, the information stream might expose the flaws.

He returned to the Hall of Deliberation.

Ren Qing placed the severed hand at the Primordial Heavenly Venerable's missing arm.

The moment the two touched, they fused. The fleshy transformation disappeared. The statue was soon whole again.

He tried to twist it with force, but the arm remained unmovable, proving that it could not easily be destroyed.

Ren Qing guessed this was related to how the Wuwei Daoist Altar had nearly collapsed last time.

Once the Primordial Heavenly Venerable was complete, imperceptible changes occurred in the Wuwei Daoist Altar. A whisper of "Dao Sheng Dao" sounded by his ear.

Ren Qing had a hypothesis.

The preachers couldn't enter the altar because of the statue's incompleteness.

If he wanted to explore the Wuwei Daoist Altar, then he'd have to advance Dao Sheng Dao, and inevitably allow the preacher's consciousness in.

Ren Qing patiently waited, while his main body made preparations.

He mainly relied on the yamen to research the accent differences among towns in Xiangxiang. That way, he could determine the preacher's location.

Days passed.

When the voice of Dao Sheng Dao once again rang in Ren Qing's mind, his soul fragment entered the Wuwei Daoist Altar.

There, dozens of people sat cross-legged, men and women, all with fervent expressions.

In the center of the Hall of Deliberation stood a child attendant with a strange smile.

Upon seeing Ren Qing, he knelt and shouted: "Grand Dao Officer!!"

"Grand Dao Officer!!!"

"Grand Dao Officer!!!"

The others echoed. Their cries were deafening.

They spoke with a curling tongue accent, suggesting they were from the Heshan Town region, and all seemed around twenty years old.

With a wave, Ren Qing expelled them, then planned to head to Heshan Town.

The Restraint Officers' Hall didn't restrict a Restraint Officer's movements, but he'd still report it, just in case something happened and no one was left to clean it up.

Ren Qing had intended to travel on foot, but Heshan was far, even for someone in the Ghost Envoy realm, it would take seven or eight days.

Then he noticed that the Restraint Officers' Hall had a mission: to escort students from Heshan back home.

Ren Qing could join them. It might take a few more days, but it would be a mere blink during cultivation.

After accepting the mission, a thought arose, he needed a means of transport. Long-distance walking interfered too much with cultivating techniques.

Anyway, there was space in the Prison Within the Abdomen, convenient for carrying with him.

According to books in the Secret Pavillion, ordinary beasts could become stronger if they drank the blood of beast-transformed cultivators of their own kind.

Though only physically stronger, like the Nether Crows raised by Sun, they could not reproduce and sometimes went mad or died suddenly.

After death, their flesh no longer carried the mutative effects, so most cultivators wouldn't waste resources raising them.

Ren Qing went to the morning market in the west of the city. Some merchants were indeed selling horses.

A merchant enthusiastically approached and introduced some donkeys and horses tied to wooden stakes.

Though he boasted they could run a thousand miles a day, Ren Qing saw through the truth at a glance.

Due to Xiangxiang's isolation, these animals were only used for hauling goods and hadn't walked mountain paths. One scare would send them fleeing.

He gave up buying horses.

For Ren Qing, if he were to raise a beast, it should be a wolf.

After all, the Divine Leg Sutra had nearly fully mutated. Its wolf blood was surely extraordinary.

Sanxiang City obviously had no wolves, but he could start with dogs. If it didn't work, he'd hunt wild wolves.

At worst, he'd waste some wolf blood, it was a renewable resource.

Ren Qing walked toward a section of the morning market. Weak barks could be faintly heard.

There were many vendors selling local dogs. The smell was unpleasant, so they stayed on the outskirts near the city walls.

The summer sun had risen high. Some vendors were already packing up. In another half hour, some dogs might suffocate from the heat.

The mutts that could still remain energetic in such conditions, those were his target.