Ren Qing noticed Muyi's figure was absent from the camp on his way to the cave, he must have gone to reinforce the sealing techniques at the forbidden zone.
Now the sounds inside the cave were extremely chaotic, with prisoners holding pickaxes visible everywhere, and the air had become much more turbid.
As the mountain excavation gradually passed the halfway point, Song Zongwu and other Restraint Officers were laboring intensely to seal the forbidden zone as quickly as possible.
When Ren Qing arrived at his mining tunnel, he suddenly noticed a new tunnel next to it, from which came rustling chewing sounds.
He couldn't help but take a look, seeing hundreds of dark golden beetles gnawing at the rock, slow but persistent in their progress.
Meanwhile, Li Yaoyang was busy with insects at Twin Peaks Mountain, only occasionally returning to camp.
This maintained two Restraint Officers stationed outside at all times, leaving absolutely no openings to exploit.
Ren Qing stood before the stone wall, closing his eyes in contemplation with his right hand resting on his sword hilt.
Based on the experience he had summarized these days, to make the blade cleave through rock as if meeting no resistance.
In addition to concentrating force as much as possible, following the stone's grain when striking was also extremely important, as this could reduce some resistance.
Ren Qing raised the Great Miao Blade overhead while continuously simulating the sword swings in his mind.
After half an hour, Ren Qing sheathed the Great Miao Blade and took a long breath.
Not because he had lost his resolve, but because he now had sufficient confidence.
His Double Pupils involuntarily began rotating as he crouched, his entire body's muscles tensing, then assuming a sword-drawing posture.
The stone wall in Ren Qing's vision gradually enlarged, with no detail escaping his notice, not even the dust particles floating in the air.
It was as if he could feel the countless years this mountain rock had endured.
Clang!!!
The Great Miao Blade was drawn halfway out of its sheath, its cold light flooding the narrow tunnel as the continuous hammering sounds around them abruptly ceased.
Ren Qing pushed with his legs, sliding his body forward over half a meter.
He maintained his sword-swinging posture.
Dust swirled in the cave, resembling flowing smoke under the dim lamplight.
Crack crack crack...
The rock wall suddenly split open with a fissure. Though not completely broken through, it was clearly caused by a sharp blade's strike.
Huang Ziwan in the adjacent tunnel looked extremely suspicious.
If he remembered correctly, Ren Qing had only started excavating the rock wall a few days ago.
From initially being able to easily snap shovel handles, he could now even wield weapons effectively. Could mining really have such effects?
Huang Ziwan's eyelid twitched as his gaze turned to a nearby pickaxe.
Coming back to his senses, Ren Qing examined the Great Miao Blade and found the blade as good as new, without any damage.
He casually swung the Great Miao Blade, feeling it respond perfectly to his will, having undergone a world of difference in such a short time.
Ren Qing didn't rush to continue striking, as he was still far from complete mastery, so he refocused his attention on the stone wall.
After a long while, Ren Qing drew his blade and struck.
Whoosh!
Another strike.
Some fragments fell from the stone wall, the blade mark visibly deepening slightly.
Ren Qing struck at a slow frequency, his entire body involuntarily emitting steam, a sign of rapidly depleting stamina.
Before even reaching a hundred strikes, he was already showing signs of exhaustion.
Yet the gains were richer than days of excavation with pickaxes. Ren Qing gradually integrated his blade techniques with his Double Pupils.
From then on, he could even deliberately incorporate the werewolf transformation from Divine Leg Sutra into his strikes, allowing techniques to coordinate with each other.
Of course, this had to be done when no Restraint Officers were nearby.
Ren Qing left the cave directly, planning to return to camp to meditate and rest.
When he stepped outside, he found it was already evening. The camp was filled with the aroma of roasting meat, with many busy yamen runners visible.
Muyi was still absent from the clearing.
Ren Qing couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Isn't this the only opportunity left now?"
He shook his head and headed toward the wooden huts when his peripheral vision caught a figure swaying unsteadily toward the cave.
This person was one of the hunters who had been recuperating indoors for the past few days after having his limbs bitten by beasts.
Ren Qing frowned and stopped in his tracks.
At first the hunter appeared relatively normal, even responding when greeted, but soon something seemed off.
His eyes were filled with terror. Just as he was about to speak, his right hand covered his mouth.
Blood dripped from the hunter's mouth. He wiped it away without concern, though his expression twisted in pain.
As he stepped forward, a bloody tongue fell from his sleeve.
The hunter's pace quickened, his bandages immediately seeping blood, his movements giving an extremely uncoordinated impression.
Where there's abnormality, there must be something sinister.
Without hesitation, Ren Qing drew his Great Miao Blade and charged toward the hunter.
But before he could reach him, the hunter dropped to all fours, his spine emitting continuous cracking sounds.
The hunter opened his mouth, his lip movements clearly forming a plea for help.
Then he collapsed to the ground motionless, only his limbs occasionally twitching, as a large pool of blood spread out.
Eyes began growing from the blood, radiating pure malice.
The blood exploded.
A bloody mist enveloped the clearing, spreading to the cave entrance, with countless eyes flickering in and out of visibility within the fog.
Those nearby quickly backed away, but it was already too late, several people splashed by the blood were immediately engulfed.
Ren Qing immediately realized, this was clearly a Half-Corpse realm Supernatural Remnant's forbidden zone, and the Supernatural Remnant likely came from the Hundred-Eyed One.
Yet the hunter was clearly not Song Rong in disguise, and his consciousness had been relatively clear, unaffected by techniques. What method had been used to deliver the Supernatural Remnant?
Ren Qing quickly composed himself.
It was merely a Half-Corpse realm forbidden zone, and now there were four Restraint Officers in the cave, at most it could only delay them briefly.
As expected, several powerful auras erupted from within the Hundred-Eyed forbidden zone.
The newly born Supernatural Remnant hadn't even developed intelligence yet, how could it contend with Restraint Officers? It soon showed signs of collapse.
Moreover, the Hundred-Eyed One's Supernatural Remnant inherited the ability to create illusions, which would likely prove ineffective against Song Zongwu who had mastered the Divine Listening Technique.
If it had been the more troublesome Human Skin Book, with its stealth and possession abilities, it might have lasted longer.
Suddenly Ren Qing realized something.
Song Rong had probably forcibly extracted all eyeballs from his Hundred-Eyed One, definitely at tremendous cost, showing that he was obviously making a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble.
Ren Qing turned to look at the distant mountains, where beasts were gathering and charging toward Twin Peaks Mountain, targeting the Disaster Dispelling forbidden zone.
But then swarms of insects rose from the trees and grass to meet them.
The beast tide struggled forward, with only some managing to reach Twin Peaks Mountain.
A glint appeared in Ren Qing's eyes, he had already guessed Song Rong's methods, and finding him with his Double Pupils wouldn't be difficult.
In his view, Song Rong was already in a hopeless situation, certain to lose.
But the techniques contained within Song Rong represented no small opportunity, and he might even provide leads on lifespan extension.
Ren Qing turned and headed toward Twin Peaks Mountain.
Once the Restraint Officers broke free, it wouldn't be so easy to take advantage.