Tree?
Ren Qing was momentarily stunned. Why would Song Zongwu use a tree to describe techniques at the Ghost Envoy Realm? This couldn't help but remind him of the mutation tree in his mind.
The mutation tree currently only had three trunks, representing the three mutation paths.
But as his cultivation progressed, many branches had begun sprouting new buds, showing signs of spreading and flourishing.
As for whether this was closely related to the Ghost Envoy Realm, he would know after breaking through.
Song Zongwu explained: "The mutation paths at the Half-Corpse Realm are just choosing the main road. At Ghost Envoy Realm, you'll face countless forks in the road."
"Forks in the road..."
Ren Qing frowned.
Could it be that the mutation paths would become even more uncontrollable? How could one determine the most stable path to take?
He could only pin his hopes on the information stream's divine ability being useful.
Song Zongwu seemed to guess Ren Qing's concerns.
He shook his head and said: "The mutation paths were already determined when you advanced to Half-Corpse Realm. Ghost Envoy Realm mainly involves undergoing three transformations."
"These so-called transformations are also called eerie transformations. They are the necessary process to completely shed your mortal body and prove the Great Dao."
Ren Qing felt that when a demonic cultivator like Song Zongwu, with six eyes and four arms, talked about the Great Dao, it wasn't very convincing.
But for now he didn't need to think too much about it. First he needed to advance to Ghost Envoy Realm.
Song Zongwu continued: "Don't think that just because you advanced techniques to Half-Corpse Realm in less than a month, it will be the same at the Ghost Envoy Realm. There it's all about slow, steady effort."
Ren Qing understood that Martial Practitioner Realm was just initially grasping techniques, Half-Corpse Realm was merely stepping through the threshold, and only at Ghost Envoy Realm would one truly establish their dao foundation.
Moreover, according to the information stream's pattern of lifespan costs increasing tenfold with each advancement, reaching the Yin Runner Realm would likely require around a hundred years.
The lifespan extension from Blindless Method might not reach that high, so he would need to find new techniques or cultivate autonomously.
But autonomous technique advancement was too risky. Even Song Zongwu back then hadn't been completely confident, which was why he entered closed-door cultivation.
Song Zongwu asked: "Ren Qing, have you considered joining the Restraint Officers?"
After what happened with Song Rong, he didn't want Ren Qing to repeat the same mistakes, so he viewed him as his own junior.
"Senior Song, I'd like to ask about the pros and cons of being a Restraint Officer."
Ren Qing wasn't in a hurry to refuse or agree.
He still had some reservations, and his original plan had been to lay low until Ghost Envoy Realm.
Song Zongwu vaguely replied: "Although Restraint Officers belong to the yamen, in reality they're unrelated."
"While Restraint Officers face more dangers, they're all confirmed to not be life-threatening. The organization is quite loose, allowing convenient access to resources."
He hinted meaningfully: "Missions also consider the Restraint Officer's wishes, there's no compulsion."
Ren Qing was stunned. This didn't match his expectations of what Restraint Officers would be like.
Shouldn't they be doing dirty, exhausting work, constantly facing life-and-death crises, ultimately sacrificing themselves for righteousness?!!
Wait...
Then he suddenly realized the biggest difference between Restraint Officers and regular constables.
Because Restraint Officers would form Supernatural Remnants after death, the yamen mainly used a policy of conciliation, how would they dare send them to their deaths?
From how they handled the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone, they chose the safest method of sealing, not even letting Restraint Officers directly contact the forbidden zone.
The yamen and Restraint Officers were more like a mutually beneficial relationship, not direct subordinates.
"Restraint Officers also control quite a few Supernatural Remnants, which is why cultivators who rely on consuming them to advance will do anything to join."
Ren Qing's mind stirred. This seemed useless at first glance, but actually for him Supernatural Remnants weren't much different from technique manuals.
If he could access them, he could definitely pick out suitable techniques for himself, even solving his lifespan extension problems.
Seeing Ren Qing was somewhat tempted, Song Zongwu continued: "For you, Restraint Officers have even rarer resources, like using more effective beast eyes to aid cultivation."
Song Zongwu stopped there, not demanding Ren Qing must join.
But Ren Qing quickly made a decision. Logically speaking, being a Restraint Officer had advantages without disadvantages, even being safer than being a Corpse Burner.
Wasn't this more comfortable than being a civil servant?
"Senior Song, how does one join the Restraint Officers?"
A slight smile appeared on Song Zongwu's face: "There aren't many spots each year, and they're distributed among various towns. We'll have to ask the yamen after returning to Sanxiang City."
The two chatted for a while longer, with Ren Qing taking the opportunity to ask about Demon Seed Sutra.
Song Zongwu had heard of this technique, the two known mutation paths both involved blood.
Besides the "Heart Controller" which used blood to control others' minds, there was also the "Blood Drinker" which gave blood intelligence to summon puppets.
Ren Qing was still somewhat interested in the Demon Seed Sutra. Moreover, at his current lifespan extension rate, he could recover thirty days in about two days.
But since Restraint Officers had many Supernatural Remnants, there was no need to force it.
If he had a chance to closely examine the stone statue, he could use the information stream to master it. If no good opportunity arose, he could set it aside for now.
Seeing it was getting late, Ren Qing prepared to rest at camp.
Song Zongwu solemnly reminded: "Shui Hulu has an unpredictable temperament. When he approaches, I'll use the blood heart to gather everyone."
"Don't worry, Senior Song."
Ren Qing immediately became wary, but with Song Zongwu present, it probably wouldn't be a big problem.
Returning to camp, he found only Muyi was present, with no trace of the other Restraint Officers.
Seeing this, Ren Qing focused on cultivation, mainly visualizing the Blindless Method and the Taotie Method.
Even if he didn't plan to autonomously advance to Ghost Envoy Realm, cultivation could still strengthen him.
The Taotie Method mainly expanded the space within the abnormal stomach.
Although the expansion wasn't large, daily accumulation had already reached about two cubic meters, soon enough to fit the great miaodao.
As Ren Qing gained deeper mastery of the Blindless Method, he clearly felt his soul had an impulse to travel beyond his body.
This likely involved the Twin Nightmare Ghosts at Ghost Envoy Realm. His soul entering the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone was probably related.
The Divine Leg Sutra, being a secondary technique he couldn't openly use, actually showed the most obvious progress through consuming wolf blood.
Ren Qing could already fully cover his body in lycanthropy, completely transforming into a silver-furred snow wolf, though it could only be maintained for about half an hour.
The lycanthropic werewolf form provided all-around enhancements, especially the double pupils' "predict enemies' moves" ability, which seemed to have improved danger perception.
Ren Qing spent several days peacefully in closed-door cultivation, until the blood heart in his chest suddenly beat faster.
He knew the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone was about to be finalized, meaning Shui Hulu's arrival.
Ren Qing immediately set out, as did Muyi, while the Supernatural Remnant was buried deep underground at camp.
When Ren Qing approached the Disaster-Dispelling Forbidden Zone.
He found Twin Peaks Mountain had indeed undergone earth-shaking changes, completely unlike what could form in just a few days.