Ren Qing glanced toward the southwest; that should be the location where Wuwei Monastery had originally been.
Although Qingyan Town was not the most populous town in Jingzhou, it was the closest to Wuwei Monastery, so many cultivators resided there.
Before Heavenly Daozi went mad, the Wuwei Hall had hung suspended in midair. As long as mortals raised their heads to look from afar, they could see it, glorious beyond compare.
Ren Qing felt that even if the Blood Moon had completely erased the Heavenly Dao Worm, it would still leave remnants. Perhaps clues could be found in Qingyan Town.
However, according to the records of the classics, Jingzhou had changed greatly now.
Heavenly Dao Worm larvae preferred to stay in damp places, while the adults would deliberately transform Jingzhou's environment and even its people.
As a result, the region had constant drizzle throughout the year, and the population was so dense that the alleys had barely half a meter of clearance.
But the Qingyan Town he was currently in was completely different; not only were the four seasons distinct, but the layout of the streets was also clearly divided.
Ren Qing quickly arrived at the gate of Qingyan Town.
The government soldiers were perfunctorily inspecting the people entering the city. He mixed into the crowd and easily slipped in.
Ren Qing stood on the bustling street, pausing for a few breaths before moving again.
Various vendors were hawking their goods; the unique aroma of rice cakes could be smelled, and the laughter of children echoed around him.
Judging from the surface, Qingyan Town was even more stable than Sanxiang City; even petty thieves and small-time gangs were rarely seen.
Ren Qing felt a bit of regret.
From Sun Rong's case, it could be seen that most of the common folk who had suffered from heat sickness were already cured, so he could only patiently wait for further developments.
As he walked, the ghost shadows beneath Ren Qing's feet continuously divided, hiding within the shadows all over the town, mainly to conveniently observe the situation.
"Ah... en..."
Tian Ah seemed to recognize the ghost shadows and couldn't help but babble softly.
He did not show the intense curiosity he had displayed in the wilderness; instead, he seemed nervous, his little face taut and stiff.
After wandering for quite some time, Ren Qing's expression grew increasingly disappointed.
He had deliberately been searching for traces of Wuwei Monastery, but his gains were meager; at last, he stopped in front of a certain shop.
The signboard read "Wuguan Bookstore"; the front was the shop, and the back was a courtyard.
The calligraphy on the signboard had already faded white, it must have been over a hundred years old.
However, the wooden doors of the bookstore were shut, and it looked as if they had not been opened for a long time.
The walls of the shop were mottled and worn. Compared with the surrounding buildings, it gave off an inexplicably eerie and sinister feeling.
There were few residents in this part of town, it was rather remote, inhabited mostly by poor families.
Only this bookstore barely stood apart, perhaps only by coincidence of the signboard.
It was hard to imagine that decades ago, Jingzhou had been enslaved by the Heavenly Dao Worm.
Next door was a shoe repair shop. The shopkeeper was a kind-looking man around thirty years old. Seeing Ren Qing standing there blankly, he came over.
He said in surprise, "You're here looking for Daoist Fufeng?"
"No, wait, you don't look like one..."
"There aren't many Daoists in the city with a physique like yours."
Ren Qing raised an eyebrow and asked in puzzlement, "Shopkeeper, when was the last time you saw the Daoist?"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment, then replied with certainty, "Ten years ago, I'd say. He suddenly disappeared without a trace. But every year, a few Daoists come here looking for Daoist Fufeng."
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
"Ah, you..."
The shopkeeper, idle as he was, was just about to continue talking, when he saw Ren Qing stride off the street and vanish within a few breaths.
He couldn't help muttering to himself, "Maybe he's a Daoist too? But how could a Daoist be so strong and sturdy..."
Ren Qing had already reached the backyard of Wuguan Bookstore. He could still hear the shopkeeper's muttering, and couldn't help pausing his steps slightly.
He frowned; in fact, there were few Daoists in all of Qingyan Town, only two or three fortune-telling street preachers, and their physiques were indeed frail.
At the time, Ren Qing had not paid it much mind, thinking that since these wandering Daoists bore no traces of cultivation, it was just due to their natural frailty that they turned to street fortune-telling.
But now, it seemed there was another hidden reason.
Ren Qing shook his head. For the moment, he had no intention to investigate deeply, and decided to first see if the Wuguan Bookstore still held any clues left from decades ago.
Peering through the wall, he observed the courtyard and found the ground overgrown with weeds; the wooden frames that had once supported gourds and fruit vines lay collapsed and crooked.
The bookstore had indeed been uninhabited for many years.
The side rooms bore signs of intrusion, likely poor thieves looking for loot, but it seemed they had left empty-handed.
Ren Qing lightly leapt into the courtyard, the strange mouth on his palm opening.
Immediately, the weeds were all sucked into the mouth, revealing a suddenly renewed courtyard; he could even see a small fenced area.
It should have been where Daoist Fufeng grew medicinal herbs.
"Ah-wa, play here for now, but remember not to go outside."
Ren Qing set Tian Ah down from his shoulder; the boy obediently nodded, then squatted in a corner staring at ants.
Part of a ghost shadow split off to accompany Tian Ah, and the two appeared strangely harmonious.
Seeing this, Ren Qing no longer paid attention. He stepped into the extremely cluttered side room, which was full of carelessly placed old furniture.
There were also drag marks showing that once there had been a bronze three-legged cauldron, though he didn't know who had carried it off.
Also missing were things like an incense burner, a wooden sword, and cinnabar...
Still, the thieves had shown a bit of reverence at least, they had not touched the three statues of Daoist patriarchs placed in the corner.
Ren Qing inspected the statues, but grew increasingly disappointed.
At a glance, they were clearly cast within the last twenty years, and the materials used were far from precious, mixed with several cheap metals.
As a result, the statues' coloration was strange, with many corroded spots appearing.
After touching the statue with his palm and calling forth the information flow, Ren Qing found nothing unusual.
He carefully searched everywhere, but only found a single ledger containing written records, which turned out to be the daily expenses of Daoist Fufeng.
Ren Qing leafed through the ledger casually and grew puzzled.
The bookstore's business had actually been decent, and with Daoist Fufeng occasionally taking on ritual work, his income should have been enough to live on.
But as the shopkeeper had said, Fufeng was of poor health, causing him to seek medical treatment every ten-odd days, spending more than he earned, so he had to grow fruits and vegetables to make ends meet.
Ren Qing stored the ledger inside the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Why were all the Daoists' bodies so weak? Could it be they suffered from some special illness, or had come into contact with something?
Finding no other results, he stepped out of the side room and walked toward the bookstore at the front.
In the courtyard, Tian Ah was still excitedly running in circles.
Ren Qing directly opened the wooden door of the bookstore; the musty stench of mold and rot hit him in the face, and faint squeaking of rats could be heard.
Two bookshelves stood inside, the books not too badly damaged.
But after being in a damp, dark environment for so long, they were often gnawed by rats, and their condition was clearly poor.
Ren Qing picked up a few volumes at random; the pages were yellowed, the writing rather faded, all relating to the Four Books and Five Classics for the imperial examinations.
In addition, Daoist texts were also mixed among them.
From the handwriting, he could tell that the Daoist books had all been written by Daoist Fufeng himself, likely hoping to earn some silver through them.
It might well be that the Daoists who had come seeking him after his disappearance had done so because of these books.
Ren Qing was about to put the books down when his Ghost Envoy instinctively called forth the information flow. As his peripheral vision caught it, his pupils dilated.
[Qingfeng Qi Refining Method (Incomplete)]
[One of the introductory methods of Wuwei Monastery, created by Xiaochenzi. It requires sitting steadily at a wind gap to breathe in and out. Once one can do so freely, one becomes more attuned to the Heavenly Dao method, thereby entering the Qingfeng Method through this technique.]
He hurriedly took out the other Daoist texts, and according to the information flow, all originated from that same Qingfeng Qi Refining Method.
Ren Qing examined line by line, and soon discovered discrepancies.
Some parts of the texts overlapped slightly with the Heavenly Dao Method, it could not have been coincidence. It felt as if Daoist Fufeng had once seen the Heavenly Dao Method.
However, even pieced together, it was far from forming a complete Qingfeng Qi Refining Method.
What was missing was all information regarding the Heavenly Dao Worm, as though Daoist Fufeng had deliberately concealed it, it seemed strange.
"Wait, that's not all, is it..."
Each time Ren Qing reread the Qingfeng Qi Refining Method, he made new discoveries; this technique used special means to replace the Heavenly Dao Worm.
Unfortunately, the Qingfeng Qi Refining Method was too incomplete.
In addition, in one of the newer Daoist texts, Ren Qing noticed a note written by Daoist Fufeng:
"The heavier the body, the less you can open your eyes. Remember this, Fufeng."
Ren Qing fell into contemplation.
Could it be that practicing this pieced-together method had caused the Daoists' frail physiques, even leading to Fufeng's death?
He knew he was very close to the truth, but the matter was far too entangled, understanding it in a short time was unrealistic.
For the moment, his situation was relatively safe; he might as well focus on accumulating longevity.
Once the Shadow Ghost Technique reached the Yin Runner realm, he could advance to the Nether Sea Breathing Art, which would allow him to obtain a large amount of longevity and greatly strengthen his power.
Looking at the messy bookstore, Ren Qing decided to stay here for now.
He needed to stabilize his cultivation, and besides, the Prison Within the Abdomen was beginning to extend into the real world, he could also refine some Demonic Embryo Artifacts just in case.
Although Ren Qing had not yet figured out the situation in Jingzhou, he was already considering whether to use the Ghost Market to guide some of the populace to cultivate the Restraint Officer Method.
Of course, most importantly, once Wuguan Bookstore opened, it would surely draw Daoists of unknown intent, from whom he could learn clues.
Ren Qing released ghost shadows to tidy the shop.
The dust was swept away, and all the books were recopied several times; in just a moment, the bookstore looked presentable again.
When the bookstore's main doors opened, nearby residents came forward curiously to look.
But after a moment of mental haze, they no longer felt anything odd, as if the bookstore had never been closed for ten years at all.
Under Ren Qing's subtle interference, business at Wuguan Bookstore was poor.
After several days, not a single transaction had been made.
Ren Qing simply reclined in the courtyard, sunbathing with his eyes closed, pondering over techniques; Tian Ah spent most of his time playing with mud in a corner.
He vaguely guessed at the cause and effect from ten years ago: the few Daoists in the city had all grown restless upon sensing that Wuguan Bookstore had reopened.
Through his ghost shadows, Ren Qing surveyed the whole situation, quietly waiting for visitors to arrive.