Ren Qing looked in astonishment at the bustling town, and only after a long time did he return to his senses.
The people had returned to their ordinary appearances, without the slightest trace of aberration, nor were there any massive eerie creatures passing by.
In the sky remained only one bright moon.
Ren Qing's breathing grew heavy; the scenes just now were still vivid before his eyes, as if he had been pulled by some existence from the surface of the sea into the deep sea.
Strictly speaking, each change of the blood moon also marked being within a different Jingzhou; Jingzhou seemed to be divided into multiple layers.
If he continued looking at the blood moon, he might sink deeper and deeper...
Until he completely faced the blood moon.
Each layer of Jingzhou should be independent from one another, yet vaguely connected in some way.
The known blood moons included "Crescent Moon," "Waning Moon," and "Waxing Gibbous Moon."
But Ren Qing knew well that the moon was famous for its fickleness; surely there were more than these three kinds, the depths of Jingzhou were even greater than imagined.
Right now, he should be within the layer where the blood moon was completely invisible, the "New Moon."
Yet even the seemingly calm New Moon layer did not mean absolute safety.
Because Ren Qing knew that the gigantic Rabbit-Toad, every once in a while, would cause hundreds or thousands of people to contract "heat sickness," dragging them into deeper layers.
At present, the gigantic Rabbit-Toad's frequency was not high, but Jingzhou was, after all, like fish meat laid on the chopping block.
What if It decided to drag tens of thousands into the Crescent Moon layer?
Ren Qing even felt that Jingzhou had already experienced similar situations before; otherwise, the number of people in the Crescent Moon layer would not have increased four- or fivefold.
However, after mortals were dragged into the Crescent Moon layer, another self would be re-conceived within the New Moon layer, taking their place in life.
Or perhaps preparing for the next round of heat sickness.
But those like Daoist Fufeng, who took the initiative to enter the Crescent Moon layer, seemed not to leave behind such troubles.
Ren Qing felt a bit of a headache.
If he were forcibly dragged by the gigantic Rabbit-Toad into the Crescent Moon layer, causing part of his body and soul to remain in the New Moon layer, it could result in a deficiency of body and soul.
It might even affect his very foundation.
Ren Qing could only take the initiative to enter the Crescent Moon layer himself to avoid accidents.
So long as he gazed directly at the blood moon, he could be drawn into the deeper parts of Jingzhou, it was not troublesome for him, but he needed to prepare in advance.
According to Ren Qing's conjecture, the reason those afflicted with heat sickness could see the blood moon was mainly because their bodily aberration had reached a certain degree.
Aberration was also the key to entering the Crescent Moon layer.
Daoist Fufeng's Qingfeng Qi Refining Method was closely tied to aberration, after the body merged with True Yuan, uncontrollable aberration would form.
But he could not understand why True Yuan could be directly absorbed without the Heavenly Dao Worm, where exactly did that True Yuan come from?
Ren Qing shook his head.
At least, there were many cultivators within the Crescent Moon layer; if he could use this opportunity to develop the Ghost Market, the efficiency of extending longevity would increase greatly.
However, to be safe, he intended to have Wu Yong and the others first explore the Crescent Moon layer before deciding, in order to avoid unforeseen dangers.
Ren Qing could not help but give a bitter laugh, Jingzhou truly was a ghostly place.
Fortunately, the blood moon governed Jingzhou through special rules; otherwise, how could someone at his Yin Runner Realm have any space to survive at all.
Ren Qing's gaze turned toward Tian A, who was playing in the courtyard; the latter resembled a child with autism, immersed in his own world.
Ren Qing seemed to realize something and asked in a gentle tone, "Awa, can you see the blood-red moon?"
Tian A tilted his head in confusion, completely unable to understand the meaning.
Ren Qing had no other choice; with gestures and drawings, he described the blood moon.
Tian A nodded, uttering incomprehensible "aba aba" sounds, seemingly indicating that he had only seen it once not long ago.
Ren Qing immediately realized that as Tian A grew older, his aberration would gradually deepen, and he would inevitably be drawn into the Crescent Moon layer.
Ren Qing patted Tian A's small head, then sat back down on the recliner, planning to make more preparations while things were still relatively safe.
No matter what kind of danger one encountered, increasing one's strength was always the foremost priority.
Ren Qing simply left the task of feeding Tian A to the ghost shadow.
He focused all his energy on meditative visualization techniques; if he could properly use the two dream techniques of the Yin Runner Realm, it would bring considerable aid.
When idle, Ren Qing would also look through the aberrant branches of various techniques, hoping to find useful abilities within.
As a result, he indeed found a significant gain among the aberrant branches of the Wine God Technique.
The aberrant branches of the Wine God Technique were extremely varied, most resembling "Poison Wine" or "Scorching Wine," whose usefulness was rather mediocre.
Ren Qing summoned the information flow and glanced at his lifespan; with the effects of the Ghost Market and eating raw pig eyes, it had already exceeded fifty years.
He immediately made up his mind, then let his consciousness enter his Niwan Palace.
The mutation tree of the Wine God Technique was quite peculiar, the leaves resembled wine jars and emitted an incomparably rich aroma of wine.
Ren Qing would rather postpone advancing the Shadow Ghost Technique to the Yin Runner Realm, in order to advance this aberrant branch, which naturally had to do with extending longevity.
[Peach Wine] : Brewed with peach blossoms; drinking three or two taels of it can extend one's life by half a day.
Compared to swallowing eyes, Peach Wine was, after all, an ability from an aberrant branch; as his cultivation broke through, its effects would further increase.
Of course, the most important thing was that Ren Qing could sell Peach Wine at the Great Dream Pavilion, to replenish the longevity of numerous Restraint Officers.
He could not let the donkey pull the millstone without feeding it grass.
Although the scale of the Restraint Officers' Hall was now growing geometrically, it probably would not take long before the number of reservists surpassed a thousand.
Yet Ren Qing's pursuit of longevity was endless.
Since it concerned extending life, he naturally hesitated not in the slightest; fifty years of lifespan passed in an instant, and the Prison Within the Abdomen immediately underwent great changes.
Ren Qing's attention turned to the Prison Within the Abdomen, which had not changed for a long time and now transformed greatly.
The wine lake was already tens or hundreds of meters across and was still continuously expanding.
The water surface shimmered with sunlight, and one could faintly see a Kunpeng swimming within, unable to stretch its body.
The husky lay drunk beside the wine lake, clearly dead drunk.
The ghost wolf had begun adapting to the new environment as well.
Only the sand man deliberately stayed far from the wine lake, choosing instead to occupy a corner of the Prison Within the Abdomen, forming a not-so-large sand dune.
Seeing this, Ren Qing did not stop the sand man, for the more varied the terrains within the Prison Within the Abdomen, the more complete the world became.
Unfortunately, most vegetation had not survived; the ground was only covered with a thin layer of moss, with a few sparse plants growing here and there.
Only one unidentified sapling barely survived, but its trunk was thin, and its leaves appeared malnourished.
It showed that not all vegetation could adapt to the sunlight and moonlight within the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Almost all animals and insects had perished, though a few fish now swam in the wine lake, but perhaps they too would soon die.
However, as time passed, the Prison Within the Abdomen would eventually form its own unique ecosystem; it would only take several decades or centuries.
Ren Qing planned to introduce batches of animals and plants every few months to accelerate the formation of the Prison Within the Abdomen's ecosystem.
Only when the ecology became self-sustaining could large numbers of beasts be raised.
As for what the Prison Within the Abdomen would ultimately become, even he himself had no idea.
Boom, boom, boom...
An earthquake interrupted Ren Qing's contemplation.
When the aberrant branch "Peach Wine" of the River of Wine Within the Body was completed, the surface of the wine lake began to boil, and the Kunpeng hastily fled from within.
A small island about ten meters high slowly rose from the center of the lake; in its middle, a spring gushed continuously, filling the air with a faint fragrance of peach blossoms.
Ren Qing filled a gourd with Peach Wine and, after taking a few sips, indeed found his lifespan increased.
But at present, the output of Peach Wine was still too low; he could only store some before placing it on sale at the Great Dream Pavilion, otherwise, there would not even be enough for himself to drink.
A thought came to Ren Qing: if he could refine a ghost-fetus vessel capable of collecting wine, placing it by the spring would mean it could be left unattended.
But it would be best if the ghost-fetus vessel could also have the function of nurturing the brew.
Ren Qing searched within the Prison Within the Abdomen; fortunately, he had backups of all his materials, making refining artifacts much easier now.
His gaze finally fell upon a strangely shaped Flesh-and-Blood Gourd.
This material had actually been refined from the Shui Hulu of that year; its quality was not quite at the Yin Runner Realm, but it far surpassed the Ghost Envoy Realm.
Perfect for refining a ghost-fetus vessel.
While Ren Qing was planning the secondary materials, he suddenly noticed Wu Yong and several others arriving at the door.
Unknowingly, thirty days had already passed.
Wu Yong brought two raggedly dressed Daoists to the shop's entrance.
One of them was blind, pus and blood constantly oozing from his eye sockets; another's spine was bent, appearing grotesquely deformed.
They had all aberrated from practicing the Qingfeng Qi Refining Method, and clearly would not live long, yet their level of aberration still had not reached the Crescent Moon layer.
Ren Qing flicked his hand, and the door opened on its own.
Wu Yong set down his crutch and knelt to kowtow; the other two followed suit, their gazes burning with fervor.
Immortals, there truly were immortals in this world...
After they entered the shop, they went straight toward the courtyard.
Ren Qing still sat cross-legged on the ground; even though the three stood before him, he had no intention of ending his meditation.
Ma Mang barely raised his head to look at Ren Qing, only to feel that the other radiated a hazy halo, unfathomably mysterious.
He immediately turned his gaze away, not daring the slightest impropriety.
Ren Qing let the three stand for more than half an hour before opening his eyes; with a wave of his hand, a little Peach Wine entered their mouths.
Wu Yong felt a cool sensation surge through his whole body; his fatigue was swept away at once.
"Many thanks to the Immortal Master for your blessing, many thanks to the Immortal Master for your blessing..."
They cried out loudly, whatever faint doubts they had vanishing completely, leaving only a longing for transcendence and enlightenment.
"Did you not say there were four people? Where is the other?"
Wu Yong's face showed sorrow; shaking his head, he said, "Replying to Immortal Master, Cao Fang died from exhaustion of lifespan, he did not last until today."
They had remained in Qingyan Town seeking to uncover the secret of Daoist Fufeng's transcendence, but when they finally touched upon it, they were already on the verge of death.
Ren Qing checked them through the information flow and found that all were suffering from depleted lifespan.
"There is no retreat on the path of transcendence; I can remove the defects from your bodies, allowing you to live out the rest of your lives in peace."
The three looked at one another and, almost without hesitation, hurriedly said:
"We are willing to transcend, to Ascend to the upper realm, to serve as ox and horse for the Immortal Master..."
"We beg the Immortal Master to grant our wish..."
"Immortal Master!!!"
Though their mouths professed willingness to die for Ren Qing, what they truly thought of was wealth and glory.
Ren Qing showed interest; the ghost shadow beneath his feet immediately surrounded the courtyard.
Terrifying Nether Yuan stirred restlessly.
"Transcendence carries the danger of death, who among you will go first?"