Ma Mang looked at the pitch-black surroundings, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart and stepped forward.
"Immortal Master, since childhood I have studied thirty-six volumes of the Dao Scripture, reading and contemplating them daily without slack. My favorite is one of the chapters from the Dao on the Way..."
Ren Qing felt a swelling in his head, and with a wave of his hand, Peach Wine poured into Ma Mang's mouth, then he forcibly straightened his bent spine.
Ma Mang let out a miserable scream, followed immediately by uncontrollable ecstasy.
He had just wanted to say something, when he heard Ren Qing speak: "Close your eyes, sit cross-legged, and immediately circulate the Qingfeng Qi Refining Method."
Ma Mang thought Ren Qing was about to impart the Dao and hurriedly did as he was told in a fluster.
Ren Qing spoke with a tone carrying warning: "After transcending, no matter what you find, do not panic. Stand still and wait."
"Remember that."
He controlled the ghost shadow to produce Nether Yuan, which gradually flowed into Ma Mang's body.
After Ma Mang absorbed part of the Nether Yuan, he reached his limit, and his body immediately showed signs of aberration, his skin increasingly resembling that of the Heavenly Dao Worm.
Wu Yong and the other two were not frightened in the slightest; instead, their faces revealed excitement.
"Daoist Ma, may you ascend and become immortal..."
Before Wu Yong could finish speaking, Ma Mang suddenly disappeared, as if merging into the heavens and earth, leaving everyone utterly baffled.
Ren Qing closed his eyes, relying on the ghost shadow attached to Ma Mang's body to barely perceive the situation.
Ma Mang, in a daze, sensed that his surroundings had undergone a great change. When he opened his eyes, it was no longer the familiar Qingyan Town, but some strange and eerie place.
Before coming here, it had been night; now, it had turned into day.
But he still showed no restraint, shouting madly like someone who had gone insane after passing the imperial exam.
"I have transcended and attained the Dao!!"
"I have transcended and attained the Dao!!"
Ma Mang rushed out of the empty courtyard and onto the bustling street.
Perhaps it was that emotions suppressed for more than a decade could no longer be contained, he laughed hysterically like a madman.
The residents looked at him with strange gazes, as though looking at a corpse on the verge of death, and deliberately kept their distance.
Very soon, Ma Mang noticed something was wrong.
Why did everyone around appear as terrifying as demons? Some were even beasts walking upright, making his scalp crawl.
Ren Qing wanted to warn Ma Mang to stay calm, but the latter had completely fallen into terror.
Ma Mang fled blindly, crashing into a noodle stall, hot soup spilling all over him, causing him to roll on the ground in pain.
The stall owner was an old woman of more than eighty, who could not help but sigh.
"Keep your voice down."
Ma Mang instinctively raised his head, and when he noticed the old woman's appearance, his pupils widened.
He saw that a second face had grown on the old woman's forehead; as she spoke, four eyes fixed upon him, carrying an indescribable eeriness.
"Ah!!!!!!"
Ma Mang let out a shrill scream, retreating with hands and feet scrambling.
Seeing this, the old woman ignored him, turning to tidy up the overturned tables and chairs. The other townsfolk hid at a distance, watching Ma Mang with ghostly eyes.
Dozens of people wore the same expression, even Ren Qing could not help but feel a trace of dread.
Ma Mang's chest and abdomen rose and fell rapidly, his tears mixed with sweat running all over his face.
He pressed his palms together and pleaded almost desperately, "Immortal Master, take me back, I don't want to transcend and attain the Dao anymore..."
Little did he know, once entering the Crescent Moon Layer, leaving again was harder than ascending to the heavens.
Just then, Ma Mang heard footsteps approaching from far to near, seemingly coming toward him, and his face revealed hope.
Ren Qing wanted to use the ghost shadow to investigate the source of the footsteps, but could not find a single clue.
Just as he was about to have the ghost shadow interfere with Ma Mang's actions, the latter's expression suddenly turned into a hideous grin.
Ma Mang stood up stiffly, his bones crackling continuously.
He looked toward the crowd, speaking in a low and hoarse voice: "Do you know..."
"Cuan Long, the Usurper Dragon?"
As Ma Mang spoke, his neck twisted three hundred and sixty degrees, blood pouring from his facial features, his skull distorted by the pressure.
Bang!!!
His head exploded, turning into a mass of flesh that splattered everywhere.
The watching townsfolk's eyes revealed long-suppressed pleasure; some stepped out from the crowd, using knives they carried to cut up the corpse.
In just moments, only a broken skeleton remained of Ma Mang.
Finally, the skeleton was dragged into the depths of an alley by rats the size of an arm, followed by the sound of dense gnawing, and moments later, all fell silent again.
Ren Qing's face was gloomy.
Because the Crescent Moon Layer was too distant, his control over the ghost shadow was extremely weak, so he dispersed it.
Just what exactly was the so-called Usurper Dragon? Why would making loud sounds draw it forth? The Crescent Moon Layer reeked of strangeness everywhere.
Ren Qing glanced at Wu Yong and the other two and said, "Go stay in the shop for now. Come back to the courtyard tomorrow night."
"You may leave whenever you wish in the meantime."
He then ignored the two, cleared his mind, and focused entirely on refining the ghost-fetus vessel.
Wu Yong dared not disturb Ren Qing; the two tiptoed into the shop, hearts filled with fear of the unknown.
But upon sensing their lifespans nearing exhaustion, their longing for the Dao once again overcame their fear.
By the next day, Wu Yong and the other came to the courtyard with dark circles under their eyes, finding Ren Qing toying with a jade gourd in his hands.
Tian A was chasing butterflies not far away; under the effect of the Immortal in the Mirror's ability, no one could perceive his existence.
Ren Qing was quite satisfied with the newly refined artifact; though it had not yet become a ghost-fetus vessel, it could still hold at least a thousand catties of liquor.
He spoke in a calm tone: "I will repeat it again, after transcending, no matter what happens, do not panic."
Wu Yong could not help feeling retreating thoughts, why did it seem that Ma Mang had not met any good end? Perhaps attaining the Dao and transcendence meant facing great danger?
The other Daoist, Zhang Yu, however, resolutely agreed.
He, after all, had nothing left to live for, thinking to himself, 'If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die in the evening.'
Seeing that Zhang Yu's mindset was relatively steady, Ren Qing believed he would not act as rashly as Ma Mang.
"Once you confirm that it's safe, you may leave the courtyard, go to the street, and find an old woman who runs a stall, her face bears two visages."
"And do not make loud sounds. Simply ask her what the Usurper Dragon is."
Zhang Yu took a long time to calm down after hearing this; he realized that Ma Mang was likely already dead, attaining the Dao and transcendence must be extremely dangerous.
"Immortal Master, if by some miracle I survive, I am willing to become your Dao-attendant."
"I will guide your cultivation."
Ren Qing agreed in words, but in truth, he was considering that if Zhang Yu proved dependable, he would teach him a Restraint Officer method and then send him into the Prison Within the Abdomen.
The ecosystem of the Prison Within the Abdomen had just begun to form and needed someone to tend to the vegetation.
If he ever left Jingzhou in the future, he could give Zhang Yu the opportunity to join the Restraint Officers' Hall.
"Many thanks, Immortal Master."
Zhang Yu nodded, silently sat cross-legged, began circulating the Qingfeng Qi Refining Method; Peach Wine flowed into his mouth, and Nether Yuan gradually produced aberration.
His originally almost-blind eyes even recovered normal sight.
Before long, Zhang Yu was pulled into the Crescent Moon Layer.
Zhang Yu looked around.
He was clearly much more rational; first checking the furnishings in the courtyard, he found that the original owner was most likely Daoist Fufeng.
However, the furniture was covered with a layer of dust, showing that it had not been occupied for a long time.
After resting for a moment, he left the courtyard; just as he reached the street, his legs went weak, but he forced himself to overcome fear and search for the old woman.
Zhang Yu hurried along the street and soon noticed a noodle stall at a corner.
He took a deep breath and hastily approached, drawing a wary look from the old woman.
"I... you... that..."
The old woman retreated several steps, the extra face on her forehead letting out a strange laugh.
Zhang Yu stammered, not knowing what to say, finally gathering a little courage to ask: "I want to ask, what is Usurper Dragon?"
The old woman narrowed her eyes and softly said, "You shouldn't be someone from Morning Street. Quickly go back to your own home."
Zhang Yu was on the verge of tears; regretting now was too late, so he could only ask again.
The old woman studied Zhang Yu for a long time before slowly answering, "It's an eerie creature hidden within Morning Street. As long as loud noises are made, It will be drawn to them."
"Hurry and go, hurry, otherwise you won't even know how you die."
Zhang Yu fled in panic from the stall, returned to the original courtyard, locked all the doors and windows of the side room, and hid under the bed.
Ren Qing opened his eyes, frowning deeply in thought.
This eerie entity was likely a kind of ghostly being unique to Jingzhou; the Usurper Dragon was attracted by sound, and its methods were such that even the ghost shadow could not detect it.
Even if it wasn't of the Yin Runner Realm, it was probably close.
"Immortal Master, I don't want to attain the Dao and transcend anymore, I don't want to, I don't want to..."
Seeing this, Wu Yong grew even more terrified; his courage was completely gone. He repeatedly kowtowed, then limped out of the bookstore.
Faintly, one could hear him letting out a bitter laugh of relief.
Ren Qing ignored Wu Yong, tossed the gourd artifact into the peach blossom spring, and continued refining life-preserving artifacts.
He also placed Tian A into the Prison Within the Abdomen, carefully organizing his own techniques.
Tian A might prove useful later; staying in the New Moon Layer would only mean waiting for death.
But just as Ren Qing was about to go to the Crescent Moon Layer, his expression suddenly grew dark, Zhang Yu had died for no known reason.
He examined the information sent by the ghost shadow before it dissipated: as night fell, every house on Morning Street lit candles.
Zhang Yu had not attempted to light any, still hiding under the bed.
At first he only felt sleep paralysis, but within a few breaths he turned into minced flesh, his bones completely disappearing into the darkness.
Ren Qing waited until daylight came in the Crescent Moon Layer, then circulated faint Nether Yuan.
He could disperse the Nether Yuan at any time, thus returning from the Crescent Moon Layer to the New Moon Layer, this was a key means of survival.
His clothing was also changed into ordinary magical artifacts, armed to the teeth.
As for why he didn't use the ghost-fetus vessel, it was mainly because the aura it emitted was too conspicuous; it would be difficult not to be discovered in the Crescent Moon Layer.
Nether Yuan flowed through his meridians, and a blood-red crescent moon appeared in the sky.
Ren Qing took a deep breath and gazed at the blood moon; after only half a breath, he averted his eyes, and in the next instant, he had already arrived in the Crescent Moon Layer.
Shortly after his figure disappeared.
Wu Yong sneaked back into the bookstore, only to find it empty again, the courtyard overgrown with fine weeds.
He collapsed weakly onto the ground, pounding the floor with his right hand, not knowing whether it was regret or guilt, bursting into uncontrollable sobs.
Wu Yong knew that he had missed his chance forever.
He kept muttering the contents of the Qingfeng Qi Refining Method; watching the rising morning sun, he soon breathed his last.
To hear the Dao in the morning, and die in the evening.