All around was desolation, everywhere full of white bones and corpses.
Ren Qing originally thought the blood moon would appear in the form of a full moon, but he did not expect that one corner actually had an extra gap, as if forcibly bitten off.
At the gap, the flesh and blood was blurred, and pitch-black ink-like liquid was slowly seeping out, and mixed within were countless Heavenly Dao Worm corpses.
If the two of them were not mistaken, within that liquid there was even a thin trace of Buddhist light, eroding the flesh and preventing it from recovering.
A giant Rabbit-Toad lay crouched on the blood moon, its tongue curling the Heavenly Dao Worm corpses and stuffing them into the four-petaled mouth, using them to suppress the Buddhist light stuck onto it like bone-boring parasites.
Around it were large numbers of monsters, their bodies seeming like miniature human-shaped Rabbit-Toads, and they had already formed the scale of a town.
But the town looked somewhat dilapidated and broken, and once any Rabbit-Toad cultivator approached the Buddhist light, their aura would immediately weaken and they would die.
The giant Rabbit-Toad's tongue paused for a few breaths, and its eyeballs spun wildly.
"Go!!"
Song Zongwu's expression turned heavy, and he hurriedly urged Ren Qing to leave the Full-Moon Layer.
Ren Qing drew a deep breath, and his Nether Yuan slowly contracted; their figures returned to the Crescent Moon Layer, still inside that simple cave.
Neither of the two spoke for a long time.
Ren Qing could see that the blood moon had received heavy damage. Its reason for coming to Jingzhou should be wanting to use the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm to recover its injuries.
From the Heavenly Dao Worm corpses, they could infer that the Heavenly Dao Worms of Jingzhou were likely already extinct, leaving only the single Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm existing alone.
Could it be that the blood moon was above Earth Immortal?
Ren Qing immediately denied the thought. If the difference were a whole major realm, then even if severely injured, it could still easily crush its opponent, there would be no need for such roundabout means.
It was highly possible that the flaws of the Heavenly Dao Worm caused this, since only at Ascension Stage (Heavenly Abomination) could one leave the host and survive.
Back then, Heavenly Daozi attempted to escape the restraint of the Heavenly Dao Worms, and although he failed, he still caused the worm swarm to suffer grave damage.
The blood moon had waited in the shadows for a long time, and then took the chance to launch an invasion into Jingzhou.
What Ren Qing grew even more wary of was how terrifying this world actually was, even an existence like the blood moon would suffer heavy injury.
That Buddhist light was clearly of the same origin as the techniques Song Zongwu possessed.
Song Zongwu saw Ren Qing's strange expression and gave a bitter smile as he explained: "This technique is related to the Buddhist sect, but I have no memory of it, so it was probably erased."
Ren Qing could glimpse some clues from the information flow.
All of Song Zongwu's techniques were related to the "nameless old monk." It should be tied to the Buddhist sect of this world, perhaps even to Immortal Buddhas.
After witnessing the great terror contained within the blood moon, the two finally understood the situation of Jingzhou.
The reason Jingzhou was divided into multiple inner-and-outer layers should be due to the techniques of the blood moon, thereby gradually eroding the vitality of the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm.
Simply put, once the Crescent Moon Layer completely turned into an environment suitable for Rabbit-Toads, the blood moon would launch the invasion of the New Moon Layer.
If the New Moon Layer fell, it meant the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm would perish.
As for that heavenly demon egg, it was only something left behind when Wuwei Monastery was destroyed, and it had taken root within the Wuwei Hall.
The blood moon could not deal with it, so it sealed it in the Gibbous Moon Layer.
This Supreme Heavenly Demon hidden danger might become a deciding bargaining chip in the situation, but since it involved beings above Heavenly Abomination, it was impossible to predict.
Song Zongwu said, shaking his head: "Ren Qing, you should take the Dao-hall disciples and leave Jingzhou."
"From the current situation, the blood moon and the Heavenly Dao Worm have no energy to deal with anything else. With your disaster-dispelling method, returning to Xiangxiang won't be difficult."
Ren Qing opened his mouth to speak, but Song Zongwu continued: "Remember to let the Restraint Officers' Hall withdraw from Xiangxiang as soon as possible. Just head south..."
"And Senior Song, you?"
"One cause, one effect, each has its heavenly mandate."
"Since Buddhist-technique traces were found in Jingzhou, it shows that my opportunity for advancing to Yang God Realm is indeed here."
For Song Zongwu, leaving Jingzhou basically meant giving up on advancing to Yang God.
"Wait, there seems to be a bit of a turning point."
Ren Qing stood up and paced in the narrow cave.
This world was so dangerous that after leaving Xiangxiang, the Restraint Officers' Hall might encounter an existence they could not resist.
His methods of prolonging life relied mainly on the dream-market. Only if the Restraint Officers' Hall steadily grew could it provide a continuous flow of resources.
If the several hundred thousand people of Xiangxiang entered Avici Hell, even food and clothing would be difficult to guarantee.
"Senior Song, wait a moment."
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes, and then completely withdrew his Nether Yuan, thus returning to the New Moon Layer.
The New Moon Layer had no trace of demonic qi at all, but instead was filled with faint true-yuan, though not enough for a cultivator to reach Qi-Refining.
He hesitated a moment, and the ghost shadow under his feet left his body and sank into the deep mountains and forests, while Wu Gui again reduced his sense of existence to the extreme.
When the distance was safe enough, the Heavenly Dao Worm aura within the ghost shadow began to appear, causing white beasts to run and flocks of birds to scatter.
After a moment's pause, the ground suddenly shook, soil rolled, and trees toppled.
The Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm was clearly a bit excited, wanting to attempt communication with Ren Qing, even if it meant shifting nearby mountain ranges.
Ren Qing was gambling that the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm could not distinguish the ghost shadow's Heavenly Dao Worm.
The stake was only one Heavenly Dao Worm, and if it were lost to the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm, with the information flow he should be able to gestate a replacement.
But if he succeeded, then the Restraint Officers' Hall could participate in the game as a player.
The benefits were self-evident, the tens of thousands of people in Jingzhou not yet turned into monsters alone were a considerable wealth.
Ren Qing also feared being discovered by the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm, so he prepared for immediate escape to deeper layers.
At the instant the two consciousnesses touched, countless chaotic thoughts from the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm surged in, nearly overwhelming the ghost shadow.
It was obvious the Earth Immortal Worm had been tightly suppressed by the blood moon, and after turning into a spiritual vein, it rarely interacted, so its intelligence was dull.
Its thoughts were extremely simple, only two words.
"Reproduce."
Only if the species was sufficiently numerous could it resist the blood moon's erosion.
A bulge rose before the ghost shadow, squeezing out large quantities of Heavenly Dao Worm eggs from underground.
Ren Qing was startled, but soon realized these were dead eggs, with their larvae long lifeless.
He controlled the ghost shadow to take the eggs, then expressed his wish to go to deeper Jingzhou.
The Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm was clearly dissatisfied, but its thoughts had only "reproduce" remaining, which it repeated again and again with its consciousness.
Ren Qing's plan was to have the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm maintain a portion of the Crescent Moon Layer; even if most of it were taken by the blood moon, at least a small area must remain.
Then the blood moon could not move on to the New Moon Layer, and with the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm barely clinging to life, he could sit and reap the profit.
He patiently listened to the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm's rambling for several hours until it gradually quieted.
Seeing no further reaction, Ren Qing prepared to return to the Crescent Moon Layer, and then the ground began shaking again.
Dense true-yuan surged, giving him a sudden suffocating sensation.
A several-hundred-meter fragment of shed worm-skin squeezed up to the surface; the source of the true-yuan was this thing, equivalent to a small spiritual vein.
The Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm repeated "reproduce" several times, then again fell into sleep.
Ren Qing let the ghost shadow drag the shed skin over. The moment it entered the Prison Within the Abdomen, the Nether Yuan pulled him back to the Crescent Moon Layer.
Information flow surged.
[Molted Husk]
[Shed by an Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm. Requires over one hundred years of excessive nourishment to gestate. Burying it underground can form a spiritual vein lasting five hundred years.]
Ren Qing swallowed.
Worthy indeed of the Earth Immortal Stage, with a spiritual vein formed from the molted husk, Dao-hall disciples could endlessly obtain Nether Yuan, which in turn could be used to feed back into the Heavenly Dao Worm.
Nether Sea Breathing Art at Yang God Realm was now possible, and he would save thousands of years of lifespan.
As for the dead Heavenly Dao Worm eggs, they also could not be underestimated; they should be usable for refining a Demonic Embryo Artifact, perhaps something unexpectedly beneficial.
Ren Qing stood in the cave for a long time before recovering; Song Zongwu waited with great patience at the side, his eyes full of doubt.
"Senior Song, we can summon the Restraint Officers' Hall now..."
Ren Qing told Song Zongwu about the Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm, and as for why he cultivated a Heavenly Dao technique, he pushed it onto coincidence and chance encounters.
Song Zongwu, though no stranger to bizarre events, was still frightened by Ren Qing's boldness.
To dare cultivate a technique with such fatal flaws, was he afraid of living too safely, or thought his talent allowed him to do whatever he wished?
"You..."
Song Zongwu didn't know what to say. His consciousness entered the dream-market, and soon he discovered the molted husk sitting in a corner of the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Returning to his body, he looked at Ren Qing with a complicated expression and said with a bitter smile: "Even with the molted husk allowing you to participate in Jingzhou, the risk is truly..."
"We don't need to take the initiative. We'll bury the husk at the edge of Jingzhou. Even if danger appears, we can withdraw immediately."
Ren Qing's thoughts were clear: mainly defend rather than attack. The Rabbit-Toad cultivators obviously needed a demon-qi-filled environment and would not adapt to water-marsh terrain.
"Since you've said this, it is indeed more benefit than harm."
After thinking a few breaths, Song Zongwu added: "Ren Qing, you should know that where Jingzhou borders the water marsh, there is a region covered by a Yang God Realm forbidden zone?"
Ren Qing suddenly understood: "Seems so."
"Let's use the opposite corner of that region as the base for the Restraint Officers' Hall. A Yang God forbidden zone affects a very large range, so the pressure of defense will be lighter."
Song Zongwu headed out of the cave: "I'll immediately notify the Restraint Officers' Hall."
Jingzhou was full of pseudo-Yang God realms formed through shortcuts, how could the Restraint Officers' Hall refuse? Not to mention the corpse of the Meat and Wine Taoist wouldn't last long; they needed to strengthen themselves quickly to face crises.
"One more thing."
Song Zongwu paused his steps and said in a heavy voice: "While we wait for the Restraint Officers' Hall to arrive, we can take this time to deal with Jingzhou."
"In that case, other than the demon cultivators, the people of Jingzhou, I don't plan to leave a single one behind. We'll take them all."
Song Zongwu nodded: "Likely the other towns of Jingzhou already have few survivors left, but I still intend to take a look."
"Qingyan Town is left to you."
"At the very least I grasp three or four types of techniques. Dealing with some aberrations is no problem."
A strange smile appeared on Ren Qing's face.
Aberrations indeed cannot be exterminated, but that does not mean they cannot be killed. Using this to test the limit of his own strength, so that he would have a bottom line in his heart.
Right now the Rabbit-Toad cultivators had not yet descended, this was the last chance for extravagance.
How many years had it been since anyone heard the name of Wuwei Monastery? They had probably already forgotten it.