The lumps at the bottom of the city walls had already reached their limit. As Wuwei City completely fused with the aberrant fetus, a narrow slit unexpectedly split open on its exterior.
From within flowed liquid similar to amniotic fluid, followed by four thick stone hands revealing themselves. On the backs of the hands grew pupils two meters in size. It was clearly discernible that Wuwei City possessed simple thought, but it was truly rather limited.
The stone hands swelled upon meeting the wind, quickly reaching just over ten meters. Their surfaces were covered with veins, within which faint milky-white blood flowed.
Wuwei City swayed slightly, causing cultivators to topple over.
"Hold steady!!" Song Zongwu could not help shouting. His gaze, however, was fixed on the sky shrouded in black qi, his expression still carrying lingering worry.
It seemed to be growing denser and denser.
Li Tiangang signaled the cultivators to perform their respective duties, quickly following the pre-arranged tasks to guard the four city walls and prevent accidents.
Ren Qing closed his eyes upon seeing this and communicated with Wuwei City, issuing the command to head toward Xiangxiang.
Wuwei City was pieced together from countless magical artifacts. The ritual refinement of ownership was truly too time-consuming, so it could only be controlled in a crude manner.
Fortunately, Wuwei City itself originated from Restraint Officer methods, and was relatively close to Restraint Officer aura, obeying Ren Qing's words.
The veins on the four arms bulged as they braced against the ground and gradually exerted force.
Dust spread everywhere. Wuwei City broke free from the earth's restraints, its perspective beginning to rise, soon lifted five or six meters.
However, at the bottom of Wuwei City, the demonic qi contained in the soil caused lingering entanglement, as if bound by iron chains and shackles.
Song Zongwu prepared to act, but was stopped by Ren Qing.
"I'll do it."
Song Zongwu raised his brows. When fighting Rabbit-Toad cultivators, he had not seen Ren Qing's technique. It was just right to see what kind of thunder method it was.
Great Dream True Person was also quite interested.
In the end, Ren Qing did not need to act. The ghost shadow beneath his feet had already taken over. It transformed into a shadowy coiled dragon roaming the city streets.
Immediately the ghost shadow abruptly disappeared. In reality it passed through the ground to the bottom of the city, covering the places adhered by demonic qi.
Next, outside the city instantly turned into blinding daylight.
The thunder lasted only a single breath. As the ghost shadow drilled back into Ren Qing's shadow, the phenomenon vanished completely.
Song Zongwu glanced at Ren Qing in surprise.
Why did it feel not like reaching Yang Spirit realm through opportunism via a Heavenly Dao method? The technique revealed was clearly the Shadowless Ghost of Restraint Officer methods.
But the Shadowless Ghost could not possibly spit thunder. It certainly originated from aberration of another technique.
This made Song Zongwu even more shocked. Could two techniques with no connection whatsoever both successfully establish primary-secondary technique association?
He could not help forming some thoughts. In the future, regarding solutions to Buddhist sect techniques, there was one more option that appeared extremely risky.
The stone hands lifted and then fell heavily, smashing a deep pit into the ground.
Wuwei City stepped forward and moved.
At first the speed was not very fast, but as the stone hands gradually adapted to the town's weight, the swinging frequency continuously increased.
Originally the town's position was at the boundary between Jingzhou and the marshland. At most it would take a dozen minutes of walking to reach the yellow sand desert.
Not to mention each step of Wuwei City exceeded dozens of meters.
Before everyone reacted, it suddenly changed from Jingzhou's early autumn pleasant temperature to being inside a blazing furnace.
Restraint Officers who came from Xiangxiang to Wuwei City were somewhat unaccustomed. Dao Official cultivators born in Yellow Sand City instead felt at ease.
People of Jingzhou flushed red, their clothes soaked with sweat.
When they discovered that even breathing was fiery and painful, they hurriedly used Nether Yuan to protect their bodies, blocking the scorching heat.
But they still ended up lying in shadows, gasping for breath.
Han Li stood at the edge of the city wall, his gaze fixed on the boundless yellow sand.
Before him was an extremely dangerous and splendid world, making him feel relaxed and joyful, wanting to see what the scenery everywhere was like.
While Han Li was distracted, Xiao San'er solemnly patted his shoulder, signaling him to raise his head toward Jingzhou.
Han Li belatedly looked in the indicated direction and froze there, his expression filled with astonishment and fear.
Many cultivators noticed the abnormality, their breathing growing heavy.
They saw Jingzhou, just a short distance from them, as if separated by a barrier into two ends. Everything inside was obscured by the marshland's yellow sand.
Only that Blood Moon was clearly visible.
The Blood Moon replaced the moon's position, its exterior covered in black spots, emitting waves of blood light, enveloping all of Jingzhou.
The black qi soaring upward had already touched the Blood Moon, covering one-third of it, yet blood-colored moonlight still seeped out.
Even without using heavy pupils, Ren Qing could see crude palace complexes upon the Blood Moon, as well as gaps bitten out.
When he used heavy pupils, he noticed even more information, especially the faintly visible giant Rabbit-Toad, which made one's hair stand on end.
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes and could not help saying, "The Blood Moon is descending toward the ground."
Great Dream True Person was clearly also observing with heavy pupils and added, "To be precise, it is being pulled toward the ground by Heavenly Demon aura."
The Blood Moon's descending speed was not fast, yet very steady.
Hoo!!
While Ren Qing and the others observed the Blood Moon, the giant Rabbit-Toad suddenly moved, extending its long right hand to scoop toward Jingzhou.
Grasp after grasp of living beings were stuffed into the giant Rabbit-Toad's three-petaled mouth, chewed briefly, then spat onto the Blood Moon's surface.
Ren Qing did not know whether the giant Rabbit-Toad's actions were nourishing the Blood Moon, but he faintly felt a sense of crisis.
He hurriedly closed his eyes to communicate with Wuwei City's artifact spirit, telling it to increase speed.
Although Wuwei City was somewhat unwilling, facing Ren Qing who had refined it, it restrained its temper and erupted with greater strength.
Its speed was already comparable to a fully-sailed ghost ship. Ren Qing walking naturally could not reach such a level.
All cultivators held their breath, only relaxing after leaving over a hundred li, rejoicing that they had safely escaped Jingzhou, this ghost place.
But no matter what, even if Restraint Officers' Hall had to withdraw from Xiangxiang, the resources gained were already enough for internal consumption for hundreds of years.
Song Zongwu said to Ren Qing, "Go rest. We estimate several more days of travel."
"Understood, Senior Song."
Ren Qing verbally agreed, but in reality formed heavy pupils with dream seeds attached to his forehead, still continuously staring at the Blood Moon.
After breaking free from Jingzhou, Wuwei City naturally could not maintain high-intensity alert, choosing rotating patrols guarding the walls.
Those long-stockpiled flesh and wine were taken out and freely enjoyed.
Not all cultivators were like Ren Qing, possessing firm will and absolute confidence in the road ahead.
Most inevitably experienced joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Long-term mental tension would drive one mad, which was why the taverns in Ghost Market had been packed.
Of course with Yang Spirit realms present, their behavior was relatively restrained.
Through observing the Blood Moon, Ren Qing discovered that the intervals at which the giant Rabbit-Toad seized living beings grew shorter and shorter, almost thousands each time.
As for where so many living beings came from, it was certainly the New Moon layer acting.
He did not know if it was illusion.
Perhaps due to the Blood Moon being pulled toward the ground, the moonlight it emitted grew increasingly bright.
"Not right."
Ren Qing's spine chilled as he muttered. If applying the phenomena produced by the Blood Moon to magical artifacts, it could be explained clearly.
This was clearly a sign of activating a magical artifact. Could it be the Blood Moon had been dormant?
If Wuwei City's speed were not already at its limit, with no method in the desert able to compare, Ren Qing would have wanted to swallow Wuwei City and flee.
Ren Qing hurriedly informed Song Zongwu and the others of his discovery. The urgent matter was to set up defenses against alien aura.
They each prepared. The revelry within Wuwei City abruptly stopped.
Cultivators put on specially made dao-robes magical artifacts, and attached gelatinous mucus to the exterior of the city walls. This material could absorb alien aura.
Wuwei City displayed the capability of a Ghost Envoy realm aberrant fetus artifact. The four walls extended toward each other, directly turning into a sealed stone box.
White Bone Glazed Canopy was inlaid atop the walls, just exposing a transparent window through which the outside could be observed.
Facing the sudden situation, cultivators inevitably had complaints.
But with three Yang Spirit realms' authority present, compared to idle teasing, they were more willing to believe real danger existed.
Soon Ren Qing's worry was verified.
When Wuwei City approached the empty Yellow Sand City, Jingzhou's Blood Moon, regardless of day or night, still hung in midair.
The Blood Moon seemed to follow like a shadow, bringing incomparable pressure.
Through unremitting seizing of living beings, the giant Rabbit-Toad caused more than half the black spots on the Blood Moon's surface to fade, revealing uneven patterns.
Ren Qing observed the Blood Moon more carefully, because these patterns were clearly Moon Patterns, containing abundant information about artifact refining.
Yet just as he immersed in the Moon Patterns, he suddenly noticed the patterns began to flow.
Although Moon Patterns were profound precisely because of uncertainty, the Moon Patterns on the Blood Moon's surface became increasingly regular.
Before Ren Qing's dumbfounded gaze, the Blood Moon revived like some ancient creature, roots continuously spreading and twisting.
The space behind it gradually collapsed, until the Blood Moon grew an indescribable face.
The vast majority of the Blood Moon's face was occupied by a single eye, within which no intelligence could be seen, only pure malice.
From the gap spewed blood mixed with Buddhist aura. Rabbit-Toad cultivators could be seen pouring flesh and bones into it.
Immediately strange sheep bleating was heard.
Boundless black qi surged toward the Blood Moon, within mixed hundreds of Heavenly Demonized souls that had abandoned fleshly bodies.
The black qi enveloped the Blood Moon. Ren Qing could no longer see the situation within.
Supreme Heavenly Demon likely was not weaker than Earth Immortal, but did not personally come to Jingzhou, only using Heavenly Demon aura attempting to erode the Blood Moon.
Then the giant Rabbit-Toad leapt down.
It frantically stuffed living beings into its mouth. Jingzhou's New Moon layer had only tens of thousands of mortals; how could that satisfy the giant Rabbit-Toad's appetite.
So unsurprisingly.
Boom boom boom!
Jingzhou shook violently, even affecting the marshland, causing Wuwei City to nearly stumble and fall.
Ren Qing could guess even without seeing. Because of the giant Rabbit-Toad's recklessness, the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Insect buried deep underground had awakened.
Wuwei City sensed fatal threat, its speed increasing again.
All cultivators ignored distress, assisting the Yang Spirit realms in destructively dismantling buildings, throwing them en masse into his storage, thereby reducing weight.