The giant Rabbit-Toad wanted to seize back the small Blood Moon, but merely approaching the arm caused abnormalities, its skin beginning to rot over a large area. Ren Qing knew the arm came from the Longevity Restricted Zone; its power could not possibly exceed Heavenly Aberration realm. But also being Heavenly Aberration realm, the giant Rabbit-Toad and the person in the well were completely different; the former had absolutely no chance of resistance.
This also explained that, as an artifact spirit, the giant Rabbit-Toad was functional, mainly emitting demonic qi and producing the small Blood Moon.
"Ugh..." The arm composed of vines collapsed instantly. The small Blood Moon, in just a few breaths, traveled thousands of miles and transferred outside the Longevity Restricted Zone. The person in the well held the small Blood Moon, observing.
The giant Rabbit-Toad frantically charged toward the marsh, emitting threatening cries, but under the effect of the disease, its flesh began to collapse.
Before the eyes of Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators, the giant Rabbit-Toad literally became a pool of pus. Not long ago, it had been invulnerable to all techniques. Facing the person in the well, who had ascended to Heavenly Aberration realm through Restraint Officer methods, it didn't even have the ability to resist.
Wuwei City, located at the ruins of Heshan Town, was relatively dangerous. Cultivators spontaneously fed the mouths on the ground with flesh and blood, intending to leave as soon as possible.
Seeing Ren Qing seemingly knowing something, Song Zongwu could not help but ask, "Ren Qing, quickly tell us, what exactly is the situation in Xiangxiang?"
Ren Qing's expression turned complex as he replied: "Actually, the hundreds of thousands of people in Xiangxiang are now all within the Longevity Restricted Zone."
Great Dream True Person recalled previously asking Ren Qing to explore the Longevity Restricted Zone, and it seemed that through his dual-soul abilities, Ren Qing had discovered a lot of information.
Ren Qing checked Wuwei City while describing the Longevity Restricted Zone.
Currently, the three towns of Xiangxiang were already situated around the giant tree, adjacent to Wei'an Town, coincidentally within its protective range.
The forces of Xiangxiang and Wei'an were still in contact, but the sub-souls had eased relations; the atmosphere was not particularly tense.
Ren Qing's longstanding doubts about the giant tree had now been verified. The people could acquire information on physical and martial abilities through the giant tree, and could also use its emanated aura to suppress hysteria from the Longevity Immortals.
As the giant tree grew taller, its coverage area increased.
Ren Qing had previously not understood why, if the giant tree was deliberately controlled, it would waste nutrients to grow to thousands of meters. Now he realized, the person in the well had likely prepared in advance, ready to pull Xiangxiang's population into the restricted zone at any time.
He did not know, however, whether this person was truly the founder of Restraint Officers' Hall.
Ren Qing had just intended to tell Song Zongwu their guesses about the origins of Restraint Officers' Hall when a strange smell entered his nostrils.
Immediately, coughing erupted among the cultivators, and even Wuwei City shook.
Great Dream True Person quickly warned: "Careful, the air is toxic!!"
But in just a single breath, thousands of cultivators fell to the ground with blackened faces, simultaneously suffering from persistent high fevers.
Seeing this, Ren Qing immediately signaled the ghost shadow to open its abnormal mouth, swallowing the entire Wuwei City into the Eternal Space Prison, leaving only three in the Yang God realm.
He discovered that Wuwei City seemed infected with stubborn diseases; only after entering the stomach-world did the cultivators recover. Ren Qing sighed in relief.
The diseases generated by the Six-Illness Method were formed through spells. As long as isolation was maintained, the symptoms could be relieved and even heal in a short time.
With the Tai Sui Scripture, it would not be so simple. That technique cultivated colorless, formless diseases; even the caster might not be able to remove them.
Ren Qing signaled Song Zongwu and the other to stay calm. From his understanding of the Six-Illness Method, part of the well person's consciousness was definitely nearby, which was why the spell's aura was leaking.
Even a Heavenly Aberration realm artifact Rabbit-Toad would be enough to overwhelm them, let alone the genuine person in the well; they could only respond without changing anything.
Moreover, the person in the well likely had no malice; at least the action toward the small Blood Moon was clearly helping Wuwei City escape.
The three held their breath, mutually guarding, ready to retreat at any moment.
Beneath their eyes, countless vines emerged from the ground, forming a half-meter cluster. Flesh and blood generated, becoming a human brain.
The human brain exhibited features of more than ten brain diseases, with blood vessels appearing bluish-purple, accompanied by leaking brain matter.
The ghost shadow at Ren Qing's feet extended hundreds of meters; once he sensed danger, it immediately pulled away his body.
Great Dream True Person and Song Zongwu had also prepared measures.
The surface blood vessels of the brain continued to bleed, and the nearby air twisted; within a hundred miles, insect sounds abruptly ceased. Birds and beasts fled in the opposite direction, falling a step late, turning into pus.
The three were horrified, suddenly noticing their own brains subtly writhing, as if an invisible hand was caressing.
Before they could escape, unfamiliar memories entered their minds.
Ren Qing swallowed, murmuring: "This kind of memory transmission... truly hardcore..."
The memories brought by the brain were very fragmented, revealing that the well person was also not optimistic.
All three were in the Yang God realm; they digested the memories extremely quickly, analyzing the causality in a blink, their expressions shocked.
The person in the well was named Chen Changsheng, the founder of Restraint Officers' Hall.
Chen Changsheng was born in the Longevity Restricted Zone, raised in a world where the Three Immortals of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity treated mortal lives as nourishment to cultivate disease trees.
As longevity species, the Three Immortals possessed eternal lifespans and the ability to create hysterical disasters.
He wanted to change the situation, but found that the longevity species could easily die and revive, and mortals eagerly sought to become disease trees.
Unable to find a solution, Chen Changsheng focused on cultivation in deep mountains, hoping to shatter the void and ascend to the higher realms.
After hundreds of years of hard cultivation, he finally reached Yang God realm, proudly leading disciples on Xiajü Ascension, arriving at the boundless marshlands. The result was predictable.
Traveling widely, Chen Changsheng was completely shocked by the madness of the higher realms. Whether Jingzhou's Heavenly Dao Insects or the Supreme Heavenly Demon of the Beast Pens, mortals were completely consumed as cultivation materials, while the methods of the longevity species seemed too immature.
Chen Changsheng chose to lead the disciples of Yellow Sand City to Xiangxiang, managing for over a hundred years to form the embryo of today's Restraint Officers' Hall.
His reason for returning to the Longevity Restricted Zone was simple: to ascend to Heavenly Aberration realm.
Because the Longevity Restricted Zone had a unique rule: immortals formed from aberrant objects could break their limits through the fruits of disease trees.
Half-Corpse realm immortals, through long-term consumption of Tree Immortal fruits, could reach Ghost Envoy realm. Theoretically, Yang God realm was similar.
No one knew the Longevity Restricted Zone better than Chen Changsheng; he knew how to seize the opportunity, first needing to become a longevity species.
The longevity species of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity were all formed from aberrant objects.
If Chen Changsheng's body and soul entered the Longevity Restricted Zone together, he could not become a longevity species. Only by severing his body and extinguishing his soul could he succeed.
He fused the aberrant object into his remaining soul, entering the Longevity Restricted Zone as a longevity species.
Chen Changsheng resolutely chose to practice the Beast Pen Method, using the Supreme Heavenly Demon's feature of burning the body as firewood to sever his roots.
Before throwing his remaining soul into the well, to prevent descendants of Restraint Officers' Hall from finding him, he erased all traces of his existence.
Abhī Hell was also left by Chen Changsheng, obtained through the Meat and Wine Taoist corpse. However, the aberrant object, due to the Beast Pen Method, became smoke-like.
Ren Qing speculated the Beast Pen Method was granted to Chen Changsheng by Heavenly Daozi, and the two eventually followed completely different yet equally insane paths.
Chen Changsheng had been in the well for hundreds of years, and should have successfully ascended to Heavenly Aberration realm.
But obviously, some unknown influence trapped him in the Longevity Restricted Zone, his consciousness even blurred.
His action of pulling Xiangxiang into the Longevity Restricted Zone was not entirely for their protection, but more for "self-rescue."
While Ren Qing and the others were stunned, Chen Changsheng's brain began collapsing.
A voice, struggling with madness, echoed: "When... Heavenly Aberration... ascend to longevity... within... hidden..."
Bang!!! The brain completely turned to pulp. The disease formed by the Six-Illness Method quickly receded, though the forest was already in chaos.
Ren Qing instinctively looked toward the marsh, vaguely seeing the kilometer-tall giant still standing there, likely delaying time.
The three were silent for a moment.
Song Zongwu first spoke: "We shouldn't linger here. Let's disperse."
Great Dream True Person said in a deep voice: "Whether or not we have ascended to Heavenly Aberration realm, we will return to Xiangxiang in a hundred years to discuss how to handle the Longevity Restricted Zone."
Ren Qing immediately agreed. From their words, it was evident Great Dream True Person and Song Zongwu had already made decisions.
As expected, Great Dream True Person would search for traces left by the Tai Sui Dao Lord, attempting to use deceased Heavenly Aberration realms to break through bottlenecks.
Song Zongwu was obviously from Lingshan Temple; Buddhist techniques were not so easily suppressed. Using Asura techniques was merely temporary.
For Ren Qing, staying in Xiangxiang was indeed meaningless. Restraint Officers' Hall had thousands of cultivators in the Eternal Space Prison, and the Longevity Restricted Zone could manage through sub-souls, without affecting the efficiency of lifespan extension.
The resurrection techniques inside the Longevity Restricted Zone could be utilized through sub-souls to gain opportunities.
Ren Qing gave each of the two a projection of soul butterfly. In the future, as dream techniques improved, the range of influence would increase, even allowing contact through the dream market.
Great Dream True Person turned south and walked away.
Song Zongwu, somewhat concerned about Ren Qing, asked: "I'm preparing to go to Lingshan Temple. If you have no plan, you can come along."
"Senior Song," Ren Qing looked toward the northern clouds, speaking firmly: "I want to find the Dead Man's Sutra; I want immortality!"
Even if cultivating the Dead Man's Sutra would make him undead, as long as his lifespan was infinite, he could become an immortal.
Song Zongwu's expression became dazed, recalling that Song Rong had once said something similar.
He smiled wryly: "That is only a rumor; no one knows its truth..."
"In a hundred years, we will meet again."
Before Song Zongwu could finish, Ren Qing had already departed northward.
Storytellers in teahouses had tales of eternal life, and Restraint Officers' Hall's texts recorded related matters, mostly concerning the Dead Man's Sutra. The origin was unknown.
Song Rong, in his childhood, firmly believed the Dead Man's Sutra existed in the extreme north, even taking action, only to exhaust his lifespan.
At this moment, deafening noise came from the marsh. Chen Changsheng's actions had thoroughly enraged the Blood Moon.
Chen Changsheng pinched the small Blood Moon; its mutated flesh and blood covered it, turning it into a pulsating tumor.
He drew the small Blood Moon into the Longevity Restricted Zone, embedding it at the center of the giant tree.
Ka ka ka ka... The Blood Moon's mouth continuously opened and closed. Half its body had already pierced Jingzhou; the rest was tightly bound by the Heavenly Demon's aura.
It swallowed several dunes consecutively. The marsh already contained residual souls, which in a short time were forged into artifact puppets.
When the Blood Moon opened its mouth again, tens of thousands of Rabbit-Toads poured out.
However, the marsh was like an Endless Forest, influenced by the corpse of a Heavenly Aberration realm, so the residual souls were not naturally formed.
Therefore, the forged Rabbit-Toads were extremely deformed, many without limbs, a mass of writhing flesh.
The Rabbit-Toads' role was to spread demonic qi. The entire marsh boiled.
If a single demonic beast was a drop of water, the current number was close to forming an ocean, giving a scalp-tingling sensation.
Chen Changsheng reached for the Meat and Wine Taoist in the clouds, inserting it into his chest and abdomen, nourishing it with countless pathogens.
"I am Chen Changsheng, I am taboo, I am Kṣitigarbha..."
He forcefully struck the ground. With a tremendous sound, pestilent pathogens spread across the sky, a stinking wind howling in its path.
The beasts rushed like moths to a flame, pathogens corroding their bodies, falling in batches.
Their deaths were bizarre, piling bodies into mountains.
Yet even so, it did not stop the beasts; all things could become demons. As long as demonic qi flowed, the corpses could rise countless times.
After repeated resurrection, their cultivation visibly skyrocketed.
Many Rabbit-Toads, feeding on the beasts' flesh and blood, gained intelligence and meditated in the Facing-the-Moon Method, quickly reaching Ghost Envoy realm.
However, due to unstable residual souls in the marsh, even if Rabbit-Toads reached Yang God realm, their lifespan would last only a few hours.
One Rabbit-Toad emerged, tearing its flesh, swelling in the wind, soon becoming a new Heavenly Aberration realm Rabbit-Toad.
With the giant Rabbit-Toad joining, the demonic qi in the air intensified.
The beasts' resistance to the plague increased; they approached within hundreds of meters of Chen Changsheng, about to engulf him.
Chen Changsheng calmly withdrew the Meat and Wine Taoist corpse, using it as a petri dish for the plague, releasing boundless pathogens.
His flesh and blood gradually collapsed, relying on the corpse to delay time.
The entrances to the Longevity Restricted Zone had vanished, possibly buried deep in the marsh or in an inconspicuous corner.
Yet traces of battle would persist, especially the Meat and Wine Taoist's corpse, a hotbed for pathogens, likely lasting hundreds of years.
Ren Qing, at the marsh's edge, could not help but look north toward Jingzhou.
There, the Heavenly Demon aura had enveloped the area. The Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Insect's activity had calmed, likely entering slumber again.
The Blood Moon, heavily injured by the Buddhist sect, could not harm the Supreme Heavenly Demon; its fall was inevitable, but resistance would be prolonged.
Whether the Heavenly Daozi foresaw Jingzhou's outcome was unknown.
Ren Qing had no intention of intervening, nor joy at surviving.
He faced an unknown future, Chen Changsheng's memories too fragmented, the outside world unknown for years.
Yang God realm cultivators could barely survive, but the Heavenly Aberration realm could obliterate regions, and the Earth Immortal could alter the environment with a wave of the hand.
Ren Qing suddenly felt insecure.
The Blood Moon, Heavenly Dao Insects, Supreme Heavenly Demon—none were ordinary powers; all were masters capable of recreating the world.