Ren Qing looked at the contents of the Soil Filth Method and could not help but fall into contemplation.
Yuan Si saw the immortal venerable standing still; how would he dare step forward to interrupt? Lowering his head, he knelt and continuously muttered the title "Guangchengzi."
"You originally apprenticed under whom?"
"Replying to Immortal Venerable."
"I was originally a rustic villager, and obtained this technique from a wandering Daoist; I do not even know his name."
Ren Qing slightly nodded. The Soil Filth Method could be considered a street-common technique; even its descriptions of details were inferior to the Qingfeng Qi Refining Method.
Fortunately, the core elements were not different.
First of all, after the Heavenly Dao Technique had been revised, from beginning to end it never mentioned the Heavenly Dao Worm.
If Ren Qing had not come into contact with the true Heavenly Dao Technique, he would not have noticed anything strange at all, merely thinking that orthodox cultivation was like this.
The more he looked, the more shocked he became, precisely because within the lines of the Soil Filth Method were hidden much information, thinking deeply about it filled him with terror.
Jingzhou was indeed as Ren Qing had suspected.
The Crescent Moon Layer was filled with True Yuan, whereas the New Moon Layer was comparatively thin.
In the deep underground of Jingzhou, there was very likely a gigantic Earth Immortal Stage Heavenly Dao Worm, which had transformed into a spiritual vein to maintain the current situation.
Mortals who wanted to cultivate the revised Heavenly Dao Technique had first to let their bodies absorb and merge with True Yuan, thereby producing the aberration of pseudo-worms.
The aberrations of the pseudo-worms were myriad and strange, equivalent to being recognized by the Heavenly Dao.
In Ren Qing's view, the pseudo-worm was more or less the same as the original foundation-establishing spiritual root, letting the aberrated body replace the spiritual root to absorb the True Yuan in the air.
But the problem was that the so-called True Yuan actually originated from the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm.
If the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm wanted to reclaim the True Yuan, even if a cultivator reached the Ascension Stage, what of it?, they would still have no power to resist.
The cultivators of Jingzhou were essentially cultivating on behalf of the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm, making wedding clothes for another.
However, for the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm to act in such a way was very likely for the sake of opposing the Blood Moon, so it would do its utmost to maintain the stability of the Crescent Moon Layer.
By reason, the system of the Wuwei Monastery was more suitable for the reproduction and survival of the Heavenly Dao Worm species; now it seemed more like an act of helpless compulsion.
The Blood Moon, on the other hand, held the complete upper hand, and through the stratification of the world continuously sent the most elite cultivators to the inner layers of the world.
The two thereby formed a strange kind of symbiosis.
Such a technique had in fact already deviated from the Heavenly Dao Technique; it ought instead to be called a Heavenly Worm Technique (天虫法), for in essence it was completely different.
If Ren Qing cultivated the Heavenly Worm Technique, it could be said to be all harm and no benefit, even leading to his own being controlled by the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm.
But as he turned his thoughts over, he could not help but give rise to a bold idea.
Within the ghost shadow there already existed a Heavenly Dao Worm; if Ren Qing could replicate the model of the Heavenly Worm Technique, he could completely allow a great number of cultivators to nurture Nether Yuan.
Just thinking of it was terrifying, when it came to harvesting leeks, it was still the Heavenly Dao Worm that was formidable.
However, the upper limit of the Heavenly Worm Technique mainly depended on the Heavenly Dao Worm itself; Ren Qing's Nether Sea Breathing Art was only at the Core Formation Stage, using it to cultivate the Heavenly Worm Technique, foundation establishment was already a dead end, unless the Heavenly Dao Worm continued to advance.
But the benefit was truly tempting.
Each cultivator of the Heavenly Worm Technique would be equivalent to helping the Heavenly Dao Worm cultivate; when the time was ripe and Ren Qing reclaimed the Nether Yuan, he could thereby cause the Nether Sea Breathing Art to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage, or even the Spirit Division Stage.
Yet to verify this idea, he still had to modify the Nether Sea Breathing Art into a Heavenly Worm Technique, and could not attract the notice of the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm.
It was not that he was unwilling to greatly expand the Ghost Market, but in order to form a large scale, he would unavoidably have to come into contact with various powers, inevitably becoming entangled.
Better to wait until Releasing the Yin God, or until he understood Jingzhou more deeply.
Compared with the Ghost Market, using the Heavenly Worm Technique to develop a power was undoubtedly safer, after all, Jingzhou probably had no shortage even of Spirit Division Stage cultivators.
Ren Qing had a rough plan for what was to come, but would have to proceed step by step.
Although he could not avoid taking some risks, if it truly succeeded, then there would be hope of escaping from Jingzhou; otherwise, it would be utterly hopeless.
Ren Qing's gaze turned toward Yuan Si. Seeing that outside, the sky was growing late, he then said, "Guangchengzi..."
"Disciple is here."
To bestow a Daoist title within the Daoist gate was already considered a true master-disciple relationship, only that the rank of a recorded disciple was not high.
"Go and seek five children without cause or effect; when it is done, I will contact you."
If Ren Qing really created a Heavenly Worm Technique belonging solely to himself, then he would certainly have to pass it on; he might as well cultivate from childhood.
Children were more malleable and did not yet have so many entangled relationships.
Tian A was also a good candidate, only his intelligence was a bit low.
Yuan Si was stunned for a moment, then immediately replied, "Immortal Venerable's instruction, this disciple will certainly do his utmost."
Ren Qing waved his hand; a bottle of Peach Wine fell into Yuan Si's hands. Before the latter could react, he felt the world spin around him.
Under the effect of the Butterfly Dream Technique, Yuan Si's consciousness disappeared within the Prison Within the Abdomen, and very soon returned to his original Niwan Palace.
The Daoist temple at the center of the wine lake slowly faded away, and the divided soul also reverted to its original appearance.
Yuan Si awoke in an instant. Looking around, his expression was incomparably bewildered.
He was now lying in a cold and deserted courtyard; it seemed that earlier, having smelled the fragrance of wine, he had walked into the house and been drunk unconscious.
Yuan Si's head throbbed slightly, as though awakening from a hangover.
The doors and windows of the house were tightly shut, and not a trace of candlelight was lit; from the spiderwebs everywhere, it could be seen that no one resided here.
Yuan Si belatedly stood up; the dream in his memory was incomparably clear, and even the words of the Immortal Venerable were still vivid before him.
He could not make sense of the situation, but then noticed that there was a bottle of liquor in his bosom.
Yuan Si froze for a few breaths, then hastily and with rapid breathing put the liquor away, pretending to be unconcerned as he left the residential area.
Yet before he had gone far, he ran headlong into a sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked man.
The man was chewing something in his mouth, fresh blood dripping from the corner of his lips.
He looked at Yuan Si with intoxicated amusement and said teasingly, "Yuan beggar, have you tasted the flavor of human flesh? Why do you look as though..."
"Heh heh, did you perhaps return disappointed?"
Yuan Si involuntarily halted his steps. In the past, he would have fearfully taken a detour, but now an inexplicable nameless anger surged up within him.
"Lai Dog, do not again call me beggar. My name is Guangchengzi, you had best remember it."
Having spoken, Yuan Si flicked his sleeves and departed; even he did not realize that his disposition had changed within such a short time.
Lai Dog's face turned ashen only after Yuan Si's back vanished from sight; he had already set his mind on Guangchengzi.
"Got the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard, truly tired of living."
"When I find out Yinghu's taboo, I'll be the first to make an example of you..."
Yuan Si, in good spirits, walked while thinking about the matters Ren Qing had instructed.
If it were other cultivators, finding children without cause or effect would be simple, one could directly and artificially create orphans without father or mother.
But Yuan Si had never thought so, afraid that in doing so he would profane the trust of the Immortal Venerable.
"Go take a look at the brothel area, it's said that women of the red dust often secretly raise children?"
Yuan Si quickly walked toward the corner of Morning Street, not knowing that Ren Qing was observing him.
Relying on the faint aura of the Dream Seed, Ren Qing barely sensed Yuan Si's movements; seeing that the other was still cautious, he set his mind at ease.
Thanks to Qingyan Town sealing off Morning Street, the distance was no more than several thousand meters; for Ren Qing to maintain the technique required little effort.
It could be said that during this period, for him it was more like an opportunity for quiet development,
Provided that the appearance of Yinghu did not cause Morning Street to undergo drastic change.
Ren Qing continuously perused the Soil Filth Method, gradually beginning to modify the Nether Sea Breathing Art, though information on the Heavenly Worm Technique was still too little.
Moreover, his own Heavenly Worm Technique was completely different, requiring consideration of every aspect, especially the differences between his own Heavenly Dao Worm and the Earth Immortal Heavenly Dao Worm.
Ren Qing wanted to focus his thoughts completely, yet simply could not enter the proper state.
It was that Yinghu occupied too much of his attention; wanting to, as in Xiangxiang, ignore all outside affairs was completely unrealistic.
He simply went out more often during the daytime; since both main and secondary souls existed, it would not delay the progress of perfecting the Heavenly Worm Technique.
However, Ren Qing could not help but Spirit Division, unconsciously he had come once more to the entrance of Sanmu Alley.
He raised his eyebrows slightly. Morning Street valued "returning to the earth for peace"; even if whole families died miserably, neighbors would still go to Sanmu Alley to purchase coffins.
In theory, Sanmu Alley could come into contact with all the corpses of Morning Street.
If Yinghu appeared and killed people, Ren Qing could perceive it immediately, then make preparations at once and avoid being implicated.
Ren Qing walked directly to the outside of the coffin shop.
After two days of bloody baptism, there had been at least dozens of deaths and injuries on Morning Street, and the number of people needing burial was increasing.
At this time it was only midday, but there were already several groups waiting within Sanmu Alley, faintly accompanied by the crying of womenfolk.
The coffin-old man still appeared neither hurried nor slow, opening the shop doors only when the sun was already high.
"Cough cough cough, choose your coffins yourselves, and place the grain behind the door."
The townspeople silently walked into the shop, bearing slightly decayed corpses on their backs, their hands gesturing the sizes of coffins.
Ren Qing discovered that the coffin-old man was in fact cold outside but warm within; the number of coffins in the shop had multiplied, which meant he had been making coffins day and night.
The coffin-old man half-closed his eyes, still cutting planks with a knife blade, but suddenly became aware of something and showed a trace of coldness in his gaze.
Ren Qing, very much at ease, helped receive the residents ordering coffins, even helping to carry corpses, not treating himself as an outsider at all.
When he touched those corpses, an unnoticeable joy appeared on his face, and his expression became pensive.
The coffin-old man frowned, deeply vexed by Ren Qing's presence.
He himself had only a few days left to live, why not let him have peace?
Moreover, in the coffin-old man's eyes, Ren Qing was completely rotten wood; after ten-odd days, his cultivation had not advanced in the least.
He could not be bothered with Ren Qing and continued making coffins.
The coffins in the shop were soon sold out, but what he obtained was only some trivial bits of grain, completely worthless.
The townspeople tactfully left Sanmu Alley.
The coffin-old man had thought Ren Qing would also give up, but unexpectedly, after a while, the sound of chopping wood rang out, unusually abrupt within the alley.
Suppressing his irritation, he turned his gaze and could not help but look toward Ren Qing.
Ren Qing skillfully split the wood, using strength precisely, his movements without the least excess, clearly, he was completely at ease.
Yet he was inevitably unpracticed in coffin making, and from time to time would stop.
But as time went on, Ren Qing became increasingly efficient at mass-producing coffins.
The coffin-old man's anger immediately dissipated, instead feeling deep surprise at Ren Qing's coffin-making skill, he even lost his concentration for a moment.
In the silent atmosphere, Ren Qing, following the pattern, completed coffin after coffin, even faster than the frail coffin-old man.
Old Coffin was speechless and at last could only let out a long sigh.