Wuzhi was half-kneeling on the ground, all four limbs twisted to varying degrees. His internal organs were in the worst condition, with almost all of them already showing signs of failure.
If he were an ordinary mortal, he would have been dead beyond any doubt by now, but he was, after all, at the Heavenly Aberration realm.
However, precisely because Wuzhi was a Buddhist cultivator, once his injuries became too severe, the Fruit Position would usually forcibly reincarnate him.
His aura had become extremely weak. He wanted to continue using Buddhist energy, but he could sense that the Fruit Position was faintly resisting him.
The Bodhisattva Fruit Position contained hundreds of millions of souls, as well as hundreds of Buddhist disciples from past generations. In theory, Buddhist energy should have been inexhaustible.
But Wuzhi was merely a user of the Fruit Position, not its master.
Only after attaining the true fruition and bringing Buddhist techniques to perfection could one use Buddhist energy without restraint.
Wuzhi had advanced to the Heavenly Aberration realm by cultivating multiple techniques simultaneously, so there was a certain element of taking shortcuts involved.
His vitality was being extracted by the Fruit Position, yet he could sense that, at some point, more than a dozen beetles had crawled into his chest and abdomen, maintaining the balance and preventing his soul from reincarnating.
A mocking smile appeared at the corners of Wuzhi's mouth. His body was like a wooden barrel riddled with holes. No matter how much water was poured into it, it would all leak away.
By this point, he felt that he had probably been deceived by the Daoist factions.
The Daoist factions had likely never intended to cooperate with him from beginning to end. The Heavenly Court was nothing more than bait they had thrown out to kick him out of the game.
Wuzhi carefully recalled everything that had happened in Jingzhou, and his heart was filled with regret.
Lady White Bone and the other cultivators at the Heavenly Aberration realm surrounded Wuzhi, who was on the verge of death, and were all somewhat troubled about how to deal with him.
If he possessed an Arhat Fruit Position, it would be easy enough to deal with, but the Bodhisattva Fruit Position was connected to an Earth Immortal, which made things different.
They could only hope that, during the several decades after Wuzhi's reincarnation, they would be able to obtain the opportunity in Jingzhou. Otherwise, they would certainly face retaliation from Buddhism.
"Just wait. In at most twenty years, I'll recover my memories."
Blood foam spilled from his mouth as he spoke with difficulty. The Buddhist energy was already stirring, eager to carry his soul into reincarnation.
"Hehehe, I'll be waiting in Jingzhou for Buddhism to make its grand arrival."
Lady White Bone turned the bone whip back into a wisdom tooth. Knowing that she could not influence the will of the Bodhisattva Fruit Position, she quickly retreated.
"Bald donkey, if you dare come to Jingzhou, at worst, I'll take your life one more time."
The Elephant Lord, on the other hand, was somewhat irritated. With his temperament, he disliked leaving hidden dangers behind, but there was no way he could give up the opportunity that was right before him.
If he could advance another step, he would not hesitate even if it meant offending a venerable Bodhisattva.
Several Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators exchanged meaningful glances. If they had been certain of success, they would have wanted to try sealing Wuzhi.
But if they did not deal with Wuzhi, going to the inner world would also be troublesome.
The Blood Bat Matriarch touched Wuzhi's forehead with one of her limbs, and he immediately fell unconscious.
"Insect Nest will send two Matriarchs to take charge of Jingzhou. With Wuzhi's connections from his three lives, he won't be unable to find support at the level of Immortals and Buddhas."
Upon hearing that Insect Nest would intervene, quite a few smaller factions breathed sighs of relief.
The Blood Bat Matriarch faced Xiangxiang and said in a deep voice, "Dragon King of the Four Seas, our Insect Nest owes you a favor. If you need our help with anything, just give the order."
She was extremely straightforward. Seeing that Ren Qing had not been stingy about sharing the method of reaching the inner world, she burrowed back into the soil and merged with the earth veins.
The Heavenly Dao insect people possessed considerable intelligence, but they still retained the habits of insects.
The Blood Bat Matriarch disliked revealing her true body aboveground, so most Heavenly Dao insect people would spend their entire lives deep underground.
Ren Qing flashed into the center of the battlefield, which was a complete mess.
Apart from Lady White Bone and the others whose cultivation was above the Dao Gives Birth to One realm, the other Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators deliberately kept their attitudes extremely humble whenever they saw him.
At present, it seemed that the Heavenly Court possessed profound foundations. In addition, with the support of Insect Nest, at least in Jingzhou, it had the power to determine the life and death of the smaller factions.
Ren Qing arrived before Wuzhi, and Lady White Bone looked him up and down.
There was no hostility, but there was a profound meaning that was difficult to put into words. Perhaps she had sensed the yin energy hidden deep within Ren Qing.
"Dragon King of the Four Seas, we must head to the inner world as soon as possible. I hope what you said is true."
Lady White Bone made her stance clear. When it came to opportunities, no one wanted to let them go easily, let alone an opportunity to uncover the secrets of the Heavenly Court.
The Elephant Lord snorted hot air through his nostrils, and uncontrollable greed showed in his eyes.
All kinds of clues pointed toward the Heavenly Court. Could that opportunity also be connected to the Heavenly Court?
The dwelling place of countless celestial gods and immortals. Could such a place truly have existed in ancient times? How many inheritances of true immortals were hidden there? It was simply unbelievable.
"Don't worry. I'll deal with Wuzhi."
As Ren Qing spoke, a force of suction emerged from his sleeve and directly drew the severely wounded Wuzhi into the Stomach World. After going around in circles, he ultimately landed at the Little Thunderclap Temple in the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
The Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators remained unmoved. They watched Ren Qing head toward Xiangxiang, then each returned to their respective towns and villages, remaining silent toward one another.
Since the Insect Warriors were no longer connected to the opportunity, they had no interest in fighting over the population.
Not long after Ren Qing arrived at Sanxiang City, he used Heavenly Demon Possession to travel to the Dragon Blood Sea Region, preparing to temporarily seal Wuzhi.
He did not dare to hide Wuzhi in the Stomach World for too long. After all, the Bodhisattva Fruit Position was connected to Immortals and Buddhas, and it was not something the Heavenly Aberration realm could contend with.
Fortunately, he had previously placed the Longevity Forbidden Zone inside the Stomach World. Otherwise, he would not even have a container.
Wuzhi's consciousness was already hazy, and he could only barely sense his surroundings.
He discovered that he had already left Jingzhou. The golden beetles parasitizing his body seemed to be releasing faint Buddhist energy, maintaining the vitality of his internal organs.
However, his remaining lifespan of only a dozen or so years was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In Wuzhi's view, no matter what method was used, it was impossible to prevent his death and the destruction of his cultivation. Even the Heavenly Court would be helpless against Buddhism.
In a state resembling a final resurgence, he heard the sound of scriptures being chanted. It seemed as though hundreds of monks were screaming at the top of their lungs.
Wuzhi opened his eyes and was suddenly frightened by the scene before him.
He was actually inside a magnificent and grand Buddhist hall, where the Buddhist energy of at least two different Fruit Positions belonging to Arhats was entrenched.
At the center was a thousand-meter-tall Buddha that looked almost exactly like the recorded Ancient Buddha Tathagata.
The False Tathagata smiled and said, "Wuzhi, why don't you bow when you see the Tathagata?"
Wuzhi's mouth fell open. Then, his face flushed red with anger and humiliation. The False Tathagata's pretentious behavior looked utterly ridiculous.
"Dragon King of the Four Seas, why do you always use such low-class street tricks?"
The moment Wuzhi finished speaking, the False Tathagata attacked. One by one, dark golden Double Pupils opened across the Buddha's entire body, all of them formed from Buddhist Sect Dream Flowers.
The dense Buddhist energy directly acted upon Wuzhi's body, rendering him unable to move.
"Hahahahahaha..."
Wuzhi burst into loud laughter, with blood gushing from his five orifices.
He did not care what this place was. As long as he died, the Boundless-Intent Buddha energy would break free of its restraints and destroy everything before his eyes.
But Wuzhi soon could no longer laugh. A lotus Throne of Skulls rose beneath his feet and carried him into the air, while even more Buddhist energy poured into his flesh and bones.
Ren Qing placed the Longevity Forbidden Zone, which was attached to the withered well, at the bottom of a remote ocean trench, and arranged for bacterial soul to secretly guard it.
Even if the Boundless-Intent Buddha energy broke through the Longevity Forbidden Zone, it would not matter.
After all, Ren Qing had already collected enough Buddhist energy. Even losing three Fruit Positions would not matter, although he always felt that they would be of great use in the future.
Wuzhi's lifespan continued to flow away, but before it was completely exhausted, the Bodhisattva Fruit Position would not break through the restrictions of the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
Ren Qing tried feeding him longevity-extending materials and discovered that Wuzhi's lifespan did indeed increase slightly, but the efficiency was only one-tenth of normal.
Wuzhi panicked, but he quickly calmed himself down.
He took a deep breath. Fortunately, the Buddhist Fruit Position would consume his lifespan. Otherwise, the Dragon King of the Four Seas really would have found a way to delay things indefinitely.
Wuzhi had yet to realize just how abundant the Restraint Officers' Hall's methods of extending lifespan were.
Back then, Ren Qing had accumulated an unknown amount of materials for extending his lifespan. Now that he no longer needed them, that did not mean he would simply abandon them.
In fact, the Stomach World produced wine ore every moment of every day.
As for how many tons of wine ore existed in the boundless sea of wine, even Ren Qing probably could not figure it out.
A thin membrane appeared around Wuzhi's lotus Throne of Skulls. Then, wine submerged him inside it, continuously nourishing his flesh and bones.
He finally sensed the danger, but it was already too late.
Even though there was a fivefold difference in the flow of time between the Longevity Forbidden Zone and the outside world, the amount of wine ore was more than enough to seal Wuzhi for a hundred years with ease.
What Wuzhi feared most was that extending his lifespan in this life would also affect his lifespan in his next life.
The Fruit Position would never allow a Buddhist disciple to live for too long.
"Dragon King of the Four Seas!!!"
"I will definitely kill you!!!"
Amid his powerless rage, the doors of the Little Thunderclap Temple slammed shut. Who could have imagined that there were actually two Arhats and one Bodhisattva inside?
Ren Qing rose and returned to Jingzhou without explaining the details to the other factions, as if Wuzhi, who possessed the Bodhisattva Fruit Position, had simply vanished from the mortal world.
The Heavenly Court made them extremely wary.
But no one was willing to give up the opportunity right before their eyes.
Ren Qing glanced at the Insect Warriors who had revived for the third time. They had a lifespan of twenty years, but they were clearly restricted by the Fruit Position and found it difficult to escape.
They either had to cultivate into zombies, or they could only wait until their lifespan was exhausted before heading to the inner world.
Ren Qing pondered for a moment, then began systematically teaching the Insect Gu system, without sparing the towns and villages belonging to the other factions.
The Heavenly Court actually had more than three hundred celestial gods and immortals. It also had hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals.
Ren Qing wanted to see whether he could use the generalized title "Heavenly Soldier" to bring the Insect Warriors into the inner world in one go.
At the same time, he also had to ensure that the Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators would not turn against him and would honestly explore the way forward.
Ren Qing communicated with the Little Heavenly Court. One red thread after another passed through dreams, arriving silently in Jingzhou and acting upon the various Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators.
As cultivators such as Lady White Bone deepened their understanding of the names of the celestial gods and immortals, they could vaguely sense the existence of a dilapidated ruin.
They opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
A dream technique?
No, to be this concealed, it would have to at least be the work of a True Immortal.
Not only did the Heavenly Court exist, there were even living True Immortals within it. Moreover, they were not the insane and chaotic Turbid Immortals. Perhaps the path to immortality lay within the Heavenly Court.
It was impossible for Ren Qing to truly pull them into the Little Heavenly Court.
Before the Zhili Technique reached the Heavenly Aberration realm, the Little Heavenly Court was enough to fool Feng Ye, but deceiving thousand-year-old monsters at the Heavenly Aberration realm was unrealistic.
But he could give them a taste of the benefits. After all, barring accidents, these Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators should all participate in the Sealing Immortal War.
The red threads of the Matchmaking Immortal had already connected to the souls of the Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators, making them unable to break free.
Ren Qing continued perfecting his plan. The inner world was also surging beneath the surface, merely waiting for the Heavenly Court to descend.