In the silent darkness, everything had lost its meaning. Time had come to a standstill, and the intangible terror was the most corrosive thing to one's state of mind.
Ordinary plants and animals had long since perished, while only cultivators who possessed supernatural arts could survive.
More than thirty disciples of the Daoist temple huddled around a bonfire. The silver-gray flames could barely illuminate a radius of two meters.
They felt as though they were submerged in the depths of the sea, the frozen air filled with an indescribable chill.
Any movement that occasionally sounded from the darkness put the Daoist temple disciples on high alert. Their nerves were clearly stretched taut at all times.
Han Li sat at the head of the bonfire. Their shadows merged into one another, just enough to cover the area illuminated by the flames.
What was deeply bizarre was that every Daoist temple disciple had their eyes covered with black cloth, terrified of seeing the light of the bonfire.
Quite a few cultivators were also seriously wounded, their blood having long since soaked through their Daoist robes.
"Cough, cough, cough. Shaoshang, where exactly are we right now?"
The instant Han Li finished speaking, ghostly shadows surged around them. Countless pairs of blood-red eyes appeared. Judging by their number alone, there were at least ten thousand.
The monsters silently snarled, their malicious gazes fixed upon them. The burning flames suddenly intensified, apparently in preparation for danger.
If not for the bonfire's light enveloping the area, the monsters would probably have already pounced.
Shaoshang swallowed. The supernatural art he cultivated allowed him to determine advance and retreat through divination. Although it was of limited use in the Buddhist Realm, it could barely sense the general direction in which they were located.
"Senior Brother Han Li."
"If we travel another two thousand li northwest, we can leave Cishi's territory. But I don't know whether the darkness has continued expanding."
He did not say anything more, his expression filled with deep fear.
Simply opening his mouth caused the monsters to stare at him in unison, making him feel as though countless needles were piercing his back and innumerable ants were gnawing at his marrow.
Shaoshang was almost driven mad. The only reason he could remain conscious was the bonfire and the Sleeplessness Disease Type spread throughout his body, which kept his mental state relatively stable.
It seemed as though someone was blowing air beside his ear, but he knew that he could not open his eyes.
The flames ignited from corpse firewood could indeed drive away the monsters in the darkness, but they would cause the living creatures nearby to experience indescribable hallucinations.
Shaoshang did not know what the hallucinations contained. Every time he awoke, fragments would be missing from his memories, but the madness of his companions remained vivid in his mind.
The cultivators would constantly mutter the name "Dipamkara Buddha" until the bonfire went out, only then breaking free from their irrational state.
If this continued for long, their souls would inevitably undergo irreversible mutations.
With the help of Ren Qing's bacterial soul, Han Li had wandered around the Buddhist Realm for more than ten days, successively locating Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators who had become trapped in various places.
Unfortunately, some of the cultivators had already gone completely mad. Even Ren Qing's Zhili Technique could barely suppress their mutations.
It was Ren Qing who discovered the pattern of the Buddhist Realm. The corpse fire could not be used to identify objects with the naked eye, otherwise they would be affected by Dipamkara Buddha.
Within the Buddhist Realm, Dipamkara Buddha was even more troublesome than the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
The cultivators remained silent. The firewood crackled in the flames, and the fragrance of oil and fat spread through the air.
When the flames weakened slightly, Han Li immediately stood up and walked toward the bonfire, taking a battered corpse from his storage pouch.
He dismembered the corpse, throwing the flesh and bones into the flames.
The moment the corpse firewood touched the flames, it caught fire almost instantly. The flames grew vigorous, and a panicked commotion of footsteps erupted among the monsters.
Han Li could clearly feel the temperature rising to a level that an ordinary mortal could endure. The whispers beside his ears also became faint, at least no longer disturbing him.
"Han Li, leave the Buddhist Realm as soon as possible. This is not a place you can afford to come into contact with."
Ren Qing awakened him through the bacterial soul inside Han Li's Mud Pellet Palace. Han Li's expression became gloomy and uncertain, but in the end he could only helplessly shake his head.
After communicating with Ren Qing for quite some time, Han Li ultimately decided to give up his chance to catch his breath and continue searching the darkness for enough corpse firewood.
He said, "According to Senior Ren's instructions, the corpse firewood we currently have is only enough to sustain the Stomach World's gateway for five breaths."
Han Li swept his gaze around and looked at the faces of the more than thirty people.
"Someone will definitely have to remain behind in the Buddhist Realm. But the corresponding blood crystal reward will naturally increase. With Senior Ren Qing's split soul guiding us at all times, there is no need to worry too much."
The cultivators' breathing quickened. Even with the blood crystal reward, who would willingly remain in this perilous Buddhist Realm?
Moreover, this damned place was still continuously expanding.
If Dipamkara Buddha suddenly decided to go on a killing spree, they might not even have time to react.
They could clearly sense that the monsters in the darkness were becoming stronger. At first they had merely been at the Half-Corpse realm, but now even Yin Difference realm cultivators found them difficult to deal with.
Judging from Dipamkara Buddha's terrifying nature, the monsters' upper limit might very well be the Heavenly Aberration realm, or even the terrifying Earth Immortal realm.
An old Daoist from the Demon Vein became incoherent. He stood up and walked toward Han Li, incessantly grumbling and cursing.
"That's impossible. A few days ago, when the gateway was opened, it sent seventy-three people away. How could it possibly be unable to take even half that number now?"
"Han Li, are you trying to make this old Daoist die in the Buddhist Realm?"
"Are you?"
The cultivators all had objections, but because of Ren Qing's deterrence, they did not dare make a sound. Instead, someone had already broken down completely and was screaming hysterically.
The monster horde became restless, and the sound of their footsteps grew increasingly dense.
Han Li remained calm and answered, "The darkness is becoming denser and denser, causing the burning time of the corpse firewood to become shorter."
"There is still a way out for us. Unless something unexpected happens, everyone can leave."
Corpse firewood could only be found in the darkness, and it was usually accompanied by the sound of a wooden fish being struck.
Under normal circumstances, collecting corpse firewood should not have been difficult. At worst, it would simply require a prolonged effort. But the current situation had already become a vicious cycle.
The cultivators needed corpse firewood to ensure they would not encounter danger, but because the darkness was gradually becoming denser, they had to burn more corpse firewood.
Searching for corpse firewood also required manpower. The more people there were, the easier it was to discover corpse firewood, but at the same time, more corpse firewood would be consumed.
As a result, they simply could not gather enough corpse firewood to send everyone back to the Stomach World.
As for Ren Qing's ghostly shadow, because it was only a portion of his body, it could not split into a sufficiently large area of shadow. It was actually less useful than protecting Han Li and the others directly.
"I'll be the last to leave the Buddhist Realm. There are thirteen slots remaining. Discuss it among yourselves."
Han Li spoke indifferently. Although Ren Qing had advised him to leave immediately, he knew that if he expressed anything resembling that intention, the cultivators would turn against him as a group.
Within the Buddhist Realm, the greater the commotion they made, the greater the danger they would face.
Fortunately, Han Li possessed the Wuying Ghost. By transforming into shadow, he could travel through the darkness. At worst, he would waste some time. It was impossible for him to become trapped in the Buddhist Realm.
Helping his fellow disciples evacuate was also Han Li's own choice.
To oversee a branch lineage, one needed prestige. It was not merely a matter of displaying one's strength. He had to make the Daoist temple disciples truly submit to him.
His assurance allowed the cultivators to calm down and begin whispering among themselves.
There was no room for sentiment or personal favors. If someone wanted to leave the Buddhist Realm early, what they had to pay was profit. Benefits were needed to silence the others.
Only the old Daoist from the Demon Vein continued muttering. There were not many blood crystals in his storage pouch, so he was practically destined to be among the last few to return. Naturally, he was somewhat unwilling.
On top of that, the danger of the Buddhist Realm was constantly stimulating his nerves. The aura of the Heavenly Demon could imperceptibly drive people toward extremity, causing their emotions to spiral out of control.
The old Daoist rushed in front of Han Li, and the aura of his supernatural art was exposed without reservation.
Han Li did not waste words with him. He directly reached out and tore away the cloth covering the old Daoist's Hidden Eye, then forcefully pried open the man's eyelids.
"Don't want to calm down? I can help you calm down."
The old Daoist let out a hysterical scream, his expression becoming utterly despairing. He struggled, but could not escape Han Li's grip.
Han Li grabbed the old Daoist by the neck and forcibly dragged him to within two meters of the darkness.
The darkness boiled like scalding water. One hideous human face after another emerged, urging Han Li to throw the old Daoist inside.
"Don't kill me. Don't kill me."
The old Daoist begged for mercy. There was not the slightest trace of his earlier arrogance left.
Han Li casually threw him forward. The old Daoist fell at the edge of the darkness, almost close enough for the monster horde to touch his body.
Blood flowed from the old Daoist's facial features, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
The fear on his face quickly turned into bewilderment. Fine black goat hair gradually sprouted from the soul within his Mud Pellet Palace.
Han Li counted down three breaths before pulling the old Daoist back, but the latter had already lost even his basic intelligence and was like a wild beast.
Yet this made the old Daoist easier to deal with.
Han Li ignored him and simply tossed him beside the bonfire to fend for himself. The others did not object in the slightest. Some even suggested using the old Daoist to lure away the pursuing monsters.
After spending nearly half an hour, they finally reached an agreement. Based on the burning speed of the corpse firewood, thirteen people were selected from the group.
Han Li said nothing and began preparing the method for constructing the gateway.
Ren Qing's ghostly shadow silently spread across the ground, while the bonfire was placed in the center, ensuring that its light continued to envelop the shadow itself.
Han Li took out the last eight pieces of corpse firewood and threw them into the bonfire one after another.
The color of the flames changed from silver-gray to a ghastly white. The illuminated area expanded to nearly a hundred meters, and countless monsters were reduced to ashes.
The ghostly shadow split open its enormous maw, and the rate at which the corpse firewood was consumed immediately increased dramatically.
The Restraint Officers' Hall was extremely particular about rules. Once the order had been determined, they followed the previous ranking and jumped into the enormous maw one after another.
At the same time, several people stood to one side, restless and eager to act.
They were not trying to steal an opportunity. Rather, they were waiting for the instant the gateway closed, wanting to see whether they could seize the last remaining chance of survival.
Five breaths passed in the blink of an eye. Thirteen people disappeared from the Buddhist Realm.
Another four people braved the danger and jumped into the gateway leading to the Stomach World, only to have half their bodies severed when the gateway closed.
Two of them were more clever. They chose to jump toward the gateway with their upper bodies facing downward.
Thus, only their legs remained in the Buddhist Realm. With some resources, they could recover. Of course, that was provided that the Strange Object was not located in the missing parts.
The corpses were buried on the spot. Since they had undertaken the risk, they naturally had to make preparations.
When the bonfire weakened, Ren Qing's connection with the Buddhist Realm diminished once again. He could not help feeling a headache over how to find the Taiyin Star Lord.
He was almost tempted to give up. After all, it was completely a thankless task.
Ren Qing organized the information that the Restraint Officers' Hall had gathered during this period. This world had clearly begun to descend into chaos, and all the various forces were unwilling to remain idle.
The Nameless One's influence was certainly behind it.
The most obvious sign was that the Dead Man's Sutra had spread without warning, and the number of rogue cultivators who had switched to corpse cultivation had already exceeded ten thousand.
This most likely meant that the Nameless One felt he had too few pieces on the board, so he had deliberately spread several fragmented techniques derived from the Dead Man's Sutra.
Ren Qing was more than happy to see this. After all, he controlled the Fengdu Corpse Emperor, so every zombie in the world was within his sphere of control.
Through the information collected by Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators, he noticed that discussions concerning immortal positions were continuously spreading among the rogue cultivators.
Ren Qing paid no attention to the other clues. Only the news about the "Rain-Assisting Heavenly Lord" did not seem fabricated. It was very likely that such an immortal position was genuinely emerging.
The Rain-Assisting Heavenly Lord pointed toward an area called Water Curtain in the north. Rain fell there continuously throughout the year, causing floods to run rampant.
He sent some cultivators to trace the source of the information and would decide what to do based on how matters developed.
However, Ren Qing estimated that the Nameless One would definitely have no interest in the Rain-Assisting Heavenly Lord. This immortal position was clearly related to water-element techniques.
"How many immortal positions are hidden in this world?"
Ren Qing found the thought somewhat chilling. The Nameless One had only been making moves on the board for a little over a year, yet an immortal position like the Rain-Assisting Heavenly Lord had already surfaced. Perhaps there had been far more ancient immortals and gods than he had imagined.
The emergence of the Rain-Assisting Heavenly Lord also diluted his thoughts about the Taiyin Star Lord and the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal, making him feel that there was no need to remain fixated on the Buddhist Realm.
Although the Taiyin Star Lord was highly suitable for the Demon Vein of the Restraint Officers' Hall, the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal was connected to even more branch lineages. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators were related to the Heavenly Dao Insect in one way or another.
At this moment, Xiao San'er made a breakthrough in his research on the Skin-Nourishing Technique.
Ren Qing's consciousness traveled to the Stomach World. Xiao San'er's residence was located in the Restraint Officer Palace, right in the most prosperous central district.
Even without Ren Qing saying anything, the Soldier Vein would certainly give preferential treatment to alchemists and artifact refiners, especially Zhou Zuosan, who excelled in artifact refinement.
The Restraint Officer Palace was lined with towering buildings, somewhat resembling the style of Wuwei City in those days.
Ren Qing appeared outside Xiao San'er's residence. Before he even entered, he smelled a pungent stench. It came from the violent reactions naturally produced by various materials during refinement.
"Senior Ren, please come in."
Xiao San'er's voice came from inside.
Ren Qing was slightly surprised. Although he had not deliberately concealed himself, it was indeed remarkable that a Yin Difference realm cultivator could detect his consciousness.
The courtyard appeared ordinary, but Xiao San'er had clearly invested considerable effort into it, mainly in arranging formations to prevent anyone from breaking in.
Ren Qing pushed open the main gate, and thick smoke immediately poured out.
Xiao San'er sat cross-legged on the ground in a thoroughly disheveled state. One withered corpse after another was arranged before him, creating a scene that sent chills down the spine.
Various bizarre and inexplicable artifacts hung on the walls inside.
The artifacts were primarily made of flesh and blood, resembling the mutated organs of forbidden corpses. Their refinement possessed a certain degree of randomness.
Judging solely from the decorations in the artifact-refining room, anyone would assume its owner was an evil cultivator guilty of every imaginable crime.
In reality, the Netherworld artifact-refining materials Xiao San'er used, including the corpses, had all been produced through supernatural arts.
Xiao San'er wiped the grime from his face and said excitedly, "Senior Ren, the Skin-Nourishing Technique really is a fascinating technique."
"Xiao San'er, what did you discover?"
The moment Ren Qing saw the wild monkeys of Ape Mountain, he had sensed the potential of the Skin-Nourishing Technique. Its creator, Huang Ling, had to have been an extraordinarily talented individual.
"Senior Ren, look."
Xiao San'er gestured for Ren Qing to examine the corpses inside the room. Their skin indeed displayed obvious differences, radiating faint traces of supernatural power.
"Hm?"
Ren Qing's expression became strange as he took one of the corpses and examined it in minute detail.
Xiao San'er had indeed completed his idea. The corpse possessed no vitality whatsoever, yet its skin retained a trace of activity and even possessed the Skin-Nourishing Technique.
"Senior Ren, a ritual robe can be treated as an independent cultivator."
"Can the ritual robe cultivate other techniques simultaneously?"
"It should be very difficult. The main reason is that the Skin-Nourishing Technique is not a Restraint Officer Technique, so it won't produce a Strange Object. That prevents the ritual robe from suffering backlash from supernatural arts."
Ren Qing nodded, affirming Xiao San'er's level of artifact refinement.
"The cultivator who created the Skin-Nourishing Technique was extremely familiar with the human body. Holding a piece of heart flesh beneath the tongue merely serves to stimulate the circulation of qi and blood."
"The true key to the Skin-Nourishing Technique is the accompanying meditation method. It causes the qi and blood to surge through all the body's acupoints, thereby nourishing the skin."
Ren Qing smiled bitterly. How could a eunuch not be familiar with the human body?
Based on the history recorded by the various forces, he speculated that the ancient era had most likely been ruled by an imperial court.
In that case, eunuchs might not merely have been people close to the emperor. They might also have been part of an intelligence-gathering department, specifically responsible for carrying out tasks that could not be exposed to the light of day.
For example, using torture to torment prisoners.
Judging from the techniques Huang Ling had created, it was obvious that he had done plenty of despicable things. His mentality had even become twisted because of them, making him a genuine pervert.
Xiao San'er continued explaining on his own, "I discovered that silver needles can be used to guide qi and blood and stimulate the acupoints, so heart flesh is unnecessary."
"Then doesn't that mean that anything humanoid can be used to refine the Skin-Nourishing Technique?"
"More or less."
Seeing the delight in Ren Qing's eyes, Xiao San'er could not help wiping the sweat from his forehead. If the Skin-Nourishing Technique fell into the hands of an extreme cultivator, they would certainly take pleasure in killing people to refine artifacts.
"Excellent. This is extremely useful to me."
Ren Qing had not expected that he would stumble upon a breakthrough point for the Buddhist Realm by accident.
He instructed Xiao San'er not to reveal the contents of the Skin-Nourishing Technique to outsiders. Even if he wanted to sell ritual robes, he should use animal hides as materials whenever possible.
Ren Qing returned to the outside world and selected an old, sickly goat.
The goat was already on the verge of death. Even its eyes had become cloudy. It had never consumed any spiritual materials from Heaven and Earth and was merely an ordinary animal.
Ren Qing opened his palm, and a moth with a goat-horn pattern on its back appeared.
The moth was formed from a Dreamflower and contained traces of Ren Qing's remaining Heavenly Demon aura. Most of it had already been consumed in the Deeper Layer World.
The goat bleated, frightened, and tried to move away from the Dreamflower.
The Dreamflower waited until the goat had nowhere left to retreat before landing on its neck. A strand of Heavenly Demon aura entered the empty goat's flesh and blood.
The goat convulsed as the sound of bones colliding rang out, and its flesh began to twist.
The corrosive nature of the Heavenly Demon aura was self-evident. The beast had no ability to resist at all. In the blink of an eye, its fur turned pure black.
The goat's eyes became terrifying. It struggled to stand, but did so upright on two legs, gradually transforming into a black goat.
Ren Qing maintained the Heavenly Demon aura while using his ghostly shadow to restrain the goat.
Following the steps of the Skin-Nourishing Technique, he stimulated the goat's acupoints. After the goat transformed into a black goat, its acupoints were indeed identical to those of a human.
The Dreamflower's Heavenly Demon aura was limited, and it had only barely managed to produce a black goat.
The instant the black goat took shape, Ren Qing followed the momentum and cut open its hide, intending to peel it off. The result was that the black goat became unstable.
Bang!!!
The black goat exploded, sending minced flesh splattering throughout the cave dwelling.
Ren Qing hurriedly used the Dreamflower to absorb the Heavenly Demon aura again. With the Supreme Heavenly Demon's exaggerated reproductive ability, the total amount of Heavenly Demon aura would only increase.
He continued experimenting with the Heavenly Demon aura, and one goat after another met its end.
Under the illumination of the underground river, corpses piled up throughout the clean and orderly cave dwelling, while the Fungus People worked in close formation to process the goat flesh and blood.
Because black goats could contaminate living creatures, their flesh and bones were burned to ashes.
The Fungus People possessed Dragon Blood to protect themselves, so they did not suffer mass infection from the Heavenly Demon aura. Nevertheless, on the microscopic level, an enormous war inevitably unfolded.
After more than a dozen consecutive attempts, Ren Qing finally figured out how to refine the Skin-Nourishing Technique.
The result was a piece of black-haired goatskin that radiated a faint Heavenly Demon aura. Once worn, it could imitate the appearance of a black goat.
Ren Qing used Heavenly Demon Possession to reach the outskirts of the Buddhist Realm and had his ghostly shadow carry the black goat hide into the darkness.
The black goat hide seemed to come alive, opening its mouth wide and attempting to devour the Heavenly Demon aura.
But because its abdomen had been cut open, the Heavenly Demon aura leaked directly out through its stomach. Nevertheless, it truly did not feel the influence of the Buddhist Realm.
The ghostly shadow slipped into the black goat hide.
Once the wound recovered, a lifelike black goat stood up on the spot and began absorbing the Heavenly Demon aura filling the air.
However, the Heavenly Demon aura emitted by Dipamkara Buddha was mixed with Buddhist energy, causing the black goat's digestion efficiency to remain low. Its cultivation speed was not particularly fast, and it would take some time before it could reach the Martial Practitioner realm.
Ren Qing and his ghostly shadow shared the same sensations. The black goat ritual robe could still corrode the soul, but the effect remained within an acceptable range.
He hesitated for several breaths before releasing more than a dozen Dreamflowers toward the Beast Pen.
After all, the Beast Pen possessed an inexhaustible supply of Heavenly Demon aura.
During his secluded cultivation in the underground cave, Ren Qing had collected quite a bit of Heavenly Demon aura, yet the Supreme Heavenly Demon had never shown any reaction.
Now that his Heavenly Demon aura had been exhausted, he could only go to the Beast Pen to replenish his supply.
Using the Heavenly Demon aura he had on hand, Ren Qing refined three black goat ritual robes and directly delivered them to Han Li inside the Buddhist Realm through the bacterial soul.
The bacterial soul inside Han Li's dantian invisibly guided the way.
Half a day later, the bacterial soul had found Han Li and his group in the darkness. Their numbers had already dwindled to only seven.
Han Li's mental state was somewhat listless, but he had already learned about the purpose of the black goat ritual robe in advance.
Thus, once he obtained the ritual robe, he put it on without hesitation. He immediately felt as though he had become a fish in water, moving through the darkness without obstruction.
Although his vision had not recovered, a black goat's sense of smell far surpassed that of an ordinary creature.
He could sense that the entire Buddhist Realm was filled with densely packed monsters. They should have mutated from Heavenly Dao insect people, and their numbers were still rapidly increasing.
Han Li selected two companions to put on the ritual robes and search for corpse firewood.
Ren Qing discovered that the black goat ritual robe could isolate the influence of the outside world, allowing him to freely send his consciousness to Dream City. He had effectively found a way to explore the Buddhist Realm.
Han Li and the others returned to the Stomach World without incident.
Ren Qing then had his ghostly shadow wear a black goat ritual robe and remain inside the Buddhist Realm. Once he understood the true nature of the Buddhist Realm, he would be able to recruit cultivators to enter it.
Of course, the prerequisite was that the Buddhist Realm had to be sufficiently stable.
Every time Dipamkara Buddha expanded, the Buddhist Realm became increasingly difficult to gauge. Ren Qing could only make long-term plans and at least observe how the situation developed.
"Wait. There actually isn't any need to rely entirely on the Restraint Officers' Hall to explore the Buddhist Realm."
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. Strictly speaking, if he wanted to drive the various forces into the Buddhist Realm, all he needed to do was demonstrate the effects of the black goat ritual robe and provide enough benefits to attract them.
"Or perhaps, attract the Nameless One with benefits?"