The blade of the Dragon-Snake Spine didn't stop until it struck the mountainside.
The monster was cleaved in half, but the flesh and blood began to recombine.
Seeing this, Ren Qing continuously slashed out; trenches gradually appeared across the ground, and even the mountainside bore deep blade marks.
Not needing to worry about damage to the weapon, it was simply... too satisfying!
The monster's entire body dissolved into a large pool of foul-smelling acidic water.
Ren Qing held his breath and searched around, retrieving a palm-sized mirror shard. The Supernatural Remnant of Immortal in the Mirror was completely devoured by the Prison Within the Abdomen.
After waiting for a moment, the Supernatural Remnant fused into a complete bronze mirror and continued to struggle against its restraints, but how could a Ghost Envoy-level Taotie Method be something it could resist?
[Can consume thirty days of lifespan to bypass cost and master]
Compared to Half-Corpse-level Supernatural Remnants, Martial Practitioner-level ones required less lifespan to consume, losing a full year of life for the latter was indeed somewhat painful.
Ren Qing closed his eyes. The changes brought by Immortal in the Mirror were quite strange.
It was like performing a separation of body and soul, with the soul gradually being drawn out of the flesh.
After a few breaths, Ren Qing opened his eyes again, a glimmer of light flashing through his pupils as his consciousness returned to his mind.
The Information stream surged.
[Ren Qing]
[Age: Seventeen]
[Lifespan: Forty-five years, one hundred thirty-five days]
[Techniques: The Taotie Method (Prison Within the Abdomen), The Blindless Method (Double-Eyed), Divine Leg Sutra (Wolf-Footed), Human Skin Book (Leather Refiner), Bone Armor Technique (Spine Bearer), Immortal in the Mirror]
According to the new mutation tree, the mutation paths of Immortal in the Mirror were as follows:
[Splicer: Reuniting the Broken Mirror]
[Prisoner of the Mirror: Imprisoned Within]
[Mirror-Faced: Illusion and Reflection]
Ren Qing quickly figured out the mutation paths of Immortal in the Mirror.
Splicer was likely the method used by the Supernatural Remnant to create monsters using poultry flesh and blood, requiring living creatures as a base.
Prisoner of the Mirror had some similarities to Prison Within the Abdomen, but could not create its own space, it likely used reflective surfaces like water or mirrors for casting spells.
For instance, sealing a cultivator within a bronze mirror.
The one that interested Ren Qing the most was Mirror-Faced. It could summon illusions and phantoms, and he believed its potential was far greater than that.
What if he could manifest the Prison Within the Abdomen itself?
He couldn't even imagine how terrifying that would be.
Ren Qing looked at the now dormant Immortal in the Mirror Supernatural Remnant, realizing that even at the Martial Practitioner level, it was still extremely troublesome, it was already enough to threaten a Half-Corpse-level cultivator.
Of course, part of that had to do with Yan Jun and the others' limited techniques.
Ren Qing attempted to use Immortal in the Mirror.
The acidic water before him began to squirm; a lifelike giant wolf tried to crawl out of it, but dissipated as soon as its head was formed.
However, ordinary flowers and grass were easy to summon, as were insects like butterflies.
Ren Qing regretfully shook his head. Using lifespan to master a technique only gave access to the beginner stage of Immortal in the Mirror, it would require long-term practice moving forward.
He suddenly realized that he could just place mirrors within the Prison Within the Abdomen, and cast spells through sheer consciousness.
All in all, Ren Qing was still very satisfied with this technique.
Though to truly unleash the power of Immortal in the Mirror, he'd probably have to reach the Half-Corpse level. He'd consider that after leaving Bazi Village.
Ren Qing carefully checked his body, and his expression turned strange. He couldn't help but murmur to himself, "Weird... Could it be that Immortal in the Mirror has no effect on the body?"
As doubt arose in his mind, he instinctively glanced at the nearby acidic water. Though it couldn't reflect a clear image, he could still see the general outline.
But Ren Qing was shocked to find that there was no shadow of himself on the water's surface.
He didn't waste time thinking about it and rushed back to Bazi Village, heading straight to Ren Shisan's house and pulling out the bronze mirror inside.
Sure enough, even standing in front of the bronze mirror, there was still nothing there.
So this is the cultivation technique created by that ***?
The Disaster-Dispelling Method erased others' memories of oneself, and Immortal in the Mirror erased reflected images.
There must have been more techniques that *** had mastered. If used in combination, wouldn't it be easy to walk out of any forbidden zone completely unscathed?
Ren Qing suppressed his stray thoughts and accepted the changes in his body.
He returned the bronze mirror to its original place, then called Yan Jun and the others who were waiting outside the village to help treat the villagers' injuries.
The villagers had mainly been frightened, but under Ren Shisan's calming words, they quickly settled down and naturally expressed gratitude toward Ren Qing and the others.
Everyone dug a pit to fill in the acidic water and kept working until noon the next day.
Ren Qing planned to return to Sanxiang City as soon as possible. After all, The Blindless Method was about to be promoted to the Ghost Envoy level, and he still needed to prepare a lot.
But before leaving, he went to find Chen Shi, wanting to invite her to live in the city.
Chen Shi shook her head contentedly and said, "San Zhang Qing'er, your mother is used to living in the village. Your father and older brother's graves are still buried on the back mountain..."
Speaking to this point, sorrow filled her eyes.
Ren Qing sighed and comforted her. She wiped her tears and said, "It's fine, you go. Just remember to come home to burn incense during Qingming. I'll take care of the house."
Chen Shi didn't notice the changes in her youngest son. After all, he'd been away from home for a while, and he worked a job that walked the line between fortune and disaster.
It was said that someone from the neighboring village became a yamen officer and went mad after only a few years.
Ren Qing didn't insist.
Though the outskirts were more dangerous, that referred to areas a hundred li away from Sanxiang City. Bazi Village rarely encountered Supernatural Remnants.
Seeing Ren Qing packing up, Chen Shi hesitated for a moment before speaking: "San Zhang Qing'er, that bronze mirror in the village was actually brought back by your father..."
"Oh? Tell me the details."
"At the end of February, your father brought back the bronze mirror and left Bazi Village the next day. Strange things began happening afterward."
"Until a blind traveling Daoist passed through. He smashed the bronze mirror and buried the pieces in different parts of the village, saying it would suppress demons and monsters. Things settled down after that.."
Ren Qing took a deep breath.
In a certain sense, the Daoist's actions had indeed caused the Supernatural Remnant to scatter, preventing it from harming villagers again.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't that coincidental.
Could it be that someone had deliberately placed the Supernatural Remnant here to cultivate ghosts?
Ren Qing asked Yan Jun and the others to wait a while, then used the Bone Key to enter the Restraint Officers' Hall, taking out the Supernatural Remnant that now resembled a dead object.
When he activated the Blood Heart, the sound of flapping wings arose.
Mist enveloped the surroundings. The nearby Restraint Officers were already accustomed to this.
A massive Underworld Crow descended from the sky, looking at least twenty or thirty meters long, with an extremely intimidating presence.
Ren Qing stood stiffly on the spot.
The Underworld Crow approached and first swallowed the Blood Heart, then grasped the Immortal in the Mirror Supernatural Remnant with its claw.
It pondered for a moment and then spoke: "Your aura is steady, no signs of mutation. The advancement to Ghost Envoy level is promising. Not bad, not bad."
Ren Qing hesitated before telling the giant Underworld Crow about what had happened in Bazi Village. The latter listened carefully, showing great patience.
Moments later, the giant Underworld Crow opened its beak, and another Underworld Crow flew out from it.
"I will issue a mission to send Restraint Officers to Bazi Village to set up sensory formations."
After speaking, the giant Underworld Crow spread its wings and soared into the sky, leaving behind a reminder: "When you advance to the Ghost Envoy level, be sure to come find me-"