Second Rebirth

When Ren Qing had previously leafed through the Iron Body Art, he had noticed many annotations between the lines. The Iron Body Art had most likely been created by Su Huo himself.

This showed that Su Huo wanted more than merely changing coffins—he was even more afraid that his external art would be lost after his death.

"Even the entry requirements for Three Incense Lady's method of becoming immortal demand that one die and come back to life. At seventy or eighty years old, even if he obtained it, he probably couldn't become immortal successfully."

Ren Qing returned to the side room, set up a clay stove in the middle of the room, and placed an earthenware pot steadily atop it.

The firewood crackled.

He dumped all the herbs into the pot at once, and medicinal fragrance immediately filled the room.

The tools were all readily available. After all, when the original owner had just recovered from his serious illness, he had lain in this room for over half a month and needed medicine brewed almost every day. The clay stove was something every household in Water Mouth City used for warmth during the depths of winter.

The pungent medicinal scent slipped out through the cracks in the window.

Ren Qing did not care. He knew the herbs were enough for two or three months of external art cultivation.

A faint glimmer flickered between his brows. His divine sense detected Ren Shanshi on the other side of the wall, sitting by the table and staring intently at the Iron Body Art.

Whenever Ren Shanshi got particularly engrossed, he would even start gesturing and flailing about.

"Divine sense truly is a good thing. Otherwise, my bargain-bin father couldn't possibly fail to smell the medicine."

"Mouse Divine General."

Ren Qing called softly, and four Black Rat Dao Children immediately darted out through the cracks in the wall, lowering their heads as they stood at attention.

He pointed at the water vat outside the side room. "Add well water to the pot once every half hour."

The Black Rat Dao Children nodded repeatedly, their little heads bobbing like pestles pounding garlic, terrified of displeasing the immortal master.

Ren Qing no longer concerned himself with the brewing medicine. Turning around, he took out cinnabar, squeezed several drops of blood from his fingertip, and carefully ground them together in the inkstone.

The cinnabar gradually turned darker and darker as he considered the talismans needed for rebirth.

Having experienced Liberation by Violence before, Ren Qing quickly sorted out his thoughts. He then began drawing on yellow talisman paper, one pattern after another intertwining and winding together.

The Immortality Talisman was altered beyond recognition, fused with Daoist talismans from his previous life.

By the time the cinnabar was used up, seven yellow talismans had been completed without him noticing.

Ren Qing raised his eyes toward the window. The sun had already passed noon.

"Within two days, I should be able to complete water liberation successfully. If not..."

He muttered to himself, a smile unconsciously curling his lips. "How could I fail? This poor Daoist's Dao heart is pure, his talent outstanding. I have long glimpsed the immortal gate—what is mere rebirth and corpse liberation worth mentioning?"

He abruptly rose to his feet, startling the Black Rat Dao Children tending the medicine nearby.

The four rats worked together in perfect coordination, carrying a gourd ladle of water toward the earthenware pot.

Ren Qing turned and instructed them, "Mouse Divine General, from now on, add water once every half day. Keep the fire low, no higher than two fingers' width, until this poor Daoist emerges from seclusion."

The Black Rat Dao Children squeaked their acknowledgment, clutching the gourd ladle even tighter.

"Boundless Heavenly Venerable."

When Ren Qing stepped out of the side room, his bargain-bin father was clearing snow in the back courtyard. Seeing his youngest son, he hesitated before saying, "Ah Qing, do you think these old bones of mine can really cultivate that Iron Body Art?"

Ren Shanshi straightened his back, brushed the snow from himself, and looked at him with a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

"Father, wasn't Su Huo already seventy or eighty? You'll definitely succeed."

"That's true. Perhaps your father is some kind of external art prodigy."

Ren Shanshi could not help practicing the Iron Body Art's stance, though his movements were incomparably awkward.

Ren Qing was greatly gratified. His bargain-bin father had finally begun striving to improve himself. He felt the joy of seeing his own son amount to something; the great medicine for tempering his Dao heart in the future was settled.

"Father, I have something to do shortly. Just leave dinner on the stove."

"Alright, go on."

Ren Shanshi waved a hand, utterly failing to notice the divine sense exposed between Ren Qing's brows.

Ren Qing said no more and withdrew his divine sense. He slowly walked toward the well in the corner, then stepped into empty air and fell.

Splash.

His entire body plunged into the well water.

Bone-piercing cold instantly enveloped him, like countless fine needles seeping into his flesh. Even the gaps between his bones were frozen numb.

Ren Qing clung to the well wall, keeping his upper body above the water.

As soon as he steadied himself, he discovered that the bottom of the well had already been expanded by the Toad Dao Child into a broad expanse of water. By the faint light, it was as large as a pond.

The water's surface was still as a mirror, while a few icicles hung from the rock walls, refracting scattered glimmers of light.

Croak!

A deep frog call rang out. The Toad Dao Child had now grown as large as a millstone, the bumps on its back thick as armor, and it immediately hauled Ren Qing up.

The fry... or rather, the Trash Fish Dao Child, swam over as well.

It was just palm-sized, rubbing affectionately against Ren Qing's trouser leg.

"This poor Daoist will consider accepting you as an outer disciple. You're just a little ugly."

Trash Fish Dao Child flicked its tail, eagerly claiming credit, while Toad Dao Child shot its junior brother a scornful glance.

Ren Qing said in a deep voice, "Stand guard for me. If anything unusual happens, find a way to wake me."

He took out seven yellow talismans and affixed them respectively over the seven apertures of his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

The moment the yellow talismans touched his skin, they stuck fast. His five senses were instantly sealed off, and every sound and movement around him vanished, leaving behind nothing but dead silence.

Ren Qing kicked Toad Dao Child aside and let his body sink into the water.

The suffocating sensation surged over him wildly. His lungs felt ready to burst at any moment, and his consciousness began to blur.

He could feel his blood slowing and his body temperature plummeting.

On the verge of death?

No—every corpse liberation required dying once.

Yet Ren Qing was not panicked. He kept his mind focused as one and quietly waited for the chance to undergo metamorphosis.

Who knew how much time passed.

The suffocation gradually faded, and the pain in his body dulled into numbness. His last shred of consciousness sank into boundless darkness, and he became nothing more than a corpse lying at the bottom of the water.

The karst cave was terrifyingly silent.

After an unknown amount of time, the seven yellow talismans finally began dissolving bit by bit in the water.

Drawn by an invisible force, the corpse slowly floated toward the surface.

When Ren Qing's head broke the surface, his eyes snapped open. A clear gleam flashed through his pupils, followed by his divine consciousness spilling outward beyond his control, naturally giving rise to a strange phenomenon.

Cloud vapors curled around his body, while brilliant rosy light bloomed in vivid colors.

A crescent moon slowly rose behind Ren Qing. Its clear radiance spilled down, illuminating the karst cave as bright as day. At the same time, faint murmurs echoed through the air, as though someone were softly chanting the Great Dao of heaven and earth—clearer than before.

His second metamorphosis was complete.

Ren Qing climbed out of the well. His drenched robes clung tightly to his skin, water dripping steadily down from them.

By then, the morning sun had leaped over the courtyard wall, scattering golden radiance across the ground.

"Mouse Divine General, bring the medicine over."

Four Black Rat Dao Children darted out excitedly, jointly carrying the earthenware pot of boiled medicine. They set it on the stone platform beside the well, and a rich medicinal fragrance mingled with the damp vapor and spread through the air.

Ren Qing picked up the pot, tipped back his head, and drained it in one gulp. The bitter medicinal brew slid down his throat.

"Tonics are all highly poisonous things. That is why Iron Body Art absorbs them through medicinal baths. Yet I have drunk several months' worth of medicinal-bath dosage. An ordinary mortal would undoubtedly die."

Before the medicine's effects had fully emerged, the exposed skin of his body had already turned bluish-purple.

Unhurried, Ren Qing activated the Metamorphosis Immortal Art. Cracks suddenly spread across the surface of his skin.

Crack.

Dead skin fell away, revealing new skin beneath, smooth and lustrous as jade.

The Metamorphosis Immortal Art could now affect his entire physical body. So long as an injury was not fatal, it could heal temporarily, consuming only a small amount of essence, energy, and spirit.

Ren Qing gripped a small knife and slashed hard across his palm, leaving behind only a pale mark.

"With the Metamorphosis Immortal Art, my Iron Body Art has already reached perfection. From now on, all mundane external arts can be brought to temporary perfection without regard for the consequences."

"Sure enough, the harder I work, the more favored I am by the Heavenly Dao."