Opportunities Abound in This World

Ren Qing pressed his lips together, only to restrain the heat that threatened to burst from his chest.

Perhaps in his previous life, his pursuit of immortality and the Dao had merely been a desire to survive. But from the moment he achieved immortality through corpse liberation, he had already become unwilling to settle for mediocrity.

At last...

At last, he would no longer be trapped within a mortal shell, playing the part of a sham immortal who enlightened birds and beasts!

Though the method of attaining immortality was bizarre beyond measure, it was perfectly normal for cultivation to be divided into good and evil. Besides, just because the Immortal Ascension Sect had such a wicked air about it did not mean every sect was the same.

With this Daoist's innate talent and a heart devoted purely to the Dao, wouldn't joining some renowned righteous sect in the immortal realm be as easy as turning over his hand?

"Wh-what the hell is going on?!" Ren Shanshi was so frightened that he dropped his tinderbox to the floor.

At a complete loss, he muttered, "Daoist Song, Immortal Song! Neither my son nor I meant anything else by it. We were only seeing you off on your final journey, so you could leave with some dignity."

Hearing his cheap father's murmurs, Ren Qing quickly calmed down.

Before encountering a renowned righteous sect, he had to remain cautious. Besides, he still did not know what exactly Song Baizhou had turned into after death—the Yellow Mud Immortal.

This Daoist needed to figure out whether the place he had come to was truly the immortal realm.

"A-Qing."

Leaning against the wall, Ren Shanshi panted for a long while before catching his breath. "I need to make a trip to the yamen and explain this clearly to Head Constable Chen! This isn't some small matter. A corpse turned into a clay statue and vanished into thin air—if blame comes down on us..."

Before he could finish, violent coughing and a succession of footsteps came from the alley beyond the backyard.

The footsteps stopped, and the coughing was especially clear in the silent night.

"Shopkeeper Ren, it's me, Zhao Xiaoliu."

Ren Qing recognized the constable who had delivered the corpse earlier.

Ren Shanshi's whole body stiffened, and he hesitated to answer.

"Cough, cough, cough... Shopkeeper Ren, I know what happened."

There was an indescribable exhaustion in Zhao Xiaoliu's voice. "The corpse has nothing to do with you two."

Just as Ren Shanshi was about to ask something, Zhao Xiaoliu continued, "Whether there's a corpse or not, I'll come collect the coffin first thing tomorrow morning. Remember—if what happened tonight rots in your stomach, there won't be any danger."

"We... understand."

Ren Shanshi hurriedly agreed, then called out tentatively, "Constable, it's freezing outside. Why not come in and rest your feet? Have some hot water before you go?"

"No need. Cough, cough, cough."

The backyard gate opened a crack. The two saw that Zhao Xiaoliu was already no more than a retreating back. Even the draft blowing through the courtyard could not suppress his coughing, which was far worse than before.

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes as he watched the figure leave. At some point, the Sparrow Dao Child had appeared atop the wall.

He noticed that Zhao Xiaoliu had kept one hand over his mouth and nose, as though concealing something.

With a thought, the Sparrow Dao Child beat its fan-like wings and vanished into the shadows.

"Could this Zhao Xiaoliu be connected to the Immortal Ascension Sect?"

After all, every nearby street had its own Dao Child standing watch. How had Zhao Xiaoliu noticed the corpse's ascension at once? There had to be some secret behind it.

Ren Shanshi had already slid the bolt into place. Turning to Ren Qing, he said, "A-Qing, neither father nor son can breathe a single word of tonight's events to anyone else."

"I understand, Dad."

"Let's seal up the coffin first. Over the next few days, I'll ask around for news."

The father and son placed stones roughly equal to the corpse's weight into the coffin, then used rivets to seal the lid completely shut. By the time they finished, night had fallen.

The cold wind swept along flecks of snow, sending them whirling in the corner of the wall.

"A-Qing, go get some rest. You've been exhausted all day."

Ren Shanshi patted Ren Qing's shoulder, yet he himself paced back and forth beside the coffin, too unsettled to calm down. "I'll keep watch. We absolutely can't let anything else go wrong."

"Dad, take care of yourself. Don't catch a chill."

"I'm fine. If you're tired, just take a nap in the storeroom nearby."

Ren Qing did not return to his room immediately, instead turning and heading into the kitchen.

The earthen stove still retained some warmth. He simply chopped up ginger, soaked it in water, and set it to simmer.

Before long, the scent of ginger mingled with the steam and spread through the room.

Every movement he made was incomparably earnest, even carrying a trace of urgency.

When Ren Qing brought the ginger soup to the storeroom, Ren Shanshi was dozing against a pile of firewood, his brows still tightly furrowed.

"Dad, have some ginger soup."

Ren Shanshi woke with a start and carefully took it, drinking two mouthfuls. Warmth slid down his throat, and only then did his tense shoulders ease somewhat. "A-Qing, hurry and get some sleep."

Deeply moved, he turned away and wiped at the corner of his eye.

Ren Qing's smile did not change. Ancient texts from his previous life had mentioned, "Gather the heart and depart the realm; gradually enter the true Dao." So long as one was not ensnared by the emotions of the mundane world, one could cultivate the Great Dao.

To temper his Dao heart, Ren Shanshi could, in a sense, even be considered the finest great medicine.

He had gained all this experience from enlightening himself in the psychiatric hospital's Dragon Field.

Ren Qing sincerely patted Ren Shanshi on the shoulder, considering brewing a few batches of pills to bolster the old man's vital essence once he had figured out this world.

"Father, you must take care of yourself. Live to a hundred, all right?"

Better yet, the old man could spread his branches and bear more leaves—then there would be even more great medicine to temper his Dao heart.

Ren Shanshi sighed at how sensible his youngest son was. Just as he was about to speak, Ren Qing had already turned and left.

The moment Ren Qing returned to his room, he lit the candle on the table. In the shadow by the window, Sparrow Dao Child stood with its head cocked, utterly motionless.

The moment Sparrow Dao Child saw Ren Qing, it immediately bowed in greeting.

"Squeak."

It released its claws, and a tiny piece of yellow mud, no larger than a fingernail, fell onto the tabletop.

Ren Qing picked up the yellow mud, then took out from his robes the yellow mud he had collected from Song Baizhou's corpse.

Comparing the two, the yellow mud Sparrow Dao Child had brought was pale in color and carried the damp, earthy tang of fresh soil. Song Baizhou's yellow mud was dark and deep in hue, faintly exuding an old, moldy smell.

"As expected, this Zhao Xiaoliu is cultivating the Yellow Mud Immortal Ascension Method."

Ren Qing had noticed earlier that Zhao Xiaoliu's coughing was unnatural. It seemed that because he had only recently come into contact with the ascension method, yellow mud inevitably seeped from his mouth and nose.

"Still, Zhao Xiaoliu probably isn't a member of the Immortal Ascension Sect."

Ren Qing took out the Ascension Record again. The ascension methods recorded within were already unorthodox enough to walk the blade's edge, yet there were shortcuts on top of that—such as "Eating Immortals."

So long as one swallowed the yellow mud of a Yellow Mud Immortal, one could attain immortality and realize the Dao even faster.

"The Ascension Record... heh. How could a shortcut possibly have no drawbacks? Otherwise, with just one Yellow Mud Immortal, wouldn't it be possible to breed Yellow Mud Immortals without end?"

Though the corpse-release ascension of Ren Qing's previous life had involved many tricks, the rare books and fragmentary scrolls he had studied were genuine Daoist classics. A few nameless Daoist texts might even have been left behind by ancient terrestrial immortals.

He could see the tricks hidden in the Ascension Record. The Immortal Ascension Sect harbored malicious intentions.

"Zhao Xiaoliu is practically doomed. He might even be reduced to cultivation fodder."

Ren Qing repeatedly toyed with the Ascension Record. Its page edges and corners bore clear signs of artificial aging.

Obviously, either Song Baizhou had arranged it before his death, or the Immortal Ascension Sect had done so deliberately. The Ascension Record in his hands had likely become as common as weeds.

Anyone who had come into contact with Song Baizhou's corpse might well "coincidentally" obtain an Ascension Record.

"The Immortal Ascension Sect has planned deeply. Could they be intending to turn Water Mouth City into a cultivation ground?"

"The Rebirth Ascension Method also has something fishy about it. After cultivating the Yellow Mud Immortal Ascension Method, if one realizes they have become fodder, they can only attempt the Rebirth Ascension Method. The result is that the quality of their flesh and bones rises another level."

"What a fine method."

Ren Qing's expression shifted between light and shadow. He had been the last person to touch the corpse, which meant there was a risk of exposure. He had to strengthen himself as quickly as possible.

"Cultivating an ascension method directly is definitely out of the question. The Immortal Ascension Sect is, after all, a heterodox side path."

"But I can cultivate it alongside the Daoist lineage passed down from my previous life."

"For instance, the Yellow Mud Immortal Ascension Method seems to share something in common with the Incense Soul-Nourishing Method."

The corpse-release Daoist lineage Ren Qing had obtained in his previous life was relatively complete, and it contained an Incense Soul-Nourishing Method.

The method was mainly meant to guard against soul damage caused by a failed corpse release. One could attach the soul to a clay statue and use incense offerings to reshape it.

His three souls and seven spirits were all intact, so naturally he had no need to reshape his soul.

Yet the Incense Soul-Nourishing Method, when paired with the Yellow Mud Immortal Ascension Method, seemed capable of complementing one another.

"If it works, then the Daoist lineages in those rare books and fragmentary scrolls from my previous life can be used in this world. I can also try, one by one, the artifact refinement and pill refinement methods of terrestrial immortals."

Ren Qing stared at the flickering candle flame. Those rare books and fragmentary scrolls had truly been useless in the Dharma-Ending Age, but if they could be cultivated anew in conjunction with this world's Daoist lineages—hahaha, the Great Dao was within reach for him!!!

Mm.

He forcibly suppressed his stray thoughts, and his expression returned to one that revealed neither joy nor anger.

"That nearly affected my Dao heart."

The Immortal Ascension Sect truly deserved death, daring to hinder this poor Daoist through heterodox side paths.