Wish-Fulfillment Abbey Could Not Be Kept Any Longer

Ren Qing was left speechless as he watched Fish Immortal swim through the air.

All at once, he felt that using his own disciples as magical artifacts seemed somewhat... less than honorable.

"Limitless Heavenly Worthy."

Ren Qing gave a light cough, then began spouting incomprehensible nonsense—things like "the disciples are wholeheartedly convinced" and "a living magical artifact does not count as a magical artifact"—until none of the disciples in the cave abode dared make the slightest sound.

After a long while, he withdrew the rosy radiance, and Fish Immortal dropped back into the water.

"Two outer disciples are still lacking, and they are inconvenient to carry around."

After pondering briefly, Ren Qing had Sparrow Dao Child summon swarms of rats as he left the cave abode.

After another bestowal of enlightenment, the number of Black Rat Dao Children swiftly rose to forty. Each one looked like a newly graduated civil engineering student, their eyes brimming with crystal-clear innocence.

"The cave abode connects to every ditch and riverway. We also need to send out a group of Mouse Divine Generals to search for underground rivers."

"Go."

The black rats answered with squeaks, then scattered in every direction as though by prior agreement.

Ren Qing considered that as Water Mouth City grew ever more a tangled mix of fish and dragons, the Black Rat Dao Children would need to be more discreet as scouts. Besides, if he needed to use magical artifacts... no, command disciples, he would have something to conceal it behind.

"Come to think of it, why is there still no movement from Wish-Fulfillment Abbey?"

Ren Qing's brows creased almost imperceptibly. Another constable had died at the yamen today. Supposedly, he had been found in his own courtyard, frozen to death alive.

Could Zhao Xiaoliu, buried in Wish-Fulfillment Abbey, have already given birth to a cat-faced monster?

"I'll prepare the items needed for Garment Dissolution and Coffin Dissolution first."

Ren Qing quietly holed up at home, cultivating by consuming qi each day. Watching the Imperial Court Scroll's coloring make excellent progress, he did not find the days tedious.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed. During that time, the coffin and lining needed for Corpse Dissolution and Rebirth had already been covered in talismans.

Ren Qing was still considering when to pay Wish-Fulfillment Abbey a visit when Ren Shanshi hurriedly crashed through the back courtyard gate. His cheap father normally stayed at the Black River Martial Arts Hall until the afternoon before returning, so something must have happened.

Ren Shanshi was somewhat flustered, nearly failing to keep hold of his iron-ringed saber.

"Qing, why is everything coming at once? This coffin business... sigh."

"What happened?"

"Wish-Fulfillment Abbey urgently needs coffins—and not one or two, but a full forty-six!!"

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes as Ren Shanshi continued, "The shops in the city all have to deliver coffins there, and we'll have to rush more out overnight afterward!"

"The time before last, it was Song Baizhou. Last time, it was Constable Chen Qi. What are they up to now?!!"

Ren Shanshi felt as though a bone were lodged in his throat, increasingly convinced that the coffin trade was dangerous.

A chill flashed through Ren Qing's eyes. Coffins in such quantities? This definitely was not about Zhao Xiaoliu. Song Baizhou was preparing to become immortal once more!

It seemed he truly needed to make a trip there.

Through Zhou Can, he could confirm one thing: before these unorthodox cultivators became immortals, their divine sense could not detect him. But after becoming immortal, that might not remain the case.

"Qing, how about we don't go? There's clearly something wrong with Wish-Fulfillment Abbey. Asking for so many coffins at once—who knows what disaster they're hiding."

"We can't avoid it."

Ren Qing rose and began arranging the coffins. "If we don't go, that will only arouse suspicion. Besides, thousands upon thousands enter the abbey every day, and it's not as if they all meet with misfortune."

"Dad, how many finished coffins do we have at home?"

"Four."

Ren Shanshi hurriedly calmed himself, then got to work alongside Ren Qing.

Before dusk, the two pushed a cart toward Wish-Fulfillment Abbey.

Yet before they even reached their destination, they could already see many coffins placed outside its gates. Some were new, some old, but they did not interfere with the worshippers offering incense.

Wish-Fulfillment Abbey merely claimed to the public that the coffins were for burying discarded statues.

Ren Shanshi squeezed out of the crowd and noticed two unfamiliar Daoists standing guard nearby.

Before he could ask anything, one of them lifted his chin and said, "Just put them over there."

Ren Shanshi wiped the sweat from his brow, accepted the scalding silver, and lowered his head to carry coffins.

Once the matter was done, he had just wanted to speak with the familiar shopkeeper beside him when he heard Ren Qing say by his ear, "Dad, wait here for a moment."

By the time Ren Shanshi turned around, only Ren Qing's retreating back remained.

Not long after.

Ren Qing had already blended into the passing crowd and entered through the main gate, soon stepping into the main hall.

Incense smoke coiled through the hall, and an immortal statue stood at its center.

Song Baizhou had become increasingly lifelike, compassion in his brows and eyes. Upon close inspection, the crack along his back had already healed, leaving only a conspicuous scar.

The worshippers were utterly overcome before the immortal statue, some weeping until they nearly fainted.

Sun Zu stood beside the altar, carefully wiping the offering table with a cloth and occasionally soothing the worshippers.

Ren Qing quietly made a circuit around the hall and realized that no matter which angle he stood at, the immortal statue's gaze had remained fixed on him from beginning to end.

He did not panic. The immortal statue was not projecting its divine consciousness at all.

Clearly, every believer present felt that the immortal statue was watching them.

"Looks like my prediction was right. Song Baizhou wants to become an immortal."

Ren Qing pondered this as he circulated his divine consciousness to empower his eyes.

The scene abruptly changed.

The immortal statue's material became like a human-skin cocoon, its surface glistening with a layer of oil.

Suddenly, a faint rustling echoed through the hall.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Gurgle, gurgle.

The worshippers were mere mortals without divine consciousness and could not detect it in the slightest, but Ren Qing heard it clearly. The sound came from the immortal statue, growing ever louder.

It sounded like the churning of an empty stomach in hunger.

Ren Qing pretended to wait among the crowd to offer incense, until the immortal statue could no longer endure its hunger.

"Disciple."

The immortal statue's lips moved slightly, its voice carrying an inhuman sluggishness.

Ren Qing could sense it through his divine consciousness, and his steps could not help but pause.

"Disciple."

Sun Zu's face turned deathly pale. He abruptly lowered his head, his body shaking like chaff in a sieve.

"Mas... Master, this disciple Sun Zu is here."

He spoke softly, trying not to draw the worshippers' attention.

The immortal statue's stomach churned ever more visibly as it said impatiently, "Disciple, Wish-Fulfillment Abbey owes much of its present scale to you."

"It... it is what this disciple should do. It is all thanks to Master's teachings." Sun Zu did not dare make the slightest unusual move.

The immortal statue casually licked its lips. "Choose two among your junior brothers, then select three from the worshippers. Have them stay overnight in the main hall tonight."

"Your master will have use for them at midnight."

Sun Zu's breathing abruptly caught. "But, Master, all the disciples are utterly loyal to you..."

"Presumptuous!"

The immortal statue suddenly glared in fury, and the temperature throughout the hall seemed to drop several degrees.

Sun Zu was so frightened that he fell to his knees, knocking his forehead heavily against the floor. "This disciple would not dare! This disciple would not dare!"

The worshippers did not understand what was happening, but they too followed Sun Zu in repeatedly kowtowing.

The immortal statue returned to calmness and scrutinized Sun Zu. "Disciple, your former senior brother never once questioned your master's decisions."

Sun Zu's body stiffened. Remembering Chen Jiuliang, who had been reduced to a pulp of flesh, he gritted his teeth and answered, "This disciple obeys."

"Good disciple." The immortal statue seemed to be praising him, yet its words contained no emotion whatsoever. "Work well. In the future, your master will surely guide you upon the path to immortality."

After pausing for several breaths, it added, "It was very strange that your master was severely injured before. You must be extra careful."

Before Sun Zu could choose the blood offerings, Ren Qing prepared to step out of the main hall.

His left foot had already crossed the threshold.

"Disciple, once there are enough coffins, bury those carpenters underground with them as well. Your master wishes to see what it feels like to die inside coffins they made themselves."

"The greater the despair, the more effective they are for cultivation."

The immortal statue closed its eyes. Its injuries had yet to heal, making it unable to project its divine consciousness for long.

Ren Qing continued onward, already having made his decision.

A mere unascended heterodox cultivator dared covet this poor Daoist's great medicine of attaining the Dao.

Why wait for another day when tonight would do?