Sunrise Diagram and Dragon Transformation

Ren Qing focused his mind and connected with the Imperial Court Scroll, the surprise on his face growing ever deeper.

It was not a breakthrough in cultivation. The Vapor-Feeding Immortal Art was still far from the completion of coloration. Rather, the hues of the Imperial Court Scroll seemed to be brewing something.

Cloud vapor and rosy radiance mingled like water and milk, lacking only the slightest spark of opportunity.

"If it involves some mystery of heaven and earth, this poor Daoist truly has no clue. But if it is a matter of painting..."

Ren Qing's gaze fell upon the pool at the bottom of the well, a faint guess arising in his heart.

Whoosh.

At the sight of his master, Fish Immortal excitedly wheeled and darted through the air, stirring gusts of wind. Its flight was considerably more agile than before.

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Amid the misty water vapor, wisp after wisp entered the Imperial Court Scroll.

Ren Qing watched his middle dantian as the three colors circulated within, gradually forming a pattern.

The water vapor transformed into a thin stretch of water, its surface glittering with ripples. Above it, cloud vapor gathered into a bank of clouds, while the resplendent rosy radiance slowly burst forth like a rising morning sun.

In mere moments, the Imperial Court Scroll gained a Sunrise Diagram of profound and distant artistic conception.

"It is the water vapor. There is too little cloud vapor, making the proportions of the Sunrise Diagram terribly unnatural."

With a thought from Ren Qing, three strands of heaven-and-earth breath were released at once.

The moment he used the rosy radiance, the cave dwelling was blanketed in gold and crimson, and the temperature surged abruptly.

Cloud vapor lifted a stone weighing over ten jin and held it steadily in midair.

Water vapor became a fine drizzle that drifted down, instantly sweeping away the dry heat brought about by the high temperature.

Ren Qing had planned in advance to absorb cloud vapor, solely so that once the Metamorphosis Immortal Art reached a profound level, he could ride auspicious clouds and soar through the skies. Water vapor, however, seemed rather useless, apparently fit only for summoning rain over a small area.

"The Sunrise Diagram in the Imperial Court Scroll cannot possibly be nothing more than a painting, can it?"

With another thought, Ren Qing tried activating all three types of heaven-and-earth breath together.

"Urgh."

He let out a muffled groan. The Imperial Court Scroll suffered a slight backlash, chiefly because the rosy radiance was too powerful, directly scorching the cloud vapor and water vapor into nothingness.

"If the three types of heaven-and-earth breath must remain nearly balanced, then I can only delay cultivating cloud vapor and water vapor."

"No."

"Judging by the techniques Zhou Can displayed, their use should not be this simple and crude."

Ren Qing pondered, pouring all his divine sense into the Imperial Court Scroll.

"I have it."

In the next instant, the scene within the cave dwelling underwent a drastic change.

The Sunrise Diagram spread out.

Ren Qing could tell at a glance that it was an illusion. Amid the undulating gleam of water all around him, a red sun rose from the depths, and rosy radiance pierced through the clouds, profoundly affecting all five senses.

He took several steps forward. By all rights, he should have struck the stone wall of the cave dwelling.

Yet he continued walking within the illusory realm of the Sunrise Diagram for quite some time.

"In the real world, this poor Daoist should be turning in circles where I stand. Interesting."

Ren Qing felt that the upper limit of the Vapor-Feeding Immortal Art was exceedingly high. At present, the Sunrise Diagram was relatively easy to break, but what if he gathered every kind of spiritual energy of heaven and earth?

Would he not be able to trap others forever, perhaps even eventually turn falsehood into truth?

"Both immortal arts, combined with the Daoist legacy of my previous life, far surpass anything ordinary."

"The Metamorphosis Immortal Art is the foundation of cultivation, allowing this mortal flesh to shed its shell and become an immortal body. The Vapor-Feeding Immortal Art, meanwhile, is the foundation upon which this poor Daoist stands in this world."

"Retract."

The Sunrise Diagram vanished.

Only then did Ren Qing notice Fish Immortal curled up at the bottom of the water.

Every scale on Fish Immortal's body stood erect. Its once-rounded tail was actually lengthening. Though it was a black carp, whiskers like those of a carp had grown from it, while faint cloud patterns emerged along the edges of its scales.

"Transforming into a dragon?"

Ren Qing raised an eyebrow. "Makes sense. What immortal Buddha of any standing does not have a true dragon as a mount? This poor Daoist... ahem, ahem, it is merely for travel."

"When would this poor Daoist ever treat a disciple as a mount? I have never even had a magical artifact."

Within moments, Fish Immortal completed its transformation, its body resembling both a snake and a fish.

Nothing remained of its formerly crooked, unsightly appearance.

Fish Immortal flicked its tail, swam out of the water, and landed in Ren Qing's palm.

"Cultivate well. Your master thinks highly of you. You will surely become someone remarkable in the future."

Ren Qing placed Fish Immortal back into the pool and headed toward the meditation chamber, his divine sense detecting a familiar aura.

What came into view, however, was a great amount of yellow clay. Clearly, Black Rat Dao Child had hauled every remaining fragment of the immortal statues from Wish-Fulfillment Abbey into the cave dwelling in one go.

There was also the corpse of a human-faced dog, giving off a pungent, nauseating stench.

Ren Qing frowned slightly. He truly could not understand the caution of these unorthodox cultivators. They had already abandoned the immortal statue, yet not a single one of them had dared lay a finger on it.

"Could there be some problem?"

Ren Qing inspected it carefully and discovered that Song Baizhou had long since lost every trace of life. There were no hidden tricks either.

"Yellow Mud Eye has happened to be damaged. I can refine a batch of talisman treasures for the servant disciples. That way, once they serve as informants, they can also be monitored in real time."

"Hm, Ren Shanshi is back?"

Ren Qing noticed through his divine sense that his bargain-bin father had not returned to the coffin shop alone this time. Beside him was a woman of thirty-four or thirty-five. She was not particularly beautiful, but she appeared gentle, virtuous, and mild-tempered.

The two of them gave off the distinct illusion of a couple dating in the seventies, lacking only a sturdy old bicycle.

Ren Qing had just been about to go up and meet the second attained dao pill when his divine sense casually swept over the dog corpse.

"There's an unexpected gain as well."

The dog corpse was covered inside and out with talismans. Its head seemed to have exploded from within, though it was unknown what sort of attack it had suffered. It was also concealing quite a few items.

Ren Qing realized that the dog had also been an unorthodox cultivator before its death, though its cause of death was unknown.

"Could it be... the tiger demon has already arrived in Water Mouth City?"

Ren Qing summoned Black Rat Dao Child to take out the items. Soon, a large number of fresh human bones with white exposed fractures were piled before him. Talisman traces still marked their surfaces, showing that they had all come from one unorthodox cultivator after another.

There were also two sheets of dried human skin, used to record writing.

Ren Qing spread open the human skin. The first contained an immortal ascension method called "Seven Links Immortal."

Unfortunately, the contents were incomplete, with only one-seventh remaining.

It described how to refine one's own Corpse Dog soul into a Corpse Dog Immortal. The lines were filled with annotations: it needed to be nourished day and night with human blood before a living form could take shape.

"How wicked."

Ren Qing dismissed it with scorn. "Seven Links Immortal has each of the seven souls ascend into immortality independently, each possessing its own thoughts. By the end of cultivation, wouldn't one become just like a madman?"

He had secluded himself in a psychiatric hospital for several years and had seen quite a few madmen like that.

Every last one of them had been deeply afraid of this Daoist, claiming that this Daoist had dragged the entire psychiatric hospital into cultivation, sparing neither doctors nor attendants.

Absurd.

Everyone was a fellow Daoist. Why distinguish between you and me?

Ren Qing forcibly suppressed his stray thoughts. The contents of the other sheet of human skin concerned the cultivation of medicinal herbs.

Naturally, it was no proper medicinal herb, but a method for cultivating "Human Head Ginseng."

One had to grind white bones into powder, mix it with bone marrow to nourish the roots, then wrap the long hair of living people around ordinary ginseng. Within three months, Human Head Ginseng would grow.

The text claimed that consuming Human Head Ginseng could strengthen divine sense.

"This Daoist has pored over Daoist scriptures and established three hundred good deeds to restore the Earth Immortal lineage. What I practice is tranquil inaction. How could I ever touch such a sinister method that harms living beings?"

Ren Qing looked over the human skin several more times. Most importantly, Human Head Ginseng was insufficient for use in Medicine Dissolution.

He had already undergone five rebirths. His final Medicine Dissolution and Staff Dissolution had become exceptionally demanding. If he wished to consume Human Head Ginseng, it would need at least four or five hundred years of medicinal potency.

Squeak, squeak.

Black Rat Dao Child asked the immortal master how the white bones should be dealt with, since they were filthy objects.

"Bury them. The cave entrance is rather cold and yin; it can nourish the white bones."

Black Rat Dao Child was left speechless, deep bewilderment appearing on his face.

The immortal master's thoughts were truly impossible to fathom.