The Third Immortal Art

Ren Qing's thoughts churned as he recalled how he had nearly missed those lineages of orthodox inheritance in his previous life.

After all, his main pursuit back then had been immortality and the Dao. He had only sampled the various arts at a cursory level. Fortunately, he had spent five years in seclusion at the mental hospital, allowing him to calmly delve into them.

Ah, what a wonderful place for seclusion.

"Once the Five Elements Escape Art is cultivated to mastery, it will be difficult for any method to trap me."

"Unfortunately, the Five Elements Escape Art requires spirit materials of all five elements. At present, I can only attempt Earth Escape."

The Five Elements Escape Art emphasized mutual generation and mutual restraint. If he cultivated Earth Escape alone, he could move freely through soil, but if he encountered any of the other four elements, it would be interrupted—for example, by the roots of vegetation or metal ores.

"I'll enter the gate first and worry about the rest later."

A trace of chill flashed through his eyes. "As long as the rat swarm can use Earth Escape, this humble Daoist will truly be free to advance or retreat, able to escape Water Mouth City whenever he wishes."

"With that, the final Medicine Dissolution should not pose much of a problem."

Having sorted out his thoughts, Ren Qing immediately began working on gaining entry into the Wax Immortal Ascension Art.

He took out beeswax and scorched it with rosy light. After melting it and removing the impurities, he added his own blood seven times, carefully controlling the temperature and blending it thoroughly each time.

"I happen to have earth-element spirit material. If I were relying on resources produced by the Immortal Ascension Sect, it might not necessarily work."

Ren Qing took out the Resting Soil produced by Frog Immortal Lord and thoroughly mixed it with the wax oil.

The Imperial Court Scroll unfurled.

A wave of searing heat rose within the seclusion chamber, and the rosy light made the cave as bright as day.

After a long period of Qi-feeding cultivation, Ren Qing's rosy light was no longer a single wisp, but a whole mass. One could already vaguely see the lingering might it had inherited from the sun.

Ren Qing patiently urged the rosy light onward, and half a day slipped away without a sound.

No matter how the rosy light scorched it, the Resting Soil had already turned liquid, yet it remained as distinct from the wax oil as the Jing and Wei rivers.

"This won't do."

Ren Qing simply stopped, sitting quietly to think. Perhaps he could change his approach.

He casually grabbed a handful of herbs and swallowed them straight into his stomach. Then he adjusted his breathing, imitating the rhythm of the Internal Refinement Art. His stomach and intestines began to wriggle rhythmically.

Blood gathered toward his digestive organs, and the temperature in his stomach and intestines rose for no reason.

The Internal Refinement Art was even easier than Ren Qing had expected. The herbs gradually refined into a grayish-brown pill. Its medicinal effects aside, it was undeniably a completed pill.

"Either I draw upon sunlight, though the Imperial Court Scroll would inevitably have to bear some risk."

"Or I make use of the Internal Refinement Art."

Ren Qing leaned toward the Internal Refinement Art, but his own stomach and intestines certainly could not withstand such torment.

He rose and left the seclusion chamber. Fish Immortal at the cave entrance gazed at him eagerly, seeming to ask what he could do to assist his immortal elder.

"Disciple, wait here for the moment. Do not allow outsiders to enter or leave the seclusion chamber."

Fish Immortal nodded and transformed into a streak of light, circling the cave entrance.

Ren Qing arrived at the cave chamber where Frog Immortal Lord stayed. Surrounded by a crowd of female frogs, the latter huddled in a corner enjoying a tender paradise. Quite a few tadpoles had appeared in the pool.

Each tadpole was already comparable in size to a grown frog. They were clearly all Frog Immortal Lord's offspring.

Croak.

Frog Immortal Lord shook his body, and the female frogs all voluntarily moved away.

"Come, this humble Daoist will teach you an art." Ren Qing passed the Internal Refinement Art on to Frog Immortal Lord.

Frog Immortal Lord was somewhat muddled at first, but after listening with puffed cheeks, he unexpectedly grasped its essentials with ease.

At once, a deep frog croak sounded from his belly, making even the ground tremble faintly.

Ren Qing even felt that the Internal Refinement Art had been tailored specifically for Frog Immortal Lord. It had likely been created by a frog demon in the first place; there was no need to deliberately alter the rhythm of his breathing.

"Frog Immortal Lord, you are far more intelligent than this humble Daoist imagined."

At those words, Frog Immortal Lord revealed an honest, simple smile, sweat continuously dripping from his forehead.

"Never mind."

Ren Qing had Frog Immortal Lord swallow the relevant items in one gulp. The space inside his stomach was already nothing like before—several times roomier than even a coffin shop.

Frog Immortal Lord lay prone and activated the Internal Refinement Art. In only a moment, the swallowed wax oil and Resting Soil had turned into powder, then gathered together as though swept into a whirlpool.

"Hiss."

Ren Qing raised his eyes toward Frog Immortal Lord. He had not even poured in the rosy light yet, but the materials already showed signs of blending. He had not expected Frog Immortal Lord to possess such extraordinary talent in pill refining.

Seeing this, he immediately sent rosy light flooding into the stomach space. The temperature abruptly surged, nearly half again as high as when he had refined it alone before.

"It seems Frog Immortal Lord is not merely a storage pouch. He is also a pill furnace."

Ren Qing examined Frog Immortal Lord's stout body. He really did resemble a three-legged cauldron used for pill refinement. Most importantly, Frog Immortal Lord could refine pills on his own.

After a long while, Frog Immortal Lord's throat moved, and he spat out a clump of earthy-yellow wax oil.

The wax oil was thick in texture and faintly glimmered with spiritual light. It had clearly fused completely.

Ren Qing nodded in satisfaction. "Among all my disciples, you are the one I value most."

Frog Immortal Lord grinned foolishly in delight, rubbing his body against the rock wall and letting out happy croaks.

The eldest disciple watched his master leave.

The moment Ren Qing returned to the meditation chamber, he sat down cross-legged and began guiding the wax into his body.

"According to the Five Elements escape arts, earth governs the center, corresponds to the spleen, and should be fused into the spine."

The other four elements could not be cultivated for the time being, but the steps were much the same.

Wood governed growth and corresponded to the liver and left arm; fire governed qi and blood, corresponding to the heart and right arm; metal governed purging and descent, corresponding to the lungs and shoulder-neck region; water governed sealing and storing, corresponding to the kidneys and lower limbs.

Ren Qing used his divine sense to guide the wax slowly into his spine. The wax was scorching hot, and intense burning pain flared everywhere it passed as it replaced his spinal marrow.

He endured the aching pain and focused completely on inscribing the talismans, every stroke incomparably precise.

Only after finishing did he finally let out a long breath. By then, his back was a bloody mess, the burned flesh curling back to reveal faint glimpses of white bone.

Ren Qing immediately performed the Metamorphosis Immortal Art. Dead skin fell away in rustling flakes, and the newly grown flesh bore no trace of wounds.

"Earth element."

Yellow light flickered over Ren Qing's entire body, and his figure vanished from the spot.

A moment later, an arm suddenly reached out from the floor of the meditation chamber.

He ended the earth escape somewhat bedraggled, his body still smeared with plenty of mud.

"Boundless Heavenly Worthy, this humble Daoist truly is suited to cultivating the orthodox methods of the Dao sects."

Ren Qing brushed his robe, then performed earth escape again. With a flicker, he sank into the rock wall, clearly feeling earth and stone wrapping around him.

His divine sense was slowly consumed, and his travel speed was not particularly fast—roughly comparable to an ordinary electric scooter, still far from the realm of shrinking the earth into inches.

"I've finally gotten the hang of it."

Ren Qing emerged from the rock wall on the other side, his clothes already tattered beyond repair.

There was no helping it. Underground, one was bound to encounter grass and roots, and running into them easily injured his body. For now, it somewhat undermined his immortal bearing.

"I'll call it the Five Elements Immortal Art. I'll continue cultivating it once I reach a place rich in resources."

Ren Qing recalled Mouse True Person mentioning Three Rivers Prefecture. The Immortal Ascension Sect apparently had a legitimate business selling resources there, so he could consider going there to cultivate in peace.

After tidying up his appearance a little, he summoned two outer disciples and then used his divine sense to contact Mouse True Person.

"Mouse True Person, bring all the Mouse Divine Generals to the meditation chamber."

"Today, this humble Daoist shall impart supreme immortal methods to you all."

After a brief spell of peace in the rear courtyard, forty-one rats hurried toward the bottom of the well.