Ren Qing did not maintain the Yellow Mud Eye for long. After withdrawing it, he pressed down the brim of his bamboo hat.
By now, quite a few passersby had come forward to ask about the price of the mountain ginseng, including two martial artists from an escort agency. He could faintly hear them arguing with each other.
Ren Qing did not go over. Though the path to immortality was heretical, it scarcely depended on resources.
He had no use for spiritual materials at present. He was merely curious whether flowers, birds, fish, and insects that had completely transformed into living creatures could be enlightened and taken in as Daoist attendants.
After pondering for a moment, Ren Qing turned and headed toward the fishermen by the docks.
The fishermen were boasting with flying spittle. Seeing Ren Qing approach, one bearded man hurriedly said, "My apologies, sir. The black carp has already been reserved. You can look at some of the other fresh fish."
Ren Qing pointed at the black carp's belly instead. "Are the roe for sale?"
The fishermen froze. The tavern that had reserved the black carp had indeed not asked for the roe. They had originally planned to pickle it and eat it themselves, never expecting someone to specifically buy it.
The bearded man's refusal reached his lips, yet for some reason, he began discussing the price instead.
"You want fish roe, sir? Those things aren't worth much, but this black carp is rather old..."
Ren Qing took out twenty or thirty copper coins from his robes and stuffed them directly into the fisherman's hand.
"No need to weigh it. Pack up all the roe."
The fishermen hastily agreed. Compared with the size of the black carp, the roe looked utterly unremarkable. Since it had not yet fully developed, most of it was somewhat pale in color.
Ren Qing took the cloth bag, weighed it in his hand, then headed toward another part of the market.
"I wonder if it can hatch? Forget it, it's only an experiment anyway."
For this trip, the fish roe was merely an interlude.
Carrying the cloth bag, Ren Qing purposefully turned toward the other end of the market, where the butcher's stall before him was rather deserted.
Seeing someone approach, the butcher wiped the grease from his hands with his apron. "What would you like, sir? Pork belly or ribs? Freshly slaughtered pig, fresh as can be."
Ren Qing glanced over the boning knife beside the chopping board and nodded in satisfaction.
The blade was narrow and thin, polished until it gleamed, with blackened cloth wrapped around its handle.
"How much for that meat-trimming knife of yours?"
The butcher raised his eyes in astonishment. The boning knife had been with him for nearly thirty years. It was not some precious treasure, but it fit his hand perfectly. Naturally, he could not sell it.
He had just been about to refuse when he caught sight of Ren Qing handing over a few fragments of silver.
The butcher's words caught in his throat. Instinctively, he accepted the silver. By the time he came back to his senses, the space before him was empty. Ren Qing, along with the boning knife, had vanished without a trace.
"Damn it."
He shuddered as the cold wind blowing toward him seemed to drill into his very bones.
Ren Qing had already crossed the market. He walked deftly through the streets and alleys, casually tucking the boning knife into his belt without minding the fishy stench upon it.
"As expected of the Immortal Realm. Even ordinary mortal iron can contain Killing Intent."
Within the Yellow Mud Eye, faint black mist coiled around the boning knife. It was precisely the key to Mortal Shedding that he needed.
Most of the Daoist inheritances Ren Qing had obtained in his previous life had been fragmentary beyond repair. Only the method of achieving immortality through Corpse Liberation was comparatively complete. Perhaps that was because, in the era of dwindling Dharma, Corpse Liberation had been one of the few methods that still offered hope of attaining immortality and the Dao.
Over the thousand years after spiritual qi had dried up, there had been more than a dozen recorded methods of Corpse Liberation on paper.
Ren Qing did not know how many people in his previous life had ascended through Corpse Liberation, but he remembered every method by heart and had even thoroughly studied the specifics of each kind.
Thinking of it now, he felt somewhat nostalgic.
Back then, he had secluded himself in a psychiatric hospital for five years. It could truly be called enlightenment at Dragon Field.
"The common ones are Liberation by Violence, Staff Dissolution, Garment Dissolution, Coffin Dissolution, Water Dissolution, Fire Dissolution, and Medicine Dissolution."
In his previous life, Ren Qing had relied on swallowing medicinal pills to achieve Corpse Liberation. The other methods had been almost impossible to accomplish in the modern age. Yet in the Immortal Realm, the requirements for Corpse Liberation were easily met. The baleful artifact needed for Liberation by Violence was something every butcher in Water Mouth City had in hand.
"Corpse Liberation combined with Mortal Shedding will surely transform this poor Daoist's flesh into an immortal body."
"However..."
Ren Qing frowned deeply. He simply did not have enough money. To be cautious, he could not deliberately use his divine sense to influence mortals, and he had already spent nearly all his silver.
No, he had to make the old man earn more money. He still needed to switch professions.
As he pondered, Ren Qing took a roundabout route to the entrance of an alley near Wish-Fulfillment Abbey.
Raising his eyes, he could see believers streaming through the street, while the smoke of incense and candles curled upward into the sky.
There were believers old and young alike. Their foreheads pressed against the icy ground as they muttered prayers with pious devotion.
Wish-Fulfillment Abbey's gates were tightly shut, with a wooden sign hanging outside that read, "No visitors during rituals." Yet it could not stop the waves of prayers rising and falling outside.
Ren Qing passed through the crowd, studying the Daoists entering and leaving the abbey gates.
Every Daoist was thin and gaunt. They were indeed Song Baizhou's disciples, but some change seemed to have occurred within Wish-Fulfillment Abbey, leaving them distracted and uneasy.
He also discovered that every one of them had already begun practicing the Yellow Mud Immortal Ascension Method.
It was clear that within the Immortal Ascension Sect, disciples were nothing more than spare consumables.
"There are quite a few outsiders too."
Among the worshippers, Ren Qing also noticed many unfamiliar faces. Most were already middle-aged, dressed like martial artists of the jianghu. There were even elderly people in their seventies and eighties.
The elderly must have practiced martial arts in their youth, yet now they could barely walk.
They were approaching while kowtowing once every ten steps.
Ren Qing did not know how they had learned of Wish-Fulfillment Abbey, but they had clearly come for the path to immortality.
"Could the government of the Immortal Realm be nothing but decoration, allowing the Immortal Ascension Sect to stir up trouble as it pleased?"
Ren Qing clicked his tongue inwardly. The imperial court seemed to be called something... Da?
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Suddenly.
The sound of hoofbeats drew near from afar. The crowd hastily retreated to either side, opening up a passage.
An ebony carriage slowly rolled forward, its body steady. Silver bells hung from its four corners. The guards wore fitted martial attire, their hands resting on their sword hilts as they expressionlessly pushed aside the believers before them.
Ren Qing frowned slightly. Even nobles and dignitaries had come to Water Mouth City seeking immortality?
A slender jade hand gently lifted the carriage curtain, revealing half a face.
The young woman appeared to be sixteen or seventeen. A vermilion mole sat between her brows, while her complexion was pale enough to seem almost transparent. When the cold wind blew, droplets of blood seeped from her skin.
Though there were hundreds, even thousands of people nearby, her gaze rested upon Ren Qing alone for several breaths.
The young woman released the curtain and returned to the dim carriage interior.
The carriage continued onward and soon stopped before Wish-Fulfillment Abbey, waiting with the others for the gates to open.
Ren Qing's expression darkened. With a cold snort, he slipped into the depths of the alley.
"What does that mean? Did she find this poor Daoist exceptionally handsome and couldn't resist looking a few times?"
The chill in his eyes deepened, though he did not believe she had seen through his true nature. He could be certain that the nobles and dignitaries who had come to Wish-Fulfillment Abbey were all mortals.
"She definitely has no cultivation. Her life force is dim; she likely has only a few days left."
"Women only hinder the Dao heart."
Whether in his previous life or this one, Ren Qing had always kept women at a respectful distance. Still, this had clarified one thing: the outsiders had likely come to Wish-Fulfillment Abbey in pursuit of immortal fate.
They were all mortals, old and frail. If they did not become immortals, death was the only road left to them.
Perhaps this was also one of the Immortal Ascension Sect's methods for recruiting disciples.
"After this poor Daoist undergoes Mortal Shedding and Corpse Liberation, I'll see whether the Immortal Ascension Sect has any other Daoist inheritances."
Before you continue