Frog Immortal Lord, Outer Sect Disciple

Barely a month had passed, yet the chill had thoroughly seeped into Water Mouth City.

Another light snow had fallen unnoticed last night, coating even the eaves in goose-feather white. Only when the morning sun tore through the clouds did warmth return to the human world.

Ren Qing stood in the backyard facing east. Though he still could not sense the slightest trace of spiritual energy, he habitually watched the rosy clouds rise and fall.

After a long while.

He slowly closed his eyes and meditated, and rosy light seemed to flicker between his brows.

Three days had passed since his Liberation by Violence molting, and his control over his divine consciousness had become increasingly dexterous.

With the slightest activation, his divine consciousness brought forth a strange phenomenon. Pale clouds drifted out from his mud-pellet palace and curled around his body, while his unbound long hair fluttered in the wind.

Had anyone been standing nearby, they would surely have been struck by an illusion.

It would have seemed as though all the rosy light between heaven and earth were answering his call.

"Hah."

As he withdrew his divine consciousness, the strange phenomenon dispersed without a trace.

"Though the special effects that come with my divine consciousness make it impossible to hide my abilities, if I gather it in my eyes, I can still peer into others to a limited extent. It's just far less effective than sending my divine consciousness out of my body."

Ren Qing tied up his hair. "I wonder whether I'll be able to keep a slightly lower profile after seven moltings. Looking this immortal all the time is just too eye-catching."

Besides that, a single molting had also brought certain changes to his physical body.

The rudiments of a leakless body had already faintly begun to emerge.

Ren Qing carefully examined the pores on his skin. They were noticeably smaller than those of an ordinary person, his daily need for sleep was decreasing, and his energy was boundless.

What was a leakless body?

According to Daoist texts from his previous life, from the moment mortals were born, their essence, qi, and spirit constantly leaked away, until after the age of forty, when the decline of qi and blood became obvious.

Cultivation was the pursuit of returning to the prenatal state, of ensuring that one's essence, qi, and spirit no longer leaked away at all.

"Mm, put scientifically, it means reducing metabolism."

The loss of Ren Qing's essence, qi, and spirit had now nearly stagnated. Not only could he extend his life, but ordinary illnesses found it difficult to touch him.

"Still, I'm a long way from true prenatal leaklessness."

"I should first hurry and prepare for the subsequent corpse liberation molt. Since this works, next I'll fulfill the simpler requirements for water liberation, fire liberation, and garment liberation."

"Also, I need to find a way to continue making plans for the Immortal Ascension Sect's lineage."

Ren Qing looked at his palm. There was not the slightest trace of his earlier wound. The terrifying recovery of the Molting Immortal art was beyond doubt. Once he completed all seven moltings, forget being at death's door—even a mutilated body could be remolded through molting.

Unfortunately, the Molting Immortal art was ultimately a life-preserving method. He still lacked offensive means to protect the Dao.

"The immortal statue Song Baizhou turned into hasn't come out to cause trouble lately. So much thunder, so little rain—could it be that the Immortal Ascension Sect only needs to recruit a single disciple?"

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. At least one thing was certain.

This remote little city would only grow livelier. The prefectural governor sent by the imperial court was about to arrive, while the Immortal Ascension Sect showed no intention of backing down. The current situation was merely the beginning.

Ren Qing glanced toward Wish-Fulfillment Abbey. The only benefit was that the several coffins in the backyard, nearly finished now, would not be difficult to sell even during this twelfth lunar month.

He slowly made his way to the well.

Before he could say anything, the Toad Dao Child hurriedly poked its head out of the well.

Ren Qing watched the Toad Dao Child flail its forelimbs, while from the corner of his eye he noticed a fish fry swimming in the well water. It was only the size of a finger and looked sickly.

The fish eggs had hatched two days ago, but unfortunately, all the others had lost their vitality.

Ren Qing leaned closer for a look and could not help but remark, "It has a certain beauty born of nuclear radiation. The art style is truly bizarre."

The fish fry was mottled in color and could only be described as misshapen. One eye was large and the other small, while its lower jaw jutted out. It stayed motionless in the water.

Seeing that Ren Qing was not displeased, the Toad Dao Child finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Forget it. I'll enlighten it first."

Ren Qing clipped off a piece of his nail and tossed it into the water. The lifeless fish fry suddenly erupted into motion.

Water splashed everywhere.

The fish fry shot forward and swallowed the nail in a single bite before sinking back down to the bottom of the well.

Before long, the fish fry had grown slightly larger. A faint gleam spread across the scales covering its body, and it also gained a sleeveless Daoist robe, making it look even more ridiculous.

After gaining control of his divine consciousness, Ren Qing could clearly sense every Dao Child.

With a single thought, he could easily erase a Dao Child's life.

"Still, the enlightenment divine power remains utterly useless. It hasn't undergone the slightest transformation. By rights..."

Ren Qing raised an eyebrow. His divine consciousness swept meticulously across his flesh, blood, and bones, and he noticed tiny talismans hidden within and beneath his skin—the very foundation of the Molting Immortal art.

He had long since tried enlightening countless kinds of living creatures. Only birds and beasts could withstand the divine power.

Even after insects were enlightened, they could not communicate, while cats, dogs, and livestock were far too conspicuous.

"Wait."

"The skin is connected to the Molting Immortal art. Could that make a difference?"

Ren Qing's gaze sharpened. Without the slightest hesitation, he took out a small knife and cut away the flesh from his fingertip. Before blood could even seep from the wound, the Molting Immortal art had already healed it.

"Croak!"

Toad Dao Child's eyes instantly widened into perfect circles. An urgent growl rumbled from his throat as his front paws instinctively stretched forward, his gaze nailed to that piece of flesh.

The Dao Children who had originally been scattered about all converged on Ren Qing.

Groups of Black Rat Dao Children squeaked around his feet, while Sparrow Dao Children perched atop the courtyard wall, their eyes blazing as they nearly failed to restrain themselves from snatching it away.

With a flick of his finger, Ren Qing sent the flesh accurately into Toad Dao Child's mouth.

Toad Dao Child hurriedly shut his mouth, and with a roll of his throat, swallowed it into his belly.

Ren Qing bestowed enlightenment once more. Previously, repeated attempts at enlightenment had produced no reaction whatsoever, yet Toad Dao Child soon began swelling as though inflated with air.

The bumps on Toad Dao Child's back became thick and full, his limbs grew an entire size thicker, and in the blink of an eye, he had expanded to the size of a water barrel. A few additional patterns had even appeared on his Daoist robe.

How should he put it? Hmm, he had been promoted from a menial disciple to an outer sect disciple?

Toad Dao Child shook his head, producing a deep croaking rumble from his throat.

"He's gotten quite a bit sturdier."

Ren Qing patted Toad Dao Child. His flesh was firm and taut, and the strength conveyed through it was enough to rival that of a wild dog.

A sweep of his divine sense revealed that Toad Dao Child's skin was covered in a great many talismans of the Molting Immortal art, nearly identical to his own—except they lacked the profundity of the original caster.

Croak.

Toad Dao Child shuffled several more steps forward, knocking the wooden boards beside him into a scattered heap.

He kept rubbing himself against Ren Qing, just like an oversized pet begging to be adored.

Ren Qing nodded slightly, then cut away several more pieces of flesh and tossed them to the Black Rat Dao Children. Yet his attempt at enlightenment was nowhere near as smooth as it had been with Toad Dao Child. Suddenly, dull thuds rang out.

Bang bang bang...

One Black Rat Dao Child after another split open, flesh and skin bursting apart without warning.

They nearly did not even leave corpses behind.

Toad Dao Child's round eyes bulged as he began trembling uncontrollably.

Ren Qing frowned deeply. He sacrificed several more pieces of flesh, and only after every Black Rat Dao Child had been reduced to wreckage did he understand the limitations of enlightenment.

"Does it require a certain amount of luck? Or are toads compatible with the Molting Immortal art?"

He leaned toward the latter. If it depended on luck, the Black Rat Dao Children should not all have died sudden deaths at the same time.

"Molting?"

In a sense, frogs truly did undergo molting—especially the transformation from tadpole to adult frog. Even after becoming adults, they still had to shed their skin continuously.

Ren Qing studied Toad Dao Child with great interest. "Frog Immortal Lord, don't hide your talents. Show this Daoist what you can do."