What is the Heretical Dao of Cultivation

Ren Qing stayed in the Fire Refining Hall for a full seven days before going out.

Occasionally, a few mangled corpses were delivered, all handled by the Li brothers and Xiao Wu—the three of them had grown more than capable.

Ren Qing's main focus was figuring out the cultivation method of the Human Skin Book and testing the effects of various animal eyeballs.

Unlike the Eye-less Method, which relied on visualization, the Human Skin Book required external stimulation, the simplest approach being to pound the body.

If he could prepare a specialized medicinal bath, it would likely yield remarkable results as well.

Of course, the Human Skin Book surely had far more sinister cultivation methods, but Ren Qing had no intention of trying them by flaying his own skin.

As for the eyeballs, the larger the volume, the better the effect—pig eyes were indeed the most cost-effective choice.

At the same time, he quietly considered the matter of advancing to a Double-Pupil User, even though he had already resigned himself to consuming another year and a half of his lifespan.

Still, facing such a bizarre system of power, he couldn't help but feel a measure of wariness.

Ren Qing recalled the words Song Zongwu had deliberately or inadvertently spoken in the cell, and decided to verify his suspicions.

He made some preparations, tucking a sharpened short blade into his waist and carrying a few pig eyes with him, then headed toward the Martial Arts Field.

Ren Qing had originally planned to bring Xiao Wu along, but many areas of the Yamen were off-limits to White Servants, including the Martial Arts Field.

The Martial Arts Field was shared by all four districts—east, south, west, and north—and covered an enormous area.

From a distance, Ren Qing could already see a considerable number of constables brandishing blades and staves, while the attending runners let out cheers of approval.

His appearance drew sidelong glances from the constables, since Fire Refining Lictors rarely came here.

But soon enough, they stopped paying him any attention.

The constables' focus shifted to the two men sparring in the open space.

The pair wielded blunt wooden swords, crossing and weaving with exquisite precision, executing sword techniques that balanced offense and defense.

After watching a few exchanges, Ren Qing found it dull.

He walked toward the Martial Arts Building at the edge of the field, which housed a collection of body-tempering martial arts—though only Yamen personnel were allowed to study them.

Ren Qing pushed open the door, and a wave of musty, rotting odor from damp books hit him in the face.

He couldn't help but cough a few times, drawing displeased looks from the others inside.

Scanning the room, Ren Qing felt somewhat disappointed by the so-called martial arts manuals—they looked no different from those in an ordinary bookshop.

Three rows of bookshelves stood scattered about, the books on them extremely old, some even damaged.

Ren Qing picked one up at random; the cover read "Clear Wind Swordplay."

He flipped through a few pages—it could only be described as utterly mediocre. The descriptions of technique were detailed enough, but it was nothing like the internal-and-external cultivation martial arts he had imagined.

Without much hope, Ren Qing summoned the Information Flow, but the result caught him off guard.

[Clear Wind Swordplay (Incomplete)]

[Created by Daoist Master Clear Wind, it contains thirty-six forms, known for speed and stability. When paired with Internal Cultivation, the sword moves with greater agility.]

[Clear Wind Swordplay lacks the Internal Cultivation chapter; cannot be mastered by consuming lifespan.]

Ren Qing's muscles tensed slightly. He refused to believe it and picked up one manual after another—the results were all the same.

Every single manual in the Martial Arts Building was marked (Incomplete). Had the Yamen deliberately abridged the martial arts?

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes, pondering what this truly meant.

The gap between martial arts and sorcery was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. By normal logic, shouldn't the widely disseminated arts be the body-strengthening martial arts?

It didn't fit, either, to claim that aberrant cultivation methods could lead to becoming an Immortal and attaining the Dao.

Even Song Zongwu had a lifespan cap of just over three hundred years—compared to the risks involved, the increase in lifespan was far too meager.

And how many could actually die of old age?

Ren Qing rubbed his temples in frustration. He felt as though he had inadvertently brushed against the bizarre truth of this world.

But he still had no leads.

Steadying his mind, Ren Qing realized that what Song Zongwu wanted him to see probably wasn't this—after all, no one else knew about the Information Flow.

Following the order of the bookshelves, Ren Qing patiently flipped through each manual, checking the Information Flow's prompt before putting them back.

His behavior was somewhat odd, naturally drawing increasing displeasure from the other constables in the room.

But before anyone could step forward to warn him, Ren Qing picked up a thick book and retreated to a corner to read quietly.

The book was titled "Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage," and its contents were absurd tales of ghosts and gods, though the stories were rather dry.

After searching the entire room, this was the only book that wasn't a martial arts manual.

Ren Qing read each line carefully, and before he knew it, several hours had passed.

By the time the evening sun slanted through the windows, Ren Qing finally lifted his head, a hint of surprise flickering across his otherwise calm face.

Around the hundredth page, the content of "Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage" suddenly shifted, using myths and legends to metaphorically describe aberrations and cultivators.

From this, Ren Qing learned the stages of cultivation: Martial Human, Half-Corpse, Ghost Envoy, Yin Servant, Yang God, and Heavenly Anomaly.

Someone like him, who had grasped sorcery and was gradually undergoing bodily aberration but had not yet shed mortality, was at the "Martial Human" stage.

Once the first mutation was complete, one reached the "Half-Corpse Realm."

Moreover, different cultivation methods led to vastly divergent mutation paths.

The Eye-less Method alone had three variations: "Hundred-Eyed," "Single-Eyed," and "Double-Pupil User," not to mention other techniques.

The "Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage" also explained a question that had puzzled Ren Qing for a long time.

"To cultivate eerie techniques, one usually has to pay a tremendous price. With such a high threshold, is there really no shortcut?"

In fact, there was a shortcut, and it lay with those in the Martial Human Realm.

When a cultivator died, they would produce an Eerie Object, which mortals could use to master techniques.

However, this was limited to Eerie Objects from Martial Human Realm cultivators; those above the Half-Corpse Realm carried significant risks.

For example, a Martial Human Realm cultivator of the Eye-less Method would have their eyes transform into an Eerie Object upon death. By consuming it, one could save forty-nine days of cultivation.

But such a cultivator, seeking to advance their technique, would have to rely on an Eerie Object from the next realm, effectively forfeiting their potential.

Techniques mastered independently had no such limitation.

What surprised Ren Qing the most was that the Forbidden Zones were closely tied to Eerie Objects.

When a cultivator above the Half-Corpse Realm died, their Eerie Object would gain sentience and move within a certain range, thus forming a Forbidden Zone.

Ren Qing subconsciously touched his eyes, a chill running down his spine.

So, the Dungeon Forbidden Zone was actually caused by a cultivator who had practiced the "Human Skin Book" dying inside.

Wait.

If the eeriness of a Forbidden Zone was related to the cultivator's realm, then how terrifying would a Forbidden Zone be if formed by a high-realm cultivator who had mastered multiple techniques at once...

Unimaginable.

Ren Qing finally understood why Song Zong Wuwei had guided him in this way.

The transformation he had shown in the dungeon was closely linked to the Human Skin Book. Song Zong Wuwei mistakenly believed Ren Qing had accidentally eaten a Human Skin Fragment and thus entered the Martial Human Realm.

Putting himself in the other's shoes, a Martial Human Realm cultivator nearing the end of their lifespan, who had achieved their realm through an Eerie Object, had no potential whatsoever.

There was no reason to recruit him into the Forbidden Guard.

Song Zong Wuwei's actions were already the utmost kindness, preventing Ren Qing from exposing his Martial Human Realm cultivation out of ignorance and thus being targeted by certain people.

For Ren Qing, the less presence he had, the better. That way, breaking through to the Half-Corpse Realm would go unnoticed.

I still have two days until the contract signing; my mindset is shattered.