Choose the Double-Pupil User branch? This would consume one year and six months of lifespan.
The instant Ren Qing made up his mind, the blood vessels around his eye sockets burst. The wave of dizziness that struck nearly plunged him into darkness, while cold sweat soaked through his clothes.
Then the heat in his stomach began to spread, laboriously supporting the Aberration of his eyes. The Pig Eyes were completely digested within a few breaths.
Blood from throughout his body surged into his head. Ren Qing immediately felt the effects of excessive blood loss, and his heart rate slowed drastically.
The people beyond the wall were sweeping the courtyard, unaware that Ren Qing had already been drained of blood and turned into a shriveled corpse.
Ren Qing's consciousness remained clear, and fear inevitably welled up within him, as though he were suspended in endless void.
Time lost all meaning.
Ren Qing even suspected that he had died from qi deviation. After all, even the Information Flow had vanished without a trace.
Who knew how much time had passed before a point of red light appeared within the monotonous darkness.
Ren Qing instinctively stared at the red light. An indescribably mysterious feeling arose in his heart, and his previously unbalanced state of mind gradually recovered.
The red light began to extend, sketching line after line as though painting in thin air.
Ren Qing suddenly understood.
The red lines were actually the blood vessels that made up an eye. Under the effects of Aberration, his eyes were transforming in an inhuman direction.
What somewhat relieved Ren Qing was that the Aberration was confined to his eyes. At least he had not grown a hundred or so eyes all over his body.
Once the blood vessels had formed the rough outline, Ren Qing's consciousness returned to his body.
His chest heaved continuously as he greedily gulped down air.
Ren Qing subconsciously raised an arm. His bones were visible through his withered skin; he looked like a corpse that had just crawled out of a coffin.
"So this is what the so-called Half-Corpse Realm means—the process of going from death to life..."
A gentle breeze brushed against the window, and light shone over Ren Qing's body.
His smooth, amber-like eyeballs reflected specks of light. The two pupils resembled the symbol for infinity, ∞, lending him an extra touch of mystery.
"The price of advancing to a Double-Pupil User was far too great..."
At that moment, blood suddenly seeped from his eyes, flowing through his blood vessels toward his heart.
Thump!
Thump, thump!!
Thump, thump, thump!!!
Ren Qing's stopped heart began beating again, its rhythm growing faster and faster as it drove his internal organs back to life.
He recovered some strength and forced himself to swallow the Pig Eyes by his bedside. The heat further accelerated the flow of his blood.
After being altered by the Double Pupils, the blood had become as viscous as mercury and had long since undergone changes unknown to others.
Ren Qing's muscles became fuller and more resilient. His skin regained its luster, and even his scars vanished without a trace.
He could not help but sigh. No wonder breaking through to the Half-Corpse Realm was called shedding mortality.
It truly was a complete rebirth.
By chance, a fly, attracted by the Pig Eyes, buzzed about the room. It landed on the oil paper stained with blood and greedily licked at the scraps of pork.
The Double Pupils in Ren Qing's eyes rotated around each other, and his blood flow quickened accordingly.
He reached out to grab the fly.
Sensing it through its compound eyes, the fly easily flapped its wings and evaded him, then circled about as if taunting him.
The buzzing was unceasing.
The fly descended toward the oil paper, preparing to seize the chance to enjoy its meal.
Suddenly, Ren Qing reached out again. As the fly dodged, his steps shifted sideways by half a step as though he had foreseen it.
He pinched the fly between his fingertips. This was the Double-Pupil User's ability to anticipate the enemy's moves.
Ren Qing continued maintaining the Double Pupils for a full two hours before his eyes felt slightly swollen, so he restored them to normal.
Aside from that, both his strength and speed had improved considerably, enough to rival a wild beast.
The Information Flow appeared.
Ren Qing Age: Seventeen Lifespan: Seven years, two hundred and thirty days Art: Eye-less Method (Double-Pupil User), Human Skin Book
The sudden surge in lifespan caught Ren Qing somewhat by surprise, but he quickly understood why.
Because he had advanced to the Half-Corpse Realm, all the hidden injuries throughout his body had been repaired. That was why his lifespan had increased by more than four years.
Unfortunately, Ren Qing's body had already gone through one death, so only part of his lifespan could be salvaged. Four years was already quite good.
Ren Qing let out a breath and closed his eyes to inspect the tender sprouts in his mind.
The sprout belonging to the Human Skin Book remained unchanged, but the Eye-less Method had grown into a small sapling.
The branch representing the Double-Pupil User grew upward. At its tip was a huge leaf, its black-gray veins outlining the pattern of Double Pupils.
When Ren Qing's consciousness touched the leaf, brief information emerged.
Twin Nightmare Ghosts: Yin-Yang Twin Souls
Advance to Twin Nightmare Ghosts? This would consume fifteen years of lifespan.
Ren Qing helplessly covered his face. The joy of seeing his lifespan rise to seven years vanished completely.
Advancing to a Double-Pupil User had cost a year and a half, while advancing to Twin Nightmare Ghosts would cost fifteen years. Following that pattern, the next advancement would likely cost a hundred and fifty years.
And this was only one Art. Once he possessed more Arts, even several lives would not be enough to spend.
Fortunately, Ren Qing could advance through his own cultivation. It was, at least, a road left open when heaven seemed to bar every way.
He named the sapling the "Mutation Tree."
The Mutation Tree should also have originated from the Information Flow. It was most likely the projection of an Art within the Niwan Palace.
As Ren Qing continued inspecting it, he discovered that information could likewise be obtained from the other branches. They represented the Eye-less Method's other two branches.
The Hundred-Eyed advanced into the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord: devour souls.
The Single-Eyed advanced into the Soul-Snatching Brain Demon: enslave souls.
Ren Qing could see it now. The Aberration paths of the Eye-less Method all had something to do with souls. He just did not know what use the Yin-Yang Twin Souls had.
A thought suddenly struck him. In theory, every Art should have a different focus. If he could find an Art that increased lifespan, would that not mean grasping a path to the heavens?
But what mattered most now was eliminating that Hundred-Eyed. As long as that man remained alive, he was like a fishbone stuck in Ren Qing's throat.
If the Hundred-Eyed mutated into the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord and traced Ren Qing back through the Eye-less Method, Ren Qing would have no ability to resist whatsoever.
Of course, Ren Qing had his advantages as well. After all, he had the Yamen at his back, and the Forbidden Guards were not paid to sit around doing nothing.
After hesitating for a moment, Ren Qing chose not to continue advancing the Human Skin Book. He needed to first understand the Aberration directions represented by each branch.
He feared an uncontrollable situation. He could still conceal the Double Pupils by narrowing his eyes, but what if his entire body no longer had skin?
Ren Qing left his room and chatted with Xiao Wu and the others for a while. Seeing that they had not noticed anything unusual about his eyes, he finally relaxed.
Bo Feng, however, noticed that the aura Ren Qing gave off had acquired a sharp, exposed edge, despite them having only been apart for one night.
After leaving the Fire Refining Hall, Ren Qing was so hungry that he simply went to the Kitchen Courtyard. There, he ate as much as several ordinary people.
Only then did he notice that his digestive speed had increased severalfold, indirectly enhancing the lifespan-extending effect of the Pig Eyes.
Unfortunately, buying Pig Eyes in bulk would undoubtedly expose him to the Hundred-Eyed, so he could only keep a low profile.
As for eating human eyes, that would likely cause uncontrollable Aberration in his body. Besides, if he could not consume them over a long period, there was little point.
And a normal person's mind could not bear it, either.
Killing intent flashed in Ren Qing's eyes.
For that reason alone, the Hundred-Eyed had to die.
Even if Ren Qing could not deal with him himself, once he dragged him out of the shadows, there would always be a Forbidden Guard willing to act.
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