Aberration Paths of the Divine Feet Scripture

Ren Qing casually threw a few punches, sending several Martial Arts School disciples who refused to give up flying. From the look of it, they had at least suffered broken tendons and shattered bones.

Seeing this, who else would dare come up and launch a sneak attack?

Chen Lihua's eyes were bloodshot, and she muttered to herself neurotically, though she only watched from a distance for now.

Ren Qing paid no mind to the fleeing Martial Arts School disciples. He folded his arms across his chest, seemingly waiting for something.

A few breaths later, Chen Yongxing's corpse underwent a change.

The body suddenly began trembling nonstop. It was not reanimation; rather, the Eerie Object within it was gradually separating from the flesh.

As cracks split open along the bones of his right leg, a mass of viscous liquid wriggled out.

Ren Qing's hairs stood on end. Though it was not his first time seeing an Eerie Object, it was his first time witnessing one being born.

Like Winter Worm Summer Grass drawing nutrients from an insect's body—it was terrifying to contemplate.

A strange scent spread through the air. Every Martial Arts School disciple halted in their tracks, while heavy panting rose and fell around them.

Ren Qing had guessed correctly. After consuming flesh tainted by the aura of an Eerie Object, their bodies' instincts could no longer resist the craving for Aberration.

In a sense, the tragedy had been set in stone years ago, when the Martial Arts School disciples ate Chen Yongxing's flesh.

Ren Qing grabbed the Eerie Object with his bare hand. The thick liquid immediately tried to seep deep into his flesh, but his tough skin kept it out.

Bang!!!

The hall's wooden doors shattered into splinters.

The Martial Arts School disciples lunged at Ren Qing like zombies, but he strolled through them as if taking a leisurely walk, evading every attack.

He knew that only prolonged contact with Eerie Objects or Art manuals would allow him to obtain Information Flow. The Human Skin Book was proof enough.

Information Flow converged.

Divine Feet Scripture

Created by the Heavenly Cripple Daoist. To cultivate this method, one had to have both legs severed at the root during childhood, while the bones were still growing, then be confined inside a vegetable vat and fed specific medicinal catalysts. If one survived three years, divine feet would grow.

Drinking the beast blood of wolves, elephants, and leopards every day could speed up cultivation, but the body would gradually be eroded until it underwent complete Beastification.

Ren Qing focused on the Information Flow while pushing his Double Pupils to their limit.

Every Martial Arts School disciple had joined the siege against Ren Qing. They had completely lost their humanity and were like feral beasts.

This was the flaw of the Divine Feet Scripture. Especially after Chen Yongxing's reckless meddling, even if the Martial Arts School disciples devoured the Eerie Object, the likeliest outcome was that they would turn into beasts.

Chen Yongxing's corpse was not spared either. Several Martial Arts School disciples tore into it madly, quickly mangling it beyond recognition.

His daughter, Chen Lihua, was among them.

While evading the attacks, Ren Qing left the hall and entered the dim corridor.

He tried his best not to fight back, only knocking attackers aside with his arms when he had no other choice, all to reduce the traces left at the scene.

Information Flow continued to emerge.

Leopard-footed: nimble and silent

Elephant-Foot User: immense force and crushing power

Wolf-Foot User: walk a thousand miles

Seeing the three Aberration paths of the Divine Feet Scripture, Ren Qing guessed that Chen Yongxing had likely aberrated toward becoming an Elephant-Foot User.

Chen Yongxing had probably consumed Elephant Blood regularly, but the Eerie Object's restrictions had prevented him from breaking through the Half-Corpse Realm.

Thirty days of lifespan may be consumed to master it while exempting the cost.

Ren Qing had thought it would consume more lifespan, but unexpectedly, the cost was the same.

It seemed that only mastering Arts through Eerie Objects above the Half-Corpse Realm would drastically increase the lifespan cost. It truly was a case of losing more than one gained.

He did not rush to spend his lifespan. Weaving and shifting through the attacks, he struggled to reach the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall.

Once Ren Qing confirmed that he could master the Art, he casually threw the Eerie Object against the wall. The Martial Arts School disciples immediately began fighting one another over it.

Ren Qing

Age: seventeen

Lifespan: seven years, two hundred and twenty-seven days

Arts: Eye-less Method (Double Pupils), Human Skin Book, Divine Feet Scripture

He only felt the blood in his legs boiling, and an urge to tear everything apart surged in his heart.

Yet Ren Qing forcibly suppressed the Aberration in his legs with his Half-Corpse Realm cultivation, then stumbled through the doors.

Jiang Jie and the others trembled violently as they heard Ren Qing shout, "They've gone mad! Run, or it'll be too late!!!"

Ren Qing immediately turned and sprinted away. A moment later, the dark-skinned man gritted his teeth and chased after him, while the others hurriedly followed.

Unable to resist their curiosity, they looked toward the corridor, only to see the Martial Arts School disciples tearing each other apart. Severed limbs and chunks of flesh littered the ground, and an arm was even flung nearby.

"Move! Do you want to live or die?"

Ren Qing urged them several more times and even took the initiative to support Jiang Jie, whose legs had gone weak. The group fled for their lives in blind panic.

They ran for several hundred more meters before finally stopping from exhaustion.

Chou Shi had passed, and the sky was just beginning to brighten. There were still no pedestrians on the streets; most residents remained deep in slumber.

Leaning against a wall and gasping for breath, the dark-skinned man said, "So many people died. I'll report this to the authorities right away..."

Jiang Jie gave a bitter smile. "Don't forget that Chen Yongxing had the Bloodhound Gang behind him. Small fry like us can't afford to offend them. We might even be playing with fire and get burned ourselves."

Ren Qing echoed him, "I say we should just let it rot in our stomachs. The Yamen will surely deal with it soon enough."

"Right, right, right..."

They had been tortured to the point of near mental collapse. All they wanted now was to return home, so they scattered and left.

Only Jiang Jie wanted to befriend Ren Qing, but Ren Qing slipped into an alley after a few swift movements and vanished without anyone noticing when.

On the surface, Ren Qing seemed anxious to return to the Yamen. In truth, he quietly climbed into a distant teahouse, found a spot on the second floor with an open view, and deliberately kept watch over the Martial Arts School.

Beastly roars came from within the Martial Arts School, throwing several nearby households into utter chaos.

With such a commotion, the Bloodhound Gang reacted swiftly as well.

A burly man arrived at the Martial Arts School. Ren Qing estimated that he was a full two meters tall, with legs far thicker than those of an ordinary person. His Aberration path was likely that of an Elephant-Foot User.

The man did not enter. After waiting for a while, a woman arrived as well.

The woman bore no obvious signs of Aberration. However, she wore a veil, and her legs were somewhat long, though still within normal proportions.

Could it be that she had not reached the Half-Corpse Realm of the Divine Feet Scripture?

Roar!!!

The woman's body rapidly swelled. Yellowish-brown fur sprouted all over her, and she transformed into a half-human, half-leopard creature.

Ren Qing immediately withdrew his earlier assessment.

At that moment, a malformed beast rushed out through the Martial Arts School gates. Its fur was drenched in blood, and its distorted facial features could vaguely still be made out.

The beast tangled with the leopard creature, but life and death were decided in an instant.

The leopard creature bit down on its opponent's throat, drove an arm into its body, and violently tore out its organs before tossing the corpse onto the ground.

After obtaining the Eerie Object, they left the Martial Arts School without hesitation.

Before departing, the woman wiped the blood from her mouth. She instinctively looked toward the teahouse where Ren Qing had been, but there was no longer any sign of him.

The man asked, "Mei, what is it?"

Zhou Mei returned to human form, though her face still bore feline traces of Aberration. That was why she wore a veil to deliberately conceal it.

She said coldly, "It felt like someone was watching us in secret."

"You're probably overthinking it. This is a residential district, after all."

"Mm. Let the Yamen clean up this mess."