Innate Demonic Seed

Ren Qing couldn't help but freeze. Though unconfirmed, that old constable was very likely the Hundred-Eyed hiding in the shadows.

This man was actually father and son with Song Zongwu, and he had clearly succeeded in extending his lifespan—so why had he suddenly died?

Filled with doubts, Ren Qing followed Song Zongwu toward the Martial Arts Field.

The two walked in silence. Ren Qing didn't ask about Song Rong, but gradually formed some guesses in his mind.

The prerequisite of the Asura Method was to endure the Five Buddhist Precepts without falling.

The Five Precepts were: no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, and no alcohol.

Since Song Zongwu's Asura Method had reached the level of Four-Armed Yama, it couldn't have been achieved through mere secluded cultivation. It made sense that he had once had a family.

As they neared the Martial Arts Field, they could see the Martial Arts Building in the distance, cordoned off by constables.

Song Zongwu wore a bamboo hat and flashed his Forbidden Guard token, leading Ren Qing directly into the Martial Arts Building.

Inside were only five old fire workers, all over forty. When they saw Song Zongwu, they bowed their heads respectfully.

These old fire workers had served in the Yamen for over twenty years. They no longer handled trivial matters in the streets but specialized in examining corpses with unusual causes of death, earning them the title of coroners.

The leader, Chen Fire Worker, spoke softly: "Song Rong passed away a few days ago. Since he usually stayed cooped up indoors, the body wasn't discovered until now..."

Song Zongwu nodded, his face betraying neither joy nor sorrow.

Ren Qing frowned and asked, "A few days ago—what exact day?"

Chen Fire Worker thought for a moment and replied, "Judging by the degree of decomposition, it should have been two days ago."

Ren Qing muttered to himself: "Two days ago—wasn't that the same time as the incident at Sibu Hall? I wonder if there's a connection."

Song Zongwu said flatly, "You masters may take your leave now."

"Yes, sir."

The old fire workers turned and left.

They didn't know the relationship between Song Zongwu and Song Rong and found it somewhat odd. The corpse itself showed nothing unusual.

Once the Martial Arts Building was empty, Song Zongwu slowly revealed Song Rong's background.

Song Rong had been weak and frail since childhood, so his lifespan was limited—he wouldn't live past twenty.

But his nature was that of a born demon seed. His birth mother died in childbirth, and as a young child, Song Rong took pleasure in torturing cats and dogs to death, and even... targeted infants.

At that time, Song Zongwu wanted to discipline Song Rong, but because he was caught in a Tribulation while advancing to Three-Armed Judge, he feared dying in a densely populated town and had to flee into the wilderness.

Song Zongwu left five-year-old Song Rong in the care of a temple and hurried off into seclusion.

The seclusion took over twenty years. When he returned to the temple, it was filled with dried bones, and Song Rong was long gone.

Song Zongwu assumed Song Rong had died of old age, only to find him in the Sanxiang City Yamen.

And Song Rong was now forty-three years old.

Ren Qing couldn't help but click his tongue. If Song Rong was so ruthless even as a child, mastering sorcery would surely make him even more unbridled.

Song Zongwu said in a low voice, "I've always suspected Song Rong used living people as sacrifices to extend his life, but I could never find any evidence."

By Song Zongwu's principles, without confirming that Song Rong had killed to prolong his life, he naturally wouldn't act—leading to the successive Head-Chopping Cases.

Ren Qing could hear a hint of regret in Song Zongwu's tone.

Perhaps the Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage he left in the Martial Arts Building was meant to use the cultivators who read it to admonish Song Rong, but the latter never showed any restraint.

Of course, this was just speculation. The truth still needed to be determined through the corpse.

Ren Qing pushed open the wooden door to the inner room. What came into view was a dried corpse sitting at a table, a stench of decay rushing toward him.

Using his Double Pupils, he observed carefully. At first glance, the corpse seemed normal, but there was something subtly off.

Song Zongwu said, "If it's as I suspect—killing to extend life—he would have needed at least four or five hundred lives."

"Senior Song, there's something wrong with the corpse."

Ren Qing pointed at the lividity spread across the skin and said, "Even though the color of lividity changes over time, it should still be roughly consistent."

Song Zongwu looked closely. Indeed, as Ren Qing said, the lividity varied in shade, giving off an indescribably strange impression.

"Do you mind if I cut open the corpse?"

"Go ahead."

Ren Qing took out the knife he carried and sliced through the area where the lividity was densest, exposing the flesh beneath.

The two exchanged glances, both wearing expressions of disbelief.

The flesh appeared clumped together, lacking any sense of muscle fiber—as if it had been pieced together.

Ren Qing didn't hesitate to cut open the skin in several places. The flesh inside was in varying stages of decay, and some wasn't even human meat.

They both spoke at almost the same time: "Human Skin Book?"

To create a lifelike corpse out of thin air, the most likely culprit was the Skin Peeler of the Human Skin Book. This deviation primarily involved the human body.

Ren Qing suddenly understood. Song Rong must be the Hundred-Eyed.

No wonder he could hide silently in the Yamen, even fooling Song Zongwu—he had likely used a human skin disguise to conceal the Hundred-Eyed's features.

He had even used the Skin Peeler's ability to gouge out his own eyeballs, then attach them to animals or insects, thereby controlling them remotely.

It was even possible that the Dungeon Forbidden Zone had been created by Song Rong.

But why would Song Rong fake his death and escape? Could his target be the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone?

Ren Qing hesitated for a moment, then informed Song Zongwu about the Eye-less Method.

He emphasized the point about extending lifespan by eating raw human eyes, which Song Zongwu naturally connected to the recent Head-Chopping Case that had caused such an uproar.

Song Zongwu understood that Ren Qing's and Song Rong's Eye-less Methods shared the same origin, differing only in their direction of divergence.

He couldn't help the anger rising in his eyes, turning his six eyes to stare at Ren Qing as he said, "Ren Qing, have you ever eaten a raw human eye?"

Ren Qing replied seriously, "Senior Song, I have never eaten a human eye, nor do I have any such intention."

Song Zongwu possessed the Diting Art and could tell Ren Qing wasn't lying, so his tone softened.

"That's good. Never go down the wrong path."

He recalled the difficulty of mastering the Eye-less Method and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

Ever since Song Rong had deliberately spread the Eye-less Method, most of those who tried to cultivate it had met a bad end.

One had to know that to enter the Eye-less Method, one had to endure forty-nine days of boundless darkness. Since Ren Qing had been able to hold fast to his original heart, it showed his character was indeed good.

With excellent talent, luck, and character, he would definitely have a chance to break through to the Yin Messenger Realm in the future.

It was just a pity that he had accidentally consumed an Eerie Object, preventing him from mastering body-related techniques. Otherwise, one could have hoped for the Yang God Realm.

Song Zongwu suddenly had a bold thought. After all, Ren Qing's Human Skin Book was only at the Martial Human Realm. Perhaps it could break through the Eerie Object's limitations?

He stopped thinking about it and prepared to set off to find Song Rong.

"Focus on cultivating the Taotie Method these next few days. If you need any resources, you can come to me."

"Thank you, Senior Song."

Ren Qing was delighted. He could see that Song Zongwu's attitude was that of an elder. Even if he hadn't formally taken him as a disciple, the difference was probably negligible.

Song Zongwu headed out of the Yamen.

Ren Qing stayed behind in the Martial Arts Building, wanting to search the inner room for any clues left by the Hundred-Eyed, but found nothing.

The fake corpse was taken away by the Constables outside, who contacted Bo Feng to have it carried off and burned.

Esteemed officials and readers, at the start of the month, I humbly ask for your monthly votes. I'm still just a little short of breaking a hundred fans.

Thank you to Duan Jun Shang Yu and Gong Yuan 1 for their tips.