Cultivation is All About

The news of the old constable's death at the Martial Arts Field stirred no ripples.

In truth, throughout the Yamen, decades of acquaintance had passed without many knowing Song Rong's real name.

The duty of guarding the Martial Arts Building was handed to an older runner, and the copy of Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage was naturally taken away by Song Zongwu.

Seizing the leisure, Ren Qing's daily rhythm grew steady.

Besides the medicinal baths twice a day, he did not slack in visualizing the Eye-less Method.

He could clearly sense the steady improvement in his technique.

His skin and flesh gradually tightened; though not enough to block a blade's slash, his resistance to blunt blows from clubs had strengthened considerably.

As for the Divine Feet Scripture, without beast blood to aid cultivation and with several unfamiliar Fire Refining Hall workers from Hexing Street now in the courtyard, it was inconvenient regardless. He simply put aside the nighttime practice of bathing in moonlight.

Additionally, Ren Qing would visit the Martial Arts Building to flip through martial arts manuals. Even if the techniques might not be practical, they still carried the experience of predecessors.

Ren Qing poured his remaining energy into the Taotie Method.

Around noon, the scent of meat began to permeate the Fire Refining Hall.

Passing runners felt a deep unease—a place for burning corpses reeking of cooked flesh was enough to send chills down the spine.

But Bo Feng and the others had long grown accustomed to it.

Still, they couldn't help worrying about Ren Qing's recent behavior.

To the Li brothers and Xiao Wu, Ren Qing had always been frail.

In the past, carrying heavy loads would set off endless coughing, and he had even fainted outright.

They had thought Ren Qing had mostly recovered after resting, and occasional medicinal baths seemed normal.

But they hadn't expected the baths alone weren't enough—now he was trying dietary supplements. It was clearly a sign of grasping at straws in desperation.

At this moment, Ren Qing was as if nothing was wrong, squatting in the dim side room, a crack left in the window for ventilation.

From afternoon to evening, he devoted himself solely to cultivating the Taotie Method.

Song Zongwu would also keep watch nearby, lest Ren Qing suddenly suffer a ruptured gut or worse—something that could even prove fatal.

Cultivating a technique was no game; risks lurked at every turn.

In just a few days, Ren Qing's build had visibly plumped up by over ten jin, his belly swelling like a six-month pregnancy.

Song Zongwu lounged on the bed, taking occasional sips of wine.

Before Ren Qing sat a large iron pot, boiling over ten jin of pork—mostly lean meat from the legs.

On a nearby table lay a hundred jin of pork, ready to go into the pot at any time.

Ren Qing reached into the scalding pot, grabbed a chunk of pork weighing several jin, dipped it in a bit of sauce, and wolfed it down.

Between mouthfuls, he asked vaguely, "Senior Song, have you found any trace of Song Rong?"

Song Zongwu shook his head. "Hard. No strangers have come or gone in Sanxiang City or the surrounding villages."

Ren Qing swallowed the pork and said, "With the Hundred-Eyed's ability, deceiving others is effortless. Finding him won't be simple."

"No choice. For now, we have to prioritize the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone."

"Burp~"

Because of the massive amount of food, Ren Qing's stomach was stuffed to the brim, leaving him unavoidably uncomfortable.

But cultivating the Taotie Method left no alternative—he couldn't just openly use the Information Flow to advance; that would be far too unrealistic.

Ren Qing couldn't help feeling grateful for the stewed offal business with the Bloodhound Gang.

Otherwise, buying pork in bulk would have been a hassle just running through every street.

Now, staying in the Yamen all day, Butcher Zhang's underlings would deliver the goods, and he only needed to have Xiao Wu pick them up.

Seeing Ren Qing grab another piece of pork and shove it into his mouth, Song Zongwu couldn't help warning, "Don't rush. Cultivating a technique isn't something you can accomplish in a short time."

"It's fine, Senior Song. I know my own body well."

Ren Qing shifted from a sitting to a lying position, trying to keep his stomach from pressing on his internal organs, which could cause injury.

Song Zongwu hesitated, about to speak. He had only handed over the Taotie Method a few days ago—could Ren Qing really be trying to master it before heading to the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone?

Impossible to imagine.

Forget it. If it came down to it, he'd just let Ren Qing stay in the Yamen to cultivate the Taotie Method and inform Clerk Zhao later.

"I'll go buy some herbs to aid digestion. At the rate you're rushing, your stomach will burst."

"Thank you, Senior Song."

Ren Qing sighed.

He had already memorized the Taotie Method backward and forward. The text didn't specify exactly how large the stomach had to be stretched.

But the key to the Taotie Method was the Visualization Method.

He had not comprehended the Visualization Method—at least, he had not displayed it before Song Zongwu. Otherwise, why would he need to torment himself so deliberately? He would have long since grasped it through the Information Flow.

Ren Qing refused to believe it and closed his eyes to recall the content recorded in the "Taotie Method," mimicking the exotic beast Taotie's breathing through his mouth and nose.

His mind gradually focused, and his body began to emit a humming sound.

Ren Qing could feel his stomach writhing like a living creature, grinding the food in his abdomen into smaller particles.

Now.

[Thirty days of lifespan can be consumed to waive the cost of mastery]

Song Zongwu was about to head to the pharmacy when his expression suddenly turned startled.

Ren Qing had shown no reaction just moments ago, but now the sounds he made grew increasingly pronounced, and the surrounding furniture began to tremble slightly.

The Taotie Method?!!

Impossible...

Ren Qing's swelling subsided at a visible rate, his belly like a punctured balloon, returning to normal within moments.

After steadying his mind, Song Zongwu was once again shocked by Ren Qing's talent.

No wonder the Eye-less Method's breakthrough to the Half-Corpse Realm had happened at such an unimaginable speed—could it be that he would advance to the Ghost Envoy Realm within a year?

Song Zongwu sealed the gaps in the doors and windows to prevent outsiders from detecting anything unusual.

About the time it takes to finish a cup of tea passed before Ren Qing stopped making strange noises. Yet he still did not move, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

A terrifying surge of hunger washed over him, nearly shattering his reason.

Seeing this, Song Zongwu spoke: "Ren Qing, hold fast to your true self. Techniques are but minor paths; only the self is the great path."

Immediately, Ren Qing felt his mind clear, the all-pervasive hunger receding like a tide, leaving no trace of starvation.

[Ren Qing]

[Age: Seventeen]

[Lifespan: Six years, three hundred eleven days]

[Arts: Eye-less Method (Double-Pupil User), Divine Feet Scripture (Wolf-Foot User), Human Skin Book, Taotie Method]

Another tender sprout had appeared in the Mutation Tree, but if Ren Qing wished, he could reach the level of a Vice-Stomach User in an instant.

Ren Qing let out a long breath and said, "Mastering this art is indeed not difficult, but I owe much to Senior Song's protection."

Song Zongwu feigned calm on the surface, offering no praise, so as not to let Ren Qing develop an arrogant attitude.

"Cultivation focuses on body and soul. Sometimes, when a cultivator's physique aligns well with an art, faster mastery occurs."

Ren Qing could not help but ask, "Senior Song, if an art advances again in a short time, would there be any negative effects?"

Song Zongwu replied with a hint of helplessness, "You should still focus on stabilizing your foundation. Otherwise, when calamity strikes, you may easily face Dao annihilation."