The Human Skin Book Nears Promotion

On the way back to the camp.

Ren Qing couldn't help but ask Song Zongwu about the Corpse Scripture that Song Rong had muttered before his death.

Song Zongwu muttered it to himself a few times, frowning deeply as he said, "Could it be... the Dead Man Forbidden Zone..."

Ren Qing's mind stirred. "What is the Dead Man Forbidden Zone?"

Song Zongwu shook his head. "I've only heard rumors."

"The techniques related to the Dead Man Forbidden Zone have long been mastered by no one. However, it's said that beyond the ten thousand mountains north of Sanxiang City, there lies a boundless forbidden zone called Dead Man."

Ren Qing, upon learning that the Corpse Scripture involved extending life and achieving immortality, could barely suppress the agitation in his heart.

But when he learned that the Dead Man Forbidden Zone might be at the Yang God Realm, he silently shut his mouth.

Even a Ghost Envoy Realm forbidden zone, after devouring a large number of Eerie Objects, could threaten the life of a Yin Messenger Realm Jailer.

From this, it was unimaginable how terrifying a Yang God Realm forbidden zone would be.

However, Ren Qing believed that even if the Corpse Scripture was lost, as long as Eerie Objects still existed in the world, he would eventually master it through the Information Flow.

Ren Qing didn't rush to figure out the Demon Seeding Scripture. He planned to wait until the commotion caused by Song Rong had settled a bit. After all, the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone couldn't be sealed off in a short time anyway.

The two approached the camp.

Ren Qing found the camp even more chaotic than he had imagined.

The main reason was the formation of the Hundred-Eyed Forbidden Zone, which had dragged most of the prisoners into it.

Even though the Hundred-Eyed Forbidden Zone had only just formed and not many had died, it still caused panic among the prisoners.

The Hundred-Eyed's ability was to create illusions. After forming the forbidden zone, it could make prisoners experience an unimaginable abyssal fear. Not having their courage completely shattered was considered lucky.

Even after it subsided, they tried to escape from the karst cave, causing a riot.

Now, dozens of prisoners had been escorted to the camp and were being guarded by Jailers.

Even Xu Shilin was present to supervise, a pipe clamped between his teeth, looking weathered and weary.

The prisoners trembled all over. Some lay unconscious on the ground, foaming at the mouth, the stench of incontinence spreading through the air.

Ren Qing quickly stepped forward to understand the situation. After hearing the details, he was immediately troubled and pinched his temples.

The prisoners' condition resembled claustrophobia. Now, if they were forced back into the karst cave, they would probably go limp all over. Mining was clearly out of the question.

Song Zongwu spoke up. "The most troublesome thing is that the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone is sinking. If the excavation isn't completed within ten days, the karst cave will be the first to collapse."

Ren Qing opened his mouth, then cautiously said, "What about using Gu Insects?"

"Li Yaoyang's Gu Insect possession only takes half a day, but these prisoners would all die from exhaustion. Besides, the excavation needs to be finished properly, so we have to be even more careful."

Ren Qing pondered a solution. Maybe he could try treating the claustrophobia?

Song Zongwu handed the stone statue to Mu Yi, who protected it with vines, then picked up a pickaxe and walked into the karst cave first.

"What are you thinking? Get the yamen runners to guard the prisoners as soon as possible, then follow us into the cave to dig."

Ren Qing sighed helplessly.

It seemed that the so-called "cleaning up the mess" was just a prelude to the high-intensity mining, to keep him from resisting.

Ren Qing really had no choice. If something went wrong in the Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone, he wouldn't even know how he died.

Huang Ziwang also obediently entered the mine, though his expression was grim, almost turning a deep purple.

Thinking about having to dig continuously for at least seven or eight days, he couldn't help but feel terrified.

Under Ren Qing's arrangements, the camp gradually became orderly.

The prisoners were locked in a spacious wooden house under the strict watch of the yamen runners, while the others joined the mining work.

Even the Jailers had to do manual labor, so the yamen runners dared not complain.

Besides, finishing the work meant they could leave sooner. The wilderness was nowhere near as comfortable as Sanxiang City, and the level of danger was incomparable.

The Eerie Objects kept the yamen runners on edge. Just looking at the dozens of nearly insane prisoners was enough to understand the horror.

Not long after Ren Qing entered the karst cave.

He noticed the surrounding stone walls vibrating slightly, accompanied by falling stone dust. There was indeed a risk of collapse.

Seeing this, Ren Qing had the yamen runners order the prisoners to make wooden pillars to support the space inside the karst cave, hoping to buy a little more time.

Then Ren Qing set off for the mine, leaving the camp to Wang Wen.

The Jailers had already started digging with fervor, not bothering to temper themselves, focusing entirely on efficiency.

Song Zongwu's four arms turned into blurs, advancing like a human excavator, sending crushed stones flying behind him like a storm.

Ren Qing threw himself into the mine and began swinging his blade continuously.

After his battle with Song Rong, he had finally barely crossed the threshold of blade technique, and the frequency of his strikes became increasingly stable.

Blade light flashed in all directions.

Ren Qing maneuvered through the narrow mine, his figure seeming to chase the blade light, the sound of air being split gradually echoing.

Unknowingly, Ren Qing's digging speed was quietly catching up to Huang Ziwang, who, seeing this, had to work even harder.

The two of them went all out, to the point where the yamen runners couldn't even keep up with hauling the gravel, so they had to increase the number of wheelbarrows.

This situation continued for five days.

Ren Qing immersed himself in mining, swallowing Pig Eyes to recover his strength whenever he was exhausted.

The Disaster Aversion Forbidden Zone seemed to notice that Camel Peak Mountain was being hollowed out, and its tremors grew increasingly violent.

As a result, the Karst Cave required new cracked wooden pillars to be replaced daily, and the combined manpower of over a hundred yamen runners and prisoners was barely enough.

As Ren Qing dug deeper, the stone walls grew harder, and his blade technique steadily improved.

The Pig Eyes, which should have lasted for months, were visibly dwindling.

Ren Qing simply abused his authority to have the Hunter collect various types of beast eyeballs; since Song Rong was already dead, there was no need to worry about consequences.

He had planned to keep digging until the end, but an unexpected interruption broke his rhythm, forcing him to stop temporarily.

Unexpectedly, the Human Skin Book, through passive cultivation, had touched upon a breakthrough opportunity.

A tingling numbness spread from the inside out across Ren Qing's skin, and even trying to suppress the advancement was impossible.

This would inevitably affect his mining, and over time, the other Forbidden Guards would notice something off.

Fortunately, while staying in the cave, Ren Qing would rest by chatting with Huang Ziwang.

From him, Ren Qing learned that the degree of mutation among Skin Refiners was not high, and they might not even detect it when fighting each other.

Ren Qing then began preparing for the advancement of the Human Skin Book.

He naturally wouldn't do it inside the mine, as he couldn't explain how he could advance on his own, so he had to go outside the Camp.

Taking advantage of the dead of night, Ren Qing went to a spot in the forest he had scouted in advance.

This place was not only remote, but there were no Gu Insects nearby to act as eyes, and due to the Beast Tide, even wild beasts were hard to find.

In the lonely darkness, only the cries of night crows could be heard.

Ren Qing felt a bit uneasy.

Autonomous advancement could easily lead to calamity; fortunately, the risks involved in advancing a low-level technique were not too great.

But what exactly was the ability of a Skin Refiner?

Dear officials, please keep reading. If we make it to Sanjiang, I'll cross-dress—I mean what I say!!!