Ren Qing's expression was solemn.
What surprised him the most was that "Dao Gives Birth to Dao" was displayed in a very strange position in the information stream. Unlike Wogu, it was actually independent of the arts.
[Arts: The Taotie Method (Prison Within the Abdomen), The Blindless Method (Double Pupils...)]
[Dao Gives Birth to Dao (Fragment)]
After Ren Qing's consciousness made contact, information indicating a consumption of lifespan did appear.
[Complete "Dao Gives Birth to Dao"? Will consume five years of lifespan]
He felt inexplicably confused from beginning to end. Could it be that the Supernatural Remnant of "Dao Gives Birth to Dao" was colorless and formless, merging into his body without a trace?
And Ren Qing had a feeling that "Dao Gives Birth to Dao" might not even be an art...
If it were a curse, why would the information stream prompt him to complete it? And upon careful inspection of his flesh, blood, and bones, there were no abnormalities at all.
Since he had doubts in his heart, he naturally would not go so far as to consume five years of lifespan.
Ren Qing came back to his senses. Inside the Prison Within the Abdomen, Woya Ye had suddenly died of exhaustion without any warning. Everything carried a trace of abnormality.
Ren Qing planned to seek help from the Yin Runner realm. He immediately took out the bone key and drew a door path on the City God Temple wall, entering directly.
He looked at the falling ghost rain, then took out a feather from his bosom.
This was a mortise feather, used specifically to contact Mortise, with the same function as a blood heart, but it was a one-time-use magical artifact.
During the execution of certain missions, if a Nether Crow self-destructed, it would leave behind this artifact. Great Dream Pavilion also sold them, and the price was not considered expensive.
Once the mortise feather came into contact with blood, it began to burn for no reason.
As the smoke drifted away, a massive black shadow howled in from the distance, slamming into the ribcage upon landing, creating a deep pit.
Seeing this, Ren Qing let out a breath of relief.
Under normal circumstances, using a mortise feather, unless someone like Song Zongwu had notified in advance, would only attract a Nether Crow, then one would write the information on a note and let it carry it away.
Mortise's bird beak let out a cry.
"Little Ren Qing, happened to be free, caught the scent of your blood and came over."
Ren Qing had a complicated expression. Was this considered being targeted by Mortise?
But there were both pros and cons. At least among the three Yin Runner realm quotas needed to officially become a Restraint Officer, more than half should already be settled.
Ren Qing thought for a moment, then explained everything about the two people Woya Ye and Wogu, and also gave a general recounting of the dream.
And after Wogu's death, he felt that something strange seemed to have occurred in his body.
Mortise's expression didn't change at all. The bird beak pecked at the flesh on Ren Qing's shoulder, then closed its eyes as if examining carefully.
Ren Qing felt a little uneasy, on the one hand because he had mastered too many arts, and on the other, if it involved something like a curse, it would be very troublesome.
After a long while, Mortise opened its eyes and said in a strange tone, "Your flesh tastes terrible, it feels like too much seasoning was added."
Ren Qing gave an awkward laugh.
"Don't worry, if it's a curse, it cannot hide within the Restraint Officers' Hall, unless it exceeds the Yang God realm's scope."
Ren Qing thought that made sense. How could a blind Daoist possibly be involved with the Heavenly Abomination realm?
Moreover, the information stream did respond to "Dao Gives Birth to Dao," so maybe it was just a strange form of art.
Mortise muttered to itself: "If Annan Town is connected to Bazi Village, it's very likely that a rogue cultivator was raising anomalies."
Ren Qing, however, had a different view.
From Bazi Village alone, one could tell that the Supernatural Remnant of the Immortal in the Mirror had been taken there by Old Man Ren, and then the blind Daoist had separated and placed them apart.
What the purpose was, who knew? The man's brain was already damaged, whether to kill or save someone was a matter of a single thought.
Mortise nodded in response: "Similar things aren't uncommon, but mainly concentrated in the towns around Sanxiang."
"Some cultivators who rely on consuming Supernatural Remnants, after losing their path forward, will use unorthodox methods in an attempt to advance."
"So that's how it is."
Ren Qing's mouth twitched. Hearing the words 'unorthodox methods' coming from a Restraint Officer always gave him a feeling of tonal mismatch.
Mortise plucked out a few feathers: "The task is temporarily complete. Next it'll be handled by the Restraint Officer of Annan City. Ren Qing, you just make sure the imperial examination proceeds safely."
"Mortise feathers can be used in the present world as well, they'll alert nearby Restraint Officers."
"Thank you, Senior Mortise."
Ren Qing hurriedly received the mortise feathers. Seeing Mortise's indifferent attitude, it was clear it didn't consider the blind Daoist a serious matter.
He knew his status within the Restraint Officers' Hall was not high. Even if his talent was recognized, a reserve officer was still just a reserve officer.
Resources couldn't be compared to those of formal Restraint Officers.
A small idea arose in Ren Qing's heart. He couldn't help but tentatively ask: "Senior Mortise, do you think I could become a Restraint Officer ahead of schedule?"
Mortise's wings flapped several times in succession, stirring up howling winds.
Ren Qing thought there was no chance at all, but then heard Mortise continue, "I had thought you were calm and unhurried, but turns out you're just for show."
"Yesterday, Song Zongwu gave me the token in advance. It already has the seals of two Yin Runner realms. As for the last one, you figure it out."
A look of joy appeared on Ren Qing's face. If it were only for the monthly stipend, a delay wouldn't matter much, but it also involved artifact forging.
If he wanted to quickly master artifact forging, he'd inevitably have to enter the fourth floor of the Secret Pavilion. Next time, bribing with blood crystals might not work anymore.
"Give it to me."
Mortise spat out a token from its beak.
He briefly explained the use of the token, then left the ribcage area.
Ren Qing played with the token in his palm, feeling that its material was quite heavy, completely different from the one for reserve officers.
After a close inspection, he found that the front of the token was engraved with the character for "Restraint", but the color was pure white.
There was also a hole in the lower right corner..
The characters on official Restraint Officer tokens were silver-white, and as the number of anomalous encounters increased, the color would grow deeper, eventually turning dark gold after reaching the Yin Runner realm.
On the reverse side of the token, one could see some mysterious patterns. At the center were two images: a fierce-looking evil ghost and a wing-spread crow, likely representing Song Zongwu and Mortise, the two Yin Runner realms.
As for the imprint of the third Yin Runner realm, Ren Qing already had a plan.
After all, in front of the Great Dream True Person, he'd already lost all face. Might as well wait until the ghost market opens next month and sound out the senior again.
The token had another practical use: it was forged from a material called "Houtu Stone." The greater the weight applied, the more its hardness would increase.
Ren Qing took out a blood crystal and embedded it into the hole deliberately left in the token's corner, thus activating the Houtu Stone's effect.
As the blood crystals accumulated, the token would be able to resist small-scale attacks, counting as a life-protecting artifact in critical moments.
Ren Qing casually stowed the Restraint Officer token and then returned to the Corpse Burners' Hall.
After all, with the imperial exam approaching, he had begun deliberately slowing his pace of cultivation and shifting focus toward the techniques of artifact forging.
Although the materials were all mundane iron, the main goal was to practice technique.
During this period, Ren Qing used the wolf's blood bought from the Great Dream Pavilion to cultivate the Divine Leg Sutra. The effect was surprisingly good, though the aftereffects were significant.
The wolf blood definitely came from a Restraint Officer who had cultivated some kind of art. After eating it raw, he only felt waves of warmth emanating from his stomach.
If taken in excess, even Ren Qing almost couldn't control the tendency toward mutation.
This kind of mutation was different from the Divine Leg Sutra.
It was primarily influenced by the blood of other arts. Theoretically, by consuming large quantities, one could gain strength surpassing the Ghost Envoy realm.