The Secret Way of Immortality

Ren Qing felt a slight headache; acquiring the Egg of the Heavenly Dao was indeed a significant problem.

The pond was out of the question…

Even if there was an Egg of the Heavenly Dao at the bottom of the water, there were simply too many Heavenly Dao worm larvae.

Currently, the Egg of the Heavenly Dao was most likely in the residence of a core disciple of the Wuwei Taoist Temple, which was the Wuwei Hall deep within the pond.

But the Wuwei Hall was too far from the Fire Refining Palace, making it difficult to ensure safety along the way.

If he were to rely on the corpses drifting downstream for luck, he didn't know how long that would take.

Ren Qing scratched his head.

With the reproductive capabilities of the Heavenly Dao worms, the Eggs of the Heavenly Dao in the original Wuwei Taoist Temple were definitely not rare, probably granted upon entering.

But now, wanting to cultivate the Heavenly Dao Dharma was firmly stuck at the first step.

Ren Qing pondered for a long time, gradually forming an idea in his mind, but he would deal with the Shadowless Ghost and the Heavenly Dao Dharma first.

He summoned the information stream and consumed thirty days of lifespan to master the "Shadowless Ghost".

After this period of cultivation, Ren Qing had accumulated another five years of lifespan, but it was a pity that he had been intermittently unable to devour eyes, otherwise he could have tried to advance to the Ghost Envoy realm.

The Shadowless Ghost's transformation was mainly concentrated in the shadow, without much pain.

Ren Qing only felt that some of the blood from his feet was inexplicably absorbed, and then the Shadowless Ghost reached the Martial Practitioner realm.

He suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind.

His main body opened the door and came to the aisle, the shadow against the wall gradually lengthening.

Ren Qing closed his eyes and tried to control the ghost shadow.

He thought he would not be able to sense the ghost shadow, but unexpectedly, it was as easy as moving his own limbs.

It was likely because he was in the Stomach-within-a-Stomach, consuming lifespan to advance, that his control over the Shadowless Ghost was tighter than he imagined.

However, the shadow only extended half a meter before stopping, its speed was relatively slow, and its movements seemed somewhat stiff.

Currently, movement was still limited to flat surfaces, making the Shadowless Ghost's effect lackluster.

Ren Qing frowned slightly.

He tried to get the shadow to lift heavy objects, which was not bad.

The ghost shadow proved that it was not entirely useless, but it was powerless beyond ten pounds, indicating the limitations of the technique.

Ren Qing also couldn't summon the ghost shadow in a dark environment; at least there had to be a little light around.

He knew he couldn't ask too much of the Shadowless Ghost, after all, it had just reached the Martial Practitioner realm, and the potential of many techniques would only be unleashed during the Strange Change stage.

He glanced at his side, and the ghost shadow drilled back under his feet and disappeared.

The Little Man in a Bottle poked his head out, observing Ren Qing's strange behavior.

However, when the Little Man in a Bottle saw that Ren Qing hadn't moved for a long time, he lost interest and soon disappeared to who knows where.

Ren Qing carefully pondered the three transformation routes of the Shadowless Ghost.

【Shadow Person: Shadow and Person United】

【Shadow Warrior: Ghost Shadow Possession】

【Shadow Striker: Ghost Shadow as Weapon】

First, he eliminated the Shadow Striker, as this transformation route should be similar to the Spinal Column User, causing the ghost shadow to form a magical weapon.

But Ren Qing's ghost shadow was mainly used to parasitize the Heavenly Dao worms, and after being transformed into a magical weapon, it would no longer be flesh and blood, likely having no effect.

The Shadow Person also felt a bit forced to him.

Fusing the ghost shadow with the cultivator themselves, wouldn't that be directly transferring the Heavenly Dao worms into the main body? Thinking about it, he decided against it.

Finally, only the Shadow Warrior remained, but Ren Qing couldn't help but have concerns.

For safety's sake, he simply had his divided soul quietly make a trip to the Secret Pavilion, specifically finding books recording the Shadowless Ghost to check.

During this time, the divided soul was almost discovered by the prison guard, but fortunately, it was a narrow escape.

However, Ren Qing noticed that the head in the jar in the Secret Pavilion seemed to look at him strangely.

After verification, Ren Qing completely understood the Shadowless Ghost.

The transformation route of the Shadow Person was closely related to the shadow; the Ghost Envoy realm was called the "Hundred Shadow Demon Soul", capable of collecting the shadows of others.

The Hundred Shadow Demon Soul could briefly borrow the abilities of cultivators by collecting their shadows, and enhance the ghost shadow within itself.

This transformation route had strong growth potential, suitable for cultivators with a single technique.

As for the Shadow Striker, it was indeed as Ren Qing expected; its ability was to transform the ghost shadow into a magical weapon, and its attack methods mainly acted on the enemy's shadow.

It was somewhat like cursing with voodoo dolls, using the shadow to interfere with the main body.

The Shadow Warrior was the most suitable for Ren Qing; not only would the ghost shadow grow flesh and blood after advancement, but it could also briefly possess his body to strengthen his physique.

In this way, the Skin Refiner's transfer of injuries could also be well utilized.

Ren Qing returned to his room, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and spent a year of lifespan, allowing the Shadowless Ghost to transform again.

The ghost shadow clearly had a physical form; it actively climbed onto Ren Qing's body, frantically absorbing blood to complete its advancement.

Ren Qing did not stop it.

After advancing to the Ghost Envoy realm, the blood in his body was as thick as mercury; a drop of blood was worth a hundred drops of ordinary people.

The ghost shadow conveyed the idea of being full after absorbing dozens of drops, and then it returned to calm, with no visible difference in its appearance.

Ren Qing closed his eyes and felt the abilities of the ghost shadow, unable to help but shake his head.

The ghost shadow's functionality actually overlapped with the Dragon Serpent Spine; its speed and sharpness were far inferior to the Dragon Serpent Spine, but its concealment was stronger.

Ren Qing tried to have the ghost shadow possess him.

The ghost shadow then separated a little and slowly combined with his right arm, his muscles suddenly swelling, and his skin turning dark black.

Ren Qing waved lightly, and an explosion echoed in the air.

His strength had increased at least threefold, and that wasn't even counting the ghost shadow's complete possession.

The reason the effect was so good was mainly because the surroundings were relatively dim; if it were in the sunny, scorching sun, the ghost shadow's possession would be discounted to a certain extent.

What surprised Ren Qing the most was that after the ghost shadow possessed him, it would comprehensively strengthen his body, including his skin, flesh, and bones.

He took out the Great Miao Saber and slashed across his right arm, leaving a bloody wound.

Ren Qing had used more than 50% of his strength, and the wound should have been an inch deep, but now it could barely break the skin.

He transferred the wound to the ghost shadow, which twisted its body like flowing water.

The ghost shadow was actually not seriously injured; it was mainly unaccustomed to the sudden pain, so it quickly calmed down.

The Ghost Warrior, after advancing to the Ghost Envoy realm, was called the "Yin Ghost Demon Shadow"; its strengthening of the body during possession would be greatly enhanced.

As long as it was in the darkness, the Yin Ghost Demon Shadow would be immortal and indestructible, and could not be killed by ordinary means.

Coupled with the Substitute Ghost Skin, it perfectly compensated for Ren Qing's defensive weaknesses.

If combined with the All-Seeing Eyes User advancing to the Yin Official realm's Dark Nightmare Lord, he could even be invincible in a short period of time.

Ren Qing nodded secretly, and summoned the information stream about himself.

【Ren Qing】

【Age: Eighteen】

【Lifespan: Four Years and Sixty-Seven Days】

【Techniques: Gluttonous Art (Stomach Prison), Eyeless Art (Twin Nightmare Demon), Human Skin Book (Skin Refiner), Armor Plating Skill (Spinal Column User), Immortal in the Mirror (Mirror User), Shadowless Ghost (Ghost Warrior)】

【Dao Begets Dao (Master of Dao)】

He frowned slightly; mastering too many techniques would cause the information to be crowded together; if only he could change the display…

As soon as Ren Qing had the idea, the words in front of him began to intertwine.

After he touched it with his consciousness, he noticed that he could indeed make limited changes, but he couldn't affect the accuracy of the content.

Finally, he categorized the techniques.

【Ghost Envoy Realm Techniques: Gluttonous Art (Stomach Prison), Eyeless Art (Twin Nightmare Demon), Divine Foot Sutra (Calamity Wolf)】

【Half-Corpse Realm Techniques: Human Skin Book (Skin Refiner), Armor Plating Skill (Spinal Column User), Immortal in the Mirror (Mirror User), Shadowless Ghost (Ghost Warrior)】

【Strange Change: Gluttonous Art (Warden)】

Ren Qing canceled the information stream; he faintly felt that the connections formed between the techniques would be of great use at higher realms.

The Shadowless Ghost had already reached the Half-Corpse realm and could be used as a parasitic host for the Heavenly Dao worms.

To be on the safe side, he planned to have the Shadowless Ghost maintain realm suppression over the Heavenly Dao Dharma, so as not to be affected by the Heavenly Dao worms.

Ren Qing's divided soul entered the Stomach Prison and checked the twelve Heavenly Dao Dharma books obtained from the Wuwei Taoist Temple's Secret Collection Pavilion.

He planned to choose a Heavenly Dao Dharma for the Shadowless Ghost.

But after Ren Qing flipped through all of them, he was still somewhat dissatisfied.

All twelve Heavenly Dao Dharma books involved the body's internal organs; in the words of the Wuwei Taoist Temple, it was to recreate immortal bones, but they were not suitable for the Shadowless Ghost.

The Heavenly Dao Dharma suitable for the Shadowless Ghost should be unorthodox.

Ren Qing pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache; if he really couldn't find it, then he would have to use the Profound Heaven Dharma to start.

He braced himself and checked the scattered technique books he had collected, hoping to find useful clues.

When he picked up a few pages, Ren Qing's expression showed surprise.

Although there wasn't much content, the lines revealed that the technique was named "Netherworld Skill", which, simply put, was to place the Egg of the Heavenly Dao in the stomach to cultivate it.

The Netherworld Skill was somewhat incompatible with other Heavenly Dao Dharma, and it was likely created by the Heavenly Dao Son for the Shadowless Ghost.

Like the Profound Heaven Dharma, it also belonged to the direct lineage of the Wuwei Taoist Temple.

However, since it was placed in the Secret Collection Pavilion, it meant that there were still disciples in the Wuwei Taoist Temple who would cultivate the Netherworld Skill.

Ren Qing narrowed his eyes; it seemed he had to go to the Wuwei Hall.

As for how to cross the water, he set his sights on the entry-level Dharma.

The entry-level Dharma would make the physique adapt to the Egg of the Heavenly Dao, laying the foundation for cultivating the Heavenly Dao Dharma, and perhaps it could indirectly reduce the hostility of the Heavenly Dao worms.

Ren Qing quickly found the entry-level Dharma of the Netherworld Skill, called the "Nether Sea Qi Brewing Method".

The ghost shadow could temporarily leave the body; pulling it into the Wuwei Taoist Temple shouldn't be a problem.

However, the Nether Sea Qi Brewing Method was cultivated by the ghost shadow; before mastering it, the information stream couldn't consume lifespan to advance.

Ren Qing had to slowly figure it out.

He first suppressed the strange object of the Immortal in the Mirror with the Little Man in a Bottle, and then used the illusion of the Mirror User to create a cultivation environment for the ghost shadow.

As more than half of the room turned into undulating water waves, the ghost shadow soaked in it, cultivating according to a specific breathing frequency.

The ghost shadow's intelligence was insufficient to master the entry-level Dharma, so Ren Qing's divided soul had to control it.

After cultivating for a few days, it actually had some effect.

Under Ren Qing's intervention, the rippling water waves gradually kept pace with the ghost shadow's breathing.

He was excited and patiently continued to help the ghost shadow cultivate the Nether Sea Qi Brewing Method.

Unknowingly, more than half a month passed in a flash.

The Shadowless Ghost's talent could be described as extremely dull; under normal circumstances, it would have mastered it long ago, but it had only just entered the door.

The harvest from cultivation was that its toughness had increased slightly.

Now it depended on whether it was useful against the Heavenly Dao worms.