Cultivation Through Unorthodox Means

The Living Human Skin

Ren Qing felt a rush of blood surge to his head.

He let go of the corpse, letting it crash to the ground, then pressed his foot against the armpit of the body and twisted its arm with force.

Crack.

The sound of bones dislocating rang out as Ren Qing forcibly dismantled the corpse's joints.

"Let's go."

Xiao Wu felt his scalp tingle, but the sheer horror of the moment dulled his fear slightly.

Still, he couldn't shake the eerie feeling that the corpse's hollow eyes held a chilling resentment...

The two of them quickened their pace. Fortunately, nothing strange happened along the way.

By the time they returned to the Fire Worker Hall, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Ren Qing collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. His body was still weak, and he was only holding on thanks to the lingering heat from the pig's eye he had consumed.

After a brief rest, he forced himself up and dragged the corpse toward the furnace in long strides.

"What happened, Officer?"

Li Mian and the others quickly followed. They watched as Ren Qing yanked open the furnace door, revealing the untouched ashes that had accumulated over the past few days. A cloud of dust and bone fragments scattered into the air.

"Light the furnace. This corpse must not remain."

"Understood."

Ren Qing shoved the shopkeeper's body into the furnace with brute force. After stuffing in enough firewood, he shut the furnace door.

Xiao Wu, still trembling from nerves, fumbled with the fire starter, taking several attempts before finally igniting the wood.

As flames flickered to life, the temperature around the furnace rose.

The group let out a collective sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

Before long, the furnace crackled with sharp, popping sounds—the unmistakable noise of body fat melting under the intense heat.

"For the next few days, the four of us will need to work hard. We'll take turns resting and clear out all the corpses in the morgue."

Ren Qing thought about the blood stains left behind by the body. Although the path they took was secluded, it was best to cover their tracks just in case.

"You guys keep an eye on the furnace, and stay alert near the morgue."

With that in mind, he forced himself to his feet, using the heat from the pig's eye to sustain his strength, and walked outside.

Suddenly, a knocking sound echoed from within the furnace, accompanied by faint, agonized wails. The eerie noises sent a chill down their spines.

Ren Qing hesitated for a few moments, but when the sounds ceased, he turned and left.

Wait...

A disturbing thought suddenly struck him. Could it be that the shopkeeper hadn't truly died, that the Eyeless Technique had somehow kept him alive?

No, that wasn't possible. The information stream didn't react—meaning death was certain.

Ren Qing shook off his doubts. Regardless, the corpse was already reduced to ashes.

He carefully followed the trail of blood, using sand and dirt to cover any traces.

The outer walls of the yamen weren't heavily patrolled. As long as things appeared normal from a distance, there was no need to be overly meticulous.

As he worked, Ren Qing checked his information stream:

[Ren Qing]

[Age: Seventeen]

[Lifespan: Five years and eighty-five days]

[Technique: Eyeless Technique]

Though his lifespan had only increased by two or three days, Ren Qing was still satisfied.

The longevity benefits of consuming pig's eyes seemed to take effect gradually. Otherwise, the Hundred-Eyed Monk would have noticed something was amiss.

All he needed to do was continue consuming pig's eyes while monitoring the information stream to determine the optimal consumption rate.

With the immediate threat to his lifespan mitigated, his next priority was mastering a second technique.

The Eyeless Technique suited him well, but relying on it alone to face the supernatural was still too risky.

Should he consider learning the Divine Foot Sutra?

But the beggars practicing that technique were likely under the control of a faction in the western district. Given Ren Qing's current strength, it was far too dangerous to confront them.

After spending nearly half an hour cleaning, Ren Qing reached the outer walls. Just as he was about to return the way he came—

He suddenly sensed an overwhelming presence, as if a predator had locked onto him.

Instinctively, he dropped to the ground, pressing himself flat while scanning his surroundings with his peripheral vision.

In the distance, a tall figure walked toward the eastern section of the yamen.

The person wore light armor and a bamboo hat, with a three-foot-long sword strapped to their waist. In their hands, they carried something made of bloody, tattered leather.

Ren Qing's eyes lingered on the token hanging from the sword's sheath. It bore the engraved character "*" (Prohibition).

A Forbidden Guard...

This was the first time Ren Qing had encountered a Forbidden Guard. Whether dealing with corpses or working within the yamen, he had never once heard of anyone interacting with them.

In fact, he suspected that the yamen had been divided into four separate sections—leaving the central Forbidden Guard Hall untouched—specifically due to their presence.

His gaze shifted to the leather object in the Forbidden Guard's hands. The longer he stared, the more his eyes ached from strain.

The object dripped with fresh blood and squirmed like a living creature, struggling to break free.

But the Forbidden Guard held it in an iron grip.

Ren Qing's mouth fell open in disbelief.

The more he looked, the more it resembled human skin.

Living human skin?!!

This world truly had an eerie and twisted nature.

Once the Forbidden Guard disappeared from sight, Ren Qing remained prone for a long while before finally dragging his exhausted body back to the Fire Worker Hall.

For the next two days, the furnace never stopped burning.

By the time the last three fire workers' corpses turned to ash, the bottom of the furnace was layered with thick gray dust and scattered bone fragments.

The yamen bailiffs came to collect the ashes, though what they intended to do with them remained unknown.

During this time, the western district was eerily quiet—not a single death was reported.

But in other sections of the yamen, corpses were carried in and out daily.

From what Ren Qing gathered, over a dozen people had died in the eastern district—all of them decapitated, their bodies arranged in kneeling positions.

He suspected it was the work of the Hundred-Eyed One.

If Ren Qing were the Hundred-Eyed One, he would avoid the western district while deliberately taking heads to confuse investigations, hiding the fact that he needed human eyes.

If that was the case, the perpetrator likely assumed the Eyeless Technique had fallen into the yamen's hands—completely unaware that Ren Qing had taken it for himself.

With his days spent tending the furnace and honing his cultivation, Ren Qing rarely visited the butcher shop.

Aside from gathering information on the Eyeless Technique, he noticed rising tensions within the yamen—but he had no time to investigate further.

His secluded cultivation yielded great results.

Ren Qing had mastered entering the meditative state for the Eyeless Technique, though he limited himself to an hour at a time.

Any longer, and the darkness in his vision would become terrifyingly deep, triggering an overwhelming urge to gouge out his own eyes.

He also confirmed the optimal pattern for consuming pig's eyes—one every three hours.

At this rate, he could extend his lifespan by four to five days per day.

Though slow, it was enough to keep death at bay.

Now, Ren Qing no longer looked frail and sickly—his vitality had noticeably improved.

But Xiao Wu and the others began giving him strange looks.

Eating raw pig's eyes several times a day... What kind of bizarre habit was that?

After finishing his study of the Eyeless Technique, Ren Qing considered heading to the yamen's martial arts field.

Even if he couldn't find clues to new techniques, learning some external martial arts for self-defense wouldn't hurt.