Ren Qing was just about to speak to confirm the situation when a wooden door suddenly appeared on the artificial rock formation without warning, slowly opening.
Through the crack in the door, one could faintly see ink-like darkness, as if hiding all manner of demons and monsters.
Everyone's expressions turned grave, while Song Zongwu's face showed more amusement, his six blood-red eyes emitting faint light.
When the wooden door fully opened, the darkness inside seemed ready to devour everything around it. Even Ren Qing couldn't see clearly through it.
Song Zongwu said in a low voice: "You may enter."
Ren Qing frowned. Why did the Restraint Officers' Hall feel so... underworldly?
Why would reserve selection be held here?
Seeing the warning in Song Zongwu's eyes, Ren Qing stepped directly through the wooden door.
Suffocating darkness immediately swallowed Ren Qing, creating a feeling even more deathly silent than when visualizing the Blindless Method.
After hesitating briefly, the other cultivators followed one by one. Having become useless within their gangs, they might as well gamble on this opportunity.
Zhang Qiu didn't stop the snake-person youth, who nervously flicked his tongue before also entering the endless darkness.
As the wooden door slowly closed, the entire door abruptly disappeared as if it had never existed.
Song Zongwu and the other Restraint Officers showed no surprise at this and each went their separate ways.
In the darkness.
Ren Qing quickly lost his bearings, even using his double pupils proved useless.
But he didn't panic excessively. After all, the reserve position was just the Restraint Officers' recruitment method, it couldn't be so difficult as to be life-threatening.
Ren Qing also didn't sense any movement around him. Perhaps he was trapped in some kind of technique.
Steadying his mind, he stretched out his hands to feel his surroundings.
Though still finding nothing, he at least confirmed he was no longer in the yamen. This method was likely how the Restraint Officers' Hall had been preserved for so long.
Unable to resist, Ren Qing took a step forward. His mind filled with images of falling, making his movements hesitant.
But he adjusted within moments, taking several consecutive steps which proved the fear stemmed only from the darkness.
Ren Qing gradually quickened his pace while using the great Miao Blade as a blind man's cane, slowly feeling his way deeper into the darkness.
After a while, he suddenly stopped.
From what the great Miao Blade touched, there seemed to be a pit ahead, though it might just be an illusion from the darkness.
Ren Qing wasn't fooled, privately guessing this was just the Restraint Officers' Hall testing their mental fortitude. As long as he overcame fear...
Without hesitation, Ren Qing stepped forward, then his expression changed dramatically.
His weightless body fell downward. The wind rushing past his face confirmed this was no illusion, he was truly plummeting at terrifying speed.
Ren Qing desperately adjusted his posture but still landed headfirst, his bones creaking under the strain.
Blood flowed from his nose as dizziness overwhelmed him.
Ren Qing quickly used his Leather Refiner ability to transfer the injuries to his thighs, somewhat alleviating the dizziness so it no longer affected his thinking.
Then he stood up and looked around.
What greeted him was actually a prison cell, with Ren Qing as its prisoner.
But eerily, three walls of the cell appeared dark red with blackish-brown spots.
Like a corpse gradually rotting after death, developing cadaveric spots.
Looking up, the ceiling showed no hole, meaning he must have arrived here through some technique.
The bars enclosing him were equally horrifying, deathly white like bloodless blood vessels.
"What kind of hellish place is this?"
Ren Qing looked utterly confused. Was this the so-called Restraint Officers' Hall? It felt more like being inside a giant corpse.
An odd sense of familiarity washed over him.
Peering through the blood-vessel-like bars, he could see a corridor lined with countless prison cells under the blue-flame candlelight hanging on the walls.
The cells appeared empty, with no sign of the other cultivators.
Ren Qing tried prying open the vessel-like bars, but his bare hands accomplished nothing.
He then squatted slightly, right hand gripping the great Miao Blade's hilt.
Clang!!!
A crisp unsheathing sound rang out as the blade flashed coldly against the vessel bars, but left not even a shallow mark.
After brief hesitation, Ren Qing chose not to activate his werewolf form. Who knew if the Restraint Officers could observe his actions here?
Ren Qing exhaled deeply.
Since this was reserve selection, they couldn't possibly keep him imprisoned here long.
He sat cross-legged to wait. Soon enough, something unusual occurred.
Pitch-black, viscous blood flowed through the vessel bars, bringing the walls to life as they began squirming.
Then Ren Qing noticed the wall before him collapsing inward, faintly revealing a humanoid outline.
The figure inside seemed desperate to escape, its face twisted grotesquely.
With each blood flow about ten minutes apart, the figure emerged further until most of its body was free.
From its appearance, Ren Qing could tell:
Though humanoid, it more resembled an ape, covered in fur with arms so long they reached its knees.
Ren Qing gripped his blade with both hands, ready to strike at any moment.
Just as his focus peaked, he suddenly remembered something, pupils dilating sharply.
Flesh?
Prison?
Taotie Method?!!
Ren Qing immediately pressed his palm against the wall and actively summoned the information stream.
[???]
[Age: 843]
[Lifespan: 235 years]
[Technique: Taotie Method (Avici Hell)???]
[???]
[The Taotie Method was inscribed within the stomach of the mythical Taotie beast, obtained by the Meat and Wine Taoist. Practicing this method requires massive food consumption until the stomach expands over sixfold to achieve mastery.]
[Avici Hell evolved from Eternal Prison]
This Restraint Officer who mastered the Taotie Method had at least Yang God Realm cultivation to survive centuries.
Ren Qing swallowed hard.
Realizing he was inside a Restraint Officer's stomach did make his scalp tingle with the urge to flee immediately.
But the prison's decaying condition revealed clues.
This Taotie Method practitioner was likely near death, possibly vegetative for over a century already.
Otherwise, cadaveric spots wouldn't appear, and the ten-minute blood flow intervals must match the Restraint Officer's heartbeat.
Of course, this was just speculation. Becoming a reserve would provide real answers.
If this truly was the Restraint Officers' Hall, its scale must be unimaginably vast, enough to contain Supernatural Remnants.
Ren Qing never expected Secondary Stomach could reach such levels at Yang God Realm.
Even a Ghost Envoy Realm's stomach prison could likely hold ordinary people, truly tempting.
The blood flowed again.
The figure was nearly free, its murderous intent now palpable as that twisted face pressed close.
But what caught Ren Qing's attention most were the strange patterns on the figure's skin.