Su Ming did not pay attention to the bald crane tempting Hu Zi. At that moment, all his attention was focused on his eyes. He stared at the Heavenly Incense Rune thousands of feet away and sank into deep thought.
The Heavenly Incense Rune could break a clone's soul and even give it its own will. This made Su Ming incredibly apprehensive. In fact, he had a vague feeling that the Rune … seemed to be specifically targeted against Abyss Builders.
Even though all the Almighties in the world had clones, the Abyss Builders were the most unfathomable when it came to creating clones. In fact, it could be said that the Abyss Builders' clones took up most of the cultivation base of this race.
Relying on their clones to increase their level of cultivation was a principle unique to Abyss Builders. This was something the other cultivators could not hope to compare to. In fact, they were incredibly envious of them.
In silence, Su Ming turned his head around and cast a glance at the clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole. He was certain that he had wiped off the will that was born in this clone and fused it back into his soul.
However, once he thought about the Heavenly Incense Rune, a barely noticeable glint shone in Su Ming's eyes. He lifted his right hand and pointed at the clone. Immediately, his divine sense shot out with a bang and fused into the clone's body. Once he searched through it carefully, he did not find any clues.
No matter how he looked at it, the clone was the exact same as before he came to the Heavenly Incense Rune. It completely belonged to Su Ming, and the feeling that it was a part of him was incredibly clear.
This scene caused Su Ming to frown slightly.
'Could it be that I'm being too paranoid?' Su Ming pondered over it for a moment, then sent a divine thought to the clone. Immediately, the clone's eyes sparkled, and he stood up slowly. Following Su Ming's will, he moved and was about to leave the Heavenly Incense Rune's area when Su Ming suddenly sent another divine thought.
His divine thought controlled the clone to move back, but at the instant he sent it out, the clone did not stop. Instead, he charged out of the Heavenly Incense Rune's area and turned into a long arc, intending to charge into the distance.
A freezing glare shone in Su Ming's eyes. With a cold harrumph, he was about to chase after the clone, but at that moment, the nine Heavenly Incenses from the Heavenly Incense Rune shuddered. With it, a large amount of ripples spread out, and the wisps of smoke that drifted out from the two burning Heavenly Incenses sank down swiftly. They surrounded the area and instantly blocked the path between Su Ming and the clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole.
At the same time, a vast, mighty pressure spread out from the Heavenly Incense Rune. When it appeared, Su Ming's soul immediately felt as if it had sunk into mud, and in his jerky state, he started feeling drowsy.
Even though it only lasted for the span of a few breaths before Su Ming recovered, the delay allowed the clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole to leave into the distance.
A freezing glare appeared in Su Ming's eyes, but he did not continue chasing after it. Instead, he watched the clone leave into the distance. Hu Zi was stunned by this scene, and he looked as if he could not quite understand what had happened.
'As expected, there's a problem. Once the Heavenly Incense Rune's soul is broken, it won't be easy for it to gather together again. Not only has the clone gained an independent will, he has also learned to be cunning. Judging by the way he handled this matter, it's very similar to mine. He might have already made preparations before I came and set up quite a number of backups … But if he had made preparations a long time ago, why would he stay here? He could have just left …' Su Ming stared at the spot where the clone had disappeared, and a cold sneer appeared at the corners of his lips, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.
'But I wonder whether the consciousness born from the clone will be able to find the marks I left on him … I'd like to see just where the clone will go once he gains an independent will.' A freezing glare shone in Su Ming's eyes. He turned around and no longer bothered about the clone, who had already disappeared without a trace. Instead, he cast his gaze on the Heavenly Incense Rune.
'This Rune has existed in this place for many years. I wonder … whether Su Xuan Yi has come here before … Logically speaking, he should have come here before, but the possibility of his real self coming here is next to none. After all, his real self is sealed in the isolation grounds of Morning Dao Sect. If that's the case, then the one who came here must have been his clone.
'If that's the case … I don't know how many clones Su Xuan Yi has, but the clone who came to investigate this place in the past clearly possessed an independent will.
'This Rune … might not be intentionally targeted at Abyss Builders, but its effect is the greatest against them. After all, even if the clones of other cultivators did not come here, they would still face the possibility of gaining their own will and suffering a backlash. They would need to refine their clones once in a while.
'But it's different for Abyss Builders. In fact, they have very few methods to refine their clones, because Abyss Builders do not need to refine their clones. Once they Possess them, they can form a clone, and theoretically speaking, this clone will never suffer a backlash or have an independent will, because in truth … there is no difference between the real body and the clone!
'If there is truly a difference, then let's make a comparison. The soul of an Abyss Builder is like a person's body, and the clone is like a set of clothes. That's all!' Su Ming's eyes sparkled. He walked slowly towards the Heavenly Incense Rune. He was no longer in a hurry to leave. The strangeness of the Heavenly Incense Rune had attracted his attention.
'When the three Heavenly Incense Sticks burned …' When Su Ming took a step forward, he lifted his right hand and seized the air in the direction of the one hundred thousand cultivators meditating not too far away. One of them shuddered and turned into a long arc that charged towards Su Ming. Su Ming pushed his palm against the top of his skull, and his divine sense surged in to search through the person's memories. After the span of a few breaths, Su Ming let go. He did not injure the cultivator in the slightest bit and sent him back to his original spot. Su Ming had already obtained the answer he wanted.
'When the clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole came here and was about to leave, the third incense stick was extinguished. So that's how it is, but in truth, when the clone approached this place, he had already lost contact with me.
'The nine Heavenly Incense Sticks were originally burning, but now, seven of them have been extinguished. Could it be that the Heavenly Incense Rune's extinguishment is not only related to time, but also because … it can allow a clone to gain its own will. Seven incense sticks can allow seven clones to gain their own will.
'But that's not right either. The Heavenly Incense Rune has been here for countless years, and I don't know how many clones have gained their own will in this place. If all of them had extinguished along with the Heavenly Incense, then there would have been no more Heavenly Incense burning in this place a long time ago.
'This … is either my guess is wrong, or I need to fulfill a certain requirement, such as only the Abyss Builders' clones. Or perhaps there is also a requirement for my level of cultivation, or perhaps there are other requirements. 'As Su Ming took a step forward, he arrived at a spot that was nearly one thousand feet away from the nine Heavenly Incense sticks.
At the instant he stepped into the place, a ripple of power erupted from his body, instantly causing Su Ming's thoughts to come to a halt. He no longer thought about anything else, because from the ripple of power that no one else could see, Su Ming sensed that he had reached a breakthrough in Fate Realm. His level of cultivation had entered Life Realm in a false manner.
Waves of epiphanies belonging to Life Realm filled Su Ming's mind, but if he searched for them carefully, he would find nothing.
In silence, Su Ming frowned. The closer he got to the Heavenly Incense Rune, the more warning he felt. It was as if there was a secret between the Heavenly Incense Rune and his clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole. This secret was related to why the clone had not left once he gained his own will. Instead, he had waited for Su Ming's arrival.
However, Su Ming could not understand this connection.
His expression was dark. He cast a glance at the Heavenly Incense Rune, then decided to take a few steps forward. When he was nearly five hundred feet away from the Heavenly Incense Rune, his cultivation base let out a bang, and he reached a breakthrough from Life Realm to Death Realm. This level of cultivation gave Su Ming an incredibly realistic feeling, as if … he had truly reached that Realm.
When the ripple of power from the ring on his right hand spread out, Su Ming instantly recovered from the illusion. A glint appeared in his eyes, and when he lifted his head to look at the nine Heavenly Incenses, he lifted his right hand, and the ring on his index finger shone with a powerful white light. That light spread outwards swiftly and turned into a layer of white ripple that spread through the nine Heavenly Incenses in a forceful manner. At the instant the ripple swam through the nine Heavenly Incenses, Su Ming's gaze focused on the third incense.
Su Ming saw a presence that was the exact same as his own in the third Heavenly Incense. That presence was hidden in the third Heavenly Incense, as if it was continuously analyzing him as Su Ming's cultivation base increased exponentially, and it was … copying him to a certain degree!
'No wonder the clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole still waited for me here even though he already possessed his own consciousness. He must have predicted that I would definitely come, and he needed me to come.
'Because he wanted to lure me here so that the Heavenly Incense that was extinguished because of him would copy my cultivation base and my future path of cultivation. Once it copied my cultivation base, it would definitely use a unique method for my clone to sense it. By doing so, it would be the same as giving him a path of cultivation that was the same as mine.
'It would also give the clone the possibility to surpass me.' Su Ming's experiences over the years had tempered his mind to the point that it was as sharp as a monster's. At that moment, when he connected all the suspicious points together, he instantly came up with the truth and answer.
"Copy … clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole. I created you. You are the body I formed after I Possessed the Crimson Python Phoenix. The Body Refinement Art you practiced became stronger, and you went through many changes to repair the flaws in your life. When I devoured an Ancient God, I perfected your physical body. From the beginning until the end, I created you step by step.
"You're just a clone, and yet you dare to be so ambitious towards me? You want to copy my future path? I'd like to see whether this Heavenly Incense Rune has the right to copy me completely. If you can truly copy me completely, then I don't want this clone. I'll give you an independent serendipity!" Pride appeared on Su Ming's face. After experiencing all the things in his life, when Su Ming said those words, there was a confidence in them.
This was the confidence that a cultivator and a powerful warrior must possess.
I recommend the novel, Divine Dream Disaster. I'm limited in space, so I won't be writing an introduction. You can go read it and support it.
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