Chapter 197: Reincarnation, Clone

197. Chapter 197: Reincarnation, Clone

Without hesitation, Xiao Zhangqing immediately opened the skill description and began reading.

The first skill truly is the completed External Body Duplication Technique! Previously, the incomplete version merely allowed Xiao Zhangqing to convert and store mana: he would normally channel his liquid mana of the Foundation Establishment Realm into the Longevity Stone, converting it into solid mana for storage, then draw it out during a mana duel, enabling him to briefly wield the same amount of mana as a Golden Core cultivator.

However, this skill's flaw is also obvious.

It is foreseeable that once Xiao Zhangqing condenses a Golden Core and becomes a true Golden Core Real Person, his mana will have already been fully converted, rendering the incomplete External Body Duplication Technique completely ineffective, with no function at all.

Now that the skill has been completed, its flaw is gone! After forming the Golden Core, as cultivation progresses, mana will continue to grow stronger but will no longer experience a qualitative leap, such as the liquid‑to‑solid transformation seen in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Even upon attaining the Nascent Soul True Lord stage, mana will increase dramatically, yet it is not a fundamental change.

More importantly, it is the myriad Divine Arts and the communion with the forces of Heaven and Earth that constitute the essential distinction.

Therefore, the Longevity Stone's ability to convert and store mana yields little effect after the Golden Core stage, regardless of any further evolution.

The complete External Body Duplication Technique uses the Longevity Stone as its foundation, granting Xiao Zhangqing a second incarnation! The duplication art is mentioned in some folk supernatural tales; it is an unparalleled Divine Art, and legend says only a Transformation God Venerable of the Transformation God Realm is qualified to cultivate a second incarnation.

Even a Nascent Soul True Lord, let alone a senior Nascent Soul cultivator, cannot cultivate a second incarnation.

Even after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, one's survival ability undergoes a radical transformation, allowing one to exit the body with the Nascent Soul in dire moments and still have a chance to possess another body for rebirth. However, a second incarnation is a level above such body possession—a Divine Art that truly grants a second life.

According to the system description, the External Body Duplication skill granted by the Longevity Stone, in Xiao Zhangqing's view, surpasses even the legendary duplication art of a Transformation God Venerable, being more ingenious and powerful.

Because this External Body Duplication Technique not only grants him a second life, but crucially the duplicate can be stronger than his original body! Rumor has it that even a Transformation God Venerable who cultivates a second incarnation's Divine Art finds the duplicate far weaker than the original.

But the Longevity Stone fragment is different; having devoured a white‑clothed female demon comparable to a Nascent Soul True Lord, if Xiao Zhangqing masters this External Body Duplication Technique, he can inherit part of that demon's power! Since Xiao Zhangqing's current strength is far below that of the white‑clothed female demon, his cultivated duplicate would surpass his original self.

"First, let's look at the upgraded Nightmare Technique, and later we'll forge the duplicate."

The External Body Duplication Technique has no cultivation prerequisite, but forging it consumes time and requires certain treasures to create the duplicate.

After all, even the previous incomplete version required a gradual conversion and storage of mana; forging a duplicate now naturally takes even more time.

Suppressing his inner excitement, he opened the detailed description of the second skill.

If you don't look, you wouldn't know; once seen, it's startling.

After reading the second skill's description, Xiao Zhangqing was outright stunned.

Having already witnessed the complete External Body Duplication Technique, Xiao Zhangqing was overjoyed and very satisfied, believing it to be the ultimate Divine Art, and he held little hope for the upgraded version of the second Nightmare Technique, thinking any improvement would suffice.

The original Nightmare Technique was already inferior to the incomplete External Body Duplication, and now that the duplication has been so greatly enhanced, the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique is certainly far weaker.

Result…

"Grand dreams spanning millennia, traveling ten thousand realms, reincarnation and rebirth?"

Xiao Zhangqing stared at the skill description, taking a good half‑minute to snap out of his daze.

Although he could not yet gauge which is stronger—the complete External Body Duplication Technique or the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique—and which would benefit him more…

Yet this Nightmare Reincarnation Technique is undeniably more astonishing, more beyond comprehension, exceeding Xiao Zhangqing's realm of understanding! Previously, the Nightmare Technique's main effect was to pull an enemy's Soul Transformation into dreamlike illusion, making them seem to endure countless reincarnations, sinking within, eventually becoming dazed and puppet‑like under Xiao Zhangqing's control, obediently revealing their secrets.

Now the upgraded Nightmare Reincarnation Technique no longer serves to confuse enemies, but is applied to oneself!

This Divine Sense secret art can actually let one possess another's body and experience an alternate life!

Moreover.

The most bizarre aspect is not possessing a nearby cultivator, but randomly selecting a cultivator millions or tens of millions of miles away to possess and experience! Once his Soul Transformation becomes sufficiently strong and refined, he might even cross the boundary and leave this world!

"What kind of Divine Art is this?"

Xiao Zhangqing clicked his tongue.

If the External Body Duplication Technique is such that even in the Da Yu Cultivation World and neighboring cultivation realms no one can comprehend it, having long been lost, there are still some folk legends and records that provide clues.

The Nightmare Reincarnation Technique, however, is unheard of.

Various folk supernatural anecdotes have never recorded such an incomprehensible Divine Art.

No wonder the skill's name was changed to Nightmare Reincarnation Technique.

Activating this skill truly serves as a brand‑new reincarnation, opening a fresh life! "However, this Divine Art demands an extremely high level of Soul Transformation, at minimum the Nascent Soul Initial Stage… I am still far from that now."

"I estimate that after I condense a Golden Core, my Soul Transformation will undergo a metamorphosis, perhaps then barely meeting the minimum requirement."

Xiao Zhangqing assessed this silently.

The activation requirement for the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique is higher than that of the External Body Duplication.

Moreover, according to the skill description, each activation incurs a very long cooldown. The exact duration remains unknown to Xiao Zhangqing; it depends on his Soul Transformation's strength at the time and the specific circumstances of the reincarnation.

After a good half‑minute, Xiao Zhangqing finally closed the skill description page, steadied his breathing, yet his mind involuntarily contemplated the potential applications and benefits when he eventually could wield this Reincarnation Art.

"Now, let's first secure the External Body Duplication,"

At the thought, the Longevity Stone moved out of the storage tab.

"Its head seems to have grown a circle? Truly marvelous..."

Of course, compared to before, the Longevity Stone now harbors such immense power that even with Xiao Zhangqing's current strength, merely sensing it feels terrifying.

The white‑clothed female demon finally fully revived, bringing its power completely into this world.

In the end, however, it served Xiao Zhangqing as a wedding gift, and most marvelously, after the system's "purification," the white‑clothed female demon's ominous, chaotic aura was entirely removed, leaving only its primal power.

Otherwise, if the Longevity Stone fragment still exuded overwhelming evil aura, Xiao Zhangqing would not dare to refine it into his duplicate.

Given the white‑clothed female demon's terrifying infectivity, reckless refinement would frighten Xiao Zhangqing that he might become a second Mu Renjie—a being neither human nor ghost, having lost all reason.

He took a deep breath, steadied his demeanor to optimal, and Xiao Zhangqing immediately began cultivating the External Body Duplication Technique.

……

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

Inside the cultivation chamber.

Xiao Zhangqing sat cross‑legged, eyes tightly shut.

In front of him, a silhouette floated in the air, identical in appearance to Xiao Zhangqing, with no discernible difference in Soul Transformation aura.

However, the mana concealed within this body was countless times stronger than that of Xiao Zhangqing's original self.

Xiao Zhangqing's original self is currently only in the late Foundation Establishment stage, not yet fully established.

But now the mana inside this avatar has surpassed the late Golden Core stage!

Buzz! The formation in the cultivation chamber opened; Xiao Zhangqing's main body remained inside the chamber, while the avatar walked out.

Lin Ziyu saw Xiao Zhangqing come out and immediately went over to greet the lord.

Xiao Zhangqing suppressed a smile, exchanged a few brief words, then returned to the cultivation chamber, leaving Lin Ziyu looking puzzled.

Lin Ziyu, however, noticed nothing suspicious and had no doubts; she merely felt that the lord seemed a bit odd today, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was off. Still, she could sense that the lord's mood seemed very good, and he was quite pleased.

One would think it's because this two-month seclusion brought another breakthrough in cultivation, or perhaps he mastered some powerful divine ability—Lin Ziyu's sixth sense is indeed correct.

Xiao Zhangqing's mood is indeed quite good; after two months of seclusion, this external body technique has finally been mastered.

That earlier probe was enough to show it—not even outsiders, let alone the Lin sisters who are closest to Xiao Zhangqing, could detect any clue.

His second avatar works quite well.

Returning to the cultivation chamber, the main body and the avatar gazed at each other, a strange feeling arising—as if he suddenly possessed two bodies, capable of dual-tasking.

With a thought from Xiao Zhangqing, the avatar suddenly turned into a ray of light, becoming a Longevity Stone that returned directly to the item bar.

Another thought, and it reappeared in the cultivation chamber.

"According to rumors circulating about the avatar of the Transformation God Venerable, if the avatar technique is sufficiently profound, it may eventually give rise to a second personality that can gradually become independent…"

"This point seems different from me. I am now entirely capable of dual-tasking, with no separation of an independent personality."

"Is it because my current cultivation is insufficient?"

"That's fine as well. My avatar's strength far exceeds that of my main body; if the avatar possessed an independent personality and consciousness, it might be uncontrollable, posing a risk of betrayal."

"No… with the system in place, the risk of betrayal should be nonexistent…"

Xiao Zhangqing's two bodies looked at each other, both showing a contemplative expression.

Perhaps because the system 'purified' away the ominous aura of the evil spirit, Xiao Zhangqing felt that this avatar's strength had not reached the imagined Nascent Soul level; compared to the aura revealed by that white-clad female evil spirit in the ruins, it is somewhat weaker.

At most, it can only be considered the limit of Golden Core; in strength it is considerably stronger than Zhu Qingyun, perhaps even a notch stronger than the original Liyang True Lord, but it definitely has not reached the threshold of a Nascent Soul True Lord.

However, in terms of life-preserving ability and escape techniques, this second avatar is not weak even compared to a Golden Core True Person, let alone among Nascent Soul True Lords.

Because Xiao Zhangqing gave it a slight try, he discovered that this avatar can still grasp a portion of spatial power! (End of chapter)