Chapter 110: Breakthrough: Body-Outside-Body Avatar

After breaking through to the Golden Core realm, a long-unseen smile appeared on Ye Qingxuan's face.

Within his dantian, a Golden Core rotated slowly, its surface seemingly engraved with dual landscapes of mountains and rivers that constantly shifted.

Upon closer inspection, the mountain and river scenery on Ye Qingxuan's Golden Core bore a striking resemblance to the terrain of the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land.

The reason for such scenery was that when Ye Qingxuan broke through to the Golden Core realm,

his innate magic treasure, the World Map, which he had been nurturing within the source of the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land, suddenly separated a portion of its source to form a sub-map that wrapped around his Golden Core.

Influenced by the sub-map of the World Map, Ye Qingxuan's Golden Core seemed to undergo a certain transformation, automatically inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy to convert it into spiritual power, subconsciously enhancing his cultivation base.

Although the speed at which Ye Qingxuan's Golden Core independently converted spiritual energy into spiritual power could not match the cultivation speed bonus provided by his fourth-element spiritual root,

the advantage of the Golden Core cultivating on its own lay in its ability to operate continuously for twenty-four hours.

Therefore, overall, after breaking through to the Golden Core realm, Ye Qingxuan's current cultivation speed had already rivaled the talent of a four-element spiritual root.

After breaking through to the Golden Core realm, Ye Qingxuan did not stop.

However, he did not continue to cultivate to increase his cultivation base.

Instead, under the influence of his obsession, he immediately began to comprehend and condense the seed of the minor divine ability: Clone.

If speaking of cultivation talent, even though Ye Qingxuan's current talent was comparable to that of a four-element spiritual root, it could only be considered mediocre.

But Ye Qingxuan's talent in comprehension could be described as monstrous.

In just one year, within the internal space of Ye Qingxuan's Golden Core, a very profound Dao pattern had already condensed.

This Dao pattern was the seed of the minor divine ability: Clone that Ye Qingxuan had been comprehending and attempting to condense after breaking through to the Golden Core realm.

After condensing the seed of the minor divine ability: Clone, Ye Qingxuan could split off two ordinary clones possessing thirty percent of his original body's cultivation base.

At the same time, he could condense in advance a Body-Outside-Body avatar, which only Nascent Soul cultivators could cultivate, possessing one hundred percent of his original body's cultivation base.

Once ordinary clones are split off, their cultivation realm becomes directly solidified.

After the original body's cultivation base breaks through, ordinary clones can only be recalled or undergo martial dissolution to continue splitting off stronger clones.

However, the Body-Outside-Body avatar is not subject to this restriction; it can cultivate on its own to increase its cultivation base, though its upper limit cannot exceed that of the original body.

This is because condensing a Body-Outside-Body avatar requires integrating a portion of the essence, qi, and spirit source, and this source must come from the cultivator's Nascent Soul.

Only in this way can the Body-Outside-Body avatar, like a semi-independent individual, cultivate and increase its cultivation base on its own.

However, in the inheritance of the Earth Immortal that Ye Qingxuan obtained, after condensing the seed of the Clone divine ability, he could use the source of the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land to replace the essence, qi, and spirit source of his own Nascent Soul, condensing a Body-Outside-Body avatar in advance.

The only flaw was that after the Body-Outside-Body avatar perished, Ye Qingxuan would be unable to condense another Body-Outside-Body avatar before breaking through to the Void Shattering realm.

Ordinary divine ability clones are not subject to this restriction.

They can undergo martial dissolution and be re-condensed at any time, requiring only a massive amount of energy.

Moreover, clones condensed using divine abilities will not be subject to distance restrictions like clones created by other spells.

A divine ability clone allows Ye Qingxuan to control his clone completely, ignoring space and distance.

After the seed of the Clone divine ability was successfully condensed,

under the influence of a certain obsession, Ye Qingxuan could not wait to use the secret technique from the Earth Immortal inheritance to condense a Body-Outside-Body avatar using the source of the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land.

Three days later, Ye Qingxuan, in a rare departure from the Qingxuan Blessed Land, spoke with a faint voice: "Zhao Heng!"

Hearing Ye Qingxuan's call, Ye Zhaoheng immediately flew from the foot of the mountain to a spot not far from Ye Qingxuan, bowing respectfully and saying: "Zhao Heng is here, please give your orders, Young Master!"

Ye Qingxuan's empty gaze unconsciously swept over Ye Zhaoheng, exerting immense pressure on him.

In recent years, because Ye Qingxuan had fallen into an obsession and forgotten to refine breakthrough elixirs for the two brothers, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu, they had remained at the peak of the Purple Mansion realm.

Without the assistance of elixirs to break through to the Golden Core realm, the two brothers, whose spiritual power was already impure, dared not easily break through their realms.

Furthermore, after their spiritual power became impure, without relying on elixirs for cultivation, the cultivation speed of Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu dropped by about thirty percent compared to their original innate talent.

Regarding this, the two brothers held no complaints in their hearts; they only watched Ye Qingxuan's transformation and secretly worried for him.

As mere attendants with low cultivation, they did not know what had happened to Ye Qingxuan, so they dared not act rashly for fear of disturbing his cultivation.

Looking at Ye Zhaoheng with his empty gaze, Ye Qingxuan took out an ink box and handed it to him through the air. His indifferent voice rang out again: "Take this ink box out of the Xuantian Sect and drop it in a secluded mountain forest where no one is around."

Looking at the ink box before him, although Ye Zhaoheng was puzzled, he did not ask further questions.

After carefully accepting the ink box, Ye Zhaoheng replied:

"Yes, Young Master!"

Subsequently, Ye Zhaoheng mounted his sword and left the place.

Watching Ye Zhaoheng's departing figure, Ye Qingxuan remained silent, but a hint of expectation appeared in his empty gaze.

Only after Ye Zhaoheng's figure was no longer visible did Ye Qingxuan turn back and return to the Qingxuan Blessed Land, waiting quietly.

On the other side.

After presenting his attendant token of the Qingxuan Blessed Land, Ye Zhaoheng encountered no difficulties and smoothly left the Xuantian Sect via the teleportation array.

After being teleported to the provincial capital of Xingzhou, Ye Zhaoheng did not take the teleportation array again but instead left the provincial capital of Xingzhou.

After several days of flight, Ye Zhaoheng finally found a small, uninhabited mountain forest.

Although curious, Ye Zhaoheng had no intention of opening the ink box on his own.

Following Ye Qingxuan's instructions, he carefully placed the ink box in a hidden spot, then left the small mountain forest and flew in the direction he had come from.

Not long after Ye Zhaoheng left, the ink box instantly popped open automatically.

A figure wearing a black robe with their head covered by a black hat emerged from the ink box. After putting away the ink box, they left the place at an extremely high speed.

The person in the black robe was none other than Ye Qingxuan's Body-Outside-Body avatar.

Although Ye Zhaoheng left the place before Ye Qingxuan, Ye Qingxuan arrived at the provincial capital of Xingzhou before Ye Zhaoheng.

Ye Qingxuan's Body-Outside-Body avatar was completely covered by a black robe, yet this did not cause other cultivators to cast strange glances.

In the cultivation world, there are many cultivators in various strange costumes, and everyone is already accustomed to it; there is no need to make a fuss.

After passing through layers of teleportation and a considerable amount of flight time,

the gaze revealed from the darkness of Ye Qingxuan finally saw that long-unseen city. A familiar feeling surged in his heart, causing Ye Qingxuan, who was flying, to pause for a moment, and his empty gaze seemed to regain a faint glimmer of light.

Drawing on memories buried deep within his mind, Ye Qingxuan concealed himself and traveled unimpeded to his home—the home where his parents were no longer.

Afterwards, Ye Qingxuan found his younger brother and sister, but he did not reveal himself to them.

He simply stood aside, quietly observing his brother and sister, who had grown frail with age, as past events flowed through Ye Qingxuan's mind like a river.

"Big Brother? Are you my big brother? Big Brother, I want to hear you tell stories about the Immortal Cultivation world!"

"Big Brother, where is my gift?"

Back when they first met, the younger brother who loved to pester him for stories about the Immortal Cultivation world; back when they first met, the younger sister who reached out before him, playfully demanding a meeting gift.

Now, both had become old and decrepit, their lifespans nearing their end.

As he watched, intense emotional fluctuations surged in Ye Qingxuan's empty gaze. Unconsciously, he whispered, "Little Brother, Little Sister, your big brother is incompetent. I could not take Mother, Father, and you along the path of cultivation. But rest assured, one day soon, big brother will find you and take you to witness the splendor of the Immortal Dao."

Having spoken, Ye Qingxuan's figure gradually faded as he departed from the place.

Afterwards, Ye Qingxuan cast a spell to learn the burial location of his parents from others.

Before the tombstones of Father Ye and Mother Ye, Ye Qingxuan removed his hat and stood there silently for a long time without speaking.

Here, Ye Qingxuan found a sense of belonging he had not felt in a long time.

A gentle breeze brushed against Ye Qingxuan's cheeks, making him feel as though he was once again touched by his mother's hand.

At this moment, the emotions Ye Qingxuan had suppressed for so long finally eased. The emptiness in his eyes regained the brilliance of the past, and the obsession in his heart slowly dissipated.

Reaching out, he slowly touched his parents' tombstones. The tears in Ye Qingxuan's eyes could no longer be held back, and he trembled as he spoke:

"Father, Mother, I have returned to see you."

Before his parents, Ye Qingxuan was not as strong as he had imagined himself to be.

At this moment, Ye Qingxuan felt that his parents had not yet departed and were still by his side.

Ye Qingxuan began to talk to himself, recounting his life over the past hundred years, as if wanting to tell his parents that he was doing well and that they need not worry about him.

Once he finished pouring out his heart, Ye Qingxuan's mind returned to a state of emptiness, and the obsession in his heart gradually faded away.

He believed his parents had only left temporarily; as long as he remained, his parents would eventually return.

When that time came, he would help his parents embark on the Immortal Dao and protect them until eternity.

As a son, how could he not know that lacking a spiritual root and being unable to cultivate was the greatest regret of his parents' lives? Or rather, this was the regret of all those in the Di Xuan Realm who could not cultivate.

It was just that Ye Qingxuan's parents had never complained about it in front of him.

Putting his hood back on, Ye Qingxuan turned and prepared to leave.

However, before he could exit the cemetery grounds, a figure blocked his path.

This figure was none other than Ye Yuhong, the head of the Ye family, whom Ye Qingxuan knew very well.

At that moment, Ye Yuhong stared coldly at the black-robed Ye Qingxuan and demanded:

"Fellow Daoist, who are you? Why did you trespass on Ye family territory without permission?"

Ye Qingxuan had just broken through to the Jin Dan realm and had not yet had time to condense many spiritual seeds, so his concealment abilities were not strong.

The moment Ye Qingxuan stepped into the Ye Immortal City, the arrays set up by the Ye family detected him.

However, by the time Ye Yuhong arrived at the Ye Immortal City, Ye Qingxuan had already left the city and come to this cemetery.

This cemetery was only for the mortal members of the Ye family, so the arrays set up there were not strong, which is why the Ye family did not discover him immediately.

Later, Ye Yuhong discovered the residual aura of Ye Qingxuan through a subtle prohibition he had left in the residence where Ye Qingxuan's relatives lived.

That prohibition had originally been placed by Ye Yuhong to ensure timely rescue if Ye Qingxuan's relatives were ever attacked.

Unexpectedly, he noticed that the black-robed figure, who was Ye Qingxuan in disguise, had been there. Then, following the residual aura left by Ye Qingxuan, he tracked him to this place.

One could only say that Ye Qingxuan, previously lost in obsession, had acted too carelessly.

Coupled with his recent promotion to the Jin Dan realm, he had not yet had time to practice his various techniques, which allowed Ye Yuhong to catch a trace and track him here.

Hearing Ye Yuhong's question, the black-robed figure, who was Ye Qingxuan, replied in a hoarse voice: "I have no ill intentions. I merely arrived here by chance and stopped by to take a look."

Having spoken, Ye Qingxuan transformed into a beam of rainbow light and fled into the distance.

Now restored to his senses, Ye Qingxuan had no intention of engaging in further conversation with Ye Yuhong.

If the exchange went too deep, he risked exposing himself immediately. This was not what Ye Qingxuan wanted; he was not yet prepared to reveal himself.

Therefore, after giving Ye Yuhong a single explanation, Ye Qingxuan left the place directly.

On the other side, Ye Yuhong fell into deep thought upon hearing Ye Qingxuan's words. Just as he was preparing to ask further questions, he saw Ye Qingxuan preparing to leave.

After hesitating for a moment, Ye Yuhong ultimately suppressed the urge to attack.

After all, he was a cultivator at the Jin Dan realm. Without absolute certainty, Ye Yuhong did not want to recklessly provoke a powerful enemy for the sake of his family.

However, after Ye Qingxuan left, Ye Yuhong did not depart either.

He reached out and released a wisp of invisible aura. After forming a hand seal, this wisp of aura floated through the air, gradually arriving before the tombstones of Father Ye and Mother Ye.

Seeing this, the look of confusion in Ye Yuhong's eyes grew even stronger. As if recalling something, Ye Yuhong spoke hesitantly:

"Could it be?"

But a second later, Ye Yuhong rejected the thought himself: "No, that is impossible!"

Finally, Ye Yuhong buried the earlier speculation deep within his heart, turned around, and left the place.

Upon returning to the Ye family, Ye Yuhong immediately erased all records of the events that had occurred today.

After finishing all of this,

Ye Yuhong went to the depths of his cave dwelling. Sitting alone inside, he murmured:

"Could it really be you?"

(End of this chapter)