Chapter 1943

Li Wuyou continued: "I know that once she gains control of the cloning secret, it will be doomsday. I wrote my genetic code together with my memories into one of the fire seeds, then I chose to self-destruct, letting Xu Mingying think I was already dead."

Hu Xiaotian said: "But Xu Mingying is still alive to this day."

Li Wuyou said: "To buy time, I helped her produce some cloned organs; I originally wanted to tamper with them, but Xu Mingying is extremely vigilant, I dare not take risks, and moreover, although these cloned organs are healthy, the diseases harming her body cannot be eradicated; I calculated that her remaining life is not long."

Hu Xiaotian said: "So, did you personally implant the fire seed into Lady Li's body? And how did you deceive Xu Mingying?"

Li Wuyou said: "Lady Li had heart disease then; only a heart transplant could save her life. Xu Mingying, to control Li Tianheng, had me help rescue her life, making Li Tianheng owe him a huge favor. I cloned a brand-new heart for her, and at that time she had been pregnant for over a month; I took the opportunity to implant that fire seed into her body. So although I and Xi Yan are full sisters, I was not born full-term, and this risky act left me paralyzed for life." She smiled and said: "Perhaps it is heaven's decree; Xu Mingying is also paralyzed in old age."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Has Liang Da Zhuang always been your man?"

Li Wuyou nodded and said: "Fortunately you showed mercy to him, otherwise we wouldn't have had this chance to meet."

Hu Xiaotian said: "You actually came to see me under the banner of Old Lady Xu?"

Li Wuyou said: "No, it's not like that; how else would you come?" She looked around and said: "Yi Yuan Tang has always been our Li family's secret enterprise, unrelated to the Xu clan; you can rest easy here, no news will leak."

Hu Xiaotian said: "You came to see me, could it be only for Xu Mingying?"

Li Wuyou said: "Over these years, the only person I have paid attention to is her; Xu Mingying has lived in seclusion for nearly twenty years, not because she willingly retreated behind the scenes, but because after my main body was destroyed, she would soon realize her time is short, and to prolong life she must crack the core secret of cloning; for her, that would be a creation from nothing. Although her wisdom is not inferior to mine, there is no way she could perfect the entire cloning science alone. I have received reliable news: she has come to Kangdu."

Hu Xiaotian sucked in a breath of cold air; it seems the matter of July 7th is no longer a secret. If Li Wuyou's coming is due to Old Lady Xu, then Xu Mingying's own arrival must be because she heard some rumor.

Li Wuyou said: "The reason that could make her break her seclusion must be extraordinary; I suspect this matter is related to the accident years ago." In her view, the clone runaway incident years ago was merely an accident in a scientific experiment. However, this problem has always troubled her: who rewrote the consciousness of those clones, activating their capacity for self-thought? The other party's intention should have been to fully control them, yet in this process there must have been a deviation, or perhaps the other party's ability was insufficient to fully control them.

Hu Xiaotian sighed; although Li Wuyou knew the entirety of the Transcendence Plan, she apparently did not know the true cause of this research failure, so he told her everything he knew in detail...

Li Wuyou would never have imagined that in this world there exist intelligent life forms from different times and spaces, the Heaven's Mandate ones and the Mirage; from Hu Xiaotian's narration she judged that the Mirage was the true cause of the clone runaway, and she never expected that some members of the former team are still alive in this world.

Hu Xiaotian handed over the spider-like object found in the brain of Ghost Doctor Fu Luo; Li Wuyou took it, bit her cherry lips and said: "This is the control unit; using it I can restrict the clones' behavior within controllable limits, and maximally restrict their self-awareness and creativity." She stared at the control unit; obviously this control unit has lost its effect, meaning all control units in the clones' brains have failed.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I heard from Ghost Doctor Fu Luo that Lin Chao and Xu Mingying are a couple, and Xu Mingying became pregnant shortly after arriving here."

Li Wuyou calmly said: "Clones cannot possibly become pregnant; their gene sequences are specially designed, leaving no possibility for sexual reproduction. The only explanation is that the Mirage, while releasing their cognitive abilities, also infused them with some consciousness, making them understand love and hate, jealousy, and mistakenly believe they are pregnant." She paused and then said: "But who exactly is the Mirage?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I have never seen her either, but I know she is likely not a life form as we understand it, and I also know how to lure her out."

Li Wuyou said: "Don't you find it strange? Why did these people all come to Kangdu without prior agreement? And why did they all choose the seventh day of the seventh month?"

Hu Xiaotian looked at Li Wuyou; Li Wuyou came because of Old Lady Xu, but Old Lady Xu is because of whom? Perhaps only after meeting Liu Yuzhang will we be able to solve this riddle.

Li Wuyou said: "I hope this is not a conspiracy."

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "The Mirage should not be able to fully control them; she is likely just a saboteur and a troublemaker, lacking sufficient power to dominate everything." If the Mirage were strong enough to fully control everything, we would not see these surviving Transcendents and Heaven's Mandate individuals acting independently, fighting each other; if we could gather their strength together, the spacecraft would probably have been repaired long ago and they would have left this place.

Li Wuyou said: "Then we should eliminate her before she becomes fully powerful and uncontrollable."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, looking at Li Wuyou, wanting to speak but holding back.

Li Wuyou, however, saw through his thoughts and softly said: "You need not worry that I will use you; since I have laid everything bare before you, I am already prepared to accept any outcome."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "How do you again know I am trustworthy?"

Li Wuyou said: "Long-term observation, but I really cannot fathom how a fire seed could possess such tremendous energy."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I also wonder why my consciousness meshes so perfectly with this body." He inwardly gave a wry smile; in Li Wuyou's eyes he is merely a fire seed.

"It's practically seamless! According to my genetic expertise, this seems impossible."

Hu Xiaotian however said: "In this world there are not only formulas, but also miracles!"

Hu Xiaotian arrived at the Smoke Water Pavilion as promised; although he anticipated the occurrence of a miracle, hoping this meeting would become a turning point, hoping revisiting the old place would awaken Huo Xiaoru's memories of past affection, yet he did not see Huo Xiaoru come; all he got was Huo Xiaoru's personal maid Wan'er. Wan'er brought a box, letting Hu Xiaotian wait until she left before opening it; Hu Xiaotian asked about Huo Xiaoru's whereabouts, but Wan'er said nothing.

After Wan'er left, Hu Xiaotian opened the box and found a transparent skull inside; beneath the skull lay a scroll of human skin; unfolding the skin revealed the Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man, and this time two scrolls were sent. Knowing that previously Hu Xiaotian, to save Zhou Ruiyuan, had only taken the yin scroll of the Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man to exchange, while now what is returned are the upper and lower scrolls. For a moment Hu Xiaotian fell into bewilderment, not knowing what purpose Huo Xiaoru's gesture served; could this be a release of goodwill toward him? The skull and the Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man she had painstakingly obtained were returned to him entirely, and moreover an extra scroll was added. Could she have finally recalled their old affection?

Hu Xiaotian sat in the Smoke Water Pavilion gazing blankly at the gift Huo Xiaoru had given him; after a long while he finally said: "Since you've come, why won't you show yourself?"

The door stirred slightly; a tall figure appeared outside, expression calm as an ancient well, robes fluttering, standing tall and proud—it was Ji Feihua, who had agreed to meet Hu Xiaotian in Kangdu.

Hu Xiaotian did not rise, silently gazing at Ji Feihua, his eyes deeply absorbed, he softly said: "You finally came!"

Ji Feihua's eyes swept over the table, then she gently placed the package in her hand on the tabletop, meaningfully saying: "It seems I overthought it!" She opened the package; inside lay a transparent skull as well. The skull she brought is the one originally stored in Long Ling Shengjing; as for the skull Huo Xiaoru gave Hu Xiaotian, it is naturally the one Hu Xiaotian obtained from the headquarters of the Wuxian Sect.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "I've discovered you can always find me easily."

Ji Feihua said: "Because I can smell your scent!"

"What scent?" After saying that, Hu Xiaotian gave an ambiguous laugh.

Ji Feihua's expression showed no change; her beautiful eyes each glanced at the two skulls, then finally fell on the human skin beneath the skulls, and she softly said: "What is that?"

"The Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man!"

Ji Feihua said: "I went through great trouble to finally retrieve a skull, yet you, without lifting a finger, have already obtained so many—truly, comparison makes one angry to death!"

Hu Xiaotian whispered: "Did you see Huo Xiaoru?"

Ji Feihua nodded, lifting with both hands the skull Huo Xiaoru had sent, focusing her spirit, holding her breath, concentrating fully yet still unable to perceive any information from it. She shook her head and set the skull down; Hu Xiaotian took it with one hand, and the skull lit up with blue light.

Ji Feihua looked at him somewhat surprised; Hu Xiaotian felt embarrassed explaining to her: "Yutong must be his descendant." He only said Qin Yutong, not mentioning himself because it was inconvenient; he couldn't tell Ji Feihua that he had no relation to the skull, but rather that he and Qin Yutong had become physically intimate, together they cultivated the Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man, so he also unwittingly gained the ability to read information from the skull.

Even though he did not make it clear, Ji Feihua could still grasp the subtlety; she nodded and said: "It seems this skull is genuine."