Chapter 698

The materials for crafting a body double were divided by He Pingsheng into two portions and placed in the empty air before him.

Then, he began strengthening them.

Both ordinary materials were upgraded to supreme grade.

After strengthening, the materials became four portions.

Next came the crafting of the body doubles.

Crafting a body double is an extremely complicated process!

Each body double requires seventy-seven days of refinement.

Moreover, before crafting, He Pingsheng needed to familiarize himself with the method.

The method was not unfamiliar—it was recorded in the 【West Ultimate Puppet Art】 and the 【Tai Xuan Immortal Artifact Method】.

In theory, the higher the quality of the material used, the higher the cultivation base of the body double after formation.

For example, He Pingsheng's current cultivation base is Void Refinement Level One.

Thus, the highest possible cultivation base for his body double would be Void Refinement Level One.

The lowest would be Soul Transformation Level One!

The gap in between is enormous.

If the material is good enough, the body double's cultivation base will be Void Refinement Level One.

But this is difficult—on this world, it is almost impossible for a body double to match the master's cultivation from the start.

But it doesn't matter!

Even if the body double's cultivation is slightly lower when first created, time can gradually make up for it, because the master has already walked every path of cultivation; thus, when the body double cultivates, it encounters no bottlenecks or Dao barriers to break through.

It can directly increase its cultivation base.

It merely consumes a bit more time.

However…

There is another scenario.

For instance, He Pingsheng is currently Void Refinement Level One; when his body double is formed, its cultivation is Soul Transformation, and when it reaches Void Refinement Level One, it needs no Dao barrier breakthrough or bottleneck resolution.

But if the body double's cultivation later exceeds Void Refinement Level One, it must still attain Dao comprehension and break through Dao barriers on its own.

He Pingsheng casually tossed a handful of Low-grade Spirit Stones into the Treasure Basin, then began studying the body double crafting method.

After a month, he had fully mastered the method.

Next came the crafting!

He Pingsheng took one portion of material, opened the 【Qing Xuan Cauldron】, controlled the Dan Fire, and began crafting the body double.

The process was long.

It took exactly seventy-seven days before He Pingsheng completed the first body double.

The first body double bore no resemblance to He Pingsheng—it appeared as an old man.

He Pingsheng did not want the body double to resemble his true body, so that even if the body double later traveled alone across the Flame Continent or the Spirit Realm, no one could recognize He Pingsheng's identity from it.

This added an extra layer of safety.

After crafting was complete, He Pingsheng directly tossed the body double into the Treasure Basin.

First strengthen it, then fuse it with the Liuliying!

But when he looked into the Treasure Basin, He Pingsheng was utterly stunned.

Inside the Treasure Basin were over a hundred crystal stones, each the size of a human head?

"This…" He Pingsheng drew a deep breath, and in an instant, he retrieved the human-head-sized crystals.

A vast, overwhelming surge of spiritual power rushed toward him.

He Pingsheng confirmed in a single breath: these were supreme-grade Spirit Stones.

The low-grade Spirit Stones he had previously tossed into the Treasure Basin had each been upgraded to supreme-grade Spirit Stones.

He Pingsheng took several deep breaths to calm himself.

Because supreme-grade Spirit Stones were somewhat different.

Supreme-grade Spirit Stones were entirely different from other Spirit Stones.

Supreme-grade Spirit Stones possessed all the properties of low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade Spirit Stones, contained immense spiritual power, could serve as an energy source for anything, and could even function as currency throughout the Spirit Realm.

What set them apart was a terrifying, even heaven-defying ability: absorbing spiritual energy.

When the spiritual power within them was consumed, they spontaneously drew spiritual energy from the surrounding heavens and earth to replenish themselves.

For example, a great array powered by Spirit Stones.

If powered by supreme-grade Spirit Stones, one need never fear depletion.

Because as soon as energy was consumed, they would automatically absorb spiritual energy from the heavens and earth to restore themselves.

The reason supreme-grade Spirit Stones possessed this ability was because every supreme-grade Spirit Stone contained a fundamental rule.

This made them the currency used in high-level exchanges among Spirit Realm cultivators.

Many trading societies had a rule: no Spirit Stones accepted, only barter—but supreme-grade Spirit Stones were exempt.

Supreme-grade Spirit Stones were that extraordinary.

Moreover, it was said that burying a single supreme-grade Spirit Stone underground was equivalent to a major spiritual vein, capable of supplying energy to sects like the Grand Void Gate or the Li Clan.

The terrifying nature of supreme-grade Spirit Stones was evident.

Put simply, if you had enough supreme-grade Spirit Stones, you could purchase nearly everything in the Spirit Realm.

"Clatter…"

He Pingsheng tossed out all the Spirit Stones from the Treasure Basin.

Though supreme-grade Spirit Stones were valuable, right now, the most important thing was the body doubles.

First, strengthen the body doubles!

After one night, the body doubles were strengthened into two.

Both were supreme grade!

After strengthening, He Pingsheng added more Spirit Stones into the Treasure Basin.

Then, his attention returned to the body doubles.

Now that there were two body doubles, the next step was to fuse them with the Liuliying.

"Tui…" He Pingsheng uttered a soft command.

The five Liuliying he had shed during his breakthrough to Void Refinement had long since been stored within him; now they flew out and landed before him.

Five Liuliying.

Corresponding to the Five Elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth!

Golden, green, blue, red, and earthy yellow.

He Pingsheng considered, then took out the golden Metal and green Wood Liuliying, placing each into one of the two body doubles.

Then he began fusion.

The fusion process was slow.

But He Pingsheng need not worry—the Liuliying and the body doubles fused themselves.

He Pingsheng put away the remaining three Liuliying and continued crafting body doubles!

Time slipped by.

Roughly a year later, the five body doubles—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—were all completed and fully fused.

Five figures stood before He Pingsheng, bowing to him.

Two were identical old men, two were identical middle-aged men, and one had been crafted directly into a female form.

Externally, none resembled He Pingsheng in the slightest.

Each of the Five Element body doubles had a cultivation base of Soul Transformation Level Twelve; with slight cultivation, they could break through Soul Transformation and advance to Void Refinement without needing the Soul-Shedding Pill.

But once they reached Void Refinement Level One, if they wished to advance further, they would need to follow He Pingsheng's own path—studying Dao principles and absorbing heavenly spiritual energy.

"Go!" He Pingsheng distributed Spirit Stones, storage rings, magic treasures, and other items among them, then sent the body doubles away to cultivate independently.

Because they were body doubles, their spiritual sense remained linked; thus, He Pingsheng could always sense their locations.

No matter how far away they were, He Pingsheng could transmit messages to them in an instant.