Chapter 523: The Truth Behind the Disappearance

"You said the 'Ten Thousand Demon Incarnation Art'!?"

Ren Yidao, who had remained calm ever since Yaoyue began her account, lost his composure at this moment; he widened his eyes and exclaimed aloud.

Holy shit!

How is there a surprise like this too!

"Shh!"

But Yaoyue made a gesture for silence, signaling that Jing Yueqin was still asleep, forcing him to calm down, though he still couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "... You definitely said 'Ten Thousand Demon Incarnation Art', right?"

Right!?

I heard it clearly!

"Hm? You've heard of this?" Yaoyue looked at him strangely, not knowing why this fellow was so agitated. "Since you know it, I don't need to explain it again; it is indeed the head of the three great Secret Techniques of the Demon Race."

"Master, teach me!" Ren Yidao raised his arm with an eager-to-learn expression.

"Don't make noise!" Yaoyue glared at him crossly and couldn't help but huff.

This fellow, the first time he called her Master was just to get a benefit.

Truly a... fellow who knows how to adapt to circumstances.

Then again, if there were no problems with this Incarnation Technique, she certainly would have cultivated it long ago, rather than waiting until her path forward was completely severed before taking the risk.

Ren Yidao:!!!

Ren Yidao nodded in realization; he had mastered the "Ten Thousand Daos Fusion Thought Art" and understood just how exaggerated the effects of the Past Self were.

"You mean to say..." Ren Yidao thought of a very cruel possibility.

"This Incarnation Technique, there's a problem with it? Is that why you went missing?"

"Hmph." Seeing that Ren Yidao looked like he would keep making a scene if she didn't teach him, Yaoyue said helplessly: "I will teach you later, but I only suggest you use it for reference, not that you actually cultivate it."

And according to Yaoyue's description, being identical to the original body, the incarnation split off by this Incarnation Technique should be the Present Self.

Only then did Ren Yidao calm down, narrowing his eyes as he realized where the problem lay.

Ren Yidao understood, and couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed.

He had mastered the Past Self and had clues for the Present Self, but he still had no leads on the Future Self.

"Why?"

"Well, not only is there a problem, but the problem is not small." Yaoyue straightened her expression and said earnestly: "Because of my special status, I was qualified to come into contact with the Incarnation Technique very early on, but I delayed cultivating it because this method had long since lost its key parts, and even more so because everyone in the Demon Race who cultivated this method ran into problems after a few years."

"However, even though this method is so dangerous, people keep cultivating it because it has a benefit that one cannot refuse—the incarnation."

"The Incarnation Technique can split off an incarnation identical to the original body! Aptitude, physical body, Consciousness Sea... completely consistent! You should be able to understand what this means for a cultivator."

"The world knows that the Incarnation Technique has astonishing combat power, but in my view, the significance of this incarnation goes beyond that."

No, that can't be, right?

But Yaoyue didn't care at all, the corners of her mouth curling into a dangerous arc as she recounted her great achievements with some excitement: "Yes, I let the incarnation test for errors, trying various forbidden methods time and time again; once it failed, I would destroy it, and after healing my wounds, I would split off another one."

"Unless you want to go missing for a few hundred years like me."

Coupled with his Fox Tail Clone, he knew even better how much value a clone could create at a critical moment.

It is not just as simple as a clone; it can make a cultivator's strength skyrocket.

"Light cases result in damage to the Consciousness Sea, severed arms or legs; heavy cases result in the tearing of the Divine Soul and the disintegration of the physical body."

Yaoyue shook her head after mentioning this, then licked her lips with some excitement. "Its true significance is that it can give you a chance to observe yourself, a chance to test for errors an infinite number of times, a chance to... deceive the Heavenly Dao!"

Holy shit!

This is a fierce person who uses herself to conduct human experiments!

And what lab rat could be more suitable for testing errors than a clone that is one hundred percent identical to oneself?

Truly ruthless.

That is another self, and the perceptions are connected to the original body.

To be so merciless even toward herself.

Damn, she's a ruthless person.

I'll have to be more respectful to her in the future...

But after thinking this through, Ren Yidao's brows furrowed again. "Wait, then the problem you mentioned is... caused by the pain during the splitting of the Divine Soul?"

Because the Incarnation Technique cannot be without a price; it is impossible for her to get a free ride without paying any cost.

"Every time I split off an incarnation, my Divine Soul experienced a severance; it is very painful, but those are minor matters. The real problem lies in the technique itself."

Yaoyue didn't fully understand Ren Yidao's meaning, waving her hand before continuing to explain on her own: "In the seventh year of my attempts, that was when I had just split off about my two-thousandth incarnation... the real problem appeared; that incarnation developed a budding self-consciousness."

Ren Yidao:!!!

"Although it was only for a fleeting moment, I did not let that detail go and destroyed it on the spot. After that, I checked it carefully for a month, and no other problems appeared."

"If I had stopped at that time, or waited a bit longer, waiting for the technique to be further perfected, everything might have been different."

"A month later, I made another attempt, and this time, that consciousness was completely formed. Although it was still me, it could be regarded as a new soul; it was born within my incarnation."

"At that moment, what surfaced in my heart was not fear, but excitement..." Yaoyue sighed, feeling a bit helpless about her own greed back then. "I didn't intend to let this opportunity go and decided to use it to make the most risky attempt."

"I wanted to construct a brand-new incarnation and let this consciousness cultivate from the very beginning! I wanted to let it walk a third path!"

"If two paths are not enough, then three paths! If that's still not enough, then keep adding! I don't believe that this incomplete Heaven and Earth can stop me from having ten thousand Daos added to my body!"

Yaoyue's eyes lit up, appearing exceptionally bright in the night; even at this moment, she had not forgotten the excitement of that time.

"This matter was of great importance. In order not to be discovered by anyone, I went to Feiyun Ravine alone. I had been there several times, understood its general structure, and knew of a safe place within it. I intended to leave this incarnation there temporarily."

"Everything went smoothly at the beginning. I successfully sealed half of my consciousness within the incarnation, so that even if there were problems in the future, I could set things right at a critical moment... but who would have known that while I was halfway through, at the most critical moment, I encountered an enemy attack."

Yaoyue narrowed her eyes, a faint killing intent radiating from her body, which then quickly dissipated without affecting the disciple in her arms.

"That group of people appeared in Feiyun Ravine and attacked me at my weakest point, successfully forcing me into a desperate situation."

Ren Yidao thought about the scene at that time and could only sigh at the timing and fate of it all.

"It's a pity, but this was something no one could have foreseen; it is understandable to have failed."

At any other point in time, Jing Yaoyue at the Ask Dao Peak would not have been so passive, but she had just happened to split her Divine Soul.

"No, I succeeded."

Yaoyue shook her head, denying what Ren Yidao said, and narrowing her eyes, she whispered: "Moreover, that was no coincidence, but a premeditated ambush. Those people were just a cover; the real killing blow was hidden in the shadows. A master must have struck in secret, otherwise I would not have been so passive."

"... Do you know who struck?"

"That person did not speak, but he wore a mask of the Butian Alliance... a White Tiger mask."

The White Tiger Lord!

"Why would the Butian Alliance do this? Aren't they trying to mend Heaven? Wouldn't it be better if you could walk your path?" Although Ren Yidao had never believed the Butian Alliance was a good thing, he had not expected them to be interfering in the shadows all along.

"Who knows, perhaps they just didn't like the look of me?" Yaoyue snorted coldly, having no good impression of the Butian Alliance.

"I will help you take revenge in the future."

"Revenge? No need."

Yaoyue curled her lips and said disdainfully: "Although I was heavily wounded and dying under their sneak attack at the time, that guy's condition was even worse than mine. When he fled in defeat, he had only half a breath left and could only live for another half an hour. The current White Tiger Lord is likely a newcomer who replaced him later."

Damn.

Ren Yidao, who was always used to acting cool, couldn't help but click his tongue upon hearing this.

Master is mighty!

Although Ren Yidao knew Jing Yaoyue could fight, he really hadn't expected his master to be this capable.

She was already in a heavily wounded state after splitting her soul, yet even in such a low-health state, she was still able to counter-kill the White Tiger Lord who had ambushed her.

Honestly, she was a bit too capable of fighting...

It was fortunate that she was on his side; otherwise, it would be hard to imagine how troublesome it would be to have such a combatant appear on the enemy side.

"After shaking off those people, I had already penetrated deep into Feiyun Ravine and completely lost my way. Unable to return the way I came, I had no choice but to force a breakthrough and dive into an unknown transport Array."

"After experiencing several failures, I finally succeeded in traveling from Feiyun Ravine to a deep cave in the Eastern Wasteland. By then, I was completely exhausted."

"And what was worse was that the Incarnation began to backlash against the main body. If I didn't sever the connection, even the main body would begin to forget everything. I had no choice but to seal the Incarnation and voluntarily fall into a deep sleep."

Death Valley...

Ren Yidao narrowed his eyes, feeling that everything was connected; that was where he had found Yaoyue.

"But when my main body woke up, I had completely forgotten my past memories, only vaguely remembering the Demon Emperor City. After interrogating a small snake there, it sent me to the vicinity of the Demon Emperor City."

"And when I approached the Demon Emperor City, the Demon Emperor brought me back to the Demon Emperor Palace. After checking that my memories were indeed lost, she gave me a new name, Shuo, and had me wear a mask, serving as the Moon Sacrifice while slowly recalling the past."

Yaoyue's story had basically reached its end, and Ren Yidao could fill in the rest for her.

The main body returned to the Demon Emperor City, while the Incarnation only broke the Seal after more than two hundred years, starting over from a small fox, becoming the secret leader of Death Valley, and finally being captured by Ren Yidao...

"It wasn't until the Incarnation Yaoyue appeared before me that my split soul merged, and I completely remembered everything from the past, recalling the forgotten years and the name Jing Yaoyue."

Yaoyue finished recounting her experience and looked calmly at Ren Yidao, whose expression was somewhat wistful.

"This is the reason I have given; do you believe it?"

"..."

To be honest, the amount of information was truly significant, and Ren Yidao could not fully digest it all at once.

However, before that, he had a question he wanted to ask Yaoyue.

"Before you went to adventure in Feiyun Ravine, did you never think of returning to the Demon Emperor City to seek help?"

Yaoyue was silent for a moment and shook her head: "... Little Yueqin was too young that year. Although her strength was decent, her temperament was too soft. I had originally planned to wait until she entered the Heaven Realm before returning under the guise of seclusion."

She smiled bitterly and lowered her head to gently stroke her disciple's cheek.

"But who knew that it would backfire in the end, leaving her all alone here."