Chapter 536

Dìshì's "Infinite Clone" ability — we have witnessed it.

Those clones were born in response to the heavenly tribulation.

Theoretically, as long as heavenly thunder strikes his body, a clone will be born alongside it.

Some clones are mere apparitions that dissipate quickly after appearing, while others possess independent consciousness and can even pass on their lineage, such as the Little White Dragon and the Phoenix Voyage Boat…

"I have never understood where Dìshì's 'Infinite Clone' ability comes from; on what basis does he possess it; what is the principle?"

It is truly bewildering.

"Before I personally witnessed what happened on the execution ground that day, I also could not understand." Liu Junyan said, "On the way I rushed back that day, although I was careful, I clearly felt that the guards around that forbidden zone had all withdrawn, leaving only some patrol troops on the outskirts; meanwhile I actually encountered several powerful vengeful ghosts heading toward the execution platform."

Those vengeful ghosts seemed to know what would happen on the execution platform, deliberately avoiding the patrol troops and rushing toward the platform one after another, neither competing nor fighting, as if they had been trained many times.

I became even more puzzled: "There is heavenly tribulation beside the execution platform; aren't they afraid?"

Logically, they should be avoiding it at all costs.

"I also couldn't figure it out, so I followed them." Liu Junyan said, "I deliberately followed closely behind, fearing that I would be affected by what was about to happen."

"Most of the spirits surrounding the execution platform were ghosts from Wǎngsǐ Chéng; the vast majority were vengeful ghosts, with a few weak souls cowering in the back, and I even saw a few underworld officials standing in the corner..."

"There was only one bolt of heavenly thunder, but its intensity was immense; I personally saw Dìshì's true body shattered by lightning, and in the next moment, all the surrounding souls — including those few underworld officials and even some birds — were sucked into Dìshì…"

I stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "What? sucked in?"

"Yes, sucked in — I also felt that powerful suction." Liu Junyan said, "At that moment I truly felt my soul about to leave my body, but for some unknown reason my soul was then pushed back, and a strong repulsive force flung me outward."

Liu Junyan's cultivation is not low.

Being able to cause the sensation of soul leaving the body shows how great that suction is.

I frowned: "Were all the other souls sucked in? Why was I the only one not taken?"

"Afterward I analyzed it; it should be related to my origins." Liu Junyan said, "I myself am a descendant of clones; after those souls were sucked in, part of them filled the cracks in Dìshì's shattered true body, while the remaining tiny portion became clones — those clones were of poor quality and dissipated as soon as they appeared…"

Hearing this, I fell silent.

It felt strange.

Dìshì underwent the heavenly tribulation; his true body was shattered, using the souls of Wǎngsǐ Chéng to fill it.

The vengeful ghosts clearly knew there was heavenly tribulation and that they might become material for restoring Dìshì's true body, yet they still flocked to him.

Even some underworld officials rushed forward…

What charm does Dìshì possess that draws them in so strongly?

"It is reincarnation."

Liu Junyan gave the answer without holding back.

I stared blankly for a moment, not grasping his meaning for a while.

Reincarnation?

The souls sent into Wǎngsǐ Chéng are those who died unnaturally — some murdered, some suicides; no matter which, to leave Wǎngsǐ Chéng and enter the proper reincarnation process requires conditions.

Either one must personally witness the vindication of one's grievance and see the murderer brought to justice, or one must endure sufficient punishment and atone for one's sins before proceeding to the next stage.

How difficult that is.

Therefore, once someone enters Wǎngsǐ Chéng, reincarnation becomes extremely distant for them.

But Dìshì possesses the Infinite Clone ability… I finally understood.

Those vengeful ghosts and souls wish, through Dìshì and the heavenly tribulation, to become clones — which amounts to a single reincarnation.

Such reincarnation bypasses the Nether Realm and is not recorded; if successful, it foretells greater freedom for them.

It even frees them from the constraints of the Three Realms and Six Paths, placing them entirely outside the Five Elements.

Such temptation is truly enormous.

Even in this process they might become nourishment and vanish completely.

Even after becoming clones they might be feeble and short-lived.

But this is the only opportunity laid before them; they have no choice but to seize it, to try to grasp it.

"This is the secret that Wǎngsǐ Chéng has been hiding all along." I concluded, but still didn't understand, "Why would they hide it? Why not try to resolve Dìshì?"

"I am equally shocked and bewildered." Liu Junyan said, "But there isn't much time left for me to ponder these things; the patrol soldiers from the outskirts soon entered, cleaned up the scene, made another round, then hastily left again—about half an hour in total, at most half an hour—and then another heavenly thunder struck..."

This frequency is a bit too high, isn't it?

"This time, no souls approached nearby; besides me, I didn't see anyone." Liu Junyan continued, "But the range affected by the heavenly tribulation seems larger than before, expanding infinitely outward, and soon some souls were sucked in."

In other words, every heavenly tribulation inevitably requires a sacrifice; even if it's not to produce a Fēnshēn, one must still seek nourishment to mend Dìshì's shattered true form.

This is too terrifying.

"When the fourth heavenly thunder struck, my patience had been exhausted, because each time a heavenly thunder strikes, I have to experience the sensation of my soul leaving my body all over again; I already have wounds on my body, and there's a tough battle ahead, I don't want to waste too much of my energy here."

After all, Wǎngsǐ Chéng has been unable to solve this problem for so many years; I definitely couldn't resolve it in a short time either. At the moment the Fourth Heavenly Thunder struck, I followed the thunder and rushed toward Dìshì.

My whole body involuntarily trembled once; I was extremely nervous.

Liu Junyan merely squeezed my hand to soothe my emotions: "I had been thinking to take advantage of his illness to kill him; since he doesn't absorb me, I'll seize the moment when the heavenly thunder shatters his true form to deliver a fatal blow, to see if I can completely destroy him."

I said firmly: "It definitely can't be done, right?"

"Yes, I know the success rate is very low, but I must try, because only by getting close enough to him and understanding him can I find his weakness and deliver a fatal blow." Liu Junyan said, "After all, I pursued the Golden Scale into Wǎngsǐ Chéng; not only did I fail to uncover Dìshì's secret, I haven't even seen Hú Sānmei again."

But what I never expected was that, at the moment I rushed toward Dìshì, the whole world seemed to change—heaven and earth overturned, yin and yang reversed, and my body felt as if it had slipped into another space.

In this process, I only felt heat—intense, scorching heat. I lowered my gaze toward the direction the heat was coming from and saw an ancient ceramic urn, inside which raged a blazing fire, and within that fire lay, unmistakably, the head of a little boy.