Pei Liang's body stiffened instantly, and in an almost immediate reaction, he abruptly retreated, pressing himself against the wall, and cried out in fear, "Senior, are you human or ghost?"
"You don't need to be nervous! I am just a wisp of remnant thought!"
The ethereal voice carried a sigh, "It's a pity you came too late; there are many things I cannot elaborate on with you!"
"The true treasure is beneath the meditation mat. Inside, I've placed a jade slip. I hope it can help clarify your doubts!"
"I am about to completely dissipate. Take care of yourself!"
Pei Liang listened quietly, his body pressed tightly against the wall, trying to make a vortex appear in the wall, just like when he entered, to spit him out!
As he was tensing up, he realized that the consciousness had completely vanished after saying it would dissipate!
After a long while, he tentatively called out, "Senior?"
"Senior, are you still here?"
"If you don't speak, I'll chop up that bone and feed it to the dogs!"
"......"
"Really dissipated???"
Pei Liang's face was filled with surprise; this was too hasty, wasn't it?
However, he still leaned against the wall, maintaining his utmost vigilance and observing the situation in the cave dwelling.
It was only after a full two hours that Pei Liang slightly moved his stiff body.
He cautiously approached the meditation mat.
The star stone's sensation was at this very spot. Just now, when he was kneeling in reverence, the star stone within his body kept flashing, as if excitedly meeting a long-lost relative.
He swept aside the meditation mat, revealing a square compartment underneath. Inside lay a jade slip and a jade box!
Almost simultaneously, the jade box opened automatically, and an object flew out from it, perfectly round and shimmering with starlight!
It hovered slightly in front of him before transforming into a streak of light and entering his body!
"It's another star stone?"
The square star stone within his body immediately went to meet it.
The two were like long-lost friends, intertwining and playing for a while before settling in his Dantian, one on the left and one on the right!
Once their positions were set, Pei Liang felt a mysterious change occur in his body, but upon careful perception, he found nothing discernible.
However, this still couldn't diminish the excitement and ecstasy in his heart at that moment!
"One star stone has already granted me a long lifespan; what kind of miracle will another one produce?"
He eagerly took out the jade slip from beneath the meditation mat, wanting to see what effect this star stone had!
A few breaths later, a look of surprise appeared on Pei Liang's face.
"Shadow Clone technique?"
As Pei Liang had guessed, this round star stone also possessed the miraculous effect of defying the heavens and creating wonders.
Its ability was to split Shadow Clones!
Defying the creation of heaven and earth, as easy as moving one's arm!
According to the introduction in the jade slip, the original owner of the round star stone had explored two types of Shadow Clones!
One was the Shadow Clone!
It was like the Master's shadow, inheriting the Master's physique, appearance, and all abilities.
The drawback was that it could not cultivate.
The advantage was that it could be freely resurrected and possessed the same cultivation and strength as the Master!
The second type was the autonomous clone!
It was like a self-sufficient entity, with different aptitudes and talents, independent and autonomous.
The drawback was that it could not synchronize cultivation with the Master, its talent was random, and it could not be resurrected after death!
The advantage was that it could cultivate independently, comparable to an autonomous consciousness, with unlimited potential, and could survive independently of the Master. However, its life and death were at the Master's whim!
"It looks pretty good, more practical than my Longevity star stone!"
The jade slip also recorded the origin of this skeletal remains.
A simple sentence: 'This exotic treasure is a creation of heaven and earth, wondrously preserved. May you cherish it well. In the future, if you have leisure, you may visit Qizhou Shenglong Hall. All of mine is contained within it!'
"Qizhou?"
"Where is that?"
Pei Liang looked puzzled.
He had spent hundreds of years living and moving within the territory under the Xuan Yu Sect, changing identities and locations, and only opened a small shop in Yunluo Immortal Market a decade ago.
He had never traveled far, nor dared to.
As for what the jade slip mentioned, he had no interest in exploring it.
He first put away the jade slip, then his gaze fell on the table behind the white bones.
With a wave of his palm, he collected the items into his storage bag.
However, only an ancient, unadorned ring remained motionless, seemingly repelled.
Pei Liang's heart stirred, and he tucked the ring into his embrace.
He didn't plan to examine it further; it wasn't advisable to linger here. It was better to put it away and leave early, then study it back home.
His gaze fixed on the ceiling of the stone chamber, where faint ripples still flickered. He should leave from where he fell.
Just as he was about to jump, he paused.
After a moment of thought, Pei Liang sat cross-legged on the meditation mat.
He recalled the information in the jade slip: the Shadow Clone, when manifested, possessed all of the Master's abilities and strength.
Following the method described in the jade slip, Pei Liang gathered his thoughts and slowly touched the round star stone.
At the moment of contact, the star stone shimmered with brilliant starlight, and unknown energy fluctuations surged out from within Pei Liang's body.
When he opened his eyes again, a figure with a face identical to his own appeared before him.
"Greetings, Master!"
The figure smiled and greeted him.
Pei Liang felt surprised and reached out to touch the clone's cheek; it felt substantial and as smooth and delicate as his own cheek!
"I thought it was a phantom, but I didn't expect it to be a physical body!"
He repeated the process and summoned four more Shadow Clones.
The five stood in a row, wearing the same smiles, and nodded slightly to Pei Liang.
Pei Liang clearly perceived that there were faintly five ethereal threads connecting them, keeping them by his side!
"What can you do?" he asked curiously!
"We can do everything the Master can do!" the five answered in unison.
"Then can you cultivate?" Pei Liang asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up.
"No!"
"This is everything you said you could do?"
The five clones miraculously showed expressions of embarrassment, then fell into deep distress.
Pei Liang could naturally sense their thoughts, but this feeling of talking to himself was very interesting.
After asking a few simple questions, he stored the five Shadow Clones back into the star stone.
When they were not needed, the round star stone served as their storage place.
This time, without the slightest hesitation, Pei Liang lightly jumped. Just as his head was about to hit the ceiling, a vortex suddenly appeared.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared within the second layer of the tomb.
He looked back at the spot where he had entered.
There were no fluctuations from any magical arrays, nor any energy fluctuations.
When he tried again, he found that the vortex seemed to have completely disappeared; no matter what, he couldn't enter again.
"Truly miraculous!" No matter how much he racked his brain, Pei Liang couldn't understand how this hidden place was constructed.
However, he now understood the design of this tomb within a tomb.
Hidden within a mundane tomb, concealed by a cultivator's tomb, and nestled beneath two burial sites.
At the deepest part, the stone chamber's array was divinely crafted, as if specifically designed for the star stone's owner.
Millions of years of waiting, it seemed, were just for him.
'So what? What does it have to do with me?'
Pei Liang curled his lip, then glanced at the coffin he had kicked away, letting out a sigh.
There should have been some treasures in this coffin.
But now it was empty, certainly plundered by that scoundrel Wu Pan...
Without any further lingering, Pei Liang leaped, returning to the first layer of the tomb, and then leaped again, returning to the surface.
The night was as dark as ink, but two dark figures stood before him.
"You're finally out. What treasures did you get?"
A chilling voice exploded in Pei Liang's ears!