Pei Liang was instantly horrified.
He moved sideways, intending to flee, but another figure directly blocked him.
Pei Liang's face darkened, "What do you three mean?"
"Nothing much. Hand over what you got from below, and we can spare your life!" one of them said coldly.
Pei Liang's mind raced.
"Do the three of you think you can take me on?"
He had just sensed that the cultivation of these three individuals was not much different from his own.
"Haha, three against one, do you think we can take you on?"
"Ganging up on someone?"
"Otherwise, what? Hehe, you'd better just accept your fate!"
Pei Liang sneered, "Then we'll have to see whose side has more people!"
As soon as he finished speaking, five figures appeared out of nowhere in the darkness, surrounding the three, each holding a Talisman glowing red.
To the three's shock, Pei Liang softly uttered a single word, "Explode!"
Then he retreated rapidly.
"Boom!"
A violent flash of fiery red burst through the dark night.
Rolling tongues of fire instantly engulfed that area.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the firelight dissipated.
Pei Liang returned, finding only ashes on the ground; his five Clones had all been annihilated along with the enemies.
"Damn it, my 'Exploding Flame Talismans' that I've saved for a hundred years!"
He cursed and rummaged through the ashes a few times, but the three's Storage Pouches had also vanished in the explosion.
The power of more than ten Exploding Flame Talismans was naturally not to be underestimated.
To quickly eliminate the enemy, Pei Liang had truly gone all out this time.
This was also his only trump card for self-preservation.
Daring not to delay any longer, he circulated all his magical power and, taking advantage of the night, flew swiftly close to the ground.
Returning to his small courtyard, Pei Liang still felt lingering fear.
Before entering the tomb, he had been careful enough to observe, yet he was still ambushed!
He wondered if it was an accident or if someone had been specifically tailing him?
"It seems I must be even more cautious in the future!"
Pei Liang sighed, no longer dwelling on it.
Instead, he excitedly took out the ancient bronze Storage Ring from his embrace.
This was a Storage Ring!
He excitedly used his spiritual sense to perceive the space inside.
There was no obstruction whatsoever; the original owner's imprint seemed to have completely dissipated!
However, Pei Liang's face darkened.
Inside the Ring, it was completely empty!
There wasn't even a single Spirit Stone!!
"The space is quite large, though!"
He murmured regretfully and put the Ring on his hand.
As the Ring touched his hand, it underwent a miraculous transformation, as if melting, completely disappearing on his finger and merging with Pei Liang's finger.
However, he could still feel the space existing at his fingertip!
"Not bad, the concealment is quite strong!"
Pei Liang nodded in satisfaction and then took out the other items on the table from his Storage Pouch.
Five or six Jade Bottles and a Jade Slip.
"This is... longevity pills?"
Pei Liang opened one Jade Bottle, slightly surprised, then immediately opened all the remaining Jade Bottles; they all contained Longevity Medicinal Pills!
His face completely darkened!
"These things are not of much use to me; what I lack least is lifespan!"
Shaking his head, he looked at the last item, a Jade Slip.
Picking it up and placing it on his forehead, he couldn't help but frown.
"Essentials of Alchemy!"
Pei Liang let out a long breath, feeling it was somewhat useless!
With his talent in the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, even if he exhausted his entire life, he wouldn't comprehend a single bit of this thing!
"What a loss, these are all useless things!"
But then he thought, that round star stone was his greatest gain, a Heaven-Defying fortune.
His five Shadow Clones had helped him greatly as soon as they appeared.
If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have been able to activate so many Talismans at once by himself, and even if he could, he would have been blown to smithereens like the enemies, right?
The Jade Slip mentioned that Shadow Clones could be revived, but he didn't know how they would be revived.
After muttering for a while, he began to manifest his autonomous Clones.
With a thought, sensing the star stone, the Clones naturally appeared!
Five figures appeared out of thin air, faceless and featureless, startling Pei Liang!
"Why are you like this?"
"Our facial evolution requires definition from the Master!"
The five answered in unison, "You can either choose a specific face or allow for autonomous facial evolution!"
Pei Liang's eyes lit up at the words, and some ideas naturally arose in his mind.
However, at this moment, he still ordered, "You all evolve yourselves!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of the five Clones rapidly changed, forming five completely different appearances.
Pei Liang nodded slightly at the sight; if these Clones were released, they would be like entirely new people, and no one would be able to link them together.
The Clone technique of the round star stone!
Unlike the Clone secret arts in the Cultivation World, which have harsh conditions and the risk of betrayal.
The Clone method derived from the star stone was incredibly mystical, like cells splitting from the body; no matter how they developed, they were still a part of the body!
There was no need to worry about betrayal; if the Master died, the Clones would perish!
Autonomous Clones could cultivate on their own, but their cultivation Realm could not feed back to the Master; only when a Clone achieved a Breakthrough in Realm could it influence the Master.
As for how it would influence him, the Jade Slip did not provide detailed information, and he needed to explore it further!
What Pei Liang was more concerned about at this moment was what special talents these Clones possessed.
Cultivation could not be fed back, but Cultivation Techniques, skills, and Spells could be synchronized!
"Tell me, what talents do you all have?"
The first Clone puffed out his chest and said arrogantly, "My talent is Mortal Spiritual Root! I can't do anything else!"
Pei Liang was stunned; was a mere Mortal Spiritual Root so arrogant?
Mortal Spiritual Roots are essentially incapable of absorbing Spiritual Qi, which means the vast number of Mortals!
In the Cultivation World, only those with a Spiritual Root can cultivate.
And according to the fullness of Spiritual Qi absorbed, they can be divided into Low Grade, Medium Grade, High Grade, Earthly Spiritual Root, and Heavenly Spiritual Root!
Pei Liang felt that he was somewhere between a Mortal Spiritual Root and a Low Grade Spiritual Root; absorbing Spiritual Qi was like peeling silk from a cocoon, almost equal to nothing!
But it was this 'almost nothing' thread that allowed him to transcend Mortals and become a high-and-mighty Cultivator!
He even suspected that he himself might have originally been a Mortal Spiritual Root incapable of cultivation, and it was the miraculous effect of the star stone that gave him a chance to defy fate!
So, he really wanted to kick this arrogant, infuriating Mortal Spiritual Root in front of him flying!
A bad start; he knew the autonomous Clones' Aptitude was random, but it shouldn't start with one that can't cultivate, right?
He lost his interest in asking further and sensed the conditions of the remaining four Clones with his mind, and they appeared in his thoughts!
One Earthly Spiritual Root had Sword Dao talent, one High Grade Spiritual Root had Alchemy Dao talent, one Medium Grade Spiritual Root was ordinary with no special talent, and the last one was a Low Grade Spiritual Root with Talisman Dao talent.
He was in the same boat as himself; if one's bones were not good, one could only learn Talismans!
After sensing them all, Pei Liang's face, which had been dark all night, finally broke into a smile.
He gazed at the dazzling Sword Dao talent and Alchemy Dao talent, almost drooling.
These were all abilities he was about to possess!
"I must settle them properly and let them make the most of their talents!"
Amidst his excitement, Pei Liang began to plan.
"The Earthly Spiritual Root with Sword Dao talent must join a Sect!"
"The Clone with Alchemy Dao talent can be sent to Dan Bao Pavilion to start as an apprentice!"
"The Low Grade Spiritual Root with Talisman Dao talent will be sent to Fu Bao Pavilion to learn Talismans!"
"The Medium Grade Spiritual Root without talent can be kept by my side for now, giving myself some room for maneuver!"
"As for that arrogant Mortal Spiritual Root Clone? Perhaps I should send him to the Mortal world to take the imperial examinations..."