“This feeling?” Xu Bai couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
Having created clones in every lifetime, he was long accustomed to splitting his mind into two.
But at this moment, as he forged another entity—practically equivalent to a third clone, the Holy Embryo, a completely different sensation surged within him.
The Mysterious True Spirit Transformation was an extension of the Stealing Heaven and Replacing the Sun Technique, built upon its foundational principles and refined further.
It was arguably the most orthodox cloning technique in the cultivation world.
Both the original body and the clone were fully under his consciousness’s control.
In contrast, the Holy Blood Embryo Transformation Technique—
Before the Holy Embryo separated from the main body, it indeed felt like an extension of himself, something he could manipulate at will.
However, the moment it detached from his back, a mysterious transformation seemed to occur.
Something still felt off.
The Holy Embryo turned to face Xu Bai, and their gazes locked.
It was as if a mirror stood between them—aside from one being clothed and the other completely bare, their appearances were identical.
Yet, after staring for a long time, Xu Bai couldn’t shake off a deep sense of discord between them.
A sudden memory surfaced—
A scene from a horror film he had watched before crossing over.
Late at night, in a bathroom.
After washing up, he had accidentally glanced at the mirror.
But to his horror, his reflection was smiling back at him—a twisted, eerie grin.
The thought vanished in an instant.
In reality, nothing of the sort happened—the Holy Embryo did not suddenly go rogue or smile at him sinisterly.
Yet, looking at it now, a realization struck Xu Bai.
If the true body—Li Fan—were to perish, then without a doubt, the clone Xu Bai would also die.
But what about the Holy Embryo?
Would it perish along with them?
The purpose of the Holy Blood Embryo Transformation Technique was to ensure the eternal continuity of the imperial bloodline.
So the answer was obvious—it wouldn’t.
“This is the fundamental difference between the Holy Embryo and a clone,” Xu Bai suddenly understood.
“What Xiao Qing said—‘almost identical to a clone’… it really is just ‘almost.’”
As this realization dawned on him, far away in Tianquan Prefecture, Li Fan, who was in seclusion studying the Limitless Fullness and Emptiness, suddenly paused his actions.
Replaying everything that had transpired in the empire through Xu Bai’s perspective, an unreadable expression appeared on his face.
“Interesting… So, in the end, I wasn’t completely unaffected.”
Looking back at the situation from his original perspective—
Xu Bai’s choices now seemed somewhat reckless.
Of course, it had still been his own decision.
But under different circumstances and environments, even the same person might make completely opposite choices.
That was exactly what had happened to Xu Bai.
If he himself had personally experienced this event, when faced with the Red String and the Sacred Blood Embryo, he would have prioritized studying the Red String first—
Rather than rushing to create the Holy Embryo.
Although he had intended to use the Sacred Blood Embryo to forge another clone,
He would have been far more cautious.
Having reached a conclusion in an instant, Li Fan still felt no immediate sense of crisis—
But he did sense that something was amiss.
After much deliberation, a thought surfaced in his mind—
“Should I simply return to [Truth]?”
“Do you wish to virtualize the current scenario and return to the initial anchor point?”
As his surroundings began to blur into nothingness, faced with the prompt to return,
Li Fan hesitated.
He thought about the Limitless Fullness and Emptiness, which he had yet to fully decipher.
He thought about the Dissociation Disc, which had yet to merge into one.
He thought about how he still hadn’t figured out a way to completely shield Tianxuan Treasure Record’s detection using the Endstone Plate.
He thought about how he hadn’t yet mastered the Medicine King True Cauldron and broken out of Xuanhuang Realm to explore the Immortal Ruins.
He thought about…
If he left now, he would be unwilling.
Li Fan remained still for a long time, like a stone statue, completely motionless.
A fierce battle of thoughts raged within his mind, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably.
“Do you wish to virtualize the current scene and return to the initial anchor point?”
The prompt from [Truth] appeared once again.
Li Fan’s expression wavered.
But in the end, he chose no.
In an instant, the once-faded scene regained its full reality.
Having made this decision, Li Fan felt as if he had just experienced a great battle, nearly collapsing to the ground from exhaustion, his entire body drenched in sweat.
Yet, his instincts told him that he was not satisfied with the choice he had made.
He barely had time to catch his breath before reopening the [Truth] panel once more.
“Do you wish to virtualize the current scene and return to the initial anchor point?”
The prompt remained as reliable and clear as before.
But this time, it no longer sounded so pleasant to Li Fan’s ears.
Every action a person takes is driven by desire.
And now, as Li Fan faced the [Truth] panel for the second time, his desire to “restore reality” had noticeably weakened compared to before.
Hesitation, concerns, and reluctance surged through his mind.
This time, the struggle was shorter.
Li Fan ultimately closed the [Truth] panel again.
Whoosh…
It was as if all the strength had drained from his body.
He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
A long time passed before he finally managed to prop himself up with his hands. A complicated emotion flickered in his eyes.
Then, he attempted for the third time.
The result was clear.
This time, he made his decision even faster.
In just a few breaths, he closed the [Truth] panel again.
“Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra…”
On his fourth attempt, Li Fan silently activated the supreme immortal technique that had saved him from countless crises.
Yet, the moment he opened the [Truth] panel—before any of his lingering attachments could interfere—he instinctively exited on his own.
The Immortal Heart Mantra was a path forged by reversing the Dao Heart of cultivators.
Now, Li Fan desired to restore reality in order to escape calamity.
Under the mantra’s influence, the thought of [Truth] was instantly devoured and converted into nourishment for his spiritual consciousness.
Having failed yet again, Li Fan stood in the secret chamber, silent for a long time.
This time, he no longer struggled.
Instead, he closed his eyes and calmly contemplated.
At this moment, Li Fan found himself facing the greatest crisis since his transmigration.
Because he had spent years laying down intricate schemes in this world, he had yet to reach the stage of reaping the rewards. This created an intense sense of reluctance.
And under the influence of some unknown force, that reluctance had been magnified to the extreme—making him unwilling to restore reality of his own accord.
Even now, Li Fan felt that there was nothing wrong with himself.
At worst, he was simply too greedy.
But in the end, Li Fan cherished his life.
His obsession with immortality was unwavering, and he understood one thing clearly—
If he couldn’t use [Truth], then in this perilous Xuanhuang Realm, he was truly at risk of falling at any moment.
A fall from which he would never recover.