Chapter 698: Recreating a Clone

Chapter 698: Chapter 698: Recreating a Clone

"Reporting, True Monarch. The Sect’s *Netherworld Record* states that the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation is the realm of life and death, the place where all souls enter the Returning Ruins.

"Within, waves of blood corrode bone, yin winds extinguish the soul, and spacetime turbulence tears the Divine Sense to shreds. Only a True Spirit, having shed its mortal coil, may enter."

He paused for a moment before adding, "The ancient texts also state that only souls with unenlightened True Spirits may cross the Nether River. Should a Golden Core True Monarch force their way in, they would surely provoke a backlash from the Sea of Suffering. This is an iron law established by the Celestial Dao to protect the order of Reincarnation."

Seeing Xu Yunfan lost in thought, Lu Chuan dared not hesitate and continued, "However, as for the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit that you seek, True Monarch, I have indeed seen its name within a fragmented scroll from Pure Source Mountain.

"The scroll claims this fruit hangs within the Eye of the Ruins in the deepest reaches of the Sea of Suffering. It is formed from the Origin of Supreme Yin, and with the Divine Sky Thunderbolt, it creates a state where Yin and Yang Complement Each Other..."

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow and asked casually, "Is my desire for this Dao Fruit so obvious?"

Lu Chuan trembled slightly and spoke at once, not daring to hesitate.

"Forgive me, True Monarch. It is only that after five lifetimes of reincarnation, I have gained some small insight into Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. I also know a thing or two about the Golden Core Realm. I know that to advance to the Mid-Stage Golden Core, one needs at least three Dao Fruits to form a Minor Circulation. A lone yang cannot beget life, and a solitary yin cannot grow.

"You have already forged your Thunder Fire, True Monarch, so you must need a Taiyin Dao Fruit to create balance and harmonize the dragon and tiger. And the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit is truly one of the finest Yin Attribute Dao Fruits in the entire Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm."

Looking at Lu Chuan, who was prostrated on the ground and didn’t dare to raise his head in the slightest, Xu Yunfan was momentarily speechless, though not out of anger.

’Even Lu Chuan knows what I’m after, let alone those other True Monarchs who are watching me. Besides, I have spent the last few years investigating Yin Attribute Dao Fruits, the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation, and legends of the Netherworld.’

’Anyone paying attention could have guessed a thing or two.’

"Continue," Xu Yunfan said.

Lu Chuan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"There is an annotation at the end of the *Netherworld Record*: ’To take the Nether Dragon, first cross the Nether Gate. Where does the Gate open? The returning soul will know.’"

He shook his head with a bitter smile. "The line is cryptic. I have pondered it for a century and still don’t understand."

At that moment, Chu Chengnan took a step forward. His black robes stirred without a breeze, a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

"True Monarch, the Nether Gate that Junior Brother Lu mentioned... I have knocked upon it in all five of my lives."

He unfurled his palm, and a wisp of grayish-white Death Qi rose from it, coalescing into the illusory image of a gate covered in cracks.

"This gate is neither real nor illusory; it is a projection of the Reincarnation Law. After a Cultivator undergoes Soldier Resolution, their Divine Soul scatters to the heavens and earth. Only their True Spirit, drawn by the Nether River, will see this gate standing on the shores of the Sea of Suffering."

His voice turned grim.

"When I died in my first life, the gate was still intact.

"But in more recent reincarnations, the cracks on the gate have worsened. This is the result of the Puchen Pure Land’s Rebirth Pool and the Wansheng Sword Sect’s Severing Fate Sword forcefully seizing authority over Reincarnation.

"Now, to enter the Netherworld, one must use their Divine Soul to weather the raging spacetime turbulence that escapes from the cracks in the gate!"

Although Chu Chengnan hadn’t mentioned the Primordial Sect, Xu Yunfan knew it had its own method for rebirth as well: the Reincarnation Platform.

However, nearly all of the Sect’s Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters chose not to use it when they reincarnated.

After all, to use the Reincarnation Platform was to announce one’s place of rebirth to the world.

What Daoist Master from the Primordial Sect didn’t have scores of enemies? If their reincarnation location became known, all hell would break loose.

Moreover, many Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters sever all ties with their past identity after reincarnating, precisely to evade being hunted by old foes.

Xu Yunfan was lost in thought.

"So, in all five of your lives, you consciously perceived the pull of the Netherworld?"

Chu Chengnan shook his head. "Only four times. In my third life, a stray current of Sword Spirit shattered thirty percent of my Soul Origin, leaving my Innate Wisdom incomplete after reincarnation. I had to cultivate bitterly for a hundred years before my mind cleared."

He raised his eyes to look directly at Xu Yunfan. "True Monarch, this gate is everywhere, yet nowhere to be found. Only with Divine Soul Separation can one feel its call. However, you have already formed a Golden Core, True Monarch. Your Divine Soul is bound to your Dao Fruit. If you were to forcibly separate your soul..."

Before Chu Chengnan could finish explaining the risks, Xu Yunfan already understood.

’A Divine Soul leaving the body is an extremely dangerous affair for a Golden Core True Monarch. Without the vessel of one’s physical form, the perils are immense.’

’If an enemy were to find out, there’s no telling what chaos might ensue.’

’But there are plenty of protective measures one can take.’

Chu Chengnan and Lu Chuan bowed and withdrew from the Divine Sky Palace, leaving Xu Yunfan alone in the vast, empty hall.

Inside the hall, Purple Gold Thunder Patterns flowed between the jade pillars and across the floor, their light reflecting on his face.

’Divine Soul Separation...’

Xu Yunfan muttered to himself, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the edge of the Cloud Platform.

’A Golden Core True Monarch’s Divine Soul is connected to their Dao Fruit, like a towering tree rooted in the earth. To forcibly tear it away would be no different from severing one’s own roots.’

’The risk is too great. If I were to encounter a powerful enemy or some unforeseen disaster in the Sea of Suffering, my true body would also suffer grievous injury.’

’Besides, who knows how many pairs of eyes in the shadows of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm are fixed on Divine Sky Mountain, many of them hoping for my demise and scheming to take my Dao Fruit.’

’My true body cannot move.’

’It seems this is the only way.’

A glint flashed in Xu Yunfan’s eyes; a plan had already formed in his mind.

With a wave of his long sleeve, the space before him rippled, and a mountain of rare Spiritual Materials poured forth from his Sumeru Mustard Seed, landing on the cold, polished floor tiles with a series of dull thuds.

Brilliant Spiritual Light illuminated the grand hall.

Among them were rare treasures found in the ruins of the Celestial Realm, such as World Void Stone, which contained the Power of Space, and Broken Star Silver, which flowed with stardust.

There was also Thunderfire Essence collected from deep within the Earth Veins of Divine Sky Peak, a Ten Thousand Year Thunderstruck Wood Core, and Earth Fire Melting Heart Jade.

There were even more precious materials accumulated from his early years—treasures that ordinary Cultivators could only dream of.

Ten-thousand-year-old Warm Jade Marrow, Geng Metal Mother Qi, Profound Yin True Water...

It was a dazzling array, suffused with dense Spiritual Qi, piled up into a small mountain.

This was the culmination of his many years of searching and accumulation, all brought out now for the sole purpose of Refining an avatar capable of shouldering this heavy responsibility.

Xu Yunfan held his breath and focused his mind. The aura around him suddenly retracted inward, as if he had merged with the surrounding space.

The next moment, deep within his Dantian Qi Sea, the illusory Golden Core—purple-gold with crimson patterns, imbued with the power of the Thunder Fire Dao Fruit—trembled slightly. An immense and boundless torrent of Eight-Colored Clouds, vast enough to connect heaven and earth, erupted forth.

The Li Fire burned fiercely like surging lava; the Kan Water was as profound as abyssal ice; the Gen Mountain was as weighty as a towering peak; the Zhen Thunder was as violent as a clap from the ninth heaven...

The eight types of mystical Cloud Qi, each representing a Power of Origin of heaven and earth, surged and churned, instantly filling the entire hall and enveloping all the piled Spiritual Materials.

"Eight Sceneries of Profound Capital, Refining Heaven and Creation, Cloud Scripture Cave Opening! For Self-Cultivation, for Wielding the Artifact!"

His hands flashed through Seal Techniques with the speed of lightning, and his incantation thundered through the great hall.

The Artifact Refining True Intent from his Perfection Realm mastery of the *Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture* was pushed to its absolute limit.

Under his precise control, the Eight-Colored Clouds became a living torrent of creation.

The Li Fire Cloud Qi transformed into a roaring Divine Fire, melting and purifying the hard ores and Spiritual Materials.

The Kan Water Cloud Qi acted like the most precise of carving knives, washing away impurities and sculpting the form.

The Thunder Shocking Cloud Qi was responsible for activating the spirituality deep within the Spiritual Materials.

The Xunfeng Cloud Qi guided the flow of energy, the Kun Earth Cloud Qi stabilized the foundation, the Qian Heaven Cloud Qi bestowed a spiritual aura, the Dui Ze Cloud Qi harmonized conflicts, and the Gen Mountain Cloud Qi solidified the final shape...

Under the smelting and shaping of the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi, the Spirit Marrow of countless Spiritual Materials was extracted and refined, while all impurities were burned to nothing.

At the core of the surging Cloud Qi, a humanoid embryo, with a silhouette remarkably similar to Xu Yunfan’s own body, was rapidly taking shape.

*(One more Chapter tomorrow morning. I’m too tired to write more, can’t pull an all-nighter. Thanks, everyone!)*