Chapter 903

The created clone is always one cultivation level below the original.

Now, Li Fan is in the early stage of Nascent Soul, so his clone, Li Qing, is only at the perfection stage of Golden Core.

Moreover, the clone possesses only the shell of the cultivation level; it has none of the foundation-establishing treasures or the Golden Core Laws within its body.

However, for Li Fan, this posed no real difficulty.

“Perfect opportunity to test how a clone, made from the blood and essense of the small-world Heavenly Dao incarnation, compares to Mr. Bai.”

Carrying his clone, he quietly returned to the Sword Tomb of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

He approached the unremarkable black sword.

Since he was not competing for a seat beside Heavenly Wonder Wooden Sword, he did not need to face the oppressive aura of the ten thousand swords in the tomb.

With the protection of the original, the clone could barely survive within the Sword Tomb.

However, whenever Li Qing even thought of taking the black sword, a faint yet undeniable murderous intent emanated from the center of the tomb.

Li Fan snorted coldly in his heart, completely ignoring the sword’s displeasure.

He summoned several beams of seven-colored light to protect the clone, Li Qing.

Then Li Qing approached the black sword and sat cross-legged.

Focusing his own mind, he condensed sword intent to nurture the blade.

Indeed, Li Fan intended to accelerate the maturation of the black sword using his own understanding of the Dao of Sword!

Since Li Fan’s comprehension of swordsmanship originated mostly from Heavenly Wonder Wooden Sword, it shared the same source as the creation of the black sword.

Thus, there was no violent resistance from the blade.

In this way, the clone, Li Qing, slowly imprinted its own mark, strand by strand, onto the black sword.

Perhaps due to the clone’s innate talent from being an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, after some time, the murderous intent from Heavenly Wonder Wooden Sword gradually dissipated, seemingly accepting the result.

Li Fan observed the Sword Tomb for a while longer to ensure nothing went wrong before quietly departing.

Of course, before leaving, he left the clone Li Qing with sufficient measures to ensure that, even in case of an accident, it could forcibly pull out the black sword and retreat safely.

“With the clone assisting in catalysis, the time required for the black sword to transform into a miraculous object is greatly reduced. It should take only about a year to be born. Although its power may be slightly lower than if naturally nurtured, that matters little to me.”

As for the path of the clone afterward, since it had not experienced Heavenly Wonder Wooden Sword’s Foundation Establishment, Li Fan did not make any preemptive arrangements.

“Reportedly, Heavenly Wonder’s Foundation Establishment is unlike that of other miraculous objects. There is no need to seek other mystic realms, the method of life creation, or the spirit of heaven and earth; relying solely on Heavenly Wonder is sufficient.”

“We shall see how it unfolds.”

“If that is indeed the case, under the new cultivation system, this advantage would be immense. Free from the restrictions of required resources, the clone’s cultivation speed might even surpass mine, who relies on the [Sitting Immortal Art] to reap the benefits effortlessly.”

“At that time…”

Li Fan suddenly froze.

In principle, a clone’s cultivation cannot exceed that of the original.

But…

Just hypothetically, what if there were some special method to remove this limitation?

Could it result in the clone surpassing the original?

Although Li Fan could not achieve this yet, in the Xuanhuang Realm, with its long history and countless demons and monsters, such a thing had happened before, and it would not be surprising.

“Original… clone…”

Li Fan furrowed his brow. A thought that had briefly flashed through his mind before and then been discarded suddenly resurfaced.

He pondered silently, but did not return directly to the Spiritwood Realm. Instead, he made his way to the Fishing Pond.

Earlier, he had received a message from Lin Ling saying that Senior Stone Tablet, who had been comprehending the Dao, had suddenly awakened some time ago.

For the first time, he had left his fishing spot, and now walked silently in the backyard, strolling alone.

Li Fan recalled the images sent by Lin Ling of Senior Stone Tablet’s changing forms while pacing, and his heart trembled slightly.

Because that figure… was none other than Mr. Bai!

“It seems that Senior Stone Tablet must be aware of what has happened to Mr. Bai.”

His pacing and contemplation did not last long before Senior Stone Tablet returned to the form of an infant.

Li Fan did not approach, but bowed from a distance.

Then he quietly asked, “May I ask, Senior, how much you know about the Xuantian Sect?”

Li Fan knew that someone of Senior Stone Tablet’s stature, even while cultivating the Dao, was still capable of communicating with others.

“I have seen what you went through.”

“That Dharma King is named Mo Rubin. He is a decent person; you need not worry about your personal safety.”

Senior Stone Tablet spoke directly.

“As for other matters concerning the Xuantian Sect…”

Li Fan felt that the infant, with eyes closed in deep sleep, seemed to smile at him.

“I don’t know.”

Li Fan was momentarily stunned.

“The Xuantian Sect seeks to supplant Heaven itself. Even the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao met such an end, let alone a mere little stone tablet like me.”

“Speaking of which, I do miss those days. Though I had my eyes closed, essentially a blind bystander, it was wonderfully quiet.”

“If not for being forced, I would not have joined in that commotion.”

“Alas…”

Senior Stone Tablet suddenly shifted tone: “However, if you now wish to return to the Xuantian Sect, perhaps I could give you some assistance.”

“I seek nothing else—only a moment of peace.”

As he spoke, a map appeared on the ground before Li Fan.

The terrain was unique. Familiar with the layout of Xuanhuang, Li Fan immediately recognized the location depicted.

“Go take a look there; perhaps you will gain something.”

With that, Li Fan’s vision blurred for a moment.

The next instant, he found himself outside a small, dilapidated temple.

Although it was territory of their Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, Senior Stone Tablet had reversed the roles, driving him out!

Yet Li Fan did not feel angered.

He sped toward the location indicated by the stone tablet.

The situation had eased, and he encountered no unusual circumstances along the way.

However, the patrol arrows in the sky seemed to have grown more numerous.

Originally, across the entire Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, there were only a handful.

Now, above every state, at least three patrol arrows circled day and night.

This indicated just how terrifying the recent military development of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance had become.

Fortunately, these patrol arrows did not attack indiscriminately. They seemed to have a method for distinguishing cultivators, targeting only the Five Elders Association members.

Li Fan, equipped with secret techniques, passed safely without incident.

Soon, he arrived at his destination.

A ring-shaped mountain, whose interior, rather than molten lava, was filled with blooming flowers.

But this beauty was only an illusion from a distance.

In reality, these flowers were formed by the dispersal of a special spiritual energy.

This energy could not be absorbed by cultivators and took the form of various flowers in the air.

This place was in Dongyong Prefecture—not exactly a remote area.

Yet its unique beauty always attracted many visitors.

When Li Fan arrived, he even saw a few cultivators arriving in small groups.

“You really enjoy playing the mysterious messenger… What am I supposed to do here?” Li Fan muttered to himself, activating his secret technique, [Execution of Xuantian].