Chapter 980: Clones

During his recovery, Lu Ye had nothing else to do besides attuning to the Dragon Soaring Origin. Most cultivators spend the majority of their lives on cultivation; high-level cultivation is painstakingly accumulated through such tedious and quiet practice, leading to the enviable prestige and glory they achieve.

Lu Ye had only recently advanced from the third to the fifth layer of the True Lake Realm, so he wasn't planning to further increase his cultivation for now. Rapid cultivation advancement isn't always beneficial, as it can easily lead to an unstable foundation. By spending more time solidifying his current realm, his foundation would become more stable.

After another session of attuning to the Dragon Soaring World's Origin, Lu Ye slowly opened his eyes, assessing his gains. A moment later, he turned his head. Amber was sprawled beside him, fast asleep, likely having consumed a demon core. In front of Yiyi, a golden vortex rotated, from which pure and dense spiritual energy surged, being refined and absorbed by her.

Ever since Lu Ye adopted his "Stealing Heavenly Secrets" cultivation method, Yiyi had developed a sense of urgency, as Lu Ye's growth rate had accelerated dramatically, becoming incredibly fast. Originally, she and Amber could barely keep up with Lu Ye's pace by cultivating together, but since Lu Ye's advancement to the True Lake Realm, the gap between them had widened considerably. Therefore, whenever she had free time these days, she would devote herself to cultivation.

The little girl even had her own private stash of funds. She possessed her own battlefield imprint, and naturally, her own merits and battle achievements. All cultivation methods available to cultivators were also available to her.

Seeing Yiyi cultivate so diligently, Lu Ye didn't disturb her. He tiptoed up and walked out of the room. The large courtyard was quiet, with no one in sight. Xiao Xinghe's and Lin Yinxiu's doors were both tightly shut, indicating they were likely cultivating.

Lu Ye shot into the sky, intending to visit the Sect Master. However, upon reaching the Sect Master's courtyard, he didn't see the old man. The Sect Master had returned to prominence and was now part of the Elder Council, so naturally, he wasn't as idle as before. Standing in the Sect Master's courtyard, Lu Ye suddenly felt a little lost.

"How did I suddenly end up with nothing to do?" he thought. "I need to find something to do! How can I afford to be so idle with precious time passing by?" Lu Ye pondered for a moment and then had an idea. He hurried back to his own courtyard, found an empty room, slipped inside, sat cross-legged, and immersed himself in his mind to observe the Talent Tree.

The Talent Tree had now begun to take shape. Large patches of leaves on its trunk burned fiercely, especially the area where the Fire Phoenix talent resided. At first glance, it looked as if a magnificent Fire Phoenix was perched on the branches. To date, Lu Ye had activated nearly seventy talents from the Talent Tree. Each one was of great use to him, either for cultivation, combat, or as an auxiliary function. It was undeniable that his current achievements were inseparable from the Talent Tree.

He had almost all the talents memorized and understood the purpose of nearly every one, except for a certain spiritual talent that he hadn't truly manifested due to lacking a suitable target, and another talent whose precise use he hadn't yet figured out. Immersing his mind, he observed the location of that particular talent on the Talent Tree: Twin Lotus!

He had tried to use this talent not long after activating it, but it had no effect whatsoever. Just like now, with a thought, he constructed the Twin Lotus talent in his palm. But aside from resembling a lotus flower, it had no special properties. Perhaps this talent wasn't meant to be used on himself? Similar to the "Colorful Phoenixes Soaring Together" talent, which required two people to activate.

Thinking this, Lu Ye returned to his room and gently lifted Amber, who was still sound asleep. Amber remained in a deep slumber. It wasn't that it wasn't vigilant; rather, even in its sleep, it could sense Lu Ye's presence, so it didn't wake up. If it were a stranger, even a slight approach would surely startle it. Bringing Amber back, Lu Ye placed a hand on Amber's small head, activated his spiritual patterns, and constructed the Twin Lotus on its body. Spiritual light shimmered, and a lotus shape immediately appeared on Amber's forehead. Still, it was useless. Amber showed no reaction, and Lu Ye felt nothing unusual.

It seemed his previous idea was incorrect; this talent wasn't meant for others either. It was useless when applied to himself, useless when applied to others, so where else could it be used? It seemed even less likely to be used for setting up formations or enhancing the Crag Mountain Blade.

Lu Ye's brows furrowed as he racked his brain. A short while later, a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind. With a thought, spiritual patterns surged, and dense Yin-Yang Seven Elements swiftly covered his body, enveloping him completely. His figure flickered, and immediately, a figure identical to himself appeared beside him. It was as if he had shed a layer of inner clothing, and like his main body, it remained in a cross-legged posture.

Shadow Clone! Lu Ye had used this talent when he was being pursued by Liu Yuemei, and it had played a significant role, making Liu Yuemei mistakenly believe it was a high-level doppelganger technique. In reality, it was merely an illusion constructed from spiritual patterns. Due to the spiritual pattern's enhancement, it could be maintained for a short period, and its brilliant spiritual light made it difficult to distinguish real from fake, allowing him to confuse the enemy and buy time for his escape. Of course, it was also useful in combat. During an intense battle, the sudden appearance of a shadow clone would surely produce miraculous effects, catching enemies off guard.

However, Lu Ye hadn't yet encountered an enemy that required him to fight tooth and nail. The people he met were either no match for him at all, or he was no match for them at all, so there was naturally no need to use the Shadow Clone talent.

The Twin Lotus talent couldn't be applied to himself, nor to others, and it was even less likely to be used for setting up formations or combat. Could it be applied to his own shadow clone? The reason this thought suddenly occurred to him was precisely because of the name "Twin Lotus." The names of his talents weren't arbitrary. For instance, "Sharp Edge" made the Crag Mountain Blade sharper when activated, and "Guardian" transformed into a protective barrier. "Twin Lotus, Twin Lotus" — it means two lotus flowers growing from a single stalk. Only then could it be called Twin Lotus. His main body and the shadow clone were like two lotuses growing from a single stalk.

He raised his hand and pressed it towards the illusory figure. Although he hadn't yet cast the ability, Lu Ye felt a strong premonition that this time, he had found the right path. With his hand pressed on the shadow clone, spiritual patterns activated, constructing the Twin Lotus talent. The instant the talent formed, Lu Ye suddenly experienced a wondrous sensation.

Originally, the shadow clone was merely constructed from his spiritual patterns, allowing him to manipulate it and exert some basic control, much like controlling an artifact. Beyond that, there was nothing unusual about it. But at this very moment, he felt as if his senses had extended to the shadow clone. It was a truly peculiar sensation!

Before he could fully savor it, an anomaly suddenly occurred. At the location of his Origin Spiritual Aperture, the Talent Tree suddenly began to shake uncontrollably. Immediately after, an invisible root extended, tracing the path to the Twin Lotus's location, plunging into the shadow clone. Lu Ye was slightly startled, having never anticipated such a turn of events. He forced himself to calm his mind and quietly observed the changes.

The next moment, Lu Ye's expression darkened, because he felt the Talent Tree was frantically drawing his vitality and spiritual patterns, pouring them into the shadow clone. He quickly guarded his mind and tried to control the Talent Tree's abnormal behavior. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Under his control, the Talent Tree ceased drawing power from him. However, in that brief moment, quite a bit of vitality and spiritual patterns had already flowed into the shadow clone. When Lu Ye focused his gaze, he was greatly astonished.

Because the illusory figure, originally just constructed from spiritual patterns, had become significantly more real than before. Moreover, he could clearly feel that the connection between his main body and the shadow clone had become much tighter, as if the shadow clone truly was an extension of himself. He quickly checked his own condition. He found that he had only lost some vitality and spiritual patterns, with no impact on his foundation. After calming himself slightly and recalling the recent experience, Lu Ye roughly grasped the mystery of the Twin Lotus. His heart couldn't help but feel excited, because if things truly were as he suspected, then this Twin Lotus talent was definitely the most profound talent he had encountered to date!

With a thought, the Talent Tree began drawing power from his main body and injecting it into the shadow clone again. However, this time, with Lu Ye's own control, the process of drawing and injecting was much smoother and less abrupt. The shadow clone became increasingly real, as if it truly had flesh and blood. A moment later, the shadow clone solidified completely. The Talent Tree root that had plunged into the shadow clone's body detached at that very instant. Immediately after, the root floated within the clone, transforming into the shape of a lotus flower.

Amber had woken up at some point, its tiger eyes wide with astonishment as it stared at Lu Ye's main body and the shadow clone. It racked its little brain, but couldn't understand how, after waking up, it suddenly had an extra master! Lu Ye turned to look at Amber, and the shadow clone also turned to look at it. Amber instantly bristled, let out a startled meow, and bolted out the door, disappearing from sight.

"Such a fuss!" Lu Ye scoffed, continuing to examine his shadow clone. The current shadow clone was completely different from the one he had first constructed. The previous one could, at most, only confuse an enemy's vision and would shatter upon contact. But now, at first glance, the shadow clone was indistinguishable from a real person. It had flesh and blood; whatever distinct features Lu Ye possessed, the clone also had, down to a tiny black mole on his arm. Such a shadow clone was no longer just a shadow clone; it was a true doppelganger!

Perhaps because a segment of the Talent Tree's root had been injected into the doppelganger, the connection between his main body and the doppelganger became incredibly close. Lu Ye could clearly perceive everything about the doppelganger and control it to do anything he desired. His vision also became strange; everything he saw before his eyes was now two sets of scenes. Lu Ye felt a little dizzy and quickly closed his eyes. Fortunately, his soul was strong and his mind resilient, so he quickly grew accustomed to this dual vision after only a moment. He also discovered that if he focused his mind on either his main body or the doppelganger, the other's field of vision would become significantly blurred. This was indeed a good thing.