Chapter 1675: Being Beaten by a Clone

It seems I need to quickly enhance my True Qi cultivation.

This person is so arrogant; there's no telling when they might erupt. I had hoped the Witch Soul attracting the Heavenly Flame Tribulation would offer a chance to eliminate them, but to my surprise, it didn't kill them and only complicated matters further! I must quickly elevate my cultivation to also attract heavenly fire. Once my soul and body merge, this individual, no matter how arrogant, will surely be annihilated.

The Jiang family matter is nearly concluded. It seems I should return quickly, resolve the conflicts between the Luo and Zhang families, and then proceed to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters! To advance quickly, I must visit the Master Teacher Pavilion and find the high-grade breakthrough technique left by Master Kong. Without it, I have no idea when I'll be able to achieve a breakthrough.

Before heading back to the Zhang family, I'll first refine the Ancient Sage's corpse! Now that the Witch Soul has reached the Golden Body realm and its strength has multiplied several times, perhaps I can successfully refine that corpse into a Golden Man for my own use.

With that thought, he re-entered the folded space, arrived at an open area, and with a flick of his wrist, the corpse once again landed on the ground, creating a large crater. Leaping from his glabella, the Witch Soul walked directly towards it.

A tremendous oppressive force surged forth, causing cold sweat to break out on his forehead. As his soul body emitted a rich golden light, the pressure immediately lessened considerably. He took a few steps forward and entered the corpse.

"It's so vast..."

Upon entering the corpse, Zhang Xuan immediately felt as though he had stepped into an expansive chamber stretching beyond sight. His immense soul body, so grand elsewhere, was utterly insignificant here, like a mere toy. His own physical body, in comparison, felt like the difference between a humble shack and an imperial palace.

Sitting within, he began the slow process of tempering the corpse using the method for refining a Soulless Golden Man, gradually allowing his soul to integrate with the physical form.

After an unquantified period, he stood up once more.

"It has been refined into a Soulless Golden Man. Let's see if it can fight..." Zhang Xuan's eyes gleamed with excitement.

The method for refining a Soulless Golden Man typically required a living human for optimal integration. However, thanks to the modifications he made using the Library of Heaven's Path, a corpse could also be refined. While the level of control wasn't as precise as with a living person, the difference was negligible.

Creak! Creak!

Exerting all his strength, he guided the Ancient Sage's corpse, and it slowly rose to its feet. As it lifted a foot and took a few slow steps, Zhang Xuan felt his face twitch. The corpse's consumption of soul power was immense; after fewer than three steps, his Witch Soul, already at the Golden Body realm, had its power depleted by more than half! At this rate, let alone engaging in combat, it was questionable if it could even throw a punch!

"Let's give it a try..."

Gritting his teeth, he forcefully circulated the remaining soul power, and the colossal ancient corpse struck out with an aerial blow. A loud tear echoed as the folded space immediately became turbulent, emitting violent sounds, as if a curtain was being ripped apart, and dark cracks began to appear.

"How powerful..." Zhang Xuan found himself staring in a daze, witnessing the folded space, which had remained stable for an unknown duration, nearly shattered by a single punch. While the corpse's soul power consumption was astonishingly high, its sheer power was incredible! This folded space, which he had continuously reinforced, would be difficult for even him to tear open, despite using Master Kong's blood and the Dragon Bone Divine Spear. Yet, this corpse, with a single light punch, nearly obliterated it... Doesn't this imply that... anyone below an Ancient Sage, no matter how powerful, could be crushed into a pulp with a single punch? If that's truly the case, it's far too formidable! As long as he doesn't encounter an Ancient Sage, his safety is guaranteed. Even if he does, he still has the Tome of Heaven's Path... and then, he'll gain another Soulless Golden Man, significantly boosting his combat power!

"Heh heh, with this, what is there to fear from anyone below an Ancient Sage!"

With a hearty laugh, Zhang Xuan's Witch Soul flew out. After absorbing countless treasures and fully recovering, he re-entered the corpse, making the Ancient Sage's body stand with its hands on its hips. He then bellowed, "Clone, come out!"

The clone, in the midst of consolidating its newly advanced cultivation, heard the summons and flew over.

"Come on, let me test you out..."

Ignoring the clone's stance, Zhang Xuan chuckled and launched a punch. Unaware that Zhang Xuan could now control the corpse, the clone was startled. Unable to dodge in time, it met the strike with a punch of its own. The clone was sent flying backward, vanishing from sight.

"Ha ha!" Zhang Xuan felt a wave of immense satisfaction. Having been repeatedly beaten by the clone in their numerous past encounters, Zhang Xuan finally exacted his revenge, leaving him in high spirits. "Let's see if it dares to swagger around me again; if it does, I'll beat it senseless!"

However, despite the satisfaction, the soul power consumption was enormous; a single punch nearly depleted it entirely.

His soul body exited the Ancient Sage corpse and returned to his physical form. Just as he was about to retrieve treasures to recover, he saw the clone flying back, seething with rage. "You dare to hit me? You're asking for death!"

About to explode with fury, the clone arrived and, without a word, landed a punch on Zhang Xuan.

"It was the corpse that hit you, not me... Alright, I admit it. Just let me recover, recover, then I'll get back into the corpse and we can talk..."

"To hell with your corpse!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ten minutes later, Zhang Xuan was battered and bruised beyond recognition, tears streaming down his face, feeling utterly defeated. "What in the world is happening! He couldn't beat his students, couldn't beat his girlfriend, and even the Fetal Poison was arrogant daily... All that was already bad enough! But to be beaten by his own clone... and so brutally... How was he supposed to live like this?"

Returning to the great hall with a face full of dejection, he circulated his Heavenly Dao True Qi to recover from his injuries. Only then did Zhang Xuan step out of the room. The clone was nothing but a show-off and a violent maniac. He vowed to minimize contact with it in the future.

It was already noon outside. After a brief word with Jiang Fangyou, Zhang Xuan retrieved the Dragon Bone Divine Spear, once again pierced through space, and swiftly departed. He returned to the Zhang family.

"How are things?" It had been an entire day and night since he left the family. As soon as he arrived back at his residence, Zhang Xuan looked towards Sun Qiang, who was approaching. Before leaving, he had asked Sun Qiang to carefully observe the two great families. After being away for so long, they surely hadn't stirred up any trouble, had they?

"No trouble yet. The Luo family's patriarch hasn't returned, so their members have kept a very low profile these past two days!" Sun Qiang quickly explained.

The Luo family had come with the intention of humiliating them, but their current cultivation levels were insufficient for that task. Since their patriarch, the only one capable of achieving it, hadn't yet returned, they naturally didn't dare to make any rash moves.

"That's good then..." Relieved that no trouble had occurred, Zhang Xuan sighed, told Sun Qiang to leave, then paused. With a shift of his spiritual energy, he once again altered his appearance.

The disguise talisman Luo Ruoxi had given him was incredibly effective and could be used at any time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to fool Jiang Fangyou and numerous elders of the Jiang family with his altered appearance. Under the effects of this disguise talisman, not only his appearance, soul aura, and bloodline, but even his perceived strength, appeared identical to outsiders. However, it was merely an illusion for appearance's sake and would be exposed during actual combat.

Since the Luo family members were currently awaiting their patriarch, and now... their patriarch should make an appearance! Naturally, the manner of his appearance would certainly come as a surprise to them.