Chapter 154 Martial Artist Clone

"Making you condense an avatar right now serves another vital purpose: one of your avatars requires its Golden Core to be shattered and forged anew. Once you reach the Nascent Soul realm, it will be too late; the moment a Nascent Soul shatters, the person perishes," said the Golden Dragon.

"Kid, are you ready?" the Golden Dragon asked solemnly.

Yin Tianfang slowly opened his eyes, nodded, and said, "I am ready, Senior. Let's begin."

"Very well! Lie down then," said the Golden Dragon. Yin Tianfang obeyed, lying on the ground and gently closing his eyes. The Golden Dragon took a deep breath. Amidst a swirl of golden light, it transformed into a man in brocade robes, looking down at Yin Tianfang with a grave expression.

After a long moment, the Golden Dragon formed seals with both hands, sending a beam of golden light straight toward Yin Tianfang. As the golden radiance enveloped him, Yin Tianfang was instantly struck by a bone-deep agony that caused his body to spasm uncontrollably.

This pain was identical to the torment he had suffered when splitting his soul. His body convulsed, cold sweat poured from him, and within moments, he was thoroughly drenched.

A force seemed intent on tearing him apart. Yin Tianfang clenched his teeth, his trembling hands forming seals as he silently recited the incantations taught by the Golden Dragon. A strange power began to surge within his body.

Outside, enveloped in the golden light, Yin Tianfang’s physical form seemed stretched and pulled by a bizarre energy. Slowly, another version of himself began to separate from his body, though it remained half-formed and tethered to his original form.

Time trickled on. Far from subsiding, the internal pain intensified with every passing second. The heart-rending agony drained all color from Yin Tianfang’s face; there was simply no way to suppress such torment.

Yet, he could not afford to lose consciousness. Once he fainted, all previous efforts would be wasted.

A day later, just as Yin Tianfang could endure no more and his consciousness began to blur, he suddenly felt a wave of lightness sweep through his body.

"Kid, it's done." The Golden Dragon's voice was like a ray of sunlight piercing through darkness. Yin Tianfang managed to open his eyes with some difficulty, feeling as though he had cheated death.

He hurriedly sat up from the ground and looked aside. Not far away, a person identical to him lay motionless. As Yin Tianfang rose, this figure also opened its eyes and sat up.

Looking at the duplicate of himself, a trace of amazement crossed Yin Tianfang’s eyes. This was entirely different from ordinary clone techniques. While a standard clone possessed a fraction of the caster's combat power, it still required direct mental control from the main body.

However, Yin Tianfang’s current avatar required no such distraction; it possessed its own independent mind and consciousness. Yet, it remained completely under Yin Tianfang’s control, naturally aligned with the main body's will.

"Give him a name," the Golden Dragon said, returning to its original form and coiling around Yin Tianfang's shoulder.

"Hmm, let's call him Yin Xiu," Yin Tianfang murmured after a brief pause.

Opposite him, Yin Xiu bowed deeply to Yin Tianfang and said, "Many thanks to Elder Brother for the name."

"The Golden Core within Yin Xiu was condensed from your killing intent, imbued with slaughter. However, the path he must walk is that of an Ancient Martial Artist, meaning no Golden Core will exist within his body," the Golden Dragon told Yin Tianfang, looking at Yin Xiu. "You must shatter your Golden Core and absorb all the power it contains to temper your physical body. I shall impart the cultivation method of the Ancient Martial Arts to you."

The Golden Dragon opened its mouth and exhaled a stream of golden light. The light sank into Yin Xiu’s glabella, causing him to immediately cross his legs and slowly close his eyes.

A moment later, Yin Xiu formed hand seals, his body jolting violently. A muffled groan escaped his lips, and his complexion instantly turned ashen. Standing nearby, Yin Tianfang could distinctly feel Yin Xiu’s aura plummeting in a straight line, dropping below the Core Formation stage within moments.

Yin Tianfang waved his hand, casting a barrier to isolate the area from the surroundings, then stood quietly, watching Yin Xiu’s transformation alongside the Golden Dragon.

With his Golden Core shattered and his cultivation dropped to freezing point, Yin Xiu slowly raised his hands and formed a bizarre seal. The rampaging energy released within him by the shattered core was guided by a strange force, beginning to circulate in a cycle through his body.

However, only a tiny fraction of the chaotic energy was subdued by this mysterious force; the vast majority continued to rampage recklessly inside him.

Yin Tianfang flicked a finger, using a burst of force to suppress the turbulent energy within Yin Xiu. Yin Xiu opened his eyes and looked at Yin Tianfang, saying, "Thank you, Elder Brother."

He then closed his eyes once more, plunging into deep, focused cultivation. As time passed, the massive reservoir of energy within Yin Xiu gradually diminished, pouring into his flesh, blood, and bones. Though his aura did not appear to increase by much, his physical body grew terrifically formidable.

"The overbearing nature of demonic Qi makes the physical bodies of demonic cultivators far stronger than those of immortal cultivators. Yet, the physical vessel of an Ancient Martial Artist surpasses even that of demonic cultivators. Once Yin Xiu masters this path, his bare fists can shatter all manner of spells," the Golden Dragon explained.

"Ancient Martial Artists also need to absorb the power of heaven and earth. However, as they refine and integrate this power into their flesh and bones to strengthen their physical bodies, they store it within as well. In combat, this stored energy can be unleashed to form a protective layer around them."

"This protective layer is extremely difficult for ordinary spells and divine abilities to pierce. Furthermore, immortal cultivators generally possess weak physical bodies; should an Ancient Martial Artist manage to close in on them, the outcome is nothing short of tragic," the Golden Dragon added.

"We still have time. We will set off once Yin Xiu finishes absorbing all the energy within his body."

Hearing this, Yin Tianfang nodded. He too sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.

At this moment, only two Golden Cores—one black, one white—remained within his body. However, this had little impact on his overall cultivation, as he had never been capable of wielding the power of both Golden Cores simultaneously anyway.

Time flew, and a month passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Yin Tianfang opened his eyes, sprang to his feet, and looked at Yin Xiu. A moment later, Yin Xiu also opened his eyes, deep within which a flash of red light vanished in an instant.

"Thank you, Senior. Thank you, Elder Brother," Yin Xiu said, rising and cupping his fists.

"Very well, let us move to the next location," the Golden Dragon said. Yin Tianfang, bringing Yin Xiu along with the Golden Dragon, soared into the high altitude and arrived outside the frigid winds of Yinsha.

"Let Yin Xiu go in and temper his physical body," the Golden Dragon told Yin Tianfang. Yin Tianfang released Yin Xiu, and a gentle wave of energy enveloped him, propelling him straight into the Yinsha cold winds.

Gazing at the gray-black tempest that shrouded the heavens, Yin Tianfang’s expression turned solemn.

"Whoosh!"

Just as Yin Tianfang concentrated, several figures flashed rapidly across the sky in the distance. As they passed overhead, they cast a puzzled glance at Yin Tianfang. Yet, before they could dwell on it, a gust of gray-black whirlwind swiftly enveloped them. Piercing shrieks of agony immediately rang out, carrying far, far away amidst the shrill, howling wind.