Inside the cultivation chamber, Xu Bai sat cross-legged on the floor paved with supreme-grade spirit stones.
First, he placed the red string before him, then took a deep breath to settle his slightly agitated excitement.
After all, ever since he had chanced upon the Vast Sea Pearl all those years ago, it had been a very long time since he had casually stumbled across a treasure.
Xu Bai narrowed his eyes, replaying the events and details of his trip to the Empire several times in his mind.
"It shouldn't be a trap laid by Xiao Qing and the others. This time, I took the initiative to seek them out, and the request to see Xu Ke's relics was also brought up by me.
"Besides, they genuinely appeared unaware of what made the red string extraordinary..."
Having pondered at length without finding any flaws, Xu Bai did not touch the red string. Instead, he first brought out the Bookworm.
Like a living creature, the book fluttered open on its own, projecting numerous lines of text and imagery above it.
"Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation..."
A moment later, a sharp glint flashed through Xu Bai's eyes.
"He truly lived up to being the man Mr. Bai held in high regard, the creator of the entire Strange Beast Empire. The profound wonders of this Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation Method are hardly inferior to any clone divine ability."
Creating a clone with the *Wondrous Profound True Spirit Transformation* relied directly on heavenly treasures to refine flesh and blood, followed by injecting divine consciousness and severing the link between clone and true body to form an entirely independent individual.
This *Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation*, however, required no spiritual power or divine consciousness at all. Merely by cultivating one's own essence blood and flesh tissues, it could branch off another physical body completely identical to oneself.
The entire process was akin to regrowing a severed limb, except that what grew back was another self.
Until it fully detached from the host body, the clone remained linked in flesh and blood to the true body. It closely mirrored the human process of gestating offspring, which was why Xu Ke named it the Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation.
From his storage ring, Xu Bai then took out the three items used to catalyze the Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation:
The Immortal Dragon Blood, the Brahma Consciousness Divine Worm, and the Pure Light Core.
When Xu Ke initially passed down the Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation, it was designed with ordinary mortals devoid of cultivation in mind. As a result, gestating the sacred embryo—the next generation—was a rather lengthy process. It generally required more than half a year of waiting for the sacred embryo to grow slowly.
During that time, one also had to continually consume various deeply nourishing herbs and meats to sustain the needs of the sacred embryo's normal growth.
Yet over the Empire's thousands of years of development, successive emperors had studied and discovered ways to catalyze this process using the miraculous traits of various strange beasts.
The Immortal Dragon Blood could drastically accelerate the circulation of qi and blood, compressing the gestation period from over half a year down to a single month, or even just a few days.
The Brahma Consciousness Divine Worm could replenish mental depletion.
The Pure Light Core, once implanted within the sacred embryo, ensured that it would not be afflicted by disasters or disease throughout gestation.
"Everything has its pros and cons. While relying on external forces can drastically shorten the time needed to nurture a sacred embryo, it also creates many drawbacks. Because it grows too quickly, an accelerated sacred embryo is virtually indistinguishable from the original body. Just as Xiao Qing said, it's almost no different from a clone.
"Under the original Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation Method, over the course of months and years, the sacred embryo would birth a wisp of consciousness of its own, sharing mostly an outer resemblance to the progenitor.
"Between the two, it's hard to say which is truly superior."
Xu Bai's gaze swept over the three items as he pondered in silence.
"Still, this accelerated method is precisely what I need right now."
Swallowing the Immortal Dragon Blood into his belly, Xu Bai silently circulated the Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation Method.
An intensely fiery burning sensation surged from his stomach, then raced like a torrent of flame through all his limbs and bones in an instant.
*Pfft...*
A massive flesh tumor abruptly bulged from Xu Bai's back.
Flesh and tissue squirmed relentlessly within it, swelling continuously. In the blink of an eye, it ballooned from the size of a fist to that of an infant.
Fortunately, the robe Xu Bai wore was the Pure Light Glazed Robe crafted by Fang Zaiji, capable of withstanding attacks from Dao Integration experts. He was spared the trouble of having his clothes burst apart.
The Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation allowed one to designate any part of the body as the growth site for the sacred embryo at will, according to one's thoughts.
The various emperors in the Empire's history had their own preferences; Xu Bai chose his back.
Perhaps he was influenced by the scene he had witnessed back when he was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator pursued by the red-haired Nascent Soul: an illusory infant huddled like a parasite on the back of the Volcanic Grotto-Heaven.
"There isn't the vibrant vitality brought by the mutual generation of the Five Elements—only flesh tissue thrust into a super-activated state, breaking through ordinary limits on division.
"The so-called Immortal Dragon was merely a long flood dragon that had atavistically awakened the bloodline of the Azure Divine Dragon, yet it still yields such remarkable effects on a Nascent Soul cultivator." Feeling the itching sensation crawling across his back like swarming ants, Xu Bai could not help but feel secretly startled.
The scorching Immortal Dragon Blood surged ceaselessly within Xu Bai.
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.
The tumor on Xu Bai's back had already begun to faintly resemble a human form.
To Xu Bai's senses, the sacred embryo genuinely felt like a part of his own body, manipulable at will.
With a shift of Xu Bai's thoughts, the sacred embryo followed his intent, continuously performing all manner of movements. It was just that the sacred embryo had not yet fully developed; appearing as though its face were covered by cloth, obscuring its features, it had a rather eerie look.
"It is time." Having thoroughly familiarized himself with the sacred embryo, Xu Bai used his divine consciousness to guide the Pure Light Core, slowly bringing it toward the tumor.
The protruding flesh was as if nonexistent.
Without the slightest resistance, the Pure Light Core plunged straight into it.
Xu Bai clearly sensed the flesh tissue within the sacred embryo, which had been wildly and chaotically proliferating, gradually settle down.
The Pure Light Core steadily dissolved into the flesh, causing the bulge on Xu Bai's back to give off a faint white glow.
Limbs and facial features began to differentiate from the sacred embryo.
Just like that, after more than half a day, a smooth "person" appeared upon Xu Bai's back.
He was called smooth because at this moment, not only was he hairless from head to toe, but even the wrinkles of skin did not exist.
It was as though carved from white jade, radiating a fair, pristine luster.
"Next is the final step.
"My divine consciousness far exceeds that of a mortal, so I have no need for the Brahma Consciousness Divine Worm to replenish mental depletion."
Xu Bai focused a portion of his mind onto the sacred embryo on his back.
Circulating the Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation Method and visualizing the process, earth-shaking changes took place across the sacred embryo in an instant.
Bones formed, and the limp sacred embryo inflated and straightened up like a balloon being blown full.
Hair, nails, and the distinct skin of various body parts manifested one after another.
It was as though a master sculptor were painstakingly chiseling away at the once-bare body.
The sacred embryo's human traits grew increasingly pronounced.
Before long...
Upon Xu Bai's back, that mirror-image face suddenly snapped open its eyes.
At the same time, layer upon layer of flesh sloughed off on its own where the sacred embryo joined the true body.
Sacred Embryo Xu Bai gave his true body's shoulder a gentle pat, then drifted lightly to the ground.
Chapter 771