"This feeling?" Xu Bai could not help narrowing his eyes.
Having created a clone in every lifetime, he was already well accustomed to dividing his mind.
Yet at this moment, as this additional sacred embryo—practically equivalent to a third clone—was brought forth, an entirely different sensation welled up in his heart.
The Wondrous Profound True Spirit Transformation had been deduced and developed using the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art as its foundational blueprint.
It could well be considered the most orthodox cloning technique in the cultivation world.
Whether original body or clone, both were subject to the absolute control of his consciousness.
In contrast, this Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation Method was another matter.
Before detaching from the host body, the sacred embryo had indeed felt like an extension of his own flesh, easily steered to his heart's content.
Yet ever since it separated from his back, some subtle, mysterious transformation seemed to have taken place.
To be sure, a separate strand of his consciousness resided within the sacred embryo.
To be sure, he still retained full control over it.
And yet...
Something felt distinctly off.
The sacred embryo turned around, its eyes meeting Xu Bai's.
It was as though a mirror stood between them; aside from one being fully clothed and the other completely naked,
there was not the slightest difference between them in appearance.
Yet after Xu Bai stared for a long while, an unsettling dissonance lingered in his heart.
He was suddenly reminded of a horror movie trope he had seen before his transmigration.
Late at night, in a bathroom.
Having finished washing up, he casually glanced into the mirror at his reflection,
only to discover in utter terror that the reflection was suddenly curling into an eerie, sinister smile back at him.
The thought vanished in a flash.
In reality, nothing like the sacred embryo slipping out of control and smiling unnervingly at him had happened.
Yet as he looked upon the sacred embryo before him, an idea suddenly surfaced in Xu Bai's mind.
If the original body, Li Fan, perished, then without question, the avatar Xu Bai would die along with him.
What about this sacred embryo?
Would it die as well?
The purpose of the Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation Method was to ensure that the Imperial lineage would never be extinguished.
Thus, the answer was obvious: it would not.
*So this is the fundamental difference between a sacred embryo and a clone,* Xu Bai realized.
*What Xiao Qing said about it being almost no different from a clone...*
*was truly just "almost."*
The moment this realization dawned, far away in Tianquan Province, the original body, Li Fan, who was in secluded cultivation comprehending the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method, abruptly paused his movements.
Replaying the entire course of the avatar's journey to the Empire in his mind, an unfathomable expression surfaced on his face.
"Interesting. In the end, was I still inevitably subjected to some sort of influence?"
Looking back now from the perspective of the original body,
the choices made by the avatar Xu Bai were perhaps a little too hasty.
Of course, it was still a decision Li Fan had made of his own free will.
Yet under different circumstances and environments, even the same person could very well make entirely opposite choices.
What had happened to Xu Bai was precisely that.
Had the original body experienced this in person, when faced with the red string and the Sacred Blood Embryo Transformation, he would certainly have investigated the red string first,
rather than cultivating the sacred embryo right away.
Although he indeed had plans to use the sacred embryo to create another clone,
he would never have been so impatient.
He would have proceeded with utmost caution.
Having thought through everything in an instant, even though no sense of crisis stirred in Li Fan's heart,
he still sensed a faint trace of unease.
After weighing it for a long while, the thought of initiating True Reversion directly crossed his mind.
"Virtualize the current scene and return to the original anchor?"
The surrounding scenery gradually faded toward nothingness. Faced with the prompt for True Reversion,
a sliver of hesitation sprang up in Li Fan's heart.
He thought of the hard-won Limitless Waxing and Waning Method that he had yet to fully decipher.
He thought of the Dissociation Disc that had yet to be merged into one.
He thought of how he had not yet found a way to use the End Stone Platter to completely shield himself from the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror's perception.
He thought of how he had yet to commandeer the Medicine King Cauldron, burst out of the Xuanhuang Realm, and venture into the Immortal Ruins to investigate.
He thought of...
If he were to leave now, he truly could not bear to part with it all.
Frozen for a long time, Li Fan stood completely still, like a stone statue.
With a fierce mental struggle raging within, his body began to tremble faintly.
"Virtualize the current scene and return to the original anchor?"
The prompt for True Reversion sounded once more.
Li Fan's expression flickered with indecision.
Yet in the end, he chose "No."
In an instant, the scenery that had begun to fade into virtuality became solid and real once again.
Having made this choice, Li Fan felt as though he had just survived an intense battle in a single instant.
He nearly collapsed weakly to the floor, his entire body soaked in sweat.
However, his physical instincts left him deeply dissatisfied with the decision he had just made.
Without resting long, having caught just a slight breath,
Li Fan opened the True Reversion interface once again.
"Virtualize the current scene and return to the original anchor?"
The prompt for True Reversion rang out with its usual unwavering reliability.
Yet falling upon Li Fan's ears, it no longer sounded so pleasant.
Everything a person did was driven by desire.
And at this moment, as Li Fan opened the True Reversion panel for the second time, his desire to revert had, compared to before...
weakened yet again.
A flood of hesitations, misgivings, and reluctant attachments came rushing in.
This time, his inner struggle lasted an even shorter time.
In the end, Li Fan still closed the True Reversion panel.
*Hoo...*
As if drained of all strength in an instant,
Li Fan slumped directly onto the ground, panting heavily.
After a long while, barely propping himself up with both hands, an unfathomable emotion flickered in his eyes.
He made a third attempt.
The outcome was plain to see.
This time, he made his decision even faster.
In just a few breaths' time, he closed the True Reversion panel.
"Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation..."
For the fourth attempt, Li Fan silently circulated this supreme immortal art that had saved him from crisis time and again.
Yet with the Immortal Heart Incantation active, the instant he opened the True Reversion panel—
before those many earthly attachments could even begin to interfere, he backed out of his own accord.
The Immortal Heart Incantation operated by reversing a cultivator's Dao heart.
Presently, Li Fan wished to revert in order to avoid calamity.
Under the operation of the Immortal Heart Incantation, the thought of True Reversion was instantly transformed into nourishment that strengthened his divine consciousness.
Having failed once again, Li Fan stood upright in the quiet chamber, silent for a long time.
This time, he no longer struggled.
Instead, he closed his eyes and began to think with cold clarity.
At this very moment, Li Fan was facing the most dangerous predicament he had encountered since his transmigration.
Because he had laid out so many plans in this lifetime that had yet to reach fruition, numerous feelings of reluctance had taken root.
Under the influence of some unseen force, those emotions had been amplified to the extreme,
rendering him, entirely of his own volition, unwilling to revert.
Even now, Li Fan still felt there was nothing wrong with himself.
He was merely being a little too greedy.
Yet in the end, Li Fan cherished his life above all.
Possessing an unyielding obsession with immortality, he had also recognized the truth:
If he could not revert, then in this perilous Xuanhuang Realm, he truly risked perishing at any moment.
Doomed to eternal damnation.
Chapter 772