Hui reached out with his mental energy as he ran through the forest. First clone!

There was a pause. After a moment, familiar mental energy met his, the first clone only giving him his attention, but no more.

Five other clones are awake, besides us. If you circulate Mount Mu’s inheritance, you can meet them. And… you probably should. We would all benefit from the storage ring being on the tree-net.

Acknowledgement. Distantly, he felt first clone allocate a little of his mental energy outside of studying the array.

If I had to guess, first clone has the most mental energy of all of us. Ah… that’s not a complaint. That’s good. After all, we need to allocate the majority of our mental energy to figuring out the arrays. Though... I also feel like he has a larger portion of all the resources.

Hmm… he is first clone, after all! He’s probably the closest to true Hui of all of us. In fact, that’s the majority of true Hui’s soul, right? I and all the other clones are the remaining portion of true Hui’s soul, divided evenly along with the rest of his remaining resources.

I don’t think first clone was aware of us other clones. After all, neither was I. But… surely he would notice his resources diminishing?

At that, a node in the back of his head activated, and he felt first clone’s signature again. I noticed my resources diminishing significantly several times—whenever one of you woke up, I now realize. I didn’t have the time to investigate, so I didn’t know the cause until now. I’ll alert you… and all the clones, every time I feel it diminishing from here on out.

Hui tensed slightly. First clone’s resources are diminishing significantly? What happens if he runs out? After all, rather than a true clone like myself, he’s basically a second body for true Hui. It’s a silly demarcation to make, perhaps, since we all have some of true Hui’s soul, qi, and other resources, making us all essentially true Hui, but… he has the largest portion, and should maintain his position as the largest portion, since he has the most important job. Hmm… we have to make sure to allocate resources back to first clone! We can’t afford to give up on studying the array!

This time, the node buzzed with acknowledgments from all the clones. Hui felt a pulse of life qi pass through the node, then a few ducks’ worth of death qi. First clone replied with a polite thanks, but they all understood: he needed more. If the other six clones wake up simultaneously, he—he might even vanish!

Speaking of, won’t we all get weaker if too many clones awaken? There’s probably an absolute limit for how many clones can exist… unless we all gather external resources and independently grow stronger. I’ll put resource-gathering on my to-do list. Both for myself, and first clone!

That’s definitely an urgent sidequest, topping up first clone. I can’t let my future clones waste away, nor allow first clone to vanish!

Mmm, and if the clones back on Unrivaled Peak wake up… anyways, urgently top up first clone! High priority, no deadline!

It would be nice to get an update on main body’s revival, though. I need to fetch my heart from Gui Delun at some point… well, if one of the clones manages to infiltrate All-Heavens Sect, that’s halfway there. Although I could regrow a new heart, or even continue without a heart, supporting my body with cultivation alone, I—I strongly feel as if I’d lose something. Some essential part of myself. At the very least, I’d be weaker without my original heart, and Gui Delun might be able to implicate my karma with something as vital as my heart lying around. Anyways—we need that heart!

But I’m not one of the clones on the heart-route. My job is to figure out Fu Liyu’s soul array and apply that comprehension to the first clone’s. And the crucial element to that is the banquet for Bai Xue in three days.

Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, Hui hurried through the forest. The further he went, the thicker the qi around him became. Subconsciously, he circulated the void technique and absorbed the qi. Compared to Unrivaled Peak, or even the outer sect, the qi was incredibly thin, but after wandering through an area with little qi for so long, it felt like water on a parched throat, or his first bite of ramen after starving for days, waiting for payday.

As the qi grew thicker, so too did the forest. A distinctive aura of wood-element colored the qi, though not to the extent of the proximity of Mount Mu or the Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect. Ahead, the trees gathered close, creating a glen. Hui stepped through and into a miniature mystical wonderland. Knobbly trees twisted to the sky. A low mist obscured the scene here and there, giving the whole scene a hazy, dreamlike look. Moss coated stone, softening its jagged edges. Tiny glowing blue flowers bobbled in the wind. A mirror-smooth spring welled up. Deep blue in its depths, it spilled over into a gentle stream. Aside from the trickling of the spring, the glen had a peace to it, the kind of silence that exuded calm. Clean, fresh air cleansed his lungs, the scent of fresh water, moss, and faint nectar swirling around him as he moved.

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Around his neck, Zhubi sat up and sniffed the air. The snake relaxed, enjoying the thicker qi, then hopped off and slithered away. He rolled around in the moss and stones, little mouth open in happiness.

Ying Lin sat in the center, perched atop a stone in an approximation of the lotus pose. Qi flowed evenly into her, quickly filling up her dantian and vitalizing her qi passages. Hui moved quietly, almost afraid to disturb her. He crouched down beside her.

“Master,” Ying Lin greeted him without opening her eyes.

She can sense my presence in Qi Gathering? Impressive. “Don’t call me your master. Haven’t you heard? Master for a day, Master for a lifetime. Ying Lin, you don’t want to be tied to my fate. Refuse to acknowledge me! Keep yourself separate!”

Ying Lin chuckled. She opened her eyes.

“Close those eyes. Focus on circulating your qi,” Hui ordered.

Instantly, Ying Lin straightened her back and closed her eyes. Qi once again began pouring into her. “Circulate my qi?”

Hui touched her dantian. “Gather it here and spin it in a circle. Once you can do that without thinking, you’ll have formed your foundation.” I think? Probably? Anyways, she needs to circulate her qi to step into the next stage. That’s for sure.

Ying Lin’s brows furrowed. She nodded. Silently, she began to not just absorb qi but guide it, leading it through her body and into her dantian.

Hui retreated and settled into the lotus pose not far from her, absorbing qi at a slow pace to ensure he didn’t absorb it all out from under her. Zhubi cavorted in the glen, wiggling around and making a funny huffing sound that Hui decided to interpret as happiness. He watched the wiggling silver creature and smiled. It’s good to see Zhubi having fun. We’re usually together all the time, which means he doesn’t get a lot of time to wiggle around and be a snake.

“Zhubi, shouldn’t you have manifested by now?” Hui asked idly, smiling at the silly creature. From what I remember, spirit beasts can manifest a human body from the fourth stage, but here he is at the fifth. Is he incapable, or has he chosen not to? Or… is it something else?

Zhubi froze at his question. The snake turned slowly toward Hui, a guilty expression on his face, then rolled belly-up and played dead.

Eh… it’s a delicate subject? I guess I can understand that. It’s a very personal subject, after all. Hui waved his hand. “No, no. Please, don’t worry. Whether you manifest or not, you’ll always be my spirit snake.”

Zhubi peeked at Hui, then rolled back over. He slithered over and looked at Hui, then reached his nose up and booped Hui’s hand. In an instant, he slithered up around Hui’s arm. Staring up at him, he tilted his head.

“Are you… scared things will change between us if you manifest?” Hui asked.

Zhubi hesitated, then dipped his head.

Hmm. I understand that. It’ll be hard to see Zhubi as the same silly snake if he’s also human, after all. I know it’s a silly thing to get hung up on, since he’s already intelligent enough to manifest, but there’s some parts of my psychology that happen subconsciously that I can’t really control. If I see human Zhubi, can I still happily let him slither over my body? Even if he had a human form, he’d still be a snake at the core, but… There shouldn’t be a difference, and yet, I can’t deny the possibility that things will change.

But at the same time, in some novels… er, worlds, spirit beasts struggle to cultivate if they don’t manifest. I don’t want to be the force that holds Zhubi back. Hui gave Zhubi a concerned look and gently stroked the snake’s head. “If you don’t manifest, will it slow your cultivation? Cause any troubles or blockages for you?”

Zhubi shook his head.

Hui shrugged. “In that case, do what you want. Whether you manifest or not, you’re Zhubi. My snake.”

Zhubi hissed. His look turned reproachful.

“Ha! It’s harder than being told what to do? I understand. But Zhubi, you’re a cultivator, too. You, too, need to find your own path to trod… er, slither down.”

Zhubi tilted his head. He thought for a moment, then nodded. Uncurling from Hui’s arm, he dropped to the ground and went back to wiggling around, putting the matter away for now.

Hui snorted gently. If only my problems were so simple.

Time passed. The sun sunk below the horizon. As it sunk, Ying Lin’s meditation reached a crucial point. The qi around her boiled, rushing toward her in a whirlpool. Hui turned his attention to her, watching closely, ready to step in if things became too dangerous.

Ying Lin’s brows furrowed. The qi rushed into her dantian, circulating faster and faster. Her breathing turned heavy, and her body began to tremble. Hui quickly cast his senses over her and understood. She’s taking in too much qi. Her body is overcapacity.

“Ying Lin, cut back. Refuse some of the qi,” Hui cautioned her.

Ying Lin continued to tremble. She grit her teeth. Steam rose off her skin as the qi overheated and her passages began to break down.

Dammit, she can’t hear me! Hui stepped forward and rested a hand on her head. He gently pushed a bit of life qi into her, circulating it around her qi passages rather than through them. Her body rapidly absorbed the life qi and instantly used it to reinforce her qi passages and dantian. Ying Lin’s brows unfurrowed. She relaxed. The flow continued, but she could handle it now.

A brilliant flash of light burst around her, then faded. When it left, the whirlpool of qi vanished, too, but in its place, Ying Lin had formed qi passages and solidified her dantian. Qi circulated within them, already moving at its own pace.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Hui. Calm confidence glowed in the depths of her gaze, and she smiled a small, exhausted smile. “I did it.”

Hui beamed back at her. “You did.”