Chapter 44: Soul Cloning

Tang Mu didn't know why. But he had become much brighter after going through the reincarnation process.

Since his rebirth, he could absorb all sorts of information and solve problems quickly without feeling any burden whatsoever on his mind. He could also effortlessly comprehend new knowledge and commit details to memory by only expending some slight effort.

That time was no different, and Tang Mu's mind was already in high gear as he sorted through the information he had just received from Little Green.

He first pushed the techniques he didn't need for the moment, like the Star God Soul Abacus visualization diagram, to the back of his mind. He then completely calmed down and focused his attention on the soul-cloning technique.

The technique involved two steps.

The first was visualizing and constructing a runic soul-cloning celestial diagram that looked like a giant star with a weird eye in its center within the mindscape. Tang Mu only needed to expend some willpower to forge this cognitive visualization chart in his mind to complete the step.

The second phase included regulating one's breathing to match the Star God's breathing pattern that would, in turn, activate the runic soul-cloning celestial diagram. The stage was also simple for Tang Mu since he had used the same breathing pattern several times already while training his psionic powers with the Star God Celestial Diagram.

Tang Mu went through the information about the soul-cloning technique several times to be on the safer side. He ensured he hadn't missed any details before opening his eyes and glancing at the floating Little Green.

"I've finished reading and comprehending the soul-cloning technique," he announced. "We can begin when you're ready."

Little Green blinked her green eyes in surprise. "You're really talented. Anyways, let's start the process of condensing your clone. First, swallow ten crystals of red-tier origin essence and follow the steps in the soul-cloning technique to clone your soul."

Tang Mu nodded and followed Little Green's advice.

He retrieved the ten crystals from the star orb's storage space and swallowed them down. Then, without losing a moment, he sank into a meditative state and began constructing the runic soul-cloning celestial diagram in his mind.

With his experience of visualizing the more complicated Star God Celestial Diagram, everything was not too difficult. He constructed the cognitive manifestation of the soul-cloning diagram within minutes and activated it by regulating his respiration routines to match the Star God Celestial Manual's breathing pattern. He maintained the weird state for an indeterminate period until he felt a jolt pass through his mind.

Subsequently, a bolt of dizziness pierced his mind and flung all his thoughts into chaos. He felt like something bizarre was beginning to suck life out of him. He was also growing weaker by the second and inching closer to blacking out.

He struggled to stay lucid and noticed that the peculiar cognitive manifestation of the runic soul-cloning diagram that looked like a giant star with a weird eye in its center was the cause of all the trouble in his mind.

The diagram had started spinning to form a vortex at one point.

The consequent vortex was slowly sucking something out of his consciousness. It was causing him to grow weaker both physically and mentally.

"Hold on, and don't black out," Little Green urged from beside him. "The runic soul-cloning celestial diagram is absorbing some of your soul essence to clone your soul. The process will be over in just a minute. So, continue persevering."

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Tang Mu grunted a response and continued struggling to maintain his consciousness. Time seemed to slow down as the cognitive manifestation of the runic soul-cloning celestial diagram spun and continuously sucked his soul essence. He used all his willpower to hold on to his sense of self until he suddenly felt another quake pass through his mind.

Right then, the runic soul-cloning celestial diagram seemed to reach a certain threshold. Its spinning speed continued growing slower until it suddenly came to a complete halt.

Tang Mu then felt another wave of dizziness well up within him as the soul-cloning celestial diagram suddenly vanished from his mind. He blinked and saw it mysteriously appear in reality in the space before his eyes.

Before he could comprehend what was happening, its entire outline faded. But it left a mist-like white substance that shared a mysterious and close connection with him floating above the first platform of the Celestial Gallery.

"Is this the clone of my soul?" Tang Mu asked while trying his best to fight off the dizziness threatening to consume his mind.

"Yes, that's your soul clone," Little Green said from the side. She then glanced at his weary state and advised, "You can consume a few more crystals of red-tier origin essence to recover."

"Oh, okay." He swallowed a few more crystals, and his condition improved. He was still weak, but at least he was no longer feeling dizzy.

Taking a deep breath, he glanced at the mist-like substance that shared a connection with him and asked, "Why is the soul clone just like mist? Why doesn't it look anything like me?"

Little Green smiled mysteriously and said, "But it resembles your soul in many ways."

"My soul looks like that?"

"Yes, it does," Little Green answered affirmatively. "You're still a weakling. Your soul hasn't taken on any definite shape. But it does have a unique soul signature, which is also possessed by your soul clone. Enough questions! Let's handle proper business."

As she spoke, she waved her hand. A portal appeared between them and started spitting out some items. Among them were many red-tier origin essence crystals and a dark rune with edges flickering with silver radiance.

"This is another source rune with darkness and spatial attributes," Tang Mu exclaimed, his eyes glowing with surprise and excitement.

"Yes, it is," Little Green confirmed. "I have taken it upon myself to process the harvest from your latest adventure in the painting world, and the rune is one of your spoils. I have also converted the ten beasts you hunted from the painting world into 210 red-tier origin essence crystals. We'll use 180 of these as fuel while condensing your clone."

"180 red-tier origin essence crystals!" Tang Mu exclaimed again. "Isn't that too much?"

"Not at all," Little Green said. "The Dark Origin Essence Imperial Lotus must engulf your soul clone, lifeblood, and a lot of pure energy essence to condense your clone successfully. The 180 red-tier origin essence crystals are the most-bare minimum to condense a clone at your level..."

Little Green trailed off and thought for a moment. Her eyes lit up, and she continued, "We should add some of those psionic crystals you obtained just to be safe. They might be low-level energy resources. But they are better than nothing."

Tang Mu's expression turned ashen on hearing the proposal. He glanced at Little Green with puppy eyes and pleaded, "Can we please not use the psionic crystals?"

Little Green returned his gaze and shook her head. "This is your only opportunity to condense a clone in a long time," she said. "You must use ample resources to condense the best clone possible at your level. The psionic crystals you harvested are among those resources."

Tang Mu's heart sank as he knew he was about to lose his recently acquired wealth. "How many psionic crystals should we use?"

Little Green smiled. "You harvested 68 low-grade psionic crystals from the painting world. We'll use sixty of those and leave eight for your consumption."

Tang Mu felt more depressed after hearing the figures. But since he wanted to condense a powerful clone, he buried his sorrows of poverty deep within his heart and said, "Let's begin forging the clone, then."

"Just a moment," Little Green interrupted. "The clone you forge will look like you both inside and outside. But even then, it will still be a product of the Dark Origin Essence Imperial Lotus, an apex-level treasure even in the multiverse."

"For that small reason, it will have a few small differences from you. For instance, it could be more powerful than you until you break into the higher ranks. It also won't consume food like you. Instead, it will rely on energy resources like psionic crystals for sustenance."

"The clone feeds on psionic crystals!" Tang Mu's countenance warped, and he glanced at Little Green with a bleak expression. "What happens if I don't feed it any crystals?"

"It will perish," Little Green answered with a casual shrug. "But you don't have to worry yourself so much. At rank one, the clone will only require one low-grade crystal to sustain itself for a week. So, you'll have plenty of time to harvest more crystals from the painting world before it starts to starve."

"This is robbery," Tang Mu thought and sighed. But since he had already decided to condense the clone, he wouldn't stop in the middle. He took comfort in the fact that he still possessed the massive psionic crystal he had gotten from the deepest end of the snake cavern and said, "Let's begin."