After Ye Qingxuan’s external incarnation left the Ye Clan Immortal City, it didn’t go very far.
It looked back in the direction of the Ye family, and Ye Qingxuan said with lingering fear:
“I didn’t expect to run into the family head. Luckily, the aura of this external incarnation of mine is very different from my main body; otherwise, I might not have been able to keep it hidden.”
“It looks like I need to be more and more cautious in the future. Let this be a lesson to me!”
But what Ye Qingxuan didn’t know was that the extraordinary things he had revealed in the Xuantian Sect, combined with the clues he’d let slip today, had already made Ye Yuhong suspicious of him.
After all, how could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivationist, who focuses on support and resources, casually take out three hundred thousand spirit stones to give back to the family, without making people suspect something?
For those who cultivate the Dao, breaking through to each new realm is a complete transformation and evolution of the body.
The higher your cultivation realm, the sharper your thinking becomes. There are no truly slow, dull fools who make it to the end.
If it weren’t for the fact that Ye Qingxuan’s external incarnation was formed using the origin of the Qingxuan Cave Heaven Paradise instead of the origin of his own future Nascent Soul, which caused a huge difference in aura between his incarnation and his main body,
and if Ye Yuhong hadn’t actually seen the current appearance of Ye Qingxuan’s external incarnation, then Ye Yuhong would only be left with suspicion, unable to confirm anything directly.
Otherwise, Ye Qingxuan’s rash move this time would have already revealed part of his secrets right in front of Ye Yuhong.
After thinking it over for a moment, Ye Qingxuan decided not to continue using his external incarnation for any more actions right now.
He found a mountain range with thin spiritual energy, far from any human traces. There, deep within the mountains, his external incarnation carved out a small cave dwelling and went into hiding.
Earlier, Ye Qingxuan had fallen into an obsession and lost his proper reason.
Influenced by that obsession, his mind was solely focused on breaking through to the Golden Core realm and forming his external incarnation to come to the Ye Clan Immortal City and settle the obsession in his heart.
This had completely disrupted Ye Qingxuan’s original plan.
According to his original plan, after breaking through to the Golden Core realm, he would go into seclusion for a while to condense the divine ability seed for the Minor Divine Ability: Splitting.
Then, he would continue to condense the seeds for the Minor Divine Ability: Deceive Heaven and the Minor Divine Ability: Shape Shift. After that, he would choose one defensive-type Minor Divine Ability and one offensive-type Minor Divine Ability to condense their seeds as well.
After enhancing the hiding capabilities and combat power of his main body and external incarnation, he would then prepare some trump cards for his external incarnation.
Only after making all these preparations would Ye Qingxuan send his external incarnation out of the Xuantian Sect to begin his plans beyond the sect.
After all, if the external incarnation were to fall, he wouldn’t have another chance to condense it again anytime soon. So Ye Qingxuan couldn’t afford to be careless.
And without condensing the seeds for the Minor Divine Ability: Deceive Heaven and Minor Divine Ability: Shape Shift, there would be a risk of exposing himself.
Although not many people in the Xuantian Sect had actually seen Ye Qingxuan, and very few even knew someone by that name existed in the sect,
you can never be too careful. Just in case, if an acquaintance from the sect happened to see his external incarnation’s face outside the sect, then the secret would be out.
The seed for the Minor Divine Ability: Splitting would fully allow Ye Qingxuan to use his mind in multiple ways to control all of his incarnations.
But Ye Qingxuan would only have one main consciousness. Normally, it’s his subconscious that supports the actions of his avatars. Ye Qingxuan can control all his avatars with a single thought through his subconscious.
And his main consciousness can, ignoring space, distance, and time, descend upon any of his avatars at any moment.
With the reinforcement of his main consciousness’s descent, the combat power of that avatar would get a considerable boost.
Earlier, under the influence of his obsession, it was Ye Qingxuan’s main consciousness itself that had personally descended to control his external incarnation.
Now that he had settled his external incarnation, Ye Qingxuan’s main consciousness returned to his main body and began to reflect on the changes within himself.
Falling into obsession was a calamity, but it was also a considerable opportunity.
With his Immortal Soul suppressing everything, even if Ye Qingxuan couldn’t break through the obsession on his own in the end, he would still slowly recover.
It would just take a lot longer, and he wouldn’t gain any insights or benefits from it.
The reason Ye Qingxuan was able to break through this obsession so easily this time was largely due to the Dao Heart he had established when he first stepped onto the path of immortality.
Because the Dao Heart he set when embarking on immortality, his ultimate goal, was precisely the direction and driving force behind breaking through this obsession.
This time, things happened naturally, and he successfully emerged from the calamity. Ye Qingxuan felt as if he had escaped from a cage, experiencing a sense of great freedom and ease.
Ever since he learned that the Green Demon Realm was invading the Earthly Mysteries Realm, although Ye Qingxuan remained calm on the surface, he had actually lost that initial sense of detachment.
He had lost the state of mind where he could peacefully settle in one place behind the scenes and calmly watch the chaos of the outside world unfold.
But now, after breaking through his obsession and returning to his true nature, Ye Qingxuan had shed the unnecessary, his state of mind had risen to a new level, and the restlessness in his heart had gradually subsided.
The first to notice the change in Ye Qingxuan weren’t outsiders.
Instead, it was the spirit beast, the Green Dragon, who was always circling around him, along with Xiao Kong and Xiao Ling.
Among them, Xiao Kong and Xiao Ling were the first to sense the return of Ye Qingxuan’s true aura, while the Green Dragon, that silly flood dragon, was the last to notice the change in Ye Qingxuan.
Even though they sensed Ye Qingxuan’s aura had returned to normal, the three spirit beasts still didn’t dare to approach him directly.
After some testing and hesitation from a distance, Ye Qingxuan eventually took the initiative and beckoned to them.
Only then did the Green Dragon, Xiao Kong, and Xiao Ling excitedly dart over to his side, sniffing his newly restored, gentle aura and starting to playfully frolic around him.
Over thirty years had passed. The Green Dragon had only grown to the peak of the third tier, while Xiao Kong and Xiao Ling had already reached the late fourth tier.
It just goes to show that even spirit beasts can’t escape the crushing blow of innate talent.
After comforting the Green Dragon, Xiao Kong, and Xiao Ling one by one, Ye Qingxuan once again focused on feeling the changes within himself.
Besides the change in his state of mind,
his Immortal Soul seemed to have undergone another transformation. The entire Immortal Soul began to emit a faint golden halo, and along with that, his ability to think and process information had been significantly enhanced.
After regaining full control of himself and reflecting on the insights gained from breaking through his obsession, Ye Qingxuan once again returned to that original calm and composure.
The sense of detachment and indifference that had appeared due to the fall of his parents, though not completely gone yet, was now something Ye Qingxuan could consciously rein in. It no longer affected him.
With his reason restored, Ye Qingxuan began to plan out his next steps after forming the external incarnation.
Although falling into obsession had unexpectedly disrupted his original, well-thought-out plan, there was still a chance to make corrections.
He could start condensing the seeds for the other Minor Divine Abilities right now.
Even if his external incarnation was far away from his main body, it could still use all the other divine ability seeds that his main body had condensed, except for the Minor Divine Ability: Splitting.
As for preparing trump cards and development resources for his external incarnation, that wasn’t a big problem either.
Even though Ye Qingxuan had been trapped in his obsession before, he had still made sure his external incarnation brought along a gate to the Qingxuan Cave Heaven Paradise.
After advancing to the second tier, the Qingxuan Cave Heaven Paradise could condense two gates. And now, one of those gates was with his external incarnation.
Through this gate, his external incarnation could, from outside the Xuantian Sect, use the Qingxuan Cave Heaven Paradise to exchange resources back and forth with his main body.
As for talismans and various other supplies, he could have Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu go out and purchase them.
What Ye Qingxuan needed to do now was to condense the other divine ability seeds to enhance the combat power and hiding abilities of his external incarnation, getting ready for the next phase of his plan.
He also needed to improve his mastery of the four auxiliary paths: Alchemy, Artifact Forging, Array Formation, and Talisman Crafting.
After making this plan, Ye Qingxuan didn’t leave the Qingxuan Paradise right away. After sending a telepathic message to Ye Zhaoheng with instructions on what needed to be done,
Ye Qingxuan began to comprehend the other divine ability seeds.
Besides the Minor Divine Ability: Deceive Heaven and the Minor Divine Ability: Shape Shift, Ye Qingxuan chose three more Minor Divine Abilities from the Earth Immortal Inheritance – one for offense, one for defense, and one for speed – as his targets for comprehension.
These three Minor Divine Abilities were the Minor Divine Ability: Small Five Elements Shield, the Minor Divine Ability: Small Five Elements Grindstone, and the Minor Divine Ability: Spatial Jump.
The Small Five Elements Shield channels the power of the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
It uses the principle of mutual generation of the five elements to fuse and circulate their power, ultimately forming a shield through their cycle. Its defensive power is truly astonishing.
The Small Five Elements Grindstone also channels the power of the five elements.
But this one reverses the flow of the five elements’ power, using the destructive force born from their mutual overcoming to form a great grindstone that crushes powerful enemies.
Spatial Jump channels the power of space itself, allowing for short-distance spatial displacement.
The spatial suppression in the Earthly Mysteries Realm is extremely strong. If you haven’t learned the corresponding spells and divine abilities, only those at the Spirit Refining realm and above can perform spatial jumps or shuttling.
Once the seed for the Minor Divine Ability: Spatial Jump is condensed,
it would allow Ye Qingxuan, at the Golden Core realm, to ignore obstacles and displace himself about a hundred miles within the Earthly Mysteries Realm each time he performed a Spatial Jump.
In the early stages, Spatial Jump would be an absolutely superb skill for Ye Qingxuan’s external incarnation to avoid being tracked or chased while operating outside the Xuantian Sect.
After choosing which divine ability seeds to focus on comprehending, Ye Qingxuan went into seclusion once more.
In the second year after Ye Qingxuan broke through his obsession, he successfully condensed the seed for the Minor Divine Ability: Shape Shift first, and at the same time, he advanced his Alchemy Dao mastery to the fifth tier.
Ever since his Immortal Soul had transformed, Ye Qingxuan had a faint feeling that his comprehension ability had increased significantly again.
The speed at which he comprehended the second Minor Divine Ability seed and broke through to the fifth tier of Alchemy Dao confirmed his suspicion.
Before his Immortal Soul transformed, Ye Qingxuan would have barely managed to condense one divine ability seed after a whole year of intense comprehension.
Now, within the same amount of time, he could condense one divine ability seed while still having the energy left to improve his Alchemy Dao mastery.
After condensing the seed for the Minor Divine Ability: Shape Shift, Ye Qingxuan’s external incarnation immediately used it to change its own appearance.
It transformed Ye Qingxuan’s originally handsome and refined features into a completely unremarkable, plain face, thus resolving one hidden risk for the external incarnation.
After condensing the seed for the Minor Divine Ability: Shape Shift and raising his Alchemy Dao mastery to the fifth tier, Ye Qingxuan didn’t continue his seclusion to comprehend the other divine ability seeds right away.
Because the time had come in the second year to hand over the Spirit Purifying Trees.
When Ye Qingxuan had finished all his tasks and emerged from the Qingxuan Paradise, Bai Zichun was already waiting outside the stone pavilion.
Looking at Ye Qingxuan as he came out, Bai Zichun first showed a look of surprise, then a pleased smile appeared in his eyes.
Before Ye Qingxuan could even speak, Bai Zichun couldn’t help but laugh first:
“Hehehe, I knew you wouldn’t let me down. You were able to break your own obsession and find your way out on your own. Excellent! Truly excellent!”
Bai Zichun came every year to collect the Spirit Purifying Trees from the Qingxuan Paradise, so he had practically watched Ye Qingxuan sink deeper and deeper into his obsession.
But Bai Zichun was only a manager at the Nascent Soul realm himself. No matter how much he valued this younger generation member, Ye Qingxuan, there wasn’t much he could do to help.
Now, seeing that Ye Qingxuan could break through his obsession by himself, Bai Zichun felt very gratified inside.
Hearing Bai Zichun’s words, Ye Qingxuan stepped forward, respectfully gave a slight bow, and said:
“All these years, I’ve caused you, Manager, to worry.”
During those years, even though Ye Qingxuan was trapped in his obsession, he could still feel the worry in Bai Zichun’s gaze every time he came to the Qingxuan Paradise.
It could be said that among the few people Ye Qingxuan knew in the Xuantian Sect, Bai Zichun was one of the very few who genuinely worried about him.
Bai Zichun shook his head slightly and smiled:
“It’s nothing. The important thing is that you’ve recovered. So? After going through this ordeal, you gained quite a lot, didn’t you? Hahaha!”
Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan didn’t say anything at first, just exchanged a knowing smile with Bai Zichun.
Then, at Ye Qingxuan’s invitation, Bai Zichun joined him in the stone pavilion to sip tea and chat idly for a long while.
As evening approached, Bai Zichun left the stone pavilion contentedly, carrying one hundred first-tier Spirit Purifying Trees and a packet of Calming Heart Tea from Ye Qingxuan.
After Bai Zichun left, Ye Qingxuan didn’t immediately rush back to the Qingxuan Paradise.
Instead, he looked towards the base of the mountain and called out to the two brothers, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu:
“Zhaoheng, Zhaoyu.”
As soon as Ye Qingxuan’s voice faded, the figures of Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu appeared before him.
Looking at the current Ye Qingxuan, Ye Zhaoheng said with pleasant surprise:
“Young Master, you’ve recovered?”
Beside him, Ye Zhaoyu also had a face full of joyful surprise.
Looking at the two brothers, Ye Qingxuan smiled and nodded. He took out four pills and said:
“These are Golden Core Formation Pills and Jade Dew Pills. They can help increase your success rate for breaking through to the Golden Core realm. Go into seclusion and break through!”
Golden Core Formation Pills and Jade Dew Pills were only fourth-tier pills, which Ye Qingxuan had casually refined during that year.
Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s words, the eyes of Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu burned with desire as they looked at the pills in his hand. Overjoyed once again, they excitedly said in unison:
“Thank you, Young Master, for bestowing the pills!”
How could the two brothers not be excited about the chance to further break through to the Golden Core realm?
Just consider this: even the current head of the Ye family was only at the Golden Core realm.
At Ye Qingxuan’s nod, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu each took a Golden Core Formation Pill and a Jade Dew Pill and then returned to their own caves to go into seclusion.
As for Ye Qingxuan, he went back into the Qingxuan Paradise to condense the remaining divine ability seeds and to improve his mastery in the three paths of Artifact Forging, Array Formation, and Talisman Crafting.
