Chapter 917: We Are Originally One
The devil vine's blood heart had only formed after years of accumulating energy. It contained the essence energy of the blood devil vine, and as Xiang Shaoyun split and refined the energy, he could see a blood devil vine swaying about. Giving off a wondrous sensation, it stretched and whipped its vines and elongated and withdrew as though a supreme expert was attacking.
Using the Nether Soul Domain, he recorded the sensation since he suspected that it would become a powerful battle technique once mastered. His bloodline stirred as his life force grew massively. His heart, which was once injured by Lady Shura, gathered a large chunk of the life force and fully healed itself, removing all lingering damage. It also grew more and more vigorous.
His heartbeat hastened, and his blood circulated more quickly. For regular people, this was a bad sign since the person would just die from organ failure. But for a cultivator, it was extremely beneficial. After all, the stronger a cultivator's heart, the greater their life force and the stronger their resulting physique.
As life force flooded Xiang Shaoyun's body, a powerful aura converged at his stars. The aura was the essence the blood devil vine had accumulated throughout its entire life of cultivation. The blood devil vine was a Sovereign Realm plant, and even a tiny part of its power could greatly benefit Xiang Shaoyun.
Even in the midst of this, Xiang Shaoyun did not forget to form his soul body. He circulated his cultivation method and gathered a massive amount of the blood devil vine's energy into his head, fully enshrouding his soul with the energy.
A majestic amount of life force entered his head, and his soul started rapidly absorbing it to forge its body. Prior to this, his soul had already solidified, but it still looked illusory. In truth, it was a fake body, not a body of flesh and blood. With the blood devil vine, the soul could forge a true body. Once forged, it would be an incredible achievement.
According to the ancient records, a cultivator had to be at least at the Heaven Battling Realm before forming an actual soul body. Even then, one still needed many natural treasures for it. However, Xiang Shaoyun had a filthless soul, a soul that was basically without flaw. Thus, he could use the blood devil vine's power to form a true body for his soul at his current cultivation level.
The blood devil vine's energy blended with his soul incessantly, ultimately becoming a blood cocoon. All presence vanished from Xiang Shaoyun's body as though he was an accomplished monk that had died in a state of meditation. In truth, his entire body was brimming with life, containing boundless life force that made him anything but dead.
This meditation lasted three months. At the end of it, the blood cocoon finally cracked open. A body that was exactly the same as Xiang Shaoyun's appeared in his head. The body's skin was akin to the skin of an infant—sleek, fair, and flawless. Powerful soul power rippled out, demonstrating a strength far beyond a fourth-stage Sovereign. It rivaled the strength of a sixth-stage Sovereign, which was an incredibly powerful stage.
A connection formed between Xiang Shaoyun's main body and soul, and his aura started rising. His soul was forcibly enhancing the main body. Only by having a strong main body would he be able to properly adapt to his soul's new strength.
The energy leaking from his soul also nourished his nine stars, causing the stars to shine with a resplendent radiance. Astral energy was quickly converted into draconic aura, further perfecting Xiang Shaoyun's dragon spine, pushing his cultivation level to peak seventh-stage Dragon Ascension Realm. He was now only a step away from the eighth stage.
The energy intended to further push him into the next stage, but he suppressed it to further purify the energy. He did not want to break through too quickly. As a brand new seventh-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator, he needed to strengthen and solidify his foundations.
Finally, the raging energy in Xiang Shaoyun's body calmed. He tried sending his soul body out of his main body, something only doable by Sovereigns. He had a feeling he could now do the same.
Sure enough, his soul floated out of his forehead and strode away. Immediately, a body of flesh formed around it. Two Xiang Shaoyuns could be seen standing together, as though they were a pair of twins.
Xiang Shaoyun also sensed that his clone had formed independent thoughts, as though it was another version of him that was capable of independent thought and cultivation. He was stunned.
"Is this my clone? Will it give birth to a different me?" Xiang Shaoyun questioned himself.
The clone answered, "I am you, and you are me. You will still be the dominant person, and everything I see and obtain will be yours. At the same time, everything of yours will also be mine. We were originally one."
The explanation cleared all the confusion in Xiang Shaoyun's mind. Although the clone had independent thoughts, the clone was also under his full control.
"Very good. Does this mean that I will be able to split my focus into two from now on? This will be very beneficial for my cultivation," Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed in realization.
Nevertheless, he knew very well that a clone was still a clone and could never be his own person. Also, if the clone was destroyed, he would probably suffer as well. Fortunately, the Nether Dragon Soul Headband would probably protect his soul from destruction. Thus, he would not face the danger of dying after his clone was killed.
With the headband as an assurance, he sent his soul clone out to challenge some random beasts in the mountain range. Unfortunately, the demonic beasts there were too weak. He wasn't able to have a proper fight.
However, he still got to experience the amazing sensation of sending his soul out. Even without lifting a finger, he could fully experience all that his clone was experiencing. He could still focus on cultivation with his main body regardless of what his clone was doing. This was a perfect example of splitting his focus into two, something comparable to the ability of sages.
"Alright, time to look for Money and the others," muttered Xiang Shaoyun. Instead of pulling his soul back, both bodies moved at the same time, heading toward the same direction using different routes.
Xiang Shaoyun moved at full speed, while his soul clone found Money and the three birds first. They happened to have encountered something dangerous. Fighting Money was a powerful strong-ape. It was the size of a hill, and its entire body was brimming with strength. It was a fifth-stage Demon Sovereign, a strength that made it a tyrant of a large territory in the outer fringe of the mountain range.
The Demon Sovereign usually spent its time cultivating in seclusion and wouldn't move out easily. However, Money and the three birds were hunting in its territory, provoking it to come out and deal with them.
Money was a ninth-stage Demon Emperor, and with his bloodline talent, he could match a regular fourth-stage Demon Sovereign in battle. But it was still somewhat challenging for him to face a fifth-stage strong-ape.
The three birds shrieked repeatedly, but they weren't much help and could only watch on as Money was beaten up.
"Withdraw, Money. I'll deal with this big guy," Xiang Shaoyun's voice rang out.