Chapter 431: Prepared For All Possibilities (2)

Wu Yuan nodded gently.

The contents of the immortal slip were simple. It detailed a brand new identity that the Dragon Star Immortal Sect had created for him. According to this new identity, he was born in a small worldlet called the Nine Summers World, and after reaching the Golden Core phase, he arrived at the Redmoon Immortal Continent.

Every facet of his life, from the moment of his birth to the inheritance of the Dark Earth Sword Codex, and every step of his growth and breakthroughs, was meticulously documented.

And according to the immortal slip, a High Immortal from the sect who was proficient in illusion arts personally visited the Nine Summers World, employed illusion arts to plant memories directly into the minds of all the beings in this small worldlet, and even forged many relics.

In a nutshell, unless an Archimmortal or higher-level powerhouse personally investigated Wu Yuan’s past, no one would see any reason to question it.

Meanwhile, based on Li Xia's fabricated profile, he was two years older than Wu Yuan, distinguishing it from his Summerpeak true self’s identity.

"We will have your spirit beast, Qiong Sea, consume a special treasure that helps him undergo a bloodline evolution, changing his appearance entirely. He will also be made to vow never to reveal any secrets about Summerpeak," stated High Immortal Nan Yin.

Qiong Sea was the only flaw in Li Xia's fabricated identity, which was now duly rectified.

"Sorry for the trouble, Master," Wu Yuan felt grateful. These matters might not be difficult for a High Immortal, but they required both time and effort to complete. Furthermore, they had to be done with complete secrecy. This only showed High Immortal Nan Yin's meticulousness.

"Haha, it's nothing. You are my only disciple, and I have no descendants," High Immortal Nan Yin laughed. "Who else would I worry about if not you? I hope to see you make a name for yourself in the immortal continent with your sword, your fame echoing through the entire immortal nation and immortal world."

"I will definitely work hard," Wu Yuan solemnly replied, feeling his master's love and expectations. Naturally, his motivation to cultivate grew stronger.

"I have obtained a special arcane art that will help you to conceal your identity. You can study it in the Dragon Star Immortal Voidrealm," High Immortal Nan Yin said.

"In addition, you may redeem ether arts, saber codices, and the like as needed by your body refiner self within the sect. I will restrict access to your redemption history as well. Apart from the abbot and a few others like Sword Immortal Dong Yang, no one will know."

"Alright, that's all for now, you may leave. Come see me again when it’s time for your next tutorial session," High Immortal Nan Yin dismissed Wu Yuan.

"Understood," Wu Yuan stood up, bowed, and left.

...

Upon returning to his world residence, Wu Yuan entered the Dragon Star Immortal Voidrealm right away. Inside his personal hall, a book-like virtual immortal slip floated, glistening and sparkling in the light.

"Browse." Wu Yuan gave a mental command. His Soul Force swiftly processed the intelligence within the virtual immortal slip, and information flooded into his mind.

What stood out was a method – ‘Nine Soul Change’.

It had only one effect – inducing the soul's aura to gradually undergo subtle changes through cultivation. The changes might not be huge, but they were practical.

To immortal cultivators, the appearance of the physical body means nothing.

Wu Yuan mused inwardly.

Any immortal cultivator could change their appearance at will. Physical appearances didn’t mean much.

Once qi refiners reached the Void Refiner phase, they essentially discarded the physical body to a certain extent.

In fact, after his qi refiner self arrived at the Redmoon Immortal Continent, his appearance had undergone many changes, looking markedly different from his body refiner self.

Over the years, his qi refiner self and body refiner self had changed greatly in terms of their temperaments. No one would associate one with the other through looks alone.

To immortal cultivators, the only unique identifier was the soul!

The only thing the two true selves share is consciousness.

Wu Yuan pondered.

The souls? The core remains the same, but their external appearances will change over time.

It was much like twins. Essentially identical, but with age, their appearances gradually differed.

Under Wu Yuan's deliberate control over the years, the soul aura of his two true selves were different in almost every aspect.

The qi refiner self was more flamboyant and aggressive. Meanwhile, the body refiner self had a more restrained temperament.

Once the two selves start cultivating', each progressing in different directions, even Master and Fang Xia may not recognize that they are me.

Wu Yuan thought.

It was crucial to hide the truth of his two true selves to ensure his own safety. Even if one true self fell in battle, there would still be another true self surviving, unbeknownst to the enemy.

Boom! Boom!

Without hesitation, Wu Yuan's two true selves began to cultivate simultaneously, one in the Middle Land of Summerpeak World, the other at the sect headquarters in the Redmoon Immortal Continent. Each evolved in different directions according to their soul qualities.

A regular Qi Sea or Golden Core cultivator would certainly find cultivating the ‘Nine Soul Change’ extremely difficult.

However, even the weaker soul of Wu Yuan’s body refiner self was top tier among the cultivators of the Amethyst Cradle. Naturally, cultivating the technique wasn’t difficult.

In just one day, his body refiner self achieved some success, cultivating ‘Nine Soul Change’ to a small extent, while the qi refiner self made significant progress.

Right now, the difference is already substantial. With more time, when the body refiner self makes even greater progress with this technique, it'll be even more unrecognizable.

Smiles appeared on both of Wu Yuan's true selves.

‘Nine Soul Change’ wasn't an ether art, it couldn’t contribute to one’s combat power. But as a special type of secret art, it could play a significant role in certain situations.

After cultivating ‘Nine Soul Change’, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self retrieved a withered branch from his inner armor, silently perceiving it.

This withered branch is indeed an ultimate treasure. Just by lightly perceiving it, I’m able to understand the ‘Extended Life Sword Codex' much more clearly, and my progress is faster than before. In some time, I should be able to gain a preliminary grasp of the 'Extended Life Sword Codex'.

Wu Yuan could feel how much his master cared for him.

He was grateful to Sword Immortal Dong Yang, but it couldn’t compare to what he felt toward his master.

Wu Yuan intuitively felt that the reason why Sword Immortal Dong Yang was willing to grant him such a treasure despite being unrelated to himself, was likely due to his master.

Understand it, refine it, then gradually absorb the Wood's essence within the withered branch to strengthen my lifebound flying swords.

Wu Yuan's mind was clear.

The main limiting factor was the expansion of his mana reserves. Once he reached the ninth-stage Golden Core phase, he would be able to upgrade his lifebound flying swords.

Wu Yuan had spent over a hundred million catties of ethercrystal to purchase a large amount of precious metals and materials, which complemented the withered branch immortal treasure.

He believed that his nine lifebound flying swords would reach far more powerful levels than he had planned.

The Moonsilver Tournament is still ten years away. My mana has not yet reached the ninth-stage Golden Core phase, and I have not reached the initiate threshold of the ‘Extended Life Sword Codex’. There is no rush. One step at the time.

Wu Yuan plotted the path ahead for his qi refiner self.

The main gist was: cultivate in seclusion. As for the redemption of saber codices from the sect’s Daoist Scripture Tower mentioned by his master, Wu Yuan had his own considerations.

If the saber codices I choose are too weak, they will not make a big difference to my strength. If they’re too strong, my body refiner self will have trouble explaining it to the Bloodforge Devil Hall when the time comes.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

This might not be something that High Immortal Nan Yin hadn’t considered. However, Wu Yuan did not fully reveal everything about the Summerpeak World to High Immortal Nan Yin, keeping some information to himself.

Although he was sincerely grateful to his master, Wu Yuan was rational enough not to reveal all his secrets.

No rush. My body refiner self is strong enough now. Even if I redeem a saber codex, it will not make much of a difference to my strength in the short term.

Wu Yuan made a decision.

I’ll redeem a powerful saber codex from the Bloodforge Devil Hall after joining it.

That was Wu Yuan's plan. By then, the teachings that his body refiner self needed could be directly obtained from the Bloodforge Devil Hall.

...

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.

Summerpeak World, South Ocean of the Middle Land.

Less than a thousand li from the Min Continent lay a small, deserted island which was only a few li in diameter.

On one side of the island's beach was a colossal black jiaolong leisurely sprawled on the sand, allowing the waves to lap against its mighty body.

Beside it stood a man in green robes, a middle-aged figure with worry etched on his face. He paced back and forth along the beach, glancing northward from time to time.

That was the direction of the Middle Land.

"Jing Shan," the black jiaolong rumbled, "Can you stop pacing? It's giving me a headache. You've cultivated for thousands of years, and you're the founder of a sect. Can't you be a bit more composed?"

The man in green robes was none other than a peak powerhouse of Summerpeak mainland—Reverend Jing Shan.

He was the master of the Jingshan Sect, one of the three great immortal sects of the Summerpeak mainland.

"Senior Long, how can I not be anxious?" Reverend Jing Shan shook his head, "Wu Yuan's choice will affect the future of Summerpeak World.”

“You established a relationship with him early on. But what about me? Now that the Huoyan Sect is facing the threat of annihilation, who knows whether he'll target my Jingshan Sect in the future?" Reverend Jing Shan wrung his hands.

"What's the use of fretting?" Daoist Long swung his large head around.

Everything was coming along nicely. Moreover, he was favored by Protectorate Xiong Yuan, and close to becoming a formal member of the Bloodforge Devil Hall. Naturally, he had nothing to worry about.

"Senior Long, is Wu Yuan really as strong as you say? Did Protectorate Xiong Yuan truly make that promise?" In his nervousness, Reverend Jing Shan began asking one question after another.

"Of course it's true, Jing Shan. I watched you grow up. Would I lie to you?" Daoist Long shook his head. "If I wanted to deceive you, there would be no need for me to pass the news to you."