Everything moved in slow motion within Aotian’s minds as he analyzed every detail.

He refocused on the mind controlling Rihai’s clone, observing her roots with renewed attention.

The roots looked like tiny fragments scattered throughout the body, and what should have been pathways—like veins in a body—resembled dispersed dust instead. But beyond that, Aotian noticed that some fragments were larger, as if they had gathered and fused together, and immediately understood what they were.

‘Her roots have been completely shattered, so these larger fragments must be anomalous… probably? I believe they’re the result of the body-refining techniques I gave her. Moreover, the body refinement must reduce the pain she feels when using spiritual energy.’

He reflected, beginning to calm down. Not that he had forgiven himself, but instead of lamenting, he chose to act with purpose.

‘Rihai’s roots are also very different… I’ve seen the roots of Jian Huiyin, who has a special physique, and they contain a strange energy that reminds me a bit of my avatars’ abilities when activated. Rihai’s are very damaged, so I can’t see clearly, but there are still faint traces of patterns in the larger, slightly recovered parts. And they seem even more complex than Jian Huiyin’s. It must be a very powerful physique… though that was already somewhat clear when she talked about not wanting to show her roots to Bao Wuji, and only letting me see when I was capable. She’s right—those patterns would have repelled my energy if I had tried, and I wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway.’

‘I can’t determine if the patterns in her roots, once repaired, will be more complex than my avatars’ abilities… but my instincts say no. They should be at least on the same level, or my avatars’ abilities are even more complex… and I believe it’s the latter. After all, I created an illusory world where I can feel her powerful roots using one of their abilities.’

‘But what are these complex patterns? Laws? Are my avatars’ abilities based on laws? I’ve always had the impression they were, but I can’t say for sure if there’s nothing else involved. The system and everything else are still too mysterious for me. My cultivation level is far too low to understand anything—be it the system, the laws, or special physiques.’

Aotian thought seriously before shaking off his thoughts and regaining focus.

‘I’m getting distracted. The most important thing now is helping Rihai. Spiritual roots are extremely complex. Nothing I’ve read so far has guided me on how to repair them. Maybe some high-level pill… but I haven’t even synthesized a Founder-Tier inheritance of alchemy, or of any other arts. I need to speed up my conquests to achieve that. But even if I conquer the four desert continents, I doubt I’ll be able to refine a Core-Tier manual. And even that might not be enough for such a complex problem… I imagine.’

‘No! If I rely on alchemy above Core-Tier and beyond, it’ll take too long. Looks like the previous plan will have to continue, but I need to accelerate it.’

He decided with resolve.

It wasn’t that Aotian didn’t already have a plan to repair her roots—he did—he just hadn’t felt a strong sense of urgency to rush, and that’s why he blamed himself now.

His plan was simple.

Body refinement could repair her roots. But to fully restore them and allow her to surpass the cultivation she had in the past—the perfection of Foundation Establishment—Rihai had calculated that she’d need to refine her body to the perfection of Golden Core using the sect’s techniques.

The problem was that this created a paradox. To repair the roots, she needed to refine the body to the perfection of Golden Core, and to do that, she needed cultivation at the perfection of Golden Core, and to have that level of cultivation, she needed her roots repaired—bringing everything back to the beginning of the problem.

It was a difficult dilemma, but Rihai had indirectly given him the answer when they once talked about a certain subject.

‘Dual cultivation. When I reach Golden Core, I can refine Rihai’s body in her place through dual cultivation.’

‘The problem is that I’m afraid of inserting overly powerful energy into Rihai’s body and having her roots collapse because they’re not prepared to handle such a level of energy. At least, ordinary dual cultivation wouldn’t allow someone stronger to insert spiritual energy beyond the partner’s limit. That’s why I became even more determined to gather material to create a synthesized dual cultivation technique.’

‘That’s the best and most practical idea I have at the moment. But here comes another problem. Body-refining techniques are rare and undervalued in the desert continents, and the ones that exist are few. With the conquest of the four continents, I should obtain enough techniques to synthesize a Founder-Tier one, but I doubt I’ll find enough material for anything at the Core-Tier level… looks like I’ll need to enter the inner continents faster than planned.’

His heart tightened—not because he’d have to accelerate his plans, but because of Rihai.

‘Hang in there just a little longer, Rihai… just a bit more. In at most three years, in three years I will find a way to heal you.’

‘And then we’ll make those who brought you to this point pay for everything.’

His eyes burned with a flash of fire and determination—but then, they immediately froze.

‘Wait, there’s another elemental affinity here!!’

He was shocked to discover that among the fragments of Rihai’s roots, suppressed by the fire element, there was a thin streak—almost invisible—hidden within her powerful fire affinity.

…

Rihai found herself standing before an identical clone, staring back at her with a blank expression. She couldn’t help but feel both intrigued and slightly unsettled—it was strange to see someone exactly like herself standing right in front of her.

“Hello.” She tried to communicate.

But only indifferent, lifeless blue eyes stared back at her.

“Looks like it was made just to fight, without emotion,” she murmured, analyzing, imagining that the other disciples were probably going through the same thing as her.

Seeing the clone unmoving, she cautiously approached. However, as soon as she came within a certain distance, it immediately moved.

Slapping a hand on its storage pouch, the clone pulled out a red sword identical to the one she had received from the sect and attacked.

Rihai didn’t hesitate. She drew her own sword while leaping backward to create distance. Controlling the blade with her spiritual energy, she reenacted the strike she had used in the competition.

The sword flew like an arrow and then spun like a windmill, creating a massive disc of fire that raced toward the clone.

The clone, however, mirrored the same movement and launched the same spell, causing both attacks to collide and form a swirling storm of flames. The clone vanished from Rihai’s sight.

She didn’t waste time. Taking advantage of the flames to try and surprise her opponent, she began circling the field, avoiding the fire with all her speed.

But as she ran, the clone emerged directly through the colliding spells, covered in runes that faded under the effects of the magical clash. It caught her off guard, drawing another sword and attacking.

Rihai also pulled out another blade, launching it with spiritual energy.

Before the two swords could clash, a third one appeared—coming from a blind spot concealed by the other two.

She sensed the movement through spiritual energy, but didn’t have enough time to react. The tangle of her opponent’s energy with her own slowed her perception through spiritual sense.

That’s why the eyes were still extremely important to cultivators, even with spiritual energy.

Rihai drew a third sword and managed to defend in time, deflecting the strike, though the blade still cut deep into her shoulder.

Even so, she didn’t even frown.

The deflected sword spun through the air and attacked again, but now prepared, Rihai parried it with her own weapon.

The battle quickly intensified. Talismans, weapons, spells, and even hand-to-hand combat followed in a frantic rhythm.

Rihai’s body accumulated more and more injuries—cuts, bruises, even internal organs severely damaged. She couldn’t help but frown from the pain as she breathed heavily and clenched her teeth.

As for the clone, it stood still and unscathed, exhaling lightly, as if it hadn’t even spent much energy.

‘How is she not tired? We used almost the same number of attacks… her energy should be just as drained as mine.’

Panting and enduring the pain that coursed through her entire body, Rihai looked at her clone in confusion.

But it didn’t give her any time to figure things out. It ran straight toward her.

Flames rose in the clone’s hands, stretching like snakes until they molded into two whips.

‘It’s the Flaming Whip technique from my Liu family.’

Rihai recognized the spell instantly and summoned a flame shield to defend herself.

As she prepared, her eyes focused on the whip for a moment, and she noticed something that stunned her.

At first glance, the spell seemed the same as the one she usually used. But looking closer, she saw that the whip wasn’t solid—it was composed of small chain links connected together.

‘So it can be used like this!’ Rihai was astonished.

The clone had used the same artifacts, spells, and even the same level of proficiency as her up until now. That’s why she hadn’t noticed much difference.

But now she realized: even though it was the same spell and the same level of mastery and power, small adjustments had been made in its usage to save energy. Turning the whips into chains required more precise control, but the energy cost was lower. In the end, the trade-off was worth it, since the more precise control wasn’t very difficult for her or too demanding of her attention.

Even stunned, Rihai continued defending against the waves of attacks with her shield, which was gradually filling with cracks.

Then, from the cracks, a small hole appeared.

The moment it did, a sword came speeding through it and pierced directly through Rihai’s chest.

Her eyes widened—not just from the fatal blow, but because, in the final second, she noticed that the flying sword also used a slightly different way of manipulating spiritual energy—a subtle application, but one that likely made a big difference. However, she couldn’t understand enough before closing her eyes and falling backward.

It felt like a blink, and when she opened her eyes again, she was back in the Heritage Pavilion hall, with everyone looking at her.

Looking around, she realized she had been the last one to return from the soul challenge.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep