The Clown Turned Out to Be Me

"You're Hongjun!?"

"It's Hongjun..."

"Jun..."

Shouts of disbelief echoed all around.

Li Xuan stared at the spot where Hongjun had disappeared, trembling as he started to run over.

But his shouts had given away his position.

Suddenly, a Mystic Immortal-level flying beast let out a long cry and swooped toward him.

"Ah..."

At Mount Taixuan, Li Xuan opened his eyes, filled with shock and regret. "Damn it, the clown turned out to be me..."

Why had he shouted?

He'd attracted the attention of those creatures, hadn't he?

Sadly, the incarnation that had survived for fifteen years without dying had vanished once again.

And even if Li Xuan sent another incarnation to the center of that battlefield now, it would take at least fifteen years to get there.

Hongjun couldn't possibly still be there.

So there was no need to go after him.

What a shame...

Hongjun... the Dao Ancestor!

Good heavens, he'd said that Li Xuan was fated to meet him!

If Li Xuan had just knelt and taken him as his master back then, the benefits...

"Ah! This hurts."

Thinking of that, Li Xuan shook his head again, feeling that he'd missed a tremendous opportunity.

But after a while, Li Xuan muttered, "Still, every cloud has a silver lining, and every blessing has a hidden trouble... Who knows whether becoming Hongjun's chief disciple would've made everyone furious? If the Three Pure Ones got jealous and came to beat me up... wouldn't I be done for?"

After figuring that out, Li Xuan felt a sense of relief instead.

That instantly eased much of his regret and heartache.

He nodded as if he'd just seen the light. "That's right. How could that have been an opportunity? It was a trap! I'm safer cultivating diligently and keeping a low profile."

"Ding. The choice to cultivate for ten thousand years is complete. You have received a one-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll and the divine ability: Incarnation Outside the Body."

As Li Xuan lamented how he'd narrowly avoided falling into a trap, the system's notification sounded in his ear.

After thousands of incarnations had died and explored who knew how far, more than ten thousand years had finally passed.

The one-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll wasn't much. It had only raised his cultivation a little.

Li Xuan was now at Mystic Immortal Level 10, on the verge of entering the Mystic Immortal realm.

A stream of profound memories poured into his mind, and Li Xuan quickly understood the divine ability: Incarnation Outside the Body.

Put simply, it was an enhanced version of the Cloning Technique—an enhanced version of an enhanced version.

Of course, this enhanced technique was only available because Li Xuan's aptitude was so poor.

For anyone else, the Cloning Technique would be enough; there'd be no need to enhance it.

If the clones created by the Cloning Technique had only one percent of the original body's strength—or even less—

then the incarnations created by Incarnation Outside the Body

could have as much as seventy percent of the original body's strength, or even eighty percent!

What's more, an Incarnation Outside the Body could house part of one's soul.

In other words, if the Original Self died due to some unforeseen accident,

the incarnation could cultivate for a while and then become the original body!

This was an incredibly powerful divine ability.

Few in the entire Primordial Wilderness could comprehend or learn it.

Li Xuan closed his eyes and pondered for a while. Once he'd fully mastered the technique, he formed a hand seal and remained still.

The spiritual energy around him rippled gently, and Li Xuan's body rippled along with it, like water.

Within those ripples, Li Xuan's body split into two, just like a reflection.

An Incarnation Outside the Body.

This incarnation was far more substantial than a regular clone.

Not only was its aura nearly identical, but its cultivation was also only five levels lower.

The Original Self was at Mystic Immortal Level 10, while the Incarnation Outside the Body was at Mystic Immortal Level 5.

The two looked at each other. The feeling was even more remarkable.

If the earlier clone had felt like looking at himself in a mirror, this Incarnation Outside the Body truly felt like his own body.

"Mm, this is really great."

The clone's cultivation had soared, which meant its chances of survival had increased dramatically. Li Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

"Ding."

"Choice System activated."

"Choice One: Go to Kirin Mountain in the west and rescue Prime Kirin. Completion rewards: three random Innate Supreme Treasures, leadership of the Primordial Wilderness's Beast Clan, the divine ability: Five Flavors True Fire, the divine ability: Kirin Heaven-Destroying Flame, and the divine ability: Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations."

"Choice Two: Go to Kirin Mountain in the west and join Ancestor Dragon and Yuanfeng in killing Prime Kirin and destroying Kirin Mountain. Completion rewards: one random Innate Supreme Treasure, the divine ability: Indestructible Golden Body, and the divine ability: Shrink Ground into Inches."

"Choice Three: Continue cultivating for ten thousand years. Completion rewards: one random Innate Spiritual Treasure and a one-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll."

As Li Xuan was getting a feel for his Incarnation Outside the Body, the choices sounded in his ear once more.

Already used to this, he didn't even listen to the choices. He simply selected the option to continue cultivating.

Who cared what the choices were?

He wasn't going anywhere.

The culture of keeping a low profile had sunk deep into his bones!

"System, next time put Choice Four or Choice Three in the first spot. It'll save everyone some time..."

The Incarnation Outside the Body hopped in place, looking relaxed and smug.

"Choice Four: Go outside Mount Taixuan and pick up any ordinary stone. Completion rewards: one random Primordial Supreme Treasure, a million-year cultivation experience scroll, the divine ability: Open Heaven, the divine ability: Destroy Earth, the divine ability: Reincarnation, and the divine ability: Nirvana."

The system ignored this shameless fellow and mechanically read out the next choice.

"Huh?"

Li Xuan froze in place.

Before he could say anything, the system continued.

"Choice to continue cultivating for ten thousand years completed successfully."

"That's too much! This is too much..."

Li Xuan stared blankly and murmured, almost at a loss for words. "Let me choose again... I want to choose again..."

But the system ignored him completely, falling silent.

After a long while, Li Xuan gradually came to his senses. Gritting his teeth, he said, "You win!"

With that, the Original Self closed his eyes again and resumed cultivating.

The Incarnation Outside the Body crooked his mouth, looked around, and sighed before heading out to explore.

With an Incarnation Outside the Body at Mystic Immortal Level 5, his chances of survival should be much higher now.

He ought to explore the Primordial Wilderness properly instead of constantly hiding and being so cautious about everything.

"My lord!"

But before he could fly away, three figures suddenly appeared from below the mountain.

They were Little Blue, Little Purple, and Bright Rabbit.

The three flew up to the mountaintop and bowed to Li Xuan from a distance, calling out respectfully, "Bright Rabbit (Little Purple, Little Blue) pays respects to my lord."

Li Xuan asked in surprise, "What's the matter? Is there something you need?"

The three exchanged glances. Bright Rabbit spoke softly. "My lord, the three of us would like to go out and explore. Sitting around and cultivating all day really isn't helping us..."

As soon as he said this, Bright Rabbit and the other two looked nervous and ashamed. They lowered their heads, afraid to look at Li Xuan.

After all, they'd been under their lord's protection for tens of thousands of years.

Now that they'd only just succeeded in cultivation and reached the Mystic Immortal realm, they wanted to leave. It was utterly ungrateful of them.

But the monotonous cultivation, day in and day out, was truly hard to endure.

All three knew that without some kind of opportunity, their cultivation would likely never advance again.

So they'd discussed it for a long time before finally working up the courage to ask their lord's permission.

Only by venturing out could they find opportunities.

And after ten thousand years, the three of them had truly matured.

They were all adults, after all, and naturally had their own ideas.

Seeing how cautiously they acted, Li Xuan couldn't help but laugh.

He waved a hand. "You need my permission for that? Go on, go on. It's a chaotic time out there, though, so be careful."

The three were overjoyed. They quickly bowed to Li Xuan. "Thank you, my lord!"

After that, they stood up and bowed to him once more.

Then they turned into streaks of light, soared into the sky, and headed south.

It seemed they'd chosen their route long ago.

As he watched the three quickly disappear into the distance, Li Xuan was once again the only humanoid creature on Mount Taixuan.

Suddenly, his desire to go out and explore faded.

He smiled. His Incarnation Outside the Body sat down on the Thirty-Six Grade Creation Green Lotus Platform, and together with the Original Self, began comprehending the mysteries of Creation.

Mount Taixuan fell quiet.