Immortal Fetus Avatar

He didn't rush to try out his alchemy.

Lin Cheng focused his attention on the reward he'd just received from signing in.

Immortal Fetus Avatar!

With a thought, a young man dressed in a splendid golden immortal robe appeared before him.

That appearance, that expression—

He was practically a carbon copy of Lin Cheng.

Indistinguishable.

Moreover, Lin Cheng felt a faint connection of the soul between himself and the person before him.

It was almost as if he were another body of his own.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist."

The Immortal Fetus Avatar smiled with his handsome face and gave a slight bow.

In an instant, a flood of information about the Immortal Fetus Avatar poured into Lin Cheng's mind.

After reading it, Lin Cheng clicked his tongue in amazement.

The Immortal Fetus Avatar had been formed from the first immortal lotus in heaven and earth, which had manifested when chaos first opened. Its body was comparable to a divine artifact, indestructible, and it could freely transform into any appearance.

The avatar and the original shared one mind, as if they were one.

And betrayal was absolutely impossible.

Its cultivation was equal to the original's.

"This is practically a heaven-defying clone ability. This Immortal Fetus clone can transform freely and is undying and indestructible. In terms of combat power alone, I'm afraid it might even be more terrifying than me..."

Lin Cheng felt he'd struck it rich!

With his current Foundation Establishment Middle Stage strength, he could fight even an ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator.

The Immortal Fetus Avatar was even stronger than him. It could probably hold its own for a while even against a Golden Core Heavenly Monarch.

A devastating weapon!

"Besides, if I have to leave for some reason, I can just have the Immortal Fetus Avatar stay behind and guard the Library Pavilion. I won't have to worry about anyone seeing through the disguise at all! Perfect!"

He couldn't stay cooped up in the Library Pavilion for the rest of his life. Simply shutting himself away to cultivate wasn't a good idea.

What true experts needed most was tempering.

Before, Lin Cheng had been forced to stay in the Library Pavilion to avoid revealing his identity. Now, however, he had another option.

The people of Jingyun Sect had probably guessed that a mysterious expert was living in the Library Pavilion.

He could simply have the Immortal Fetus Avatar become that "mysterious expert," while he went out and about as the mysterious expert's disciple.

As for the risk of the Immortal Fetus Avatar being exposed—

There was no need to worry about it at all.

Although the Immortal Fetus Avatar lacked all the original's various divine abilities, it was itself an ancient divine treasure, undying and indestructible. It could even imitate an expert's aura with uncanny accuracy.

The auras of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators were easy to summon.

As long as it didn't casually make a move, no one would be able to see through it.

Whether it was scaring people or showing off, it got full marks.

The more he thought about it, the happier he became.

After a little thought,

Lin Cheng willed the Immortal Fetus Avatar before him to change its appearance.

In the blink of an eye, the graceful young man became an immortal-looking old man in golden robes, his aura surging so strongly that even the void trembled.

"From today on, I'll call you Xiao Jin."

Looking at the transformation, Lin Cheng nodded in satisfaction and spoke.

"As the original, the decision is yours."

Even the old man Xiao Jin had transformed into spoke in exactly the same voice Lin Cheng had used when talking with Meng Tangtang.

There wasn't a single flaw.

"From today on, I've got a mighty master to protect me!" Lin Cheng thought.

Just then,

someone suddenly entered the Library Pavilion's grounds.

Meng Tangtang had arrived!

Lin Cheng's eyes shifted. Perfect timing!

His thoughts raced. He exchanged a glance with his avatar, Xiao Jin, and the latter immediately understood what the original intended.

He'd use this opportunity to establish the identity once and for all!

Every so often,

Meng Tangtang would visit the Library Pavilion to see her teacher and receive his guidance.

Today, she had run into some problems with her cultivation and had come to ask about them.

She also wanted to test the theory she'd been entertaining.

After spending so much time with him, she couldn't shake the feeling that her master was a little too mysterious.

Every time she came, she never saw him—she only heard his voice.

The entire Library Pavilion seemed shrouded in mystery.

Usually, the only person there was an inconspicuous sweeper. Apart from him, the place was empty.

Every time Meng Tangtang went to the Library Pavilion, she would greet him. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she always felt that there was more to him than met the eye.

Especially on the evening she had encountered the man in black.

As she approached the Library Pavilion, Meng Tangtang had once heard some voices from a distance. They seemed to come from the man in black.

She was too far away to make out more than a few indistinct words, things like "boy" and "junior."

Not long after that, when she arrived, all that remained of the other man was a cold corpse.

From this, she'd guessed that the expert who killed the man in black probably wasn't very old—or at least looked quite young.

Every time she went to the Library Pavilion, she had also deliberately observed the place, seemingly without giving it much thought, and searched every corner.

Apart from that rather handsome sweeper, she hadn't seen anyone else.

And according to what some senior sect elders had said, there had never been any hidden expert in the Library Pavilion. All this had only started happening recently.

There was more.

Based on the inquiries she'd made in secret,

whether it was the timing of her master's appearance, the rumors about the Library Pavilion, or all the other signs,

everything seemed to have begun after the arrival of that sweeper named Lin Cheng.

This made Meng Tangtang wonder: would a hidden senior of Jingyun Sect really conceal himself from the Grand Elders and the others?

If such a senior really existed, wouldn't it be better to just tell them?

And if he simply liked peace and quiet, that was no problem either. If he said so, who would dare disturb him?

All in all, the many clues

seemed to point the identity of the mysterious expert toward the inconspicuous sweeper, Lin Cheng.

Unbelievable.

The answer was a little absurd, but it also made the most sense.

There was a saying: once you'd eliminated every wrong answer, the one remaining was the truth, no matter how unbelievable it seemed.

Meng Tangtang had a feeling that she'd stumbled onto some great secret. Now she was about to uncover it for herself. Her heart was uneasy, yet a strange excitement stirred within her.

It was just like when she was a child and was about to win at hide-and-seek.

That sense of anticipation always made her happy.

Lost in thought, Meng Tangtang found herself smiling, her eyes narrowing. Her pace quickened.

"Master looks so young."

"And he's so handsome!"

"He's so kind, too. How can someone be so perfect?"

Inside the Library Pavilion,

with Lin Cheng's current cultivation, there was no way such a small commotion could escape his notice.

Xiao Jin gave his original a strange look. You're no good at this. You're about to be exposed already?

Hearing Meng Tangtang's muttering, Lin Cheng's eyelid twitched. Women really were terrifying creatures.

He was certain he hadn't said anything unnecessary. Every time, he'd only given her guidance, without a single word of idle chatter.

And she'd still managed to figure it out?

The female human species really couldn't be judged by common sense.

"Good thing I was prepared!"

Lin Cheng patted his chest in relief. That had been close. Luckily, the sign-in reward had arrived just in time, or his cover would've been blown.

Although getting exposed wouldn't mean much to someone as shameless as him,

it would definitely increase the risk of his identity being revealed.

This world was far too dangerous. Until he truly possessed invincible strength, he didn't want to expose himself to the public so soon.

Even if Meng Tangtang was technically his disciple, that was no exception!

He had to eliminate every risk.