In the end, the battle lasted a full hundred years, and throughout that century, Jiang Yun received no effective replenishment.
At first, he could still draw energy from the surrounding heaven and earth, Chaos, and the Void, including the mysterious power of the ancient Reincarnation Road. But by the end, he had drained it all.
Now he was skin and bones. After a century of tribulation, he looked like a ghost. His clones, fighting enemies across different times and spaces, had also grown white-haired and gaunt, their flesh withered, nearly every trace of their potential wrung dry.
But that was only on the surface. Deep within his flesh, the transformation continued. His nine million bloodline powers and countless Daos, arts, techniques, and scriptures had fused perfectly and begun to change anew. This was the true metamorphosis.
"Immortal Emperors of every age, I've fought the shadows of you all. I'll tell you this: in a battle at the same level, I'm no weaker than any one of you."
On the verge of burning through his last drop of oil, Jiang Yun roared. His countless figures, including his true body, began to glow within their gaunt frames. Flesh broke apart and old skin peeled away, exposing his most fundamental power. Even his bones flew out one by one. At that moment, all those figures returned to his body at once.
They brought back what each had learned in battle, along with the force of their enemies' attacks, sparking a new change within Jiang Yun. In the end, everything from the bloodlines at his core to his sinews, bones, and flesh became different under that mysterious power.
It was a transformation that remade flesh and bone, and a cruel one at that. He was casting off his old body. With nine million bloodline