Ye Feng returned home and smiled at the sight of everyone still cultivating, then joined them.
First, he wanted to recover the true qi he had expended. Second, he wanted to see whether cultivation could continue increasing its density until it naturally evolved into a golden core.
Three days passed as he cultivated. Throughout that time, neither Ye Feng nor his shadow clones stopped cultivating.
On the fourth day, Ye Feng finally showed his disappointment and sighed.
"As expected, breaking through by sheer effort is impossible. I still need to find another opportunity."
But the original story had never mentioned exactly where the Gelel Stone was. All he knew was that there was a Traveling Merchant Company, and only they knew its actual location.
A lead with no fixed whereabouts was the hardest kind to track down. Ye Feng did not have the time, either, though these shadow clones could spend more time roaming that area when they had nothing else to do.
Next was the Ryūmyaku, which Ye Feng also planned to investigate. Although he held little hope for it, there were few sources of energy he could count on, so he could only try his luck.
With that thought, Ye Feng summoned a shadow clone, then dismissed it.
The ten shadow clones cultivating nearby suddenly opened their eyes in unison, a hint of delight appearing in them.
A new set of memories had suddenly appeared in their minds: everything the original had experienced during this time. They also learned what he had in mind.
This also meant they would be free. How could they not be excited?
Ye Feng smiled at the excited shadow clones and said,
"We're all one to begin with. If anything comes up that can help you in the future, I'll dispel a shadow