Immortality Starts With Investment

Chapter 453: How did Ye Chen seize the tablet?

Ying Tiansheng's mastery of the Movement Secret shocked everyone as he obliterated Hua Yunfei with a single strike. But moments later, another Hua Yunfei calmly stepped out from the ship, leaving all in disbelief. This wasn't resurrection—it meant the one fighting Ying Tiansheng to a standstill was a clone? The revelation was staggering.

In the cultivation world, clone techniques were often lackluster. Heavenly Intention Holy Land's immortal scripture included a technique to form a spiritual sense clone, but its strength was less than one percent of the original. Useless in combat against peers.

Most clone techniques were even weaker, often a realm or two below the original, requiring separate training in techniques—cumbersome and marginally useful. Some clones even rebelled. Only solitary cultivators or those with too many partners bothered with them. A clone with half the original's strength was considered top-tier, sparking bloodbaths among great powers.

Yet Hua Yunfei's clone matched a prodigy's might, holding its own against Ying Tiansheng. If his clone and original fought together, it'd be a crushing force. The thought was terrifying.

Ying Tiansheng's face darkened. He'd suspected Hua Yunfei had the Moral Heavenly Venerate's inheritance but assumed he hadn't mastered the One Qi Transforms Three Purities technique, given its difficulty. That supreme art could create two clones equal to the original in strength and techniques. Yet, the one he'd fought was a clone. He recalled their year-long battle—had that been a clone too? Fighting a clone for a year, even with hidden trump cards, was humiliating.

His eyes turned icy, blood qi surging as he unleashed hundreds of earth-shattering punches. "Original or not, I killed you once, I'll kill you again!"

Hua Yunfei's lips curved, raising a hand to summon vast purple qi, blocking the fist shadows. With a light point, his ship drifted back. Boundless purple qi, more terrifying than his clone's, formed endless Dao and laws, suppressing Ying Tiansheng.

Ying Tiansheng wasn't surprised. His inheritance described One Qi Transforms Three Purities: at mastery, clones matched the original, but early on, they were weaker. Hua Yunfei's original was naturally stronger. Under countless gazes, they clashed again, but Ying Tiansheng was clearly outmatched. His power and combat ability were visibly inferior to Hua Yunfei's original.

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Spectators marveled at Hua Yunfei's depth.

Ying Tiansheng stayed calm, activating the Movement Secret again. Its terrifying, unpredictable nature would surely slay Hua Yunfei. A strange force affected everyone within a hundred miles, as if time would freeze again.

Hua Yunfei was prepared. Divine light rose beneath him, a faint Dao palace descending to shield him, isolating all external forces. Unaffected by the time freeze, he calmly countered Ying Tiansheng, unleashing Dao and laws to blast him back.

Spectators erupted in shock. The Nine Secrets were legendary, rivaling the Ten Vicious Treasure Techniques. The Movement Secret, like the Kun Peng Treasure Technique, was a pinnacle of speed, one mastering space, the other time.

Ying Tiansheng's possession of the Movement Secret inspired envy and awe, his luck deemed heaven-defying. Yet, his second use was thwarted. Was Hua Yunfei's original body so formidable? Perhaps the top among the three giants?

Ying Tiansheng, repelled despite using the Movement Secret, looked grim. The Movement Secret was supreme speed, but its time effect was hard to trigger. Hua Yunfei's Moral Heavenly Venerate inheritance and original strength exceeded expectations. Killing and devouring him alone was impossible.

His gaze shifted to the Five Moons Dragon Trap Array. Though Yi Qingwu's combat power was a step below the top tier, her Broad Cold Divine Realm was potent. If she could suppress Ye Chen and aid him, they might still take down Hua Yunfei. At least, suppressing Ye Chen would make this trip worthwhile—his Heavy Pupils and Supreme Heart made his essence the most valuable.

But then, chaotic spiritual qi fluctuations shook the void above. Blood rain fell, accompanied by wails of despair. A roar rang out: "Feng Baiyu, you came too? A grand Holy Master, sneaking around—you have no shame! Elder Chen, Elder Zhang have fallen! Retreat!"

"An ancestor's coming? Useless! With Feng Baiyu's cunning, Heavenly Evolution Holy Land surely has ancestors blocking aid. We're doomed! I'll hold them off—take Holy Son and Holy Maiden and go!"

The commotion stunned everyone. The Endless Sea's black clouds turned red. Heavenly Evolution Holy Master Feng Baiyu was here—and had ambushed successfully? Two Heavenly Intention Holy Land elders dead? Unity realm powerhouses, rarely seen, now fallen? The news shook spectators to their core.

Instantly, several Heavenly Intention Holy Land elders emerged from the void, fighting while retreating, urging their Holy Son and Holy Maiden to flee.

Ying Tiansheng's face shifted. His True Martial Eye glimpsed a scholarly figure in the void—Feng Baiyu, a peak prodigy of the last generation, now at Unity's pinnacle, on the verge of Great Vehicle. Even he wasn't confident against such a foe, especially with two elders down. Knowing the situation was hopeless, he fought Hua Yunfei while preparing to call Yi Qingwu to retreat.

But before he could, his expression changed. The mark he'd left in the stone tablet was erased by a familiar spiritual sense—Ye Chen's, the one who'd marked The fiancée's core.

What happened? How did Ye Chen seize the tablet?