The Second Clone

Gongsun Zhixue had received guidance from Guihua before, so she was well aware that Guihua was truly capable. Becoming her disciple would undoubtedly be of great benefit.

However... she still felt some hesitation. She simply wasn't familiar with this person.

After a moment of silence, Gongsun Zhixue asked, "Why... why do you want to take me as your disciple?"

"You are the only tree demon I know, and your talent happens to be decent, so I decided to take you on."

Guihua didn't hesitate to answer when she saw Gongsun Zhixue questioning her motives.

Gongsun Zhixue was visibly stunned by the reply. She had assumed Guihua wanted her because she possessed extraordinary, world-shaking talent that had caught the immortal's eye... she hadn't expected the reason to be so simple, almost to the point of being incomprehensible.

"Just because of that?"

"Just because of that," Guihua nodded, answering sincerely. "So, are you willing to be my disciple?"

Gongsun Zhixue stood frozen for a moment. After a long sigh, she said, "Fine, I'm willing."

Even though it wasn't because of some peerless talent, the simplicity of the reason actually made her feel relieved in a way. At the very least, the pressure would be much lower.

"Good. From now on, you are my disciple," Guihua said as soon as the girl nodded.

"That's it? There's no discipleship ceremony?"

"I am just a tree. I don't care for those useless formalities."

Gongsun Zhixue was surprised, but she nodded in acceptance.

Guihua continued, "Furthermore, you will live here from now on. If you don't want to revert to your original form and take root here, I can ask Chang'e to arrange a courtyard for you. You can stay there, as long as you remember to come find me every day..."

Gongsun Zhixue nodded again. "Then I shall trouble you, Master."

Guihua nodded placidly. "Beyond that, I have no other rules. Well, I suppose practicing diligently counts as a rule."

Gongsun Zhixue continued to nod. She felt like a little chick, doing nothing but bobbing her head. However, she truly had nothing else to do or say at the moment.

"I didn't expect... your discipleship ceremony to be completely skipped. This is a remarkably casual way to take a student," Su Qing said, turning to look at Gongsun Zhixue.

"It's actually quite nice. It saves a lot of unnecessary trouble," Gongsun Zhixue replied with a smile.

"As long as you're fine with it. Let's go; we'll go find Chang'e."

Su Qing didn't plan to linger by the Osmanthus Tree for too long. Now that the discipleship was settled, she naturally had to ask Chang'e for a courtyard for the girl to settle into.

Gongsun Zhixue nodded. She had originally thought they would have to wait for Guihua to speak with Chang'e, but Su Qing was taking her directly.

As Su Qing led Gongsun Zhixue away, Guihua did not vanish. Instead, she sat on the corridor railing, watching her own original form.

Her current appearance was not a physical transformation, but a spirit phantom similar to Wu Gang's... The only difference was that Guihua possessed her own sentience, whereas the phantom of Wu Gang was merely a shell. Even his ability to speak was controlled by Guihua.

"Now that I have a disciple, all that remains is to raise her..." Guihua murmured to herself. "Time is growing short. I wonder if a few hundred years will be enough to train her to the realm I desire."

She shook her head. "Forget it, one step at a time. That girl is protected by someone special; even when the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth arrives, she will not die. This counts as... passing on my legacy. I just wonder if the seed I gave Su Qing will sprout in the future?"

Guihua could not foresee the future, so she was uncertain about what would happen after her own end. All she could do was arrange everything as best as she could before the final conclusion arrived, ensuring her legacy continued.

While she was lost in thought, Su Qing and the others had already found Chang'e and easily secured a courtyard from her.

The Moon Palace seemed crowded, but in reality, there weren't that many people living there. There was an abundance of empty space. Providing a place for someone to stay was incredibly simple.

Once the living arrangements were settled, Su Qing brought Gongsun Zhixue back to Guihua's side.

She said to Guihua, "Alright, I'm leaving this girl in your hands now."

"Mhm. Also, stop acting like you're marrying off a daughter. She is just my disciple, and I am not like you, so please rest easy," Guihua said, catching the expression on Su Qing's face.

Su Qing: "..."

She was momentarily speechless. Could this person please stop bringing that up? She wasn't that kind of person! It was all just baseless rumors from the outside world. Unfortunately, even if Su Qing tried to explain, it was a drop in the bucket now. She couldn't change her image in the eyes of the immortal before her.

"Wait, just how many things happened while I was in seclusion?" Gongsun Zhixue asked, looking a bit dazed by their exchange.

Su Qing had no intention of explaining. She simply spread her hands and said, "Nothing, just some trivial rumors not worth mentioning. More importantly, stay here and study diligently from now on. If I have time, I'll come up to visit you."

Gongsun Zhixue was somewhat dissatisfied with Su Qing's secrecy, but she didn't nag her. She nodded and said, "I'm not a child. I understand even without you telling me."

Su Qing chuckled. "Your voice still sounds like a child's, so in a way, you're still a little girl."

Gongsun Zhixue merely rolled her eyes.

After bickering for a while longer, Su Qing said her goodbyes to Gongsun Zhixue and Guihua and returned to Linzhou City.

With that, Gongsun Zhixue's affairs were finally settled. As for how far she would progress in her cultivation under Guihua, that was something Su Qing couldn't know.

The days that followed passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, two months had gone by.

After those two months, Su Qing's new clone was finally fresh out of the forge.

Refining this clone had taken a significant amount of time. Compared to Su Qing's first clone, the time spent was much longer, and the materials used were far superior. Naturally, such a clone was much more powerful than the previous one.

Inside the room, Su Qing looked at the unclothed clone standing before her and nodded with satisfaction.

Since she could customize the clone's appearance, Su Qing had put a lot of effort into the 'face-sculpting' process, eventually achieving a look she was very happy with.

This clone did not look like Su Qing. She appeared more mature, sophisticated, and intellectual. Compared to Su Qing, she looked more like a gentle, wise 'big sister' type. Just standing there, she gave off an air of reliability. It was clear how much thought Su Qing had put into this.

Hard work had paid off. In the end, every aspect of this clone was extremely satisfying.

"Mhm, not bad! As expected of me."

Su Qing looked at her clone and smiled happily, as if the fatigue from her long period of sleepless work had vanished instantly.

"Now, the next step is to connect to this clone."

Su Qing stood up to stretch her limbs, then formed a hand seal, successfully establishing a connection with the clone. Once again, she felt that subtle, strange sensation of one person possessing multiple bodies.

Su Qing wasn't in a hurry to use the Mind-Splitting Method; instead, she wanted to see what it felt like to control it directly. The attempt nearly gave her a headache.

Two bodies were manageable, but once she tried to handle three, the control became stiff and uncoordinated. If she just wanted all three bodies to perform the same action, it wasn't difficult, but trying to make them act independently was nearly impossible. It almost fried her brain.

That might be an exaggeration, but it was indeed incredibly difficult to control, just as she had initially predicted. With her current willpower, controlling two bodies was her limit.

"Next, I'll apply the Mind-Splitting Method." Su Qing rubbed her chin, then formed a seal and chanted the incantation.

Once the spell was cast, controlling three bodies became much more natural. While it wasn't as precise as direct control, it was far less taxing. Moreover, if she wished, she could sink more of her consciousness into any one of the clones at any time to achieve near-perfect control.

She had to admit, the Mind-Splitting Method was a huge help. It instantly solved many of Su Qing's troubles.

"That wasn't easy..." Su Qing muttered to herself as she looked at her clone. "I wonder if I'll be able to control them even more effortlessly once my Mind-Splitting Method improves in the future."

Regardless of the future, her second clone was now officially complete and under her control.

Su Qing stretched again, loosening her stiff body that hadn't moved in a long time, and mentally commanded the clone to get dressed.

A short while later, Su Qing went out to wash up while the clone strolled around the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Yudie spotted the clone. She wasn't surprised at all; she just said half-jokingly, "Who are you? Are you a new concubine my mother found?"

The clone Su Qing glanced at Yudie, then walked over, pinched the little girl's face, and said, "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you? You could tell this was just my clone a long time ago."

Yudie gave a cheeky grin, seemingly trying to act cute to get away with it. However, such tactics didn't work on Su Qing. She knew this girl's personality all too well.

Su Qing wordlessly pinched and pulled the girl's cheeks until she felt satisfied, only then letting go.

Yudie rubbed her face and said, "Mother, this new clone is so beautiful! What do you plan to do with her?"

Su Qing found a place to sit, thought for a moment, and said, "I haven't decided yet. My current plan is to go traveling and continue collecting Incense Power."

"Mother, you really do love collecting Incense Power! I didn't see you liking it this much before," Yudie couldn't help but tease.

Su Qing gave Yudie a flick on the forehead and said, "There's a reason for it, of course! As for what that reason is... I'm not telling. Guess for yourself!"

"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't tell me. I don't even want to know anyway." Yudie made a face at Su Qing, then added, "But if you're going out with this clone, why don't you take me with you?"

Su Qing was surprised by the little girl's request. She asked in confusion, "Why? What brought this on?"

Yudie said, "I just want to go out for a walk."

"Can't you walk around here?"

"But I can't go too far from you, Mother! If I did, you'd worry," Yudie explained.

"So you plan to follow me out?"

"Yes. Since this is your clone and you're controlling it, it's basically the same as being by your side," the little logic wizard replied.

Though it sounded a bit like sophistry, if one thought about it, the logic held up.

Su Qing helplessly ruffled the girl's hair and said, "I don't mind, as long as you can convince Leng Xiang. Then there's no problem."

"Is convincing Mother even hard?" Seeing that Su Qing hadn't explicitly refused, Yudie knew there was a chance. She was naturally very happy.

Furthermore, convincing Leng Xiang really wasn't difficult for Yudie. Leng Xiang's usual attitude was one of indifference; as long as Yudie had a decent excuse, she could easily persuade her. That was why she was so confident.

Su Qing smiled at Yudie's confident look and said, "Careful not to celebrate too early."

In response to Su Qing throwing cold water on her, Yudie just made another face and skipped off to find Leng Xiang.

After Yudie left, the original Su Qing finished washing up and came into the courtyard.

"Well, now I just have to wait for Leng Xiang and the others to return." Su Qing yawned. "Once I've finished talking things over with them, I need to get some good rest."