Yesterday was so exhausting, and I had a terrible headache. I had planned to notify everyone after the first update, but I completely forgot. My apologies! I'll make up for it today with three updates. Thank you all for waiting so patiently!

"What is the highest tier for these secret manuals?" Ye Chen asked directly.

Zixiang blinked, pondering, "For each category of manual, the highest tier is High-tier Emperor. However, for close combat techniques, there is one set that reaches the Peak-tier Emperor level—it is incredibly difficult to cultivate. With the Master's current state of mind, delving into manuals of that magnitude would be like a blind man reading; it would only waste time and lead him astray."

"Essentially, any manual reaching the Emperor tier requires a state of mind that surpasses that of a Saint to even study. Nevertheless, the Master's current level of attainment in the Way of the Mind should allow him to practice some of the Elementary Emperor tier manuals, though the process will be extremely arduous."

"Hand them over," Ye Chen commanded.

Zixiang pouted but offered no resistance. She raised a delicate hand and summoned several rays of light from the river of energy. They floated into her grasp—a few sapphire-blue crystal cores, each about the size of a fingertip, faceted and glittering brilliantly. Within them, countless miniature energy runes seemed to drift and swirl.

"These are the best manuals from each category within the Elementary Emperor tier. They are: for ranged attacks, Flowing Cyclone; for domain control, Wind and Thunder World; for willpower techniques, Nirvana Universe; for close combat, Blind Heaven; for physical strengthening, God of Slaughter; for body refinement, Pangu Codex; and for self-detonation amplification, Great Annihilation."

Zixiang spoke slowly, "These are all Elementary Emperor tier manuals. Given your current state of mind, Master, this is the limit of what you can comprehend. These techniques are hundreds of times more profound than anything at the God level—dense and difficult to grasp. I doubt you could master even one in the short term."

Ye Chen swept his hand, gathering these manuals to him. After a moment of thought, he felt the most pressing deficiency was in close combat techniques!

The Fiery Divine Canon was an armaments manual related to close combat, capable of amplifying all other techniques. In other words, when executing the Fiery God Hammer, it could layer the effects of close combat manuals.

"Keep these manuals safe for now. I need time—I can't devour too much at once. If I fail to master even one, the rest will only confuse my vision," Ye Chen understood the principle of taking things one step at a time. He stored the remaining manuals in his Rune Space, keeping only the close combat manual, Blind Heaven!

Holding the small, sapphire-blue crystal core, Ye Chen applied slight pressure to his palm. He immediately felt a sensation like static electricity spreading across his skin, causing his hand to tingle slightly. This electrical current then flowed from his palm into his body, moving like liquid mercury, distinctly perceptible within him.

This flowing current traveled all the way to his brain, rooting itself deep within his mind before branching out. A torrent of vast, boundless information slowly streamed into his consciousness. The transmission was neither rushed nor slow, and it didn't cause Ye Chen any painful pressure; rather, it felt like reading a profound, ancient tome.

During this process, time itself seemed to stand still.

After a long, long while.

Ye Chen finally snapped back to awareness, withdrawing his gaze. His eyes shone with unconcealed shock. "This... surpasses..."

"It's too marvelous!!"

The astonishment in Ye Chen's eyes was impossible to mask. "A cultivation method can actually reach this height? Close combat can be this terrifying!!"

He could barely imagine it.

"Blind Heaven is divided into three layers. Comprehending the first layer alone allows one to unleash 100 times their normal combat power!"

"Blind Heaven's core principle: All things under heaven are blind! Images arise from the heart and perish by the heart; without heart or image, the true self endures eternally!"

"The world is blind, only I can see!"

The core essence of this Blind Heaven manual possessed a magnificent aura, exuding an unparalleled arrogance that looked down upon everything in the world. The detailed explanations, complete with accompanying illustrations, thematic implications, and move breakdowns, laid bare the secrets of this close combat manual, revealing a world Ye Chen could never have previously understood or imagined!

It was as if an ant from a two-dimensional world had suddenly touched the three-dimensional world of humans.

Ye Chen’s spirit was utterly shaken. The profound implications of just comprehending the first layer were deep and long-lasting, yet so obscure and difficult to decipher that he was completely mystified.

If he couldn't grasp the underlying meaning, he couldn't unleash the true power of these techniques.

"Master, Master," Zixiang cautiously tugged at the hem of Ye Chen's robe, her large eyes blinking. "Are you alright?"

Ye Chen returned to his senses, glanced at her, and shook his head slightly. He sighed inwardly; this vast world truly held infinite wonders, and what he had seen so far was merely the tip of the iceberg, a single drop in the ocean.

He shook his head, casting those thoughts aside, and asked Zixiang, "Are there any other manuals with particularly useful functions? For example, invisibility or Qi concealment techniques?"

"Yes, there are," Zixiang chirped with a smile. She beckoned again, and several beams of light floated from the energy river into her palm. After the light faded, it was clear these were several emerald-green crystal cores.

"These are manuals with more practical uses. For instance, this is Qi Devouring Art, which allows you to conceal your aura. Cultivated to the highest realm, it can evade the detection of peak-level Gods. This one is Spiritual Clone, which can manifest an avatar. This is no ordinary clone."

"The insights gained by this clone can be received by your main body, as they share a single soul. Depending on the level of cultivation, the number of spiritual clones you can manifest varies; you can create up to three at the maximum."

"And this one, named Heaven's Vault, allows you to hide by utilizing the universe's refraction points, spatial flow points, spatial rifts, and dimensional nodes. Not even radar can detect you, as you can conceal yourself within an invisible temporal rift, essentially occupying another pseudo-dimension," Zixiang explained obediently.

Ye Chen's eyes brightened. He reached out and took them, studying them closely. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the Spiritual Clone manual, and he couldn't help but ask, "This one can create a spiritual clone?"

"Yes," Zixiang nodded repeatedly, looking like a perfect little darling.

A strong sense of joy flickered in Ye Chen's eyes, and his body trembled slightly with excitement. If he could manifest a spiritual clone, it would be equivalent to two people cultivating simultaneously!

Time savings would be halved!

Without a second thought, Ye Chen hurriedly opened the Spiritual Clone manual and began absorbing the memory-body energy runes from the crystal core into his body, inscribing them onto the memory cells of his brain.

"Spiritual Clone: Involves cleaving and splitting a portion of the soul to mold a soul avatar. The specific method is as follows..."

Based on his experience, Ye Chen understood that the function of this spiritual clone was essentially a transitional stage, much like the Superman Split ability.

Throughout history, the world had been filled with talents who occasionally experienced sudden flashes of inspiration: Why must things always be done by the established routine? Couldn't other methods achieve the same results? This necessity led to the creation of countless great inventions...

And the Spiritual Clone was one such invention—a method that could achieve similar results even without the Superman Mode, though its cultivation was significantly more difficult, requiring a minimum Saint-level state of mind.

With his current attainment, Ye Chen fully met the requirements. He pondered for a moment and said to Zixiang, "Find me a cultivation chamber."

"No problem," Zixiang replied without hesitation. "The chamber the previous master used is available to you. It is equipped with a gravity engine, a time flow engine, and comprehensive personalized services. You can contact the intelligent system there for anything you require."

Ye Chen nodded. "We have three days before the enemy pursuers catch up. I will enter seclusion now. Notify me if anything important arises."

"Understood," Zixiang nodded obediently.

Subsequently, under her guidance, they took the elevator to a sealed cultivation room located in the very core of the Demon God Palace. Within this room, the space was boundless, studded with glittering stars, resembling a vast void, yet when Ye Chen stepped down, the floor beneath his feet was solid, real metal.

Ye Chen surveyed his surroundings and found himself seemingly seated amidst a massive, surging cosmos. His spirit relaxed, placing him in the optimal state for cultivation.

A certain scholar once noted that performing a task in an open, bright space resulted in three times the efficiency compared to a dimly lit environment!

Ye Chen activated the cultivation room’s gravity engine and the time flow engine. The room's time flow rate was instantly adjusted to its maximum limit: 100 times that of the outside world!

One day outside was equivalent to 100 days inside!

Furthermore, the gravity was adjusted to 80 million times that of Earth. With Ye Chen’s physique, he could barely tolerate it; he felt profoundly heavy. If his strength hadn't reached nearly one hundred million units, he would surely have suffered bodily collapse under such terrifying gravitational force.

"Spiritual Clone..."

Ye Chen closed his eyes, his entire consciousness immersed in cultivation.

Time flowed on...

The entire cultivation room fell silent. Days passed like the turning of diary pages; in the blink of an eye, 186 days had gone by. On this day, Ye Chen, who had been sitting motionless, suddenly opened his eyes. Two beams of sharp light shot out, his pupils shimmering with an ethereal glow, and his skin radiated a dazzling, magnificent light.

Whoosh!

With a sudden flash of light emanating from his body, an almost ethereal figure rose from within him. This figure gradually coalesced into a solid form, identical in appearance to Ye Chen.

"Finally succeeded..." the Ye Chen clone exhaled softly, his expressions and movements exactly mirroring the original body.

Ye Chen experienced a marvelous sensation, as if he had suddenly gained two extra pairs of eyes, granting him multiple perspectives on everything. With just a thought, he could instantly switch to any viewpoint.

As the spiritual clone fully manifested, a powerful wave of exhaustion washed over Ye Chen. His entire mental consciousness felt as if it was collapsing, his brow tightly furrowed. After enduring for a while, he could bear it no longer and passed out.

The moment he lost consciousness, the clone Ye Chen also slumped down and fell unconscious.

A month later, Ye Chen slowly awoke. Before even opening his eyes, he felt a deep ache all over his body. He sat up, a deluge of thoughts rushing into his mind, feeling as if he had just emerged from a profound dream.

Ye Chen shook his head, his awareness slightly clearing. He turned his head and noticed the clone also stirring, slowly rising from the floor. He felt that his state of mind had retreated from the third stage of the Saint realm, down to only the late first stage of Saint-level mental power.

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