Chapter 690 - 636: Avatar Creation, Part 2

Chapter 690: Chapter 636: Avatar Creation, Part 2

He tucked his snake tail out of sight.

"Mom." Tu Xiao’an looped his arm through Wen Qiu’s, then lifted his chin slightly and scanned his surroundings. A great number of Snake Spirits had appeared, but they remained hidden.

The Snake King’s aura emanated from his body as he announced loudly, "This is my mother. From now on, she is the Empress Dowager of the Snake Palace. You are all to obey her words unconditionally, or you will be executed!"

"Blessings upon the Empress Dowager! Long live the Lord Snake King!"

Suddenly, a deafening, tsunami-like roar erupted from all around the castle.

Countless Snake Spirits remained hidden in the shadows, not revealing themselves.

"Your humble servants greet the Empress Dowager and the Princess."

Dozens of Beauty Snakes bowed to Wen Qiu and Tu Xiaoyue.

"Mom, let’s go inside," Tu Xiao’an said with a smile, taking his mother’s slightly trembling hand and leading her toward the Snake Palace.

「Three days later...」

Tu Xiao’an was soaking in the Ten Thousand Blood Pool, which Demon King Liu had once filled with the blood of countless powerful Snake Species.

Soaking in it was beneficial for Tu Xiao’an.

He treated it as casually as if he were relaxing in a hot spring.

Just then, the secret cultivation method for the Celestial Body Splitting Technique surfaced in Tu Xiao’an’s mind.

Over the past three days, he had settled his mother and sister into the Snake Palace, and they were gradually adapting to their new environment and status.

Their status had suddenly become incredibly lofty, with countless maids to wait on them.

Now that his family was settled, Tu Xiao’an decided to properly study the Clone Secret Technique he had acquired from the Yellow Demon King.

If he could cultivate a clone, many things would become much more convenient.

Perhaps he could even use a clone to explore the War Relics in the future.

That way, even if the clone couldn’t get out, his real body would be unaffected.

As Tu Xiao’an began to truly understand the Celestial Body Splitting Technique, he felt as if he had obtained a Supreme Treasure. He had really hit the jackpot this time.

It was a truly outrageously powerful technique.

The cultivation method for the Clone Technique was actually quite simple: use one’s own Essence Blood to create the clone’s form, wait for it to take shape, and then brand it with a piece of one’s soul. This would allow it to be controlled as easily as one’s own limbs.

And thus, a clone was made.

The difficult part was that a newly created clone wouldn’t immediately possess the strength of the original body. It would have to cultivate on its own.

Furthermore, creating a clone required a massive amount of precious Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

These ingredients would determine the clone’s potential and Talent.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

If the materials used were subpar, the resulting clone would be mediocre at best.

In other words, to create a truly powerful clone, one not only had to use their own Essence Blood and soul, but also had to make a massive investment of resources.

This was the first method of cultivating a clone. The Celestial Body Splitting Technique actually had two creation modes.

The one just described was the first. The second method allowed one to use another person’s Essence Blood for the creation—a process that could be described as true cloning.

However, Tu Xiao’an had only obtained the first volume of the technique. The second creation method was recorded in the latter volume, so even if he wanted to, he was unable to use it.

Still, having the first method was enough.

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Tu Xiao’an’s bewitching, demonic eyes. ’Could it be possible? Could I use my human Essence Blood to create a clone?’

’To create the Tu Xiao’an of the past.’

’If I succeed, then I’ll truly have come back from the dead.’

’My former body shared the same soul. It should fall under the first creation method, right?’

At this thought, Tu Xiao’an grew incredibly excited. He was now Tu Xiao’an of the Snake Race, a snake. And though he could achieve Transformation, he was still a Demon.

If he could recreate his former self, that would be the human Tu Xiao’an.

The only problem was the Essence Blood.

If he could extract just one drop of Essence Blood from his corpse, he could use the Celestial Body Splitting Technique to create his old self.

’But... does my corpse still exist?’

’Was it cremated, or was it buried?’ This was a question Tu Xiao’an had never thought to ask since his rebirth as a Snake.

However, according to the customs of Bai Town, burial on She Mountain was still the prevailing practice; cremation was rare.

When people died, they should be laid to rest in the earth.

Being burned by fire after death was just too cruel.

Of course, each family made their own choice.

Tu Xiao’an shot up from the Ten Thousand Blood Pool and immediately went to find his sister to get a clear answer.

If his body had been cremated, then his dream of recreating his former self would be completely up in smoke.

...

「Bai Town, She Mountain」

Tu Xiao’an appeared before a grave. He stared at the modest tombstone, his gaze complex, his heart filled with a whirlwind of emotions.

This was the Tu Family’s burial plot, and his father was buried here as well.

His father had once been the most famous Snake Catcher in Bai Town, a household name back in the day. During that time, the Tu Family had prospered.

Unfortunately, after his father passed away, the Tu Family’s fortunes completely collapsed.

Tu Xiao’an remembered his father had still been in the prime of his life when he died, not yet forty before being laid to rest forever beneath the earth.

After coming of age, he had followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a Snake Catcher in Bai Town whose fame was, for a time, unrivaled.

But the good times didn’t last. Soon, he too was buried in this very soil.

It was just like a cycle of Reincarnation.

Perhaps the heavens felt the Tu Family’s fate was too tragic, for they allowed Tu Xiao’an to be reborn as a House Snake, setting him upon a path entirely different from that of an ordinary person.

Fortunately, he was doing quite well on this new path.

Tu Xiao’an sat in a daze before his own tombstone as memories of the past flooded his mind.

He sat there for a full three hours. Slowly, a bitter smile touched his lips. ’In this world, I’m probably the only one who gets to sit and space out in front of my own grave.’

’Who else could claim such a privilege?’

Ever since he was reborn as a Snake and began his Cultivation, Tu Xiao’an’s greatest wish had been to achieve Transformation and return to his original appearance.

Unfortunately, even after Crossing the Tribulation, even after he could perform a Demon Transformation, the form he took was not that of his former self.

He had now reunited with his mother and sister, but he had done so with a face completely unfamiliar to them. The reunion had been a success, yes...but it always felt like something was missing.

Nothing is ever perfect, and Tu Xiao’an knew he should be content. Things were already very good.

But now that Tu Xiao’an had the Celestial Body Splitting Technique, he felt that things could, in fact, be even more perfect.

He would create his former self.

Tu Xiao’an the Demon, and Tu Xiao’an the human.

"Father... Dad... forgive your son for the disturbance."

Suddenly, the dazed Tu Xiao’an slammed his hand down hard on the tombstone.

CRACK!

The entire grave shook violently, and the ground before the tombstone—engraved with the four words, "My Son, Tu Xiao’an"—suddenly split open.

Immediately, a coffin shot up from beneath the earth and landed before Tu Xiao’an.

’Mom is really something else. A mother’s love is as solid as a mountain. She couldn’t bear to have her son cremated at such a young age.’

Tu Xiao’an took a deep breath, then exhaled a puff of Muddy Qi before standing in front of his own coffin.

His heart trembled violently, as if seized by some formless thing.

’Opening your own coffin... I’ve got to be the first and last person in history to do this, right?’

"Open," Tu Xiao’an commanded, his bewitching, demonic eyes narrowing to slits.

The coffin was opened by an invisible force, but Tu Xiao’an averted his gaze, unable to bear looking.

He was afraid that his corpse would be rotten and disfigured beyond recognition.

The dignified King of the Snake Clan suddenly had the courage of a mouse.

But what had to be faced, must be faced.

Tu Xiao’an turned his head and looked nervously into the coffin. Lying perfectly still inside was a young man with a pale, ashen face.

It was a familiar face, a familiar visage, but a foul stench wafted out from the coffin.

A body sealed in a coffin doesn’t rot that quickly, but exposure to air would accelerate the process.

In truth, less than half a year had passed since his actual death.

It was normal that the body, sealed in the coffin, had not yet completely decomposed.

At least it wasn’t as horrific as Tu Xiao’an had imagined.

Staring at his own corpse, Tu Xiao’an’s feelings were incredibly complex. But he hadn’t come here today just to get sentimental.

A Rank Three Demon Spirit Golden Core appeared in his hand. He pried open the corpse’s mouth and pushed it inside.

Thanks to the Rank Three Demon Spirit Golden Core, the corpse’s ashen face began to take on a rosy complexion.

It now looked less like a corpse and more like a man in a deep sleep.

Then, with a mere thought from Tu Xiao’an, hundreds of glowing Spirit Stones appeared, blanketing the area around the corpse. The sight was now much more pleasing to the eye.

He supposed he might as well decorate his "room" a little.