Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

"It seems you must have subdued and captured the demon infant alive, not just escaped on its own as the records state." Su Xingchen looked at Liu Xing with a smile. This disciple wasn't so honest either. But it didn't matter. If one fails to keep his secrets during his cultivation, he'll surely die miserably. He'd taken the initiative to expose his clone this time, hoping to combine studying and making money. It was a brilliant plan.

"Master, please forgive me. I did intend to hide my clone." Both Liu Xing bowed their heads and admitted their mistakes.

"It's okay. With such a powerful clone, of course we have to keep it secret and keep it as a trump card. I would do the same if I were in your shoes." Elder Su didn't care.

Seeing that his master did not pursue the crime of concealing the truth, Liu Xing felt relieved and told his master about his plan.

"Does anyone know that you have advanced to the middle stage of Jindan?" Su Xingchen asked.

"Except for Sect Leader Lu who knows that I am in seclusion to break through the bottleneck, no one else knows. And after I broke through, I also used the Turtle Breathing Technique to conceal my cultivation level. No one should know about my breakthrough." Liu Xing had considered the difference in cultivation level between his clone and main body.

"You have the same spiritual aura, the same cultivation level, and the same appearance, which should be enough to conceal your true identity. Try to stay within the sect and don't actively fight with others, then the chance of being exposed will be extremely low. However, once your main body shows up outside, you will be exposed immediately." Su Xingchen said after pondering for a moment.

"So, this time when I go out to study with my master, I have to change my appearance and hide my identity." Liu Xing has considered this problem, so he needs his master to cover for him.

"It's not easy to change your appearance and hide it from a great cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage." Elder Su also fell into deep thought, and Liu Xing was also at a loss.

"Nothing in this world is perfect. You make your own choice," Elder Su said finally. Seeing that his master had said so, he gave up.

He originally wondered if his master had any skills or treasures that could conceal his aura and help him hide his identity, but it seemed like that was wishful thinking.

"I have some skills and magic tools that can conceal my aura, but to hide it from a great cultivator, one needs a spiritual consciousness of at least the middle Nascent Soul stage or above. Your current cultivation is still not enough." Su Xingchen seemed to see what his disciple was thinking and added another sentence.

"It's okay, Master. I'll let the clone walk around the sect on my behalf to improve the efficiency of obtaining cultivation resources. As for the problem of being exposed, I believe that the outside world will at most think that I have found a similar substitute, and they may not think that I can have an external incarnation of the same realm as me at my current level. Moreover, my original body can also attract the attention of the outside world when it is studying abroad. The assassinations from the outside world target my original body, so my clone will be safer." Liu Xing seemed to have figured it out and made his decision calmly.

"Okay, let's do as you say. Let your clone go back in your place, and we'll set off directly from here." Seeing that his disciple had figured it out, Su Xingchen made a prompt decision and prepared to set off.

Liu Xing was alone, carrying all his belongings with him. In his cave, Qing'er, a puppet, was taking care of him, so there was nothing much to pack. When his master suggested setting off immediately, he naturally welcomed it.

Liu Xing removed the pet bag containing Jiao Jiao and hung it around his clone's waist, asking Jiao Jiao to assist him. Everyone knew Liu Xing had a level five Jiaolong pet, so with Jiao Jiao around, no one doubted his clone's identity.

"Goodbye!" Liu Xing said goodbye to his clone, then followed his master to travel and study.

The clone watched the main body leave, then turned back to gather his belongings and close the cave's restrictions. He would definitely return here to cultivate in the future. He quietly left the Ten Thousand Bone Pit, summoned Jiao Jiao, and rode the dragon to the Qianji Sect.

The clone rode the dragon and flew through the sect in a swaggering manner, and came to the office of Sect Master Lu.

"Junior Brother Liu, you've emerged from seclusion. What did you learn this time?" Lu En observed Liu Xing and found that he was still at the early stage of the Core Formation Realm, having not yet broken through to the middle stage. In fact, his aura had weakened. However, he knew that Liu Xing possessed a powerful breath-retention technique. With this secret technique, even ordinary early Nascent Soul Elders could not discern it, so he didn't find it surprising.

"Alas, although I gained something from this retreat, the hidden injuries left by the last battle with the demon baby have not been completely healed, which led to the failure of the final advancement. It was God's will." Liu Xing replied with pretended loneliness.

"Junior brother, don't be discouraged. It's just that the opportunity hasn't come yet. You are still young. Keep looking for the right medicine. You can make a breakthrough next time." Lu En didn't want Liu Xing to be too discouraged, so he encouraged him.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu. I am mainly here to report to you. I will go back to the Economic Hall to work." Liu Xing appeared here mainly to test whether Master Lu, who was close to him and had a high level of cultivation, could see the abnormality of his incarnation.

It now seemed that Senior Brother Lu hadn't noticed anything unusual, and everything was under control. This was indeed the case. After Liu Xing left, Lu En felt sorry for Liu Xing's failure to advance, but he had no other doubts.

The Economic Hall's talent pool has been established, and its management system has matured, allowing Liu Xing to practically assume the role of hands-off manager. His core duties involve evaluating and making decisions regarding large investments, as well as handling complex cases. He also meets with various businessmen and representatives from various sects. While this high-ranking position carries a high salary, it also consumes significant time, significantly reducing his time for cultivation.

Therefore, the true core disciples and elders of the major sects spend almost all year in seclusion, striving to cultivate every minute and every second, striving to reach the next level. Those who manage the sect's mundane affairs are disciples with no hope of advancement. On the one hand, they cultivate a small amount of success so that they can enjoy life in the secular world and have children.

If Liu Xing hadn't been forced to wade into this turbulent world due to his limited aptitude and the need for a large quantity of elixirs to aid his cultivation, he would have chosen to retreat to the mountains and forests, secluded and cultivating. So even while he was a candidate for sect leader and managing the daunting tasks of the Economic Hall, he would still seize every moment of his free time to cultivate, even if his progress was extremely slow.

Now that he had a clone, it was truly indistinguishable from the real thing. Later, it could replace him, roaming the sect and gathering resources. His true self could then focus on cultivation, effectively buying him a significant amount of time for cultivation. This was why he preferred to risk exposing his clone and let it manage the economic hall on his behalf. Compared to using the clone as a trump card in battle, it was more cost-effective to have it roam the sect and gather resources on his behalf.

After the clone's work stabilized, the most important things were the other two things. One was to constantly cultivate the bamboo flute magic weapon so that he could have the ability to protect himself as soon as possible. The other was to find ways to find out the news of elixir recipes and spiritual medicines and collect elixirs to improve the original body's magic power.