Filthy Cultivation: I Pierced the Heavens with the Merit System

These clones were identical to the originals of everyone present in appearance, clothing, weapons, and spiritual energy.

The only difference was that their eyes were cold and empty, like soulless puppets mechanically carrying out some kind of command.

"What the hell is this?!"

Yu Zhenzhen stared wide-eyed in astonishment. She looked at the two clones in front of her, whose eyes were vacant, yet they were saying the same things and doing the same things as her. Her long whip trembled slightly, clearly she was quite frightened by the scene before her.

"Illusion? Or some kind of puppetry?"

Bai Suifeng gripped the Qiankun Spear tightly, his brows furrowed. His gaze swept back and forth across the two clones, and he released beast ears and a tail to try and find any flaws in them.

The others adopted the same posture, and even Liu Yi, who was trying to sneak away, noticed that the two clones were exactly the same as himself.

As he took a step, his two clones followed him. However, because each person was sandwiched between the two clones, they dared not make a move and were left with no idea what to do or no way out.

For a moment, everyone was trapped in place.

Unlike the others, Li Fuyao quickly unfolded the Luminous Fan, spreading his divine sense like ripples on water, attempting to probe the true nature of these clones.

Unexpectedly, the moment her divine sense touched the clones, it was bounced back by a strange force, as if these clones were not illusions, but real individuals.

"It's not an illusion, these clones... are real!"

Li Fuyao's expression darkened. First, she used her divine sense to remind everyone, then she frowned slightly as she stared at the two identical clones beside her, pondering to herself:

"But why are they repelled as soon as divine sense touches them?"

"Moreover, these clones will imitate any action I take, but I didn't feel them using their divine souls to probe me just now."

"Could it be that these clones are unable to use divine soul power?"

Bai Suifeng was secretly eavesdropping on Li Fuyao's thoughts when he suddenly heard Qiao Tianxing grip his longsword tightly, staring intently at his two clones, and sigh softly:

"entity?!"

"Although having a physical form means there must be a way to break it, in the current situation, we don't know if hurting them will backfire."

Qiao Tianxing could clearly sense that the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the other party were exactly the same as his own, and even the cold light on the sword's edge was identical. He sighed softly, somewhat helplessly:

"With this matter on our minds, we'll inevitably be hesitant to act, what should we do?"

"It seems that these clones not only imitate our appearance, but also replicate our strength."

Yun Hanxing spoke coldly, slightly raising his longsword, sword energy swirling around him. He stared at the two clones beside him, who were also poised to attack, and gave a soft snort:

"As for whether it will backfire, we'll find out after a fight."

"This is troublesome..."

Zhao Lingyun bit her lip, the talisman in her hand glowing slightly, but her face was pale, obviously the use of the Spirit Ascension Talisman had consumed a lot of her spiritual power.

For her, the worst-case scenario would be if danger were to occur in the current situation.

"Hmph, it's just a mere clone, I'm not afraid of it!"

Yu Zhenzhen snorted coldly and suddenly swung the flaming whip in her hand.

The blazing flames drew a bright arc in the air, hurtling towards her two clones.

However, the two clones seemed to have anticipated this, and simultaneously swung their flaming whips, colliding head-on with Yu Zhenzhen's attack.

Three flames intertwined in the air, bursting forth with dazzling light.

Ultimately, however, they canceled each other out, turning into sparks that dissipated within the passage, leaving each of Yu Zhenzhen's faces looking rather pale.

"How can it be?!"

Yu Zhenzhen stared wide-eyed at her clone in disbelief.

She didn't expect that her opponent was not only as strong as herself, but also had the exact same fighting style.

“These clones… seem to not only mimic the behavior of the original body, but also predict our movements. Zhenzhen, it’s best not to be reckless.”

Li Fuyao said in a deep voice, his eyes fixed on his two clones.

She could vaguely sense that the auras of these two clones were completely synchronized with hers, as if they were a mirror made of water.

However, if one's attack is too strong, the mirror will turn from a dressing mirror into a funhouse mirror.

"Anticipating actions?"

"Doesn't that mean that no matter how we attack, they will anticipate our moves?"

Qiao Tianxing frowned, and the long sword in his hand trembled slightly, clearly realizing the seriousness of the problem.

"Not only that, these clones seem to have an inexhaustible supply of spiritual power, while we... are gradually being depleted."

Li Fuyao spoke in a low voice, her gaze sweeping over everyone.

She could clearly sense that since entering the passage, everyone's spiritual power had been slowly dissipating at an imperceptible rate, while the spiritual power of those clones had not shown any signs of weakening since they left.

"This can't go on; we must find a solution!"

Zhao Lingyun gritted her teeth, the talisman in her hand glowing slightly, but her face was even paler.

"The solution..."

Li Fuyao murmured to herself, her gaze sweeping around. Her divine sense spread out again, trying to find the weaknesses of these clones.

However, no matter how she investigated, she could not find anything unusual.

Just then, Yun Hanxing suddenly spoke up and suggested:

"Perhaps...we could try attacking each other's clones?"

"Attack each other's clones?"

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this and turned to look at Liu Yi.

"Yes."

Liu Yi nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"Since these clones can predict our movements, if we attack each other's clones, we might be able to disrupt their rhythm."

"Makes sense!"

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Qiao Tianxing's eyes, and he quickly nodded, saying:

"Everyone, follow my instructions: attack each other's clones, but don't attack yourselves!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Although the plan sounds risky, under the current circumstances, it's the only option left.

"Do it!"

At Qiao Tianxing's command, everyone quickly dispersed and each went to meet the other's clone.

Bai Suifeng made the first move.

He and Li Fuyao exchanged a smile, and then the Qiankun Spear in his hand suddenly trembled, and the lightning spiritual power transformed into a dazzling beam of light, heading straight for Li Fuyao's two clones.

At the same time, Yu Zhenzhen also wielded her flaming whip, the blazing flames aimed directly at Zhao Lingyun's clone.

Qiao Tianxing's longsword slashed towards Yun Hanxing's clone, while Yun Hanxing also swung his sword to meet Qiao Tianxing's clone.

Liu Yi stood there all alone, no one paying him any attention.

He was the kind of person who shouted angrily, but no one paid him any attention.

In an instant, spiritual energy surged in the arena, with flames, lightning, golden light, water light, and sword energy intertwining and bursting out with dazzling and brilliant light.

Surprisingly, these clones did not seem to anticipate that everyone would attack each other.

Their movements were noticeably slower than the main body's.

Although they reacted quickly and tried to fight back, it was too late.

"boom!"

Bai Suifeng's lightning beam struck Li Fuyao's clone, instantly shattering it. At the same time, Yu Zhenzhen's fiery whip struck Zhao Lingyun's clone, burning it to ashes.

Qiao Tianxing's longsword severed the leg of Yun Hanxing's clone, while Yun Hanxing's sword energy also mercilessly knocked Qiao Tianxing's clone back several steps.

"It works!"

With one less clone, the pressure on Li Fuyao lessened, and a hint of joy flashed in her eyes. She quickly transmitted her voice to everyone:

"Keep attacking, don't give them a chance to retaliate!"

However, just when everyone thought victory was in sight, the dissipated light suddenly coalesced, transforming into a rapidly expanding, enormous pillar of light that hurtled towards them.

"not good!"

Upon seeing this, Zhao Lingyun's expression changed. She gritted her teeth and quickly broke a piece of snow-white beast bone engraved with golden runes.

The next instant, a surge of powerful earth-elemental spiritual energy erupted from the broken bone, forming a sturdy barrier that protected everyone.

"boom!"

The pillar of light suddenly exploded, transforming into countless beams of light that rushed straight towards the crowd.

Although the barrier blocked most of the attacks, some light still penetrated it and struck the group.

"puff!"

Liu Yi spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.

Li Fuyao, Qiao Tianxing, and others were also injured, their spiritual energy almost completely depleted while resisting the impact of the explosion.

"What...what's going on?"

Yu Zhenzhen clutched her chest, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with shock.

"These clones... can actually fight back!"

Zhao Lingyun gritted her teeth; she had very few talismans left in her hand.

"It seems... we underestimated the strength of these clones."

Li Fuyao wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her gaze fixed intently on the newly formed pillar of light.

"What should we do now?"

Bai Suifeng gripped the Qiankun Spear tightly. Although his spiritual power was almost exhausted, his gaze remained firm.

"We have no choice but to... fight!"

Li Fuyao took a deep breath and suddenly swung the Luminous Fan in her hand. The light golden spiritual energy flowed on the fan surface, forming a huge wind blade that rushed straight towards the pillar of light.

"Everyone take action together!"

Qiao Tianxing shouted and slashed out with his long sword, the sword energy heading straight for the pillar of light.

Bai Suifeng, Yu Zhenzhen, Yun Hanxing, Zhao Lingyun, and Liu Yi also unleashed their last bit of spiritual power to attack the pillar of light.

"boom!"

The group's attacks collided with the beam of light, bursting forth with dazzling brilliance.

The entire secret realm seemed to tremble at this moment, with countless cracks appearing on the ground and stones breaking apart.

"Crack!"

The pillar of light finally shattered under the combined attack of the group, dissipating into countless rays of light.

"Success..."

Li Fuyao breathed a sigh of relief, her body went limp, and she almost fell to the ground.

However, just when everyone thought it was all over, the dissipated light re-condensed, transforming into a huge figure that slowly appeared before them.

"What's this?"

Yu Zhenzhen stared wide-eyed at the scene before her in disbelief.

The figure was tens of meters tall, exuding a heavy aura of earth and stone. It was pieced together from the stones of countless previous stone giant golems. Its head was engraved with complex runes, and its eyes gleamed with a cold light, as if they could see through everything, giving it an oppressive presence.

"Is this the real killing move?"

Li Fuyao, her face extremely pale, looked up at the enormous creature in front of her and muttered to herself.

"It seems... we're not done yet."

Bai Suifeng gripped the Qiankun Spear tightly, his gaze fixed firmly on the enormous figure.

"No matter what, we cannot give up!"

Qiao Tianxing gritted his teeth and said, slightly raising the long sword in his hand.

"Let's go together!"

Yu Zhenzhen brandished her flaming whip, her eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

The group exchanged glances and nodded, preparing for the final battle.

But at that moment, the enormous figure suddenly spoke, its voice low and cold:

"You ants, your courage is commendable. But... that's enough!"

The enormous figure slowly raised its arm, as if the entire space of the secret realm trembled at its movement. Its palm pressed down like a small mountain, carrying an unparalleled power, directly approaching the heads of everyone.

"Go back!"

Li Fuyao shouted and swung his Luminous Fan, instantly creating a wall of wind in front of everyone in an attempt to block the pressure of the giant palm.

However, the wind wall only lasted for less than a breath before shattering under the pressure of the giant palm.

"boom!"

The giant hand crashed down, instantly causing the ground to collapse, dust to fly, and debris to scatter. Although everyone managed to retreat in time, the impact still sent shivers down their spines, nearly causing them to lose their footing.

"This...this guy's strength far exceeds our imagination!"

Yu Zhenzhen gritted her teeth and said, the flaming whip in her hand trembling slightly, clearly indicating that the impact just now had caused her serious internal injuries.

"We can't fight it head-on; we must find its weaknesses!"

Li Fuyao's gaze turned serious as she quickly analyzed the current situation:

"Since this thing was pieced together by those stone golems, its characteristics must be related to them!"

"The stone golem has a control mechanism, and this guy must have one too!"

"weakness?"

Bai Suifeng gripped the Qiankun Spear tightly, his brows furrowed:

“Fuyao, although what you say makes sense, this guy is made entirely of stone pieces covered in runes, so there’s no way to see where his weakness is!”

"No, there must be!" Li Fuyao said in a deep voice:

"If it exists, it has a reason. Since it has runes on its body, it means that its power may come from those runes. If we destroy the runes, we may be able to weaken its power!"

"But... those runes are all over its body, we can't get close at all!"

Yun Hanxing said in a low voice, the long sword in his hand trembling slightly, clearly indicating that his spiritual power was nearing exhaustion.

"I'll try!"

Zhao Lingyun suddenly spoke, holding a golden talisman in her hand. The talisman was covered with intricate patterns and emitted a faint light.

"This is... the Burning Star Talisman?"

Upon seeing this, Qiao Tianxing's eyes flashed with surprise, and he exclaimed in admiration:

"Miss Zhao truly lives up to her reputation as the daughter of the powerful and wealthy family of the Fu King; she actually possesses something like this!"

"This is a life-saving item left to me by my master, originally intended for escape, but now... I have no choice but to take a gamble!"

Zhao Lingyun gritted her teeth, a resolute glint in her eyes.