"This function… what does it mean?"
Su Zhan was stunned.
Suddenly, clouds of black mist appeared around the cross-legged shadow clone—exactly 22 of them!
"The perspective black mist? Why are they here? And why are they circling around this figure?"
Su Zhan focused his gaze.
The perspective black mist, which should have existed independently, had now teleported collectively, orbiting the cross-legged shadow clone like satellites around a star, spinning silently.
Such a bizarre and incomprehensible scene left Su Zhan completely baffled.
"I should try going inside."
Recalling his past experiences, Su Zhan attempted to enter the cross-legged shadow clone, but to his surprise, he found that he couldn't!
"What the hell?"
He tried again.
No luck.
He changed directions. Still nothing.
Even after accelerating and dashing, the result remained the same.
"What's going on? Why is this function so complicated? At least give me a hint!"
Su Zhan felt completely lost.
"Master, I… can enter…"
Suddenly, Xiao Hei's voice echoed in his mind.
"You can enter?!"
Su Zhan was shocked.
"Yes, Master. I… feel it."
Xiao Hei's words were not very fluent, but the meaning was clear.
"I see… This new function isn't meant for me but for Xiao Hei's clones!"
Su Zhan suddenly realized the truth.
"Alright, then give it a try!"
With a thought, he directed one of the perspective black mists into the cross-legged shadow clone.
The next moment—
The perspective black mist seamlessly merged into the illusory shadow clone, becoming a part of it. Inside, it floated among the numerous meridians and acupoints.
"Huh? The meridians are moving… The acupoints are flowing too!"
"What's that light blue energy? It looks just like spiritual energy… No, that is spiritual energy!"
With the entry of the black mist, the entire shadow clone seemed to activate. The previously empty meridians and acupoints began to glow with the same light blue spiritual energy that Su Zhan had always cultivated with!
But that wasn't the most shocking part.
"The flow of spiritual energy… It's exactly the same as when I cultivate!"
Su Zhan's eyes widened in disbelief.
Everyone's body is unique—flesh, bones, meridians, and acupoints all vary from person to person. That's why each individual cultivates differently.
Yet, the way the spiritual energy flowed inside this shadow clone was exactly the same as his usual practice—no difference at all!
"Wait a minute…"
A realization hit Su Zhan like a bolt of lightning.
"Could it be… that this new function allows the clones to cultivate for me?"
The moment the thought surfaced, Su Zhan himself was startled by its implications.
If this was true… then his training efficiency would skyrocket beyond imagination!
"I need to confirm this!"
He immediately withdrew his consciousness and returned to his physical body.
As his real self opened his eyes—
A familiar feeling surged through him.
He focused, trying to sense what was happening. His expression shifted from curiosity to shock, his mouth dropping open in disbelief.
"Holy—!!"
"Little Zhou Tian is circulating inside my body… all on its own?!"
"The clone… is actually cultivating for me?!"
Su Zhan was completely dumbfounded.
Cultivation, in simple terms, was about guiding spiritual energy through one's body—through the meridians, flesh, and bones—until it was refined into personal strength.
This cycle was called Lesser Zhou Tian.
There was also a more advanced cycle, Greater Zhou Tian, which involved washing the internal organs, senses, and even the brain. However, it was a slow and tedious process, taking nearly eight hours per cycle, whereas Lesser Zhou Tian took only one.
Typically, cultivation required complete focus. If interrupted, the cycle would reset, wasting hours of effort. The only way to accelerate progress was by absorbing massive amounts of spirit stones.
But now…
Su Zhan wasn't even actively cultivating—yet his body was experiencing the benefits of a fully functioning Lesser Zhou Tian cycle!
"Unbelievable… This is insane!"
"Hahaha—!!!"
Unable to contain his excitement, Su Zhan burst into laughter.
Outside the mine, a blue-robed man, who had been secretly watching Su Zhan's every move, frowned upon hearing the laughter.
"What's with this guy? Laughing like that… did he just hit the jackpot?"
"Even if he found a few natural spirit stones, it wouldn't be that exciting."
"Unless… it's something truly extraordinary…"
The blue-robed man hesitated for a moment before deciding, "I'll record this and let the higher-ups handle it. This is too risky for me to get involved."
Meanwhile, inside the mine—
"It's working!"
"The clones can cultivate for me!"
Su Zhan was ecstatic, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"The cross-legged shadow is actually my cultivation stance. By assigning a Xiao Hei clone to it, I'm essentially having that clone cultivate in my place!"
"And now I finally understand why the black mist was circling it—it's letting me decide which clones will train!"
"Meaning, the more clones I assign, the more training I get—simultaneously!"
Without hesitation, Su Zhan dove back into his consciousness.
He directed another black mist into the cross-legged shadow.
Immediately, another stream of spiritual energy joined the first one, circulating through the meridians.
"More! All of them!"
Su Zhan didn't hold back.
He pushed all 22 black mists into the clone.
The originally light blue energy intensified, turning deep blue as 22 separate flows of spiritual energy circulated within the meridians!
"22 clones training at once… My cultivation speed has increased 22 times!!"
"And this is just the beginning! As my number of clones grows, it'll reach hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands…"
"Once that happens—"
Su Zhan grinned wildly, his mind racing with possibilities.
Breaking through realms? Easy.
Reaching the legendary stages? A matter of time.
The mining company? Pure Yang Sect?
In the future, they'll be nothing but my personal resources and playground!
At this moment, Su Zhan was overflowing with confidence.
But then—
He abruptly snapped back to reality.
His excited grin froze.
Something was missing.
"…Where's Xiao Hei?"
Su Zhan blinked.
The once bustling mine, filled with the sounds of pickaxes clashing against stone, had fallen into complete silence.
The little black clones, who had been mining tirelessly just moments ago…
Were gone.
Only their hoes remained.