The strength of laws congregated around the mountain and it didn’t take much time before others learned that it was concentrated around the cultivation room of a certain Lang Sheng. So, when the process was finally over and that law energy dissipated again, Song Lu Tian, as well as Wan Ling and many of the Tiankong were all waiting for him when he walked out.

He gave them all a bow in thanks and they had a celebration to congratulate him for having recovered. With the reinfusion of his Body of Laws, it was a clear marker to them all that he had been restored. Messages were sent out to Sage’s other friends and they sent congratulations back. During the gathering, Song Lu Tian suddenly took on a more serious look.

“It’s good you’ve recovered. There is an excellent opportunity approaching in a few months and I was looking forward to bringing you along.”

Before Sage could say anything, Wan Ling jumped in, “Brother Sheng has just barely recovered. What sort of opportunity are you talking about? Is it something I’ve heard of?”

Song Lu Tian had grown familiar with this woman’s fierce business acumen over the last few years and he laughed loudly, “Relax! I wouldn’t ask Brother Sheng to participate without any benefits. The Icefire Valley is opening soon, and I wanted to take him along with me.”

Wan Ling heard the name ‘Icefire Valley’ and had to think it over for a few moments before she glared at Song Lu Tian, “Isn’t that the place where only Nascent Souls dare to tread? That’s an extremely dangerous place! Do you have a death wish?”

Song Lu Tian laughed again and shook his head, “Far from it! My Song Clan Elders will be accompanying me, but I think Brother Sheng is even more important than they are. Half of the danger of Icefire Valley is based upon the poisonous miasma that surrounds it. Only once every few decades does it disperse enough for cultivators to brave the dangers. You told me personally how good Brother Sheng is with poisons, right?”

Wan Ling’s eyes narrowed, but she could only nod. Then she glanced over at Sage to see any hint of worry. Sage simply smiled and nodded to her, at which point she crossed her arms and glared at Song Lu Tian again, “What sorts of benefits are there? Brother Sheng’s services don’t come cheap!”

Sage held back his laugh, but he didn’t envy Song Lu Tian. The burly man also grew annoyed after a few more minutes and the middle aged man, Song Heng could only apologize when Song Lu Tian left the table with a grumble. Song Heng quickly took up a delicate back and forth of negotiation with Wan Ling and Sage excused himself. He quickly apologized to Song Lu Tian, but for some reason the man didn’t look mad at him, but instead seemed to pity him.

Suffice it to say, a deal was worked out and the party picked back up. Song Lu Tian told Sage of their departure date a few months into the future and starting the next day Sage returned to his task of restoring his capabilities. He got his body, merged it into a new form, and even reformed his Body of Laws, but he still had many things to do. First things first, he took out a pile of glittering pink shards. They were like shards of pink stained glass, filled with specks of purple glitter. Psionic Crystals. Sage rapidly absorbed the energy of the pile of crystals to fortify his Spirit Power. Once they were gone, he went into seclusion again.

He isolated himself inside the Universe Ring again and worked on restoring one of his most powerful capabilities. His focus was sent inward, upon his Nascent Soul. It was a very slow process, causing his soul to reach a sort of vibrating resonance. Eventually, he found that sweet spot and held onto it. Then there was a hint of pain and his Nascent Soul blurred, the vibration making it seem as if his soul was in two places at once. Then there was a soft shift and his Nascent Soul was split into two. The Soul Clone.

In the past, the Twin Soul had merely split his soul in half, dividing the power of his soul in two. Now that he’d formed a Nascent Soul, his soul had merged with his Spiritual Sea and Core. The Twin Soul technique now split his Nascent Soul in half, which also applied to these other types of power. Not just his soul, but also his Spirit Power was split in half. Thankfully, that split didn’t destroy or alter his mind, and the Soul Clone instead gained sentience of its own. He gained the power of two different minds, each able to think and act on their own, but sharing the same will and memories. The downside being that with his Spirit Power split in two, his thoughts felt more sluggish, and the speed of recall had slowed. He felt like he’d downgraded his processor speed, but gained a second core. The same also applied to his soul and Qi, but they were far less impactful. The Inner World and all its Heavenly Materials was not split, and remained within his main body. Since most of his Qi Cultivation was derived from it, he was not as drastically affected when what remained was split in half, and the soul was still a mystery to him.

After forming his Soul Clone once again, Sage brought out more Psionic Crystals, and both his main body as well as the clone consumed a few hundred each to restore the power of his mind. At the same time, Sage put all of his Qi into the Eye of the World, using its tears to build his soul’s strength back up again. This was especially important because he still wished to recreate the Blacksilver Pawns, but that would require him to create Soul Fragments so he delayed that until he could build up a large reserve of soul power. In the meantime, he brought out something that his Soul Clone had felt a great attraction to in the past.

A bronze scepter with a pagoda shaped lantern on the end of it appeared within his hands. The Soul Clone immediately stared intently at it. Sage shared a mind with the clone and could immediately feel the attraction was not because of the scepter itself, but from the two inch wide pearl that sat at the center of the lantern on the end of the scepter. Sage reached up and carefully unlocked a small clasp. The small four sided lantern was made up of many small glass panes set into a bronze frame, and one of the four walls of the lantern was swung open like a door on simple hinges. Once the door was opened the Soul Clone felt even more attracted to the large pearl’s energy that bled outward.

Sage reached in and plucked the pearl out of the scepter, and he felt the power disappear from the Evil Dispelling Ruyi a few moments later. The object in the center of the lantern seemed to act as a battery and now that he’d removed it, the scepter immediately dimmed. Sage stared at the large pearl for a few moments before there was a stir in the air and a slovenly dressed man appeared next to him.

Guan Zhenyan still seemed to treat his restrictive formations with nonchalance, but Sage knew that scolding the man would only make him appear more often. The man lifted his large bronze pipe and puffed upon it. The cloud of smoke he breathed out changed into a rainbow of colors, twisting and twirling in the air like a tiny dragon. He puffed a few more times, and a sea of clouds appeared, one which the now bright green dragon climbed onto and used to adopt a majestic pose. Then the dragon opened its mouth and a flaming sphere flew out, one which it caught between its claws and held up. Sage wasn’t sure what was going on, but then Guan Zhenyan’s illusory projection stopped puffing his pipe and smiled at him.

“Did you see it?”

Sage didn’t respond for a moment, and Guan Zhenyan laughed, “I knew you’d miss it.” The man started puffing his pipe again and the sea of clouds started shifting and transforming into an even larger shape. Then Sage held up his hand with the large pearl upon it.

“What relation does this have to that Dragon’s flaming orb?”

Guan Zhenyan was startled, and his smoke scape faded away. He grumbled, “They are one and the same.” Seeing Sage’s confused face, he regained a bit of his smug demeanor, “That is a Dragon’s Pearl.”

“Wait, you mean the legendary…”

Guan Zhenyan interrupted him again, “Don’t get carried away. It may be a Dragon’s Pearl, but it isn’t from a true dragon. In fact, the Pearl is just a Dragon’s Core. Demonic Beasts all have Cores, Dragons are just far more skillful at manipulating them. That pearl there in your hand is probably from some sort of dragon hybrid.”

Sage looked at the large pearl and then went back to Guan Zhenyan, “So what do you want in exchange for telling me how to use it?”