Zhang Ling sensed the changes in his body. Bubbles adhered to his skin, forming a layer of five-colored solidified spiritual light.
Could it be a defensive treasure? he wondered. But upon closer inspection, this layer of five-colored spiritual light didn't seem to have any defensive properties.
His expression became strange, unsure of the treasure's purpose.
While pondering, Zhang Ling involuntarily took a few steps, instantly discovering that two figures appeared where he had walked.
The two figures were just like real people, mirroring his movements and expressions perfectly, without the slightest difference. Even the aura they emitted was astonishingly similar to his.
When he scanned them with his divine sense, Zhang Ling himself was momentarily dazed, unable to distinguish the real from the fake. The aura of the figures was about seventy to eighty percent similar to his own.
Zhang Ling was greatly surprised, and something clicked in his mind.
He took a few more steps on the stone steps, and three more identical figures appeared behind him. After that, no matter how he moved, the number of figures didn't increase, as if it could only conjure five figures.
Zhang Ling waved his hand, and the five figures waved in the same way, like his shadows. Then, he raised his left hand, and a cyan-black vine coiled around it.
Instantly, the five figures also extended a similar vine.
Zhang Ling's expression didn't change as the cyan light in his hand flashed, and the Two-Realm Gourd appeared. The same scene occurred again, with the five figures also manifesting a gourd in their hands.
It was as if there were five identical versions of himself standing beside him, giving him a strange feeling.
Then, he cast a spell with his hand, and the Two-Realm Gourd spewed out a large cloud of Heavenly Star Sand.
The five figures made the same movements, and the gourds in their hands also spewed out a large cloud of yellow sand.
The five figures were like his clones, identical to his main body, and for a moment, he couldn't see any difference.
Excitement appeared in Zhang Ling's eyes. This treasure could actually conjure clones, and it would be even better if it had other powers.
Thinking this, he immediately released five strands of divine sense to control the figures and make them move.
He then discovered that while he could control the five clones to act independently, they didn't possess any offensive power.
Although they also conjured Two-Realm Gourds in their hands and spewed out yellow sand similar to Heavenly Star Sand, and could imitate attacks in a convincing manner,
the power of their attacks was only equivalent to first or second-tier spells. This level of attack power would be difficult to even injure a Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone pose any threat to a Golden Core cultivator.
Although he was slightly disappointed, Zhang Ling's expression soon turned joyful again.
Even though these clones didn't have much attack power, just the fact that they had the same aura as him was enough to create confusion.
Even he couldn't distinguish them clearly without careful observation, let alone other cultivators. He might even be able to deceive Nascent Soul cultivators.
This one ability of the treasure was equivalent to a top-tier illusion technique.
Using this treasure during battle would be enough to confuse the enemy. He could hide among them and launch sneak attacks. And when he encountered enemies he couldn't handle, he could have these clones scatter and flee, increasing his chances of escape.
Then, he tested if the treasure had any other powers, but it didn't have any other abilities. At the same time, he discovered that the clones consuming spiritual energy greatly increased when they launched attacks or defended.
After some research, he found that the further the clones were from him, the weaker their aura became. Basically, they would be seen through by other cultivators if they were more than seven or eight miles away from him.
Moreover, the furthest the clones could fly was to the edge of his divine sense coverage, meaning they would disappear on their own if they went more than forty miles away from him.
Despite this flaw, this treasure was definitely a top-tier auxiliary ancient treasure.
Then, Zhang Ling rested in place for a while, before starting to walk towards other places.
The steps he was on also had restrictions, preventing flight, and divine sense couldn't be spread outwards, only covering the steps themselves.
He first walked upwards along the steps for several hundred feet, before being blocked by a barrier of light.
After attacking it a few times and finding that the barrier of light couldn't be broken with his strength, Zhang Ling stopped wasting time and walked downwards.
Soon after, he reached the bottom. Without the restrictions, his divine sense could spread out in all directions, and Zhang Ling discovered that he was now on a small mountain floating in the clouds.
This mountain wasn't large, only two or three hundred feet high.
Apart from the long stone steps he had just come down, the entire mountain was hidden in the clouds, with no other paths. It seemed to be an independent small mountain.
He was now in a semi-circular plaza at the bottom of the steps. At the edge was a spiritual energy vortex several feet in size, obviously another special teleportation array.
After putting several layers of protective shields on himself, Zhang Ling entered the vortex.
His head felt dizzy for a few moments, then Zhang Ling steadied himself. After regaining his senses, he immediately scanned his surroundings.
Beneath his feet was a small teleportation array five or six feet in size. Around it were several pillars flashing with spiritual light. Further out was a ruin, with broken buildings everywhere.
He spread his divine sense outwards and roughly surveyed the surroundings.
The ruins weren't large, only occupying a few miles around. Further out was a lush green environment, as if he were in a forest.
Zhang Ling explored the area and didn't find any traces of other people or wild beasts. Strangely, the spiritual energy here was abundant, and the turbid energy had decreased by more than half, not as strong as he had sensed when he first entered the Abyss of Heaven.
Soon after, he discovered a huge bluestone. It was a boundary marker with two large ancient characters carved on it.
After looking at them for a few moments, he recognized the characters "Double Light." At the same time, as his divine sense covered it, a piece of information entered his mind.
After pondering for a moment, he understood this place.
This was the fourth level of the Abyss of Heaven, which ancient cultivators called Nine Dragon Island.
The reason it was called Nine Dragon Island was because there were nine massive spiritual veins here, forming a super array to suppress the turbid energy in the center.
No wonder the spiritual energy here was so abundant.
After gaining a general understanding of this place, Zhang Ling looked up at the sky. The sky was dark, with a thick layer of clouds flowing.
He directly transformed into a ray of light and flew into the air. From the information he had just obtained, although there were powerful restrictions here, they were basically used to suppress turbid energy. The restrictions on cultivators were not very strong.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ling flew to a high altitude and looked into the distance.
He discovered that he was in a mountain range. This mountain range was high in the east and low in the west. He was located on the easternmost mountain peak. To the west was a continuous stretch of mountains and canyons. He couldn't see the end at a glance, at least for a thousand miles.
Further east, clouds and mist swirled, and the sound of whistling wind was constant, blowing strong gale winds, as if it had reached the end. Obviously, the place where he was teleported was the outermost part of this Nine Dragon Island.
