Ruan Yaozhu said, “Junior brother, do you know clone techniques?”
“I… know a little bit about them!”
“Here, take this Fractal Shadow technique and comprehend it. With your talent and cultivation, you should be able to grasp it very quickly.”
The nine-coloured deer said, “This Fractal Shadow technique costs Green Jade bookmarks in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.”
Li Qingshan smiled and accepted it happily, shutting his eyes and comprehending it.

  Ruan Yaozhu gazed at him with quite a bit of interest. She never expected him to begin comprehending it on the stop. The Fractal Shadow technique was only a technique, but it could not be mastered that easily by a greenhorn.

  A while later, Li Qingshan opened his eyes. His soul nascence flashed, and a faint figure appeared from his body, seeming like an inflated shadow.

  Ruan Yaozhu said in surprise, “You really didn’t know any clone techniques before?”
“I knew a bit. I knew a bit.”
Li Qingshan brushed aside her question ambiguously. The Watermirror’s Image might not have been a technique. It was an innate ability instead, but the Fractal Shadow technique came nowhere close to it.

  This clone sure is weak. It probably won’t be capable of any proper work. I’d be better without it!

  He sensed it slightly. The shadow clone could not travel too far away from him, and it was extremely weak as well, possessing less than a hundredth of his strength. That made sense as well. No matter how wondrous the techniques of the Myriad sect were, this was the Human realm after all. All techniques were restricted by the laws of the world.

  “You don’t know, but the work in the Hundred Herbs garden does not require any great strength. Instead, it requires extremely delicate teamwork.” Ruan Yaozhu smiled. As she said that, she took out another jade slip. “These are some of my notes and experiences that I’ve recorded. You’ll understand once you read it.”
The nine-coloured deer sighed. “Sigh, softwood, you sure are generous! Kid, if it wasn’t for the fact that you helped us win that gamble, we’d never show you this jade slip for free.”
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  “I understand. Every single spiritual herb has different characteristics, giving off different spiritual qi. They influence one another, and they might even restrict or devour each other. It involves the interaction of the five elements and the cycle of yin and yang. It requires deep knowledge of the laws involved and constant attention to the bigger picture to do this job well.”
Li Qingshan browsed through it slightly and understood. The spiritual qi in the Hundred Herbs garden was dense, but the spiritual herbs planted here were far too dense after all. Green Dragon bamboo feared metal the most, yet Razortooth grass required metal scraps as fertiliser. The Golden-leaved Bodhi tree beside him has a root system that filled the entire hill, so no plants could grow there. Certain other plants could not stand human presence, so clones had to be used.

  “There are also many plants that are dangerous even to cultivators. If you’re not careful, you might be poisoned, or you might even face life-threatening danger. How many clones can you produce? That’ll determine your efficiency when it comes to this job, as well as your remuneration.”
Seeing how he had comprehended the Fractal Shadow technique so quickly, she wanted to see what he was capable of.

  “Let me try!”
Li Qingshan became interested as well. He shut his eyes again and powered his soul nascence. His mind split into two, then four, then eight, multiplying like that as he unleashed the Fractal Shadow technique.

  As a result, Ruan Yaozhu saw a series of shadows walk out from Li Qingshan. Before long, figures filled the tree shade, actually exceeding a hundred. It left her surprised. Regular Soul Nascence cultivators could only produce around a dozen, or maybe twenty clones, and that was already a lot.

  She thought, Maheśvara has always been renowned for his transformations and changes. Don’t tell me the Heavenly Tome of Liberty has a special effect on this technique?

  “Senior sister, are these clones enough?”
Li Qingshan did not find it particularly impressive himself. All of these clones were absolute weaklings. Even combined, they were not as powerful as a mirror clone. They could only be used for farmwork.

  “You obviously cannot have enough clones. The more clones you have, the more spiritual herbs you can take care of. However, are you able to control so many clones?”
“Doesn’t seem to be a problem!”
With a thought, all of the shadow clones began to move, assembling into a neat formation at first like an army. Afterwards, they assumed gymnastic formations, poking into the depths of the foliage before scattered again with a great whoosh, forming a great crowd.

  Ruan Yaozhu originally thought he could not control all of them, only to see that some of the clones were hunched over like old men, while others held their heads high like generals. They imitated the various stages of life and had great fun. She could not help but lament over the vastness of the world, over the fact that there really were a lot of startling geniuses.

  However, Li Qingshan said, “I’ve only just gained a basic grasp over the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, and my understanding of this technique isn’t particularly deep either. Otherwise, I could produce even more clones.” The Spirit Turtle Transformation had been suppressed to the fourth layer as well, or the number of the clones and his control over the clones would reach a whole different level.

  “I’ll go get the tools for you!”
Ruan Yaozhu shook her head, no longer doubting whether he had the ability to handle this job properly. Even she did not possess such an ability when she was at the same cultivation in the past. It was basically like the heavens had sent him to take care of the Hundred Herbs garden for her.

  They arrived in a valley. Many large warehouses stood there.

  Along the way, Ruan Yaozhu rode at the front with Li Qingshan behind, followed by over a hundred clones. It was like a parade, earning him many glances.

  Ruan Yaozhu thought about it before opening a warehouse. It was not filled with farm tools like ploughs and scissors, but neat rows of puppets, both large and small, both metal and wooden. They all varied in appearances. Some special spiritual herbs could not even be approached with clones. They required special puppets to tend to.

  “Can you split up your soul sense and control some puppets too?”
“What’s difficult about that?” Li Qingshan smiled. His soul sense immediately scattered and half of all the puppets in the warehouse began to move. However, their movements were rather rigid. He could not control them as freely as his clones.

  That already left Ruan Yaozhu dumbfounded. She said in a hurry, “Alright, alright. We won’t be needing that much. I know what level your skill is at now. I can arrange some work for you.”
Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. This was also his limit, but he felt a little dissatisfied inside. It gave him a hollow feeling like he could only use at most forty or fifty percent of his full strength. He had only just gained a basic grasp over the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and the Qilin’s Conventions of Longevity, or not even that, forcing the other transformations to be suppressed by an entire layer.

  Most importantly, he had not undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. He was clearly only a step away, but he was stuck there.

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  However, he was not in a hurry. He could already see a ray of light. The Hundred Herbs garden was extremely suited for the Qilin Transformation, while the Heavenly Tome of Liberty matched his personality very well. If he made a breakthrough with either of them, he would undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation.

  Once he took that step, everything would open up to him. His cultivation would grow with leaps.

  He had already reached the final period of dormancy. The ray of light shone from the crack of the door that led to the Nine Heavens. When everything opened up to him, there would definitely be a storm of lightning.

  When he considered the fact that perhaps he might not be able to stay in such a beautiful garden anymore and enjoy such a peaceful and quiet time again, even he sighed a little.

  “Senior sister!”
“Hmm?”
“I will remember your kindness.”
Li Qingshan’s eyes shone brightly, which made Ruan Yaozhu blank her. His gaze was filled with a cherishing sentiment, yet it had nothing to do with love, which made her feel strange. He was right before her eyes, yet he felt like he was beyond her reach. It felt as if he could fly away at any moment.

  “You’ll be paying me back as long as you work hard.”