I Arrived At Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality Chapter 672: Replica

Jie Ming massaged his aching temples.

The entity, which had previously resembled an elder statesman, was now condensed into a gray crystal, no larger than a fingernail, resting within a containment rune in his palm.

Its ability was particularly vexing: "Forgetfulness." Anyone who drew near would begin to lose their memories. While not a swift killer, its lethality against wizards was immense. Forcing a wizard to forget their accumulated knowledge was a far crueler fate than outright demise.

The moment Jie Ming approached, he felt the encroaching power attempt to erode him. It was then that his body-forging technique activated.

Enduring the Strange's influence, Jie Ming advanced deliberately toward it. The Strange appeared as a withered old man, his back bowed, skin like coarse tree bark, and eyes a milky, turbid white. He tilted his head, a flicker of bewilderment crossing his clouded gaze, likely questioning why this intruder hadn't succumbed yet. Jie Ming offered no further time for such contemplation. His right hand landed directly on the wrinkled visage, fingers tightening, knuckles exerting pressure. The old man's head was held like fragile fruit in his grip. Its frail body convulsed, skinny limbs flailing uselessly as its nails scraped Jie Ming's forearm with a grating, metallic screech. Relying solely on his physical might, Jie Ming hoisted the Strange into the air before executing a powerful slam onto the ground!!

Boom!

The earth cracked under the impact. The old man's form twitched feebly amongst the debris before Jie Ming inscribed a sealing rune upon its forehead. A gray light pulsed, and the Strange's hunched, three-inch stature shrank into a fingernail-sized crystal, settling placidly at the rune's center. Jie Ming secured the seal and brushed away imaginary dust from his hands.

Since his arrival in Hollow City, he had already encountered over a dozen Stranges. The spoils could be deemed substantial, with the majority being Disaster Grade and several even reaching Catastrophe Grade!

He surveyed his surroundings. The presences of the other wizards were no longer discernible. After subduing the umbrella-wielding entity, the accompanying sixth-ring wizards had dispersed, guided by their respective fate threads. Each had charted a distinct course, and Jie Ming had selected the path that resonated with the 'heaviest' sensation for him.

Jie Ming gazed at the small orb in his hand containing the sealed Forgetfulness Strange, a shadow of doubt clouding his features. His journey thus far had yielded considerable rewards. However, when measured against the indications of the fate thread, the gains fell significantly short. Frankly, judging by the perceived significance of the fate thread, continuing along this trajectory should have led to the most profound harvest attainable on this plane. Yet, Jie Ming struggled to conceive what could possibly constitute such a paramount acquisition.

Following the fate thread's enticement, he proceeded onward for some distance, eventually arriving at his destination: an amusement park. The wrought-iron gates were askew, surmounted by a sign proclaiming "Children's Park" in faded lettering. Within, attractions such as carousels and roller coasters were visible, all in operation as if populated. Everything intended to rotate spun, all that should sway moved, and every light meant to illuminate was ablaze. Despite this semblance of activity, no life was present on any of the rides. While other sectors of Hollow City employed illusory projections as a facade, this place forewent even such pretense.

Jie Ming pushed open the tilted iron gate and stepped inside. The brightly colored wooden horses abruptly turned their heads in unison, fixing him with their painted eyes. Ignoring them, Jie Ming pressed onward. Guided by the fate thread's pull, he navigated a narrow path flanked by game stalls, reaching the amusement park's inner reaches. There stood a circular edifice, an entrance sign declaring: Magic Mirror Palace.

"A hall of mirrors, I presume," Jie Ming mused at the threshold, contemplating the nature of the Strange that might reside within. Undoubtedly, given the setting, it would be related to mirrors. Its precise manifestation, however, remained elusive. Without hesitation, Jie Ming pushed the door inward and entered. Mirrored surfaces stretched out on either side. His own likeness was replicated, multiplied, elongated, compressed, and distorted across countless reflective panes... Due to the inherent imperfections of the mirrors, each reflection subtly diverged from his actual appearance. Jie Ming advanced cautiously, step by measured step through the labyrinthine corridor, keenly attuned to the shifting surroundings. To his surprise, no anticipated adversary materialized. It wasn't until he reached the maze's core that he encountered the mirror. Truthfully, amidst the uniform mirrors, the sudden appearance of one boasting an ornate frame was strikingly conspicuous, drawing even Jie Ming's gaze. But the instant his eyes met this particular mirror, Jie Ming understood that he had fallen into a trap.

Because in that mirror, his reflection was not looking at him.

Jie Ming halted his advance.

The individual within the mirror was lowering its head, seemingly examining its own hand.

Then, that individual lifted its head and met his gaze through the mirrored surface.

The moment their eyes connected, the entity in the mirror appeared to gain a surge of animation.

The mirror's surface began to ripple like disturbed water, and the figure within emerged.

Jie Ming chose not to engage immediately. Instead, he remained still, a degree of curiosity prompting him to activate both his All-Purpose Eye and the Fate Subsystem simultaneously, analyzing the entity before him from every angle.

Height, build, features, attire—these superficial characteristics were identical. This doppelganger, sprung from the mirror, mirrored him in every way, save for the reversed orientation of its adornments.

However, the replica's expression diverged sharply from Jie Ming's customary composure. A raw, undisguised hatred contorted its features. Its mouth pulled downwards, brows furrowed intensely, and its eyes narrowed into sharp slits, within which a dark golden light pulsed ominously…

That was the signature glow of the All-Purpose Eye, the aggressive luminescence it only exhibited when fully operational.

“Huh? It can even mimic my abilities?” Jie Ming remarked aloud.

The replica offered no verbal response. As soon as it fully stepped out of the mirror, its body sprung into action.

Raising a hand, a slender beam, finer than a hair and emanating dark golden energy, shot from its fingertip directly towards Jie Ming’s forehead.

Jie Ming subtly inclined his head.

The white beam grazed his temple, striking the mirror behind him. The reflective surface instantly vaporized upon impact. Continuing its trajectory, the beam pierced through the dissipated mirror, breached the maze's outer wall, passed the Ferris wheel in the amusement park, and vanished into the deep violet sky.

Jie Ming’s All-Purpose Eye swiftly captured the beam’s energy signature, rapidly discerning the nature of the attack. It was the Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light.

Identical in its foundational structure and principles, yet its potency was less than one-thousandth of his own full power output.

“Fascinating… It can even replicate modified techniques?” Jie Ming's interest was undeniably ignited.

The replica remained silent, showing no inclination to answer his questions. Its initial assault thwarted, it unhesitatingly launched a physical strike.

Its fist, imbued with a dark golden aura, hurtled towards Jie Ming’s face.

Jie Ming opted not to evade. He raised his right hand, fingers splayed, and caught the incoming punch squarely.

The instant palm met fist, a visible shockwave erupted, shattering the stone slabs beneath their feet and sending dense cracks webbing across the surrounding mirrors.

Were it not for the combined defenses of the Hollow City and the peculiar power of the mirror entity, the residual force from this single punch would have been sufficient to propel the entire city skyward.

Jie Ming's stance remained utterly firm, while the replica's arm vibrated minutely from the impact's recoil.

The All-Purpose Eye gathered even more critical data during this close-quarters exchange.

Body tempering techniques—present, and executed with high proficiency. Modified spells, physical resilience, Qi flow… from their brief contact, it was evident this replica even possessed a Dharma Body.

But… its fundamental power levels were drastically insufficient.

The replica's raw strength and energy output registered at a level comparable to Jie Ming's own during his third stage of cultivation. Other attributes showed a similarly scaled-down proportion.

Jie Ming released the replica's fist and took a deliberate step backward.

The replica made no move to pursue. It remained rooted to its spot, chest heaving, its hate-filled gaze fixed intently on Jie Ming.

“You harbor hatred for me?” Jie Ming queried, a touch of intrigue in his voice. “What is the reason? Does this animosity stem from your own consciousness, or was it imposed by this Strange? Since you've replicated my abilities, you must also possess my memories. Therefore, have you copied my personality wholesale, or is this hatred a product of being its complete antithesis?”

The replica’s lips moved subtly, yet no sound emerged. However, a complex emotional expression flickered across its face.

Witnessing this, Jie Ming understood.

Through those two brief exchanges, he had definitively ascertained the replica's true nature.

This Strange… or more accurately, the mechanism behind this mirror maze, operated on a straightforward principle: it had generated an exact duplicate of himself.

However, to label it 'simple' would be a misnomer, for this Strange had flawlessly replicated his memories, knowledge, skills, and even his thought processes without any deviation.

Everything Jie Ming knew, this replica knew as well. Body tempering, the Internal Circulation technique, Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light, the Return to Ruins Armor… even the manifestation of a Dharma Body.

The creation of replicas was not an insurmountable challenge for wizards; various methods existed to generate copies of adversaries, yet these replicas invariably came with inherent limitations.

Even Jie Ming’s commonly employed training exercise—the time-image technique—was considered a relatively faithful method among replica-creation skills. It could reproduce the target's spiritual power and physical prowess, alongside certain lower-level cognitive functions.

However, its replication capabilities stopped short of knowledge surpassing the sixth ring.

This limitation arose because such profound understanding was intrinsically linked to the very laws of existence, and principles at that fundamental level defied replication through mere temporal reversal.

Jie Ming's immortal cultivation knowledge delved into advanced principles and core essences. While temporal afterimages could duplicate the Qi flowing within his body, they were incapable of reproducing his fundamental grasp of the concept of 'Spiritual Qi'.

Consequently, these temporal duplicates were restricted to utilizing inferior versions of spells, unable to deploy the crucial abilities that relied on higher-tier knowledge for their execution.

Furthermore, the afterimages could achieve a level of bodily resilience through advanced forging techniques, but they could never truly learn the methods themselves.

This particular replica, however, presented a distinct exception.

It possessed a flawless replication of all of Jie Ming's accumulated knowledge. It understood the complete theoretical underpinnings of the Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light, the intricate design of every energy pathway within the Return to Ruins Armor, and the fundamental structural principles of the dharma form true body. The comprehensiveness of its knowledge matched Jie Ming's own perfectly.

The sole disparity lay in the intensity of the power it could wield.

In terms of the sheer difficulty in controlling it, this replica was actually less demanding than one generated by the temporal afterimage technique.

But… when considering its sheer 'value,' this imitation was immeasurably more precious!