Having completed the registration, Jie Ming soon left the Nexus and returned to the Golden Garden.
While organizing the supplies and rune artifacts he might need to bring, he mentally mapped out various possibilities for the upcoming battles.
As he immersed himself in pre-war preparations, his magical network terminal suddenly lit up with a communication request from Mentor Clark.
Jie Ming connected immediately.
“Come to my office,” Clark’s voice was, as always, brief and calm, leaving no room for argument.
Jie Ming didn’t dare delay. He activated the teleportation array and instantly arrived at Clark’s private office in Noren Academy.
Mentor Clark stood before an alchemy table, toying with a palm-sized, exquisitely crafted doll.
The doll was strikingly lifelike, its features bearing a subtle resemblance to Jie Ming.
Its material seemed like rubber yet resembled skin, its surface shimmering with intricate rune patterns.
Seeing Jie Ming arrive, Clark handed the doll to him.“Take it. This is a Death-Defying Doll,” Clark said, his voice devoid of emotion.
Jie Ming took the doll, its warmth surprising him. Observing its highly complex and profound runes, he knew it was no ordinary item.
“Death-Defying Doll?” Jie Ming repeated, a guess forming in his mind.
“Correct,” Clark nodded, extending a hand to signal Jie Ming to cooperate. “I need a sample of your biological material carrying life information and a small portion of your mental energy.”
Jie Ming hesitated briefly. If it were any other wizard, they might have paused at such a request.
After all, biological information and mental energy were prime materials for curses or soul-based attacks.
Wizards’ instinctive wariness of such things was deeply ingrained.
But Jie Ming only paused for a moment before unhesitatingly cutting a small lock of hair.
This wasn’t just due to his trust in Mentor Clark but also because of the protection of his Mysterious Astral Mortal Dust Barrier.
This intangible treasure could block curses and retaliate against the caster.
With this safeguard, he had no need to worry about Clark harming him.
Seeing Jie Ming promptly cut his hair and offer his mental energy without hesitation, a faint trace of warmth flickered in the depths of Clark’s eyes.
But it vanished quickly, and he adopted a stern tone to reprimand Jie Ming: “Jie Ming, while your trust in me is noted, such unthinking trust is highly irrational! Even if I’m your mentor, you must maintain reasonable doubt and vigilance! As you venture into the sea of planes, you’ll encounter all sorts of wizards and beings. The heart is treacherous—one misstep, and you’ll face eternal ruin.”
Jie Ming listened to his mentor’s lecture without retort, instead bowing respectfully. “Your teachings are wise, Mentor. I will remember them.”
He knew Clark wasn’t truly scolding him but seizing the opportunity to impart a lesson.
This concern for his safety warmed Jie Ming’s heart.
“Once you return, imbue it with your mental energy, and the Death-Defying Doll will bind to your life essence and soul imprint,” Clark said, his tone softening as he collected the hair and explained.
“If you face a fatal crisis or even die outright, it will activate, giving you a chance to resurrect at a predetermined location.”
Though he had suspected as much upon hearing the name, Clark’s explanation still sent a jolt through Jie Ming.
This was undoubtedly a life-saving treasure!
Life was singular, and even a wizard’s potent mental energy, which could sustain a soul independently, left it defenseless against enemies.
The Death-Defying Doll, however, could reverse death, granting him a second chance!
“But resurrection comes at a cost,” Clark’s tone grew serious. “It’s merely a guide to draw your life essence back. True resurrection requires a spare body as a vessel—that’s why I needed your biological information. With a complete sample, I can create a backup body for you.”
Jie Ming understood.
The Death-Defying Doll was the “key,” and the spare body was the “door.”
Without the door, even the best key couldn’t open a path to life.
“But… a spare body? Only an alchemy master like Clark could perform such high-level body forging,” Jie Ming thought.
In the wizard world, crafting a body wasn’t particularly difficult; typically, alchemists above level four could dabble in body forging.
But replicating a body with a soul imprint that perfectly matched the original soul was another matter entirely, touching the realm of life laws.
This required not only a supreme understanding of alchemy but also mastery of life studies, soul studies, and even fate studies.
Ordinary alchemists, even high-tier ones, couldn’t possibly achieve this.
Life studies were manageable, but soul studies demanded innate talent, and fate studies were even more daunting.
At this point, Jie Ming instinctively activated the All-Purpose Eye to closely examine the Death-Defying Doll.
Even as his mind grew foggy, he couldn’t fully decipher its structure, but he roughly understood that its operational principles relied on fate-based knowledge.
“This thing… it’s probably Mentor Clark’s own creation,” Jie Ming thought.
With this realization, he bowed respectfully to Clark. “Thank you, Mentor.”
Clark saw through his thoughts and shook his head. “Don’t thank me. My fate studies aren’t advanced enough to create such an item. This is from your grand-mentor.”
“Grand-mentor?” Jie Ming was stunned, not expecting his grand-mentor to be involved.
“Yes,” Clark said with a half-smile. “Your grand-mentor was worried you’d die and stop supplying Mortal Dust Potions, so they made this. Don’t worry, it’s cheap—just ten extra vials of Mortal Dust Potion will cover it.”
“Uh… haha…” Jie Ming gave an awkward laugh, unsure how to respond.
He now realized his little schemes had been completely seen through by his mentor and grand-mentors.
They’d likely figured out that his expedition was mainly to secure raw materials for Mortal Dust Potions.
Yet they hadn’t called him out, even giving him the Death-Defying Doll, likely maintaining a tacit understanding.
As long as he could secure enough Mortal Dust Qi to produce the potions during this expedition, they’d probably acknowledge his potential and act as if nothing had happened.
Clark said no more, only waving a hand. “Go prepare for your expedition. I’ll notify you once your spare body is ready.”
Jie Ming gratefully bid farewell to his mentor and returned to the Golden Garden to make final preparations for the plane war.
But just the next day, Clark’s communication came again.
“Your spare body is complete. Come retrieve it,” Clark said, his voice tinged with faint exhaustion.
Crafting such a high-level alchemical creation so quickly would tire even a master like him.
Jie Ming hadn’t expected his mentor to prioritize this so highly and immediately headed to Clark’s private laboratory.
Upon entering, he immediately spotted a large transparent glass incubator at the center.
The incubator was filled with pale green nutrient fluid, and within it floated a body identical to Jie Ming’s!
With closed eyes, its skin and muscle texture matched his own perfectly, identical in every way except for the lack of hair.
It floated quietly in the nutrient fluid, like a sleeping perfect replica, indistinguishable from the real thing save for its lack of life essence.
Complex energy conduits and rune arrays connected to the incubator’s base, combined with the nutrient fluid, ensured the body’s vitality for an extended period.
“This is your spare body. Take it and store it somewhere safe,” Clark said, pointing to the incubator with a hint of relief in his tone. “I didn’t expect your physical condition to be so robust. What a loss!”
Jie Ming smiled, approaching the incubator to closely inspect the flawless duplicate.
Hearing Clark’s words, he considered several “safe locations.”
The depths of his Golden Garden?
But that was his daily activity hub, and an accident could implicate it.
The Infernal Sulfur plane?
Though secluded, it wasn’t entirely secure until he fully transformed it.
Finally, a bold idea emerged in Jie Ming’s mind.
He turned to Clark. “Mentor, after much thought, I believe the safest place is your private laboratory.”
Clark’s face instantly showed clear disdain.
His usually impassive expression twitched. “You little brat, is my private plane a storage unit for this kind of thing?”
Yet, in the end, he didn’t refuse.
“Hmph,” Clark grunted discontentedly but waved a hand helplessly. “Fine, leave it here. But you’ll pay a daily management fee… oh, and energy consumption costs.”
He quoted a price so negligible for Jie Ming it was practically nothing.
Jie Ming’s heart leaped with joy, knowing Clark had agreed.
Storing the spare body in a level-six wizard’s private plane was undoubtedly the safest option at this stage.
“Mentor, I’ll prepay a hundred years of management fees!”
“Getting cocky, huh? I’ll only store it this once!” Clark finally lost his patience, kicking Jie Ming in the rear.
Despite his words, Clark directed his attendants to move the body in its nutrient fluid to a hidden compartment in the lab’s corner, reinforcing it with several protective wards.