[Summoning avatar…][Randomly generating appearance…]
A new image appeared in Liu Ming's mind—his avatar.
The face was completely different from his own. Even if someone saw it, they would never connect the avatar back to him.
Liu Ming was very pleased.
[Please assign items to the avatar.]
Items too?
He blinked in surprise. That was an incredibly powerful feature.
Unfortunately, he had just transmigrated into this world and had nothing to his name. There was nothing to assign.
"Don't assign."
[Please name the avatar.]
"Liu Yi."
[Please select summoning location.]
The avatar could not be summoned too far from the main body. Liu Ming quietly set his gaze just beyond the prison bars.
[Summoning avatar… please wait.]
In the blink of an eye, the air twisted, and a young man appeared out of thin air—right outside the cell.
Liu Ming's mind trembled. The sensation was miraculous. It was as though he could think with two minds at once—controlling two bodies simultaneously—without the slightest discomfort.
"Brother, how did you get out?" The burly man from earlier gaped in disbelief. "Save us! As long as you rescue me, I'll follow you as my boss!"
Liu Yi glanced at him curiously.
The man cared only that he had appeared outside, showing not the slightest surprise at his sudden manifestation!
The Myriad Avatars ability… was even more incredible than Liu Ming had imagined.
But since he had been summoned directly outside the bars, there was no way to help the others.
Liu Yi simply shook his head and started walking in the same direction the thin man had gone earlier, hoping to see what lay ahead. If escape were possible, he could then work to free his main body.
But before he could go far, the burly man's expression twisted with malice.
"You plan to escape alone?"
"If I can't run, then neither can you!"
Raising his voice, he roared:
"Guards! Someone's escaped the cell!"
"Someone's trying to run!"
Liu Yi froze—betrayed so quickly!?
A violent gust of wind struck from behind. Before he could even turn to flee, a single palm smashed him dead.
"Strange… how did he get out?"
A masked maid knelt to examine the corpse. No matter how closely she searched, she could not discern a thing.
She looked into the cell and asked coldly:
"Did any of you see how he escaped? Speak, and I'll let you live two more days."
Her voice turned colder.
"But if I find out you're lying…"
Heads shook violently. No one dared answer.
They had just seen how casually she killed. Who would gamble with their life? Besides—she had only promised two days. What about the third?
None dared volunteer.
The maid snorted, hefted the corpse with ease, and turned to leave.
The burly man quickly shouted, "Immortal! I reported him! Can't I get some kind of reward?"
The maid's eyes slid over him. A cold smile curved her lips.
"If you report again, I'll reward you."
"But if you think of escaping…" She tossed the corpse down lightly. "This will be your fate."
With her warning delivered, she carried the body away swiftly. Clearly, she had other urgent matters.
The burly man grinned, already scheming how to set up his next "report."
But then—he suddenly felt a chill crawl down his spine.
He turned sharply. Behind him were only men bowing their heads, their faces shadowed. Nothing unusual.
[Your avatar "Liu Yi" has died.][Liu Yi, slain immediately upon summoning, has created the legend of "fastest death." Yet in dying, he diverted suspicion away from your main body.][You have obtained the talent: This Damn Presence — a faint concealment effect.]
In the corner of the cell, Liu Ming sensed the new ability. Though weak, it was enough—the burly man who had been eyeing him earlier now overlooked him entirely.
If a few more avatars die… perhaps the talents will grow stronger.
He silently calculated, preparing to summon another.
But the system interrupted:
[Avatar summoning attempts exhausted. Please wait until tomorrow.]
"One per day?" Liu Ming frowned. "Then I'll have to wait."
For now, he could only focus on delaying the effects of the Yang-Inducing Pill.
Su Meier had said—if he could endure three days without his yang energy erupting, he would live.
But how?
Lowering his head, he noticed the only item in his possession: a yellowed scrap of paper stuffed into his clothes—the remnant of the Xuanpin Art the maid had tossed him.
Sitting around is the same as waiting to die. Might as well read it.
By the cell's dim light, he studied the text.
"The Gate of Xuanpin is the root of Heaven and Earth. Subtle, unbroken, inexhaustible…""Harmonize yin and yang, seize the secrets of creation, ascend to the great Dao."
The beginning was cryptic, but as he read further, Liu Ming grasped its essence.
It was a dual cultivation art.
Men cultivated by controlling yang to absorb yin; women, by controlling yin to absorb yang. Through such exchange, they could break through Qi Refining and step onto the true path of cultivation.
"So that's it…" Liu Ming realized.
But here in the men's cell, there was no yin energy to absorb. Su Meier had given them this art not so they could cultivate, but so they could suppress their yang and prolong the pill's effects—yielding her more refined yang essence when harvested.
That woman… truly vicious.
He followed the method, circulating his qi. At once, the burning within him lessened slightly. But it was no cure—eventually, he would still be drained dry.
Escape was still the only path.
Just then, the system chimed again:
[A new day has begun. Avatar summoning available.]
"Finally!" Liu Ming's eyes lit with determination.
This time, he would be more cautious.
[Summoning avatar…][Randomly generating appearance…][Assign items to the avatar.]
"Assign the talent This Damn Presence."
[Avatar will inherit the talent.][Please name the avatar.]
"Liu Er."
[Select summoning location.]
He scanned the cell. The light was dim, the prisoners huddled in corners with their scraps of the manual. He chose the blind spot outside the bars, in the corridor's shadow.
[Summoning avatar… please wait.]
A scruffy, unkempt middle-aged man materialized in the darkness—slightly plump, with a patchy beard. No one noticed his arrival.
Liu Ming's heart leapt.
"Success."