"Immortal... I beg you... Please accept me as your disciple!"
The moment Chen Xuan’s consciousness shifted to his demonic clone, a soft, pleading voice echoed in his ears.
He blinked once before looking ahead, soon coming face to face with its owner.
It was a young woman.
With long emerald-green hair and matching eyes, she resembled a wood elf from ancient legends. The gentle aura she naturally exuded, brimming with vitality and affinity toward nature, only reinforced that impression.
Unfortunately, her current appearance made such thoughts difficult to entertain.
Countless wounds covered her body, while her clothes had been torn in many places and stained with blood.
Even Chen Xuan found it difficult to understand how she had managed to reach this isolated island in such a state, especially with the sea beast riot still raging and her cultivation only at the Early Stage of Core Formation.
Despite standing before him, her breathing remained ragged, as though she had exhausted every last ounce of strength merely to arrive here.
Seeing her condition, Chen Xuan’s demonic clone calmly waved his hand.
Demonic Energy poured from his palm, causing the surrounding air to darken. Countless wisps of black mist coiled around him while the distant cries of resentful souls echoed faintly.
Yet when that seemingly destructive energy came into contact with the woman, the outcome was entirely different.
Rather than harming her, it gently flowed into her wounds, knitting torn flesh back together and stopping the relentless bleeding.
Everything proceeded smoothly at first.
Soon, however, a trace of surprise flashed across Chen Xuan’s eyes.
A soft emerald glow suddenly emerged from within the girl’s body. It resonated with his healing technique, not resisting it in the slightest but instead amplifying its effects.
The two forces complemented one another perfectly, accelerating her recovery far beyond what should have been possible.
’I didn’t expect a girl I encountered by chance to possess a Spirit Body...’ Chen Xuan thought, unable to help shaking his head.
Although for him, a mere Spirit Body meant little to him by now, it was still an extraordinary treasure throughout the Mortal World.
Meeting such a person while casually staying on an isolated island was, without question, an incredible coincidence.
With a hint of curiosity, Chen Xuan activated the Heavenly Insight Eye, intending to see exactly what kind of Spirit Body she possessed.
Yet as lines of information appeared before him, his pupils suddenly contracted.
...
[Name: Xiao Lingxi]
[Physique: Evergreen Spirit Body (Ultimate-Grade)]
[Cultivation: Core Formation (Early)]
[Technique: Heavenly Breeze Scripture (Seventh Level)]
[Talent Rating: 8 Stars]
[Evaluation: This person is blessed with a Pure Glazed Heart, bringing their comprehension to a terrifying level. Owners of the Pure Glazed Heart have a pure mind, are generally kind, and are unwilling to involve themselves in conflicts. It is recommended that the Host accepts them as their disciple!]
...
Chen Xuan was shocked.
The Evergreen Spirit Body itself was nothing extraordinary in his eyes. Even at the Ultimate Grade, it was no longer enough to astonish him.
What truly captured his attention, however, were the Talent Rating and the System’s evaluation.
8 Stars!
Pure Glazed Heart!
The instant Chen Xuan read those words, he found it difficult to maintain his composure.
Almost instinctively, the Myriad Souls Banner in his hand resonated with his emotions, releasing a terrifying wave of sinister power.
Countless resentful souls wailed as black mist billowed outward.
For a moment, he truly looked like a demon lord who had descended upon the world.
Although Chen Xuan quickly restrained his aura, the girl before him had already been frightened.
She looked at him with obvious fear. Yet hidden beneath that fear was an equally obvious determination.
Seeing this, Chen Xuan immediately understood several things.
He did not rush to accept her request.
By now, he understood the System’s rules quite well.
Simply agreeing to become his disciple was not enough.
The other party had to accept him wholeheartedly. Even if their initial motives were selfish, as had been the case with Chi Yao, genuine acknowledgment was still required in the end.
Thinking this through, Chen Xuan slowly calmed himself.
While continuing to heal Xiao Lingxi, he spoke in an even tone.
"How did you come to this island?"
"And why do you wish for me to accept you as my disciple?"
His voice was gentle. Combined with Chen Xuan’s handsome appearance, those words should have reassured the already nervous girl.
Unfortunately, the one standing before her was not the real Chen Xuan. It was his demonic clone.
No matter how hard he tried to appear approachable, every movement he made was accompanied by surging Demonic Energy and the mournful cries of countless souls.
The contrast between his gentle tone and terrifying aura only made him seem even more unfathomable.
Xiao Lingxi nearly staggered backward.
However, as though recalling something important, she gritted her teeth. Not only did she refuse to flee, she instead dropped to both knees, pressing her forehead firmly against the ground.
"Immortal, please accept me as your disciple."
"Please... save my family."
Sure enough.
A look of understanding flashed across Chen Xuan’s eyes.
He had already guessed that Xiao Lingxi hoped to gain something through becoming his disciple.
Considering both her current condition and the existence of the Pure Glazed Heart, it was obvious she sought neither fame nor strength for herself.
Begging him to save someone else was far more consistent with her nature.
’Although... asking a demon lord to save your family is certainly an unusual decision,’ Chen Xuan joked inwardly.
Still, he understood why she had made that choice.
With the real Chen Xuan’s breakthrough, both of his clones had likewise advanced from the Early Stage of Nascent Soul to the Peak Stage.
Such a tremendous leap naturally produced extraordinary phenomena.
Most likely, Xiao Lingxi had witnessed those heavenly signs while passing nearby.
Desperate and with nowhere else to turn, she had treated them as her final hope and rushed here without hesitation.
Within moments, Chen Xuan had already pieced together most of what had happened.
Even so, his expression remained calm.
Listening to the repeated thuds of Xiao Lingxi striking her forehead against the ground, Chen Xuan let out a quiet sigh.
"Get up," he gently said, but his words received no response.
If anything, she knocked her forehead against the ground with even greater force.
"Get up," Chen Xuan repeated.
"I’ve been moved by your determination. Since fate has brought us together, perhaps this meeting was destined."
"I can save your family in exchange for accepting you as my disciple. However, I will only intervene this once."
"Although I’ll become your Master, I will not resolve every difficulty for you in the future. Your enemies... your grudges... those will ultimately have to be settled by your own hands."
Hearing words that sounded both like a promise and a warning, Xiao Lingxi’s body trembled.
She slowly raised her head, revealing a forehead already covered in blood, before nodding repeatedly.
"Yes! Yes, Immortal! I’ll remember Master’s teachings!"
Seeing this, Chen Xuan cast one final healing spell.
The remaining wounds on her body gradually closed, restoring enough strength for her to remain conscious without difficulty.
Then he enveloped her in his Demonic Energy before rising into the sky.
"Come on. Lead me there."
His calm voice lingered in the air as the two figures vanished into the distant horizon.
--
Back in the Tianxuan Domain, Chen Xuan quickly recovered his focus.
Immediately, he couldn’t help shaking his head.
He had searched for so long, activating the Heavenly Insight Eye thousands upon thousands of times in hopes of finding a suitable disciple.
Yet in the end, his third disciple had not been discovered through his search. She had found him instead.
’Fate truly works in mysterious ways...’ Chen Xuan sighed inwardly.
He waited quietly for several moments. When those moments stretched into minutes without any notification from the System, he immediately understood that his previous guess had been correct.
’There are no System rewards for accepting a third disciple yet.’
’It seems that if I want Xiao Lingxi to officially appear on my disciple list, I’ll first have to fulfill my side of our agreement.’
The fact that only Huo Ling’er and Chi Yao remained listed on his System Panel further confirmed his conclusion.
Fortunately, he had already met Xiao Lingxi. Getting her to sincerely acknowledge him as her Master was only a matter of time.
With that thought, Chen Xuan finally entered the Jade Pure Sect’s territory.
As his greatly strengthened divine sense swept across the surrounding lands, he quickly confirmed that the war had largely quieted down.
Although scattered demonic cultivators could still be seen along the border, their numbers were few and their cultivation relatively weak.
The true elites had either withdrawn long ago or died at Chen Xuan’s hands.
’It seems the war has entered a temporary stalemate.’
’Until the ancestors of the major sects return, nothing significant is likely to happen.’
A faint smile appeared on Chen Xuan’s face. He accelerated toward the Jade Pure Sect, intending to meet Tang Yuechen and learn everything that had happened during his absence.
Yet deep inside, an inexplicable sense of unease lingered.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had forgotten something. Or rather... several different things.
’It shouldn’t be anything important,’ Chen Xuan thought, shaking his head.
He was completely unaware that several women scattered across the Tianxuan Domain were already sharpening their knives, "eagerly" awaiting his return.