Fairy, you call this repaying a debt of gratitude?

The image of her mother lying in a pool of blood, the cruel smile of that man, and the final, ethereal figure in white.

In Lu Chen's mind, countless lingering images flashed by like a slideshow, refusing to fade away.

But in the end, he slowly opened his eyes.

He looked up and around. Although it was dark, he could vaguely tell that this was no longer the place where he had collapsed.

There was no cold ground, no pungent smell of blood, only the fresh fragrance of forest plants.

His back was against a thick, ancient tree, its intertwined branches blocking out the darkness of the night.

Lu Chen sniffed lightly and felt a faint fragrance lingering around him. He slowly turned his head to look, following the scent, and saw a woman in white leaning against him not far away.

Ye Qingci was dressed in a plain white dress. Although the hem of the dress was stained with some dust, it was still as clean as ever. However, there was a hint of weariness between her brows and her aura was somewhat weak, indicating that she had just experienced a fierce battle.

Is this the immortal I saw earlier?

Just then, Ye Qingci slowly opened her eyes, her clear eyes as bright as the moon.

She looked up at Lu Chen, scrutinizing him carefully once more.

The child in front of me, apart from having a pretty face like a little girl and some talent, has nothing else special about him.

Is this the person her master ordered her to save at all costs?

Ye Qingci pondered to herself, finding it rather strange that such an ordinary child would receive special instructions from his master.

"You're awake?"

Ye Qingci spoke first, her tone gentle.

Lu Chen nodded hurriedly, his throat a little dry, and even though he tried his best, his words were still soft and gentle:

"Um... Fairy sister, did you save me?"

Ye Qingci nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

Lu Chen remained silent for a moment before asking the question that had been on his mind:

"Is the person who tried to kill me dead?"

He didn't ask if he could go back, or if he could collect his parents' bodies, nor did he ask Ye Qingci why she saved him.

The former, whom she had saved, was her benefactor. She now appeared to be seriously injured, and even if she were willing, Lu Chen would never let her risk her life to do anything more for him.

He knew his limits when it came to the latter; since the other party didn't bring it up, he shouldn't ask any more questions.

Moreover, Lu Chen seemed to have a vague idea about why Ye Qingci saved him, which might be related to his own physique.

He knew he was different from others since he was a child. His first memory of this world was a dark, damp, and cold basement with a faint smell of medicine in the air. He had no other impressions.

However, what follows is the scene of him living in the Lu family mansion, where he lived for a full ten years.

Over the years, he has never given up searching for clues about that basement, but no matter how he searches, he finds nothing.

This suggests that he was not born in the Lu family mansion.

Leaving that aside for now, as he grew older, he began to dream every night of a blurry black figure that would roar at him.

Moreover, that violent aura seemed to be constantly eroding his mind, making it impossible for him to sleep all night.

Fortunately, having lived two lives, his mind was far more mature than that of children his age, which allowed him to barely maintain his composure and avoid being controlled by that evil and violent aura.

He had a vague feeling that his mother seemed to know something as well.

On certain special days, his mother would give him a medicinal bath using some unknown special herbs.

After the medicinal bath, he was able to sleep much more soundly at night and rarely saw that terrifying black figure in his dreams anymore.

He had asked his mother more than once, indirectly, why she was giving him a medicinal bath, but each time she would just gently pat his head and remain silent.

"He's not dead."

Ye Qingci spoke calmly and slowly, interrupting Lu Chen's thoughts.

"He is very strong. It is rare to see a Nascent Soul cultivator as strong as him. I could only barely repel him and failed to kill him."

At this point, she was also somewhat puzzled, as several Nascent Soul stage cultivators had already died by her sword.

But she had never seen anyone like that before, who was only at the Nascent Soul stage but whose methods were so strange and difficult to deal with.

Upon hearing the words "not dead," the vengeful rage that had been forcibly suppressed within Lu Chen rekindled, scorching his internal organs.

But he quickly calmed down, forcibly suppressing his anger, and focused his gaze on Ye Qingci, beginning to carefully consider the second half of her sentence.

Nascent Soul Stage Monks......

What powerful figure did the Lu family offend that attracted such a formidable cultivator to take action, resulting in the massacre of their entire family?

Could it be that all of this is because of me?

The thought flashed through his mind, and Lu Chen turned his gaze to Ye Qingci. Since she was a Nascent Soul cultivator, her strength must be extremely formidable.

If I could learn even a move or two from her, cultivate diligently, and become stronger as soon as possible, my revenge in the future would be much easier, and I would also be able to find out the truth behind the massacre of the Lu family and the mystery of my own origins sooner.

"Fairy sister, may I become your disciple?"

Ye Qingci was stunned upon hearing this. Her master had only said that he would bring her back to the sect, but had not given any instructions on who she should take as her master.

Moreover, even if she wanted to take on disciples, she would only be qualified to do so after reaching the Nascent Soul stage...

However, after her battle with that person, she vaguely felt that she had already reached the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage, and perhaps it wouldn't be long before she could break through the shackles and reach the Nascent Soul stage.

Thinking of this, Ye Qingci gently shook her head:

"No." She changed the subject, seemingly unwilling to completely extinguish the boy's hope, and added,

"But I can take you back to my sect. You have good talent, and perhaps an elder from another sect will be willing to take you as a disciple."

Hearing that Ye Qingci was willing to take him back to the sect, Lu Chen was overjoyed. As long as he could become stronger as soon as possible, that would be enough.

Although she is a Nascent Soul cultivator, she is not an elder yet, so she is probably from one of the five major immortal sects.

He had often heard people say that someone with his talent might be considered exceptionally gifted in the capital, but in the immortal sects, he might only be considered a genius.

Such stringent requirements for talent are naturally due to the cultivation resources that the immortal sects can provide.

The supply of spirit stones regardless of cost, the vast and boundless cultivation manuals passed down for thousands of years, and the guidance from cultivators at the Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation stages—any one of these is an opportunity that is hard to find even in the capital.

"Alright, stop talking." Ye Qingci closed her eyes, her voice tinged with weariness. "We have to travel early tomorrow morning, so you should rest more and get enough energy to keep up with me."

As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly fell asleep again, breathing steadily.

......

"I kept him by my side for some time. During that time, I successfully broke through to the Nascent Soul stage and had the idea of ​​taking him as my disciple. But just as we were about to reach the Shangqing Sect, an accident happened."

Ye Qingci paused for a moment,

"I received my master's last telepathic message. Her tone was urgent, telling me that a drastic change had occurred in the sect, and it was no longer safe. She instructed me to take the boy and escape immediately, and never to return. But my master is the one who raised and taught me. How could I abandon her and flee alone?"

She continued speaking, a hint of guilt flashing in her eyes.

"Therefore, I had no choice but to settle the boy in a relatively safe place."

"I couldn't bring him back to the sect because I didn't know what had happened within the Shangqing Sect, nor did I know whether we would have a chance to live or a dead end. So at the time, I thought that I would bring him back to the sect after I found out what the upheaval my master was talking about and dealt with everything."

"only......"