Chapter 129: The Double-Pupil Prepares to Enter the World, The True Heritage of the Sacred Body!

At this moment, a shimmering gold collar was fastened around the Black Emperor's neck, looking quite extraordinary. Yet, seeing it draped around a dog's neck was enough to make anyone struggle to suppress a laugh.

Ignoring the uproarious laughter of Ye Fan and his companion, the Black Emperor felt the collar emitting waves of celestial energy, which seemed even more potent than that bottle of Duan De’s! The dog thought to himself with glee, "The Black Lord has hit the jackpot today! To have obtained a celestial artifact—this is something even the Great Emperor Wushi never possessed!"

Although Ye Fan was laughing, his heart felt incredibly bitter. He lacked the luck of Duan De and certainly lacked the thick skin of the Black Emperor. While he envied their good fortune, he simply could not bring himself to beg for anything.

Just then, Chen Xing suddenly looked at Ye Fan with a smile and said gently, "Young friend Ye Fan, I have a matter I wish to discuss with you. Would you be interested?"

Ye Fan was taken aback and quickly bowed. "Senior, please speak your mind. I will certainly do my best!"

Chen Xing nodded, turned, and called over Ji Ziyue, who was standing to the side. "Go and bring Sister Liu and Shi Yi here."

Upon hearing this, Ji Ziyue said with some displeasure, "Sister Liu is teaching Shi Yi how to cultivate; why call them?" Her lack of deference toward Chen Xing left Ye Fan and the others stunned. They could not understand why a young girl would be so bold.

Chen Xing let out a wry smile. Ye Fan and the others were unaware, but he knew well enough—a young lady from an aristocratic family had been acting as a servant here for years, yet had failed to be accepted as a disciple! Meanwhile, Ye Fan and the others had just arrived, and he had already bestowed two celestial artifacts upon them. Naturally, she felt a sense of resentment.

Chen Xing couldn't help but smile bitterly. Seeing his younger sister, Chen Mi, still showing no reaction, he said helplessly, "Fine! Go call them. If Xiao Mi won't take you as a disciple, I will!"

"No! Let me handle this," Chen Mi said decisively before Ji Ziyue could express her joy. She could not allow her brother to take on disciples so recklessly. Given her brother's status, his disciples could not be chosen lightly, lest it lead to great trouble in the future.

Seeing this, Ji Ziyue was overjoyed. She hurriedly knelt before Chen Mi and kowtowed respectfully. "Disciple Ji Ziyue greets her Master!" After three kowtows, the rite was complete.

Chen Mi sighed and said softly, "I had my reservations about taking you on before. But since I have accepted you today, I will cast those worries aside. My brother’s status is unique; he cannot accept disciples at will. I hope you do not blame me."

Ji Ziyue quickly replied, "Master, please rest assured. I understand. From now on, I will strictly fulfill my duties as a disciple and will never disappoint you!" With that, she stood up and happily went to find Liu Yiyi and the others.

Ye Fan and his two companions looked on with envy, lamenting that they lacked such good fortune. After all, in their eyes, Chen Mi was also a celestial being.

***

Not long after, Ji Ziyue returned with Liu Yiyi and Shi Yi. Upon seeing Ye Fan, Liu Yiyi nodded slightly in greeting. After she and Shi Yi paid their respects to Chen Xing and his sister, Liu Yiyi asked curiously, "May I ask, Senior, what instructions you have for us?"

Chen Xing smiled. "I called you here today because I want Shi Yi to go and gain experience in the Eastern Wilderness. Under your guidance and that of your master, his cultivation has reached a respectable level. It is time for him to venture out into the world; one cannot always remain confined to closed-door cultivation."

Hearing this, Liu Yiyi felt a sense of reluctance and quickly said, "But Senior, Xiao Yi is still young. It would be dangerous for him to travel the world alone. I beg you and Master to allow me to accompany him."

Chen Xing rolled his eyes internally—the boy was hundreds of thousands of years old, yet she called him young? However, he said calmly, "You need not worry about that; I have already made arrangements."

He turned his gaze to Ye Fan and said with a smile, "This is precisely what I wanted to discuss with you. Shi Yi is still young, and I would like you to take him with you as you travel. What do you think?"

Ye Fan was stunned, then replied with a bitter smile, "Senior, you may not know, but I have many enemies in this realm. I fear I might implicate this young brother. I implore you to reconsider."

Shi Yi, standing nearby, spoke with pride: "If there are enemies, I shall cut them down! Why would I fear such things?"

Seeing such arrogance from a small child, Ye Fan felt a sense of disdain. Since he began his path of cultivation, he had entered forbidden zones, fought great sects, and imprisoned holy sons and daughters—he was already considered wild enough. This little fellow was even more arrogant, claiming he would sever everything in his path; it was surely a sign of overconfidence.

Duan De, however, paid no mind to this, as it was Ye Fan who was tasked with the escort. But hearing Shi Yi’s haughty tone, he took a closer look. When he saw the boy's eerie eyes, he exclaimed in shock, "Double pupils! He is a bearer of the double pupils!"

The group was startled by his shout. Ye Fan retorted, "So what if he has double pupils? Why the fuss?" In Ye Fan’s mind, while double-pupiled individuals were rare, he had heard of many on Earth, such as the historical hero Xiang Yu, who were merely exceptionally brave ordinary men.

What Ye Fan did not notice was that the Black Emperor, who had been admiring his celestial collar, had his mouth hanging open in shock at the mention of the "double pupils."

Duan De ignored Ye Fan and turned to Chen Xing. "Senior! How about you let him travel with me instead? I will take excellent care of him and ensure he faces no danger!" His eyes glowed with fervent greed.

***

Before Chen Xing could speak, the Black Emperor hurriedly chimed in, "Let me! I can do it too!"

Ye Fan was completely speechless. Why were these two trying to stick their hands into everything? Was anyone entrusted to them by Senior Chen Xing really going to have an easy time?

Chen Xing shook his head, ignoring the two of them, and looked at Ye Fan. "If you are willing, I have two options for you. Would you like to hear them?"

Seeing that there might be benefits, Ye Fan’s eyes lit up, and he replied respectfully, "Since you have commanded it, I will certainly do my utmost!"

"You need not worry too much. You only need to help him familiarize himself with this world. As for the so-called dangers, if he wishes to reach the end, he must face everything himself," Chen Xing said calmly.

Ye Fan nodded to show he understood, and Shi Yi said nothing. As a natural-born saint, he had his own pride; he would never seek refuge under another's wings.

"Since you have agreed, I have a celestial artifact and a cultivation manual here. You may choose one," Chen Xing said, producing a long sword and a jade slip, placing them before Ye Fan.

Ye Fan did not hesitate. Ignoring the celestial artifact, he picked up the jade slip and bowed. "Thank you, Senior! I choose the manual."

Chen Xing looked at him with a hint of admiration, thinking to himself, "Ye 'Black' is indeed Ye 'Black'; his determination is truly steadfast."

He nodded, put away the sword, and smiled. "This is a stroke of good fortune for you. Why not take a look at the manual?"

Ye Fan complied and poured his consciousness into the jade slip. Upon reading the title, he exclaimed in shock, "The Nine-Turn Mysterious Art! This is the Nine-Turn Mysterious Art!" His voice trembled—this was the legendary cultivation technique of the Great God Pangu!

Chen Xing nodded and smiled. "Perhaps to others, this is merely a top-tier cultivation technique. But for the Sacred Body lineage, it is a primordial inheritance. Cultivating this technique can bridge the broken path of the Sacred Body, freeing it from the suppression of heaven and earth. Although only the first eight turns are here, it is enough for your current use. Once you have mastered them, someone will naturally come to teach you the ninth."

(Some may not understand this, but do not forget that in the original trajectory, the Sacred Body was a trait inherited from the Huang Heaven Emperor! Shi Hao in this book, however, had long since ceased to be the original Desolate Ancient Sacred Body due to his practice of the Chaos Opening Heaven Art! Everything was part of Chen Xing’s secret instructions to Willow Deity, allowing the physical constitutions of those in Stone Village who practiced the Nine-Turn Mysterious Art to spread, eventually giving rise to the alternative, physically invincible Desolate Ancient Sacred Body—a point hinted at earlier.)

Ye Fan was overjoyed and bowed in gratitude. To him, this was the greatest fortune, far beyond the value of any celestial artifact!