Mu Chen remained silent and listened to what Su Qingyue was saying. In truth, he did not really hate the idea of joining a sect.
To him, it was no different from joining an organization or an institution.
He simply was not used to everything that came with sect life, especially when his last experiences had left him with an image of sects as anything but safe.
However, those last two incidents had happened because of specific reasons that provoked their anger.
Wang Wei had tortured him because Mu Chen had violated the sect's sacred rules. Su Qingyue had nearly killed him because Mu Chen had lied.
Everything had its own cause and effect. Mu Chen began opening his mind to all the possibilities that might happen if he could successfully avoid that chain of cause and effect.
"What do you think, Mu Chen?" Su Qingyue asked.
"Maybe... what you said is right. But even if I do choose a sect, I'll choose it myself."
"You don't want to go to the Tianyin Sect?"
Mu Chen slowly shook his head. There was definitely a reason why he refused the Tianyin Sect, even though thousands of cultivators were willing to risk their lives just to gain the status of one of its disciples.
"My battle against you at Mount Jiuxiao must have left resentment in the hearts of the sect's disciples, especially since the elders know that I have the Ancient God Cauldron."
"My life and safety won't be peaceful there. It would be far better to go to a sect where none of them know what my true identity is."
Su Qingyue let out a sigh. What Mu Chen said was true. Their battle the other day had caused the sect significant losses. It was not impossible that the disciples were still upset with Mu Chen.
Setting that aside, Yun Tian, Han Lao, and Wang Wei already knew about the ancient artifact inside Mu Chen's body.
While she was in closed-door cultivation, she worried that Mu Chen might be taken advantage of by them.
Clearly, Su Qingyue did not want that to happen. To her, Mu Chen belonged to her alone, and no one else was allowed to have him.
"What you said makes sense. In that case, I won't stop you from choosing another sect."
"What's your choice? The Hongyan Sect? The Qingyun Sect?"
Mu Chen smiled broadly, raised his head, and met Su Qingyue's gaze. He already knew which sect he was going to join.
"No."
"Then what?"
"The... Hengyue Sect."
Su Qingyue narrowed her eyes, shocked and unable to believe Mu Chen's words. The Hengyue Sect was not a major sect. Its status was still only mid-grade.
Its history was not long, its reputation was still looked down upon, and its strength was far weaker than Tianyin.
The suggestion Mu Chen made was something Su Qingyue could never understand.
"Why Hengyue? There are so many other sects besides Hengyue," Su Qingyue asked.
"Because of Grandma Si and Grandpa Tu. I'm close to them because they took care of me when I was injured. They're from the Hengyue Sect."
"I'm sure I'll be safe there."
Mu Chen explained that there were two things that made him feel safe in the Hengyue Sect: the sect's elders and disciples did not know about Mu Chen's Ancient God Cauldron, and Mu Chen's closeness with Si You and Tu Wei.
Those two reasons were enough to convince Su Qingyue that Mu Chen would be fine.
"That makes sense. At the very least, if they manage to reach Soul Formation, they'll be able to protect you well until I come out of closed-door cultivation."
"How long will you be in closed-door cultivation?" Mu Chen asked.
"Mount Jiuxiao contains a great deal of Immortal qi, but that alone is not enough. I'll use the Primordial Origin Qi Seed to maximize it."
"With that amount of qi energy, I'll be in closed-door cultivation for a hundred years."
A hundred years? That means I'll be free from her for that long.
"I see?" Mu Chen asked.
Su Qingyue nodded. However, she then said something that shocked Mu Chen. She would not remove the crescent moon mark on his forehead. Nor did she intend to leave him alone.
"I do need to go into closed-door cultivation... but I won't let you live by yourself."
What does she mean?
Su Qingyue's hands formed a complicated hand seal. Her eyes shut tightly, and sweat could be seen running down her temples.
Within seconds, white runes appeared beneath her, glowing with a blinding brilliance.
The flow of spiritual qi from the Spiritual Qi Vein of Baiyin City was completely absorbed into Su Qingyue's body, even cutting off the cultivation flow of people in the other rooms.
That amount of qi energy was not being used to raise her realm through cultivation, but was instead focused entirely on maximizing the power of the technique she was using.
"Soul Reflection Incarnation Art... activate!"
A violent gust of wind swept through the room. Mu Chen quickly activated his own spiritual qi.
A shield wall of qi appeared and successfully protected him, yet his eyes remained fixed on what was in front of him.
"What technique is that?" Mu Chen asked.
From that spiritual qi, dense white energy condensed and formed another figure of Su Qingyue.
It was a clone.
A clone? So this is a cloning technique?
The clone's face looked exactly the same as Su Qingyue's main body, and even the clothes were identical. Even so, Mu Chen stared at the clone with his glowing golden eyes.
The difference between the clone and the original body was not the body or face, but the cultivation base.
"That clone's cultivation base... Qi Condensation?!" Mu Chen exclaimed in shock.
The clone sat cross-legged beside the original body, then floated forward. Su Qingyue's main body opened her eyes, her breathing ragged, and her beautiful pale face looked exhausted.
She touched her forehead and drew out a strand of her soul consciousness essence.
The woman shot that golden orb into the clone's forehead, causing a burst of qi that formed the same consciousness as Su Qingyue's original body.
This is bad! That clone... most likely has the same personality as the original body.
I'm never going to get away from her.
The clone slowly opened her eyes and looked ahead. She could recognize the woman because that was her original body.
The Soul Reflection Incarnation Art allowed a cultivator to create a clone of their soul consciousness.
However, its weakness was that the clone would not possess the same cultivation base as the original body.
As for the face, body, attitude, and obsession, the clone was like a mirror of Su Qingyue, with no significant difference.
"You made a clone to watch over me?" Mu Chen asked.
"Yes... you don't like it?" Su Qingyue asked, exhausted enough that she had to consume a pill.
"I never said that," Mu Chen replied. "I'm just surprised that you still won't let me go even while you're in closed-door cultivation."
"Didn't I already tell you... you are mine, and I won't let you be alone."
"My clone has the same consciousness and knowledge as I do. She'll help you a lot even while I'm focused on closed-door cultivation."
Mu Chen let out a sigh, lowered his head, and nodded in response. No matter how he tried, Su Qingyue was not going to let him go so easily.
He did enjoy being accompanied by a beautiful woman like Su Qingyue. He had no problem with that.
The real issue was her disturbing obsession.
Su Qingyue's main body turned and looked directly at her clone. "You must follow Mu Chen wherever he goes. Always stay with him and help him cultivate."
The clone gave a short nod. "Of course. You can focus on closed-door cultivation in peace. I'll help Mu Chen with all of my knowledge."
Su Qingyue's main body smiled broadly, then turned her attention back to Mu Chen. Before returning to Mount Jiuxiao, she flew swiftly toward him.
Mu Chen was startled and shocked. Without a second thought, Su Qingyue boldly kissed him as a temporary farewell. Mu Chen was caught off guard at first, but then began to enjoy what the woman was doing.
For three minutes, they shared an intimate kiss before their lips finally parted.
A wide smile bloomed on Su Qingyue's main body's face as her hand rose to touch Mu Chen's chest, then gently caressed his cheek and black hair.
"You're handsome, very handsome, Mu Chen."
"Even if you go with my clone, she is still me. Whatever she feels, I feel it too."
"Watch your behavior. Watch your attitude. I'll come back for you, my Mu Chen."
Mu Chen remained silent, unsure of what to say. But because the situation left him no choice, he had to play along with Su Qingyue's game.
"Yes," Mu Chen answered shortly.
Su Qingyue's main body raised her hand and waved it to the side. Her appearance changed significantly. Her wandering cultivator robes vanished, replaced by a beautiful white-silver sect dress.
Not only her appearance changed, but she also released the seal on her cultivation, returning her cultivation base to its original state: an Early Soul Transformation cultivator.
"I'm leaving, Mu Chen."
Right after saying goodbye, Su Qingyue's main body disappeared in a flash of white qi light, leaving the room.
Now, the only ones left in that place were Mu Chen and Su Qingyue's clone. The clone turned and smiled, then unexpectedly leaped forward and hugged Mu Chen from the side.
Mu Chen was stunned and shocked, seeing the clone's face so close to his.
She's much more clingy and bold... could it be that the clone's attitude is Su Qingyue's deepest obsession that she couldn't show through her original body?
Clearly, Su Qingyue's clone would be far more troublesome than the original body.
"So, since you're Su Qingyue's clone, should I call you by that name?" Mu Chen asked.
The clone lifted her head, thinking hard while still hugging Mu Chen.
"I have an idea."
"What?" Mu Chen asked.
"Call me... Liu Mei!"