In the heart of the Central Region, there is an unnamed valley.
The valley was filled with sharp, jagged stones, like the remains of something crushed by a tremendous force. A faint earthy smell permeated the air, but there was no other sign of life.
The only conspicuous thing was the ten-foot-tall black rock in the center of the valley—it was completely black, smooth as a mirror, without even a speck of moss, and stood out from the surrounding pebbles.
Lin Zhou stood in front of the black stone, circled it twice, and muttered while stroking his chin, "System, are you sure the location is correct?"
[Host, the target is right here, within three feet of the target.] The system's voice remained cold.
"Three feet?" Lin Zhou glanced at the empty valley. "There are only rocks, not even a bird. You don't mean to think of the 'Reincarnation of the Nine Netherworld Demon God' as a rock, do you?"
He kicked at the pebbles at his feet and said irritably, "Or is it that this demon god has been reincarnated as a pangolin and is hiding under the rocks?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a soft click was heard.
Lin Zhou suddenly looked up at the black stone.
A thin crack appeared on the side of the black stone, and two hands covered with fine black scales slowly emerged from the crack—the fingernails gleamed with a ghostly light, but were not sharp; instead, they appeared somewhat clumsy.
"Oh? There really is something?" Lin Zhou raised an eyebrow, looking at it with interest. "Judging by these paws, it looks like a monkey. Could it be a black-haired monkey that has become a spirit?"
As he was joking, the black stone suddenly began to vibrate more violently, with a series of cracking sounds, and the cracks grew larger and larger.
Even more strangely, a dull "thump-thump" sound came from the stone, like a heart beating, and it got faster and louder, making the surrounding gravel tremble slightly.
The heartbeat was full of boundless vitality, yet it also carried a hint of wildness and antiquity, like a giant beast that had been sleeping for hundreds of millions of years, about to break out of its shell.
"Tsk, quite a commotion." Lin Zhou put away his joking expression, his fingertips twitched slightly, and pale golden runes spread from his feet, instantly covering the entire valley and forming an invisible barrier—this was to prevent the commotion from attracting too much trouble, after all, he just wanted to quietly accept a disciple and didn't want any unnecessary complications.
The runes lit up, and the tremors in the valley were firmly locked within the barrier, preventing even the slightest sound from escaping.
Lin Zhou crossed his arms and looked at Black Stone with a leisurely air.
One hour...
Two hours...
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the black stone shattered completely, sending fragments flying everywhere, and a figure slowly rose from the stone's core.
Lin Zhou narrowed his eyes, preparing to greet a "Nine Netherworld Demon God" with a blue face, fangs, and an aura of evil—after all, the word "demon god" should conjure up images of a fierce and malevolent being.
But when he saw the figure clearly, he was stunned.
It was a man, completely naked, with a healthy bronze complexion and well-defined, yet not exaggerated, muscles that exuded power. But what was most surprising was his face—thick eyebrows, large eyes, a straight nose, slightly full lips, and eyes as clear as mountain spring water, carrying a hint of bewilderment and confusion, yet revealing a...憨厚 (honest and simple) quality?
Let alone evil spirits, even if Lin Zhou punched him right now, he felt that this guy would probably just scratch his head and grin foolishly at him.
"This..." Lin Zhou rubbed his eyes, doubting that he was seeing things. "You are the reincarnation of the Nine Nether Demon God?"
The man blinked, looked at Lin Zhou, then at the scattered black stone fragments around him, shook his head, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I don't know."
"What's your name?" Lin Zhou asked again.
"have no idea."
"Where did you come from?"
"have no idea."
"Remember what?"
The man thought for a long time, scratched his head, and said the same three words: "I don't know."
Lin Zhou: "..."
So this is someone with no memory?
He looked the man up and down and could sense a terrifying power hidden within him, like a dormant volcano, seemingly calm but actually containing world-destroying power—this was indeed in line with the foundation of the "Nine Netherworld Demon God," but his personality... was just too different.
"Never mind." Lin Zhou waved his hand. Anyway, the system said this was the goal, so who cares if he's honest or not? Taking on a disciple and getting the reward is the important thing. "I'm asking you, do you want to become an apprentice?"
The man was stunned, blinking his big eyes at Lin Zhou, seemingly not understanding what "becoming an apprentice" meant.
Lin Zhou patiently explained, "Becoming my apprentice means I'll teach you things, and you'll follow me. If I have food to eat, you'll have food to eat too. How about that?"
Although the man had no memory, he instinctively felt a sense of familiarity with the person before him, finding him far more pleasing to the eye than the surrounding stones. He looked at Lin Zhou, then thought for a moment, "There's food," and then knelt down with a thud, kowtowing deeply to Lin Zhou, and calling out in a deep, hoarse voice, "Master!"
The sound was so loud that it made the pebbles on the ground jump.
Lin Zhou was taken aback by his decisive action, then chuckled, "Alright, you know what's good for you."
He took out a large blue cloth robe from his storage bag and tossed it to the man: "Put this on first."
The man took the clothes and awkwardly put them on. He couldn't tell the front from the back for a long time, and Lin Zhou had to help him straighten them before he could put them on properly.
“Since you came out of a stone and don’t have a name,” Lin Zhou looked at him, “from now on, we’ll call you ‘Stone’.”
"Stone?" The man muttered it to himself, finding it quite pleasant to say, and then kowtowed again, "Thank you, Master, for bestowing this name upon me!"
[Ding! Mission complete! Congratulations, host, for taking the reincarnation of the Nine Nether Demon God, "Stone," as your disciple. Reward: "Demon God Staff"]
The system notification sounded at the appropriate time.
Lin Zhou nodded in satisfaction and patted the stone's shoulder—it felt hard to the touch, like patting another black stone.
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