Chapter 93
When the innocent and handsome fourteen-year-old boy followed the white-clothed Daoist master out, the disciples of the Tiansu Immortal Sect didn’t think too much of it, thinking that there was an oversight among the villagers they were escorting and that they would send him away again after all the remains in the village were taken care of.
It was not until some of the disciples were ready to move to the small sect in the town where the villagers had been transferred, to discuss the handover in detail with the other side, that they came to Gu Xiyu and respectfully said, “Lord Tai Ling, a few of us are ready to go to Linshui Town, do you need us to take this boy there?”*For those who forgot, Gu Xiyu is called Tai Ling in this world.
They thought that in this way, they would save the noble Gu Xiyu from making this trip personally.
Leave aside the relationship between the original owner and the sect master, his skills and aura could crush most of the Immortal Sect members now, it was enough to gain the admiration and respect of most people. A person who speaks little always gives people the illusion of being unattainable and cold, and people will unconsciously lower their posture when talking to him.
As a commander, Gu Xiyu was already used to this kind of treatment, and his identity in this world was the one he was most comfortable with.
He refused, “No need, he will go back with me.”
The crowd was in an uproar.
The Immortal Sect was a big family, and it was only normal for the high-level cultivators to take on disciples. The elders of Gu Xiyu’s status have long had various beloved disciples of their own, so this was not an uncommon occurrence.
But when it came to Gu Xiyu, who hasn’t gone out for years and didn’t see anyone even when he did, and who has always been a loner and didn’t like to have much contact or socialization with others, it was very surprising.
Although Gu Xiyu had not yet explicitly said that this boy was his disciple, the words clearly meant this.
Tai Ling has never brought anyone back to the Immortal Sect, so everyone saw him as a big stone that couldn’t be blown down by the wind. He was cold and aloof, and he would never show a hint of affection to anyone. No matter what angle you look at it from, this boy called Xie Xing is special.
As they flew back to the Immortal Gate, the disciples following Gu Xiyu were quietly gawking at the boy, whose hands were clutching his waist, and they were inwardly envious.
All these years, not even Guo Yiyi, whose feelings for Tai Ling were well known to everyone in the Immortal sect, had ever gotten the chance to get close to this aloof and cold Daoist master! Apart from being a bit handsome and fair-skinned, what else could this boy from an ordinary village have that would make Tai Ling treat him so special?
At this moment, Bu Tianhan, who had transformed into a poor boy from the village, put his hands around Gu Xiyu’s waist and thought to himself, ‘This man’s waist is quite thin, and his body is not as sturdy and tall as his broad robe suggests. It is as if it could be snapped with the slightest pressure from my fingers.’
Bu Tianhan couldn’t help but think bitterly, if he didn’t have the two techniques of the Emotionless Dao, he would have killed the man long ago.
The other party did not seem to see through his disguise, so this Tai Ling’s abilities were no more than that. When he manages to infiltrate that whatever Immortal Sect, he will not only make waves inside but also ruin Tai Ling’s cultivation once he gets over this weekend state!
Gu Xiyu’s mind was not on Bu Tianhan at all, and he was not even interested in what weird ideas he was having. He was now staring at the next mission the main system had issued him.
It was to take “Xie Xing”, this great demon in disguise, as his disciple.
[[The only way to keep an eye on someone is to keep them under your nose. Your Immortal Peak is in the most remote location, so he won’t affect others during his stay there.]] The main system was explaining why it was issuing this mission after data analysis.
The most important thing that Gu Xiyu needed to consider in each world was contacting the Great Demon. This world’s Bu Tianhan was more difficult to deal with than the others, and he was originally worried about how to contact him. Unexpectedly, the silly man chose to take the initiative and send himself to the door.
Of course, the silly man didn’t have any good intentions.
“Okay. There shouldn’t be any problem accepting apprentices given the original owner’s identity, right?” Gu Xiyu confirmed.
He needed to know if there were any additional applications or tedious ritual processes.
[[Sects generally do not have any special restrictions on accepting disciples. The master bears the faults of the disciple, so the master is responsible for the disciple’s upbringing.]]
The main system teased him again: [[Don’t be nervous, can’t you lower his risk value with love like you usually do?]]
Gu Xiyu responded without a ripple in his heart, “But I don’t have love in this world.”
This was a very complicated issue. If he has feelings for the great demon, then his path of emotionlessness will not go smoothly. If it didn’t go smoothly and there was a situation in the future where the risk value accidentally skyrocketed to 100, he would not be able to save this world. But if he couldn’t use the special method he used in the previous worlds, then how was he supposed to lower this risk value? Bu Tianhan didn’t look like a man who ate hard but not soft.
*Someone who bullies the weak and fears the strong.
The main system took a long time before speaking again: [[Can love disappear because of a character design or external influence?]]
Gu Xiyu did not answer.
[[I tried to simulate the situation but failed, I guess that’s why I’m just a system.]]
Gu Xiyu: “……”
It always seemed like there was something wrong with that statement.
It was a few days later when he reached the Tiansu Immortal Sect.
He had originally thought of bringing Bu Tianhan back to his Immortal Peak directly and completing the master-disciple ceremony there, but as soon as he entered the vicinity of the Tiansu Immortal Sect, a young man wearing the cream-colored uniform for disciples stopped him and said, “You have returned just in time, Lord Tai Ling; the Sect master said that he wants you to meet him the moment you return.”
He wondered what Lin Wuhen wanted to do again.
Gu Xiyu had to drag Bu Tianhan with him and go to see Lin Wuhen.
When he went over, Lin Wuhen was with another boy who was about his height. He couldn’t see the expression on his face, but at least he was sure that Lin Wuhen was not calling him over this time because of the Great Demon.
Lin Wuhen quickly noticed his approach, and after summoning him over, he directly introduced the man beside him: “You’re back, come, this is Lu Cheng; he just passed the Immortal Sect’s test today and is a promising kid. He says he wants to practice the Emotionless Dao, and although I know that those of you who walk this path emphasize independence, you can take him as a disciple first and give him some guidance and lead in the early stages.”
“There are not many good seedlings who can cultivate the Emotionless Dao, one more practitioner is one more chance of defeating Bu Tianhan.”
Gu Xiyu froze for a few seconds when he heard Lu Cheng’s name and subconsciously asked, “Have the Immortal Sect’s recruitment trials already begun?”
Lin Wuhen replied, “Not yet, this kid came here on his own. He tangled with our disciples at the main peak and even fought with a few inner disciples and defeated them.” It was impossible to tell whether Lu Wuhen had a good or bad impression of Lu Cheng.
“He heard about your previous feat.” When Lin Wuhen said this with a somewhat meaningful look, he gave a cold snort before saying, “So he took the initiative to seek you out to worship you as his master.”
Seeing how resolute Lu Cheng was, Lin Wuhen made an exception to take him for a qualification test and found that he had rare talent and potential, and was also a good candidate for practicing the Emotionless Dao. In an era heavily influenced by Bu Tianhan, it was always good to have more trump cards, so he allowed him to join the sect. Lu Cheng, who possessed special qualifications, naturally had to be given the right master, and Gu Xiyu was indeed suitable.
Lin Wuhen said, “After thinking about it, you are the only one in the sect who has managed to single-handedly defeat Bu Tianhan, so you are indeed the best candidate. It just so happens that you have not yet taken on a disciple either, and I know that you have never liked to have people around you, but you are not too young, so you have to train some disciples to take over.”
This is obviously not in line with the original plot.
Lu Cheng should have followed the normal process, appearing in the eyes of everyone in the Tiansu Immortal Sect with very outstanding results, and becoming the sweet pastry that the great seniors coveted. Moreover, even though it was later discovered that he was extremely talented and at the same time expressed his desire to practice the Emotionless Dao, his master should have ended up being the sect’s second elder, Daoist Yuanming.
Yuanming was not young, and his main discipline was not the Emotionless Dao, but he was the most experienced and knowledgeable elder in the sect—a fact that even the original owner could not match. There are millions of books in the Tiansu Immortal Sect’s book pavilion, and it is said that he had already read all of them, so many of the disciples treated him as their teacher and would ask him for guidance if they didn’t understand anything.
Gu Xiyu, who was lost in thought, felt the small hand clutching his sleeve suddenly tighten, as if trying to get his attention through this small gesture.
He pondered for a moment and said to Lin Wuhen, “On my return from this trip, I brought back a young man from the village who is also extremely gifted, and I have also promised to take him as my disciple.”
“I think the Sect Master should understand my nature; I am not fond of people, and taking on one disciple is already an exception.” The first reason for refusing was because he was worried about affecting the plot development, and the second reason was naturally that he didn’t want the Great Demon to kill the male protagonist before he even grew up.
How could these two be put together?
It was a pity that Lin Wuheng did not understand his good intentions and thought that he was deliberately antagonizing him over what happened the other day, so his tone suddenly turned bad: “Since you have decided to take on disciples, one is like taking on two, it would be better to let them be together as brothers, so that they have a companion in their cultivation.”
Gu Xiyu’s frowned slightly and was about to say something when he saw Lu Cheng, who was silent at the side, suddenly kneeling in front of him with a firm and sincere attitude, “I have come on this trip because I am determined to take Lord Tai Ling as my teacher, I hope that I can be given a chance.”
“……” Gu Xiyu was a little stumped, he didn’t know why the male protagonist was suddenly involved with him, so he had to ask, “There are also many seniors in the Tiansu Immortal Sect who are qualified to be your master, such as the second elder Yuanming. Even though he doesn’t practice the Emotionless Dao, he knows more than I do.”
Lu Cheng did not say a word when he heard this. He was also stubborn, and once he had decided on something, he would not turn back, even if he hit the south wall.
The main system suddenly said to him, [[Actually, there is no harm in agreeing to this.]]
“Won’t it affect the plot development and cause confusion in the data?”
[[According to the original plot, the main protagonist became Elder Yuan Ming’s disciple because the original Tai Ling had died. If he was still alive, Lu Cheng would have become his disciple. One must admit that Tai Ling is indeed the best practitioner of the Emotionless Dao on this continent.]]
The two techniques, “cutting off emotions” and “absolute calm,” had a maximum of eighteen stances each. Tai Ling had already cultivated cutting emotions to the thirteenth level, while absolute calm had already reached the fourteenth, making him the highest practitioner of these two techniques among fellow cultivators at present. Moreover, he was still young and had plenty of time, and his strong heart had taken his Dao to the extreme, so many people thought highly of him.
Once he reached the eighteenth level, he could even eliminate the Great Demon.
But it was difficult. From ancient times to the present, it is said that no one has ever cultivated these two sets of techniques to the last layer.
After hearing the main system’s words, Gu Xiyu hesitated.
But even if he wanted to refuse, it was useless, as Lin Wuhen finally said to him, “Although the Immortal Sect has no hard and fast rules about accepting disciples, don’t forget that your disciples will have to do the registration as well.”
He either took them both or none of them.
Lin Wuhen had already said this, so of course, Gu Xiyu had no choice but to take Lu Cheng and Bu Tianhan back to his Immortal Peak.
He was now sitting in his humble house, with the two boys standing in front of him, torn over who should be the senior brother.
Bu Tianhan was wild and naturally competitive, and although he looked like a child, he was no less imposing: “I met my master first, so of course I should be the senior brother!”
Lu Cheng was a few years older than the current Bu Tianhan, and he knew from childhood that he had extraordinary qualifications. He also had an arrogant spirit in his bones and was more or less unwilling to call a child younger than himself his senior brother. But after several arguments, he was the first to relent and say, “All right.”
Thinking he had won the argument, Bu Tianhan curled the corners of his mouth and lifted his head slightly. If he had made such an expression in his original form, he would have been quite arrogant and proud, but now that he had put it on his tender face, Gu Xiyu only saw a little kid who was happy to have won an argument.
When Bu Tianhan, who was immersed in his ‘victory’, picked up his cup of tea and prepared to pay his respects, Lu Cheng added, “We are going to be master’s only disciples anyway, and I heard that the younger one always gets more love and care, so it’s not bad to be the junior brother.”
Although Gu Xi Yu maintained his calm and indifferent expression as he watched them, he could not help but laugh in his heart, immediately realizing that this was a little trap Lu Cheng had deliberately set up.
He thought that since the Great Demon was not a real child either, he must have already seen through Lu Cheng’s little plot to trap him.
As soon as he finished thinking this, he saw Bu Tianhan, who had already picked up the cup of tea, suddenly put it back and take a step back. “I thought about it and thought that Brother Lu is right, I am not as old and experienced as him, so I should be modest. This senior brother position should be taken by Brother Lu.”
Gu Xiyu: “……”