Chapter 170: Chapter 89 The Truth about the Abandoned Disciple of the Sect i

“A side quest?”

Shen Yuan was slightly startled.

After completing the newbie guidance quest, he knew there were main and side quests. However, the Artificial Intelligence System hadn’t explained how to trigger a side quest or what the rewards would be.

The fact that Gong Buyu was coming to be his pupil was Shen Yuan’s first encounter with a side quest.

This token, which seemed so ordinary, was recognized by the Artificial Intelligence System, prompting Shen Yuan to reconsider the identity of the girl called Gong Buyu and the rewards mentioned for completing the side quest in the system prompt.

Going by the name, the reward Apprentice Token’ seemed underwhelming, but the Artificial Intelligence System never played by the rules.

With these thoughts in mind, Shen Yuan decided to make a plan after fully understanding Gong Buyu’s background and identity.

Even though the two were meeting for the first time, Gong Buyu’s words gave Shen Yuan a mass of information.

The first thing that grabbed Shen Yuan’s attention was the title “Supreme Taoist”.

“Why does this title ‘Supreme Taoist’ sound so familiar?” he wondered.

Shen Yuan couldn’t help being puzzled, but then he soon remembered a similar title.

“Wait, the Supreme Taoist she’s referring to… isn’t that me, the Immortal-ascending Taoist?

Why does everyone know I’m the Immortal-ascending Taoist except me?”

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but blink, feeling speechless.

Although it was only a guess, given Gong Buyu’s serious demeanor and the familiar Immortality Ascension Token in her hand, Shen Yuan was pretty sure the title referred to the Immortal-ascending Taoist of the Falling Clouds Sect.

From the Yunmeng Dragon Monarch and Kuang Tianjie, the head of the Blood River Yuan Slaughter Path, to the talented girl standing before him, everyone seemed to know that Shen Yuan was the Immortal-ascending Taoist of the Falling Clouds Sect.

It felt as if everyone in the world knew him well, except for himself, which was truly bewildering.

Although their guess about his identity was correct – Shen Yuan indeed was the Supreme Taoist the ancestors of the Falling Clouds Sect spoke of, the key point was that Shen Yuan had missed his era of cultivation by ten thousand years, and had nothing to do with the rise and fall of the Falling Clouds Sect.

Credits like the grandeur of the Supreme Taoist or the legend of the Demon Transformation had nothing to do with Shen Yuan.

“They are so certain I’m the Supreme Taoist, there must be something 1 don’t know here!”

At this thought, Shen Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Gong Buyu.

Admittedly, Gong Buyu, with her exquisite and icy demeanor, matched Shen Yuan’s stereotype of aloof immortals.

This made Shen Yuan even more cautious about her.

Those who had identified Shen Yuan’s identity before were all important figures, like the Yunmeng Dragon Monarch and Old Monster Kuang.

Gong Buyu knowing Shen Yuan’s identity and coming to him initiatively could indicate that there was a powerful figure behind her, presumably on par with the Yunmeng Dragon Monarch and Old Monster Kuang.

Gong Buyu’s words also revealed the name of another person.

“The abandoned disciple of the Sect Master, Gong Buhuo.”

Considering the Immortality Ascension Token in Gong Buyu’s hand, her knowledge of Shen Yuan’s identity, and the intention to be his disciple, it was likely that the Sect Master she referred to was from the Falling Clouds Sect.

However, all the records related to the Falling Clouds Sect being condemned by Heaven had been eradicated, leaving only Shen Yuan, the Immortal-ascending Taoist, who had been delayed by ten thousand years and had not suffered disaster, so people including Yunmeng Dragon Monarch couldn’t accurately mention Falling Clouds Sect.

“Gong Buhuo is her father and an outcast of the Falling Clouds Sect.

The divine retribution of Falling Clouds Sect happened ten thousand years ago, so he must have been expelled before that event.

Gong Buhuo is an old monster who has survived from ten thousand years ago!”

As soon as Shen Yuan realized Gong Buhuo’s identity, he immediately recalled the prying gaze he sensed in the courtyard a few days ago.

The intrusive gaze held no malice, but since its origin was unknown, Shen Yuan refrained from taking any reckless actions.

However, Gong Buyu came to ask to be his disciple shortly after he felt the gaze, a coincidence that led Shen Yuan to almost confirm that the gaze came from Gong Buhuo.

Shen Yuan glanced at Gong Buyu, who was holding the Immortality Ascension Token.

Even though he had a clear idea of the situation, there was still a lot of information causing confusion.

“Why was Gong Buhuo spying on this Courtyard Secret Realm? What was his purpose?

Is Gong Buyu using the Immortality Ascension Token to enter the Falling Clouds Sect and return by presenting herself as the descendant of an outcast, hiding some other intent?”

Instead of responding to the girl on the floor offering him the Immortality Ascension Token, Shen Yuan sat on a stone bench, tapping the stone table unconsciously with his right index finger, lost in thought.

“Thunk!”

“Thunk!”

The dull sound seemed to presage an incoming storm. Even though Shen Yuan showed no dissatisfaction or malice, his demeanor alone made Gong Buyu feel suffocated.

“Could it be that Uncle Supreme Taoist is displeased with my arrival?”

Gong Buyu’s heart was full of unease.

But the ice-cold girl would have never guessed that the Supreme Taoist sitting quietly before her was not tranquil inside.

After some consideration, Shen Yuan felt that the current information was insufficient for determining the situation, and the only way to gather more information was to inquire from the icy girl before him.

After contemplating for a while, Shen Yuan stopped his rhythmical tapping on the stone table and began to speak to the anxious girl.

“Gong Buhuo? Truly a name from a far-off time.”

The tone of Shen Yuan is very flat, as if stating a matter of fact.

Kneeling on the ground, Gong Buyu seemed startled, his cold voice carrying a hint of surprise:

“The Supreme Taoist knows my father?”

However, Gong Buyu quickly realized his words’ implications and hastily explained:

“When my father was expelled from the sect as a core disciple, the Supreme Taoist already had a well-established reputation. Both my father and 1 thought that the Taoist would not care about the reputation of a discarded disciple from a small sect.”

Gong Buyu’s posture was very humble, but it also revealed a crucial piece of information. That is, Gong Buhuo and the Supreme Taoist did not know each other, which immediately put Shen Yuan’s mind at ease.

His tone remained indifferent as Shen Yuan casually responded:

“I have heard from some brothers in the sect that Gong Buhuo was a prodigy, admired by all.”

In fact, this statement was nothing but a cliche; if one were not extraordinary, it would be impossible to survive from ten thousand years ago until now.

But in Gong Buyu’s mind, this held a completely different meaning.

“Father would be very pleased to receive such praise from the Taoist.” His voice, as always, was cold, but it finally carried a trace of emotional fluctuation.

“It’s a pity that my father remains in the Rongcheng’s Fine Jade Grotto Heavens. Once he leaves the grotto heavens and stays in the world, he will inevitably suffer the backlash of the laws of heaven and earth.

The True Beings and True Monarchs in Rongcheng’s Fine Jade Grotto Heavens have long admired the Supreme Taoist, but they can’t leave the grotto heavens to pay a visit.”

Upon hearing the name Rongcheng’s Fine Jade Grotto Heavens, Shen Yuan immediately thought of Mount Laojun, Yunfu Street, and how administrator Yen Xiao was collecting storage rings.

Shen Yuan immediately realized why he was exposed.

“Yen Xiao once said that an old ancestor in Mount Laojun issued a command to collect storage rings. 1 suspected then that it might be related to the creation of storage rings with Pot’s Heaven Divine Power.

It appears now that the ancestor who ordered the collection of storage rings should be Gong Buhuo.”

Shen Yuan felt that all his thoughts were now completely clear, and even the identity of Gong Buhuo as a renegade of the Falling Clouds Sect began to take on a different possibility.

“Gong Buhuo was able to receive the Immortality Ascension Token as a renegade of Falling Cloud Sect, implying that his relation to the leaders of the sect was not poor, and his expulsion from the sect was due to certain reasons.

Adding the fact that he has spent ten thousand years searching for Falling Clouds Sect, he either has an agenda concerning the sect, or he has deep sentiments towards it.

Linking this with the previous Sect Master’s ambitious plan to become an Earth Immortal and lead the whole sect to ascend.

It’s very possible that Gong Buhuo was deliberately expelled from the sect by the previous Sect Master to prevent the entire Falling Cloud Sect from perishing in case of a failed ascension.

Is Gong Buhuo’s presence a seed left for the Falling Clouds Sect by the previous Sect Master who foresaw failure?”

With all information connected, Shen Yuan started to realize that he might have overcomplicated some simple matters.

Especially under the circumstance that he is supposedly the Supreme Taoist, he can’t always view things from a purely conspiratorial perspective.

Whether it was Yunmeng Dragon Monarch or Old Monster Kuang, these characters from ten thousand years ago, upon recognizing Shen Yuan’s identity, all regarded Shen Yuan as an equal, or even a higher-ranked figure.

In their eyes, Shen Yuan seemed to have lived from ten thousand years ago till now in good shape.

And in the eyes of Gong Buhuo, this renegade of Falling Clouds Sect, Shen Yuan seemed also to be the overbearing Immortal-ascending Taoist who dominated the contemporary world.

Under these circumstances, plotting against an all-conquering Supreme Taoist is undoubtedly suicidal.

“Gong Buhuo’s attempt to let Gong Buyu become my disciple, could it simply be an attempt to return to his roots, and along the way, have some powerful backing of a Supreme Taoist?”

Having clarified this point, Shen Yuan had already made up his mind.

No!

If Shen Yuan truly possessed the power of a Supreme Taoist, he would certainly not mind doing his old disciple from ten thousand years ago a favor.

But the reality was that Shen Yuan had just reached the late stage of Qi Transformation, a whole realm lower than Gong Buyu.

It’s alright to bluff once in a while, but if there were frequent interactions, unless Gong Buyu was a fool, he would eventually see through Shen Yuan’s disguise.

One could foresee that once Shen Yuan’s disguise as the so-called Supreme Taoist were torn away, it would certainly bring unnecessary troubles.

Therefore, refusing discipleship is the best choice.

“As for the reward for a side task like presenting a gift to the master, it probably won’t be anything good.”

Just as Shen Yuan was about to refuse openly, Gong Buyu, still kneeling on the ground, seemed to suddenly remember something. He took out a storage ring from his bosom.

With one glance, Shen Yuan recognized it. That storage ring was one of those he had sold to Yunfu Street.

The storage space of the ring, opened by Shen Yuan using Pot’s Heaven Divine Power, could be easily breached by him, and in the vast space, there were only three things.

A jade casket glowing with luxury, with the four characters “Divine Yuan Lingzhi” on it.

A piece of Spirit Wood, more than a meter long, with a pattern resembling mournful wailing ghosts, and next to it, a jade token inscribed with the name of this piece of Spirit Wood, “Ten Thousand Years Xuan Yin Wood.”

The last item was a musty yellow book that seemed to be made of some animal skin, with a few large characters clearly written on it: “Insight into the Doctrine of Pot’s Heaven.”

With his hands holding the storage ring, Gong Buyu said solemnly:

“This is the gift my father presents to you as a tribute to the teacher.”

Shen Yuan silently swallowed the refusal he was about to voice..