I Can't Teach, But I Can Raise a Disciple—Someone Closer Than Family
I Can’t Teach, But I Can Raise a Disciple—Someone Closer Than Family
The Black Storm Gang, ferocious and terrifying beyond measure, was wiped from the face of heaven and earth with a single casual wave of this Exalted Immortal’s hand.
Such a horrifying method left every villager of Northern Mountain Village feeling as though they had witnessed a divine miracle. Overwhelmed with awe, they knelt prostrate on the ground.
Their mouths were filled with words of gratitude toward Gu Changge.
As for Gu Changge, he acted as though he had merely done some trivial little thing, wearing an expression of complete indifference.
The rules of heaven and earth, beneath his palm, seemed like toys that could be altered and twisted at will.
“Exalted Immortal is so strong...”
Yao Yao’s eyes were wide open, filled with shock.
This was the first time she had ever seen such a method—it had already surpassed her very concept of what cultivators were.
Could cultivators really become this powerful?
The cultivator who had taken her brother away that day had already seemed like an unimaginably powerful existence in her eyes—a single roar that shattered mountains and rivers, blood qi piercing the heavens.
Yet before this Exalted Immortal, that person didn’t even seem qualified to be compared.
“At a time like this, you’re still calling me Exalted Immortal?”
Gu Changge looked at her with a smile.
“Shi... Shifu.”
Hearing this, Yao Yao’s words suddenly became stammering and trembling.
Then, earnestly and respectfully, she performed the formal disciple’s bow to Gu Changge.
At the end of the day, she was still just a little girl. Now that this life-and-death crisis had been resolved,
her entire mind and spirit relaxed.
At first, she hadn’t even known where she’d found the courage to stand in front of Grandma Yin Hua.
And while everyone else feared this mysterious shifu before them,
she alone felt perfectly natural around him—there was none of that heart-palpitating, unsettling pressure.
Especially since he had suddenly appeared in her moment of peril, saved her life, and said he wanted to take her as his disciple.
It was like a light breaking through all the darkness!
This surprise had come far too suddenly.
It left Yao Yao’s little head feeling somewhat dizzy.
She even sensed Grandma’s envy toward her!
“What a well-behaved, sensible little girl. The more I look at you, the more I like you. Good thing I had a sudden whim to make a trip to the Sky Domain.”
“Otherwise, I truly would have regretted it endlessly.”
Gu Changge smiled, his words carrying a hint of relief, as though he feared having missed out on such a fine disciple.
Of course, how much of that was true and how much was false—only he himself knew.
“Shifu.”
Hearing Gu Changge say this, joy and delight welled up in Yao Yao’s eyes.
Young as she was, she could still tell sincerity from pretense.
In her eyes, although Gu Changge’s face was blurry, veiled by a layer of immortal mist that made it hard to see clearly,
his eyes revealed a natural and gentle expression.
It was completely different from the cold, aloof, high-above-all image she had heard of in rumors.
“Possessing the heart of a pure child, flawless and untainted.”
“Such a fine piece of immortal jade, left to gather dust in a place like this—truly a misfortune for this world.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly and reached out to pat her head.
At this moment, he could naturally guess what Yao Yao was thinking.
After all, she was a daughter of Fortuity—young but precociously wise.
Even if he hadn’t acted just now, the Black Storm Gang’s ninth leader likely couldn’t have harmed Yao Yao anyway.
Gu Changge had sensed it very clearly just now—a terrifying aura had suddenly surged from between Yao Yao’s brows.
That aura could be called world-shaking, capable of destroying everything.
Though it flashed by in an instant and quickly vanished,
once that power erupted, forget the mere Black Storm Gang—the entire Sky Domain would probably be overturned.
However, after he made his appearance, that terrifying power swiftly retracted and disappeared.
According to the plots and tropes Gu Changge was familiar with, this was most likely the Dao Fruit of that Mysterious Peach Tree!
So no matter what, he had to get this Dao Fruit under his own control.
He had never been interested in teaching people; this time, he only planned to appear in the identity of a shifu for convenience.
He had even arranged this whole hero-saves-the-damsel routine to farm some goodwill first.
Otherwise, this girl probably wouldn’t have been willing to go with him.
From another angle, Yao Yao was the younger sister of this generation’s Reincarnation of the Mortal One.
To deal with the Reincarnation of the Mortal One, the best method right now was to start from her.
“Shifu, is Yao Yao really as amazing as you say?”
Hearing Gu Changge praise her like this, Yao Yao’s little face showed some shyness.
Although she had acknowledged him as shifu, she and Gu Changge weren’t actually very familiar yet, so it was hard for her to act completely natural.
Gu Changge naturally understood this, so he wasn’t in any hurry.
This hero-saves-the-damsel act was indeed very cliché—so much so that even he felt his acting was a bit cringeworthy.
But as long as it got Yao Yao to take the bait, he felt it was worth it.
After all... she was just an innocent, naive little girl.
No matter how much she understood, she could never know that all of this had been arranged by Gu Changge.
The others dared not suspect anything either—they held nothing but reverence toward Gu Changge, as though he were a god!
“Yao Yao really is lucky. I always said she carries great fortune, able to turn misfortune into blessing at any time, transforming danger into safety.”
Even Grandma Yin Hua, the only cultivator in this place, was filled with excitement and joy in her heart.
She even felt a bit envious.
Yao Yao’s good fortune was simply beyond what ordinary people could compare to!
To be valued by this unfathomable, boundlessly powerful Exalted Immortal and taken in as his disciple—
that was a thousand, ten thousand times better than being taken away by Celestia Holy Land.
Even Yao Yao’s brother couldn’t possibly have such a bright future as hers!
As for suspecting that Gu Changge had some ulterior motive?
She hadn’t even considered it.
Never mind that with Gu Changge’s strength, taking Yao Yao away would be absolutely effortless—no one could stop him; he could even do it without her noticing at all.
Why would he go to all this trouble?
With Gu Changge’s status and power, the number of cultivators who wanted to take him as their master was probably beyond counting.
“Yes, you really are amazing.”
At this moment, hearing her question, Gu Changge couldn’t help but smile as he spoke, his words seemingly carrying a double meaning.
With that, he waved his sleeve.
A clear light swept past before their eyes.
Weng!!
The mud on Yao Yao’s face seemed washed away by a clear spring, revealing a clean, fair little face.
Her features were exquisite and flawless, her eyes pitch-black like jade.
Her skin was delicate and snow-white, lustrous and captivating—beautiful as a porcelain doll.
Though her clothes were old and patched in many places, they still couldn’t hide an astonishing immortal grace and spiritual charm.
It was as though she were the heavens’ most perfect masterpiece.
Ordinarily, it was thanks to Grandma Yin Hua that this was concealed for her.
Otherwise, anyone with discerning eyes could sense the extraordinariness in her.
“Shifu...”
Yao Yao’s little face flushed red, somewhat embarrassed.
Having grown up this big, she had rarely revealed her true appearance before others like this.
Even back when her brother hadn’t yet been taken away, her face had always been smeared with mud.
This scene left all the villagers of Northern Mountain Village dumbstruck, exclaiming that a little fairy had descended to the mortal world.
No wonder she had caught this Exalted Immortal’s eye—so she herself was no ordinary mortal.
This kind of bearing—otherworldly and unsullied, naturally beautiful—how could ordinary people possibly possess it?
“Don’t worry.”
“From now on, before your shifu, there’s no need to hide anymore. No one will dare covet you,” Gu Changge said with a faint smile, patting her head.
Though she was a little girl, she surely loved beauty too—she couldn’t possibly want to smear mud all over her face every day.
Gu Changge prided himself on having a firm grasp of their little thoughts.
“Mm-hm, Yao Yao will listen to Shifu,” Yao Yao nodded obediently.
Her big eyes revealed joy.
Just as Gu Changge had guessed, she actually didn’t like smearing mud on her face either.
What girl doesn’t love beauty?
Weng!!
Just then, Gu Changge suddenly flicked his sleeve.
In the void before them, waves of dazzling immortal light suddenly appeared, incomparably brilliant.
One after another, exquisite and gorgeous immortal robes and treasure armor, five-colored immortal dresses, flowing with radiant light, interwoven with all kinds of Divine Chains of Order and rules,
materialized within the void, exuding a terrifying aura that made hearts tremble.
Just from their appearance alone, these items were absolutely divine garments far beyond anything the world had ever seen.
Priceless beyond measure—one would be hard-pressed to find a second of their kind anywhere in the world.
Not to mention the gorgeous accessories on each immortal robe and divine armor—all kinds of immortal stones, bracelets, earrings and the like—it was truly dazzling to behold.
Grandma Yin Hua’s eyes went wide in an instant, and she sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
These were things she had never even seen before.
The aura circulating on each immortal robe was incomparably terrifying, as though it could easily crush everything.
Even a tiny earring had numerous runes flickering upon it, trailing strands of law energy.
This terrifying display of wealth was truly too shocking!
Besides this Exalted Immortal, there was probably no one else in the entire Heavenly Star Realm who could produce such things, right?
“Shifu...”
Yao Yao’s eyes widened for a moment too. Looking at this display, could it be that he wanted her to choose?
Joy couldn’t help but appear in her eyes. It was the first time in her life she had seen such gorgeous, exquisite clothing and accessories—they seemed woven from the very light of the sun, moon, and stars.
Her eyes were nearly dazzled, filled entirely with fondness and delight.
“They’re all for you,”
Gu Changge said with a smile.
Back in Skyward Ancient City, quite a few of the clothes Gu Xianer had fancied but bought and couldn’t wear had all been dumped on him.
At the time, to make him bleed money, Gu Xianer had deliberately picked the most expensive and gorgeous ones.
As it happened, those things came in handy today.
When others took disciples, they usually gave treasure artifacts and cultivation techniques as greeting gifts, but Gu Changge felt Yao Yao might like these things more.
Besides, as for treasure artifacts and cultivation techniques, he had as many as he could want—he lacked none at all.
After all, he was filthy rich!
He might not know how to teach a disciple, but he sure knew how to raise one!
Never mind Yao Yao’s innocent and naive personality—even anyone else, under this kind of offensive, would probably go dizzy and quickly fall.
“All... all for Yao Yao?”
Hearing this, Yao Yao was somewhat stunned, her eyes showing a bit of confusion and shock.
She suddenly became somewhat at a loss.
She had thought her shifu wanted her to pick one or a few items from among them—she never expected they were all being given to her.
She could also tell that these immortal robes and accessories were extraordinary, worth entire cities.
If placed anywhere else, they would probably spark frenzied scrambles among cultivators, triggering storms of blood and carnage.
“Yes, they’re all for you.” Gu Changge smiled, and with another casual wave, golden light once again surfaced before them.
Numerous Transcendent grade weapons and treasures, Heavenly Herbs and Immortal Pills, ancient tomes and relic inscriptions... materialized within the void.
Like a walking treasury of a great sect, his resources and reserves were too many to count.
Even a Perfect Prodigy would drool with envy—utterly unable to compare with Gu Changge’s vast wealth!
“This...”
Grandma Yin Hua was about to go completely dumb, especially when she saw the Transcendent grade weapons floating and sinking among them—her eyeballs nearly popped out.
She hadn’t seen wrong. The Transcendent grade weapons among them weren’t one or two—there were several hundred!
Several hundred Transcendent grade weapons? What kind of concept was that?
Just a casual reach of his hand? And he displayed such things?
Just what kind of terrifying force stood behind this Exalted Immortal? Her scalp tingled, and even her soul trembled.
What kind of terrifying shifu had Yao Yao actually taken as her master?
“Why is shifu so good to Yao Yao...” Her eyes suddenly grew a little moist.
Aside from Grandma and her brother, he was the third person to ever treat her so well.
They had only just met, yet he was already giving her so many good things—she almost felt too embarrassed to accept them.
“Silly girl, you must understand, in this world, sometimes a shifu can be even closer to you than your own family.”
Hearing this, Gu Changge’s expression seemed somewhat moved. Then he sighed softly and patted her head.
His expression was gentle, smiling without a word.
“Someone even closer than family?” Yao Yao murmured the words to herself.
Afterward, under Gu Changge’s insistence, Yao Yao accepted some of the greeting gifts, but no matter what, she refused to take any more.
So young, yet so sensible.
This point actually pleased Gu Changge greatly. If it were anyone else, how could they possibly refuse?
He himself had no interest in little girls like her.
If it weren’t for dealing with the Reincarnation of the Mortal One—and incidentally farming some Fatums and Fortuity points—he couldn’t be bothered to expend this much effort.
That said, Yao Yao herself was quite well-behaved.
Gu Changge figured that while he was raising Gu Xianer, raising one more little disciple on the side was no big deal.
It was yet another case of “so fragrant after all.”
This was the first disciple of Gu Changge’s life, wasn’t it?
Hm?
As Gu Changge thought of this, he suddenly felt a stir in the depths of his heart, as if a crack had split open in some unknown corner.
He faintly sensed some blurry images surfacing from the depths of his mind—or rather, from the depths of his Physique.
A figure in red, red as blood, with world-drowning killing intent and peerless ferocity.
In the end, it was struck down and pierced through by a Demon Halberd, falling into a bottomless demonic abyss.
The image was very blurry. It appeared abruptly the moment he recalled those words just now, and vanished in a flash.
“Ever since that time at the Nirvana Pool, I’ve been catching faint glimpses of these images... Could they be memories I sealed away without my knowing? Or perhaps memories of a past life?”
Gu Changge frowned inwardly.
In truth, he had already sensed this state recently—just like the Immortal-Devouring Demonic Art he now inherited.
Aside from himself, probably no one could imagine that this portion of his inheritance had naturally surfaced in his mind when he was three years old.
It wasn’t taught to him by anyone.
Or rather, it was his own seal cracking open, with some memories and inheritances reappearing.
This method was actually the same as when Gu Changge himself, fearing his identity would be exposed, sealed away his memories of the Demonic Arts.
And now, those sealed memories were beginning to surface.
“Could it be that Yao Yao isn’t actually my first disciple?”
Gu Changge faintly felt that this portion of memory was giving him a hint—as if the next Fortuitous One was about to arrive.
But soon, he cast these thoughts aside and paid them no more mind.
The priority at hand was to first resolve the matter of the Mortal One.
What followed became much simpler.
Gu Changge waited with his eyes closed inside Northern Mountain Village.
Meanwhile, with Grandma Yin Hua’s help, Yao Yao dressed up and changed into new clothes, then appeared before him once more.
Compared to her previously ragged appearance, she was completely transformed.
Celestial grace and spiritual elegance, divine bones and immortal bearing—as if endless Dao charm had all converged into her body.
Set off by an expensive, gorgeous seven-colored immortal dress, her hair smooth and flowing, she was utterly otherworldly, like a little fairy from the Nine Heavens.
This made Gu Changge have to admit—truly worthy of being a Daughter of Fortuity, the Dao Fruit of that Mysterious Peach Tree. This kind of bearing was unmatched by anyone.
“Still, if I’m not mistaken, the usual trope that follows should be that Yao Yao actually can’t cultivate...”
“As a Dao Fruit, she inherently contains extremely terrifying power—she just can’t wield it on her own.”
“But that’s fine. It saves me the trouble of teaching her. I can just keep her around...”
“Come to think of it, won’t that also be the perfect occasion for me, her shifu, to show my care and concern?”
Many thoughts flashed through Gu Changge’s mind, while his face wore a gentle smile.
“Yao Yao, from today onward, will you leave this place with your shifu? How about it?”
“Mm-hm, Yao Yao will listen to shifu.” Yao Yao nodded.
Although she had deep feelings for Northern Mountain Village, she also knew that Gu Changge couldn’t possibly stay here with her.
“But shifu, can Grandma come with us too?”
Yao Yao’s little face showed anticipation as she asked tentatively.
She was reluctant to part with Grandma Yin Hua, but she wasn’t sure whether Gu Changge would agree to take her along.
“For the sake of her raising Yao Yao all these years, what’s the harm in bringing her along?”
Gu Changge smiled, and his words filled Yao Yao with delighted surprise—she hadn’t expected shifu to agree so quickly and decisively.
“Thank you, shifu!” she said obediently.
“Thank you, Exalted Immortal!” Grandma Yin Hua was also full of excitement and gratitude.
It was all thanks to Yao Yao—otherwise, she would never have had such good fortune.
Now that her cultivation had been exposed, if she didn’t leave, her enemies would soon come looking for her.
From that perspective, following at Gu Changge’s side was absolutely the best choice.
Of course, she had no idea that Gu Changge had other uses for keeping her around. Even if Yao Yao hadn’t brought it up, he would have taken her along anyway.
Afterward, Gu Changge took the two of them and left Northern Mountain Village, planning to find an ancient city in the Sky Domain and first secure a good place to settle.
On the other hand, as her shifu, he naturally had to fulfill a shifu’s duties for Yao Yao at this time.
Transmitting techniques, tempering the body, building the foundation... all the proper procedures had to be gone through.
And soon, over the following period of time, terrifying rumors began to emerge from the various Forbidden Areas and Mystic Mountains of the Sky Domain, sending shockwaves in all directions.
A man in white, bringing along a little girl, an old woman, and a servant—three people in all—charged straight into the major Forbidden Areas and ancient Mystic Mountains as if entering uninhabited land, demanding all kinds of divine blood and sacred medicines at their doorsteps.
There was even a Forbidden Area master who had lived over a hundred thousand years, whose cultivation had reached the Sacred Noble Realm.
His most precious single horn was sliced off by that white-clothed man with a single sword strike, to extract the rarest Blood Essence within it and refine the foundation of that little girl.
There was also a Mystic Mountain guarded by a Sacred Noble Realm being that refused to submit—only to be erased from this world by a single palm strike from that white-clothed man’s servant, shaking the entire Sky Domain and sparking all manner of discussion.
All kinds of terrifying rumors left the Mystic Mountains and Forbidden Areas—usually so high and mighty—deeply unsettled, fearing when it might be their turn!
This news left countless Cultivators and living beings horrified to the extreme.
Many speculated that the Exalted Immortal who had appeared in the Wonder Domain had come to the Sky Domain!
And the identity of that little girl also shocked countless Cultivators and forces, with all sorts of guesses flying about.
...
At the same time, the chief leader of the Black Storm Gang, his face covered in cold sweat, finished listening to the reports of the other leaders.
The matter of Northern Mountain Village had shaken not only them—even forces in other regions had heard of it.
That day, the Exalted Immortal descended, and with a wave of his hand, all the bandits were erased from between heaven and earth.
Such an immortal miracle, recounted personally by the villagers of Northern Mountain Village, was all the more staggering, prompting many forces to quietly send people to investigate.
Northern Mountain Village was now different from before. Although everyone in it was a mortal without any cultivation,
not a single force dared to provoke them.
Because some Cultivators speculated that the little girl at that Exalted Immortal’s side had walked out of Northern Mountain Village!
As a result, even the villagers of Northern Mountain Village seemed to have a connection with that Exalted Immortal.
Even disciples of some Holy Lands didn’t dare offend them too much when they met them!
“Boss, are we still taking revenge for this?”
A third leader beside him asked with a grave expression.
But before he could finish his sentence, the chief leader slapped him across the face.
“Revenge? Revenge my ass! All of you listen up—regarding Northern Mountain Village, don’t you dare ask about it, don’t you dare mention a single word. Just pretend you know nothing, understand?”
The chief leader spoke with a fierce expression, but only he himself knew that his entire back was soaked through with cold sweat.
That Exalted Immortal was definitely the mysterious daren who had suddenly appeared during that time!
Of this, the chief leader was firmly convinced.
He didn’t know why that Exalted Immortal had arranged things this way, but he understood that such matters were best left to rot in his stomach.
He was a smart man. That the Exalted Immortal hadn’t wiped out the entire Black Storm Gang was already the greatest mercy!
Or rather, it was telling him what he should do.
Weng!!
Thinking of this, the chief leader became even more decisive. He acted directly, forcibly severing his own memories of that portion of events!
At this point, aside from that Exalted Immortal, no one would know that the Black Storm Gang’s sudden plan to massacre the village had been arranged single-handedly by him.
Nor could anyone ever investigate the truth of the matter again.
...
On the other side, Gu Changge traveled the Sky Domain with Yao Yao, searching for Superior Blood Essence and divine materials to temper and refine her body.
Along the way, he also learned much about her and her brother.
Naturally, this story had to begin with Grandma Yin Hua, who, after going into seclusion back then, had chanced upon an infant by the river.
Grandma Yin Hua had once been a disciple of an incredibly powerful Holy Land, with decent talent.
But for some reason, that Holy Land rapidly declined, and after encountering enemies, it fell apart completely.
Gu Changge wasn’t interested in this.
If it were a Fortuitous One, he might perhaps help Grandma Yin Hua revive her Holy Land or something.
But for him, doing so held no benefit whatsoever.
And the infant Grandma Yin Hua had picked up was naturally Yao Yao’s brother—the current Reincarnation of the Mortal One, Jiang Yang.
From this perspective, Jiang Yang might have some deeply grievous background behind him, abandoned by his parents due to some unavoidable hardship.
Gu Changge had no interest in finding out.
The name Jiang Yang was rather different from the usual Fortuitous Ones.
It didn’t carry a Chen, Fan, Hao, or the like, which surprised Gu Changge a little—though it was also within reason.
A reincarnated-big-shot type of Fortuitous One like this was hardly comparable to those clichéd trash-to-hero types.
This kind started high, with a powerful identity and background. Even their mental state probably left ordinary Fortuitous Ones several streets behind.
Gu Changge didn’t find it particularly challenging, though.
After all, no Dao lineage from the Beyond had intervened here yet.
In the Heavenly Star Realm, while he couldn’t quite say he covered the sky with one hand, he wasn’t far off either.
Now that the identity of the Reincarnation of the Mortal One was confirmed, everything became easy.
Strangle the Reincarnation of the Mortal One in the cradle.
And incidentally squeeze dry every last Fortuity point on his body.
This was Gu Changge’s goal and plan going forward.
From Grandma Yin Hua’s words, Gu Changge further learned that the Reincarnation of the Mortal One had been taken away over a year ago by Cultivators of Celestia Holy Land to cultivate, and there had been no news of him since.
Celestia Holy Land—its Founding Ancestor was the Celestia Sacred Emperor.
This point surprised Gu Changge.
Judging by the barriers of the Heavenly Star Realm, at most it could give birth to Sacred Lord Realm existences. To achieve Perfect Prodigy would require some Fortuity or fortuitous encounter.
Or sealing oneself away for many years to break through in one period.
Yet the Founding Ancestor of this Celestia Holy Land was actually a Sacred Emperor Realm being.
This could only mean he wasn’t a creature born of this realm—perhaps he even came from the Beyond.
Additionally, the Reincarnation of the Mortal One was currently cultivating at Celestia Holy Land. There was just no telling how much of his reincarnation memories had awakened.
“Put nicely, it’s called reincarnation awakening. Put bluntly, it’s actually no different from Body Possession—devouring and occupying the original consciousness, letting the memories of before take dominance.”
Gu Changge smiled with deep meaning.
Dealing with this kind of Fortuitous One was already second nature to him—naturally, it would be effortless.
How to scheme against him—he had actually already thought it through.
Yao Yao and Grandma Yin Hua, as the family of the Mortal One’s reincarnation in this life, were naturally his key weakness and soft spot.
On the other hand, aside from Gu Changge, no one knew the true identity of the Reincarnation of the Mortal One.
Not even Yao Yao knew.