The Daily Task of Preventing My Disciple from Turning to the Dark Side Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In front of the Chongyun Gate Mountain, on a massive square paved with blue-grey stone slabs about a yard wide, stood over a hundred young men awaiting their trial.

The Great Trial Formation Array had been activated. The air pressure noticeably dropped. Above the Trial Peak, a vast stretch of dark clouds appeared, resembling a straw hat that directly covered the peak. A tumultuous mountain wind, carrying coarse sand, swirled through the mountain, its howling resembling the mournful cry of wolves, making the already gloomy atmosphere even more oppressive. 

Looking up, the mountain path twisted and turned, winding around the mountain like a long serpent. At its entrance stood a blue stone gate, appearing like a gaping maw ready to devour, inducing fear in anyone who beheld it.

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His arrival stunned the disciples responsible for overseeing the trials.

“Greetings, Shishu! We welcome your emergence from seclusion!” Recovering from their surprise, several young cultivators, wearing the attire of third-generation disciples, immediately bowed, their bodies shaking with excitement. Chongyun Sect comprised of Six Palaces, Twelve Halls, Thirty-Six Peaks, Seventy-Two Caves, and countless smaller mountains and caves. Among these, the Six Palaces, including the Chongyang Palace where the sect leader resided, were the foundational core of Chongyun Sect.

Mu Chen was the person in charge of the Fifth Palace—the Yan Yang Palace.

Though Mu Chen joined the sect later in life, his seniority was higher than even the sect leader. Being fifth in line, even the sect leader had to greet him with a bow, addressing him as “Fifth Shishu.”

As the sole disciple of the foremost pill master in the immortal world, who reached the foundation establishment stage at sixteen and attained the spirit transformation phase in less than a hundred years, Mu Chen had always been an idol for Chongyun Sect’s disciples. Regrettably, Mu Chen was cold and reserved, rarely appearing in crowded places, and preferred solitude, making him an enigma.

The sudden appearance of such a figure at the trial grounds was bound to shock everyone present.

All momentarily forgot about the ongoing trial, their gazes fixed on Mu Chen. Those facing him dared only to look at the hem of his robe, fearing that their eyes might offend him, bringing calamity upon themselves.

Mu Chen paid no attention to the gazes around him. He nonchalantly scanned his surroundings, placing his foot on the dragon’s head as if he had done it countless times before, displaying natural and skilled movements. Witnessing this action, the disciples of Chongyun Sect were astounded, their breaths catching at the sight. Mu Chen seemed oblivious to any impropriety in his gesture, his expression remaining as cold as frost, as he lowered his head to look at the people below, narrowing his phoenix-like eyes.

He was searching for someone, or rather, a child. However, he didn’t know the child’s exact age or appearance.

His divine sense swept across the faces of the young participants waiting for the trial, and finally, Mu Chen’s gaze landed on a child dressed in black clothes. Compared to the other children, who were in their teens, this child appeared much younger, maybe about five or six years old. The child was sitting alone on a stone slab, meditating and resting. Strangely, within several zhang no one approached him.

The child had a pale and thin face, yet his delicate features were exceptionally handsome. As if sensing someone looking at him, he opened his eyes and gazed at Mu Chen in the sky. His pair of exquisite peach blossom eyes sparkled with a glimmer, their black depths profound and distant. Below his left eye, there was a bright red teardrop birthmark, striking and eye-catching.

In an instant, Mu Chen landed next to the child, bending down to carefully examine his face. His gaze fixed on the bewitching teardrop birthmark, and a trace of complex emotions appeared in his otherwise indifferent eyes. “What’s your name?” he asked.

His voice was as clear and cold as his temperament, sending a chill down people’s spines. This question snapped the spectators out of their daze and also brought the startled child back to attention.

“Gu Yunjue,” the child replied, revealing a shy smile as he looked up at Mu Chen. His pitch-black eyes were filled with Mu Chen’s figure, and his gaze turned as bewitching as those of the others, full of admiration.

Mu Chen nodded and, amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd, lifted Gu Yunjue, not bothering to say anything, and carried him in his arms as he walked away.

“Shishu…!” a third-generation disciple quickly spoke up to stop him. Gu Yunjue was appointed by the Sect Master himself, and at only six years old, he already possessed Qi Refining cultivation and a Fire-attribute spiritual root. Regardless of his performance in today’s trial, he was destined to become a core disciple on the main peak. Now that he was taken away, how could he explain this to the Sect Master?

Unfortunately, a white sleeve fluttered past their eyes, and they only caught a whiff of a refreshing herbal scent. The handsome and ethereal-looking man had already disappeared.

Two elderly men hidden in the distant clouds witnessed the event. One of them muttered, “Reaching the Nascent Soul Initial stage at such a young age, this little guy looks deliciously tender.”

The cultivation levels of cultivators were divided into Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Spirit Integration, Mahayana, and Tribulation Crossing stages. Qi Refining stage usually had nine levels, and the others were divided into Initial, Middle, and Late stages. Although Mu Chen had only entered the Immortal Path for a hundred years, his cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul Initial stage, making him appear like a small fry to other cultivators.

The other man sneered, “I advise you not to stir up trouble. If you ruin the plan, the young master will either turn you into a blood slave or feed you to the demonic beasts.”

Upon hearing those words, the former person’s body trembled, no longer daring to say a word. Both individuals looked in the direction Mu Chen had left and discreetly followed from afar. They noticed a small hand waving at them in the distance, and the two men nodded in understanding, changing their direction without anyone noticing, and concealing themselves.

—

Holding Gu Yunjue, Mu Chen’s posture felt somewhat awkward. In his previous life, Gu Yunjue had been his only disciple. However, he was already over a dozen years old when the Sect Master entrusted him to Mu Chen. The child was past the age for being carried like this. In truth, Mu Chen had no idea what Gu Yunjue looked like when he was younger, except for the troublemaking face and the conspicuous teardrop birthmark. It would take some effort to recognize him otherwise.

In his previous life, Mu Chen was recommended by the Sect Master and accepted Gu Yunjue as his personal disciple. Unexpectedly, fifty years later, while Mu Chen was in seclusion, Gu Yunjue attacked the forbidden ground, shattering the seal between the Immortal and Demon realms, causing havoc and chaos in the immortal world. Originally a rare genius in the immortal realm, Gu Yunjue turned into the Demon Lord of the Demon realm. Mu Chen himself was accused by the immortal realm’s cultivators and imprisoned in the Soul Sealing Tower, believing it was all because of Gu Yunjue. However, it turned out to be part of a conspiracy.

In the end, the one who came to save him was this renegade disciple.

Unfortunately, Mu Chen had been tainted by fire poison when he obtained the rare flame, and in the Soul Sealing Tower, his spiritual power was suppressed, making his soul unstable. When Gu Yunjue rushed into the tower with a bloodied body to transmit all his power into Mu Chen’s body to protect his soul, he ended up being ambushed by his close friend.

In the end, Mu Chen didn’t escape the fate of death.

After his rebirth, Mu Chen couldn’t understand why Gu Yunjue, who seemed to be living well, risked everything to save him. What happened to Gu Yunjue after his death? His cultivation was gone, and he fell into the hands of those pseudo-gentlemen of the immortal realm. His fate must have been miserable.

Upon his rebirth, the first piece of news Mu Chen received was that Chongyun Sect was holding a disciple-recruiting trial. A thought suddenly occurred to him: What if he raised Gu Yunjue from a young age, taught and cared for him, would it prevent him from being enticed by demonic cultivators and change both their destinies? This way, it wouldn’t be in vain for Gu Yunjue to venture into the Soul Sealing Tower alone, addressing Mu Chen as “Shifu,” and even sacrificing his cultivation to save him, ultimately risking his life.

Seeing Gu Yunjue for the first time, Mu Chen’s emotions were complex. He hadn’t expected the young Gu Yunjue to be so thin, wearing tattered coarse cloth, and seemingly having endured much suffering. Furthermore, he was all alone, “excluded” by others.

Feeling the stiffness of the child in his arms, gripping his hair tightly, not making a sound, Mu Chen assumed that the child must be nervous. After all, he was suddenly carried away without any apparent reason. The fact that the child wasn’t crying or fussing was already a good sign. With this in mind, Mu Chen awkwardly patted Gu Yunjue’s back, trying to sound comforting without sounding too harsh, “Don’t be afraid. I am… the Sect Master’s Shishu.”

Clearly, these words were quite convincing, as when the passing cultivators saw him, they were momentarily stunned. Then, just like the third-generation disciples, they became agitated, trembling all over and prostrating on the ground: Fifth Elder, Shishu, Fifth Shishu… they called him various titles.

Gu Yunjue obediently nodded, suppressing the smile that almost reached his lips, gradually relaxing.

Mu Chen inexplicably felt comforted by Gu Yunjue’s docile gesture and relaxed a bit. If the child had started crying, he honestly wouldn’t have known how to console him.

Mu Chen wasn’t much of a talkative person. Carrying Gu Yunjue all the way to the place where inner disciples registered, he stopped in mid-air and said to the child, “I want to accept you as my personal disciple.”

Originally, he had planned to explain the difference between a personal disciple and an ordinary disciple, but unexpectedly, the child suddenly reached out and cupped his face, earnestly asking, “So, being your personal disciple means you’ll take care of me first, and then I’ll take care of you when I grow up?”

Mu Chen looked up at the sky for a moment, then nodded, saying that could also be considered as such.

When the disciple was young, Mu Chen would be responsible for raising him, providing him with the best resources, the best environment, and the utmost care. He would lead by example, keep him close at all times, and supervise him diligently to prevent him from going astray. As the disciple grew older, he must respect and obey his master, never defy him, and regard Mu Chen as a father for life.

Gu Yunjue smiled contentedly, “Then we have a deal, and let the Heavenly Dao witness it.”

Mu Chen was surprised by this small child’s use of the elusive and fatal constraint that applied to cultivators, the Heavenly Dao, to make an agreement. Should he call the child smart, or sly?

****

Author’s Note: 

Irresponsible Little Theater:

Black Cat: “Chen Chen, your disciple is a freak! You need to be careful.”

Mu Chen: “Don’t talk nonsense; he’s just a child.”

Black Cat╮(╯▽╰)╭ You won’t listen to an old person’s advice and will suffer the consequences, my child!

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