The Golden Finger revealed Chu Liuxue's background.

Chu Liuxue and Chu Suiyan, these siblings are quite interesting. They have no blood relation but depend on each other for survival. The sister appears ordinary, while the brother is astonishingly talented.

Yet, the disciple that the Golden Finger wants Tao Mian to take is Chu Liuxue.

[Disciple Name: Chu Liuxue]

[Background: Daughter of Dou Huai, the Valley Master of Sky’s End Valley in the Demonic Realm]

[Qualification: Low-Grade Earth Spiritual Root]

[Background: The two major forces in the Demonic Realm, Sky’s End Valley and Netherworld Hall, are sworn enemies. The Hall Master of Netherworld Hall, Tan Yuan, turned Dou Huai's trusted aides against him and received secret information. Dou Huai was unfortunately poisoned and killed, and the entire Dou Clan was massacred by Netherworld Hall.

In the face of danger, an old servant by Dou Huai's wife's side swapped his own granddaughter with the Dou Clan's legitimate daughter in swaddling clothes, and risked his life to escort her to the human world.

This girl was adopted by an old scholar for many years. The scholar was often ill and feared he could not care for his adopted daughter, so he entrusted her to a young couple in the village. The following year, a severe drought left them with no harvest, and the couple sold the girl to survive. Fortunately, the girl was intelligent and managed to escape, wandering ever since.]

[The above is the introduction related to the disciple "Chu Liuxue." Please nurture her carefully, Host.]

[Congratulations to the Host for unlocking the rewards: "Six Transformations of the Sky’s End" *1, "Soul-Devouring Palm" *1]

The prompt from the Golden Finger that day was entirely about Chu Liuxue.

There wasn't a single piece of information about Chu Suiyan.

This left Tao Mian quite troubled.

The disciples he had taught before, whether it was Gu Yuan or Lu Yuandi, were all geniuses with exceptional talents.

But Chu Liuxue only had a low-grade spiritual root.

"Six Transformations of the Sky’s End" is an illusion technique, and "Soul-Devouring Palm" is a palm technique. Tao Mian skimmed through the manuals; both cultivation techniques were extremely profound, and without talent, one couldn't even begin to learn them.

This time, he couldn't get it for free.

Although it was regrettable that he couldn't quickly share it through Cloud Sharing, Tao Mian maintained a good attitude.

If the disciple is a bit slow, then so be it. At worst, he would give her more time to learn on her own.

After all, he could afford to wait.

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However, the current problem was that Chu Liuxue had no interest in cultivation at all. She didn't want to, nor did she want her brother to get involved.

At first, Tao Mian didn't understand. If it were him, encountering a handsome immortal willing to teach him cultivation techniques, he would bow down without hesitation.

Becoming a disciple wasn't shameful.

But then he thought, if at this moment another handsome banknote fell from the sky, allowing him to eat and drink for free, he would also be happy to lie flat.

Who could refuse money?

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

Chu Liuxue wouldn't relent, and even if Chu Suiyan wanted to, he couldn't agree. Tao Mian didn't force them.

Their goal for this trip remained unchanged, and a month later, they arrived at the Capital.

Tao Mian wanted to see Lu Yuandi, and Chu Liuxue asked him if Lu Yuandi knew about this.

Tao Mian confidently replied, "No."

Chu Liuxue: ...

"Then how do we get into the palace?"

"Wait for the night."

"And then?"

"Climb over the wall."

"…"

Chu Liuxue thought he might have some amazing plan, but it was simply a waste of emotions.

When Tao Mian said to climb the wall, he meant it. He took the two children and found a place with weak guards.

"Although you refuse to become my disciples, I've taught you many things, so I'm half a master to you. Watch closely, this is how you climb a wall."

He lightly leaped over the high wall, leaving Chu Suiyan gasping in amazement and even Chu Liuxue slightly intrigued.

The next moment, they heard a commotion from inside the wall.

"An assassin!"

...

Their initial attempt failed, but instead of being thrown into the dungeon, they were respectfully invited into the palace.

The Emperor, disturbed from his peace, was not angry. Instead, he changed his clothes and greeted them with a smile.

"Little Tao, why didn't you inform me before coming?"

Little Tao?

The guards exchanged puzzled looks.

They hadn't heard of such a person...

Could it be... the Emperor's master, Tao Mian!

The cold sweat of everyone present nearly soaked through their clothes.

Who would have thought that the Imperial Teacher would choose to climb over the wall instead of walking through the main gate!

And they had even tied him up and brought him before the Emperor!

Lu Yuandi saw Tao Mian, who was tightly bound, and frowned. Tao Mian, unconcerned, didn't want her to punish anyone over such a small matter, so he replied to her.

"I didn't think much about it when I came, but it seems I've caused some trouble for your palace. Not bad, not bad, the palace is indeed well-guarded."

The Second Disciple finally relaxed her brows and personally untied the ropes binding him.

"Alright, alright, everyone leave. Little Tao, come with me. And... are these the children you took in?"

"Young servants, picked up by the roadside."

Lu Yuandi untied her master and led him to the study, finally having the time to scrutinize the two unfamiliar children.

"You..."

She noticed something, turned back to look at Tao Mian. Tao Mian lowered his eyes, and Lu Yuandi wisely swallowed the rest of her words.

She called over a round-faced palace maid to take the two children to rest.

Chu Liuxue held her brother's hand tightly, not daring to wander, feeling a bit restrained.

Only when Tao Mian nodded did she follow the unfamiliar palace maid, her expression somewhat anxious.

The study door closed, leaving only the master and disciple.

Despite not having seen each other for years, their relationship wasn't distant. Tao Mian poured himself some tea, not caring if Lu Yuandi was thirsty; she would speak if she needed to.

Lu Yuandi indeed had no time to worry about drinking water; she spoke whatever came to her mind.

"Little Tao, that child is a demon."

"Oh? You noticed?"

"You knew? No, you should have noticed long ago, both of them are."

"…That I didn't notice."

"……"

Lu Yuandi raised her hand to her forehead. She knew Tao Mian was carefree, but she didn't expect him to be this carefree.

"The nature of demons changes drastically as they age. Now they seem obedient because they are not yet adults. Once they mature, it's hard to say what will happen."

"What? You mean they're already considered obedient now?" Tao Mian looked indignant, "It's already chaos on my end."

Lu Yuandi knew he was exaggerating. From her experience, it was good enough if Tao Mian wasn't causing trouble for others.

But her worry didn't lessen at all.

The terrifying thing about demons is the unknown. Lu Yuandi had seen all kinds of them; they were cunning, fierce, and mostly carried a pure evil.

Lu Yuandi didn't consider herself a good person, nor did she fear evil. She just didn't want to see Tao Mian pour his emotions and energy into something that would only lead to heartbreak.

She had looked into Gu Yuan's life and roughly understood what kind of senior brother he was.

The results presented by her subordinates were unsurprising. Gu Yuan, like her, had consciously walked into the quagmire of revenge, until his body was bathed in the enemy's blood.

Disappointed, Tao Mian once refused to see his First Disciple, Gu Yuan. Now, he was willing to visit her, probably because Gu Yuan's early death had pained him too much, and he didn't want to repeat the same mistakes.

In truth, Tao Mian had never stopped Lu Yuandi from returning to Peach Blossom Mountain; it was Lu Yuandi herself who didn't dare to face him.

"Little Tao, if only you hadn't met me first."

Lu Yuandi spoke softly, but received no reply. She looked up to find Tao Mian, at some point, had propped his elbow on the table and fallen asleep in the large rosewood chair.

Lu Yuandi was slightly startled, unsure if he was pretending to sleep or truly tired.

Her lips pressed into a thin line, showing a rare hint of the stubbornness and determination of her youth.

"But I never regret meeting you. Even if one day you regret taking in a disciple as scheming and malicious as me, even if you grow tired of me, I will never regret it, not even in death."