Chapter 151 - 135: Gratitude

Chapter 151: Chapter 135: Gratitude

Yun Buliu personally buried Yun Feng outside Chen Family Village. He stood alone before the grave for a long time. The burial mound wasn’t large.

An Alchemist of the Saint Grade like Yun Feng could have been given a much grander funeral and a massive tomb, but Yun Buliu chose otherwise. The temptation of a Saint Grade Alchemist’s collection was too great and would inevitably attract the prying eyes of tomb raiders. Yun Feng had lived a tiring life. By giving him a simple burial, Yun Buliu hoped his disciple wouldn’t be disturbed in death.

The white-haired elder had buried the black-haired youth. One of the people he trusted most in this world was dead.

Although he ultimately failed to find any evidence proving Yun Feng’s innocence, Yun Buliu chose to believe his disciple. Yun Feng could never have imagined that after his death, the ring that could prove his innocence would be swapped out.

Even the people of the Demon Dao wouldn’t understand. Yun Feng had hurt Yun Buliu so many times, right up until his death, and the ring meant to prove his innocence had vanished. Logically, Yun Feng should have been forever nailed to the pillar of shame and seen by Yun Buliu for the rest of his life as a rebellious, unfilial disciple. Yet, in a way no one could comprehend, Yun Buliu cast aside all his doubts.

Some things, some convictions, were simply destined to be misunderstood!

The north wind whistled, sounding like someone wailing in grief. Regardless, Yun Feng’s matter had finally come to a conclusion. He was dead. Until his dying breath, he had no evidence to prove his innocence to Yun Buliu.

But that didn’t matter anymore. Yun Buliu chose to believe him. Some things in life were truly wondrous, even if outsiders couldn’t understand them.

"Master, it’s getting chilly. Let’s go."

It was truly strange. It was clearly still summer, yet the weather had actually turned cold.

"I believe in your senior brother. He is innocent. Do you believe it?"

"I believe you, Master!" Shangguan Xiu’Er replied.

She didn’t believe in Yun Feng; although they were fellow disciples, they had barely ever met. Under such circumstances, let alone trust, she held far more doubts about Yun Feng in her heart. However, she believed her master. If her master said he was innocent, then he was innocent.

Yun Buliu was left speechless. "Sigh..."

He looked at the modest tombstone, then turned to look at Shangguan Xiu’Er. One should cherish the people right in front of them. Didn’t this child trust him just as Yun Feng had? He had lost Yun Feng. Fortunately, he had met Shangguan Xiu’Er. How many people like this could one meet in a lifetime?

"Thank you for believing in your master," Yun Buliu said, looking at Shangguan Xiu’Er with deep gratification.

"It’s only right!" Shangguan Xiu’Er smiled warmly.

"I won’t let you down. I will find the evidence to prove that my judgment was right, and that your trust was not misplaced!" He didn’t want to betray her trust.

"Haha... Master, actually, it seems you’ve walked into a misunderstanding," Shangguan Xiu’Er said. "I... oh... no... or rather, it doesn’t matter whether the rest of the world believes it or not. The key is that you believe it yourself. As long as you believe it, you don’t need to find any evidence to prove it."

Thinking about it... she had a point!

Yun Buliu pondered her words. His purpose in finding evidence wasn’t to prove that his trust was right, but to prove to the world that Yun Feng was innocent and clear his name. This unshakeable belief became his reason for needing to find the evidence.

His disciple was dead. He couldn’t just let him bear an infamous reputation forever, recorded in historical blacklists, and cited as a negative example in textbooks, right? Yun Buliu couldn’t accept that!

Yun Feng was dead, and his matter had come to a close. However, Yun Buliu knew that his battle with the Demon Sect had only just begun!

If he relied solely on his own strength, or even mobilized the entire power of Celestial Fragrance to wrestle with the factions of the Demon Dao, he wouldn’t be qualified. If a true conflict erupted, it would be a near-certain death! Success was practically impossible.

But Yun Buliu thought of a crucial figure: Su Tan! With this unpredictable variable, he felt his chances of winning had increased significantly.

"Master has never liked getting involved in right and wrong," Yun Buliu thought on his journey back. "I don’t want him fighting Demonic Creatures to the bitter end just because of me, breaking his peaceful life. Revenge is my own business. I can’t be so selfish as to drag him into it. I must fight the Demon Sect myself."

He wouldn’t make Su Tan personally participate just to strike at the Demon Dao. Yun Buliu already had a plan.

"There’s no need for Master to step in. I can handle it myself. However, the prerequisite is that I must learn more Alchemy Skills from him. As long as my Alchemy Skills reach a certain mastery, I refuse to believe I can’t rally a force capable of contending with the Demonic Creatures!"

The profession of an Alchemist was highly sought after in this world, especially top-tier Alchemists. Yun Buliu clearly knew his direction. He needed to break through in strength and grow more powerful! Gathering manpower was a clear path forward, and this approach didn’t require Su Tan to face the Demonic Creatures head-on.

It had to be said that his idea was quite sound. Under these terms, Su Tan would be much more willing to help him. But if he asked Su Tan to grab a Magical Artifact and fight the Demon Dao... sorry, there was an overwhelmingly high chance Su Tan would absolutely refuse and ignore him entirely!

Back at the Su Tan Courtyard.

"Huh... what’s going on?" Su Tan looked around in confusion.

To repay him for keeping watch, Yun Chu had cooked him a rather decent meal. She had also tended to his flowers, plants, and fish. Only after finishing all of this did she leave. After Yun Chu left, Su Tan began researching his own matters.

"I remember... after the Little White Wolf practiced my Cultivation Technique, it clearly gave me Energy Points. Why is it that when Yun Buliu mastered my Alchemy Skill, he couldn’t give me any feedback?" Su Tan muttered, puzzled.

He felt lost. "Could it be because he hasn’t truly mastered it yet?"

This was actually one of the reasons Su Tan had helped Yun Buliu so much. Yun Buliu had clearly entered the gates of a Saint Grade Alchemist because of the Ten Thousand Dao Furnace’s Alchemy Chapter. Yet, Su Tan had received no feedback whatsoever.

He was left utterly speechless. Should he continue to cultivate Yun Buliu? That was fine, too. After all, Yun Buliu didn’t make Su Tan feel disgusted.

After finishing his disciple’s burial, the first thing Yun Buliu did upon returning was to visit Su Tan to express his gratitude.

"Master, if it weren’t for you, I would absolutely never have had the chance to step through the gates of a Saint Grade Alchemist. Thank you for your teaching, Master!"

"It’s entirely due to your extraordinary comprehension. It has little to do with me," Su Tan said, waving his hand dismissively.

In fact... that was the truth.

Initially, Yun Buliu had merely taken some bathwater to study. Su Tan hadn’t intentionally taught him anything. Mainly because he didn’t even know how to teach anyone in the first place!

But who could have imagined that some random medicinal liquid would allow Yun Buliu to make such massive progress! It was truly surprising. It was a true case of serendipity—a flower planted with utmost care might never bloom, while a carelessly discarded willow branch could flourish into a towering grove.

"No, no, no... if Master hadn’t deliberately taught me the Flawless Refining Skill, how could I have learned it?"

The medicinal liquid Su Tan had refined possessed no restrictive seals. Yun Buliu owed today’s victory entirely to him, and he was immensely grateful.

In the past, Yun Buliu wouldn’t have even dared to imagine that he would one day become a Saint Grade Alchemist. He had long felt that his potential was thoroughly exhausted, and that the King’s Dao level was his absolute limit. He believed he couldn’t make any further progress in this lifetime! After all, he hadn’t just been stuck at that bottleneck for a day or two.

He knew his own condition. Without Su Tan, he wouldn’t have his current cultivation base. Just a casual bit of medicinal liquid was enough to change his entire life. This left Yun Buliu thoroughly astounded.

He felt his once-exhausted potential endlessly surging forth. He could still progress! There was still immense room for improvement!

This was Yun Buliu’s current mindset. And the source of all this newfound confidence was Su Tan!

Who could have thought that a tiny place like Chen Family Village would harbor such a hidden dragon? Who could casually nurture a Saint Grade Alchemist?

Yun Buliu was filled with regret. He only wished he had met him sooner! If he had known Su Tan was here, if he had known how truly incredible Su Tan was, he would have crawled over to beg for instruction years ago.

He had wasted over a decade of his life for nothing...

Thankfully, he had been lucky enough to finally meet him! As expected, matters of opportunity and serendipity were profound and mysterious; they could be stumbled upon, but never actively sought.