The Inheritance

Xu Qingtong's heart stirred at those words. If he took this man as his master, he would gain the complete Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art, making his future path easier to walk. Then he thought of Chen Yuanhua. Wouldn't that make him the patriarch's junior disciple-brother? How would he address his uncle when they next met?

He therefore said to Yu Xuzi, "Senior, thank you for your kindness, but I cannot become the patriarch's disciple-brother!"

Yu Xuzi said, "Yuanhua was not my disciple! He merely studied alchemy under me. When I left, he was only a minor Qi Refining cultivator. I do not even know whether he is still alive. I taught him only the Qi Refining Stage portion of the art; he has none of the later portions. If you take me as your master, I will pass the entire art on to you."

Xu Qingtong did not agree immediately. Instead, he went over the whole affair from beginning to end. Only after concluding that Yu Xuzi's words were truthful did he make up his mind. He respectfully kowtowed three times and said, "Your disciple, Xu Qingtong, pays his respects to Master!"

At those words, a tear actually slipped from the corner of Yu Xuzi's eye. After a long silence, he said, "Qingtong, my life and cultivation will soon come to an end. You must remember every word I say."

Kneeling there, Xu Qingtong nodded firmly.

"My master is Luo Yichen, the sect leader of the Anyang Sect, and my junior disciple-sister is Luo Fei. After I die, these things restraining me will lose their effect. You may take my body away and, if the opportunity arises, deliver it to the Anyang Sect in Central Province."

"Before returning to the sect, you must first make careful inquiries. If that old scoundrel Yuquan is there, you must not go rashly, much less reveal your identity. You may tell only your grandmaster what happened to me." After these few sentences, Yu Xuzi fell silent again.

Seeing that his master had stopped speaking, Xu Qingtong kowtowed once more and said, "I have committed your words to memory, Master. Is there any way to save you and take you out of here?"

A long while passed before Yu Xuzi spoke again. "My oil has run dry and my lamp is spent. Besides, that old scoundrel Yuquan has sealed me. There is no point hoping for anything else. Qingtong, the road to immortality is long. Never trust others lightly, and never tell anyone your secrets, not even those closest to you."

Xu Qingtong's heart tightened. His master's warning must have come from bitter experience. He quickly nodded and said, "I will always remember your teachings, Master!"

But Yu Xuzi fell silent once more.

About an incense stick's worth of time passed without another word from Yu Xuzi. Xu Qingtong could only remain kneeling there, waiting quietly.

Just as he was about to speak, Yu Xuzi's voice sounded again. "Qingtong, you have a fine disposition and are worthy of inheriting my legacy. The Storage Ring on my hand is merely a decoy. It contains only ordinary things. I have another treasure called the Seven-Star Bracelet, which I have refined into my body. All my secrets are within that bracelet."

At this point, Yu Xuzi seemed to have exhausted his strength. His voice had grown almost too faint to hear, and he stopped.

After another while, Yu Xuzi continued, "Once I die, the Seven-Star Bracelet will return to my Dantian. You may retrieve it. I will teach you how to refine it. Be sure to remember!" He then taught Xu Qingtong the method for refining the Seven-Star Bracelet.

Xu Qingtong carefully committed it to memory, then kowtowed again. "Thank you, Master!" Yu Xuzi gave no response.

An hour passed, yet Yu Xuzi still did not speak. Xu Qingtong raised his head to look at his master. Yu Xuzi's head had drooped completely, and the chains binding him had turned an ashen white.

Sensing that something was wrong, Xu Qingtong called out, "Master!" Again, there was no response.

Xu Qingtong cautiously approached Yu Xuzi and called, "Master!" There was still no movement. He placed his hand on Yu Xuzi's wrist and probed inside his body.

A moment later, he withdrew his hand. His master no longer showed any signs of life.

He could only try to undo the chain around his master's wrist. To his surprise, it opened easily. He removed the chains from the other limbs just as easily. Xu Qingtong gently laid his master on the ground and silently kowtowed three times.

Thinking of this master he had acquired so unexpectedly, Xu Qingtong could not help smiling bitterly. He had only just become his disciple and had learned nothing before his master died. Still, he had not come away empty-handed. Hadn't his master left him a treasure?

Recalling what his master had said before his death, Xu Qingtong could only reach toward Yu Xuzi's Dantian.

Sure enough, something seemed unusual around his master's Dantian. Kneeling beside Yu Xuzi, Xu Qingtong said softly, "Master, forgive your disciple's disrespect!" With that, he reached into Yu Xuzi's Dantian.

Soon, Xu Qingtong retrieved a bracelet from his master's body. It was jet-black all over, with seven glittering stars of different sizes arranged upon it, seemingly following some particular pattern.

This must be the Seven-Star Bracelet Master mentioned! Xu Qingtong thought. According to his master, Yu Xuzi, the Seven-Star Bracelet was an ancient treasure that could be refined into the body like a Treasure. All his master's secrets were inside it.

He sat cross-legged on the ground and placed the Seven-Star Bracelet before him. Then he mobilized his divine sense and, following the refinement method his master had taught him, forced a drop of soul blood out from between his eyebrows and onto the Seven-Star Bracelet.

The moment that drop of soul blood left his body, Xu Qingtong felt dizzy and weak all over, and sweat broke out across his skin.

He formed seals with both hands, sending one hand seal after another onto the Seven-Star Bracelet. By the time he finished the sequence of refinement incantations, the drop of soul blood had sunk into the bracelet. Several lines of small text immediately appeared in his mind: the instructions for controlling the Seven-Star Bracelet.

Seeing the instructions appear in his mind, Xu Qingtong knew that his refinement had succeeded. He read them carefully and gained a rough understanding of the bracelet's functions.

The Seven-Star Bracelet had been forged in ancient times by True Person Yuhua from the essences of heaven, earth, sun, and moon. It could be used for both attack and defense. Within it lay a desolate space capable of holding all things.

To his dismay, however, activating the bracelet required at least Nascent Soul Realm cultivation. With his current magic power, even draining him into a dried husk would not be enough to activate it in the slightest. For now, the Seven-Star Bracelet could serve only as a Storage Bag that could be drawn into his body.

Xu Qingtong placed the Seven-Star Bracelet against his Dantian. With a thought, it vanished in a flash. With another thought, the bracelet appeared in his hand again.

Remembering his master's words that all his secrets were inside the bracelet, Xu Qingtong sent his divine sense into it.

The moment his divine sense entered the bracelet, he received a fright. He found himself seemingly standing at the mouth of a valley, looking inward.

The space inside the bracelet was vast, extending roughly two or three li. Not far from the entrance stood a stone house, while everywhere else was bare.

Is this the desolate space? Xu Qingtong wondered. It looks like a valley no matter how I look at it, only lacking a little life. With some flowers, grass, trees, little bridges, and flowing streams, it would be no different from a valley outside.

Now that he had successfully refined the Seven-Star Bracelet, it belonged to him. He could study it in detail when he had time; first, he needed to deal with the matters at hand. He had to store his master's body, then find an exit and leave this place. If he failed to find a way out before the one-month deadline, he feared he would never be able to leave.

Xu Qingtong tried enveloping his master's body with his divine sense. With a thought, he stored Yu Xuzi's remains inside the Seven-Star Bracelet. Then he began searching the stone chamber for a way out. Yet even after searching for a long time, he found no clues.

Xu Qingtong grew frantic. Before dying, his master had not told him how to leave. He had only said that all his secrets were inside the Seven-Star Bracelet.

Since he could not find an exit for the moment, he could only turn his attention to the inheritance his master had left him.

As he recalled his master's words, inspiration flashed through Xu Qingtong's mind. Master said he also had a Storage Ring that served as a decoy. Could there be something hidden in it?

Xu Qingtong sent his divine sense into the Seven-Star Bracelet, removed the Storage Ring from Yu Xuzi's hand, and brought it out before him for a careful examination. The ring was not much different from an ordinary ring, merely somewhat more finely crafted.

He swept his divine sense toward the ring. Suddenly, a powerful suction drew away more than half of it in a flash.