A lone rider galloped without pause, racing day and night.
At dawn on the third day, he entered Mount Zhongnan.
Following directions from passing Taoists, Jia Huan headed straight for the Quanzhen Sect.
The air was fresh atop the towering mountain, where Taoist temples stretched in an unbroken succession. Hundreds of Taoists sat cross-legged facing the morning light.
"Who goes there? State your name!"
An elderly Taoist holding a horsetail whisk barred Jia Huan's way.
Jia Huan came straight to the point:
"I want to see the Quanzhen Sect's leader!"
The old Taoist studied his unremarkable face and smiled.
"You came drawn by our reputation, yet know nothing of our rules. Even elders from Wudang and Shaolin must present a formal visiting card before they can meet our sect leader."
Jia Huan raised a palm and laid it on the crown of his head.
The old Taoist's pupils contracted sharply. He could not move a muscle!
He looks barely forty, yet his inner qi is at the seventh layer of the Profound Insight Realm?
Jia Huan withdrew his hand, his tone chilling.
"Do you understand the offense of delaying urgent business?"
As though granted a pardon, the old Taoist stumbled off toward the temples.
Someone at the seventh layer of the Profound Insight Realm was qualified to meet the sect leader.
A cup of tea's time later, four Taoists came to receive him respectfully.
They entered the Pavilion of the Three Pure Ones, wound past several halls, and arrived at a spacious, secluded residence.
A white-haired Taoist with the bearing of an immortal sat drinking tea alone. This was Yuan Zhonglou, leader of the Quanzhen Sect.
"Withdraw." He dismissed the four disciples, then said calmly:
"Please show your true face."
Jia Huan peeled off the mask, thin as a cicada's