Taking a Master

"The Blazing Sun Fruit is a fruit of extreme yang, yet it grows in places of icy yin. The bottom of the cliff you described certainly fits that condition. But there is one thing you must understand. Though the Blazing Sun Fruit is yang in nature, once it ripens, there is a certain chance it will turn to extreme yin. Just like the blood essence I mentioned earlier, yin at its utmost gives birth to yang, and yang at its utmost gives birth to yin. Your life was not destined to end, and Heaven smiled upon you. Had that Blazing Sun Fruit not turned to extreme yin, swallowing it would have piled yang upon yang. You would likely have been burned to ashes by the yang fire within your body." Xuanzhenzi could not help marveling at Huang Xiao's luck. Each of these events was something rarely seen in a thousand years, yet Huang Xiao had encountered them all at once. Was there any better explanation than Heaven's favor?

Huang Xiao had never imagined this was what had happened. He knew that when the Golden-Winged Roc fed him the Blazing Sun Fruit, it probably had not understood the dangers involved. It might have thought that this wondrous fruit could save him. But thinking back on it now left him somewhat shaken. Had the Blazing Sun Fruit still been a yang fruit, he would probably have died long ago. Of course, if it had not fed him the fruit, the blood essence would have burst his body apart and killed him anyway.

"Oh, young friend, that Golden-Winged Roc left this dagger here as well. It should be yours, so let me return it to its rightful owner." Xuanzhenzi placed Godslayer beside Huang Xiao's pillow.

"Thank you, Reverend." Huang Xiao had not expected the Golden-Winged Roc to remember to bring his dagger along as well.

"You are out of danger now. A few days of proper rest should see you fully recovered, so I will trouble you no further. If you need anything, simply call out. My three disciples are outside." Seeing that Huang Xiao had awakened, and with Huang Xiao's account having cleared up some of his questions, Xuanzhenzi left him to rest.

Three days later, Huang Xiao's injuries had largely healed, and he could get out of bed and walk around. During those three days, he had gained a basic understanding of Green Ox Temple and had met Xuanzhenzi's three disciples.

The eldest disciple, Qingfeng, devoted himself to studying the Daoist teachings and handled practically all the temple's affairs, great and small. It was, after all, a Daoist temple. Though Green Ox Temple was somewhat dilapidated, some devout men and women still came to offer incense.

The second disciple, Qingyun, was highly accomplished in pill refinement, so he was responsible for refining pills. Some of these pills prolonged life, and others healed injuries and treated illnesses, but most were precious pills that increased and strengthened one's cultivation.

The third disciple, Qinghe, devoted himself to martial arts, so his cultivation was actually the highest of the three fellow disciples. Naturally, his talent for martial arts was also the best among them.

During those three days, Qinghe visited Huang Xiao the most. He was also rather forthright, so Huang Xiao learned quite a few things from him. For instance, to save him, Xuanzhenzi had fed him a five-hundred-year-old Reishi, pulling him back from the gates of death.

Learning that Reverend Xuanzhenzi had used such precious Reishi to treat his injuries naturally moved Huang Xiao deeply. After all, he and Xuanzhenzi were neither kin nor friends. Reishi was already a valuable medicinal herb, and a five-hundred-year-old specimen was a rarity in this world, probably worth no less than a thousand pieces of gold-and not necessarily something money could buy.

Xuanzhenzi did not visit Huang Xiao again during those three days. Huang Xiao learned from Qinghe that Xuanzhenzi was refining Origin-Enhancing Pills and had no time to spare.

"Reverend!" Huang Xiao said respectfully. Having successfully refined the pills, Xuanzhenzi had now emerged and come to examine Huang Xiao's injuries.

"You have recovered completely," Xuanzhenzi said with a smile.

"Master, young Huang has been well for some time. Does that even need saying?" Qinghe said.

"Thank you for saving my life, Reverend!" Huang Xiao thanked him again. After all, Reverend Xuanzhenzi had paid a great price to save him this time. This was a debt of gratitude Huang Xiao would find difficult to repay.

"Young friend, what do you plan to do next? If you are going home, I can have Qinghe take you part of the way," Xuanzhenzi asked with a smile.

"Home?" Huang Xiao's expression changed slightly. "To tell you the truth, Reverend, I have no home to return to. To make this journey to sit the examination, I sold off all my family's fields."

"That's wonderful!" Qinghe laughed, but immediately apologized to Huang Xiao. "Brother Huang, I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was..."

"Please speak freely, Reverend Qinghe!" Huang Xiao did not mind. He wanted to hear what Qinghe had to say.

"Then why not stay at Green Ox Temple?" Qinghe asked.

"Would that mean... entering the clergy?" Huang Xiao asked, taken aback.

"Qinghe, don't talk nonsense!" Xuanzhenzi said. "Young Huang, Qinghe means that if you have nowhere to go, you could stay at the temple for now."

Huang Xiao felt rather embarrassed. They had saved him; how could he possibly justify continuing to live off their food and drink here at the temple?

Seeing his expression, Xuanzhenzi naturally understood some of what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "Young friend, do not trouble yourself over it. In truth, I have a little selfish interest in this as well."

Huang Xiao was puzzled by Xuanzhenzi's words, but Xuanzhenzi immediately continued, "Young friend, to be frank, swallowing the Black-and-White Refining Snake's blood essence and consuming the Blazing Sun Fruit have transformed the meridians within your body. If you practice martial arts in the future, you will achieve twice the results with half the effort."

"Practice martial arts?" Hearing this, Huang Xiao was delighted. He knew Xuanzhenzi was a master, because he had discovered that Qinghe's martial skills were formidable. At the very least, Zhang Ma would have been no match for him. Qinghe therefore must have possessed profound internal power. As his master, Xuanzhenzi was naturally even more unfathomable.

"Indeed. With your current aptitude, even the renowned great sects of the Jianghu would fight to take you as a disciple. After all, with the aptitude you now possess, as long as you work hard, you will have absolutely no trouble becoming a First-Class Expert," Xuanzhenzi said.

Xuanzhenzi's words sent Huang Xiao's heart surging. A First-Class Expert? Though he did not know just how powerful a "First-Class Expert" was, it certainly sounded like someone extraordinarily formidable. Yet Huang Xiao soon suppressed his excitement. Xuanzhenzi's words had not gone to his head.

Even if my aptitude is excellent now, how could I become a master without an internal cultivation method? Besides, even if I could join a sect, I might not gain the appreciation of its leader or those in power. After all, ordinary disciples could never be taught the true cultivation methods. Even if they were taught, they would only receive part of them.

"Master, our Green Ox Temple is perfectly good. If Brother Huang stays, he will certainly become a First-Class Expert in a few decades!" Qinghe said. In fact, this was precisely why he had been so close to Huang Xiao these past few days. He knew Huang Xiao had excellent aptitude. If Huang Xiao could stay at Green Ox Temple, it would naturally be a good thing for the temple. Moreover, he himself was absorbed in martial arts. His two senior brothers normally had their own affairs to attend to, leaving him unable to find anyone to spar with. It frustrated him greatly.

"Brother Huang, what do you think?" Qinghe asked, looking at Huang Xiao expectantly.

Huang Xiao asked with some hesitation, "Reverend Xuanzhenzi, would I have to enter the clergy?" This was a sticking point for him. He had not considered becoming a Daoist priest. In truth, he did hope to stay at Green Ox Temple. The mere fact that Xuanzhenzi had used a five-hundred-year-old Reishi to save him showed that he was truly a master who had attained the Dao. If Huang Xiao could become his disciple, his future accomplishments would certainly be considerable. It was just that entering the clergy left him in a difficult position.

"Ha ha!" Qinghe laughed. "Who said you had to enter the clergy?"

Qingfeng and Qingyun were smiling as well. They had not expected this to be what was troubling Huang Xiao.

Xuanzhenzi smiled. "I failed to explain it clearly. Qingfeng, Qingyun, and Qinghe were all raised by me from childhood, so naturally they entered the clergy with me. You are different. Whether you enter the clergy to cultivate the Dao depends on your own wishes. No one can force you."

"Then I..."

"Even if you take me as your master, you need not become a Daoist priest. Look at Shaolin-they have plenty of lay disciples too," Xuanzhenzi explained.

Hearing this, Huang Xiao dared not hesitate any longer. He hurriedly dropped to his knees and respectfully knocked his forehead against the ground three times before Xuanzhenzi. "Your disciple Huang Xiao pays his respects to Master."