Death Seal

Although Xuanzhenzi had entered the First-Class realm and his internal power could flow almost without end, he faced three opponents, and with the poison in his system, his strength was gradually giving out.

The three gradually gained the upper hand, making Bai Tianqi and his companions attack even more fiercely.

Bang, bang, bang! Bai Tianqi landed a palm strike on Xuanzhenzi. By now, Xuanzhenzi could barely fend off their combined attacks, especially Bai Tianqi's unexpected strikes.

He staggered back three steps, then steadied himself. Glancing at Huang Xiao, who was circulating his internal power to heal his injuries nearby, Xuanzhenzi let out a long breath.

"Almost there!" Bai Tianqi dared not grow careless. Although Xuanzhenzi was now at a disadvantage, he still felt some fear. This was a First-Class expert, after all. Even poisoned, had the three of them not joined forces earlier, Bai Tianqi alone would probably have been no match for him.

"Bai Tianqi, I know my time has come, but don't expect to come out of this unscathed either," Xuanzhenzi said calmly.

Hearing this, all three men guarded themselves carefully. Whether or not Xuanzhenzi was deliberately trying to mystify them, caution could do no harm. After all, they could afford to draw this out, but Xuanzhenzi could not.

"Sect Master, his internal power is nearly exhausted. He's putting on an empty-fort bluff," Hu Guyi said.

"Master, let's finish him off quickly. This old Daoist really hid himself deep." Zhang Ming felt a lingering chill as he thought back. This unremarkable-looking old Daoist was actually a First-Class expert. Who could have imagined it if he had not made his move?

"You two, attack together!" Bai Tianqi barked.

"Pfft!" Suddenly, Xuanzhenzi shuddered and spat out a great mouthful of black blood.

"Ha ha!" All three men burst out laughing. It seemed that even a First-Class expert had fallen to the Heart-Burning Powder.

"No need for you two to act!" Bai Tianqi waved a hand at Hu Guyi and Zhang Ming. Now that Xuanzhenzi could no longer suppress the Heart-Burning Powder inside him, Bai Tianqi no longer needed to fear him.

"Master, be careful!" Seeing Bai Tianqi approach Xuanzhenzi, Zhang Ming could not help warning him.

"It's fine. He can't hide his present condition from me!" Bai Tianqi stopped ten feet from Xuanzhenzi, then stared at him. "Even if I do nothing, you probably won't live another hour."

Naturally, Bai Tianqi would not get too close to Xuanzhenzi. He kept those ten feet between them to protect himself against Xuanzhenzi's dying struggle.

Watching Xuanzhenzi kneel on one knee in agony, Bai Tianqi could not help roaring with laughter. Although Xuanzhenzi's First-Class cultivation had nearly brought him to grief, that very fact made him even more certain that the Green Ox Gate possessed Sixty-Year Pills. Otherwise, the Green Ox Gate's Second-Class Everlasting Spring Art could hardly have enabled anyone to break through to First-Class.

After several gasping breaths, Xuanzhenzi shakily rose to his feet.

"What tricks do you have left?" Bai Tianqi asked.

Xuanzhenzi did not answer. He merely drew a finger of his right hand across his left palm, instantly opening a cut that left his palm dripping with blood.

"Hurting yourself?" Bai Tianqi laughed. "Trying to keep yourself lucid through self-harm?"

"Self-harm?" Xuanzhenzi murmured. "You could call it that. This certainly is self-harm! But..."

As he spoke, Xuanzhenzi pressed his right palm over his left. His whole body began to tremble as he ground his palms tightly together.

"I'd like to see what moves you can still muster." Bai Tianqi did not believe Xuanzhenzi could have any moves left at this point.

"Ha ha! Bai Tianqi, you disgrace the name of a grandmaster. Your knowledge is far too shallow. Today, I shall let you witness the secret art of the Green Ox Gate's sect masters. My master passed this art on to me when I assumed leadership. Although I received his teaching, I considered the technique too vicious and contrary to the Green Ox Gate's Daoist tradition, so I never fully mastered it," Xuanzhenzi said.

"Hmph, such shameless boasting. Even if it is your Green Ox Gate's secret art, do you think a move you haven't even fully mastered can defeat me in your present state?" Bai Tianqi sneered.

"Defeat you? No. I'm taking your life!" Xuanzhenzi smiled faintly. His joined palms suddenly spread apart and thrust forward. A blood-red ice crystal as thin as a silkworm's wing appeared between them and shot toward Bai Tianqi with the speed of thunder striking before one could cover one's ears.

Before Bai Tianqi could react at all, the blood-red ice crystal sank into his forehead.

"Aaaah!" The blood-red ice crystal vanished into Bai Tianqi's forehead in an instant, and he let out a piercing scream.

Seizing the opportunity, Xuanzhenzi flashed to Huang Xiao's side, then fled swiftly with him.

Seeing Bai Tianqi's agony, Hu Guyi and Zhang Ming froze, neither moving to stop Xuanzhenzi's escape. In truth, they still did not dare pursue him. What if Xuanzhenzi had another move in reserve? A First-Class expert inspired fear even when afflicted with a deadly poison.

Only after a long while did Bai Tianqi's screams gradually subside.

He did not know what that final red ice crystal was, but after it entered his forehead, he discovered that it instantly transformed into a strange current of internal power that traveled throughout his meridians before vanishing without a trace. He had intended to force it out with his own internal power, but now he could find it nowhere. He did not know whether it had dissipated on its own or was lurking somewhere.

"Master, are you all right?" Zhang Ming asked with some concern.

"Yes, Sect Master, could Xuanzhenzi's final move have been some kind of hidden weapon? Should we still pursue him?" Hu Guyi asked.

"I'm fine. It's nothing! Pursue him? Of course we will! I won't rest easy until I see Xuanzhenzi's corpse." Bai Tianqi examined himself and found nothing amiss. It seemed that current of internal power must have dissipated. Thinking it over, that made sense. After all, Xuanzhenzi had said it was the Green Ox Gate's secret art, and he had yet to master it. Perhaps it had failed.

"Ha ha! Ignorant, laughable! You think you're fine? Interesting, very interesting!" Suddenly, loud laughter rang out beside the three men's ears.

"Who's there?!" Their expressions changed drastically. They discovered that this person's laughter alone sent the blood and energy inside them surging. Zhang Ming and Hu Guyi, whose cultivation was slightly weaker, even gave muffled groans, their faces instantly turning pale.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How strange. That old Daoist clearly used the Poison God Valley's secret art, the Death Seal, yet he could do nothing about the Heart-Burning Powder. Someone from the Poison God Valley couldn't possibly be unable to counter their own poison. How strange, truly strange!" As he spoke, a middle-aged man of around forty appeared before the three with his hands clasped behind his back, seemingly out of thin air, for none of them had seen how he arrived.