Sect Leader

The internal power within Xuanzhenzi gradually dissipated, yet a knowing smile appeared on his face.

Half an hour later, Xuanzhenzi's hands, which had been pressed against Huang Xiao's back, finally dropped limply. His eyes closed weakly, and his body tilted to one side before collapsing onto the ground.

Huang Xiao, who had still been immersed in that mysterious sensation, clearly felt the change in Xuanzhenzi behind him.

"Master?" Huang Xiao hastily turned around, cradling Xuanzhenzi as he called out anxiously.

Looking at Xuanzhenzi's bloodless face and sensing his almost imperceptible breathing, Huang Xiao knew that his master was probably beyond saving.

"Master, these are healing pills. Hurry and take them." Huang Xiao frantically pulled a small porcelain bottle from inside his robes, tipped out several healing pills, and held them to Xuanzhenzi's lips.

Xuanzhenzi slowly came to. With difficulty, he managed a smile and said weakly, "Silly disciple, I made all these pills myself. If they could help, would I have waited until now?"

"Master!!!"

Seeing tears gush from Huang Xiao's eyes like a spring, Xuanzhenzi sighed. "Birth, aging, sickness, and death-no one can escape them. I've lived all these years, and I'm content. Don't grieve too much."

"No, Master, you're all right. You must be all right," Huang Xiao said, shaking his head.

"I don't have much time left. Listen carefully and let me finish!" Xuanzhenzi said.

Huang Xiao nodded and said nothing more.

Xuanzhenzi's breathing grew even weaker as he continued, "I had planned to travel the world, and before leaving, I intended to pass the Green Ox Gate Sect Leader Position to your eldest senior brother. Although Qinghe has the greatest martial power, he is devoted to martial arts and has no inclination to manage the sect's affairs. Your second senior brother, Qingyun, is much the same. His talent for pill refinement surpasses even mine, and his future achievements will surely exceed my own. Now that none of your three senior brothers are here, I can only pass the position of sect leader to you."

"No, Master, you can tell Eldest Senior Brother yourself when the time comes!" Huang Xiao said hurriedly.

"Don't be foolish. Our Green Ox Gate has a tradition: whoever succeeds as sect leader must learn the sect leader's supreme technique, the Death Seal!" Xuanzhenzi said. Seeing Huang Xiao's expression change slightly, he continued, "You've realized it too, haven't you? That final move I used to gravely wound Bai Tianqi was this very technique. But I only learned half of this supreme technique. Even so, I believe that half alone will keep Bai Tianqi from surviving another year. Of course, I cannot guarantee it. Perhaps Bai Tianqi has some hidden means of countering the Death Seal. After all, I never mastered it completely."

"Of course, that possibility is extremely small. The Death Seal is immensely powerful, a secret taught only to the sect leader. When your grandmaster taught it to me, I felt the technique was far too vicious, so I never practiced it in depth. Once someone is struck by the Death Seal, only the person who placed it can remove it. Otherwise, after a year, the victim will suffer the agony of ten thousand ants gnawing at the heart. Whether an ordinary commoner or a martial expert, no matter how strong their will, they cannot withstand that pain worse than death. In the end, only suicide can free them from the agony." Xuanzhenzi sighed. "I truly am rather curious where our founding master learned such a technique-or whether he comprehended it from that classic."

"I'll now teach you the mental formula for the Death Seal. Listen carefully..." Xuanzhenzi recited the formula three times in succession, then asked, "Have you memorized it?"

"I have, Master," Huang Xiao replied respectfully.

"Good. As long as you have memorized the formula, that is enough. Now I'll explain how to perform the technique. To practice it, you need a trace of water in your palm. Then reverse the circulation of your internal power, turn its force to yin, and gather an intensely cold force in your palm, freezing the water into ice. You must remember to reverse your true qi. Freezing water is not too difficult, nor is forming a sliver of ice as thin as a cicada's wing. The difficult part is keeping the ice intact after launching it, so that it does not break apart. Only when you can drive intact slivers of ice into your opponent's major vital points have you achieved minor mastery. My martial power was insufficient, and I had learned only half of the Death Seal, so I could only increase its power by harming myself and drawing upon my vital blood. You must never use this method unless your life is at stake. If your martial power is profound and you fully master the Death Seal, you can form it out of thin air with the true qi within your body. That is when its power is greatest," Xuanzhenzi said.

"Master, if even your martial power isn't enough to perform the Death Seal, how many years will it take before I can do it?" Huang Xiao had heard Bai Tianqi and the others call his master a first-class expert. If even an expert like him said his martial power was insufficient, just how profound did one's internal power need to be for this technique?

"Before I was poisoned, my martial power was barely sufficient. It doesn't matter if you cannot reach that level, learn the Death Seal, or perform it. This technique is far too vicious. It is only because of our sect's ancestral instructions that I must pass it down." Xuanzhenzi sighed. "Qingxiao, your meridians differ from those of ordinary people. Just now, you seemed to make a breakthrough and gain some insight. You absorbed nearly half the internal power I possessed at my peak. As long as you spend six months to a year making that power your own, I estimate that you will have at least a dozen or even twenty years' worth of internal cultivation. Ah... I don't know whether this method will bring you fortune or calamity. Once I'm gone, you must take care of yourself. Also, Bai Tianqi must have sent men to Green Ox Temple. I fear your three senior brothers will find it difficult to escape his murderous hands as well." At this point, Xuanzhenzi laboriously drew a small black iron token from inside his robes with trembling hands and placed it in Huang Xiao's hand. "This is the Green Ox Gate Sect Leader Token, passed down since the sect's founding. You must keep it safe. From this day onward, you are the sect leader of the Green Ox Gate."

Only after taking several gasping breaths did Xuanzhenzi continue, "Remember, whatever you do, don't return to Green Ox Temple. Don't even think of revenge. You are no match for Bai Tianqi. Live on... go..."

"Master..." Huang Xiao broke into loud sobs. After uttering those words, Xuanzhenzi had breathed his last.

In just a few short months, Xuanzhenzi had given him so much and had asked for absolutely nothing in return. This was a master's care for his disciple, and Huang Xiao had naturally felt it. The kindness and compassion of a man of religion could both be found in Xuanzhenzi.

After sobbing for a long while, Huang Xiao knew that now was not the time to grieve. He dug a pit nearby and buried Xuanzhenzi in it.

"Master, I swear that once I have enough strength, I will bring Bai Tianqi's head here as an offering to your spirit in heaven," Huang Xiao vowed, kneeling before the newly raised grave mound.

Although Xuanzhenzi had forbidden Huang Xiao from seeking revenge, Huang Xiao knew it was because Xuanzhenzi feared that his martial power was insufficient and that seeking revenge would only put him in Bai Tianqi's murderous hands. Huang Xiao knew he was certainly no match for Bai Tianqi now. Besides, Bai Tianqi also had the Huaqing Sect, with so many disciples under him.

"I hope Heaven protects my three senior brothers and lets them escape this calamity." Huang Xiao could only pray to Heaven. He knew his master must have been right: Bai Tianqi must have sent men to Green Ox Temple. Even if he rushed there now, he probably would not reach his three senior brothers in time to warn them. After all, Bai Tianqi's men would surely be spurring their swift horses onward. How could he keep pace?

Huang Xiao would not go back. At least while he was still weak, he absolutely could not return. Going back would only be walking into a net. He would also have to beware of the Huaqing Sect's people from now on. They would certainly continue hunting him.

After respectfully kowtowing three times before the grave, his forehead striking the ground each time, Huang Xiao put aside his grief, looked back once more, and resolutely departed.