章 7: The Fourth Generation Sect Leader
Qi Xiu silently walked to the sect leader's body and knelt down. Tears silently flowed down the traces left by his earlier weeping. Memories of the past kept flashing through his mind.
"Sect Leader Qi, this child is a genius with a single fate source and soul root, his future is limitless!" A powerful voice echoed from the darkness.
"Good! Good!" The middle-aged leader turned around with a joyful look at his three-year-old Qi Xiu, gently patting his head. Even at fifty, the leader showed no signs of aging, looking extraordinary with three long strands of beard flowing in the wind, giving off an otherworldly vibe.
His gaze towards Qi Xiu was full of affection.
"Sect Leader Qi, forgive my bluntness, but this child's fate source is something rare across countless worlds, and he has no fate in the path of the Great Dao!" It was that voice again.
"Ah!" The sect leader looked at the ten-year-old Qi Xiu in pain and sighed heavily.
"Leader Qi! Qi Xiu is completely useless and has wasted a lot of the sect's resources. You can't favor him over others!" The voice becoming angry.
"Ah?" The master looked helplessly at the fifteen-year-old Qi Xiu at a loss, his now-aged eyes full of guilt and reluctance. "Oh, son!" He hugged him, both of them weeping bitterly.
"Master! Waaaa…" Qi Xiu, recalling this, couldn't hold back and started crying loudly.
The fellow disciple whom Qi Xiu had spoken with outside walked in and knelt beside him.
"Senior Brother Qi, please don't cry so loudly. If you attract the cultivators of the three sects, you'll suffer!"
Hearing the words "three sects' cultivators", Qi Xiu, whose mind got blank from crying his heart out, immediately thought of that fierce female cultivator and dared not cry loudly anymore.
He could only sob quietly.
"Senior Brother Qi," added the fellow disciple. "I won't hide it from you; I have now joined the three sects." A look of embarrassment was on his face. "You...you...ah!...why don't you join the three sects too? Otherwise, otherwise, they will expel you, and you'll become a casual cultivator!"
Qi Xiu sensed the disciple was recruiting him on behalf of the three sects. "Aren't you from the Qin family? How can you...?" he asked, puzzled.
The junior brother surnamed Qin was hit right where it hurt: he coughed a couple of times, his face turning red. "Ah! Before Sect Leader Qi died, he passed the position of sect leader to Si Ya from the main branch. Elder Qin got really mad to the point of madness. Now us concubine branches of the family are all being coerced by him, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"How did Master die?" Qi Xiu asked again.
Junior Brother Qin started recounting everything from the beginning.
The relationship between Leader Qi and the elders of the sect had gotten really bad.
The sect leader, afraid they would unite against him and oppose him all the time, had been using his position to keep them in check, stirring up trouble among a few people to get them to fight each other.
This had become an open secret in the sect, and everyone knew about it.
Eventually, several elders sought external support, which were now the three sects attacking the mountain gate. Each of these three sects had Foundation establishment-level cultivators, and each of the three elders had the support of one of the three sects, making the conflict even more intense.
The frequent visits from the cultivators of these sects have made them covet the Chu Qin Sect.
After all, the Chu Qin Sect, which was founded by a Golden Core ancestor, possessed spiritual lands and fields within its mountain gate that surpassed those of the three sects combined, in quantity and quality.
Three years ago, the sect leader failed in his attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment level. When he came out of the seclusion, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from one of the three sects happened to be there.
He noticed that Sect Leader Qi's vital energy was severely injured and had at most three years left to live, so he quickly went back and started making secret plans.
And that's what led to today's disaster.
These sect factions had gone all out.
Not only did they bury their old grudges and agree to unite and merge into one after fully conquesting Chu Qin Mountain, but they even gave away their own original territories to make sure no other sects interfere in this takeover.
You could say they're extremely determined on getting what they want, no matter the cost.
Knowing his end was near, Sect Leader Qi passed the sect leader position to Qin Si Yuan, a direct descendant of the Qin family. This drove Elder Qin, who had been holding onto hope, completely mad since he's from a collateral branch.
In a fit of rage, he shut down the mountain protection formation and let the cultivators from the three sects storm the main peak.
He didn't even allow Sect Leader Qi's body to rest in the Sect Hall, throwing it in this western hall and forbidding the sect disciples from visiting it and paying any respect.
Qin Si Yan, after getting the position of the fourth sect leader, left Sect Leader Qi's body unattended and took off with the leader's personal storage pouch and sect leader's token he inherited.
He used the token to open the secret passage in the back hall and ran away on his own.
Now, it's actually an outsider who had been guarding the Pavilion of Manuals for years who was leading some disciples in resisting using the Pavilion of Manuals defensive formation.
After hearing all this, Qi Xiu couldn't even muster the energy to be angry anymore. The elders had brought in outsiders to destroy their own sect, and the new leader had run away faster than anyone else.
This sect was just doomed.
It's a pity that his master had placed such high hopes for Qin Si Yan. Others might not know, but Qi Xiu did, he had known all along. For over ten years, many of those items that Qi Xiu had secretly brought to the sect through exchanging had been given to Qin Si Yan.
Sometimes, when his master had been in seclusion, Qi Xiu had to sneak around, avoiding attention, to personally hand things over to Qin Si Yan.
Who would've thought he'd turn out to be so worthless?
Suddenly, loud cheers came from outside.
Qi Xiu looked out the door and saw that the Pavilion of Manuals had been breached. His fellow disciples who had been guarding it were being dragged out supporting each other, their faces covered in dirt and shame.
At the same time, a lot of the other fellow disciples — those who had been held in a few places — were also being brought out and forced to stand in the center of the public square before the Sect Hall.
"Senior Brother Qi, it's time for us to go out too." Junior Brother Qin's voice came from behind: "Whether you decide to stay in the sect or do something else, think it over carefully and don't make a choice you'll regret."
Qi Xiu nodded, then knelt down and respectfully knocked his head on the ground three times in front of his Master's body. Taking one last long look, he finally turned and stepped out the door.
Outside, the disciples from the three sects were bustling around, busy setting up some kind of formation in the public square. Each one of them had a look of joy and excitement on their faces.
In contrast, the captured disciples of the Chu Qin Sect all looked dejected and disheartened.
You could tell who's from the Chu Qin and who's not just by their faces.
Around thirty or forty captured disciples were gathered together, men and women, young and old.
When they saw Qi Xiu approaching willingly, they looked at him in surprise. Those who knew him greeted him, but the younger disciples mostly didn't recognize him and started whispering to each other, trying to figure out who he was.
Hey! Why did you come back?" asked a woman in her fifties, holding a baby, with a sigh.
"Senior Sister Qin, I…" Qi Xiu recognized her but didn't know what to say, so he just sighed and shook his head dejectedly.
At that moment, a group of cultivators walked out of the Sect Hall. Among them was Elder Qin —- the one who had brought the wolf into the house.
Seeing the captured disciples, Elder Qin trotted over to them arrogantly and shouted at the top of his voice:
"Alright, listen up! The three sects are about to merge. Any Chu Qin Sect disciples who want to join us will be forgiven! If we all work together, our future will be a hundred times better than under that fool Qi! If you don't want to join, we'll take everything from you and kick you off the mountain! You can go be wandering cultivators with no benefits for your mortal families! Those who want to join, step to the left!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a few cultivators immediately started moving to the left, their heads hanging low, avoiding any eye contact with their fellow disciples.
After a while, a few more cultivators moved to the left, saying things like, "I really don't have any other choice. I have a big family to think about."
"I was born on this mountain, and I want to die here!"
They thought they were muttering to themselves. But it was obvious that they were trying to justify themselves to their fellow disciples. Perhaps to themselves.
Qi Xiu had already made up his mind — he wasn't sticking around with these people any longer. In any case, he was alone with no attachments, so he didn't have much to worry about.
Besides, he had seen how wandering cultivators lived in the Clear River Market. Tough, but doable. Worse case, he would open a store in the black market. He still had a Foundation Establishment Pill in his storage pouch, and now, without an owner, it belonged to him.
It might as well be his capital, perfect for starting anew.
So he was the first to step to the right.
Seeing someone take the lead, a few die-hard fellow disciples, inspired by his resolve, followed him and stood by his side.
"Hey! It's you!? Great, the old rascal and the young rascal, you're definitely family!"
Elder Qin finally noticed Qi Xiu. In the past, he liked to secretly call Sect Leader Qi an old rascal, and Qi Xiu naturally became the young rascal. "Even if you stand on the left, I'll still kick you out of the sect!" he shouted viciously at Qi Xiu, his eyes filled with murderous malice.
Qi Xiu ignored him.
Gradually, more people moved to the right side. When everyone had picked their side, there were over twenty standing on the right. Senior Sister Qin was there, holding his baby, along with a few female cultivators and a middle-aged male cultivator who seemed to command respect, surrounded by his fellow disciples.
He was the one who'd been leading the fight against those three sects at the Pavilion of Manuals.
"You all!"
Elder Qin, seeing so many unwilling to join the new sect, was livid, his beard all ruffled and eyes shooting daggers. He was about to launch into a tirade when the man behind him intervened.
This cultivator had been silently lurking behind Elder Qin, but now he raised his hand. Elder Qin obediently shut his mouth, and then this cultivator stepped forward, his momentum suddenly coming out.
Qi Xiu suddenly felt a tremendous pressure bearing down on him. This feeling! He must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator! He thought, his spiritual energy instantly stagnated, and nearby younger disciples even started shaking.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator cleared his throat and spoke calmly to Qi Xiu and the others: "Everyone has their own goals. Us three sects' cultivators aren't forcing anyone. We're all part of the Daoist school, no real grudges between us. We don't want bloodshed either; no one died in this clash, showing our sincerity. But there's a big matter pending for the three sects. It's not easy to let you all go now. So, we'll have to put you up for now and keep an eye on things. Tomorrow, you can decide whether to stay or go. If you stay, you're welcome. If you go, we won't hold it against you."
Once he finished speaking, disciples from the three sects led Qi Xiu and the others to a room by the public square, locked the door, and left them be. With over twenty people crammed inside, including several female cultivators, the middle-aged cultivator from the Pavilion of Manuals took charge, giving more spacious spots to the women while squeezing the dozen or so men near the door.
Seeming well-connected, the middle-aged cultivator enthusiastically tried to win everyone over.
Qi Xiu had already decided his next move and politely declined.
The cultivator didn't really seem too keen on Qi Xiu either; after a few attempts, he let go and turned his attention to persuading the female cultivators, led by Senior Sister Qin.
The spot Qi Xiu had found himself in allowed him to see through the carved wooden door and see what was happening in the public square. He noticed the three sects' disciples setting up a row of high chairs in front of the Sect Hall.
They were also nearly finished constructing a martial arts competition formation in the square.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator who had spoken earlier, strolled over and took a seat on one of the high chairs. Soon after, two more cultivators joined him and sat down too. Judging by their looks, they were also Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Once the formation was set up real fast, the Foundation Establishment cultivators started taking turns talking. Their voices carried far, and Qi Xiu could hear everything clearly.
It turned out that the three sects were merging, but the Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't determine who should be the leader among them. So, they decided to have a martial arts competition to choose a leader from the late-stage Qi Condensation disciples to manage the sect's common affairs.
Then, a female cultivator from Lotus Flower Temple and a male cultivator from Drifting Cloud Sect took the stage and started fighting right away. All kinds of defensive shields, attack talismans, and magic items flew back and forth, creating a dazzling scene filled with clashing sounds.
After a few fights, Qi Xiu saw that Elder Qin actually got on stage as well, and his opponent turned out to be the same cultivator who had tied him up with a duster outside the sect gate.
As soon as Elder Qin summoned his flying sword to block a flying shuttle, the cultivator swept him down with the duster and tied him up. The square burst into laughter, and even Qi Xiu felt embarrassed for him.
Just then, a deep, raspy voice suddenly echoed from the sky, immediately silencing the noisy crowd and reaching everyone's ears:
"Chu Youyan from the Qi Yun Sect, along with Qin Si Yuan, the fourth-generation leader of the Chu Qin Sect, request a meeting with Elder Mu from the Drifting Cloud Sect, Master Shi from Lotus Flower Temple, and the head of the Huang Zuo Zhan Family!"
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