Undying Life

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: The Eternal Pill Scroll

Bao'er walked to the door of the small hut and withdrew a small flag from the formation. The red glow outside the hut receded quickly as the formation was dismantled. She wiped her tears and immediately opened the door.

Outside, the three elders stood with worried expressions. As soon as the door opened, they all fixed their gaze on Bao'er.

"Master has asked you to come in," Bao'er said immediately.

The three elders nodded, each frowning as they stepped inside. Once inside, they quickly gathered around the elderly woman's bed.

"Sect Master," the three called out in unison.

"Three elders, your junior sister is really leaving this time," the elderly woman said with a faint smile.

The three elders frowned deeply, their faces showing clear concern.

"Hehe, I have called you here today to witness something important," the elderly woman said.

The three elders seemed to realize something, each taking a deep breath. They appeared to have anticipated the Sect Master's words and looked extremely solemn.

"Bao'er, kneel down," the elderly woman commanded.

"Master," Bao'er, with tears in her eyes, gently knelt before the elderly woman.

The elderly woman looked very serious as she reached out and grasped something from between her eyebrows. She pulled out what looked like a bronze scroll, encased in a halo of light, and no larger than a fingernail.

As the bronze scroll was extracted, the elderly woman's hair turned completely white and then withered, becoming terrifyingly frail. The three elders, however, stared intently at the bronze scroll, their eyes filled with longing.

Looking at Bao'er, the elderly woman said with difficulty, "The Tai Dan Sect has two treasures: the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Cauldron and this 'Eternal Pill Scroll.' The Eternal Pill Scroll is the essence of Tai Dan Sect, and the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Cauldron is its foundation. As long as the Eternal Pill Scroll is passed down, the Tai Dan Sect will flourish endlessly. Today, I officially pass it to the 72nd Sect Master of Tai Dan Sect, Gan Bao'er. From this day forward, Gan Bao'er is the 72nd Sect Master. All disciples must fully support the new Sect Master. Any who show negligence will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the sect."

"Yes," the three elders responded immediately.

The elderly woman then transferred the Eternal Pill Scroll into Bao'er's forehead with a touch.

"Master," Bao'er cried, clutching the elderly woman's sleeve.

In this short moment, the elderly woman's face became more wrinkled, her complexion even paler, and dark spots, like those on a corpse, began to appear.

The elderly woman looked lovingly at Bao'er and then at the three elders before speaking again. "Yao Yu, Yao Chen, Yao Lu."

The three elders' expressions became more serious, as the Sect Master had called them by their names, something she rarely did.

"Yes," the three elders replied promptly.

"You are my seniors, and also Bao'er's seniors. Bao'er is young and lacks authority, but you should understand that only through the inheritance of the Eternal Pill Scroll can Bao'er grow, and you will benefit from it. According to the rules of Tai Dan Sect, the Sect Master makes all decisions. I, being at the Nascent Soul stage, couldn't lead you to higher cultivation levels, causing you to stall at the Conjoined Stage. But Bao'er is different. She is more talented than I am and will surpass me. Your fates are tied to Bao'er's success," the elderly woman said, her eyes fixed on the three elders.

Hearing the elderly woman's words, the three elders looked at Bao'er with solemn expressions and replied, "Yes."

"Bao'er," the elderly woman turned her gaze back to Bao'er.

"Master," Bao'er's tears had never stopped flowing.

Struggling, she extended her right palm and gently wiped the cheek of Bao'er, the elderly woman looking at her with a faint smile. "Bao'er, your master must leave. I have used the Soul-Locking Pill to tether my soul for a hundred years. Though my physical body hasn't grown, I've preserved it with countless elixirs. After I depart, place my body in the Eight-Eared Fire Cauldron outside the house to prevent it from falling into the hands of the demons. Take my ashes and bury them in the tomb of the Tai Dan Sect's previous masters."

With those words, the elderly woman's hand slackened, slipping away. Yet, at that moment, her face shimmered with silver light.

"Master~~~~~~"

Bao'er cried out, but her master would never awaken again.

Bao'er held onto the elderly woman, weeping for nearly an hour. The three senior elders nearby sighed softly. Among them, the female elder spoke gently, "Master, the former sect leader has passed away. Fulfill her last wish, burn her body in the fire, lest it falls into the hands of demons."

Bao'er remained silent, only crying incessantly. After a while, she gently rose, carrying her master's body alone to the outskirts of the thatched cottage, where she slowly placed it into the cauldron beside the mountain spring.

Standing by the cauldron, tears streamed down Bao'er's face. Although her master hadn't allowed her to leave for decades, she had cared for Bao'er in every possible way, earning a place in Bao'er's heart akin to a mother. Now that her master was gone, Bao'er was filled with sorrow.

Kneeling before the large cauldron, the three senior elders controlled the fire to cremate the body, while memories flooded Bao'er's mind, leaving her heart heavy with grief.

An hour later, the three senior elders finished their task and approached Bao'er.

"Master," they addressed her.

Bao'er wiped her tears, her eyes filled with sadness, and walked alone to the cauldron, slowly collecting her master's ashes and placing them in a small urn. Gazing at the urn, Bao'er felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

"Elder Yaoyu," Bao'er suddenly called out to one of the elders.

"Yes, Master," one of the elders stepped forward.

"This cauldron burned my master. It shouldn't remain in this world. Destroy it," Bao'er said calmly.

Hearing Bao'er's words, the three elders felt a pang. The Eight-Eared Fire Cauldron was a fifth-grade artifact. How could they destroy such a precious treasure just because it had cremated the former sect leader?

From this, the three elders realized that although the new sect master was extremely gentle and kind to those close to her, she showed no mercy to her enemies. Just like the former sect leader, even though she was a woman, she had dominated the sect.

"Yes," Elder Yaoyu immediately responded.

"Master, what are our plans?" another elder asked promptly.

"Prepare to leave Shenzhou this afternoon and head to Tianlang Island to return to our sect and bury our master," Bao'er commanded.

"Yes," the three senior elders complied.

Bao'er carried the urn into the thatched cottage, tidying up before gently flipping her hand and storing the urn in her storage bracelet. She checked the items left by her master inside the bracelet, a tinge of sadness flashing in her eyes as she saw the numerous elixirs left for her.

Slowly, Bao'er found a withered flower inside the storage bracelet. Staring at the dried-up blossom, a rare smile appeared on Bao'er's face.

Gently, she took it out, staring at the flower for a while before murmuring to herself, "Old Master, Bao'er is coming back. You're already 87 years old. You must wait for Bao'er. You must stay alive when Bao'er returns. You must, you must..." —

In the Great Jing Dynasty, north of Xuanjing City, atop a high mountain, a figure dressed in black with a bamboo hat gazed at the bustling city from afar.

Standing atop the high mountain, the figure in black sighed softly.

"Adoptive father, Nineteen has already left the land of Shenzhou. This unfilial child must also depart. The Great Lóng Dynasty, hehe, the Great Lóng Dynasty," the figure murmured to himself, expressing a sense of world-weariness, remorse, and determination.

As the figure spoke to himself, a flying sword suddenly appeared in the sky, landing in front of him with an elderly man with a white beard atop it.

"Let's go," the old man said.

"Yes, Master," the figure nodded, stepping onto the flying sword.

With a flick of the old man's foot, the sword carried them swiftly northwestward—

Tianlang Island, at the end of a long mountain range, atop the highest peak.

Three individuals stood on a prominent boulder: Zhongshan, Tiānxīngzi, and Ní Púsà.

They stood together on the stone, surrounded by runes imbued with hues of black and yellow, constantly flickering and vanishing as if they were alive.

"Elder, by painting these runes, will outsiders be unable to see the three of us?" Zhongshan asked with skepticism in his eyes.

"Underneath us lies a dragon vein, and you carry a trace of the Emperor's Qi, also known as the Dragon Qi. By using the 'Great Array of Harmonizing Dragon's Veins,' I'm connecting your Dragon Qi with the Dragon Qi of this dragon vein. Everything within the array will merge with the heavens and earth, rendering it invisible and imperceptible to outsiders," Ní Púsà explained.

"They won't sense anything at all?" Tiānxīngzi frowned slightly.

"Go and check if you don't believe me," Ní Púsà nodded.

Tiānxīngzi flew out of the area and looked back at where Zhongshan was. After concentrating and even taking out a fist-sized crystal-like object, he flew back.

"Master, it's truly invisible?" Zhongshan exclaimed in surprise.

Ní Púsà shook his head with a light laugh, clearly confident. Tiānxīngzi handed the crystal-like object to Zhongshan.

"Memory Crystal. It records images for a certain period. This one contains what I just saw," Tiānxīngzi explained.

"Got it," Zhongshan took it immediately. Memory Crystals were recorded in the Odd Treasure Pavilion and could capture images for a set time.

Zhongshan activated his True Essence, and within the crystal, there was the scene that Tiānxīngzi had recorded earlier. A mountain peak, completely deserted, with no sign of the rune array visible.

At that moment, Zhongshan truly believed in Feng Shui masters. What a miraculous ability!

"Alright, we're approaching the Tai Dan Sect. The demons will be here soon," Ní Púsà suddenly spoke.

"Understood," everyone nodded, falling silent and watching intently from their vantage point.