The Nine Cauldrons

A Turbulent Evening

A dreamy color emerged from the reflection of the sunlight in the sea. Both Teng Qingshan and Li Jun were leaning onto the railing at the front of the ship, gazing into the endless sea.

Li Jun was full of smiles, the kind of smile that came from the bottom of her heart. At this moment, she felt a joy that she has never felt before as she asked: "Big Brother Teng, you told me in the prairie that the purpose of this voyage was to cultivate arduously…. It turns out you were lying to me! Tell me, what kind of place is the Northern Sea Continent?"

Teng Qingshan couldn't help laughing as he heard this

"Since you're already coming with me, I won't hide it from you!" Teng Qingshan looked towards the north, "The Northern Sea Continent is located in the north...I reckon it's more than a hundred thousand Li away!"

“More than a hundred thousand Li?" Li Jun inhaled a mouthful of cold air as her eyes turned round, "How big is the great land of the Nine Prefectures? You have to drift for more than a hundred thousand Li? The wind won't be constantly blowing north, so once the wind changes directions, then this distance of a hundred thousand Li will take even longer to finish. Besides, how can we even discover such a distant land? Big Brother Teng, how did you even know about this?”

Li Jun felt very puzzled at this moment.

"Emperor Yu told me!" Teng Qingshan acted mysteriously.

"Emperor Yu? He’s been dead for who knows how many years, so how could he possibly tell you? In your dreams perhaps?" Li Jun also laughed.

“This has to do with Emperor Yu’s Treasure back in the Great Yan Mountain!" As Teng Qingshan explained, Li Jun became silent and listened attentively. Only now did she realize that a horrifying lethal battle had occurred in the underground lake, and she also came to understand why Teng Qingshan wanted to go to the Northern Sea Continent.

Li Jun sighed softly, "Qing Qing died miserably, and she was just a victim of the battle!"

“That’s right!”

Teng Qingshan gazed into the endless waves with his eyes fluttering, "It was actually only due to profit. All the Supreme Sects wanted to obtain Emperor Yu’s Treasure. The battle that came afterwards happened only because of the Elixir of the North Sea! Whether it was me, Qing Qing, or even the Gui Yuan Sect, we were all victims of this fight! Why did we have to subject to their mercy? It was because we were too weak!”

“If the Gui Yuan Sect were as strong as Mani Temple, then who would dare to search the three thousand Black Armored Soldiers of the Gui Yuan Sect?”

"Even if we weren’t as powerful as Mani Temple, as long as we would achieve the same level as the Ying Family, Qing Hu Island, or Shooting Sun God Mountain, then those people wouldn't dare to cause trouble! This is the privilege of having power!”

Teng Qingshan was clear on this matter.

Just like in the different villages, the stronger the village was, the better the tribal life would be. All the girls from other villages would want to marry into the stronger village. It was all about power!

In the society of his previous life, an A-level hitman could be easily ordered around by the Hitman Organization. But when you were an SS-level hitman, then the Hitman Organization would have to treat you like a god! Even in the ranks of ordinary people, if you had money or a good occupation, then finding a girlfriend would be easier. Additionally, other people wouldn't dare to make trouble for you. This was an universal law!

People can only respect you if you are strong!

"In my perspective, the voyage to the Northern Sea Continent is a kind of training!" Teng Qingshan's eyes shined as he said, "The Godly Axe Mountain is just one of the reasons! Even if I did not go to the Godly Axe Mountain, I'd still be able to deepen my understanding of ‘Dao’ due to frustration of the back and forth setbacks! I will only return to the land of the Nine Prefectures when I’ve become strong!”

A smile crept up Li Jun’s face as she watched Teng Qingshan explain from the side.

……

As Teng Qingshan fled and traveled, he already felt that his mental state had gone through a transformation!

During these six months on the prairie, Teng Qingshan used the heavens as his blanket and the earth as his bed. He would help the ordinary pitiful residents of the prairie or kill some mounted bandits.... As Teng Qingshan cultivated, killed, and helped others, he felt that his entire heart was gradually approaching perfection, and consequently, it became easier for him to comprehend Dao.

For example, when Zhuge Yanhong first witnessed Teng Qingshan's ability, he sighed in surprise, thinking that Teng Qingshan had the innocence of a newborn and had been taught by the Heavens and Earth!

While in reality, Teng Qingshan did not actually have the innocence of a newborn !

What was the meaning of the "innocence of a newborn?"

It meant being just like a newborn baby who can’t differentiate good and evil and viewed the world with the purest perspective! His heart was unsullied as he had not received any teaching from the outside world and was also restricted. Because he had the purest heart, he was able to understand this world even more clearly and was able to touch upon "Dao"!

However, Teng Qingshan was different!

In his previous life, Teng Qingshan went through a hitman’s hellish training, so his temperament had already been affected. After a series of struggles in this life—as the saying goes, one must enter the secular world to be born!—it was because Teng Qingshan had many experiences that he could see through many intrinsic qualities. He understood the Heavens and Earth from his experience on the prairie, thus, his temperament was almost pure!

It was all about the heart!

Teng Qingshan understood that the innocence of a newborn was actually a regression! Returning back to when one was just born and possessing the innocence of a newborn after the experiencing worldly affairs! Recognizing oneself and recognizing one’s own heart!

One would only be able to achieve true success after the heart and soul had been washed with the endless secular world!

With a heart like this, one would understand ‘Dao’ even more easily!

This was why Teng Qingshan could attain such achievement of the ‘Dao of the Earth Element’ within six months!

“The voyage on the North Sea is a process of purification, training the heart to understand Dao!” Teng Qingshan’s heart remained calm and peaceful.

……

At dusk, the sea breeze was blowing.

"Catch fish? Big Brother Teng, how do we catch fish?" Li Jun stood on the deck while she eyed the water below her. She previously said that they should eat food when Teng Qingshan unexpectedly replied that he was going to make cooked food and jumped into the sea.

Swoosh~~~

The waves started to toss around.

"Hm?" Li Jun quickly opened her eyes wide. Looking carefully, she saw that the tossing gradually grew more violent!

"Eh?" Li Jun was astonished as she looked below her, seeing a fiery red glow permeating Teng Qingshan’s skin. Both of his hands struck out with a fist art, and a large water sphere formed in front of him. He seemed to be able to control it with both of his hands, and inside the water sphere, there was a huge amount of fish swimming about .

Li Jun was completely stunned: "How did you do that? Why can't the fish swim out of the sphere? How did you control that sphere?"

"Catch it!" Teng Qingshen laughed soundly as he tossed the sphere like a rubber ball.

“Boom””

The sphere was sent flying and exploded in mid air. A large amount of water then splashed onto the deck of the tungsten wood vessel. A few hundred white sparkling fish landed on the deck and continuously flopped. What a magnificent sight!

“Whew!”

Teng Qingshan stomped the water and leaped straight onto the deck.

"Little Jun..." Teng Qingshan looked at Li Jun and started to laugh.

"Why didn't let me know in advance!" Li Jun angrily gnashed her teeth!

At this moment, Li Jun's clothes were soaking wet, and there was even a fish that landed on her head before rolling down to the deck, where it continued to flop.

“Didn’t I say to catch it?” Teng Qingshan laughed, "Hurry up and prepare to grill the fish. Oh, you should probably go change clothes first."

"Fine!" Li Jun humphed and immediately left for the cabin.

Teng Qingshan looked at the deck, which was filled of flopping fish, and his mood improved considerably. Although it was only the second day of the voyage, it seemed like entering the mental state for understanding the concept of the Fist Art was becoming much more comfortable and natural.

After Li Jun and Teng Qingshan ate their grilled fish, Teng Qingshan began to practice his martial arts. Li Jun would occasionally practice her martial arts as well, and at other times she would just stand at the side and watch him practice.

They spent their time in this manner until late at night, when the two would go back into the cabin.

……

Inside the cabin, a large flowery curtain was used to separate the entire cabin in two. Teng Qingshan slept on the area outside of the curtain while Li Jun normally slept inside.

"Seems like bringing Little Jun out here wasn't exactly a good decision" Teng Qingshan touched his chin and smiled wryly. After two days, Teng Qingshan had realized that there were a lot of issues! For example, a human’s three emergencies1, changing clothes, sleeping conditions, and other daily activities. A lot of living conditions would be problematic due to their gender difference!

Teng Qingshan and Li Jun had spent the previous night fixing the cabin and did not sleep properly as a result.

Tonight was the first night they would get a proper rest.

Teng Qingshan directly sat down crosslegged on a cotton blanket on the floor inside of the cabin. He closed his eyes and started to meditate. To Teng Qingshan, there was no difference between meditation and sleep!

“Walla~”

The sound of water flowing was constantly heard outside of the cabin, but the inside of the cabin seemed to have become very quiet.

Li Jun quietly pulled open the curtain and glanced at Teng Qingshan cultivating in peace. She then let out a smile as she closed the curtain.

“Yawn…..”

Li Jun was laying on her bed as she looked up at the ceiling, "I'm finally together with Big Brother Teng! I’m finally able to see him sleep, cultivate, practice martial arts, eat food, and see his occasional forced smile...." As Li Jun continued thinking, a smile crept up her face.

She felt very happy!

After a while, she finally fell asleep.

“Rumble~~”

The cabin suddenly started to shake. Because of the violent undulation, Li Jun fell down the bed. She immediately cried out in panic, "Big Brother Teng, what happened?" As she was asking, she threw on some clothes and pulled open the curtain.

At the same moment, Teng Qingshan also got up and was already on his way up the stairs.

"It should be a storm!" Teng Qingshan himself wasn't sure, "You stay in the cabin. Don't go out!"

"Alright." Li Jun obediently stayed inside the cabin.

Wooosh——

A huge amount of rainwater flowed in as he opened the cabin door, and a burst of coldness hit his face. "This is only the second day. Did something bad happen already?" Teng Qingshan immediately leaped out and closed the cabin door.

“Rumble~~”

Only after being outside did Teng Qingshan realize that the situation was bad. A dark, gloomy sea roared as it engulfed the areas in front of him. The entire tungsten wood vessel was constantly lurching inside the violent sea.

"How unlucky!" Teng Qingshan couldn’t even stand still on the boat. He leaped forcefully.

Swoosh!

With one leap, Teng Qingshan jumped a height of over twenty Zhang. He looked below him once he reached a high-enough altitude——

Seeing the water constantly toss around, he noticed that an enormous and appalling whirlpool had formed. While at same time, the tungsten wood vessel was spinning inside the whirlpool, tossed around by the waves. The tungsten wood vessel was like a toy that could be split apart at anytime! Teng Qingshan watched this as his heart grew tense.

"Whirlpool? What bad luck. The tungsten wood vessel shouldn't be that fragile, right?"

Teng Qingshan began to fall back down. However, this time, he did not descend on the tungsten wood vessel. Instead, he fell into the sea.

"Hu!" Teng Qingshan stomped on the water and charged toward the tungsten wood vessel.

"Bam~" However, a large wave hit Teng Qingshan and caused him to submerge.

TLN: a human’s three emergencies1: urination, defecation, and vomiting