The Nine Cauldrons

Emperor Yu’s Hall

It was late at night. Without the moon, the night was pitch-black.

However, at this moment, Teng Qingshan was staring at the stack of papers in his hands. He read one and flipped to read the next, mainly reading the information which Zhuge Yuanhong had already circled to point out. As he read, his expression hardened. “I didn’t expect Pei San to have such great ambition. He has only just destroyed Hong Tian City and conquered Youzhou recently. Yet, he is now preparing to attack Yangzhou!”

Teng Qingshan had been in a very good mood recently as he accompanied his wife and awaited the birth of his child.

However, who would have expected that something like this could happen at this point in time?

“Teacher,” Teng Qingshan closed the papers and said as he stared at Zhuge Yuanhong, “Based on the information written here, it seems like the Heavenly God Palace is indeed planning to make a move and attack Yangzhou. What should we do now?”

“Well, what can we do?”

Zhuge Yuanhong shook his head as he replied, “All schemes are useless against such great power. Since the Heavenly God Palace has decided to attack, the Gui Yuan Sect… Actually, not just the Gui Yuan Sect, even Qing Hu Island won’t be able to stop them. Now, we can only rely on you… Qingshan, your relationship with those Emptiness Realm Experts of the Heavenly God Palace…”

“I know all of them,” Teng Qingshan replied with a nod. Then he immediately shook his head and said, “My relationships with almost all of them are fine. However, the daughter of the Sovereign of the Heavenly God Palace, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult, doesn’t like me.”

Zhuge Yuanhong nodded in response.

Actually, while he was rushing here, he had already been pondering on what they could do to deal with this calamity. Thus, he already had some plans in mind.

“Qingshan,” Zhuge Yuanhong said solemnly.

“Teacher. Tell me. I am listening,” Teng Qingshan said attentively.

Zhuge Yuanhong said solemnly, “Now, it is almost impossible for us to stop the Heavenly God Palace with pure strength. Therefore, we need you to go to Qingzhou with Li Jun. It’s useless if you discuss with other people… Just meet the Sovereign of the Heavenly God Palace and talk to him personally!”

“How am I going to discuss this with him?” Teng Qingshan said anxiously.

Pei San was not an ordinary man.

He had been able to endure in silence for several hundred years. Then the moment he revealed himself, he destroyed Xiao Yao Palace of Qingzhou and then Hong Tian City of Youzhou. Now, he was advancing south to Yangzhou.

Could he, Teng Qingshan, stop this fierce force with just a few sentences?

“About this negotiation… First, you must find out the reason why Pei San is attacking with such haste and why is he even attacking at all. Is he merely trying to fulfill his ambition or are there any other reasons…? Anyway, you must find out what he wants! When you know that, persuade him by looking at things from his point of view. Let him understand that it is not beneficial to attack.”

“Furthermore, Qingshan, you must have noticed,” Zhuge Yuanhong said with a frown, “Normally, if a sect wishes to conquer more territories to glorify and increase the influence of their status, there is no need to rush…. It requires around twenty years to unite the six hundred million people of Qingzhou and Youzhou. If they attack again now, they will still be using the power and forces they have accumulated for several hundred years.

“So, the most stable choice would be to rest for a dozen to twenty years. By that time, Qingzhou and Youzhou would have a loyal army of several million soldiers.

“And the Heavenly God Palace could then rely on the advantages of Qingzhou, Youzhou, and the Great Prairie, and conquer Yangzhou and Yanzhou with an army of over ten million soldiers. In fact, by that time, the Heavenly God Palace might be able to compete against the Mani Temple.”

Teng Qingshan nodded slightly.

Qingzhou and Youzhou had just been conquered. However, Xiao Yao Palace and Hong Tian City had existed for a long time. They had planted many of their men in different cities and different places for a very long time, forming a deep foundation. Even now, many of Xiao Yao Palace’s and Hong Tian City’s men still remained in Qingzhou and Youzhou.

If the Heavenly God Palace really wished to exert absolute control over Qingzhou and Youzhou, they would need to dominate and manage the areas for a dozen to twenty years.

“If they manage to conquer the territories but refuse to manage them, what’s the point of conquering more territories?” Zhuge Yuanhong questioned with a frown. “Therefore, I suspect that the Heavenly God Palace might have other motives. Of course, it could just be that the Heavenly God Palace is extremely confident and eager to conquer all three prefectures.”

Teng Qingshan continued to nod.

“Yes, Teacher. I will prepare now and then go to Qingzhou with Little Jun,” Teng Qingshan replied.

“Yes. This is a matter of great urgency,” Zhuge Yuanhong sighed. Then he said, “Qingshan, if… If the Heavenly God Palace agrees to let the Gui Yuan Sect stay in Jiangning County, that would be fine too. I don’t want to ruin your relationship with the Heavenly God Palace.”

Teng Qingshan nodded.

He knew how serious this matter was… However, he had a tool that would guarantee his success.

“Little Jun, Little Jun.” Teng Qingshan ran hastily into the house and told Li Jun the current situation. When she heard about it, Li Jun was very shocked… After all, she was well aware of Teng Qingshan’s plan. Therefore, without any hesitation, she put on some clothes, got out of bed, and left with Teng Qingshan.

It was the 1st of August. That night, Teng Qingshan donned the Hong Tian Godly Armor and left Yi City with Li Jun and the Six Legged Bladelike Chi. They flew northward, rushing toward Qingzhou.

Teng Qingshan’s trip this time would determine the fate of three hundred million people. Who would be the owner of the flourishing region of Yangzhou in the Land of the Nine Prefectures? Almost three hundred million people throughout Yangzhou continued living their own lives as none of them knew that… Yangzhou was now in great danger.

Yuzhou’s most ancient city, Yu City, was located at the center of the Land of the Nine Prefectures. Due to the Yu Yang Grand Canal, Yu City was the most flourishing city in the Land of the Nine Prefectures.

At the center of Yu City was the luxurious and ancient Emperor Yu’s Palace. The renovation, maintenance, and expansion which had gone on for several thousand years made all the palaces appear even more supreme. The merchants and warriors who came to Yu City all exclaimed in admiration as they passed by the Emperor Yu’s palaces.

TLN: The place is called Emperor Yu’s Palace, but there are many palaces in this place.

To the outside world, the palace was known to be the headquarters of Emperor Yu’s Hall. Indeed, even the Lord of the Emperor Yu’s Hall and other important figures resided here.

However—

Only a few core disciples of the Emperor Yu’s Hall knew that the mountain range outside Yu City was the true base of the Emperor Yu’s Hall. This mountain range was called the Blind Bear Mountain Range by the outsiders who dwelled in the outskirts of Yu City. The range was named so because many groups of black bears dwelled there. These bears are entirely black and had purple eyes.

Each bear possessed incredibly great strength. Furthermore, there were demonic beasts present amidst the black bears.

Therefore, ordinary hunters had no audacity to enter the Blind Bear Mountain Range. They only dared to hunt along the edge of the mountain range.

The groups of black bears became the best cover of Emperor Yu’s Hall. Several palaces were located in the deepest areas of the mountain range. The Emptiness Realm Experts of Emperor Yu’s Hall, as well as the Wind Splitting Dragon Falcon, all resided in these palaces. They only entered the city once in a while.

The palaces were located near the city. Therefore, if anything happened in the city, they would be able to provide support quickly.

“Little Black.”

“Great Black.”

TLN: I hate these names.

A young lady dressed in green threw two fruits toward two bear cubs. One of the two bear cubs appeared slightly bigger than the other, but it was obvious they were both still babies… The two clumsy bear cubs grabbed the fruits and munched away. Seeing this, the young lady in green grinned.

Nearby, some huge black bears walked around the palace. Some of them even rubbed their butts against the walls of the palace, appearing to be living leisurely.

These black bears had a height of two Zhang. However, they got along well with humans and lived peacefully with the people here.

“Little Martial Sister! Little Martial Sister!” A young man in a white robe rushed over.

“Elder Martial Brother?” The young lady in green stared at the young man dubiously.

“I want to meet Martial Ancestor Liu. Do you know where Martial Ancestor Liu is?” The young man in white cloak said hastily.

“Martial Ancestor? I saw him heading toward the temple.” The young lady in green pointed at the tallest palace nearby. “Therefore, Elder Martial Brother, it would be best if you wait.”

“The temple?” The young man in white cloak responded in shock, “I thought Martial Ancestor Huang had strictly ordered not to enter the temple? What happened?”

……

On the seventh floor of the temple:

Three people were seen sitting cross-legged on mats in silence. Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia appeared worried and impatient as they stared at the handsome and young-looking man dressed in yellow. Even though the man appeared young, he had white hair at his temples. Recently, Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia had been hoping to talk to their Martial Uncle. However, their Martial Uncle had been in close-door cultivation, which only ended today.

“Martial Uncle, did you achieve a breakthrough?” Yu Tonghai asked politely, despite being anxious about something else.

“The《Heavenly Book of the Nine Cauldrons》is truly profound,” the young-looking man dressed in yellow said, opening his eyes with a smile. “However, because of its profundity, it is extremely difficult to break free from the restrictions of the 《Heavenly Book of the Nine Cauldrons》. One must comprehend the entire 《Heavenly Book of the Nine Cauldrons》and then attempt to break free!

“I have gained much enlightenment this time.”

“Maybe I will be able to attain the Insightful Emptiness Realm next time.” The young man dressed in yellow appeared very calm. For someone at such a high level, being able to gain enlightenment during a close-door cultivation was already considered good.

“Why are you two here?” The young man in yellow asked while staring at the two people.

From beside him, Liu Xia answered, “Martial Uncle, previously, we went to Hong Tian City and tried to stop that Heavenly God Palace. However, Pei San, the Sovereign of the Heavenly God Palace, is an Insightful Emptiness Realm Expert that even Qin Shiqi couldn’t win against. Therefore, we had no choice but to give up. We could only watch the Heavenly God Palace destroy Hong Tian City.”

“Oh? Is Pei San really that powerful?” The young man dressed in yellow nodded and replied, “You all did the right thing.”

“Martial Uncle,” Yu Tonghai, who stood at the side, said hastily, “However, this time, according to our plan, the two sets of Godly Armor You Shijin took should have ended up in our hands. But who would have expected that the Six-Eared Earth-Drilling Mouse would be wounded by Pei San’s flying blade, thus, giving Jing Yi a chance to give pursuit on the back of his demonic beast. In the end, the two sets of Godly Armor were taken by Jing Yi. During that time, we stopped Jing Yi, but Jing Yi claimed that he hadn’t obtained the Godly Armor.”

“Was the Hong Tian Godly Armor truly taken by Jing Yi?” The young-looking man frowned.

“Yes,” Yu Tonghai’s eyes narrowed sharply as he said, “Martial Uncle, according to the information we gathered… Someone saw Jing Yi wearing a set of blood-red war armor and leaving with his wife Li Jun. The blood-red war armor is the Hong Tian Godly Armor. We reckon that he must have given the Heavenly God Palace the other set of Godly Armor. Abominable… That fellow actually argued with me and Martial Brother Liu that he didn’t have the armor.”

“Hmph!” A glint of coldness flashed in the young man’s eyes as he shouted, “Jing Yi! How dare he!”

“Martial Uncle, we…” Yu Tonghai was about to speak.

“However, Jing Yi is close with the Heavenly God Palace,” the young man dressed in yellow interrupted with a frown. “We must be patient. The more arrogant the Heavenly God Palace is, the quicker the arrival of their destruction. We can deal with Jing Yi after the doomsday of the Heavenly God Palace.”

Hearing this, Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia exchanged glances.

As expected…

Their Martial Uncle still had the same character. He would not do something that wouldn’t produce results.