The Nine Cauldrons

"Qingshan, this is a delightful occasion. We must go and congratulate him," said Li Jun.

"Yes, yes, during the past twenty years, teacher has been training very hard and now he has finally succeeded. It is a happy occasion," said Teng Qingshan. He was very happy for his teacher. He had already viewed his teacher as a family member. Teng Qingshan continued saying, "Right, Little Jun, you mentioned that the girl, whom Hongwu likes, will soon be done with her time of mourning?"

"Oh," nodded Li Jun with a smile, "That girl, whose name is Little Ru, is done with mourning. It is now appropriate for her to marry. Shouldn’t we choose a day to go and propose the marriage?"

Teng Qingshan clasped his fist and laughed, "Alright, I will go find grandfather immediately. Grandfather has been concerned about Hongwu’s marriage; we will let him choose a date. Furthermore, teacher still does not know that I have attained the Insightful Emptiness Realm. Since I will be visiting Grandfather, I might as well visit teacher and let him know about it."

"All these years, teacher has been thinking about attacking the Shooting Sun God Mountain of Yanzhou. Back then, I was not strong enough to conquer two prefectures, but now, it is time to talk about conquering the two prefectures." Teng Qingshan did not forget the promise that he had made. Furthermore, the Shooting Sun God Mountain definitely had grudges in their heart due to the death of Shen Gongtu. Just because they had endured the hatred and had done nothing to retaliate, it does not mean that Shooting Sun God Mountain would forget about it.

After all, Shen Gongtu’s younger brother was the current Emptiness Realm Expert of Shooting Sun God Mountain.

Teng Qingshan himself did not want his enemy to continue growing stronger at a rate like this.

"Yes. Back then, Shen Gongtu tried to kill you, but he lost his life in the end. The Shooting Sun God Mountain definitely won’t forget about this," nodded Li Jun.

"Brother Qingshan, I have just returned to Great Yan Mountain and you all are going to stir up some great movements," laughed Mu Tao.

"It’s not some great movements," Teng Qingshan shook his head, "I just want to offer teacher some help. I will go and kill the Emptiness Realm expert of the Shooting Sun God Mountain. However, the army of Gui Yuan Sect will still be the force attacking Yanzhou! Gui Yuan Sect is the sect that will conquer the land of Yanzhou." Xing Yi Sect did announce to the world that the sect will not fight for hegemony, but it does not mean that the Emptiness Realm experts of Xing Yi Sect would hide and not fight back when the sect is bullied.

Xing Yi Sect has no intention of fighting for hegemony. If the Emptiness Realm Expert of Xing Yi Sect fought against an Emptiness Realm Expert of another sect, that was not considered fighting for hegemony. It would only be considered the resolution of a personal issue.

*******

After about ten days, on the second of December:

It was bitterly cold with piercing winds. Above the clouds, Teng Qingshan, who was wearing a white cloak, and Li Jun, who was wearing purple clothes, were flying south-west together.

The sun above the clouds was brighter and prettier. The sunlight of winter warmed the body.

"Hongwu has been in Yong’an County. I don’t think he knows about us proposing his marriage," smiled Teng Qingshan. Li Jun also smiled, "Do you remember when he was three or four years old? He was more well-behaved than his older sister Linlin. He was a very good boy. As long as we give him two sweets, he wouldn’t make any noise."

"Haha, right. When he was young, I forced him to wake up in the morning and practice his fist art. Sometimes, he would be in such pain that he would start crying, but he would continue cultivating without saying anything," Teng Qingshan sighed, "I can’t believe it. He is getting married soon.

"I am just not satisfied that our child, Hongwu, likes business more than training. If he invested all his energy into cultivation, he would have an endless potential of achieving great success." Teng Qingshan was very proud of his son, but he was obviously hoping that his son could inherit his legacy. However, the current reality showed otherwise.

The couple hovered above the extremely high layer of clouds and transformed into a ray of colorful light. They soon arrived on top of Yong’an County.

"Yong’an County!"

Looking down from above, there were mountains in the city and there were even bigger ones outside the city. Because of that, the entire Yong’an County looked like a ferocious whale with a huge back fin.

The ray of colorful light then descended from the clouds and landed in Yong’an County.

...

Over twenty percent of the land in Yong’an County belonged to the Gui Yuan Sect. As a strong sect which conquered eight counties of Yangzhou, Gui Yuan Sect had an impressive amount of disciples. Naturally, the sect occupied even more land.

"Teacher, don’t mind me. Please continue your conversation.

When Teng Qingshan arrived in Gui Yuan Sect, he realized that his teacher, Zhuge Yuanhong, was having a meeting with a few Innate Experts. And so, he sent his teacher a message with the use of the Sound Transmitting Technique.

"Qingshan, it’s you?" Zhuge Yuanhong replied with the use of the Sound Transmission Technique. The tone of his voice was conveyed great astonishment.

When he noticed the aura of a black hole appearing with Li Jun’s aura, Zhuge Yuanhong was very confused. He couldn’t think of any Insightful Emptiness Realm Experts who appear with Li Jun. At first, he thought it was Pei San. His second guess was that Teng Qingshan had entered the Insightful Emptiness Realm. However, he simply could not believe the second conjecture.

"Qingshan, I can’t believe you reached the Insightful Emptiness Realm. Haha..." Obviously, Zhuge Yuanhong was very happy.

"I have learned a lot," Teng Qingshan laughed as he replied with the use of the Sound Transmitting Technique, "Teacher, you should continue your discussion with the elders. We can talk afterward. I have a lot to tell you."

"Alright, I will meet you later," Zhuge Yuanhong instructed with the use of the Sound Transmitting Technique and continued discussing the big events of Gui Yuan Sect with the Law Enforcing Elders.

Teng Qingshan did not eavesdrop on the discussion between Zhuge Yuanhong and the Law Enforcing Elders.

"Little Jun, although I had been here twice since Gui Yuan Sect was built, I have only come to see my teacher. Actually, I have never walked around in the newly built Gui Yuan Sect before. Since teacher is busy, let’s go and look around in Gui Yuan Sect. Let me see if the newly constructed Gui Yuan Sect in Yong’an County is any different from the Gui Yuan Sect in Jiangning County."

"At least it is bigger than the Gui Yuan Sect in Jiangning County and there are more disciples. It’s busier and more prosperous now," laughed Li Jun.

"Of course it is prosperous! A sect would either prosper or deteriorate and it’s impossible for Gui Yuan Sect to deteriorate." Teng Qingshan said with a smile.

"Actually, Gui Yuan Sect should really be grateful. If it weren’t for you, Gui Yuan Sect would never become what it is today." Li Jun laughed secretly as she spoke. Yet, Teng Qingshan shook his head and responded, "I am my teacher’s disciple. As the disciple, I should do something for my teacher. There’s no mention of gratitude or appreciation in this situation.

On top of a hill, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun were strolling very leisurely.

The Gui Yuan Sect was extremely huge. It occupied an even bigger space than the land of Yi City.

There were hills, lakes, and rivers in the sect.

"Elder Ni, it’s best if you don’t say this kind of things often." A voice came from the forest on top of the hill. "Elder Wang, what do you mean it’s best to not say it? Who doesn’t know about this? Back then, our Sovereign lent the Fiery Gilt Battle Armor and the Fiery Feather Battle Armor to Teng Qingshan and asked him to lead the troop and guard the land of the few counties in the south. However, he never returned the battle armor. Hmph! These are facts! Why won’t you let me say it?"

Teng Qingshan and Li Jun frowned when they heard the sound in the forest.

The question of who should possess the Fiery Gilt Battle Armor and the Fiery Feather Battle Armor had caused a lot of conflicts between Xing Yi Sect and Gui Yuan Sect.

Gui Yuan Sect had never told the public about the source of the Fiery Gilt Metal. After all, people would not believe that Teng Qingshan had gotten so much Fiery Gilt Metal by himself. If they disclosed this secret to the public, perhaps all the other sects would know that the Fiery Gilt Metal that they desired was obtained by Teng Qingshan during the several years he had gone missing. Because of this, sects like the Heavenly God Palace would naturally guess that the origin of the Fiery Gilt Metal was somewhere overseas.

Teng Qingshan and Gui Yuan Sect did not want the sects to search in the Northern Sea. They did not want the world to know about the Northern Sea Continent.

However, this also caused a problem.

The people of Gui Yuan Sect thought that Xing Yi Sect had taken the Fiery Gilt Battle Armor and Fiery Feather Battle Armor for themselves and did not want to return it.

As for the higher authorities in Xing Yi Sect, such as Yang Dong and Teng Shou, they wanted to reclaim the Fiery Gilt Battle Armor and the Fiery Feather Battle Armor to strengthen the image of Xing Yi Sect.

"Elder Ni, so what if he took it for himself? Lord Teng Qingshan had done great deeds for Gui Yuan Sect. It does not matter if Teng Qingshan possesses the Fiery Gilt Battle Armor and the Fiery Feather Battle Armor. Just consider it as a gift of appreciation. After all, we owe him a lot."

"Hmph, Elder Wang, you might see Teng Qingshan as a benefactor, but he might not even care about you. Back then, Teng Qingshan did not care about us and he forced Gui Yuan Sect to leave Jiangning County. Gui Yuan Sect had stayed in Jiangning County for over a thousand years. Many people had to leave home and come to Yong’an County. Never mind that, According to what my father told me, Teng Qingshan promised to help Gui Yuan Sect conquer Yanzhou. But it has been twelve years since he made his promise. We don’t even see signs of him fulfilling the promise

The man whose name was Elder Ni sounded very sarcastic as he spoke. "Elder Wang, Teng Qingshan is now the Sovereign of Xing Yi Sect. He is living a good life. Why would he care about Gui Yuan Sect. I am afraid he had already forgotten that he was once a disciple of Gui Yuan Sect. Within the blink of an eye, he became the Sovereign of Xing Yi Sect.

"Lower down your voice, Elder Ni."

The two middle-aged people approached from afar. However, when they saw the two individuals ahead...

"Eh—."

Their facial expression changed. The middle-aged man with narrow eyes turned very pale as he muttered, "The both faces of the elders changed. The one with long eyes had turned pale, "Teng..."

"Greetings, Lord Teng." The chubby elder greeted.

"Greetings to the Lord," The middle-aged man with narrow eyes also greeted.

Teng Qingshan stared at Elder Ni, who had narrow eyes. His face darkened but he did not say anything. He turned away and continued walking with Li Jun.

"Why did we bump into Teng Qingshan?" Elder Ni muttered to himself. He could feel the drops of perspiration on his forehead.

"I told you to watch what you say. I hope Teng Qingshan will be merciful," Elder Wang looked at his friend, who was walking beside him and added, "It would be the end for you if Lord Teng Qingshan wish to punish you."

"Hmph."

"Punish me? I don’t believe that I will be punished for saying these few words. Furthermore, how can he punish me? I was merely stating facts," said Elder Ni, glaring. Elder Ni was able to say such words because his father was the Law Enforcing Elder of Gui Yuan Sect.

...

Teng Qingshan and Li Jun still continued strolling in Gui Yuan Sect. However, Teng Qingshan was no longer in a good mood.

It was really frustrating!

He had thought a lot for Gui Yuan Sect. He had never forgotten about his promise of helping Gui Yuan Sect conquer Yanzhou. He just did not think it was safe for Gui Yuan Sect to govern a land of two prefectures, at least not until he attained the Insightful Emptiness Realm. However, now, he had finally reached the Insightful Emptiness Realm and he was ready to discuss this matter with his teacher. Yet, he did not expect someone in the sect to say such things about him.

Uncontrollably, Teng Qingshan felt sad and disappointed.

"Hmph," Teng Qingshan couldn’t help but humph.

"Qingshan, are you angry?" Li Jun asked as she glanced over Teng Qingshan.

"It’s fine," Teng Qingshan shook his head.

"Qingshan." A loud voice sounded and a green flowing ray of light flashed. The light appeared before Teng Qingshan and materialized into a person. It was Zhuge Yuanhong, who looked exuberant and vigorous.