The Nine Cauldrons

Mu Yunyi

When Teng Qingshan heard from Li Jun that the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit had already matured, a sense of elation filled his heart since the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit was required if his father Teng Yongfan were to stand again.

“Little Jun, ask the Six Legged Bladelike Chi to guard the cave. While I am gone, no one else but you guys are allowed to enter the cave,” Teng Qingshan instructed. At the same time, he hid the six stone inscriptions and the Splitting Mountain Axe in different secret locations within the empty cave.

“Yes. Alright.”

Li Jun nodded and simultaneously emitted deep-sounding roars towards the gigantic beast that was lying on the ground nearby.

The Six Legged Bladelike Chi lazily opened the huge protruding eyes on its triangular head. It cast a glance at Teng Qingshan and roared deeply, appearing to be slightly annoyed.

“Big Brother Teng, the Six Legged Bladelike Chi said that it will eat any outsiders that come in,” Li Jun laughed as she explained.

“Tsk, tsk. Eating humans? So fierce.” Teng Qingshan joked, grinned, and flicked a glance at the Six Legged Bladelike Chi. However, the Six Legged Bladelike Chi closed its eyes and continued resting on the ground, ignoring Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan felt a sense of relief.

Teng Qingshan was not at fault. The six stone inscriptions and the Splitting Mountain Axe were both very precious and couldn’t be lost.

“Big Brother Teng, you won’t leave for too long this time, right?” Li Jun inquired.

Teng Qingshan cast a glance at Li Jun, and replied, “The Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal asked me to be present when he is treating Mu Yunyi. When Mu Yunyi is completely healed, I will come back with the remaining parts of the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit. If nothing unexpected happens, I will be able to make it back by tonight. Haha, let’s eat dinner together when I return.”

Hearing this, Li Jun seemed to have thought of something as she blushed and nodded.

Noticing Li Jun’s expression, and thinking back to the words he had just said, Teng Qingshan rubbed his nose and thought to himself, “Why did the words I spoke sound like the instructions of a husband to a wife?” Immediately, Teng Qingshan carried the sheathed Reincarnation Spear and walked out of the passageway.

……

“Mister Teng,” said the Second Elder respectfully. The experts behind him even stared at Teng Qingshan with their eyes beaming.

As the core members of the Rising Sun Trading Company, these experts were well informed about Teng Qingshan.

When Teng Qingshan invaded the Dong Residence and captured Dong Zhezi, anyone with inside information knew about it

“Haha, Second Elder. Thank you for coming.” Teng Qingshan laughed and said, “I have awaited this day for a very long time. Tsk, tsk. The Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit grows so slowly! Hm…Second Elder, I will be going to the Cloudy Dreamy Ancient City now. Forgive me for not accompanying you.” At this moment, a huge eagle darted down from a high altitude.

It was the Whole Gale Eagle!

Teng Qingshan smiled and flicked a glance at Li Jun, who was nearby. Li Jun was indeed the one that notified the Whole Gale Eagle to come.

“Little Grey” Teng Qingshan waved his hand.

The Whole Gale eagle immediately hovered in the sky above Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan leapt as high as a tree and landed on the Whole Gale Eagle’s back, then glanced downward. Besides Li Jun and Little Ping, he also saw that there were two people amidst the forest in the northern area.

One was Teng Shou, and the other was the village girl that sat on the side and watched Teng Shou practice his fist art.

“It seemed like Ah Shou and the girl named Ah Xiu are getting closer.” Teng Qingshan smiled and shook his head.

“Screech~~”

As the Whole Gale Eagle emitted an excited, high-pitched cry, it flapped its wings forcefully, causing a vigorous surge in the air currents. Riding on the wind, the Whole Gale Eagle immediately rocketed through the sky and left, rapidly disappearing in the northwest horizon.

In the Rising Sun City, the inner city of the Cloudy Dreamy Ancient City.

In the ancient palace permeated with fragrance, no chairs could be found. There was only a dark red table made of Vermillion Dragon Wood. The longer an object made with Vermillion Dragon Wood was used, the brighter it would become. Any objects made with Vermillion Dragon Wood would also exude a fragrance of ancient wood.

A carpet was placed beneath the table, and two people sat cross-legged on both sides of the table.

One was Great Elder Mu Wang, who carried his huge Blood Devouring Blade, while the other person was a cold-looking, young, handsome, bald man. Yet, the young man’s sleeves hung loosely by his sides. His sleeves were empty. A hot jug of tea and two little dark-brown bowls were placed on the table.

“Yunyi, I thought you would never be nervous.” Mu Wang held his teacup and took a sip.

“Teacher, my mental state has not reached that level, since…I will be able to eat the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit when the Most Powerful Martial Saint arrives and my arms will grow back.” It seemed as though frosty stars flashed in the young man’s eyes as he said, “It’s been eleven years! I lost my arms when I was nineteen-years-old and I am thirty-years-old this year.”

Because the young man had lost his arms, he had suffered greatly during the past eleven years. The entire Mu Clan had eight major branches and seventy-nine minor branches. The different minor branches were also divided into many subgroups! The Mu Clan really had too many members. There were over two hundred thousand members of the Mu Clan in the Cloudy Dreamy Ancient City, as well as several hundred thousand members in other places around the continent.

Through this, one could easily imagine how fierce the competition between the younger generation of the Mu Clan was!

The Mu Clan had always been impartial. Regardless of whether it was one of the major branches or one of the minor branches, capable people would assume a higher status.

Mu Yunyi was part of a very weak minor branch of the Mu Clan. Because of the exhibition of his skills at a young age, he obtained a higher status in the minor branch, and his parents, friends, and many relatives benefited because of it.

However, when he lost his arms, his status in his minor branch immediately plummeted and many people secretly mocked him.

Mu Yunyi had been a talented genius, but once he had lost his arms, what future was there left for him?

Even when people chided and mocked him, and even when his engagement was broken off because of this, Mu Yunyi didn’t care. He shut himself in his house all year long. He closed the gate and didn’t give a damn about anything that happened outside. The loss of his arms made him depressed for half a month. He then endeavoured to overcome the difficulties that he faced, and actually converted the Mu Clan’s 《Bolting Thunder Blade Art》into a leg martial art!

Without seeking for fame or benefits, he cultivated assiduously for ten years, and in the year he turned 29 years old, he actually reached the Innate Realm!

When the news of him reaching the Innate Realm got out, it created quite a stir in the entire Mu Clan.

The people that originally belittled and mocked Mu Yunyi were dumbfounded. The family that broke off the engagement and many younger generations of the Mu Clan were astounded. A twenty-nine year old innate expert! As a twenty-nine year old innate expert, Mu Yunyi could be said to be a top-notch talented figure in the Duanmu Continent.

For example, Teng Qingshan’s teacher, Zhuge Yuanhong, reached the Innate Realm at the age of thirty.

As for Mu Yunyi, he reached the Innate Realm at the age of twenty-nine! It was indeed a very amazing achievement. The population of the Duanmu Continent was less than that of the Land of the Nine Prefectures. If Zhuge Yuanhong, someone who reached the Innate Realm at the age of thirty, was considered a talented figure in the Land of the Nine Prefectures, then Mu Yunyi could be considered, in the Duanmu Continent, to be a talented figure that would only appear once in three hundred years!

Through this, one could determine how astonishingly great Mu Yunyi’s potential was.

Because such a talented figure appeared in the Mu Clan, Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal, the person with the highest status in the Mu Clan, was willing to lend the six stone inscriptions and ask Teng Qingshan to help search for the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit. When the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit was found, the Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal even spent an entire year guarding Snake Mountain in the Cloudy Dreamy Swampland!

“Yes, Yunyi. You possessed great aptitude, great intelligence, and determination. However, you must not be proud.” Great Elder Mu Wang said, “For instance, this good friend of mine, Teng Qingshan, is no older than fifty. However, he is even stronger than me. Based on my estimation, he must have reached the Innate Realm at the age of twenty.”

In Mu Wang’s opinion, cultivators would spend a long time on the three cultivation rankings, the Hollow Dan of the Innate Realm, the True Dan of the Innate Realm, and the Golden Dan of the Innate Realm, as well as their comprehension of the Heavenly Dao.

Based on this, Mu Wang deduced that Teng Qingshan was very young when he reached the Innate Realm.

“I understand,” Mu Yunyi nodded.

From the time when Mu Yunyi lost his arms until the time when he became the best and most outstanding expert among the younger generations of the Mu Clan, he had experienced ups and downs, causing his mentality to undergo a transformation.

“Teacher, you said that the Most Powerful Martial Saint ‘Teng Qingshan’ is the best among the experts ranked below the Martial Immortal. I really want to meet him,” Mu Yunyi’s eyes shone as he spoke.

“Screech~~~” A loud bird cry sounded in the sky outside.

Hearing this, Great Elder Mu Wang’s eyes lit up as he stood immediately and said, with a smile, “Yunyi, let’s go. That good friend of mine has arrived.”

“The Most Powerful Martial Saint?” Mu Yunyi also stood up hastily.

The two walked, one preceding the other, and speedily left the palace, rushing towards the palace that the Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal resided in.

An enormous eagle darted downward from a high altitude. A cold-looking, handsome, young man with long hair sat cross-legged on the eagle’s back. Mu Yunyi gazed upward and thought to himself, “Is this the Most Powerful Martial Saint ‘Teng Qingshan?” He couldn’t help but feel stunned. Judging by appearances, he couldn’t imagine that…the person before his eyes was really the best among the experts ranked below the Martial Immortal, an existence even stronger than his teacher Mu Wang.

The fierce wind caused by the dive of the Whole Gale Eagle blew dust into the air.

Teng Qingshan leaped down.

“Brother Teng,” Mu Wang walked over with a smile.

“Brother Mu,” Teng Qingshan grinned and responded.

Mu Yunyi was still examining Teng Qingshan at that moment. Based on Teng Qingshan’s appearance, eyes, and aura, he felt that…Teng Qingshan wasn’t old.

“Yunyi, come here,” Mu Wang instructed.

Mu Yunyi hastily walked over respectfully.

“Brother Teng, let me introduce you to the new disciple I accepted, Mu Yunyi,” Great Elder Mu Wang said proudly.

“Oh.” Teng Qingshan stared at the limbless bald young man with a smile.

Being able to overcome the difficulties of losing both arms and reaching the Innate Realm at the age of twenty-nine showed that Mu Yunyi was a man with determination, and Teng Qingshan admired people with such determination.

“Yunyi pays my respect to Mister Teng.” Mu Yunyi bowed respectfully.

“Haha…Let’s not talk in front of the door. Brother Teng must be wanting to see the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit now, while Yunyi must be wanting to grow back his arms now. Let’s go in! If Brother Teng hadn’t arrive….teacher wouldn’t be able to cure Yunyi’s arms.” Mu Wang laughed and stepped into the palace with Teng Qingshan, while Mu Yunyi followed behind.

……

The three arrived at the secret room in the palace that the Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal dwelled in. The sunlight beamed through the window. There was a carpet in the room and the Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal was seen sitting cross-legged, and there was a jade box placed before him.

“Teacher.”

“Senior.”

“Honorable Martial Immortal.”

Mu Wang, Teng Qingshan, and Mu Yunyi bowed at the same time. Before the Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal, even Teng Qingshan felt an unknown pressure.

The Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal opened his eyes and saw the three people. He immediately grinned and said, “Haha, Qingshan. Last time, I said that the Cloudy Dreamy White Fruit would mature in a minimum of two to three months and a maximum of one to two years. I guess you must have waited impatiently.”

Teng Qingshan smiled.

“Yes, Let’s not talk anymore nonsense. Yunyi must be very impatient now.” The Cloud Dreamy Martial Immortal looked at Yunyi with a smile, and instructed, “Yunyi, take off your upper garments.”