The Nine Cauldrons

“Unjust death?” Hongwu, Honglin, and Lei Xiaoru, who were at the side, looked over in astonishment.

Li Jun looked at her kids and daughter-in-law and nodded. In a helpless tone, she explained, “It’s true that we can’t see everything that happened during the fight between two Insightful Emptiness Realm Experts. After I asked Little Blue, I found out that this fight is not as amazing as we thought… As a matter of fact, this fight is a joke!”

A joke?” Hongwu, Honglin, and Lei Xiaoru were confused.

Teng Qingshan remained silent. He had guessed that something went wrong during the fight.

“This was what actually happened. When the fight between Huang Tianqin and Pei San started, Huang Tianqin kept speeding up and crisscrossing past Pei San. He just refused to fight! Moreover, Huang Tianqin purposely struck the Thousand Island Lake with waves of the Power of his World, causing the surface of the lake to quiver repeatedly.”

“What?” Hongwu, Honglin, and Xiaoru widened their eyes in disbelief.

“Pei San might have been very angry that Huang Tianqin was refusing to fight. Maybe they talked with the use of the Sound Transmission Technique. Since we can’t hear, we don’t know. In the end, Pei San injured Huang Tianqin with his concealed weapons, causing Huang Tianqin’s speed to slow radically. Pei San, who was furious, then took the chance and killed Huang Tianqin.”

Li Jun’s expression looked very strange when she was done explaining.

Meanwhile, Hongwu, Honglin, and Xiaoru were shocked.

“Haha…” Teng Qingshan, who had been listening quietly, burst out in laughter and said, “He really suffered an ‘unjust’ death. Pei San is truly something. Huang Tianqin must have told Pei San that he admits defeat since the beginning and intentionally did all those things to put on a show for the numerous cultivators in the Land of the Nine Prefectures. However, Pei San refused to play along, and so, the two started arguing. Then, Pei San just killed Huang Tianqin out of anger.”

Teng Qingshan could imagine everything that had happened during the fight.

Honestly, Huang Tianqin was not to be blamed. The Heavenly God Palace was the reason why the three duels between the strongest cultivators had gained so much attention in the Land of the Nine Prefectures. If Huang Tianqin lost after one move, it would bring shame to the Emperor Yu’s Hall. Therefore, he had to act so that he could lose prettily.

Pei San had been the unreasonable one. Moreover, he would not let Huang Tianqin off the hook. He was angered by Huang Tianqin’s actions and killed Huang Tianqin out of rage.

“Huang Tianqin really died unjustly!” Teng Qingshan concluded as he thought about the duel between Huang Tianqin and Pei San. Although Teng Qingshan had a conflict with Huang Tianqin, he still sighed when he thought about Huang Tianqin’s death. “Pei San and Huang Tianqin are both Insightful Emptiness Realm Experts. Yet, Pei San managed to severely injure Huang Tianqin with his concealed weapon. This showed that Pei San was so much more powerful than Huang Tianqin!”

It would be considered impressive if the force of the concealed weapon could be half as powerful as the cultivator’s strongest attack.

For instance, Teng Qingshan’s concealed weapon could only injure experts who had attained culmination of the Emptiness Realm. It would not be powerful enough to wound an Insightful Emptiness Realm Expert.

Yet, Pei San managed to severely injure Huang Tianqin with the use of his concealed weapons.

“It seems like Huang Tianqin has achieved a small success in the cultivation of the Insightful Emptiness Realm. Pei San is too powerful. Because Pei San considered this duel as a very significant event, he was very angry and eventually killed Huang Tianqin out of rage. If Pei San didn’t think this duel was important, he would not have killed Huang Tianqin for what Huang Tianqin has done.” Teng Qingshan nodded silently and said, “Pei San must have wanted to gain the chance to understand Dao through a fight with an Insightful Emptiness Realm Expert.”

Only those who absolutely desire to gain the chance to understand Dao through a fight with another Insightful Emptiness Realm Expert would act so crazily!

Every Insightful Emptiness Realm Expert has their own journey and every one of them had understood different things to reach this cultivation level.

It is possible that other Insightful Emptiness Realm Experts had comprehended the things that Pei San had yet to understand.

This was the reason why Pei San had to fight the three Insightful Emptiness Realm Experts. Through a duel with a weaker Insightful Emptiness Realm Expert, he might discover things that would trigger a moment of enlightenment.

“Because of this extreme desire to attain the Omnipotent Realm, he went berserk on his opponent. Pei San is willing to force the opponent to use their most powerful technique.” Teng Qingshan thought to himself, “This means that…the fight between Pei San and Qin Shiqi will be a fight of life or death. If Pei San survived the fight with Qin Shiqi but did not achieve a breakthrough, he will try his very best in the duel with me. He will also try to kill me to force me to perform at my very best.”

The first of the three duels between the strongest, the fight between Huang Tianqin of the Emperor Yu’s Hall and Pei San of the Heavenly God Palace, ended. Everyone in the Land of the Nine Prefectures talked about the result of this fight.

Some were amazed by the fight, how the waves of energy split the surface of the Thousand Island Lake, revealing the bottom of the lake. The Emptiness Realm Experts were the only people who could see the truth about this fight. All the Emptiness Realm Experts knew what Huang Tianqin had done. But since Huang Tianqin died, there was no point ruining his reputation.

Huang Tianqin’s death was a tragedy known by everyone in the Land of the Nine Prefectures.

Everyone felt sad that one of the current four strongest cultivators had died!

And now, Pei San, Qin Shiqi, and Teng Qingshan were the remaining three.

…

Through the duel between Pei San and Huang Tianqin, Teng Qingshan knew that Pei San had gone crazy… Teng Qingshan knew that Pei San would show no mercy in both of the upcoming duels. Therefore, he continued practicing his fist art and attempting to understand Dao. He worked very hard every day. Soon, spring went and autumn came.

Whew~~

The wind blew and the yellow leaves fell.

In the East Flower Garden:

“Rumble~~” The huge door to the cultivation room that was specially constructed for Teng Qingshan, suddenly opened. Teng Qingshan, who had grown a mustache and short beard, walked out of the cultivation room.

Many people heard the sound of the huge door and immediately rushed over to the East Flower Garden. They were Li Jun, Honglin, Hongwu, Lei Xiaoru, and Teng Qingshan’s parents. Recently, Teng Qingshan’s parents came and stayed with Teng Qingshan’s family. Unfortunately, when Teng Qingshan’s parents arrived, Teng Qingshan had to start his closed-door cultivation. His closed-door cultivation lasted for over two months. During this period, Teng Qingshan’s parents did not dare to disturb Teng Qingshan because they knew that Teng Qingshan has been preparing for the upcoming duel.

“Qingshan.” Li Jun stared at Teng Qingshan, who has been cultivating in seclusion for over two months. She chuckled and said, “Look at you! You look so dirty.”

Teng Qingshan grinned.

“Father… Mother.” Teng Qingshan looked over at his parents.

Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan stared at their son with a proud smile. Their son now stood on the pinnacle of power in the Land of the Nine Prefectures and they could not be more proud. After all, Teng Qingshan created the branch of the Internal Martial Art and rose to a position preceded only by the four Omnipotent Experts. When compared to the Northeastern King Hong Tian, Teng Qingshan’s status was higher.

With a son like Teng Qingshan, Teng Yongfan’s and Yuan Lan’s names would be permanently recorded in history when they die.

“Qingshan, are you confident that you can handle a fight with Pei San?” Teng Yongfan patted Teng Qingshan on the shoulder as he asked.

Teng Qingshan smiled and answered, “I guess.”

“Good then.” Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan heaved a sigh of relief.

Yet, Teng Qingshan secretly felt helpless.

A fight with Pei San would not be easy. Teng Qingshan just didn’t want his parents to be worried. After all, even if his parents were worried, the situation would not get any better. And so, Teng Qingshan thought it would be better to comfort his parents.

“Hongwu.” Teng Qingshan turned and looked at Hongwu and Xiaoru.

“Father,” Hongwu answered quickly.

Teng Qingshan cast a glance at Xiaoru’s stomach. Her stomach was already bulging with the telltale sign of pregnancy. “Hongwu, I am afraid I won’t be present when Xiaoru gives birth to your child.”

“Qingshan.” Teng Yongfan frowned and said, “If you won’t be here when the child is born, where will you be?”

Li Jun, Hongwu, and Honglin all stared at Teng Qingshan, waiting for a response.

“I am going to an island called the Bright Moon Island,” answered Teng Qingshan. Li Jun immediately knew why he was going to the Bright Moon Island.

“This time, I am going to the Bright Moon Island for at least three-to-five months or maybe even longer. I don’t know the maximum amount of time I will be gone.” Teng Qingshan glanced apologetically at his son and said, “It is possible that I, the grandpa of this child, will not be here during the child’s birth, the child’s first-month celebration, and even the child’s hundred-days celebration.” Teng Qingshan was looking forward to the birth of his grandchild, Hongwu’s baby.

However—

Considering the upcoming duel with Pei San, Teng Qingshan did not dare to slack at all.

“Your cultivation is more important.” Li Jun hastily said, “When are you leaving?” As Teng Qingshan’s wife, Li Jun would often lie on the bed with Teng Qingshan and chat about the different things happening in life. She knew how terrifying Pei San was… Therefore, she really supported Teng Qingshan’s decision to take an arduous journey for the sake of cultivation.

“Tomorrow.” Teng Qingshan answered.

“Why are you leaving so soon?” Yuan Lan said hastily, “Qingshan, when are you coming back?”

“Hmm… I promise I will be back by the 12th of December next year.” Teng Qingshan said.

The duel between Pei San and Qin Shiqi was happening on the 12th of December next year.

Teng Qingshan didn’t care about the fight between Pei San and Huang Tianqin. However, he cared about the fight between Qin Shiqi and Pei San. Back then, Qin Shiqi and Pei San met outside Hong Tian City and competed with each other. Although both sides did not reveal their true strength during the fight, the way Qin Shiqi fought revealed to Teng Qingshan that Qin Shiqi was very powerful. In fact, the power possessed by Qin Shiqi during that time was even greater than the power possessed by Teng Qingshan now!

How could Teng Qingshan miss out on a fight between the two!

“Pei San and Qin Shiqi…”

…

Teng Qingshan then spent the rest of the day with his parents, wife, and children. The next morning…

“Father, stay safe.”

Hongwu, Honglin, and the others watched as Teng Qingshan left. Everyone knew that Teng Qingshan was traveling somewhere far away. And so, Teng Qingshan’s disciples, Teng Shou, Yang Dong, and Xue Xin, also came to send Teng Qingshan off.

Teng Qingshan responded with a smile.

“Little Jun, you will be in charge while I am gone.” Teng Qingshan said as he stared at his wife.

“I will be waiting for your return.” Li Jun whispered.

Teng Qingshan smiled and emitted a roar. Immediately, a beam of golden light shot forth. Teng Qingshan leaped and landed on the golden light. It was the Six Legged Bladelike Chi! Teng Qingshan had only planned to bring the Six Legged Bladelike Chi along during this trip to the Bright Moon Island. Since the Undying Phoenix was much stronger, Teng Qingshan felt that he would be more at ease if the Undying Phoenix stayed to protect the Xing Yi Sect.

Whew~ The fierce gust of wind blew, picking up vast amounts of dust.

The Six Legged Bladelike Chi carried Teng Qingshan up into the air. It flew northward and instantly disappeared beyond the northern horizon.

Back then, when the Six Legged Bladelike Chi had not achieved the Emptiness Realm, it took half a month to fly from the Duanmu Continent to the Land of the Nine Prefectures. However, after it had achieved the Emptiness Realm, it only took around 12 hours. The Six Legged Bladelike Chi and Teng Qingshan departed at dawn. When Teng Qingshan looked down during the evening, the Bright Moon Island was already within sight.

“Back then, I steered the Tungsten Wood Vessel and sailed on the Northern Sea for a long time before I passed by the Bright Moon Island.”

Teng Qingshan sighed as he reminisced the past.

To leave the Bright Moon Island, he had to carry the anchor and drag the Tungsten Wood Vessel out of the region of the Nine Rhythm Treacherous Current.

“Walla~”

As the sun set in the west, the region of the Nine Rhythm Treacherous Current still looked very eerie. The sight of the Nine Rhythm Treacherous Current made one marveled at the wonders of the world.

“Bladelike Chi, head that way.” Teng Qingshan pointed and said.

The Six Legged Bladelike Chi immediately dashed over and flew towards two lofty mountains that looked very conspicuous on the Bright Moon Island. The two hills appeared to have been a mountain that had been split into two by an axe. The forbidden cave was located on one mountain and the Sword Tower was situated on the other mountain.

The Six Legged Bladelike Chi carried Teng Qingshan and flew over, transforming into a beam of golden light.

The last time Teng Qingshan came to the forbidden area on the Bright Moon Island was thirty years ago.