The Nine Cauldrons

The Head Supervisor shouted, and two people immediately ran in from outside the hall. The Head Supervisor pointed at Dong Zhezi and ordered, “Carry this woman to the anteroom.”

“Yes, lord.”

The two responded respectfully and immediately proceeded to carry Dong Zhezi. At this moment, Dong Zhezi snapped out of a trance. She looked hastily at the Head Supervisor and said eagerly, “Supervisor, I beg the Hall of Assassins! Please don’t give me to the Jiang Clan. Please just kill me! Kill me!” With a pallid face, Dong Zhezi gnashed her teeth and flung her head back forcefully, smashing it against the wall!

“Whew!”

One of the two muscular subordinates pulled on Dong Zhezi’s body forcefully, causing Dong Zhezi to tumble to the ground. Before so many experts, Dong Zhezi was already a useless person who couldn’t even commit suicide.

“Kill you? Hmph,” The Head Supervisor said and waved his hand.

The two subordinates had already lifted Dong Zhezi up. Dong Zhezi struggled hastily in fear and shouted, “No! No!” Her eyes were full of a pleading expression as she looked toward Teng Qingshan and begged, “Please! Please kill me! Kill me! The Jiang Clan will torture me to death when I am in their hands. I beg you! Please kill me!”

As Dong Zhezi screamed forlornly, the two muscular men carried her away with ease.

Dong Zhezi, whose shoulders had been dislocated, couldn’t even commit suicide if she wanted to.

“This bitch just threatened Mister. Hmph. So ludicrous.” The Head Supervisor sneered and looked toward Teng Qingshan with a smile. “Mister Teng, since we have given them Dong Zhezi, the stone inscription should arrive soon. Mister, please wait for a while.”

Teng Qingshan nodded in response.

After a few moments passed by, Teng Qingshan heard Dong Zhezi’s forlorn screams and the hearty laughter of someone, whose heart harbored great hatred, coming from afar. “Haha, bitch. To think that this day would come for you!”

Hearing the voice, the Head Supervisor laughed and said, “Mister Teng, the Jiang Clan has hated Dong Zhezi to the core for a long time. Even the previous Patriarch of the Jiang Clan was tortured to death after being taken captive by her.” Teng Qingshan nodded in response as he sighed inwardly....... Two hours ago, Dong Zhezi had still been the Matriarch of the Dong Clan and an Innate Realm Martial Saint!

She had willfully tortured and toyed with that Old Third Tie and had even said, ‘From today onwards, you will be my tenth male concubine’ when she faced Teng Qingshan.

However, in the blink of an eye, she had fallen into the hands of the Jiang Clan.

“Mister Teng!” A laugh came from outside the hall.

With a face full of smiles, the manager of the Rising Sun Restaurant walked over with a muscular man dressed in an azure leather coat. The muscular man was carrying a bar-shaped item wrapped up in a grey cloth.

As Teng Qingshan’s eyes fell upon the bar-shaped item, he immediately stood up. His eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, “That bar-shaped item is of the same size as the Blunt Vanadium Stone Tablet. It should be the stone inscription!”

When the Head Supervisor saw this, he stood up with a smile.

“Mister Teng, this is one of the thirty-six stone inscriptions left by the Godly Axe Deity, Yu the Great.” The restaurant manager stretched his hand out and took the bar-shaped item from the muscular man. Simultaneously, he lifted open the grey cloth covering the surface of the stone inscription, revealing a jadelike stone inscription!

The stone inscription illuminated with a faint azure colored glow. On the left side of the stone inscription was a picture of a figure leaping high up and hacking an enormous axe downward, while on the right side was the word ‘Dao’ which contained a murderous aura.

With just a glance, Teng Qingshan could feel a powerful wave of aura surging toward him like multiple enormous axes slashing forward!

“It’s authentic!” A glint of excitement flashed in Teng Qingshan’s eyes as he scrutinized the stone inscription and said in admiration, “As expected of the inscriptions carved personally by the Godly Axe Deity.”

“This stone inscription obviously possesses a different aura from that of the Blunt Vanadium Stone Tablets.” The Head Supervisor peered at the stone inscription and showed an expression of admiration. “The Godly Axe Deity, Yu the Great, is indeed the legend who created the art of cultivation and taught it to the whole world. Because of his carvings, this ordinary stone transformed into something so magical.”

Teng Qingshan took two steps forward. His right hand formed into the shape of a sharp claw as he slashed toward the stone inscription.

“Mister Teng!” The Head Supervisor was greatly alarmed.

“Mister Teng, don’t!” The restaurant manager who was carrying the stone inscription turned pale with fright, but there wasn’t enough time for him to dodge.

“Clang~~”

Teng Qingshan clawed the edge of the stone inscription forcefully with his right hand, producing the sound of striking metal. Immediately, some fine powder fell off, and two deep marks appeared.

When the Head Supervisor saw that Teng Qingshan had only clawed the edge and the picture and ‘Dao’ weren’t damaged, he heaved a sigh of relief. He then walked over with a bitter smile as he said, “Mister Teng, what are you doing? This is the stone inscription left by the Godly Axe Deity. If one small part was damaged, it means that the whole piece would be useless.”

“Head Supervisor, look! Look!” The restaurant manager looked at the stone inscription with astonishment.

The Head Supervisor turned around, and when he saw it, his face revealed shock.

The part with the marks Teng Qingshan had clawed was being restored to its original state at a visibly rapid speed. Within only a few seconds, the stone inscription was wholly intact again. It was as though no damage had been inflicted upon this stone inscription.

“This... this...... is amazing,” The Head Supervisor said in astonishment.

Teng Qingshan smiled. When he entered the Heavenly Flood Palace in the Great Yan Mountain, the walls of the Heavenly Flood Palace had acted the same way. Even when the Golden Dan Innate Expert blasted a hole through the wall, the wall had restored itself rapidly! The stone inscription also contained the power of Emperor Yu’s world, which was why it seemed like a jade stone. The test proved that Teng Qingshan’s predictions were right.

“Restaurant manager, wrap this stone inscription well,” Teng Qingshan ordered as he smiled. “I won’t be staying on. I will be leaving first.”

“Mister, it wouldn’t be late to leave tomorrow,” The restaurant manager and the Head Supervisor hastily urged Teng Qingshan to stay.

However, Teng Qingshan grinned and shook his head.

“Mister. This time, Mister has captured the target here. Besides the stone inscription, there are also ten thousand taels of gold,” The restaurant manager said hastily.

Teng Qingshan shook his head and said, “No need!”

The ten thousand taels of gold weighed over a thousand Jin. If Teng Qingshan carried it, the Whole Gale Eagle would fly at a much slower speed. Furthermore, Teng Qingshan didn’t care about the money, since he would return to the Land of the Nine Prefectures when he reached the Emptiness Realm.

Could he bring chests of gold back to the nine prefectures?

Even if he had one million taels of gold, it would be nothing before the Supreme Sects in the Land of the Nine Prefectures.

“We ought to give it to you,” The Head Supervisor responded hastily. “The Rising Sun Trading Company will arrange people to send these ten thousand taels of gold to the Godly Axe Mountain.”

Teng Qingshan replied nothing more. He carried the perfectly wrapped stone inscription and walked out.

......

“Screech~~”

Outside Wuan City, Teng Qingshan leaped up onto the back of the Whole Gale Eagle. With an excited cry, the Whole Gale Eagle flapped his wings and soon disappeared in the southwest horizon.

Shuangshan City, in the hall of the residence of the Dong Clan:

Several dozen people gathered in the great hall. These people were all the direct descendants and the elite figures of the Dong Clan. Sitting at the main seat was a pale silver-haired elder dressed in black fur coat, while the chairs on the left and right sides sat the high-positioned figures of the Dong Clan. Everyone knew that—

More than two hours ago, someone had intruded the Dong Residence and forcefully taken away Dong Zhezi, the Matriarch of Dong Clan.

The sound of voices in deep discussion resounded in the great hall. Many people were extremely angry, while some people occasionally revealed a hint of joy! If Dong Zhezi died, many people could get the chance to be the next leader of the Dong Clan!

At this moment, a skinny man entered the hall speedily.

“Have you found out who that person is?” The silver haired elder said indifferently.

“Reporting to Great Elder. According to the portrait, we have found that...... the person who intruded Dong Residence was Teng Qingshan, the expert who showed up in the Drifting Cloud Mansion in Nanshan City! According to the rumors, this Teng Qingshan possesses a terrifying power. Even Fu Dao, the Thunder Blade Martial Saint, was weaker than him, and Fu Dao even called him Mister. The Great Elder of the Rising Sun Trading Company was also very friendly toward him. According to the information obtained, we have determined that this Teng Qingshan is a Golden Dan Innate Martial Saint. Moreover...... his ability is on par with the Rising Sun Martial Saint,” The skinny man reported respectfully.

Many people in the hall gasped in surprise.

Yet, the silver-haired elder narrowed his eyes.

Previously...... when he met face-to-face with Teng Qingshan, he had been kicked into the air by Teng Qingshan. The silver-haired elder knew clearly that if Teng Qingshan did not possess the ability of a Golden Dan Innate Expert, it would have been impossible for him to do something like that.

“He intruded the Dong Residence and captured the Matriarch of Dong Clan! This Teng Qingshan is too impudent! What he did was the same as giving a blow to the reputation of the Dong Clan! We must take revenge for such humiliation!” A middle-aged man stood up immediately and shouted in rage.

“Revenge? Who is going to take revenge?” The skinny and pale man sneered.

“You, sit down,” The silver-haired elder scolded.

The middle-aged man had no choice but to sit down bitterly.

In the hall, each of these higher-positioned people of the Dong Clan harbored different plans in their minds. Even the scene of someone shouting for revenge was simply a facade. Revenge? In the East Flower Region, the Dong Clan was considered a rather powerful clan. However, taking revenge on a Golden Dan Innate Martial Saint? If other people knew about this, they would laugh their heads off.

“Zhezi was captured, and her Dantian was destroyed. Even if she survived, she isn’t qualified to be the leader of the clan.”

The silver-haired elder looked at the group of people below and said, “From today onwards, Zheyun, you will be the new Patriarch of Dong Clan.” As soon as these words were spoken, the facial expressions of many people, who had originally showed a hint of joy, changed drastically. They had never expected that...... the Great Elder would just choose someone to be the patriarch without even discussing about it.

An elegant and handsome middle-aged man stood up and said respectfully, “Yes, Great Elder.”

“Yes.” The silver-haired elder nodded his head and scanned the people below coldly.

No one dared to disobey his order.

“Great Grandfather, my mother was taken captive. Are you going to just ignore that?” A beautiful and lively girl, with an appearance of sixty percent similarity to that of Dong Zhezi, stood up and shouted angrily.

“Insolent.” The silver-haired elder’s face darkened.

“Dong Shi, how can you talk to the Great Elder like this?” Immediately, many people berated Dong Shi.

Yet Dong Shi gnashed her teeth and headed outside the room.

The Wuan City of East Flower Region was very far away from Nanshan City in the Nanshan Region. Teng Qingshan rode the Whole Gale Eagle, and by the time he arrived the Crescent Moon Lake near the Godly Axe Mountain, it was already completely dark. Faint light could be seen in the houses with closed doors. It was obvious that they haven’t slept.

“Whew! Whew!”

The cold wind blew, and the Whole Gale Eagle darted down.

“Screech~~” The Whole Gale Eagle screeched immediately, and the doors of the two stone houses opened. Li Jun and Little Ping lived in one house, while Teng Shou and Old Wang lived together in the other house.

“Big Brother Teng!” Li Jun shouted in surprise.

“Instructor.” Teng Shou shouted as well.

With the stone inscription in hand, Teng Qingshan leaped down from the eagle’s back. At the side, the Whole Gale eagle flapped its wings proudly, appearing to be asking for praise.

“Yes, Little Grey did well.” Li Jun patted the Whole Gale Eagle’s back and looked promptly toward Teng Qingshan as she asked, “Big Brother Teng, you haven’t eat dinner, right? I will go heat the food.” With this, Li Jun ran toward the house, while Little Ping also followed to help.

It stirred a warmth inside Teng Qingshan’s heart to have someone help heat food up for him when he arrived home at night.

......

After eating dinner, Teng Qingshan could no longer wait. With the Splitting Mountain Axe in one hand and the stone inscription in the other, went out of the house immediately and began cultivating.

“The Splitting Mountain Axe and the stone inscriptions are a combination. According to Emperor Yu’s words, even an ordinary Innate Expert could step into the Emptiness Realm within several dozen years. As for me, one of my feet has already stepped over the threshold.” Teng Qingshan was slightly excited. By relying on this stone inscription, he would definitely make great improvements.

He might even step into the Emptiness Realm within just one or two years.