The Nine Cauldrons

“If we do encounter a crisis, I will ask it to help.” Teng Qingshan nodded.

Mu Yunji couldn’t help but feel a great sense of joy as he replied, “Now, I feel at ease.”

While Mu Yunji and Teng Qingshan were discussing, the conversation between the other two parties had devolved into a stalemate.

“Duan Shijin! Fu Dao! You two are so greedy. Since you two don’t even care about the lives of your subordinates, then...... don’t blame us.” Wu Baiwei’s cold and fierce voice resounded from amidst the opposing army outside the defensive structure.

Duan Shijin’s countenance darkened as he yelled back furiously, “Wu Baiwei, you are such a sinister and vile person. It’s not that we don’t care about the lives of our subordinates, but you have been pressuring and forcing us persistently. If you are truly merciful, you should leave rapidly with your army. If you do that, no one will die! Hmph. However, if you want a battle, we will give you a battle. Don’t be such a hypocrite. I really don’t know why the Martial Saintess fell for such a nasty person like you!”

“Hmph.” Wu Baiwei was furious.

It was evident that the Patriarchs of the two opposing clans, which were over a hundred Zhang away from each other, had already shed all pretense of cordiality.

“Hmph, the Duan Clan and the Fu Clan have a great number of good and courageous men!” Duan Shijin thundered. “We will not pursue and kill you. However, if you attack us, we will not be cowards. Our soldiers will show you just how powerful we are!”

Fu Dao laughed and said, “Command both your weak and strong troops to attack us together. We will fight back!”

......

The brief conversations at the front line showed the position of both sides very clearly. It was evident that there was no way for the combined forces of the Fu Clan and the Duan Clan to give away the gains they had acquired. The decision of attacking or retreating was in the hands of the opposing five great clans!

Inside a big tent in the Fiery Gilt Steel Canyon:

“Little Jun, where is Blue Luan?” Teng Qingshan asked.

At this moment, Li Jun, Teng Shou, Yang Dong, and the Whole Gale Eagle were all present, yet the Blue Luan wasn’t.

“The Blue Luan is at Ox-Head Mountain. As for where in the Ox-Head Mountains, I don’t know.” Li Jun smiled and said, “However, if you need it, just call it, and it will be here.”

“Call it for me,” Teng Qingshan said.

“Are you preparing to let Blue Luan attack?” Li Jun inquired. Previously, the discussion between Mu Yunji and Teng Qingshan had sounded very soft. Although Li Jun hadn’t been far away, she hadn’t been able to hear it clearly.

“Yes,” Teng Qingshan nodded and replied, “However, I must ask the Blue Luan first.”

Blue Luan was Teng Qingshan’s friend, not a servant. If the Blue Luan had no wish to help them, there was nothing Teng Qingshan could do.

Li Jun immediately lifted her head and emitted a high-pitched cry, “Screech~~~”

The screech seemed to tear the sky apart as it transmitted rapidly throughout the entire area.

Within a few moments—

A fiery figure dashed into the tent, leaving a blurred afterimage in mid-air. It descended beside Teng Qingshan and Li Jun. The noble crown-like feathers, colorful tail feathers, and prancing flames which enveloped its entire body made the Divine Bird, Blue Luan, appear magical.

“Little Blue.” Li Jun stroked the Blue Luan’s feathers gently.

The Blue Luan had withdrawn the flames which usually enveloped its body, and as Li Jun stroked the Blue Luan, the Divine Bird seemed to feel very comfortable.

At this moment—

“Kill!!!”

“Kill!!!”

The shouts, which sounded like the rumble of the turbulent waves, rang out in the western areas. Soon, high-pitched shouts also sounded in the Fu Clan’s and the Duan Clan’s camp. In an instant, deafening roars resonated throughout the entire Fiery Gilt Steel Canyon. Teng Qingshan faintly felt that the temperature in the surroundings had increased.

“The battle has begun,” Li Jun said in surprise.

“It’s at the western front line.” Yang Dong took a deep breath. His eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Teng Qingshan as he said, “Teacher, I am going to take a look.”

Teng Qingshan cast a glance at Yang Dong and nodded as he replied, “Go, but be careful.”

“Yes.” Excitedly, Yang Dong immediately took his bamboo pole and left the tent.

“Ah Shou, go take care of your junior,” Teng Qingshan instructed.

“Yes, Teacher.”

Teng Shou had been standing there like a ferocious beast, but he immediately followed Yang Dong out of the tent.

“Kill! Kill!!!” The shouts sounded like rumbling tidal waves, as if the sound waves were going to blow the tent off the ground.

“Little Jun,” Teng Qingshan spoke, involuntarily increasing the volume of his voice. He was worried that Li Jun wouldn’t be able to hear him in such a noisy environment. “Ask Blue Luan if it is willing to help if our armies encounter danger later.”

Li Jun nodded and immediately enquired the Blue Luan.

“Screech~~Screech~~” The Blue Luan replied excitedly.

Li Jun turned to look at Teng Qingshan in stunned disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” Teng Qingshan asked hastily.

“It is very happy. It even asked...... for the number of people it needs to kill.” Li Jun said helplessly, “Why does it love killing so much?”

Struck by a thought, Teng Qingshan recalled the Blue Luan’s description. The Blue Luan was well-known as the invincible Divine Bird, the best amongst those ranked below the Emptiness Realm. However, the reason why the Blue Luan was called this was because of its numerous accomplishments and horrifying slaughterings. The Blue Luan had always been a ferocious bird!

“It’s good that it agrees.” Teng Qingshan nodded. “Ask it another question. How long can the flame it spews last?”

Li Jun asked the Blue Luan the new question.

The Blue Luan expounded excitedly and occasionally glanced at Teng Qingshan with its beautiful eyes. It appeared to be filled with expectation.

“Little Blue said that it can spew many types of flames.” Li Jun explained, “The different types of flames have different durations. Its most powerful flame is the dark purple flame, while the next strongest is its black flame. Weaker than the black flame is the white flame, while the weakest one is the red flame!”

“The duration of the dark purple flame is the shortest, and the Blue Luan can only spew this type of flame for ten seconds. As for the black flame, it can last for a longer time, which is around—” Just as Li Jun was about to elucidate...

“There’s no need for such powerful flames. The ordinary red flame will suffice. How long can the ordinary red flame last for?” Teng Qingshan asked hastily.

Teng Qingshan knew well that the flames spewed out by the Golden Dan Innate Demonic Beast were black, while the Hollow Dan Innate Demonic Beast spewed out white flames. Additionally, the heat of such white flames could split the rocks of the mountain.

The temperature of the Blue Luan’s weakest red flame shouldn’t be lower than the temperature of magma.

“The Blue Luan said that...... the red flames are inexhaustible,” Li Jun answered.

“Inexhaustible?” Teng Qingshan was shocked. He couldn’t help but admire the inherent power of the Blue Luan.

The Blue Luan had been born as the Divine Bird amidst flames. In an ordinary situation, its body would naturally be surrounded by flames...... With that in mind, it made sense that the weakest red colored flames were inexhaustible.

“Tell Blue Luan to just use the red flames. As for when to take action, I will tell it when the time comes,” Teng Qingshan said.

“Okay.” Li Jun immediately conveyed the message to the Blue Luan.

Although a chaotic and catastrophic fights were occurring everywhere outside, Teng Qingshan remained very calm in the tent. He knew that if there was a need for him to take action, Mu Yunji would definitely come for him.

“Mister Teng, Mister Teng,” a very nervous voice called out from afar.

“Come. Follow me outside.”

Teng Qingshan immediately led Li Jun, Blue Luan, and the Whole Gale Eagle out of the tent.

At this moment, Mu Yunji and Duan Shijin, the Patriarch of Duan Clan, had very dirty and wretched appearances. Mu Yunji said hastily in distress, “Mister Teng, the situation is very bad right now. Come with us quickly.”

“What happened?” Teng Qingshan asked briskly.

“In the beginning, we exerted full force on defending against the fierce attacks of the enemies at the western front line. However, I didn’t expect that the...... five great clans and the Tianfeng Clan would be so fierce! The chaotic attacks at the western front line were just a ruse. The actual location they had been attacking was the southern hill!”

“Southern hill?” Teng Qingshan was stunned.

On both sides of the Fiery Gilt Steel Canyon, there were the northern and the southern hills. The southern hill only had an altitude of thirty Zhang.

“When the war began, fights were happening at the northern hill, southern hill, and the eastern entrance. We didn’t pay much attention either, since we were very confident...... However, we didn’t expect that the Wintry Vanguards of the Tianfeng Clan would lead the elite soldiers of the other five clans and mingle among the ordinary soldiers, and those soldiers suddenly attacked the southern hill with great force.

“The summit of the southern hill isn’t large. Therefore, we only dispatched 800 soldiers there. And now, those 800 soldiers are losing,” Mu Yunji said anxiously.

“Little Jun, jump up,” Teng Qingshan instructed.

Immediately, LI Jun jumped onto the Blue Luan’s back, while Teng Qingshan leaped onto the Whole Gale Eagle’s back.

“Screech~~”

“Screech~~”

As two high-pitched screeches rang out, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun mounted the Whole Gale Eagle and Blue Luan respectively, soaring up rapidly to high altitudes. As Teng Qingshan looked down from the sky, he saw the battle situation of the entire Fiery Gilt Steel Canyon...... Now, the battles occurring in the east, south, west, and north were all very intense.

The battle situation on the southern hill was especially intense as the group of special forces dressed in silver armor had almost slaughtered all the soldiers of the Fu and Duan Clans guarding the southern hill.

“Little Jun, ask Blue Luan to burn the summit of the southern hill!” Teng Qingshan said in a deep tone as he pointed toward the southern hill with his right hand.

......

The Steel Sword Martial Saint and Wu Baiwei were hiding amongst the army. As they gazed toward the southern hill, they couldn’t help but smile brightly.

“Haha, the reputation of the Wintry Vanguard is well-deserved. Once we take the southern hill, we will be able to dispatch a great army and enter the canyon through there!” Wu Baiwei guffawed.

“The Fiery Gilt Steel Ore Deposit belongs to the Tianfeng Clan!” The Steel Sword Martial Saint’s eyes beamed as he exclaimed.

Just when this group of people began to feel excited—

“Screech~~~”

A high-pitched screech rang out, and a Divine Bird with godly beauty descended. An alluring young lady was sitting on its back. The Divine Bird flapped its wings slightly, and a flood of flames inundated continuously from the wings of the Divine Bird. In an instant, the entire summit became a sea of flame.

TLN: I wonder too.. Why is Li Jun fine? Is it because she is only sitting on the back and the flames are on the wings?

“Ah!”

“Run!”

Against such turbulent flames, whatever armies there were all collapsed instantly. Even the soldiers donned in powerful armors were not safe from the flames, since they needed to breathe after all! Even though this flame was the weakest flame the Blue Luan could spew, the temperature of this flame was still exceedingly and terrifyingly hot!

Screams and cries of pain rang out continuously. Many jumped off the summit while many others died in the sea of flames.

At this moment, regardless of how strict their self-discipline was, it became useless in front of the ruthless flames.

Within the time of merely ten breaths, the entire summit had burned to ashes.

“That—” The Steel Sword Martial Saint, Wu Baiwei, the Great Elder of Dong Clan, Patriarch of Tantai Clan, Yan Baishou, and Xiahou An were all astounded.

All of them stared at the man and woman, who seemed like a celestial couple as they stood on the bird-type demonic beasts.

“Teng—Teng Qingshan!”

The Steel Sword Martial Saint, Martial Saintess, Yan Baishou, and the others glared at the two people flying at a high altitude.

The southern hill had been burnt to the ground.

The man standing on the enormous eagle pointed at the western front line, where the fiercest battle was currently occurring, and shouted, “Go there!”

The loud voice rang in every soldier’s ears. Immediately, the two bird-type demonic beasts flew toward the western front line.