The Nine Cauldrons

"Brother!" When Qingyu saw this familiar smile and heard this familiar voice, she could no longer hold back her tears. She dashed quickly, flying into Teng Qingshan’s embrace.

"Brother, you’ve finally come back. I’ve missed you so much. I even missed you in my dreams." Qingyu hugged Teng Qingshan extremely tightly like a child who didn’t want to part with her toy. As for her feelings toward him... Teng Qingshan had taken care of her ever since she was young, so much that... in her heart, her brother was like a tall mountain. He was a great mountain that would always be able to give her strong support.

"Brother, where have you been all these years?" Qingyu raised her head to look at Teng Qingshan.

"Where could I have gone? Being pursued to be killed... I could only flee to the ends of the Earth," Teng Qingshan joked as he brushed his younger sister’s nose with his finger.

Qingyu scrunched up her nose, deliberately glaring at Teng Qingshan.

However, these familiar motions between this brother and sister pair swept over Qingyu’s heart with a wave of tranquility.

"Look at you two," Yuan Lan said as she laughed gently at her own children. "Little Yu, your brother is back. Why don’t you introduce Little Shan and Tingting to your brother?"

"Brother," Qingyu said with a laugh as she dropped into a half-squat and lightly took hold of the boy’s hand, "this is my and Zhuge Yun’s son. His name is Zhuge Yushan." Then she pulled along the girl’s hand. "This is my daughter. Her name is Zhuge Yuting. These two little rascals are twins. Little Shan is the elder brother and Tingting is the younger sister. Little Shan, Tingting, hurry up and greet your uncle!"

This pair of very delicate-looking children gazed curiously at the stranger before them.

Teng Qingshan smiled slightly.

This smile immediately gave the pair of children a feeling of closeness.

The boy yelled loudly, "Uncle!"

As if in a competition, the girl beside him also yelled out, "Uncle!"

"Uncle, Uncle, Uncle." The boy then called out loudly three times and gazed at the little girl like he’d won.

"Uncle, Uncle, Uncle..." The little girl then called out incessantly, imitating the boy.

Seeing this innocent and natural scene, Teng Qingshan, Yuqing, Li Jun, as well as Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan, all burst into loud laughter.

"Haha, what uncle are you calling out for? Is Qing Hu here?" A clear and bright voice rang out.

"It’s Little Yun." Qingyu immediately determined the identity of the new arrival.

The new arrival was indeed Zhuge Yun, who had been drawn over by the sounds of his children’s voices.

The moment Zhuge Yun stepped into the courtyard, the little boy and girl called out in unison, "Father!"

Zhuge Yun, who had initially walked in with a big grin, had just opened his mouth to greet Teng Yongfan, "Father—" However, his gaze flitted across Teng Qingshan, and his voice came to a stop.

"E-Elder Brother Qingshan?" Zhuge Yun opened his eyes wide.

"Little Yun, it has been a long time since we last met," Teng Qingshan greeted with a smile.

"Y-You’re back?" Zhuge Yun was both startled and delighted. With eyes full of disbelief, he carefully examined the person before him. Compared to the past Teng Qingshan, whose arrogance reached up to the heavens, the current Teng Qingshan had become much more mature and reserved. Standing there, he seemed like the vast, mighty, and endless earth, giving others the feeling that he was reliable and that they respected him.

Zhuge Yun had seen Jing Yi before.

However, Teng Qingshan’s current appearance was his original appearance. So, regardless of whether it was Zhuge Yun or Qingyu, no one realized that Teng Qingshan was the Jing Yi that they had met previously.

As for... Li Jun...

During this period of time that she had been back in the Nine Prefectures, Li Jun had once stayed on the Nine Wolf Lake Island, as well as Yi City. Most of the time, she stayed at the headquarters of the Snowy Lotus Cult, which was located in Huyue County in Qingzhou. So, be it Zhuge Yun or Qingyu, neither of them had seen Li Jun before. Neither did they know that Li Jun was Jing Yi’s wife. As such, they would naturally not have inferred that...

Jing Yi was Teng Qingshan!

Beside them, Qingyu burst into laughter. "Why are you staring at him so stupidly? This is my brother! Even if you look at him 10 times, 100 times, he’s still my brother! Have you gotten scared after seeing Brother return? Scared that I’ll get him to bully you in the future?"

Zhuge Yun helplessly forced a smile. "When do I ever dare bully you though?"

"Haha..." Teng Yongfan laughed brightly and said, "All of you, come inside. Let’s not stand out here. It’s such a rare thing for our entire family to be together, so let’s all go inside and chat." This was the happiest day for Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan. Their daughter and son-in-law, as well as grandson and granddaughter, had all arrived. Moreover, their son who had been missing for almost five years had returned, and he was accompanied by their pregnant daughter-in-law.

As parents, what more could they ask for?

Teng Qingshan and Li Jun, Zhuge Yun and Qingyu, as well as the two children, Little Shan and Tingting, entered the house and chatted for a while.

Not long after that, an anxious voice suddenly came through from outside. "Commander Zhuge!"

"Eh?" Zhuge Yun walked out of the house and looked outside from the veranda. "What’s the matter?"

"Elder Yan has convened numerous elders. Commander, you should go to the main hall quickly. There’s something big happening," the disciple outside said respectfully and then left right after he finished.

"Oh?" Zhuge Yun was greatly startled.

These days, he had been staying in Yi City. So the matters of the Gui Yuan Sect in Jiangning County-City had been left to Law Enforcement Elder Yan to manage. As for any big issues... they were all handed over to Zhuge Yuanhong in Yi City. So Elder Yan Motian very rarely ever convened the higher-ranked members of the Gui Yuan Sect.

"What big issue has occurred?" Zhuge Yun muttered puzzledly. Then he headed back into the house and said regretfully, "Something big has occurred in the sect. I have to go to the main hall now."

"What’s the big issue?" Qingyu scoffed somewhat discontentedly. She was normally a very understanding person, but today, her brother who had disappeared for several years had returned. For their entire family to be gathered here today, it was an event of great importance and jubilation... Yet Zhuge Yun was now wanting to leave hurriedly to do work, so Qingyu was naturally somewhat unhappy.

Teng Qingshan smiled and said, "Little Yun, go ahead. When you’re done, come back and let’s have dinner together in the evening. The dishes my mother cooks are even more delicious than those from restaurants."

Yuan Lan laughed and glanced at her son, then she smiled so brightly that her eyes narrowed into slits.

When her son traveled a long distance away, Yuan Lan was worried. Despite her several years of worry, seeing her son today made her feel like like she was eating something as sweet as honey.

"Alright, I’ll definitely come in the evening."

Zhuge Yun didn’t want to waste time, so he then left in a hurry for the main hall.

******

Inside the house, Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan were laughing as they chatted with their daughter and son.

Teng Qingshan suddenly opened his mouth to say, "Dad, when I traveled across the ocean, I obtained a treasure."

"Treasure?" Teng Yongfan chuckled and said, "I, your dad, eat and sleep. And I have your mother to keep me company. What sort of treasure could I want? If there’s a treasure, keep it for your child to use. We don’t need it."

"Brother, what’s the treasure?" Qingyu was curious.

Teng Qingshan pulled out a jade case from his chest and looked at his parents while saying, "When I crossed the ocean, I encountered a good friend. Together with him, I found this treasure—Dreamy Cloud White Fruit! A part of this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit was used by that good friend, and today, there’s still half of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit remaining. This Dreamy Cloud White Fruit has a wonderful effect of reviving the flesh and bone of the dead."

"What?" Inside the house, Teng Qingshan’s parents and Qingyu were all stunned.

"It is able to revive dead people?" Qingyu asked in shock.

At this moment, they still didn’t understand the true value of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.

"If a person has just died, their soul has yet to dissipate. So if they’re fed the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit, they can revive! This is the reviving the dead part. As for the flesh and bone, that is to say... regardless of whether it’s an amputated leg or arm, if a person is fed the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit, they can grow the limb back." Teng Qingshan’s voice was shaking slightly by the time he finished saying all this. Simultaneously, he lifted the lid of the jade case, making a kada sound!

"Amputated legs can also be regenerated?"

The two women, Yuan Lan and Qingyu, gasped, while Teng Yongfan, who was seated in the wheelchair, began to tremble. He looked at Teng Qingshan, not daring to believe it. "Qingshan, you mean..."

It was only after a person’s legs had been amputated that a person would know what a blessing it was to be able to walk.

For Teng Yongfan to think about standing up, he’d be dreaming. However, Zhuge Yun and Qingyu had long since rummaged through all the books of recorded wonderful and unusual spiritual treasures. Even the legendary Grass of Immortality did not have the ability to regenerate amputated legs. Teng Yongfan had long since accepted his fate and had never thought that he would be able to once again stand up in this lifetime.

When Teng Yongfan’s mind cleared up, he said, "Qingshan, this treasure must be very important. Your dad... I’m already old. To waste a rare spiritual treasure of these Nine Prefectures on me, an old fellow..."

"Dad." Teng Qingshan shook his head. "If all the spiritual treasures in all of the Nine Prefectures could combine together to heal your legs, then even if I’d have to conquer all of the Nine Prefectures and unify them, I’d still find all of the spiritual treasures for you. Dad, please eat this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit."

"Dad, just eat it," Qingyu said as well.

"Yongfan," Yuan Lan couldn’t resist calling out.

Teng Yongfan gazed at his son and then lowered his head to look at the cut fruit inside the jade case. He could faintly make out an infant’s appearance on the fruit. Seeing that, he couldn’t resist smiling. "Alright, Qingshan, Dad will eat it!" Holding back the surge of emotion in his heart, Teng Yongfan reached out and grabbed hold of one of the fruit slices, then he immediately placed it into his mouth. Kachakacha. He chewed it a few times and then swallowed it down into his stomach.

"Eh?" Teng Yongfan’s face suddenly flushed red.

Kacaca~~~~

A bizarre sound emerged from inside Teng Yongfan’s body.

"My legs, my legs." Teng Yongfan opened his eyes wide as he stared at his legs. His pants were flat and empty. However, suddenly...

From his thighs down, the originally flat and empty pants began to fill up. Although he couldn’t see it with his eyes, he could clearly sense that his legs were growing. Yuan Lan and Qingyu both had their eyes wide open. When he saw that the efficacy was getting weak, Teng Qingshan grabbed a second slice of the fruit and passed it over to his father... If he wanted to regenerate two legs, he had to eat no less than three slices for it to be enough.

Chichi~~Then they saw two large, fair-skinned yet powerful male feet emerge from the legs of the pants. They could see clearly with the naked eye that even his toes had regenerated.

...

Inside the Gui Yuan Sect’s main hall:

"Just what is going on today? Why has Elder Yan convened so many people?" Zhuge Yun sat puzzledly in the main hall. There were the Gui Yuan Sect’s Law Enforcement Elders, Elder Ni and Elder Zang Feng, as well as many other elders. The commander of the Black Armored Brothers, as well as the four great commanders of the Longgang Army, were all neatly assembled in the main hall. Everyone present was somewhat puzzled.

Then suddenly...

"Elder Yan has arrived." Everyone quietened down.

Elder Yan Motian’s face was somewhat red, and there were veins palpitating on his forehead. The moment he entered the main hall, he looked around at his surroundings.

"Elder Yan, just what is going on?" Elder Ni couldn’t resist asking.

"Everyone," Yan Motian took in a deep breath and said in a clear voice, "I just received intelligence from Heavenly Cloud Mountain. The intelligence said that... Senior Jing Yi, with an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast and another famous Emptiness Realm Expert, battled against a party of famous Emptiness Realm Experts."

Battled against a party of Emptiness Realm Experts?

Everyone present inhaled a mouthful of chilly air.

"Our scouts found out another startlingly enormous secret." Yan Motian couldn’t restrain himself from showing an aggravated expression. "Senior Jing Yi, he... is actually our Gui Yuan Sect’s Teng Qingshan from back then!!!"

"What?!"

Almost everyone present stood up in a total daze.

"And this information was heard by the thousands of people at the bottom of Heavenly Cloud Mountain. It will definitely be spread throughout all of the Nine Prefectures in a very short amount of time," Yan Motian said. "The Sovereign must know of this news. He’ll probably rush back today. We must also let the Sovereign know that... Senior Jing Yi is one of us. He is our Gui Yuan Sect’s Teng Qingshan!"

Zhuge Yun, who had been stunned by the news for a long while, finally snapped out of his trance.

"Elder Yan," Zhuge Yun suddenly began to speak.

"Eh?" Everyone in the main hall all turned to look at him.

Zhuge Yun said softly, "I don’t know if Senior Jing Yi is truly Teng Qingshan, but I know that... Qingshan, Teng Qingshan... he’s in our sect right now."

"In our sect? Where?" Yan Motian asked, inadvertently raising his voice.

"My father-in-law’s place," Zhuge Yun answered.