The Nine Cauldrons

Huang Tianqin cupped his hands together and said, "Honorable One, Teng Qingshan said that Emperor Yu’s Hall dispatched troops to secretly rob and kill the troops of his Xing Yi Sect. He is simply concocting a cock-and-bull story! He even said we stole their secret manual. Hmph, we spent a lot of money to buy that secret manual."

Teng Qingshan got so angry that his complexion became unsightly. He shouted loudly in a cold tone, "Huang Tianqin, do you not feel shameful?"

"You——" Huang Tianqin was provoked into an angry rage by Teng Qingshan’s words.

"Guo Jiexiu and Gan Zitao were amongst those who robbed and killed my Xing Yi Sect’s troops. Don’t tell me that they’re not part of your Emperor Yu’s Hall? Moreover! This secret manual, the"Ninth Emperor Canon Fist", is exclusively owned by my Xing Yi Sect. It is something that I, Teng Qingshan, personally created. My secret manual has landed in your hands. Yet you say what? That you spent a lot of money to buy it? Hmph! Who gave you the right to distribute this cultivation manual among your members?" Teng Qingshan yelled furiously.

Huang Tianqin, Yu Feng, and Liu Xia all got angry.

Where was this place?

The Sacred Palace! They even had the Honorable Bear by their side!

From the perspective of Huang Tianqin and the others, since the Honorable Bear was present, it meant that Emperor Yu’s Hall was naturally the winning side. It was only right that Teng Qingshan behaved appropriately.

"Teng Qingshan, you still don’t know when to stop?!" Liu Xia berated.

"Honorable Bear." Teng Qingshan turned to the side to look at the enormous Honorable Bear. "I am certain that Honorable Bear now understands the entire situation. Tell me, how do you intend to resolve this?" Indeed, the strength of the Honorable Bear was formidable. Teng Qingshan could also sense a vigorous aura that was on par with that of the demonic dragon, Violet Rain. That aura proved the strength of the Honorable Bear.

During the time of Emperor Yu’s era, the Honorable Bear could easily split apart many mountains. His strength could be seen clearly.

However...

So what if his strength was formidable? The Honorable Bear wasn’t a bird-type demonic beast. In terms of flying, he definitely could not surpass the Undying Phoenix, Little Blue. Teng Qingshan was betting... betting that the Honorable Bear, an existence who had protected Emperor Yu’s Hall for 6,000 years, could not be a very unreasonable person. Moreover, the moment the Honorable Bear and Teng Qingshan shed all pretense of cordiality, it was very possible that the Honorable Bear would suffer Teng Qingshan’s crazed retaliation. This was a point that the Honorable Bear certainly had to consider!

"I understand the matter," a deep and resounding voice said.

The Honorable Bear still appeared calm and serene as he looked at Huang Tianqin and the other two. "Regardless of how you obtained this secret manual, as long as it wasn’t voluntarily given to you by Teng Qingshan, you shouldn’t let the disciples cultivate the secret manual called"Ninth Emperor Canon Fist". That just isn’t right! Think about how you should compensate Teng Qingshan."

"Honorable One..." Huang Tianqin and the other two were stumped for words.

From their perspective, the Honorable One was part of their Emperor Yu’s Hall. Logically, he should be protecting them.

"Hmph, you didn’t hear me?" A cold glint flashed in the small eyes of the Honorable Bear.

"Yes."

The three did not dare disobey him. The past Emptiness Realm Experts of Emperor Yu’s Hall all knew that the person-in-charge of Emperor Yu’s Hall had to obey the orders of the Honorable Bear, no matter what! However, because Emperor Yu’s Hall rarely encountered great calamities, the number of times the Honorable Bear had taken action could be counted on one’s fingers. Moreover, Huang Tianqin and the other two didn’t really know how the Honorable Bear resolved issues.

"Teng Qingshan, since the Honorable Bear wants us to compensate you... Tell us, how should we compensate you so you’ll be satisfied?" Huang Tianqin said coldly as he looked at Teng Qingshan.

"How you should compensate me... Why don’t you tell me what you think?" Teng Qingshan said with a slight smile while holding his Reincarnation Spear.

For the negotiations this time, his support was... that the Undying Phoenix’s speed could completely surpass the Honorable Bear and that it could make Emperor Yu’s Hall suffer from incalculable damage. This was why Teng Qingshan had the courage to negotiate with Emperor Yu’s Hall... Moreover, this was the first time the secret manual was leaked. He definitely couldn’t allow himself to act carelessly, nor could he allow himself to yield. If he had done that, the Xing Yi Sect would gradually deteriorate as time passed.

"My Emperor Yu’s Hall will return the secret manual of the "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist" that we purchased to the Xing Yi Sect. Additionally, I will command that no one inside my Emperor Yu’s Hall will be allowed to ever cultivate the "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist" again. At the same time... my Emperor Yu’s Hall will offer up a million taels of gold," Huang Tianqin said in one breath and then watched Teng Qingshan attentively. "Teng Qingshan, what do you think?"

They would return the secret manual, forbid their disciples from cultivating it, and gift him with a million taels of gold...?

"Hng!" Teng Qingshan let out a cold laugh. "Huang Tianqin, are you taking me for a fool?"

Huang Tianqin’s expression changed. Beside him, Yu Feng shouted loudly, "Teng Qingshan, we’ve already presented you with compensation. Why are you dissatisfied?"

"Return the secret manual?" Teng Qingshan sneered. "Many people inside your Emperor Yu’s Hall have already begun cultivating with this secret manual. Haven’t you already recorded a few volumes of notes for the "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist"? And even if you haven’t, those who started cultivating it can just write up a copy of the secret manual! In other words... with so many cultivators, as long as they don’t die out, there is simply no way of returning the cultivation manual.

"You want all those cultivators to die?" Yu Feng was somewhat stupefied.

"I’m not that ruthless." Teng Qingshan swept a glance over the three people before him. "Those Internal Martial Art cultivators are innocent. Moreover, even if they die, would your Emperor Yu’s Hall then no longer have this "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist" secret manual in existence? There’s no one who can certify this. So, regarding the returning of the secret manual... I don’t believe in it at all.

"As for prohibiting your sect’s disciples from cultivating it...

"Haha, Emperor Yu’s Hall has unified all of Yuzhou, which covers a vast area. If some of your disciples were to hide away in some secret place and cultivate with the secret manual, how would I know? So this point is just superfluous words," Teng Qingshan said with a sneer. "As for the million taels of gold... the three of you aren’t fools, so you should know that money doesn’t matter much to a sect."

Why would an almighty and all-powerful sect care about money?

"So the supposed returning of the secret manual, prohibiting of cultivation, and the offer of a million taels of gold are all a joke!" Teng Qingshan swept his eyes over the three people. "You’re taking me, Teng Qingshan, for a fool!"

Huang Tianqin’s expression had become unsightly.

The things that he proposed had indeed been suggested with deceiving intentions. As long as Teng Qingshan did not take note of the mysteriousness of it, then he would be deceived. The moment both parties settled on the agreement, there would be no way to renege on it in the future.

"Youngster, you should just say it yourself as to what you would like them to do. The descendants of Emperor Yu’s Hall seem to be getting worse with each generation." The Honorable Bear let out a sigh.

When Huang Tianqin and the others heard the Honorable Bear’s evaluation of them ’getting worse with each generation’, they felt ashamed and resentful.

"Teng Qingshan, you say it." Huang Tianqin gritted his teeth as he stared at Teng Qingshan.

"Surely you of Emperor Yu’s Hall know the importance of the "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist"," Teng Qingshan said seriously. "As compensation... firstly, I want Emperor Yu’s Hall to offer three Heaven Class Secret Codices. Secondly, forbid your disciples from cultivating the "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist". For every time my Xing Yi Sect finds that it is being cultivated, you’ll have to compensate with 100,000 taels of gold."

"You are very greedy!" Huang Tianqin shouted uncontrollably.

"Three Heaven Class Secret Codices. You— You..." Along with Yu Feng and Liu Xia, the three of them got so angry that their eyes flushed red.

Teng Qingshan’s two conditions were very sinister.

Regarding the second condition of forbidding their disciples from cultivating the Canon Fist, although there would be times when it would be easy to enforce this rule, the disciples could still cultivate it in secret. If they got discovered once, they would have to compensate with 100,000 taels of gold! Ten times and it would be a million taels of gold. It was too frightening... But of course, this condition would be just for show. After all, even if the members of the Xing Yi Sect were present when their disciples practiced the art, the people of Emperor Yu’s Hall could still shake their heads and deny it.

Out of the two conditions, the truly terrible one was the first!

The three Heaven Class Secret Codices!

To a sect, a Heaven Class Secret Codex was extremely, extremely important. In the Mani Temple, there were more people that cultivated the "Maha"than the"Golden Buddha"! A Heaven Class Secret Codex had an even wider range of attributes and a lower difficulty. Additionally, it could totally let a cultivator cultivate until the Emptiness Realm!

"Three...That’s too many." The deep and resounding voice of the Honorable One rang out from the side as he frowned slightly.

"Honorable One..." Huang Tianqin and the others couldn’t help but look at the Honorable One.

The Honorable One had clearly agreed to give Teng Qingshan a Heaven Class Secret Codex.

"In respect of the Honorable One, I will make it two Heaven Class Secret Codices," Teng Qingshan said solemnly. "Surely you understand the importance of the "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist" to Internal Martial Art cultivators... Receiving two Heaven Class Secret Codices from you isn’t much! Moreover, I’m sure you’ve gotten many of them throughout the many years that have passed."

Huang Tianqin and the others looked at each other and then at the Honorable One, who nodded slightly.

"Fine," Huang Tianqin said while gritting his teeth, "Two Heaven Class Secret Codices."

Teng Qingshan nodded with a smile.

Among the disciples in the Xing Yi Sect who cultivated Internal Martial Arts, there were extremely few disciples who had managed to reach the Grandmaster Realm. So many Internal Martial Arts cultivators would switch to cultivating Daoist secret manuals when they were unable to reach the Grandmaster Realm despite cultivating painstakingly. Moreover, regarding the secret manuals in the Xing Yi Sect, there were only the ones Teng Qingshan had brought over from Duanmu Continent back in the day—the many secret manuals which were amongst the Tianfeng Clan’s hidden treasures.

There were so many secret manuals!

However, they only had one secret manual that could allow cultivators to reach the Emptiness Realm, and it wasn’t complete. After all, there were also extremely few people who had managed to become Martial Immortals (Emptiness Realm) in the Tianfeng Clan, let alone achieve the Emptiness Realm Culmination. What the Xing Yi Sect lacked the most was a Heaven Class Secret Codex!

"Aside from the Heaven Class Secret Codices, there’s still one more matter I would like to ask you of Emperor Yu’s Hall about," Teng Qingshan spoke up again.

"Teng Qingshan, you’d better not be an avaricious and insatiable snake swallowing an elephant." Huang Tianqin’s face was covered in an ice-cold expression.

"I want to know... That person who gave you the "Ninth Emperor Canon Fist"—where is he?!" Teng Qingshan said seriously.

Huang Tianqin’s expression relaxed as he replied calmly, "We are not too sure about this. However, the guardian that bought the secret manual should know. Since you want the Heaven Class Secret Manual and you also want to find someone, just follow me to the capital city." With this, Huang Tianqin cupped his hands to the Honorable Bear. Then he opened the doors of the Sacred Palace and flew out of the Sacred Palace.

"Honorable One, I’ll be taking my leave now," Teng Qingshan saluted.

"Then I won’t be seeing you out." The voice of the Honorable One rang out.

Teng Qingshan held a lot of goodwill toward this Honorable Bear. From start to finish, the Honorable Bear never used his strength to pressure Teng Qingshan and instead justly had Emperor Yu’s Hall compensate him... This gave Teng Qingshan a favorable impression of the Honorable Bear. Additionally, the fact that this Honorable Bear had managed to spend a millennium thinking of how to use the vibrations in the air to talk made Teng Qingshan respect him greatly.

Teng Qingshan and the Undying Phoenix, Little Blue, also left the main hall of the Sacred Palace, with Yu Feng and Liu Xia following closely behind.

Inside the spacious and empty main hall, only the blurry figure of the Honorable Bear remained.

"These descendants of Emperor Yu’s Hall are indeed too conceited.

"However, what’s that got to do with me? Back then, Yu the Great said that it would be fine if I just protected the descendants of his sect. This Teng Qingshan has actually reached the Emptiness Realm at the age of 21 and created a branch of Internal Martial Arts. Now he has even defeated Huang Tianqin, who has just stepped into the Insightful Emptiness Realm. This innate skill of his... is unfathomable.

"In accordance with what Yu the Great said, since there is no way to annihilate Teng Qingshan, then he must not be offended.

"Otherwise, if we wait until he becomes an Omnipotent Expert, that would spell catastrophe for Emperor Yu’s Hall. Giving him two Heaven Class Secret Codices places us in good terms with him. Back then, he even entered the Heavenly Flood Palace... and received benefits from Yu the Great. Surely, even if he does become an Omnipotent Expert, he would show some respect to Yu the Great and leave a way out for Emperor Yu’s Hall."

The Honorable Bear’s figure disappeared from the main hall.