The Nine Cauldrons

　　At the dusky bottom of the lake, Deng Geng stared at the line of words carved on this black metal treasure map.

　　“One of the nine cauldrons?” Deng Geng felt troubled. “Getting the treasure map was actually not enough. It still needed one of the nine cauldrons! So troublesome……” Of course Deng Geng knew of the nine cauldrons. After the invincible Emperor Yu united the land under the heavens, he partitioned the land into nine areas.

　　Simultaneously, Emperor Yu gathered many precious metals from the nine areas and forged nine huge cauldrons.

　　The nine cauldrons represented the Nine Prefectures.

　　Since then…… the people of the Nine Prefectures, from ordinary civilians to the big figures of the eight sects, needed to worship Emperor Yu and the nine cauldrons during the annual ritual. This cauldron became an item needed during the sacrifice.

　　The legends of Emperor Yu and the nine cauldrons were known by everyone of the Nine Prefectures. Who didn’t worship during the yearly sacrifice?

　　“Emperor Yu, you left a treasure map and even played such trick…. The nine cauldrons… Since your death, the world became chaotic and the nine cauldrons disappeared. I think only the senior, Poetic Sword God Li Taibai obtained one of the nine cauldrons.” Deng Geng was Tie Yi Hall’s Elder of Discipline, so therefore, he knew a lot about the senior experts.

　　From ancient times until now, there were only four awe-inspiring figures that were on a par with one another——Emperor Yu, Celestial Emperor Qin Ling, Grandmaster Shi Jia, Poetic Sword God Li Taibai.

　　“Senior Li Taibai once obtain a cauldron and even used that cauldron to drink wine.” Deng Geng remembered those records.

　　Li Taibai should be the most unrestrained one of the four greatest figures in history. Although he had invincible and peerless martial strength, he chose not to conquer the land under the heavens and did not accept any disciples or establish any sects. With an azure lotus sword in hand, he traveled the world freely, leaving many legends. Drinking wine with one of the nine cauldrons was one of his legends.

　　Li Taibai even sighed emotionally at the time, “The nine cauldrons that were worshiped by the people of the Nine Prefectures actually became this amazing. An item that was so huge is now the size of a bowl. Even my azure lotus sword can’t hurt it. Amazing!”

　　In the land of the Nine Prefectures, some important figures from various sects also knew these stories.

　　The nine cauldrons could shrink and wouldn’t be damaged even a single bit!

　　That Poetic Sword God Li Taibai was a figure on a par with Emperor Yu, but even he himself couldn’t hurt the nine cauldrons. Thus, one could see how amazing the nine cauldrons were.

　　After Emperor Yu’s era, numerous people of the Nine Prefectures worshiped Emperor Yu from generations to generations until now…… In the hearts of many people, the nine cauldrons were not just containers, but the objects that represented the land of the Nine Prefectures and contained the hope of the people!

　　……

　　At the bottom of the lake, Deng Geng was feeling very worried.

　　“The Tie Yi Hall’s previous Lords and Elders of Discipline have been searching for the treasure map for more than thousand of years, and now it’s found. However, at this very moment, the treasure map even reminded me that a cauldron is needed. The cauldron can’t be any ordinary cauldron but one of the nine cauldrons. Isn’t he messing with us!” Deng Geng was so worried that he wanted to curse Emperor Yu. “The nine cauldrons are magical indeed, but how will Tie Yi Hall search for it? Even if the cauldron was placed before me, I’m afraid that I wouldn’t even recognize it.”

　　Suddenly——

　　An image flashed across Deng Geng’s mind. It was the black tiny cauldron worn around the neck of Wei Dan’s corpse.

　　“Right!” Deng Geng’s facial expression changed, and his eyes brightened.

　　“Yes, yes!” Deng Geng was extremely excited. “The nine cauldrons are magical, and their sizes can be changed. The cauldron that 诗剑仙‘李太白’ obtained could become as small as a bowl. It obviously could become as small as a finger! No wonder Wei Dan wore that tiny cauldron!”

　　“Plus, this tiny cauldron had been in the water for few hundred years, yet it did not erode and there was no moss on it. I originally thought it was an item made from some precious ingredients, but now I see. Haha. As one of the nine cauldrons, how is it possible to erode in water?”

　　The more Deng Geng pondered, the more he thought he was right.

　　Wei Dan was an Innate Golden Dan expert. How could it be that he happened to be wearing such a peculiar tiny cauldron? Plus, Wei Dan coincidentally obtained the lower half of treasure map…… The two were a combination. Thus, one could deduce that Wei Dan searched for the tiny cauldron because of the treasure map and found it somehow. Since it was important, of course he would wear it and keep it close to himself.

　　“Haha…… the heavens are helping my Tie Yi Hall!” Deng Geng’s heart immediately became cheerful. “I wanted this tiny cauldron, and the heavens sent it to me immediately. Now that we have the treasure map and the tiny cauldron, Tie Yi Hall will be able to activate the treasure of Emperor Yu! Within ten years, Tie Yi Hall will definitely obliterate the Gui Yuan Sect and Qing Hu Island and control the entire Yangzhou! Tie Yi Hall will be ranked the eighth great sect!”

　　With this, Deng Geng placed the treasure map in his arms and began swimming upwards.

　　As he looked up at the surface of the water, his expression changed, stopping suddenly.

　　“This is not right!” Deng Geng looked around and thought, “I have spent about two hours at the bottom of the lake, so why didn’t I see Elder Tian and the others? The lake is only this big, and if three people searched the bottom of the lake together, they would definitely meet. However, Deng Geng remembered that he did not see Elder Tian and the others at the bottom of the lake for a long time.”

　　Deng Geng raised his head and stared at the lake’s sparkling surface.

　　His face turned cold as he said, “It looks like there’s a change in the situation.” Deng Geng immediately unsheathed his silver sword. This sword of his was named Silver Scaled Sword and it was a rare godly weapon.

　　Teng Qingshan waited over two hours at the shore. The sky had darkened. and a crescent moon hung high up.

　　“Whew Whew~~~” The wind on the mountaintop blew fiercely.

　　“Ga, Ga——” High up in the sky, some unknown type of bird flew past, emitting a cacophonous sounds. Squatting at the lake shore,Teng Qingshan wore the Heavenly Falcon Claw Gloves and grabbed a flying knife in each of his hands. Although he waited for two hours, he still wasn’t nervous. Even if he had to wait a few more hours, it would be a piece a cake.

　　The wind on the mountain blew fiercely as the ferocious animals roared.

　　“Rumble~~~” Explosions suddenly occurred on the surface of the lake. The ten Zhang wide lake surface completely exploded, shooting waters several Zhang high up in the sky.

　　With waters splashing, it was impossible to see anyone hiding.

　　“Oh no! Deng Geng noticed an ambush.” Teng Qingshan furrowed his brows. He had waited for two hours, only to find out that time he spent waiting had been a waste!

　　Suddenly, at the edge of the splashing waters, a figure dashed to the shore like a flash. As soon as the figure stepped on the ground, it charged towards Teng Qingshan.

　　“Hmph!” Teng Qingshan threw out the flying knife in his right hand!

　　“Xiu!”

　　“Xiu!”

　　The two flying knives in his left and right hands were thrown in succession and slashed across the air like two streaks of lightning. When the knives were about one Zhang away from the figure, the first flying knife suddenly made a turn.

　　“Clang!”

　　Shaows of a silver sword appeared and went past Teng Qingshan’s flying knives like a waterfall. Two clanging sounds were heard and the flying knives became dust. The figure that was flying forward suddenly stopped and retreated two steps backwards.

　　Deng Geng stared at the knife-scarred man before his eyes and thought, “The strength of this knife-scarred man’s flying knives is actually so strong that my hands felt slightly numb from the force.”

　　Deng Geng’s eyes swept past the chest of Wei Dan’s dead body, and his pupils constricted, “The tiny cauldron is gone!”

　　“You killed the disciples of my Tie Yi Hall! Die!” Deng Geng roared and rushed towards Teng Qingshan.

　　“You think you can kill me?” Teng Qingshan emitted a rough-sounding voice and stomped his feet, dashing towards Deng Geng like a ferocious tiger heading down a mountain.

　　The two were originally only several Zhang apart, and after they charged towards each other, they immediately began fighting.

　　“Chi!”

　　The Silver Scaled Sword flashed and was thrusted before Teng Qingshan’s eyes, while Teng Qingshan nimbly moved and waved his right hand, averting himself. A ‘clang’ sound was heard as Teng Qingshan’s right hand clashed with the Silver Scaled Sword. Truly the weapon of an Innate Golden Dan expert, the Heavenly Falcon Claws remained intact.

　　The instant they clashed, Teng Qingshan took a step forward and used Smashing Fist!

　　“Pu!”

　　Teng Qingshan’s fists became like the arrows of a stretched bow. The air before his fists was compressed, and a visible arc-shaped pressure appeared. The air emitted trembling sounds, and the density of the air experienced changes, blurring Teng Qingshan’s fist. Seeing this, Deng Geng tensed up and went a step back while his Silver Scaled Sword drew an arc.

　　“Boom!” A series of explosions occurred, and the high air pressure blasted forwards.

　　Immediately, sand and stones flew in every direction.

　　Teng Qingshan utilized both of his fists, blocking with one and attacking with the other. Sometimes, both his fists would attack in succession while his feet moved back and forth. His fighting style had few variations, but he grasped the opportunity to attack at the right time, and his control of the space had reached an unbelievable level. The nonstopping Smashing Fist encircled Deng Geng.

　　The Smashing Fist were like arrows with an unending cycle!

　　As for Deng Geng, his sword technique was terrifying as well. Every strike of his formed an arc. Some of the arcs were bigger and some were smaller, just like how his Innate True Origin was also strong at times and weak at times. Deng Geng completely blocked Teng Qingshan’s Smashing Fist.

　　“The defense force of this Deng Geng’s sword technique is probably on a par with my ‘Transmutation Unity Law’ spear art. Each arc is like a shield, and resulting shields are endless.” Teng Qingshan could feel Deng Geng’s strong ability and thought to himself, “My physical strength aided with the Innate True Origin, yet I actually couldn’t gain the upper hand!”

　　If Teng Qingshan was shocked, wouldn’t Deng Geng feel shock as well?

　　“This knife-scarred man… Where did this expert come from? With just the use of his fists, he actually could suppress me to the point that I could only defend, unable to attack.” Deng Geng was also nervous. “I have never heard of this person among the innate experts that have reached the state of True Dan.”

　　“Rumble!”

　　A thundering sound boomed on the flat land!

　　“Oh no!” When Deng Geng saw the fist break through the air instantly and seemingly occupy the entire space, he couldn’t help but feel shocked. This punch that broke through the air contained a special force that caused rotating air to appear around the fist. Deng Geng could only retreat rapidly while slashing his Silver Scale Sword.

　　“Bang!”

　　Deng Geng backed several steps away. Each step caused the rocks to tremble, and many huge holes appeared as numerous rocks flew in every direction.

　　“Stop!” Deng Geng yelled.

　　Teng Qingshan looked at Deng Geng and thought to himself, “Although the Tiger Fist performed with the use of the Heavenly Hawk Claws is slightly slower, the explosive force is equal to the Toxic Dragon Drill. Yet, this Deng Geng could actually block it.

　　At this moment, Deng Geng felt a painful sensation in his bones and arm and thought to himself, “If I want to kill this knife-scarred man, I guess I would have to pay a big price.”

　　“This brother! Great moves! I did not expect that among the ones who have reached the True Dan state, there was an individual who is so adept in fist martial arts.” Deng Geng said.

　　“Your sword technique is not bad either.” Teng Qingshan said loudly.

　　On the mountaintop, the two experts were both slightly wary of each other.

　　A smile showed on Deng Geng’s face as he said, “The juniors of my Tie Yi Hall offended you, so you killed them. I will let this go. However…… brother, please return the item that was passed on to my Tie Yi Hall. Please return the black tiny cauldron to Tie Yi Hall!”