The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

The next morning.

“Young Lord, bad news! Tuoba JIng and a few of our people have not returned since they went out on the pretext of going on on a patrol last night.” The old servant roused Tuoba Qingyun from his meditation.

Upon hearing that, Tuoba Qingyun was full of rage. “Da*n it! Our benefactor is in danger!”

“Young Lord, then shall we…”

“Does it need more explanation? Of course, we have to inform him! If Tuoba Jing gets his way, not only will our benefactor face disaster, but the rest of us who covered up for him will be destroyed by the Pirate Deity as well.”

——

At the harbor, the Pirate Deity listened quietly to Ah San’s report.

A moment later, the Pirate Deity kneaded his beard and sneered. “The people were taken away, and the woman who attacked seemed like a killer from the Netherworld Faction… Haha, they really are problematic!”

“If my speculation is right, the woman who attacked must be the black-dressed woman beside the alleged Tuoba Yun. She has traces of a killer on her indeed.”

“Then shall I take some people with me and seize them all now?” Ah San was fervent as the sexy, alluring figure of the Sheng Deity streaked across his mind.

The Pirate Deity shook his head. “If we swallow them without evidence, word of the Pirate Deity swallowing the influences that came to seek refuge will get around. In the future, who else would dare to seek refuge again? And this is prohibited by our Alliance of Nine Deities.”

“But since they are under suspicion, we could imprison them for now and broadcast their portraits to the Pirate Deity’s cavern world. Anyone who recognizes them will receive a hefty reward.”

Ah San nodded. “Yes!”

Just as he exited with some disappointment and frustration, a divine servant sprinted over to report.

Upon hearing the news, the Pirate Deity flashed a smile. “Interesting! Let them in.”

Before long, Tuoba Jing and three other young members of the Tuoba family were brought to the Pirate Deity by the divine servant.

“You’re willing to point them out for falsely assuming Tuoba Yun’s identity?” The Pirate Deity questioned.

Tuoba Jing replied, “Yes! We are willing to share your worries, Pirate Deity.”

“Alright then, if you make a contribution, I will certainly reward you,” the Pirate Deity said. There were several powerful Prospective Deities among Su Yu and his people, whom even the Pirate Deity had to watch out for.

Tuoba Jing was overjoyed. All they needed to do next was to point out the youth who had rescued them yesterday, and they could, perhaps, leave the World of Divine Remains.

The Pirate Deity ordered, “Ah San, summon all of Tuoba Yun’s people here. I have some questions for them.”

Ah San was exhilarated. “Yes!”

Su Yu had returned to the inn not long ago. He met up with the nine deities and told them about his meeting with the Death Deity.

He had concealed the details about the deal with the Death Deity and about the nine-star honored guest of course, not mentioning a word about those things.

“I did not expect you to return safe and sound,” Sheng Yuanxin marveled as she glanced Su Yu up and down.

Su Yu said, “Not exactly safe and sound, I ran into some problems along the way, I found Ah San escorting the people of the Tuoba family, so I rescued them and released them afterward.”

What? All the deities gasped in shock. They had an ominous feeling when the Tuoba family was mentioned, yet Su Yu had released them, which made them feel even more insecure.

The deities could still manage to keep their cool. With Su Yu’s acumen, there must be a reason for his actions.

But Sheng Yuanxin raised her brows and exclaimed in shock, “My goodness, how could you release those people? Weren’t you digging your own grave? Did you really believe that your secret would be safe with them?”

Su Yu shook his head gently. “Of course I did not believe! If there were only a couple of them, perhaps I would have believed them to keep my promise. But there was a group of them, and there would always be one or two with different opinions. Some of them will certainly expose us to the Pirate Deity.”

“You knew it, but still you…” Sheng Yuanxin was befuddled. What was Su Yu really trying to do?

Su Yu said broodingly, “I have intentionally allowed them to expose us. If not, it’ll take quite some trouble to meet the Pirate Deity.”

Knock! Knock!

Before long, it was just as Su Yu had expected. Ah San had come forth, leading a team of Mortal Fairy strong men. He was smirking mirthlessly. “Our Pirate Deity has invited you people over.”

The deities exchanged glances with each other. None of them had a clue what Su Yu was planning.

Once their identities got exposed, the nine God-Destroying Crossbows of the Pirate Deity would be no joke.

The deities kept their calm as they followed Su Yu to the harbor to again meet the Pirate Deity.

The Pirate Deity stood with his hands behind his back. Tuoba Jing and the others were standing side by side behind him, looking down at Su Yu and the rest with indifference.

“Pirate Deity, what is your purpose in summoning us here?” Su Yu asked placidly, shooting a glance at Tuoba Jing.

The Pirate Deity sneered and kneaded his beard. “If you really are the third son of the Tuoba family, Tuoba Yun, how could you not recognize your family members standing behind me!”

Su Yu shot them a glance and said, “Just a few pathetic people of the Tuoba family? It is not surprising if they turn against me for their own benefits.”

“Stop pretending!” Tuoba Jing’s lips curled into a scornful smile. “When you took us away yesterday, you should have murdered us all. Your stupidity in deciding to release us should be blamed!”

The Pirate Deity narrowed his eyes. “Oh? You were the one who took them last night? Do you have anything to say about that?”

Just as Su Yu was about to speak, another divine servant scurried over anxiously.

The Pirate Deity was surprised, and he thought for a moment. “Let them in.”

Before long, the divine servant led a group of people inside. There were over twenty of them, with Tuoba Qingshan taking the lead.

When they arrived in front of the Pirate Deity, Tuoba Qingshan offered the Pirate Deity his respect first and then knelt before Su Yu along with his people. “Third uncle!”

What? Apart from Su Yu’s quick response in understanding Tuoba Qingshan’s intention, the rest were taken aback.

Tuoba Jing even yelled, “Tuoba Qingyun, what nonsense is this? Since when has he been the third son of the Tuoba family?”

Tuoba Qingyun did not look at him but bowed to the Pirate Deity. “Pirate Deity, there have been several degenerates in my family lately. They intend to gain the Pirate Deity’s favor by betraying my third uncle. I hope Pirate Deity makes a fair decision for the Tuoba family.”

Ah San’s eyes went saucer wide. Things had been smooth-sailing so far. Why had another batch of the Tuoba family appeared out of nowhere?

Most strangely, they confirmed Su Yu’s identity as Tuoba Yun.

“Dare you take responsibility for your own words?” Ah San berated. He was more anxious than anyone else because now he was going to lose the beauty.

Tuoba Qingyun was neither servile nor snobby. “Dare I ask Lord Ah San, do you believe the words of a few ordinary members more, or the descendant of the second son of the family like I am?”

Ah San was vexed. Anyone with clear vision could see that Su Yu and his people were problematic.

“Then how are you going to explain him taking you away last night?” Ah San asked threateningly. “Lying to deities means a death sentence. You’d better consider it properly before saying anything!”

Tuoba Qingyun replied without a second thought. “Taking us away? Did such a thing even happen? I hope Lord Ah San has looked into the matter properly.”

Ah San was exasperated yet he dared not act arbitrarily. He turned to look at the Pirate Deity instead.

The Pirate Deity chuckled, his eyes filled with iciness. “Interesting, I never thought someone would actually recognize a thief as their uncle. This is the very first time throughout my adventures around the world!”

As he spoke, the Pirate Deity shot out a wave of divine energy that penetrated Tuoba Qingyun’s mind, performing a Soul Search on his memory.

The faces of the Tuoba people behind him turned ashen grey as they watched the scene.

Lying to a deity was indeed a serious matter.

But if they hadn’t come and had allowed Tuoba Jing and his people to succeed, what awaited them was still death. Thus, Tuoba Qingyun took the gamble decisively.

It was a pity that a defeat was still bound to happen even when success was within reach.

The Pirate Deity kept his eyes closed and obtained Tuoba Qingyun’s memory with complete ease. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with intense coldness. “How dare you make a fool of me! Haha, this is entertaining!”

His laugh was filled with fury as he spoke. Mere petty insects trying to deceive deities, how dauntless!

His eyes fell upon Su Yu. “Imposters of Tuoba Yun, regardless of who you are, the need for an interrogation has arisen! Ah San, detain them all and subject them to torture before interrogation! Having lied to me, you have to suffer before anything else!”

Su Yu was calm and composed, unruffled and unhurried. He was about to speak when another black figure came in and whispered something in Ah San’s ear.

When he finished listening, Ah San had a look of surprise on his face. It was quickly replaced by terror. His gaze fell upon Su Yu, filled with stupefaction and dread.

The Pirate Deity noticed. “Shadow guard, you have collected some information. What happened?” he asked indifferently.

Ah San hurriedly informed him via telepathy. “Lord Pirate Deity, it is news about Tuoba Yun, no, it is about this impersonator of Tuoba Yun!”

“What news?” The Pirate Deity kept his cool. The unusual look on Ah San’s face made him feel insecure.

Ah San’s voice trembled. “He succeeded in meeting the Death Deity!”

What? The Pirate Deity’s pupils constricted as he looked Su Yu up and down all over again.

Even as a deity of the World of Divine Remains, the Pirate Deity hardly ever got to meet the Death Deity.

The legendary King of Killers, with a power so horrifying it could shake the entire galaxy. He was the greatest support of the World of Divine Remains, and also a silhouette that lurked in the heart of every deity.

In the past when he slaughtered the four deities of the Great Eastern Alliance all by himself, his figure had been imprinted deep in their hearts.

It was extremely unusual for Su Yu to meet the Death Deity.

As the Pirate Deity looked at Su Yu, the stern look in his eyes disappeared, replaced by an amiable look. Before he could get clear about the relation between them, it was best to leave them alone for now and keep them in captivity.

Just as the Pirate Deity prepared to speak, Ah San continued, “The Death Deity has given the order to treat this man as an honored client.”

An honored client? The Pirate Deity had dread in his eyes. He didn’t have the guts to imprison the honored guests of the Netherworld Faction.

And the Pirate Deity had lost all interest in investigating their identities.

Almost no one who came to the World of Divine Remains to visit the Netherworld Faction would ever use their true identities. That was presumably why the group of people before him assumed Tuoba Yun’s identity.

The Pirate Deity was relieved now. Not only would he not inflict any harm upon them, he even had the intention to liberate them.

But still, he asked out of curiosity, “Honored guest of how many stars? An honored guest whom the Death Deity designated himself must be at least five stars?”

This was also a reason the Pirate Deity was reluctant to insist on looking into the matter. The important guests whose grades were designated by the Death Deity himself were rare and every one of them was a big figure.

Ah San’s voice trembled forcefully. “Nine…nine stars!”

Creak!

The Pirate Deity was flabbergasted, and he lost control of his vast divine energy momentarily. It leaked out and injured Ah San, who was near.

He got up abruptly, with a face full of shock and terror. “Nine stars? Are you sure the shadow guard has delivered the right message?”

Ah San replied with bitterness, “I was suspicious too; how could it be nine stars? Apart from the one from the Demonic Dimension, who else could have the privilege to be designated a nine-star honored guest by the Death Deity?”

The Pirate Deity’s eyes flickered intensely. Looking at Su Yu’s youthful figure, he had a profound sense of oppression.

“Send my order. Dispatch someone to the Netherworld Faction to confirm the matter!” the Pirate Deity commanded sternly.