The Nine Cauldrons

Book 5 Chapter 2 Enemies At The Gates

At the north gate of Yanjiang City, many dead Silver Dragon Army soldiers lay before the north gate. Their blood seeped into the snowfield, and the scene looked sorrowfully beautiful.

“What happened?” With a furious roar, General Lan jumped down from his horse and rushed to the city gate.

“General, we were pursuing the Black Armored Army. Who would have thought that they would ambush us here? Just now, we lost thirty-six brothers.” The centurion of the Silver Dragon Army reported. When General Lan heard this, he was so angry his eyes seemed to pop out, and he yelled, “Useless! You didn’t kill a single enemy, yet you lost thirty-six men!”

Just then.

“The Black Armored Army planned this in advance.” A calm sound rang out. General Lan turned and saw that it was Elder Hu, a middle-aged man wearing a grey cloak.

Elder Hu continued saying, “There are traces of ropes and footprints on the ground here! The Black Armored Army soldiers must have retreated separately. Some of the Black Armored Army soldiers retreated to the north gate while still on guard. The other Black Armored Army soldiers then followed suit and retreated as well….. and when we had chased them up to here……”

So here we are, and there’s no need to say what happened next.

“What should we do now?” General Lan looked at him.

“Wait!” Elder Hu wasn’t nervous at all. “The Island Lord is leading the army here, and they are about to arrive. We should meet up with the Island Lord, Martial Uncle, and the other innate experts and set out to obliterate the Gui Yuan Sect.” With this, Elder Hu immediately turned and walked back to Yanjiang City.

At noon, Gu Yong, the Island Lord of Qing Hu Island, arrived at Yanjiang City with five hundred Golden Scale Guards and twenty thousand Silver Dragon Army soldiers. And so, there were a total of eight hundred Golden Scale Guards and thirty thousand Silver Dragon Army soldiers in Yanjiang City! When it was the afternoon, the great army left Yanjiang City and set out towards Jiangning County City.

The sun descended down the west mountain, and the sky gradually dimmed.

The great army of Qing Hu Island formed a long line, akin a dragon whose end could not be seen. The vanguard was already near Heyuan City, which was in the region of Jiangning County City and only three hundred Li away from Jiangning County City. Yet, there were no guards in this Heyuan City.

It was obvious that Jiangning County had already abandoned this city.

“It’s late. We will rest in Heyuan City tonight.” A deep-sounding voice rang.

“Yes, Island Lord.”

……

In the house of the mayor of Heyuan City, Elder Hu and General Lan were following Gu Yong, the Island Lord dressed in a yellow cloak. Gu Yong had big eyes, bushy eyebrows, and long untied hair. His eyes were usually half-closed with a quick glint of brilliance. He seemed like a lion that had restrained its wrath.

“Elder Hu, Martial Brother Lan, let’s sit there.” Gu Yong spoke.

The three then sat around a stone table under the shelter.

“Eh?” Elder Hu turned to look afar and smiled, “Island Lord, it seems like my martial uncle

and the others have arrived.”

Gu Yong also smiled and stood up. The three then stared into the South.

Men and women dressed in different color cloaks or armor walked in. There were a total of ten people, and two of them were women. These ten people each emitted a different kind of aura. Some seemed divine while others emitted an aura of menace. Some seemed friendly and amiable while others seemed proud and aloof.

“Fellow sect members.” Gu Yong smiled, “All you elders have worked hard in this battle against Chu County.”

“Island Lord!” The leading handsome teenager grinned and said, “Tie Yi Clan only had a total of two True Dan Innate Experts, and Golden Dan Innate Experts. Ten of us went, so of course it was easy. “ Although the handsome teenager looked like a teenager with fair and healthily ruddy skin, his hair was completely silvery white.

This person is the number one of Law Enforcing Elders——Zhao Danchen!

Zhao Danchen, a Golden Dan innate expert ranked tenth of the 《Heavenly Ranking》.

In all nine areas of the land, Gu Yong, Zhuge Yuanhong, and Zhao Danchen in Yangzhou were all ranked top ten in the 《Heavenly Ranking》, which was quite amazing.

Of course……the family left by the Heavenly Emperor Qin Ling, one of the eight great sects——Yongzhou’s Ying Family! Emperor Yu Hall of Yuzhou left by Emperor Yu and the number on of the eight greatest sect left by Martial Ancestor Shakya——Mani Temple. These three sect were the ones with the deepest roots.

Because each of these three sects inherited the descendants of the Heavenly Emperor Qin Ling, Emperor Yu, and Martial Ancestor Shakya, many people thought that super powerful experts hid among these three sects.

For example, Mani Temple occupied the land in two prefectures, but none of the sects could affect it.

Since ancient times, Heavenly Emperor Qin Ling, Emperor Yu, Martial Ancestor Shakya, and the God of Poetry and Sword, Li Bai were the the strongest and had reached an unbelievable state. The ones who inherited their legacy could not be underestimated. Although the land united by Emperor Yu had disintegrated, Emperor Yu’s Hall still existed even after a thousand years. Thus, one could see how deep the roots of these sects were.

“Island Lord, this is the original version of the treasure map.” The silver-haired handsome teenager took out two pieces of the black iron with broken sides.

“Eh?” Gu Yong said as he took it.

After killing Nie Rong, the sovereign of Tie Yi Hall, we took these two iron pieces. Zhao Danchen immediately took out the copy of the map and gave it to the Island Lord, Gu Yong.

“It is the Emperor Yu’s treasure map.” When Gu Yong saw, he broke out in a guffaw as he said, “Haha…… This material is Yu Rock which was refined by Emperor Yu in the past. After being passed around for thousands of years, even this Yu Rock has broken apart….. From this, you can see how fierce the competition for Emperor Yu’s Treasure Map is. Who would have thought that this treasure map would be in Qing Hu Island’s hands at the end.”

The lady in a purple cloak smiled, “Island Lord, Nie Rong saw that the situation was bad and wanted to run, but fortunately, Martial Ancestor Zhao stopped him. Otherwise, Nie Rong might really have escaped.”

The silver-haired handsome teenager, Zhao Danchen, smiled faintly.

“Since Emperor Yu’s Treasure Map is in Qing Hu Island’s hands, we can wait a few days. Let’s obliterate the Gui Yuan Sect first and search for Emperor Yu’s treasure unworriedly.” Gu Yong then showed a stern expression as he said, “All Elders, during the attack led by Elder Hu against Yanjiang City, an unexpected thing happened. Tie Wanmao.. Elder Tie fought with Teng Qingshan and was actually killed. ”

The expression of the ten innate masters changed drastically.

“Island Lord, that Teng Qingshan……” Each one of the ten innate masters stared at Gu Yong.

Gu Yong nodded and said, “Teng Qingshan has already reached the innate realm. A seventeen-year-old innate master who could kill Elder Tie. His potentially is too terrifying….. Therefore, during this obliteration of the Gui Yuan Sect, the first task is to kill Zhuge Yuanhong, and the second is to catch Teng Qingshan alive. I believe you all can catch Teng Qingshan alive, right?”

“Leave it to me.” Zhao Danchen replied.

“Since Elder Zhao said so, I will be at ease.” Gu Yong smiled and nodded, “However, you all must not let your guard down during this attack against the Gui Yuan Sect. When Zhuge Yuanhong was young, I fought with him for quite some time. He always has many tricks, so killing him will be very difficult.”

The crowd nodded.

If it was an individual fight, none of the people here had the confidence of defeating Zhuge Yuanhong since Zhuge Yuanhong was ranked number sixth on the 《Heavenly Ranking》. Most importantly….. Zhuge Yuanhong hadn’t fought for six years!

Six years?

With Zhuge Yuanhong’s talent and perceptivity, who knew what level Zhuge Yuanhong reached during these six years and what powerful techniques he created? There was a big difference between those at the same realm with different unique techniques. Teng Qingshan was an example. Although he was at the Emptiness Dan state of the innate realm, his Toxic Dragon Drill was a lot stronger than the Pursuing Shadow.

And the Vermillion Tiger Roar was even more powerful than the Toxic Dragon Drill.

Of course, each had its advantages and disadvantages. For example, Pursuing Shadow had the advantage of quick speed and continuous moves. On the other hand the Toxic Dragon Drill had the advantage of the fastest instantaneous speed and amazing force and the disadvantage of a weak point instantly after the performance. As for the Vermillion Tiger Roar, it possessed the greatest power, but its use wasted too much Innate True Origin and the speed of the moves were not quick.

Similarly, the Vermillion Tiger Roar had a process of accumulating energy; thus, the speed is slightly slower.

……

Different kinds of unique techniques possessed different kinds of power.

Among the experts who had reached the same Golden Dan state of the Innate Realm, one might be ranked first on the《Heavenly Ranking》 while the other other might be ranked last. Why was that? They were indeed at almost the same realm, but their unique techniques were not.

The fifth of November was a gloomy day.

The snow had not melted completely. The gusts of cold wind blew recklessly at the armored soldiers on top of Jiangning County City.

“Fifty thousand city guards, twenty thousand fringe disciples, five thousand core disciples, and three thousand Black Armored Army soldiers….. Although there are a lot, could this number of people defend against the army of Qing Hu Island?” Wearing his Darksteel heavy armor and Darksteel helmet, Teng Qingshan held his Reincarnation Spear as he made an inspection around the top of the city. Yet, he felt slightly worried.

The number of city guards was indeed great, but ten city guards couldn’t even compete with one Black Armored Army soldier.

“Through the advantage of the city wall, we should be able to defend against them.” Teng Qingshan said to himself, “I am just worried……that the group of innate masters will kill the innate masters of the Gui Yuan Sect first. That would be bad.” The city walls as high as ten Zhangs couldn’t obstruct the innate masters.

Once Sovereign, elders, and commanders were killed, the ending would be obvious.

“Qingshan.” A gentle voice sounded.

Teng Qingshan turned and saw Zhuge Yuanhong in a white long cloak and untied long hair in the distance. He carried a long sword on his back and stood on the top of the wall. The cold wind blew and his long cloak fluttered. Zhuge Yuanhong seemed to be about to leave with the wind. At this moment, the brave core disciples and Black Armored Army soldiers on the city wall felt slightly anxious.

Only Sovereign Zhuge Yuanhong appeared unworried.

“Teacher.” Teng Qingshan walked forward.

“The men of Qing Hu Island have arrived. Just stay around me later. Don’t separate more than ten Zhangs away from me.” Zhuge Yuanhong said.

Although he felt confused, Teng Qingshan still answered, “Yes, teacher.”

“They are here?” Teng Qingshan looked into the distance and finally managed to see a small figure far away.

……

One hour later, the army of Qing Hu Island gathered three Li away from Jiangning County City. The vigorous and dense Silver Dragon Army seemed like the endless cold sea water during a gloomy day. Just the thought of Qing Hu Island frightened many city guards and fringe disciples.

“Zhuge Yuanhong!!!”

A deep-sounding voice which seemed like the voice of god came from far away and resounded in the entire Jiangning County City.

“Gu Yong!” Zhuge Yuanhong shouted as he looked three Li away.

The elegant Zhuge Yuanhong and the dominating Gu Yong stared at each other from afar.

On top of the wall, Teng Qingshan and the other two Law Enforcing Elders stood behind Zhuge Yuanhong while the three commanders, Zhang Feng, Guan Lu, and Pang Shan, and many elders also gathered here.

“Eh? Thirteen people?” With Teng Qingshan’s eyesight, he could clearly see the thirteen people standing in front of the army three Li away.

The thirteen people spread out into a straight line, and the person in the center was clothed in a long gold-colored cloak. The thirteen people standing there gave Teng Qingshan more pressure than the great army.

The rumbling sounds came from afar again——

“Zhuge Yuanhong, I led the army personally today, but I am reluctant to slaughter the Gui Yuan Sect easily. I will give you six hours! If you open the gates, and the whole sect surrenders within six hours, I will give the Gui Yuan Sect a way out. If not, six hours later…….I will burn the Gui Yuan Sect to the ground!”

The deep-sounding voice was like the rumble of thunder resonating in the sky.