The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

Before waiting for long at the auction house, Su Yu got to meet Fairy Ling. She was as elegant and composed as usual, subtly scrutinizing Su Yu with her gorgeous eyes. She did not get a clear look at him, so she could only tell a young man was waiting for her at the door.

“Dare I ask, young lord, are you from Tianya City?” Fairy Ling asked Su Yu graciously. Her question made sense, as someone who specifically requested to see her could not possibly be a stranger to Tianya City.

Su Yu sat down quietly and replied with a question of his own, “Is Fairy Ling more concerned with my origin or the trading of a fairy artifact?”

Fairy Ling could tell that the other person did not want to engage in small talk with her, and her pretty eyes flashed as she said, “Forgive me for being so straightforward. Usually, only All Creation seniors have access to things like fairy artifacts. So… I have to be concerned with its origin, which is why I asked.”

She was worried that Su Yu had perhaps stolen the fairy artifacts, which would provoke the All Creation Old Monsters. If so, she wanted no part of that!

“I found it by chance,” Su Yu said indifferently.

Fairy Ling was speechless upon hearing this, and she wondered… Could fairy artifacts be so easily found by chance?

After a moment of thought, Fairy Ling said, “Fine. If it was any ordinary auction house, they wouldn’t dare accept fairy artifacts with unknown origins. But, I have other channels to help you auction it in secret. If you trust me, you can show me what part of a fairy artifact it is, then we can negotiate from there…”

“It’s not only a part of fairy artifact.” Su Yu shook his head.

Fairy Ling’s pretty eyes shone upon hearing this. If it wasn’t a part of one, she figured that it must be a prototype of a fairy artifact.

She was moved as she thought of this. Fairy artifacts had shockingly high prices, and if she could help him auction it, the commission that she would earn from the transaction would be quite lucrative as well!

“Actually… It’s a complete fairy artifact.” At that moment, Su Yu’s sleeve trembled as he discreetly placed a space ring on the table.

She noticed that Su Yu did not touch it himself, so it seemed as if the ring itself was quite powerful, maybe even dangerous! Fairy Ling was surprised to see him being so cautious, and with a blink of her pretty eyes, Fairy Ling carefully operated a whiff of Vital Energy, which discreetly enclosed the space ring within it.

Then, after she infused some Soul Energy inside of it, the situation in the space ring became crystal clear. A gearwheel with a bizarre appearance lay quietly inside the ring.

Some blurry images flashed through Fairy Ling’s mind, all of which appeared familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before. All of a sudden, the black gearwheel emitted a gust of demonic energy, and the Soul Energy delivered by Fairy Ling was destroyed before it could even react!

“Ahh!” With a tender yelp, Fairy Ling hurled the space ring away as if she had been electrocuted by it! Frantically, she operated her Vital Energy, safeguarding her whole being and recoiling rapidly, while creating a great distance between herself and the ring.

Misery appeared on her face. She was clearly affected, as a whiff of soul had been destroyed and her face had become quite pale.

Shock and fear flickered in her bright eyes as she murmured, “It’s… It’s a fairy artifact of Supreme Demonism, the flying guillotine! I can’t believe that you actually took such a thing!”

The flying guillotine? Su Yu muttered in his heart. This was the first time that he had been told the name of the black gearwheel.

When the five grand Golden Light Guards failed to find Su Yu, they were challenged by an All Creation woman and were involved in a great battle. In the end, the woman was badly injured by the projection of the Central Prefecture’s King that had been invited by the Golden Light Guards.

As she was on the brink of death, she almost implicated Su Yu! Fortunately, Su Yu had tricks to help himself escape the siege of the five grand Golden Light Guards.

Su Yu had tended to her wounds afterward. But, as revenge, he took along this fairy artifact that possessed such a shocking demonic energy. The item had become Su Yu’s main means for collecting crystals up until now. After all, the price of fairy artifacts was exceptionally expensive.

Seeing Fairy Ling’s expression, Su Yu raised his brows and put the ring away. “If you don’t want to accept it and make a trade, I’m going to leave.” It seemed that the identity of the owner of the flying guillotine was very remarkable, as he didn’t appear to care if he sold the item or not!

“Wait, I… I need to consider it for a moment,” Fairy Ling said hurriedly, while withdrawing her Vital Energy. However, she could not hide her shock.

Su Yu shook his head, then said, “I don’t have time to wait for your reply. Once you’ve decided, you can inform me by using telepathy.”

Then, after hurling a jade pendant at her, Su Yu immediately left the Tianya Auction House, not pausing even once on his way out. Fairy Ling caught hold of the communication jade pendant, her chest only stopping its panicked heaving after a long while.

A somber light flickered in her eyes as she wondered… Why would the Original Life fairy artifact of the Demonic Tianxuan fall into the hands of such a mysterious young man? I have to notify the cliff master about this, as only he can make this decision…

Right at that moment, Gongsun Wuxie ran inside and asked, “Aunt, are you ready? The Day of Sacrifice Offering is fast approaching!”

Fairy Ling looked at her and replied calmly, “Yes. I’m ready. You’re in luck this time, as there’s surely a treasure in the Desolate Evil Jungle that can purify your body.”

Gongxun Wuxie nodded, then said, “Yes! I have to succeed. If the medicinal effect in my body can be resolved, I’ll no longer be trapped in an infant’s body! I want to be a young lady, a pretty young lady!”

In the Hall of Celestial Spirits.

Hu Wangui and several middle-stage Almighty Divine Masters stood in the grand hall, their heads lowered, all of them completely still. In front of them sat an elderly man clad in a white shirt.

The old man cast a glance at Hu Wangui and said, “The Heavenly Knife Region Master has been informed about the matter. You’re not to be blamed. The opponent kept a shocking amount of room for maneuvering, so it’s understandable that you failed to hit the target.”

Hu Wangui and the others heaved sighs of relief, their anxieties slowly dwindling upon hearing this.

“The region master asked me to find out how the preparation for the sacrifice offering at the Desolate Evil Jungle is going…” The white-shirted elder said in his usual tone stern.

The look on Hu Wangui’s face sharpened, and he replied with confidence, “Please rest assured master, everything is prepared. We hired the two masters Qin and Lin, as they have prominent mastery in Mu words and no one else in the Central Prefecture can rival them. It’s by relying on these two masters that we Heavenly Knife Region were able to occupy such a large territory in the Tianya Auction House.”

He then added, “This time, we invited them again because even the masters of Mu words from the Red Blood Palace and the Purple Cloud Palace are no match for them. As for the remaining 16 factions, there’s nothing to worry about there either.”

The white-shirted elder nodded, while smiling amicably. “Well done. Out of the five regions of the Central Prefecture, only our Heavenly Knife Region has a firm stance in Tianya City, having repeatedly defeated the Blessed and Heavenly Lands, thus earning the respect of all. The region master regards you highly, so keep up the good work. Don’t let the region master down!”

Hu Wangui’s face shone with pride as he nodded. “Thanks master. I will definitely do my best to once again occupy half of the Central Prefecture’s territory!”

The elder was curious, so he asked, “Oh? Where does your confidence come from? We have spent over 10 years trying to occupy half of Tianya City’s territory, so how do you plan to conquer such a feat now?”

Hu Wangui flashed a mysterious smile as he replied, “Of course it’ll be difficult, as the opponent’s experts in Mu words aren’t just for decoration. They are the real deal. But, what if their experts can’t attend the sacrifice offering?”

The white-shirted elder smiled wickedly upon hearing this. He seemed to understand his meaning exactly.

——

Su Yu changed his appearance back to the old, decrepit man again, thus arriving at the headquarters with the identity of Su Yuxian once more. The man guarding the door was still the same middle-aged man with the surname Jue.

Upon seeing Su Yu’s arrival, he was not as passionate as before as he asked, “Has your term of office been reached?”

Su Yu nodded and smiled. “Yes, so I hope senior will allow my entry.”

Jue nodded, while opening the seal to let Su Yu in. As he stared at Su Yu’s back as he went in, a light flickered in Jue’s eyes.

In the side chamber at the second-level attic…

“You really kept your word. How has it been going for you these past few days, becoming more familiar with the Mu words?” The Deputy General Manager asked Su Yu amiably.

Su Yu answered, “Well… You should say ‘barely familiar!’”

A tinge of helplessness flashed in the Deputy General Manager’s eyes as he heard this, but he remained smiling as he replied, “Well, at least that’s an improvement.”

“Deputy General Manager, are you still not prepared to tell me about the so-called big matter, even now?” Su Yu had been curious about this for a long time.

The Deputy General Manager’s eyes sharpened, and after he pondered it for a moment, he sighed and relented. “I guess it’s time to tell you about it.”

He took a deep breath, then explained, “The reason that I let you take part in all of this is due to your proficiency in Mu words. You see… Tianya City is holding the annual sacrifice offering at the Desolate Evil Jungle, and the process involves the use of Mu words.”

Su Yu’s mind raced upon hearing this, and he vaguely recalled… Wasn’t the sacrifice offering at the Desolate Evil Jungle mentioned in Yaomu Daoren’s handbook? And… The 200 golden sand grains were also related to the sacrificial offering!

“The so-called sacrificial offering at the Desolate Evil Jungle has a long-standing origin. Since a long time ago, the Blessed and Heavenly Lands has held the event annually. This is a must. Otherwise, there’ll be severe consequences.” The Deputy General Manager’s tone was solemn as he explained the event.

Su Yu asked, “What will happen if it is not held?” He then wondered… Could it pose a danger that affects the entire Blessed and Heavenly Lands? That is really strange!

“Before we speak of the sacrificial altar, I must explain to you about the Desolate Evil Jungle. This evil jungle has a circumference of about 1,000 miles. The strong martial artists could fly there in a fleeting moment, but it’s a forbidden area for humans in Tianya City and the Blessed and Heavenly Lands! Not even fairies or the Almighty, or even the All Creation strong men have ever returned alive after entering the Desolate Evil Jungle!” the Deputy General Manager explained with wide eyes.

Su Yu drew in a cold breath as he thought… Even the All Creation strong men didn’t survive? I can’t believe that such a perilous place exists!

“Based on the records in the ancient books that have been passed down by the Red Blood Palace, it seems that 10,000 years ago, the Desolate Evil Jungle suddenly appeared in the land of Jiuzhou, occupying that region and never moving from it since,” the Deputy General Manager said.

He then added, “Ever since then, this time of the year, terrifying roots and tendrils would appear in the jungle, pouring out from its depths and covering endless miles of mountains and rivers in the surroundings. Wherever they pass, all of the living creatures, including all magical treasures and life forms, are entangled into the depths of the jungle, never to return!”

The Deputy General gulped loudly, clearly affected by the telling of this history. He then said, “Once, several All Creation strong men of Jiuzhou joined forces and entered the place to check it out for themselves, but never returned. No one knows if they’re dead or alive to this day.”

He swallowed hard once more, then said, “Later, humans and fairies set up a sacrificial altar right at the edge of the Desolate Evil Jungle. During this time of the year, if they are given sufficient living creatures based on the clues in the Mu words that appear on the altar, the vines will not appear, which will result in chaos and disaster.”

He then added, “Thus, since ancient times, the people of the Blessed and Heavenly Lands have offered sacrifices every year, as only then could they prevent these disasters. As Tianya City is the nearest city to the sacrificial altar, the mission has fallen on its shoulders.”

Su Yu finally understood after hearing this story. He was still shocked as he asked, “Is there really not a single person who has ever entered the Desolate Evil Jungle and returned successfully?”

“Actually… There is!” The Deputy General Manager’s eyes shone. “Once, there was an absolute strong man, whose combat power could rival the Jiuzhou King’s. He entered the Desolate Evil Jungle alone and settled down there for a time. He’d come out a few times in between, but he was reluctant to divulge any details about the jungle.”

He paused to take a breath, then added, “The last time he appeared was about 1,000 years ago. Since then, no more news was ever heard about him. Now, 1,000 more years have passed, so it is most likely that he has met his demise.”

“Who is this man?” Su Yu asked, his heart racing.