The Nine Cauldrons

Book 8 Chapter Twenty Four – Return

Under the hazy moonlight, the Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent which wound and coiled around the mountain stared icily at the human before its eyes.

“You serpent, I can’t be bothered to kill you.”

With Reincarnation Spear in his grasp, Teng Qingshan strode toward the cave with large strides. Each step easily covering several Zhang, and with merely three steps, he had already appeared beside the Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent. The Violet Coral Serpent’s twin heads were raised proudly, staring at Teng Qingshan with its icy gaze. It seemed amazed at the courage the human before it possessed.

As Teng Qingshan took his fourth step—

A strong stench rushed toward him. Both of its jaws opened at the same time as it launched itself at Teng Qingshan.

“Hmph!”

Teng Qingshan’s cold harrumph was like an earth-shaking thunder. He stepped forward and rotated his hips. A great force had been transmitted into the Reincarnation Spear through his hands. The Reincarnation Spear was like a swimming dragon, a hallucinatory silver spear flashed, and with an astonishing speed, smashed fiercely into one of the twin heads of the Violet Coral Serpent that was snapping at him.

The Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent dodged almost instantaneously.

“Peng!” The Reincarnation Spear smashed into the Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent’s coarse and elongated body.

“Hiss!” The Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent let out a pained hiss, spurting scarlet-red blood from both its jaws. Due to the strike of Teng Qingshan’s spear, the monstrous body which spanned 15 Zhang unexpectedly flew into the air. Its gigantic body coiled and twisted in mid-air before smashing into a tree, pressing down on the weeds, before finally colliding into a boulder. Many ordinary venomous snakes which didn’t manage to dodge were crushed to death.

Rocks tumbled.

Teng Qingshan flicked a glance at the Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent. He shook his head with a smile before heading toward the cave.

The Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent’s heads were covered with blood. It raised its head high, looking at the spear-wielding man encroaching upon its nest but it dared not obstruct him. The speed, the power had completely frightened the serpent. It knew that it was extremely easy for the human to kill it.

……

“At least you’re sensible.” Teng Qingshan reached the cave’s entrance with the Reincarnation Spear in his grasp.

“This time, I can only hope for it to be the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit. Even if it isn’t, at least give me a treasure in the same grade of the ‘Spiritual Dew Herb.’

“Let’s hope it won’t disappoint me.”

Muttering under his breath, Teng Qingshan entered the dark and serene cave with a smile. During nighttime, this cavern would be incomparably pitch-black. However, for Teng Qingshan who had night-vision, it would be akin to daytime, everything crystal clear. Teng Qingshan entered swiftly while scanning his surroundings.

A strong fishy scent permeated throughout the cavern.

Teng Qingshan entered the depths of the cave without the slightest change in his expression. He swept his gaze about. “Eh, there’s no treasure in this cave?” There were only blue and black-colored rocks that could not be more ordinary.

“I got my hopes up for nothing.”

Patrolling the area once more, Teng Qingshan shook his head and strode outside, but just as he took two steps.

“Something’s not right.”

In the corners of his eyes, Teng Qingshan took note of a corner around the edge which had a blue-black rock which had an additional tinge of faint green. That faint green color could only be seen at where Teng Qingshan stood. If seen from another position, it would undoubtedly go unnoticed.

“This is…” Teng Qingshan made his way over, and noticed several mixed stones which concealed the green color. Fortunately, the green color was not completely masked, so Teng Qingshan was able to see it.

He crouched, carefully pushing away the other stones.

Teng Qingshan saw a smear of green that could palpitate the heart. He gasped at the sight and his eyes brightened. Within his sights was a lush, green leaf which brimmed with vitality. There was also a greenish-brown branch, but what attracted his attention was ultimately the fruit the size of an infant’s fist.

The entire fruit tree grew within the crack of the walls. Whether it be the branch, the leaf, or the fruit, they all emanated with a faint green luster which brimmed with vitality.

“Hu!” Even though he had only smelled the scent of the fruit tree, Teng Qingshan felt his entire person invigorated.

“Dreamy Cloud White Fruit!”

Teng Qingshan could not resist the feeling of ecstasy rising within him as his eyes glimmered. “I finally found it!” After a whole 18 days of detailed searching while riding on the Whole Gale Eagle, he felt he had taken a trip around the entire Dreamy Cloud Swampland. On the night of the 18th day, he finally found this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit tree.

“Huh? The color of this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit?” Teng Qingshan’s brows wrinkled.

Suspended on the branch was a fruit that had the form of an infant. A jade green color swirled on the surface of the fruit. The coating of the fruit was not white but green! When he took note of it previously, he thought the green color he saw was caused by the ‘green glow.’ However, now that he examined it in detail, he realized that the coating in itself was actually green.

“It still hasn’t ripened?” Teng Qingshan was surprised.

“What should I do now?” There was no way to pick the fruit since it was not ripened. “Do I have to wait here foolishly? I don’t know how long it will take for this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit to fully mature.”

A difficult problem had surfaced in front of Teng Qingshan.

A thought popped into Teng Qingshan’s head, and very quickly, he made his decision.

“A treasure like the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit had strict growing conditions. It’s impossible for me to move it to the Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal’s location.” Teng Qingshan knew well that—no matter what kind of Spiritual Treasure, such as Scarlet Fruit, Black Fire Spiritual Fruit and the like—he had never heard of one that could be transplanted elsewhere. Otherwise, those large sects would have fought with each other to plant these.

“I shall let it continue growing here. I need to inform the Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal.

“I’ll let the Violet Coral Serpent continue living here! If I had killed it, this cave would probably become the nest of those venomous vipers. Those ordinary vipers do not possess any wisdom; they do not know the value of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit. It’s very possible that the fruit might get destroyed.” Teng Qingshan hesitated no more and moved the mixed stones back to their original positions, concealing the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.

Immediately, he grabbed the Reincarnation Spear and left swiftly.

He stood at the entrance, and looked into the far distance. That Twin-Headed Violet Coral Serpent was staring at him from afar.

“I’ll let you live here for now.” Teng Qingshan muttered internally, and immediately kicked off the ground and flew downward like a Roc which had spread its wings.

The Violet Coral Serpent immediately slithered back to its nest after watching Teng Qingshan vanish. The only treasure it had in the nest was the ‘Dreamy Cloud White Fruit’. It searched for a while, and only after checking that there was no damage done, along with the mixed rocks that remained at their ordinary positions, did it feel relieved.

In the eyes of this Violet Coral Serpent…

Humans have poor sight in the dark. Not to mention discovering the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit inside the cave.

On the morning of the second day, Teng Qingshan sat on Whole Gale Eagle’s back as they swiftly flew toward the Eastern Region. Four hours had passed, the sun had been suspended high in the skies, and the Whole Gale Eagle soon arrived in the skies above Dreamy Cloud Ancient City.

Looking from on high, the figures of people within Dreamy Cloud Ancient City appeared like ants densely packed together.

“Little Grey, descend.” Teng Qingshan lightly tapped on Whole Gale Eagle’s back while pointing at the ‘Rising Sun City’ within Dreamy Cloud Ancient City.

“Swish!”

Whole Gale Eagle swooped downward. Rising Sun City merely spanned several Li, so it was not long before Teng Qingshan saw Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal’s palace.

“Little Grey, over there.” Teng Qingshan guided, and Whole Gale Eagle flew straight toward a vacant area in front of Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal’s palace.

The sound of hurried footsteps r!

The soldiers who saw Teng Qingshan diving down from the skies swiftly scurried over.

“Who are you to have the audacity to trespass into Rising Sun City.”

Although there were a few elite soldiers who had seen Teng Qingshan and Whole Gale Eagle before, there was a larger number who did not recognize Teng Qingshan.

“Stand down,” A deep and low voice rumbled.

A green bolt rapidly flitted through the air before descending in front of the soldiers. It was Great Elder, Mu Wang. Mu Wang looked at Teng Qingshan with a smile. “Brother Teng, it seems you have brought good news back from the Dreamy Cloud Swampland.”

“Brother Mu.” Teng Qingshan nodded with a smile.

“Rumble~~” The gates of the palace opened, and two blue-robed individuals walked out. One of them said in a loud voice, “Mister Teng, please enter.”

“Stand down!” Mu Wang immediately berated those soldiers. Having seen this, those soldiers knew that the relationship between Teng Qingshan and the upper echelons of the Mu Clan was not ordinary. None of them dared utter a sound, and dispersed instantly.

“Brother Teng, let’s enter.” Mu Wang enthusiastically welcomed Teng Qingshan and the Whole Gale Eagle into the palace.

It was still the same palace garden Teng Qingshan first met Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal.

Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal was currently deep in thought reading a book.

“Qingshan, you’ve arrived.” Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal smiled as he placed the book on a table in front of him. “Ha ha, it looks like you’ve found the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit. Having a Flying Demonic Beast sure makes things convenient. If it were up to me, a year or so of searching would be fruitless.”

Teng Qingshan and Mu Wang walked over.

“Saying that I’ve found it was right, but…” Teng Qingshan shook his head.

Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal could not help feeling his heart drop. A little worried, he inquired immediately, “What happened?”

“It is true that I found the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit. However, it hasn’t ripened. Its outer coating is still green.” Teng Qingshan sighed.

“What?” Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal was a little taken aback.

“It’s fine.” Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal followed up with laughter. “If worst comes to worst, it won’t be too late to pluck it a few years later.”

Teng Qingshan felt unresigned. A few years of waiting? In accordance to his own plans, he planned to return to the Land of Nine Prefectures when he reached the Emptiness Realm! What if the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit had yet to mature after he had attained that realm? It would be troublesome. Teng Qingshan did not know how long it would take to harvest the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.

Some Spiritual Fruits required several decades, some exceeding a century.

And some others merely took several months to mature.

“How many years must I wait?” Teng Qingshan frowned.

“Brother Teng, what is the size of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit you’ve discovered?” Beside them, Mu Wang spoke, “Is it as large as this wine cup? Or half the size of a fist?”

“It was almost as large as a fist.” Teng Qingshan answered, “It should not take too long.”

“Almost the size of a fist?”

Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal had an expression of joy. “Then it should be near maturity. The longest estimated wait would probably be half a year.”

“Half a year at most?” Teng Qingshan heaved a sigh of relief. As arrogant as he was, Teng Qingshan never thought that he could attain Emptiness Realm within half a year’s time.

“Ha ha…”

Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal smiled as he stood. “Qingshan, you have helped me a great deal. Immediately, bring me to the Dreamy Cloud Swampland, show me where the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit is! Of course, my words can be counted on! After I’ve taken a look at the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit, I’ll get the six inscriptions from my Mu Clan, Godly Axe Deity ‘Yu the Great’ personally sculpted 《Thirty-six Splitting Mountain Forms》 inscriptions and lend it to you.”

“Congratulations, Brother Teng.” Mu Wang, the Great Elder, laughed.

Teng Qingshan also felt a burst of joy.

Six stone inscriptions?

Just one already gave him substantial benefits in his progress. These six inscriptions would probably aid him in reaching the Emptiness Realm!