The Nine Cauldrons

Catching people

The silver-haired handsome youth, Zhao Danchen frowned, “The lake is beneath the mountain. If Emperor Yu’s treasure is hidden in the depths of the lake, then it has to be under the mountain range.”

“Uncle. The treasure has to be below the mountain. There is no question about it. However, the Great Yan Mountains stretch over hundreds of miles from north to south. For such a huge mountain range, even Emperor Yu can’t flip it.” Elder Hu shook his head. All of the thirteen Innate Masters were quiet.

Ever since they figured out that the Gui Yuan Sect had a powerful individual in the Realm of Emptiness, the stress had skyrocketed.

A sect with a master in the Realm of Emptiness was staying with their Qing Hu Island in Yangzhou. This was a major threat! There were countless practitioners in this world. The eight great sects had quite a large number of Innate Masters, who supported and ran the sects. They were the essence of the sects. As for masters in the Realm of Emptiness…

If one sect could have a single person enter the Realm of Emptiness, then its existence would become indestructible. After all, even in all of the lands of the Nine Prefectures, there were probably at maximum only ten people who had entered the Realm of Emptiness!

Who would have thought there would be such a powerful individual in Gui Yuan Sect!

As a result, Gu Yong desired the treasures of Emperor Yu even more than ever.

“Master,” The woman in purple robes spoke, ”The people who know Great Yan Mountain the best are the people who live there. This is especially true with the local villagers who make a living by hunting. They enter the depths of this mountain all the time. They should know the mountain better than anyone else. If we ask them… We should be able to find the treasure quickly.”

Gu Yong’s eyes brightened, “Now that’s a good idea!”

Zhao Danchen nodded his agreement, “Using the villagers to find the treasure is indeed a sound plan.”

“Brother Lan! You go inform the army right now. We are leading the Silver Dragon Army into the mountains to gather villagers! Remember, the villagers have to be familiar with the depths of the mountains!” Gu Yong ordered.

“Understood, Master.”

……

The orders were quickly carried out. Silver Dragon Amy split into groups, each with a hundred riders. One after another, the small groups departed, heading south or north along the base of the Great Yan Mountain Range. They searched every village in the their way.

“Go! Go! Go!”

The soldiers moved swiftly. Their horses’ hooves drummed against the earth like thunder. Hundreds of Silver Dragon riders rode their war horses at top speed along the main roads. All of their black heavy armor were decorated with silver. The sight of this mighty army terrified any bystanders.

“There is a village in the front. Let’s go!” One of the leaders yelled.

“Yes, Young Master.”

The army quickly changed its course. The heavy thundering of the horse hooves had alarmed the villagers a while ago. Numerous militia in the village gripped spears tightly in their hands while the front gate was shut and locked.

“Humph!” The young master Gu Shiyou charged in the front. As a cold light flashed across his eyes, the black spear in his hand turned into a dark shadow—–

Puff!

The spearhead pierced through the closed gate doors in a split second, shattering the gate latch. In the next second, the mount crashed into the gate, sending the gate doors swinging open forcefully.

“Everyone watch out!” The clansmen in the village all scrambled around to take cover.

“Wu.” The hundreds of riders only stopped their horses after they had stormed into the spacious training grounds of the village.

Gu Shiyou glanced at the fearful villagers around him and ordered harshly, “Get your clan’s leader over here!”

Soon a muscular man holding an iron spear and wearing a pelt robe stepped out from the crowd. His hair was as messy as a haystack. He spoke respectfully, “Lord! What orders do you have for Tie Jia Village?”

“Listen up. Get your three best hunters out. We are taking them with us on a trip,” Gu Shiyou ordered coldly, but his glare was colder, “Remember, I want the three best hunters! If you lie to me, humph…I believe we Qing Hu Island only need a few minutes to completely annihilate the very existence of your little village. “

That threat turned many clansmen’s faces as white as the newly fallen snow. The children were terrified of making even the slightest sound.

The chief’s heart sank at the name of Qing Hu Island.

Just by observing the invaders’ armor and horses, the chief already realized that they were nothing like the White Horse Gang. The White Horse Gang was absolutely nothing compared to these people in front of him, no matter how he looked at it. To destroy his entire village…a few minutes should definitely be enough for these riders.

“Thank you, exalted guests of the Qing Hu Island, for valuing the men of my Tie Jia Village. Lao San! Tiger! Iron Head! You three go with the officials of Qing Hu Island!” The chief immediately replied.

Upon the chief’s order, three strong men walked out. Gu Shiyou glanced at the three.

“You three, get on the horses of my soldiers! Quick! Get on there!” Gu Shiyou ordered.

Even though the three hunters were cautious, they still picked three Silver Dragon soldiers hurriedly and got on their horses.

“Let’s go!” Gu Shiyou shouted, turning his horse.

Immediately, hundreds of riders stormed out of the small village and vanished along the main road, leaving the villagers fearing for the fate of their three clansmen…… This was the way of this chaotic world. One should be satisfied that his or her clan still existed at all.

……

Gu Shiyou and his men rode along the foot of Great Yan Mountain northwestward. They captured 27 men in total on their way. They grabbed three hunters from every village.

The 27 hunters on the war horses running on the main roads were all in distress. None of the 27 were cowards, but who didn’t tremble in fear upon hearing any mention of Qing Hu Island?

In their eyes, Gui Yuan Sect was the god of Jiangning County City. However, Qing Hu Island was much more powerful than Gui Yuan Sect. For Qing Hu Island to kill the feared

White Horse Gang, It would be as easy as crushing an ant, let alone them.

In front of the people of Qing Hu Island, these brave men had no choice but to bow their heads and obey their orders like obedient dogs.

“Stop!” Gu Shiyou yelled out another order.

Almost instantaneously, hundreds of soldiers all stopped. Gu Shiyou turned to look at the wary hunters, “Let me ask all of you! At the foot of Great Yan Mountain, which village’s hunters are the best?”

The hunters exchanged glances with each other.

“Speak up!” Gu Shiyou’s face darkened.

“Within tens of miles of here, the best hunters are, without a doubt, from Teng Jia Village!” A lean man finally spoke up, “Most of our hunters don’t even dare entering the depth of Great Yan Mountain. But it was different for the hunters of Teng Jia Village! No, lord. There is nowhere in the Great Yan Mountain too dangerous for those hunters.”

The bald guy right next to the lean man continued, “The men of Teng Jia Village are the best you will ever see here. That year, thousands of horse thieves attacked the village, screaming the doom of the Village. Guess what? Teng Jia Village send them stumbling back, crying for their mothers.”

“Even the White Horse Gang doesn’t dare to ask Teng Jia Village for a protection fee.” All the men suddenly spoke up. Anyone could hear the obvious respect and envy they have for Teng Jia Village.

“There is a great hero in that village. He is called Teng Qingshan! He is a head of the Black Armored Army of Gui Yuan Sect. When he was only ten, Teng Qingshan killed a hoard of wolves in Great Yan Mountain like cutting grass.”

Teng Qingshan was something one must mention if one was to talk about Teng Jia Village.

“En?” Gu Shiyou frowned a little. Soon a grin snuck its way onto his face. Gu Shiyou thought to himself, “What a coincidence. That Teng Qingshan indeed came from a village in the mountains of Yi City. To think I would actually find it, what a nice coincidence.” Gu Shiyou knew quite a bit about Teng Qingshan.

“You guys point the way. We are going there right now.” Gu Shiyou commanded

“Sir, with all due respect, that’s the home of the head of the Black Armored Army.” All the captured men looked at Gu Shiyou worriedly.

“I commanded you to point the way.” Gu Shiyou bellowed.

“Yes.” The men bowed their heads. They didn’t dare to defy the orders of this young master.

The horse hooves flew along the main roads again. Gu Shiyou took a look at the scenery spreading out in his sight as, the mountain rose up on his side and the other side the farm lands extended out.

“Teng Qingshan grew up here?” Gu Shiyou thought, “A nobody from nowhere in the mountains!” In the past, when Gu Shiyou compared himself with Teng Qingshan, Gu Shiyou still held some pride in himself. Now knowing that Teng Qingshan was already an Innate Master, Gu Shiyou has nothing but envy and jealousy!

Growing up in the middle of nowhere, Teng Qingshan entered Gui Yuan Sect at 16. So how did he become an Innate Master at the mere age of 17? Gu Shiyou simply couldn’t make any sense out of it.

On the other hand, Gu Shiyou missed something. Gu Shiyou might want to be famous, but Teng Qingshan was different.

Teng Qingshan’s first priority was to ensure his clansmen, the people in Teng Jia Village, could live a prosperous and peaceful life. To do so, he knew he needed to be powerful, because there were two thousand clansmen behind him. Reaching the summit of fame and glory was his secondary goal.

……

Teng Jia Village, the biggest village within tens of miles.

“Hei!”

“Ha!”

A large group of muscular men were practicing “Tiger Fists” passed down from Teng Qingshan. Some were wearing a single thin piece of clothing, while others’ upper bodies were completely naked all in the dead of the winter! Normally, practicing their skills with the spears exhausted them after a long time, but not practicing “Tiger Fists.” Practicing this only made them feel more energized.

Now, Teng Jia Village had a large group of people who possessed monstrous strength.

The weaponry warehouse of Teng Jia Village.

After the expansion, the weaponry warehouse was large enough for ten blacksmiths to work at the same time.

“Steady! Agen, when you swing the hammer, make sure you are steady, not fast. Every swing should land firmly.” Teng Yongfan wore a thin shirt with his hands behind his back. He paced the space between the furnaces, occasionally shouting out instructions. The entire weaponry warehouse was in full swing.

There were about twenty or so people in the weaponry warehouse.

“Stop!” Teng Yongfan suddenly shouted.

Everyone in the warehouse, from the ones moving supplies to the ones tempering the steel, stopped. A silence settled down in the room. Everyone felt the trembling ground in this silence.

“Horses! Such a heavy sound, I can even feel the ground trembling. Those war horses should be carrying some heavy loads and racing pretty fast.” Teng Yongfan frowned.

“Wait here. I will be right back.” Teng Yongfan grabbed an iron spear and walked out swiftly.

“Understood, master.”

A young man from the clan rushed to Teng Yongfan, who was not far from the warehouse. The man yelled, “Chief! There is a huge group of armed riders outside. Guessing from their horses and gears, they should be on par with brother Qingshan’s Black Armored Army. However, they are definitely not the Black Armored Army.”

Teng Jia Village had settled down long ago. The former chief Teng Yunlong resigned to enjoy the peace of retirement. Teng Yongfan inherited the title of the clan chief.

Teng Yongfan’s son was the head of the Black Armored Army. He was an excellent blacksmith himself. After he had some achievements in practicing Tiger Fists, his own personal power had grown tremendously. Teng Yongfan was unquestionably the best person for the position of clan chief.

An ominous feel rose in Teng Yongfan’s heart, “Not Black Armored Army? Not good!” He ran towards the training grounds without any delay.