The Nine Cauldrons

Set Sail

Teng Qingshan stood on the rock as many soldiers were cleaning up the corpses. Borileimu lifted his head and cast a glance at Teng Qingshan. He saw that something was wrong about Teng Qingshan’s expression, and when he saw Li Jun leaving on the back of the Fierce Wind Divine Eagle, he couldn’t help but feel confused.

Sou! Sou!

Borileimu leaped two times and was already at a height of over ten meters. He smiled and said, “Brother Huhe, what happened? Why did the Goddess leave? Weren’t you going to sail the seas? Isn’t she going to send you off?”

“Little Jun has something to do.” Teng Qingshan glanced at Borileimu and jokingly scolded, “What’s with that expression? What are you thinking?”

“No matter how I look, I still feel that you two are a couple fighting.” Borileimu laughed and patted Teng Qingshan on the shoulder as he continued saying, “Brother Huhe, you are very powerful. However, regarding relationships, you are not as good as me! I even have a great grandson now. Remember, grasp the chance if you should! Otherwise, you will be in pain……”

Teng Qingshan glanced at Borileimu.

Borileimu was already one hundred and eighty years old. The lifespan of a Postliminary Expert was one hundred and fifty years old, so if the age of Borileimu’s wife was similar to that of Borileimu, then hie wife was already dead.

“The life of a human in this world is just that simple.” Borileimu continued with a smile, “Be happy! Two people in a relationship should be happy! I think you don’t have any other woman, and that's fine. Just be nice to this Little Jun.”

“No matter how much you say, it’s already too late.”

Teng Qingshan shook his head and smiled, “Borileimu, I originally wanted to find you to tell you something. I will tell you now! I plan to set sail immediately!”

“In such a hurry? You're not going to join us for the celebratory feast?” Borileimu asked in surprise.

“I won’t be joining.” Teng Qingshan shook his head and said, “Oh by the way, where is that General Liu? I asked him to find me a vessel.”

Borileimu cast a glance at Teng Qingshan and said in a helpless tone, “I really don’t know what you are thinking. Aren't just sailing the seas to cultivate? There’s no need to hurry. Plus, marriage is also very important. Sigh… Little Jun is such a nice girl, but you are leaving her alone on the God of Heaven Mountain while you yourself sail the seas by yourself!”

“Brother Borileimu, can you not talk about this?”

“One who does not listen to an elder will suffer!”

Borileimu then said, “Let's go. Come with me.”

“For what?” Teng Qingshan froze for a second.

“Didn't you say you wanted to find General Liu?” Borileimu cast a glance at Teng Qingshan and said, “I will take you there!”

……

Teng Qingshan walked along the road of Heavenly Rock Island as he followed Borileimu. On his way, he saw a great amount of corpses and blood. The soldiers of the God of Heaven Mountain were tidying the area. Other than the ten thousand soldiers who were killed, the others all surrendered. Surprisingly, in the entire Heavenly Rock Island, the group that suffered the least casualties were the miners.

This was because both Snow Hawk Hall and the God of Heaven Mountain needed these miners to excavate minerals.

At the south coast of Heavenly Rock Island

“Godly General!” A black-bearded man greeted respectfully.

Borileimu said with a smile, “Lord Huhe wants to set sail as soon as possible. Have you prepared the vessel that he asked for?”

The black-bearded man stared at Teng Qingshan and said excitedly, “Lord Huhe, you did ask me to prepare a vessel that can sail the seas and accommodate one person. After I went ashore, I immediately ordered people to search for it. Not long ago, we found a very good vessel! I was told that this vessel was specially built for Wan Tuyou, the Elder of Snow Hawk Hall, to go on a sightseeing voyage alone. That vessel is even stronger than ordinary steel and even tougher than tungsten wood!”

“Tungsten wood...this Wan Tuyou is quite luxurious.” Borileimu smiled and cast a glance at Teng Qingshan, “Brother Huhe, you made a profit this time.”

“It was luck.” Teng Qingshan smiled.

Borileimu hastily ordered, “Let’s not say anymore nonsense. Quick, where is the boat? Lead the way!”

“Right away.” The big-bearded man was led the two.

Within only a minute——

Teng Qingshan and Borileimu followed General Liu to a shore several Li away. Teng Qingshan was still far away, but he could already see a big black vessel with white sides. Although this vessel couldn’t be compared with the warships, it wasn’t small.

“This tungsten wood vessel is around twenty Zhang long! Five Zhang wide! It’s completely made of tungsten wood and inlaid with celestial luminous silver. The cost of building this vessel can be compared to the total cost of three of our warships!” General Liu praised.

“General!”

The soldiers in charge of guarding the tungsten wood vessel immediately bowed. General Liu nodded in response as he asked, “Have you all prepared clothes and food?”

“We put them in the cabin.” One of the soldiers answered respectfully, “We have also checked the entire tungsten wood vessel and even added one more anchor! The other parts don’t need any changes as this vessel is already very good. If one closed the door, it would be fine even if there was a huge storm.”

General Liu smiled and nodded. He then looked towards Borileimu and Teng Qingshan, “Lords, let’s board the boat first!”

Since all three of them were experts, there was no need for wooden planks.

Sou! Sou! Sou!

The three then leaped onto the tungsten wood vessel.

“A vessel built from tungsten wood!” As Teng Qingshan scrutinized, he sighed in awe at how luxurious Snow Hawk Hall was!

There was no cabin on deck that wasn’t built with tungsten wood.

General Liu touched the long and thick mast and sighed in awe, “Lord, the tungsten wood boat has two masts arranged side by side. With this arrangement, you can use the wind even more effectively on the sea! Plus, the horizontal pole of the sail is not fixed, so the sail can change according to the direction of the wind in order to achieve the fastest speed.”

Teng Qingshan glanced and nodded in satisfaction.

“There are two long oars here!” General Liu walked to the center of the deck, “When there is no wind to borrow force, or when you sense a danger and needed to accelerate to escape or change direction, you can propel the boat with these two long oars. If it were a big ship, a great number of soldiers would have to row together, but these two huge long oars were obviously prepared for supreme experts! I believe that with Lord Huhe’s strength, rowing two long oars simultaneously should be very easy.”

Teng Qingshan studied the boat and was very satisfied.

“Haha…..” Borileimu smiled and said, “Rowing two long oars is nothing. It wouldn’t be hard even if you made Brother Huhe lift this vessel and run wildly.”

Teng Qingshan couldn’t help but laugh, “Who would be that dumb to actually lift the vessel and run?”

“Also, there are two huge iron anchors!” General Liu stared at Teng Qingshan and asked, “Do you know how to weigh and drop and anchor?” Although weighing an anchor and dropping an anchor were not hard tasks, they were still not something that could be done easily by people by first-timers. Plus, Teng Qingshan had to do it without any help.

Borileimu immediately smiled and said, “Don’t worry about him. At worst, he can just dive into the sea and weigh the anchor!”

“I know how to weigh and drop an anchor.” Teng Qingshan cast a glance at Borileimu helplessly.

“Many parts of the vessel can be used very easily.” General Liu pointed at the door of the cabin annd said, “Open the cabin door and you can rest inside. If Lord encounters huge waves, you can drop the sails and close the cabin door. Once the door is closed, water won’t be able go in.”

Teng Qingshan nodded once again and responded, “Great!”

With this, Teng Qingshan weighed the anchor. Because he was at the south side of Heavenly Rock Island and the wind was blowing from the south…...Teng Qingshan could only depart by rowing the oars.

“Do come back to the God of Heaven Mountain often after you have cultivated on the seas for some time. I think Little Jun will definitely remember you.” Borileimu and Teng Qingshan embraced each other and the two bid their farewell.

“Brother Borileimu, mind your own business! I hope the next time I come, you will have reached the Emptiness Realm,” Teng Qingshan laughed and said jokingly.

“Many thanks, Brother Huhe.”

Borileimu and General Liu then left the boat.

“Brother Huhe, have a safe journey!” Borileimu stood on the shore and shouted as he waved.

Teng Qingshan was rowing the oars. With Teng Qingshan’s arm strength, he alone was stronger than over hundred elite soldiers! The tungsten wood vessel rapidly set sail, braving the waves as it headed eastward.

Teng Qingshan then turned back and stared at the coast.

Borileimu was still standing there, waving his hand.

Soon, the vessel arrived the east side of the Heavenly Rock Island and begin sailing northward. Simultaneously, Teng Qingshan hoisted the sails.

“Whew! Whew!”

The sails puffed up, and the tungsten wood vessel rapidly headed northward. Teng Qingshan stopped rowing the oars.

“Safe journey?” Teng Qingshan said to himself as he stared at the endless waters of the sea.

Walla~~

The waves undulated slightly.

Teng Qingshan stood on the deck, and as he gazed at the vast and endless ocean, he declared to himself, “From today onwards, I will be by myself! I will cultivate with all my heart and sail through the seas to the distant Northern Sea Continent!” Teng Qingshan was very calm while the tungsten wood vessel continued heading northward.

Encountering Li Jun on the Great Prairie surprised Teng Qingshan and gave him joy, but…...this wave of emotional entanglement planted a sense of guilt in Teng Qingshan’s heart.

However, he was scared!

The death of Little Cat and Qing Qing had instilled fear in him.

“After a long time, Little Jun will most likely marry someone.” Teng Qingshan immediately turned to open the cabin door.

Screech—

As Teng Qingshan opened the cabin door and was about to head down the stairs, his ears twitched.

“Who is it!” Teng Qingshan roared!

“Crack~~” The sound of a wooden box opening was heard, and Teng Qingshan saw…..a young girl with slightly messy hair. The girl threw away the cotton blanket and quickly walked to the stairs as she headed out the cabin.

Teng Qingshan stared at the person before his eyes in shock. He exclaimed in surprised, “Little Jun?”

“Yes, it’s me!” Li Jun chuckled.

“Why..why are you here?” Teng Qingshan was very astonished.

Li Jun curled her lips helplessly and answered cutely, “I was going to leave on White’s back, but when White flew to the southern coast, I suddenly decided——to find General Liu and board this vessel! Yes, Big Brother Teng, I have to say—you are too powerful. I hid in the wooden box in the cabin and even wrapped myself up with the blanket inside the box, but you still heard the sound of my breathing the moment you opened the cabin door. You are too powerful.”

“Now is not the time for you to praise me. Let me ask you, what’s the meaning of this……” Teng Qingshan didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry.

Li Jun walked before the railing and stared at the seas ahead as she said, “When I was on White’s back and was about to leave the Heavenly Rock Island, I suddenly decided that—if I really went back to the God of Heaven Mountain, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Therefore, I came!”

Li Jun turned and stared at Teng Qingshan, fixing her eyes on him.

“Big Brother Teng, since I am already on the vessel, you….either take me with you, or….make me leave the vessel and swim back to Heavenly Rock Island. Of course, since the vessel is already this far, I would use up all my inner strength and drown.” Li Jun stared at Teng Qingshan. “You choose. You can only choose one of the two options!”

Looking at Li Jun, whose hair was messy because she had been hiding in the wooden box, Teng Qingshan suddenly felt touched.

Choose one of the two!

Li Jun’s decision was very clear. The little girl who was willing to be his maid and servant in order to stay by his side was still the same as the weak little girl who had lost her family and home. Both of them still possessed the same intrinsic quality and character.

As for the two choices… Actually, there was only one choice.

“Alright. From today onwards, I will be your big brother!” Teng Qingshan smiled.

Li Jun held Teng Qingshan’s arm and smiled brightly as she responded, “Yes! A big brother is good enough! I have a big brother that I can lean on now.”

Teng Qingshan stared at Little Jun and smiled lovingly.

“Big Brother, where will we be going? Are we going to just sail without a destination?” Li Jun asked.

“The Northern Sea Continent!” Teng Qingshan gazed northward and answered slowly.

On the vast and endless sea, the radiance of the sun seemed to cover the surface of the sea with a thin veil. Li Jun and Teng Qingshan stood before the railing of the vessel, covered by the red veil of the sun’s glow.

Walla~~

The sea was endless. As the puffed sails moved along with the wind, the tungsten wood vessel continued heading northward and gradually sailed even farther away. In the end, the ship became a small black dot on the surface of the sea, slowly inching away.