The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron
chapter-124

Xianer had never once received anything from the Xu family, why did she have to sacrifice herself for the family she did not recognize?

The direct rebuttal caused Xu Rong to completely give up on coaxing Xianer. Her expression turned cold. "Grandma would ask you for the last time. Are you going to marry, or not?!"

"I am not! I'm not marrying even if I die!" Xianer's will was as tough as steel.

Xu Rong's killing intent surfaced. "Okay! If you do not marry, I'll go kill Su Yu right now! He is in the Outer Sanctum!"

"Brother Su Yu is here?" A radiant glow exploded on Xianer's petite face. But Xu Rong left with a boiling killing intent, causing Xianer's heart to drop.

"No, Grandma! Don't kill brother Su Yu!" Xianer was flustered, grabbing onto Xu Rong's arm.

Xu Rong looked back heartlessly. "Then I'll ask you again. Are you going to marry, or not?"

Xianer bit her lips, tears welling up in her eyes as she hesitated to give an answer.

"Hmph! Grandma will go kill Su Yu now! I'll completely destroy your hopes!" Xu Rong heartlessly shrugged Xianer away!

"No, I… Don't kill him, I… I'll marry!" Xianer's spirit finally collapsed. She could die of thirst and hunger, but she could not let Su Yu die. Tears rolled down from the corner of her eyed, down her cheeks, and onto her arm.

The tears gradually turned cold, just like Xianer's heart. She raised her head, staring at the old lady in front of her. This woman called herself Xianer's grandma, but Xianer had never felt any kinship from her. Xianer was only a political pawn to this woman.

They may share blood, but they were not family.

"I'll marry him… but I hate you!" Tears dropped from Xianer's face as she said the word 'hate' for the first time in her life.

Xu Rong's heart trembled. Facing Qin Xianer's sincere hatred, she felt a little remorse.

Was this too much? Would Xianer always hate her family now? But things had come to this. She did not have the luxury of regret.

Furthermore, Xianer was still young. After she grew and understand the hardships of this world, maybe she would show gratitude towards her grandma.

"Grandma has your interest at heart…" Xu Rong reemphasized, trying to salvage the divide between them.

But Xianer, with her teary eyes, felt even more hatred. She clenched her fists. "You are not my grandma!"

With a slight shudder, Xu Rong knew that the last shreds of kinship between her and Qin Xianer had disappeared. "You do what is good for you! Should you commit suicide or run away, I will kill Su Yu right away!" Lightly scolding Xianer, Xu Rong turned to leave.

Creak—

The door closed and Xianer was once again imprisoned. Slipping into loneliness, she could no longer keep up with her determined facade.

She squat, weakly hugging her knees and choking as she wept. The teardrops fell onto the floor like flowers blooming.

"Brother Su Yu… I'm sorry… I can't be your bride." Xianer's lonely and pathetic cry reverberated around the empty house.

The two maids outside the door had pitiful expressions."The Xu family was indeed heartless in their attempt to establish connections with Cao Xuan!"

"But compared to Su Yu, Cao Xuan was indeed more suitable for Qin Xianer. One day, she might become grateful to the heartlessness of the Xu family."

Two days later, the meteor was plastered with lights and decorations, creating a happy atmosphere. It was the wedding day of the personal disciple of the Tenth Elder, Cao Xuan!

Cao Xuan had invited the few Inner Sanctum disciples that he was on close terms with. His teacher Han Zhi, his grand teacher the First Elder, as well as seven other elders. All stepped forward to congratulate him.

Even though the nine elders were always fighting amongst each other, they still seemed harmonious on the surface. They did not want to tear each other apart during this joyous occasion.

Thus, even though they could refuse to attend, they still came. All but one elder refused to come despite receiving the invitation—the Second Elder.

The Second Elder was eccentric and her moods were unpredictable. No one could befriend her.

Her abilities were ranked third in the entire faction, just below the Master and the Great Elder. Everyone wanted to be on good terms with her, but her eccentric personality often caused problems. There were even some who were nearly killed by her for no rhyme or reason.

As time went by, members of the Liuxian faction avoided her with caution.

In the eyes of the disciples, the Second Elder was a presence they did not want to upset. No one would even retaliate when they were bullied by her due to her unpredictable moods and willingness to strike down the disciples, coupled with her powerful abilities.

Today, her not appearing despite receiving the invitation was completely within reason. In fact, some of the elders secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Cao Xuan was dressed in a fiery red robe and smiled as he entertained the guests.

"Congratulations Senior Cao for marrying such a wonderful person." Yuan Hu's injuries were fully recovered. He was obviously trying to suck-up to Cao Xuan.

Cao Xuan smiled. "Junior Yuan you need not be anxious. Once you grow up, I will definitely introduce you to some incredible female disciples in the faction!"

Yuan Hu chuckled. "Your wife has the bloodline of Nine Phoenixes, her potential is alarming and she's as beautiful as a fairy." In his heart, Yuan Hu was elated!

Su Yu, Su Yu! So what if you were powerful. After your death, your woman ultimately became the property of my Senior!

Sun Tianyang walked over, his calm expression showing a hint of a smile. "Congratulations on your wedding."

"Thank you, Uncle Sun." Cao Xuan was junior to Sun Tianyang and naturally had to call him uncle. But, his tone had no traces of respect, for Cao Xuan's abilities were much better than his.

"Uncle, how are your injuries?" Cao Xuan inquired with a smile.

Sun Tianyang's expression turned rigid. "The injuries have healed. In fact, I have to thank Su Yu. My level of cultivation has increased after my battle with him. I'm now approaching Third Level Holy King! If we were to fight again, I would defeat him with one move!"

Sun Tianyang could not forget the humiliation of being defeated by Su Yu. It was a pity that Su Yu had died, he had lost the chance to redeem himself.

Multiple elders looked over at the three disciples with weird looks in their eyes. Of the four core disciples in the faction, two of them were under the Great Elder and the Tenth Elder respectively. One was Cao Xuan and the other was a disciple of the Great Elder, who was currently practicing behind closed doors.

Of the new disciples, Sun Tianyang and Yuan Hu rested at the top. The other elders were envious—the Great Elder and Tenth Elder both regularly abused their powers and refused to follow the rules!

According to the rule, elders of the faction could only take in two disciples. The rationale behind this was to stop elders from competing against each other for disciples. They would not be able to care for too many disciples.

Han Zhi obviously already had Yuan Hu and Cao Xuan, and now he was using marriage to obtain Qin Xianer for himself!

Technically, Qin Xianer wasn't a disciple of Han Zhi, but instead the wife of Cao Xian. But in reality, she would definitely be nurtured as a disciple of Han Zhi. The other elders would naturally not dare to accept Qin Xianer as their disciple. She would completely become the property of Han Zhi.

Qin Xianer had the rare Medium Grade Dark Class constitution!

This kind of potential only shows itself once every few generations.

Cao Xuan was also of the Medium Grade Dark Class constitution, and today he had entered the Dragon Realm. Within a few decades, he would definitely be an elder in the faction. If Qin Xianer did not get into any accidents, she would also become an elder of the faction.

Should an elder cultivate two future elders, together with the disciples of the Great Elder, they would control four elders within the faction.

Even the Master's position would be put in jeopardy.

Han Zhi had three disciples, which was cause for concern.

The Great Elder held much influence and had formed an alliance with Han Zhi. The rest of the elders did not dare fight against the Great Elder. The Master's abilities were only on par with the Great Elder's. If there was no need to, he did not wish to disrupt the harmony.

This was the secret of the Liuxian faction. Many elders were afraid that there was going to be a mutiny in the Liuxian faction in the foreseeable future.

There had been people who tried to fight against the alliance of the two elders. There was once an elder who tried to fight them. The outcome had been… sudden death!

Han Zhi was over a hundred years old but looked forty. His was handsome, inspiring awe without fury. At his side was Xi Ruolan, quietly observing the wedding ceremony.

Behind him was the Vice-Master, Qin Gang.

"The hour is here, the bride may enter the hall." The emcee announced.

Under the accompaniment of a bunch of flower ladies, a slender figure adorned with a gold crown, dressed in a gold robe with embroideries of phoenixes and dragons entered the hall.

Her petite face was like a wild pixie's. She was cute and beautiful. A thin film of makeup accentuated her beauty, but her eyes were puffy and devoid of emotion.

At her side, Xu Rong was smiling, coldly threatening. "Remember my words, if you destroy the wedding, I'll immediately take Su Yu's life! Stop crying! Smile!"

Xianer forced a smile, her eyes red and swollen. The smile was rigid and devoid of life. It was more like crying than a smile.

Many elders noticed this. In their hearts, they had guessed that Qin Xianer was being forced into this marriage. While they had guessed this, they could not do anything about it.

"I hate you! I'll hate you forever!" Qin Xianer tried to stay calm.

Xu Rong smirked. "One day, you will thank me! Go in! After the ceremony, you will be the wife of Cao Xuan and will have nothing to do with Su Yu anymore!"

Stepping into the hall, Xianer's beauty shook the hearts of those present. She had such beauty at just fourteen. When she grew up, her beauty would topple countries.

Cao Xuan's eyes flared with passion. Even though he had received orders to take Xianer as his wife in order to consolidate power, obtaining such a petite and beautiful bride was still a blessing in and of itself.

Yuan Hu was visibly envious. Many youths who had come with their elders were overcome by Xianer's beauty. It was a pity that she was in a bridal gown, about to become Cao Xuan's wife.

The ceremonial sounds spread from the Inner Sanctum to the Outer Sanctum. Atop the chilly star, within the arena, two disciples were going about their daily duties.

Hearing the fanfare, they glanced to the side, secretly envious. "Was there someone getting married in the Inner Sanctum?"

"Such fanfare. It must be someone important."

Crack—

Suddenly, whilst the two were cleaning the center of the arena, a crack of the ice spread out from the bottom. It came from where the Icy Azure Lake was sealed!

The lake had been sealed again after Su Yu's battle three days ago.

The sudden strange sound caused the expressions of the two youths to change. They hurriedly retreated from the arena, curiously listening for more signs.

Crack—

Crack, crack—

The cracks sounded like falling hail.

"Not good! There's a situation within the Icy Azure Lake, go report to the miscellaneous hall!"

Creak—

Rumble—

They did not have time to inform the hall before a deafening rumble came from within the Icy Azure Lake!

Rumble—

The rumble shook the sky. Under the arena, a hundred foot tall mountain of ice appeared out of nowhere, blasting the sealed arena into pieces!

The azure waters of the lake radiated an alarming chill as if they were attempting to bore into the arena! Snow fell onto the earth!

The Icy Azure Lake was destroyed by the horrifying mountain of ice!

"What… what is that?" A disciple was astonished, shivering as he pointed towards the peak of the mountain of ice.

There was an ice sculpture of a purple-robed, silver-haired youth standing atop the peak!

In the sunlight, the ice sculpture was radiant, diffusing seven colors of light. His features were lifelike.

"It's… the king of the fallen star, Su Yu"

"His... his corpse has been delivered by the mountain of ice!!"

Crack—

The ice sculpture produced a crisp sound, suddenly shattering into countless shards of ice, flying in the air! The figure of the youth was freed from the ice.

His closed eyes slowly opened! His left pupil was purple, his right pupil red. They were the mysterious eyes of a king, standing atop the peak of the mountain of ice and looking down upon the land!

The two disciples were ignored by his gaze.

Thud—

One of the First Level Holy Kings spat out blood on the spot, kneeling on the ground!

A single glimpse could kill him!

What… what kind of terrifying eyes could do such a thing?

The purple and red pupils saw far and wide. They glanced toward the Inner Sanctum, towards the decorated and cheerful land.

"Xianer…" A deep sigh reverberated from the peak of the ice mountain, spreading around the arena and toward the heavens.

A light sigh dropped the temperature of the Earth exponentially! It was like a sigh from an ancient frost king!

Creak—

The two First Level Holy Kings froze! A thin layer of frost enveloped their bodies, completely shocking them! A sigh could freeze them!

Fear, paranoia, respect, agitation, and excitement filled them!

Su Yu had come back!

The words he had said before he plunged into the lake had come true. He had come back!

He had defied fate and stayed alive!

Their excitement caused them to shiver as they raised their heads to look. They realized that there was nothing atop the peak of the ice mountain anymore.

That silver-haired, purple-robed king with purple and red pupils had long since vanished.

All that was left was his sigh which reverberated through the heavens.