The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-126

The moonlight was dim to begin with. In the valley, it was almost pitch black.

At the bottom of the valley, Teng Qingshan stood rooted to the spot, without moving an inch.

He was listening with his ears!

“Where did the demonic beast run off to?” Teng Qingshan tried to listen for a very long time. Other than the sound of the wind and the rustling of the leaves due to the wind, he could not sense that the demonic beast was running.

“This demonic beast should be living in the Blazing Mountain. Having stayed here for so long, it must be very familiar with this area. It will probably be difficult to find it.” Teng Qingshan calmed himself down as he moved in the valley. He focused on observing his surroundings, trying to look for some tracks. However, after searching for very long, and even having going around the valley, Teng Qingshan was unable to find any traces of the demonic beast.

“To think that I’ve let the demonic beast escape!” Teng Qingshan was filled with regret.

Without any choice, Teng Qingshan chose to head back!

……

However, at the spot where Teng Qingshan had jumped off from the valley, about twenty Zhang above the landing spot, there was a sunken spot in the cliff face. That demonic beast easily sunk its claws into the rocks with the sharp claws from its four limbs. Its large body curled up as it hid in the sunken area.

From outside, one would not be able to discover that the demonic beast was hiding here.

A faint red light shone from the cold eyes of the demonic beast. It occasionally scanned the bottom of the valley.

It stayed hidden for over four hours. Only when it was right before dawn the following day, at the moment when it was the darkest and the valley was pitch black, did the demonic beast leap down at the speed of lightning. It landed on the bottom of the valley, and with several leaps, it left the valley.

At the training grounds of the Jin Jia Village, many torches were lit and the warriors were all gathered here.

“What is that monster? It is stronger than a wild ox. The tightly packed scales caused my hand to be numbed with pain when I attempted to cut it.”

“That is a demonic beast! That scales are definitely impervious to swords and spears. I would think that armor made from materials such as darksteel would not be comparable to the armored scales of that demonic beast!” The warriors exclaimed.

“If we were to kill the demonic beast, skin it,and make a full set of armor, haha…… it would definitely be a top notch treasure.”

“Don’t even dream about it. You think you can kill that demonic beast with your miniscule amount of strength?”

The gang of warriors seemed to be very excited. To them, it was sufficient to be able to see a demonic beast. As for whether they would be able to kill the demonic beast, most of the average warriors did not even dare to think about it.

While the warriors were excited, the clansmen from the Jin Jia Village were feeling anxious and panicky.

The face of Chief Jin was full of panic. Looking at the group of warriors who were engaged in their own discussions, he could not help but call out, “Dear Lords! Did anyone of you manage to kill that black monster?” Although he had called out to them, the warriors were all excited engaged in their own chats and did not pay him much heed.

Another man beside the chief started to panic as he shouted, “You warriors! Our Jin Jia Village is facing a great disaster! We called on each of you to help, but despite not being able to kill the monster, you are just chatting away. You guys still have……”

“Silence!” Chief Jin shouted.

“Chief.” That man was so agitated that his eyes had turned red.

Everyone in Jin Jia Village had long been driven crazy by this demonic beast. Seeing how proud the warriors were acting now, of course they did not feel comfortable.

“Hey, punk!” A man, carrying a long blade on his back and a red birthmark on his face, smirked at the agitated man. “Why, we were just chatting. Did it bother you?” At that moment, the rest of the warriors with him all seemed to carry a faint smile.

The man from the Jin Jia clenched his fist as his face turned pale.

“Damn it, have you guys forgotten my fist?” A frivolous voice spoke out. “You don’t have the ability to kill the demonic beast and you still thinking of bullying the locals? What kind of warriors are you guys? I think you should just buy a piece of tofu and knock you to death with it!” Duan Hou walked in joyfully.

The few warriors immediately turned red. They glanced at each other, not daring to say another word.

When they first came to the Jin Jia Village, they had already experienced Duan Hou’s strength for themselves.

“Brother Qin Lang!” Duan Hou suddenly called out to the distance cheerfully.

Teng Qingshan had just reached the training grounds when he saw Duan Hou running over. He walked over, “Brother Duan!”

“Seeing that Brother Qin Lang only just arrived, you must have went to chase after the demonic beast. Not sure if Brother Qin Lang had managed to catch up to it?” Duan Hou asked. At his words, the large number of clansmen from the Jin Jia Village, who had gathered at the training grounds, all looked towards Teng Qingshan, filled with nervousness and hope.

Teng Qingshan’s heart also throbbed under the stares of over a thousand men. From the many pairs of hopeful eyes, Teng Qingshan could tell how much the clansmen of the Jin Jia Village had yearned for the demonic beast to be killed.

“That demonic monster was too sneaky! I was not able to kill it.” Teng Qingshan shook his head as he said this.

The eyes of the thousand odd clansmen turned grim. They are already on the verge of despair.

“But that monster was also injured by me. With the intelligence of this monster, it will probably not dare to come to the Jin Jia Village for a short while.” Teng Qingshan spoke again. These words brought some cheerfulness to many of the clansmen of the JIn Jia Village who were present.

“This Lord, you said that the demonic beast will not dare to come in the short term?” Chief Jin came running.

Duan Hou, who was at the side, spoke out. “Old man, that demonic beast has intelligence similar to humans! This time it was at a disadvantage and suffered from injuries. It will not dare to come again for a while.” Duan Hou had seen for himself that the monster had gotten rid of the door lock without a sound to get in a house. Such an intelligent monster would not dare to return the next day after being put at a disadvantage.

“Big brother. Big brother!” Suddenly a human figure dashed to Teng Qingshan’s side, clutching onto the legs of his pants.

Teng Qingshan looked down. It was a child of about six to seven years old of age.

The little kid looked up at Teng Qingshan, eyes filled with tears. “Big brother, I beg of you. You must kill the monster and help avenge my parents! I beg of you!”

“Er Wa, quickly let go of him.” Chief Jin spoke out. He pulled the child to the side, a bit worried that Teng Qingshan might feel unhappy and kill the child. Afterall……there were also many warriors who were not so humane.

“I beg of you, big brother.” The child cried.

Chief Jin quickly said. “My Lord, we have lost many of our clansmen over the past month or so. Er Wa’s parents have been eaten by that monster on one of the nights. Thank goodness he doesn’t stay in the same room as his parents, if not he would have been eaten on the same night as well.”

Teng Qingshan looked at the child, and his heart throbbed.

In his previous life, he was an orphan!

To have lost his parents at such a young age!

“Please rest assured!” Duan Hou pounded his chest in front of the clansmen of the Jin Jia Village. “Warriors are large in numbers. Even if there are not enough people today, in the future, there will definitely be more warriors stronger than us, who will come. There will be a day where the demonic monster will die.” Upon hearing these words, the clansmen of the Jin Jia Village only felt a little bit better.

“Brother Qin Lang, did you recognise that demonic beast?” Duan Hou asked. “I know of many demonic beasts, but I did not recognise this one.”

“I also do not recognise it.” Teng Qingshan shook his head.

Teng Qingshan had only been with Gui Yuan Sect for a short while. He had not searched for books related to demonic beasts to read.

“Brother Qin Lang, did you realise anything unique when you were chasing after the demonic monster? Maybe we can determine what kind of demonic beast it is.” Duan Hou said.

Teng Qingshan did not hold back any information. “That demonic beast suddenly turned red all over, increased it speed, and shook me off in a just a moment.”

“Turned red all over?” Duan Hou was stunned for a moment before his eyes gleamed.

……

In the training grounds, the warrior Jin Tao from Tie Yi Hall could also hear the conversation between Teng Qingshan and Duan Hou. Upon hearing ‘flushed red all over’ Jin Tao felt a tinge of excitement. “Flushed red all over? This…….Is this the Red Scaled Beast? Yes! According to records of the Red Scaled Beast, they were black when in the adolescent stage! When they matured and eat the ‘Black Fire Spirit Fruit’, their bodies will then turn flush red and grow up to a height of three Zhang!

“Adolescent Red Scaled Beast.” Jin Tao thought to himself. “This news cannot spread out. If not, it will be hard to get the Black Fire Spirit Fruit.

At that moment —-

“Haha, its the Red Scaled Beast, the Red Scaled Beast!” Jin Tao’s face turned grim at hearing a loud laughter. The one laughing was Duan Hou.

“Duan Hou.” Jin Tao dashed over and gave him a stare.

“What are you staring at me for?” Duan Hou immediately laughed. “Haha, I know, you must want to keep the treasure for your Tie Yi Hall.”

“Stop.” Jin Tao lowered his voice.

At his side, Teng Qingshan was confused as he asked. “Brother Duan. What is the Red Scaled Beast that you were referring to?”

Jin Tao immediately glared towards Teng Qingshan, but Teng Qingshan did not pay him any heed.

Duan Hou smiled and said, “Since someone doesn’t want me to say, all the more reason I would want to say! Brother Qin Lang, this Red Scaled Beast is an extremely powerful demonic beast. Legend says that it has a height of three Zhang, and a width of five to six Zhang, as if it was a small mountain. Furthermore, it’s body is also flush red. Even for an innate master it would be hard to penetrate its scaled armor! And it can spew flames that can melt gold and metal!”

Teng Qingshan was alarmed upon hearing this.

About three Zhangs tall? That would be a large creature of about two to three storeys tall. And with a scaled armor that would be hard to penetrate even for an innate master, spewing flames that could melt gold and metal? This was indeed a terrifying demonic beast.

Jin Tao was resentful.

But he was well aware of Duan Hou’s capabilities. As he was injured when he was chasing after the Red Scaled Beast, he was not his opponent. Furthermore, there was a secretive expert ‘Qin Lang’ who could injure a Red Scaled Beast standing beside him.

“But, that is the physique of a mature Red Scaled Beast. The records of the adolescent stage of the Red Scaled Beast only states that it’s scaled armor is black, and its body will turn flush red in times of emergency. It is too short. I didn’t think that this is a Red Scaled Beast. Now I know, this is an adolescent beast, a Red Scaled Beast that has yet to mature!” Duan Hou shared in detail.

Teng Qingshan was at a loss to laugh or to cry.

To think that a demonic beast with such perverse defense was only an adolescent beast.

“But no matter how powerful the Red Scaled Beast is, we are not able to tame it. What tempts warriors the most is the ‘Black Fire Spirit Fruit’ that accompanies the Black Scaled Beast.” The eyes of Duan Hou gleamed as he continued. “Brother Qin Lang, when a Red Scaled Beast matures, only after eating the ‘Black Fire Spirit Fruit’ will it undergo its final transformation, shedding its black scales and grow red scales! Transforming into a terrifying demonic beast! We warriors can snatch the ‘Black Fire Spirit Fruit’ before it does!”

Teng Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat.

That Red Scaled Beast only transformed into a terrifying demonic beast that even innate masters were wary of after it ate the ‘Black Fire Spirit Fruit’.

What happened after a person ate it?