The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-58

Boom!

Heavy rain came pouring down and deafening thunders would ring out occasionally. It was apparent that this heavy rain would not be stopping at any time soon.

About one Li away from the Teng Jia Village, a young man was walking in the muddy ground with his bare feet. His sleeves had turned into tattered strips, and the same went for his pants. His hair was all draping all over and he looked just like a beggar.

"I'm really in an embarrassing state." Teng Qingshan looked at his clothes. After that intense fight with the monstrous python in the Frost Jade Pool, he could not help but exerted his full power, circulating blood and vital energy through his arms and legs to the limit, causing his pants and sleeves to be torn up into strips. As for that pair of boots… Although Teng Qingshan had been wearing boots before he entered the mountains, he had taken them off and put them to the side before he entered the Frost Jade Pool.

He hadn't been able to bring it back with him when he escaped.

"That big python had gone crazy and I reckon that my boots have also been crushed by the rocks. How can I go back looking like this?" Teng Qingshan looked at the Teng Jia Village from afar and could not help but laugh helplessly.

If the other clansmen were to see his sorry plight, they would probably guess what rendered Teng Qingshan in this state.

"Swoosh!"

Amidst the thunderstorm, Teng Qingshan quickly dashed toward the wooden fence gates around Teng Jia Village, leaving an afterimage. He moved a distance of one Li within an instant and with a light step, he leaped up a height of one Zhang and jumped over the tall fences with ease. There were many sharp wooden stakes and houses.

Stepping on the wooden stakes lightly, Teng Qingshan went up onto the roof of a house. With the use of his inner strength, Teng Qingshan moved as light as a swallow and stealthily darted on the roof.

Thankfully, most of the people in the village were in-doors to avoid the heavy rain. Moreover, as it was still early, many of them were still busy preparing breakfast. No one had noticed that the greatest hero of their clan was 'rushing on his way' on the roofs amidst the thunderstorm.

...

In Teng Qingshan's home.

Qingyu was starting up the fire while their mother, Yuan Lan, was making flatbread and preparing breakfast.

"Hmmm? Someone came in." Yuan Lan looked outside in surprise.

"Mother," Teng Qingshan shouted as soon as he pushed open the door. Yuan Lan hastily grabbed an umbrella and ran over. She looked at Teng Qingshan in great shock and asked anxiously, "Qingshan, what happened to you? Why are your clothes torn? Where are your shoes? Did you walk back bare-footed?"

His father, Teng Yongfan, also walked up to the entrance of their house and looked toward Teng Qingshan in great surprise.

"Qingshan, you… you… What did you encounter in the mountains? Why are you in such a sorry plight? Oh, right, where's your Damascus Steel Spear?" Teng Yongfan asked.

Teng Qingshan tossed aside the dead leaves on his hands and took out one part of the Damascus Steel Spear's body that had been wrapped up in leaves. He smiled and said helplessly, "Father, there's nothing I can do. I'm only left with this section of it." Hearing that, Teng Yongfan's countenance changed. He knew that his son had the capabilities of a First Rated Warrior.

For a First Rated Warrior to even lose half of his weapon… How dangerous was the situation?

"Father, I'll go wash up first and change my clothes." Teng Qingshan smiled and said.

"Mmm, go and change your clothes. Come and look for me later." Teng Yongfan said.

Teng Qingshan nodded and went into his room.

"Brother Fan, what kind of danger did Qingshan encountered? A Wild Boar King? A Wolf King?"

Teng Qingshan's mother, Yuan Lan, asked. Teng Yongfan shook his head and said, "Don't you know your son's capabilities? He was able to kill a Wolf King at the age of ten and now, even if one hundred Wolf Kings were to appear, they wouldn't be a threat to him. He's a top-notch martial arts practitioner! I really can't think of anything in the Great Yan Mountain which can render him in such a sorry plight."

"Mother, flip the flatbread. They are going to get burned." Qing Yu, who was keeping the fire burning, shouted.

"Ahh," Yuan Lan quickly ran over.

******

In Teng Qingshan's room.

After washing up, changing his clothes, and putting on shoes, Teng Qingshan tied up his hair with a string. He felt very refreshed. There were no hair salons in the ancient times. Moreover, the clansmen all had long hair. With long hair being the social norm, Teng Qingshan couldn't shave his head.

"I've lost a set of clothes, a pair of boots, and half a longspear in exchange for these two pieces of ores." Teng Qingshan assessed the two pieces of ores in his hand.

One of them was slightly bigger while the other was slightly smaller. Both of them were completely black and appeared very ordinary.

Teng Qingshan had discovered these two pieces of ores in a great pile of ores at the bottom of the Frost Jade Pool. At that time, Teng Qingshan had no means of bringing along a large amount of them back. He could only randomly pick two pieces and put them in his pocket close to his chest.

"Hmmm? Weren't they emitting a purple glow in the Frost Jade Pool?" Teng Qingshan could not see any purple glow being emitted from them right now. He wrapped his hands around the ores to block off the light. As expected, Teng Qingshan managed to see a weak purple glow in the dark. The purple glow was more visible because it had been completely dark at the bottom of the Frost Jade Pool.

"These ores felt hot in the Frost Jade Pool. Now, they just feel warm." Teng Qingshan also realized that the temperature of the ores changed outside the Frost Jade Pool.

It was normal for these ores to feel hot when he was at the bottom of the Frost Jade Pool since the Frost Jade Pool was extremely cold.

"I don't know ores well. I'll ask Father what kind of ore these are." Teng Qingshan kept the two pieces of ores, held an umbrella, and left his room. He walked through the courtyard and headed towards the hall.

After putting down his umbrella, Teng Qingshan sat down at the table.

The rain was pouring heavily outside, but it was warm and comfortable in the room.

"Qingshan," Teng Yongfan asked worriedly, "You'd only entered the mountain for an hour. What on earth did you encounter? To think that you've even lost half of your Damascus Steel Spear."

The entering and leaving the mountain, as well as diving into the Frost Jade Pool might seem like a long story, but in actuality, it had only taken Teng Qingshan about an hour. After all, Teng Qingshan's speed was too fast.

His mother was still preparing breakfast.

"What did I encounter?" Teng Qingshan smiled helplessly, "Father, I didn't expect something like this as well. Great Yan Mountain isn't some enormous mountain, but there is a monster living in the mountain.

"Monster?" Teng Yongfan was astonished, "What kind of monster?"

"A huge python that had silver horns on its head and was over ten Zhang long." As Teng Qingshan thought about that python, he still felt horrified. That python was said to be impenetrable by weapons. In fact, Teng Qingshan's ultimate technique, the 'Toxic Dragon Drill,' had only wounded its skin. One should know that Teng Qingshan's strength and spear art, as well as the piercing force of his spear, had long surpassed the countless firearms in his previous world.

It was possible that even the missiles from his previous world might not be able to kill a python with such strong defense.

"A python that is over ten Zhang in length and has silver horns on its head? A Flood Dragon?" Teng Yongfan was taken by surprise.

On the Land of the Nine Prefectures, pythons with horns on their heads were known as Flood Dragons.

"A Flood Dragon is a Demonic Beast! A Godly Beast. Qingshan, you encountered a Flood Dragon?" Teng Yongfan could not believe it. "There's a Flood Dragon in our Great Yan Mountain?" Some monsters mentioned in the legends of the Land of the Nine Prefectures that possessed unbelievable powers were known as 'Godly Beasts' or 'Demonic Beasts'.

Each of those monsters possessed terrifying power that could destroy cities.

Teng Qingshan smiled and said, "Father, it was in the Frost Jade Pool. I dived into the Frost Jade Pool because I wanted to know why the Frost Jade Pool is so cold… I had encountered that Flood Dragon at the bottom of the Frost Jade Pool! Thank goodness I escaped quickly."

"You're really reckless." Hearing that, Teng Yongfan's back was covered in cold sweat.

As Teng Yongfan thought about how his son had fought against a Flood Dragon at the bottom of the Frost Jade Pool, he was horrified. What was he going to do if his son died?

"Father, didn't I make it back alive?" Teng Qingshan said, "Oh right. Father, tell the clansmen not to toss stones into the Frost Jade Pool if they were to collect from the Frost Jade Pool in the Great Yan Mountain. If that stone sunk to the bottom and aroused that monster, our clan wouldn't be able to escape."

Teng Qingshan was well aware of how terrifying the Flood Dragon was.

The Flood Dragon was faster than Teng Qingshan.

If it weren't because the Flood Dragon was unwilling to leave the Frost Jade Pool...If the Flood Dragon had decided to obstinately pursue Teng Qingshan, Teng Qingshan might not be able to make it back alive.

"Don't worry. No one is as daring as you." Teng Qingshan looked at his son without knowing if he should reprimand him or to laugh.

He did not know if he should feel proud that his son had been able to survive a fight against the Flood Dragon, a legendary Demonic Beast, or be angry at how audacious his son had been.

Teng Qingshan was aware that his father was unhappy at what he had done and quickly changed the topic, "Oh right. Father, when I was in the Frost Jade Pool, I discovered a type of ore. This ore emitted heat at the bottom and the Frost Jade Pool. It's very strange. Take a look at it.

On the first glance, these ores looked very ordinary.

"Oh? From the bottom of the Frost Jade Pool?" Teng Yongfan's eyes gleamed. As a blacksmith, Teng Yongfan had a good understanding of refining tools and minerals.

As Teng Yongfan touched the black ores, he appeared pleasantly surprised. "It's actually warm…" He quickly picked up one of them, placed his hands together to block the light, and observed the ore again. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "This is what I think it is! The Purple Radiant Coldsteel! This is the Purple Radiant Coldsteel!"

Teng Qingshan asked with bemusement, "Father, what is the Purple Radiant Coldsteel?"

Teng Yongfan lifted his head and looked at Teng Qingshan in surprise, "Qingshan, you might not know about the Purple Radiant Coldsteel. It still has another name—Ten Millennia Coldsteel!"

"Ten Millennia Coldsteel?" Teng Qingshan was stunned.

The name reminded him of an ore—the Millennium Coldsteel. Teng Qingshan had seen the Millennium Coldsteel when he was in Wan Xiang Tower. The Millennium Coldsteel was entirely black and emanated a cold chill. It was extremely expensive as well. One Jin of Millennium Coldsteel cost two gold taels.

"That's right. I've bought a book from the Wan Xiang Tower that introduced various refining tools and mineral ores. The book had mentioned this Purple Radiant Coldsteel. The Purple Radiant Coldsteel is also known as the Ten Millennia Coldsteel and is an amazing treasure with demand but no supply in the market! According to the book, people have only discovered it by chance in the cold North Sea that is located north of the Northern Great Prairie."

"This Ten Millennia Coldsteel is the most precious Coldsteel. Ordinary Millennium Coldsteel only has a chill that would penetrate all the way into one's bones. However, this Ten Millennia Coldsteel reached the limit and became as warm as jade."

"The Ten Millennia Coldsteel is so tough that it's indestructible. When refining weapons, one would only need to add a little of it to create godly weapons." Teng Yongfan was extremely excited as he explained. "This Ten Millennia Coldsteel and its price is one hundred times the price of the Millennium Coldsteel! And even though there is a demand for it, there's no supply for it at all!"

"One hundred times the price of the Millennium Coldsteel?" Teng Qingshan looked at these two pieces of black rocks and was a little stunned.

Teng Qingshan realized that the loss of the set of clothes, a pair of shoes, and the spear could be...worth it.