The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-50

“Eh?” Teng Qingshan glanced at the content of the secret letter and remarked, “Just as I expected, the great army of the God of Heaven Mountain had charged into Youzhou.”

The secret letter presented the great number of soldiers that had appeared in the northern areas of the Great Prairie. The troops of the God of Heaven Mountain had charged into Youzhou from different regions. They were so great in number and so powerful that it stunned everyone. According to the spies of the Gui Yuan Sect, all these troops were part of the most powerful force in the northern areas of the Great Prairie—the army of the God of Heaven Mountain.

Actually, an investigation was unnecessary.

Back when Teng Qingshan left the Heavenly Rock Island, the God of Heaven Mountain had already started attacking the Snow Hawk Hall and commenced the process of conquering the entire Great Prairie. As such, the forces of the God of Heaven Mountain managed to control over 90% of the regions on the Great Prairie.

Only the God of Heaven Mountain could dispatch an army this great.

“I heard that there were several hundred million ferocious soldiers,” Zhuge Yuanhong said in admiration and surprise. “Youzhou was originally defending the attacks coming from Qingzhou. Who would have expected such a great army to exist on the Great Prairie? So, they were caught unprepared as they had already lost three counties.”

“Hong Tian City will definitely lose,” Teng Qingshan said, “It’s only a matter of time.”

“Qingshan, it’s not as simple as you think,” Zhuge Yuanhong laughed. “In this continent, the only sect that can conquer a land of two prefectures is the Mani Temple! The Emperor Yu’s Hall, the Ying Family, or the Mani Temple will not watch the Heavenly God Palace grow continuously without doing anything. They will definitely get involved.”

“Oh?” Teng Qingshan nodded in response.

“It depends on how powerful the Heavenly God Palace is. If the Heavenly God Palace is so powerful that it is able to defeat Hong Tian City, the sect that was able to conquer over half of the Land of the Nine Prefectures several thousand years ago… then Mani Temple and the other sects will have no choice but to watch the Heavenly God Palace conquer more territories,” Zhuge Yuanhong said.

……

This news was not shocking to Zhuge Yuanhong and Teng Qingshan. They had already known about this. However… when Qing Hu Island received this news, they were absolutely shocked.

On the Sword Edge Mountain in Qing Hu Island:

“Who would have expected that the ‘God of Heaven Mountain’ on the Great Prairie would also be part of the Heavenly God Palace?” Tie Fan remarked with a frown. “I heard that the God of Heaven Mountain is a great force that has battled with the Snow Hawk Hall. Additionally, the God of Heaven of the God of Heaven Mountain is the most powerful expert on the Great Prairie. He is a figure that has achieved Emptiness Culmination.”

Donned fully in black, the Blind Swordmaster sat cross-legged in silence. Then suddenly, he spoke, “The God of Heaven also has a suit of Godly Armor.”

“Godly Armor?” Gu Yong had experienced the power of the Godly Armor. Thus, this new information startled him.

“The Heavenly God Palace is too powerful,” the Blind Swordmaster said with a hoarse voice. “I was worried previously, but that was because I thought weaknesses still existed in the Heavenly God Palace—insufficient troops and a foundation that was not strong enough! The reason why I thought so was because the Heavenly God Palace had only managed to conquer Qingzhou a year ago. Therefore, I thought the Heavenly God Palace wouldn’t have enough troops.”

“However, now…”

“With the God of Heaven on the Great Prairie, it would be very easy to deploy several million soldiers, since the men and women on the entire Great Prairie become valiant soldiers the moment they get horses.” The Blind Swordmaster knew that the situation had become very troublesome.

So what if they had Emptiness Realm Experts on their side? It’s impossible to command a few Emptiness Realm Experts to kill several million soldiers, right? The soldiers were not fools. They wouldn’t just stand like dumb statues and wait for their deaths to come. While an Emptiness Realm Expert was killing over ten thousand people, the other soldiers would have already attacked the city and conquered the territories.

The force with powerful Emptiness Realm Experts and numerous soldiers was the most terrifying.

Then there was silence!

The Blind Swordmaster, Tie Fan, and Gu Yong had all fallen silent. They all knew that once the Heavenly God Palace successfully conquered Youzhou, their next target would be Yangzhou! The Heavenly God Palace was not stupid. They definitely wouldn’t attack the Snow Hawk Hall in Yangzhou. After all, if they did that, they would have no choice but to face the intimidating Ying Family and the Emperor Yu’s Hall.

Dressed in a long sackcloth, Gu Yong suddenly spoke, “Martial Ancestor.”

“Speak,” commanded the Blind Swordmaster in a deep tone.

“The Heavenly God Palace is very powerful,” Gu Yong said softly. “It is so powerful that it is impossible for Qing Hu Island to fight back. It is impossible for us to survive this calamity with ease. For now, we can only try our best to change the environment around Qing Hu Island.”

“Continue.” An idea flashed across the Blind Swordmaster’s mind as he responded.

“Our first weakness is having insufficient number of Emptiness Realm Experts. Our second weakness is the Gui Yuan Sect, the nail that the Heavenly God Palace planted in Yangzhou.”

“The fall of one will endanger the other. If the Qing Hu Island gets obliterated, the Shooting Sun God Mountain will be the next to be eliminated,” Gu Yong said with a deep voice, “Therefore, the Shooting Sun God Mountain will also be afraid when they are aware of this! All we need to do is work with the Shooting Sun God Mountain and eliminate the Gui Yuan Sect as fast as a sudden clap of thunder. We must at least unite the entire Yangzhou first.”

Tie Fan and the Blind Swordmaster both understood.

“Then what about Jing Yi….” The Blind Swordmaster said softly.

“Jing Yi is currently living in the Gui Yuan Sect, making the Gui Yuan Sect the Heavenly God Palace’s first station point in Yangzhou,” Gu Yong said coldly. “Martial Ancestor, you should go to the Shooting Sun God Mountain and request for the assistance of their Emptiness Realm Expert and the Shooting Heavenly Wolf of the Shooting Sun God Mountain. Then, deploy the Silver Dragon Soldiers. Command the Silver Dragon Soldiers to station at the border areas of Jiangning County. This will take four hours.”

“Order the soldiers to rush to the Gui Yuan Sect as soon as possible and obliterate the Gui Yuan Sect.”

“If Jing Yi is in Qingzhou or Youzhou, it will already be too late when the carrier pigeon reach him. By that time, the Gui Yuan Sect will have already been obliterated. It will be a complete success!”

“Even if Jing Yi is there, it will be fine. Martial Ancestor, you can work with the Shooting Sun God Mountain and the Demonic Beast Heavenly Wolf. You three can kill Jing Yi together.” A cold glint flashed in Gu Yong’s eyes. “Hmph. By the time the Heavenly God Palace receives news about this and they deploy soldiers to help the Gui Yuan Sect, it will be too late. Jing Yi will have already died! Since the Heavenly God Palace is waiting to devour Yangzhou, what does it matter if we kill one of their Emptiness Realm Experts?”

The Blind Swordmaster gave slight nod when he heard the explanation.

It was now a life and death struggle!

“Tie Fan, head over and send a message to the Silver Dragon Army stationed on the border of the Jiangning County,” the Blind Swordmaster instructed. “Tell them to prepare themselves. When I come back with the people of the Shooting Sun God Mountain, we will attack immediately.”

“Gu Yong, follow me to the Shooting Sun God Mountain.”

The Blind Swordmaster grabbed Gu Yong and pierced through the air, flying southwest.

The Shooting Sun God Mountain reached through the clouds. High up in the clouds at the peak of the Shooting Sun God Mountain, a huge silver-white wolf laid before the two wooden houses. Two hunters donned in beast skin lay there, snoring as they slept. For a moment, their snores sounded like the rumbles of thunder. Then at this very moment—

The black-haired hunter opened his eyes and looked up into the sky.

“Whooz!”

A black streak of flowing light descended, materializing into two human figures. It was the Blind Swordmaster and Gu Yong.

“Blind Tie, why are you here again?” The black-haired hunter laughed and sat up. The Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf that was lying on the ground opened its eyes slightly and cast a glance at the new arrivals. Then its eyelids drooped shut, and it continued sleeping again.

“Gu Yong, explain,” the Blind Swordmaster said.

“Sir,” Gu Yong said with a deep and resounding voice, “If you two continue acting this way, the thousand-year-old foundation of the Shooting Sun God Mountain wil be in ruins.”

“Whew!”

The two hunters stood up and glared at Gu Yong.

“I am guessing that you two know about the relationship between the God of Heaven Mountain and the Heavenly God Palace.” Despite the glares, Gu Yong was not worried at all. “I am sure both of you know what that meant. I just wanted to say that once Qing Hu Island is down, the next target will be the Shooting Sun God Mountain. If Qing Hu island exists, we will keep the Heavenly God Palace away. Like this, the Shooting Sun God Mountain will be safe and sound.”

Hearing this, the two hunters laughed.

Qing Hu Island was the buffer between the Shooting Sun God Mountain and the Heavenly God Palace.

“Why are you guys here?” The black-haired hunter laughed.

The Blind Swordmaster laughed coldly and said, “Just tell me. Shen Gongtu, are you and the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf willing to come lead the Silver Dragon Army with me to the Gui Yuan Sect? If Jing Yi is there, we will kill him and destroy the Gui Yuan Sect. If he’s not, then we will just destroy the Gui Yuan Sect immediately! The result of this battle depends on speed!”

“Even if the Heavenly God Palace acquires news of it, support for the Gui Yuan Sect won’t be able to arrive in time,” The Blind Swordmaster said indifferently.

“It just depends on speed?”

The black-haired hunter and the silver-haired hunter looked at each other. They knew well that the God of Heaven Mountain had dispatched several million soldiers to Youzhou. Therefore, they too felt anxious.

“Why? Are you still thinking of not offending the Heavenly God Palace at this time?” The Blind Swordmaster sneered coldly.

Everyone knew this well.

The Shooting Sun God Mountain might appear to be helping Qing Hu Island, but they are actually helping themselves.

“Alright. Let’s depart immediately.” The black-haired hunter nodded. “However, we have to be quick.”

“Of course, I know that.”

……

The battle this time could be referred to as a lightning-swift battle. If this battle did not end before the Emptiness Realm Expert of the Heavenly God Palace arrived, all the effort expended by the Qing Hu Island would be wasted.

The Blind Swordmaster and the black-haired hunter, Shen Gongtu, as well as the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf, charged toward the station point of the Silver Dragon Army on the northern borders of Jiangning County. When they arrived the station point, they took the precaution to wait until after midnight, the time when human beings felt the most exhausted, before sending out the army.

The Blind Swordmaster and the others hoped that the Gui Yuan Sect would discover the Silver Dragon Army at a later time!

There were thirty thousand Silver Dragon Soldiers!

All of them rode superior-ranking war horses and charged toward Jiangning County as fast as they could! Previously, it had taken the army almost half a night to arrive at Jiangning County City. However, this time, they were not ordinary soldiers. They were the Silver Dragon Army! The Silver Dragon Soldiers were much faster than the ordinary soldiers. In order to go at a faster speed, the armors of the horses were removed and the soldiers only wore light armors.

Without the weight of several hundred Jin, the superior-ranking war horses dashed as though they were flying.

……

“Clop! Clop! Clop!”

As the great earth trembled, two to three cavalrymen rode on their horses which galloped side by side. The endless army of cavalrymen dashed crazily toward Jiangning County City in the south. All the armored horses galloped wildly. The force of a million horses galloping seemed to shake the heavens and the earth.

“This time, it will definitely succeed.”

The Blind Swordmaster, the black-haired hunter, and the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf all flew above the great army. However, the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf was only able to fly because the black-haired hunter was carrying it.

“It will take around four hours to get from the northern border to Jiangning County-City.” The black-haired hunter laughed. “One hour will pass before Jiangning County receives news of this attack. If they send a letter to Qingzhou, it will take four to six hours for superior-ranking carrier pigeon to travel a distance of two to three thousand Li. By the time the Heavenly God Palace knows, it will be too late.”

“This battle will determine our success. By the time morning comes, the Gui Yuan Sect will be in ruins,” the Blind Swordmaster said coldly. “Unless Jing Yi is in Jiangning County, he definitely won’t be able to arrive in time to help…”

“I hope he is not in Jiangning. This way, he will be able to survive, and it will be easier for us as well.” The black-haired hunter laughed. “If he’s here, then he can’t blame us for what’s going to happen.”

They had two experts who had achieved the Emptiness Realm Culmination, and there was also the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf.

They were absolutely confident that they could kill Jing Yi,

……

The thirty thousand Silver Dragon Guards set off after midnight. They dashed without resting at all for around four hours. At this moment, the first glimmer of light began to show its presence on the horizon.

The thirty thousand Silver Dragon Guards had already stormed before the northern walls of Jiangning County-City.