The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-36

The Shooting Sun Mountain Range was located south of Yanzhou and occupied an area of several dozen Li. Amidst the Shooting Sun Mountain Range, there was a lofty mountain with an altitude of several thousand Zhang. The reason why this lofty mountain was so famous was because it was the base of the Shooting Sun God Mountain sect, one of the eight Supreme Sects.

As such, this lofty mountain was called the ‘Shooting Sun God Mountain.’

In the vast sky, a black streak of flowing light flew rapidly through the highest of the heavens, soaring amidst the misty clouds. It then dashed toward the Shooting Sun God Mountain, which was encircled by the misty clouds.

The peak of the Shooting Sun God Mountain could be seen above the layer of clouds. A dazzling palace made of gold and jade had been built there, and as the sun shone on the palace, it reflected an intense radiance.

In the serene forest behind the palace, there were two wooden houses built close to each other.

“Big Brother, the Blind Man Tie is here again.”

“Didn’t he visit some days ago? Why is he here again?”

Two hunter-like men donned in beast-skinned clothes sat opposite each other, cross-legged on the ground. Two jugs of wine were placed on the table before them, and a bonfire was beside the table. The roasted meat hanging above the bonfire permeated a sweet fragrance. However, the weirdest thing was…

One of the two hunter-like men had black hair, while the other had completely silver-white hair.

“Well, you two sure are enjoying life! I can’t believe you two still have the mood to drink and eat?” A voice resounded. Suddenly, a blind man dressed in black appeared at the side.

“Why shouldn’t we have the mood for it?”

The silver-haired hunter-like man stretched his hand into the flames and grabbed the roasted meat. He took a bite and said, “Blind Man Tie, tell us why you’ve come again.”

“For important matters, of course.” The Blind Swordmaster stood at the side as he answered, “I have come to borrow the Heavenly Wolf from your guys.”

“Eh?” The two hunter-like men immediately stopped eating and drinking as they turned and looked at the Bind Swordmaster.

The hunter-like man with the black hair frowned and said, “Blind Man Tie, who are you dealing with? …To the extent that you need to borrow the Heavenly Wolf of the Shooting Sun God Mountain?”

It was extremely difficult to tame an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast. Emptiness Realm Demonic Beasts were very prideful creatures. They looked down upon humans, thus, it was impossible for them to yield to humans.

In the Land of the Nine Prefectures, some of the eight Supreme Sects did have Emptiness Realm Demonic Beasts. However, most of the Emptiness Realm Demonic Beasts were tamed when they were still Golden Dan Innate Demonic Beasts. After a very long time, a certain Golden Dan Innate Demonic Beast might achieve breakthrough and become an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast. If this Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast cherished the old friendships, it might stay in the sect.

Thus, the sect would then possessed an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast!

For instance, the Heavenly God Palace possessed many Golden Dan Innate Demonic Beasts in the hopes that one of them could achieve breakthrough in the future.

However, no matter what… the sects which possessed Emptiness Realm Demonic Beasts cherished their Emptiness Realm Demonic Beasts significantly. Hence, the sects would never lend others their Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast easily.

“Blind Man Tie, are you going to deal with that Jing Yi?” The silver-haired hunter-like man asked.

“Of course not.”

The Blind Swordmaster shook his head and said, “I am going to deal with the Emptiness Realm Expert of the Gui Yuan Sect.”

“Oh.” The black-haired hunter grinned and remarked, “Qing Hu Island is going to eradicate the Gui Yuan Sect? Well, this action makes sense. Presently, the Land of the Nine Prefectures is very chaotic due to the sudden emergence of the Heavenly God Palace. No one knows how powerful the Heavenly God Palace is. If we encounter them, we need to unify our own territories.”

“Just give me an answer,” the Blind Swordmaster said bluntly.

“Blind Man Tie, I just like this temper of yours.” The black-haired hunter beamed.

“Big Brother?” The silver-haired hunter stared at the black-haired hunter.

“I can lend the Heavenly Wolf to you… Since Qing Hu Island and Shooting Sun God Mountain are now allies, I should give you some respect. However… you know the rules.” The black-haired hunter stared at the Blind Swordmaster with a smile. Amidst the eight Supreme Sects, there were many sects which did not possess Emptiness Realm Demonic Beasts.

The price for the help of an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast was really not low at all.

The Blind Swordmaster was not a fool. Immediately, he began negotiating with the two brothers. In the end, the terms were set. It was only then that the black-haired hunter summoned the Heavenly Wolf.

“Ahhooo~~” The black-haired hunter raised his head and howled.

Almost within a second—

“Whiz!”

A silver light dashed out of the forest and descended near the two hunters. It was a handsome demonic wolf with a length of 3-4 Zhang. The demonic wolf’s entire body was silver and looked exceedingly smooth. The cat-like eyes of this demonic wolf were a dark gold colour. On the forehead of this demonic wolf, there was a trenchant horn which looked like a thin saber.

The demonic wolf of the Shooting Sun God Mountain was honored as the Heavenly Wolf or the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf.

“It’s already afternoon.” The black-haired hunter looked up at the sky as he said, “Blind Man Tie, according to our agreement, the Heavenly Wolf must return to the Shooting Sun God Mountain by this time tomorrow.”

“That’s enough time.” The Blind Swordmaster nodded.

The black-haired hunter stared at the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf and emitted wolf howls. The Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf howled in response.

Moments later…

“I have already told the Heavenly Wolf to go kill the Emptiness Realm Expert of the Gui Yuan Sect with you. When the two of you arrive in the Gui Yuan Sect, just say ‘Kill’ when you notice the Emptiness Realm Expert within your domain, and the Heavenly Wolf will understand.” The black-haired hunter instructed, “I have also told the Heavenly Wolf to return to the Shooting Sun God Mountain once the Emptiness Realm Expert dies.”

“Hmph, sure,” the Blind Swordmaster agreed.

“You may depart.” The black-haired hunter turned to the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf and emitted a wolf howl. “Ahhhooo~~”

The Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf stared at the Blind Swordmaster with its dark gold colored eyes. Evidently, it was waiting for the Blind Swordmaster to move first.

“Whiz!”

The Blind Swordmaster transformed into a black swirling light and darted downward. The Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf transformed into a streak of silvery light and moved at a speed even faster than that of the Blind Swordmaster… Yet this speed was not the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf’s fastest speed.

During the evening of the 22nd of March…

The silver and black lights advanced across the vast earth at almost the same speed. They didn’t follow the official road but continued moving in a straight line motion.

“Jiangning County City!” As the black-cloaked Blind Swordmaster gazed at the ancient city, a black radiance flashed in his greyish white pupils. He said to himself, “It’s time for the Gui Yuan Sect to disappear as well.”

The Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf followed silently at the side and stared at Jiangning County City with its dark gold colored eyes.

“Whew!”

The two streaks of light shot toward Jiangning County City almost simultaneously.

……

At the Martial Pavilion of the Gui Yuan Sect in Jiangning County-City:

The serene Martial Pavilion was guarded by Elder Wu, who was sitting in a chair. A novel of popular historical legends was placed on the table before him. However, Elder Wu was frowning. He held his fingers in the sword fingers position and slashed repeatedly with his hands. As he slashed and striked, the air around his fingers vibrated and distorted slightly.

“Eh?”

Suddenly, Elder Wu stopped and looked up in the southeast direction. He could distinctly sense two powerful auras suddenly emerging in his domain. One was an invincible dark aura, so formidable that it would cause one to tremble in fear. The other aura was an intense silver-white light.

“Two Emptiness Realm Experts!” Elder Wu stood up.

……

When Elder Wu noticed the Blind Swordmaster and the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf, the Blind Swordmaster and the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf also noticed the only Emptiness Realm Expert in Jiangning County City.

“Kill!” The Blind Swordmaster roared, issuing the command.

“Rumble!” The Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf’s speed suddenly accelerated. The Blind Swordmaster also began moving at his fastest speed, following right behind the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf.

The Blind Swordmaster and the demonic wolf moved in succession, charging toward Elder Wu.

……

“Oh, no!” Elder Wu shouted out as he noticed the two powerful auras heading toward him at an incredibly fast speed.

The especially fast speed of one of the two auras even caused Elder Wu’s face to turn deathly pale instantly. Without any hesitation, Elder Wu transformed into a streak of flowing light and immediately disappeared from the Martial Pavilion.

“The speed was so fast. The preceding silver-white aura must be a demonic beast. It must be a four-footed demonic beast!” Elder Wu instantly deduced as he thought to himself, “The one at the back must be a human Emptiness Realm Expert.

“An Emptiness Realm Expert and an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast must be working together to kill me.”

Elder Wu’s speed had already increased to the limit.

Simultaneously, Elder Wu used the sound transmission technique and sent a message to Zhuge Yuanhong in the Gui Yuan Sect, who was not aware of the current situation.

“Yuanhong, run! Quick run! An Emptiness Realm Expert and an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast are pursuing me at the same time. You must run now. If you don’t run now, you won’t be able to escape later!” Elder Wu’s voice rang in the ears of Zhuge Yuanhong, who was cultivating silently in the study room.

“What?!”

Zhuge Yuanhong’s face instantly turned deathly pale. His body swayed from the shock, and fear was visible in his eyes.

“Oh, no.” Zhuge Yuanhong had no audacity to hesitate. He didn’t even have the time to give any instructions to the other people in the Gui Yuan Sect. He hastily grabbed his weapon and immediately began using Qing Gong, endeavoring to dash out of the study room as quick as possible.

While the Blind Swordmaster and the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf pursued Elder Wu, Zhuge Yuanhong fled rapidly.

“Those that have reached the Emptiness Realm are extremely fast. Their domain is an area of 34 Li! While the Emptiness Realm Expert and the Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast are pursuing Martial Ancestor, they won’t dare to relax even the slightest bit. If they aren’t careful, Martial Ancestor will escape out of their domain.” Zhuge Yuanhong knew this well.

He knew that the Emptiness Realm Expert and the Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast wouldn’t waste their time in killing him unless they had already ended Elder Wu’s life.

Therefore, Zhuge Yuanhong had enough time to escape.

Zhuge Yuanhong dashed across the field, rushing past like a gush of wind. Within a few flashes, he reappeared far in the distance.

“How did this happen? An Emptiness Realm Expert and an Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast are pursuing the Martial Ancestor?

“Yes, it must be Qing Hu Island!” Zhuge Yuanhong instantly figured out the people behind this. Although he had already fled out of Jiangning County City, he felt really uncertain and extremely worried. “Can the Martial Ancestor escape…?” When Zhuge Yuanhong was 34 Li away from the Emptiness Realm Expert and the Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast, he immediately changed his direction.

……

If the Gui Yuan Sect had been given enough time, everything would have turned out great.

However, the Heavenly God Palace’s sudden appearance did indeed make the entire Land of the Nine Prefectures much more chaotic.

……

“So fast.” Elder Wu could sense the speed of the Emptiness Realm Expert and the Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast who were pursuing him. He felt his heart rising to his throat as at this moment, he was already running at his fastest speed.

“Rumble!”

“Rumble!”

Elder Wu traversed the forest, the fields, and the rivers. However, no matter how fast he was, the Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf was even faster!

“Oh, no.” Elder Wu looked back and saw the silver-white Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf pierce through the air, dashing toward him.

The Shooting Sun Heavenly Wolf had already caught up, but the Blind Swordmaster was still 30 Li away.