The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-14

Teng Qingshan did not utilize the Power of the Heavens and the Earth as he traversed. Instead, he used the Earth Elemental Technique, comprehending the Earth Elemental Dao as he hastened on with his journey. With one step, he climbed up a mountain, and another step brought him to the surface of the water… With this, he beelined from Liushi City of Nanxing County to Qingzhou!

On a barren hill outside Tielong City, in the region of Qingzhou:

Carrying a long sword and spear sheath on his back, Teng Qingshan sat cross-legged on a hill. He had arrived outside Tielong City last night but deliberately waited on this hill until now.

“Whew~~Whew~~”

The cold wind blew. Teng Qingshan opened his eyes and peered up at the sky. He could see the silhouette of the sun through the layers of clouds.

“It’s not early anymore. Time to go to the barrack.” Teng Qingshan stood up. Once again, he performed Qing Gong and rushed toward the barrack.

Tielong City was a small city in Jiaoye County, one of the eighteen counties in Qingzhou. In Qingzhou, there were fifteen counties are controlled by Xiao Yao Palace. The other three counties were controlled by different gangs and sects… Jiaoye County was one of the three chaotic counties.

“What a huge barrack.”

With the control of his domain, Teng Qingshan observed the auras of numerous life forms in the barrack ahead. He then smiled and exclaimed, “Little Jun is there!”

Teng Qingshan had already located Little Jun’s aura, which was near the aura of the Emptiness Realm Demonic Beast, the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Teng Qingshan snuck into the barracks like a ghost and rushed toward the place where Li Jun dwelled.

……

“Why did the High Priestess summon us so urgently?” Three men, dressed in long black cloaks with gold-colored embroidery emblazoned along the edge, paced back and forth in the barracks. Out of the three men, two of them already had white hair. Although the third one appeared slightly younger, streaks of grey could be seen at his temples.

“Look, the Second Saintess has arrived,” the middle-aged man in a black cloak said with a smile as he pointed ahead.

“The Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division has arrived as well.”

“The Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division is quite capable. I often see him with the Second Saintess.”

The three men in black laughed as they chatted. They then followed the Second Saintess and the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division, and entered the High Priestess’ residence.

In the great hall of the High Priestess’ residence, the High Priestess sat in the lofty seat for the highest-positioned person while the gigantic Godly Hawk laid beside the throne. The three men in black knew well of the position of this Godly Thunderbolt Hawk.

“Greetings to High Priestess!” The three men in black hastily said and bowed.

“My three Elders, please take a seat.” The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult, sitting on the lofty throne, grinned as she pointed towards the seats on the right side.

Upon noticing the several people in the great hall, the three men in black were shocked.

“Goddess!” They exclaimed simultaneously.

On the left of the High Priestess, there were four seated people. Seated respectively from the top to the bottom were the mysterious young man, Li Jun the Goddess, Murong Yan the Second Saintess, and the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division, Lu Lilong. The elders were surprised to see the Goddess, Li Jun, but they were even more shocked that….

There was someone seated above the Goddess?

Who was this mysterious young man?

Although the three men in black were astounded, they still sat obediently according to the sequence of the seats on the right.

“Allow me to introduce. This is—” The High Priestess pointed toward Teng Qingshan and said with a smile, “Foreign Dignitary Huhe, one of the three Foreign Dignitaries of our Heavenly God Palace.”

“Foreign Dignitary?”

The three elders, the Second Saintess, and the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division, who had been sitting in their seats quizzically, were shocked when they heard the High Priestess. As members of the Heavenly God Palace, they knew of how powerful the Heavenly God Palace was. They themselves had always been proud of being a member of the Heaven God Palace. The Heavenly God Palace was a powerful force, and the people who could be invited to be Foreign Dignitary were extraordinary figures.

The position of Foreign Dignitary was just below the Gods of Heaven.

“So, it’s Foreign Dignitary Huhe. I have long heard of the great name of Foreign Dignitary Huhe.” The Second Saintess, Murong Yan, immediately smiled and praised, “The story of Foreign Dignitary Huhe battling against an army of one hundred thousand on the Great Prairie has already spread. I have always wanted to meet you, but I didn’t expect that I would be able to meet you today.”

Teng Qingshan responded with a nod and a faint smile. Simultaneously, he scrutinized his wife’s Second Senior Martial Sister.

Despite being over eighty years old, Murong Yan still looked like a beautiful and captivating woman. Her aura was very similar to the High Priestess. Seeing this, Teng Qingshan thought to himself, “Murong Yan must have cultivated some sort of secret codex after attaining the Innate Realm. This secret codex should be the same as the one that the High Priestess cultivated, which is why they have such similar auras.”

“Greetings to Lord Huhe.”

“Foreign Dignitary Huhe.”

The others cupped their hands and introduced themselves simultaneously.

Teng Qingshan responded with a nod and a smile.

The High Priestess grinned as she said, “Foreign Dignitary Huhe is not just a Foreign Dignitary… He married Little Jun not long ago.”

“Married?”

It was obvious that the Second Saintess, the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division, and the others were not aware of this. All of them were astonished.

“This Junior Martial Sister of mine is a beast-taming master. How can she marry Foreign Dignitary Huhe?” The Second Saintess was not the only one who was puzzled. The others too felt confused as well.

“I have summoned you all here to give out a command.” The High Priest announced solemnly, “The Heavenly God Palace is about to start a revolt, and the two hundred thousand soldiers of the Red Fiery Division and the Azure Dragon Division will attack from the south. Starting from today, my disciple Li Jun will take charge of the Red Fiery Division and the Azure Dragon Division. She will be the commander! As for Foreign Dignitary, he will be the temporary lieutenant commander.”

As soon as this order was given, the facial expressions of the Second Saintess and the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division changed.

“High Priestess.” The Superintendent said respectfully, “Her highness, the Goddess, is still too young. I am afraid it will be difficult for her to convince the majority…”

“Hmph.”

The High Priest interrupted with an indifferent scoff, startling the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division.

The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult shot a cold glance at the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division. She then glanced at the other people and asserted, “Difficult to convince the majority? Aren’t you are the ones who represent the majority of the people? I am passing my order down to you. All of you shall support and aid Li Jun fully! If anyone of you deliberately causes any trouble for her, you know what will happen. All of you know the rules of the Heavenly God Palace well.”

The few people in the great hall no longer dared to resist the order.

“Alright, you may leave.” The High Priestess stood up and said, “All matters are in Little Jun’s hands. I still have another significant matter to attend.”

……

On that very same day, the High Priestess rode the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk and left the barracks. She had given the responsibility of the barrack to Li Jun and Teng Qingshan. Currently, the one hundred thousand soldiers of the Red Fiery Division were the only ones in the barracks. The one hundred thousand soldiers of the Azure Dragon Division were still on their way there.

Teng Qingshan and Li Jun were talking in a room.

“Qingshan, now that teacher has left, I am worried that I will not be able to subdue them,” Li Jun said anxiously. “My Second Senior Martial Sister is cunning. I do not have any trusted aides in these barracks. If I want to take control of the Red Fiery Division and the Azure Dragon Division…”

“Don’t worry. Let me handle it,” Teng Qingshan assured with a smile.

Then suddenly, his ears twitched.

Not only was an Emptiness Realm Experts able to transmit sounds to other areas of their domains, but they could also hear the sounds in their domain.

“Little Jun, your Second Senior Martial Sister has indeed launched her first move.” Teng Qingshan grinned and instructed, “Stay here. I am going out for a while.”

In the residence of the Second Saintess, Murong Yan:

Although it was daytime, the doors of the great hall were closed, with only a shimmer of light shining through the window. Currently, the entire hall appeared very gloomy.

At this moment, the Second Saintess, the Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division, and the three elders were all in this great hall.

“Hmph. How old is that little girl Li Jun?” The Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division, displeased and angry, humphed as he scoffed, “She’s not even 20 years old, but the High Priestess actually appointed her to lead the army of two hundred thousand soldiers! In my opinion, if the two divisions are led by this little girl, many of our soldiers will die.”

“Superintendent Lu.” The rotund white-haired elder grinned and responded, “Although what you said could be true, the High Priestess has already given us a command, so we should just obey.”

“Teacher pampers my Junior Martial Sister.” Murong Yan shook her head and sighed. “Actually, it’s fine if Teacher pampers her. But this is a matter of great significance. How can the lives of two hundred thousand soldiers be played with like in a game?” As Murong Yan spoke, she glanced at the three elders.

However, the three elders remained silent.

Seeing this, Murong Yan frowned and called out, “Elders…”

“Second Saintess.” The slightly younger middle-aged elder smiled faintly as he spoke, “We only know one thing, which is that the commander will be her highness, the Goddess. We don’t care about anything else. The three of us have no right to take control of the army, nor do we have the energy to do so.”

The Second Saintess laughed as she heard the elder’s words.

Who was in charge of the troops? It was the Superintendent of the divisions!

This time, she had invited the three elders here to implore them not to meddle in this matter. However, based on what she just heard, the three elders had already decided to turn a blind eye. Their words, “No energy to do so,” indicated the decision the three elders had made.

“I, Murong Yan, am grateful.” Murong Yan smiled as she stood up.

“Second Saintess, we have known each other for over several dozen years,” the skinny white haired elder assured Murong Yan with his aged voice. “To be honest, the Great Saintess is too old. When the High Priestess abdicates her position, you, the Second Saintess, should be the one to succeed. However, looking at how the High Priestess praised the Goddess, you must watch out. Don’t fall into the hands of this little girl.”

Out of the five people present, Murong Yan was the youngest one, and she was already over eighty years old.

So, it was normal for them to call Li Jun a little girl.

“Elder He, I know.” Murong Yan smiled and said, “My Junior Martial Sister is only 17 years old. She has never led an army. What can she know? I just need to find a way and get her to make a fool of herself. I will make everyone know that… this Junior Martial Sister of mine knows nothing about commanding an army. By that time, even if my teacher praises her to the sky, it’ll be impossible to resist against the will of several hundred thousand disciples.”

The Superintendent of the Red Fiery Division laughed and added, “Yes, you just need some cunning tricks, and she will naturally embarrass herself. For now, we should just comply overtly and disobey covertly.”

The five people sniggered

Without a trusted aide, it would not be easy for a little girl to manage an army of two hundred thousand.

However, suddenly…

“Whew~~”

The main door of the great hall turned into dust and flowed down to the ground.

“Who is it?” The facial expressions of the five people in the great hall changed drastically.

All five of them were highly-positioned members of the Snowy Lotus Cult, and they were all innate experts. Yet, they hadn’t noticed that someone had destroyed the door.

“Comply overtly and disobey covertly?” A sneer rang out, and a young man dressed in a long dark azure cloak walked in.

“Foreign Dignitary Huhe?”

The five people froze.

All of them knew that Huhe was Li Jun’s husband. They had been discussing the method to deal with Li Jun, and now, the husband of the person they were plotting against had appeared before them.

“Foreign Dignitary Huhe, what are you doing?” Murong Yan grinned as she stepped toward Teng Qingshan.

“All of you, listen closely.” Teng Qingshan’s cold eyes swept past the five people as he hissed, “I am well-aware of your cunning thoughts, and I heard everything clearly just now!” As soon as he spoke, the faces of Murong Yan and the other four darkened.

“So what if you heard? Do you think the High Priestess will believe you?” The five people thought.

“Of course, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult might not believe my words.” Teng Qingshan suddenly smiled and snarled, “However, I don’t care if she believes me or not. I am just going to tell the five of you one thing: if you don’t want to die, then behave yourselves!”