The Nine Cauldrons - Timeless Cave
Timeless Cave
“His aura is very pure. However, it is obvious that he had only comprehended a type of Dao. Yet, I have comprehended two types of Dao.”
When Huangfu Yujiang gave the order, these were the thoughts that crossed his mind.
The things that happened thirty years ago brought shame to the Sword Tower! Huangfu Yujiang felt embarrassed as well! Naturally, he wanted to alleviate this embarrassment.
“Teng Qingshan, come with me to the living room to get some rest first.” Huangfu Yujiang said.
“Huangfu Yujiang…” Teng Qingshan wanted to say something. But then, he couldn’t control himself and began laughing. He could only respond with a nod.
Immediately, Teng Qingshan and the Six Legged Bladelike Chi followed Huangfu Yujiang and left the cave, heading towards Huangfu Yujiang’s residence.
When the two individuals and the demonic beast left, an uproar resulted among the group of experts who were still in the cave.
“The Grand Supreme Elder will definitely win the fight against the demon Teng Qingshan.”
“The Grand Supreme Elder of the Sword Tower has never lost a fight.”
“Martial Nephew, just pay close attention to the fight later and tell me everything later!” The expert, who needed to guard the forbidden area, said anxiously and helplessly.
While the hunchbacked elder issued the order, Teng Qingshan entered into the courtyard of the house where Huangfu Yujiang lived alone.
“Please sit.” Huangfu Yujiang said politely.
“Huangfu Yujiang, look closely.”
Teng Qingshan, who went into the living calmly, suddenly emanated a very different aura. He gave off the powerful force of a long spear. The deadly aura that seemed to prophesy the destruction of the world scattered in all directions Huangfu Yujiang, who had achieved the Emptiness Realm, could sense his Spirit shaken by the realm of the Destruction of the World which Teng Qingshan had revealed.
Whoosh!
Teng Qingshan suddenly dashed forth and sent his fist flying forward like a meteorite breaking through the atmosphere.
“Hmph!” Huangfu Yujiang humphed coldly and moved rapidly to dodge the force. At the same time, he grabbed the godly sword in his hand, making a shrill noise. Currently, Huangfu Yujiang was very angry as he thought to himself, “Teng Qingshan attacked me suddenly while no one else is around. He must be afraid of losing the fight and embarrassing himself before the public. However, Teng Qingshan does have a powerful Dao.”
Teng Qingshan intentionally slowed down.
“Arrogant.” A cold glint sparkled in Huangfu Yujiang’s eyes.
Whoosh!
A crescent moon seemed to have appeared while a beam of swordlight pierced towards Teng Qingshan’s head, bringing along a cold and beautiful fierceness.
The corner of Teng Qingshan’s mouth curved up into a smile. With his right palm facing out, he struck the swordlight back.
“What?” Huangfu Yujiang was astonished. “Did he just strike the sword of an Emptiness Realm Expert with his bare hands?”
Normally, even if the opponent was the slightly stronger one, he would not dare to fight with his bare hands. Such an arrogant act would only happen if the disparity between the power of the opponents was very significant. This could also happen if it was a teacher teaching his disciple or a senior instructing his junior.
“Too arrogant.” Huangfu Yujiang was extremely angry.
“Bang!”
Teng Qingshan’s palm shone a black light. In an eerie manner, he smashed the surface of Huangfu Yujiang’s godly sword. The light that enveloped the godly sword dispersed as soon as it was touched by the black light in the center of Teng Qingshan’s palm. When Teng Qingshan hit the godly sword with his palm, Huangfu Yujiang felt a terrifying power just rushing forth towards him.
It was unstoppable!
And it was extremely painful!
Whew!
The green godly sword flew out of Huangfu Yujiang’s hands and was thrown into the air. The sword flew diagonally and pierced through the rooftop before it landed somewhere faraway.
Shasha~~
It made a hole through the roof and the broken pieces scattered all over the ground. Some even fell on Huangfu Yujiang. Yet, Huangfu Yujiang just stood there like a fool. With a blank face, he stared at his right hand. His right purlicue was torn and his fingers were trembling. The power of the unrivaled force that he confronted earlier was beyond what his right hand could handle. And so, when he tore his purlicue, he lost his grip on his sword and it swung out from his hand.
“How is this possible?”
“This must be a dream.”
Huangfu Yujiang’s eyes were filled with disbelief as he thought to himself, “Teng Qingshan is also an Emptiness Realm Expert. It’s not possible for him to be this powerful. With his bare hands, he dissolved the light on my sword and knocked my weapon into the sky. How did he do it?” Huangfu Yujiang was very confused. He instantly lost the self-confidence he had spent the past thirty years building.
“Teng Qingshan, what happened?” Huangfu Yujiang stared at Teng Qingshan and said, “This should not have happened! It should not have happened!”
Huangfu Yujiang was very confused.
In his eyes, Teng Qingshan was just an Emptiness Realm Expert who had only comprehended one type of Dao. Therefore, he could not believe the things that had just happened!
“Huangfu Yujiang, do you know what is the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm? And the cultivation level that precedes the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm?” Teng Qingshan stared at Huangfu Yujiang and shook his head helplessly. This time, he had come to study the Celestial Jade Annulus. He had no intention of humiliating Huangfu Yujiang. It would be very embarrassing for the Grand Supreme Elder if Teng Qingshan had won with just one move.
Shame!
It would bring shame to the entire Bright Moon Island. Huangfu Yujiang might suffer internal injuries after the humiliation.
Teng Qingshan had no intention of doing all these things.
I know about the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm.” Huangfu Yujiang glared at Teng Qingshan and said, “In this world, there are many types of Power of the Heavens and Earth. When one comprehends enough Dao, he will then gain control of all the Power of the Heavens and Earth and even gain the ability to fly through the control of the air. This is the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm! Attaining the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm is very difficult. As for your second question…” Huangfu Yujiang shook his head…
Teng Qingshan smiled.
Suddenly—
Teng Qingshan’s entire body ascended three Chi and hovered in the air. Although Teng Qingshan did not fly high up, it was high enough for Huangfu Yujiang to see clearly that Teng Qingshan was indeed suspended in mid-air.
Huangfu Yujiang looked as though he had just seen a ghost. His entire body froze. He was just shocked.
Emptiness Realm Culmination?
According to the records written by the previous generations of the Sword Tower, it was extremely difficult to achieve the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm. Yet, Teng Qingshan did it! How could this be possible! In order to reach the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm, the cultivator would have to comprehend many types of Dao and gain control of the full Power of the Heavens and Earth. It did not seem like Teng Qingshan had fulfilled these requirements. However, the truth was before his eyes. Teng Qingshan did hover in mid-air with the control of the air. He did not jump and maintain his posture in mid-air for a short amount of time.
“Did you achieve the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm?” Huangfu Yujiang still could not believe his eyes. He immediately smiled bitterly and said, “No wonder I lost so miserably.”
“Emptiness Realm Culmination Expert?”
Teng Qingshan shook his head and said, “I am not.”
“Er… You are not?” Huangfu Yujiang’s eyes widened.
“Huangfu Yujiang, I just asked you if you know what precedes the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm. You shook your head and told me you did not know. Now, I am telling you the answer.” Teng Qingshan smiled and said, “When you reach the Emptiness Realm, you learn to understand the different types of Dao. When you gain control of the full Power of the Heavens and Earth, you would be considered an Emptiness Realm Culmination Expert. In the next cultivation level, you no longer use the Power of the Heavens and Earth. Instead, in this cultivation level, you learn to create your own world within your Niwan Palace.”
“My own world?” Huangfu Yujiang was shocked as he listened closely.
Teng Qingshan explained slowly, “The vast world is extremely complicated. Even when we attained the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm, we won’t have a perfect understanding of every Dao! As one understands the world more, one can then create a world within himself. When his world is created, all his power will then originate from his own world.”
“This cultivation realm is called the Insightful Emptiness Realm!”
“Only the Omnipotent Experts are more powerful than the Insightful Emptiness Realm Experts.”
Teng Qingshan stared at Huangfu Yujiang and said, “Huangfu Yujiang, the force I used is the power of my own world!”
“You… You…”
Huangfu Yujiang felt himself trembling in fear, “You attained the Insightful Emptiness Realm?”
“Boom!”
Teng Qingshan’s body emanated a black stream of air. A fierce power that could destroy the world instantly crushed Huangfu Yujiang. Huangfu Yujiang felt his body falling into hell. He could not confront the powerful force. All he could do was turn and run!
“This is the Power of the World.”
“The Spiritual Power of the Heavens and Earth you used will never be as pure as the Power of this World.” Teng Qingshan said.
A million thoughts crossed Huangfu Yujiang’s mind. He felt ashamed. He also appreciated Teng Qingshan. He now realized that the world is bigger than the Bright Moon Island; there is so much more in this world that the island cannot teach. Obviously, he was ignorant and narrow-minded. In the Sword Tower, there had only been a few Emptiness Realm Experts, and so, they thought that the Emptiness Realm was the most powerful cultivation realm.
They rarely thought about the cultivation levels that preceded the Emptiness Realm.
After all, they thought that the Culmination of the Emptiness Realm was the most challenging cultivation level.
“Insightful Emptiness Realm…”
“I have been ignorant and narrow-minded.” Huangfu Yujiang felt so embarrassed as he thought about how the numerous disciples could have seen Teng Qingshan win with just one move and how the legend of the unbeatable Grand Supreme Elder could have ended because of him.
Huangfu Yujiang took a deep breath and said, “Teng Qingshan, thank you.”
…
The disciples, who were slowly gathering in the training field, were then asked to disperse. Most of the disciples were very confused. They had no idea why they were asked to assemble nor why they were asked to disperse. The elite disciples, who knew about the upcoming duel between the Grand Supreme Elder and the demon Teng Qingshan, were very confused as well. However, they were ordered to never talk about the duel between the Grand Supreme Elder and Teng Qingshan.
“Brother Teng, you can start your closed-door cultivation in this room. I have ordered disciples to stay in the stone house outside so that they can serve you whenever you need. Let us know if you want anything to eat.” Huangfu Yujiang said enthusiastically.
“Thanks.” Teng Qingshan smiled.
As the door closed, the secret room became very dark. The only faint light in the room was given off by the green Celestial Jade Annulus. Teng Qingshan sat cross-legged as he stared at the Celestial Jade Annulus, while the Six Legged Bladelike Chi stayed at the side.
Teng Qingshan began assessing the Celestial Jade Annulus with his Spirit.
“Boom!”
Several images sequentially appeared in Teng Qingshan’s mind. Teng Qingshan could see several green figures performing different moves of a marvelous sword technique. The sword technique was so profound. Back then, the profound meaning of the sword art made Teng Qingshan feel suffocating. But now, Teng Qingshan was able to observe each move as a bystander and as someone of equal status.
As the moves in the beginning were very simple, Teng Qingshan instantly understood the meaning of those moves.
However, as more and more images appeared, Teng Qingshan had to ponder for a while before he could understand those moves.
The immersion continued.
Senior Li Taibai was amazing. As expected of the Omnipotent Expert! The pinnacle of this world!” Teng Qingshan watched until the end. Occasionally, he would stop and ponder for a while. Occasionally, he would stand up and began performing his spear art. Occasionally, he would perform his fist art. It was as though Teng Qingshan had become obsessed with the cultivation of Senior Li Taibai. With the help of the Celestial Jade Annulus, Teng Qingshan gained more and more understanding of this world.
No wonder Pei San wanted something that contained the Dao of Li Taibai.
…
Because he was in the cave, he could not tell if it was day or night. He had no idea how much time had passed. Previously Teng Qingshan had only understood the Power of Life on a surface level. As he continued cultivating crazily, he began to move beyond the surface level. Soon, he gained full understanding of the Power of Life. He had successfully transmuted the Power of his World into the Power of Life and Death and had finally attained Culmination of the Insightful Emptiness Realm.
Even though he had achieved culmination, Teng Qingshan was still obsessed with the Celestial Jade Annulus. The things he felt through the Celestial Jade Annulus helped him improve little by little. He felt that if he continued improving little by little, he would eventually achieve another breakthrough!