The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

He was shocked by the scene before him when he opened his eyes again. He was on the top of a hill, his field of vision rather wide. There were countless spiritual herbs growing on the hill. He did not recognize most of them. There may have even been herbs that have never been seen on the Zhenlong Continent!

"It is the Thousand Dagger Leaf!" Qin Yushan suddenly exclaimed, his breathing becoming heavy. His figure flickered to the foot of the hill as he excitedly grabbed an orange-green leaf growing there.

"Ah! There are more here!" Qin Yushan let out cries of surprise as he noticed the Thousand Dagger Leaves growing all over the hill! "There’s some over there, too!"

Qin Jiuyang gasped, "Incredible! The Thousand Dagger Leaf is a rare herb that is used to cultivate high-grade elixirs. One leaf can be used to exchange for a complete immortal-level technique! To have a full field of it here is unimaginable!" Even though he had not gone down to snatch the leaves because of his status, the shock in his heart was evident.

Su Yu’s gaze floated toward a pond not far away. He nearly lost his voice in shock. "The Divine Dragon Plant!"

Previously, at the Ancient Xianyun Temple, Su Yu had had to risk his life fighting a powerful demonic beast in order to obtain a Divine Dragon Plant, but the plant grew in abundance in the pond before them. There were over ten stalks! The abundance of resources in this place astounded Su Yu.

Gang Dalei was also visibly surprised. He flew over, quickly grabbing a few spiritual herbs that were rarely seen in the Zhenlong Continent. The world in front of them had completely flipped their understanding. The spiritual herbs growing around them were comparable to the value of everything the Zhenlong Continent had to offer.

"Where did these bumpkins come from, to be so amazed by a few weeds?" came a cold voice came from the sky.

The expressions of the four of them changed as they looked up in a hurry. Three powerful fighters were floating in the air, observing them with weird gazes. The abilities of all three of them were at the level of Half God!

The man who had spoken wore yellow robes and was about 17 years old. His expression was rather fierce, and it was clear that he was not an ordinary Half God. The other two were about 18—one a man and one a woman.

"Where did you all spring from?" said the young woman. "I do not remember seeing you at the Mysterious Heavenly Stage!" She wore a majestic outfit, and her appearance was stunning. She creased her brows as she asked the question.

The hearts of all four thumped heavily. This was not good. They had met people of Jiuzhou the very moment they entered, and they not only had powerful cultivation levels but, more importantly, were unusually young! Su Yu was 17, but the other members of his group were all over 20. The oldest, Qin Jiuyang, was approaching 25, barely meeting the criteria for entering the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion.

Seeing how the four of them remained silent, the yellow-robed youth scowled. "Are you deaf? Speak!"

The 18-year-old man in white looked doubtful, glancing further away. "Junior Yang Jian, the Evil Ghost Valley is about to open. We do not have any time to waste. If we are late, Senior Yu Chan might take issue with us. We should set off soon. As for these people, despite their age, they have only managed to reach the level of Half God. Their weak potential indicates that they are not members of the Blessed and Heavenly Lands. They must be random cultivators who snuck in. We need not bother with them."

The youth named Yang Jian grunted. He quickly scanned Su Yu’s group, then said, "Don’t try anything funny."

Then the three sliced through the air in a hurry, heading toward the horizon.

Su Yu and the others heaved a collective sigh of relief.

"Brother Jiuyang," said Gang Dalei, watching the three fighters flying away, "if we had fought just now, what were our odds of winning?"

Qin Jiuyang creased his brows. "If I were facing the other two, there would be a 60 percent chance that I would win. But against that yellowed-robed youth, I would probably lose 90 percent of the time. Yet, if the yellowed-robed youth fought against Brother Dalei and Brother Black Snow, he would probably have a hard time."

He must have thought highly of Su Yu.

"Brother Qin, you overestimate me," Su Yu said, cupping his hands. Then he said in a grave tone, "Brother Dalei, what was the meaning of your question? Are you thinking of going to the place they were heading to, the Evil Ghost Valley?"

He had promised the sloppy old man that he would enter the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion to obtain something, but the old man had not told him exactly what that was.

Gang Dalei shrugged in frustration. "It would be great if it were that easy, but the place we want to go to is at the seventh level, and to get to the seventh level, we would need a transportation spell. Unfortunately, the closest transportation spell is within the Evil Ghost Valley. If we were to take another path and go to another transportation spell, we would need at least half a month."

In other words, they would need to enter the Evil Ghost Valley and use the transportation spell.

"Does that mean that we must enter the valley after they leave?" asked Qin Jiuyang. "I do not fear a battle, but I hope to avoid any unnecessary fights to prevent injuries. We would be in grave danger if we met any other enemies."

To this, Gang Dalei shook his head. "That would not work. The transportation spell would need half a month to regain its energy after being used. We can only fight to use the transportation spell before them."

Gang Dalei and the group were silent, clearly in deep thought.

"What’s there to consider?" Su Yu had a glint in his eyes. "We cannot compromise on the transportation spell!"

The resources here were too rich and would greatly benefit their cultivation. They had to quickly fulfill their promise, then concentrate on cultivation. If they wasted too much time on their mission, they would lose more than they gained.

Qin Jiuyang considered for a moment. Then, as if sharing Su Yu’s thoughts, said, "I agree, but Qin Yushan..." Qin Jiuyang turned away. "Stay here at the sixth level. There are many resources here. Take as much as you can. You need not bear the risk with us!"

Qin Yushan felt slighted by this, but he knew that they were going to execute an extremely dangerous mission. Bringing him along would only be a burden. He agreed to the idea. The resources for him here were practically endless anyway. There was no reason he needed to take the risk with them.

"You must remember to lay low," added Qin Jiuyang. "Mind that you keep yourself hidden. Only by doing so can you stay safe for two days."

After saying this, he looked at Gang Dalei.

Gang Dalei let out a carefree laugh. "Since you are not afraid, what do I have to be afraid of? With the three of us, there should be no problem suppressing the three of them. The problem lies in the fact that they seem to have a person named Yu Chan waiting for them. We haven’t a clue about her abilities. We must proceed with caution."

Hearing this, the group nodded, immediately heading for the Evil Ghost Valley.

Along the way, they were tempted by the spiritual herbs growing all around them. In fact, Su Yu had spotted a spiritual herb about to evolve into a divine herb! A divine herb was equivalent in value to a legendary-level technique, making it extremely tempting. But they were in a hurry, and Su Yu had to let it go. He was more focused on completing the mission quickly. The sixth level was already so rich in resources. Just how shocking would the seventh, eighth, or even the ninth level be?

******

Half a day later.

A valley surrounded by black fog was faintly visible. Ghost energy penetrated the sky.

Su Yu and the group descended from the sky, approaching the Evil Ghost Valley with caution. Ten miles away, Su Yu activated his Soul Eyes. After he observed the surroundings, he whispered, "The three of them are still at the entrance of the valley, seemingly waiting for someone. If we are going to fight for the transportation spell, now would be a good time."

Gang Falei was shocked at Su Yu’s level of observation but did not doubt him. "That partner named Yu Chan might not be around at the moment. This is indeed the most opportune moment to strike."

The three looked at each other before cutting through the air.

"Brother Dalei, Brother Black Snow, we need not bump heads with them," said Qin Jiuyang. "Protect me. I have a way to render them unable to stop us."

Saying this, Qin Jiuyang took out three strands of hair from the top of his head, entwining it on his little finger. Curse techniques!

Su Yu and Gang Dalei nodded their heads, each taking a side, leaving Qin Jiuyang in the middle.

Whoosh—

The three of them approached quickly, unable to mask their auras any longer. They were quickly discovered by the three at the entrance of the valley.

"Eh? Three of those wandering martial artists?" The yellowed robed youth Yang Jian could not help but let out an angry laugh. "Insolent things. We did not claim their lives just now because of our benevolence, but now they dare approach us and try to snatch our transportation spell!"

The lady in the majestic dress had a merciless look on her face. "Humph! They ask for too much! We have already warned them to not try anything funny, but they still dare to chase after us! Junior Yang Jian, you need not attack. I’ll attack with Senior Bai and fry these three fishes."

Yang Jian’s expression turned cold as he nodded. "Be careful. Even if they are only useless, wandering martial artists, they must have some decent abilities to be able to make it into the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion. You must not be careless."

His actions served to motivate the two of them.

"Junior Ye, which one do you choose?" said the white-robed youth at the side, Senior Bai, looked coldly at the three figures approaching them.

Junior Ye scanned the three, her gaze landing on Qin Jiuyang’s figure, "Mmm... Leave that one to me. He is quite handsome but has such weak potential—only reaching Half God at 25. And he has the cheek to enter the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion despite his weak potential!"

Senior Bai took out two semicircular weapons. Their edges were sharp. It was a middle-grade divine artifact that had been completely refined. "Leave that man covered in a glowing figure to me," he said.

The two of them took to the skies, charging toward them.

"They are coming!" Qin Jiuyang said, his expression turning grave. Foreign curses escaped from his mouth.

An uncomfortable feeling welled up within them, causing Su Yu and the rest to feel uneasy.

The three strands of hair on Qin Jiuyang’s little finger gradually turned transparent. They soon vanished into thin air.

Remarkably, a strand of hair appeared on the little fingers of their three opponents. The first to notice this was Yang Jian. His expression turned serious, and he let out a low grunt.

"Careful!" he said. "It’s a curse technique!"

Between his words, he exerted force and broke the strand of hair on his little finger. But there was still a faint trace of black on his finger. Junior Ye and Senior Bai were met with the same circumstances.

Qin Jiuyang had a smile on his face. "It’s complete!"

His hands formed a foreign seal, extending two fingers on each hand, blocking his eyes. He then let out a grunt.

"They can no longer see!" he said. "Quick, the two of you!"

By covering his eyes with his fingers, he was inflicting the same condition on the other three. They were temporarily blinded.

Expectedly, Junior Ye and Senior Bai showed signs of panic as they flew. Senior Bai quickly said, "Careful, Junior Ye! Use your spirit energy to protect yourself immediately. Do not act recklessly!"

Su Yu had a mind to kill the both of them. But they had backup. It was not wise to engage in battle. So they easily passed by the two of them, and Su Yu and Gang Falei used their abilities to help Qin Jiuyang charge toward the valley.

Yang Jian was furious. He listened for sounds of their movements as his killing intent rose. "I can kill the lot of you without being able to see!" he shouted. "Rise!"

With a low grunt, clanks could be heard behind him. A crystal sword filled with a cold glow took to the skies. A transparent glow seemed to radiate from the blade of the sword. It was a top-notch middle-grade divine artifact that had been fully refined!

It released a sharp sword aura, causing the expressions of Su Yu’s group to turn rigid. They needed their full powers to deal with that sword!

But Su Yu had a glint in his eyes. He swiped one hand past his chest, taking out an amulet. It harbored the power of a blow from a Human King fighter. Even though it could not harm the opponent, it could still cause trouble.

As the amulet exploded, violent energy radiated into the surroundings. The aura of Su Yu’s group was masked.

Yang Jian was surprised, but in his blind state, he could not sense the aura of the three of them. It was only after the trembling of the ghost energy—as they entered the Evil Ghost Valley—did he realize where they were.

"Die!" cried Yang Jian.

As he said this, the longsword sliced downward in Su Yu’s direction.

Su Yu’s gaze turned cold. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and released a mist of ice origin. The crystal sword slicing toward him was immediately frozen, becoming 30 percent slower.

At the same time, a long spear made of ice suddenly appeared under Yang Jian’s feet. Yang Jian had to dodge to avoid it. But in that moment of distraction, the three wandering martial artists entered the valley. A moment later, the three of them regained their sight.

"Junior Yang Jian!" Junior Ye said, her face filled with a merciless aura. "We let them enter first! This is a massive humiliation! I’ll enter in pursuit!"

Senior Bai was also worried. "If they advance first, we will have to wait half a month before we can enter the seventh level of the Divine Pavilion."

Yang Jian had a sinister expression, also very humiliated. But after a low growl, he let out a fiendish smile. "No need! Is that transportation spell so easy to use? Even Senior Yu Chan had to go out looking for ingredients to weaken the evil ghost around the spell before she had the confidence. They are merely seeking their own deaths by entering the valley like that!"

Hearing this, the two of them relaxed.

"That’s true," said Senior Bai. "That evil ghost has been guarding the spell all year long. Every year, many Half Gods become its meal. The three of them entered without any preparation. They shall merely be nourishment for the evil ghost."

Junior Ye let out bouts of cold laughter.