"Halt!" The chief steward roared, and immediately two men rushed in from outside the hall. The chief steward pointed at Dong Zhezi, "Take this woman to the front hall." "Yes, My Lord." The two acknowledged respectfully and moved to lift Dong Zhezi.
It was only then that Dong Zhezi snapped back to consciousness, turning desperately toward the chief steward. "Steward, I beg you, let the Assassin's Hall spare me from being sent to the Jiang family.
Kill me instead, please, just kill me." Dong Zhezi's face was ashen. She gritted her teeth and violently slammed her head against the wall!
Whoosh! The stronger of the two subordinates suddenly yanked Dong Zhezi's body, causing her to tumble onto the ground.
A mere cripple before so many masters, even killing herself was now impossible. "Kill you?
Hmph." The chief steward waved his hand dismissively. The two subordinates lifted Dong Zhezi.
Terror-stricken, Dong Zhezi struggled wildly. "No, no!" Her gaze then darted to Teng Qingshan, filled with desperate pleading.
"I beg you, kill me! If I fall into the hands of the Jiang family, they will torture me to death!
Please, just kill me!!!" Amidst her piercing shrieks, Dong Zhezi was effortlessly carried away by the two sturdy men. With both arms dislocated, the thought of suicide was utterly out of reach for Dong Zhezi.
"This slut just threatened the Master earlier. Hmph, truly laughable," the chief steward sneered, turning his smile toward Teng Qingshan.
"Master Teng, this person has been delivered. The stone carving should arrive shortly.
Please wait patiently, Master." Teng Qingshan nodded. Moments later, Teng Qingshan heard Dong Yi's agonized screams drifting from a distance, punctuated by triumphant, bone-deep laughter—"Hahaha, you slut, you have your day of reckoning too!" The sound prompted a slight smile from the chief steward.
"Master Teng, the Jiang family has hated Dong Zhezi to the core for a long time. Even the previous Jiang Family Patriarch was captured and slowly tortured to death." Teng Qingshan nodded upon hearing this, a deep sigh rising in his heart...
Just over an hour ago, Dong Zhezi was the dignified Dong Family Patriarch, a Xiantian Martial Saint! She had wantonly tormented and played with Old Man Tie San, and even dared to tell Teng Qingshan, 'From today onward, you shall be my tenth male concubine.' Yet, in the blink of an eye, she had fallen into the hands of the Jiang family.
"Master Teng!" Laughter echoed from outside the hall. The grand manager of the Rising Sun Inn entered, beaming, accompanied by a burly man clad in a green leather jacket.
The man carried a long object wrapped in gray cloth slung over his shoulder. Teng Qingshan’s gaze locked onto the object.
He stood abruptly, his eyes shining brightly. "The size is the same as the Duofan Stone carving!
It must be that stone carving!" The chief steward nearby rose with a smile as well. "Master Teng, this is one of the thirty-six carvings left by the Divine Axe Heavenly God 'Yu the Great'." The grand manager extended his hand, taking the item from the stout man, and simultaneously peeled back the gray cloth covering the stone carving's surface.
As the cloth fell away, a stone carving was revealed, appearing jade-like throughout! A faint greenish-blue aura shimmered across the stone.
The left half depicted a figure leaping high, cleaving downwards with a massive axe—a posture of skill. The right half bore the character 'Dao' (Way/Path), emanating potent killing intent.
At first glance, Teng Qingshan felt an immense aura surging forth, as if countless colossal axes were descending upon him! "It's genuine!" Teng Qingshan's eyes blazed as he scrutinized the carving, marveling, "Truly worthy of being carved by the hands of the Divine Axe Heavenly God himself." "The aura is clearly different from the Duofan Stone," the chief steward observed, also gazing at the carving with awe.
"The Divine Axe Heavenly God 'Yu the Great' is indeed a divine being who created the methods of cultivation and spread them throughout the world. A mere mortal stone, infused with his carving, becomes this miraculously potent." Teng Qingshan stepped forward two paces, his right hand transforming into a sharp talon, which he violently swept toward the stone carving.
"Master Teng!" The chief steward was startled. "Master Teng, no!" The grand manager holding the carving also gasped in alarm, but he was too far away to react in time.
"Clang-shhh~~" Teng Qingshan raked his sharp hand hard across the edge of the stone carving, producing a metallic clang. Powder scattered, and two deep grooves appeared.
Seeing that Teng Qingshan had only managed to scratch the edge, leaving the figure and the 'Dao' character undamaged, the chief steward finally let out a sigh of relief. He walked over with a wry smile.
"Master Teng, what are you doing? This is a stone carving left by the Divine Axe Heavenly God; damaging even a piece means one less in existence." "Steward, look, look," the grand manager exclaimed, staring at the carving in shock.
The chief steward turned his gaze, and upon seeing it, his expression mirrored the shock. The grooves Teng Qingshan had just gouged were visibly healing at a rapid rate, restoring themselves!
In just a few breaths, the stone carving was perfectly intact once more, as if it had never been damaged at all. "This...
this... this is too miraculous," the chief steward breathed in amazement.
Teng Qingshan revealed a slight smile. He recalled the walls of the Great Flood Palace he entered in the Great Yan Mountain—even a strong expert at the Xiantian Golden Core realm punching a hole through it would cause the wall to quickly repair itself!
This stone carving also contained the World Force of Emperor Yu. It was precisely because of this that ordinary mortal stone had transformed into something like jade.
The test confirmed his speculation. "Grand Manager, wrap this carving up," Teng Qingshan instructed with a smile.
"I shall not linger; I must depart now." "Master, it's not too late to leave tomorrow," the grand manager and the chief steward urged him to stay. But Teng Qingshan only shook his head, smiling.
"Master, since you captured this person for us, besides this stone carving, there is also ten thousand taels of gold," the grand manager added. Teng Qingshan shook his head.
"No need!" Ten thousand taels of gold weighed nearly a thousand catties; carrying it would significantly slow down the Gale Eagle's flight speed. Furthermore, gold was something Teng Qingshan no longer cared about.
After all, once he reached the Void Realm, Teng Qingshan would return to Jiuzhou! Did he intend to bring boxes of gold back to Jiuzhou?
Even a million taels of gold meant little in the eyes of the major sects in Jiuzhou. "This is deserved," the chief steward insisted.
"Our Rising Sun Merchant Guild will arrange for someone to deliver this ten thousand taels of gold to the foot of the Divine Axe Mountain." Teng Qingshan said no more, taking the carefully wrapped stone carving and heading out. ...
"Yow~~" Outside Wu'an City, Teng Qingshan mounted the Gale Eagle's back. With an excited cry, the eagle flapped its wings and soon vanished into the southwestern horizon.
* At the Dong Family Manor Great Hall in Shuangshan City. Dozens of people were gathered in the hall—the direct descendants and elite figures of the Dong Family.
Seated on the main seat was a silver-haired elder clad in a black fur coat, his face pale. On the chairs flanking him sat various high-ranking figures of the Dong Family.
All of them knew— Just over an hour ago, their Dong Family Patriarch, 'Dong Zhezi,' had been forcefully broken into the manor and abducted. Low murmurs filled the hall.
Some were intensely furious, while a few occasionally betrayed a flicker of happiness! If Dong Zhezi died, many could ascend to power!
Just then, a thin man hurried into the hall. "Have you found out who that person was?" the silver-haired elder demanded coldly.
"Reporting to the Great Elder, based on the portrait, we have confirmed... The intruder into our Dong Family is the powerful figure known as 'Teng Qingshan,' who recently appeared in the Flowing Cloud Residence in Nanshan City!
Rumor has it that Teng Qingshan's strength is terrifying; even the Thunder Blade Martial Saint 'Fu Dao' is inferior to him and respectfully addresses him as Master. The Great Elder of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild is also quite friendly toward him.
Intelligence suggests Teng Qingshan is likely a Xiantian Golden Core Martial Saint, and... his strength is probably close to that of the Rising Sun Martial Saint." The thin man reported respectfully.
Many in the hall sucked in a cold breath. The silver-haired elder narrowed his eyes.
Earlier... in a single exchange, he had been kicked flying by Teng Qingshan.
The silver-haired elder knew clearly that achieving that was impossible without Xiantian Golden Core strength. "He stormed our Dong Family and captured our Family Patriarch.
This Teng Qingshan is too arrogant; it's tantamount to slapping the Dong Family across the face! This profound humiliation must be avenged!" Immediately, a middle-aged man stood up and roared angrily.
"Avenged? And who among us will do the avenging?" a pale and gaunt man scoffed.
"Sit down," the silver-haired elder commanded sternly. The middle-aged man reluctantly sat down, gritting his teeth in frustration.
In the hall, the Dong Family elders harbored different thoughts. Even those shouting for vengeance were merely going through the motions.
Revenge? In the Eastern Flowing Domain, their Dong Family possessed some influence, but seeking retribution against a Xiantian Golden Core Martial Saint?
If word got out, they would become a laughingstock. "Zhezi is captured, and her Dantian is ruined.
Even if she lives, she is unfit to be Patriarch." The silver-haired elder looked down at the assembly. "From this day forward, Zheyun, you shall be the new Patriarch of our Dong Family." As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of many who had shown brief joy turned grave.
They hadn't expected... this Great Elder to simply appoint a Patriarch without any discussion.
A refined, handsome middle-aged man stood up and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Great Elder." "Hmph." The silver-haired elder nodded, sweeping his cold gaze over the crowd below.
No one dared to defy his command. "Great-Grandfather, my mother was captured, are we truly going to ignore it?" A girl, who bore a striking six-tenths resemblance to Dong Zhezi but possessed a bright and lively demeanor, stood up and spoke with indignation.
"Insolent!" The silver-haired elder's face darkened. "Dong Shi, how can you speak to the Great Elder like that?" Immediately, several people reprimanded Dong Shi.
Dong Shi gritted her teeth, turned, and marched out of the hall. * Wu'an City, Eastern Flowing Domain.
It was very far from 'Nanshan City' in the Southern Mountain Domain. When Teng Qingshan arrived at Crescent Lake on Divine Axe Mountain, the sky was completely dark.
Light faintly filtered from the windows of the tightly closed dwellings, indicating that the occupants were still awake. Whoosh!
Whoosh! The cold wind howled as the Gale Eagle swooped down.
"Yow~~~" The Gale Eagle immediately cried out, and promptly, the doors of the two stone houses swung open. Li Jun and Xiao Ping shared one room; Teng Shou and Old Wang shared the other.
"Brother Teng!" Li Jun cried out joyfully. "Teacher!" Teng Shou also called out.
Teng Qingshan, holding the stone carving, leaped down from the eagle's back. The Gale Eagle strutted nearby, flapping its wings proudly, as if seeking praise.
"Hmm, Little Gray did well," Li Jun patted the Gale Eagle's back, then turned to Teng Qingshan. "Brother Teng hasn't eaten dinner yet, I'll warm some up." Saying this, Li Jun hurried back inside, with Xiao Ping following to help.
Having someone warm up his meal upon returning in the evening brought a warmth to Teng Qingshan's heart. ...
After finishing dinner, Teng Qingshan, unable to contain his impatience, took the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe in one hand and the stone carving in the other, heading straight outdoors to begin his cultivation under the night sky. "Combining the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe with the stone carving—according to Emperor Yu, even an ordinary Xiantian expert could step into the Void Realm within decades.
And I already have one foot across the threshold," Teng Qingshan felt a surge of excitement in his heart. Relying on this one stone carving, he was certain to make significant progress.
Perhaps he could step into the Void Realm in just a year or two.
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