When I return to Jiuzhou, the situation there will be far more chaotic than on Duanmu Continent. The waters of Jiuzhou are deeper and murkier! If I intend to annihilate Qinghu Island and have my Guiyuan Sect replace it, besides the competition among Void Realm experts, I will also need a powerful army under my command!" Teng Qingshan understood this clearly.

If it were merely a single Void Realm expert, a lone figure striving for dominance, that would be a pipe dream!

Only a sect possessing both a Void Realm expert and a formidable army can reign supreme across the world. Back then, the Northern King 'Hong Tian,' leading the eighty thousand Ghost Yan Iron Cavalry, conquered more than half of Jiuzhou. While the strength of the Northern King 'Hong Tian' himself was crucial, his eighty thousand Ghost Yan Iron Cavalry was the sharp sword that carved out the empire!

"If I had the military might of the Northern King 'Hong Tian,' and then forged ten thousand Innate Iron Cavalry using the 'Spirit of the North Sea' and 'Fire Liu Iron,' even if I couldn't completely conquer Jiuzhou, securing a vast territory for my Guiyuan Sect, establishing a lasting foundation for the lineage of my Internal Martial Arts, would certainly not be difficult." The thought ignited a surging ambition within Teng Qingshan.

Ironclad cavalry wearing armor forged from Fire Liu Iron—armor that even Innate Void Realm experts could not breach!

Cavalry clad in such armor could truly be called 'Innate Iron Cavalry.' Even a hundred Innate experts would be trampled to death by ten thousand of these riders.

...

Inside the room, Fu Dao continued speaking.

"On our Duanmu Continent, over the years, the discovered Fire Liu Iron has been exceedingly rare. Furthermore, ninety percent of it has been monopolized by the Tianfeng Family. Of course, even with monopolization, the quantity isn't large because the total reserve is so small."

"But now, within the territory of the Eastern Hua Domain, near the Flame Territory, a Fire Liu Iron ore vein has been discovered in a mountain range called Niutou Mountain—that’s a major ore vein, a vein of Fire Liu Iron!" Fu Dao could barely contain his excitement. "Just in a small mountain village at the foot of Niutou Mountain, they casually dug up a full thousand catties of Fire Liu Iron. That’s enough to forge thirty to forty sets of armor. And what these villagers unearthed was only a very small surface portion of the vein."

Teng Qingshan was secretly delighted by this news.

No matter what...

He had to find a way to claim a stake in this Fire Liu Iron ore vein.

"Haha, Mr. Teng," Dantai Huayan, sitting nearby, chuckled. "The importance of the Fire Liu Iron vein needs no elaboration. Currently, all the major families in the Eastern Hua Domain are vying for control of this vein. However, seizing it will be difficult. Besides military strength, Innate Martial Saints must intervene. That is why both Mr. Fu Dao and my Dantai Family have come to invite you."

Teng Qingshan looked at Fu Dao in surprise. "Fu Dao, which family are you serving?"

"My Fu Family," Fu Dao replied.

"The Fu Family?" Teng Qingshan looked at him with surprise.

"Otherwise, why would I spend so much gold last time to purchase that set of Tuofan Stone?" Fu Dao laughed. "But my Fu Family is not a major power in the Eastern Hua Domain; we've only started gaining prominence in the last year or two."

Dantai Qing, seated beside him, offered a light laugh. "Mr. Fu Dao cannot be so modest. With the Thunder Blade Martial Saint presiding, the growth of the Fu Family is just around the corner." Among the great families of the world, those possessing an Innate Golden Core Martial Saint are extremely rare. With Fu Dao present, the prosperity of the Fu Family is not hard to foresee.

Suddenly—

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of beast hooves came from outside. Dantai Huayan glanced out, his expression shifting slightly before he smiled. "Mr. Teng, the Wu Family has arrived."

"The Wu Family?" Teng Qingshan turned his head to look, and his own expression changed.

Among the group arriving, the leader was a woman with a heroic and spirited bearing, clad in light green armor, with an ancient, unadorned longsword strapped to her back.

"She..." Teng Qingshan gazed at the woman in the distance. In terms of aura, she possessed a cold, iron-blooded feeling, much like his own wife, 'Little Cat.' As for her appearance, while not identical, she shared about seventy to eighty percent similarity.

Seeing the Female Martial Saint caused Teng Qingshan's breath to catch slightly.

After all, she bore such a strong resemblance to the woman he had loved in his previous life.

"Is she the Female Martial Saint? The strongest woman on the Duanmu Continent?" Teng Qingshan mused. When chatting with the elders of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild, they had also mentioned that Li Jun’s looks were very similar to the Female Martial Saint’s, especially their temperaments.

"The Female Martial Saint is here," Fu Dao said with a slight smile.

The Female Martial Saint walked in alongside a gentle, smiling man. When they reached the doorway, the gentle man smiled towards Teng Qingshan. "Mr. Teng, I am 'Wu Baiwei,' the head of the Wu Family. This is my wife, 'Jiang Yan.' We greet you, Sir."

"Family Head Wu, you truly are quite capable," Dantai Huayan commented beside him. "Many have pursued the Female Martial Saint, but in the end, you were the one who won her hand."

The Female Martial Saint cast a cold glance at Dantai Huayan but remained silent.

"Uncle Wu also showed great perseverance," Dantai Qing said sweetly. "He pursued the Senior Female Martial Saint for a full twenty years, from age twenty until forty. Uncle Wu remained unmarried for those twenty years. You married just last year, and I regret not attending your wedding then; allow me to offer my congratulations now."

Wu Baiwei smiled and nodded; his twenty-year pursuit indeed demonstrated profound resolve.

"This Female Martial Saint is his wife?" Teng Qingshan looked around before speaking. "Both of you, please take a seat."

Immediately, six people sat around the table: Teng Qingshan, Dantai Huayan, Dantai Qing, Fu Dao, Wu Baiwei, and the Female Martial Saint, 'Jiang Yan.'

"Big Brother Teng—" Li Jun emerged from the side room. She paused in surprise upon seeing the Female Martial Saint.

The Female Martial Saint also started upon seeing Li Jun.

The two women regarded each other.

"Big Brother Teng, this must be the Female Martial Saint," Li Jun said, smiling as she walked to Teng Qingshan's side, placing the teapot and cups from the wooden tray onto the table. She then sat to one side, smiling. "I heard that the Female Martial Saint looks a lot like me. Seeing her today, it truly is..."

"Very much so," the Female Martial Saint replied, her voice slightly husky and low.

"Everyone," Teng Qingshan's gaze swept over the assembled company like a sharp sword. "I already know why you are here. With the discovery of the Fire Liu Iron ore vein, all your major families wish to claim it, and so you have come to ask for my help. I would very much like to know... why should I help you?"

Teng Qingshan got straight to the point.

"I heard Mr. Teng has a great fondness for the stone carvings of Yu Huang's Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting. My Wu Family has prepared one for you. If Mr. Teng assists us, my Wu Family can lend this carving to you for ten, even twenty years," Wu Baiwei said with a smile.

"The Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting carving?" Teng Qingshan glanced at Wu Baiwei.

The six carvings he had obtained from the Rising Sun Merchant Guild included four adjacent forms from the middle section of the Thirty-Six Forms, which were exceedingly difficult. Teng Qingshan hoped to obtain carvings representing the earlier moves.

"Which form is it?" Teng Qingshan asked.

"The Twenty-Seventh Form," Wu Baiwei replied with a smile.

Teng Qingshan inwardly scoffed upon hearing this. He found the four forms between the Seventeenth and Twentieth Forms challenging enough; what use was the Twenty-Seventh Form? Even if he obtained it, he wouldn't understand it.

"Mr. Teng," Dantai Qing said, smiling at him, her voice tinkling like spring water, "My Dantai Family has also prepared a Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting carving for you. If you are truly willing to help my Dantai Family, you can borrow it for a hundred years."

"Oh?" Teng Qingshan turned his gaze. "Which form is it?"

Dantai Qing smiled and said, "The Fifth Form."

"The Fifth Form?" Teng Qingshan felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

The Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting began with the Dao of Earth element; thus, the initial moves contained the Dao of Earth, gradually integrating the Dao of Metal in the later stages. Teng Qingshan estimated that this 'Fifth Form' likely described a more profound aspect of the Earth Dao.

"Sir," Fu Dao said from beside him, smiling, "Our Fu Family has also prepared a carving for you."

"You have one too?" Teng Qingshan was surprised.

Suddenly, Teng Qingshan understood...

The thirty-six carvings were extremely difficult to damage, and even if damaged, they would restore themselves. And there were only so many major families in the world. Many of them must possess these carvings. Those who came to invite him now might even spend a huge sum to buy one from another family if they didn't possess one themselves.

"Fu Dao, which form is the carving your Fu Family possesses?" Teng Qingshan asked with a smile.

"It is the Eleventh Form," Fu Dao stated.

"Oh?" Teng Qingshan felt a wave of pleasant surprise.

Among the six carvings he obtained from the Rising Sun Merchant Guild was the 'Twelfth Form.' Because the Twelfth Form was profoundly esoteric, Teng Qingshan had gleaned some insights but could not research it deeper, so he turned his attention to the other four forms.

"Having the Eleventh Form, which is simpler than the Twelfth Form yet directly connects to it, will allow me to elevate my 'Dao of Earth' and 'Dao of Metal' significantly. Perhaps I can even reach the Void Realm," Teng Qingshan rejoiced secretly. This Eleventh Form, like the Dantai Family's Fifth Form, would be immensely useful to him.

Naturally, the Wu Family's Twenty-Seventh Form was useless to him.

"If you agree to help, once my Fu Family obtains this mine, we are willing to give you ten percent of the excavated ore," Fu Dao added.

Instantly, the Dantai and Wu families flanking him looked at Fu Dao in astonishment.

Ten percent of the Fire Liu Iron ore?

"Sir has no family, so the Fire Liu Iron ore would be useless to you," Wu Baiwei said, smiling towards Teng Qingshan. "If Sir needs this Fire Liu Iron ore, once our Wu Family secures the vein, we are willing to give you twenty percent of the mined ore."

The poor Wu Baiwei did not realize...

Teng Qingshan had already dismissed his offer in his mind.

"Haha, I didn't expect everyone to arrive so quickly," a hearty laugh rang out, and a figure strode in.

"Yan Baishou?" The Dantai, Wu, and Fu families present were all startled.

"Yan Baishou pays respects to Mr. Teng," the big-bearded man, roughly dressed in a white leather coat, cupped his hands and smiled. "My Yan Family is located in the north of the Eastern Hua Domain. Although I rushed day and night alone, I am still later than them. However... my Yan Family's desire to invite you is extremely sincere."

"How sincere?" Teng Qingshan smiled, taking a liking to the rough fellow.

Seeing this, Yan Baishou rejoiced inwardly and continued quickly, "My Yan Family has already reached an agreement with another family. Together, we have gathered three Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting carvings. If you are willing to help my Yan Family, we will gladly lend these three carvings to you for several decades."