As Teng Qingshan departed Nanxing Commandery with his retinue of guards and hired men, two seemingly ordinary young men quietly arrived outside a lavish mansion.

"Hm?" One of the two burly gatekeepers at the mansion entrance, a man with a full beard, glared at the pair. "What do you want here?"

"Good sir, we have urgent business."

The two youths grinned playfully.

"Oh." The bearded man looked at them with surprise. He knew the organization's rules well; these two boys were only the most common 'Grey Robe' level, unqualified to seek an audience with the organization's local leader in Nanxing Commandery. Unless—it was something major!

"Go on in."

The bearded man waved his hand.

The two youths entered with suppressed grins, inwardly cursing: "Dogs looking down on people! Just a gatekeeper, though he serves important people... Still, once I achieve something great and get promoted to White Robe, even your Green Robe brothers will have to show us respect."

Inside the opulent mansion, under a covered pavilion, sat an old man with white hair.

"Official Wang." The two youths immediately bowed respectfully.

"What is so urgent that you rush straight to the Protector's residence? Don't you know the rules?" The old man cast them a displeased look. "If it’s not vital, you two..."

"Sir, sir!"

The sharp-looking, short-haired youth’s eyes lit up as he interjected, "Hasn't the higher-ups been searching for a certain young lady? We found her."

"What young lady?" The old man frowned.

"The one you've been searching for for three years; the mission hasn't been called off, has it?" The other, honest-looking youth added excitedly.

Whoosh!

The old man shot up, his gaze like sharp swords fixed on the two youths, saying tensely, "You found her? Where?" Those at the very bottom of the organization wouldn't know the status of the girl they sought, but the old man, a middle-ranking figure, did.

"In Nanxing Commandery!" the honest youth stated. "We saw her with our own eyes—absolutely no mistake."

"You weren't mistaken, right there in Nanxing Commandery?" The old man’s breathing became ragged.

He understood perfectly...

Since that high-and-mighty young mistress had left without a word years ago, the resulting shock within the organization had been immense. She was the organization's hoped-for foremost Beast Tamer, holding a status even higher than a Xiantian Golden Core expert. For such a master to suddenly disappear—how could the organization not search the world over?

"Yes, in Nanxing Commandery; we both swear on it," the two youths affirmed.

"Good!"

The old man took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. He glanced at the two youths. "This matter is not yet confirmed. No need to inform the Protector yet. You two will accompany me... to investigate thoroughly. If this proves true, you two will certainly be promoted by at least two levels, perhaps even three."

The two youths exchanged glances, excitement blazing in their eyes.

"Let's go."

The old man immediately led the two youths, while also dispatching several others, beginning an investigation into the Li Residence in Nanxing Commandery. Thanks to this organization’s vast hidden network, the guards and maids in the Li Residence had all been directly hired by Teng Qingshan and were not entirely trustworthy. The organization easily uncovered the information they sought.

...

Half a day later, back at the lavish mansion.

"Brother Wang, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?" A middle-aged man, appearing refined, widened his eyes.

"Yes, it is Her Highness, the Divine Maiden!"

The old man said excitedly, "We have investigated... it is definitely her. Furthermore, Her Highness's name is 'Li Jun,' and this residence is called the 'Li Residence.' Besides that—the mistress of the Li Residence bears a striking resemblance to Her Highness. Moreover, we learned from the Li Residence guards and maids that a large eagle often frequents the place. Though the eagle rarely flies high, they often glimpsed the massive bird in the inner courtyard through the tiles and gates."

"Her Highness the Divine Maiden understands beast taming, Protector," the old man stated, fixing his gaze on the middle-aged man. "The mistress of the Li Residence is almost certainly Her Highness the Divine Maiden!"

"It has been over three years; the Cult Master has been searching for Her Highness. I never expected we would find her," the middle-aged man revealed an excited smile and patted Brother Wang’s shoulder. "If this endeavor succeeds, Brother Wang, I will likely be transferred out of Nanxing Commandery, and this Protector position might fall to you."

The old man chuckled.

"I only benefit from your presence, Protector. Oh, Protector," the old man frowned slightly. "According to the investigation, Her Highness the Divine Maiden is the mistress here, and there is also a young master... they are husband and wife. This news..."

"Her Highness the Divine Maiden is married; this is indeed a major issue," the middle-aged man frowned.

Beast taming techniques were exceedingly precious.

After all, across the entire Nine Provinces, sects like Qinghu Island, and even the powerful Ying Clan, did not possess the art of beast taming. This art was strictly forbidden from being shared externally... By rights, Li Jun should not have married an outsider; she should have chosen someone from within.

"Given Her Highness's temperament, and based on prior intelligence," the middle-aged man mused, "her man is likely that powerhouse known as the Demon 'Alada,' one of the three esteemed retainers, Lord Huhe."

"Lord Huhe?" The old man was startled.

Back then, Teng Qingshan displayed his might as 'Huhe' at Celestial Mountain, even defeating the First Divine General 'Boreimou.' In the end, he was invited by the Celestial Mountain God to become the third esteemed retainer of the Celestial Palace.

"Searching for Lord Huhe's whereabouts is also a major task," the middle-aged man shook his head. "However, based on the information you gathered earlier, the descriptions from the maids and guards suggest that this Master Li has a distinct facial difference from Lord Huhe... Though, there are human skin masks in the world."

"Perhaps it is Lord Huhe!" the old man smiled. "If so, we have earned another great merit!"

"Yes, hurry and notify the Cult Master with this news."

That night, a carrier pigeon departed Nanxing Commandery, flying towards Qingzhou.

As the carrier pigeon flew towards Qingzhou, Teng Qingshan and his party were en route to Jiangning Commandery. The journey took a full three or four days. By the afternoon of the fourth day, the group finally reached Jiangning Commandery city. During the travel, however, Teng Qingshan remained relaxed, cultivating quietly inside the carriage.

His heart harmonized with the vast earth, sensing its aura.

The Earth-Shifting Fist had already yielded the eighth strike; only the ninth remained.

...

In Jiangning Commandery, within a dim warehouse of the Guiyuan Sect.

Clang!

With a resonant crash, the third oversized wooden crate descended. "Hiss, hiss~~" The resin on the torches sputtered as they burned, six torches in total illuminating the vast warehouse brightly. Zhuge Yuanhong, clad in loose robes the color of moonlight, commanded, "All of you, leave."

"Yes, Sect Master."

The eight Guiyuan Sect disciples who had been moving the crates immediately departed. Elder Wu then waved his hand, and the warehouse doors automatically sealed shut.

Instantly, only Teng Qingshan, Elder Wu, and Zhuge Yuanhong remained inside the warehouse.

"Qingshan, is this the Fire Liuhuo Iron you mentioned?" Zhuge Yuanhong approached a massive wooden crate, lightly tapped the lid, causing several nails to fly off, and then effortlessly prized the large lid open. The lid tumbled onto the floor nearby.

"Such large crates, so much Fire Liuhuo Iron, and it was moved easily by eight elite disciples. This iron must be quite light," Elder Wu also walked over, picking up a piece of blood-red Fire Liuhuo Iron. It was purely blood-red, without a hint of impurity, exceedingly beautiful.

"Very light," Elder Wu weighed it a couple of times. "Much lighter than ordinary iron. It seems a suit of armor made from it will indeed be light."

"Master, Elder Wu," Teng Qingshan looked at the dense collection of Fire Liuhuo Iron ore inside the boxes and smiled. "Currently across the Nine Provinces, in terms of the hardest ores, excluding some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, the only contenders are 'Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron' found in the North Sea depths and 'Tungsten Blood Steel' from the Savage Lands."

Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron also exists in the Great Yan Mountain's Bihan Pool, but it cannot be mined.

"However, whether it is Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron or Tungsten Blood Steel, both are extremely rare and very heavy," Teng Qingshan picked up a piece of Fire Liuhuo Iron. "In terms of hardness, this Fire Liuhuo Iron is only slightly inferior to Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. It is significantly superior to Black Iron. Even a single sword strike from a Xiantian Void Core expert cannot pierce it!"

Zhuge Yuanhong squeezed hard, but the piece in his hand remained unchanged. He exerted more force.

Crack~~

Only then did a fissure appear on the Fire Liuhuo Iron. "Tsk tsk, it’s truly hard. Squeezing it by hand alone requires all my strength to crack," Zhuge Yuanhong showed a look of pleasant surprise. "If struck by a sword, one would indeed need to reach the Xiantian Solid Core realm to possibly pierce it."

"Master, Elder Wu, the most crucial thing now is... the refining method!"

Teng Qingshan said solemnly, "Our Nine Provinces have no experience refining Fire Liuhuo Iron, and forging it is not easy; it will require time." Different ores require different methods to forge into weaponry. Some metals might be hard, but their melting points might not be higher than those of softer metals.

"Our Guiyuan Sect has many skilled weapon smiths. They will certainly manage to forge war armor using this Fire Liuhuo Iron," Zhuge Yuanhong said, understanding as he witnessed the ore's properties.

An armored cavalry unit forged from Fire Liuhuo Iron would likely be even more terrifying than the cavalry commanded by the former Northeast King, 'Hong Tian'! If a thousand soldiers clad in armor impervious to a Xiantian Void Core expert’s sword strike were unleashed, who could stop them?

Among the treasures Teng Qingshan brought, the Fire Liuhuo Iron was undoubtedly the most significant!

...

That very night, the Guiyuan Sect assigned six experienced weapon smiths to meticulously study the Fire Liuhuo Iron, intending to forge a suit of armor first.

"No, why isn't this Fire Liuhuo Iron melting?"

"The iron-dissolving agent is wrong."

Indeed, Teng Qingshan’s ominous prediction came true; forging Fire Liuhuo Iron was extremely difficult. The smiths tried numerous methods. The melting point of Fire Liuhuo Iron was exceptionally high. Although Teng Qingshan remembered the methods used on the Duanmu Continent, some necessary materials were simply unavailable in the Nine Provinces.

"It seems there's some trouble," Teng Qingshan stood in the corner, frowning slightly as he murmured to Zhuge Yuanhong.

Zhuge Yuanhong nodded, a hint of worry shadowing his brow.

"It's fine. When Tungsten Blood Steel and Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron were first discovered, it also took considerable time to figure out how to forge weapons with them. Even rare Heavenly and Earthly Treasures have been forged into weapons. Fire Liuhuo Iron? We will find a way within ten days," Zhuge Yuanhong declared.