"A black cauldron, is that an heirloom of your Iron Clothes Sect?" Teng Qingshan exclaimed in surprise.

Deng Geng, who had originally intended to kill Teng Qingshan in one go and seize the black cauldron, changed his strategy after a brief exchange revealed how troublesome his opponent was. He smiled and nodded: "Yes, this is indeed the inherited artifact of my Iron Clothes Sect. It was taken by Wei Dan back then, and I have only just found it now. I request that you exchange this black cauldron with my Iron Clothes Sect, and all previous matters will be written off!"

"Written off? Written off your ass!"

Teng Qingshan roared crudely, the scar on his face making him look even more ferocious, "Deng Geng! You shameless bastard, do you even know who I am?"

Deng Geng's face darkened; being called 'shameless' by this rough man with a scar infuriated him somewhat.

"Senior Wei Dan is the founding master of my lineage!" Teng Qingshan raised his head and bellowed, "There are not many in this world skilled in boxing who can reach the Xiantian realm. You just tasted my fists... you should be able to guess my identity; I am descended from the lineage of Senior Wei Dan. Founding Master Wei Dan once lived in seclusion on Silver Horn Mountain, but later disappeared without a trace. The successive sect masters of my 'Sky Hawk Sect' occasionally come to this Silver Horn Mountain to pay respects to the founding master."

Deng Geng froze.

Wei Dan's boxing techniques? It had been over six hundred years, and paper was only invented in the last two or three centuries; in the past, records were kept on bamboo slips, parchment, and the like, making records of Wei Dan sparse, with only simple descriptions of the domineering and fierce nature of his boxing. Moreover, Wei Dan supposedly had no successor!

Yet Deng Geng didn't recognize Teng Qingshan's boxing style either.

Did the books say Wei Dan had no successor and that was the end of it? Secretly taking on a disciple. It wouldn't be strange if outsiders didn't know!

"I came to Silver Horn Mountain this time to pay my respects to the founding master. Who would have thought I would see people from your Iron Clothes Sect dredging up the founding master's remains! How could I let them go for desecrating the founding master's bones?" Teng Qingshan stated loudly, "This 'Sky Hawk Claw' is the divine weapon of the Sky Hawk Sect. It can only exert its greatest power in my hands! Furthermore, this black cauldron is also the personal item of my founding master, and should be inherited by my 'Sky Hawk Sect'. By what right does your Iron Clothes Sect possess it?"

Teng Qingshan spoke in one breath, leaving Deng Geng speechless.

Deng Geng had lied, hoping to gain the moral high ground over Teng Qingshan.

Who knew that when Teng Qingshan lied, he was even more ruthless?

"You... Sky Hawk Sect? Wei Dan's sect? Why haven't I heard of it?" Deng Geng said.

"There are plenty of things you don't know!" Teng Qingshan coldly snorted, "My Sky Hawk Sect exists in seclusion under the orders of our founding master; only a handful in the world know of me. And if you hadn't desecrated the founding master's remains this time, I might not have intervened. Alright, I still need to bury the founding master. You had better leave quickly, or else..."

Deng Geng was furious.

What was this nonsense?

He, Deng Geng, was considered sharp-tongued, yet in a few exchanges, he had ended up being the one in the wrong.

However... that line of script in the black iron treasure map—'Those who force entry upon obtaining the treasure map will surely die. To obtain the treasure, one must carry one of the Nine Cauldrons. Remember this point firmly!'—Deng Geng remembered that sentence perfectly clear. The difficulty of finding the Nine Cauldrons was likely even higher than the treasure map itself!

In the millennia since Emperor Yu passed away and the world fractured, only the renowned 'Poet-Sword Immortal' Li Taibai was known to have obtained one.

If he failed to obtain this small cauldron this time, when would he ever get another chance?

"I don't care who you are!" Deng Geng's face darkened as he roared, "I advise you to hand over the black cauldron. Otherwise... Silver Horn Mountain will be your burial ground! Your Sky Hawk Sect will also face utter annihilation!"

"What, you want to use force?" Teng Qingshan's brow twitched, and he smiled.

In truth, Teng Qingshan was piecing together many things in his mind: "This Deng Geng didn't pay attention to the 'small cauldron' when he first found these remains, but after searching for the treasure map at the bottom of the lake for an hour, he now abandons taking revenge for those four Houtian masters just to obtain this small cauldron! Looking at how he is almost mad now, the importance of this small cauldron to him is self-evident!"

Initially, he didn't value the small cauldron. After searching for the treasure map for an hour, he suddenly valued the small cauldron so much.

Teng Qingshan easily deduced one thing—Deng Geng must have found the treasure map and realized that this 'small cauldron' was closely related to it!

"Only this can explain why his attitude towards the small cauldron changed so drastically in just one hour." Having made this deduction, Teng Qingshan was still puzzled—he had possessed a black cauldron in his previous life, and now he had obtained one again in this one. What exactly was the close relationship between this small cauldron and the 'treasure map' the Iron Clothes Sect was seeking?

Just then—

"You seek death!" Deng Geng, driven by rage, instantly transformed into an afterimage, a streak of silver-white sword light stabbing towards Teng Qingshan.

"Good timing!"

Teng Qingshan laughed loudly and charged towards the sword light.

"Clang!" Teng Qingshan raised his left hand to block, intending to engage Deng Geng in close combat, but as his hand blocked, his expression changed, "Not right!" This sword strike from Deng Geng felt surprisingly light, carrying very little force. It made Teng Qingshan's poised left hand feel like it had punched empty air.

Deng Geng executed a nimble retreat, a simple sidestep diagonally backward.

"Puff!" The Silver Scale Sword slashed diagonally, carrying a sharp surge of air blade.

Teng Qingshan immediately dropped to the ground, slamming his left palm hard onto the stone floor, causing the ground to explode and generating a powerful rebound force. Teng Qingshan shot out horizontally towards Deng Geng like a cannonball, twisting his abdomen simultaneously, channeling all his strength into his right leg, which he kicked out viciously.

"Clang!" Deng Geng seemed to have anticipated this move from Teng Qingshan and had long since moved away; instead, the Silver Scale Sword slashed towards Teng Qingshan's neck.

"Something is wrong!" Teng Qingshan was startled inwardly. This exchange was completely different from the last one.

Although the opponent didn't seem to have improved, somehow... all his attacks fell completely under the opponent's control, as if the opponent knew every move beforehand. Teng Qingshan felt something and glanced at Deng Geng's eyes. Deng Geng's eyes lacked luster, appearing somewhat dim.

"The State of Selflessness!" Teng Qingshan was alarmed internally.

"Whoosh!" A fierce sword light instantly pierced toward his chest.

Teng Qingshan slapped hard onto the spine of the sword with his right palm, then gracefully flashed aside, but the opponent's Silver Scale Sword drew an arc and enveloped Teng Qingshan once more.

Retreat! Step after step backward!

"This Deng Geng is truly fighting for his life," Teng Qingshan grew anxious.

He had read the Profound Moon Spear Canon and knew the necessary steps after reaching the Xiantian realm. For instance, one must achieve the 'Subtlety' realm so that the spirit can break through the 'Mud Pill Palace' for a chance to step into the 'Xiantian Virtual Core' realm. This meant... all those in the Xiantian Virtual Core realm had achieved the 'Subtlety' realm.

To reach the 'Solid Core' realm, one had to grasp either the 'State of Selflessness' or the 'State of True Self'.

The 'Selflessness' and 'True Self' states, grasping either one, would quickly lead to the 'Xiantian Solid Core' level. However, there were still differences between 'Selflessness' and 'True Self'.

The State of Selflessness is less difficult; if one cultivates the 'State of Selflessness,' the possibility of reaching the 'Xiantian Golden Core' later will be extremely low. In the 'State of Selflessness,' a person's mind is focused solely on combat, determined to kill the opponent at all costs, even willing to suffer severe injuries like losing a limb to achieve the kill.

In the State of Selflessness, to put it accurately, reason no longer exists.

The State of True Self is much more difficult, and the possibility of reaching the 'Xiantian Golden Core' later is much higher. In the State of True Self, the combat awareness is no less than in the State of Selflessness, yet reason is retained.

...

Once fully immersed in the 'State of Selflessness,' one becomes a fighting maniac!

"This Deng Geng is really going all out; he won't rest until he kills me."

Puff!

A sword shadow sliced across Teng Qingshan's abdomen, tearing his clothes. It even left a scratch mark on the 'Profound Iron Inner Armor'.

Thousands of sword lights enveloped Teng Qingshan, making him appear somewhat battered amidst the flurry.

"I can't keep this up," Teng Qingshan grew desperate. His physical strength, combined with the explosive power contained within the 'Xiantian Virtual Core', was comparable to a master of the 'Xiantian Solid Core'. However... in terms of realm, he was lacking. He didn't understand the 'State of Selflessness' at all, nor the 'State of True Self'.

According to the descriptions in the Profound Moon Spear Canon:

Whether it is 'Selflessness' or 'True Self', both represent the ultimate combat awareness, allowing one to perfectly execute the sword arts, spear arts, etc., that one knows. Furthermore, the application of Xiantian True Essence reaches its pinnacle, and the spatial grasp of the two combatants is extremely accurate. One can even predict the opponent's next attack.

It could be said that:

Both 'Selflessness' and 'True Self' allow one to exert personal strength to its absolute peak! The 'True Self' only has the added component of rationality compared to 'Selflessness'.

"I would rather face someone cultivating 'True Self' than someone cultivating 'Selflessness'; he is currently a robot, a madman." Teng Qingshan executed a sudden, swift flip, simultaneously slamming both fists down onto the ground like a pair of iron hammers, resulting in a deafening crash!

It was like a clap of thunder exploding beside the ears!

The earth violently ruptured, and because Teng Qingshan controlled it intentionally, most of the stones shot towards Deng Geng.

"Time to go!" Teng Qingshan immediately fled down the mountain.

"Don't run!" Deng Geng, with grayed-out eyes, roared like a beast and charged through the barrage of random stones, transforming into a streak of light speeding after Teng Qingshan.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

One in front, one behind. Deng Geng was a Xiantian Solid Core expert and also excelled in Qinggong (light footwork). But strangely... the distance between them was rapidly increasing.

"A madman! Even entering the 'State of Selflessness,' linear escape speed shouldn't increase this much." Teng Qingshan moved like lightning. He was now a Xiantian expert! Therefore... he could finally unleash the second layer of Qinggong he learned in his previous life, the Boundless Horizon Travel.

Boundless Horizon Travel is divided into three layers: three sets of footwork diagrams and six sets of meridian diagrams.

The second layer can only be used upon reaching the Xiantian realm.

The speed of the first layer was already astonishing; when the second layer was employed, combined with Teng Qingshan's monstrous physique, Deng Geng could only watch helplessly as Teng Qingshan disappeared from his line of sight. After chasing wildly for a while more, Deng Geng finally stopped, and clarity returned to his eyes.

"He got away!" Deng Geng was filled with uncontrollable rage, his eyes faintly reddening, "The Kyushu Cauldron! So close to obtaining it!!!" The Iron Clothes Sect had labored for over a thousand years, enduring so much hardship! Moreover, Deng Geng had overlooked the small cauldron when it was right under his nose; only upon seeing the black iron treasure map did he realize the cauldron's special nature. By the time he decided to take it... someone else had already taken it!

Everything was too late!

He had obtained the black iron treasure map in vain, unable to access Emperor Yu's treasure, as the map clearly stated, 'Those who force entry will surely die.'

"Ahhhh..." Deng Geng roared, wildly hacking at his surroundings with the Silver Scale Sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Rocks shattered, and a large cluster of nearby trees collapsed. Deng Geng's face contorted in rage as he roared, "Sect Master of the Sky Hawk Sect, I will tear you to pieces!" His roar echoed through the desolate mountain forest, frightening many fierce beasts and venomous snakes into fleeing.