Teng Qingshan, who had just finished dinner and was studying the 'Subtlety' and 'True Self Realm,' looked up instantly, leaping up with joy to greet them: “Uncle, Qingyu and I were planning to head back for the New Year sacrifice days anyway. Come, sit down and rest first.”
“Qingshan, I have urgent news.”
Teng Yonglei’s face was etched with anxiety. A youth beside him urged, “Brother Qingshan, people from Green Lake Island have visited our Teng Family Village.”
Teng Qingshan’s initial joy vanished, his expression instantly changing. “Uncle, what exactly happened?”
“It happened just before lunch today! Green Lake Island sent about a hundred heavy cavalrymen, likely from their Silver Dragon Army. Those men took three hunters from various villages. They demanded three from our Teng Family Village too! If they had let us choose, we wouldn't be this frantic. But, the leader of the Green Lake Island soldiers specifically named your father, and Qinghao, demanding to take them! Your father isn’t a hunter, and they want to take everyone—we all feel something is terribly wrong. As soon as those men left, the Old Clan Elder sent us here to report.”
“Father was taken? How dare those people from Green Lake Island forcibly take Father?” Qingyu cried out in distress.
“The three people they took were your father, Qinghao, and your Great Uncle Yongxiang,” Teng Yonglei stated.
Hearing this, a wave of fury surged within Teng Qingshan.
The people of Green Lake Island were bullying them right on their doorstep, yet clearly, in the eyes of the colossal Green Lake Island, a mere Teng Qingshan was utterly insignificant.
“The worst part!” Teng Yonglei continued. “The Old Clan Elder mentioned your name at the time! But those Green Lake Island people, upon hearing your name, still insisted on taking your father and the other two.”
Though furious and anxious, Teng Qingshan’s mind raced, analyzing the situation.
If they were capturing hunters for labor, ordinarily, knowing that the father of a Houtian expert was among them, they would show respect and not take him. After all, capturing a Houtian expert’s father was tantamount to making an enemy of that expert.
“The people of Green Lake Island—how shameless can they be?” Teng Qingshan was enraged. “Could it be… they think that since I reached the Houtian realm at seventeen, I pose too great a threat, yet they dare not storm the Guiyuan Sect directly… so they captured my father to deliberately lure me out?” Teng Qingshan could not conceive of any other possibility.
“The dignified leader among the Eight Great Sects, acting with such petty depravity?”
Teng Qingshan misjudged Green Lake Island; their high leadership had not sunk to such depths, and they were unaware that people like Teng Yongfan had even been captured. This was merely the unauthorized action of Gu Shiyou, consumed by jealousy.
“Qingshan, your father and the others… they’ll be alright, won’t they?” Teng Yonglei and the others looked to Teng Qingshan.
“Everyone, don’t worry too much. Green Lake Island is also one of the Eight Great Sects; they shouldn’t be so utterly dishonorable,” Teng Qingshan said aloud, yet the situation involved his father, his kin! He could not be at ease. He immediately commanded, “Issue the order! The personal guard unit is to assemble in the front courtyard. We depart immediately!”
“Yes, Commander!”
Shouts echoed nearby. The soldiers of the personal guard unit within the mansion began packing their belongings and weapons, preparing for departure.
“Uncle, I will take men back right away. You have traveled over three hundred li; you must be tired. Rest until tomorrow morning,” Teng Qingshan suggested.
“No, I can’t be at ease about this; we go together,” Teng Yonglei insisted.
Teng Qingshan nodded. “Very well. We will travel through the night.”
“Brother, I’m coming with you too,” Teng Qingyu said, her eyes growing red with worry for her father—the father who had cherished and cared for her since childhood!
Teng Qingshan immediately returned to his room and quickly packed the Reincarnation Spear, the wineskin containing the Vermillion Fruit Wine, and other necessities into his satchel.
“Green Lake Island, I hope you haven’t truly lost your minds!” Teng Qingshan narrowed his eyes, then turned to retrieve the human-skin masks, the ‘Skyhawk Claw’ gloves, and the leather sheath containing throwing knives from the chest, placing them all into the satchel. This satchel was custom-made for Teng Qingshan.
It was constructed from Sky Silkworm thread material, offering exceptional resilience.
Shouldering the satchel, Teng Qingshan, clad in his green robes, swiftly left his room. Then, leading his sister, Teng Yonglei, and a few others, he commanded the hundred soldiers of his personal guard unit and quickly departed the mansion, exiting the East City Gate. They rushed through the night toward Teng Family Village.
Night, Jiangning County, Zhuge Yuanhong’s study.
The candlelight was dim. Only two figures occupied the study: Zhuge Yuanhong, and a middle-aged man in gray robes.
“Sect Master!” the gray-robed man presented a secret letter, “This is urgent news just received from Yuzhou.”
“Oh?” Zhuge Yuanhong took it with a frown as he unfolded it.
“You should look at this too,” Zhuge Yuanhong passed it over.
The gray-robed man glanced at it and looked at Zhuge Yuanhong in astonishment. “Sect Master, the reason the Green Lake Island army is camped at Great Yan Mountain is because of the Yu Emperor’s Treasure? Ever since the Yu Emperor passed, the world has been fragmented. Although the Yu Emperor’s Treasure has always been rumored, no one has discovered it in thousands of years!”
Zhuge Yuanhong nodded slightly. “Initially, when I saw the massive Green Lake Island army stationed at Great Yan Mountain, I assumed they had discovered some mineral deposit or similar. Now, it seems we were deceived.”
The principle of ‘What is real, feign it to be false; what is false, feign it to be real.’ Combined with the fact that the Yu Emperor’s Treasure had remained unfound for millennia, no one would have suspected that specific matter.
“However, the arrival of this news is suspicious,” Zhuge Yuanhong frowned. “According to the secret letter, this information spread almost instantly throughout the Royal City of Yuzhou. If my estimation is correct… this news likely hasn't spread only in the Yuzhou Royal City. It should have spread to the Carefree Palace, Manichaean Temple, Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain, the Ying Family, Hongtian City, and the Snow Eagle Cult (Snow Eagle Gate)—these six locations as well.”
On the land of the Nine Provinces, the most powerful entities were the Eight Great Sects.
And Green Lake Island ranked toward the back among them. The strongest of the Eight Great Sects was undoubtedly the ‘Manichaean Temple,’ followed by the ‘Yu Emperor Gate’ and the ‘Ying Family.’ Then came the other five major sects. Of course, these five had their specialties. The ‘Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain,’ famed throughout the world for its divine archery, resided in the southernmost Yanzhou, whom even the Yu Emperor Gate and the Ying Family were reluctant to provoke.
As for the Snow Eagle Gate, possessing a religious nature, it was located in the far north in Yanzhou, a land of severe cold. Constantly engaged in fierce battles with the nomadic tribes of the grasslands, their people were notoriously savage. Coupled with their religious zeal, one could imagine the sect's fanaticism.
“Sect Master, are you suggesting? Someone intentionally spread the news, relaying it to the other seven great sects?” the gray-robed man asked.
“Yes,” Zhuge Yuanhong nodded. “The news is suspicious; someone is deliberately spreading it. There are two possibilities: first, the matter of the Yu Emperor’s Treasure is true! The person spreading the news seeks revenge against Green Lake Island. Second, the news is false. In that case, the messenger likely harbors different ambitions.”
“But since this matter is spreading widely, even mentioning the ‘Yu Emperor’s Treasure,’ I estimate there is a sixty percent chance it is true,” Zhuge Yuanhong concluded.
“Sect Master, this is the Yu Emperor’s Treasure! Our Guiyuan Sect…” The gray-robed man’s eyes showed envy.
The Yu Emperor was the first unconquered expert in history to unify the realm and reach the supreme pinnacle.
“A snake attempting to swallow an elephant will only choke,” Zhuge Yuanhong chuckled lightly. “Our Guiyuan Sect has too few Houtian experts; that is not enough to stir up trouble. Let the Eight Great Sects wrestle over it…”
Yuzhou. Royal City.
There were two Royal Cities in the world: one was Yu City, and the other was Qin King City. In terms of historical depth, Yu City was naturally superior.
In the very center of Yu City stood the ‘Yu Emperor Palace,’ the ancestral stronghold of the Yu Emperor Gate. Since the realm fractured, the core disciples and armies of the Yu Emperor Gate resided within this palace. Fortunately, the Yu Emperor Palace occupied an immense area, housing hundreds of thousands of people without feeling crowded.
Yu Emperor Gate. Nine Cauldrons Hall.
Rows of dark chairs were arranged, upon which sat numerous masters. A black-haired man, clad in a black robe trimmed with gold, sat high upon the throne. At this moment, the doors of the Nine Cauldrons Hall were tightly shut.
“Gate Master, the news that the Yu Emperor’s Treasure is located at Great Yan Mountain in Yicheng, Jiangning County, Yangzhou, has spread. According to what our spies discovered, news has spread to the Manichaean Temple, the Ying Family, and other sects across the land.” A thin, silver-haired, silver-robed elder sat in the primary seat below the Gate Master.
The black-haired man on the throne had eyes like crystal, seeming capable of peering into one's very soul. He smiled faintly. “From the moment our ancestor, the Yu Emperor, founded the Yu Emperor Gate until now, I am the 129th Gate Master! Our ancestor once said the Yu Emperor’s Treasure is hidden beneath the bottom of Tianhong Lake in Yicheng, Yangzhou. No disciple of the Yu Emperor Gate shall excavate it… those who trespass shall face death! It can only be obtained by the destined one… Surely you have not forgotten?”
“We dare not defy the Ancestor’s decree,” all occupants of the Nine Cauldrons Hall responded in unison.
Within the Yu Emperor Gate, any disciple who reached the Houtian realm was privy to some of the sect’s secrets… As the most ancient of the Eight Great Sects currently, it held many hidden secrets.
“Now that the Yu Emperor’s Treasure has been discovered, we shall watch the other seven great sects fight for it…”
“It will be another storm of blood and slaughter; who knows how many will die.”
The high-ranking members of the Yu Emperor Gate were content to watch the show.
“Hoo-ooo!”
Five snow eagles soared high above the grasslands. Five figures sat cross-legged on the backs of the eagles, which were rapidly flying south…
“Giddy up!” “Giddy up!”
Nine figures, clad in black robes and wearing golden masks, rode upon nine Blood Dragon Horses. The Blood Dragon Horses moved as swiftly as lightning, appearing only as streaks of shadow. The nine figures vanished at the end of the path.
As the foremost of the four supreme powerhouses throughout history, the ‘Yu Emperor’s’ treasure indeed attracted many powerful individuals. Whether from the Eight Great Sects or reclusive masters, some came to seize the treasure, while others came merely to watch the spectacle. But regardless of their purpose, these experts were swiftly heading toward Great Yan Mountain in Yicheng.
Teng Qingshan was unaware of the news regarding the Yu Emperor’s Treasure; his heart was filled with anxious worry for his father.
“Giddy up!” “Giddy up!”
Hooves kicked up dust. Teng Qingshan and his sister Qingyu led a large contingent, galloping for half the night.
“Qingshan, we’re here,” Teng Yonglei called out.
Teng Qingshan also saw the distant village—the hometown where he had lived for sixteen years. At this moment, torches were lit throughout Teng Family Village, visible as bright lights from afar.
“Qingshan, perhaps your father and the others have already returned,” Teng Yonglei said, sensing the worry in the hearts of the Teng Qingshan siblings.
The warhorses galloped, quickly reaching the main gate.
“Open the gate quickly!” Teng Yonglei shouted.
The clan members guarding the gate recognized the arrivals at a glance.
“Qingshan is back!”
“Qingshan is back!” the shouts echoed across the training grounds in the dark night sky.