Chapter 308: The Vast Qi of Mountains and Rivers, the Grand Way of the Son of Heaven

That aura, vast and majestic, carrying the righteous path of the Dao, settled upon Li Guanyi—and though he had been utterly exhausted, he suddenly recovered swiftly, until he reached his peak condition, then stopped.

He remained at the Fifth Heaven Realm, without breaking through.

The great cauldron rang out nine times.

The qi and fortune of the mountains, rivers, and myriad people, previously elevated step by step by the Ancient Taigu Chilong and Li Guanyi through the principles of the Ping family, military parade, uniform cart tracks, standardized writing, and unified measurements, flowed like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, pouring into the massive bronze cauldron.

One of the Nine Cauldrons glowed brilliantly; the map of mountains and rivers engraved upon its body shimmered with flowing light, its power growing ever more vast and mighty.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed.

The immense qi and fortune of the mountains, rivers, and myriad people coalesced into a pillar of fortune-light.

It erupted from the cauldron's body, surging upward toward the heavens—every sorcerer and alchemist who practiced the Art of Gazing at Qi stared up in shock, unable to explain this transformation with any of their learned methods.

Li Guanyi felt this change was familiar; after a moment's thought, he realized—wasn't this just like the Nine Cauldrons inside him, absorbing the scattered primordial qi from Brother Yue and the others, storing it up, then reversing and pouring it back into him?

"So that's how it is…"

Li Guanyi pulled his hand away from the bronze cauldron, staggered two steps, sat down on the ground, exhaled deeply, and watched as the Nine Cauldrons merged into the trajectory of the mountains, rivers, and myriad people's fortune—finally relaxing, he murmured to himself:

"My previous usage was completely wrong."

"When I used the Nine Cauldrons to aid a single person's cultivation, didn't I forget something?"

"What do the words 'Nine Cauldrons' truly represent?"

"This isn't a legend tied to individual martial prowess."

"Using a bull to kill a chicken is an understatement—this is like using my great-grandfather's sword to swat a mosquito…"

Li Guanyi was exhausted, yet fulfilled.

His mind was clear and empty.

"What truly satisfies the Nine Cauldrons is not martial experts or the Ancient Taigu Chilong—no, not even my great-grandfather's peerless sword intent—but the qi of the myriad people and the state."

"It shouldn't reverse the gathered qi and pour it into me to boost my cultivation."

"It should be like this: gathering the primordial qi and fortune that would otherwise leak away uselessly into heaven and earth, refining and strengthening it with divine weapon power, then returning it to the people."

"Like 【Gathering Grain】 and 【Cooking Food】."

"After all, it's a cauldron."

Li Guanyi reached out, clenched his five fingers tightly, and laughed heartily:

"Stabilize a land, to nourish the myriad people!"

"This is the true Dao!"

"Fool."

Li Guanyi heard a curse, then saw the silver-haired man crossing his arms, the Whale Fisher having completed the Murong family's Magma Core Array, watching Li Guanyi, then pressing a hand on his shoulder—knowing at once the boy was still Fifth Heaven.

Hah, this kid's really dumb—he got nothing out of it.

The Whale Fisher should have mocked him loudly.

The more this kid suffered, the more pleased he'd be.

Yet right now, he felt a burning rage inside.

A sense of frustration at wasted potential, teeth clenched, he sneered: "Too bad—this is done, and you didn't follow the Son of Heaven Divine Art—you're still Fifth Heaven."

"If you'd chosen the Son of Heaven Divine Art, you'd already be Sixth Heaven."

"Gathering Imperial Dragon Qi grants strength in offense, defense, and more."

"As your territory and people grow larger and more numerous, your power will grow with them."

"The Master Realm barrier, which blocks nine out of ten martial cultivators, won't be a problem."

"Unlike now—you expended so much effort and gained nothing. Was it worth it?"

Li Guanyi, having just understood the Nine Cauldrons' operation and the reason for his sudden cultivation surge, tilted his head: "Are you concerned about me?"

The Whale Fisher's temple veins bulged.

"Bullshit!"

Li Guanyi burst into laughter, leaning against the now-silent furnace, utterly weary yet deeply satisfied: "I never sought that. Now, this outcome means the people's fortune wasn't stolen from them—this is good."

The silver-haired Whale Fisher looked at him: "Was it worth it?"

Qin Wu Hou extended his hand and spoke softly:

"I too wish to ask 'them' that question."

"But I answer you this way."

"Why must I seek approval from the world's judgment of worth or worthlessness?"

"The spirit within our hearts—ordinary people cannot understand. If they say it's not worth it, is it truly not worth it? Who says it isn't? The world moves forward precisely because people like us do what the world deems worthless."

"Not worth it?"

"Ha—bullshit!"

The Whale Fisher sneered: "What meaning is there in expending such effort?"

Li Guanyi replied: "The meaning is that one day, there will be no beggars."

The Whale Fisher's expression froze.

Despite the solemn atmosphere, Master Siming couldn't help laughing—the Black Tortoise chuckled too; this boy's demeanor, his mouth—perfectly suited to the Yin-Yang School.

He looks innocent, yet one sentence can shatter a Dao heart.

No wonder he was raised by Murong Qiushui.

No wonder the old man climbed the wall to find him back then.

The Whale Fisher sneered. Li Guanyi extended his hand, fingers slightly open, gazing at the cauldron—when suddenly his palm grew heavy, and a wine gourd was placed into it. The silver-haired man fell silent, murmuring: "... Though I don't know if you'll succeed…"

"But your nature—good."

The atmosphere between them seemed to soften considerably.

It was no longer like before, with mutual confrontation.

Li Guanyi laughed loudly, tipped back his cup, staggered to his feet, and stared at the cauldron, curious about its purpose; the effort spent forging it had been immense. He turned and walked out, but had taken only a few steps when he suddenly sensed something amiss.

Hum!!!

Inside his body, the bronze cauldron, and the nine cauldrons over there, all roared in unison. The Whale Fisher and Master Siming both heard a low dragon's roar; on the boy's body, layers of crimson scales surfaced, slowly solidifying into the Crimson Dragon Manifestation.

The Crimson Dragon Manifestation circled Li Guanyi, stirring up layer upon layer of aura waves, drifting slowly with an air of noble dignity. The dragon's roar continued, then it rose, veered away from Li Guanyi, and lunged straight for the aura column of one of the nine cauldrons.

The Crimson Dragon Manifestation flew into it.

It did not absorb or control the aura, but danced within the column, guiding its flow. Another sword cry rang out — before Li Guanyi appeared the divine weapon, Chi Xiao Sword, which also plunged into the column, just as the bronze cauldron's inner space had done before.

Divine weapon, manifestation, aura.

The three harmonized.

Master Siming nearly pulled out his beard, his expression solemn: "What is this?"

"The Son of Heaven Divine Art?"

"No, not that. It's not that brutal."

He could feel the aura's transformation — it had not diminished, but grown purer.

It was not the path of the Son of Heaven, plundering the people's vitality to nourish oneself.

It was the path of walking alongside the mountains, rivers, and people.

It seemed similar, but fundamentally different: one seizes the qi of all living beings and concentrates it upon a single person to achieve supreme dominion; the other walks the Dao alongside the people, existing with them.

Within boundless aura, radiant light gathered the people's vitality — the people enjoyed peace, yet still remembered the boy's name, hence this transformation: not one-sided plunder, but mutual fulfillment.

The Crimson Dragon glided within the aura column, guiding its ascent, stretching its body, its roar rising higher and higher, merging with the booming of the great cauldrons, as if heaven and earth had aligned.

At the same time, it resonated in harmony with Chi Xiao Sword.

Eight hundred years ago, the first Red Emperor was filled with heroic spirit.

Yet over eight centuries of the Red Emperor lineage, sediment and change had inevitably accumulated.

Such changes would also affect Chi Xiao Sword.

On Chi Xiao Sword, light flowed, gradually washing away eight centuries of accumulated negativity, while the Crimson Dragon's roar never ceased. Li Guanyi noticed, within the nine cauldrons, a surge of golden-red primordial energy emerging.

It was the vast primordial energy of the Ancient Crimson Dragon.

And the Ancient Crimson Dragon's eight-hundred-year lifespan.

This force surged directly into the Crimson Dragon Manifestation.

With this power, the Crimson Dragon Manifestation, amid its roar, layered its scales with flowing light, flames blazing fiercely — then the flames gradually receded, and the scales took on faint golden hues, rising within the aura, noble beyond words.

A royal bearing seemed to flicker into being.

Then, together with the divine weapon, it flew toward Li Guanyi and surged into his body.

Li Guanyi's fifth-layer-peak internal energy instantly churned.

Dragon roars never ceased; sword cries rang high — the so-called barrier.

One step shattered it!

Sixth-layer-beginning, sixth-layer-mid — passed in an instant.

Only after Master Siming and the Whale Fisher sealed the escaping aura around them did they look over together, both momentarily stunned — seeing Li Guanyi standing there, black hair slightly lifted, the original Crimson Dragon Manifestation transformed.

The Crimson Dragon's antlers extended, growing immense.

Its scales glowed with golden-red fire; its twin golden vertical pupils gazed calmly ahead.

Master Siming stared at the Crimson Dragon's claws.

"Five claws…"

"Scales glowing gold."

This was the Crimson Dragon Manifestation of the ancient Red Emperor.

The Whale Fisher noticed Li Guanyi's internal energy had reached the absolute limit of the sixth layer — immensely potent and dominant. The Crimson Dragon Manifestation circled him, now infinitely close to reality, nearly matching the effect achievable by a Qizhongtian Sect master.

Above the sixth layer lay the Master realm — a dividing line.

It had blocked countless sixth-layer warriors.

For instance, among the Divine Generals List.

Aside from Generals Ling Pingyang and a handful of others, all generals ranked within the top hundred of the Divine Generals List were at sixth-layer internal energy levels; even some who lacked qualification to enter the top hundred warlords of this chaotic age had spent decades refining their sixth-layer skills.

But generals of the Master realm on the Divine Generals List were already among the top thirty.

In three hundred years of chaos, with constant warfare, only this many had emerged.

Clearly, how difficult it was.

To break through this step could no longer be achieved by mere foundation or potent internal energy alone — one needed pure inner resolve, and countless opportunities — exceedingly hard.

Yet despite this, the Whale Fisher and Master Siming could sense that Li Guanyi's foundation, though sixth-layer, was in an extraordinarily deep and solid state. After a long while, the cauldron's roar gradually subsided.

The golden-pupiled, five-clawed Crimson Dragon Manifestation slowly circled, gazing at the Whale Fisher and Master Siming, then shifted from solid to ethereal, fading slowly from view, retreating into Li Guanyi's body.

Li Guanyi retracted his manifestation, clenched his fist, hesitated slightly.

He looked at the Whale Fisher: "I broke through, Elder."

The silver-haired man fell silent.

At a loss for words.

…………………………

The Whale Fisher, Elder Murong, and Master Siming explored Li Guanyi's condition, confirmed no lingering ill effects, and with their aid and the divine resonance of the Nine Cauldrons, Li Guanyi largely understood his current state.

He had broken through due to the convergence of primordial energy during the cauldron's forging.

He had not followed the Son of Heaven Divine Art.

Yet for various reasons, he possessed the Crimson Dragon Manifestation, Chi Xiao Sword, and the great momentum of the mountains, rivers, and people — and thus had coalesced a manifestation resembling the Son of Heaven Divine Art.

Pseudo–Son of Heaven Divine Art!

The Chi Xiao Sword now revealed its true form, and its manipulation became as effortless as extending one's own limbs; the Taigu Chilong Manifestation likewise transformed, each punch and kick far more formidable than before, and even the temperature of the flames it spat increased dramatically.

And this was due to the Nine Cauldrons.

Li Guanyi could also receive the bolstering power of the mountains, rivers, and the people's will.

In other words, within his own territory versus elsewhere.

Li Guanyi's combat power operated at two distinct levels.

In present-day Jiangnan, where the four corners were pacified, the great clans feared and submitted, and the people loved him, Li Guanyi's prestige was extremely high; the young man felt he was now terrifyingly strong.

Li Guanyi estimated that even if Brother Yue came, he could still be crushed into the ground by Li Guanyi.

But once he left the range of Jiangnan's Nine Cauldrons, beyond this territory and its supporting people, Li Guanyi's strength would plummet rapidly, becoming merely a sixth-layer Martial Cultivator with slightly more solid foundations.

The difference in impact was this great.

After discussing with Yan Daiqing, the head of the Agrarian School, he discovered that once one of the Nine Cauldrons was forged, it indeed enhanced crop growth rates—though not reaching one-tenth.

Yet spread across Jiangnan's two-thousand-li territory, it was still a tremendous improvement.

The Agrarian School nearly went ecstatic.

He then inquired of Motian Sect's leader, Ximen Hengrong, who was astonished, verified it, and found that children's martial progress had slightly accelerated.

Even Lei Laomeng remarked, no wonder the pigs had been gaining weight so fast lately.

Even the old cows were producing more milk.

We'll have more meat to eat during the New Year!

Li Guanyi pondered, wrote a letter to the Mo Juzi still at the Imperial Academy, saying that forging a colossal divine weapon might enrich the people's livelihood, but its myriad effects were uncertain, and he hoped the Mo Juzi would come to observe.

His words were earnest, humble, like a junior seeking guidance from a senior.

The Mo Juzi came gladly.

He had expected merely a simple consultation, but upon confirming that this colossal cauldron absorbed and exhaled Qi, channeling it to the people and bringing myriad benefits across the entire Jiangnan province, the Mo Juzi fell into stunned silence, as if his mind had been swept clean by a storm.

Stunned. Deep in thought. Doubtful.

Finally, he simply sat down right there and refused to leave.

Go back?

Go back where?

This is my home now!

In the instant he grasped the divine weapon's power, the Mo Juzi—who had previously carried himself with the calm, detached bearing of a patriarch—his eyes turned red, fixed on the cauldron as it absorbed and exhaled Qi, beginning to verify its divine capabilities.

"Is Gongyang Su Wang pressing? Pressing for what, old fool!"

"Tell him I'm not here!"

"I need to ponder this."

Finally, one of the six palace masters of the Imperial Academy placed a hand on the Nine Cauldron, his expression moved:

"The Nine Cauldrons…? I wish to understand what can enhance the Nine Cauldrons, strengthen their effects—there must be a way to determine it, then we can deliberately amplify the divine weapon's power."

"Yet such an artifact is a state's sacred relic."

"Such a weighty object cannot be entrusted to another."

"It should not be given to me to…"

Li Guanyi said: "I humbly request your aid, Mo Juzi."

The Mo Juzi paused, startled.

Seeing Li Guanyi place his hand upon the colossal cauldron, he said: "This artifact was forged for the people's use—why should I hoard it for myself? That would be a waste."

He bowed to the Mo Juzi, speaking slowly:

"Mo Juzi, your learning encompasses heaven and earth; the Mo School embraces universal love and non-aggression."

"I humbly request your aid."

"Let the Nine Cauldrons' benefits be maximized for the people."

The Mo Juzi stared at him for a long while, then rose, straightened his robes.

He returned the bow: "How could I refuse?"

Li Guanyi and the Mo Juzi instantly agreed.

Though he himself had forged the Nine Cauldrons and could make them absorb and exhale Qi,

his fine-tuning, enhancements, and refinements would surely fall short of these Mo School disciples. That day, one of the six palace masters of the Imperial Academy—the Mo Juzi—took up permanent residence beside one of the Nine Cauldrons; the old master had nearly glimpsed the ultimate ideal of the Mo School.

The Mo Juzi Sword was placed directly at the entrance.

Whoever dared lay hands on the Nine Cauldrons

would face the wrath of the Mo School's foremost Mo Juzi.

Li Guanyi thus felt at ease, ready to depart for the Western Regions. One of the Nine Cauldrons absorbed and exhaled Qi; after the Ancient Taigu Chilong had aided him that day, it had inexplicably departed—but Li Guanyi could faintly sense a hidden connection between this Nine Cauldron and the Ancient Taigu Chilong.

The Fire Qilin Army and Tiance Prefecture had already selected those who would accompany Li Guanyi to the Western Regions.

They were now preparing.

Li Guanyi himself studied his great-grandfather's sword manual, learning additional sword techniques, so he would not be unprepared in the Western Regions; within Jiangnan, under the Nine Cauldrons' blessing, even ordinary sword techniques gained miraculous efficacy.

Outside the Nine Cauldrons' range, it would be different.

"Unless… another cauldron is forged in the Western Regions."

As Li Guanyi flipped through the sword manual, his thoughts drifted aimlessly—he could sense that though the Jiangnan Cauldron was powerful, it carried a faint sense of incompleteness, as if something were missing.

This was natural.

The Jiangnan Cauldron was merely one-ninth of the spiritual imprint of the Nine Cauldrons within his body, blended with the Qi of mountains, rivers, and the people's fortune—it could not be complete or true.

"What if another Nine Cauldron were forged elsewhere?"

"If the Nine Tripods from different regions were connected, would something special happen?"

"Resonance?"

"What if the entire realm were divided into nine parts, each named after one of the Nine Tripods?"

"Could we gain the support of the people in each region, blend the golden metals of the Nine Tripods, and cast nine great tripods, each carrying one-ninth of the divine essence of the Nine Tripods, then place them across the realm—would this aura array that now envelops Jiangnan then envelop the whole world?"

"Unification of the realm, the four seas as one..."

Li Guanyi propped his chin, lost in aimless thought.

Poke!

A finger poked Li Guanyi's forehead.

Cool.

It roused him from his reverie. He looked up to see a girl in the long robe of an Astrologer crouching before him, her finger damp with water, gently tapping his brow. The silver-haired girl spoke quietly:

"Auntie wants you to come."

"She cooked for you herself today."

"Alright."

Li Guanyi nodded with a smile.

After casting the Nine Tripods, Li Guanyi had been busy—either at Tiance Prefecture or beside the Tripods. Now that the Tripods had settled completely, he should go see Auntie and the others. But as he rose with a smile, his gaze sharpened.

He looked at the silver-haired girl.

Perhaps because of casting the Nine Tripods, or perhaps because he was in Jiangnan, or perhaps because he now bore the 【Pseudo-Son of Heaven Divine Art】, Li Guanyi's pupils naturally held a warm, luminous aura—he now saw things he had never seen before.

Yao Guang was wrapped in a soft glow of starlight.

Brilliant and pure.

Just like the feeling she gave.

Yet within that starlight flowed a strand of ink-dark radiance—hidden, faintly echoing the same sensation as 【Qi-Yun】 and 【Ten Thousand People】. Only after bearing the Qi-Yun of the Ten Thousand People and the power of the Nine Tripods could Li Guanyi perceive it.

Even Master Siming, Elder Murong of the martial legends, and the Whale Fisher seemed unable to sense this.

How could Yao Guang have this?

Li Guanyi lowered his gaze slightly and reached out to grasp the girl's finger that had poked his forehead.

Then he stood up.

When they first met, Li Guanyi was barely taller than Yao Guang.

Now that he stood, she reached only to his chest. Li Guanyi held her hand in his left, his gaze fixed on the murky strand of Ten Thousand People's Qi-Yun upon her, while his right hand reached up and pressed upon her head.

The silver-haired girl froze.

Li Guanyi's fingers seized that strand of ink-dark radiance. In an instant, the Nine Tripods roared. He seemed to hear countless voices, in different tongues, chanting—a sound seemingly from far beyond:

There, deserts. There, raging sands.

There, scattered sects hidden across distant lands.

In that instant, Li Guanyi knew its origin—

【Mo Sect】.

Combining what the Whale Fisher had said, Li Guanyi immediately understood the origin of this force within Yao Guang. Within the range of the Nine Tripods' divine aura array, his perception had surged. Focusing his spirit, he heard faint voices:

Two people—a man and a woman—were speaking.

The man said: "Has the 【Weapon】 arrived?"

The woman replied coolly: "It will come. Don't worry. According to our intelligence, the 【Weapon】, for reasons unknown, has now become associated with Qin Wu Hou. Given the current tide of events, there's an eighty percent chance Qin Wu Hou will come to the Western Regions."

"You're well-informed."

The woman sighed: "It's not that I see clearly. Before this happened, I couldn't have devised a strategy. But now that the realm's tide has shifted to this level, giving a hindsight prediction isn't hard."

"Yet the difference between a genius and a fool lies in predicting the strategy before the event, not after."

The aged man's voice said: "Hmph. Forget your fool and genius talk."

"We imitated the 【Son of Heaven Divine Art】, using that 【Material】 as a vessel for a divine weapon. We channeled our Holy Sect's centuries of accumulated popular support into her as Qi-Yun—so the girl could become a peerless master."

"A tool without emotion, obeying only orders."

"But we'd barely erased her emotional fluctuations when someone broke in. Even if the Whale Fisher acted thoroughly, he couldn't kill all of us. We have countless disciples—he can't kill them all."

"He hid the 【Weapon】 among the Shiwaisan Sect, then went around killing people. But what does it matter? If the 【Weapon】 comes to the Western Regions with Qin Wu Hou, once he steps into this land, we'll detect it. The traces left by the Great Sacrifice Ritual can still control it."

The woman asked: "What about the Whale Fisher?"

The old man sneered: "With the prophecy from the Wan Mingyi lineage, the Whale Fisher will die by his daughter's hand. If the 【Weapon】 strikes him, he won't retaliate at once."

"A beggar who wandered his whole life—dying at his daughter's hands."

"A fitting end."

They spoke of the 【Weapon】.

Unaware that their conversation was known to Li Guanyi, who bore the Qi-Yun of Shanhe and the Ten Thousand People. Li Guanyi's eyes lowered slightly.

The silver-haired girl looked up at him calmly, her eyes clear.

"How long are you going to keep touching?"

Li Guanyi paused, then smiled faintly: "There's a bug on your head."

He raised his hand, fingers together.

The majestic aura of Chixiao Sword transformed into golden-red light.

It sliced gently.

Simultaneously, the Qi-Yun of over two thousand li of Jiangnan surged from the Nine Tripods, converging upon him in an instant—just one sword stroke severed the radiance. The majestic flame of Chixiao Sword reversed and surged upward, refusing to cease, following the strand of radiance.

Meanwhile, within the Mystical Realm of the Xiyumo Sect, an old man and a woman were discussing past matters—merely intending to control the 【Weapon】 to fulfill their centuries-old plan—when suddenly they sensed something wrong.

The control over the 【Weapon】 maintained by their array suddenly snapped.

The old man froze for an instant, then suddenly saw the ink-colored radiance, representing the collective wishes of the Mo Sect's faithful, burst into flame, and at the same time, a sound seemed to descend—cold, indifferent, vast and boundless—from those countless wishes—

"Cut!"

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