Chapter 448: The Nine Cauldrons, the Third One!

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

"Help! It's bear death! No—cat death! Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

In the vast sky, a piercing yet oddly naive and cute scream spread in all directions; thick clouds and mist swirled like myriad mountains and rivers, as the Ancient Crimson Dragon streaked across the heavens at incredible speed.

Li Guanyi sat atop the Ancient Crimson Dragon.

The silver-haired girl leaned against the Nine-Colored Divine Deer.

The diminished Auspicious Iron-Eating Beast clung around Li Guanyi's calves with all four limbs, trembling violently, its eyes brimming with two large pools of tears—having voluntarily shrunk its body, it now resembled a black-and-white glutinous rice ball, dangling from Li Guanyi's legs.

Round. Bouncy.

Trembling in the wind.

The Ancient Crimson Dragon's joyful laughter and the Iron-Eating Beast's wails echoed across the heavens.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer's wind-riding speed was already swift, but the Ancient Crimson Dragon, as the strongest among the ancient cultivators and divine beasts of the primordial age, flew faster still than the Nine-Colored Divine Deer.

Yet the sensation was distinctly different.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer rode the wind with elegant slowness.

The Ancient Crimson Dragon had only speed.

Mountains and rivers seemed to shrink drastically; as the dragon surged forward at high velocity, the landscape beneath its belly blurred past like brushstrokes on a map—Jiangnan's rivers and peaks spun dizzyingly before the eyes.

Soon, the distinctive style of the southwest came into view.

The Ancient Crimson Dragon's vertical pupils glanced at the shrunken, trembling Iron-Eating Beast.

After all, it was the Nine-Colored Divine Deer's chosen child—【Body Sturdy】.

Thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, it had already recovered its composure.

A flicker of playful amusement passed through the dragon's eyes.

"Hold on tight."

Its voice fell.

The Iron-Eating Beast, curled into a ball and gripping Li Guanyi's legs, lifted its head in dazed confusion:

"What? What hold on tight? I'm not even sitting—"

"Eeeeyaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Too late.

The Ancient Crimson Dragon suddenly accelerated and twisted its body, diving downward with terrifying speed—faster than when it had flown from Jiangnan to the southwest—the gale tore through, blowing the Iron-Eating Beast's fur into a wild, spiky puff.

"Jiuli! Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

"It's too dangerous outside! I don't want Jiangnan bamboo anymore!"

"Take me with you, Jiuli!!!"

…………

Xuan Hu Shan Jun lay sprawled in the southwest forests; in autumn, the sacred groves had gradually turned red and gold, leaves of many hues drifting down in silence.

Xuan Hu lay on a rock by the river, watching a red leaf ripple the water's surface, counting the fish that rose to exhale tiny bubbles—somehow, it felt dull.

Xuan Hu Shan Jun swatted at the water with its paw, furrowed its brows, then suddenly spoke:

"That thing went to Jiangnan—could it really not want to come back?"

"There are all kinds of good things there."

Even the Sun Divine Bird had lost its spirit, perched atop Xuan Hu's head, listless: "Who knows? That thing's both greedy and lazy—maybe it's just staying there. I heard the bamboo there is thin and tender, and the bamboo shoots there have more juice than ours."

Xuan Hu angrily slapped the water.

The Sun Divine Bird flapped its wings, rose into the air, circled once, then landed again, preening its feathers as it comforted the sulking Xuan Hu Shan Jun: "Oh come now, at least it's unharmed. Just pretend it got snatched up by the Ancient Crimson Dragon!"

"Hmph, maybe it got eaten by the Ancient Crimson Dragon!"

The Sun Divine Bird, too, was angry at that thing that only ate and never sent word back. Xuan Hu said: "Your mouth's too harsh on it—but the Ancient Crimson Dragon's been gone so long, how could it possibly reappear so easily?"

"And even then, it'd have to run into it."

The Sun Divine Bird tilted its head stubbornly: "Maybe!"

"Who knows if it's possible?"

Just as Xuan Hu was about to speak, it heard a familiar scream from the sky. The Shan Jun, puzzled, looked up with the Sun Divine Bird—and suddenly, a flash of golden-red light plummeted from the heavens, crashing down in an instant.

Boom!!

A massive shockwave, a visible ripple of air, swept across the entire forest.

The river exploded, spraying water that instantly vaporized into vast clouds of mist from endless heat; golden-red scales, vertical pupils radiating threat and power, a sly smile.

Xuan Hu Shan Jun: "…………"

The Sun Divine Bird: "…………"

Xuan Hu's fur stood on end: "Y-you y-you!"

The most auspicious among auspicious beings, the divine beast among divine beasts!

Strength? It has strength. Auspiciousness? It has auspiciousness. Divine arts? It has divine arts. Symbolism? It has symbolism!

The Ancient Crimson Dragon!

The Ancient Crimson Dragon spotted its old friends and cheerfully said:

"Little cat, little bird, long time no see—you look delicious!"

The Sun Divine Bird rolled its eyes and toppled headfirst into the water, wings folded over its belly, eyes glazed, saliva drifting away with the current.

Snatched up by Xuan Hu Shan Jun's paw.

Xuan Hu Shan Jun, youngest yet most fierce, fur bristling, still bared its teeth and glared at the Ancient Crimson Dragon: "What do you want here?" The Ancient Crimson Dragon said:

"Hahaha, I just missed you two, came to pay a visit."

Xuan Hu Shan Jun said: "Don't fool me!"

"Are you here to fight?!"

The ancient red dragon's vertical pupils gazed down at the bristling Xuan Hu Shan Jun.

How interesting.

Just as he was considering whether to fight, Li Guanyi leapt down and said, "Stop, stop." Seeing Li Guanyi arrive, Xuan Hu Shan Jun relaxed slightly. Li Guanyi reached out, lifted the ball clinging to his legs like a pendant, and set it down.

The Southwest Auspicious Beast in its black-and-white ball form had nearly turned its eyes into spirals.

Its limbs hung limply, like a giant, fluffy mass.

Li Guanyi tucked the black-and-white ball under one arm and smiled.

"Yes, I came seeking help."

…………………

In the southwest, mountains and rivers abound, rich in metal and ore. The Southwest Auspicious Beast, also known as the Iron-Eating Beast, roams the four directions, seeking ancient metal artifacts left behind thousands of years ago by the eighty-one clans of the Jiuli tribe.

Li Guanyi also found, among the many strange beasts of this mountain and the former capital of Jiuli, the place where the Nine Southwest Ding were forged. The Iron-Eating Beast grumbled, "I told you—I don't have the ability to help you make something that powerful."

"But I can see if there's another way to help."

As it spoke, the Iron-Eating Beast rose onto its hind legs, bared its teeth, and personally opened a seal, stepping through the gap between two great mountains.

It was a vast space, surrounded by mountains, with rivers flowing through it.

Li Guanyi looked around and saw many traces of habitation: houses, bonfires, racks for drying fishing nets, and fields cleared for growing grain.

And a vast grove of bamboo.

All other plants had withered; only this bamboo grove grew ever more lush.

It was well preserved, as if its owner had only just left a few years ago.

Li Guanyi gazed at these ancient buildings, sensing their age and decay—so fragile that even a single strike with a divine weapon would cause them to crumble like dried sand. He said:

"This is…"

The ancient red dragon lowered its head and spoke slowly: "This was where the Jiuli tribe once ruled over its eighty-one clans. In other words, it was the first spark of civilization across these thousands of li of the southwest—and from this spark, it spread to all four directions."

"In the Central Plains, a place with this status would be Zhongzhou."

"That's why those fellows chose to place their capital there."

"It signifies inheriting the ancient civilization and its legacy."

"Hmph, I knew it—this round little Iron-Eating Beast knew of a good place."

Li Guanyi pondered, then nodded. The ancient red dragon, uninterested in changing form, still drifted slowly above the sky. The Iron-Eating Beast halted, lifted its head, and looked at Li Guanyi once more, carefully confirming:

"You want to forge that thing."

"After you forge it, will the people of the southwest live better?"

Li Guanyi nodded, answering frankly: "It will gather the human destiny qi scattered across the southwest and return it to the people. Then, their bodies, spirits, Wu Gong, every movement, will become smoother than before."

"Their resistance to plague and lifespan will both improve."

"In the past, this qi either dissipated naturally or was stolen by the Son of Heaven's supreme arts, used for one person alone. To forge this ding will return it to its rightful owners."

The Iron-Eating Beast nodded thoughtfully, pondering deeply for a very long time.

It sat there, its silhouette carrying loneliness and melancholy, as if remembering the ancient Jiuli.

Then it sighed sadly:

"But what you just said—"

"I don't understand."

"After all, I'm just a panda."

Li Guanyi: "…………"

The Sun Bird: "…………"

Xuan Hu Shan Jun couldn't help raising a front paw to cover its face.

The ancient red dragon burst into loud laughter, its voice shaking the land and sea, filled with delight, echoing through the mountains and rivers like rolling thunder, making their eardrums tremble and ache.

"Hahaha, interesting, interesting—so it really is you."

"All these years, apart from that Fire Qilin who ate itself to death, only you still bring this kind of fun."

The little Fire Qilin on Li Guanyi's shoulder stiffened.

The front of the Auspicious Beast paused, then turned to look at the heretic who even roasted bamboo shoots. On its now smaller, even more adorable face, it wore an expression of surprise, deep thought, and the triumphant look of someone who'd just uncovered damning evidence.

The little Fire Qilin angrily raised its front paws, struggling to protest:

"That wasn't me! It wasn't!"

"The one who ate itself to death wasn't me!"

"I ate that thing!"

"And I'm fine!"

The Southwest Auspicious Beast gave him a look of "I get it, I get it, no need to explain," saying: "It's fine—almost eating yourself to death while eating? That's normal, isn't it?"

"I get it, I get it!"

The little Fire Qilin froze: "…………"

"Huh? Normal?"

"That's… normal?"

The Southwest Auspicious Beast said to Li Guanyi: "Still, though I don't understand your complicated talk, I've seen what you've done."

"The people of Jiangnan live better than those in the southwest."

"If you can make the people here live as well as those in Jiangnan, I believe Jiuli would be happy."

"So I'll help you."

Li Guanyi nodded seriously. The Auspicious Beast led them to the heart of the ancient Jiuli lands, pointing to the massive bronze altar, still faintly showing its former grandeur and majesty: "This is the original forge."

"We found iron ore, then melted and cast it with the flame of the Sun Divine Bird."

"Finally, we forged weapon after weapon, armor after armor."

"The flame of Jiuli civilization was kindled here; Metal, among the Five Elements, forged Jiuli's weapons—but thousands of years ago, Jiuli's metal fell before the fire and earth of the Central Plains. Now, I have brought you here."

"You..."

The Auspicious One's voice fell silent; in its eyes, at last, a trace of sorrow, a hint of melancholy appeared.

Over thousands of years, the human world had seen countless Wang Hou and generals rise and fall; even beings like the Auspicious Divine Beast could not escape the gradual fading and smudging of memory through time.

But what remained after the fading and smudging were things one could never forget.

Its gaze swept across this place, as if still seeing the former splendor, the valiant warriors, the diligent clansfolk, and that mighty, unyielding king.

The Iron-Eating Beast tilted its head, as if still able to nudge against Jiuli's palm.

It stood here in silence for a long while, then whispered softly: "Jiuli."

"I will entrust to future generations the flame here, your flame. They will gather the people together—he says he wishes to unite your descendants with the descendants of those who once defeated you."

"The Li Min of the southwest, the common folk of the Central Plains."

Then it seemed to see Jiuli's face break into that familiar smile.

But after the illusion passed, only the desolation and solitude left by millennia of decay remained—precisely because of the former splendor, this solitude now burned all the more painfully.

The Iron-Eating Beast fell silent for a long while, then turned to look at Li Guanyi:

"You—cast the ding here."

Li Guanyi nodded. He saw the simple divine beast seemed strangely listless, and turned to the silver-haired girl who had remained quiet all along:

"Yao Guang."

The silver-haired girl nodded silently: "Mm."

Li Guanyi did not immediately cast the ding; instead, he first performed a ritual with Yao Guang, solemnly honoring the ancestors of this land.

Then, gathering the ritual iron and metal from the eighty-one tribes, he began forging the Nine Dings anew upon the very ground where Jiuli once forged divine weapons—in the original cradle of Jiuli and southwestern civilization.

The Sun Divine Bird opened its mouth and spat a stream of flame, yet the vast bronze altar did not fully ignite; the fierce golden fire caused the entire altar to glow gold-red, but only one-third of the engraved patterns lit up.

The Fire Qilin thought for a moment, then opened its mouth and exhaled Qilin Fire.

Another third of the patterns on the bronze altar glowed bright.

The Sun Divine Bird represented Heaven's Fire.

The Fire Qilin represented Auspicious Earth's Fire.

Together, these two flames should have been hot enough to melt iron, steel, and even mysterious weapons into liquid—how much more so a bronze altar from thousands of years ago—yet this ancient artifact merely glowed gold-red.

The Ancient Taigu Chilong clucked in wonder: "Fascinating, fascinating."

"Jiuli always made strange things."

Li Guanyi bent down, pressing his palm against the part of the bronze altar that had not yet been activated; he faintly sensed a thick flow of Human Dao energy within the massive altar.

It was this Human Dao fortune, having sunk into this land for thousands of years, that—through ancient arrays—repelled the flames' erosion, preserving the altar's original form even amid such fire.

The Ancient Taigu Chilong said: "Hmph. Jiuli's methods are not without merit."

"This thing cannot be activated by normal means."

"Not to mention opening the Human Dao fortune array upon the altar to transform it into a casting furnace."

Li Guanyi asked: "Senior Chi Long, even your fire won't work?"

The Ancient Taigu Chilong's vertical pupils fixed on Li Guanyi: "Boy, don't try to goad me—I don't fall for your tricks."

It paused, then added: "Besides, it's not that I can't."

"It's just that this is a Human Dao artifact; its final activation must come from Human Dao means. My fire added in may do little good."

"Moreover, my relationship with Jiuli back then... was not good."

"If I let loose a single dragon flame,"

"Do you think this bronze array wouldn't crack open right before your eyes?"

"It's not that I can't!"

"It's this thing that's wrong."

Li Guanyi murmured: "That's possible."

The Ancient Taigu Chilong circled once, its voice low and warning: "Boy, a Human Dao artifact must be changed by Human Dao fortune. Why don't you consider—how should a *human* act?"

The Nine-Colored Deer stared in surprise at the Ancient Taigu Chilong, who had spoken up to guide him.

The latter's expression remained unchanged.

Li Guanyi pondered, murmured thanks, then turned and walked into the ancient city of Jiuli, searching the old houses for dry, flammable wood, which he piled at the very center of the bronze altar.

Li Guanyi did not use Wu Gong to ignite this final flame.

He took out two flint stones and bent down.

The silver-haired girl thought for a moment, then stepped before him, knelt gently, and extended her Bai Xi palm to shield the fragile, wind-susceptible wood. Li Guanyi struck the flint stones lightly.

Once. Twice.

On the third strike, flame sparked—this slender flame trembled in the wind, yet clung stubbornly to life upon the vast bronze altar. Suddenly, gold-red fire blazed forth and spread in an instant.

The bronze altar blazed fully to life.

Heaven's Fire. Earth's Fire. Finally, Humanity's Fire.

The first flourishing of civilization.

The fire surged upward. Li Guanyi looked upon the fierce blaze: the first ding was forged from the tools of the myriad people, drawing fire from the molten rock beneath; the second ding was forged atop the mountain peaks, by the sky-offering fire of the thirty-six western tribes.

The third ding was forged in the southwest, surrounded by the eighty-one cities.

Created from the original fire of the Li Min thousands of years ago.

One after another, each step forward became harder than the last.

Li Guanyi neatly arranged the sacrificial metals from the eighty-one cities, yet before he even activated them, he already felt the transformation within his body's Nine Tripods, the qi and fortune roaring—previously gathered into a geomantic map of golden light, now blazing even brighter.

Li Guanyi's aura surged.

At last, this step arrived: the internal qi within him, far exceeding the peak of the Eighth Heaven, violently trembled; the golden light shifted, and the eighty-one pieces of metal floated in midair, igniting within the oldest fire of Jiuli.

Swirling and transforming, the internal qi turned into a torrent of gold and red metal within the flames, gradually taking the shape of a great tripod—this casting differed from the previous two, which had relied on swinging massive hammers.

As the human fortune flowed, Li Guanyi seemed to see, within the flames, figures from the past, swinging heavy hammers and striking the phantom form of the tripod within the fire.

Accompanied by the booming of the heavy hammers, accompanied by the wailing of the metal.

The people of this age ignited the fire and cast the tripod; the lingering qi of past eras cheered as if in celebration—the flames drew forth the hidden human fortune within the ancient Jiuli bronze ritual array, and under the guidance of human fortune, the flickering flames danced like the masses.

They cheered, leaped, and danced around the great tripod.

Li Guanyi swept his sleeve; the internal qi above the Eighth Heaven surged like a heavy hammer, wrapped in human fortune, crashing down upon the tripod's nascent form, unleashing the wailing of metal.

This was the method to cast this tripod.

The Ancient Taigu Chilong circled the void, gazing downward, seeing the ancient Jiuli bronze array unfold layer by layer—as if a long-extinct civilization had reignited its flame, crossing thousands of springs and autumns, the civilization swinging its hammers and striking the earth.

Emitting one boom after another.

Thus, the smoldering sparks of a broken civilization were reignited.

The Ancient Taigu Chilong whispered: "... Indeed, the Jiuli clan, most skilled in forging divine weapons, gathering Jiuli's human fortune to cast this tripod—this must be the most extraordinary of the nine tripods."

The Ancient Taigu Chilong saw with his own eyes the massive bronze altar ignite from its edges, like the ashes left after all things burned out—before the final cold stillness, the last thread of gold-red light glowed.

This light gathered layer by layer toward the altar's center.

Finally, it converged before Li Guanyi.

As the legends of past ages faded, a new legend was forged: before Li Guanyi appeared an ancient, simple bronze tripod adorned with Kui dragon patterns and Taotie motifs; in the sky, winds rose and clouds churned, Lei Ting raced.

Heaven and earth changed color; ghosts and gods wailed.

The Ancient Taigu Chilong let out a long howl, and the thoughts of all living things scattered.

Vanished completely!

So powerful—how could this not be an omen?

Heaven and earth cleared; autumn rain surged down.

Heaven and earth shifted; autumn rain fell.

Quench!

The flame marks on the tripod's body slowly faded.

Finally, a vast, ancient, resonant ding-ming exploded.

Like the vastness of all things, like the ancient cry of humanity raising weapons against an unknown world.

The Nine Tripods—third one.

Cast!

After the casting of this third Nine Tripod, the entire southwest earth vein connected with the Nine Tripods, its aura surging upward; the auspicious signs of the southwest—the nine-colored divine deer, the Ancient Taigu Chilong—all simultaneously heard two other ding-ming sounds.

From the distant mountain peaks of the western lands—the Western Tripod.

From beneath the river systems of Jiangnan—the bronze tripod.

The Three Tripods of the Nine, their fortunes surged skyward together.

Li Guanyi's internal Nine Tripods wailed.

His surrounding aura.

Suddenly surged!

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