The Nine Cauldrons

Book 8: The Path to Emptiness Realm - Chapter 22 The Treasure Hunting Journey in the Dreamy Cloud Swampland

Book 8 Chapter 22 The Treasure Hunting Journey in the Dreamy Cloud Swampland

When his father Teng Yongfan’s legs were disabled, great sadness had filled Teng Qingshan’s heart. While Teng Qingshan was growing up in Teng Jia Village, he had sworn in his heart that he would let his parents and relatives live a good life. Yet his father, Teng Yongfan, ended up crippled while his uncle had died tragically! Teng Qingshan knew that...

When Gu Shiyou, the Young Island Lord of Qing Hu Island, went to capture the villagers, he must have specially ordered his father to be captured because of Teng Qingshan himself!

Hatred! Remorse!

Now that he knew about the magical effect of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit, Teng Qingshan felt a newfound hope. Teng Qingshan had desired to help his father stand again for a very long time.

“Qingshan, just help me once. Go to the Dreamy Cloud Swampland and find the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal continued, “Haha, I know you want the stone inscriptions left by the Godly Axe Deity ‘Yu the Great.’ The Mu Clan has six pieces. When you accomplish the mission, I will lend them to you for a few years. What do you think?”

“Senior.”

Teng Qingshan pondered and said sincerely, “Qingshan has a request. What I am about to say might sound slightly undue, but I still want to ask Senior for some help.”

“Oh. Tell me. What’s the matter? I will definitely help if I can,” Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal said confidently.

“The thing is...” Teng Qingshan took a deep breath and said, “When I was young, I caused trouble and enraged my enemy, the end result being that my father’s legs were crippled! My father could no longer stand! I always felt very apologetic to my father. Now I know about the magical effect of this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.....Therefore...... I know that Senior also desired this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit, but I would like to ask Senior if there’s any method that satisfies both sides. I really want to help my father stand up!”

“It’s my own father!” thought Teng Qingshan.

“A courageous and candid man! A person that cares about me!

Although my father is not a person of exceptional ability, and even though he’s just a blacksmith in the village, he’s still my father.”

“Qingshan, how old is your father?” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal frowned as he asked.

In the Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal’s eyes, Teng Qingshan shouldn’t be young. Therefore, Teng Qingshan’s father must be even older. If it was just an old man, why bother wasting the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit?

“My father can live for at least a hundred years.” Teng Qingshan said with a sharp look.

Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal flicked a glance at Teng Qingshan and remained silent.

He knew what Teng Qingshan meant....

“Haha...” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal suddenly laughed. “Qingshan, your filiality is greatly commendable. Haha, your father must be happy to have a son like you. Despite the fact that the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit Tree bears only one fruit, what you said about helping your father stand is possible.”

Teng Qingshan’s eyes lit up. He asked, “Senior, do you have a solution?”

“Yes.”

The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal nodded his head and said, “The Dreamy Cloud White Fruit has magical effects. Even if half of one’s body was cut off, if one ate the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit, the other half of the body would grow back quickly! This means that the healing of the normal wounds wouldn’t require the consumption of the entire Dreamy Cloud White Fruit. Just one part of it would be enough.”

“Is that so?” Teng Qingshan felt a great joy. “Senior, how long can this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit be preserved?”

Teng Qingshan was most worried that the White Fruit might rot because of the long trip, which would result in nothing good.

“Don’t worry about that. As long as this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit is stored in a sealed jade box, it would be fine to store for even ten or a hundred years!” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal said confidently. “Of course, it must be stored in a jade box. Also, this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit must be sliced with a jade knife. If you used a regular knife, the white fruit would be damaged, and it will rot.”

Teng Qingshan engraved these instructions in his mind.

“I originally planned to heal the little fellow Yunyi after I obtained the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit and save the rest in the clan, just in case! Since Qingshan has said it, how about this.... When I obtained the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit, I will let the little fellow Yunyi take slices of it. Yunyi will stop eating when his arms have grown back, and the rest of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit will be yours,” said the Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal.

Teng Qingshan hesitated slightly but nodded in agreement.

Teng Qingshan knew that if Mu Yunyi ate it first, there might not be much left. However, Teng Qingshan had no choice.

After all, the one before him was the....Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal!

“Alright, it’s a deal then.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal laughed heartily and said, “Qingshan, you probably know very little of this Dreamy Cloud Swampland, right?”

Teng Qingshan nodded in response. “More like I know nothing.”

“Haha, I could guess that since you didn’t even know about the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit. It seems like you have invested all your energies and heart in cultivation.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal guffawed and took out a thread-bound ancient book from his bosom. He handed it to Teng Qingshan. “I have prepared everything. Here’s some information on the Dreamy Cloud Swampland. This book contains a rough map of the Dreamy Cloud Swampland, as well as the demonic beasts, wild animals, poisonous insects, and some herbs and Spiritual Fruits in the Dreamy Cloud Swampland.”

Teng Qingshan took the book and flipped through it.

He saw many pictures of wild animals and herbs with very detailed explanations.

“The Dreamy Cloud White Fruit is described in the book.”

“I see it.” Teng Qingshan had already flipped to the page that described the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.

The illustration on the side was a very simple drawing, showing a short and small fruit tree with only one fruit that seemed like an infant. A very detailed description was written beside the illustration.

“Oh? As Teng Qingshan read, he obtained some understanding of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.

“Senior.” Teng Qingshan looked at the Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal and said, “The Three Thousand Li Dreamy Cloud Swampland is vast and endless. Could it be that I would have to search for this Dreamy Cloud White Fruit normally? It would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack”

“Of course not.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal said with a smile. “The Dreamy Cloud White Fruit is one of the three Spiritual Treasures of Duanmu Continent. It must be growing in a location with abundant Spiritual Qi! Any locations with extraordinary treasures would be guarded by unusual beasts. Because the location has abundant Spiritual Qi, demonic beasts would be nearby. You just need to go find the location with demonic beasts and see whether or not the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit is there!”

“If there are no demonic beasts, it is impossible for the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit to be there.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal said confidently.

Teng Qingshan broke into laughter and said, “This method is rather easy.”

No matter how big the Dreamy Cloud Swampland is, the number of demonic beasts can’t be too great. Since the Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal couldn’t fly, it would be troublesome for him to search for demonic beasts. However, if Teng Qingshan rode on the Whole Gale Eagle and surveyed the swampland from above, the search would be a lot faster.

“However, you must search carefully. The Dreamy Cloud White Fruit might be in the deepest area of the swamp, or it might thrive amidst the high grass. It might also be amidst the mountain rocks. The point is, it might grow anywhere. You must be sure search the swamp carefully. There might be rare demonic beasts in the deepest area of the swamp, and where there are demonic beasts, there might also be the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal reminded.

When Teng Qingshan heard this, he understood the difficulty of the search.

“Also, one more thing...”

“A Dreamy Cloud White Fruit is a rare treasure of this world. A Dreamy Cloud White Fruit doesn’t grow in the Dreamy Cloud Swampland at all times. It is possible that there’s none in the swampland now.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal guffawed and said, “Qingshan, just try your best to search. How’s this? Let’s make a three-month agreement. You can give up if you can’t find the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit within three months.”

Teng Qingshan frowned. The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal’s words were very rational. If the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit was not growing in the Dreamy Cloud Swampland now, searching would be a waste of time.

“Alright. Three months it is!”

Teng Qingshan made up his mind. No matter what, he must search conscientiously!

“Qingshan, get some rest today first and depart tomorrow morning.” The Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal stood up.

Teng Qingshan also stood up and replied, “Senior, this can’t wait! I am going to Dreamy Cloud Swampland right now!”

......

In the afternoon of the same day, Teng Qingshan was standing on the back of the Whole Gale Eagle. He had left the Dreamy Cloud Ancient City and entered the vast Dreamy Cloud Swampland.

The Dreamy Cloud Swampland had a length of three thousand li.

Most of the geographical features of the Dreamy Cloud Swampland were rivers and swamps. Occasionally, one would come across a hill. The Dreamy Cloud Swampland was very strange. The surface of the rivers and swamps often gave off hot steam. In theory, based on the weather of the West Tang Region, the Dreamy Cloud Swampland should be icebound. However, besides some areas, the Dreamy Cloud Swampland didn’t freeze throughout the four seasons of the year!

In some places, the water was even hot!

This was one of the reasons to why the hot steam was produced.

Ever since Teng Qingshan had stepped into the place,, he noticed the perilousness of the Dreamy Cloud Swampland. Because many marshes were of different depths, people that ventured into the Dreamy Cloud Swampland couldn’t advance with the use of boat. However, walking was even more dangerous. Just one step could cause one to be bogged down in the swamp.

The most terrifying thing was... poisonous insects or aquatic beasts could suddenly emerge from beneath the swamps.

While Teng Qingshan was in the Dreamy Cloud Swampland, he would explore some places on foot as it was impossible for the Whole Gale Eagle fly continually for days and nights. The Whole Gale Eagle needed rest too; it could only fly for twelve to fourteen hours a day.

Once—

Teng Qingshan stepped on the surface of the swamp as he advanced. With Teng Qingshan’s ability, it was impossible for him to sink. However, just when Teng Qingshan was about to step forward, a venomous snake looped around his ankle and attempted to pull him to the bottom of the swamp.

There was another time—

When Teng Qingshan was sitting cross-legged and cultivating at night, he encountered a big group of venomous spiderlike beasts that spat out mouthfuls of venom and endeavored to kill and devour Teng Qingshan.

......

Of course, the ending of such incidents was evident. The poisonous insects and aquatic beasts that provoked Teng Qingshan were courting death.

On the eighteenth day of Teng Qingshan’s venture into the Dreamy Cloud Swampland.

“Whew~~~Whew~~~”

The Whole Gale Eagle flapped its wings as it soared several hundred zhang above the ground. Teng Qingshan stood on the back of the Whole Gale Eagle and acutely scanned the Dreamy Cloud Swampland below, refusing to overlook any peculiar situations. Aquatic birds, venomous snakes, and piranhas could be seen everywhere. Teng Qingshan recognized all those peculiar poisonous snakes and aquatic beasts.

The book that Dreamy Cloud Martial Immortal gave to Teng Qingshan explained everything in great detail.

When Teng Qingshan noticed ordinary aquatic beasts, he would just ignore them.

However, when Teng Qingshan caught sight of a peculiar and rare wild animal or demonic beast, he would definitely investigate.

“It’s been eighteen days!” Teng Qingshan sighed inwardly.

“There’s no trace of the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit. Yet, I found over thirty demonic beasts!”

During these eighteen days, Teng Qingshan has killed three demonic beasts and injured over thirty of them. He also obtained many Spiritual Medical Herbs and Spiritual Fruits. Actually, Teng Qingshan couldn’t be bothered to kill demonic beasts, but unfortunately, many demonic beasts didn’t know what Teng Qingshan was capable of, and thus suffered tragic consequences.

At this moment, Teng Qingshan’s bag appeared to be bursting. Beside the empty jade box, the bag was filled with the Spiritual Medical Herbs and Spiritual Fruits that Teng Qingshan found while he was searching for the Dreamy Cloud White Fruit.

“Eh?” Teng Qingshan looked in front.

“Caw~~Caw~~”

Over a thousand black crowlike birds blotted out the sky and the land as they flew, instantly obstructing the view of the sky. Within a while, the big group of birds soared towards Teng Qingshan, like a vast sea preparing to swallow him.

“Is something up?” Teng Qingshan frowned as he thought to himself.

As the Whole Gale Eagle was a bird typed demonic beast that had reached the Innate Realm; those ordinary birds immediately skirted around them as they approached.