Start from Wusheng

Chapter 1211

Zhou You still hadn't seen Ao Donglai. Over the years, he had been inside the Heavenly Pillar while Ao Donglai guarded the outside; they had spent a lot of time together, so there was no need for them to meet for an extended period.

Therefore, after Zhou You unleashed a wisp of his fist intent, he left the Southern Frontier and entered Li Huo Prefecture.

Lihuozhou is a vital transportation hub connecting several southeastern states with the southern border, and it served as an important rear base during the suppression of the Ten Demons of the Southeast.

This place is not highly valued; at least, after the ruler was replaced, there was no time to update the selection of the governor.

Li Huozhou was Zhou Nanwang, a grandmaster. His most well-known identity was Zhou Daqian's father and the ancestor of the Zhou and Qi families, two major families that fought in several southeastern states.

The two major families in the southeastern states are locked in endless battles, and the southern border has lost its defense around the Heavenly Pillar. However, the Li Huo State, sandwiched between the two, appears to be incomparably peaceful, making Zhou You feel as if he has returned to his childhood.

The chaos outside was kept out by a transparent dome, and the land was generally calm and peaceful, with the residents maintaining their daily routine of farming and weaving, rising during the day and resting at night.

"..."

In the residence of the governor of Lihuo Prefecture, Zhou You disguised himself as an uninvited guest and placed a table for Zhou Nanwang.

After many years, the father and son met again. They should have had a thousand words to say, but both remained calm.

"Grandmaster, you are truly a master who doesn't reveal his abilities!"

"As far as I know, you are the only one who has managed to escape unscathed after failing to lift the Nine Cauldrons, right?"

"Outsiders only think you are from the Earth Sect, but they don't know that you are already at the peak of the Heavenly Ladder, qualified to lift the Nine Cauldrons Trial, and can still retreat unscathed after failure."

At this point, Zhou You clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "I admire you, I admire you!"

To understand how he knew such a secret, we must go back to the time in Tianzhu.

Zhou Youqing, in his capacity as a minor figure, felt the tremors of the Nine Tripods and recounted the number of times someone had lifted them over the years.

At that time, he only knew that someone was lifting the tripod, but he knew nothing about whether it would succeed or fail.

When Zhizhi came out and saw Zhou Nanwang face to face, a familiar feeling welled up in his heart. That's right, the person who lifted the tripod on one of those occasions was Zhou Nanwang.

The other party did indeed lift up the Nine Cauldrons; that contact cannot be erased, and I sensed it upon meeting them.

If it were merely a matter of concealing something, which was already the pinnacle of his abilities, that would be one thing. What surprised Zhou You even more was that Zhou Nanwang was able to survive after his failure, appearing completely unharmed.

That's terrifying.

As everyone knows, lifting the Nine Cauldrons is both an essential step for the Martial Saint to ascend to his throne and a life-or-death ordeal.

Success leads to becoming the Silent Martial Saint of the mortal realm; failure turns one to ashes.

In his early years, Zhou You witnessed firsthand the failure of the sorcerer Hu Tiannu to lift the Nine Cauldrons of the North, resulting in his immediate and complete annihilation.

This is an ironclad law of the universe; lifting the Nine Cauldrons is itself an offense, and those lacking sufficient strength should be prepared for destruction. Why did Zhou Nanwang survive after his failure?

Zhou Nanwang paused, as if digesting the shocking reality that Zhou You's first thing to do after returning from many years of 'fall' was to uncover his greatest secret.

After a few breaths, he gave his answer, or rather, a counter-question.

"Daqian, you've made great progress over the years. I'm sure you haven't wasted your youth. Let's not play games, just tell me..."

"Is he about to ascend to sainthood?"

Zhou You answered decisively, "It's still a long way off!"

He has been lifted up high all these years, but he has not accumulated any experience in lifting heavy weights.

As he gained a deeper understanding of the weight of the Nine Tripods, he began to ponder the true essence of lifting them.

As for lifting the Nine Cauldrons to become a Martial Saint, he wasn't in a hurry. "Hmm, I think so too. You probably have some other extraordinary encounter!"

Zhou Nanwang nodded and said directly, "At your level, you should know the inside story."

Next, he directly revealed his secret: he had inherited the legacy of the Tongyou Martial Saint, and his progress was far greater than anyone else knew.

Faster.

Thirty years after Zhou You transformed into the Heavenly Pillar, he had gradually ascended to the top of the Heavenly Ladder and possessed the qualifications to become a stable Martial Saint.

Then came the huge shock that occurred during one of Zhou You's attempts to "lift him up high," which ultimately failed.

"I thought I had the experience of successfully becoming a Tongyou Martial Saint, and my memory and skills matched up. I had considered all factors and made sufficient preparations, but I still failed."

Zhou Nanwang spread his hands, "So I guess that each person only has one chance to lift the Nine Cauldrons and ascend to the Martial Saint."

"The Tongyou Martial Saint has already used it. Zhou Nanwang originally had more, but after merging with the legacy of the Tongyou Martial Saint, he was equivalent to half a Tongyou Martial Saint. The Nine Cauldrons judged it as unacceptable, so it failed..."

"...However, since you are a half-Tongyou Martial Saint who was defeated and also succeeded because of this, although you failed because of this, you also survived the backlash after failing to lift the cauldron."

Zhou You continued with the second half of the sentence, and he understood the whole story.

It's easy to understand. Everyone has the qualifications for promotion, but the Nine Cauldrons mechanism binds individuals, preventing the possibility of old hands making a comeback. At the same time, I'm amazed by Zhou Nanwang's extraordinary encounter. The legacy of the Tongyou Martial Saint has been hidden in the Human Race Sect for thousands of years, passed down from generation to generation, and none of the sect members have discovered it. Instead, it was taken advantage of by him, an outsider.

Fate is a mysterious and inexplicable thing; it is truly countless, inexplicable, and intangible.

Even though he lost the qualification to become a Martial Saint, Zhou Nanwang's strength was already unmatched below that of a Martial Saint.

Just as Zhou You was about to speak, Zhou Nanwang dropped another bombshell, "Your son has had the same experience. In a few years, it will be you who has to worry about him."

"That son?"

Zhou You's first reaction was that there were too many sons. How would I know which one it was if you didn't register them?
"It's Zhou Xin. He merged with a piece of the flesh of a Martial Saint, and his situation is similar to mine."

Zhou Nanwang also told Zhou You about the current situation of the Zhou family branch that migrated north.

When the Zhou family left the capital, they went north and south respectively. The branch that moved north became the Northern Xuan Zhou family, and its heir was Zhou Xin, the son of Hua Youxing. He had a strange encounter on his way to the capital.

After the family split up in Dijing, Zhou Xin, escorted by Zhu Ruoxuan, led his family to settle in the north.

The original plan was that the Zhou family had a good relationship with the Northern Xuan Zhu clan, and Zhou You also had some assets in Northern Xuan, enough to accommodate this branch. However…

“The sorcerer Mingqiu Mu defeated and killed Zhenbei Ge Niu Gong, and the sorcerers occupied the six states of the north.”

"Ninety percent of the Northern Xuan Zhu forces have been wiped out. The remaining people, led by Zhu Ruoxuan, have gone underground to resist. As for Zhou Xin, since he is your son, Ming Qiu has specifically ordered him to be captured alive..."

At this point, Zhou Nanwang looked at Zhou You with a half-smile, "You've offended quite a few people?"

Mingqiu female?
Zhou You was completely confused. This guy was still alive. He clearly thought he had killed him, but then again, it seemed he hadn't. It was all too confusing; he couldn't remember.

He was just a defeated opponent; I didn't pay much attention to him back then, and now I've almost forgotten about him.

Zhou You never expected that this guy would turn the tables and even defeat and kill Niu Gong.

The mystery is now solved; the Holy King of the Witch Clan is none other than Mingqiu For, an old acquaintance.

Sigh, I was too careless back then, leaving a hidden danger for my son. I need to reflect on this.

Zhou You let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't a big deal anyway; he could just go to the north and kill him off easily.

(End of this chapter)