Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 275 Within the Star Cauldron

Azi's eyes were burning. She touched her swollen face and gritted her teeth, saying, "Your grandmother was quite pleased with herself for slapping you like that. She only thought that death would solve everything, but didn't she know the principle that a daughter should pay for her mother's debts?"

Wang Yuyan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Ah, you're going to hit my mom?"

Li Qingluo was shocked and quickly covered her slightly chubby cheeks, saying repeatedly, "Miss Azi, please spare me for your father's sake. Besides, you said that a mother's debts are paid by her daughter. I have my own daughter. You can go and collect the debt from her."

Wang Yuyan never expected her mother to say such a thing. She was kneeling beside Li Qiushui when she was so frightened that she went limp and collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face. She said, "Mom, how could you say such a thing? Azi's skills are now very advanced. If she hits me, I will either die or lose half of my teeth."

Li Qingluo retorted angrily, "You only care about your own teeth, why don't you think about your mother's teeth? You unfilial daughter, what use is it that I went through so much trouble to give birth to you?"

Zhong Ling agreed softly, "Yes, why not give birth to a ham?"

Seeing the mother and daughter arguing, Duan Zhengchun quickly came over to mediate. With a pained expression, he said to Azi, "My dear daughter, a husband pays for his wife's debts, and a father pays for his daughter's debts. I'll let you hit her once, and then we can all call it quits. Xingzhu, you should also try to persuade our daughter!"

With tears welling in her eyes, Ruan Xingzhu raised her hand to strike Duan Zhengchun, cursing, "Do you know she's our daughter? Why can't other people's daughters be hit, but my daughter should be beaten for no reason?"

Looking at the woman, Azi saw that her features indeed resembled those of herself and Azhu, and she knew that this was her birth mother.

She wasn't agitated, but just smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do about it. You, as his mother, are of no importance to him, so naturally I, as his daughter, am also looked down upon."

Although Ruan Xingzhu was in a hurry to hit Duan Zhengchun, her hands were weak and powerless. However, after being hurt by Azi's words, she felt wronged and secretly increased the force of her hands, delivering several heavy blows.

Li Qingluo felt sorry for him, stood up and pushed Ruan Xingzhu away, scolding, "You vicious woman, didn't you see he was injured! How dare you beat him so hard?"

Ruan Xingzhu was mediocre in martial arts and had a slender body. She was pushed and staggered. She was furious and said, "These past few days, you have been bullying me because of your old hag's power. Now that your backer is dead, do you still want to bully me?"

He slapped Li Qingluo across the face.

Li Qingluo was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage and reached out to grab Ruan Xingzhu. Ruan Xingzhu took a step behind Duan Zhengchun and cried, "Duan Lang, look! The wild woman you found is going to tear my daughter and me apart!"

Duan Zhengchun sighed helplessly, spread his arms to block Li Qingluo, and said with a wry smile, "A'Luo, let's talk this out, don't let others laugh at us..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ruan Xingzhu took advantage of Li Qingluo's distraction and suddenly kicked out from behind Duan Zhengchun, hitting Li Qingluo's thigh squarely. She cried out in a sweet voice, "Sister, if you want to hit someone, hit me instead. Don't hurt Duan Lang."

Zhong Ling's eyes lit up as she watched intently, whispering to Mu Wanqing, "Azi's mother is so amazing..."

Azi put her hands on her hips, both amused and exasperated, and said irritably, "You're nothing like my mother. Father, are you mistaken? Actually, Zhong Ling is her son!"

After saying that, he turned around and searched Ding Chunqiu's remains. Fearing that the old man was poisoned, he went behind Jiang Mingzhe to take out the Seven Child Sword, cut off the old man's finger to remove the ring, played with it for a while, and then cut open a small deerskin bag tied to the old man's belt. A small wooden cauldron rolled out.

Azi cried out and picked up the cauldron. The cauldron was a deep yellow color with faint red streaks and a texture as delicate as jade. She exclaimed with joy, "Hahahaha, this cauldron has finally fallen into my hands! From now on, I, Azi, will be the Little Star Fairy, and Big Ginger will be my fairy consort! Hahahaha! Wooden Man, Stupid Girl Wang Pangpang, will be my three great fairy servants, serving me and my fairy consort."

Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes, walked to Jiang Mingzhe's side, and said softly, "Jiang Lang, if you don't wake up soon, Zi Yatou will cause a huge uproar."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Mingzhe's eyelids twitched, then he opened them, patted Mu Wanqing's head, and laughed, "She can't cause any trouble. Wanqing, I just figured out a few interesting kung fu techniques. How about I teach them to you?"

Mu Wanqing said happily, "Great! I'm so far behind Azi now. If she tries to bully me, I won't be able to fight back."

Azi leaped over, shoving Mu Wanqing aside with her shoulder, and presented the small cauldron with both hands, saying, "My beloved Consort Jiang, look what this immortal has found!"

Jiang Mingzhe looked down, his pupils suddenly constricting: "This is the Divine Wood King Cauldron?"

Seeing his strange expression, Azi asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Did Xiao Ding show it to you before? How come you seem to recognize it?"

Jiang Mingzhe smiled wryly. Now that his internal strength had reached the divine level, his brain seemed to have been greatly developed. Countless details of his past experiences that he had never paid attention to were now vivid in his mind, as if he had deliberately memorized them.

Upon seeing the Divine Wood King Cauldron, numerous fragments of events automatically flooded his mind, all of which occurred before he arrived in the Tianlong World—

Two years ago, there was a news item online: Ms. Dong, a famous businesswoman, spent a huge sum of money to buy a small cauldron, which was said to be the cauldron used by Shennong to refine medicine in ancient times.

When the news spread, it was met with ridicule online because the small tripod in the picture was exquisitely carved and made of wood, leading many experts to assert that it was no more than a hundred years old.

Shortly after, news circulated online that Ms. Dong had consulted with numerous psychologists, supposedly because she kept having the same dream.

The news spread and was met with widespread ridicule online, with netizens commenting that their own erotic dreams were also highly similar.

Next came Ms. Dong's environmental protection inspection tour of the Yellow River source, which she spearheaded under the guise of environmental protection. Jiang Mingzhe went to great lengths to obtain an admission ticket.

The last memory is of Ms. Dong squatting down at the stern of the boat.

Jiang Mingzhe had only noticed that she was holding something in her hands and hadn't paid any attention to what it was, but now he clearly remembered that it was the so-called Shennong Cauldron that she had paid an exorbitant price for.

It is exactly the same as the Divine Wood King Cauldron in front of us right now.

Jiang Mingzhe thought for a moment and asked, "Azi, when did Master obtain this cauldron?" Azi recalled for a moment and said uncertainly, "I don't know, but it must have been more than ten years ago, right? Anyway, I have my own memories, and the cauldron was already in his hands... Oh, right!"

Suddenly, Azi clapped her hands and said quickly, "Third Senior Brother once boasted to us that when Master established the sect in Xingxiu Sea, he captured countless herdsmen and sent them to search for some hidden treasure. Later, the commotion became too big, and a high-ranking monk from Tibet came forward to ask Master if he was looking for the elixir of immortality!"

Duan Zhengchun was being teased by the two women, and his face was scratched. Upon hearing this, he quickly shouted, "Stop fighting! Listen to Azi about the elixir of immortality. If it really is such a good thing, I will risk my life to find it and give it to you. Wouldn't it be great if we could all live forever and be happy together?"

At this moment, Xue Muhua had already fed Abi the pill. Upon hearing this, he said, "Ding Chunqiu went to Xingxiu Sea because he was tricked by my master! Back then, he betrayed his master and wanted to kill him. My master used the art of Qimen Dunjia to defend himself while deliberately saying to him, 'Although your martial arts are high now, you haven't even touched the edge of our sect's true divine skills. You don't want to learn the Beiming Divine Skill, Lingbo Weibu, Tianshan Liuyang Palm, and Xiaoyao Zhemei Hand anymore. Just come and kill me.'"

Gou Du continued, "That's right. When Old Monster Ding heard this, he trembled with excitement and said that my master would spare his life if he handed over these secret manuals. My master said that the manuals were hidden by the Starry Sea, and that if you had the ability, you could go find them. Old Monster Ding believed him without a doubt, but he was afraid that the Starry Sea was too big for him to find, so he didn't dare to kill my master. He forced my master to swear to pretend to be deaf and dumb and not to reveal it. Then he went and founded the Starry Sea Sect. We brothers all know about this cause and effect. How is it related to the elixir of immortality? That lama must have lied to him."

Seeing that Abi was out of danger, Duan Yu felt relieved and was able to listen to everyone's conversation with peace of mind.

Upon hearing Gou Du say that the lamas were deceiving people, the bookworm's temper flared up immediately. He shook his head and said, "No, no! The First Emperor once sent people to Kunlun to seek immortality. This is clearly recorded in historical books. The Yu Gong says: 'The Yellow River originates from Kunlun.' The Classic of Mountains and Seas also says: 'The Yellow River originates from the hill of Kunlun.' It can be seen that the source of the Yellow River is the location of Kunlun in the eyes of the ancients. Isn't the source of the Yellow River the Starry Sea?"

Azi clapped her hands and said, "Yes, yes, Brother Xiaoyu is right. The Tibetan monk also said that an emperor once sent someone to refine the elixir of immortality in the Xingxiu Sea area. However, after a long time of trying, he failed and abandoned the cauldron in the lake, crying bitterly as he left. After hearing this, Master chased away the monk and dived into the lake himself. After spending several days, he found a small cauldron. However, this cauldron could not be used to refine medicine; it could only attract poisonous insects. Coincidentally, he needed a large number of poisonous insects for his cultivation, so he thought it was a treasure bestowed by heaven and named it the Divine Wood King Cauldron."

Upon hearing this, everyone marveled and began to discuss it. Jiang Mingzhe lowered his eyelids and thought to himself: I had thought before that when my martial arts skills were perfected, I would at least dive down into the water and retrieve my phone as a souvenir. Now that my martial arts skills are at their highest level, I am ready to give it a try. The phone is no longer important. The key is that I must find the cauldron that Miss Dong fell into the water.

He vaguely believed that the cauldron that Miss Dong bought was probably the Shenmu Wangding that had been passed down to later generations. Perhaps the owner saw that it could attract poisonous insects and was extraordinary, so he made up the legend of the Shennong Cauldron to sell it at a high price.

It's also possible that this cauldron was indeed left behind by Shennong. After all, if it were an ordinary cauldron, it wouldn't be worthy of being taken all the way to Kunlun by Qin Shi Huang's alchemy team to refine the elixir of immortality.

And I may have ended up in this world because of some kind of quantum entanglement effect between Ding Chunqiu's cauldron and Miss Dong's cauldron, which somehow brought me here in a daze.

Theoretically speaking, there should still be a Divine Wood King Cauldron at the bottom of Zaling Lake!

With this in mind, Jiang Mingzhe had no more doubts and blurted out, "I need to go back to the Starry Sky Sect!"

Azi replied matter-of-factly, "Of course we have to go back, hehe..."

She put the ring on her finger. The ring was thick and large, and her finger was slender. With a gentle shake, it spun around and shone with a dazzling light. She said proudly, "Let those foolish senior brothers see that I, Azi, am the most powerful person in our sect!"

Duan Zhengchun laughed and said, "Xingzhu, let's go too, and see where our daughter grew up. I'll also try to find the elixir of immortality for you and the rest of you to eat!"

He promptly replaced "you" with "you all," and Li Qingluo lowered her raised hand.

So everyone cleaned up and finished up—

Xue Muhua examined and treated the wounds of each person. Zhu, the guard in the maze, was also brought in to treat them. In accordance with Li Qiushui's last wish, she was buried next to Wuyazi.

Remembering Murong Kuang's instructions, Jiang Mingzhe took advantage of the Four Friends of Hangu Pass being off guard, used the Canhe Finger technique, and wrote a few words on the back of Wuyazi's stele: "His merits are high but his virtues are thin, which will diminish his blessings and harm his body. He is ashamed before his former teacher and ashamed before future generations."

Then, together with Azi, they collected Ding Chunqiu's body and buried it directly opposite the tomb of Wuyazi and his disciples. They knelt down and bowed three times, praying silently, "If you are truly a hero, and your spirit is watching from the afterlife, it would be alright to steal his wife again."

With everything settled, the Four Friends of Hangu Pass were in low spirits. They bid farewell to everyone and left. Duan Zhengchun wanted to persuade Shi Qinglu to stay, but Shi Qinglu glanced at Li and Ruan, sneered, and left with Abi without paying any attention.

Upon seeing her, Duan Yu was convinced that Abi was his sister. Heartbroken, he went down the mountain for several days, refusing to eat or drink. Jiang Mingzhe, unable to bear his plight, secretly handed Duan Yu the note Ding Chunqiu had given him: "Third brother, the addresses of the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass are all on this. Keep it safe; you'll always be able to find Miss Abi."

Duan Yu said with tears in his eyes, "Second brother, what good will it do me to find her? It will only add to my grief. Second brother, don't worry about me, just let me die."

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and said, "Bullshit. We don't ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but we do ask to die on the same day, month, and year. Wouldn't your death harm me? Listen to me, go home and tell your mother about this. Tell her that your father committed a sin and that you have decided to die for love. Your mother will have something to say to you, and then things will be different."

Duan Yu smiled wryly, "Second Brother, I know you just wanted to give me something to look forward to, unless my mother, my mother... oh?"

A rebellious thought suddenly popped into his head, and he exclaimed in horror, "No, no way?"

Jiang Mingzhe chuckled devilishly: "Pity the lovesick men and women of this world. In this world, there's nothing you can't do, only things you can't imagine. My good brother, if it weren't for your sake, would I have let Duan Yanqing go again and again?"

Duan Yu's face turned pale, and he shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, Second Brother, even though you are my second brother, you shouldn't joke like that..."

Jiang Mingzhe said solemnly, "How could I speak nonsense about matters concerning my elders without evidence? This matter is a secret that cannot be revealed. You can just ask your aunt."

Duan Yu's expression was extremely strange. He didn't know whether to believe it or not. After thinking for a long time, he stamped his foot, ran to borrow the black rose from Mu Wanqing, and rushed back to Dali without saying goodbye to his father.

The next day, Duan Zhengchun learned that Duan Yu had run away. He assumed that Duan Yu was heartbroken and taking his anger out on him. Feeling guilty, Duan Zhengchun sent Fu Sigui, who was less seriously injured, to chase after and escort him.

Jiang Mingzhe was about to take his leave, but Duan Zhengchun pleaded with him, insisting that he should not return to Dali and instead make a trip to Xingxiuhai.

Jiang Mingzhe had no choice but to stay in a nearby county for more than a month to recover from his injuries. He also took the opportunity to carefully teach Mu Wanqing and Zhong Ling the martial arts techniques he had mastered. It wasn't until the golden autumn weather that they officially set off. Only after the group set off did they discover that Kang Min had been added to their group...

(End of this chapter)