Chapter 2021: The Wood King Cauldron
When Tao Ran received the news, his mind buzzed. Fifteen hundred men had gone to Fallen Phoenix Pond, personally led by the Emperor, and it was Dragon God territory. What kind of difficult military situation could possibly require aid from the main camp?
Could it be that the Nanrong clan had rebelled?
Therefore, Tao Ran and Lu Yaofei swiftly assembled three thousand men to rush to the aid of Fallen Phoenix Pond.
Dr. Li and the Weng brothers gathered even more personnel, fifteen thousand in total, so they departed two quarters of an hour later.
Fifteen miles north of Fallen Phoenix Pond, amidst the barren mountains.
Dozens of people, including Qing Yang, were moving rapidly here.
At their pace, they covered several more miles in the blink of an eye.
Someone walked alongside Qing Yang, holding a small cauldron.
Most cauldrons in the world are forged from metal and stone to withstand true flames, but the Wood King Cauldron of True Lord Muxiu was a peculiar exception. It was said to generate fire from wood and nourish wood with fire, surprisingly capable of refining as well.
The Wood King Cauldron was only slightly larger than a coconut, with a plain, grimy surface that shed powdery flakes, resembling a daffodil bulb.
Yet, everyone had just emerged from within it.
Inside, it formed its own unique space where anyone who entered would correspondingly shrink.
As everyone watched, the cauldron suddenly trembled violently, its surface rippling like water.
Its owner was a tall, yellow-robed cultivator. From a distance, his features and limbs appeared human, but upon closer inspection, his skin was waxy and yellowish with fine lines, his face stiff, and his expression far less lively than a living person's.
This was True Lord Muxiu.
"My cauldron doesn't like He Xiao's weapon."
He spoke fluently, but his tone was very flat.
No sooner had he spoken than the Wood King Cauldron jolted violently again. Qing Yang even saw a bulge forming on its body.
Its shape resembled a bull's horn.
"That's Xutuo, a brute with strength but no brains, an idiot!" True Lord Muxiu's voice, uncharacteristically, carried a hint of disgust. "True Lord Qianhuan died mysteriously, yet he still goes to be He Xiao's thug."
A cultivator beside him couldn't help but ask, "Can this cauldron still hold up?"
Everyone else also felt a bit worried.
"The one named He isn't at the immortal level. There's just a wild bull rampaging inside. What's there to not hold up against?"
No sooner had he spoken than the cauldron's body was repeatedly struck with thudding sounds.
Thump, thump, thump.
A pause, then thump, thump, thump again.
It was very regular.
Clearly, the wild bull was throwing a fit, pushing harder and harder.
True Lord Muxiu: "..."
Didn't this brute's head hurt?
Seeing the small cauldron almost bouncing from the impacts, True Lord Muxiu had no choice but to press the precious cauldron onto the ground and poke its lid:
"Grow!"
The small cauldron, like a true plant root ball, instantly sank, burying itself a few inches into the earth.
It grew long taproots downwards, sprouted branches upwards, and its girth expanded rapidly.
In just over twenty breaths, the Wood King Cauldron transformed into a tree!
There are bottle trees in the world, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom like a bottle; but this tree was even more peculiar. It could easily be called a "wine vat tree," with its upper part only as thick as a bowl's rim, and its waist suddenly rotund, like a large wine vat capable of holding three hundred catties – clearly very sturdy.
After the transformation, the Wood King Cauldron became incredibly firm. Everyone could still hear the thudding impacts from inside, but this time the cauldron's body was as solid as a rock, without the slightest tremor.
"Let's see how long you can keep jumping." True Lord Muxiu finished speaking, formed hand seals, and sat cross-legged on the ground.
The Wood King Cauldron began to emit a red glow.
Even a zhang away from the cauldron, everyone could feel the oppressive heat wave.
Indeed, this was a cauldron after all; refining things was its primary function.
Now, its task was to refine living beings.
Qing Yang had planned for a long time, discarding all methods of directly engaging with He Lingchuan. She had specifically designed this entire sequence of moves for today to ensure no more complications, aiming to kill him efficiently, quickly, and safely in one go.
She didn't even dare to say much to He Xiao, directly throwing him into an immortal's alchemy furnace, pressing down the lid, and subjecting him to intense heat for refining!
This time, he couldn't escape even with wings, could he? This time, the trouble would be permanently eradicated, right?
What Qing Yang feared most was that there was still a demon immortal inside the furnace.
"No need to worry too much." True Lord Muxiu surprisingly sensed her concern. "My Wood King Cauldron has refined countless demon immortals more powerful than this wild bull!"
This wood immortal was extremely arrogant, and it was quite difficult for Beiga to persuade him to personally emerge this time. He usually wouldn't spare a glance for ordinary people, but he was exceptionally polite to Qing Yang, even though she was no longer the once-illustrious Grand Preceptor.
He simply felt that Qing Yang's apprehension towards He Xiao was somewhat excessive.
So excessive it bordered on fear.
Just a junior who hadn't even reached the immortal level!
The human species truly was inadequate; they became timid and hesitant in old age. He still remembered Qing Yang from over a hundred years ago—so spirited and brilliant, truly outstanding among the many talents in Beiga.
Fortunately, his face was expressionless, so others couldn't discern his thoughts. Qing Yang asked, "How can we assist?"
"Just observe for now," True Lord Muxiu said calmly. "My Wood King Cauldron has already rooted itself, merging with the entire mountain forest. Unless they possess the power to move mountains in addition to prying open the Wood King Cauldron, they won't be able to get out."
After saying this, he closed his eyes and remained silent.
Qing Yang knew he was concentrating his mind to control the Wood King Cauldron, so she said no more. She simply took out her long staff and gently touched the cauldron's body.
Her long staff was crafted by winding together the main tendrils of three great wood-elemental demons, including True Lord Muxiu's own primary tendril.
With that light touch on the Wood King Cauldron, its wall instantly became transparent, allowing everyone to observe the situation inside without obstruction.
True Lord Muxiu didn't even flicker an eyelid, clearly tacitly approving the action.
Xutuo struck the cauldron wall seven or eight times. Previously, the entire cauldron had shaken continuously, but by the fifth or sixth impact, the cauldron's body showed no reaction at all, as if he had smashed into a large mountain.
He shook his head. "It seems Muxiu has added some methods and wants to contend with me."
Just smashing like this was making his head a bit dizzy; he needed to try a different approach.
Nanrong He, who was behind, couldn't help but say, "Elder, since this is a cauldron, it can be used for refining, right?"
"Nonsense," Xutuo glanced at him. "What kind of furnace wouldn't be able to burn fire?"
"Then we..."
Before he could finish, white steam hissed from the ground, followed by faint green flames.
In just two breaths, green flames also emerged from the root vines on the walls.
Considering the current environment, He Lingchuan couldn't help but feel that this place resembled a farmer's clay oven, and his group were like small potatoes that would soon be stewed if they didn't get out.
"Jinx," Xutuo snorted unhappily, stamping his hoof. But as soon as he dug a small pit in the ground, a small flame shot up, nearly singeing his tail.
Xutuo had no choice but to stop his actions and pace back to the others:
"If you can't stand on the ground, get on my back."
The ground quickly became like a branding iron. No matter how sturdy the Black Armored Army's boots were, they couldn't insulate against such heat.
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