Chapter 118 - 118: Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron
The elder with the surname Gong submitted, but his heart was filled with sorrow.
Given the power dynamics, as a sect leader, he naturally wouldn’t want to bow down to others. But if they didn’t show weakness, they would all likely be buried within the Pill Sect today.
The elder with the surname Gong was afraid of death. His elders and disciples were also afraid of death, so he had to submit. At this moment, even if Gu Daofeng slapped him across the face, he had to endure it.
Of course, the disciples of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect felt humiliated. Their sect leader had submitted to the Pill Sect, begging for mercy, and asking for a way out. For everyone in the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect, this was a disgrace.
Even if they managed to leave the Pill Sect alive today, they would always remember this humiliation.
Fang Lin was also watching the stone platform at this moment, but he didn’t care much about the situation that would unfold next.
Dugu Nian was staring at Fang Lin, her expression complex, full of resentment, unwillingness, and a trace of awe.
That’s right. The proud as a peacock Dugu Nian was experiencing awe for a peer for the first time. This peer was Fang Lin, who had defeated her and had almost claimed her life.
“Fang Lin, was your final move the lost Shaking Three Mountains?” Suddenly, Dugu Nian asked out of the blue.
Fang Lin was annoyed by her, so he didn’t even bother to speak and simply nodded.
Dugu Nian’s eyes deepened with surprise. As a genius of the alchemical path from the Dugu family, she had read about the Shaking Three Mountains, a peculiar pill refining skill, in many ancient books.
No matter which ancient book, all praised the Shaking Three Mountains. But after countless years, this once-brilliant alchemy technique had long been lost.
Many Alchemy Taoist sects wanted to re-establish this ancient skill of pill refining. They searched through ancient books and explored ancient relics, but they could never replicate Shaking Three Mountains.
The only thing they discovered was that the Shaking Three Mountains seemed to come from an ancient sect called the Pill Saint Palace many, many years ago.
Dugu Nian had also heard her elders say that if their Dugu family possessed the Shaking Three Mountains’ ancient skill, it would definitely advance them further on the path of Alchemy Tao, making them the leading force of Alchemy Tao in the Great Xuan Country.
And now, this ancient skill of alchemy had appeared in Fang Lin, which made Dugu Nian incredibly excited.
“Can you teach me?” Dugu Nian asked again.
When Fang Lin heard this, he looked at Dugu Nian strangely, was this girl poisoned? Why was she asking such a ridiculous question?
“I can teach you, what’s in it for me?” Fang Lin said with a cold smile.
But Dugu Nian replied very seriously, “If you are willing to teach me, I can let go of our past grievances. I can also take you to my family and make you a part of the Dugu Family.”
In Dugu Nian’s view, the terms she offered should have been very attractive. After all, the Dugu family was a top force in the Great Xuan Country, and was also ranked among the Nine Countries.
If he became a member of the Dugu Family, then even when he was outside, it would be equivalent to having a talisman for protection. At least within the Lower Three Kingdoms, nobody would dare to provoke the Dugu family. However, when Fang Lin heard what Duqu Nian had to sav, he shook his head dismissively. This held no attraction for him, and he had no intention of teaching the Shaking Three Mountains to her.
Dugu Nian continued to prattle on about being able to learn Shaking Three Mountains, while Fang Lin kept ignoring her, focusing his attention on the events on the stone platform.
Gu Daofeng and the elder surnamed Gong had started negotiations. Because the Pill Sect currently held all the advantages, they were in a superior position during the negotiation.
Gu Daofeng told the elder surnamed Gong that he could spare their lives but the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect had to pay a price.
And this price was, naturally, the Pill Sect asking for a great deal.
Gu Daofeng didn’t worry about it too much, he simply stated what he wanted. The array of conditions was something that the elder surnamed Gong found hard to accept.
The elder surnamed Gong naturally could not accept such conditions. If they went by Gu Daofeng’s terms, even if they managed to return alive to the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect, they would have to cede half of their sect’s resources and assets to the Pill Sect.
This was absolutely unacceptable for a sect.
If the elder surnamed Gong didn’t agree, Gu Daofeng would start to threaten. He would say things like, if you don’t agree, we will kill all of you and then attack the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect.
The elder surnamed Gong was unyielding and said that the conditions could be negotiated, but the ones that Gu Daofeng just proposed were impossible to fulfill.
Gu Daofeng, being an exceedingly cunning man, ordered a few disciples of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect to be captured, and told the elder surnamed Gong that if he continued to be slippery, the disciples would be immediately killed.
The elder surnamed Gong was furious, but he didn’t want to see his disciples slaughtered, so he had to swallow his outrage.
Gu Daofeng, not in the slightest bit anxious, said, “Gong Palace Master, since you can’t meet the conditions I proposed just now, I’ll take a step back. As long as you give me the Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron, I’ll let you go.
Afterwards, you can bring other items to ransom back the rest. How’s that?”
Upon hearing this, the elder surnamed Gong finally understood. He had been going in circles, and it turned out that Gu Daofeng was waiting for this all along. He wanted the Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron, the treasure of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect.
The Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron was a precious artifact of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect. You could even say it was their ancestral treasure. It had been obtained accidentally by the predecessor of the elder surnamed Gong.
When it had been passed down to the elder surnamed Gong, he treasured it more than his life and only used the Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron to refine pills once.
Now, Gu Daofeng demanded the Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron. The elder surnamed Gong’s first reaction was rejection.
“No way. The Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron is the most crucial treasure of our Ten-thousand Medicine Sect. I absolutely can’t give it to you.” The elder with the surname Gong shook his head without thinking.
Gu Daofeng was not impatient either. He waved his hand, and a Pill Sect elder swung his sword. Suddenly, three disciples of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect fell in a pool of blood, screaming in fear.
When the elder surnamed Gong saw this, he was outraged. The other disciples of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect were even more terrified.
Fang Lin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, but then he relaxed. What Gu Daofeng did was his business which had nothing to do with him.
Dugu Nian, however, couldn’t bear it anymore and yelled at the people on the stone platform, “Don’t kill anymore! Otherwise, my Dugu Family will not let you off!”
Dugu Nian’s words had some effect. Gu Daofeng didn’t order the elder to keep
killing.
“Palace Master Gong, I will give you one more chance. Hand over the Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron and you can leave. Rest assured, as long as I have the Nine Treasure Luminous Cauldron, none of these people will be harmed until you bring something to ransom them back,” Gu Daofeng said without any expression.
The elder with the surname Gong really wanted to fight with Gu Daofeng, but he still forced himself to calm down.
“Take it!” The elder with the surname Gong gnashed his teeth, took out the Nine Palace Bag and threw it at Gu Daofeng..