The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

Su Yu was bewildered as he saw that the Empire of Darkness’ Giant Summit was surrounded in all directions, as well as having been sealed.

How could it still provide such an astronomical amount of resources?

“It’s…” The Chief Inspector Bai was troubled. “Alliance Master, you really have sharp eyes! However, our Empire of Darkness has another source that provides resources for us, and a wealth of things are stored there. So, if we are providing for just this number of people, it will be more than enough to sustain them for more than a hundred years. So, you don’t need to worry.”

He didn’t mention where the resources came from, as he still wanted to keep that fact hidden. Besides, Su Yu would obviously not try to get to the bottom of it, as he would be offended by it.

Su Yu nodded, and didn’t continue questioning him any more after that. When he raised his head and looked into the distance, Su Yu saw that the eighth layer was just before him, while the top layer, which was the ninth layer, was just above it.

It was rumored that the King of Darkness was in the ninth layer, and that he hadn’t even taken a single step out of it in hundreds of years. As such, it was unknown whether he was even still alive or not.

Su Yu’s entire purpose for the journey here was to ask for reinforcements from the King of Darkness, so that he could fight the Fifth Saint Master’s army. But, after he met Long Quan, he start to hesitate, as the army of the Empire of Darkness had never once participated in any battle. This made him wonder if it was really worth it.

However, no matter what, he figured that he should first pay a visit to the King of Darkness before deciding anything. He would then choose whether to ask for reinforcements from him or not, based on what kind of person he was.

“Alliance Master Su, please wait for a while. Then, I will immediately bring you to the Seven Lords Palace.” Bai Chong brought Su Yu to the front of an ancient palace.

There were two spirited old men beside it, who were playing chess. They were wholeheartedly concentrating on their match, and it seemed like they had very dignified bearings.

When Su Yu examined them, he found that they had a boundless Vital Energy, and it seemed like they would shortly advance to the Level Three Fairy Realm at any time. This made him wonder if they were two of the Seven Lords Palace’s Lords.

“Greetings Black Elder and White Elder, may I trouble you to announce that the Alliance Master Su has arrived?” Bai Chong addressed the two men with a polite nod.

Are these two people, which are clearly about to advance to the Level Three Fairy Realm, really just gatekeepers?

Su Yu was quite startled by this thought, as if this was so, it meant that the Empire of Darkness’ hidden power was outrageously powerful!

“Well? Is this guy the Alliance Master Su?” The two elders looked at Su Yu in surprise. However, unlike other people, their gazes were still calm and composed, and there wasn’t any excitement or veneration within them.

“Okay, just wait till we finish this match.” The two elders took just only that single look at Su Yu, before averting their gazes again and returning to their chess match.

The fact that they unexpectedly wanted Su Yu to wait for them to finish wasn’t just impolite, it could even be seen as a utter humiliation. Even if it wasn’t towards someone like Su Yu, who represented a whole faction, the fact that mere gatekeepers dared to ignore someone at the gates, thus leaving them outside in front of all to see, was truly maddening!

Bai Chong was also somewhat troubled by it. “This…He’s the Heavenly Law Alliance’s master, and a guest who came from a faraway region! Such treatment is not…”

“Some matters aren’t up to you to decide, so if he wants to wait, he can wait, but if he can’t wait, then he can just leave,” one of the elders replied.

The two elders calmly spoke, without taking even a single look at him. Their calm and composed gazes were filled with pride.

“It’s really like the story of the seven grade official, who worked as the prime minister’s gatekeeper. The more he worked, the more proud he became. Soon, he felt like he was really superior to others.” Su Yu chuckled at them, and he couldn’t help but look down on them, as they were just the gatekeepers of the Seven Lords Palace, yet they became this proud and arrogant! He thought that it was really funny and pitiful.

Thump!

As a chess piece fell down, the blacked-robed elder looked at him, his expression still calm and composed. He then said, “The Seven Lords Palace’s front gate isn’t a place where you can misbehave. You should bear in mind that thoughtless words may invite a disaster upon you.”

Su Yu calmly smiled in the face of his threat and said, “It’s easy to visit the king of hell, yet difficult to deal with the little demons in charge of guarding his palace gate, so you can just continue working as gatekeepers like you want. Goodbye!”

After he had met Long Quan, Su Yu had already lost hope in the Empire of Darkness’ army, and he really just wanted to go back home. But, since he was already here, he thought that he really needed to proceed. But now, as he was obstructed by these insignificant gatekeepers, he found that even getting access to meet the Seven Lords Palace’s Lords was difficult, let alone the King of Darkness!

“I have truly wasted my time.” Su Yu laughed at himself inwardly. If he had known that it would end up like this, he never would have come to the Empire of Darkness in the first place.

Swoosh!

“Just take this, and it’s up to you whether you deliver it to the proper people or not.” Su Yu took the elder Jiu’s handwritten letter and threw it on their chessboard. After he spoke, he waved his sleeves and took his leave.

Anxiety appeared on Bai Chong’s face, while the two elders were still remained indifferent and uncaring, as if such a matter didn’t concern them at all. Even though their attitudes were deplorable, Bai Chong didn’t dare berate them.

Instead, Bai Chong could only chase after Su Yu and repeatedly apologize to him, “Alliance Master Su, please wait for a moment and listen to me…”

Su Yu waved his hand at him dismissively, then entered the teleportation place as he spoke, “Chief Inspector Bai, you this matter has nothing to do with you. I should actually be thanking you for receiving me and guiding here. Rest assured that I will surely bear this kindness in mind.”

“The Black, White elders’ tempers have always been like this, as they are a proud and arrogant pair! In fact, they often anger many people within the Empire of Darkness, so you don’t need to lower yourself to their level.” Bai Chong weakly sighed, while many thoughts swirled in his head…

The Heavenly Law Alliance’s master must have come here for some important matter, yet the Black, White elders were too proud and didn’t consider the overall picture of matters, or their severity…

Su Yu didn’t feel like wasting time worrying about the two old men, so he quickly changed the subject. “Chief Inspector Bai, are there any medicinal pill shops in the Empire of Darkness?”

He took out the list of items that contained the information regarding the Phoenix Tail Purple Fire Pill and the Peerless Moon Fall Pill, among others. These were both needed to cure the Phoenix Master Qiu.

Bai Chong was startled by his question, and as he took a look at the list, he slightly furrowed his long white brows and said, “Regarding the Phoenix Tail Purple Fire Pill, I have one of those that I can gift you, but it’s extremely difficult to find the Peerless Moon Fall Pill.”

“Isn’t it sold here, as you are such a prosperous empire?” Su Yu was bewildered by this new information.

Bai Chong shook his head. “It isn’t that it isn’t available to sell, it’s just that this pill is very special, as it needs the light of a full moon to refine it. Then, after refining it, it can only be preserved for half a month before it loses all of its effects.”

He then added, “As today is the already middle of the lunar month, even if some Peerless Moon Fall Pills were available, they would have already lost all of their effects by now. Moreover, if you wanted to get a newly refined Peerless Moon Fall Pill, you would need to wait until the beginning of a new month. I am sorry, Alliance Master Su, you seem to have not come in time for it.”

Half a month? How could I wait for such a long time, as the Fifth Saint Master’s army might arrive at any time and destroy the northern continent!

Moreover, the Phoenix Master Qiu’s injuries weren’t light, and if I don’t get all of the pills, that she needs, then her injuries might worsen. She might even stay in a coma forever!

“Well, wait… It isn’t like there are no ways of getting it at all, but it’s just that it’s somewhat difficult…” Bai Chong suddenly spoke, hinting at some alternative option.

Su Yu raised his brows. “Well, Chief Inspector Bai, there is no harm in mentioning it…”

“The empire’s Giant Summit has a hidden space, which is a secret realm that has a different time flow than the outside world. After I calculated it, I found that today should be its full moon’s day, meaning that you can get the full moon’s light from it, which can then be used to refine the Peerless Moon Fall Pill!” Bai Chong offered a solution.

Su Yu was astonished. “Is that hidden space the eighth layer?” Even such a majestic and lofty place like the Seven Lords Palace could only be situated within the seventh layer, and from this, it could be seen how important the eighth layer was.

“Alliance Master Su, you really are quick-witted,” said Bai Chong with a smile.

A thoughtful look appeared in Su Yu’s gaze as he asked, “Is the eighth layer the place that provides the resources for the whole empire?”

“It isn’t. In fact, the reason that the eighth layer isn’t habited isn’t because our resources are stored in it, but because its space is extremely unstable. As such, spatial fissures constantly appear in it, making it extremely dangerous and not suitable for living. Hence, people rarely even go to it.”

He took a breath, then continued. “But, it was only because of these constant spatial fissures that the difference between its time flow and outside world’s occurred. There are some people who take advantage of that and use the space to cultivate within it, while other people will occasionally go to it to harvest the full moon’s light.”

Making use of the difference in the time flow to cultivate? Su Yu suddenly recalled his own past time manipulation.

“How much slower is the eighth layer’s time flow versus the outside world’s?” asked Su Yu.

Bai Chong replied, “An hour in the eighth layer is two hours in the outside world.”

As that difference was pretty significant, it wasn’t really strange that the Empire of Darkness had managed to train a great number of Fairy Realm’s experts in just three years, especially if they had made use of this space!

“However, people rarely pass more than four hours in it, as a miasma will appear in it every two hours, which is extremely poisonous, one that even Level Three Fairy Realm experts may faint within if they came into contact with it. Hence, every two hours, the people within it will leave and wait for two hours before entering it once again.

Su Yu smacked his lips in wonder when he heard him. It seemed like the difference in their time flow wasn’t really as easy to use as he had first thought.

“Alliance Master Su, why don’t you wait here for a moment while I go inside to harvest some full moon’s light for you?” Bai Chong was quite considerate.

Su Yu was somewhat embarrassed by his care, as now that he thought about it, he even stole his Cloud Galloping Horse! But, maybe because of the disparity in their statuses, or maybe even out of respect for him, Bai Chong never mentioned it.

Still, how could I let Bai Chong take such risks for me? Although Bai Chong didn’t explicitly state it, Su Yu still sensed that this was probably not a safe place.

“Chief Inspector Bai, can I not enter it myself?” Su Yu asked.

Bai Chong slightly hesitated, then said, “According to the rules, only the citizens of the Empire of Darkness are allowed inside.” It wasn’t surprising that this was the case, as it would obvious be unwise to let outsiders enter such an important place.

“Then, what if I hid my identity?” Su Yu took a mask and placed it over his face.

Bai Chong hesitated for just a moment, then reluctantly agreed. “Fine, there isn’t really anything precious in the eighth layer anyway, so your entry cause any harm to the empire. Just follow behind me.”

After an hour, at the edge of the seventh layer, where an old and damaged teleportation formation was situated.

Sizzle!

Intense light shone out of the teleportation formation, while a large number of people came out of it. The state of the people at the front of the crowd was fine, and they all seemed composed and calm, but the ones behind them were all in a sorry state. Some of them had fainted and were currently being supported by their comrades.

Various expressions appeared on the faces of all of the people here, many of which were surprise, shock, and amazement. They were all talking and arguing amongst themselves, which caused the scene to quickly descend into chaos.

“What has happened?” Bai Chong’s heart tightened as came to a person who had fainted and examined him. The person was a thirty-year-old young man, and his face was a purplish color because he had been poisoned.

“Greetings Chief Inspector.” When they witnessed Bai Chong, they all greeted him out of respect.

“Chief Inspector, it’s because of the miasma.” A young woman was supporting him and helping him stand up.

She seemed to be his wife, and she had tears streaming down her face. As he looked at her, he could see that her face was also somewhat purple, as if she had also been poisoned by the miasma.

Bai Chong raised his brows. “Is there anyone else who has been badly injured apart from him?”

Such matters constantly occurred, as many would not cultivate alone without a comrade. This helped them to avoid common dangers, like forgetting about the time and cultivate for more than an hour, thus getting poisoned by the miasma!

However, as the empire already marked off a safe area around the teleportation formation, as long as they didn’t leave it, they wouldn’t be in any danger. So, a long time had passed since someone had been injured.