Chapter 2383: Advancing by Leaps and Bounds!
Dalon Trinling finally began to speak, his eyes never leaving the battlefield. “We’ve never seen the Celestial Army that we’re preparing to fight, so we cannot be careless. However, regardless of the opponent we are facing, this army has the ability to fight a battle with them, at the very least dealing the enemy a heavy blow. On this point… we can report to the Supreme King!
“We’ve already done all that we can do. We can only look to the others for the rest.”
The survival of the continent was on the line, and no one wanted to put all their hopes in one basket. Three years ago, they had been unanimous with Wang Chong on this point.
Heaven was no ordinary opponent. This well-tempered army in the central battle region was only one part, not the whole.
Whoosh!
With everyone agreed, a few moments later, a messenger bird flew off in the direction of the capital.
……
Several days passed. Elsewhere in the Central Plains…
Bang!
With a mighty roar, a large boulder weighing seventy-some tons flew high into the air and crashed on the outer edge of a giant pit.
Centered on this enormous pit, at least one hundred thousand people were working to dig something out.
In the center of this crowd, several hundred figures flashed with pale yellow light. All of these people were clearly extremely formidable Earth Element users.
“You can do it!”
“No matter what, we must dig out our objective!”
“Deeper, deeper!”
“Everyone, stand back a little! Make sure the soil is as loose as possible to make things easier on those below!”
Shouts and bellows could be heard from the pit.
At certain intervals, torches had been installed on the walls of the pit, and numerous Earth Element users traversed the walls like lizards as they transported soil to the surface or transported workers deeper down.
At the very bottom of the pit, several hundred giant creatures were working to dig deeper down. If one looked carefully, one would realize that these were giant Stone Generals.
The largest of these Stone Generals was controlled by none other than Wushang Village’s Huang Botian.
Bang!
After a long period of digging, suddenly, a metallic ringing came from the ground. This sound seemed to be imbued with some unique strength that caused the entirety of the mountain to slightly tremble.
“We got it! A cauldron! The last of the Nine Cauldrons!”
A cheer came from the pit.
“Wonderful!”
Even Huang Botian couldn’t help but let out an excited roar.
Following the orders Wang Chong had given before entering seclusion, Huang Botian had left the army, selected countless Earth Element users from across the realm, and organized an Earth Element army.
They existed for the sole purpose of finding the lost Nine Cauldrons.
After Yu the Great controlled the floods, he gathered the world’s finest metals and cast them into nine cauldrons that were used to pacify the Nine Provinces. This was the origin of the Nine Cauldrons.
For the last three years, Huang Botian had led this army of more than ten thousand people in digging up the mountains. He had already managed to dig up seven cauldrons, and this was the last one.
Bang!
Huang Botian punched down, and the surrounding rock flowed away like water to reveal that giant bronze cauldron.
The cauldron was a deep black, but it had a strange light and seemed to contain a mysterious power.
“Bring down the hook!”
“Pull up the cauldron!”
With a great clatter, a giant metal chain was dropped down from the surface several thousand meters above. Huang Botian swiftly wrapped the chain around the cauldron and then placed the hook on the cauldron’s handle.
Soon afterward, Huang Botian gave the order, and everyone began to make their way back to the surface.
Roooar!
Around that thick chain in the center, more chains were thrown down, and ten thousand Earth Element users began to vigorously pull.
Crack! Clack! The earth shuddered and groaned as the giant cauldron was pulled up, inch by inch, out of the earth.
One meter, two meters, three meters… the cauldron was smoothly pulled up, and everyone’s faces lit up with joy.
But when the cauldron was pulled up around one hundred meters, boom! The chain was suddenly pulled taut, and the bronze cauldron suddenly began to grow heavier and heavier, as if it had a magnet attached to its bottom.
“Careful!”
Everyone instantly turned nervous.
The Nine Cauldrons were objects meant to pacify the Nine Provinces, and each one was different. Various phenomena had taken place when they had been extracting the previous seven cauldrons. One had suddenly begun to erupt with flames, another had created a giant sea, and another had begun to absorb the energy of nearby people… They were far too familiar with such oddities now.
Eight meters, nine meters, ten meters!
The cauldron continued to be pulled upward. Everyone could sense that the weight of the cauldron had multiplied by several dozen times in this brief moment, and it felt more like they were pulling up a mountain.
“Damn it!”
Huang Botian broke out in a cold sweat, and the veins of his arms bulged, steam ejecting out of his pores. Even though he was exerting all his strength, he was still unable to pull the cauldron out from the ground. In fact, he was reaching his breaking point, the cauldron slowly being dragged back to the earth.
“Pull! The last cauldron! Once we pull it out, our mission will be done!”
As bellows rang out, the more than ten thousand people pulled in unison, clenching their teeth.
For the last three years, they had excavated numerous areas: mountains, swamps, lakes, and even the ocean. They had been to numerous places and encountered numerous setbacks, but they had pushed through in the end. Once they removed this last cauldron, their mission would be done.
Most importantly, the Supreme King had said that the Nine Cauldrons would play a key role against the Yeluohe and the otherworldly invaders that would come in the future.
When all of them gathered, they would unleash a whole new level of power.
The army focused around these nine cauldrons had been expanded by more than ten times, and it would play an extremely important role in the future.
So long as it could be of assistance in that future war, all of them would work hard without complaint.
Everyone knew that day would inevitably come!
But even though they were exerting all their strength, in the end, they failed.
Bang!
After rising five-hundred-some meters, the bronze cauldron’s weight finally reached an unbelievable level. Clang! The metal chain snapped, and the cauldron was pulled back to the ground by an immense force. On the surface, the force of inertia caused everyone to fall over to the ground.
There was an eerie stillness. No one had expected this to happen.
But a few moments later, Huang Botian clenched his teeth and led everyone back into the pit.
“Again!”
With furious roars, they once more transformed into giant Stone Generals, and more chains were tossed down.
As people pulled from the surface, the Stone Generals pushed from below. They tried various methods to bring the cauldron back to the surface.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
One chain after another snapped, and the cauldron continued to drop back to the bottom of the pit, even bringing people hurtling down with it.
But after a day of effort, Huang Botian finally had an idea. Using their Earth Element abilities, they altered the terrain, bringing up the cauldron step by step so that they could minimize the immense weight of the cauldron.
Another two hours later…
Boom!
Finally, the cauldron was pulled out from the earth, and as it appeared on the surface, everyone erupted with cheers.
“Success! We finally succeeded!”
“Last cauldron! We finally have them all!”
Some people were so excited that they started shedding tears. They had been working hard for the last three years, poring through various books and living out in the open, and they had even lost a significant number of people. But at last, they had finally reached this day.
After being buried for a thousand years, these cauldrons had finally reemerged into the mortal world.
“Hurry and drag this cauldron back to the capital. In addition, inform His Highness!”
A messenger bird took flight, making its way through the mountains toward the capital.
……
As Huang Botian was pulling up the final cauldron, to the east, beneath the Imperial Palace of the Great Tang…
This was a secretive and hidden location, dimly lit by luminescent pearls planted in the stone ceiling. In this vast space, countles figures sat cross-legged on the ground. The coiling black dragon insignias on their bodies revealed their identity.
The Shadow Dragons!
Since the Celestial Palace incident, the Shadow Dragon Division had been constantly expanding. This underground area beneath the Imperial Palace was only one of the ten Shadow Dragon bases.
The Shadow Dragon Division was at least ten times larger than before the war. Moreover, besides Wang Chong’s Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, they had also been given the Celestial God Organization’s Lu Wu Divine Art, Ju Bi Divine Art, Flame of Mara, and even Wang Chong’s Shadow Fiend Art.
Only the strong could fight against the strong!
The Shadow Dragons had been established for the sole purpose of targeting the Celestial God Organization.
Bong!
After some time, a chime rang out in the underground dimension. It was neither too loud nor too soft. In normal circumstances, it would have gone completely unnoticed, but the Shadow Dragon members took this as a signal, their eyes opening as they stood up.
“Is everything ready?!”
A loud voice rang out. In the corner of this vast hall, several large figures stood up from their thrones and walked out from the shadows.
Their faces were hard and tough, their expressions cold. These were none other than Bai Hanzhou, Zhao Fengchen, and Li Xuanyi.
These three were strong and loyal to the imperial household. Thus, after the Celestial Palace incident, Li Heng had moved them to the Shadow Dragon Division, making them the new commanders of this force.
This vast underground space was silent, no one speaking, but all of them lowered their heads and subtly nodded.
Strict obedience!
The Shadow Dragon Division had stricter discipline than any other force.
Bai Hanzhou waved his hand and ordered, “Come in!”