Chapter Twelve: I Am the Leader of the San Ding Gate
Qing Wu Gui, Wu Yuan, Mu Han, Jin Qilin, and Huan Wu Die all arrived at Liupan Star together. As soon as they arrived, they received a message from Qu Yi, and each took out the starship given by him, heading to a flower valley thousands of miles away from Taiyuan Mountain.
In the flower valley, tens of thousands of different flower species grew naturally. Colorful and beautiful flowers covered the entire valley, emitting a pleasant fragrance that was refreshing to the senses.
Qu Yi himself, along with Bai Man, walked hand in hand among the flowers, both wearing happy smiles as they admired the beautiful scenery and thought of their affections. Meanwhile, his five avatars—Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, Fire Lord, and Earth Lord—were under a bell-shaped flower, each meditating beneath a giant flower of that shape.
Qu Yi immediately noticed the arrival of the five people from Qing Wu Gui’s group.
“Qing Wu, Wu Yuan, you came quickly,” Qu Yi said with a smile as he looked up at the sky.
Sure enough, five starships appeared in the sky soon after, with the five members of Qing Wu Gui on board, all smiling happily as they watched Qu Yi in the valley.
“Qu Yi, you’ve reached the Mahayana stage,” Qing Wu said with a smile after landing.
“Ugh, Qu Yi, you finally showed up after making us wait so long. Ugh, I’m now at the later stage of the tribulation cultivation as well,” said a handsome and tall young man.
That man was Wu Yuan. Ever since he started his journey in the cultivation world, devouring cultivators at the middle and later stages of tribulation, he had overcome the sixty-nine tribulations and the nine-nine tribulations, and his body had now taken on a human form.
Qu Yi nodded at the five of them, then stared intently at Wu Yuan, his eyes filled with intense joy. Of course, Bai Man also kept staring at Wu Yuan, clearly very interested in his new appearance.
Mu Han, Jin Qilin, and Huan Wu Die, seeing the expressions on Qu Yi and Bai Man’s faces, knew they wanted to take a close look at Wu Yuan’s new form, so they remained silent.
“Wu Yuan, you look quite handsome in your human form. I thought you’d turn into a big guy covered in muscles,” Qu Yi said after observing for a while, then laughed heartily.
“Wu Yuan, I didn’t expect your human form to be so likable,” Bai Man added.
Everyone burst into laughter.
Wu Yuan touched his hair, his face turning red as he dared not look at Qu Yi. Yet, the smirk on his lips showed that he was quite satisfied with his new human appearance and somewhat proud of it.
“Qu Yi, Bai Man,” Mu Han finally spoke up at that moment.
“Master!” Jin Qilin and Huan Wu Die both called out in unison.
Qu Yi nodded, immediately sensing that Jin Qilin and Huan Wu Die had both reached the mid-stage of the Tribulation Phase.
“You two haven’t slacked off—reaching the mid-stage of the Tribulation Phase means you can help me manage the Three Cauldrons Sect from now on,” Qu Yi said with a faint smile.
Qu Yi could already sense that his five avatars were in quiet cultivation, on the verge of mastering a primordial force, with their soul realms about to reach perfection in the Mahayana stage, at which point they would ascend to the immortal realm. Therefore, after unifying the cultivation world under the Three Cauldrons Sect, he would ascend himself, leaving someone to oversee the sect—Jin Qilin and Huan Wu Die were undoubtedly the most suitable candidates.
Soul shackles had been planted in the souls of Jin Qilin and Huan Wu Die, so Qu Yi was naturally at ease. With their cultivation at the mid-stage of the Tribulation Phase and the low-grade immortal artifacts they possessed, they could easily handle even those at the Mahayana stage, sufficient to suppress the strongest cultivators in the world.
“Qu Yi, we were right—your secret control lies behind the merger of the seven sects to form the Three Cauldrons Sect,” Qing Wu Gui said with a faint smile.
“Ugh, Qu Yi, you’re really something,” Wu Yuan added immediately.
Jin Qilin and Huan Wu Die, however, looked at Qu Yi in surprise and asked, “Master, do you want us to take charge of the Three Cauldrons Sect?”
Qu Yi nodded and smiled, “But you can only become the sect leaders after I ascend to the immortal realm.”
Jin Qilin and Huan Wu Die looked at Qu Yi excitedly. They never expected that one day they would be able to lead the Three Cauldrons Sect and hold the most honorable position in the cultivation world.
“Well, everyone, the celebration for the establishment of the Three Cauldrons Sect is approaching soon. Find a place nearby to cultivate, and then we’ll go to Taiyuan Mountain together,” Qu Yi said with another smile.
“Yes!”
“Good!”
Everyone immediately replied.
……
Taiyuan Mountain soared high into the sky, reaching 20,000 meters in height. From the summit to the base, it had been divided into nine levels by the disciples of the Three Cauldrons Sect. At the summit stood a crimson jade throne. Below that, the nine areas represented the Tribulation Phase, Fusion Phase, Divination Phase, Outward Emergence Phase, Yuan Ying Phase, Golden Core Phase, Foundation Establishment Phase, Qi Attraction Phase, and the area where onlookers stood.
At this moment, the elders in the Tribulation Phase of the Three Tripods Sect, led by Tai Ming, Ying Hua, Jin Xiong, Cang Huang, Qing Long, Tu Long, and Shui Long, arrived at the area atop the mountain peak. The rest of the members of the Three Tripods Sect also went to various areas according to their own cultivation levels. Meanwhile, cultivators from various planets in the cultivation world had come specifically to watch the founding celebration of the Three Tripods Sect, all standing at the foot of Tai Yuan Mountain, stretching as far as hundreds of miles outside the mountain.
Only the Vermilion Jade Throne at the highest point of the mountain peak remained empty, with no one sitting there.
Everyone knew that only the sect leader of the Three Tripods Sect could sit on that Vermilion Jade Throne. Aside from Tai Ming and the other seven, all the cultivators were watching the throne, eager to find out who the sect leader was as soon as possible.
There were over 100 million cultivators, yet not a single one spoke.
The entire area around Tai Yuan Mountain was extremely quiet, with only the sound of the wind echoing in everyone’s ears.
In the hearts of every member of the Three Tripods Sect and the observing cultivators, various thoughts flashed rapidly as they guessed who might appear on the Vermilion Jade Throne.
“Who on earth is the sect leader of the Three Tripods Sect? It’s driving me crazy.”
“The sect leader must possess strength sufficient to suppress those in the later stages of Tribulation Phase like Tai Ming—so it can only be someone at the Great Perfection Stage.”
“Ever since the Great Perfection Stage cultivators from the ten major sects went to the Five Elements Extreme Realm, they never returned. It’s unclear where such a cultivator has emerged in the cultivation world now.”
“Today, when the sect leader of the Three Tripods Sect appears, he will probably announce some new rules. It’s really puzzling—no one knows what kind of rules he will set to ensure the sect’s eternal dominance over the cultivation world.”
“For the first time in the history of the entire cultivation world, the Three Tripods Sect is taking control of it. Such glory is truly astonishing.”
“If the cultivation world is under the control of the Three Tripods Sect, at least there won’t be major conflicts between planets in the future. Any conflicts that arise will be merely internal disputes among the planets.”
……
Countless cultivators had various thoughts racing through their minds.
Just then, dozens of silver-glowing starships suddenly flew in from the sky, leaving behind dozens of silver trails before landing on the summit of Tai Yuan Mountain. One after another, the cultivators stepped down beside the Vermilion Jade Throne.
These people were Qing Wu Gui, Wu Yuan, Jin Qi Lin, Huan Wu Die, Qu Han Xin, Wei Yan, Shuo Shang, Shuo Xu, Shuo Rui, and others—all those who were close friends of Qu Yi.
Undoubtedly, the appearance of these dozens of people immediately caught the attention of all the cultivators on and around Tai Yuan Mountain.
“How did these dozens of people reach the mountaintop? Who are they?”
“Nearly a dozen of them are at the Tribulation stage, and they’re not from the original ten major sects. These people are truly mysterious.”
“Hey, among those dozens, Shuoshang, Shuoxu, and Shuorui—those wanted criminals in the cultivation world—are also here.”
“Tai Ming, Ying Hua, and those seven others didn’t stop these people from reaching the mountaintop. It seems these people have a very close relationship with the leader of the Three Tripod Sect.”
“Good heavens! The flying treasures these people are using seem to be top-grade spiritual weapons. In the entire cultivation world, there have only been masterpieces like the Eight Directions Sword and the Six Directions Blade before. These people each have a top-grade spiritual weapon as a flying tool—there’s a chance they all have top-grade offensive weapons as well.”
“I can now conclude that there must have been a hidden force in the cultivation world, separate from the ten major sects, that has accumulated great power.”
……
In an instant, countless thoughts surged once again in the minds of the cultivators, and their spiritual senses covered Qing Wu Gui and the others.
Qing Wu Gui and the others simply smiled faintly, allowing the cultivators’ spiritual senses to scan them.
Naturally, aside from discovering their cultivation levels, the cultivators found no other clues.
Suddenly, on the summit of the Taiyuan Sect, Tai Ming, Ying Hua, Jin Xiong, Cang Huang, Qing Long, Tu Long, and Shui Long—all seven of them—stood up together and gazed at the starry sky. The other elders at the top of the mountaintop, who were also at the Tribulation stage, saw Tai Ming and the others stand up and realized that the mysterious new leader of the Three Tripod Sect was coming. They immediately stood up as well to greet him respectfully.
“Hahaha!”
A thunderous laugh echoed through the air, reaching the ears of all the cultivators around Taiyuan Mountain.
But the person who made the sound did not appear right away.
Just as the cultivators grew uncertain, a figure appeared on the Red Jade Throne at the top of Taiyuan Mountain.
It was Qu Yi.
“What? The leader of the Three Tripod Sect is actually Qu Yi!”
“Good heavens, my eyes must be fine— the leader of the Three Tripod Sect is Qu Yi!”
“It’s unbelievable. Qu Yi, who’s wanted throughout the cultivation world, is actually the leader of the Three Tripod Sect? This joke is a bit too much.”
“That’s impossible. Qu Yi is being hunted by beings at the Great Vehicle stage from the ten sects, plus ten immortals from the higher realms. How could he still be alive?”
“Qu Yi is the leader of the Three Tripod Sect… Qu Yi is the leader of the Three Tripod Sect… Heaven, are you playing tricks on us?”
……
At this moment, hundreds of millions of cultivators around Mount Taiyuan were in a dazed state, all staring in disbelief at Qu Yi on the Red Jade Throne. Qu Yi, who had once been hunted by the entire cultivation world, now controlled the Three Tripod Sect and even led it to unify the entire cultivation world—what an irony. Qu Yi smiled faintly as he glanced down at Mount Taiyuan, then slowly stood up straight and said softly, “I am the leader of the Three Tripod Sect!” His voice rang clearly in all the cultivators’ ears.