If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1183 Stealing the Cauldron
"Why ask a question you already know the answer to, fellow Daoist? We gather together every day to study the Great Cauldron and exchange our insights."

No one hides their talents.

"Who doesn't know their own worth?" Zhong Yuangong sighed.

He Zhenjun glanced at Qiu Mingzi.

Akiko's expression was indifferent, but there was a hint of smugness in her eyes, as if she was full of confidence.

But he knew Qiu Mingzi's situation—she had achieved nothing in the Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique!
What is he so proud of? Where does his confidence come from?

Master Zhang, standing to the side, looked helpless and said, "When Immortal Yu Feng first taught us the 'Ancestral Dragon Heart Sutra' and the 'Great Method of Controlling Dragons to Conquer the Heavens,' we doubted her intentions and the authenticity of the great methods."

We must now acknowledge that Yu Fengxian possesses extraordinary magnanimity.

The Heart Sutra she taught us is entirely correct; mastering the destiny of humanity requires a benevolent and selfless heart.

We are too selfish, which is why we cannot master the Ancestral Dragon Heart Sutra.

For example, that Master Guan, whose cultivation was inferior to ours, actually used only half a month to borrow the Phoenix Cry Black Mountain Cauldron to extract the dragon energy of the Qinling Mountains and transform it into a ten-zhang-long small ancestral dragon.

While they may not be able to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, they are more than capable of suppressing ordinary deities.

But we can't even move the large cauldron.

Some people were not convinced and said, "Yu Fengxian did not pass on the false scriptures to us, but she may have kept a secret and only taught the core secrets to her confidants."

Master Zhang curled his lip in disdain and said, "There's a rogue cultivator named 'Futuzi,' who's friends with Fellow Daoist Qiu Mingzi, right?"

He failed to transform into a dragon, but successfully controlled the cauldron by harnessing the dragon energy of the Qinling Mountains.

According to him, if given another ten years, he would definitely be able to reach the level of Guan Zhenren.

Master Guan served as the Celestial Master of the Qin Dynasty for hundreds of years, and was already closely connected with the fortune and dragon energy of the Qin Dynasty.

In fact, as long as one can control the cauldron, one can quickly travel to any place in China with it.

This level of understanding is more than enough.

Qiu Mingzi said, "I was a guest at the Prime Minister's residence with Fu Tu Zi, and we met a few times and were able to talk to each other."

He had great respect for me.

If you all feel it's necessary to win him over, I might give it a try.

Zhong Yuangong sighed, "Futuzi is not the only Celestial Master who can control the cauldron; we have tried to win him over before."

Originally capable of controlling the cauldron, once we won them over, the "benevolent and selfless" mindset of the Ancestral Dragon Heart Sutra was immediately shattered.

They've lost their magic and are now just like us.

Keeping them around is useless except for bolstering our momentum.

Some people are narrow-minded and, because their practice has been broken and their Daoist mind is unstable, they will shout and make a scene, which is very troublesome to appease.

If things go wrong, our plan could be exposed.

"Brother Futu" was able to successfully request a Heavenly Seal as a rogue cultivator who had not yet become an immortal. In the cultivation circle, he was indeed exceptionally talented and outstanding.

The newly appointed Celestial Masters of the Imperial Observatory numbered over six hundred, and each of them possessed at least one unique skill.

What courage or confidence would a mediocre person have to challenge Grand Tutor Yu, who has returned from conquering the heavens with his dragon-riding prowess?
In the current Imperial Observatory, Brother Futu can only be considered slightly above average.

If he can do it, then others can too.

There were five or six others who, like him, could freely wield the Great Yu Divine Cauldron, and they were all immortals.

Without the secret techniques of the Ancestral Dragon, the Great Yu Divine Cauldron isn't immobile. If a group of ten or so naturally powerful immortals were formed, they could carry it around.

Or perhaps the Celestial Master of the Great Qin Dynasty, possessing the authority of a Celestial Master, would expend a massive amount of magical power to move the cauldron, much like Meng Zhenjun of yesteryear.

Unfortunately, this is merely "carrying the tripod," not "controlling the tripod."

Running with a heavy load on your back is too cumbersome and strenuous.

Let alone moving the cauldron to the Central Plains, it wouldn't even get out of the Qinling Mountains before being discovered by the Iron Eagle Warriors.

Cultivating Grand Master Yu's Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique, using the Great Qin's fortune to control the Nine Cauldrons, is like an immortal riding a sword, moving swiftly and secretly.

When one reaches a high level of mastery, such as Grand Tutor Yu, one can even refine the Nine Cauldrons and bring them into one's acupoints.

This is the correct way to steal the cauldron!
Qiu Mingzi and his group wanted to steal the cauldron, so of course they thought about recruiting a celestial master who could control the cauldron.

Before being recruited, those Celestial Masters felt a great deal of gratitude towards Grand Tutor Yu.

After all, Grand Tutor Yu was truly generous, opening up the Ying clan's resources to them completely.

They reaped enormous benefits from this. Several celestial masters who had not yet attained immortality even saw an opportunity to achieve enlightenment and ascend to heaven.

How precious is the opportunity to become an immortal?
Moreover, they were the Taoist priests who didn't have to go to the front lines.

He could stay in Xianyang and devote himself to studying the Nine Cauldrons and the secret techniques of the Ancestral Dragon for decades without feeling it was too long.

Knowing that the Qin Dynasty only had three years left to live, they became just as anxious as Grand Tutor Yu, worried that they would not be able to digest the huge amount of benefits they were about to receive.

At that time, they had no intention of betraying him and focused solely on studying Grand Master Yu's Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique.

Those with sufficient talent, after dedicated study, have truly mastered the art.

Once Qiu Mingzi and Zhong Yuangong approach them and persuade them to break their promise, leave Xianyang, and join Qianlong, their hearts will change, their selfless state of mind will be lost, their cultivation will be broken, and they may even suffer a significant backlash, becoming unable to control the cauldron again.

Their defenses crumbled, their composure was broken, and they began to resent Zhong Yuangong and his group.

In an attempt to quell the resentment, Zhong Yuangong made many empty promises.

"Yu Fengxian is indeed powerful! Her Ancestral Dragon Heart Sutra seems simple, but it actually delves into the essence of human destiny and is completely unbreakable."

To control the destiny of humanity, one must cultivate the Ancestral Dragon Heart Sutra.

There's no way to avoid it.

"Sigh, I can't find any flaws. I wonder if even powerful immortals can crack it."

Thinking of those Celestial Masters who still harbored deep resentment, Zhong Yuangong couldn't help but feel admiration for Grand Tutor Yu.

Qiu Mingzi's eyes flickered slightly. "Since you have this intention, why not try directly with the Great Immortal? Perhaps you can truly find a solution!"

Zhong Yuangong paused for a moment, looked at him thoughtfully, and said, "Although we have decided to break our promise and cleanse our karma by supporting the Dragon Court, 'leaking the Heavenly Dao' is ultimately different."

Our promise to remain as the Heavenly Master of the Imperial Observatory was not entirely of our own volition.

Even sages have said that a virtuous person adheres to the right path and is not bound by petty beliefs.

We don't have to keep any promises we're forced to make, and 'God' won't blame us for it.

The disclosure of Heaven's will was not forced.

We sincerely desire to obtain Yu Fengxian's Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique.

He swore an oath then and there that he would not reveal the secret method.

Qiu Mingzi lowered her eyes, remained silent for a while, and then said, "I will take care of the matter of moving the divine cauldron."

All you need to do is persuade as many 'newly appointed civil and military masters' as possible and guide them to prepare for their departure.

We need to ensure that more true images are released and more people leave.

Once my message reaches you, we'll all escape from Guanzhong together.

Zhong Yuangong asked, "Approximately when?"

Qiu Mingzi replied without hesitation, "Of course, the sooner the better. I will try to move the cauldron tonight, and if nothing unexpected happens, we can take action by midnight tomorrow night."

"Do you need us to cover our attempt at controlling the cauldron tonight?" He Zhenjun asked.

Qiu Mingzi said strangely, "Of the more than 600 civil and military celestial masters, 450 have already joined us."

Just make sure everyone around us is one of our own.

"Could it be that you noticed something was wrong and would shout for help?"

“That being said, you can’t be too obvious.” Zhong Yuangong glanced at the sky and sneered, “There are gods watching this place! Almost every day, wandering gods and officials come to keep watch.”

"Hmph, these are just minor deities from the City God's Office. They can be fooled by any trickery." Qiu Mingzi said disdainfully.

"Then we'll have to trouble you, Brother Dao. Taking the Great Cauldron is the key to our 'escape from Xianyang.' Only by possessing the Great Yu Cauldron can we be unafraid of Yu Fengxian's dragon-riding expedition." He Zhenjun, Zhong Yuangong, and the others bowed slightly to Qiu Mingzi.

After bidding farewell to He Zhenjun, Zhong Yuangong, and others, Qiu Mingzi immediately used the earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique) to travel south.

After arriving at a barren mountain near Hanzhong, they emerged from underground and "whoosh" flew into the sky.

A moment later, a figure floated out from the void.

It was none other than Dong Ye, one of the Four Friends of Qionglin!
"Greetings, Senior Dong!" Qiu Mingzi said with great respect.

This explains why his expression was always confident yet smug when he faced He Zhenjun, Zhong Yuangong, and others.

He went to the Heavenly Court to find Taibai Xingjun Li Changgeng, but did not receive the enthusiastic response he expected. Instead, he "unexpectedly" made contact with the Four Friends of Qionglin.

It wasn't that Taibai Xingjun (the God of the White Snake) helped him make connections and introduced him to the Four Friends of Qionglin.

The Heavenly Court is unreliable; among the hidden dragons in the human world, the most famous is Chen Sheng of Dazexiang.

Even knowing that Chen Sheng was most likely a vanguard for the king, Qiu Mingzi had no other choice but to go and investigate.

Then he came into contact with the Four Friends of Qionglin.

"Are you ready?" Dong Ye asked.

Qiu Mingzi said, "It depends on whether you are ready, senior. We can act at any time once you move the Great Yu Divine Cauldron."

Dong Ye sighed and asked, "Are you asking me what level I've reached in my cultivation of the Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique?"

To be honest, I'm not very confident.

The spellcasting process might give you away, so you need to prepare in advance and shield yourself from the eyes and ears around the cauldron.

I don't have anything to worry about, I'm just afraid of implicating you all.

Qiu Mingzi tensed up, her expression still puzzled, and asked, "With your senior's cultivation, why are you not very confident?"

Among the newly appointed Celestial Masters is a rogue cultivator named 'Futuzi,' who is not even an immortal and whose talent and fortune are rather ordinary.

He was fortunate enough to receive the Heavenly Seal only because the 'Five Thunder Technique' he obtained in his early years was relatively complete.

Even someone like that could complete the beginner-level 'Imperial Cauldron' within a month.

The Five Thunder Method contains the fundamental methods for cultivating the primordial spirit and internal energy, as well as "finished Thunder Dao Runes" and various Daoist techniques.

When Qiu Mingzi said that the thunder magic was complete, he meant that the thunder runes were relatively complete.

Xiao Yu obtained the Five Thunder Technique from the old farmer in Minshan through interrogation, but he didn't find a single thunder talisman. Later, by eating thunder apricots, he managed to condense 6,600 thunder talismans.

Although Lei Dao had all the runes, he was nothing in front of Dong Ye.

Dong Ye was born with a pure and clear Daoist heart. He has now severed his three corpses and reached the highest spiritual realm of Daoism—sitting in oblivion.

To forget oneself and the external world, to achieve absolute spiritual freedom—in short, to transcend the limitations of the soul.

This state of being allows one to directly perceive the origin of all things.

No matter what kind of Taoist practice one cultivates, one can learn it at a glance and master it in no time, so fast that fellow practitioners are left in despair.

It's roughly similar to Xiaoyu learning demonic script and supernatural powers, except the efficiency is a bit lower.

The "Little Kunpeng" learning the demon script is due to the awakening of its bloodline memories, skipping the learning process from scratch.

Master Dong also goes through a process of enlightenment and learning, which is less efficient.

Qiu Mingzi had revealed Yu Taishi's "Ancestral Dragon Heart Sutra" and "Great Method of Controlling the Dragon and Conquering the Heavens" to Dong Ye more than half a month in advance.

He firmly believed that with Dong Daxian's abilities, he could quickly master the Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique. At the very least, controlling the cauldron would not be difficult.

As a result, Master Dong now says he's "not very confident."

Dong Ye hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yu Fengxian's Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique is extremely exquisite, and can even be described as 'profound and extensive'."

Having high talent doesn't guarantee you'll learn it.

For me personally, understanding it and mastering the practice methods and techniques is not difficult at all.

The main challenges lie in connecting with the dragon's energy and increasing one's affinity with the human destiny.

You should know that it was only after receiving the Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique from you that I actively came into contact with the dragon veins and dragon energy for the first time in my life.

Akiko understood now.

Master Guan's rapid progress, far surpassing all newly appointed Celestial Masters, was not due to superior talent.

The main reason is that he served as the Celestial Master of the Great Qin for hundreds of years, had a close connection with the Qinling Ancestral Dragon, and thus the fortune of the Great Qin Dynasty was even more prosperous.

"In any case, please give it a try, Master."

“We definitely have to try. I’m just reminding you to clear the area beforehand, so that I don’t expose you if I make a mistake,” Dong Ye said.

Qiu Mingzi laughed and said, "Of the more than 600 newly promoted Celestial Masters, nearly 80% have made up their minds to sever ties with the tyrannical Qin Dynasty."

Tonight, the foot of Black Ice Mountain is filled with our people.

“In that case, let’s go!” Dong Ye took a step forward, his appearance and demeanor already transformed into that of another Qiu Mingzi.

Qiu Mingzi laughed and said, "Yu Fengxian has been stirring up trouble with the Earthly Fiend Transformation Technique. But the Earthly Fiend Transformation Technique is not unique to her."

Now it's our turn to give them a taste of their own medicine.

As he talked and laughed, his figure rapidly faded and eventually disappeared completely.

The real Qiu Mingzi disappeared, and "Dong Qiu Ming" returned to the Black Ice Platform by the same route.

As expected, no one noticed anything unusual.

Dong Qiuming did not immediately attempt to control the cauldron.

This wasn't the first time he had seen the Nine Tripods of Yu the Great; he had seen them many times before and studied them extensively.

It is possible to attempt to use the Ancestral Dragon's secret technique while riding the cauldron, which is the first time this has been done.

He learned from the local Taoist masters, standing in front of the cauldron chanting incantations and performing rituals, occasionally patting the cauldron.

After two hours of fussing, it was almost 2 or 3 a.m.

Many of the Celestial Masters were tired and impatient, so they returned to the Black Ice Platform to rest.

Dong Qiuming glanced behind him.

After receiving a hint from "True Autumn Brightness", he held his breath and began his first attempt at controlling the cauldron.

A faint yet vibrant dragon aura rose from his body.

In an instant, the hundred or so Taoist priests who remained at the scene all turned to him with shocked gazes.

—This is not the dragon aura of the Qin Dynasty!
Qinling Zulong is long dead.

At this moment, the dragon aura emanating from "Qiu Mingzi" exuded a "weak" yet vigorous vitality.

—This person is not Akiko!

Qiu Mingzi is the Celestial Master of the Great Qin Dynasty, possessing the authority of a Celestial Master, and therefore cannot accept the dragon energy of other dragon veins.

Upon realizing this, the shock on their faces turned into sudden realization: Qiu Mingzi had actually found an outsider to help him cultivate the Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique!

That's right. The Ancestral Dragon Secret Techniques are not exclusive to the Great Qin Dynasty, and the Great Yu Divine Cauldron is not the private property of any one family or clan.

The Ancestral Dragon's Secret Techniques apply to all dynasties, while the Great Yu's Divine Cauldron belongs to the entire human race!

As long as the national teacher of the "enemy country" cultivates the Ancestral Dragon Secret Technique, he can also control the cauldron.

It might even be more effective.

They used the power of the Heavenly Master of the Qin Dynasty and the dragon aura of the Ancestral Dragon to steal the cauldron; even if they succeeded, they would surely suffer a backlash.

The foreign grand tutor stealing the tripod isn't considered stealing, nor does it constitute betrayal. Maintaining a benevolent and selfless heart naturally avoids any backlash!
—Akiaki's move was both brilliant and ruthless!
But is this "rebel national advisor" any good? His dragon aura is far too weak.

They muttered to themselves, but remained silent. They changed their positions in perfect unison, surrounding "Dong Qiuming" and secretly used a secret technique to suppress the fluctuations of the alien dragon energy on "Dong Qiuming's" body.

(End of this chapter)