Xu Fu was somewhat astonished to see Mei Qing actually let go of the bronze figure and tossed it out. As he was about to catch it, he suddenly noticed the bronze figure drifting lightly in midair, turning half a circle before flying toward Zhang Liusun.
At that moment, Mei Qing had already struck with both palms, his body soaring straight upward. With a chant of incantations, the final seal cracked open with a loud boom, and Mei Qing shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Xu Fu suddenly noticed the bronze figure veering mid-flight toward Zhang Liusun. Taken completely off guard, in desperation, he immediately activated his inner technique, only to find it vanished into emptiness like a stone sinking into the sea. He then recalled that the cunning Mei Qing had not actually removed the seals on the bronze figure before handing it back. Out of habit, Xu Fu had tried to summon it with his inner technique, and naturally, it no longer responded.
In the brief moment of hesitation, Xu Fu saw Zhang Liusun effortlessly retrieve the bronze figure with a single hand gesture. Then, like a wisp of light smoke, Zhang vanished beyond the cauldron in the blink of an eye.
Enraged, Xu Fu let out a long whistle, and the true energy within the cauldron surged toward him. With the magical restrictions gone, it flowed into his body like a thirsty horse rushing to a spring, restoring nearly seventy to eighty percent of his power in an instant.
Unlike Mei Qing and Zhang Liusun, Xu Fu did not exit through the mouth of the cauldron. Instead, he formed a mystical hand seal, merging the cauldron with his body. In an instant, the cauldron vanished into him, and his form materialized, hovering above the sea vessel. Just as he was about to roar in anger, he suddenly sensed a movement within the cauldron. A quick shift of his consciousness revealed the truth, and his fury intensified.
There Mei Qing sat calmly astride a white crane about a zhang in length, hovering over the sea beside the Jieshi rock. The crane’s wings spanned wide, churning up sea winds and mist, exuding the aura of an ancient immortal.
On the other side, Zhang Liusun sat cross-legged atop the Jieshi rock. The bronze figure had shrunk to about a foot in size and stood motionless beside him.
Xu Fu’s face darkened, his triangular eyes flashing with fury. He pointed an accusing finger at Mei Qing and shouted, “You clever little brat! You’ve actually tricked me!” As he spoke, he turned his finger toward Zhang Liusun and added, “You two must have conspired together, haven’t you?”
Zhang Liusun circulated his inner energy a few rounds before opening his eyes calmly. “Old Xu,” he said, “if we had really conspired, would you be standing here so easily now?”
Xu Fu was momentarily silenced by Zhang’s words. Thinking again, he realized it was indeed Mei Qing’s fault. Mei Qing had pretended to hand over the bronze figure but tossed it to Zhang instead. After exiting the cauldron first, Mei Qing had taken the opportunity during the moment Xu and Zhang were still inside, vying to exit, and tampered with Xu Fu’s cauldron body. The realization made Xu Fu hate Mei Qing to the extreme. He took a step forward, glaring at Mei Qing with clear intent to attack.
Zhang Liusun saw this but made no move to stop him. In truth, he had accepted the bronze figure out of necessity and was also secretly furious at Mei Qing’s trickery.
Zhang Liusun thought that although Mei Qing had agreed to the conditions, he was, in fact, the weakest among the three. The key lay in the fact that after exiting the cauldron, Mei Qing had practically no support.
At present, Mei Qing’s advantage lay only in his abundant inner energy and his possession of Xu Fu’s bronze figure. However, once the three conditions were fulfilled and they exited the cauldron, Mei Qing’s cultivation level would be the weakest among the three. As for the bronze figure, since it had been refined by the mother cauldron, although Mei Qing had temporarily subdued it, he had actually benefited from the child cauldron within his body. Now, Mei Qing wanted to leave the cauldron but was unwilling to hand over the child cauldron immediately, so he sealed it. While this made exiting the cauldron easier, it made taking the bronze figure out extremely difficult.
Since the bronze figure was difficult to carry out, Mei Qing and Xu Fu would inevitably quarrel over its return. Zhang Liusun had originally intended to sit back and watch the two fight like tigers. But he never expected that Mei Qing would act so quickly—no sooner had the issue of returning the bronze figure been raised than Mei Qing had let go and fled, neither handing it back to Xu Fu nor taking it himself, but tossing it to Zhang instead.
If Xu Fu were to retrieve the bronze figure easily, Zhang would need time to recover after exiting, and would then face Xu Fu in a difficult position. Thus, even knowing that Mei Qing had ulterior motives, Zhang had no choice but to step in and accept this hot potato.
Fortunately, the sealing technique Mei Qing used was essentially the same as Zhang’s, so Zhang had no great difficulty taking control of the bronze figure. However, carrying the bronze figure out of the mother cauldron had nearly drained the last of Zhang’s remaining energy. Therefore, as soon as he exited the cauldron, Zhang immediately retreated into his barrier formation on Jieshi rock and began restoring his energy without delay.
Now, within the barrier, although his energy had not fully recovered, Zhang had regained enough strength to fight. With the bronze figure in hand, he felt more secure. Observing Xu Fu’s furious expression, Zhang suspected that Xu’s anger was not only about the bronze figure. As he continued to recover, he spoke evasively while secretly hoping to benefit from the conflict like a fisherman reaping the rewards.
Faced with Xu Fu’s overwhelming aura, Mei Qing remained completely unperturbed. He chuckled and said, “Senior Xu, why get so worked up? This junior merely seeks to protect himself. As long as you break the formation and send the two of us out of Jieshi, what harm could there be? As for the bronze figure—”
Mei Qing glanced at Zhang Liusun before continuing, “I originally intended to throw it back to Senior Xu, but you, Senior, couldn’t even catch your own treasure? Could it be that the bronze figure’s energy is more compatible with Senior Zhang, so it was drawn to him instead? How you two seniors choose to hand it over is your own affair. Since I have already handed it over as agreed, it’s no longer my concern.”
Xu Fu’s eyes flared wide open as he glared at Mei Qing, then turned his gaze to the silent Zhang Liusun, gritting his teeth in frustration before gradually reining in his aura.
Although Mei Qing’s words about “self-protection” had stirred a slight suspicion in Zhang Liusun’s mind, he had not yet grasped their full meaning. Xu Fu, however, understood Mei Qing’s intent perfectly but chose not to expose it. Knowing that this was not the time to dwell on the matter, he shifted his attention back to the bronze figure in Zhang Liusun’s possession.
In fact, Mei Qing had used the brief moment when the bronze figure distracted Xu Fu and Zhang Liusun to accomplish something crucial.
When Mei Qing escaped from the mother cauldron, it happened to be carelessly placed at the bow of the ship. Mei Qing immediately used his blood as a medium to quickly inscribe several talismans onto the cauldron. Then he unsealed the child cauldron within his body and summoned his immortal crane, retreating to a safe distance.
When Xu Fu emerged, without thoroughly inspecting, he immediately merged the cauldron into his body, only then realizing something was wrong. It turned out that the talismans Mei Qing had drawn were not meant to sever the connection between the child and mother cauldrons, nor to harm the mother cauldron. Instead, using his own blood to write the talismans, Mei Qing had fused the child and mother cauldrons into one, allowing their spiritual energies to resonate.
Mei Qing had never imagined that he could wrest the mother cauldron from Xu Fu by his own strength. However, as long as the mother cauldron was present, the child cauldron within his body would inevitably be drawn to its energy, making it extremely vulnerable to control. In such a situation, others might try to stay as far away from the mother cauldron as possible to avoid interference from the child cauldron. But Mei Qing did the opposite—he not only did not try to sever the connection, but instead actively enhanced the resonance between the two cauldrons’ energies. This move immediately put Xu Fu in a difficult position.
As a result, although Mei Qing would find it extremely difficult to fight Xu Fu directly, since the child cauldron would naturally be weaker before the mother, the reverse was also true—Xu Fu would find it equally difficult to harm Mei Qing. If Mei Qing were willing to risk damaging the child cauldron, the mother cauldron would suffer severe repercussions as well.
Thus, Mei Qing was essentially resorting to a stubborn tactic. Xu Fu, already preoccupied with confronting Zhang Liusun and retrieving the bronze figure, would not want to expend too much effort dealing with Mei Qing. With the child and mother cauldrons now so closely linked, any harm to one would damage the other. Even though Xu Fu deeply resented Mei Qing, he would not dare rashly attack him. Moreover, if Zhang Liusun tried to harm Mei Qing, Xu Fu would have to protect him to prevent damage to his own precious cauldron.
Despite the underhanded nature of Mei Qing’s method, Xu Fu couldn’t help but feel a chill of surprise. Mei Qing’s boldness in taking such a decisive action under these circumstances was not something an ordinary person could manage. Moreover, the techniques Mei Qing had applied to the mother cauldron and the spellwork linking the two cauldrons were remarkably refined. Although Mei Qing had gained access to the forging techniques of both Xu Fu and Zhang Liusun, the fact that he could extract the key elements in such a short time and apply them effectively in battle was truly astonishing.
To break this stalemate, Xu Fu realized he should get rid of Mei Qing as soon as possible. Once Mei Qing left this cave dwelling, the ancient formation outside would naturally sever the connection between the child and mother cauldrons. Only then would Xu Fu no longer have to worry about being affected by the child cauldron. Conversely, Mei Qing would no longer have to fear his child cauldron being controlled by the mother.
Realizing Mei Qing’s intentions, Xu Fu inwardly gasped in alarm. He quickly turned to Zhang Liusun and demanded, “Now that we’ve exited the cauldron, Zhang brat, why haven’t you returned my bronze figure yet!?”
Zhang Liusun replied calmly, “Didn’t we agree earlier that you would first escort us out of this cave dwelling before our deal was complete? Since you haven’t fulfilled your promise yet, how can you ask me to return the bronze figure first?”
Xu Fu inwardly fumed. First, he feared that Zhang Liusun might discover the connection between the child and mother cauldrons and try to use Mei Qing as leverage against him. Second, with the bronze figure in Zhang’s hands, he had little confidence in overpowering him. Wanting to get rid of this “plague” as soon as possible, he growled, “Without the bronze figure, how can I possibly break through this cursed place by myself!?”
Zhang Liusun smiled and said, “What’s so difficult about that? You just perform your technique. I imagine you only need the bronze figure’s power when breaking through the formation. When the time comes, I will naturally release it for you.”
Xu Fu glared at Zhang Liusun in hatred before finally saying, “Fine, then you handle it yourself. I can only attempt this once. If you fail to act at the right moment, don’t blame me for the consequences.”
With that, Xu Fu sat cross-legged at the bow of the ship, and the mother cauldron reappeared. He flared his sleeves, began chanting ancient incantations, and golden beams of light streamed from the cauldron, layer upon layer, converging over the sea before him. A small black point gradually emerged from the light, slowly expanding.
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