The sky is a brilliant blue like a porcelain plate, with white clouds scattered about like silk.

  Although the battle of Wucheng made Qinghu Island a topic of conversation for the people of the nine states, Qinghu Island itself remained unchanged, and even because of this shame, many disciples of Qinghu Island became more diligent.

  They are one with Qinghu Island! The humiliation of Qinghu Island is their humiliation!

  Qinghu Island is respected, all disciples go out and are proud. The master's requirements are strict, the disciples work hard... Qinghu Island is more united than ever! At the same time, it also makes that Qingyue Mountain hate its teeth itching.

  Qinghu Island, Suolong Pavilion!

  "Island Master!" Gu Yong arrived at the Suolong Pavilion, looking at the man with golden long hair sitting cross-legged in meditation. That person was none other than the current Island Master of Qinghu Island, "Tie Fan".

  Tie Fan smiled and said: "Shixiong has arrived, please sit down."

  "Island Master, it's been half a month since the battle of Wucheng. Do you have any news about that Qing Shan now?" Gu Yong stared at Tie Huan.

  Tie Fan's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at Gu Yong before saying: "Ever since the incident in Wu City, after Teng Qing Shan escaped... although there have been many reports of his discovery, none of them were true! To this day, no one knows where Teng Qing Shan is hiding!"

  "He is still disguised as a businessman or hiding in some mountainous area. Nobody knows!"

  "With his disguising ability, it's hard to find him again. It's as difficult as climbing the sky! Last time, it was because of a thief who discovered the divine axe and the wheel gun that we found Teng Qing Shan. This Teng Qing Shan must have learned from his past mistakes and won't make such an error again!"

  Gu Yong's face turned ugly as he listened, and he said in a low voice: "Island Master, are we going to let Tun Qing Mountain run amok on our Qing Hu Island?"

  Tie Fan's face sank, and he suddenly shouted in a cold voice: "Shixiong!"

  Gu Yong was taken aback, as Tie Fan usually showed him great respect. Although Gu Yong was no longer the Island Master, he had been one for many years after all... In his subconscious mind, he still thought of himself as superior!

  "Junior brother, what is it that you want to say?" Gu Yong furrowed his brow.

  Tie Fan's face turned red with rage, his eyes bulging: "Eldest Brother, you're the most gifted of our generation! I reached the Golden Elixir stage later than you by several years. My strength is far inferior to yours! Yet even now, you still quibble over that trivial matter of Teng Qing Shan? It's just a small thing!"

  "What does the world say about me? It has come to this! Who in the world dares to look down on Qinghu Island?"

  "This time, Elder Zhao went to Yu Zhou, but Emperor Yu's gate didn't give a serious welcome. Why? It's because we have our Master Ancestor!"

  "But our Master, with a lifespan of 500 years, only has several decades left! Several decades, brother, aren't you anxious?" Tie Fan's eyes were red-rimmed. "Once Master reaches the end of his lifespan and ascends to heaven! And my Qing Hu Island doesn't have any powerful Void Realm cultivators. What will happen then? A thousand-year foundation, destroyed in an instant?"

  "Heng Qing Shan, it's just a small matter, an insignificant small matter! The strong in the Void Realm are the real deal! Eldest Senior Brother... you've been retired for two months now. But seeing you like this, I'm really worried!"

  The ancient city was said to have fallen completely silent.

  towards...

  Heng Qing Shan, only slightly damaged the reputation of Qing Hu Island. But the status of Qing Hu Island was not affected at all! The foundation of Qing Hu Island, the 'heaven' of Qing Hu Island is the strong practitioners of the Void Realm. Without strong practitioners of the Void Realm, their heaven would collapse!

  "That's the Guiyuan Sect, and there is a strong Void Boundary cultivator. And that Zhuge Yuánhóng's progress is even more astonishing. Looking at it, Zhuge Yuánhóng may one day be able to enter the Void Boundary! Dozens or hundreds of years later, the Guiyuan Sect will have two great Void Boundary strongmen. My Qinghu Island, not a single one! At that time, my 'Qinghu Island' will have to follow in the footsteps of the 'Jianzong' from over a thousand years ago!"

  "At that time, Qing Hu Island was reduced to nothing but ashes! Master brother, compared to that, what's the significance of Teng Qing Shan's matter?"

  Gu Yong fell silent, his face also changed dramatically, and it was clear that he was struggling in his heart.

  A long time ——

  Gu Yong's face returned to calm, and he bowed his head: "Island Master! I was blinded by anger. From now on, the pursuit of Tong Qing Shan is no longer my concern! I will focus on cultivating myself in order to reach a higher realm!" Upon hearing this, Island Master 'Tie Fan' also revealed a hint of a smile on her face.

  ******

  Since the battle of Wucheng, Teng Qingshan first tried to change the way of Xiantian Zhenyuan in the Tie Dao mountain range within Yuzhou, and studied for a full ten days. He also accumulated some experience, and Teng Qingshan was confident. Facing the strong Xiantian Jindan, even if he couldn't defeat him.

  At least I can escape with my life!

  Then Teng Qing Shan left Tie Dao mountain range and hurried northward quickly.

  Every night, Teng Qing Shan rides a black-striped horse he bought and gallops swiftly on the official road. With Teng Qing Shan's nocturnal vision, traveling at night is not a problem at all. He can cover thousands of miles in one night.

  In this way, Teng Qing Shan can also cultivate on horseback, without wasting any time.

  After a while, Teng Qing Shan will arrive at a place where people rarely set foot, such as the mountains and forests, to rest. At the same time, he can also meditate and practice his Three Bodies Technique.

  ……

  So be it, hiding in the daytime and emerging at night!

  Half a month after the battle of Wucheng, Teng Qing Shan had only traveled for five days before leaving the borders of Yu Province and entering the northernmost part of Jiuzhou, 'Yan State'.

  Bai Lian City, a small city in the north of Yan State.

  In front of the Wanxiang Building, a person walked over.

  The man wore a single garment, his hair disheveled, with a large bundle on his back and a curved knife at his waist. He stopped in front of the Wanyuan Building.

  Raised her head and took a glance at the three golden characters - Wanxiang Building!

  "This Wanxiang Building is in Yicheng, and it's also in Bailian City! Throughout the nine provinces, I'm afraid every city has one of these buildings. The Wanxiang Gate never competes for dominance, it's extremely low-key. But when it comes to wealth, just adding up all the Wanxiang Buildings scattered across the world is a terrifying number. Among the nine provinces' eight major sects, there are many sects that don't even exist as long as the Wanxiang Gate! This ancient sect probably has no shortage of powerful experts." Teng Qing Shan sighed quietly.

  Having money, people are all over the nine states, and there are disciples everywhere! Never fight for hegemony, naturally reserve a lot of strength.

  How strong is such a sect? It's also hard to figure out.

  "Enter the Wanxiang Building, please disarm." The two sword-wielding girls at the entrance simultaneously stretched out their hands.

  Hong Qingshan handed over the waist knife and walked inside.

  These two Wanxiang Gate disciples didn't intercept Teng Qing Shan again... although there was a weapon wrapped inside Teng Qing Shan's package. However, they didn't know that. Secondly, even if they knew, it would be impossible to force the guest to open their package. That would be too excessive.

  Inside Wanxiang Building, it is extremely spacious.

  "The Ranking of the Land", "The Hidden Dragon Ranking", "The Young Phoenix Ranking"! Teng Qing Shan looked at the first three books on the shelf, he had bought a copy of "The Ranking of the Land" from Wanhua Building when he first entered the city. It was also through that book that he learned about many things in the nine states.

  "Pal, take one of each of these three books." Teng Qing Shan said.

  "One hundred and two silver coins for 'Qian Long Bang' and 'Chu Feng Bang', ten silver coins for 'Di Bang'." The shop assistant said repeatedly.

  Hong Qingshan took out a stack of silver notes from his bosom and pulled out three hundred taels.

  That fellow saw a stack of silver tickets in Teng Qing's hand, and his eyes were hot. He sighed secretly: "People can't be judged by their appearance, it seems that the big masters don't have much money. It looks ordinary, but when you take it out, it's a whole stack!" At the same time, he took out three books for Teng Qing, as well as 90 taels of silver.

  Although silver notes require handling fees, merchants still prefer them, while ordinary civilians do not like silver notes.

  "Do you have 'Tian Bang'?" Teng Qing Shan asked.

  "No, this is not for sale." The fellow shook his head.

  Hong Qingshan held three books and came to the material sales counter, his eyes fixed on the star-patterned steel: "Give me a catty of star-patterned steel!" He said, taking out ten 100-tael silver notes from the stack.

  "A jin? Star-patterned steel?" The shop assistant inside the counter was somewhat surprised, as star-patterned steel, which was more expensive than gold, was rarely bought by anyone.

  This fellow quickly brought a catty of Star Steel, carefully weighed it, and then handed it to Tung Ching Shan.

  One catty of Damascus steel is worth one catty of gold and a thousand taels of silver!

  Hong Qing Shan put the star-patterned steel and three books into his bag: "With these star-patterned steels, I can repair the wheel-turning gun's gunstock... Further north, it will soon enter the Great Prairie! In the prairie, it would be a bit harder to buy star-patterned steel or find a refining master!"

  Bailian City, less than a thousand miles away from the Great Prairie.

  With Qing Shan's driving speed, it can be done in one day!

  ……

  White Lotus City, in the backyard of Yang's Refining Equipment Shop.

  "Liu Lao Jiang Shi, it's this Mr. Qing, who has offered a large sum of money to ask for your help in repairing the military equipment." A slightly chubby middle-aged man wearing a fur hat said to an older man with white hair and a robust build, who was wearing a round hat.

  Liu Laoshi looked at Tung Ching and asked, "Mr. Ching, what weapon do you want to repair?"

  "Liu Jiangshi, can you repair the Starlight Steel Soldier?" asked Teng Qingshan.

  "Star-patterned steel?" Old Master Liu chuckled, "This isn't difficult, but it depends on the extent of damage to your weapon, before I can quote a price!"

  "Hong Qingshan said directly: 'A commission of one thousand taels of white silver! I want you to repair it immediately.'"

  "It's settled then." Old Master Liu's eyes lit up instantly. Even if he were to forge a star-patterned steel sword, the price of a thousand taels of silver would be high enough. Not to mention that it was just a repair job.

  A moment later, inside the craftsman's specialty shop.

  Liu Laozhang stared at the Wheel of Rebirth gun handed over by Tun Qing, his face greatly changed: "This is, this is——"

  "Master, this weapon isn't..." The apprentice beside him also widened his eyes.

  News of Cheung Ching Shan's capture spread like wildfire. Details of the surrender also emerged, as many soldiers from Tsing Yi Island saw that Cheung Ching Shan's rifle had been damaged.

  Both of them were somewhat perplexed and looked at Cong Qing Shan with a mixture of fear.

  They fear that Teng Qing Shan will silence them!

  "Repair it well, there's a reward! If you have any other ideas..." Teng Qing Shan's gaze was like lightning, sweeping towards the two refiners. The two were shocked and nodded repeatedly. The old refiner said: "Young Master Qing, rest assured, I will definitely repair it well!"

  Hong Qingshan's reputation shook the world. Even the four great pre-heavenly golden elixirs couldn't kill him, so who among ordinary people would dare provoke him?

  When night falls.

  Teng Qing Shan quickly slung his pack over his shoulder and left the blacksmith's shop: "By tomorrow morning, we'll be out of Yan State and into the Great Plains!"

  In the ruined workshop, only two people were left: a master craftsman and his apprentice, both survivors of the disaster.

  "Master, is he Teng Qing Shan?" The apprentice didn't dare to breathe a sigh of relief until now.

  "Our guest is Mr. Qing. What's his relationship with Mount Qing?" The old master glared at the apprentice, then looked at a gold ticket worth ten taels in his hand before letting out a long sigh. Only now did he realize - his back was drenched in cold sweat.

  （）