Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron

Shaking Light Holy Land was immense. Beyond the endless towering divine peaks and ancient temples originating from time immemorial on the ground, massive floating islands also hung in the sky.

The sights in the deepest reaches of the Holy Land were even more astonishing: the corpses of gods and demons, cities in the sky that never fell...

What Qin Sheng had seen of the Holy Land before was merely one small corner of it, since his range of activity had been limited.

Three days after the Wushang Secret Patterns had been inscribed, Qin Sheng arrived in the depths of the Holy Land under the Dragon-Pattern Peak Master's guidance.

The Dragon-Pattern Peak Master's expression was solemn, carrying the air of a believer about to worship a god. He said seriously:

"Qin Sheng, this is a rare opportunity. You must seize it and seek the greatest possible gains."

"But remember, under no circumstances may you show disrespect!"

Qin Sheng nodded gravely. "I understand."

Before them, a massive black cauldron floated at the highest point in the sky.

The cauldron stood supreme. Heaven and earth, the Great Dao, and all things were pressed beneath it; nothing could rise above it.

Its entire body gleamed with dark gold light, its surface engraved with flowers, birds, fish, insects, flying creatures, beasts, the sun, moon, and stars.

Deafening dragon roars rang out without cease. Tens of thousands of black Great Dragons seemed to grow from within the cauldron, their heads raised toward the heavens. Their scales looked as though they had been cast from black gold, terrifying and unfathomable.

At first glance, it was as though they had arrived at a Dragon Nest.

"This is the Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon of our Shaking Light Holy Land—the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron!"

The Dragon-Pattern Peak Master's tone was somewhat fervent. "It is the ultimate safeguard ensuring that the Holy Land remains invincible in the Eastern Wilderness and endures eternally."

"During the Desolate Ancient Era, our Holy Land forged this cauldron from Immortal Metal—Dragon-patterned Black Gold. Afterward, the Holy Land produced twenty-eight consecutive generations of sages and reached the pinnacle of glory."

"Under the sages' leadership, Shaking Light's countless Saint Lords and Taishang elders poured their hearts and souls into the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron. Every disciple devoted the efforts of an entire lifetime, remaining steadfast and reverently worshipping it as if it were a deity, for a full fifty thousand years."

"Fifty thousand years of kowtowing, fifty thousand years of prayer, fifty thousand years of worship. At last, the Holy Land's forebears moved the Firmament, and on a stormy night, the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron transformed into an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon."

"This was a Miracle, a Miracle belonging solely to our Shaking Light Holy Land!"

The Dragon-Pattern Peak Master was exceedingly devout at that moment, like a fanatical believer.

To refine an Emperor Weapon without ever producing a Great Emperor—Mo, let alone Beidou, had no other such case in the entire universe!

This was the glory and pride of every Shaking Light disciple.

But the truth was...

What Miracle was born of everyone working together? It was simply the result of a Heavenly Emperor secretly lending a hand... Qin Sheng thought.

The truth behind this Emperor Weapon was that, on that stormy night, Ruthless had descended upon Shaking Light Holy Land without anyone knowing and personally refined the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron into an Emperor Weapon.

Without her intervention, Shaking Light's ancestors could have worshipped the cauldron for another hundred thousand years, and it still would not have transformed.

Still, judging by the outcome, Shaking Light had indeed succeeded and had since risen into the ranks of Eastern Wilderness overlords.

"What a marvelous treasure."

Qin Sheng gazed at the terrifyingly boundless Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron, his heart filled with longing.

I wonder whether this Emperor Weapon could let me use it...

Ruthless's Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy had chosen him, he had cultivated the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art to an unprecedented realm, and Ruthless's "brother" was also his close friend.

Qin Sheng figured that he should possess the highest inheritance rights to the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron.

Ruthless would not object, either!

"Go on, contemplate it well." The Dragon-Pattern Peak Master left on his own.

Qin Sheng walked beneath the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron and sat down, looking up at this Emperor Weapon.

This was one of the benefits he could enjoy as a Candidate Saint Son.

When cultivators refined their own artifacts, they needed to inscribe Dao Patterns upon them to enhance their potential and power. Among all the artifact Dao Patterns in the world, Mo could surpass none of the Emperor Patterns borne by Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons.

A force like Shaking Light had the means to arrange such a stroke of Fortune for its disciples, allowing them to contemplate an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon.

Of course, fully comprehending the Extreme Dao Emperor Patterns was naturally impossible. Even the Holy Land's upper echelons did not dare dream of such a thing.

It was enough if, after contemplating them, the disciples gained even a little insight and could imitate their form to inscribe something onto their own artifacts.

Even reproducing the faintest trace of their essence would be an enormous improvement, an opportunity that outside cultivators could only dream of obtaining.

"The Devil Canopy conceals its own brilliance and usually resembles an ordinary artifact, but the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron is as domineering and dazzling as a True Dragon, instinctively displaying its extraordinary nature..."

As he looked at the flowers, birds, insects, fish, sun, moon, and stars on the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron, Qin Sheng sensed an aura that Mo could not describe. It resonated with the Dao and the truth, and he gradually became absorbed.

At the same time, the Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy, which had been lying quietly within his Sea of Bitterness, trembled faintly as the deepest black radiance flowed over it.

The Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron hanging high in the sky paused. The eyes of those black dragons shifted toward the ground below, gaining a faint trace of spirit and intelligence.

Rumble!

Thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down.

Everything before Qin Sheng changed. It was as though he had arrived on a stormy night. Nothing in heaven and earth could be seen clearly; only one cauldron was real.

Rain washed over the cauldron's body, flowing through patterns like dragon scales. Drip by drip, it changed color, becoming like Dragon Blood.

At that moment, the great universe flew into a rage, seemingly sending down Heavenly Retribution to destroy the cauldron. The myriad Daos of the Myriad Heavens all became calamities.

Yet amid such great destruction, the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron suffered no damage at all. Instead, it transformed as lines of patterns were gradually branded onto it.

Qin Sheng watched those Dao Patterns come into being, grow complete, and reach their peak. They exuded an intent of eternal Immortality, indestructible through countless tribulations.

The thunder and rain grew ever more violent, but they could only rage impotently, incapable of changing anything.

At the same time, the Emperor Weapon, the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron, displayed even more wonders. Hundreds and thousands of black dragons roared, their bodies stretching to immense lengths like mountains, shaking the Holy Land in every direction.

"An Emperor Weapon?!"

"Qin Sheng of Dragon-Pattern Peak was contemplating the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron, and he actually stirred it!"

"Unbelievable! Could he have gained the Emperor Weapon's favor?!"

"That kid really knows how to make trouble."

"..."

The commotion caused by the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron was a heaven-shaking upheaval, far greater than the shock Qin Sheng had caused when crossing the Four Extremes Heavenly Tribulation.

One Great Ability after another turned their eyes toward this place, their intentions unfathomable.

The Shaking Light Holy Lord's face was as dark as water. Where had the Ruthless lineage found such a monstrous genius?

Time passed. At a certain moment, Qin Sheng's vision suddenly blurred, and the stormy night vanished. He once more saw the many sights of Shaking Light Holy Land.

"Just now, did I... witness an incomplete process of the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron transforming into an Emperor Weapon?"

Qin Sheng was utterly astonished. He had not expected such an opportunity.

This was a tremendous stroke of Fortune. Witnessing the birth of an Emperor Weapon meant that what he had seen and gained was enough for Qin Sheng to inscribe immortal Dao Patterns upon his own artifact.

"Looks like my talent truly is earth-shattering. Even an Emperor Weapon would voluntarily favor me!"

Qin Sheng felt this was the highest acknowledgment of his status as Shaking Light's rightful heir.

He wanted to continue contemplating the Dragon-patterned Black Gold Cauldron, but the moment his gaze fell upon those Dao Patterns, stars swam before his eyes and his head spun.

"The experience just now exhausted my mind. I can no longer continue."

Qin Sheng could only rise regretfully. Then he saw that the Dragon-Pattern Peak Master, who should have left, had reappeared at some unknown time.

He looked at Qin Sheng with blazing eyes.

"Did you sense the spirit of the Emperor Weapon?"

Qin Sheng shook his head and answered honestly, "No. I merely contemplated the Emperor Weapon's Dao Patterns deeply, as though I had seen their birth and completion."

"Very good. That is already very good." The Dragon-Pattern Peak Master was deeply excited.

"You have the bearing of a Great Emperor!"

Qin Sheng: "..."

That did not feel very auspicious.