Supreme Cauldron

Chapter 2: The Ling Family Must Not Be Humiliated; Every Grudge Must Be Avenged

The might of an Emperor was irresistible. Before the attacks from the senior brothers and sisters could even approach Ling Yun, they were crushed by the imperial pressure radiating from his body. Anyone who dared to challenge that pressure spat blood and was sent flying backward. The gathered Demon Emperors, Lords, and Shuras were all shocked. Under Ling Yun’s imperial might, they felt like tiny boats adrift in the vast ocean.

“Demon Emperor… Ling Yun has already reached the Demon Emperor Realm!”

“Isn’t Ling Yun much younger than Ming Qianqiu?”

“Such talent… it’s absolutely terrifying!”

Ming Qianqiu stood frozen, his pupils flickering with fear and resentment. Princess Qingming covered her mouth, her stunning face filled with disbelief. The Abyss Emperor snapped out of his shock, staring at Ling Yun in a daze. “You… when did you break through to the Demon Emperor Realm?”

Ling Yun shook his head. “Master, the growing fortune shrouding the Divine Palace—do you really think it came from you alone? You just never considered that it might be connected to me.”

Hearing this, the Abyss Emperor suddenly understood and felt a pang of guilt. “Yun’er, all these years, you’ve remained right under my nose. I was indeed negligent. But it’s not too late to make things right! Yun’er, Princess Qingming still belongs to you! And this Divine Palace will be yours as well—”

“Master!” Ling Yun interrupted, his tone indifferent. “I never cared about the things you just said. For ten thousand years, I only wanted to repay your kindness. Today, that debt is repaid.”

From the moment the Abyss Emperor called him a beast, Ling Yun had lost all hope. He raised the Record of Chaos Creation in his hand and walked straight out of the Divine Palace without looking back. “From this moment on, there is no longer any connection between me and the Divine Palace!”

The Abyss Emperor immediately felt humiliated. He glared at Ling Yun’s departing figure and roared, “A mere piece of trash scripture, and you think that repays my grace? Without me, you would’ve died in the belly of a beast ten thousand years ago! Without my cultivation, how would you have such world-shaking power? Want to leave? Fine—repay every ounce of what you owe me!”

Ling Yun stopped walking.

Ten thousand years of dedication, the immeasurable value of the Record of Chaos Creation—was it still not enough to repay a debt?

Fine.

Ling Yun seemed to make a decision. He spoke clearly, “Very well! I, Ling Yun, will return everything you gave me!”

He reversed the flow of the Record of Chaos Creation. Instantly, the energy around him went wild, the heavens and earth trembled. Everyone was horrified.

“Stop him!”

“He’s going to cripple himself!”

But it was already too late.

Brilliant divine light erupted from Ling Yun’s body. In an instant, his Demon Emperor cultivation was completely erased. Yet, in his eyes, there wasn’t the slightest trace of regret—only madness.

“Abyss Emperor!”

“Your heavenly grace, I, Ling Yun, have repaid in full! From now on, we are finished! If you kill me, it is not betrayal; if I kill you, it is not ingratitude!”

With those words, Ling Yun’s body dissolved like feathered light and vanished completely.

The Abyss Emperor stood there in stunned silence.

“I… I just wanted you to bow your head and give me a way out! Why must you be so resolute?”

At that moment, the scripture previously discarded by the Abyss Emperor drifted through the air, caught in the aftermath of Ling Yun’s self-destruction. A single surviving page floated down before the Abyss Emperor.

He glanced at it and was instantly shaken.

“To Master: Yun, grateful for the grace of raising, teaching, and guiding. I am unable to repay it in full. When I saw Master sighing before the Supreme Cauldron, I understood my direction. For ten thousand years, I have sought to comprehend the Cauldron on your behalf. Though the journey was full of hardship and injustice, I have finally deciphered its secret and present it to you. Master, this is the great secret you long awaited—enough to break the prison that is the Abyss of Demons. You must be overjoyed.”

Reading just the opening lines, the Abyss Emperor trembled from head to toe.

So it turned out—Ling Yun was never the useless fool the world believed him to be. He was the peerless prodigy the Abyss Emperor had first recognized. He endured all the ridicule and contempt in silence, only to carry the burden of unlocking the Supreme Cauldron’s secret for his master’s sake—to give him a surprise.

But in the end, what Ling Yun received in return… was the word “beast.”

No wonder Ling Yun would rather abandon all his cultivation than continue their bond.

Just how disappointed… how heartbroken must he have been?

“What… what have I done!?”

The Abyss Emperor collapsed mentally, endless regret filling his heart.

That was a Demon Emperor with no equal throughout history.

One who had discovered how to break free from the prison of the Abyss of Demons!

And he had driven him away with his own hands!

“Search! Find him for me!”

The Abyss Emperor came back to his senses and roared like a madman,

“Even if you have to turn the entire Abyss upside down, bring Yun’er back to me!”

At that moment—

After reversing the Record of Chaos Creation and activating the Supreme Cauldron, Ling Yun had actually turned back time itself, returning to ten thousand years ago.

The location—right by the twisted-neck willow tree at the edge of the cliff above the Abyss of Demons, where he had once been thrown in.

Originally, after falling into the Abyss, Ling Yun believed he’d never have the chance to take revenge.

Even if he managed to escape one day, who knew if his enemies would still be alive ten thousand years later?

But now—

He had returned!

“As expected, the outside world is better. The air is sweet, the sun is bright, the skies are clear. No wonder the Abyss Emperor’s lifelong wish was to break free from the prison of the Abyss of Demons.”

Ling Yun opened his arms and took a deep breath of the long-lost air. His mood improved greatly.

He hummed a light tune and walked down the mountain.

Before long, a servant of the Ling family spotted him.

“Young Master! It’s the Young Master! I’ve found the Young Master!”

The servant quickly sent out a signal.

Soon, the Ling family’s white-haired Grand Elder rushed over.

When the Grand Elder saw Ling Yun smiling back at him, he was so overwhelmed that he wanted to rush forward—but hesitated, afraid it was just a hallucination.

The Young Master had been missing for half a year. The Ling family had scoured the entire Moyun Mountain Range without a trace.

“Grand Elder, long time no see.” Ling Yun grinned.

Hearing that familiar voice, the Grand Elder finally snapped out of it and instantly flashed beside Ling Yun. He grabbed his shoulders with excitement. “Y-Young Master… is it really you?”

“Of course it’s me.” Ling Yun feigned pain. “Grand Elder, easy on the shoulders.”

The Grand Elder immediately released him, then scanned Ling Yun up and down, suddenly noticing something strange. “Young Master… your cultivation?”

Upon closer inspection, he realized Ling Yun not only had no true energy left—he seemed to have lost his spiritual roots entirely.

Ling Yun possessed both fire and water dual spiritual roots—he had the potential to become a Saint.

“My cultivation is gone. But it’s not a big deal.” Ling Yun smiled casually.

Unlike the Abyss of Demons, in the outside world, cultivation was impossible without spiritual roots.

But for Ling Yun, the absence of spiritual roots meant nothing.

“Uh…”

The Grand Elder was shocked, suspecting Ling Yun must have suffered immensely during his disappearance.

“Alright, Grand Elder. Let’s talk after we return.” Ling Yun waved his hand.

“Yes, of course.”

The Grand Elder knew this was no place for conversation.

The priority was getting the Young Master home safely.

Soon, Ling Yun and his group returned to the Ling family estate in Tianyan City.

When Ling Yun entered the family council hall, it was already full of people—

All of them were core members of the Ling family.

Seated at the head of the hall was a beautiful woman in a purple court robe.

She was the Ling family’s matriarch, Xiao Liuli—Ling Yun’s mother.

“Yun’er… I heard a rumor that you had been thrown into the Abyss of Demons?”

Xiao Liuli stared at him with concern.

On the way back, the Grand Elder had already informed her of the general situation.