Transcending the Nine Heavens

They had gone through difficult times together during this recent period of time, especially the days where they supported and depended on each other in the dark in the underground tunnel. However, in all of their hearts, this was a period worth remembering the most.

Because this period of time had been one filled with innocence. Even the occasional scheming among colleagues didn’t exist!

What existed was just the simplest and purest form of mutual support.

The sudden separation this moment caused everyone to become rather forlorn.

“I will settle everything at the law-enforcement office as soon as possible.” Interrogation Officer One said seriously, “Then, we’ll go to the south-east to look for you!”

“Don’t forget what I said.” Chu Yang smiled at him.

“Of course.”

Chu Yang added, “One more thing. All of you must be careful... After all, even though you’re carrying out Master Lang’s final wishes, from a certain perspective, you’re also betraying the law-enforcement officers...”

“We’re aware.” The four of them nodded seriously.

“Bon voyage!” Wan Renjie said. At the same time, Cheng Duying, Wei Wuyan and Bao Buhuan raised their arms and held out their fists in a gesture of respect.

Interrogation Officer One raised his arms slowly, held out his fists and bowed. “My brothers, take care!”

Then, he looked at Wei Wuyan. “Old Wei, don’t die! You miss your wife and child, but the brothers will also miss you...”

Wei Wuyan’s expression froze. Then, he forced a laugh. “Bon voyage! Take care!”

“The next time we meet, we shall drink till we pass out!”

Laughing, the four of them turned and left.

Just like a breeze blowing across the vast lands. In an instant, they disappeared without a trace...

Chu Yang, Wei Wuyan and the rest stood atop the hill. None of them spoke as they watched the four of them disappear slowly into the horizon.

“Brother Wei, how... do you feel?”

Chu Yang spoke slowly. He didn’t turn back.

Wan Renjie and the other two exchanged a look before they quietly retreated.

They knew that Chu Yang and Wei Wuyan needed to talk. It was of course alright even if they had remained there, but they needed to consider Wei Wuyan’s pride after all.

Wei Wuyan was silent.

“Did you have a good time underground?” Chu Yang asked seriously, “Was there any phoniness or false pretenses among this bunch of brothers?”

Taking a deep breath, Wei Wuyan replied, “Brother Chu, rest assured... I won’t seek death on my own accord anymore!”

There was a reassured smile in Chu Yang’s eyes. “Oh?”

Wei Wuyan revealed a hint of a resigned smile. “To be honest... I can’t bear to part with all of you too.”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled.

Wei Wuyan went on. “Both mother and son... will always be a form of pain in my heart. I really wish to go... I’m afraid that without me by their side, vicious ghosts would bully the two of them even in the netherworld... I also wish very much to see my wife and tell her that I know everything now, I understand now... I was stupid, I was dumb... I regret it now...”

He smiled tragically. “But aside from that, I...”

“Now, I have brothers... They cannot bear to part with me.”

“And I, too, cannot bear to part with them.”

Wei Wuyan smiled with an air of resignation. “Right now, I wish to die, yet I don’t wish to as well... It’s a contradiction. But at least... I won’t seek death on my own accord anymore.”

Chu Yang set his heart at ease. He replied, “It’s great that you can think this way. To be honest... There are a lot of hypocrites like Hong Wuliang in this world. There are countless people who are still being deceived by them. In fact... they have ended up with their families broken up and dead too. Old Wei, now that you have adjusted your mindset, why not... keep an eye out for these people? If you can help those who have encountered the same thing as you and destroy the masks of these hypocrites... Wouldn’t that be a meritorious deed too?”

Wei Wuyan’s eyes lit up at once.

He was right. If he could do that, wouldn’t that be even better?

Nobody knew just how much hatred Wei Wuyan held in his heart toward hypocrites like Hong Wuliang. He practically wished he could kill them all!

Chuckling, Chu Yang pondered once again about those few lines which Lang Yilang had uttered. What exactly did he mean by them?

Right at this moment, he heard Wei Wuyan say, “Chu Yang... Even though I won’t seek death by myself anymore... Regarding that matter, I would still like to request it of you. If one day... I am to die in battle, if you can make it in time... Please... bestow upon me the Heavenly Orchid!”

Chu Yang was rather speechless when he heard him. He replied, “Rest assured! If there really comes a day... where you die... I will definitely fulfill your wish!”

It was as though a heavy load had been lifted off Wei Wuyan’s mind. “Thank you!”

A wave of discomfort suddenly swept through Chu Yang’s heart. It seemed as though he had an ominous feeling...

This ominous feeling made Chu Yang rather restless and he quickly made a decision.

“Brother Wan, Brother Wei, what do you think of disguising yourselves and returning to the south-east after this?” Gathering the few of them, Chu Yang suggested.

“Return to the south-east?” The four of them were rather surprised.

“Yes. After this, I have to go off and do something extremely important.” Chu Yang continued, “But I’m worried about the four of you. After all the trouble we’ve created, this place is in a state where war may break out at any moment. Besides, all these have nothing to do with us... Only when all of you have safely returned to the south-east will I be able to set my heart at ease!”

“Alright!” Wan Renjie agreed without any hesitation.

After spending this period of time together, Wan Renjie had already gotten over the knot in his heart. Originally, he had felt that because Chu Yang was surrounded by numerous experts, they were incapable of being any assistance to him. It had hurt his pride somewhat and so, he decided that he might as well roam the world with Wei Wuyan.

But... Now, he himself found these sentiments rather laughable. When had Chu Yang ever thought less of him because he wasn’t able to be of help?

Didn’t him risking his life to save them earlier during this period of time prove everything?

For the sake of such a brother, so what even if he had to suffer some grievances? Besides, that didn’t even count as a grievance.

“When you return, do me a favor and look out for a few people along the way... The name of the leader is Nangong Shifeng; all of you should recognize him.” Chu Yang continued, “I’ve instructed them to secretly hurry and head to the south-east previously, but even at the point where I left, I’ve not seen them. Keep a lookout for them along the way; if you discover them, bring them back with you. Then... all of you experienced old guys, teach and train them properly. They... have pretty good potential to do intelligence work.”

Wan Renjie agreed with pleasure.

He knew that Chu Yang had assigned them their tasks from this point on — Intelligence!

He also understood Chu Yang’s intentions — He was giving them something to do so that they wouldn’t feel like Chu Yang was providing for them without getting anything in return... This was also a form of mental comfort to them.

He secretly resolved deep down — No matter what, he must do this intel job well!

“Let’s go. We can still travel together for a while. It’s not too late to go our separate ways when we reach the central region.” Turning, Chu Yang looked back at the northwest region enveloped in the night sky and smiled. “Here, we’ve already done what we need to do. Whether or not they fight and to what extent they fight... it’s no longer in our hands...”

Everyone laughed easily. Taking advantage of the cover provided by the night, they headed toward the south-east.

...

In the vast northwest.

The Li Clan was in a terrible fix.

The first reason was that the rebuilding of the clan required massive manpower and resources. The second was that those few people whom they had been pursuing had suddenly gone missing, as though pins dropping into the ocean. No trace of them could be found anymore.

Even though they knew very well that the nine of them must still be in the northwest and hadn’t gotten out yet, so long as they didn’t manage to capture them, they would always feel a sense of uneasiness in their hearts...

The attention of all the Li Clan experts was on the inside happenings of the clan. Toward the outside, none of them was the least bit anxious. All the clans had been warned; even if they continued to not know what was good for them... they could talk about it again after they entered their territory.

Of course, what the Li Clan didn’t know was that there was already a group of people who had helped them to give the Eight Great Clans and law-enforcement officers another slew of warnings in quick succession after they had given those few clans a warning of their own!

The Li Clan’s warnings naturally chose a few unimportant figures as their targets.

But those few people, as though fearing that the world wouldn’t plunge into chaos, had specially chosen important figures within each large clan as their targets. At present, they had already created some serious blood debts.

And the Li Clan would be held accountable for all these blood debts!

Right now, strong reinforcements from every clan were already on the way. The ones on the way this time were all Supreme Martial Artist experts and the elite from every clan!

A huge battle that would sweep across the northwest was close to breaking out!

But as the mass target of everyone, the Li Clan... was still in the dark.

But Chu Yang, as the culprit who started everything, had already washed his hands off all these...

They could do whatever they wanted.

...

The five of them traveled at high speed. By now, they had already left the Li Clan’s field of pursuit, so there wasn’t anything to hold reservations about anymore. Besides, all of them had just raised their cultivation by a grade and were keen to test their strength.

Therefore, this journey was truly at a speed that was as swift as the wind!

Only a morning had passed and they had already covered 650 kilometers.

Mountains stretched high into the clouds ahead.

A juncture appeared — A path leading to the south-east and another to the central!

It was time to part ways.

Smiling, Wei Wuyan reached out and pointed ahead. He said, “When we came, I remember that there was a small restaurant ahead. Chu Yang, since we’re not in a hurry, how about we have a good drink before we part?”

Wan Renjie, Cheng Duying and Bao Buhuan echoed his suggestion too.

Chu Yang smiled and answered, “Sure!”

Laughing, the five of them leaped into the air and shot toward the bend.

Suddenly, from the direction in which they were headed, they could hear the faint thundering of hooves. Going by it, there was actually a large group of people coming in their direction.

The five of them were rather surprised. Who were they? To actually be such a powerful force? Besides, this didn’t sound like the gallop of horses?

Wan Renjie’s expression suddenly changed. “Could this be the sound of Wind-Chasing Beasts galloping? If so, could the ones coming in our direction be the Chen Clan’s Supreme Martial Artist Wind-Chasing Troops?”

“The Supreme Martial Artist Wind-Chasing Troops?” Chu Yang frowned. What was that?

“Among the Nine Super Clans, the Chen Clan is the only one with an ancestor who, by a chance encounter, got hold of a secret technique to tame Spirit Beasts many years ago. They dispatched a significant amount of manpower and, either through purchase or capture, gathered a large group of eighth-grade Wind-Chasing Beasts. After taming them, they used them as mounts!”

“It is said that that Chen Clan ancestor had exhausted his lifespan to tame this batch of Spirit Beasts and has since departed this world. From then on, no one in the Chen Clan was capable of this fascinating ability anymore... Thus, the Chen Clan’s Wind-Chasing Beasts were seen in an even more precious light. Later on, they were secretly concealed. I’ve heard that only Supreme Martial Artists and above can qualify to ride the Wind-Chasing Beasts...”

Wan Renjie continued to explain, “And now, based on the sound, there are at least a hundred Wind-Chasing Beasts on the way here... Could the Chen Clan have taken serious action and dispatched Supreme Martial Artists to the northwest?”

...