Transcending the Nine Heavens

The few old men in the talks with Chu Yang were so furious that their eyes glowed blue. When the negotiations concluded, the way they glared at Chu Yang still remained as if they wished they could swallow him in one gulp!

 This fellow was too difficult to deal with. He was practically a miser and penny-pincher; trying to take advantage of him… was harder than ascending to heaven!

 “I admit defeat to the Li Clan… Each and every single one of you is such a miser and penny-pincher… Everyone’s a first-rate and experienced piece of hob meat; trying to take advantage of you people is practically harder than ascending to heaven!”

 Chu Yang began to act humble with full effort even after having reaped so many benefits. He lamented sadly and indignantly, “You’ve snatched all the benefits that there possibly are… I suffered such a huge loss in this negotiation…”

 What he said almost caused the few old men, who were so tired out after negotiating with him, to spray out a mouthful of blood.

 Who exactly… was the hob meat here?

 Who exactly was the one who had suffered huge losses?

 “You should be reasonable when you speak…” retorted one of the old men as he pointed at him with a trembling finger. The moment he spoke, he was interrupted by Li Tongtian.

 “Since the negotiation has ended, everything is now finalized. In that case, there’s no point in saying anymore!”

 Li Tongtian spoke straightforwardly and affirmatively, “Next, we should arrange a place for Brother Zi to stay at. He can stay in the best guest residence for the time being; tomorrow afternoon, send some people over to take care of his everyday needs. Remember that Brother Zi is here to stay on a long-term basis; we must give him the best resources, the best location, and the most experienced manpower. As for the maids, we must also choose from the best.”

 “By this afternoon, all arrangements concerning Brother Zi must be done. His identity token etc, everything must be done properly!”

 “Since we are allies, we must treat each other with the greatest sincerity. Only when we are sincere can we get sincerity back in return, right?”

 Li Tongtian spoke sanctimoniously.

 “Send a few capable men to follow Brother Zi to prospect Purple Crystal mines tomorrow morning… Hmm, as for the old fellows like us, we won’t go along… However, I must say this upfront — If anyone is foolish enough to actually offend Brother Zi and make him angry, then… this old man definitely will not let you off!”

 As an important figure among the Li Clan ancestors, Li Tongtian’s words naturally carried a lot of weight.

 When he finished, the quick and covert look which he gave the others behind Chu Yang’s back made all the negotiators realize something.

 You silly goons! Did you really think you’re negotiating with him for serious? It’s all just for show… As for the Purple Crystals, what’s the big deal leaving them with him for the time being after extraction? Aren’t we just storing them there?

 Once the scheme succeeds, the amount of Purple Crystals he has stored is the amount that we’ll take back!

 Including his life!

 All the other old men understood what he meant right away.

 Chu Yang naturally got it as well. Li Tongtian’s words were extremely pretty, but there was a lapse in timing — He was to stay in the guest residences that night and then prospect the Purple Crystal mine the next day with their men. Only in the afternoon the next day will they then send resources over to him.

 During the prospection of the Purple Crystal mine in the morning, if they were to discover that this ‘successor to the Purple Crystal Clan’ didn’t have the ability that he claimed to have or that he couldn’t extract the Purple Crystals… Then he could just forget about the resources in the afternoon and forfeit even his life.

 In the afternoon that day, someone from the Li Clan brought Chu Yang to his temporary guest residence.

 Chu Yang naturally acted like he was in a great rage because of the huge loss he had suffered. He went in pulling a long face. When the Li Clan supervisor wanted to follow him in to help him tidy the area, the doors shut fiercely in his face instead, almost wedging his nose between the doors.

 He couldn’t help but seethe in anger.

 What are you acting so uppity for? If you can’t produce any results tomorrow, I’ll personally come after you!

 Chu Yang was no doubt worrying over the same problem.

 The Sword Spirit was no doubt capable of mining the Purple Crystal mine. Furthermore, him coming here this time was a lucky coincidence; his first purpose was to reap some benefits while the second… was to lay out a path in advance for Mo Tianji’s plans in the future.

 However, the biggest problem was that… the Sword Spirit’s method of mining was usually the soundless and motionless kind!

 Without any movement on the surface and the Sword Spirit would have already finished the extraction.

 But this was obviously not viable now; the Li Clan wanted to see results. He needed to produce a visible effect and an obvious development!

 If not… He’ll lose his life in an instant!

 On the surface, Chu Yang had tricked and lied his way easily into the Li Clan by blowing smoke. But in actual fact, this was absolutely the most dangerous situation which Chu Yang had ever been in his entire life!

 This wasn’t the same as back then in the Great Zhao. Back then, he could still move about freely and there were a lot of things he could hide behind. He could just casually find somewhere to hide in and stay there for almost two weeks. But now, every move he made was under the surveillance of others.

 This was the core territory and headquarters of one of the Nine Super Clans!

 Any slight bit of negligence meant a tragic death! With not even a sliver of a chance at escaping.

 One could say that Chu Yang was totally walking a tightrope above a bottomless cliff!

 Every move of his was one between life and death.

 “Sword Spirit, how is it exactly? Are you confident?” The moment Chu Yang shut the doors, his consciousness sank into the Nine Tribulations Space.

 There was a weird look on the Sword Spirit’s face. “There should be… no problem.”

 Chu Yang’s mind was set at ease.

 “What level are you now?” asked Chu Yang. “I’ve basically fully recovered. With the help of your martial domain level, I can display the Sword Supremacy cultivation level of a third-grade peak-level Supreme Martial Artist. There shouldn’t be any problem!”

 The Sword Spirit was rather joyful. There had never been a Nine Tribulations Sword Master who was able to improve his cultivation at such a fast speed. Even he himself was proud to be associated with him. “If we were to battle now, we’re totally able to handle anyone below a sixth-grade Supreme Martial Artist.”

 Chu Yang frowned. “But what’s the meaning of this boundary of immortal and mortal that stands between fifth and sixth-grade Supreme Martial Artist?”

 When he asked that question, the Sword Spirit also became rather troubled. “This is really hard to explain. It’s very difficult to describe that kind of delicate feeling if you don’t experience it for yourself… It’s a kind of feeling between transcending and not transcending worldliness…”

 The Sword Spirit mused over this for a short moment before he continued, “Take a look at Li Tongtian. Be it his expression, mannerisms or his movements, all of it looks very calm and collected. Even when he spouts schemes and conspiracies, there’s a kind of detached feeling in his words, as though he had transcended worldliness. This is the powerful fundamental strength brought about by the boundary between immortal and mortal!”

 “Yue Lingxue, Feng Yurou, etc too… Their mannerisms and presence etc are all very transcendental. This is also a kind of expression.”

 “Of course, when one reaches a level like Bu Liuqing and Ning Tianya’s, yet another step forward has been taken. This one step, however, is one that lets a person return to his original roots. There is no longer that kind of detachment in every move and action anymore; however, one’s true nature is now brought out without any concealment instead!”

 The Sword Spirit’s explanation was vague and obscure but Chu Yang had already understood what he was trying to say.

 This was a kind of realm that couldn’t be explained with words indeed.

 Or rather, it was a kind of fundamental strength.

 Only strong power could provide one assurance.

 And so, Chu Yang started to cultivate.

 In the eyes of those who had been keeping tabs on the residence, this scene appeared — This successor to the Purple Crystal Clan brought out a Purple Crystal in each hand and struck a peculiar pose. Both his legs were spread apart in a squatting position, as though he was defecating!

 With a Purple Crystal in each hand, he held both hands in front of his heart and maintained a position of merging three cores as one.

 With his head lowered, he went into meditation!

 Then, a faint layer of purple aura emanated from the Purple Crystals and entered the nostrils of the ‘successor to the Purple Crystal Clan’… After a long while, this ‘successor to the Purple Crystal Clan’ sighed.

 The two Purple Crystals in his hands had already disintegrated.

 This kind of cultivation technique was practically unheard of.

 It was common practice to use the acupoints in the palm to absorb the spiritual energy in Purple Crystals. This person from the Purple Crystal Clan was indeed the successor to the Purple Crystal Clan after all; he actually used his nose instead…

 Several experts who were keeping watch over him from different directions reported their observation to the higher-ups at the same time.

 The Li Clan experts discussed about this for a long time… All of them found this extremely fascinating and couldn’t understand it at all. It seemed like it must certainly be a cultivation technique unique to the Purple Crystal Clan…

 …

 During daybreak the next day.

 Someone knocked on the doors. “Lord Zi, may I know if…”

 Lying comfortably in bed, Chu Yang let out a groggy curse. “F*ck! What are you knocking for? Did someone die? Do you even intend to let me sleep…”

 Outside, the face of Li Wubo, the clan leader of the Li Clan who had been waiting with his hands behind his back, blackened… This bastard was totally asking to be beaten up…

 Clan Leader Li had intended to come here to express his admiration toward a talent. However, the moment he arrived, he became so enraged by Chu Yang’s words that he wanted to empty his bowels. Without saying a word, he turned and left.

Leaving behind only the furious supervisor who had knocked to continue waiting.

 Only after a long while did Chu Yang finally answer the door with his collar all askew and a good half of his chest exposed. With sleepy eyes, he scolded, “What’s the big idea! Where are your manners?”

 Fury spread over the supervisor’s countenance, but he suppressed his temper regardless. “It’s like this. Second Master… Second Master is waiting for Lord Zi to head to the Purple Crystal mine together…”

 “That’s why I said that this is a problem of one’s bearing! A problem of self-restraint!” Chu Yang adopted the attitude of one who was exasperated at someone’s inability to live up to expectations. “I’m right here, aren’t I? It’s not like I can escape. What’s that Second Master of yours so anxious for? Is he going to die if I sleep a little more before calling for him? Each and every one of you is so careless and anxious… No wonder the Li Clan couldn’t become number one among the Nine Super Clans. It’s precisely because all of you are so careless and anxious! Look at how well the Ye Clan carries themselves? Hmm?! Learn a thing or two!”

 The supervisor fiercely wished that he could overturn a washlet that had just been used on top of Chu Yang’s head, but he had no choice but to nod and bow ceremoniously. “Cough… I would like to… invite Lord Zi to make a move…”

 “Wait a moment! Let me wash up!” With his temper flaring, Chu Yang slammed the doors shut. The supervisor was thrown back by the doors with his hand pressed against his nose…

 When Chu Yang arrived in the hall, it was already an hour later.

 “Brother Zi… Did you sleep well?” Li Wuhai, the Second Master of the Li Clan, asked with a fake smile. Who did he think he was? Actually making him wait here for more than an hour?

 Chu Yang adopted a haughty attitude. “Ah?! What’s this? Haven’t you arranged for breakfast?”

 You actually want to have breakfast?

 Li Wuhai was so furious that he almost choked. With a wave, he ordered, “Serve Lord Zi breakfast!”

 “Lord Zi… I like this term…” With no restraint whatsoever, Chu Yang took his seat. When breakfast arrived, he ate to his heart’s content until his stomach became big and round. Then, he patted his tummy and got to his feet. Looking at the others whose eyes were spitting fire, he asked, “What are you all just waiting there for? Aren’t we supposed to visit the Purple Crystal mine? Why aren’t you leading the way? Surely you’re not waiting for an outsider like me to lead the way? Each and every one of you is acting like such a dodo… To think you’re so unenthusiastic about such an important matter. No wonder the Li Clan couldn’t become number one among the Nine Super Clans…”

 Li Wuhai tried to control his temper. “Here, Brother Zi! Let me lead the way!”

 “That’s more like it!” Chu Yang followed behind him arrogantly and grumbled incessantly, “Just look at yourselves — The top brass doesn’t treat this with importance, the middle-ranked is careless and the lower ranks are unenthusiastic; everything’s in a state of disunity. Especially when someone as important as I have arrived… How could this be? It truly puzzles me how the Li Clan can actually become part of the Nine Super Clans. If there were a ranking of the top ten strangest occurrences in the last ten thousand years, this would definitely rank top…”