Transcending the Nine Heavens

“You’re right! How can we improve if our opponents are not strong? If that’s the case, we might as well stay in the Middle Three Heavens and rule the world… It’ll be even easier in the Lower Three Heavens!” Gu Duxing raised his head harshly. “I like strong opponents!”

 “Me too!” Xie Danqiong smiled faintly. “It’s been a really long time since my viburnum flowers have bloomed.”

 “Hahaha…” Luo Kedi gave a start before he burst into raucous laughter. He bent back and forth in laughter, tears even coming out of his eyes. “Sorry… I heard that as… It’s been a really long time since your chrysanthemum flowers¹ have bloomed…”

 Upon hearing that, Xie Danqiong became so furious that he couldn’t utter a single word. His finger trembled as he pointed at Luo Kedi. After a moment, as he gnashed his teeth, he finally said, “You are really…!”

 “The worst!” The other five finished Xie Danqiong’s sentence for him at the same time he did with no difference at all!

 Everyone roared even harder with laughter.

 It seemed like this wasn’t the first time Luo Kedi had made fun of Xie Danqiong. And everytime he did, Xie Danqiong would react the same way — With his finger shaking and his face entirely red, he would gnash his teeth and say, “You are really… the worst!”

 Over time, the brothers had already picked it up…

 Ji Mo chuckled and said, “I like it even more! As a man, stepping on the strong and desecrating the holy and pure is my biggest pursuit! And the biggest pleasure!”

 Ao Xieyun burst into laughter. “I think you’d better goddamn hurry and let Aobo desecrate you instead…”

 Everyone laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt.

 Mo Tianji gave Chu Yang a look as he laughed.

 Smiling, Chu Yang said, “Alright, it’s late. All of you should hurry back and rest. Oh, especially the ones with wives, don’t overdo it tonight. I’m going to examine the results of your seclusion tomorrow morning.”

 Ji Mo chuckled. “Boss… Compared to super experts, we obviously still fall short by quite a lot but… compared to you… hehe… hehe… I’m not trying to brag here but you’re really not someone to be feared right now.”

 Laughing cheerfully, he continued, “Every time I think of that, my heart feels so sweet, like I’ve eaten honey.”

 Chu Yang replied meaningfully, “Sure, I’ll let you feel way sweet tomorrow!”

 Ji Mo puffed his chest out. “We’ll see!”

 Chu Yang raised his eyebrows. “You’ll understand the meaning of ‘powerful’ tomorrow! Why aren’t you gone yet? Don’t tell me that you’re waiting for Aobo to come and get you?”

 Ji Mo jumped in fright and looked behind him subconsciously before turning back and scoffing carelessly, “Meh, as if I would be afraid of her? What do you guys know? Aobo is as meek as a kitten in front of me…”

 Everyone died of laughter as they shouted in unison, “Shameless! Get lost!”

Chuckling, Ji Mo left.

 Xie Danqiong got to his feet as well, a faint hue of red on his handsome face. “Uhh… I…”

 “We get it!” The remaining five spoke in unison as they gave him meaningful looks and teasing smiles.

 Xie Danqiong left with his face completely red.

 “Cough…” The moment Ao Xieyun coughed, Luo Kedi had already interrupted him. “Brother Xieyun, better be careful not to turn into a dragon tonight… Lives are involved here.”

 Ao Xieyun cursed at him and left immediately.

 “I’m going off too!” Luo Kedi scratched his head. “They are all going back to hug beauties but I can only go back and hug a damned pillow.”

 Gu Duxing got up.

 “Go.” Chu Yang stared at him weirdly. “Do you want Big Sister Xiaomiao to come here and get you?”

 Gu Duxing blushed. “No, there’s something that I want to tell you.”

 Seeing that Gu Duxing was not his usual self, Chu Yang was a little surprised. “What is it?”

 “Cough, it’s like this. Back when Boss went missing, when I returned home, Godfather had once mentioned that both Big Sister Xiaomiao and I are not young anymore and wanted us to marry. At that time, I said, ‘I don’t even know if my Boss is dead or alive right now; how can I possibly be in the mood to get married? When my Boss is back, we’ll get married immediately’… Cough cough… And now you’re back.”

 Chu Yang was struck dumb.

 In that instant, he was agitated and moved but also rather amused. “You blockhead, if I don’t come back, are you going to not get married for life?”

 There was a hint of an embarrassed smile on Gu Duxing’s cold and harsh face. Scratching his head, he mumbled, “Uhh… Since Boss is back, I’d like to get this done soon too. It’s also just as well that the brothers are all here. In front of the whole of the Middle Three Heavens, I would like to wed Big Sister Xiaomiao.”

 “I would like Boss to be our witness too!” Gu Duxing was a little awkward. “Before we’re married, I… I won’t… you know…”

 “Understood!” Chu Yang said in respect, “I’ll get Tianji, the Master of Calculation and Manipulation, to check for auspicious dates later and get this done as soon as possible. I can only stay here for another month at best.”

 “We’ll get this done as soon as possible!” Chu Yang continued, “We must not sit on it. I won’t be able to answer to Sister-in-law if she gets upset with me…”

 Everyone started to laugh.

 Mo Tianji rubbed his chin. “Seems like today is an auspicious day suitable for weddings…”

 “Get lost!”

 Mo Tianji quickly corrected himself. “But seriously though, it’s an especially auspicious day seven days later!”

 “Is it too soon?” Chu Yang got a fright. “Getting married is an important event in one’s life; we must not be hasty.”

 “It’s fine.” Mo Tianji said with confidence, “Duxing, send someone back to the Gu Clan and inform them now. At the same time, we’ll get Uncle Ao to send out invitations on your behalf tomorrow morning and create some hype. Seven days is more than enough.”

 Chu Yang affirmed decisively, “Since that’s the case, we’ll do just that! We’ll announce to the whole of Middle Three Heavens that every clan and force, no matter which, must come forth and attend the wedding! Those who do not attend will be our enemies! We must especially specify that the congratulatory gifts must not be too shabby. And that we don’t want gold and silver! We only want rare and interesting good stuff, like elixirs, spirit stones, rare metals…”

 Mo Tianji laughed heartily. “Exactly what I’m thinking! Since we’re about to charge up to the Upper Three Heavens, we can make use of Duxing’s wedding to make a killing in the Middle Three Heavens and use that as our foundation after we’ve gone up! I was pretty worried earlier on… This really came just in time; I would be really dumb if I don’t make use of a great excuse like Duxing’s wedding.”

 Chu Yang clapped enthusiastically. “Alright! We’ll put it this way — Those who received invitations and know of the wedding but do not attend the wedding will be seen as enemies of our clans and the Heavenly Armament Pavilion! Show them no mercy and kill them all! We must also determine how to treat them in the future based on the quality of their gifts!”

 “That’s even more brilliant! Yes! We’ll do exactly that!” Mo Tianji was in extremely high spirits. “We’ll split the gifts into first-class, second-class, third-class and the mediocre. First-class will be the highest grade, so we’ll host them in the banquet and serve them the finest wine; second-class goes into the main hall and gets average wine; third-class will be seated outdoors and have to provide their own wine. For those who send mediocre gifts, we’ll keep the gifts but break their legs and throw them out. As for those who dare to not send any gifts, we’ll exterminate them all!”

 “Yes! We’ll send out the invitations under the joint names of the Heavenly Armament Pavilion, the Gu Clan, Ao Clan, Luo Clan, Mo Clan, Dong Clan, Xie Clan, Ji Clan, etc! This way, it’ll be grander!” Chu Yang’s eyes sparkled.

 “Yes! We’ll do just that!”

 The two rogues discussed their grand fortune-making plans in high spirits.

 “I’ll hurry over to Big Sister Xiaomiao’s to discuss this with her.” Rendered immensely speechless by these two money-grubbing fellows, Gu Duxing got a fright and hurriedly turned and left.

 To think you two actually want to make a fortune when time is so tight…

 I’m the one getting married while you two are the ones making a fortune… Cough cough, why does this feel so odd…

 Only Mo Tianji and Chu Yang remained in the room.

 Looking at each other, the two of them burst into laughter. Then, they fell silent, both thinking about what’s on their mind as well as the issues they intend to bring up in a while.

“There’s only the two of us here now. Is Boss interested in a drink or two?” Mo Tianji smiled.

 “Of course!” Chu Yang laughed. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve last had a proper drink with you. There were too many people around tonight; I didn’t have a good time drinking.”

 Mo Tianji gave him a warm smile. “I’ll get some wine!”

 “I have some with me! Not only do I have good wine, but I also have good food.” Chu Yang immediately retrieved these things from the Nine Tribulations Space. As someone who was out all the time, he naturally stocked up a lot on such things.

 “Alright!”

 Raising their wine cups to each other, the two of them drank in silence. For a long while, neither of them spoke.

 After a long while, Mo Tianji finally broke the silence. “It has been a real headache being with these few fellows for over a year. I can’t imagine how you managed to subdue them in the past.”

 “There’s no need to subdue them.” Chu Yang smiled lightly. “I have a heart! And sincerity!”

 “A heart… Sincerity…” Mo Tianji repeated. Then, he smiled broadly, suddenly seeing the light. “You’re right, that is indeed the best weapon when it comes to people like us! It’s even sharper than the Nine Tribulations Sword!”

Laughing, Chu Yang was beside himself with joy. “Even for you?”

 Mo Tianji raised his eyebrows. “Of course!”

 The two raised their wine cups again and exchanged a toast before downing the contents in one gulp. Although the two were speaking idly, they both knew what the other wanted to talk about and were both making preparations for it.

 At last, Mo Tianji said, “The enemy is strong and powerful. I need to know everything in detail and concretely. The more details, the better! The more concrete, the better!”

 He was already starting to make preparations for the future.

 This had always been Mo Tianji’s style. No matter what it was, before he had even formed a plan, his preparations would have already started. At the point when the plan officially began, his preparation work would advance toward the goal all at the same time.

The moment he made his move, things would move with overwhelming momentum!

 Chu Yang thought about it long and hard. “I need to go over it first.” When speaking to Mo Tianji, it wasn’t suitable for him to casually speak as though he was narrating a story. This was because Mo Tianji needed to pick out the truly useful details from his words. In fact, things that he had casually mentioned without much thought could cause Mo Tianji’s thoughts to automatically develop far and wide.

 Therefore, Chu Yang needed to properly organize his thoughts.

 “I understand.” Mo Tianji smiled. “I understand that you understand.”

 This line of his was a little roundabout but both of them smiled in mutual understanding.

 “Xiaowu is staying in my home now,” commented Chu Yang lightly as he organized his thoughts.

 “Huh?” Mo Tianji’s eyes brightened and he grabbed Chu Yang’s hand eagerly. “How is Xiaowu?”

 Chu Yang smiled warmly. “She’s very happy! And she’s already a Martial Saint. I reckon that she’s probably a third or fourth-grade Martial Saint by now.”

 Mo Tianji clapped enthusiastically. “That’s great!”

 Then, he turned to Chu Yang and gave him a suspicious look. “But… What’s that little girl doing, running to the residence of a lecher like you, instead of obediently learning the craft from her Teacher like she should? Why is she in your home? You beast… Surely you didn’t do anything to Xiaowu?”