Transcending the Nine Heavens

Xue Leihan smiled and with a wave of his hands, he turned around and started walking.

Chu Yang followed quietly behind. The two of them walked leisurely. Chu Yang did not display any of his martial skills and walked with a normal person’s speed. His thoughts were in a mess, full of shock, confusion and other emotions…

By the time he finally recomposed his thoughts and wanted to speak, he was in shock once again.

The trees on both sides became an illusion that constantly moved backward. Xue Leihan and himself were still taking their leisure walk, with one person behind the other. However, this stroll did not require much of his energy and tens of thousands of miles were already flying past under his legs!

Slowly, the weather became colder and colder.

In front of them, it was actually snowing heavily.

With snowflakes fluttering down.

Xue Leihan finally stopped. In front of him was a ground full of snow, enough to cover up to the waist level. Within the camouflage of the snow, the Purple Bamboo Forest stood upright.

The snow was everywhere. Comparatively, this Purple Bamboo Forest was so dazzling. Although a huge part of it had already been covered by snow, the purple shine and glow still captivating.

The thick white snow pressed onto the bamboo, falling onto the ground from time to time. Once relieved of the weight, the bamboo shook violently for a moment before it sprung back into a straightened position.

The scene ahead was so similar to how the two of them met during their previous life!

Chu Yang went into a trance and stared deeply at the Purple Bamboo Forest. He stared so hard that he almost saw a graceful red figure, coming out of the forest and stepping onto the white snow. He realized that it was an illusion and turned red with embarrassment. He said, “Please excuse me, Sir.”

Xue Leihan walked leisurely forward and entered the Purple Bamboo Forest, while brushing his sleeves. Suddenly, the ground of thick snow turned into ice jade. In the center, a snow-ice jade table rose up slowly, as if someone was propping it up slowly.

Thereafter, on both ends of the opposite side, two jade stone chairs rose up. It was made from the icy snow, yet it was giving out the heat of its own, like a warm jade.

On the jade table, there was suddenly a jar of wine with two wine cups.

The fragrance of wine overwhelmed the air and it was piping hot.

Unexpectedly, it was warmed up already.

Everything that happened from nothingness until now, was more magical than magic.

“Brother Chu, please!” As per the positions in their previous lives, Xue Leihan sat on the chair that belonged to him.

Chu Yang naturally sat opposite him.

He felt that the ice snow chair beneath him was warm. All the cold air had actually been eliminated totally. Everything in a radius of thirty feet had a comfortable feeling of spring.

However, this place was obviously within a land of ice and snow.

Chu Yang had a feeling of dream and illusion momentarily.

“This little magic trick is called ‘Immediate Vicissitudes’.” Xue Leihan smiled and said, “Brother Chu, do you find the current scene familiar?”

Chu Yang revealed a sense of disappointment as he smiled. “It is indeed familiar.”

Xue Leihan smiled indifferently as he lifted the wine jar to pour a cup for Chu Yang. The piping hot wine fragrance rushed out and a few sparrows flew down noisily to circle around the wine cups, not wanting to leave even after long.

Xue Leihan revealed a smile on his face. With a wave of his hand, some rice grains appeared on the ground of snow. The sparrows immediately became like chickens pecking on rice grains as they rushed over to consume them.

“Who are you exactly?” Chu Yang focused his eyes on the sparrows on the ground, as he gently asked.

“I am…” Xue Leihan smiled softly as he shook his head. “Let’s drink.”

Chu Yang raised his wine cup and saw that the wine was turquoise in color and thick. He drank it in one go. Soon he felt as if his entire body was burning. In an instant, Chu Yang was perspiring, to the extent of being a little smelly.

Xue Leihan let out a laughter. He blew out some air and the smelly odor was instantly dispersed away.

Leaving behind only a feeling of total comfort from inside to outside for Chu Yang.

“This is my wine.” Xue Leihan added slowly, “After making it, I took a trip around the world. By the time I came back, the wine had already become a wine cream. What you are drinking now is the product of blending it with water.”

Chu Yang was astounded and said, “You added water? Brother Xue, it’s so rare for you to treat me to wine and you actually treated me to a fake wine blended with water?”

Xue Leihan smiled and replied, “A fake wine blending with water? Ha Ha… Do you know that even for this fake wine blended with water, there is only that few people within the Nine Heavens Imperial Court deserving of my treat!”

Xue Leihan paused for a moment, before adding, “Furthermore, if I had not blended it with water, for you to consume the wine cream directly, even if you are the Nine Tribulations Sword Master, just a rice grain size of the cream would cause you to burst apart completely!”

“This is truly a ‘Wine of Reborn’!” Xue Leihan said joyfully.

“Wine of Reborn, I suppose you named it after the idea of remolding oneself totally, right?” Chu Yang’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, exactly.” Xue Leihan nodded his head gently. “In this world, you are the only one who has drunk my wine.”

Chu Yang smiled indifferently. “I am really honored.”

“You have now obtained the fourth section of the Nine Tribulations Sword.” Xue Leihan filled up Chu Yang’s wine cup again before saying, “And I brought you to this place, which is already the North West area. The distance from here to the Wind Thunder Platform is less than 1,500 miles away.”

Chu Yang smiled. “By this logic, I really have to thank you for this.” Chu Yang thought in his mind, ‘This guy actually knew that the fifth section of the Nine Tribulations Sword is actually in the Wind Thunder Platform.’ Chu Yang snorted in his mind and then drank the wine in one go. Such good wine, after this time, god knows when would there be a chance again… Although it has been blended with water, it was still pretty decent. Thereafter, he pointed to the wine cup and said, “Pour me some wine!”

Xue Leihan did not know whether to laugh or cry. After he filled Chu Yang’s wind up to the brim, he suddenly laughed out. “I’m afraid from the past till today… there is only one person who can make me fill his wine cup personally and that is you. There was none in the past and there will not be anyone in the future.”

Chu Yang said indifferently, “There will definitely be someone in the future.”

Xue Leihan replied, “Oh?”

Chu Yang lifted his eyebrow and repeated, “There will definitely be someone.” He added, “I have a lot of good brothers. Every one of them deserves a drink personally served by you.”

Xue Leihan tilted his head and looked at him amusingly. Suddenly he smiled elatedly. “This kind of people, having even just one more will also be a good thing.”

Chu Yang asked, “You are the Nine Tribulations Sword Master, right?”

Xue Leihan shook his head. “No, I’m not.”

“Then, you are the one who created the Nine Tribulations Sword?” Chu Yang tilted his head and looked at Xue Leihan calmly.

Xue Leihan went silent.

After a long while, he said, “I’m not that person either. I cannot create the Nine Tribulations Sword.”

Chu Yang frowned and said, “Then, what relationships do you have with the Nine Tribulations Sword?”

Xue Leihan said indifferently, “I was the one who placed the Nine Tribulations Sword in this continent.”

Chu Yang was astounded. “You are the one who folded the Nine Heavens?”

In the face of such shocking news, the wine in the cup actually spilled out a little and dropped onto one of the purple bamboos below. “Shua!” and the purple bamboo immediately grew rapidly up to over a few hundred feet tall, becoming a true ‘Bamboo above the forest’.

Immediately after, bamboo shoots began to emerge from the ground of white snow. The moment the shoots came out, it started to grow leaves and it slowly became thicker and taller. Section by section, it continued to rise up to a few hundred feet above and it was at least three times as thick as the waist of Chu Yang.

Can… can this still be considered bamboo?

Xue Leihan looked at him helplessly and said, “Yes, in your own words, I am the one who folded the Nine Heavens.”

Chu Yang finally calmed down and he smiled. “You are indeed… Almighty!”

Xue Leihan smiled bitterly, feeling helpless.

“If I dare to ask Almighty, what’s the matter that required you to look for me?” Chu Yang took a deep breath and suppressed the raging emotions within him. Yet, he could only feel bitterness and depression.

“You have too many doubts in your mind, too many unknowns and too much anger and helplessness.” Xue Leihan said softly, “Today, I came here, or should I say… This time around in the Nine Heavens Continent, my main purpose is to solve all the mysteries in your heart…”

Chu Yang laughed at himself sarcastically and said, “I didn’t even know that I was so important.”

Xue Leihan smiled warmly and said, “I have never treated you as a tool or pawn; but rather, as a friend.”

“Friend?” Ke Ke…” Chu Yang let out a smile and went silent.

However, the hand holding onto the wine cup suddenly bulged out some veins.

“You are uncomfortable in your heart. Your greatest discomfort is that you think I had controlled both your previous and current lives. That’s equivalent to thinking that I have toyed you along, causing the misery in your previous life and I tried to compensate you in your current life. You felt that your entire life had been living as a pawn, with everything pre-arranged by someone else. Whoever wanted you to do certain things, then you would have to do it. You think that you have no autonomy over your life.”

Xue Leihan said seriously, “For these reasons, you even have doubts about the Nine Tribulations Sword.”

“You think that the Nine Tribulations Sword is also a trap!”

He said in a deep voice, “I am right about you, aren’t I?”

Chu Yang fell silent for a moment, before he said, “Actually, with your heavenly cultivation and abilities, you do not need to explain anything to me. You know that even if I was uncomfortable, even if I was not resigned to it, but everything in my current life, I cannot bear to discard them as well. Therefore, I will continue walking down this path.”

Chu Yang slowly raised his head, his eyes were sharp and he said word after word clearly, “The path that you had arranged for me!”

Xue Leihan smiled bitterly and shook his head. In a soft voice, he said, “With my cultivation, I can easily fold the Nine Heavens. With a wave of my hands, I can obliterate anything within a radius of a few million miles from here! I definitely do not need to explain myself to you. However… exactly because I do not need to, therefore, all the things that I will explain to you are nothing but the truth!”

Chu Yang fell into a long silence. After a long long while, he finally let out an extremely long breath. He said lightly, “Thanks.”

With this breath, it was as if all his grievances and depressed feelings had been totally expelled from his body.

Xue Leihan looked dignified as he heard these two words of thanks. Afterward, he replied word by word, in a stern and serious tone, “You’re welcome!”

Chu Yang felt that his entire body became relaxed. Even his thoughts became more flexible and agile. He then took over the entire wine jar and said, “You can continue to talk and I will listen to you.”

Seeing how Chu Yang was obviously not giving him the due respect, Xue Leihan revealed a smile. Slowly, he said, “This matter has a long history. I would need to start… from 120 thousand years ago.”

“120 thousand years ago!” Chu Yang was stunned. He coughed continuously and said, “You can continue to talk, do bother about me.”

He had not imagined that to explain the matters about himself, it would actually trace back all the way to 120 thousand years ago…

Chu Yang thought in his mind, ‘120 thousand years ago, am I a fox? Or a piece of tree leaf? Or… Huh? To talk about each life from then until today, that would really take a long long time, enough for an old man’s beard to turn as white as the snow on the ground…’

…..