Transcending the Nine Heavens

“Which is to say, the fate energy of the Nine Super Clans is now in us!” Mo Tianji explained.

“Huh?!” exclaimed everyone!

“This… this, this, this… Boss is really… Wahahaha, he’s so cool…” Ji Mo and Luo Kedi were dumbfounded. Only after a moment did they regain their senses and start to rejoice.

Gu Duxing, Ao Xieyun, and Xie Danqiong were filled with elation too.

“Boss is still around after all! He’s still around!” Gu Duxing laughed aloud, tears in his eyes.

Mo Tianji smiled happily. His chest felt like blood was surging and churning, only calming down after quite some time. When it finally did, he coughed out a mouthful of blood.

The price of peeping at divine secrets finally took effect.

But Mo Tianji hardly cared.

If this had been in the past, there was a possibility that his lifespan would have been reduced. But now that he possessed such strong fate energy, courtesy of Chu Yang, why would Mo Tianji be concerned with such a small reflected power counter…

“We have to make full use of our time and cultivate!” said Mo Tianji, “So that we can head to the Upper Three Heavens in the shortest time possible and give Boss a hand!”

“That’s right. Boss may have transferred fate energy to us but this doesn’t mean that he’s invincible from now on.” Gu Duxing was a wet blanket as usual as he looked at Ji Mo and Luo Kedi, who were so smug and delighted that they probably couldn’t even find their way home. He continued, “If the two of you don’t work hard and get yourselves killed the moment you reach the Upper Three Heavens, you would still end up as cold dead corpses no matter how much fate energy you have! A pile of rotten flesh!”

The brothers seemed to have fallen into a comfortable behavioral pattern long ago — Mo Tianji would point them in the general direction and assume control of the group; Gu Duxing would pull the rest along as they executed the plan. Whether it was cultivation or other tasks, Gu Duxing was the one who watched over their progress. The one being the bad guy was exactly Gu Duxing; whenever someone was uncooperative, especially Ji Mo and Luo Kedi’s occasional skiving, what would await them was an insane and violent thunderstorm!

Ao Xieyun and Xie Danqiong took the role of the peacemaker to smooth out all the conflicts. If they ever reached a point where someone couldn’t back down with good grace, the two of them would take action at once to ease the tension and get rid of the friction…

One had to be impressed by such a combination indeed.

Just that Ji Mo and Luo Kedi were the pitiful ones as a result; their aptitude was not as good as the others in the first place. As such, they couldn’t help but be demoralized and discouraged from time to time. However, when this happened, Gu Duxing’s wild and violent thunderstorms would visit them. And then… their cultivation load would become twice as arduous as the rest… so that they could catch up.

Only then could it guarantee the small group’s advancement at the same pace.

And right now, Gu Duxing was rapping them as per usual.

Ji Mo and Luo Kedi had a pitiful look on their faces as they lowered their heads and whined, “I’m just being happy once in a while…”

“When we have united the Nine Heavens, you’ll have all the time to be happy!” Gu Duxing was strict. “We cannot afford to be dizzy with success now! What? Do you two want to spar with me?”

Luo Kedi and Ji Mo got a fright, shaking their heads non-stop.

Everyone else ignored them and went into cultivation mode.

While everyone’s attention wasn’t on them, Luo Kedi gnashed his teeth as he leaned toward Ji Mo. “Look at Second Brother Gu lording over us more and more. I wish I could beat him up into Second Softie Gu!”

Ji Mo turned pale with shock, shouting exaggeratedly, “What?! You want to beat Second Brother Gu into Second Softie Gu? You’re out of your mind…”

Luo Kedi looked at Ji Mo, flabbergasted. He didn’t expect his closest comrade to cruelly betray him at this moment. He looked at Ji Mo, pained beyond belief. “Ji Mo… You betrayed me…”

“Second Young Master Luo! Looks like you’re itching for a good beating!” Gu Duxing had already swooped over to them, his face thunderous as his fists and legs of steel flew at them! Luo Kedi couldn’t duck in time and was thrown to the ground.

What followed was a terrifying lesson…

Ji Mo looked on, completely unabashed. He laughed as he said, “Damn, if I don’t use you to let Second Brother Gu vent a little, I’ll be the one in trouble… Hurhur, you getting beaten up is better than the both of us getting beaten up…”

Everyone was rather speechless.

“Go back to cultivation!” Gu Duxing grabbed the black and blue Luo Kedi and threw him out. “I’ll beat up whoever continues to prattle on until he can’t even stand!”

Under the fierce pressure of Gu Duxing, a fresh round of intense cultivation began…

Chu Yang was still going strong.

The gigantic lotus continued blooming high up in the sky, giving off a holy and pure glow.

The fate energy of the world continued to converge and gather from all over the world.

Nobody knew that such a world-altering change at the foundational level had already happened!

…

Somewhere in the city.

“Hmm? What’s the meaning of this?” Wu Juecheng, dressed in white, suddenly frowned as he looked at his palm. There, a cloud of seven-colored fog was slowly coming together.

As if it wanted to gather together but couldn’t, nor could it disperse.

The Dharma Supreme stood before the window, his hands behind his back. He watched the falling snow outside as he asked with a smile, “Brother Wu, what’s the matter?

“This is very strange.” Wu Juecheng watched the seven-colored fog stuck in the state between gathering and dispersing in the middle of his palm. He said in a low voice, “This is indeed very strange. Chu Yang has obviously been poisoned but he has gotten rid of it… and yet not entirely.”

“If it had dispersed completely, I am confident of confirming that he is the Nine Tribulations Sword Master! But what’s the meaning of this now?”

Wu Juecheng fell into deep contemplation. After a moment, he got to his feet. “I’m going to take a look.”

The Dharma Supreme nodded. “Be quick.”

Just as Wu Juecheng was going to make a move…

A deafening boom echoed throughout Tianji City!

The tremor was so intense that it shook even the accumulated snow outside several meters high into the air!

Countless manors and buildings collapsed!

“What’s happening?!” The Dharma Supreme and Wu Juecheng looked at each other in confusion.

The Dharma Supreme summoned the person in charge of the Zhuge Clan at once.

Shortly after, an elderly man flew in swiftly. “Lord Dharma Supreme, Lord Wu.”

“Brother Cangqiong, why have you personally come over?” The Dharma Supreme looked at the elderly man in surprise. He asked with a smile, “What has happened to actually trouble Brother Cangqiong into taking action personally?”

It wasn’t just the Dharma Supreme; even Wu Juecheng was rather surprised!

This elderly man was someone akin to the foundational pillar of the Zhuge Clan!

The first generation of the Zhuge Clan ancestors and son of one of the original Nine Tribulations; the founder of the Zhuge Clan who had single-handedly brought the Zhuge Clan to its current glory — Zhuge Cangqiong!

The Elder Masters of the Super Clans would never be mobilized unless they were on the brink of destruction!

They didn’t expect that the earthquake today would bring out the one who was the calmest and most steady among the Nine Super Clans, Zhuge Cangqiong!

How could the Dharma Supreme not be surprised?

“Something terrible has happened!” Zhuge Cangqiong had a grave expression. “Lord Dharma Supreme, the spiritual vein of our Zhuge Clan’s ancestral graves ruptured all of a sudden and was completely drained! The celestial and dragon encirclement jade belt feng shui within have also broken apart all of a sudden. Not one bit of our ten thousand years old fate energy is left!”

“What?!” Even with the Dharma Supreme’s almost incomparable calmness and steadiness, he couldn’t help but jump to his feet. There was a look of utmost astonishment in his eyes!

Wu Juecheng’s eyebrows twitched vigorously as well.

Zhuge Cangqiong observed the Dharma Supreme’s reaction and slowly said, “Surely the Dharma Supreme is aware of the reason behind this?”

The Dharma Supreme let out a short wry laugh. “Indeed. By right, the Nine Super Clans’ fate energy is a legacy that spanned ten thousand years. Even if something untoward were to occur, it would not be to the extent of being completely drained. This situation has happened only once in the last ninety thousand years.”

He went on grimly, “This is something that will happen only when the Nine Tribulations Sword Master has reached the Upper Three Heavens and wiped out all of the Nine Super Clans! Leading to the complete demise of a clan and collapse of the feng shui of their territory! However… a situation where the fate energy suddenly disappears while the Nine Super Clans are still flourishing has never happened before in the last hundred thousand years.”

“Moreover, the Nine Tribulations Sword Master has obviously gotten only its fourth fragment. He definitely can’t extract or destroy the fate energy of the Nine Super Clans! The Nine Tribulations Sword Master can only achieve something like that when he has at least gotten the eighth fragment of the Nine Tribulations Sword!”

The three of them exchanged a look, the gravity in each other’s eyes apparent!

Wu Juecheng slowly said, “Could this be… a seamless and perfect diversionary tactic?”

Zhuge Cangqiong took a deep breath. “I would like to request Lord Dharma Supreme to contact the rest of the clans.”

The Nine Super Clans had always kept in contact with each other. However, the quickest means of communication was still the Dharma Supreme’s Communication Jade.

Zhuge Cangqiong was also an extremely sharp man. The moment the Dharma Supreme said that, he thought of the other clans right away. If it were limited to just the Zhuge Clan, then the cause of the matter would definitely be in Tianji City! Also, it would not necessarily be so serious…

However, if all the Nine Super Clans met with such a situation at the same time, then there was only one possibility — The Nine Tribulations Sword Master had already found his way to the Upper Three Heavens!

And was already in possession of at least the eighth fragment of the Nine Tribulations Sword!

“This is definitely impossible!” Wu Juecheng was very sure. “The Nine Tribulations Sword Master already in possession of the eighth fragment is complete nonsense! Without the sword intent, he can’t even get the fifth fragment! Even if he did, it would also be a lifeless fragment! How can he get the eighth fragment?”

The Dharma Supreme hurriedly took out the Communication Jade, ready to send out inquiries.

But before he could, the Communication Jade suddenly shone brightly!

Piece after piece of news showed on the Communication Jade.

“Looks like things have gotten pretty bad.” The Dharma Supreme let out a wry laugh.

Wu Juecheng and Zhuge Cangqiong leaned over to take a look.

The first piece of information alone already made their faces change!

“The ancestral cemetery of the Ye Clan destroyed! Their feng shui destroyed! Spiritual vein diminished! Fate energy gone!”

This was the first piece of news.

They didn’t need to look at the rest to know that they were talking about the same thing! Just that the family name was different…

It seemed like all of the Nine Super Clans had fallen victim to this calamity!

The Dharma Supreme had an overwhelmingly sinister expression.

Wu Juecheng’s expression was just as foreboding, his eyes flickering.

Zhuge Cangqiong stood calmly for a moment before he said lightly, “I’m going back to take care of things.” Then he turned to walk out. When he reached the doorway, he halted his steps. “Looks like the Nine Super Clans and the Nine Tribulations Sword Master and his Nine Tribulations will not rest until one of us is dead this time! We must kill the Nine Tribulations and go against the natural order of the Heavens and extract the fate energy, so that the Nine Super Clans’s legacy may continue! If not, the demise of the Nine Super Clans is imminent!”

After he finished, he left without a second look.

The Dharma Supreme took a deep breath. “Brother Wu, what do you think?”

Wu Juecheng’s eyes flickered. Only after Zhuge Cangqiong had gone far did he finally say, “It may not be the Nine Tribulations Sword Master… You and I were both once part of the Nine Tribulations, you should also know that the Nine Tribulations Sword Master most likely does not possess such an ability right now. Could it be the fate energy extraction at the Medicine Banquet that had gone wrong?”