The sky was overcast and the wind was howling. Snow suddenly started to fall; it grew heavier and heavier. Before too long, the expanse of heaven and earth had only a white color.
Meng Chao Ran looked indifferent, but, at this moment, he could not help but think of a figure, a face that was filled with love.
“Chu Chu…” Meng Chao Ran’s did not pause, but his heart was suffering from paralyzing pain, “Can it be that I will not be able to see you again?” The past suddenly appeared in his heart.
“It’s difficult for the rain and wind to erase the marks in your heart;
Parting can never destroy love;
We not take what is eternal lightly;
Only in parting does everything become desolate…”
Meng Chao Ran’s mind continued to enter a mysterious state. Even though his body continued to move at top speed, and the blizzard hit straight at his face, he acted as if he did not notice anything…
“… Memories of eternal vows of love begging to linger on forever;
A dream of spring in this life, to see a gentle dance flying to the sky;
Three chances to live and sing about love;
A lifetime of suffering, and you share it with me;
No one expects a breaking heart;
In the Nine Heavens, our souls are the same…”
With that unconscious thought, Meng Chao Ran’s face showed a sense of loss; it looked sad but resolute at the same time.
“The morning dew quickly disappeared;
In heaven or on earth, it would be difficult to reunite;
Cut down the dark gates of the Nine Heavens,
And hold you in my arms in life and death!
Chu Chu, I still have not cut down the dark gates of the nine heavens; I cannot die!”
He suddenly thought about the vow he made twenty years ago when he was forced to separate from his wife. Meng Chao Ran’s heart became vicious: Ye clan, you say I am not worthy of your mistress and separate us! I still have not taken my wife back; how can I die?
Would it not be too good for you people if I die?
What will Chu Chu do once I am gone?
Meng Chao Ran let out a roar, and his speed increased once more! The people chasing behind him were struck with disbelief.
The cultivation level of their opponent was not that different from them. But their opponent was already injured; his internal organs were in shock. Plus, he was carrying a person weighing more than a hundred pounds. So how was it that they could not catch up?
What kind of logic was this? Even if he was throwing his own life on the line, how could he have reached such levels?
Everyone’s mind was full of doubts, but they continued to give chase.
Their figures appeared and disappeared in the great snow. Snow filled over any footprints… Snow reached the horizon and filled up to the heaven…
Chu Yang and Gu Du Xing did not cease to speed ahead. They forced their horses at full speed the whole way. They had been on the road for seven days already. Chu Yang was reticent and did not talk much. The two cultivated as they traveled in the wind and snow so time passed by quickly for them.
Chu Yang did not say anything, and Gu Du Xing treated each of his words like gold. Naturally, the two were as tight-lipped as a puzzle.
After three more days, Chu Yang saw some people using dogs to pull their sleds in the snow. They thought it seemed fun so they bought one. He and Gu Du Xing sat on the sled while their two strong horses pulled it like mad. Surprisingly, they were travelling even faster than riding on horseback.
They could not help but exclaim in excitement.
Plus, the snow surface was flat so the two could completely concentrate on their cultivation. They traveled like so until they finally reached the wilderness. Seeing that it was dark, they chose a crack in the mountain and brought both horses and sled in. Gu Du Xing used ice energy to create a small snow cove. After going in, they found that it was actually much warmer than outside.
“Another day of travel and we will be at my Beyond the Heavens Sect.” Chu Yang leaned against the snow and said happily.
“What does it look like?” Gu Du Xing showed a rare look of interest, “How about we go there and have a look around? I also want to take a little sightseeing tour.”
Of course Gu Du Xing did not want a sightseeing tour. It was simply that he could see that Chu Yang was homesick so he conveniently said that. The feeling of a wanderer returning home was most heartwarming; Chu Yang would have surely longed to see his master and his junior martial brother.
“Ah, at that time, you must remain calm when you see my junior martial brother.” Talking about Tan Tan, Chu Yang could not help but laugh.
“With my fortitude, there are not many people that could scare me.” Gu Du Xing said with an arrogant posture.
“Hmm, Du Xing, how much do you think Ji Mo and the rest can accomplish?” Chu Yang said pensively.
“Rest assured. When it comes to resourcefulness and wisdom in battling against the world, they are far inferior to you. But, if it comes to making trouble and chaos, one hundred people cannot match these dandy young masters…” Gu Du Xing said with certainty, “I am willing to bet that they already caused chaos all over Great Zhao before they even reached Continent Center Citadel!”
He paused and said, “The weather is currently cold right now. If it is in spring, the four of them would definitely poke a hole in the heavens!”
Chu Yang tilted his head and thought, “You are right. Especially Ji Mo and Luo Ke Di, the two of them are the masters of trouble.”
“The two of them causing trouble is nothing.” Gu Du Xing sighed, “You don’t know. I will bet that while he left with a hundred silver taels, by the time he gets to Continent Center Citadel, Rui Bu Tong would definitely become a rich man. If that is not the case, I will bathe in the latrine.”
“That monstrous?” Chu Yang’s eyes widened.
“Before, out of respect for you, he did not make a move on Iron Cloud Citadel. After almost two months of inactivity, he is almost sick…” Gu Du Xing rolled his eyes.
“Ah, that’s it.” Chu Yang laughed. He suddenly thought about when he just arrived at Iron Cloud Citadel and pretended to be the bandit Ma Tuo Zi. He could not help but feel joyful.
“As for Dong Wu Shang… This punk usually does not like to cause trouble, but, once he starts, there will definitely be death!” Gu Du Xing sighed, “When Dong Wu Shang pulls out his saber, there won’t be any survivors… I truly find it strange as to how his dad thought of that odd name. Could it be that the moment he was born, his father saw his killing characteristic and named him Wu Shang?”
“Ah, a talent!” Chu Yang sighed.
“A talent? Dong Wu Shang?”
“I am talking about Dong Wu Shang’s father! This kind of prophet is really amazing. To be able to name him so while he was still a babe is really monstrous!” Chu Yang sighed.
“So once Dong Wu Shang causes trouble, he would not stop until there is death.” Gu Du Xing said in annoyance.
“You are talking as if it is the end of the world…” Chu Yang said in puzzlement, “Could it be that you, Gu Du Xing, are not like that? Can I ask Revered Sword Artist sir, how many people live under your sword?”
Gu Du Xing’s jaw dropped; he was stunned for a while then he said in embarrassment, “Ah… under my hand, no one survives…”
Chu Yang laughed.
During this period, Gu Du Xing had successfully broke through first grade Revered Sword Artist. He was feeling somewhat proud. He also no longer cultivated with Revered Berserker Sword Technique.
One time Chu Yang had an enlightenment; he was able to mobilize the spiritual aura of heaven and earth. Gu Du Xing was able to join in the effort. He unexpectedly was able to break through right to the peak of first grade Revered Sword Artist.
This kind of enlightenment left Gu Du Xing and Chu Yang stunned with disbelief.
Finally, Chu Yang had to bother and threaten the sword spirit for a long time before he was able to coax the technique for Revered Sword Artist cultivation from it. Right now, he was thinking about how to reasonably hand it to Gu Du Xing…
In any case, all the things that he had were extremely special. Each thing that he brought out was capable of causing a great shock to the whole continent. And here he was coming up with an endless supply of things… This could not be easily explained.
“Big brother, tell me what your junior martial brother really looks like.” Gu Du Xing could not sleep at night. He could not be blamed though; these days, he was too elated.
“Haha, this punk…” Chu Yang was joyful. He spoke excitedly, “…”
After midnight, Gu Du Xing cultivated for a while and then suddenly asked, “Chu Yang, once Ji Mo gets to Great Zhao, would there be any issues for him to find that person? I keep having a feeling…”
“What do you feel?” Chu Yang immediately became alert.
“I keep feeling that there is someone else behind Diwu Qing Rou!” Gu Du Xing pensively rubbed his temple, “When I was looking over your Bu Tian Pavilion’s information on the battle against Golden Horse Riders Department. After thinking about it, I feel more and more that Diwu Qing Rou’s work has the same kind of characteristic as that of a clan!”
“Characteristic of a clan?” Chu Yang’s countenance became very serious. This was an area he never thought of. For Gu Du Xing to bring up this speculation, Chu Yang immediately felt the gravity of the situation.
“To put it simply, Diwu Qing Rou uses the kind of strategies that sees the rest of the world as nothing. He uses the methods that the great clans use in the fight between clans on the continent! It is an effort to simplify everything.”
Gu Du Xing said solemnly, “If every family has a secret group, it would be the mini version of Golden Horse Riders Department. They would be specialized in dealing with all things that could not be done in the open; things that are underhanded.”
“Golden Horse Riders Department is the most obvious thing; it is controlled by him and not the emperor!” Gu Du Xing said gravely, “This is not like a royal court at all; it is the greatest difference between the royal courts and jiang hu. And Diwu Qing Rou is actually able to perfectly bring the two together.”
“First of all, the people of Great Zhao are, of course, weak. But the key reason is Diwu Qing Rou’s background!” Gu Du Xing said slowly, “You can understand that, under normal circumstances, no matter how weak an emperor, it is still possible for him to deal with a prime minister. Even if that prime minister has the power to control the court…”
“The occurrence of this situation can only have one possible explanation… A massive power is controlling it! And it is not that the emperor of Great Zhao cannot fight against Diwu Qing Rou; he cannot go against that power!”
Gu Du Xing said slowly, “This is my speculation!”
Chu Yang frowned and became pensive.
Could it be that Diwu Qing Rou comes from a clan? Could the fight in Lower Three Heavens be controlled by someone? These things were all never considered by Chu Yang.
Gu Du Xing came from a clan; if it was anyone else, they would never have brought up this issue.
However, Gu Du Xing had completely placed himself in Chu Yang’s dangerous situation; he had placed himself in the position of another. He looked at it from another person’s point of view. Thus, he was able to bring up an entirely different conclusion like this.
Such an angle was a little beyond Chu Yang’s scope.
But Chu Yang felt that these words were not without reason!
All of it will have to wait to be verified by him…
Early next morning, the sky was overcast, and cold wind howled. After travelling for less than a hundred miles, snow unexpectedly came down. In fact, it grew heavier and heavier, and covered heaven and earth within moments…
Howling winds along with snowflakes bombarding their faces practically rendered their mouths and noses frozen.
“Huh? In such a great snowstorm, how could there be a fire?” Chu Yang suspiciously looked up and inhaled a few times.
Gu Du Xing also looked up and said pensively, “It’s probably on a mountain near here. Hmm, based on the direction of the wind, it should be ahead of us. This smell… The smell of the fire is very strong. It is not a forest fire… It seems the burning of buildings…”
“In front of us? Buildings?” Chu Yang frowned; his face suddenly lost its color, “Could something have happened to Beyond the Heavens Sect?”