Death… and me

1362 A Fabricated Amazing Encounter

“Why didn’t they stop us?”

Both of them were puzzling over this!

These words practically left their mouths at the same time. They looked at each other, their expressions full of puzzlement.

Then, a resigned smile appeared on their lips at the same time. “So you don’t know either.”

Again, this sentence left their mouths at the same time.

The two of them burst out laughing in unison.

Just a moment ago, they were still plotting against each other. But now, after experiencing a near-fatal pursuit and on top of that, had only successfully escaped by making a united effort to work together, both of them had the same feeling in their hearts.

As though the enmity in their hearts had lessened somewhat.

This was human nature. After experiencing extreme danger that came suddenly, they would somehow subconsciously find the people next to them incredibly kind and warm — even if they were their enemies.

The kindness at this moment was, however, the most precious thing in the world.

“Although I don’t know why that had happened, they had absolutely no reason whatsoever to let us off.” Smiling, Chu Yang went on with his analysis of what had happened. “Their sudden abnormal behavior must be… because they had experienced something which they couldn’t resist… Brother Ye, could your clan’s Elder Master be here? Could it have been him who had interfered and stopped those four fifth-grade Supreme Martial Artists?”

Ye Zui pondered for a moment before he replied, “That’s not possible. If we’re talking about unobtrusively taking control of four Supreme Martial Artists whose mental states are energetic and full of vigor, and who are all poised to strike… I’m afraid my clan’s Elder Master hasn’t reached a level high enough for him to achieve this so easily yet.”

Chu Yang responded with an ‘oh’, his bewilderment increasing by the minute. There were only a few people in this world who possessed cultivation of that level. Who could be the one who was here?

He thought of what Zi Xieqing told him before she left —”The experts whom I’ve exchanged moves with in the Nine Heavens…”

A thought occurred to Chu Yang. Could there be another expert living in seclusion here? But… Why would this expert help them?

“Let’s not think about this anymore. If someone really did save us, then he must have a motive for doing so. Since he has a motive, we need only to wait and it’ll be fine.” Ye Zui chuckled as he stretched his legs out and settled comfortably on the ground.

Chu Yang felt some admiration in his heart. This fellow, other than the fact that he was utterly inhumane when he decided to become vicious, in terms of his temperament, he surprisingly wasn’t one to split hairs over matters.

“You can say that we’ve gotten acquainted through discord, but I still don’t know what your name is.” A hint of a smile appeared on Ye Zui’s cold and harsh face. Lowering his head, he focused his attention on treating his injuries, his actions quick and nimble.

“Me? You’re going to get a fright when I tell you my name!” Chu Yang let out a sneaky laugh.

“I’m going to get a fright?” Ye Zui gave him an amused smile. “I won’t be shocked even if you tell me that you’re the Dharma Supreme!”

“My name is Chu Yang! They call me the Extraterrestrial Demon!” Chu Yang let out another sneaky laugh. “Isn’t this name especially frightening?”

Ye Zui chortled. “If you’re an Extraterrestrial Demon, then I would be the supreme ruler of the Nine Heavens Imperial Court. What kind of dumbass joke is that?”

Chu Yang chuckled. “Looks like there are still a good number of people in this world who can tell what’s going on.”

“It’s like offending the emperor of a kingdom and then he casually accuses you of being a traitor. But what can you do even if it causes the whole world to besiege you?”

“It’s like offending the emperor of a kingdom and then he casually accuses you of being a traitor. But what can you do even if it causes the whole world to besiege you?”

“We don’t believe that you’re an Extraterrestrial Demon, but if the Dharma Supreme says you are, then you will be one! There’s no other alternative! The Nine Super Clans don’t wish to offend the Dharma Supreme either, so we can only obey his instructions and come after you! That’s all there is to it.”

“You and I went through thick and thin together today, so I won’t take measures against you. But after I return to the clan tomorrow, the next time I see you, I will use the crime of being an Extraterrestrial Demon as a reason to capture you nonetheless and then try to gain privileges for the Ye Clan from the Dharma Supreme! Do you understand?”

Ye Zui told him, his tone full of mockery.

“What kind of privileges can the Dharma Supreme give you?” asked a perplexed Chu Yang.

Ye Zui started laughing venomously. “Bro, you’re still too young. This isn’t a world where you can become invincible through just martial prowess alone. Power and authority are what truly allow one to become invincible.”

“During the Ye Clan’s development in the last ten thousand years, branch lines appeared and disappeared constantly. Gradually, just the number of people with the surname Ye has already reached a total of 1,100,000. Among these 1,100,000 people, no more than 100,000 are suitable to cultivate. And these 100,000 people whom I’m referring to… include even cultivators like the Martial Artists and Martial Arts Great Masters.”

“In that case, with the addition of their family and kin, the grand population of the Ye Clan is probably as massive as four to five million. What are these people supposed to eat? Drink? Use? Even though the Ye Clan has an impressive and extensive foundation, we can’t possibly ignore these. Thus, we can only set up more and more different types of properties and businesses, so that we can sustain the entire clan.”

“After setting up properties and businesses, surely we can’t just produce and sell to ourselves. No matter how, we would need to go through some channels and turn our properties into things that we need. And these channels are in the hands of the law-enforcement officers.”

“The Ye Clan is indeed very formidable; we are the number one ruling clan in the Nine Heavens. However, the law-enforcement officers govern the entire Nine Heavens. Within the territory of the Ye Clan, we are able to settle everything. But if you displease the Lord Dharma Supreme, he can, at will, detain and hold in custody your goods and personnel in any territory that do not belong to the Ye Clan. By the time you get to your men and use your connections to get back possession of these things… Just the amount of time that you’ve wasted in this delay is enough to not only make this whole transaction a waste of time and effort, but your capital has also gone to waste.”

“And yet you have to go through with it. Is the great Ye Clan supposed to abandon their clansmen? We can’t afford to embarrass ourselves like that just yet. And yet, after suffering such a loss… we can’t even reason with the law-enforcement officers. We can only blame our own misfortune. We also wish to earn a quick buck through affiliated clans, mercenaries, or bandits… but where are we supposed to find that many bandits to get rid of? Not to mention the affiliated clans; by getting your affiliated clans in trouble, you are actually getting yourself into trouble…”

“But the moment the Dharma Supreme gives the word, everyone in the clan who is unsuitable to cultivate will be fed for at least several years to come.”

Ye Zui let out a laugh filled with an air of resignation. “It’s the same for every large clan. Gold and silver are worth nothing in the Nine Heavens in this day and age, but no matter how worthless they are, it is still necessary to earn them. Those things won’t fall from the sky.”

“Every clan is extremely troubled over this.” Ye Zui smiled somewhat mockingly. “Just how bloated is a legacy that spans ten thousand years? The fact that a Nine Tribulations Sword Master appears once every ten thousand years is instead a positive thing. If the clan’s legacy continues, who’s to say that there won’t be internal strife where our own people kill off everyone else in the same clan… Dying in the hands of others is always better than dying in our own hands. At least it wouldn’t be frustrating.”

“This is the power of law-enforcement officers! Such power is enough to drive the Nine Super Clans insane!”

“Therefore, when the Dharma Supreme said to go against you, none of the Nine Super Clans were against it. Uhh, except for the Li Clan, of course. The Li Clan has self-awareness; even if they obey the Dharma Supreme, the Dharma Supreme doesn’t look favorably upon them right now. Thus, they might as well stake everything in a huge gamble. If they become a Nine Tribulations clan of the next generation, it will prove the Dharma Supreme’s and our failure. On the other hand, if they cannot become one, they will die either way. No matter how they die, there’s no difference.”

With a somber expression, Chu Yang commented, “You… are looking at this really clearly.”

“What’s the use even if I am?” Ye Zui smiled mockingly. “To be honest, the biggest flaw of this world is that there are too many people. That is why I take every opportunity to kill; every person fewer is one person fewer in this world!”

Chu Yang rubbed his nose, letting out a wry laugh and keeping silent.

He had finally gotten a good understanding — This Eldest Young Master Ye couldn’t take compliments. If one didn’t compliment him, it was still possible for him to say a few words of wisdom and insight. But the moment he received compliments, that demonic nature of his would be lured out immediately.

“Why would you be of use to the Zhuge Clan?” Something else occurred to Ye Zui.

“Wasn’t I simply implicated by you?” The moment he mentioned that, Chu Yang became so exasperated that bile rose in his gut. He went on furiously. “If you didn’t fish me out of hiding and force me to have a showdown with you, would I even be involved?”

Ye Zui rolled his eyes. “That’s not necessarily true.”

But he didn’t pursue it any further. Instead, he changed the topic. “But if you really are Chu Yang, then your cultivation advancement is certainly fast.”

There was a cunning and vicious look in Ye Zui’s eyes, like that of a venomous snake. “You’re too young.”

Chu Yang gave him a resigned laugh. “To be honest, I don’t really understand how I got to this level of cultivation either… It was just that one time when I was being chased by an enemy, I fell off a cliff. Coincidentally, right under the cliff, there was a gigantic single-horned snake with its head facing upwards. After I crashed onto its horn and crushed that thing to death, I fell unconscious, but something came out of the horn and flowed into my mouth by itself. Then, I was comatose for a few months. When I woke up, I felt different somehow. And then… I broke through once every few days… all the way until my current state.”

“It’s all luck.” Chu Yang had a wry smile on his face.

This story was something that the Sword Spirit in the Nine Tribulations Space had deliberately cooked up in order to sound Ye Zui out. There must be a reason why Ye Zui had an Extraterrestrial Demon aura on him! This was also something which worried Chu Yang a great deal.

As the saying goes, giving is the prerequisite of receiving.

If one wanted another person to be honest with him, then he must first open up to the other party.

However, Ye Zui sank into deep thought instead. “But what was that you crushed to death? Could it be… hissss…” All of a sudden, he sucked in his breath, as though he was having a toothache.

“I don’t know what that thing was either,” replied Chu Yang. Then, he described bit by bit that ‘thing which he had crushed to death’, according to the description of the Sword Spirit.

“To think that what you had crushed to death was actually the last Divine Dragon in the Nine Heavens!” Ye Zui’s eyes were as round and large as bells while he stared at Chu Yang with envy, jealousy and hate.

“Huh?” Chu Yang felt a little faint.

“The legend goes that during the final trial of a Divine Dragon, its entire self would regress as it waits to bathe in the essence of the heavens and earth before charging up to the Nine Heavens Imperial Court… That period of time is when the Divine Dragon would be at its most vulnerable, so typically, it would hide in a very secluded place… Who would have thought that someone would push you down the cliff and so coincidentally crash on top of the Divine Dragon’s horn of dragon energy of origin… And the most amazing thing was that that dragon energy had actually flowed into your mouth by itself… This level of sheer dumb luck is seriously… That dragon energy is a supreme treasure capable of improving a person’s body, meridians, spirit and soul!”

Ye Zui smacked his lips, a look of strange envy on his face. Without any warning, he suddenly grabbed Chu Yang’s arm and took a vicious bite out of it.

Chu Yang yelped in pain and snapped furiously, “What are you doing?!” Only for him to see that blood was already oozing from the wound on his arm.