Death… and me

The jade pendant was a deep purple. This purple was extremely concentrated and intense almost as though it was filled with the purest of energies making it seem otherworldly.

The instant the pendant was exposed to the natural sunlight, it radiated and glowed with brilliance as it laid on the surface of Meng Chao Ran's palm. Almost so brilliant that time seemed to stop as they basked in its glory.

This was, no doubt, a piece of jade of enormous value!

In Chu Yang's past life, he had traversed across mountains and sailed through seas. Throughout his journies, he had seen countless of treasure and jade masterpieces. With a single glance, it was clear to Chu Yang's eyes that this small piece of jade was incomparable to many of the treasures he had come in contact with.

Meng Chao Ran whispered softly, "This gemstone is of the pure purple jade essence. Despite its size, it's purity is unlike anything I have ever seen. Moreover, this type of pure purple jade essence is extremely unique and even if one were to live through 10 live times, you would be considered lucky to find one! Its value is immeasurable. This is simply because it requires more than a thousand years for pure purple use to form a piece of jade Essence!"

Meng Chao Ran spun around and said. "This pure purple jade Essence pendant was what I found hung around your neck when I found you. Its value is beyond measure!"

His gaze was like electric as it drove into Chu Yang's face, making Chu Yang feel as though his face was on fire.

Chu Yang swallowed the ball of saliva which had formed in his throats in nervousness as he stretched out his hands to receive the jade pendant from his master. As soon as the jade pendant was in his possession, his arm shook as though they had lost all their strength."This singular gemstone is the sole link to my true identity." Chu Yang uttered to himself.

"Deep within the gemstone, the word "Chu" was engraved. However, the outer surface of the jade Essence itself is without blemish." Meng Chao Ran said unhurriedly and continued "In order to carve it so deep and leave the surface pristine, the craftsman must have achieved an extremely high level of cultivation. This level of cultivation is not ordinary in fact even if I trained without rest I might still be unable to achieve it! I can say with certainty that Chu should be either your first or last name."

"When I carried you and scaled the mountain, the Color of the sky shone through and revealed a deep blue. It was magical almost as though you were the meant to be the sun emerging from the darkness of the night.."

He paused a moment, then continued, "It felt just like this very moment. The sun had just come up. Giving rise to new hope. It was then that I immediately named you Chu Yang."

There was a slight bitterness in his voice. Although his tone remained calm, it seemed as if old wounds were suddenly ripped open and brought to mind.

"I sincerely hope that you will not bring shame to the name Chu Yang. Additionally, I too hope that you will not waste this jade pendant that I have returned to you."

Meng Chao Ran then took a deep breath in order to allow his emotions settle.

"You must not have come from an ordinary family. If you had continued to be mediocre, I wouldn't have given you the jade! Yet strangely, there was a small part of me which hoped that you might continue to be that way the rest of your life."

Meng Chao Ran whispered, "I sincerely had hoped that you would be able to go through your days in peace."

Although his back was facing Chu Yang, he could tell that he was overwhelmed by emotions and was beginning to tear up. He was torn between being a father who was hoping that his son would live a peaceful life and not dare have ambitious dreams like great wealth and privilege.

The ambition of wealth and power have their own dangers and no one would want their children to be exposed to unnecessary dangers.

Chu Yang only sat quietly and listened. However deep within, he was filled with emotions.

After listening to Meng Chao Ran, Chu Yang began to think about his narrative about his life. After a while, he realized that it could be possible that there was some hidden information within.

This was a piece of valuable purple jade, which was extremely rare. The writing was carved inside yet the surface was perpetually undamaged. Pure purple jade is inherently difficult to damage using swords as well as the force of internal energy… It is clear that this being is the pure purple jade essence, would obviously be a lot harder.

Even a Skilled Martial Artist would find it tough to engrave it on pure purple jade Essence even much so that the surface itself was undamaged. Furthermore, the engraving itself was within the jade!

Perhaps it was carved by someone who had acquired the King or Majesty level? Or perhaps of an even higher cultivation than that?

Such a precious item was too rare in this world to be found around a baby's neck. And why was that baby thrown away? What secrets were hidden within?

My identity is shrouded in a mysterious fog… If I want to melt away this fog, I would have to put in just as much effort. Since this was carved by someone sixteen years ago, his cultivation level must have been at least Majesty or higher…

Chu Yang bit his lips and his gaze became calm. There was a possibility that he was not discarded. There has to be a reason behind all of this.

This thought acted like warm sun rays warming the frost in his heart, placing his mind peaceful once again.

He slowly clenched his hand into a fist, securing the Pure Purple Jade Essence inside.

The jade essence was smooth and cold, but under the force of Chu Yang's hand, something strange happened. The energy inside his body began to flow with great ease. As he came into contact with the jade essence, a strange warmth emanated from the palm of his hand and penetrated the depths of his body, making Chu Yang's entire body warm… All the exhaustion from the days of cultivation suddenly dissipated filling him with energy!

Chu Yang was shocked. He abruptly looked at Meng Chao Ran.

"What you are feeling is no mere trick." Meng Chao Ran smiled, "This piece of pure purple jade essence is capable of restoring martial power with extreme speed. It may have other properties as well. You must guard it carefully! However, you should not depend on it too much."

"Yes!"

Chu Yang's eyes were filled with appreciation. With a treasure like this at his disposal, it has become possible for one to cultivate day and night. This will increase the speed at which his martial power will advance drastically. Whoever comes into possession of this gemstone, that person would probably keep it for their themselves.

If Meng Chao Ran had not revealed this, Chu Yang would have gone through his entire life without ever knowing. Even if it was placed in front of him, he would not know that this was a link to his identity.

But Meng Chao Ran had quietly guarded it for sixteen years before returning it to its rightful owner today.

Meng Chao Ran's sentiment was rare in this world.

For Chu Yang, this gesture of Meng Chao Ran was far more precious than the Pure Purple Essence Jade!

Chu Yang understood what Meng Chao Ran meant when he said not be too reliant on the gemstone. Without pushing the body to its physical limits, it is almost impossible for it to break and surpass its current condition.

Meng Chao Ran said slowly, "Based on this jade pendant, I can deduce that if you are not from a family of great wealth then you were at the least from a powerful one! However, before your power is fully developed, you should not be concerned about this. It might bring forth a disaster upon you! If such an unfortunate thing were to happen, I fear all of Beyond the Heavens Sect will not be able to save your life! You must remember that!"

"Yes, I will keep your words in mind."Chu Yang earnestly agreed. Ever since he saw this pure purple jade essence, he already had the same thought.

"One of the master's biggest wishes in life is to bring glory and to protect Beyond the Heavens Sect!" Meng Chao Ran said solemnly, "You already have an aspiration to become powerful, so please help me protect Beyond the Heavens Sect and take care of it well!"

"Yes!" Chu Yang responded to this request with a nod. Others might not know, but Chu Yang was quite clear on the impending tragedy that would fall upon Beyond the Heavens Sect in four years. Today, in accepting, he has shouldered this burden.

Currently, with his poor cultivation, it would be almost impossible to take on this responsibility even if he was able to try a hundred thousand times more than others.

Anyway, I now have my first goal in life!

It is Beyond the Heavens Sect!

Once Beyond the Heavens Sect is freed from this tragedy, I will traverse this world under the heavens in search of the Nine Tribulations Sword and Mo Qing Wu. At the same time, I will also try to shed light on my identity.

Chu Yang's goals after his reincarnation were fairly simple: Mo Qing Wu and Nine Tribulations Sword. If he found Mo Qing Wu, he would live the rest of his life loving her. Whereas if he found the Nine Tribulations Sword, he would advance to the pinnacle of cultivation.

Unfortunately, in his previous life, he did not know the story of the pure purple jade essence nor did he hope to discover his true identity… In fact, he had little to no affection for the sect. However, things were now different because they had all come together at once.

"Why did master say these words to me today?" Chu Yang thought for a moment before he continued, "You have never mentioned any of this before."

Meng Chao Ran smiled, looking at the far horizon where there were red clouds as if painted with fresh blood and calmly said, "Beyond the Heavens Sect has many disciples, but they cultivate only for the sake of practicing and only practicing…"

He stopped talking for a long time, then slowly said, "The way you practiced today, it is to walk the Jiang Hu."

Chu Yang remained silent, saying nothing.

Meng Chao Ran then directed his gaze in the direction of the rising sun and sighed. This was a very long sigh as though it had been repressed within him for decades.

He looked at the sun. A mysterious expression appeared on his face as if he was remembering a feeling of pain and loss… In short, his countenance felt extremely complex like he was being immersed in a dream that he was unable to escape from.

Chu Yang remained quiet for a while before eventually asked in a low voice:

"Master just said that protecting Beyond the Heavens Sect is only one of your greatest wishes. But what are your other wishes? If it so happens that I can help, I will most definitely join in your efforts to try and fulfill them."

Upon hearing his question, Meng Chao Ran's body began to tremble as if suffering from an electric shock. His face suddenly turned pale like a long-buried, painful memory was rekindled. He stood bewildered. His eyes were filled with misery and shock, but he remained quiet as if he had turned into stone.

A long time after, as if still in a dream, he bowed and said:

"Wind and rain cannot wipe the scars in our hearts, misery cannot destroy love; since ancient times, nobody took this lightly, it is only with separation that we know emptiness and desolation…"

His voice was as low as whispers and sorrowful moans in a dream. This was a kind of pent-up feeling about to explode. However, it was like he could only groan in despair and endless loneliness.

As soon as Chu Yang heard this, he sensed that his master has placed his broken heart and misfortunes into those short words…

This feeling made Chu Yang suddenly remembered his previous life at the battle of Wind and Thunder Platform. In a moment of hopelessness with no way out, he thought of Mo Qing Wu with sorrow and a broken heart.

Meng Chao Ran's current situation was not different from his back then. It was as if his heart was almost dead. Did master experience the regret of a lifetime?

Maybe it was this that made master change. Not paying attention to anything. Not caring about anything.