Death… and me

The entire sky was dark and overcast. The wind howled wildly. Snow continued to fall relentlessly and covered the ground in a pristine white sheet of snow.

Meng Chao Ran appeared as he usually did – indifferent. However, he couldn't help but think of a particular individual. And for a brief moment, his face changed and showed love in his expression.

"Chu Chu…" Meng Chao Ran didn't pause. However, his heart was clearly suffering, "Is it possible that I will no longer be able to see you ever again?" The past suddenly hit him hard.

"It is tough for the rain and wind to erase the marks in your heart;

Parting can never destroy love;

We do not take what is eternal lightly;

Only in parting does everything become desolate…"

Meng Chao Ran's mind continued to think about the past as his life was flashing before his eyes. Despite this, his body continued to move as quick as lightning. He didn't even flinch as he faced the brunt of the blizzard…

"… 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…"

Meng Chao Ran's face revealed a deep sense of longing and sadness as he continued thinking about Chu Chu. His expression was sad but also had a peculiar sense of underlying determination.

"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!"

The moment that he thought about the vow he had made to her more than twenty years previously before he had been forcefully separated from his wife, Meng Chao Ran's heart was filled with hatred. The anger he felt was extremely immense. Ye clan, how dare you say that I am not worthy of your mistress and forcefully separate us! If I have yet to see her and take her back for myself, how can I die without regrets?

It would be too far good a bargain for you people if I die!

What will Chu Chu do once I am gone?

Meng Chao Ran let out a menacing roar as he pushed himself further past his limit! His speed increased even further and as his pursuers saw this, they were struck with disbelief.

The difference in their cultivation levels was not worlds apart. In fact, they were extremely similar. Moreover, Meng Chao Ran was already severely injured and his internal organs were probably in shock. Not only that but he was also carrying his disciple who clearly weighed more than a hundred pounds. How was it possible that the distance between them was growing even further with each passing moment?

This was impossible! What kind of warped logic was this? Even if his life was on the line, how could he physically push his body past such a limit to achieve such a level?

Everyone's mind was filled with doubt but still continued to give chase.

As they continued chasing, their figures appeared and disappeared in the blizzard. Snow continued to fall without any sign of stopping, filling up any kind of footprints… The amount of snow which rained down from the heavens was overwhelming…

Chu Yang and Gu Du Xing continued on their journey. They forced their horses to gallop at full speed all the way. They had already been on the road for several days. Chu Yang appeared reticent and didn't talk much. Both of them continued to cultivate as they traveled in the wind and snow so quickly that time also passed them just as fast.

Chu Yang didn't say anything and Gu Du Xing treated each of his words as gold. Naturally, the two of them were a good fit for one another as they complemented each other perfectly.

After three days, Chu Yang saw more people using dogs to pull their sleds in the snow. They thought that it might be fun and thus they bought one. He and Gu Du Xing sat on the sled while their two strong horses continued to pull it as fast as they could. Surprisingly, they were traveling even faster than if they were to ride on horseback.

They couldn't help but exclaim in excitement.

Moreover, the surface of the snow was so flat that both of them were able to completely concentrate on their cultivation. They thus continued to travel like this until they eventually reached the wilderness. Seeing that it was dark, they chose to a crack in the mountain and brought both their horses as well as their sleds in. Gu Du Xing used his ice energy in order to create a small snow cove. As they went in, they realized that it was actually far warmer on the inside.

"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."

Gu Du Xing was being sensitive to Chu Yang's feelings. He could see that he was homesick and thus said it so that it would give Chu Yang the perfect excuse to go around and reminisce about the old times. The feeling of a wanderer returning home was a heartwarming one. Moreover, it is certain that Chu Yang would have longed to see his master as well as his junior martial brother.

"Ah, you must remain calm when you see my junior martial brother." As he talked 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 regards to battling against the world, they are far inferior to you. However, if it is in terms of making trouble and chaos, even a hundred people will be unable to match these dandy young masters…" Gu Du Xing said with certainty, "I am willing to bet that they have already caused chaos all over Great Zhao before they reached Continent Center Citadel!"

He paused and said, "The weather is really cold right now. If it was spring, the four of them would definitely poke a hole in the heavens!"

Chu Yang tilted his head and thought, "You are right. This is especially accurate of both 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 have 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 chose not make a move on Iron Cloud Citadel. After almost two months of inactivity, he is almost sick from not being able to do what he enjoys doing the most…" 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, "The moment that Dong Wu Shang pulls out his saber, there won't be any survivors… I truly find it strange as to how his dad managed to think 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 prophetic ability is really amazing. To be able to name him so accurately while he was still a baby is really monstrous!" Chu Yang sighed.

"Therefore, the moment that Dong Wu Shang causes trouble, he will 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 have lived 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 broken through first grade Revered Sword Artist. He felt somewhat proud. He also no longer cultivated with Revered Berserker Sword Technique.

There was once that Chu Yang had an enlightenment and he was able to mobilize the spiritual aura of heaven and earth. Gu Du Xing was also able to join in the effort. Through that, he had unexpectedly broken right to the peak of first grade Revered Sword Artist.

This sort 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 at that point in time, he was thinking about how to hand it to Gu Du Xing…

In any case, all of the things that he had were extremely special. Each thing that he revealed was capable of causing a great commotion and shock to the entire continent. Moreover, here he was able to come up with an endless supply of such things… This couldn't be easy to explain how he had gotten it.

"Big brother, please tell me what your junior martial brother really looks like." Gu Du Xing was unable to sleep at night. However, he could not be blamed as for the past couple of days, he was too overjoyed.

"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, will 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 the information on the battle between Bu Tian Pavilion and the Golden Horse Riders Department, I realized something. After thinking about it, I began to feel that Diwu Qing Rou's word had the same sort of characteristics as that of a clan!"

"Characteristic of a clan?" Chu Yang's countenance became very serious. This was something that he had 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 which sees the world as nothing compared to him. The methods that he employs are also used by the great clans in the fight between clans across 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 smaller sized 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."

"The Golden Horse Riders Department is one of the most obvious things. It is controlled only by him and not by the emperor!" Gu Du Xing said in a grave tone, "It isn't like royal court at all. In fact, this is the greatest difference between the royal courts and Jiang Hu. Moreover, Diwu Qing Rou is somehow able to bring both of the two perfectly together."

"First of all, the people of Great Zhao are weak. However, the main reason is Diwu Qing Rou's background!" Gu Du Xing said slowly, "I am sure that you are able to understand that, under normal circumstances, no matter how weak an emperor is, he should still be able to deal with a prime minister. Even if the prime minister himself has the ability to control the court…"

"The occurrence of this situation can only have one possible explanation… A massive power is controlling it! Such that the emperor of Great Zhao cannot fight against Diwu Qing Rou; he simply is unable to 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 else? These things were all never considered by Chu Yang.

Gu Du Xing came from a clan; if it was anyone else, they would probably never have brought up this issue.

Moreover, Gu Du Xing had placed himself in Chu Yang's position. He looked at it from another person's perspective. Therefore, he was capable of bringing up an entirely different conclusion such as 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 the next morning, the sky was overcast and the cold wind was howling. After traveling for less than a hundred miles, snow unexpectedly rained down. In fact, it continued to grow even heavier and heavier to the extent that it could have covered heaven and earth within brief 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 looked up suspiciously and took a few deep breaths 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?"