Death… and me

Mo Tian Ji had guessed it right. This spark had indeed started from King of Hell Chu. But, it happened many days later than he had expected. Therefore, this made the Master of Calculation and Manipulation so worried that his hair almost turned white…

~~Ao Clan~~

The sudden arrival of Xie Dan Qiong surprised Ao Clan's people.

Xie Clan was weaker than the Ao Clan, but it still couldn't be neglected. And, Xie Dan Qiong was the Eldest Young Master and the future successor of the Xie Clan after all said and done.

Therefore, Ao Clan received Xie Dan Qiong very politely.

The Clan Lord of the Ao Clan — Ao Tian Xing personally welcomed him. After all, his son would sooner or later take over the Ao Clan. And, having such a big ally for his son would only bring many benefits and no harm whatsoever.

"Young Master Xie, ha-ha… how is your father?" Ao Tian Xing greeted him in a very polite manner.

"My father is safe and sound. Thank you for your concern, Uncle Ao." Xie Dan Qiong very respectfully and sincerely made his salutation. Then, he greeted him respectfully and said, "Brother Xie Yun and I have always been close friends. In fact, we had joined hands and worked together on Mt. Dingjun. However, it has been a long time since I've seen him. I truly miss him. So, I have come to visit him at his home. I ask uncle to be generous enough to let me be a guest in your place."

"Um, what's the harm in this?" Ao Tian Xing stroked his beard, and said with a kind smile, "This old man appreciates righteous and affectionate young people. My son is fortunate to have a friend like you."

He hesitated for a while, and then said, "It's just that… my son Ao Ao hasn't returned from the Northern Wilderness yet…"

"My son Ao Ao…" Xie Dan Qiong's eyes popped out. This name had struck him like a thunder.

"Nephew Xie, you might as well stay for some days since you've come here. Ao Clan's landscape is considered to be fabulous." Ao Tian Xing smiled and said, "Moreover… it has been several months since Ao Ao left. So, he must be on the return trip at this time. He will possibly be back in a few days. Then, you guys can have fun together."

"I see. This nephew will be in your care for a few days if that's the case. I would listen to your teachings during this time, Uncle." Xie Dan Qiong went with the flow, and complied with him.

Then, Xie Dan Qiong stayed in the Ao Clan while showing no trace of politeness. He would have a lot of lavish meals and exotic delicacies every day. He couldn't be more comfortable.

Several days went by in a flash. But, Ao Xie Yun still hadn't returned.

Consequently, Ao Clan started to feel that something was fishy.

[Why hasn't he come back yet?]

Xie Dan Qiong stayed for several days. Then, he asked to take his leave. He told them that he wasn't feeling well. Ao Tian Xing showed great kindness. He urged Xie Dan Qiong to stay, and asked him to see their family doctor. Xie Dan Qiong complied, and decided to stay for three more days. However, Xie Dan Qiong suddenly fainted the next morning while the doctor was checking-up on him. In fact, the youth seemed to be suffocating…

The doctor jumped in fright as soon as he saw this. He then hastily reported back to the Clan Lord of Ao Clan, Ao Tian Xing. Subsequently, Ao Tian Xing came to see — He saw that Xie Dan Qiong's entire body had turned purple. His eyes had almost bulged out; his breathing was erratic. His Dantian had seemingly ruptured. And, all of his meridians were on the verge of collapsing…

Ao Tian Xing became scared as a result.

[It would be a scandal if this Young Clan Lord of the Xie Clan were to die in our clan….]

All the highly skilled medical experts of the Ao Clan gathered together to make Xie Dan Qiong healthy again. But, they all wrinkled their brows, shook their heads, and sighed. They couldn't do anything about it…

They could only use vital energy to keep Xie Dan Qiong alive for the time being. They didn't have any other method apart from this.

Ao Tian Xing felt an intense regret. [I should've let him go when he asked me for his leave two days ago… at least I wouldn't have gotten blamed for his death in that case…]

"Uncle Xie doesn't need to worry about me. I have this… foul disease… since childhood… It does not… have any… permanent method to… cough, cough, cough, cough… cure it…" Xie Dan Qiong weakly 'consoled', "I only need… one… cough, cough, cough, expert… cough, cough, to donate his vitality… cough, cough, cough, every day… for some time… cough, cough, cough, I'll be fine…"

"For how long?" Ao Tian Xing hurriedly asked.

Then, Xie Dan Qiong's head tilted, and he immediately fainted.

Ao Tian Xing's face turned dark. [For some time? Dammit! You little bastard. One day is also some time. One year is also some time. A lifetime… is also some time.]

But, Xie Dan Qiong had already lost consciousness. So, what could he do now?

Ao Tian Xing went out in a depressed state of mind.

The time passed day by day. And, Xie Dan Qiong remained unconscious like before. Moreover, not the least bit of information about Ao Xie Yun had been received… The atmosphere of the Ao Clan became increasingly serious as a result…

A month passed by. The people of other clans as well as some people not associated with any major clans returned home one after another. News was coming continuously from all directions. Finally, Ao Clan couldn't stay calm any longer.

They dispatched men to rescue Ao Xie Yun. The men went out like continuous waves. They made discreet inquiries so that they could start the rescue operation. But, it was as if a clay ox had entered the sea. They couldn't get the least bit of information.

Ao Tian Xing became frustrated.

Ao Clan continued to dispatch troops on a large scale towards the direction of the Northern Wilderness in order to conduct the search.

Nobody knew how important Ao Xie Yun was to the Ao Clan in reality…

…. ….

These days, even an ordinary person could feel the suffocating atmosphere of the Middle Three Heavens. It felt to be a sizzling long and hot summer. There wasn't a trace of wind in the sky, and black clouds were hovering on people's heads. The environment was heating up, and everyone was sweating profusely. However, a rainstorm had been brewing for a long time. And, it was about to come down…

Everyone's heart was beating anxiously. They were in deep worry even though the matter hadn't touched the ground yet.

Moreover, this suffocation was getting more and more intense, and was slowly shifting from the sky into the hearts of people.

They felt as if they were being choked to death… as if they were stifling to death.

Everyone knew that a rainstorm of destruction would arise once this situation erupted. However, these stifling winds would keep on brewing, and reach to a level where it would become unbearable. And, everyone would rather choose the destruction at that time. They would rather choose the rainstorm on their own accord in order to get rid of this suffocating atmosphere.

Another month passed… Everyone was losing their peace of mind. They couldn't decide whether to sit or stand; the entire Middle Three Heavens had sunken into an atmosphere of extreme restraint. Suddenly, something was detonated…

A piece of news spread like a thunder on a sunny day in the Middle Three Heavens.

There occurred an internal strife among the Ou Clan, Tu Clan, Black Devil Clan, Meng Clan, and Tian Clan… It needs to be mentioned that were originally comrades-in-arms.

Ou Clan, Black Devil Clan, and Tian Clan slaughtered all the experts of Meng Clan that had gone together with them on a mission. They killed everyone including the Eldest Young Master of the Meng Clan — Meng Luo, the two Emperor Level Experts, as well as all the King Level Experts and Revered Martial Artists.

It seemed as if these great clans had the red eyes of killers after they returned. Everyone in the alliance talked cheerfully and wittily about how they had slaughtered all the people of Meng Clan.

Then, their armies went down south, and killed the entire Meng Clan. The women and children were no exception to this massacre. In fact, they didn't even spare the fowls and dogs.

The ancestor of the Meng Clan — Meng Tian Yue was a ninth grade Martial Emperor. He was compelled to come out from his closed-door practice. However, the Emperor Level Experts of these great clans ganged up on him, and a crazy war broke out.

Meng Tian Yue was in grief and indignation. He made counterattacks. But, these great clans dispatched their several ancestors at this extremely crucial moment. All of them were high level Martial Emperors. All the old masters went all-out, and finally managed to subdue Meng Tian Yue. They then killed him on the spot.

The entire Meng Clan was burnt to the ground.

The combatants' eyes had turned red while they participated in this battle. All the men of Ou Clan, Tu Clan, Black Devil Clan, and Tian Clan… everyone's eyes were red. All of them were attacking with an attitude which made it seem as if this was a matter of life and death.

This situation made it seem as if the Meng Clan had dug the ancestral tombs of these clans or something… These few great clans harbored so much hostility towards the Meng Clan that it seemed as if the Meng Clan had taken rounds on all the female relatives of these clans. And, they couldn't live under the same sky as Meng Clan for this reason…

Their methods were ruthless; their execution was fierce, cruel, brutal… In fact, such cruelty had never been seen in the Middle Three Heavens before.

This brutal massacre took place in broad daylight. It all happened fair and square… when the heaven and the earth were in peace and harmony… when the sun was shining… and it was absolutely unrestrained. It wasn't secretive in any manner.

And, a great clan was erased from existence as a result.

The men and women of the Meng Clan… old and young… even the in-laws… and, every branch clan of Meng Clan… got eradicated by those several great clans.

The death toll in this war was more than a hundred thousand.

This news was like a thunderclap in the clear sky. It shocked all the great clans of Middle Three Heavens.

No one had anticipated that this repression would be broken due to an internal strife. The alliance split up from the inside because the Meng Clan had outrageously chosen the other clans' side…

Mo Tian Ji had taken all the possibilities into account beforehand to make a foolproof plan. But, his eyes almost popped out of his eye-sockets when he heard this news. The cup in his hand fell on the ground with a smashing sound, and shattered into pieces. After that, he pinched his own thigh and arm several times until they turned purple. Finally, he was convinced that he hadn't been dreaming.

Mo Tian Ji had given out such a strong reaction to this situation. Therefore, one can well-imagine the reaction of other people…

Those few great clans didn't utter a word about why they attacked the Meng Clan. So, the common people didn't know the reason for this massacre. However, everyone was whispering their speculations to each other.

[Meng Clan got exterminated in such a way… What did it do to make these other clans so angry that they joined hands together in fury and frantically burned it to hell?]

[Did Meng Clan do something… so audacious? Fu*k! It was already standing against seven or eight great clans. And then, it dared to offend its own allies at such a moment of crisis? Meng Clan shouldn't be that stupid…]

[Why did the Meng Clan provoke their allies?]

There were many different opinions in the Middle Three Heavens.

One person said, "I can say it for sure. Meng Luo must've raped the young girls of all these great clans. This is the reason for such a massive outrage."

Another man retorted, "Nonsense! This is obviously not the case. You don't understand these aristocratic clans. No big clan would sever their relations with another clan for this. The reason for this massacre has nothing to do with that Meng Luo raping their young girls."

He had said resolutely and decisively. Then, he became a bit puzzled and said, "Maybe, Meng Luo's father got into the beds of the Clan Ladies of these clans…"

Everyone thought that this could be a possibility. Then, another man interrupted, "What you said seems reasonable… as they say 'if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked'. But, the lower beam is already crooked… that means that the upper beam wasn't straight either. Meng Luo liked to rape young girls. So, maybe his father liked to rape too… of course… Yes, that makes sense…"

Many people nodded together. "Yes… that makes sense. But, according to this deduction… all those influential clans in the alliance must've given that old pervert an opportunity… After all, he would've never indulged in pleasure while forgetting home and duty… However, they say that the Clan Ladies of all of these great clans are extremely charming… despite getting older each day… Haven't you seen them? The older they get, the chewier they become…"

Then, everyone sighed at the same time. [Meng Luo's father died a happy man. It can be considered that he died in the forbidden pink garden. He will be considered a romantic even after he has become a ghost. But, it was unwise of him to involve the whole clan in this…]

But, someone retorted again, "Your comprehension is nonsense… when does a man care about his family when sex is on his mind…" Then, everyone pondered, and imagined putting themselves in the other's shoe. And, all of them nodded one after another after a brief introspection…

These words had come from some unknown person. But, it seemed that this particular-someone had deliberately promoted them. The more these words spread, the more intense their impact became. These words were slowly bubbling and gurgling…

Consequently, the Clan Lords of those few clans became personalities of great importance in the Middle Three Heavens. But, they also became embodiments of jealousy at the same time…

…