Death… and me

Amidst the snow, the bunch of them stood at the lakeside of the Lake of Death as if they were statues. They stood there quietly for a long time. Everyone felt extremely hurt. It was an intolerable pain.

They had conquered the Middle Three Heavens over here!

It was here that they finally fulfilled the wish of the various clans.

Everything was planned and executed by Chu Yang ever since they came to the Middle Three Heavens. Chu Yang also single-handedly changed the situation in the Middle Three Heavens!

He came empty-handed into the Middle Heavens and caused earth-shattering changes in just a year!

However, he disappeared after he succeeded!

He left all the fruits of victory for his comrades.

How could they not be tormented after learning about his departure…

After a long while…

"Let's go!" Gu Du Xing suddenly turned around and walked out. Two drops of tears splattered onto the ground just as he turned around.

The rest also turned around the same time and walked along the mountain pathway.

They walked slower and slower and finally stopped together when they reached the steps that led to the bottom of the mountain.

They turned back.

They wished that Chu Yang would suddenly leap out in front of them.

However, nothing changed no matter how long they looked.

The strong winds slowly became stronger and stronger, while snowflakes started to fly all around. As they slapped everyone's body, large noises resonated in the air. However, everyone still remained silent as they stared at the Lake of Death that had slowly been overwhelmed by snowflakes. They didn't even blink…

After a long while, Gu Du Xing let out a long roar and flew up like a meteor. He combined with his sword in mid-air and just disappeared like that.

His roar became louder and louder as it got more and more distant. It resonated across the clouds and never ceased!

Mo Tian Ji swept his sleeves and descended the mountain without uttering a word.

Ao Xie Yun and Xie Dan Qiong stood side by side as they watched for a long while. They finally sighed and quickly descended the mountain.

Ji Mo, Luo Ke Di and Huyan Aobo stood at the foot of the mountain.

After a long while, Ji Mo suddenly shouted, "Boss! We are waiting for you to return!"

Because of the chilly winds, his words immediately went back into his throat when he shouted them out. It sounded like he was choking.

The three of them stood there for a long time. A gust of snowy wind swept towards them and quickly concealed their figures.

……

Not long after Mo Tian Ji and the rest descended the mountain.

Two figures rushed over and silently flew into the Heavenly Sword Peak from the Outer Heavens.

These two figures were like shadows. One of them stood to the left above the two stone steles in the Lake of Death, while the other one stood to the right. Two streaks of divine senses quickly engulfed the entire Heavenly Sword Peak.

"There's no abnormality!" One of them softly said. "The abnormality lies in the fact that there's no abnormality." The other person coldly said.

"It should be the Nine Tribulations Phenomenon." The first person who spoke first commented, "Don't tell me…one of the Nine Tribulations is in this lake?"

"Possible!"

The two of them looked at each other before they swept their sleeves at the same time. Suddenly, all the warm spring water in the Lake of Death surged up. They divided into half and flew into mid-air.

Two water walls seemed to have appeared in mid-air at this moment! Each wall was hundred thousand feet high and several thousand feet wide.

The entire Lake of Death suddenly dried up at this point.

There was no drop of water left.

There was nothing on the flat ground that was exposed.

The two of them actually managed to dry up the Lake of Death just like that! How powerful must they be?

The two of them scanned the ground at the same time and spotted a small pile of powder.

"It's indeed the Master of the Nine Tribulations Sword!" One of them exclaimed.

"However, this Master of the Tribulations Sword is evidently different." The other person sounded as indifferent as ever.

The earlier person thought for a moment and laughed, "Yes, he's indeed different."

The other person's gaze flashed before he said, "This is the ninth one, right?"

The earlier person seemed to think for a moment before replying, "From the start of the sword, this should be the eighth one, no? Oh wait, we didn't return for ten thousand years in between…it's just nice the ninth one."

"It's about time." That person smiled, "Very soon, we'll have an opponent."

The other person slightly laughed and replied, "I'm eager for that day to come…"

Their gazes shifted, and they turned towards a specific spot at the bottom of the lake. It was an isolated corner. At the very bottom, there was even a narrow passageway that released sinister fog.

"It seems like this entrance is fine. It's able to last." One of them sniffed and said, "Oh, there has been a large number of heroes and courageous men dying over here over the past few days."

"This is exactly the purpose why this place exists." The other person snorted, "As long as the entrance doesn't collapse, it'll be great."

The two of them looked at each other and smiled. They exerted force with their legs and another two streaks of divine senses were instilled into the stone steles below them. After this, they retracted their hands and the two water walls in mid-air fell.

Even so, not a single sound was made as the water fell.

The lake was completely filled again, and the water was extremely calm.

The two of them laughed and leaped up. They easily penetrated through many layers of cloud. It was as if they weren't affected by gravity and flew away just like this.

In the distance, one of them softly laughed, "The ninth generation Master of the Nine Tribulations Sword…hehehe…I'm very excited…"

The voice disappeared…

…

Things in the Middle Three Heavens had finally been settled. After losing Chu Yang, Chu Yang's comrades seemed to have grown up and become more mature.

The Middle Three Heavens was finally conquered.

The Mo Clan, Ao Clan, Xie Clan, Gu Clan, Dong Clan, Ji Clan and Luo Clan took over the territories that originally belonged to the Meng Clan, Tian Clan, Ou Clan, Zhao Clan, Lí Clan, Li Clan, Tu Clan, the Black Devil and so on and so forth…

These clans worked together and started their iron-fisted rule over the Middle Three Heavens.

Mo Tian Ji held the greatest authority and began to 'clean up' the entire Middle Three Heavens. After getting rid of all the hidden forces, he completed removed the influence of any remaining clans in the Middle Three Heavens!

For those who were unconvinced, a few of the clans would band together and deal with them.

The Middle Three Heavens entered a prosperous era after all this pugilistic mess that ensued.

At the same time, an organization named the Heavenly Armament Pavilion was quickly rising!

Its members became very reputable, including the Lonely Sword Emperor Gu Du Xing, Master of Manipulation and Calculation Mo Tian Ji, Evil Young Master Xie Aoyun, Vibunum Xie Dan Qiong, Lone Swordsman Ji Mo and Coyote Luo Ke Di…

The few of them basically rose in reputation in the Middle Three Heavens together!

Wherever those from the Heavenly Armament Pavilion, they earned respect and admiration from others!

The name of the Heavenly Armament Pavilion became extremely popular!

The strength of the Heavenly Armament Pavilion became stronger and stronger each other. It was quickly developing at an unprecedented speed…

However, the various masters in the Heavenly Armament Pavilion hardly smiled.

All of them seemed to have come from the same place. They were so cold such that no one dared to get closer to them.

Only…

It was only when someone managed to overcome his bottleneck…

At the top of the cloudy Heavenly Sword Peak, there would always be someone standing in front of the Lake of Death.

Or there would be a few people who would dive into the Lake of Death and did their best to reach the bottom of the lake.

Although none of them had ever succeeded before, the frequency of their appearance was very high. There would occasionally be someone who appeared there. Whereas those who appeared there…definitely made a breakthrough…

Furthermore, they dived deeper and deeper every time.

…

Upper Three Heavens!

It was a magical place.

It was different compared to the Middle Three and Lower Three Heavens.

The Lower Three Heavens was filled with conflicts between different dynasties.

Although there were lesser people in the Middle Three Heavens, it couldn't compare to the Upper Three Heavens in terms of size.

The total size of the Upper Three Heavens was three times that of the total size of the Middle and Lower Three Heavens combined!

One needed wisdom and intelligence to survive in the Lower Three Heavens while one needed to fight courageously in the bloody Middle Three Heavens. However, it was impossible to make any advancements without both intelligence and martial arts skills in the Upper Three Heavens!

At the highest peak of the Upper Three Heavens, the Nine Great Clans occupied nine different spots. Besides them, there are many other powers around and each clan occupied a certain spot in the Three Higher Heavens. There were many special people too!

At the highest peak, there were even Enforcers watching everything.

This was a place with rules, regulations, tradition, culture and law!

It combined the good points of the Middle Three Heavens and Lower Three Heavens, but was an independent world that was many times bigger than the Middle or Lower Three Heavens!

Everything existed in this world!

It was an extremely colorful world.

There were clear ethical codes in the Upper Three Heavens. There was also a clear code of conduct.

Respect ranked top of all virtues, while greed was the root of all evil!

Flat Mountain Ridge in the Three Higher Heavens.

Although this place was called the Flat Mountain Ridge and only seemed like a mountain ridge, it was actually a gathering place for many humans! It was just that the Flat Mountain Ridge contained countless valleys, mountains and hilly plains…

There were even more than hundred thousand people living over here!

Whereas the Chu Clan was one of the three clans that ruled the Flat Mountain Ridge!

The Chu Clan was neither a huge clan nor a member of the Nine Great Clans. However, the strength of the Chu Clan was still extremely great.

There were many exponents in the clan and they had the Forefather.

The four direct descendants of the Chu Clan were all extraordinary and possessed great cultivations. They were known as the 'Four Heroes of the Chu Clan, Talents of the Flat Mountain Ridge!'. They were all gifted and they were also much more intelligent than others. They managed to make a name for themselves.

Among the four of them, the oldest was known as Chu Fei Ling. After his related marriage with Bai Yang Gu, the young mistress of the Yang Family, the name of the Chu Clan became even more known.

However, good things never lasted. In less than two years, Chu Fei Ling was pursued and his as well as his wife's life were on the line. Although the two of them managed to avert danger, they lost their newborn child.

Ever since then, Chu Fei Ling became very distracted and lifeless. It was as if he had completely collapsed because of that tragic incident.

As a result, Chu Fei Long became the new heir.

Not only was Chu Fei Long competent and smart, he also managed to rejuvenate the Chu Clan in a short period of time after Chu Fei Ling's failures! Everyone was impressed by him.

Today…

A cart charged through the front door of the Chu Clan!

Chu Fei Ling, who had not appeared for many years, was actually in the cart! There was an excited look on his face. He also appeared very worried, as if he was extremely anxious. When he came to the front door, he didn't stop and continued to charge in.

The other Chu Clan went into a frenzy.

After a while, there was news that the eldest grandson of the Chu Clan that had been missing for nineteen years had finally been found! He had finally returned to the clan on this day!

This news shook the entire Flat Mountain Ridge!