Transcending the Nine Heavens

How could this not be depressing?

Jun Lu Lu was giggling on the side lines.

Jun Lu Lu saw that her elder sister’s flawless rhetoric had deflated in front of a little girl. And, she couldn’t help but find this funny...

"Sigh... it’s my fault!" Jun Xi Zhu felt frustrated, "You’re a girl. You’re not a woman yet... you won’t understand these things..."

Mo Qing Wu innocently smiled, "I will do whatever Elder Brother Chu Yang tells me to do."

Jun Xi Zhu heaved a deep sigh. She was at the end of her wits. She no longer knew what else to say. So, she had to close her eyes tightly.

[Something can’t bother you once it goes out of your sight! This is frustrating... I don’t know what great ability that Elder Brother Chu Yang has that has made this little girl ‘head over heels in love’ with him.]

The wheels were rolling-on, and horses’ hooves were beating intermittently. The distant Mt. Dingjun was getting closer and closer.

Jun Xi Zhu closed her eyes. And, the train of her thoughts had floated to some another aspect. [Ice and Snow Wilderness... Ninth Grade Spirit Beast? Won’t my cultivation go a step further if I can refine the inner core of such a spirit beast?]

Jun Lu Lu was thinking, [Elder Brother Yu is now at Mt. Dingjun. He must be having a great time. He must be having fun. This guy... it has been so long, and he hasn’t even written a letter. I will teach him a proper lesson when I see him again...]

Mo Qing Wu was thinking in her heart, [Elder Brother Chu Yang... Elder Brother Chu Yang, please come quickly. I miss you boohoo... My saber was taken away. I had to leave the scabbard at home too... your Little Wu is so pitiful... boohoo...]

...

Lower Three Heavens...

Tie Long Cheng and Wu Kuang Yun were still waging war on all fronts. The domain of the Iron Cloud Nation was getting bigger and bigger. A great celebration had already started on in the Iron Cloud Citadel. The government affairs had also fallen into the right place.

The Bu Tian Pavilion was established prominently in the Iron Cloud Citadel after the expansion. It had since become a unique emblem of the Iron Cloud Nation.

Wu Qian Qian was clad in a black robe inside King of Hell Chu’s secret chamber. She had a stern bearing. She had a golden mask on, and seemed grim because of it. She was reading a confidential document at the moment.

A secret door moved slightly in the deepest part of the secret chamber. It then started to slide-open slowly. A bright yellow silhouette emerged slowly, and walked in.

"You came?" Wu Qian Qian asked in a soft voice.

"Hm..." Tie Bu Tian walked towards Wu Qian Qian and sat across her. She was dressed in a very wide robe. She looked at that golden mask, and her eyes filled with tender feelings.

"How are things? Do you feel anything?" Wu Qian Qian stood up. She curiously walked up to the front of Tie Bu Tian’s body.

"It has only been two months. How can there be any feeling?" Tie Bu Tian gave her a blank look, and spoke, "I have read in the books. It says that it would take at least five or six months to feel him move..."

"It would take so long?" Wu Qian Qian opened her pretty eyes wide. She was amazed.

"But, I can feel him grow every day..." Tie Bu Tian smiled. She caressed her belly gently with her hand. She had a tender look on her face.

"I want to touch..." Wu Qian Qian moved close to her. She was about to hold out her hand. However, she felt that the mask on her face was in the way. So, she reached out with her hand towards her face in order to take it off.

"Don’t..." Tie Bu Tian grabbed her hand midway. Then, her eyes exposed an appealing look, "Minister Chu, don’t take off the mask."

[Don’t take off the mask. You are my Minister Chu. My fantasy would cease to exist if you take off the mask...]

Wu Qian Qian was startled to look at the appealing look in Tie Bu Tian’s eyes...

She stared blankly for a long time. But, the look in her eyes eventually returned to normal. She held out her hand, and caressed Tie Bu Tian’s face. She then spoke in a soft voice, "My lovely wife... you must be suffering a lot."

Her voice had impressively changed into Chu Yang’s voice.

Tie Bu Tian’s body trembled. She closed her eyes, and gently grabbed that hand. She stuck it close to her face as she listened to this familiar voice. This voice had appeared so many times in her dreams. There was a delightful look of peacefulness on her face. She softly replied, "I’m not suffering because I bear Minister Chu’s child..."

The emotion in her voice was as deep as an ocean. However, a strong sense of having no regrets was leaking out of her voice. But, there also seemed to be a strange hollowness to it. In fact, it seemed as if this sentence had passed through time and space, and had traversed towards her beloved man... the man who had already left.

It seemed that the atmosphere in the secret chamber suddenly froze up.

A long while passed in this fashion. Then, Wu Qian Qian wiped her eyes and spoke, "There’s one thing. I think I should let you know."

"What?" Tie Bu Tian seemed to have recovered her original voice. A sense of loss flashed on her face.

"You should take a look... at this piece of information." Wu Qian Qian drew out a thin paper from the file.

Tie Bu Tian looked at it. Her body couldn’t help but shiver fiercely. Then, teardrops started to stream down from her eyes.

Only a few sentences were written on it —"Reporting to the Minister. A stone cliff suddenly caught fire on the outskirts of Beyond the Heavens Sect. Then, something unusual happened. The entire cliff was cut by someone, and five big words were carved on it... Tian Tian... Little Tian Tian... There was no other mark apart from this."

Tie Bu Tian was startled by this!

"Tian Tian... Little Tian Tian..." Tie Bu Tian read these words. In fact, she literally whispered them to herself. She had a messy look in her eyes.

[Chu Yang was right here in front of me on that day... he stood there stupefied...]

...

On that day –

Chu Yang heaved a long sigh, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What... was her name?"

[Name?]

Tie Bu Tian took a deep breath as her eyes turned somewhat moist. She replied in a muffled voice, "I don’t know her surname. I only know that she was called ‘Tian Tian’. She had told us that her father loved her very much, and used to call her... Little Tian Tian..."

"Tian Tian? Little Tian Tian?" Chu Yang’s voice was low and deep. It was hard to tell what kinds of emotions were raging in his heart.

Tie Bu Tian suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart when she heard Chu Yang call her name. She felt congested in her chest. She hastily turned her head to one side, and tears began to well-up in her eyes...

"Little Tian Tian... Little Tian Tian..." Chu Yang wore a tragic smile and said, "I had never thought that I – Chu Yang – will ever fall into such a spiral of emotional debt!"

"She’s buried there?" Chu Yang took a deep breath...

"I will leave tomorrow morning. But first, I will go to the Beyond the Heavens Sect. I will go and take a look at Little Tian Tian... the woman who sacrificed everything for me..."

...

Tie Bu Tian’s body was on the verge of collapsing. But, her eyes suddenly emitted a joyful expression. She felt dizziness in her head. She mumbled, "I must go and take a look... I wish to go and take a look at those words!"

She bit her lip in excitement, and raised her face, "That’s my man! He carved my name!"

"I have to go now!"

Wu Qian Qian also bit her lip. She enviously watched the happiness that brimmed in Tie Bu Tian’s bright eyes. She only felt endless bitterness in her heart.

[She has... she has everything... she has your child... you wrote her name... you have given her a status in the society... But, I have nothing... I don’t even have myself... I’m just a substitute! I have even substituted you, and I am taking care of your woman in your stead. I’m taking care of your child... couldn’t you have given me at least one memory to cherish?]

[It has been so long... you haven’t hugged me...]

[I am very jealous, you know?]

Tie Bu Tian had already stood up. And, she seemed to have regained the demeanor of an Emperor in this split second. She took a few steps to walk out of the door. Then, she solemnly commanded, "I’m issuing a decree. Make preparations to ride out of the palace!"

She had come here via the tunnel, and shouldn’t be here at this moment. However, she had no qualms in showing herself.

Wu Qian Qian remained there in a daze for a while after Tie Bu Tian walked away. That massive secret chamber suddenly felt empty. But, it also seemed to be very crowded at the same time. That’s because... it was jam-packed with someone’s shadow. In fact, it was full of it...

[Here, Chu Yang used to lie down here and sleep. Here... Chu Yang used to read here. Here... Chu Yang used to pace back and forth here while he’d think. Here...]

[That black robe... ah!]

Wu Qian Qian’s tears continued to fall nonstop. She caressed the black robe on her body, and a hint of satisfaction appeared in her eyes. She muttered in a soft voice, "Chu Yang, perhaps you don’t know... I’ll always be by your side as long as you’re wearing my black robe... until the Middle Three Heavens, the Upper Three Heavens..."

Then, she stood up, wiped away the tears in her eyes, took deep breaths, and slowly walked out. The black robe she was clad in appeared gloomy and eerie. Her eyes were cold and sharp, and they were overflowing with murderous intention!

...

The imperial troops rushed full speed ahead on the order of the Emperor!

The troops were moving on the main road. The almond-yellow banners were fluttering in the wind. A soaring golden dragon was imprinted on the banner.

They had arrived in front of that steep cliff in a few days’ time. It was located outside the Beyond the Heaven Sect.

Tie Bu Tian stepped out of the imperial carriage. She then stood below that steep cliff, and continued to stare at it with an upturned face for a very long time. She was looking at the top of the steep cliff... at those five words that had been carved by Chu Yang’s sword. A tremendous wave had surged up in her heart. And, the tides in her heart were moving up and down. She missed him so much that she wanted to cry loudly. But, she also wanted to laugh out loud in excitement...

She was having bitter thoughts of longing in her heart. It seemed as if her heart was being twisted in order to make a cup of intoxicating wine. A myriad of emotions had welled up in her heart at this moment. She was feeling sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy... all at once.

Chu Yang was facing thousands of horses and thousands of soldiers when she had seen him for the first time. He had seemed like an immortal who had been banished from the heaven as he had rushed towards them. And, it had seemed like a miracle when the gazes of these two people had met!

The second time they had met was in Chu Yang’s Heavenly Armament Pavilion. She had turned herself a young girl, and had gone to see his sword. The third time, Chu Yang had shared his deep feelings with her at the lakeside outside the Bu Tian Pavilion.

...

Scene after scene of past events poured into her mind like smoke and clouds. And, Tie Bu Tian stood there disappointed and frustrated.

[That night... that night... Chu Yang was seriously hurt. His body had been affected by the lust poison, and he was unconscious. I didn’t hesitate to use my virgin woman’s body to detoxify him... Who can know... who can possibly know... how shameful that is for a woman?]

[This is... what kind of dedication!]

[But, I have no regrets.] Tie Bu Tian spoke within the silence of her heart.

Her bright yellow robe was fluttering-about in the wind. And, she stood there like a statue... motionless. [Chu Yang, do you know that I’m Tian Tian? I’m Tian Tian... your Little Tian Tian.]

[These few words written by your hands – Tian Tian – look so good...]

The black-robed Wu Qian Qian stood behind her, and she looked sinister and gloomy. And, the golden mask... it looked eerie and fearsome. She was also looking at those few words that had been carved on the surface of the cliff. But, there was a sense of deep envy in her eyes.

The army was stationed at a distant place. A gust of wind passed by, and fluttered the sleeves of the robes of the two people. The yellow sand was swept-about freely by the gust of wind. They seemed to be very lonely in this setting... solitary...

It seemed that only these two people were left in the world...

The people who were witnessing this scene also felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness. In fact, it seemed that this feeling had struck their hearts like lightning.

It was a type of desolate feeling that had crept up unbidden.

...

However, two other people were watching this scene from the mountain-top at this moment.

The figures of these two people were slender, graceful, and feminine. The face of one of them was covered with a black muslin mask. And, the face of the other one was covered with a white muslin mask.

The eyes of the black masked person lit up. She spoke with a smile, "It seems like these are the imperial guards. Perhaps your junior sister-apprentice has also come. Ruo Lan, you needn’t worry. I will ask her to assist you in finding it."