Transcending the Nine Heavens

"I am Wei Wuyan!" There was deep hatred in Wei Wuyan's eyes. "I was once Hong Wuliang's disciple but not anymore." Raising his head, he continued, "I am not saying this because I'm begging you for mercy. It is because Hong Wuliang is a despicable and shameless, filthy and obscene man! The feud between us is irreconcilable!"

Lang Yilang snickered. "A thousand years… You actually took this long to realize how despicable and obscene he is?"

After saying that, with a wave of his arm, the ten of them jumped down neatly from above.

Wei Wuyan and the others neither moved nor fled.

The four of them were only first-grade Supreme Martial Artists, and they were already exhausted and out of strength. Right now, even standing was a feat to them, not to mention battling.

On the other hand, the other party were all experts of cultivation higher than first-grade Supreme Martial Artist! There were even a few second-grade and third-grade Supreme Martial Artists among them. As for the leader Lang Yilang, his cultivation was too deep to even guess at!

Under such circumstances, they didn't even have the slightest chance of escaping.

Lang Yilang smoothly slid across the snowy ground to Wei Wuyan. Standing in front of him, he sized him up before he nodded. Then, with eyes containing deep weariness and solitude, he spoke in a weary tone. "Wei Wuyan, I'm sure… that you know of me."

Wei Wuyan replied coldly, "How can a lad of the younger generation like me possibly not know of Master Lang's great name?"

Lang Yilang laughed. Although he was laughing, the expression on his face was still so sad and dismal. He said bleakly, "I am talking about what happened between Hong Wuliang and me."

Wei Wuyan fell silent.

He knew of this matter, of course. Hong Wuliang had spoken of it not just once.

However, ever since what Hong Wuliang did caused his image in Wei Wuyan's heart to be completely destroyed, Wei Wuyan could no longer tell who was right or wrong between the two of them now.

Lang Yilang heaved a heavy sigh. He said passively, "Ever since I discovered your whereabouts, I made arrangements along the entire way to force you to change your route so that you'll end up in this northwestern wilderness… Do you find this place very familiar?"

Wei Wuyan was quiet for a moment before he replied, "Yes, it is indeed very familiar."

Lang Yilang nodded slightly. "Yes, you grew up here. Of course you'll find it familiar…"

Wei Wuyan was silent. There was an inexplicable sense of melancholy on his face.

Indeed, he grew up here. His home, his roots, they were all here. Just that in order to escape his formidable enemies, he had no choice but to follow Hong Wuliang and flee across a great distance…

And left this place.

Realization dawned upon Wan Renjie and the other two.

As to why Wei Wuyan could actually shake off their pursuers time and again even in such terrible conditions here in the northwest. So that was the reason why!

The northwest was Wei Wuyan's hometown.

However, it wasn't just Wei Wuyan's expression that was forlorn. There was a similar melancholy on the countenance of Lang Yilang in front of him as well.

"It's not just you… This is also my hometown." Lang Yilang said in a deep and low voice, "This is Hong Wuliang's hometown too… The person whom I love deeply… Her hometown is here as well!"

"They are all here!"

Lang Yilang's voice became empty and hollow, as if he was speaking to his soul. He murmured, "That's why I went so far as to cast an extensive net, employed the full power of the law-enforcement ward and even activated the Nine Super Clans to pursue and intercept all of you, just so I could force you here."

"Because I want to end the feud of my lifetime here in my hometown!"

"I see." Wei Wuyan said calmly, "That's why your order was to not threaten our lives and to capture us alive?"

Lang Yilang smiled wearily and shook his head. "With your insignificant ability, did you really think that you would be able to fight your way here?"

Wei Wuyan smiled harshly. "Even if we couldn't, playing us for fools like that was too much!"

Lang Yilang's brows furrowed. He replied, "I am very apologetic about this."

He paused for a moment before he continued, "But… this has been my wish… for almost two thousand years. So… even if it's tough, I will still do it. Even if I have to let down the whole world, I will still do it."

Wei Wuyan did not respond.

He understood what Lang Yilang meant. Even if he had to let down the whole world, he would still do it! What more when it was just the four of them?

There was a kind of weariness that permeated his soul and body around Lang Yilang, as though a traveler who hadn't had a scrap of food or a drop of water for days in the desert and had already exhausted his physical strength. It made people who saw him feel the same way at once…

As though they themselves had also become tired. Tired… of life itself.

There was no longer any meaning in it.

"Whether Chu Yang is an Extraterrestrial Demon or not… I do not care." Lang Yilang's hands were held behind his back and hidden within his sleeves the whole time. He said, "I don't wish to take your lives either."

"But you, Wei Wuyan, are the only one who had witnessed what happened back then!"

Turning to the others, he said, "I would like to invite the three of you to take a rest somewhere." Then, his eyes flickered and he added, "Treat them with courtesy! Do not be rude!"

A Supreme Martial Artist had already gone forward and with a loud boom, punched a huge hole through one of the faces of the mountain. Then, a few of them led Wan Renjie and the other two inside to take a rest. They indeed did not make things difficult for them.

Outside the cave, only Lang Yilang and Wei Wuyan remained in the swirling snow.

"You should try and be a little more cooperative, because if you don't, those three faithful and loyal brothers of yours will die because of you!" Lang Yilang said dispassionately.

"You!" Wei Wuyan shouted furiously.

"I will say this only once." Lang Yilang's voice was weary.

Wei Wuyan hung his head dejectedly. "How do you want me to cooperate with you?"

Lang Yilang had grasped Wei Wuyan's biggest weakness. If it had been just Wei Wuyan alone, he already had nothing to live for since a long time ago. He might already have fought it out with him by now.

But now that the lives of Wan Renjie and the others were in Lang Yilang's hands, Wei Wuyan did not dare to be rash. In fact, he didn't even dare to cough or make any extra sound.

Wan Renjie and the other two cherished him. They stayed by his side and fought through life and death situations with him. Similarly, Wei Wuyan was also willing to do the same and risk everything for their sake!

Including doing anything.

"Follow me." With his hands behind his back, Lang Yilang strolled among the wind and snow. Step by step, he walked up the cliff.

Wei Wuyan followed after him, walking in his footsteps as they went forward.

All of a sudden, an odd feeling suddenly arose in his heart. Walking in his footsteps… If he were to put it this way, was his fate any worse off as compared to Lang Yilang's?

Weren't their fates the same then?

Both their families were broken up and dead and they were doomed to solitude for the rest of their lives because of Hong Wuliang!

When he thought of this, Wei Wuyan heaved a long sigh.

"One thousand and seven hundred years ago, there was a plum blossom tree on this cliff. Every time there was heavy snow, the plum blossoms would bloom. When the snow-white plum blossoms bloomed in the snow, it was as if they had merged as one. Nobody knew when the plum blossoms bloomed, nor did they know when they withered. They came and went without leaving any trace."

Lang Yilang's weary voice continued on, "Now, even that plum blossom tree is gone."

Standing on high ground, he looked around the surroundings. Then, he slowly took a seat and patted the snow ground next to him. "Have a seat, Wei Wuyan. Be patient and listen to a story of mine."

Without saying anything, Wei Wuyan sat in front of him.

"I've suppressed this story in my heart for more than a thousand years… I've never told anyone! But as I end this feud today, I want this story to be made known. At the very least, to have at least one person related to the story be a witness!"

Lang Yilang smiled slightly.

Wei Wuyan took a deep breath. Ever since Lang Yilang had appeared, he could sense the solitude, loneliness and grief in his voice.

As well as a kind of… sorrow that permeated deep into one's bones!

It seemed like there were boundless sorrows and tears hidden in this person's heart.

But he found this rather strange — Lang Yilang had been saying that he would end all the feuds between them today. However, nobody knew where Hong Wuliang was hiding, so how was he going to end everything once and for all today? Would just telling him a story end all the feuds once and for all?

There was a wry smile on Lang Yilang's face. He said, "One thousand and seven hundred years ago, 25 kilometers to the east of this mountain slope, there was a small village. That village was called the Hong Village. My family was the only one that didn't share the same surname in Hong Village."

"One day, great calamity suddenly befell the Hong Village. Everyone in the village died an unnatural death; only two teenage boys managed to escape. From then on, they lived on relying on each other. They went through countless hardships and fought their way out of the northwest, vowing that they would take revenge. With the heavens as their witness, the two of them became sworn brothers, promising to stick together in life and death for the rest of their lives! Never to betray each other!"

"At last, the brothers both had their own encounters respectively and finally separated. The next time they met, thirty years had already gone by. Both of them managed to become disciples of renowned Teachers and had accomplished much in their cultivation."

Wei Wuyan knew that the two people whom Lang Yilang was talking about were Hong Wuliang and himself. However, his story clearly differed very much from Hong Wuliang's.

"When the two of them met, they were naturally overjoyed. From then on, they traversed the martial world together. In the beginning, they always put whatever income they earned together and divided it equally between them. However, at that time, Hong Wuliang's cultivation was slightly higher. His earnings were very high, whereas mine was not. Over time, Hong Wuliang became a little uncomfortable with it… After I took the initiative to bring it up, Hong Wuliang got the majority of it."

"At last, on a certain day, the two brothers encountered a gang of bandits who were robbing a fleet of carriages. Hong Wuliang did not plan on interfering, but at that time, I was reminded of the hatred of having my clan annihilated. And so… I charged toward them. Everyone in the fleet of carriages was already dead; there was only a teenage girl who was still alive. Because of her beauty, the bandits didn't kill her. Instead, they intended to bring her back to the mountains."

"I saved that girl… and killed the bandits. However, how were we supposed to travel while bringing a frail girl along? But if we were to leave her to her own devices, how was she to live on when her parents and family were all dead?"

"Hong Wuliang, who had been unenthusiastic about this the whole time, suddenly became very enthusiastic after seeing the girl's looks. He suggested that we impart cultivation skills to her and raise her cultivation within a short period of time. As long as she had some basic fighting ability, she wouldn't be a burden anymore. Both the girl and I approved very much of this suggestion."

"Time passed just like that. Even though Hong Wuliang had deliberately tried to impress this whole time, the girl's reliance on me grew stronger and stronger. And I, toward her, was also… Half a year later, she and I finally decided to spend the rest of our lives together and we exchanged tokens of affection! We made a promise to each other that after we have taken revenge, we would retire into the mountains and live in seclusion, never to come out into the world again. We would spend the rest of our lives together quietly and live in peace."

"At that time, both of us felt happiness and contentment, as though even the world had become lovable."

When Lang Yilang reached this part that was supposed to be a happy story about a perfect match between a handsome man and a beautiful woman, his voice instead turned sinister and hateful.

A sinister aura made Wei Wuyan's hair stand on end.