Transcending the Nine Heavens

On the second night after Chu Yang successfully left the Li Clan.

The maidservants on standby outside suddenly heard a faint moan coming from within the room.

Could Lord Zi have regained consciousness? In that case, can… we go in now?

They were still undecided when they heard a thud coming from the room, as though someone had fallen off the bed. Then, a voice rang out. "Oh my mother… Who stuffed me under the bed…" A string of groans then followed.

After that, a voice asked, "Why am I lying here? Where am I?"

The people outside were filled with bewilderment. What was going on?

A cry of shock then drifted out of the room. "I-I-I… Where is my beard?"

"Where did my beard go?"

"Oh my god… Who knocked me out? Who stole my beard?"

Outside, the few of them exchanged looks, truly speechless. Who… would steal his beard? It wasn't as if it was some kind of treasure?

Then, they suddenly realized — This… Wasn't this the voice of the old physician who claimed that he was going out to gather herbs? How was it that…

Just as they thought of this, they heard a series of noises coming from within. Then, someone clambered out on all fours, sprawling on the ground as he raised his head and asked pitifully, "What's going on?"

Shocked, everyone's eyes widened at once. Wasn't this the younger one of the two physicians who had come the other day? Wasn't he in the room taking care of Lord Zi these past one day and more?

A rustling sound then came from within the room again and another person climbed out. He sprawled at the doorway and raised his head, almost in tears. "What's going on? Where's my beard?"

When the maidservants looked over, they froze at once!

Several pairs of pretty eyes almost dropped out of their eye sockets at this moment!

He… Wasn't he that old physician who had gone out to gather herbs? What… what was going on? His chin was clean and smooth. Not a single strand of his long and beautiful beard remained…

Stupefied, everyone looked at each other at a loss, as though they had just seen a ghost!

After a long while, a loud cry of shock finally resounded in the night sky!

…

"Trash! The two of you are no different from trash!" Li Wubo was so furious that he was steaming. He glared at the two physicians in front of him with eyes that could eat someone. "Where's he? Where did he go? Huh?! Are the two of you non-existent… A big man who's seriously injured disappeared just like that under your noses for two days and the two of you actually continued to sleep?"

That physician was still in a daze. He still hadn't understood what had happened yet. "Yes… Where's he? Where did Lord Zi go… His injuries are very serious…"

The other physician mumbled in defense, "We weren't sleeping…"

Li Wubo shouted, "Shut up!"

The two of them were as quiet as a mouse at once.

"Why aren't you talking! You bastards! What exactly happened!" Li Wubo was in a terrible rage. His whole head of hair was close to standing on end.

Damn it, I got the two of you to watch somebody, but now he's gone… What is my Purple Crystal mine to do now?

The two of them shivered uncontrollably at once, grumbling incessantly in their hearts.

You goddamn told us to shut up just a second ago and yet you're scolding us the very next moment for not talking… Which are we supposed to listen to? You're so hard to please…

They then nervously recounted what had happened, but the more Li Wubo listened, the more confused and frustrated he got. And the more he listened, the angrier he got. "Stop saying anymore! You two muddle-headed dumbasses! Are you trying to make me die of anger?!"

The two physicians felt so wronged that they wanted to die.

So do you want us to talk, not talk, or talk…

"Could an outsider have made use of the opportunity where Zi Xiaoyan became seriously injured to attack our men and kidnap him?" suggested a frowning Li Tongtian at the side.

"That's impossible!" Li Wubo rejected the possibility right away. "I've planted eight sixth-grade Supreme Martial Artists and two seventh-grade Supreme Martial Artists near this area… If that was really the case, they definitely would have heard some activity!"

He smiled in a harsh and sinister manner. "Since we have already decided the follow-up on the plan, how could I possibly not have taken precautionary measures?"

"Clan Leader, if he wasn't kidnapped by an enemy… Judging from this… That Zi Xiaoyan most likely took the opportunity to pull a disappearing act and escaped… But if that is the case, there's a precondition to this — He was only pretending to be injured and that his injuries are fake. But why would he do that?" At the side, a white-bearded elderly man mused as he stroked his beard.

The top-ranked physician kneeling on the floor glanced at that long and thick beard in envy.

I used to have that too, huhu~~ And now it's all gone in just the span of a night…

Li Wubo asked irritably, "But why would he escape?"

"This… There's no way of knowing that…" That elderly man frowned and continued, "This matter is truly strange. If he leaves at this point, he would just be losing out on the Li Clan's four million Purple Crystals, that's all… and he didn't even get anything at all…"

When he said the phrase 'he didn't even get anything at all', Li Wubo suddenly shivered. As though talking to himself, he mumbled, "Didn't get anything at all? If he didn't get anything at all, would he leave?"

He got up on his feet and started to pace about. "If he had left on his own accord, then there's only one explanation for this — he doesn't want to work with us. Since he doesn't want to work with us, then him coming here this time would be with a certain purpose in mind… Intending to leave after scamming us good. If he was pretending to be injured, this is exactly during a time when everything was going well for him in the Li Clan; he definitely wouldn't leave unless he got what he wanted… And since he has left, then that means he has definitely gotten what he was here for! …But what exactly did he get?"

After uttering this long speech that went in circles like a tongue twister, Li Wubo's expression turned even more terrible.

"If he was after something, then he could only have gotten it in places where he had gone to before… During this period of strict surveillance, he has only traveled between this place and the Purple Crystal mine!"

"There's nothing here whatsoever… So he couldn't have gotten anything here. In that case, the only possibility is…"

As Li Wubo continued to deduce what had happened, everyone started turning deathly pale at the same time.

Unable to care less about punishing the two physicians anymore, Li Wubo suddenly jumped onto his feet and walked out hurriedly. "To the Purple Crystal mine!"

The rest followed behind him one after the other. After a messy flurry of shadows, all of them disappeared in an instant.

The two physicians stumbled onto their feet, scratching their heads in complete bewilderment.

How is it that I don't understand that whole speech which the clan leader had just said…

…

The Supreme Martial Artists flew at high speed the entire way. All of them exhibited the fastest speed they could muster; they were practically as swift as the wind. In just a mere second, they had already reached the Purple Crystal mine and charged inside with great impetus.

When Li Qingliu got the news, he hurried over barefooted with a coat draped over his shoulders. "Clan Leader, what happened?"

"What happened?" Li Wubo's sharp eyes turned to him. "You're not aware?"

Li Qingliu was flabbergasted and entirely confused. "W… what? I, I, I… Am I supposed to know?"

Li Wubo's brows furrowed. "Nothing happened in the mine?"

Li Qingliu was even more confused now. "Huh? Not at all…"

"The Purple Crystals haven't been stolen?" Li Wubo's brows were tightly knitted.

"Definitely not!" Li Qingliu stood straight. "I dare guarantee this with my life!"

"F*ck you and your guarantee!" Li Wubo let out an expletive, unable to stand it anymore. He waved irritably. "Open the storage warehouse!" He had also realized by now — this guy was also someone whose head was in the clouds.

He couldn't help but stew furiously.

How is it that I can't even find a few people who know what they're doing in such a huge household…

Li Qingliu responded with sounds of compliance and hastily led the way.

The storage warehouse was opened up.

When they saw the mountains of Purple Crystals inside, everyone was speechless.

Everything's fine… So what exactly has gone wrong?

This matter was truly strange to the extreme.

With an ingratiating expression, Li Qingliu gave a fawning smile. "Clan Leader, the Purple Crystals are all here. Not even a piece less!"

Li Wubo also started to scratch his head. Something must have happened! And it was definitely something serious! But… What exactly was this serious issue that had happened? How was it that… they had no discovery whatsoever?

Not even a strand of hair was missing from the entire clan… Could that Zi Xiaoyan have just been purely fooling around with them? But since he had taken great pains to do this, how could he not have… you know?

"Cough, but this is also pretty strange. During the last two days, it has become easier to extract Purple Crystals. The extraction rate has increased greatly… almost as though the rocks have softened." Li Qingliu chuckled. "This is something to be happy about."

"The rocks became softer?" Li Wubo swung around and stared at him, his eyes intense and bright.

"Uhh… Yes, that's what happened." Li Qingliu nodded incessantly, a confused smile on his face.

Frowning, Li Wubo paced about slowly. He circulated his energy to check the atmosphere. All of a sudden, his eyes turned grim. "Why do I feel like… the spiritual energy here has thinned?"

Nobody else had realized anything. When they heard what he said and circulated their energy to absorb spiritual energy, all of them were startled as well. "How strange! You're right…"

This area has always been where spiritual energy was the most concentrated. There was an inexhaustible supply of spiritual energy here. However, this time around, when they circulated their energy, they distinctly realized that it was completely different from before. Not only had the spiritual energy lessened, but it had also become mixed with impurities and was no longer pure…

"A low-grade mine!" That terrible feeling in Li Wubo's heart became stronger and stronger!

With hasty steps, everyone entered the bottom of the mine and went up to that water vat-sized hole which Lord Zi had created. But even when they looked intently at it, they couldn't tell anything amiss…

"Nothing is wrong…" Li Qingliu took the opportunity to put his arms through the sleeves of the coat draped over his shoulders.

"Nothing wrong…" Li Wubo went forward and pressed his hand against that huge round pillar. Circulating his energy, he tried to sense the condition within.

But the instant his palm pressed against the pillar, before he even circulated his energy, a small slab of rock suddenly crumbled and fell.

With a bam, it landed at Li Wubo's feet and crumbled into dust.

More than ten Supreme Martial Artists were dumbfounded all at once. What… what was going on?

Wasn't this round pillar indestructible even to a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist?

How was it that…

Li Wubo was still in disbelief. He reached out tentatively and tried grabbing at it. With another thud, yet another large slab fell off…

A possibility suddenly came into Li Wubo's mind. Suddenly, his entire body started shaking as he stared at the water vat-sized hole in front of him. His breathing was quick and ragged. Suddenly, he let out a ferocious roar and struck it with his palm!

"No, Clan Leader! Be careful of the recoil… What the f*ck! How did this happen… Oh my god…" The Supreme Martial Artists were about to caution him but what happened next caused all of them to become flabbergasted, as though they had seen a ghost!