Transcending the Nine Heavens

Tan Tan's body shook before everyone's eyes. Then, his eyebrows began to jump up and down. He then clenched his teeth, and his whole face convulsed with pain. Tears of pain welled out from his eyes, "Sss... Xie Dan Feng... Ow~~ You Little Girly... Oh my god... Forgive me..."

Ancestor Xiu Zhi Qiu was the one with the highest cultivation. But, he could only look at Tan Tan with a dumbfounded expression. Then, he suddenly sat down on the ground, and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. He then cried out in a groaning manner, "Oh my fu*king god~~~ I, I… I thank the heaven..."

The atmosphere which had originally been suffocating to the extreme had suddenly turned calm along with Tan Tan's screams.

Gu Du Xing and the other brothers curled their lips, and revealed a faint smile. Their taut muscles had finally loosened.

The powerful enemies had vanished in thin air.

The only people remaining now were the ones on their side. So, how could they not relax?

Gu Du Xing and Dong Wu Shang looked at each other, and saw the cold sweat on the each other's forehead. The horror of facing that terrifying coercion was still lingering in their hearts. However, both of them had still erupted at that time in unison. Moreover, their rage had been unstoppable!

[You're strong! But, you aren't my brother!]

[I asked for my small and weak brother. I didn't ask for you!]

[I would indeed be envious if it truly was my brother who was that strong. But, I would also have felt happy and safe in that case. Moreover, he would've certainly been the aim of my pursuit.]

[But, you are not my brother!]

This incident was certainly a wake-up call for Gu Du Xing and Dong Wu Shang. They both knew that this awakening of Tan Tan had been a forced one. That… this was only the first awakening of that Devil King. So, the unleashed power hadn't been too big.

This was also why the real Tan Tan had been able to surface back.

But... would Tan Tan be able to do so if the power of that devil king would be too high the next time it happened?

The two of them were relaxed for now. However, a thought had faintly risen in their heart, [Who knows what will happen next?]

However, Tan Tan's awakening had also reminded Gu Du Xing and Dong Wu Shang, [So this is what it means… to be a real powerhouse!]

[The real powerhouse... is precisely this!]

[My previous goal had been... too small, too small!]

[Such a powerhouse has already appeared. So, it is confirmed that they exist! Then... why can't... I be one?]

A deep imprint of 'becoming such a powerhouse' had gotten engraved in the hearts of Gu Du Xing and the other brothers at this moment.

They had thought about this before as well, but this concept had been too vague at that time. They had seen the two Supreme Experts — Bu Liu Qing and Ning Tian Yan. But, those two Supreme experts hadn't revealed their true powers. However, the most important thing was that they hadn't used their supreme power to kill people.

However, these brothers had now understood… how frightening the so-called powerhouse could be!

...

Xie Dan Feng's tears turned into laughter when she saw that Tan Tan had woken up. She was smiling, but she was also angry. She hugged Tan Tan, and started crying tears of joy, "You came back... you came back..." Her heavily injured body could no longer withstand such strong excitement. So, her body went limp, and she fainted.

Tan Tan smiled bitterly, and tightly held Xie Dan Feng's body.

However, no one had noticed that there had been a hint of spooky gloss in the depths of Tan Tan's eyes. This spooky gloss had quickly faded away in silence. Then… a faint conflicting pain had flashed therein. This was the ultimate pain… He was full of deep sorrow!

He was holding Xie Dan Feng as if he could only hold her just this once in his life. He had hugged her tightly. His eyes were full of unwillingness to let to… However, he had no alternative.

He wanted to burst into tears, but this was clearly not a sad moment. It would only make everyone more anxious if he did so.

He remembered all his memories clearly at the moment.

He clearly felt that the master of his heart had suddenly changed.

No!

That's not accurate... He himself had suddenly undergone a change!

That person… that soul… was powerful and cruel. But, Tan Tan was clear about one thing, [It is me! It's definitely not another person!]

[There aren't two souls!]

[That's my own soul. But, I... But, how did I turn into that?]

Tan Tan could still recall how that incredible power had suddenly exploded out of his body… And, a brutal and indifferent state of mind had taken over his body after that.

Tan Tan had gone all-out in order to snatch the control of this body back, but he had also felt… [It's still me who is controlling this body!]

This was weird. He didn't know which feeling was true. He couldn't determine whether it was him in control of not. This contradiction had gone to the extreme.

Moreover, he clearly felt that these two feelings were quietly blending. This was even stranger. It was as if a person who had been leading a good life was suddenly hit hard on the head and had become an idiot as a result. He would no longer have any memories of his past. So, he would be like a newborn baby from the moment he would wake up. He would then start to learn everything from the beginning… He would begin to form a new character and a new personality. He would start a new life…

However, all of their memories that had been sealed off after being hit hard would suddenly start to resurface one day!

Then, all of these memories would be a part of him… The new memories and the old memories would be violently attacking each other. However, they would also be careful not to hurt each other; they would be accommodating. In other words, they would want to be the master, but they also wouldn't let the other one disappear…

Tan Tan was in deep sorrow!

He was holding Xie Dan Feng's unconscious body as if he was holding the world's most precious treasure… as if he could lose this treasure at any moment.

[Will I… will I still get to be with Xie Dan Feng… if ... If that ancient power and that personality completely awakens? Will I still have Chu Yang and the other brothers?]

Tan Tan's whole body shuddered in fear.

That's because he had come to a conclusion, [I'm afraid... no!]

...

The powerful enemies had been eliminated. So, everyone felt relaxed; their taut muscles suddenly loosened. Everyone felt exhausted to death. But, they couldn't help but sit down and start to tend to their wounds.

Tan Tan was also carefully dressing Xie Dan Feng's wounds.

Things seemed to have calmed down.

Suddenly…

"Ha ha ha... 'Awakened One', you're truly formidable," a gloomy voice laughed, and said. "You haven't disappointed me. Very good! This is superb."

A masked black-clothed man floated over with this voice.

He landed in front of everyone. The eyes behind his mask looked at Tan Tan as if they were looking at an incredible treasure.

Xie Zhi Qiu's eyebrows quivered a bit… There was a sense of powerlessness in his heart, [They've moved into action…]

They hadn't moved during that desperate battle a while back. So, he had been under the impression that they wouldn't participate.

However, they had finally made a move at this time...

"Who are you guys?" Gu Du Xing and Dong Wu Shang took the lead, and jumped ahead. Simultaneously, their weapons unsheathed!

Both of them had felt the arrival of very strong people.

Nearly three-hundred black-clothed and masked men had appeared en masse. They had made a large-encirclement, and had trapped everyone inside.

"Relax," the masked black-clothed leader said with a smile, "You two won't die."

Gu Du Xing snorted, and asked, "Why?"

"We're from the Upper Three Heavens..." the black-clothed masked leader casually said in an arrogant and condescending manner, "We're the people of the Zhuge Clan! My humble self is Zhuge Chang Feng!"

Upper Three Heavens!

Zhuge Clan!

These words pounded in the hearts of the Xie Clan's people like a sudden shock!

"May I ask... Mr. Zhuge, why has your clan come here?" Xie Zhi Qiu stood up with great difficultly, cupped his one fist in the other hand, and asked.

He was extremely resentful in his heart. He wished he could skin these masked black-clothed men alive. That's because he knew that the real culprit behind Xie Clan's destruction wasn't Ao Clan.

It was these people in front of him!

However, he didn't dare to reveal his resentment. After all, he and his people would be done for if he did so.

"Of course… you can ask anything," that black-clothed masked man — Zhuge Chang Feng — smiled slightly, and said, "Our original intention was to bring back a person with us. But, it suddenly seems that I'll be taking two more."

After that, he no longer paid attention to Xie Zhi Qiu. He gently warned, "Do not move… Whoever moves shall die!"

Then, he slowly stepped forward two steps. He looked at Tan Tan holding Xie Dan Feng, and insipidly said, "Awakened One, I assume you can't awaken twice within a day, right? You... will come with us!"

"Come with you?" Tan Tan was startled by this. He asked in bewilderment, "Why would I want to go with you?"

"….because these people here will die if you don't come with us!" Zhuge Chang Feng said, "…including this woman in your arms!"

"Huh?" Tan Tan's eyes suddenly sharpened. He then angrily said, "Why don't you say that one more time?!"

His eyes turned pitch black once again as he said this.

And, a faint black aura began to emerge from his body.

Zhuge Chang Feng was startled by this. He suddenly remembered Tan Tan's power when he had awakened earlier. So, he took a prompt decision, and shouted, "Begin!"

Tan Tan was furious in his heart, but he was also full of powerlessness. That's because he had found that he couldn't summon that power when he urgently needed it.

He couldn't stimulate that terrifying power no matter how much he tried.

He couldn't help but be aggrieved as a result.

It took long to explain all this. However, Zhuge Chang Feng had taken the lead and attacked as soon as he had ordered his men. He had already shot a black-feathered arrow from his hand along with a black flash of light.

The feathered arrow turned into a mass of black dust as soon as it was shot. It then formed a column of smoke, rushed like a lightning bolt, and pierced into Tan Tan's body.

Then, Zhuge Chang Feng repeatedly raised both of his hands as if he had cramps in them. The Capturing Soul Powder, the Truncating Soul Powder, The Soul Breaking Pan-Pipe, and The Spirit Lifting Net were all shot out like tidal waves by his hands.

The other three black-clothed masked men also began at the same time. And, they did the same thing as well. And, all these pitch-black vicious strikes entered into Tan Tan's body.

Gu Du Xing and Dong Wu Shang were taken aback by this. They hurriedly moved into action to block the attacks. However, they couldn't block any… Those things had turned into smoky powder which seemed to be sentient. They were going to be intercepted in midair. But, they automatically curved around, and avoided the interception. Then, they crashed into Tan Tan's body!

A total of twenty such powders entered into Tan Tan's body at once, and none of it got wasted!

There were still twenty trails of these violently poisonous smokes in the air. One could see that even the air along these twenty trails had gotten corroded. Moreover, it had remained eroded for a long time!

Zhuge Chang Feng heaved a sigh of relief. He then said with a faint smile, "Awakened One, you can't fight us at your current strength. Just give up, and let yourself be captured."

Twenty black smokes had fully injected into Tan Tan's body. However, Tan Tan's body didn't seem to show the least bit of abnormality!

Suddenly, his body trembled fiercely, and his eyes jerked-open. He then glared at Zhuge Chang Feng with a spooky glint in his eyes.

Then, there occurred a loud bang!

A golden net had appeared around Tan Tan's body, and shrouded it.

Then, an endless shiny golden gas fiercely emerged from him. It then rushed to the top of his head, and on his head it…

…formed a magnificent crown!

It suddenly looked like the coronation of a king!