Transcending the Nine Heavens

With an ‘ugh’, Chu Yang threw up a mouthful of blood. It was followed by another three successive grunts and three more mouthfuls of hot scarlet blood. As the world spun around him, he could vaguely see in front of him a black-clad figure, her robes as black as ink. Slim and graceful, she looked as if she had walked out of a painting, beautiful and striking.

It was Wu Qianqian.

Wu Qianqian simply stood so prettily in front of him, her aggrieved and longing eyes gazing at him. She seemed like she wanted to reach out and touch his face but couldn’t; as if she wanted to dive into his arms yet she was going further and further away.

“Chu Yang, I’m going… You must be happy…”

In the dimness, he seemed to hear Wu Qianqian’s indistinct voice and a sense of wholehearted blessings that contained power of the soul…

Chu Yang threw up yet another mouthful of blood. His heart ached like death, lost in the vast world.

In the Nine Tribulations Space, the Sword Spirit shouted furiously, “Heaven Nourishing Jade! Heaven Nourishing Jade!”

Dazed, Chu Yang replied, “W-what…?”

The Sword Spirit continued to shout angrily, “Quick, use the Heaven Nourishing Jade! If not, once her body stiffens, she’s really going to die!”

“Heaven Nourishing Jade?” Chu Yang jolted back to reality. The emotional trauma he received was so tremendous that he actually forgot about this killer weapon — the Heaven Nourishing Jade. He struggled to clear his mind but he still remained in a state of daze. In a moment of desperation, he grabbed a broken sword on the ground and stabbed it viciously into his thigh.

The acute pain woke him up at once with a startle and his mind cleared. “How do I use the Heaven Nourishing Jade?”

“Put it into her mouth first and secure her soul of origin!”

Chu Yang hastily reached into the Nine Tribulations Space. Only then did he realize that his hand was still broken. Unable to spare it further thought, he corrected and put the bones back into place with a loud snap. Retrieving the Heaven Nourishing Jade, he took out the largest piece and placed it at Wu Qianqian’s mouth.

However, Wu Qianqian’s lips were clamped shut and actually couldn’t swallow it. Seeing the glowing Heaven Nourishing Jade slowly melt at Wu Qianqian’s lips, Chu Yang was overcome with anxiety. Suddenly, he lowered his head, taking the Heaven Nourishing Jade into his mouth and went near Wu Qianqian’s lips with his own. Taking a deep breath, he blew the pure and concentrated life force energy emanated by the Heaven Nourishing Jade through the tiny gaps between Wu Qianqian’s teeth into her mouth.

Afraid that a portion of the Heaven Nourishing Jade’s spiritual energy had gone to him after doing that and causing Wu Qianqian to be unable to recover as a result, he took another piece and let her consume it too.

Just as he was about to reach for the third piece, the Sword Spirit, full of heartache, hastily said, “Enough, enough! She doesn’t need that much, it’ll engorge her.”

Only then did Chu Yang stop.

Then, he quickly treated his broken hand, activating and circulating the Nine Heavens Divine Technique through his meridians. At the same time, he hurriedly brought out the incomplete versions of the Nine Tribulations Pill and gave them to Meng Chaoran, so that he could distribute them to the injured and let everyone quickly take one.

Then, Chu Yang started to wait.

He was waiting for Wu Qianqian to regain consciousness.

The battle earlier, though the narration made it seem like it had spanned a long time, actually happened in a flash. It already ended when it had only just begun!

There was only one enemy but everyone on his side, other than Meng Chaoran who was further away, was heavily injured!

The danger in this battle exceeded any other great battle that Chu Yang had taken part in ever since his debut!

This was also Chu Yang’s first time going up against a Supreme Martial Artist, and this very first time was already against a ninth-grade one!

The gap between their strength was the difference between heaven and earth!

There was no way to compare them on equal terms!

While Mo Lei’er’s injuries were considered minor, Dong Wushang’s injuries, on the other hand, were very serious. Though not to the extent of being fatal, without the incomplete version of the Nine Tribulations Pill, he would most likely never recover for the rest of his life!

Mo Qingwu, after giving her all twice, was still unconscious.

Chu Le’er had been thrown out a great distance by the black-robed man and couldn’t get up at all either right now.

The Wind Fox limped over to Mo Qingwu and climbed on top of her, crying out softly and incessantly. Its black and shiny big eyes were filled with pain.

A thud resounded; it was only now that Rui Butong, who had been kicked high into the air, finally landed, smashing onto the ground like a heap of mud. Chu Yang and Dong Wushang were naturally unconcerned about this fellow; Rui Butong was the one whom they needed to worry about the least.

An immortal body… Every time he died, his power would increase instead.

On the other hand, it was everyone else injured that was more troublesome.

After waiting a while, Wu Qianqian remained unconscious. Though her body stayed soft and supple, there was no sign of life in her.

Chu Yang became anxious and asked the Sword Spirit, “When will she wake up? How long does it take for the effect of the Heaven Nourishing Jade to show? Damn it, they talk about it like it’s so great that I thought it’s even more amazing than the Nine Tribulations Pill. But in the end, it doesn’t even compare to the Nine Tribulations Pill!”

The Sword Spirit rolled his eyes and replied, “You don’t need to belittle the Heaven Nourishing Jade like that even if you’re worried about Wu Qianqian! The Heaven Nourishing Jade has already taken effect long ago; Wu Qianqian’s soul of origin can be considered to be secured and she won’t die for the time being. But how would it be an easy task to restore her to normal? How can that be done just by the Heaven Nourishing Jade alone?”

“Do we still need other things?” asked Chu Yang, “What do we need?”

“The Heaven Nourishing Jade is something that goes against the law and order of Heaven! As long as the body of the person who died hasn’t gone into rigor mortis, the Heaven Nourishing Jade would be able to secure and prevent the spirit from dissipating. Even if the person had been dead for two hours, the Heaven Nourishing Jade can also gather back the soul. In other words, although Wu Qianqian is not breathing nor does she have a heartbeat right now, her soul is still in her body. Even if you cannot find a way to revive her, even after a thousand years or ten thousand years, her body will never decompose. As long as the conditions can be fulfilled by some chance encounter, she can still regain consciousness!”

The Sword Spirit said.

“You only need to say what I need to wake her up! That would do!” Chu Yang gazed at Wu Qianqian’s pale face with heartache as he snapped impatiently, “Why say so much other rubbish!”

“You need the Nine Revival Herb!” The Sword Spirit hastily gave him a name.

“Nine Revival Herb?” Chu Yang’s eyes brightened. “Where can I find that?”

The Sword Spirit heaved a long sigh. “The Nine Heavens Imperial Court!”

Chu Yang was stunned immediately!

Only after a second had passed did he erupt like a volcano and start cursing. “F*ck! Isn’t this just f*cking making things difficult for me?! With my current pathetic cultivation, when can I ever go up to the Nine Heavens Imperial Court?!”

“When you can ever go up is your own business, but you’ll have to eventually,” the Sword Spirit said dispassionately, “What I need to tell you is that if you can find the Nine Revival Herb and use it in conjunction with the Heaven Nourishing Jade, once Wu Qianqian comes back to life, she’ll possess the ability to resist death nine times!”

Blinking, the Sword Spirit looked at Chu Yang. “Do you see Rui Butong’s phoenix body? Birth, death, illness and old age is a cycle of natural law. However, the Heaven Nourishing Jade can reverse life and death. Therefore, the pinnacle power of the Heaven Nourishing Jade is something that defies the Heavens. What is the power that defies the Heavens? It is the power of Tao; only the forces of Tao can go against the power that defies the heavens. The Nine Revival Herb, as the name indicates, it is still possible for one to come back to life even after dying nine times. Adding to that a power that defies the heavens, that means nine cycles of reincarnation and immunity to injury!”

Chu Yang calmed down. He thought about it carefully and said with a cold smile, “So from what you’re saying, Qianqian’s current state is instead her fortune now?”

The Sword Spirit did not refute him. “Not everyone can gain the Heaven Nourishing Jade’s Heavens-defying power. The Heaven Nourishing Jade’s Heavens-defying power is hosted and refined by the Nine Tribulations Sword Master who goes against the Heavens. Moreover, since olden times till now, there has only been this one time and only you who has achieved it.”

The Sword Spirit went on, “Now that we have come to this point, I don’t mind saying it clearly — You didn’t die during your trial of life and death; going along with heaven’s will and being destroyed, and going against heaven’s will and being reborn. After you, there will no longer be the Nine Tribulations Sword or the Nine Tribulations Sword Master!”

“Therefore, your Heaven Nourishing Jade is the one and only in this universe!”

“Wu Qianqian was supposed to die but against heaven’s will, her life was retained by the Heaven Nourishing Jade, only requiring the Nine Revival Herb to come back to life. After she does, she will be immune to nine crises of life and death.”

The Sword Spirit continued dispassionately, “And also… actually, from this moment on, you have already truly entered your own destiny.”

“My true destiny?” asked Chu Yang, perplexed.

“Yes, your true destiny,” the Sword Spirit continued solemnly, “Before this, you didn’t know that there was the Heavens Beyond, but Zi Xieqing appeared and you came to know of it. You have emotional ties with Zi Xieqing and have a promise with her in the Nine Heavens Imperial Court. However, your determination is not resolute. You only want to lead a happy, proud and carefree life in the Nine Heavens with your brothers — this was already your lifelong dream before this.”

“Therefore, it is not impossible that you’ll give up. In fact, lacking resolution in your will, it is also not impossible that you cannot fulfill your promise with Zi Xieqing.”

“But at this time, you are told that should you give up, it would be equivalent to giving up your brothers. Therefore, you can only continue forward! But right now, you only know to defend, not knowing the direction in which you should be going in.”

“However, at this exact point, Wu Qianqian’s death has pointed you in the right direction — the Nine Heavens Imperial Court!”

“Only in the Nine Heavens Imperial Court is there the Nine Revival Herb!”

The Sword Spirit said, “When you reach the Nine Heavens Imperial Court, all the answers to these mysteries will naturally be made known to you!”

“That is the true mission of the Nine Tribulations Sword Master!”

The Sword Spirit said word by word, “‘Yin and Yang must pity the beauty’ is not merely a poem. The nine revivals go against the natural law of the Heavens. The Heavens are the netherworld and so is the earth; this is Yin and Yang. Cherishing each other in life and death is the meaning behind ‘Yin and Yang must pity the beauty’.”

“Without going through life and death, would you know to cherish her?”

Chu Yang fell into silence.

“Only after you had lost her in your previous life did you know to cherish Mo Qingwu; and only after you’ve lost her in this lifetime did you know to cherish Wu Qianqian!”

“But why do you always have to wait till you’ve lost them to know to cherish them? You cherish your brothers very much right now as well, but I daresay that should any of them die now, you’ll cherish the others even more in the future! To be honest, this is not good. Only regretting after you’ve lost them shows that you’re not doing enough when you still had them,” said the Sword Spirit. His eyes bore into Chu Yang as he spoke, “Cherishing them when you still have them — isn’t that good?”

Chu Yang was alarmed and moved. He raised his head suddenly.

“Only knowing to cherish something after one has lost it is the way of a weak person, a layman. But cherishing something when you have it is the way of a wise man, a strong person!” the Sword Spirit smiled and said, “This does not only refer to women; it also refers to brothers and sisters, parents and relatives, cultivation or mission! Or mayhap, even one’s enemy. As well as your integrity and determination… Cherish all that you can cherish, and you’ll gain all that you can gain.”