Soaring the Heavens

Once again, hoofbeats echoed across the area as Miao Yi finally departed with his large army in tow.

Behind them, Xu Huihuang was waving goodbye with a forced smile on his face as he saw them off. The reason for the awkward look on Manor Head Xu’s face was because Miao Yi had left him with over two hundred decapitated heads and blood-soaked bodies at the plaza right outside his main assembly hall.

He actually killed them! The whole crowd consisted of Raincloud Manor’s troops, Mulberry Cloud Manor’s troops, as well as the remnant forces from Tranquil Sun Manor. And not a single one of them was spared; they were all killed without exception!

The members of Pure Dream Manor couldn’t help quivering in fear at the sight of such brutality. After all, they had never witnessed anything like this before. It was quite likely that most of them would be having nightmares tonight!

As he watched the large army leave, the awkwardly smiling Manor Head Xu couldn’t help gnashing his teeth in hatred. He wanted to go and lodge a complaint against Miao Yi after this. However, he soon thought, ’Hold on, what if I’m unable to take this bastard down? He lives just right next to me! God knows what this madman can do. Tranquil Sun Manor is the perfect example of what will happen if that guy gets offended!’

’Forget it, let’s just see how Suppressing Tenth Hall is going to handle the situation in Tranquil Sun Manor for now! If they plan to pin the blame on Miao Yi, then I can still give him the final nail in the coffin!’ As Manor Head Xu breathed in the stench of blood in the air, he suddenly felt a little disgusted, turning around and barking, "Stop standing around and clean up this mess already!"

Meanwhile, along their journey back, the Raincloud Manor troops had completely lost the orderly formation they previously had, and simply galloped onwards without a thought. Many of them were still thinking about the helplessness they felt back in that massacre. Their gazes occasionally landed on that Manor Head of theirs riding in front, and were filled with an unconcealable sense of terror!

Within their pack of sheep, a fierce wolf had suddenly emerged as the leader!

Along the way, Miao Yi bumped into Sikong Wuwei, who was also rushing to take care of the traitorous bastards within his camp. Miao Yi informed the latter, "You don’t have to trouble yourself anymore. I’ve already helped you take care of those bastards. I also left their heads to Xu Huihuang as a gift!"

"Those bastards should count themselves lucky then!" Sikong Wuwei cursed. Deserting a battle was something he showed absolutely no tolerance for.

Both forces then went back together, separating again not too long after. After such a large battle, Sikong Wuwei was in no mood to tarry in one place for too long. He still needed to clean up things on his side.

Along the way back, Miao Yi tallied his forces. He had lost one hundred men in the battle, consisting of those that died fighting as well as the ones that he had beheaded.

Once he was back in Raincloud Manor territory, Miao Yi gathered all nine Mountain Chieftains together. The missing Mountain Chieftain was among Han Chunfeng’s band of traitors and had already been beheaded. Miao Yi instructed the remaining Mountain Chieftains on how they should explain this whole incident should anyone ever ask them— that way they could match their accounts with his. After which, he commanded them to return to their own forces and tell them the same thing.

The troops began to disperse as each Mountain Chieftain led their respective forces back to their own territories. Chen Fei immediately took the spot of the guy who was beheaded, and left directly to take up his new post...

"Big Brother!"

Once Miao Yi and his forces had returned to Raincloud Manor itself, he was greeted by Wen Fang, who had been waiting here all along. Naturally, Miao Yi was curious as to why this woman had come all the way here.

When he found out that Wen Fang actually gave up the chance to sit in the manager’s seat back in South Edict City just to come here and be a normal teller, Miao Yi felt completely speechless at this woman’s tenacity.

Meanwhile, the only reason why Wen Fang had waited all this time was just so she could meet up with Miao Yi. She still had to pay Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei a visit after this, so she quickly left without staying too long. Recognizing her efforts, Miao Yi told Wen Fang that after she was done visiting Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, she could come back here if she had the time, as Qian’Er and Xue’Er had some things they needed her to settle. Wen Fang’s lips immediately curled into a wide smile at the sound of this. It was as though someone had smeared honey on the edges of her mouth. The glee on her face didn’t weaken in the slightest as she excused herself and left...

After he saw Wen Fang off, Miao Yi led Qian’Er and Xue’Er to the island that was furthest away from the Manor Head’s quarters.

This island had become a forbidden site. Yao Ruoxian, who had come to Raincloud Manor from Mount Calming Sea on his own, was currently staying here.

The island had a decent environment, with quiet pavilions surrounded by lush forests. One could even take a boat out onto the lake if one felt like it. The island was a quiet place to begin with, and now that no one could set foot on this island, Yao Ruoxian had the entire area to himself. This was much better than his previous living arrangements, where he had to coop himself up in a cave and avoid being seen all the time.

Yao Ruoxian was lying on a chair under a tree’s shade, lazily rocking back and forth, when he saw Miao Yi and the two young ladies approaching. He quickly scoffed, "Well, well, kid, aren’t you a busy one? It’s hard for me to even meet up with you, what with you constantly running around here and there like this! I say, you’re not intentionally avoiding me, are you?"

Miao Yi smiled wryly and said, "I’m not avoiding you. If I was, I wouldn’t have told you I was coming here. I just came back from a battle. I’ve just finished decimating the neighboring Tranquil Sun Manor. You can ask the girls if you don’t believe me!"

Yao Ruoxian’s expression froze as he asked, "Did he really decimate the neighboring Tranquil Sun Manor?"

Qian’Er and Xue’Er repeatedly nodded their heads.

Turning back to look at Miao Yi, Yao Ruoxian was a little speechless as he thought, ’Looks like the brat has indeed grown up quite a bit. For him to decimate an entire Manor just like that... how many people must he have killed to do such a thing?’

However, Yao Ruoxian wasn’t really too concerned with that. He cast a sideways glance at Qian’Er and Xue’Er. Seeing the two young ladies were fine, he stood up and extended his arm before Miao Yi, asking, "I heard you got tenth place in the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. Surely you brought plenty of treasure back with you. Let me have a look at them!"

If his daughters weren’t around, he wouldn’t have asked so politely like this; he would’ve straight out used force to take them.

Miao Yi revealed a faint smile and took a few light steps to an empty space nearby. He extended his arms, and Qi Xiuhong’s body emerged in his embrace. Yao Ruoxian and the two young ladies looked on in confusion as Miao Yi slowly placed Qi Xiuhong on the ground, then tossed out a Red Blaze Resin, enveloping her body within a violent flame.

Miao Yi slowly backed away from the flame, smiling faintly as he watched the person within the fire gradually disappear into ashes. After which, he placed his hands behind his back and turned around, heading back to where Yao Ruoxian and the others were.

Yao Ruoxian gestured towards the flame with his lips, asking curiously, "Kid, who was that girl? Why did you bring her around all this while just to cremate her here?"

Miao Yi pointed to his surroundings and answered, "Normally, as a Subjugation Crusade survivor, I could’ve chosen to take up my new post at a place much better than this. The reason why I chose this place was primarily because I wanted to avenge her. She was the trigger for my decision to decimate Tranquil Sun Manor."

Yao Ruoxian was puzzled. "What do you mean?" The two young ladies were equally confused.

"I met her aboard the ship to the Sea of Constellations. She had come from Tranquil Sun Manor, and at the time, her cultivation was even lower than mine—only at the White Lotus Fifth Grade..." Miao Yi turned to the rumbling flame, telling the story of how he became acquainted with Qi Xiuhong, and even how he forced himself onto her during one stormy night. He also talked about how they bumped into Yao Sage Ji Huan’s grandson, Bai Ziliang, then finally to how Qi Xiuhong lost her life within the Demon Refining Gourd. It was as though he was pouring his heart out completely.

Qian’Er and Xue’Er were already in tears as they stared at the billowing flames. This woman was really too pitiful. The two of them couldn’t imagine how tough life must have been for her back in Tranquil Sun Manor. And in the end, she still died. They were even more touched when they heard of how she kept her distance from Miao Yi, from fear that he might look down on her, and how she asked if he liked her right before she died. Qian’Er and Xue’Er couldn’t help crying their hearts out.

As he remembered that final moment, Miao Yi’s face was full of wrath. He turned his head to the side and slowly closed his eyes. Then, two droplets gently rolled down his cheeks.

In the past, he was merely ’living’ for the sake of ’living’, and didn’t know what love truly meant. However, when he understood its significance, he realized that it was actually such a painful feeling, so much so that it felt like his heart was being ripped apart. It was a feeling he would never forget for the rest of his life. No matter how many lives he took, he would never be able to get that person back, nor could he atone for his mistakes in any way!

"Haah! Since time immemorial, love has always been such a perplexing thing..." Yao Ruoxian released a gentle sigh as he turned his head to gaze at the vast lake in the distance. There was some haziness in his eyes, as a certain memory resurfaced in his mind.

When he snapped back to reality, he asked, "How did you escape the Demon Refining Gourd?"

Miao Yi opened his eyes, the tear streaks on his face instantly evaporating as he flipped his palm and thirty-five tiny mantids flew out into the open. He pointed to the little fellows and explained, "Luckily, I brought them with me. The little fellows helped me gnaw open a hole from inside the Demon Refining Gourd and break it, thereby allowing me to escape with my life."

Seeing all thirty-five of the tiny mantids intact, Yao Ruoxian sighed in relief. He then released the other tiny mantids that had been hibernating inside his storage bangle. With Miao Yi being away for so long, he had no way of controlling them, so he simply kept them inside the storage bangle.

As he issued a mental command to the tiny mantids to perch themselves onto a tree, Miao Yi said in a low voice, "It’s a pity they were much too small at the time. If only they were a little bigger then, I might have saved Qi Xiuhong in time." He then tossed over a storage bangle to Yao Ruoxian, saying, "Didn’t you always say you wanted to raise them? The things you told me to get before I left, I have them right here. There are five hundred thousand First Grade Yao Cores inside. I’m placing the other things here with you as well. It’s not safe for me to carry them around since I’m always on the move. I’m scared something might happen and I’ll end up losing them to someone else."

As Yao Ruoxian caught the storage bangle and peered inside, his mouth was instantly agape in shock. With his mouth wide open, he tallied the contents inside the storage bangle. After which, he couldn’t help drawing a sharp breath and clicked his tongue repeatedly. Within the storage bangle, besides the five hundred thousand First Grade Yao Cores that Miao Yi mentioned, there were also one hundred thousand low-grade Orbs of Will as well as three thousand Second Grade Armor Artifacts, with the Armor Artifacts being the most valuable in the bunch!

Yao Ruoxian was utterly surprised, raising his head to the sky and remarking, "I never thought there was so much fortune to be found in the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. Kid, how much stuff did you bring back exactly? I’m sure this is just a small portion. You definitely have even more of these on you."

Miao Yi smiled wryly and said, "I told you it’s not safe for me to carry around these things with me. I’ve already given you most of them. I also handed some over to the girls. I’m only keeping the scraps for myself."

"Don’t you try to trick me. Do you think I don’t know how much of a cunning brat you are?!" Yao Ruoxian immediately reverted to his old ways and abruptly grabbed Miao Yi by the hand. However, he soon realized something and turned around, and as expected, he was met with the displeased gazes of Qian’Er and Xue’Er. Yao Ruoxian immediately chuckled drily and said, "Now, now, girls. Be good. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to take a look. Heh heh... just a look!"

After explaining himself, Yao Ruoxian immediately scanned through Miao Yi’s belongings. He found that the other party still carried with him one hundred thousand low-grade Orbs of Will, approximately forty-thousand First Grade Yao Cores, a little over a hundred First Grade Transcendent Artifacts, and about five hundred Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. These were indeed much fewer than the things he had just given him. Besides these, Miao Yi also carried a few miscellaneous items. It seems the kid really did give him the larger portion of his treasure.

However, as a highly-renowned artisan of the artifact-refining world, Yao Ruoxian possessed a viciously keen eye for treasures. He immediately locked in on the Mystic Yin Mirror, a black cane, as well as a beaded necklace formed by eighteen egg-sized pearls. Taking them out, he asked, "What about these three?"

"Just three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts!" Miao Yi immediately warned, "You old coot, I’m keeping these to protect myself. You’re not going to take them as well, are you?"

Hearing this, Qian’Er and Xue’Er immediately protested, "Father! What are you doing?!"