The Path Toward Heaven

If the Snow Girl had already learned the Inherited Heaven Sword, how long did it take

her to learn it then?

This was a question worthy mulling over and calculating precisely; it was because this

would be a record in the history of the Green Mountain Sect.

Jing Jiu had asked Tong Yan to teach the Snow Girl how to communicate normally with

the humans, then he came to the lakeside, set up the formation, and was about to

sharpen the sword. In the meantime, Tong Yan had taken out the bronze ware, the

ceramic ware and a few books. It had all happened in a little more than a minute at the

very most.

No, actually it was shorter than a minute.

Jing Jiu reached out his hand and grabbed the booklet drifting to him in the air and

burned it into green smoke with the sword fire.

As he looked at the green smoke, Jing Jiu thought that the Snow Girl had already

finished reading the booklet before Tong Yan walked into the meditation room.

Though the expression on his face hadn’t changed a bit, the emotion inside him was far

from reticent.

He had often stayed behind closed doors on Shangde Peak and Shenmo Peak, and

seldom traveled to the outside world; but he nonetheless lived a long time, so he had

seen and experienced a great deal of events and beings, especially after he had read

the diaries left by his Big Brother.

But he had never encountered or even imagined a being like the Snow Girl.

The Inherited Heaven Sword was the main sword of Tianguang Peak, and was the

secret method that the sect masters of Green Mountain must learn. It employed the

sword as a formation, and its complexity was only slightly inferior to the Endless Sword

style of Qingrong Peak, but its profound essence was even more wonderful than the

Endless Sword. As such, it was exceedingly difficult for someone to complete even the

entry level of the sword style.

How many years did it take Gu Qing to learn the sword style? How many years for Liu

Shisui? What about Zhuo Rusui?

How many years did it take Liu Ci to learn it? How many years for his Big Brother? What

about himself?

In hundreds of years of the history of the Green Mountain Sect, no genius in the sword

work was as talented as the Snow Girl.

In fact, they were far inferior to her.

Jing Jiu didn’t feel disappointed or dejected; but still he was sentimental about the huge

difference between two life forms.

It was like what Tong Yan had in his mind when he thought of Jing Jiu’s face earlier.

It was indeed boring.

“The things Tong Yan was to teach you are indeed uninteresting; you don’t have to

learn them if you don’t want to,” Jing Jiu said while looking at the Snow Girl.

He had decided not to teach her anything anymore. It was possible that she would have

learned all the Cultivation methods throughout human history within a few days.

Most importantly, if she learned the hypocritical and deceptive ways employed by the

humans, especially the unreasonable urge of killing the innocents from time to time,

something terrible might happen.

“Do you want to learn the game of Go? The Go pieces of one side are just like your

eyes, nice looking,” Jing Jiu asked her suddenly.

The Green Girl was certain that the chess players were not only heartless, but also

shameless. She couldn’t help but cover her face with the transparent wings; yet, she

couldn’t block the embarrassed expression on her small face.

The Snow Girl looked at Jing Jiu quietly.

If it were anybody else, even if it were Zhuo Rusui who had a thick-skinned face, they

would feel embarrassed when being gazed at like this; but Jing Jiu didn’t feel anything,

as he said calmly, “As I said earlier, I can’t even go there myself for the time being, so I

have no way to take you there, unless you could help me reach the necessary

Cultivation state.”

The Green Girl knew where that place he talked about was. She couldn’t help but

glance at Jing Jiu, wondering if he wanted her to help him ascend.

Yet, he could state such a shameless request in such a calm manner, as if he took it for

granted. This was truly more than the Green Girl to bear.

Jing Jiu of course didn’t expect the Snow Girl to consent to his request. It was only a

prerequisite, something that might be useful a few hundred years later.

Since the sword formation was broken through, Jing Jiu couldn’t continue sharpening

the sword. He picked up the Green Sky Mirror and left the snowy lake.

The Snow Girl followed him with the quilt on her head. She looked like a drifting ghost of

a little girl.

…

…

The Young Master Li had slowly awakened. Thinking of that immortal master who had

suddenly appeared in front of him and the dreadful snow and frost, it took a long time for

him to come back to his senses.

As he was to leave while holding the ancient zither, he happened to see the Snow Girl

following Jing Jiu when he passed by the stone bridge.

Jing Jiu stood in front of the old nun, and rubbed her head like he was her elder; and he

also said something to her.

The Young Master Li felt it odd, but his attention was drawn to the Snow Girl.

He wondered if she was the little girl under a pile of winter quilts he had seen the night

before.

Thinking that her illness had been cured, the Young Master Li felt aghast as well as

relieved. He chuckled wryly as he recalled that he was so worried at the time.

It was ridiculous that he, a mortal, wished to save an immortal.

It was like what had happened ten years ago when he bought magic pills in an attempt

to save her when he learned that that woman was ill.

It was indeed quite absurd.

The Young Master Li turned and headed toward the outside of the nunnery hall while

holding the ancient zither in his chest, his back figure showing a hint of disappointment.

…

…

The immortals and mortals walked on different paths.

Tong Yan thought of these words while watching the disappearing figure in the distance.

He was aware that this person didn’t play the music for him or anybody else present,

and that he played it for that senior master of the Water-Moon Nunnery. But, it would be

in vain no matter whether it was the crazed affection or long-lasting affection, or simply

a sort of expectation.

Any Cultivation practitioner had to understand this when they stepped on the path of

Cultivation. The lifetimes and states were quite different between the immortals and

mortals. The former friends and relatives would become more and more different in

terms of health and other aspects; eventually, the immortals would end up visiting their

graves years later.

Tong Yan had understood this since he was five years old. Normally, he wouldn’t have

such sentiments; he had some sympathy for the Young Master Li, probably because he

had experienced a similar situation before.

He returned to the meditation room, and was to collect those bronze ware and ceramic

ware and give them to the Young Master Li the next day when he went to Dayuan City.

Now that the Snow Girl was unwilling to learn them, it would be useless for him to keep

them.

It was then that he suddenly felt something was out of place. He hurried to the window

and saw the waves on the surface of the lake and the Sword of the Universe hovering

over the lake.

The Snow Girl stood at the front of the sword, wrapped within the quilt. Jing Jiu stood

behind her with the Green Girl sitting on his shoulder and the Green Sky Mirror tied to

his back.

Was Jing Jiu about to leave? Tong Yan wondered how Jing Jiu would conceal the Snow

Girl’s cold intent and if he had the means to bring the lamp formation of the nunnery

with him. But he hadn’t gathered his own belongings yet.

As he was thinking of all this, he suddenly noticed the regretful hint expressed in the

Green Girl’s eyes. He felt his heart had abruptly sunk.

“I can’t do anything about it. The Green Sky Mirror is in his hands,” the Green Girl said

with an indignant expression.

Tong Yan didn’t say anything. He called out his magic treasure without hesitation, and

hurled it at the surface of the lake.

It was the daytime, and the spring sun was rather bright against the blue sky; but it

suddenly grew dimmer.

The longevity lamps in the nunnery hall had been lit simultaneously. The lamps were

triggered by the assault, and the formation had been activated.

Boom!!!

The magic treasure had flown back.

Tong Yan realized by now that this lamp formation of the Water-Moon Nunnery could be

also used to restrain him, apart from insulating the cold intent of the Snow Girl.

The Sword of the Universe gave off a faint buzzing sound, and the ripples on the

surface of the lake became denser.

Tong Yan yelled at Jing Jiu, “Are you actually robbing me?”

“I have won the bet with the Unicorn at the Fruit Formation Temple,” Jing Jiu said. “So I

should be able to borrow the Green Sky Mirror for awhile. You should spend your time

here concentrating on your Cultivation. When you are ready to go to the West Ocean, I’ll

give it back to you.”

Tong Yan wondered why Jing Jiu knew that he had planned to go to the West Ocean,

his eyebrows furrowed. “If she were discovered, what would you do then?” he asked.

The energy coming out from the Snow Girl was too powerful, and the cold intent inside

her body could affect heaven and earth. A mere winter quilt was not enough to conceal

her energy.

“I have to take my leave now,” Jing Jiu said.

Though the Snow Girl hadn’t done anything visibly, the longevity lamps hanging on the

trees around the snowy lake started swaying side to side.

Hundreds of sword wills came out from the Sword of the Universe and fell down along

with the Snow Girl’s awareness; those sword wills swaddled around the winter quilt like

ropes.

This was the Inherited Heaven Sword style.

The cold intent inside the Snow Girl was sealed off; none of it leaked out.

At the moment she looked like a little girl who forgot to add more firewood to the stove,

was afraid of coldness, and wrapped the winter quilt tightly around herself on the

heating bed to spend her New Year’s Day.

…

…

The Young Master Li left the nunnery hall, heading to the outside of the mountain.

It didn’t take long before he arrived at the intersection of the two streams.

There was a pond here, which had had many lotus flowers in it.

It was springtime, and everything had just experienced a dreadful wintry spring, so no

new buds could be found on the branches of the lotuses. The lotuses only had the

remaining leaves from last year, looking rather depressing.

He stood by the lotus pond, remaining silent; it was unclear what he was thinking about.

All of a sudden, an item fell down from the sky toward him. He reached out his hand

reflexively and caught it. He found it was a ceramic vial.

He lifted his head and saw a flash of sword light heading to the horizon.

The sword light traveled extremely fast, and vanished into the horizon in a few seconds.

The Young Master Li looked at the sky quietly and fixated his gaze on the horizon for a

long time.