The Path Toward Heaven

Jing Jiu had visited the Snow Girl in the Sword Jail several times already since she

came to Green Mountain, both when passing through the jail incidentally or purposely. It

was a rare occurrence for him. First of all, it demonstrated that Jing Jiu paid enough

attention and respect to her; secondly, that he wanted to ascertain something; and

finally, he wished to communicate with her.

The life forms that had his former Cultivation state and experience and could exchange

information with him were extremely rare.

He opted to end their communications prematurely each time. All he asked her was

whether she wished to exchange the bamboo chair because he didn’t want to

communicating with her spiritual awareness.

Because of that lotus flower, Jing Jiu really wished to communicate with her today, but

he decided to give up on the idea. He turned around and headed to the other end of the

passageway.

The Snow Girl also turned her body around and looked at the lonely snowy peak.

…

…

Jing Jiu came out from the Sword Jail and arrived at the hermit peaks. It was cloudless

in the expansive sky, and the starlight looked like water. Unlike the night of thunder and

rain on the other side, the sky here seemed to be a phony one.

Jing Jiu drew back his gaze and leapt into the air, eventually landing on a peak.

The ruby stone outside the manor cave was still glowing, and the sword awareness Jing

Jiu had left outside the cave hadn’t been disturbed, meaning that the Dead Dog hadn’t

visited Fang Jingtian.

Next, he went to Tong Yan’s manor cave.

Tong Yan opened his eyes and stared at Jing Jiu. “Didn’t I tell you not to bother me for

ten years?” he exclaimed icily.

Jing Jiu ignored him and came before the stone table.

There was a Go board on the stone table with dozens pieces scattered on it. The spots

of those Go pieces were exactly the same as when Tong Yan placed them the last time

when Jing Jiu was here. Jing Jiu picked up a black piece and set it on a spot in the

lower left corner. As a result, the situation on the board had evidently changed, and the

few white pieces in that corner had no chance of escaping; they were on the verge of

being eliminated.

Tong Yan realized that this move meant that Jing Jiu was to strike. “Why now?” asked

Tong Yan, feeling a bit baffled.

Jing Jiu said, “I’m going out for another matter; I’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

Hearing this, Tong Yan felt even more baffled, since he knew what kind of a person he

was. “Are you going to get out of Green Mountain?” he asked.

If it were Zhuo Rusui, he would exclaim: “Do I need to tell you that I have been to the

Mirror Sect?” However, Jing Jiu didn’t rebuff Tong Yan; instead, he told Tong Yan about

what had happened in Zhaoge City and the meeting of the Fruit Formation Temple in

autumn. “What would the Immortal Bai do in this case?” he asked Tong Yan.

…

…

The damp and hot wind could be found everywhere in Chaotian in the middle of

summer, and people were in a gloomy and restless mood.

The officials were quarreling all the time in the imperial court. Though they argued about

the state affairs such as the repair of the canals and the army equipment, rather than

the matter regarding Jing Xin, everybody was fully aware of where the root of the

problems was.

Those small Cultivation sects sent their representatives to Cloud-Dream Mountain one

after the other, as if they were visiting a holy place; a sinister intent could be sensed

plainly.

It seemed that a storm was on its way to Green Mountain.

The entire Cultivation circle and the officials of the imperial court were waiting for the

negotiation at the Fruit Formation Temple in autumn.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to this forthcoming event; no one noticed that some

events had occurred in the remote places.

At least a hundred people disappeared after the flood in Yizhou in the beginning of

summer. Their corpses hadn’t been found yet; it was believed that they were probably

washed down into the hidden river under the ground.

No light could be detected around the hidden river except for a faint sound of flowing

water. Standing by the bank of the hidden river, one would think of the rumored

Underworld, though the real Underworld bore no resemblance to this scene.

Yet, some faint and ghostly flames could be seen in the hidden river tonight. The flames

didn’t stem from the corpses; they were the eyes full of brutal intent.

Pursued by Bihu Peak of the Green Mountain Sect and the Pure Heaven Bureau of the

imperial court, these remaining members of the Mysterious Dark Sect had no choice but

to hide in the underground river to keep themselves safe after being called to Yizhou

City. In comparison, those mutilated corpses floating on the surface of the hidden river

had a more tragic ending. Those people who fell into the hidden river died instantly, and

became the souls for those deviant practitioners to use for their deviant magic.

Hearing a sound in the water up ahead, a pair of ghostly eyes beamed, full of greedy

intent.

But in the next moment, the expression in his eyes turned from greed to terror.

It was because the hidden river was illuminated by a sword light.

The disciple of the Mysterious Dark Sect attempted to vanquish the flying sword by

calling out a black banner; but the banner was torn to shreds instantly. With a sizzling

sound, his head fell into the hidden river.

With some grunting sounds by the bank of the hidden river, a dozen of extremely filthy

energies headed toward the flying sword like tornados as a few black banners drifted

up.

The sword light had suddenly disappeared and then reappeared, traveling in the hidden

river at a high speed, ignoring those black banners.

As the sword light disappeared and reappeared in the river, a few disciples of the

Mysterious Dark Sect had died with a grunt.

It was quiet in the hidden river; the only sound was that of the heads falling into the

water, as the flying sword kept on slaughtering those disciples of the Mysterious Dark

Sect.

The gloomy and dark cliff wall quivered all of a sudden. Dozens of disciples of the

Mysterious Dark Sect didn’t dare continue hiding on the wall and emerged from the wall,

fleeing to the downstream of the hidden river by taking advantage of the darkness.

No matter how powerful this attacker was, he couldn’t possibly kill them all, they

thought.

They were the only remaining members of the Mysterious Dark Sect; so they must try

their hardest to survive. As long as they were alive, the continuation of the Mysterious

Dark Sect would be ensured.

The downstream of the hidden river covered in darkness was suddenly illuminated by a

sword light.

The sword light was a bit strange; it looked exceedingly red, resembling twilight and the

blood.

A formidable and forlorn sword will swept over the surface of the river; some of the

disciples of the Mysterious Dark Sect in front died immediately and noiselessly.

The darkness was illuminated by the sword lights. After a few spars, the surviving

disciples of the Mysterious Dark Sect fled hastily, covered in blood, but they were

intercepted by a swordsman.

After exchanging a look, the disciples of the Mysterious Dark Sect bellowed in despair

and in anger. They employed the secret method of the Scorching Sun of the Mysterious

Dark Sect, igniting all the blood in their bodies.

Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!

Countless thudding sounds of explosion broke out under the ground.

The violent waves formed on the surface of the hidden river, waves boiled instantly by

the demonic flames of the deviant energies. Soon after, the boiling waves turned into

steam at an even higher temperature as it headed upstream and downstream at the

same time with a ferocious force.

The smoke and dust died down after a long time; the hidden river returned to its former

tranquility.

A sword light arrived in the air from the downstream. Zhuo Rusui should have been

injured badly since he was covered in blood from head to toe.

He didn’t expect the remaining remembers of the Mysterious Dark Sect to employ the

deviant method of burning the blood; as such, he stayed a bit too close to them.

Zhao Layue, wearing a conical hat, arrived on her sword. Her face was illuminated by

the bright flames and the brighter sword light.

Countless mutilated body parts of the disciples of the Mysterious Dark Sect were

scattered on the surface of the river, illuminated by the remaining flames. These

mutilated body parts were sinking slowly to the bottom of the river. It was believed that

they would be eaten by the blind fish in the hidden river soon enough after fish met the

mutilated corpses of those innocent mortals. In the end, they and the hidden river were

now bound to each other.

…

…

Yizhou was renowned for its hotpot.

Su Ziye disliked the hotpot the most; it was because he had lived in the Scorching Sun

George, a place that was by and large a natural hotpot for too many years.

The Scorching Sun George jumped up in the sky that night and then fell back down,

killing everybody in the valley, including those loyal subordinates and his father.

This horrible memory acted almost like that sword light; every time he recalled it, he felt

as if his demonic wheel had been broken one more time; it was excruciatingly painful.

Su Ziye took out a magic pill and swallowed it. Then he began to pant heavily. A few

unhealthy flushes appeared on his greenish cheeks, making his face look even more

eerie.

After a while, the painful expression in his eyes became a thrilled one. In the end, all the

emotions vanished from his eyes save for a blank stare.

Like all the other deviant sects, the Mysterious Dark Sect had no real spiritual source of

their own; so they would encounter problems in their Cultivation sooner or later, and

they couldn’t sustain for too long by means of taking magic pills.

He left the rented small courtyard, and went to a cheap and old teahouse.

Some people were drinking tea in the teahouse, but more of them were playing

Mahjong. The stains left by tea could be seen on those old cups. A large teapot was

placed atop the coal stove; the water in the pot was boiling all the time, making a wailing

noise.

After ordering a cup of the cheapest and the most common jasmine tea, Su Ziye found

a least-noticeable seat to sit on.

Wearing a cotton cloth and a mask, he looked almost the same as the other guests in

the teahouse.

Time elapsed slowly.

The wailing noise in the large teapot had suddenly stopped.

The noise and vulgar words at the Mahjong table seemed to grow distant.

Su Ziye picked up the teacup, blew away the foams in the cup, and had a sip; then he

looked at the person across from him.

“I heard your face is greenish,” said Zhuo Rusui. “Can you let me have a look?”

After setting down the teacup, Su Ziye asked, “How did you find me?”

He had tried to conceal his whereabouts; and he used the title “King Ming” when he

called those remaining members of his sect. Moreover, there were only two people who

knew about this teahouse.

Those two were his former subordinates, with a decent Cultivation state; most of all,

they were very loyal to him, so it was impossible for them to betray him.

“Do you know who I am?” asked Zhuo Rusui, ignoring his question.

Su Ziye said, “Judging by your formidable sword will and the droopy countenance, you

can only be Zhuo Rusui among all the Green Mountain disciples.”

“You’re indeed none other than Su Ziye, with a whiff of wisdom,” Zhuo Rusui praised.

After standing up, Su Ziye said to Zhuo Rusui, “Even though you’re Zhuo Rusui, you’re

unqualified to kill me.”

Zhuo Rusui said, “I heard that the Cultivation circle thought you were more talented than

Luo Huainan. As such, your Cultivation state should be the same as mine, and it would

be hard for me to kill you all by myself.”

By that, he meant he was not alone.

Su Ziye looked at the outside of the teahouse, and saw Zhao Layue, who wore a conical

hat, a red halo created by the Thoughtless Sword around her body.

All of Cultivation circle knew that Zhao Layue was the heiress of the Immortal Jing Yang

with the natural Dao quality and a cruel temperament; but Su Ziye didn’t expect her to

be close to the upper state of the Free Travel.

Zhuo Rusui was in the same state as hers.

The young disciples of the Green Mountain Sect were so powerful.

Thinking of all this, Su Ziye blurted out, “It’s unfair!”

He was the strongest swordsman among the young deviant practitioners, and his talent

in Cultivation was even superior to Luo Huainan’s. He was not afraid of anyone of them,

no matter how powerful Zhao Layue or Zhuo Rusui was; but he had no chance to win

against the two of them.

“Why?” Zhuo Rusui pressed.

Su Ziye took off the mask with a smile, and took out a magic pill, tossing it into his

mouth.

The pill took effect pretty fast; his face turned purple instantly after the red color mixed

with his greenish skin. His eyes seemed unfocused, but the energy inside him seemed

to become much more powerful.

Though Zhao Layue didn’t know what he had taken, Zhuo Rusui knew it was the

rumored Poison Pill. “You’ll die by taking the pills like this,” Zhuo Rusui said earnestly.

“But you two will die before I do today,” said Su Ziye.

Zhuo Rusui felt bewildered, as he thought that Shiyue Peak of Green Mountain had

more magic pills than any other places, so the disciples of Green Mountain should be

more powerful than anybody else if taking magic pills could help with the actual fight.

How could Su Ziye kill the two of them with the help of the Poison Pill?

Su Ziye took out a light brown bottle. It was unclear what material this bottle was made

of; it looked like it was made of either jade or terracotta.

Zhao Layue had no idea what this bottle was, but Zhuo Rusui remarked sentimentally,

“The Four-Barren Bottle is indeed in your hands as rumored.”

Su Ziye lifted up the Four-Barren Bottle as he said calmly, “This fact is unimportant.”

A wailing noise broke out suddenly in the teahouse, and the water in the large teapot

boiled.

An old man walked over while heaving the large teapot. His eyes sank deeply into the

sockets, exuding a strong and nose-assaulting bloody smell.

This old man had attended to boiling water for many years in this teahouse. So he

remained in the teahouse after everybody else left.

He was an elder at the Mysterious Dark Sect, named Hua Yin. He was expelled out of

the Scorching Sun George by Su Qige many years ago. He had been hiding in Yizhou

as a nameless person until he was found by Su Ziye recently.

He had a high demonic state, which was equal to the Broken Sea State of the Green

Mountain Sect. Neither Zhao Layue nor Zhuo Rusui was his equal even if they fought as

a team.

With the pot of boiled water in his hands, Hua Yin looked at Zhao Layue and Zhuo

Rusui expressionlessly, as if looking at two dead persons.

All of a sudden.

Crack!!!

A person emerged from Hua Yin’s body.

But it was only an illusion. In fact, the person passed through Hua Yin from behind; it

looked like he came out from Hua Yin’s body only because he traveled too fast.

The teapot dropped onto the floor with a crisp “pah” sound.

Hua Yin fell onto the floor as well. His body split in half after touching the floor, with

blood splashing in all directions.

Everything in his body, including the demonic wheel, Qihai, meridians or flesh, had

broken in half.

As the person landed on the floor, fresh blood dripped down from his cloth noiselessly,

like the dews rolling down from the lotus leaves without any residual. His cloth looked as

clean as before and as white as the snow.

“Jing Jiu?” Su Ziye wondered while staring at the face of that person.