The Path Toward Heaven

If asked which organization in Chaotian was the most mysterious, many people would mention the Curtain Rollers.

If asked which place in Chaotian was the most terrifying, many people would mention the Underworld.

If asked which group in Chaotian was the most terrifying and mysterious, there was only one answer:

The Old Ones.

The Old Ones were a group of assassins who would assassinate anybody – merchants and vendors, royal families and relatives, treacherous ministers or loyal heroes – for the right price. Even if you asked them to assassinate a swordsman of the Broken Sea State, the Old Ones would still give it a try. It was rumored that they had done so successfully before.

It was unknown who had founded the Old Ones, where they were located, or how many members they had.

Yet people knew one fact: if one became their target, he could look forward to staying the same age forever, because he would be dead.

The man in black didn’t deny it.

For orthodox sects like the Green Mountain Sect, the Old Ones were an evil group and a deviant heterodox sect that had to be purged.

Zhao Layue lowered her head a bit more, covering more of her face with the conical hat.

The man in black didn’t feel surprised, as he had seen many so-called evildoers, and they would feel uncomfortable when they first learned he was with the Old Ones.

The uncomfortable feeling came from fear or even poor self-esteem when facing true evil.

“If you’re willing to join the Old Ones, anything is possible.”

He spoke to Zhao Layue, smiling, his voice growing hoarser but more charming.

“Want crystal stones? No problem. Want precious drugs? No problem either. Even if you want fame and status in the Cultivation world, we can help you achieve them.”

“But you can’t give me what I want,” said Zhao Layue.

The man in black stopped smiling. “I appreciate what you have done in the last two years,” he said coldly. “That’s why I’ve come to meet you. It looks like you still don’t have the courage to step into a world of truth that can be witnessed only by a qualified few. I shall come find you again when you get caught by the Pure Heaven Bureau and can’t stand the torture anymore.”

“I’m not afraid of threats,” snapped Zhao Layue.

“You’ve really got the attitude of the disciples of a major sect,” said the man in black. “But no matter which sect you are fleeing from, since you have offended the royal concubine, you have absolutely no chance of going back to your sect. And you shouldn’t hope to return to the Cultivation circle either. There is no future there for you.”

As he stood to the side listening to this exchange, Jing Jiu was sure the man in black was merely a rank-and-file member of the Old Ones. “Hurry up,” he told Zhao Layue, losing his patience.

In the past two years, when he had accompanied Zhao Layue in her adventures of purging demons and killing evildoers, the new experience had brought him some excitement, but after a while they had become boring, so he often urged her to hurry up.

These encounters had happened so many times, and she had heard these two words so often that Zhao Layue acted without much thought.

The ocean wind rushed into the broken temple, brushing past her hair, and her sword will was suddenly agitated, ready to shoot out of her body.

The man in black, as an assassin of the Old Ones, had always mounted sneak attacks on his enemies. He didn’t remember ever being ambushed by others!

He was surprised, but moreover he was furious, summoning seventeen small black flags as quickly as he could to circle around his entire body.

Those small black flags exuded an air of cold despair, as if countless sorrowful souls were trapped inside. These flags were not ordinary objects. They were special treasures employed by the Mysterious Dark Sects to counterattack the Sword Sects, called the “Banner of Falling Swords”.

The Banner of Falling Swords was made of seventeen rare materials, extremely sensitive to magic swords. It could determine the direction of flying swords and exert force upon the swords, interfering with the routes of the flying swords once they had left their owners’ hands.

If there was a big difference between Cultivation states, the Banner of Falling Swords could be used by its owner to cut off the connection between the flying sword and its master.

The man in black was certain that his Banner of Falling Swords could at least block his opponent’s flying sword, even if it couldn’t knock down her sword. Then he could take the opportunity to get under the Ocean-God Temple to activate the pre-arranged Formation, finishing off his opponent.

As an experienced assassin of the Old Ones, he conceived a watertight counterattack strategy in the shortest time period in the face of a sudden attack.

However, he underestimated his opponent.

He didn’t know his opponent was the youngest peak master of the last fifty years at the Green Mountain Sect.

More importantly, Zhao Layue had tested her sword many times in the last two years, so her awareness of sword fighting was at its peak.

She didn’t pull out her sword, but instead turned herself into a sword.

Her short hair moved with the wind, becoming messy again, and she disappeared from the original spot.

When she reappeared, she stood right in front of the man in black.

In an instant, Zhao Layue had covered a distance of over ten yards, passing through those small black flags.

Two visible wounds appeared on her shoulder and earlobe, the black colored blood trickling out.

Ignoring her injury, Zhao Layue hit the chest of the man in black with her palm.

The man in black didn’t have enough time to retrieve his black flags, and with an odd yell, he raised up his right hand to intercept her palm.

His palm looked quite bony and inhuman, emitting a pitch black glint on its edge, which might have contained some kind of devilish magic.

Smack!!!

The two palms met each other.

A crimson red sword shot out of Zhao Layue’s palm.

Clink!!!

The sword pierced through the palm of the man in black with ease, thrusted forward, and punctured his chest.

The bloody red tip of the sword emerged from the back of the man in black.

The red tip was either the original color, or it had been stained by the man’s blood.

Drip!!! Drip!!!

His blood dripped onto the ground of the broken temple.

The man in black knelt slowly to the ground and dropped dead.

In his eyes was a look of disbelief and despair.

The ocean wind was suddenly howling.

The peeling wall coverings were turned into dust by the gusts of wind, dancing in the air.

They could sense the intimidating sword source in the night sky getting nearer.

Zhao Layue lifted her head, looking up at the sky above the broken temple.

The pair of distinctive black and white eyes under the conical hat were full of aggressive sword will and tremendous fighting intention.

“Can’t beat him,” Jing Jiu told her. “Maybe you can win ten years later.”

Xiao He felt bewildered, her eyes wide open.

She couldn’t understand what she had just witnessed.

It looked like they had been negotiating. Why did Zhao Layue suddenly attack and kill the man?

This was inconceivable.

While she thought about it, Xiao He suddenly felt a chill in a part of her body.

Lowering her head to check, she found an iron sword piercing through her right shoulder.

The iron sword had gone through her body and pinned her to the wall of the broken temple.

The blood was flowing out from her body, dripping along the iron sword.

Xiao He sensed her body getting colder, and then felt excruciating pain, her face becoming completely ashen.

Lifting her head and looking at Jing Jiu, she was shocked, speechless.

The iron sword was in Jing Jiu’s hand.

She had guarded herself against Zhao Layue, doing so in absolute fear.

The Old Ones knew exactly how many demons and humans she had killed and how she had done it, and they knew better than the Pure Heaven Bureau.

She hadn’t found out Zhao Layue’s true capabilities when they met in the hotpot restaurant.

But she had never dreamt Jing Jiu could be so heartless.

She hadn’t even noticed Jing Jiu pulling out his sword before it had pierced her right shoulder.

The waifish Xiao He looked miserable, especially as she was pinned to the wall with a large iron sword.

The expression in Jing Jiu’s eyes was genuinely calm and merciless, without a hint of artifice.

Jing Jiu looked at her as if she were a common stone, or a momentary wave in the Western Ocean.

Xiao He knew his Cultivation state was not much higher than hers, and he might not have been able to defeat her if he hadn’t mounted a sneak attack.

However, looking into his eyes, she felt an extreme fear which extinguished any feeling of confrontation she had.

Because Xiao He knew this was true ruthlessness.

Absolute ruthlessness.