The Path Toward Heaven

The disciples of Green Mountain had figured out what Jing Jiu was attempting to do, and it had caused an uproar.

He wanted to challenge the entirety of Liangwang Peak, because he intended to avenge Liu Shisui!

Of course, that might not have been the real reason, since Jing Jiu had clashed with Liangwang Peak even before this incident.

The disciples of Green Mountain spent most of their time practicing behind closed doors, but many people still knew what had happened at the Stream of Sword Washing a few years ago.

It was truly unusual for a disciple of Liangwang Peak not to respond to the challenge of a sword washing disciple.

Would Gu Han accept his challenge?

But this question couldn’t have any other answer.

A sword light moved.

Gu Han landed on the stone post. “I didn’t like you all this time, but I have changed my opinion of you today,” he said to Jing Jiu.

What Gu Han meant was that Jing Jiu stood up for Liu Shisui, challenging all of Liangwang Peak.

Jing Jiu understood what he said. “I haven’t changed my opinion of you,” he retorted.

Many years ago, Jing Jiu had taken a dislike to Liangwang Peak as it had gradually gained a special status on the Green Mountain.

And many years later, he still disliked Liangwang Peak, especially that fat fellow and Gu Han.

Of the two, Jing Jiu disliked Gu Han the most. This dislike had something to do with his current disciple Gu Qing, but was mostly because of Liu Shisui.

It may have been because of that night four years ago in his manor cave by the stream, when Liu Shisui mentioned Gu Han too many times, called him Big Brother Gu far too casually, and said Gu Han was a “nice guy”.

“Even if you have entered the State of the Undefeated, you are still not my equal.”

“I know I have a bad temper,” said Gu Han, looking at Jing Jiu, “but my swordsmanship is immaculate.”

“As I have told you before, in my opinion, all your methods are wrong,” said Jing Jiu.

If all their methods were wrong, then their swordsmanship was problematic as well.

Gu Han remembered very well that he had made this remark to Guo Nanshan on Xilai Peak three years ago.

“Then let us prove it.”

Gu Han waved his sword sleeve lightly.

A white ray of sword light rose skyward.

The clouds in the sky suddenly stirred up.

Everywhere the sword light passed, a faint sound of thunder could be heard, along with countless tiny light filaments, like compressed lightning.

Gu Han employed the Eight-Sides sword style of Bihu Peak!

But surprisingly Jing Jiu’s sword was even faster; it arrived earlier than Gu Han’s sword even though Jing Jiu’s sword had started moving later.

The two flying swords met between two stone posts, the clash exuding a loud booming sound.

Along with the air wave, the iron sword flew back diagonally.

Regardless of how much Sword Source Jing Jiu’s sword had, there was no way it could rely on speed alone to make up for the difference in their Cultivation states.

Gu Han looked at him quietly.

The white sword light moved relentlessly forward.

His expression unchanged, Jing Jiu reached out to hold the sword hilt and turned around.

Whoosh!!!

His figure disappeared from the stone post.

The next moment, Jing Jiu appeared on another stone post one hundred yards away.

Yet at the same time Gu Han’s sword arrived as well.

It seemed Jing Jiu could see what was happening behind him. He rode his sword to dodge Gu Han’s incoming sword and came to the midst of a cluster of cliff walls north of the stone forest.

The iron sword traveled in front of the cliff walls. Without the clouds shrouding the cliff walls, the fast-moving iron sword could be seen clearly from the ground, causing many surprised screams.

People didn’t expect Jing Jiu’s sword could move so quickly, and he rode his sword just as fast.

Gu Han’s flying sword followed Jing Jiu like a maggot sticking to meat. It gradually shortened the distance, but couldn’t catch up just yet.

If someone riding a sword could compete with a flying sword, just how fast was Jing Jiu travelling?

So far, this swordfight was the reversed situation of the previous duel.

Jing Jiu seemed like Ma Hua was in their previous bout, in a constant defensive position.

Now that Gu Han had the absolute advantage, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity. He gave his sword an instruction by pinching his fingers of right hand, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

The white sword light suddenly lengthened, striking down toward the cliff wall.

The iron sword abruptly turned and dodged the striking sword, fleeing with Jing Jiu on top.

The white sword light stroke again.

The iron sword dodged again.

A few deep sword cuts were visible on the cliff wall. The broken shards of rock fell down with a rattling sound.

Jing Jiu rode the sword farther away, and the white sword light chased closely behind. Soon they came to the western end of the stone forest.

Here the stone posts were sparsely positioned; the distance between any two stone posts was about one thousand yards.

Jing Jiu stopped on a stone post as the sword light faded.

Currently Jing Jiu was about one mile away from the stone platforms in the cliff, and he became a black dot in the eyes of the spectators.

Even though Gu Han was a swordsman in the upper state of the Undefeated, he couldn’t summon a sword attack from such a long distance.

After a sneer, Gu Han stepped on the recalled sword, heading toward where Jing Jiu was.

Soon, innumerous flashes of sword light were visible in the western end of the stone forest. The stone chips scattered everywhere and the dust rose up, reducing the visibility for those disciples who had a low Cultivation state.

The disciples knew the fighting was extremely intense over there, but they couldn’t see so well, so they felt rather anxious.

Some brave disciples rode their swords to get to the upper level of the stone forest, without regard for the rules.

Many masters on the stone platforms stood up looking in that direction.

…

…

“The Endless sword style is indeed like a snowfall. I think the Seven-Plums sword style is more suitable for blocking the route. Gu Han is using them so proficiently that it looks like he has done diligent work for many years.”

“Look, is Big Brother Gu still using the Eight-Sides sword style? It looks like even the big brothers on Bihu Peak can’t use the style as well as he does.”

“Big Brother Gu knows the Six-Dragons sword style the best. It’s no wonder that Gu Qing learned this style before.”

“He can use the true sword style of the third peak so effortlessly. Big Brother Gu truly deserves the top three ranking on Liangwang Peak. He is admirable.”

“Don’t forget, Big Brother Gu is from Tianguang Peak. He hasn’t used the Inherited Heaven sword style yet.”

“What about the deadly sword style of Liangwang Peak? That is his real sword technique. If he used that sword style, Jing Jiu would lose badly.”

Besides all these compliments, many people recalled another fact.

Gu Han had a very high level in sword Cultivation, and his use of different sword styles was even more amazing.

But.

Jing Jiu’s iron sword was still with him.

Regardless of how badly his sword was beaten back, after a while people would see his sword light reappear in their sights.

It was shocking.

If he had truly only just now entered the State of the Undefeated, how could he survive Gu Han’s powerful and deadly attacks for so long?

The peak masters and the elders could see very well the fighting taking place a mile away.

They were certain that what Jing Jiu used was the Nine-Deaths sword style of Shenmo Peak.

It was rumored that before his ascension, Senior Master Jing Yang hid the sword manual of the Nine-Deaths sword style and the Thoughtless Sword atop Shenmo Peak, which had been found by Zhao Layue that night.

The rumor had been proven to be true.

What surprised them the most was that Jing Jiu used the sword style so proficiently that it didn’t look like he had practiced it for merely three years, but as if he had practiced it for three hundred years. Moreover, he employed the Nine-Deaths sword style in a manner different from how the style was rumored to be.

In the minds of these elders, Senior Master’s sword style had been deadly, and yet Jing Jiu’s style was so serene.

Yes, the Nine-Deaths sword style Jing Jiu employed was very serene. It did not involve charging forward without regard for one’s own life. It seemed its serene mood came from having understood life and death.

The iron sword remained serene from beginning to end, no matter how powerful and lethal Gu Han’s sword light got. The iron sword didn’t look as if it were at a disadvantage.

The sword fight carried on for merely a few minutes. For a duel, it wasn’t long.

But in Gu Han’s eyes, it was quite embarrassing for the duel to last so long, and the worst part was that he still hadn’t defeated Jing Jiu yet. He couldn’t stand such a stalemate.

He decided to end the fight as quickly as possible.

Gu Han whistled once.

His flying sword disentangled from the iron sword, turning into a bright white light ray. At high speed, it headed toward Jing Jiu’s forehead.

Without any obstruction, the iron sword pierced the air toward Gu Han almost at the same time.

Gu Han crossed his hands in front of his chest, his expression unchanged, generating a powerful energy in the air in front of him.

Upon seeing this, Chi Yan raised his eyebrows. He knew what Gu Han was about to do next.

An elder yelled out with surprise in his voice. “The Locking Autumn by Cold Well!”