The Path Toward Heaven

The surprised screams burst out in tandem from the surroundings of the Cloud Platform.

The Heavenly Retrieval Orb could replay the scenes and sounds perfectly, and it was impossible to forge its contents; this was why it was a famous magic treasure in the Cultivation world. Yet, it had been hidden by the Center Sect deep on the Cloud-Dream Mountain; why did it suddenly appear in Guo Nanshan’s hand?

Though the relationship between the Green Mountain Sect and the Center Sect became closer, it was still impossible for the two main leaders of the Cultivation world to get that close.

As Tong Lu guessed what might be contained in it, a terrible look formed on his face. The two elders in the Free Travel State by his side eyed each other, their expressions solemn, as they had also thought of the same thing.

The West Ocean Sword Sect and the Center Sect had formed a close relationship intentionally, so no disciple of the Center Sect could be found among the Cultivation sects laying siege to the Cloud Platform that day. The disciples of the West Ocean Sword Sect felt relieved, but…the Heavenly Retrieval Orb was in Guo Nanshan’s hand; this could only mean that these two sects had already formed a secret alliance.

No matter how proud Tong Lu was, he was well aware that there was no way his own sect could resist the alliance of the Green Mountain Sect and the Center Sect, not to mention so many other sects like the One-Cottage House and the Great Marsh.

He stared into Guo Nanshan’s eyes and asked, gritting his teeth, “What do you want me to watch?”

Countless rays of light shot out from the Heavenly Retrieval Orb, projecting onto the sky.

The sunset was close to the horizon, and the twilight was very colorful. Though the scenes were a bit blurry, Liu Shisui’s face could still be recognized.

It was due to the heavy fog on the ground or the Wind-Rain Magic of the Great Marsh that the darkness of night arrived a lot earlier that day. The scenes became much clearer later on.

The changing pictures showed many scenes, including Xiwang Sun and those scrolls.

Accompanying these pictures were the sounds coming out from Heavenly Retrieval Orb.

The conversations could reveal much.

…

…

The rays of light retreated, and the Heavenly Retrieval Orb calmed down. The surroundings returned to quiet darkness, except for the whistling sound of the ocean wind.

It had been silent around the Cloud Platform for a long time. Even many people of the orthodox Cultivation sects laying siege to the Cloud Platform were unaware of the details, so they were shocked into silence.

Tong Lu stared into Guo Nanshan’s eyes, his face pale, as he yelled angrily, “This is preposterous!”

Guo Nanshan looked at him sympathetically, not saying a word.

Nobody responded to Tong Lu, not even the disciples of the West Ocean Sword Sect.

Their expressions showed that they were at a loss, wondering if what they witnessed were true; they were the Old Ones!

“Our request is quite simple. Hand us those whose names are shown.”

Chen Youtian waved his right hand, a few sword lights coming out from the flying sword underneath his feet, traveling in the night sky at a high speed along with bolts of lightning; soon the sword lights focused into hundreds of names.

Some of the names had gradually gone away, leaving about two hundred names hanging in midair, which were quite visible in the dark night sky.

After a glance at those names, Tong Lu recognized that some of them were the highly achieved swordsmen of the West Ocean Sword Sect, and the rest should be the caretakers of the Cloud Platform.

Had the West Ocean Sword Sect handed the requested people this night, the strength of the sect would have reduced by more than half; more importantly, how would the West Ocean Sword Sect continue operating in Chaotian from now on?

“Why have many of those names disappeared? What does it mean?” demanded Tong Lu while trying his best to suppress his anger.

Chen Youtian said, “Those people are the moles planted by the Old Ones in the imperial court and various sects and the devil men of the deviant sects; so they are not here and there is no need to speak of them with you.”

Tong Lu said loudly while staring at him, “You want us to believe what you are saying merely based on these scenes and sounds; that’s absurd!”

Chen Youtian didn’t intend to discuss it with him, demanding, “Hand them over immediately…”

…Otherwise, we fight.

Chen Youtian had taken over the position of the peak master of Bihu for only ten some years, and this night was the first time he represented the Green Mountain, to carry out such a significant task. It would be natural if he showed a bit of nervousness.

But he was incredibly calm, showing a great deal of courage, as if he wouldn’t be scared even if the Godly Swordsman came in person.

“You can always find reasons to frame an innocent man; and moreover…these are merely one-sided statements of Liu Shisui!”

Tong Lu suddenly thought of one thing, saying fervently, “We all know that he killed Luo Huainan. How can we trust what Liu Shisui said? This must be a scheme set up by the Old Ones!”

This inference wasn’t totally unwarranted, and the Cultivation practitioners surrounding the Cloud Platform changed their expressions slightly.

It was at this moment that the night sky suddenly opened a gap and a person dropped down from the dark cloud above.

That person wore the bright yellow clothing, with an extraordinary aura. He was Xiwang Sun.

Tong Lu was surprised to see him drop down from the sky, shouting, “Senior Master!”

Not so many disciples of the West Ocean Sword Sect had seen Xiwang Sun in person, so they bowed to him in tandem upon hearing Tong Lu’s greeting.

The disciples and the caretakers on the Cloud Platform felt relieved.

All of a sudden, they found something was wrong.

They saw the blood stains on Xiwang Sun!

He didn’t come with his hand clasped, but rather, both of his arms were bound behind his back!

Tong Lu was shocked speechless. Looking behind Xiwang Sun by straining his eyes, Tong Lu had noticed the rope binding his arms.

The rope wasn’t a tangible one, looking like a shadow, and it was hard to notice it in the dark night sky.

There was an uproar among the disciples of the West Ocean Sword Sect and the disciples of various sects laying siege to the Cloud Platform.

Xiwang Sun had been mysterious all the time; but they all knew he had a profound Cultivation state. Yet, he was dropped from the sky by a rope!

Who could have done such a thing?!

Bu Qiuxiao had a calm expression on his face. It was obvious that he knew it beforehand. He flew to the front of Xiwang Sun, saying, “The Old Ones are finished. There is no need to have more people killed today. Except for your loyal subordinates, these young disciples of the West Ocean don’t know anything; should they sacrifice themselves for you?”

His intention was apparent: he hoped that Xiwang Sun would admit his crime to avoid the potential bloodbath.

The veil of pearls on Xiwang Sun’s face were half-gone, looking sort of eerie when ruffled by the breeze, as if it would cut his eyes into pieces.

His gaze glanced over the Cultivation practitioners surrounding the Cloud Platform, showing a hint of tiredness, but still sharp and profound, and at last he fixed his gaze on Tong Lu and the disciples of the West Ocean Sword Sect.

“Yes. I’m the one who managed the Old Ones over the last few years.”

There was an uproar upon hearing this.

The disciples of the West Ocean Sword Sect were shocked into silence, and the atmosphere grew gloomy instantly. Tong Lu’s face turned pale, as he couldn’t believe what he heard

The battle hadn’t started yet, but the general on his side had already been captured, and he had admitted his crime as well. How could they fight this battle?

Xiwang Sun suddenly burst out laughing.

What was so amusing?

He stopped laughing, and said while looking at the crowd without even an ounce of concern, “And yet, I haven’t done anything wrong!”

The crowd thought he must have gone mad after experiencing too much emotional upheaval; otherwise, how could he have said something like that?

Guo Nanshan retorted with furrowed brows, “You have done so many evil things, and yet you don’t think you’ve done wrong. What on earth are you talking about?”

Xiwang Sun said, “What I meant was, there are many people like me in your own sects.”

Guo Nanshan cut in, “Rest assured. We are not going to let those people get away.”

Xiwang Sun looked at him, and said with a mocking tone, “Are you sure you will get all of them? These people are just small fish. Would you even dare suspect your own masters?”

With a slightly changed expression, Guo Nanshan snapped tersely, “Don’t try to confuse people and sew suspicion among friends.”

It was clear what Xiwang Sun was hinting at. Many important figures in various sects had a certain amount of involvement with the Old Ones; would you dare to capture all of them?

What Guo Nanshan implied was clear as well. Now that they were the important figures of various sects, it was impossible for them to join the Old Ones to be their assassins.

“They are of course not the assassins,” Xiwang Sun said indifferently. “It’s only that they all have many people they want to kill for this or that reason, but they can’t do it themselves. So they need us to do it for them. Are you sure you want me to tell you their names right now?”

His gaze moved across the sect masters and elders of various sects, like a knife.

Bu Qiuxiao noticed apparent changes in the expressions of a few people among the sect masters and elders, and was sure that he couldn’t let Xiwang Sun continue.

He shot Chen Youtian a glance.

Chen Youtian immediately understood what he meant. As he activated the Sword Awareness, the faint bolts of lightning could be vaguely seen on the fingers of his right hand. He was about to employ the Eight-Sides Sword Style to jolt the enemy to death by thundering.

Xiwang Sun spun his head abruptly and stared into Chen Youtian’s eyes. “Should I start the naming with the Green Mountain Sect?” he asked with a paradoxical smile.

Chen Youtian fell silent for a moment, bringing his right hand behind his back, wondering why the Big Brother Sect Master let this person talk so freely.

Xiwang Sun laughed while looking at the sect masters and elders, without concealing his indignation, and said, “If an assassin is the knife, I’m the hand that holds the knife; and you people are the knife buyers. You haven’t the right to accuse me of guilt!”