The Path Toward Heaven

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The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect said, “I think you should be able to tell me whose orders Xiwang Sun followed now.”

Yin San strolled to the seashore as he said nonchalantly, “He was Nan Qü’s disciple and Jian Xilai’s Young Brother, so he of course followed their orders.”

“If this was true, why would he follow your arrangements?” the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect pressed.

Yin San shook his forefinger a few times as he said, “I had just offered advice, but he was willing to accept them since he was fairly broad-minded.”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect wondered if this statement was a compliment; the problem was, it was Yin San who had gotten Xiwang Sun killed. “When did you know him?” he asked.

Yin San replied, “Before coming to you, I went to meet the other one.”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect changed his expression slightly.

The thing Yin San did after escaping from the Green Mountain must have been something significant, and the person who could help him must be a significant figure.

Like the three rumored Hidden Swordsmen.

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect was one Hidden Swordsman himself.

He was well aware that the prince of the previous imperial court, who lived a life by carrying a turtle shell on his back by the Great Marsh, had an ordinary Cultivation state, and that the truly formidable one was that Fairy Swordsman in the Heavenly Arrival State, who lived on the Foggy Island in the South Ocean.

This Fairy Swordsman of the Heavenly Arrival State had even succeeded in his sneak attack on Yin San’s grandmaster back then.

Though his successful sneak attack occurred during the critical moment of the Immortal’s ascension, it was something the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect wouldn’t even dare to think about.

“You went to the South Ocean directly after you escaped from the Green Mountain?”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect admired the young man’s courage since it was the time he had just restarted his Cultivation, and he thought:

Forget about the treacherous ocean currents; weren’t you afraid of being killed by those people on the Foggy Island once your identity was discovered?

Though it was difficult to get out of the Foggy Island, what had happened later proved it was possible nonetheless.

Yin San said, “The ocean waves were much higher over there, and the fog was really thick. And it was not easy convincing that suspicious old guy.”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect said, “But he managed to send out one of his disciples and let you bring the disciple back to Chaotian.”

“That’s right,” Yin San confirmed. “After getting back to Chaotian, I offered him some advice, and we parted. Later, he went to see Jian Xilai.”

Yin San said it nonchalantly, but the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect knew clearly it was not as clear-cut a matter. He knew that the instructions for Xiwang Sun must include the importance of the Old Ones; otherwise Xiwang Sun wouldn’t opt to take over the control of the Old Ones from his Big Brother, and then…give it to Yin San’s hands.

Thinking of the Dace Devil in the Muddy River, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect shook his head with a smile, thinking that Yin San must have offered the help of the Underworld to Xiwang Sun, so it was understandable that Xiwang Sun trusted him so much.

Yin San couldn’t help but laugh out loud, saying, “With your old saggy skin, you still look very cunning no matter how much you smile.”

“Nobody in this world is more cunning than you,” the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect quipped.

Yin San said seriously, “I actually didn’t plot anything. Similar to his Big Brother, Xiwang Sun had a stubborn personality and always wanted to prove that the sword work of the Foggy Island was still the number one in the world even without learning the sword style of the Green Mountain. As such, he wouldn’t miss out on Liu Shisui, a traitor of the Green Mountain, and spent a great deal of efforts training Liu.”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect said, “In their eyes, you had been locked up at the Green Mountain Sect for hundreds of years, and you would take your revenge once escaping from it. That is why they have trusted you.”

Yin San said calmly, “You have to admit that the logic sounds quite sensible.”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect laughed heartily, and the tears almost came out. “Those two are really stupid…that is your Green Mountain!” he exclaimed.

Yin San gazed at him quietly before saying, “Yes, that is my Green Mountain.”

His Green Mountain was bright and was the most powerful sect in the world.

The enemies of the Green Mountain should all be killed.

Like the West Ocean Sword Sect.

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect stopped laughing. He asked icily while staring into Yin San’s eyes, “Are the Old Ones yours?”

Looking at the ocean surface, Yin San said, “To cut out a path toward heaven, one has to hold a sharpest knife.”

The ocean waves hit the rocks, turning into countless snowy foams, as if they would disappear into the ocean wind.

After a moment of silence, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect remarked, “I have seldom admired anybody in my life, save for your Young Brother and Lian Sanyue, and to some extent, Cao Yuan and the Emperor of the previous imperial court; but it looks like you are the best of all.”

Yin San said, “Back when I was locked up in the Sword Jail by my two wicked disciples and Jing Yang, the Old Ones became an organization without a master; but unexpectedly, the disciples of that old guy in the South Ocean obtained it.”

“All you have been doing was taking back the Old Ones,” the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect remarked.

Yin San shrugged and said, “What else could I do? I’m still so weak. The two of us couldn’t even defeat him.”

Recalling the sword light that night, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect shook his head and said, “He is at the height of Cultivation. I’m no match for him.”

Yin San said with a smile, “You should know that he is the Godly Swordsman.”

Even though what Yin San said was true, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect felt that his smile contained a hint of nonchalance and mockery.

“But the Old Ones are in shambles right now; what can you do with them, even if you have taken them back?”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect asked this while looking at the broken rocks and beams floating in the ocean and the ruins surrounded by the foams.

After the Cloud Platform fell into the ocean, the orthodox Cultivation sects didn’t leave right away. They spent next few days searching thoroughly, even accepting the help of the divine guardian animals of some sects. All the important materials and magic treasures had been taken.

“The Old Ones are not a place, but a group of people,” said Yin San.

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect said, “But many of those people have died.”

Yin San shook his head and said, “It doesn’t matter if all the unimportant people have died. I have no need to depend on the Old Ones to make money. Jian Xilai didn’t understand this, so he wasted almost one hundred years expanding it. It’s quite stupid.”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect understood what he meant.

The Cultivation world was different from the mortal world. Though the sheer number would prevail in some cases, it would rely on the truly powerful swordsmen to accomplish the truly significant things.

The Old Ones of course had the truly powerful swordsmen. This action by the orthodox Cultivation sects didn’t affect them, because they hid really deep, and Liu Shisui had no way to get hold of their names.

Yet, these powerful swordsmen were more likely to have a cooperative relationship with the Old Ones, helping each other solve problems, similar to the relationship between customers and a business owner. Now that Jian Xilai couldn’t control even half of them, what would Yin San plan to do with them?

Yin San walked to the side of a large rock facing the ocean, and ran his palm across the damp rock face.

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect furrowed his brows slightly. He had already checked this large rock with his spiritual awareness, making sure that this large rock was simply a regular rock on the Cloud Platform.

If he couldn’t recognize anything special about this rock, then it wouldn’t be a surprise that the orthodox Cultivation practitioners a few days ago failed to find anything peculiar about the rock.

Yin San pressed a certain spot gently with his fingers, and then moved his fingers to a different spot to press down. His hand movements were fluent, like the floating cloud and flowing water, seemingly very proficient.

He had done so in a dozen spots, as if he had drawn a painting on the rock face.

A hole had gradually appeared on the large rock, and Yin San reached in and took out a case.