The Path Toward Heaven

It was evident that Shenmo Peak must have more than one manor.

Yet, Jing Jiu was the only one who knew where the other manor caves were, save for those monkeys.

It seemed that there was only one manor cave inside the Daoist Hall on the peak top; in fact, there were more passages inside. It could either lead to the sky above, or to numerous other isolated places on the peak.

There was a manor cave at the far end of the mountain, where there was a large tub made of jade with enormously smooth surface. Inside the tub was not the water, but a liquid of golden color, emitting a mild glow.

Jing Jiu was lying in the tub with his eyes closed.

His body was submerged in the liquid of golden color all the way to his neck, with the liquid covering his body that was even smoother and whiter than the jade tub, exposing only his pale but still handsome face.

It was unclear what this liquid of golden color was, but it exuded an extremely pure spiritual energy. Though it was not as pure as the Fairy Book of Longevity Jing Jiu had held in his left hand, it was many times purer than the spiritual energy in the medicine garden on Shiyue Peak. Was it possible that a great many magic pills melted in this liquid to make it so pure?

After a long while, Jing Jiu opened his eyes and stood up in the tub. The glowing pearls embossed into the cliff wall sensed the movement and emitted the light, illuminating the manor cave.

The liquid of golden color dripped from his right fingertips and returned to the jade tub. The color of the liquid seemed to become a bit lighter.

His right arm was still badly deformed, looking like a twisted sword.

The golden liquid kept on dripping, and soon his body was free of water, not a drop remaining. It was unclear if it was because the liquid had a special quality or if the skin on his body was too smooth for any liquid to stay on.

Jing Jiu walked to the front of the cliff wall, waved his hand to open a hidden door, took out a white cloth he had prepared beforehand, then closed the door.

There was a large manor cave behind the hidden door, and in there were some miscellaneous items and a pile of crystals.

It turned out that the liquid of golden color was the product of dissolved crystals.

Given the size of the jade tub, in order to fill up it with the crystals, he had to liquefy hundreds of crystals, surpassing the amount needed by a middle sized sect. Somehow, Jing Jiu used so many crystals just for his bath?!

…

…

Of course, Jing Jiu was not just taking a bath.

Though he hailed from Zhaoge City, he spent most of his time on Green Mountain. He had established the habit of the southerners a long time ago, and he was also very lazy.

In fact, he was treating his injury in the tub.

If his injury was not so severe and he had to find a way to deal with it seriously, he wouldn’t even remember that he had hidden so many crystals on Shenmo Peak.

After having soaked in the jade tub a long time, his sword pill and fractured bones in his arm returned to their original condition, yet his right arm had no sign of getting better.

He brought his right hand close to his eyes, and made a few moves.

The deformed right arm didn’t move as easily, moving in a rigid and odd manner.

Jing Jiu shook his head and folded his right hand behind his back, and leapt up.

…

…

The heavy door reopened, bringing up some dusts.

Gu Qing and Yuan Qü walked out of the hall, and the monkeys at the foot of the cliff screamed a few times.

The white cat by the cliff’s edge opened his eyes, and Cold Cicada almost fell off the cliff. Fortunately, it was lifted by an invisible force.

Zhao Layue leapt up from the bamboo chair. “How did it go?” she asked while looking at Jing Jiu who was walking out of the manor cave.

Jing Jiu found that Liu Ada was not in her bosom, and realized the reason. “The problem is not quite fixed yet.”

Monk Duhai was the Principal Justice of the Fruit Formation Temple, and his fighting ability could be ranked among the top five greatest in Chaotian. It was quite formidable when he employed a Sacrifice Method like the Palm of the World.

Jing Jiu was merely in the middle state of Free Travel. Though he was undoubtedly the strongest swordsman among the Cultivation practitioners of the young generation, he was still much inferior to the Monk Duhai.

The critical part was that his Cultivation state couldn’t induce the true potential of his body.

His body was very unique. It was because of this that he could kill Zhuo Yi of Bihu Peak on the Sword Peak back when he had just rejoined the Green Mountain Sect.

This special body brought many benefits to him; for instance, he was not so susceptible to injuries. As such, he could break Guo Nanshan’s sword at the Sword Trial on Green Mountain and resist the Unicorn who had suppressed his Cultivation state at the time. However, it also had a negative aspect; it was hard for his body to recover once it suffered a severe injury.

…

…

A damaged sword needs to be repaired, and an injured person needs to be treated.

The people on Green Mountain were all Cultivation practitioners, so they didn’t need doctors. It was because the magic pills on Shiyue could fulfill a vast majority of medical needs.

But Jing Jiu went to Yunxing Peak instead.

This peak was covered by numerous clouds, which drifted about while being affected by an invisible force. The clouds didn’t dissipate all year long, and that was probably the reason why it was called Yunxing or “Drifting Cloud” Peak.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue stood in front of the peak. Seeing the peak, they didn’t recall what had happened many years ago; but both of them thought of the Cloud-Dream Mountain of the Center Sect, though the latter hadn’t been to it.

The disciples of Yunxing Peak saw them, feeling surprised. They approached them and bowed in hasty courtesy, asking if the two senior masters needed any assistance.

If the flying swords of Green Mountain were damaged badly, they would usually be sent to Yunxing Peak to get repaired, and then placed in the midst of the rocks on the peak to nurture and temper on their own.

The disciples of Yunxing Peak thought that Jing Jiu came here to have his sword repaired. They felt nervous and also excited at the same time, wondering if they could witness the rumored Sword of the Universe that day.

The battle of the Fruit Formation Temple had many secrets, but the fight between Jing Jiu and the Unicorn became the most famous event for Green Mountain in the recent years after being told and exaggerated by Zhuo Rusui.

Nobody expected the black iron sword left by Senior Master Mo to achieve such a glorious feat and become a flying sword of Fairy State in Young Senior Master’s hands. The Green Mountain disciples were naturally curious about it.

Yet, it was a pity that they didn’t have the opportunity to see the Sword of the Universe; it was because what Jing Jiu wanted to be repaired was not the sword.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue climbed Yunxing Peak side by side. It was unclear if they were doing this according to an ancient tradition or whatnot, but Jing Jiu still didn’t like riding the sword.

On Yunxing Peak were ragged rocks, broken precipices, and barren scenes, devoid of vegetation and life.

The sword wills were everywhere here, revealing themselves now and then among the cliffs, rocks and clouds.

Jing Jiu led Zhao Layue arriving at the middle section of the peak, and disappeared into the clouds and fog.

The Yunxing disciples dispersed afterwards.

The perpetual clouds and fog could block the sights of those disciples, but couldn’t do the same to Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue.

Regardless of whether it was the born shapeless sword body or the formed shapeless sword body, both of them had a pair of sword eyes that could penetrate anything.

“The old guys like me are still used to calling this place the Sword Peak.”

Looking at the rocks of all sorts and sensing the omnipresent sword wills, Jing Jiu said, “According to the conjecture of the great grandmasters, the spiritual source of Green Mountain, the Heavenly Eye, is located at the deep end of the Sword Peak. But the sword wills are too formidable there, so no one can get close enough to check it out.”

“Is the reason Yunxing Peak is called the Sword Peak because the great grandmasters of previous generations used the lethal intent and spiritual energy leaked out from here to temper and hide the swords?” asked Zhao Layue.

Jing Jiu shook his head and said, “The peak was born out of heaven and earth, and the sword was born on the peak; that is why it’s called the Sword Peak.”

Zhao Layue was puzzled, because she thought that the Green Mountain Sect was founded before the Sword Peak formed.

Jing Jiu continued, “Tens of thousands of years ago, this peak nurtured a sword all by itself. The founding grandmaster of our sect figured out the essence of the sword work accordingly and started the Green Mountain Sect.”

Zhao Layue was astonished, because nobody told her this when she studied by the Sword-Washing Stream, and it was not recorded in the sword script either.

As such, that sword, in a sense, was the founder of the Green Mountain Sect.

Jing Jiu knew what she was thinking, and said, “Over tens of thousands of years, this peak has produced a great many flying swords. ‘Returning the sword back to Green Mountain’ was not meant as them leaving their swords to the disciples of later generations after the death of the sword practitioners to let the receivers inherit their sword spirit; it was simply as the words stated.”

Zhao Layue commented after some thought, “The sword comes from Green Mountain, and the sword practitioner has spent their whole life tempering the sword, so the sword should be returned to Green Mountain at the end of their lives.”

Jing Jiu led Zhao Layue in climbing the peak again.

The fog grew heavier and the sword wills became more formidable and dense as the elevation of the peak increased.

The flying swords that were born of heaven and earth and returned by the masters of previous generations before their deaths were everywhere, either hiding in the ragged rocks or in the cracks of the cliff walls.

Some of the flying swords had the hilts, but some didn’t have any and looked like nails spiked into the cliff walls. Another sort of swords looked like the unsharpened sword that had just made in a blacksmith shop; they appeared rather primitive and ancient, lying casually among the piles of rocks or like the tree branches inserted on the rocks, so they were hard to be discovered.

Zhao Layue thought that these unsharpened swords should be ones born naturally on the Sword Peak, and that it would take thousands of years for them to develop the sharpened blades.

The flying swords on the cliffs suddenly quivered slightly, making a deep and almost inaudible buzzing sound.

Though Zhao Layue couldn’t hear the sound, she could sense the change of the sword wills while being in the midst of the sword wills; her expression changed a bit.

She had tempered her sword will for a few years here and formed the shapeless sword body. As such, she was quite familiar with this environment and the sword wills; but she didn’t understand why the flying swords would behave in such a way at the moment. So she looked at the back of Jing Jiu, wondering if this had something to do with the Sword of the Universe.

The Sword of the Universe was wrapped with a few layers of clothes, making it devoid of its usual brightness and sharpness; it looked rather ordinary. And it was still tied to Jing Jiu’s back.

“It’s too noisy,” Jing Jiu complained.

Those flying swords settled down abruptly.

Jing Jiu looked in the direction of a spot on the Sword Peak.

The Sword of the Universe broke through the clothes and turned into a bright and desolate sword light, passing through many layers of clouds and inserting into a spot on the cliff wall, then it started nurturing by itself.

Jing Jiu didn’t come here to return the sword. Yet, he felt the temperament of this sword was too desolate and arrogant, and he was afraid that Gu Qing couldn’t control it effectively. Hence, he brought it to the Sword Peak to have it nurtured some more.

More importantly, he was here to try and treat his injury.

Normally, as an unparalleled genius in sword Cultivation, Jing Jiu should know how to repair swords, but lacked experience in this aspect.

Back when he was on Shangde Peak or Shenmo Peak, he had stayed behind closed doors all year long. He seldom saw his colleagues or fought against others. During the few battles he was engaged in, he had rarely encountered any equal opponents, so his flying sword seldom came in contact with other swords. Moreover, he had used the sharpest Lone Sword and the fastest Thoughtless Sword alternatively; as a result, his swords had no chance of being damaged.

They came to the deeper part of the clouds and fog. Zhao Layue’s distinctively black and white eyes generated a flash of sword light. As such, she could see clearly the surroundings. She felt the environment seemed familiar, and then she saw the grotto on the cliff wall.

She had sat in this cliff hole cross-legged for three years back then.

“Was it comfortable?” Jing Jiu asked.

He wanted to know if she felt it comfortable to sit in the grotto on the cliff wall.

Seeing his face, she recalled the scene where he suddenly jumped before her; the corners of her mouth curled up.

“It was okay. Since the sword will generated inside the cliff wall, I could perceive them more thoroughly within it.”

Jing Jiu swiped his hand to create another grotto beside the former one.

The two grottos looked the same, about three feet from the ground, but the new one was a bit bigger.

Zhao Layue entered the smaller grotto and sat down in it; Jing Jiu crawled in the new one. Both of them closed their eyes at the same time.

Jing Jiu came to the Sword Peak to treat his injury, Zhao Layue came here for another reason.

She pursued Yin San from the Fruit Formation Temple all the way to the Great Marsh, and broke through the state forcefully midway, entering the middle state of Free Travel. As a result, she couldn’t avoid experiencing some negative consequences because of it.

Jing Jiu brought her to the Sword Peak in an attempt to temper her body and sword will one more time and stabilize her Cultivation state.

This was a very dangerous method. Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue were probably the only ones on Green Mountain who could take such a risk.

However, this method shouldn’t be used too often or for too long, otherwise a lethal intent might be formed undetected, which would harm the Dao Heart.

Both Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue were capable of keeping their minds closed to the outside influences. Their minds were in an empty state as soon as they closed their eyes, and their breathing grew slower until they were completely isolated from the outside world.

The clouds and fog drifted over. The two of them sitting in the grottos looked like two stone statues, visible intermittently amid the clouds and fog.

Half a year later, the Green Mountain welcomed another summer. The Great Formation opened a gap, letting the thunder and rain strike down. Dozens of flying swords took off from the peaks to be tempered in the thunderstorm. Bihu Peak drew a great deal of lightning bolts, illuminating the surface of the lake brightly.

In a manor cave by the Sword-Washing Stream, a young disciple was deeply inspired after witnessing the scene, his willpower growing stronger.

In the early morning the next day, he started ascending Yunxing Peak alone; he was determined to climb to the highest spot of the peak and find a sword that would belong to him.

By dusk, he had finally entered the clouds and fog, arriving at the high level of the peak, though his clothes were cut into tatters.

The clouds and fog surrounding him suddenly scattered. As a result, he found himself in front of a broken cliff, and saw two grottos, one with a stone statue of a man and another with a stone statue of a woman.

He was curious, so he walked to the grottos and touched the stone statues with his hand. Unexpectedly, he found the statues were actually real people with flesh and blood!

The young disciple was stunned, wondering if they were the remains of the masters of previous generations who came here to return their swords to Green Mountain.

If it was the case, his earlier act would be very disrespectful; so he knelt down hastily and bowed his head to the ground while facing the grottos.

The moment his knees touched the ground, Yunxing Peak suddenly quaked violently.

Strong wind whistled, and the clouds and fog drifted at a high speed. A sound like that indicating friction occurred in the deep end of the peak, as if the cliff would collapse soon.

The young disciple’s face turned pale, wondering if he was being punished by heaven because he didn’t treat his senior masters respectfully. He bowed his head to the ground heavily a few more times and turned around, running down the mountain in a hurry.

The occurrence of wind and the change of clouds were of course not caused by the behavior of this young disciple.

Yet, the strange commotion on Yunxing Peak drew a great deal of attention. A dozen sword lights flew up from various peaks; and all of them were the elders in the Broken Sea State.

The Peak Master of Bihu, Chen Yutian, came, and so did Chi Yan of Shangde Peak; even Nan Wang left Qingrong Peak and came over.

The Peak Master of Xilai, Fang Jingtian, was on the highest spot with a grim expression, looking at a spot in the distance.

The clouds and fog were scattering, and the true nature of the Sword Peak would be revealed, indicating that the Sword Formation of Green Mountain was being activated.

There were two possible reasons for this to happen. One was that an extremely powerful enemy was approaching; the second was that the Sword Formation of Green Mountain had discovered the whereabouts of one of the hidden swordsmen and was ready to launch an attack from a great distance.

In the grottos, Zhao Layue opened her eyes and saw the lighter clouds and fog as well as those sword lights. “What is going on?” she asked, with a slightly changed expression.

Jing Jiu asked her, “Have you heard of a sword style called ‘Coming Down from the Sky’?”