The Path Toward Heaven

According to Jing Jiu’s temperament, he would usually nod his head, or utter “hmm”; the most he would do was say a word “yes” in response and with no emotional add-on.

That he had added an emotional tone to his response meant that Liu Ci was free to choose whatever he wanted to.

. And he could even ask Liu Ci if he was interested in that rising red sun.

Of course, Jing Jiu was also quite interested in destroying the Mysterious Dark Sect.

He had told Gu Qing back then that he would wish to find an opportunity to kill Wang Xiaoming.

Liu Ci had also suggested not long ago that he would like to find an opportunity to kill Wang Xiaoming on his way back from White Town.

This was something both Jing Jiu and Liu Ci wanted to do, so they should carry it out.

Listening to their conversation while sitting on Liu Ci’s shoulder, the Green Girl was flabbergasted.

Though she knew this old immortal was an outstanding person and the most powerful swordsman she had ever seen, the Mysterious Dark Sect…was also very powerful.

Even though the Mysterious Dark Sect was not as formidable as before, they still had many highly achieved swordsmen; moreover, the Great Formation of the mountain gate that employed the Sun Banner as its foundation was more troublesome than anything else. How could the two of them wipe them out?

Having heard her doubt, Liu Ci said, “No matter what, we’ll go there and slash the sword.”

“Sounds good,” Jing Jiu agreed.

…

…

The Sword of the Universe traveled amid the morning sunlight; it still appeared desolate though it was in the midst of a patch of red and warm light.

Soon they arrived at Yu County after traveling south from Cloud-Dream Mountain. Then, they headed toward the northwest. The rapid sword light had flown for a long while before they finally arrived at Juye City.

After leaving Juye City, they came close to the periphery of the Cold Mountain. The outlines of the snowy mountains were vaguely visible in the distance.

Jing Jiu would rather not venture into the other side of the snowy mountains. He made sure that the Sword of the Universe traveled at a certain height so that the snowy mountains could block all the sights from the snowland on the other side.

As they arrived at the deep part of the Cold Mountain, it was nearly dusk. The setting sun was descending into the distant West Ocean.

It was dim in heaven and earth. The Scorching Sun Gorge, which was about one hundred miles away, emitted a glow as bright as a large fire, quite visible.

Jing Jiu took out the Green Sky Mirror; the Green Girl entered it; he then put the Green Sky Mirror away.

Liu Ci looked at Jing Jiu keenly, as he asked, “Is this the Hidden Heaven?”

“Yeah,” replied Jing Jiu.

He had told the Green Girl that the Hidden Heaven would come alive when the true spirit of the heavenly state was born; but what Liu Ci referred to was not the Green Sky Mirror.

The gentle wind hurled the dried grass on the ground into the air, assaulting eyes.

Liu Ci closed his eyes and began to recuperate.

A moment later, he opened his eyes. Holding the sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword up in his left hand, he grabbed the empty space above the sheath, pulling out slowly.

A sword sound broke out in heaven and earth.

The dried grass fell down abruptly; and the wind died down instantly. The flowing clouds in the night sky halted under the stars.

Jing Jiu drifted up again.

Liu Ci raised his right hand.

Countless sword wills converged on his hand from all the places in heaven and earth.

Liu Ci swept his hand downward.

Whoosh!!!

Jing Jiu had vanished.

A sword light darted toward the Scorching Sun Gorge one hundred miles away at an unimaginably high speed; it traveled so fast that human sight couldn’t even keep pace with it.

The crevices formed on the ground in the places by which the sword light had passed, the cracks extending all the way to the bottom of the underground, with significant lava shooting up from them and turning into gorgeous waterfalls of fire.

Countless waterfalls of fire were erupting along a large crevice, as if they bade farewell to the sword light as it passed by; it was a magnificent vista.

…

…

Though the Cold Mountain was rather barren, it was different from the barren mountain outside Yizhou, and this was because the area around the Cold Mountain had abundance of fire sources that supported a variety of life forms.

A great amount of lava shot up from the crevices; innumerable fire beetles and demons hiding in the mountains were fleeing in all directions in surprise.

In the river of lava at the deep end of the underground, that golden carp swam toward the downstream with all his strength. He didn’t stop until he reached the abyss, his eyes full of fear and devoid of any self-esteem that the King of Fire Carps should possess.

The carp sensed the shocking power of that sword will. He trembled from head to toe, his tail slapped the huge transparent wall, making a barrage of “pah” noises, indicating he was exceedingly scared.

…

…

The whole of Chaotian had heard the sword sound.

Mortals might think it was a distant lightning, but the Cultivation practitioners were clearly aware of what it meant.

The tales about the shocking sword wielded by the Immortal Liu Ci at the West Ocean had already spread throughout the world, including all the details of the occurrence.

Those at the Mysterious Dark Sect had also heard the sword sound, but they didn’t have enough time to associate this sword sound with the rumored sword wielded by the immortal Liu Ci.

It was because they were too close to the sword.

Before the alarm could be given to the rest of the sect, the sword light had passed through the darkness of the night and arrived in the Scorching Sun Gorge.

Whoosh!!!

Countless fierce flames whipped up around the gorge, and the flames linked together to form a powerful barrier. The surface of the barrier was very smooth, on which a great many white bones and twisted agonizing faces could be vaguely seen. It was unclear how many mortals had been sacrificed alive on the altar for it.

This was the Mysterious Dark Sect’s great formation of the mountain gate.

This formation used the Sun Banner as its foundation and nurtured more than forty weeping flows of ghosts, and it had developed by absorbing the energies of the fire sources. As such, it was powerful enough to shield the sword light for a moment.

A moment later.

Crack!!!

A rupture appeared on the surface of the barrier and then spread abruptly. It soon turned into an uncontrollable spiritual energy, dispersing into heaven and earth along with the sacrificed souls.

The sword light glided into the barrier. Countless fine and deep crevices appeared on the steely rocks on both sides of the gorge.

These crevices were not caused by the sword light; but rather they were the consequence of the sword wills passing by.

The surprised screams were audible everywhere in the Scorching Sun Gorge. The buildings collapsed one after the other; the stony cliffs crumpled as smoke and dust filled the air.

The sword light kept on traveling forward in the gorge. Any object, no matter whether they were the magic treasures or devil wares, would break into pieces when they encountered the sword light.

The disciples of the Mysterious Dark Sect were extremely frightened. They turned into many bands of black smoke, fleeing in every direction, but soon fell down in tandem like raindrops.

Fortunately, these regular disciples and elder swordsmen were not the target of this sword light. As a result, many of them survived, and fled into underground hiding.

The soundless sword light arrived at that secret manor cave after passing through steely rocks.

The elder of the seventh generation, Gao Ya, was exceedingly frightened. He reached out his hand and pulled up Su Qige on the stone bed to shield himself, but he found that the sword light had drifted past in front of him.

Wang Xiaoming’s face was quite pale. The wild fires in the deep end of his eyes were ablaze, and the Sun Banner gave off a few ghostly cries and swaddled his body in several layers.

The sword light had disappeared.

Innumerable glows suddenly emerged inside the Sun Banner.

The precious magic treasure of the deviant sect, which could be ranked among the top ten in the Cultivation world, had broken apart!

Wang Xiaoming, who was wrapped in the Sun Banner, was in a much worse condition, fresh blooding coming out of him like shooting arrows as the Sun Banner was instantly soaked red.

The horrible cries echoed in the manor cave. Wang Xiaoming, wrapped in the broken Sun Banner, rolled back and forth on the floor as he colored the whole floor in red.

The sword light left the manor cave and went to other secret manor caves in an effort to destroy the precious magic wares accumulated by the Mysterious Dark Sect over the years.

Heaving Su Qige in front of him, Gao Ya didn’t dare make any noise.

The bloody person wrapped in the Sun Banner had stopped moving around.

Gao Ya’s face grew paler. Su Qige kept his eyes shut, as if he had given up on all the hopes.

Was this the rumored sword light?

They heard of the story of the West Ocean; and today they had seen it with their own eyes.

When facing such a sword light, most of the struggles in the world had lost their original meaning, such as schemes and willpower.

This sword light shouldn’t be able to wipe out all the disciples of the Mysterious Dark Sect.

However, the great formation of the mountain gate had been destroyed, and the Sun Banner became a piece of cloth wrapping a corpse. If the orthodox sects like the Green Mountain Sect and the Center Sect took the advantage and attacked them, the Mysterious Dark Sect would be totally eradicated.

…

…

On a distant peak, Su Ziye looked in the direction of the Scorching Sun Gorge. His greenish face reflected the glow of the fire, looking rather eerie, yet it was hard to guess his mood at the moment.

The Green Mountain Sect was dealing with the aftermath at the West Ocean, so it was improper for him to stay around. He attempted to return to the Cold Mountain on the same night to gather his former colleagues and subordinates.

With the promise from the Center Sect, he had enough confidence to get back the Mysterious Dark Sect.

But he didn’t expect that the Mysterious Dark Sect had already suffered the devastation of complete ruin.

Su Ziye was fully aware that this was not an unexpected catastrophe.

The Mysterious Dark Sect was a deviant sect to begin with, one that practiced a Cultivation method that was evil and vicious. Moreover, Su Ziye had played an important role in the battle of the West Ocean, which had inflicted a tremendous damage to the Green Mountain Sect.

Was this the punishment rendered upon him by the Green Mountain Sect?

That sword light was truly formidable, yet it was so sharp and fast that it had actually spared some disciples of the Mysterious Dark Sect.

It was much easier for a sharp flying sword to cut one object, but it would be harder for it to cut all the tiny objects. On the other hand, a wild fire would be able to do a better job in this regard.

The Mysterious Dark Sect was utterly destroyed after tonight, but some of the young disciples should be able to survive.

The remaining fire seeds should be able to grow into a fire large enough to burn the entire grassland someday.

Su Ziye decided to go to the Cold Mountain after the sword light had left, and collect the survived disciples. Then he would leave the Cold Mountain to a faraway place; the farther the better. His only worry was that the Center Sect might not keep their promise after they found that the Mysterious Dark Sect had been destroyed and had no value left…

His pupils had suddenly shrunk.

A flash of broadsword light appeared in the north, and soon it arrived with a thunderous boom.

The mountains shook, and the starlight got out of its way. No object dared block its path.

Seeing the broadsword light, Su Ziye felt despaired. The bewilderment and helplessness were written all over his greenish face.

He need not worry about whether the Center Sect would not keep their promise; and he didn’t have to feel fortunate about the fact that some young disciples survived the attack.

It was because the Mysterious Dark Sect would sink into oblivion after tonight.

…

…

Even those powerful swordsmen would feel intimidated and awestruck or have the intention of evading when they saw that sword light.

Yet, there was one or two swordsmen in the world who felt enthusiastic when seeing the sword light rather than feeling scared.

The broadsword light from the north had such a feeling.

It didn’t come here to contend with the sword light, but rather to join it.

This was the result of common interest and understanding.

The broadsword light landed in the Scorching Sun Gorge.

The sword light was still gliding inside it.

The two lights met after traveling here from two distant places, and an explosion that shocked heaven and earth had ensued.

Boom!!!

The whole gorge lifted up off the ground, and then fell back down.

Everybody in it died, including Gao Ya, Su Qige, and those elders and disciples.

The ambitions and contest for the reign of the world had died with the total destruction of the sect.

The Mysterious Dark Sect was gone…completely.

…

…

In the whole of Chaotian, there was only one person who could wield the broadsword this way.

It was none other than the Broadsword King, Cao Yuan.

He was the legend of the Cultivation circle who had guarded the wind and snow alone in that small temple of White Town for a great many years.

When he saw Liu Ci’s sword tonight, he became excited himself and decided to join in from a thousand miles away to have some fun as well.

The sword light had gradually disappeared into the night sky.

Looking in the direction of north, Liu Ci commented, “Cao Yuan is indeed remarkable.”

“Yes,” Jing Jiu agreed.

…

…

A few significant events had happened within the space of several days, which shocked the whole of Chaotian.

The Great Grandmaster of the Foggy Island was killed; the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean was exiled; the West Ocean Sword Sect was wiped out. Soon after, the Mysterious Dark Sect was destroyed!

The Immortal Liu Ci and the Broadsword King fought together; who could be their match in this world?

To say nothing of those at the Mysterious Dark Sect, even the practitioners of deviant sects who had hid inside the Cold Mountain suffered a great deal in this event, hundreds of them had died.

The followers of the Windy-Broadsword Church and the North Army entered the Cold Mountain at the same time, starting to search and clean up the area.

The deviant sects had been on the decline to begin with; after this attack, they wouldn’t be able to revive for a thousand years.

Yet, the shocking news didn’t end here.

A few days later, another outlandish event had happened in Chaotian.

The Muddy turned red.

And the reddened river was not limited to the sections of Shangzhou, Nanhezhou, and Yunyang City…As a matter of fact, the entire Muddy River of ten-thousand miles was reddened!

Many folks thought it was the omen of ensuing disaster; they knelt on the banks of the river in horror, knocking their heads on the ground nonstop; the burning incents were everywhere.

The Daoist temples and the Zen temples in various places became crowded all of a sudden. The Daoists and monks in those temples had no idea what had happened, feeling immensely ill at ease.

The Pure Heaven Bureau of the imperial court began to investigate this matter. Many Cultivation practitioners of the orthodox sects began to search for the clues in the Muddy River.

It was then that many large corpses floated up on the surface of the Muddy River in tandem. They were all hideous demons, like the Dace Devils and so forth.

These demons, controlled by the Underworld in secret, had entered the river from the sea through the Huge Whirlpool, and hid in the Muddy River ever since.

The orthodox Cultivation sects had been trying to purge the demons over the years; but they couldn’t do it either because these large demons hid themselves very well, or because they were exceedingly hard to exterminate.

However, for some reason they were wiped out in one night!

According to the report of the Pure Heaven Bureau, the populace at various places along the banks of the river had seen a flash of light the night before the Muddy River turned red.

As such, the Cultivation circle and the imperial court knew that it was that sword light that had done the work.

The sword light had passed through the entire Muddy River from the West Ocean to the East Ocean overnight.

The entire Cultivation circle was speechless.

Did the Immortal Liu Ci intend to eliminate all the enemies of Green Mountain?

It was then that one more shocking news came out from Zhaoge City.

The Emperor had announced a royal decree, appointing Jing Yao as the Crown Prince.