The Path Toward Heaven

“He Zhan said back then that your face was as recognizable as mine.”

Su Ziye went on while looking at Jing Jiu, “What he said is actually true.”

The pot with boiled water dropped to the floor, turning into steam as it rose up, puffs of

which then entered the brown bottle in Su Ziye’s hand; it was an amazing scene.

The Four-Barren Bottle that could absorb all the water in the air was an exceedingly

formidable magic treasure.

He was confident that he could kill Zhao Layue and Zhuo Rusui in a short time with the

help from Elder Hua Yin.

But Jing Jiu showed up.

And Elder Hua Yin was dead.

Zhuo Rusui said, “There is no point in killing the time by making those senseless

remarks since nobody would come to your rescue.”

Su Ziye realized that what he said was true and that those disciples of the Mysterious

Dark Sect hiding in the hidden river under the ground must have all been killed by Zhuo

Rusui and Zhao Layue.

Su Ziye had noticed earlier that Zhuo Rusui was injured and the front lapel of Zhao

Layue’s skirt was a bit wet.

Zhao Layue and Zhuo Rusui were the most formidable killers among the young

disciples of Green Mountain, and Jing Jiu, as the new sect master of Green Mountain,

showed up in person, meaning that many more swordsmen of the Green Mountain Sect

would be in and outside of Yizhou; the disciples of his sect had no chance of survival.

Looking at the corpse of Elder Hua Yin and thinking of those disciples who had died in

the hidden river and the end of the Mysterious Dark Sect, Su Ziye said sentimentally, “I,

in fact, have never thought of opposing Green Mountain.”

“Did you send Tong Yan to West Ocean?” demanded Zhuo Rusui.

Tong Yan went to the West Ocean, and the Fairy Book hidden in the Green Sky Mirror

triggered a heavenly punishment. Though the Immortal Taiping escaped punishment,

Liu Ci turned into the “spring rain” three years later.

Liu Ci was Zhuo Rusui’s Master.

“In this case,” Su Ziye said, “I should speculate that Tong Yan has been killed by you

people in secret.”

The fact that Tong Yan had left Cloud-Dream Mountain was tightly concealed by the

Center Sect. No one in the Cultivation circle knew about it.

Su Ziye had been communicating with Tong Yan in secret over the years. It was

inevitable that he would have such conjecture since he, all of a sudden, couldn’t contact

Tong Yan anymore.

“I’ll kill Tong Yan for sure,” said Zhuo Rusui. “But he hid at the Center Sect, so I can’t do

it for the time being.”

Seeing his expression, Su Ziye was certain that Zhuo Rusui was sincere, wondering

what had happened to Tong Yan.

“Don’t look at me like that,” said Zhuo Rusui. “He won’t have that much longer, not when

I want to kill him.”

After a moment of silence, Su Ziye turned to Jing Jiu and asked, “Why don’t you people

let us go?”

Jing Jiu replied, “Wiping you out is the only way to make sure your sect is not brought

back.”

This was something he and Liu Ci had discussed and agreed on; the Mysterious Dark

Sect must be eliminated completely.

Su Ziye asked, “How did you know I’m not Wang Xiaoming?”

“Because he’s dead,” said Jing Jiu.

The Scorching Sun George was destroyed that night when the sword light and the

broadsword light met on the Cold Mountain.

That young man who should be the main character in the story became a dead man

even though he protected himself with the Sun Banner.

The outcome was truly hard for many people to accept; but Jing Jiu had witnessed a

great many events of this sort on his long path of Cultivation.

The examples were Luo Huainan, Tong Lu, and many other geniuses in Cultivation

many years ago.

Wang Xiaoming didn’t get a second chance, nor would Su Ziye.

“Don’t do it again,” said Jing Jiu.

Su Ziye realized that Jing Jiu didn’t want to kill him; otherwise, he would be dead by

now. “Why do you let me live?” he asked.

“What is the Immortal Bai’s plan?” Jing Jiu asked.

Su Ziye laughed, his greenish face looking a bit eerie. “You should ask her directly,” he

returned.

Zhao Layue exclaimed, “Do you have a death wish?!”

“I was born from a demonic embryo and lived in the corpse of my dead mother and

became the source of my father’s demonic energy. I had made my father a paralyzed

person after trying all sorts of methods and had the control of the Mysterious Dark Sect.

Unfortunately, I encountered Wang Xiaoming later, a weirdo. Do you really think that I

have no idea who his behind-the-scenes master is? As for the promise given by the

Center Sect, do you think I have total trust in them? I was a lonely soul from moment I

was born, drifting here and there in this world. The only home I had was the Mysterious

Dark Sect, but it has been destroyed by your Green Mountain Sect; and I’m not allowed

to rebuild it. If I’m going to drift forever, what is the meaning of my life then?”

Speaking of sufferings, fewer in the world could match Su Ziye.

Yet, his expression was very calm when Su Ziye made the speech, indicating that he

was determined to die that day.

The reason for sparing Su Ziye’s life was because Jing Jiu wanted to make use of him.

However, the Lone Sword was in Liu Shisui’s hands right now, so Jing Jiu couldn’t

control Su Ziye like he did to Xiao He.

Moreover, Su Ziye had already expressed how he felt; how could Jing Jiu control him?

Jing Jiu said, “The Mysterious Dark Sect was merely your first nest. It’s not a big deal to

find it destroyed, because you can build a new home.”

Su Ziye understood what Jing Jiu intended to convey. “Could you accept if someone

asks you to leave Green Mountain?” he demanded while staring into Jing Jiu’s eyes.

“Yes,” said Jing Jiu.

Hearing this answer, Zhao Layue’s eyes grew dimmer; it was unclear what she was

thinking at the moment.

After a moment of silence, Su Ziye said, “It’s not a simple thing, finding a new sect.”

Zhuo Rusui said, “It would be simple if you had support. We can provide you more than

what the Center Sect has promised you, like the spiritual source owned by the Kunlun

Sect.”

“Can you give me what the Immortal Bai promised?” he pressed uncertainly.

“I’m the sect master of Green Mountain; is she a sect master?” Jing Jiu returned. “And I

can help you get rid of the effects of the Poison Pill.”

Upon hearing this, Su Ziye had finally felt a bit convinced.

The Poison Pill was a magic pill he had to take daily, and it came from a devil crane

found on the South Islands.

The red crown on the devil crane’s head contained a strong poison, which could help

the Cultivation practitioners stabilize their spiritual soul.

The methods employed by the deviant practitioners were problematic, causing

excruciating pains easily and lead senselessness. The evildoings they engaged in were

often the results of this senselessness caused by their problematic Cultivation methods;

as such, the deviant practitioners were said to “kill the innocent indiscriminately”. To

make sure they would maintain a sensible mind, the Poison Pill was the inevitable

choice. However, the addiction and the subsequent pain after taking the Poison Pill

were as dreadful as those deviant practices. Once one was used to taking the pill, they

couldn’t shake off the habit. As the deviant practitioners improved their Cultivation

states, a larger amount of the Poison Pills was needed, and more poison would

accumulate in their bodies. As a result, their bodies would grow weaker until the day

they died. Only if they could break through the demonic wheel before their death would

they be able to become the truly powerful demonic super-swordsman like the Great

Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect.

The reason Su Ziye asked for his death was due the hopeless pain caused by the

Poison Pill, in addition to his despair.

“Nobody can get rid of the effect of the Poison Pill,” he claimed while staring at Jing Jiu.

Jing Jiu said, “There is nothing that I can’t do in this world.”

Though Su Ziye didn’t believe what he said, he had a sliver of hope as he thought of

how Jing Jiu was the sect master of Green Mountain. “What do you want me to do for

you then?” he asked.

It was a great favor whether it was getting rid of the effect of the Poison Pill or helping

him found a new sect; he was not worthy of the effort of the Green Mountain Sect no

matter how talented he was and how promising his Cultivation potential was, if they

didn’t expect something else from him.

Jing Jiu said, “You must find a way to inform me if the Young Mysterious Dark Master

contacts you.”

By now, Su Ziye realized that the Green Mountain Sect wanted to use him as a means

to eventually vanquish the Immortal Taiping and the Great Grandmaster. “I don’t think

they will trust me anymore,” he said, shaking his head.

“You have deceived the West Ocean for so long; I believe you can do the same with

them,” said Jing Jiu.

…

…

The three of them leapt up on the swords, breaking through the clouds and landing on

the sword boat.

Zhao Layue felt a bit regretful about the fact that they came and left in such a hurry that

they didn’t have a chance to eat the hotpot in Yizhou.

Zhuo Rusui had the similar regret. Smelling the jasmine tea on his sleeve, he turned to

Gu Qing, wondering if he should ask Gu Qing to boil another pot of tea.

Gu Qing ignored him as he walked past Zhuo Rusui and came before the bamboo chair,

asking, “Master, will Su Ziye accept the request?”

“He is a lonely soul, and willing to grab any grass to avoid drowning. And Green

Mountain is the strongest grass; there’s no way he was not to going to give it a try.”

Having said that, Jing Jiu turned toward a corner of the sword boat, where there was a

box covered with an oily cloth.

Nobody knew what was inside the box besides Jing Jiu himself. Even the disciples of

Shiyue Peak responsible for driving the sword boat had no idea what was in the box.

Su Ziye called himself the “lonely soul”; it was also Tong Yan’s judgment. Tong Yan’s

analysis and plan had played an important role in this campaign of wiping out the

remaining members of the Mysterious Dark Sect. He had cooperated with Su Ziye in

secret for many years, and knew his action style and habits very well.

Jing Jiu intended to cut off the extended “hand” of the Center Sect. The turmoil at the

Hanging-Bell Sect was merely a test, but it was the real action this time.

The trip to Yizhou was the Go piece Jing Jiu placed on the Go board.

The meeting at the Fruit Formation Temple in autumn was a more important event.

The allocations of the resources for Cultivation in Chaotian would be decided at the

meeting.

The political situation was a bit tense in Zhaoge City. The officials of the imperial court

who had the background of the Center Sect didn’t dare say anything to the Emperor, but

they attacked the chief commander of the Pure Heaven Bureau, Zhang Yiai, with one

after another accusations. The officials of the Overwatch Council and the Supreme

Court acted like they had gone mad. It was unclear how long Zhang Yiai, an important

figure in the imperial court, who had betrayed Cloud-Dream Mountain, could sustain.

It was summer, and there were many days before the meeting of the Fruit Formation

Temple. The sword boat went to the East Ocean ahead of the schedule.

Jing Jiu left with Zhao Layue, and everybody else remained on the sword boat. Gu Qing

noticed that the large box covered with an oily cloth was gone, but he said nothing

about it.

The sun had set behind the boat, and the ground grew dark. The East Ocean looked as

inky as the Python Pond at the One-Cottage House.

There was not even a sliver of light in the abyss inside the Heavenly Well.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue were still wearing the conical hats even though there was no

sunlight. It was probably that because didn’t wish to be seen by others.

Jing Jiu walked to the edge of the cliff, and turned his palm upside down, Cold Cicada

that was as white as a jade appearing on his palm.

Cold Cicada sensed his spiritual awareness, and turned over as quickly as possible. Its

limbs rubbed against each other at a high speed, releasing those invisible mosquitoes.

The line of Zhao Layue’s sight trained toward the bottom of the Heavenly Well. Though

she couldn’t see those mosquitoes, she knew where they were headed.

Jing Jiu pulled the oily cloth aside and opened the box. He said to Tong Yan who was

sitting inside the box, “Get ready.”

Nobody knew that he had brought Tong Yan out from the hermit peaks.

Tong Yan opened his eyes and demanded, “Are you sure it’s workable?”

Jing Jiu said, “You have selected the meeting place yourself. There are about thirty

days before the scheduled meeting date. It’s not a difficult task as long as the

Underworld Master is willing to cooperate.”

“What if the Underworld Master didn’t want to cooperate with you and killed me?” Tong

Yan protested.

“I wish you a good luck,” said Jing Jiu.

It was hard for this sort of conversation to continue.

They remained silent for the rest of the night.

In the early morning before the sun crested the horizon, Cold Cicada suddenly twitched

a few times.

Jing Jiu knew that the mosquitoes had returned.

Coming back with the mosquitoes was an ugly mountain monster made of rocks and

plants.

Tong Yan was aware that this mountain monster was the rumored Commissioner of

Ghosts, who was capable of withstanding the amulet scripts around the Heavenly Well;

and it was rumored that he also preferred eating human flesh.

With the decline of the Underworld, the Commissioner of Ghosts hadn’t appeared

around the Heavenly Well for a great many years.

The Commissioner of Ghosts was waiting for him at the underground, hundreds of feet

deep, his eyes emitting a gloomy glow.

Tong Yan realized again that joining Green Mountain was a foolish choice.

“Be careful during your journey,” said Zhao Layue.

Tong Yan jumped down the Heavenly Well after a sigh. He landed on the back of the

Commissioner of Ghosts like a leaf after he employed the Escape Method of Heaven

and Earth.

It was by now that Zhao Layue found that though the Commissioner of Ghost looked

ordinary, his body was actually very large. Tong Yan on his palm looked like a real leaf,

as if he would be crumpled into pieces at any moment.

The Commissioner of Ghosts climbed down backwards slowly, disappearing gradually

into the cold, gloomy and dreadful abyss.

Tong Yan had gone to the Underworld.