The Path Toward Heaven

The camp on Green Mountain that thought Jing Jiu was the All in One Sword far outnumbered the camp that believed Jing Jiu was the Immortal Jing Yang in number.

The disciples of Liangwang Peak had made up their minds as well.

Guo Nanshan thought Jing Jiu was that devil sword, but what if he was Grandmaster Jing Yang? Now that Jing Jiu was the current peak master of Tianguang, it would be indiscreet if nobody from Tianguang Peak had gone with Jing Jiu. Since all the people on Shenmo Peak had gone with him, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Zhuo Rusui to go with them; at least there would be a chance to mend the relationship if necessary in the future.

He reminded Zhuo Rusui in a low voice, “Don’t let too many people see you go with them.”

Zhuo Rusui uttered “hmm”.

…

…

Besides the Drifter who had been frozen into a blue gemstone, there was another person on the top of Tianguang Peak who was rather noticeable at the moment.

The people on Shenmo Peak were far less than the monkeys in number. Zhao Layue and Yuan Qü had left with Jing Jiu, and Ping Yongjia was still on the Sword Peak; Gu Qing was the only one who stayed behind.

For some reason, he hadn’t left Green Mountain yet.

An elder of Xilai Peak asked him with an emotionless expression, “Why are you still here?”

Gu Qing replied amicably, “Someone has to take care of Shenmo Peak, and I can also communicate with the Sect Master immediately if an urgent matter needs his attention.”

Hearing this, the crowd thought what Gu Qing said was ridiculous. Since Jing Jiu had left Green Mountain and lost the protection of the mountain gate, he might be assassinated by someone someday. Perhaps he would never be able to return to Green Mountain for the rest of his life. Though Jing Jiu claimed he was still the sect master of Green Mountain, who would in their right mind believe he was actually considered by others as the sect master of Green Mountain from now on?

Yet, Gu Qing didn’t think it was ridiculous.

Though Jing Jiu had left, someone had to guard Shenmo Peak and Green Mountain.

Zhao Layue had taken a look at him before her departure, meaning that she had such an intention.

This was the wordless cooperation between them.

Back when Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue traveled the world, it was Gu Qing who guarded Shenmo Peak. He wasn’t even a disciple of the peak but a tenant at the time.

“It’s truly ridiculous!”

The cold voice of He Wei came down from the sky.

“You’re the personal disciple of that sword devil; you don’t have the qualification to stay on Green Mountain!”

When did the matter of Green Mountain become the business of the Kunlun Sect?

Guo Nanshan and the disciples of Liangwang Peak stared at him with the eyes as sharp as swords; they didn’t care whether this person was the sect master of the Kunlun or not.

Fang Jingtian had even raised his eyebrows.

Gu Qing let out a smile, paying no mind to He Wei.

He was well aware of what he would withstand if he chose to stay on Green Mountain; he had already prepared to go through many hardships for a few decades.

It was then that Zhuo Rusui came to his side and said, “Let’s go together. It’s meaningless to stay here as a lone official.”

After a moment of silence, Gu Qing said, “What you said is sensible. I’m mostly a Cultivation practitioner.”

Zhuo Rusui said in a mocking tone, “You’re so fast to accept my advice. You should have told them if you wanted to go with them. There is no point in staging such a show here.”

Gu Qing thought inwardly that he didn’t dare tell Senior Master Layue all this. “I don’t have a sword again,” he said.

Zhuo Rusui called out the Swallowing Boat Sword before saying, “This is the second time you ride on my sword.”

“Then you spit out all of those muttons, beef, tripe, green onions and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth you had taken with us.”

Jing Jiu went to the northernmost part of the icy sea to pursue the Immortal Taiping four years ago, and they were asked to go back to Green Mountain first. Gu Qing didn’t have a sword at the time, and he had to cramp on the Swallowing Boat Sword with Zhuo Rusui all the way home.

The Swallowing Boat Sword was like a preserved fish and rather narrow. But they had arranged their respective seats properly during their journey of tens of thousands of miles.

Looking at the gray flying sword that was heading toward the outside of Green Mountain at a slow pace, the elders and disciples of Green Mountain were all dumfounded.

It was evident that the gray flying sword was on its way to catching up to Jing Jiu and his group.

Zhuo Rusui was the most favorite personal disciple of the Immortal Liu Ci, but did he intend to leave as well?

Guo Nanshan let out a bitter smile, speechless, wondering why he forgot to avoid being seen by too many people when he was departing.

…

…

The departure of Zhuo Rusui was like a flame being thrown into an oil container.

Yao Songshan and Lei Yijing had walked out from the crowd almost at the same time. They came before Yuan Qijing and knelt down, requesting to leave Green Mountain.

Next, more and more young disciples, numbered dozens, expressed the same desire.

Young Sister Yushan opened her eyes wide, wondering if she could do the same; but she stole a glance at her Master, Chi Yan, reflexively.

Chi Yan was well aware of her relationship with Shenmo Peak, and knew clearly what was on her mind. “Go back to the peak and copy the Script of Prisoners’ Confessions…twice!” he said sternly to her.

Young Sister Yushan acknowledged it indignantly, and retreated to the crowd obediently.

Those young disciples of Green Mountain didn’t receive the same treatment as Zhuo Rusui.

“What are you doing? Stop making a fuss!”

Yuan Qijing reprimanded them coldly and commanded the masters of various peaks to take these young disciples back to their respective peaks.

…

…

Jing Jiu had left Green Mountain.

He left with the Inherited Heaven Sword, the Seal of Underworld Emperor, Zhao Layue, Yuan Qü, Gu Qing, Zhuo Rusui and the aspirations of many young disciples.

Though only a few young people had left Green Mountain with him, they were however the future of Green Mountain.

Later, the representatives of the Great Marsh, the Hanging-Bell Sect and other sects had left as well, bringing away many sentiments with them.

No matter whether that young sect master of Green Mountain was the reborn Jing Yang or the devil of the All in One Sword, he was nonetheless the person of highest status on Green Mountain.

Would his departure be the occasion of the separation of two camps on Green Mountain, or even…the separation of the sect?

Of course, this result depended on the fact that he would live on and do so for many years.

…

…

The small green curtain sedan flew to the outside of Green Mountain, followed by the pair of master and disciple.

Yuan Qijing was aware of what Jing Jiu had done, so he wouldn’t blame the Water-Moon Nunnery for bringing the Drifter to Green Mountain.

The Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery hadn’t spoken a word that day. As they left Green Mountain, she suddenly said to Zhen Tao, “You should go there and have a look when you have the time.”

Though Zhen Tao knew where her Master wanted her to go, she didn’t quite understand why; and yet she nodded bafflingly nevertheless.

…

…

The Cloud Boat of the Center Sect was the last to leave Green Mountain.

Before the departure, the Immortal Bai said to Yuan Qijing bluntly, “Now everybody knows it was him who came out from the Fiend Prison. So Cloud-Dream Mountain can’t pretend that we don’t know anything, and we have to do something for the Old Dragon. Now that he has left Green Mountain, we’ll find a way to kill him; it’s because he…is a devil.”

Yuan Qijing didn’t give a response.

The Cloud Boat traveled north under the sunlight. As it entered the territory of Yu County, Xiang Wanshu came before the Immortal Bai and knelt down, saying nervously, “Big Sister is missing.”

The reaction of the Immortal Bai was rather odd.

It was because she appeared quite calm after hearing the news.

…

…

After returning to Sh angde Peak, Yuan Qijing came to the bottom of the well and tossed that blue ice cube to a corner of the well.

The blue ice cube bumped into the stony wall and settled down after bouncing a few times, giving off a sound as crisp as that of a golden stone; it could be easily imagined how hard and cold the ice cube was.

Frozen inside the ice cube, the Drifter looked quite miserable, but his eyes still had a bright color to them, so his life wouldn’t be in danger.

There was a cold source at the bottom of Shangde Peak; the blue ice cube wouldn’t ever melt if it was stored here.

It was unclear how long he would be frozen in the ice cube.

“Let him live. He might be demanded by someone later,” Yuan Qijing told the Dead Dog.

The expression in the Dead Dog’s eyes was still mild and nonchalant, but his calm eyes seemed to express many intentions.

He had no interest in this little member of the royal family of the Underworld; but he was quite interested in whether Jing Jiu was a human or a sword.

“I don’t know,” said Yuan Qijing. But he added after a pause, “Maybe he doesn’t even know himself.”

He hated his Master the most, but he had to admit that the last statement the Immortal Taiping said through the Drifter was probably right.

The Dead Dog lifted up his head slowly, and looked up at the sunlight above.

“Even if he were the All in One, I still regard him as the second Young Senior Master since he has inherited the spiritual soul and memories of Young Senior Master, as long as he didn’t kill Young Senior Master.”

Yuan Qijing continued, “It’s better than calling him the great grandmaster.”

The Dead Dog pulled back his gaze and looked at Yuan Qijing quietly, indicating that he agreed.

A Principal Guard who had lived on Green Mountain for a great many years suddenly found that there was a divine being that had lived much longer and had a much higher status, which was indeed rather weird.

Yuan Qijing sighed before remarking, “No matter whether he is Young Senior Master or the All in One, he has left nonetheless.”

The Dead Dog expressed his regret through his wavering eyes.

If he hadn’t been purposefully ignorant, Fang Jingtian would have had no chance of bringing the Immortal Tai Lu out of the Sword Jail.

“It’s been quite a few years, but he hasn’t asked me to hand over the Great Formation of Green Mountain. And he didn’t ask us to do anything this time, and used the event as an excuse to leave Green Mountain…I think he feels tired of all this.”

After remaining silent for a while, Guan Qijing suddenly let out a sneer, “No, I believe he has become lazy again.”

…

…

The gray Swallowing Boat Sword flew to the outside of Green Mountain at a leisurely pace, but it didn’t take long for it to catch up to the Sword of the Universe since the Sword of the Universe flew even more slowly.

Yuan Qü spun his head around and found it was Zhuo Rusui who caught up to them. He didn’t feel so surprised to see Zhuo Rusui, saying, “You’ve come.”

Then he saw Gu Qing behind Zhuo Rusui, feeling surprised this time. “Aren’t you going to take care of our home?” he asked Gu Qing.

Zhao Layue also felt puzzled, shooting Gu Qing a glance.

Gu Qing uttered “hmm” before saying, “Shenmo Peak should be safe since it has been sealed off. I think it’s more important for me to take care of my Master.”

Jing Jiu didn’t turn around as he sat at the head of the Sword of the Universe, as if to sit on the back of a buffalo. “That’s right. There is nothing in the world that can’t be let go,” he said.

Hearing this statement that obviously had double meanings, Zhuo Rusui thought that Jing Jiu had let Gu Qing take care of all the affairs for him and Gu Qing wouldn’t dare to let go of everything.

As they talked, the three swords and five people had flown past the Sword-Washing Stream in the sky. And they passed the Great Formation of Green Mountain easily with the command board.

They had reached a real world, but it seemed to be unreal at the same time. It was because the weather here was too good to be true.

The sky was really blue, and the sun was quite bright, making them feel warm and comfortable when the sunlight shone on their faces. It didn’t feel like winter.

Looking at the reddish sun with squinted eyes and thinking of the unknown future after leaving Green Mountain, Zhuo Rusui didn’t feel dejected; rather, he felt excited and enthusiastic.

Back when he looked at the Cloud Boat competing with the brightness of the setting sun at the Fruit Formation Temple, Zhuo Rusui thought it was not a big deal to wage a war against the Center Sect.

Looking at the distance, he commented sentimentally, “There is nothing to be scared of even if we go to the end of the world!”

Gu Qing said after shooting him a glance, “We’re there.”

…

…

The sword lights illuminated Cloudy Town.

Jing Jiu and his group entered that restaurant.

Zhuo Rusui didn’t understand what Gu Qing meant by saying that, as he thought this was indeed the tradition of Shenmo Peak, eating the hotpot before doing anything significant.

The red soup and the white soup had started boiling one after the other, and various ingredients had been thrown into the soups. The group were either eating the hotpot quietly or looking at the hotpot blankly; nobody spoke. The atmosphere was rather depressing.

Zhuo Rusui thought he should find out where they were headed first.

After he had eaten seven plates of delicious and tender mutton, he had made several plans for selection.

Since they were expelled from Green Mountain, they should go to a farther place; but where could they find a safe place?

By now the Cultivation circle had ascertained that Jing Jiu was a sword devil with a few precious magic treasures, and he was a treasure of the heavenly state himself.

Even though the Cultivation sects wouldn’t dare do anything to him because of the attitudes of the Young Zen Master and the Royal Palace, but those devil men of the deviant sects and the Center Sect wouldn’t care about it.

The best choice was the Alien Land; but it was too far away, and the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean might be there. If the two sides met, it would be indeed a “fortunate” encounter.

White Town was a pretty good place also, which had the support of the Young Zen Master, and the attitude of the Broadsword King was well known; so it was quite safe there. However, the place was too cold and had a thin spiritual energy there. Worst of all, the place was too close to the snowland. It would always be troublesome if the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom moved down south or the monster invasion occurred again.

It was better to go to the Fruit Formation Temple then. He hadn’t held that stone pagoda for quite few years.

Zhuo Rusui told others of his thoughts.

Gu Qing shot him a look, thinking that he had already told him.

Zhao Layue said, “We are going nowhere; we are staying here.”

Zhuo Rusui had finally understood what they meant. He couldn’t make a sound while opening his mouth, as if he was ready to eat another seven plates of fresh mutton.

…

…

There was a small mountain on the outskirts of Cloudy Town, where some residential houses had been scattered here and there and there had been some crop fields.

These residential houses and the crop fields were bought by a mysterious buyer four years ago. And a large manor house was built unnoticeably after having made many changes to those houses.

The manor house was insulated by the formations when it was built in the very beginning, and it was shrouded in the fog all year long; so few people knew its existence.

As the sword lights illuminated the front of the mountain, the clouds and fog dispersed, exposing the true nature of the manor house.

There was a small stream inside the manor house, the flowering trees lining by the banks of the stream. The fog and mist moved with the stream water, and the buildings were intermittently visible, resembling the fairy realm.

Seeing all this, Zhuo Rusui opened his eyes wide, devoid of his usual drowsiness. “Did you plan to leave…four years ago?” he asked in shock.

Jing Jiu uttered “hmm”.

The people on Shenmo Peak had all known his intention; at least they had guessed what his intention was.

He asked the Gu Clan to build this manor house four years ago, and informed Yuan Qijing of hosting the Grand Ceremony of inaugurating the sect master in four years. It was apparent that he had been prepared to leave Green Mountain ahead of time.

Zhuo Rusui, however, couldn’t understand the logic. He thought that Jing Jiu was nevertheless expelled from Green Mountain even though he had been proactive to arrange everything in advance.

Didn’t he feel mortified to stay in the nearby Cloudy Town after having left Green Mountain?

A homeless dog hanging around in the nearby alleys was an awful scene.

Yet, Jing Jiu didn’t think it was a humiliating thing to do. It was the safest place since Cloudy Town was close to Green Mountain.

Zhuo Rusui thought the Fruit Formation Temple and the Young Zen Master could protect him, but Jing Jiu trusted Green Mountain the most.

Though most of the elders and disciples of Green Mountain thought he was the sword devil who had killed Jing Yang, Yuan Qijing wouldn’t allow Green Mountain to attack Jing Jiu as long as he was still alive.

It was then that they suddenly sensed a hazard approaching.

The Thoughtless Sword flew out soundlessly, drawing a straight red line in front of them.

The other end of the red line was the front gate of the manor house.

There was a young woman standing in front of the gate.

The young woman’s short skirt was tousling, making the silvery bells on her ring out gently. Though she was expressionless, she was still found to be amicable and attractive; but her eyes staring at Jing Jiu were rather fierce.

She was Nan Wang. It seemed that it was hard for her to forget the affection.