The Path Toward Heaven

Chapter 631: The Returned Disciples

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Yuan Qü didn’t say a word when he came to the Scenery Garden. He let Tong Yan and Zhuo Rusui exchange banter while eating meats silently. When he heard what Zhuo Rusui said he couldn’t help but remark in a mocking tone, “But the issue is what we’ll do about it.”

“Do it. Yeah, it means that we will do it somehow,” snapped Zhuo Rusui. He grew angrier as he thought that he could only be ranked third after cultivating diligently for almost one hundred years and having reached the upper limit of the Broken Sea State. And he would soon face a Senior Master who was in the middle state of the Heavenly Arrival State in combat. He believed that he was truly unlucky.

“If that guy were awake, we wouldn’t have such a problem,” he said angrily while waving his left hand. “Now Lian Sanyue is dead, and that man is still breathing. However, he is no different than being dead. Look, the affectionate Cultivation couples always have a bad ending; so you shouldn’t go and play with Yushan anymore, because you will end up dead.”

Yuan Qü retorted, “What the heck are you talking about? Besides, I’m not afraid of death. You should ascend right now if you think you’re so talented.”

Tong Yan said suddenly, “Gu Qing and Zhen Tao of the Water-Moon Nunnery will become Cultivation partners next spring.”

Zhuo Rusui was taken aback. Then he uttered a few tsks with a complicated emotion before saying, “I didn’t expect him to play such an underhanded game since he doesn’t know how to play chess.”

Tong Yan had no intention of explaining what he had in mind, so he said straightforwardly, “We plan to back Zhao Layue for sect master.”

Zhuo Rusui was taken aback again. He intended to object to the suggestion reflexively, but he suddenly realized that Tianguang Peak couldn’t back anyone more suitable for the position. Even though he had a very high Cultivation state, his generation status was much lower than hers.

“Let me think it through. I learned some methods of forcing the sword wills into the body from her back when we ate hotpot on Shenmo Peak. Can I be counted as her personal disciple?”

Zhuo Rusui scooped the pig brain with a spoon and put it in his bowl, and said with his head lowered, “If she agrees to count me as her personal disciple, I’ll back her as the new sect master.”

As the sole disciple of Zhao Layue, Yuan Qü felt threatened. He remarked irately, “Who has just said that someone played the underhanded game?!”

…

…

It was windless and wave free on the Eastern Ocean.

The curtains on the small green curtain sedan had no ripples on them.

By the gloomy and bottomless Heavenly Well, the yellowish amulet paper slips gave off powerful energies, and occasionally emitted some glows. Those aged amulet paper slips hanging on the cliff walls had lost their effects a long time ago, making rustling noise without the aid of the wind; they looked like the underworld money, a bad omen.

A huge shadow was crawling up slowly from the bottom of the cliff, exuding a filthy and horrific energy at the same time.

Protected by the amulet scripts provided by the Fruit Formation and the Water-Moon Nunnery, even the mountain ghosts couldn’t get close to the opening of the Heavenly Well. The shadow had to stop short when it was fifty feet away from the mouth of the well.

The faint argument could be heard somewhere, followed by the sudden rise of wind. The yellowish amulet paper slips didn’t make any response as two figures appeared atop the cliff.

“As I said, my speed is absolutely fast enough; why don’t you believe me?” said Ping Yongjia with a red face, his face as he thought that his talent in sword work was hugely disrespected.

Sitting on Ping Yongjia’s shoulder, the Drifter humphed before saying, “I’m the Underworld Emperor, so I’m not supposed to trust anyone in the first place.”

“You get off me first,” said Ping Yongjia.

The Drifter said, “I’m not that heavy.”

Ping Yongjia said, “But you’re not a little girl anymore; you’re someone who is more than one hundred years old. Why do you still like sitting on others’ shoulders?”

“The spirit of the Green Sky Mirror is tens of thousands of years old, but she still likes sitting on my Teacher’s shoulder,” the Drifter protested.

The two of them had calmed down gradually after arguing a little more.

The Drifter glided to the high sky and looked down at the green fields on the other side of the cliff. A beam suddenly showed on her face, and she said uneasily, “It’s already summer. Have we come back late?”

Ping Yongjia was startled to hear this. He leapt up along with several sword lights and looked around. Then, he felt relieved, and chastised, “You’re so stupid! This place is in the south. Though the woods look lush, it’s still the early spring; we’ve come back just in time.”

The Drifter snapped, “There is no change of seasons in the Underworld, so how can I make out the seasons? Besides, this emperor has been busy with state affairs day in and day out, so I have no need to worry about such a trivial matter.”

As she said “this emperor”, the black band of her hair on her forehead was tousled with the breeze and her dress bellowed slightly as well; she displayed an elegant and awe-inspiring aura befitting an emperor.

Ping Yongjia didn’t care about whether she looked like an emperor or not. “You should get on the throne first before you call yourself ’emperor’,” he remarked in a mocking tone.

The Drifter couldn’t stand such a remark in the least, so she protested, “How can you blame me for it?! Teacher fell down so fast. He didn’t even have time to leave us a Will. At least he should have divided his property among us. Where is my share?”

Over the last few decades, Ping Yongjia and the Drifter had been in the Underworld. The Drifter didn’t obtain the Seal of the Underworld Emperor, so she had no way to officially become the Underworld Emperor. However, with the help of the Underworld Master, she had gained the acceptance of a majority of the inhabitants in the Underworld. She had been engaged in a struggle with the camp of the Grand Priest for the position of the Underworld Emperor.

The Green Mountain Sect, whether it was the branch belonging to Jing Yang or the branch of the Immortal Taiping, would all support her, to say nothing of Tong Yan, who was an outstanding advisor and was quite familiar with the Underworld. Without getting out of the hermit peaks, Tong Yan could manipulate the situation in the Underworld in the distance. Though the camp of the Grand Priest had the backing of the Center Sect, they were still not a match for the camp of the Drifter, and were beaten back over the years.

It seemed that the camp of the Drifter and the Underworld Master would be able to resolve the revolt of the Grand Priest and his camp and become the ruler of the Underworld within a decade or so; but she was called back to the human world. There was nothing she could do about it…It was because the Green Mountain Sect was her most important resource and the Seal of the Underworld Emperor was something she needed the most. As such, the position of the sect master of Green Mountain would also affect the position of the Underworld Emperor.

More importantly, she craved for the hotpot in the Scenery Garden.

…

…

Ping Yongjia and the Drifter entered the small green curtain sedan. The two of them eyed each other once, humphed once, and sat on opposite ends of the seat in the sedan, looking at the blurry sceneries because they moved backwards too fast, feeling drowsy.

By the time the two of them woke up, they were already sitting close together. When they opened their eyes, they eyed each other once and humphed once before they turned to look at the sceneries outside the window.

The Drifter suddenly cried in surprise, “What is going on?”

The small green curtain sedan stopped in a quiet alley. They could see vaguely the dark eaves of Taichang Temple.

Didn’t Tong Yan tell them to go to the Scenery Garden and discuss about the matter regarding the position of the sect master?

Didn’t he say that the Drifter should use the Underworld as a cost when negotiating with Fang Jingtian?

But, why did the small green curtain sedan bring them to Zhaoge City?

Feeling bewildered, Ping Yongjia pulled up the curtain and looked out; he suddenly heard the Drifter’s crying.

“Why do the people of the Green Mountain Sect always do such a thing? Why are you people so treacherous? You people did it once seven hundred years ago, and you’re going to do it again. You’re such a heartless person and lied to me!”

The Drifter curled up in a corner, her face full of tears, trembling violently. She seemed to be immensely frightened.

Ping Yongjia understood why she behaved this way after the initial bewilderment. What she mentioned was the event in which the former Underworld Emperor was imprisoned by the human Cultivation practitioners who suddenly changed their minds when he and the Immortal Taiping were traveling the human world. “Impossible! No way! Not even thinkable!” Ping Yongjia consoled her hurriedly.

The Drifter didn’t believe him in the least, and said while still crying, “Can you people let me go? I don’t want the Seal of the Underworld Emperor anymore. I…expel myself from Green Mountain! I’m not the Underworld Emperor yet; I’m not useful.”

Ping Yongjia was quite troubled by her crying, so he used his sleeve to wipe the tears off her face, saying, “It’s a misunderstanding! That’s all it is! Look, there is no fairy book, and none of the people of the Center Sect are here. Besides, considering our relationship, how could I harm you…”

Comforted by Ping Yongjia for a long while, the Drifter had gradually calmed down. She found that it was indeed very peaceful outside the small green curtain sedan, with no commotion detected. She glanced at his wet sleeve in disdain, and remarked, “Though we don’t have much water in the Underworld, you should have washed yourself once in a while.”

Ping Yongjia sighed, “The people of Shenmo Peak have never taken a bath, but I’ve washed myself twice a day. How can I smell badly?”

The Drifter returned, “I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about your cloth.”

Ping Yongjia couldn’t give a response, so he pulled up the curtain and got off the sedan.

The Drifter walked out of the sedan nervously. The small green curtain sedan flew up into the sky, heading back to the Water-Moon Nunnery.

Everything seemed to be normal in Zhaoge City. Nobody could be found in the alley, but there were many pedestrians outside the alley.

The Drifter walked among the crowd with her head lowered, her face covered with her long black hair, her hand gripped by Ping Yongjia.

Seeing the look on her face, Ping Yongjia couldn’t help but laugh out, saying, “Since it’s safe for us, there is no need to behave like a devil.”

“I’m a devil to begin with,” the Drifter retorted angrily.

…

…

It turned out that no scheme had been plotted against them. Ping Yongjia and the Drifter walked toward Taichang Temple. Soon, they arrived at the Jing House without encountering any trouble.

Before they could knock on the door of the Jing House, it opened. “Good to see you two,” Gu Qing said with a small smile.

Ping Yongjia and the Drifter hadn’t seen him in decades, so they were glad to see him. They bowed to him hastily.

“Let’s go see our Master first,” said Gu Qing.

Ping Yongjia followed Gu Qing into the courtyard, but he couldn’t help but protest after walking a dozen steps, “Big Brother, I don’t think what you’ve just said is appropriate.”

The Drifter couldn’t help but laugh out aloud.

Gu Qing understood what he meant after pausing for a moment. He touched Ping Yongjia’s head with his hand, smiling but saying nothing.

The arrangements in the study room were the same as decades ago. And Jing Jiu, who was unconscious on the bed, looked the same as he did decades prior. His eyes and brows were still perfect, looking like he was as lively as if he were alive.

While thinking of all this, Ping Yongjia suddenly found that ‘as lively as he were alive’ was not a good description; so he turned around and spat to the ground to negate the thought of his.

“When will you wake up?”

The Drifter felt sad when she looked at Jing Jiu on the bed. Her sadness was due to a myriad of reasons.

Ping Yongjia asked Gu Qing, “Big Brother, why did you ask the Water-Moon Nunnery to bring us to Zhaoge City? As I remember, Tong Yan told us to come to the Scenery Garden and discuss the matter regarding the Green Mountain Meeting.”

“I have some issues here, so I can’t go back to Green Mountain.”

After a pause, Gu Qing continued, “I didn’t want to brother you two, but I don’t think I can deal with the matter without your help.”