The Path Toward Heaven

For the scholars of the One-Cottage House, becoming a Saint was more important that being a swordsman in the Heavenly Arrival State at the Green Mountain Sect and in the Dachen State at the Center Sect. Heaven and Earth had already shown all sorts of signs.

The strong wind was one of the signs. And the fact that the lotus flowers bloomed in the early spring ahead of time that year was another sign.

Xiao He picked a lotus leaf and squeezed out some juice after mixing it with the lotus flowers. She had finally cooked a pot of delicious rice with lotus leaf after having kept herself busy the whole night. She brought the rice with lotus leaf to Liu Shisui contentedly.

Because of the massacre in the small village, Liu Shisui had been in a very bad mood in the last few days. She didn’t know how to console him; all she could do was cook delicious meals for him.

Fortunately, unlike Jing Jiu, Liu Shisui was interested in eating food, so she didn’t do it for nothing.

Watching Liu Shisui eat the meal to his heart’s content, Xiao He felt rather satisfied. She cleared away the paper and ink on the table and walked to the window to examine how long the amulet paper slips could last.

The wind had been very strong, so they had to use the amulet paper slips to ward off the wind formation and to protect themselves.

However, the Inn she was managing hadn’t had much business lately. Regardless of how good a location Gu Qing selected for her, the business was disrupted by the effect of heaven and earth.

As she came before the window, she saw a few green glows on the mountain up ahead, and then a few Cultivation practitioners. “I didn’t expect the Center Sect to send people here,” she remarked with a slight change of expression.

Liu Shisui walked to the window and looked out through it. He fixed his gaze on a skinny and tall old man. Recalling the files he had remembered back on the Cloud Platform, he soon figured out his identity. “He is Ren Qianzhu,” said Liu Shisui. “He was in the upper limit of the Huashen State back then, but he has been progressing very quickly in the last one hundred years and has broken through three states in a row. Now he is in the upper state of the Lianxu.”

After finding he was a powerful swordsman in the upper state of the Lianxu, Xiao He said nervously, “In this case, he is a very important figure at the Center Sect.”

Liu Shisui said, “The Immortal Tan didn’t like him that much before. He has only recently gained some power at their sect only. After Yue Qianmen’s death, his status on Cloud-Dream Mountain has risen tremendously.”

More than one hundred years ago, Jing Jiu and Bu Qiuxiao had reached an agreement, which was that the One-Cottage House would not get involved in the matter regarding the position of the emperor; but in the eyes of the Center Sect, this was a breach of their alliance.

Since then, the relationship between the One-Cottage House and the Center Sect hadn’t been as close as before. Later, Bu Qiuxiao guarded Jing Jiu for ten years in Zhaoge City; and the two sides were on the verge of breaking up.

The Center Sect sent Ren Qianzhu to congratulate Bu Qiuxiao on his becoming a Saint, indicating that they intended to mend the relationship between the two sects.

The Green Mountain Sect had placed a great deal of pressure on the Center Sect. Jing Jiu had defeated Fang Jingtian decisively after he returned to Green Mountain, which had a minimal negative impact on Green Mountain.

Thinking of this, Liu Shisui felt a bit reassured, saying, “It’s meaningless no matter how hard the Center Sect tries; they are not a match for my Young Master in the end.”

Xiao He considered the immortals Tan and Bai the most powerful swordsmen in Chaotian…Well, she was accustomed to Liu Shisui trusting and admiring Jing Jiu blindly. “How would you compare yourself to Ren Qianzhu?” she asked while blinking her eyes.

“He is an elder of high status at the Center Sect; obviously I’m not his match,” said Liu Shisui. “But I have the Lone Sword and the Guard-City Pen. I believe I should be able to kill him.”

…

…

This place was the entrance to the Thousand-Mile Wind Corridor; but it was not guarded closely. The sceneries of mountains and rivers here were quite attractive; yet, the newly grown grass was pressed on the ground by the wind, looking rather pitiful. Perhaps, this place would have seen many visitors when the wind had not been as strong as it was now.

Ren Qianzhu waved his sleeve lightly to disperse the strong wind blowing in his face. Looking at the Inn and the shops with tightly shut doors, he was pondering something.

He walked past the Inn and then along the river; before long, he came to the edge of a lake.

Countless waves formed on the surface of the lake, rolling forward to the shore. They looked formidable, and the sound of the waves was heart-wrenching.

The willows by the lake swayed wildly in the wind. All the leaves on the trees were blown off; the barks of many willow branches were peeled off.

“The fame of the Thousand-Mile Wind Corridor is indeed warranted. It’s said that the wind in the deep part of it is even stronger. That and the dark energy coming up from the Underworld and the cold souls as fierce as the Chaotic Wind are very beneficial for cultivating. As such, the effect of strengthening the willpower here is almost the same as doing it on the Sword Peak of Green Mountain.”

Ren Qianzhu said to the disciples, “I’ve already sent a letter to the One-Cottage House. It’ll take some time to reach them. You people can cultivate here on your own, and gain some comprehension of the nature.”

The disciples nodded and walked into the forest, and started meditating while sitting cross-legged.

Flutter!!! Flutter!!!

A red bird flew against the wind and landed on a branch of the willow tree. He lowered his head to comb his feathers with his beak.

Standing under the tree, Ren Qianzhu looked at the huge waves on the lake, as if he hadn’t noticed anything.

The red bird lifted his head and said in the human voice as his black eyeballs shifted slightly, “What is happening at the bottom of the Cold Mountain?”

Ren Q ianzhu still looked at the surface of the lake, but the expression on his face turned much more reverent. “The free-traveling practitioner we sent there had died inexplicably,” he replied. “The magic treasure created from the fish scale was destroyed as well. And it’s hard for us to pinpoint the location of the Fire Carp.”

“Even if we locate the Fire Carp, we still need to find a way to control him,” said the red bird. “Otherwise, it’s very difficult to bring down the barrier.”

Ren Qianzhu said gravely, “Ever since Que Qianmen’s death, the Immortal Bai has had more trust in me; but she is the only one who knows how to control the Fire Carp. The Immortal Tan doesn’t even know how. I don’t think she will tell me.”

“Forget it then.”

The red bird took off from the branch and flew with the wind. Soon, he became a dark speck in the distance and disappeared at the entrance to the Wind Corridor.

Ren Qianzhu still stood in the same spot, looking at the huge waves on the lake quietly. He pulled back his gaze a long time later.

It turned out that he was a member of the Old Ones.

It was understandable that the Immortal Taiping would learn the whereabouts of Yue Qianmen and kill him when he went to Zhaoge City to get the Retrieved Heaven Orb many years ago.

…

…

The small red bird flew to the entrance to the Thousand-Mile Wind Corridor and landed on the eave of the Inn.

The feathers on his body were ruffled by the strong wind. The bird with the feathers of dark and light red looked rather adorable.

The bird turned to look at the deep part of the Wind Corridor.

The One-Cottage House was situated there.

Bu Qiuxiao would become a Saint a few days later. The energy of heaven and earth here would experience a dramatic change before that happened. As long as he found a way to harm Bu Qiuxiao’s body and absorb his saintly energy, he would be able to dismantle the formation of the One-Cottage House guarding the passage leading to the Underworld and bring the strong wind to the Underworld.

The wind was the flowing air. It couldn’t harm anyone even if it was the Chaotic Wind with an extremely cold intent; so the Underworld wouldn’t be harmed by the wind in the least.

What he wanted to achieve was to use the wind for another purpose.

The strong wind could help light all the flames on the Underworld River.

What would happen when the fiercely burning flames on the Underworld River met the endless sea water of the East Ocean and the bloody fog in the Heavenly Formation?

He felt excited just by thinking of the scene.

Yet, he had to solve the issue of how to get close to Bu Qiuxiao.

If he followed Ren Qianzhu to the One-Cottage House, he should be able to successfully conceal himself from those scholars; but the problem was that Ren Qianzhu couldn’t even get close to Bu Qiuxiao himself.

Thinking of all this, the small red bird paced anxiously on the eaves, making “pah” sounds on the roof.

…

…

Pah!!! Pah!!! Pah!!!

Xiao He craned her neck to look at the roof of the house, commenting, “We’ve never had such strong a wind. The stones are being hurled up. Listen, they are hitting the roof.”

“Yeah, the wind is really strong.”

Liu Shisui said this while holding the Guard-City Pen in his right hand and the Lone Sword in his slightly trembling left hand, staring at the paper on the table.

Xiao He had no idea what was going on. She shot a curious glance at him.

Liu Shisui remained silent for a long time while maintaining this posture. In the end, he opted to put down the pen and the sword.

On the paper was an ancient prose he copied, “The righteous energy fills heaven and earth, and the scholars are unique.”

Yet, what he was thinking of at the moment was the verse, “Wishing to be a loner”.

If he were a loner, he would never consider putting down the Guard-City Pen and the Lone Sword. Even if he would die in the fight, he could at least warn the colleagues of the One-Cottage House and his Teacher.

The sound of stones hitting the roof and rolling had suddenly stopped. Xiao He took a look at the outside of the window and found the wind was still blowing violently. She couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

Pah!!!

A piece of roof tile broke, and a gust of violent wind and the sunlight streamed in the room, giving off a dreadful howl.

The small red bird flew into the room. The sound of wind was muffled abruptly as he flapped his wings.

The red bird landed on the ground along with a ray of sunlight, and transformed into a youth in red clothing.

Xiao He guessed his identity, her face turning pale. She took a few steps backwards reflexively and stood by the side of Liu Shisui.

The Immortal Taiping said to her with a smile, “You helped me pick some lotus flowers back then. I haven’t thanked you yet.”

…