The Path Toward Heaven

The Young Zen Master left the base of the Buddha statue and came out of the small temple. Looking at the endless twilight in the sky, his emotions were complicated.

But before his troubled and exultant emotions could linger on, this quickly turned to shock.

For this world, the most shocking event was not who had left it. Such a thing happened nearly everyday, even if it was the Immortal Taiping who had left the world that day.

What shocked the people in this world was that somebody who had left this world returned, and this was because this was something that had scarcely occurred before.

The twilight disappeared in the sky. A thin black line could be seen in the high sky in the south. He knew that it must be the passage for the Fairy Lady to return to this world. His countenance grew grim.

In the next moment, the spiritual awareness of the Queen on the icy peak in the deep end of the snowland reached his awareness, making the expression on his face look even more impressive.

The spiritual awareness of the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom contained a trace of curiosity and expectancy; it seemed that she was inclined to fight against the Fairy Lady in the south.

The Young Zen Master leapt up into the sky after crushing the doorsill into pieces with his bare feet. He said to the deep part of the snowland hastily, “First of all, you shouldn’t leave the snowland as a rule; secondly, we have already agreed that we’ll be grateful to you as long as you don’t do anything this time.”

The spiritual awareness of the Queen conveyed a hint of contempt.

After taking a deep breath, the Young Zen Master said, “It’s not I who feels grateful, and I know you don’t regard me highly; it’s Cao Yuan who will feel grateful.”

After a moment of silence, the spiritual awareness of the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom went back to the icy peak unwillingly.

The Young Zen Master felt considerably relieved. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and landed back in the small temple.

If the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom had gone to the south and fought with the Fairy Lady Bai Ren today, half of this world would have been destroyed, at least the very least, no matter who won.

…

…

The sky was still dim in the Underworld, but the wind grew weaker and the volume of the seawater had reduced. The green smoke was not as thick as before, so the banks of the Underworld River could be seen now.

However, the Underworld River was still spewing the extremely hot, dark red, glowing flames, giving the impression of twilight

A bright and snow-white broadsword light slashed downwards, cutting the flames that stretch for miles in half and knocking down a cliff before the broadsword returned to the hands of the large Buddha.

“Your mood is unstable right now; are you sure you want to keep on fighting with me?”

Cao Yuan inhaled deeply before speaking to the cliff platform in the deep part of the black mountain, his voice sounding like a bell.

A few puffs of green smoke left the surface of the Underworld River and entered his belly.

Standing by the edge of the cliff platform, the Underworld Master remained silent for a long time while looking down at the battlefield full of corpses and chaos, the green smoke growing lighter.

A faint glow was reflected off his semi-transparent face, revealing the sadness and disappointment he was now feeling

He wondered if his Teacher had died.

All of a sudden, a loud bang could be heard coming from the Abyss along with a great many rocks falling off the cliff; it sounded like a sledgehammer pounding something in the sky of the Underworld.

The Underworld Master lifted his head abruptly, his countenance growing ever more grave as the glows on his face twirled more rapidly. The soldiers on the banks of the Underworld River who were risking their lives and those Underworld swordsmen who were about to sneak-attack Cao Yuan all had surprise and fear on their faces as they sensed the grandiose and dreadful energy.

It was something beyond their imagination and something that they would have tried to avoid out of instinct.

Looking up at the dim sky, Cao Yuan mumbled with a bewildered expression on his face, “It’s the sixth movement of heaven and earth…”

“…And the return of the Fairy Lady,” the Underworld Master chimed in with a terrible look on his face.

His mood grew grim when he thought of the Scenic-Cloud Bell in Tong Yan’s hands and the Grand Priest who had suddenly disappeared from the battlefield.

What did the Center Sect plan to do? And yet, since they had invited the Fairy Lady back, there was no need to make further plans.

…

…

The Fairy Lady Bai Ren came back to the human world and stepped on Green Mountain. And yet, as they looked at the scene in terror, what most of the Cultivation practitioners couldn’t understand was why she targeted Shangde Peak instead of Tianguang.

If the Fairy Lady didn’t intend to cause too many deaths, she could have chosen the Sword Peak or other places.

Only the peak masters of the Green Mountain Sect were fully aware that the Sword Jail was situated under Shangde Peak and that the sole passage leading to the hermit peaks was in the Sword Jail. When the Fairy Lady Bai Ren changed Shangde Peak into stone as hard as a magic treasure, she had basically destroyed the Sword Jail along with all the prisoners in it and the passage leading to the hermit peaks.

The Dead Dog and Jing Jiu were the only swordsmen at Green Mountain Sect powerful enough to pose some threat to the Fairy Lady Bai Ren.

Those who could cause trouble for the Fairy Lady must thus be the most outstanding figures in Chaotian.

Lian Sanyue was dead, and so was Liu Ci; Cao Yuan was severely wounded; and Jing Jiu and Dead Dog were sealed off in the hermit peaks.

Even if Jing Jiu was the sharpest sword in the world, the All in One Sword, how could he break through Shangde Peak, a place that had been condensed considerably by the Fairy Lady Bai Ren by employing a special form of magic?

Besides them, who else…could cause trouble for the Fairy Lady Bai Ren?

…

…

The ocean of clouds dispersed abruptly as a few cloud boats of the Center Sect showed up in the sky, their shadows looming over the peaks of Green Mountain.

The Cultivation practitioners were shocked once more, thinking that the Center Sect must have prepared for all this beforehand.

Many gazes were fixed on the Immortal Tan and the patch of cloud and fog beside him.

The Center Sect must have predicted that the Immortal Jing Yang and the Immortal Taiping would be both injured and the Sword Formation of Green Mountain would be damaged in the meantime when the Immortal Taiping showed up during the Inauguration Ceremony of the Sect Master of Green Mountain; hence, the Fairy Lady Bai Ren returned to the human world…But, why did the Fairy Lady Bai Ren opt to return to this world?

This time she didn’t come back as a replica, but in person. After the passage leading to the upper world through the Thunder Region was closed, could she still ascend?

Though it was rather important to suppress Green Mountain and unite Chaotian, it was almost nothing in comparison to the importance of ascension.

Why did she come back?

Looking at the woman with her fluttering white skirt on the top of Shangde Peak, the Cultivation practitioners showed awe and bewilderment in their eyes.

The Immortal Taiping was dead.

The Fairy Lady Bai Ren was back.

The situation in the Cultivation world as well as the history of Chaotian would completely change from that day on.

Yet, what was the reason for all this?

“Though what Taiping did was a bit too radical, his idea was somehow correct. It is not a fairy land above the Thunder Region, but a dark and extremely cold and strange world. In that world there are countless powerful beings who are beyond our imagination. If they were allowed to discover this world, it would be the end of it…and us.”

The voice of the Fairy Lady Bai Ren echoed among all the places in Chaotian; even the people of Penglai Island could hear her clearly.

“This world’s energy of heaven and earth will diminish as more and more Cultivation practitioners ascend. In the end, that barrier will be depleted, and you of all people will expose yourself to the enormously menacing threat from the upper world since you’re so weak in comparison. Jing Yang will bring a great danger to this world if he ascends again; so I’ve come back to stop him.”

The Immortal Taiping had made a similar statement; the current Jing Yang was the sword body of the All in One, and he would bring a great deal of energy of heaven and earth with him when he ascended, which might bring this world closer to its destruction.

This turned out to be the reason.

It sounded quite sensible.

“What nonsense! This is not sensible at all,” Zhuo Rusui said to the woman in white atop Shangde Peak in a mocking tone; it was unclear when he had woken up. “As you said, the ascension of the Grandmaster will bring danger to this world, so you have to kill him; but why don’t you dismember yourself and die so that you can give the fairy energy back to this world?”

“Do you have a death wish?” asked the Fairy Lady Bai Ren while staring at Zhuo Rusui.

Her voice was calm, devoid of any emotion; it was exceedingly light. But it caused a complicated emotion in those who heard it.

It created a sensation of fear, anxiety and sadness.

The mantra of the Green Mountain Sect was used by her on the people of the Green Mountain Sect.

Unfortunately, she was the Fairy Lady.

Many swordsmen of Green Mountain, including the Immortal Guangyuan and Nan Wang, were injured; the Dead Dog and Jing Jiu, the two most powerful figures of Green Mountain, were sealed away in the hermit peaks. How could Green Mountain fight back?

“I’m the guardian of this world, and yours.”

Looking at the swordsmen of Green Mountain on the top of Tianguang Peak, the Fairy Lady Bai Ren continued, “Hence, I won’t kill you all, and that includes Jing Yang.”

Zhao Layue stood up with the support of Que Niang and said to her, “You’ve already killed him once.”

“He had successfully ascended at the time. If I hadn’t killed him, he couldn’t be stopped from leaving this world.”

The Fairy Lady Bai Ren went on nonchalantly, “He hasn’t ascended yet, so I have no need to kill him. All I need to do is lock him in the hermit peaks…permanently.”

The black passage in the high sky was slowly closing up, swallowing the light around it in the meantime.

The Fairy Lady was in the sky, and the sun was nowhere to be found. The stars shone down on the world, and night fell ahead of time.

All of a sudden, the starlight grew a little dimmer.

A voice rang out.

It sounded as light as water, but it was enormously determined in its tone.

“I don’t like being trapped in this place. I’ll get out, be it through the bottom of a well or this world. Nobody can stop me, neither my Big Brother nor you.”

The people looked at the source of the voice in shock.

On the top of Tianguang Peak, the Round Turtle was chewing a piece of starlight slowly.

The crack on the stone monument on his back was deepening; an endless starlight suddenly emitted from it.

Crack!!! Crack!!! Crack!!!

The stone monument had broken apart abruptly, the bright starlight illuminating the peak top. Everybody shut their eyes instinctively.

In the next moment, a black dog as big as a mountain appeared in a sky full of stars.

He looked down at the Fairy Lady Bai Ren atop Shangde Peak with a cold stare while stepping on the silvery cloud.

Jing Jiu stood on his back while holding a white cat covered with blood.

As the sound of rolling rocks burst out, Fang Jingtian and three aged Cultivation practitioners walked out under the starlight one after the other.

It turned out that the stone monument was another passage leading to the hermit peaks!

The people could easily recognize Fang Jingtian with his pair of ruffling silvery brows, but they had no idea who the three aged Cultivation practitioners were.

A shocked and uncertain voice rang out.

“You are…Senior Master…Chen…of Mochen Peak?”

Looking at this aged Cultivation practitioner, Mo Chi went on, full of surprise in his eyes, “You…you are…still…alive.”

Soon after, several voices rang out in a shocked tone.

“Senior Master Lu! Lei Poyun said you died because of the failure in your ascension attempt; but how come you’re still…here?”

“Elder Mieyun…are you the Elder Mieyun? It was you who had brought me to Green Mountain six hundred years ago!”

Hearing these voices and sensing the deep energies exuding from these three aged Cultivation practitioners, the Cultivation practitioners of various sects felt astonished again.

The Fairy Lady Bai Ren came back to this world, and the Immortal Guangyuan, Nan Wang and other swordsmen of Green Mountain were all severely wounded. There was no way they could fight again. The situation was hopeless for the Green Mountain Sect, and they were on the brink of being wiped out. Unexpectedly, Jing Jiu and the Dead Dog came forward, followed by three figures in the Heavenly Arrival State!

Were these the resources of a major sect that had a history of tens of thousands of years?

As such, what could the scheme of the Center Sect achieve? What could it achieve after the Fairy Lady Bai Ren changed Shangde Peak into a lifeless magic treasure?

Had the Green Mountain Sect predicted all this?

Countless flabbergasted gazes fell on top of the ocean of clouds and Jing Jiu, whose white cloth was ruffling in the wind.

“I’m a bit disappointed that you’ve actually come back.”

Jing Jiu said this while looking down at Bai Ren.