The Path Toward Heaven

The people had witnessed too many events during the Inauguration Ceremony of Green Mountain that day; they were so agitated, as if their hearts were pummeled by incessant thunder.

After the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom had ascended, the people thought it would the last event that day; nobody expected to witness such an incredible one to ensue.

Unexpectedly, Jing Jiu and the Immortal Tan of the Center Sect were attacking the Immortal Bai together!

When the Pagoda of Suppressing Devils was bearing down on the patch of cloud and fog, everybody was stunned speechless; then each one generated a different feeling or idea.

The Immortal Guangyuan, Nan Wang, the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery in the small green curtain sedan, the Sect Master of the Great Marsh, and those elders recalled the rumors about Cloud-Dream Mountain, like the Bai family and the Immortal Tan marrying into his wife’s family, among other things. Zhuo Rusui thought of “killing one’s wife to maintain the Dao”. Gu Qing wondered how the Immortal Tan could opt to do such a thing. Liu Shisui thought it was an impossible act. Yuan Qü widened his eyes, wondering if the Fairy Lady Bai Ren was not completely dead yet and if some of her fairy energy was still hidden in that patch of cloud and fog.

Only an honest man like Mo Chi figured that the Immortal Tan intended to use the Pagoda of Suppressing Devils to untangle Jing Jiu’s whip.

The silvery whip was full of magic, though it was not a devilish object, but a stream.

If the Immortal Tan intended to save her, he should have employed the Scenic-Cloud Bell or other magic treasures.

The Sword-Washing Stream was flowing on the surface of the cloud and fog with a silvery glitter, exuding a weak but indissoluble energy.

The cloud and fog didn’t disperse, and the figure inside didn’t make any move either.

The Immortal Bai must have figured out that she had no way to free herself from the binding no matter how high her Cultivation state was, since this whip had been used successfully to bind the Fairy Lady.

The Pagoda of Suppressing Devils arrived above the cloud and fog, countless golden specks dripping from it; it was scorching hot.

The cloud and fog had gradually melted like the ice and snow were shone on by the hot sun. The figure inside became increasingly clearer.

…

…

Feeling most terrified were those Cultivation practitioners of the Center Sect in the sky and on the cloud boats.

They thought that the Fairy Lady Bai Ren had just died, and now their Sect Master was suddenly cooperating with Green Mountain to kill the Immortal Bai!

What was going on? Was this an illusion? Was this patch of starry night unreal? Had the heaven and earth been turned upside down?

Standing at the front of the cloud boat, Ren Qianzhou looked at the scene in the sky pale-faced, his eyes showing a complicated expression.

All of a sudden, he felt a moving energy behind him. He turned around abruptly; his magic treasure had already flown out of his sleeve.

“Young Brother Lü, are you going to sneak-attack me?”

He said this while staring at a middle-aged man wearing a green cloth.

The middle-aged man in green clothing snapped with a sneer, “Who knows what you will do next?!”

The Elder Lü of the Center Sect was a powerful swordsman in the upper state of the Huashen; unlike Ren Qianzhou, he was a trusted subordinate of the Immortal Sect Master.

The similar incidents were happening everywhere on the cloud boats of the Center Sect.

The Immortal Sect Master had suddenly launched an attack on the Immortal Bai…

The Center Sect was divided into two camps. The situation was so tense that the magic treasures might fly all over the sky in the next moment.

Ren Qianzhou suddenly heard a familiar voice. With a slightly changed expression, he brought back his magic treasure and turned toward the patch of cloud and fog in the sky.

Few people in the world had seen the true appearance of the Immortal Bai. Even if they saw her, who could tell if what they saw was the real her?

What people saw was always the patch of cloud and fog.

The patch of cloud and fog didn’t disperse even during the Battle of Zhaoge City.

Anyone could figure out that the patch of cloud and fog, though it looked feeble, must be the most important life magic for the Immortal Bai; it must be very difficult to dismantle.

It wasn’t until today that the patch of cloud and fog had gradually dispersed when being shone on by the golden light of the Pagoda of Suppressing Devils after the patch of cloud and fog was trapped in the starry night by the silvery whip of the Green Mountain Sect.

The figure inside the patch of cloud and fog was becoming increasingly clearer; the true appearance of the Immortal Bai would show up in heaven and earth.

It was then that her voice came out from the patch of cloud and fog.

“What wrongs has my Bai family committed against you over the last few hundred years to make you want to suppress me like a devil?”

The voice of the Immortal Bai sounded as nonchalant as before, devoid of any emotion, as if she had already predicted this ahead of time.

Like with what she said to Jing Jiu earlier, the people could sense the hint of contempt and mockery in her voice.

The Immortal Tan didn’t answer this question, even though he was her Cultivation partner and the two of them had cultivated together for many years.

It was because it was hard to answer this question and it was meaningless to answer it.

He was a Cultivation practitioner of the highest state in Chaotian and the Sect Master of the Center Sect.

Yet, the Center Sect belonged to the Bai family, because they had some fairy men and a Fairy Lady who could come back any time she wanted to.

The Immortal Taiping had asked him that day: Why hadn’t he taken the step yet? Though the reason was complicated, it must have something to do with the Bai family.

When did he make the decision then?

Did he make up his mind back when he had a conversation with Jing Jiu in Cloudy Town one hundred years ago? Or did he make up his mind back when he had a conversation with Jing Jiu at the Cold Mountain? Or did he make up his mind back when the Immortal Bai decided to use Bai Zao to bear the spiritual awareness of the Fairy Lady Bai Ren? Or did he make up his mind back when he found the high platform on Cloud-Dream Mountain devoid of the barbecued fish and dishes on the table was too lonely?

Nobody knew the answer, because no one was aware of what the Immortal Tan and Jing Jiu had talked about at the Cold Mountain, save for themselves and Zhao Layue.

However, the people were certain that the two of them had reached an agreement a long time ago; otherwise, they wouldn’t have acted so cooperatively. The Immortal Bai didn’t have any preparation for it and had no way to deal with it.

In fact, nobody could resist it when the Sect Master of Green Mountain and the Sect Master of the Center Sect sneak-attacked in collaboration.

Looking at the Immortal Tan and Jing Jiu above the ocean of clouds, the people experienced a peculiar emotion.

What the two of them did was remarkable.

The Cultivation practitioners loyal to the Immortal Bai felt despaired.

The cloud and fog kept on dispersing.

The end was near.

The Immortal Bai said the last words to Jing Jiu.

“Do you think you can predict everything?”

No sooner had she said this than the cloud and fog dispersed abruptly. The golden light specks dropped down, and the water of the stream splashed in all directions.

The figure inside the cloud and fog had vanished in the wind.

It was deathly quiet under the starry night sky.

The forehead of the Immortal Tan was very broad, as vast as the earth; and yet, a few more wrinkles showed up on his forehead, resembling the ditches flooded by the river. He looked rather troubled and sorrowful.

“Where is she?” asked Jing Jiu.

No one knew whom his question was directed at.

The cliff rocks had mostly collapsed on Tianguang Peak; but a few ancient trees were fortunate to survive the ordeal.

A green bird perched on the treetop of an ancient tree.

Looking down at the ground in the night sky, a hint of fear showed at the deep end of her eyes.

…

…

Like the sunlight, the starry night was fairer than the raindrops; it would cover all the fields and ground when it arrived.

As the peaks of Green Mountain were shone on by the stars, it was the same at the distant Cold Mountain, where the black cliff gave off an eerie glow.

The barren fields had been searched by the imperial court and the Cultivation practitioners of various sects many times; no magic treasure could be found here. The energy of the deviant practitioners had dissipated a long time ago. Only the ditches on the ground reminded the travelers of how many people had come here some years ago.

A woman in white clothing was walking in the wild field alone. Though it seemed as though she wasn’t traveling fast, each step she took could cover a few miles. She looked like a patch of cloud and fog.

The water in hundreds of ditches and streams was flowing under her feet.

She halted her steps when she came before a large crack in the ground, and then she looked up at the night sky.

There were some faint golden threads in the night sky in addition to the starlight, which were the traces of the fairy particles.

A large amount of fairy energy spread in the air after the death of the Fairy Lady Bai Ren. It was hard for the Cultivation practitioners to absorb the fairy energy because its state was too high for them; but it could help increase yuanqi in this world.

As a normal person, she should feel sad or angry at the moment.

She had adequate reasons to feel this way, no matter whether it was the death of the Fairy Lady Bai Ren or the betrayal by her Cultivation partner.

On the contrary, the expression on her face was as imperturbable as ever; in fact, she had a hint of satisfaction in her expression.