The Path Toward Heaven

Far away, Zhao Layue once again felt the changes of the will of swords, and she narrowed her eyes, wondering whether it had something to do with that young disciple.

She shook her head soon after this thought.

She had lived with these wills of swords for a long time, and knew that while the swords possessed feeling, there was no consciousness.

If the feelings of these wills of swords showed love and protection toward her, then what were the feelings…submission?

The wills of swords merely expressed their submission to swords, never human beings.

Maybe, another famous sword was about to be born on the peak?

…

…

Among the rays of all the wills of swords, Jing Jiu finally found the ray that he was looking for.

Hundreds of the sword wills felt his will, calming down gradually and returning to the inside of the peak.

Jing Jiu walked to the cliff wall.

A sword slowly produced itself from inside of the cliff wall; it was a really bizarre scene.

The sword was pitch black, slightly dark for its polished surface; it looked a kind of commonplace sword, and as far as the concentration the sword’s will was concerned, it was not outstanding, and was even slightly inferior to other swords.

This was the sword belonging to Senior Master Mo who had passed away half a year ago.

It was also the sword Jing Jiu wanted.

Jing Jiu stroked the body of the sword and found it was quite broad and as strong as expected; he nodded in approval.

As he was about to take the sword, something suddenly happened, and he lifted his head, his gaze finding its way east.

…

…

The wills of swords were extremely strong at the top of the peak, and the clouds were very thick, so no starlight could possibly penetrate and shine through, making it hard to see anything, and the Piercing Discernment didn’t work either.

The surroundings were really dark here.

To see the objects a couple of hundred yards away, one needed to be the Undefeated St, and if one wants to see even further, then a higher state is needed.

This was not a problem for Jing Jiu; though his state was still quite low, the wills of sword among the peak couldn’t affect him; on the contrary, they could help him see more clearly.

He saw an iron eagle perching on the cliff wall in front of him.

The iron eagle was the only animal able to survive on the peak.

The feathers of an iron eagle were strong like steel, its bones like rocks, and every part of its body could be used for making bows and arrows.

Because their numbers were limited and they couldn’t be used for battle formation, and because these eagles were regarded as the protector bird of the Green Mountain Sect, they were able to avoid extinction at the hand of the imperial court.

This was a young eagle, badly injured and struggling among the peaks, unable to stand on its feet and bleeding from its stomach.

The injury could have been inflicted by the flying swords from outside enemies, or by the birth of the Sword Embryo in the peak, which would simply have been bad luck.

Jing Jiu was thinking.

Of all the things in nature, life and death had their own rules; he didn’t plan to take care of the matter, and only wanted to see what was going to happen next.

Zhao Layue was sitting among the cliff walls.

She was in the crucial period of cultivating her Tempered Will of the Sword, and was unable to get up at will.

Watching the struggling iron eagle, her eyes showed no sympathy, nor was there any other emotion.

Jing Jiu was watching her quietly.

Zhao Layue moved.

She raised her hand, a flash of green sword light shooting out of her sleeve, arriving in front of the young eagle.

Jing Jiu raised his eyebrows a bit.

Based on how she drove her sword, she had actually entered the State of Inherited Will.

She was indeed a person with natural Dao quality; but for some reason, she hid that fact, and nobody at the Green Mountain Sect knew about it.

Zhao Layue didn’t kill the young eagle to finish its pain.

The green sword light pierced the cloud and brought the eagle back with it.

She tore a piece of her clothing and carefully wrapped the eagle.

Jing Jiu shook his head after witnessing this scene and stared at a spot a long distance away.

A middle-aged man in gray clothing had appeared among the cliffs some time ago, about a couple of hundred yards away.

In the midst of darkness in the peaks, full of the wills of swords, Zhao Layue shouldn’t have been able to see him in her current state.

She was busy binding the young eagle with her head lowered, lifting her head and looking in that direction only after she finished her work.

After all, she had already discovered the other party.

“She is indeed someone with natural Dao quality, a rare genius of the way of the sword, as she can see me from such a distance.”

Emotionless, the middle-aged man in gray looked at Zhao Layue as he said, “Now I understand why those old guys on Liangwang Peak want you to the point of madness.”

“Who are you?” asked Zhao Layue, looking in the direction of the other party in the darkness of night.

“My family name is Zhuo,” the middle-aged man in gray replied.

“You are the Senior Master Zhuo of Bihu Peak,” she said after a period of silence

With no sword on his back, he must be a swordsman of the Undefeated State.

Looking at the young eagle in her hands, Master Zhuo said, “This little thing didn’t interrupt your cultivation, but tested the level of your cultivation, revealing your true state that you’ve kept hidden from everybody. It’s amazing that a person your age can break through into the State of Inherited Will.”

Zhao Layue placed the injured young eagle behind her and said nothing.

Master Zhuo continued, “I want to know two things: first, which peak has chosen you as their inherited sword disciple? The Sect Master again? But, if you were to die tonight, I’m not sure what they would write in the annals of cultivation. I’m left feeling some regret thinking about this.”

He actually came here to kill Zhao Layue.

She was regarded by the Green Mountain Sect as their most precious treasure, and he actually wanted to kill her?

Standing in the darkness of night and looking at the man in the distance, Jing Jiu heard the conversation, yet didn’t understand.

Was this man a spy of another sect? Or was he an assassin hiding in the Green Mountain, sent by Zhaoge City?

A place guarded by Yuan Qijing was hiding spies? It was beyond thinkable.

Master Zhuo of Bihu merely expressed his sentiment, not expecting any reply from Zhao Layue.

A flash of the burly lethal will struck by virtue of his voice, landing on Zhao Yue a couple of hundred yards away.

As a swordsman of the Undefeated State facing a weaker disciple of the younger generation, he remained cautious, because the person he tried to kill was Zhao Layue.

He had already confirmed that her true state was the State of Inherited Will; and so he wouldn’t want to get closer than three hundred yards from her.

The distance for a flying sword to kill the opponent was within three hundred yards for a person with the State of Inherited Will.

No matter how talented she was, Zhao Layue couldn’t attack him from such a distance.

Yet from such a distance, and in the Undefeated State, he needed merely to whip his hand to have the opponent cut in half.

This was combat without any unexpected result.

Jing Jiu looked at the night sky, and was certain it was too late to send message by flying sword.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Still sitting in the cliff cave, Zhao Layue didn’t move, perhaps due to the crucial period of her cultivation of the Tempered Will of the Sword, or perhaps because she had actually already giving up.

“I came unknowingly, but at least I need to know the reason why I am leaving.”

“The reason I want to kill you is because you are investigating those things,” Master Zhuo said.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said.

“You shouldn’t look into those things, and you don’t have the qualification to do so,” he said.

“Oh…it’s true,” said she, staring at him quietly.

“Of course it’s true; otherwise why would the Peak Master have gone mad? Why would I take the risk to kill you?”

Watching her, Master Zhuo said with some sentiment, “I really don’t understand this. You have a bright future, but why do you keep on checking into this; how did you know? Why are you checking? Moreover…what outcome do you want to get? If I didn’t have acquaintances among the Curtain Rollers, I would have never guessed it was you who was investigating.”

His words were filled with repentance and regret; it seemed as though he really didn’t want to kill her.

Jing Jiu listened quietly, without speaking, and without revealing himself.

“Have you thought about the consequences if you killed me?” Zhao Layue said while gazing up at the night sky.

She was the future cherished by the Green Mountain Sect and had special relationship with a certain peak.

Even though he was her Senior Master, his ending would be very terrible if he dared to kill her today.

Master Zhuo sighed, “We have done things much worse than this.”