The Path Toward Heaven

This pursuit started at the Fruit Formation Temple, and passed the vegetable garden, the large banyan tree by the official road, the high peak at the end of the ragged mountains, the fields with the fireworks, the solitary ruined temple and wild grave; it seemed that the pursuit would go on forever.

It had been over thirty years since Yin San came back to the world through reincarnation, and he had recovered his Cultivation state to the Free Travel State, similar to Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui. In fact, Yin San’s state was a bit inferior, so he had no chance of resisting the attacks from both Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui. However, he had lived over a thousand years in this world, even though it had only been thirty years since his reincarnation.

Yin San had used more flying swords than any Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui had seen, known more magic methods than they did, and experienced more battles than the two of them had.

No matter how Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui attacked him, Yin San could always use the most appropriate method to counterattack. The magic methods he employed were like a myriad of flowers blossoming out of his fingers, changing all the time. In fact, he hadn’t used the same method twice. Most impressively, he could employ all the sword styles of the nine peaks of Green Mountain at will. The manner in which he used them was immensely easy and effortless and could be considered close to perfection.

The fresh blood dropping onto the mountains, rivers and lakes below came from Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui. Their clothes were in tatters, and the cuts were visible all over their bodies.

Seeing the bird-like figure up ahead and thinking of the countless battles over the past two days, Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui felt Yin San was truly admirable, and apart from feeling shocked, thought that Jing Jiu or his Young Master couldn’t do any better.

Also, they wondered what kind of magic treasure Yin San’s bone flute was. It sometimes flew in the sky like a flying sword, and sometimes acted like a regular magic treasure of those mysterious sects. The flute’s material was rather unique, and the Lone Sword couldn’t even break it, let alone the Thoughtless Sword.

Yet, they didn’t give up on the pursuit or show any fear. They kept on pursuing Yin San silently and doggedly.

Given Yin San’s ability, he should be able to find an opportunity to get rid of their pursuit; but the problem was that his body had a hidden deficiency, so he couldn’t withstand a severe injury. As such, he didn’t dare take any risks. He had a few perfect opportunities on the way, but as he turned around and attempted to fatally attack one of them, his attempt faltered because of the flawless cooperation between Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui.

In fact, Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui could cooperate with each other almost perfectly, though the two of them hadn’t met so many times or spoken to each other that much.

They acted like a pair of brother and sister of the same master who had been cultivating together for many years.

They could kill Luo Huainan in cooperation for this very reason, even though they hadn’t spoken to each other or contacted each other before the event; actually, they didn’t even know each other that much at the time.

The opportunity Yin San chose to turn around to attack one of them was almost perfect, and normally, neither Zhao Layue nor Liu Shisui should have a chance to evade his strike; they should have died immediately when one of them was attacked singularly. However, whenever this sort of attack happened, the person who was not attacked showed no consideration for the fate of the other person, and instead made use of the exploded energy from the dying person to strike with all their might.

Witnessing such a mad and cooperative counterattack, Yin San had no choice but to give up the attempt.

This sort of attack and counterattack had happened at least four times during the pursuit.

Yin San wondered in his mind why Jing Jiu, who dreaded death, could produce two fearless disciples.

This question was quite unsettling for him. He couldn’t find an answer no matter how hard he thought about it, feeling more and more irritated.

Three days later, he came to a small town by the Great Marsh. The nearby lake reflecting the bright light from the winter sun, and the residents’ faces all wore a festival’s glow.

However, Yin San was not infected by the festive atmosphere, still feeling gloomy.

Yet, his wounds were not serious. There were many cuts on his clothes, and the surface of the bone flute was covered with the burned marks left by the devil flames and blood stains. His usually calm eyes showed a hint of anger in their deep end, and his eyebrows, which looked like the edge of a burned paper, were arched slightly. He looked quite haggard.

He had just experienced one of the most dangerous battles in his long Cultivation carrier that stretched over one thousand years. The most frustrating part was that his opponents this time was the weakest of all.

The legendary Immortal Taiping was pursued by two disciples in the Free Travel State in such an embarrassing condition, and he had almost died a few times. It was impossible for him to take it lightly!

Thinking of all this, he turned around and entered a blacksmith shop by the street, disappearing into it.

…

…

Two sword lights descended from the sky, and the red and silver colors were reflected off the surface of the lake.

The violent wind rose as Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui appeared on the street. They were covered in blood and their clothes were tattered; the crowd on the street scattered as they screamed in surprise.

The two of them glanced at each other, seeing the puzzlement in each other’s eyes.

They were certain that they had seen Yin San land on the street, but they failed to find his trace after landing on the street themselves; and they were not even able to sense his energy.

Liu Shisui clenched his hands into fists, from which the black devil flames came out. The flames spread out along the houses by the street on both sides, and would enter the cracks of the bricks and windows like the flowing water.

The secret method of the Bloody Demon Church was indeed very powerful and effective. He employed this method during the pursuit to find Yin San when he hid in the cliffs. However, the situation was different this time; even though the devil flames changed to the tiniest particles to drift to those remote and narrow corners, Yin San’s energy or any trace of his magic treasure was not discovered.

Zhao Layue furrowed her eyebrows a bit. She waved her right sleeve to toss out a silver bell, with no regard for disturbing the Cultivation practitioners at the Great Marsh.

The silver bell gave off a crisp ringing sound while moving around swiftly in the small town and leaving behind countless residuals.

This was the Clean-Heart Bell given to Zhao Layue by the young master Sese of the Hanging-Bell Sect. It was very effective in searching for the opponent’s energy.

Yet, nothing was discovered after the small bell had searched all the houses in the small town and even the nearby fields.

It was evident that Yin San didn’t leave and was right here in the town; but why couldn’t the magic treasure of the Hanging-Bell Sect and the secret method of the Bloody Demon Church find him?

“We can dismantle all these houses, and repay them later,” Liu Shisui suggested.

Looking at the surface of the lake not far away, Zhao Layue said, “Let’s get out of here first.”

The waves formed on the surface of the lake, and a strong wind suddenly rose in this winter day, bending the yellowish, white reeds. It should be the Cultivation practitioners on their way coming over.

Liu Shisui was baffled, wondering why they couldn’t ask for their help since the Great Marsh and the Green Mountain Sect were on good terms, or if it was due to the fact that the internal affairs of Green Mountain should not be known by others.

Looking at the seemingly ordinary small town, Zhao Layue said, “There must be someone here helping him.”

Recalling the legend about the hidden swordsman, Liu Shisui felt startled, wondering if the rumored small town by the Great Marsh was this one.

That hidden swordsman, protected by the turtle shell, had evaded the search from the Sword Formation of Green Mountain for hundreds of years. If it was he who had helped the Great Grandmaster escape, it would indeed be hard to find the Immortal Taiping again.

…

…

Though Yin San walked into a blacksmith shop, it could also looked like a restaurant from the outside, or even an ordinary residential house and a rock.

What an object looks like to the observers depends on what aspect they see at the time and their experiences and judgments; but under other circumstances, it depended on the desires of the onlookers. As such, neither Zhao Layue nor Liu Shisui could find the place; and it would be fruitless even if Liu Ci came here in person to search the town.

Back when the alliance of the deviant sects led by the royal grandson of the previous dynasty had almost breached the defense line of the No-Mercy Sect, the Green Mountain Sect came to the rescue and defeated them, and Liu Ci had come here in person to search for him, though came up empty-handed.

The reason Yin San could find the place was because the master of that place welcomed him all the time.

Jing Jiu’s memory didn’t fail him; the fact that that person had made so much trouble in the world had something to do with the Immortal Taiping.

As soon as someone entered the blacksmith shop, it changed into a garden, where the jagged rocks stood by the pond and the appealing bamboos were hidden behind a white wall.

No ear-pleasing flute music could be heard here, nor the irritating sound of recited books. It was both peaceful and relaxing here.

Yin San had come here a few times. Though he found the scenery was wonderful whenever he came here, he had never envied that person.

No matter how wonderful the sceneries were here, or how much they could be changed at will, one would still feel bored after having lived here for over four hundred years, because the dweller couldn’t go out to see the outside world.

If one looked up in the garden, they would find that the sky was not real.

The seemingly gray sky was actually a board of some sort with squares on it, looking like the carapace of a huge turtle.

Yet, this place was much more comfortable than his cell in the Sword Jail.

In the deep part of the garden, a middle-aged man was waiting for Yin San.

The middle-aged man looked lean and energetic with an extraordinary bearing, wearing a brightly yellow royal robe and exuding a faint awe-inspiring aura.

He was another hidden swordsman.

A descendent of the royal family of the previous dynasty.

He called himself Emperor Xiao.

…

…

The tattered clothes on Yin San was burned into ashes and then dropped to the bottom of the pond. Many years later, it would have completely dissolved and then discharged into the Great Marsh through the underground tunnel, without leaving any energy and scent behind, to make sure that it wouldn’t be discovered by the Sword Formation of Green Mountain.

Seeing the wounds on Yin San, the Emperor Xiao was baffled and asked, “Why did the Immortal suffer so many injuries?”

Thinking of those two fearless kids, Yin San showed a complex expression in his eyes, saying, “Many things have happened that I had not expected.”

He predicted most of what had happened at the Fruit Formation Temple, but he miscalculated one important detail.

He thought that Jing Jiu had inherited the entirety of Jing Yang, so their temperaments would be alike, and he would live life just like Jing Yang did. Unexpectedly, Jing Jiu turned out to be a risk taker, and dared endanger a young disciple, Zhao Layue, in her mediocre Cultivation state to pursue him. And both Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui were incredibly crazy during the fights.

They fought so crazily that they were unlike Jing Yang at all, but more like himself.

The Emperor Xiao kept on cutting on Yin San’s body with a small crystal knife in intensive concentration.

The wounds Yin San received were not serious, but his body had some shortcomings. The edges of his wounds started decaying in such a short period of time, and some deep parts of the wounds even gave off a stinky smell. If the decayed parts were not cleared out in time, the rotting would spread rapidly until the whole body was infected.

The Emperor Xiao operated as gently as he could, but he had to cut a sizable and deep area for each wound, and some of the cuts were so deep as to penetrate the inner organs.

Yin San didn’t block his senses through magic, because he wanted to observe the operation himself to tell the Emperor Xiao where to place the crystal knife and what to cut off when the emperor wasn’t sure where the proper spot was to cut. It was an excruciating agony for Yin San; his face turned ashen. But the expression in his eyes was still as calm as usual, as if the crystal knife weren’t actually cutting his own flesh.

After a while, Emperor Xiao had finally finished cutting all the decayed flesh off Yin San’s body, afterwards taking out some thread made from dragon’s tendons and sewing up all the wounds of various sizes.

Yin San stood up and looked at the spider-web like scars reflected in the mirror, furrowing his brows slightly.

It was not because he was concerned about his appearance and the negative effect on his good looks, but because of another reason.

This body was the most suitable one he could find, and he had expected it to last for some more years; but he had no choice but to get rid of it because of the doings of those two little kids.

The Emperor Xiao said, “This body can only hold up for another three years at most; you must be prepared for the inevitable.”

If Yin San couldn’t find another new body to replace this one within three years, his spiritual soul would scatter into oblivion.

“Actually what has happened to me is not an entirely bad thing. I was worried about my body being injured, so I was very cautious. Looking back on it now, I think it was the wrong way to deal with it, because I treated the body as an object.”

Yin San continued, “Being wounded this time, I feel more comfortable about my body now. I believe it will benefit me in the future.”

“Congratulations, Immortal,” said the Emperor Xiao.

Yin San snapped, “I was chased and injured by two disciples of the later generation; there is nothing worth celebrating.”

Hearing this, the Emperor Xiao felt a bit startled, and realized that he was actually pursued by the disciples of Green Mountain.

Thinking of the perfect cooperation between Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui during their pursuit, Yin San mused that those two kids were truly suitable for joining the Old Ones.

Thinking of all this, Yin San walked round the dividing screen in the room and arrived on the other side.

There was a large wooden tub on this side of the room, with many ice cubes in it, all of which were ten thousand years old and gave off a faint steaming scent.

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect was sitting in the tub. His face was as ashen as a piece of white paper, his sparse hair slouching on his head as if he was not breathing at all.

“The sword will penetrated his body too deeply. Even his blood contains the sword will; so I had to exchange his blood. I have already emptied three tubs of blood, and it seems that I have to empty another three tubs.”

Looking at the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect, the Emperor Xiao continued with the sympathetic, pitiful expression in his eyes, “I’m not sure whether he will be able to pull through.”

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect was pierced through by Liu Ci’s sword three days ago and wounded severely.

The Sword Formation of Green Mountain had been activated.

Had Yin San not been prepared for it ahead of time and asked Emperor Xiao to bring him to the inside of the turtle shell, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect would have died for sure.

Emperor Xiao and the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect were both the hidden swordsmen, and suppressed by the Sword Formation of Green Mountain to hide under the ground, unable to see the sun. Seeing the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect wounded so severely, Emperor Xiao couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.

Yin San remained reticent for a long time while looking at the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect with chilly expression in his eyes; it was unclear what was on his mind at the moment.