The Path Toward Heaven

More than one hundred years ago, a “spring rain” fell in Chaotian.

The Inherited Heaven Sword returned to Green Mountain and was inserted into the Stone Monument, bringing back the Will of Liu Ci.

As the important figures at the Green Mountain Sect were arguing heatedly, a gust of wind suddenly blew over the peak top, tousling a white cloth.

Under countless gazes, Jing Jiu walked to the front of the stone monument and stepped onto the back of the Round Turtle. After he took down the sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword, he strolled to the front of the chair, turned around and sat down. At that moment, he said to everyone present, “Let me do it.”

More than one hundred years later on the top of Tianguang Peak and at the same spot, someone came before the chair and said the same thing, “Let me do it.”

That person was Liu Shisui.

It was deathly quiet on the top of Tianguang Peak.

The people were stunned speechless.

The Immortal Guangyuan and Nan Wang looked pale, because they had guessed one possibility.

…

…

“Oh, that’s why.”

Looking at the Inherited Heaven Sword in his hand, Jing Jiu suddenly asked, “How long have you known me?”

This was a simple question, but Liu Shisui was taken aback; he offered uncertainly, “One hundred and forty-nine years?”

The wind blew over the hut again.

Jing Jiu lifted his head and looked at him quietly, saying nothing more.

The expression in Liu Shisui’s eyes had a slight change, turning colder. “If the starting year was when we met in Cloudy Town, it’s been one hundred and forty-nine years.”

“You know I’m not asking this,” pressed Jing Jiu.

A struggle could be detected in Liu Shisui’s eyes as he insisted, “It’s been one hundred and forty-nine years.”

Next, he suddenly took out the folding fan and waved the fan fervently on the top of Tianguang Peak amid the gentle breeze, as if he felt exceedingly hot.

“It’s one hundred and forty-nine years.”

“It truly is.”

“But that’s how many years it’s been since you have left Green Mountain.”

“No.”

…

…

The quarreling continued as the fan made its own noise.

Seeing the scene in the hut, the people were all stunned speechless.

Nobody was arguing with Liu Shisui; he was arguing with himself. The most puzzling part was that both of them were talking about the same number, one hundred and forty-nine years.

All of a sudden, the quarreling ceased.

Liu Shisui said to Jing Jiu, “Of the fifty paths toward heaven, the forty-nine are determined, and humans can only choose one suitable path.”

“Yes,” said Jing Jiu. “You left the Sword Jail one hundred forty-nine years ago, and I found him.”

Liu Shisui said with a strange expression in his eyes, “I don’t believe that you can predict everything.”

Jing Jiu returned, “I didn’t predict this; it’s just happened.”

Back when he failed in his ascension attempt…

That person escaped from the Sword Jail at the same time.

He went to that small village after traveling along the underground river and saw that boy of ten years.

That person was bound by Zhao Layue’s sword rope in the restaurant of Cloudy Town, but he escaped by faking his own death.

This was the beginning of the story.

It happened to be one hundred and forty-nine years ago.

Of the fifty paths toward heaven, the forty nine are determined, and humans can only choose one suitable path.

Jing Jiu said to him calmly, “The path is ahead; what you have done is truly shameless.”

Liu Shisui snapped while staring into his eyes, “I just wish to take back the thing that is mine; why is it shameless?”

“This is mine,” said Jing Jiu, staring back at him calmly.

Liu Shisui demanded, “If it is yours, why haven’t you retrieved it yet?”

Jing Jiu held the Inherited Heaven Sword in his right hand. Normally, he should be able to put it away if he wanted to; but the situation was kind of weird right now.

The sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword quivered slightly, giving off a buzzing sound. The sunlight on the sheath turned into shreds that looked like the snow crumbs. It seemed that the sheath didn’t know where it should go.

The swords hailed from Green Mountain, so the people here were well aware of the intention of a sword.

The sword in one’s hand wasn’t necessarily theirs.

The control of a sword wasn’t done by hands.

The possession of a sword had never been determined this way.

Jing Jiu said to him earnestly, “This sword was given to me by Liu Ci.”

“Though Liu Ci gave the Inherited Heaven Sword to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s yours.”

Liu Shisui went on expressionlessly while staring at Jing Jiu, “It’s because I didn’t give it to him back then; this sword is still mine.”

The Immortal Guangyuan and Nan Wang looked at Liu Shisui with an incredulous expression, and asked uncertainly, “Master?”

Liu Shisui let loose a grin.

His face was still the same dark face.

His expression was still as sincere as ever.

Yet, this grin had changed him into a different person.

He was the Immortal Taiping.

…

…

The quietness on the peak top was instantly shattered. The people were so shocked that they screamed out.

“The Immortal Taiping!”

“He is the Demonic Taiping!”

He didn’t give the Inherited Heaven Sword to Liu Ci.

What had happened was that Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing, led by Jing Yang, locked him up in the Sword Jail, without sentence and inheritance. They had sneak-attacked him.

According to the tradition of Green Mountain, the Inherited Heaven Sword was still his.

A blood red sword light illuminated the top of Tianguang Peak.

Nobody could figure out why Liu Shisui had suddenly changed to the Immortal Taiping. Was this the rumored “possession of body” or the control of spiritual soul?

Zhao Layue didn’t brother thinking of all this; she came out without a second thought.

The Thoughtless Sword and her gaze had all targeted the center of the Immortal Taiping’s brows.

Many years ago, she had tied him up with the Thoughtless Sword in a restaurant of Cloudy Town. Later, a flying sword sifted through the window from the outside and pierced through the center of his brows.

She had no idea how high his current Cultivation state was after his successful total transformation, nor did she know how to kill him. All she could do was prepare for the fight based on her past experience.

The desolate Sword of the Universe was also hovering on the top of Tianguang Peak, reading to strike down at any moment.

That strange and bent gray sword was hiding behind the Sword of the Universe.

Standing behind Yuan Qü, Zhuo Rusui aimed his right hand at the back of the Immortal Taiping, revealing an excited expression on his face.

The disciples of Shenmo Peak were all prepared for a fight without any hesitation; but the rest of the Green Mountain disciples were embroiled in the emotions of shock and bewilderment.

It was then that a few elders of Green Mountain rushed out from the crowd and knelt down on the ground to greet the Immortal Taiping, yelling excitedly, “Sect Master, you’re back!”

The Elder Mo Chi, feeling agitated, was about to come out and greet him; but he stopped short after he suddenly remembered what had happened over the last few hundred years, instead letting out a pained sigh.

Soon after, more and more screams and yelling burst out.

Some of them yelled “Sect Master”; some “Master”; and some “Grandmaster”…

Regardless of how many years the Immortal Taiping had been locked up in the Sword Jail and how the Cultivation circle described him as an evil and demonic person, he was still the Master, the Grandmaster and the Sect Master in the eyes of some people at the Green Mountain Sect.

But, why did the Grandmaster come back?

Did he intend to contend for the position of the sect master?

Whom should they support then?

It was just then that Jing Jiu had done something nobody expected; he released the right hand that had held the sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword.

Yet, releasing the hand was not equal to letting go of the sword.

It was because the sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword was under the control of the Immortal Taiping; so Jing Jiu couldn’t put it away.

It was not important to hold the sheath at the moment.

The sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword didn’t drop onto the ground. It was hovering between Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping, quivering slightly and giving off a buzzing sound like the one made by the wild bees.

Jing Jiu got up and took a few steps toward the edge of the cliff.

The sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword moved with him.

The Immortal Taiping had also come to the edge of the cliff. The two of them were thirty feet apart; but they were not looking at each other.

The sheath was still hovering between them.

The Immortal Guangyuan and Nan Wang exchanged a look; they knew that their Master and Senior Master had about the same amount of control over the sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword.

Yet, Zhao Layue had figured more than that. She was aware that Jing Jiu didn’t want them to get involved in the fight because their Cultivation states were still too low..or was it because of some other reasons?

For instance, if they struck, they might harm Liu Shisui, who was possessed by the Immortal Taiping instead of killing the Immortal Taiping himself.

It was evident that she was the one who understood Jing Jiu and the relationship between him and Liu Shisui better than anybody else.

It was for this reason that the Immortal Taiping took the risk and went to the Thousand-Mile Wind Corridor to have achieved this feat at great cost to himself.

How would Jing Jiu resolve this predicament?

He lifted his head and looked at a spot in the ocean of clouds, where there was a small green curtain sedan.

The green curtains rippled in the wind; the figure of the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery could be vaguely seen inside.

The Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery understood what he meant without explicit communication by language.

The green curtains ruffled.

A tender and pink peach flower bloomed in the curtains.

The Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery was dashing over by riding on the clouds.

It was the first time that many Cultivation practitioners had found out what the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery looked like.

She looked like a young woman, wearing a plain skirt, her eyes exceedingly bright; she actually looked somewhat like Lian Sanyue.

Though she looked ordinary, she was in fact one of the top swordsmen in Chaotian.

A dozen holes appeared abruptly in the ocean of clouds, all being her footsteps

In an instant she arrived on the top of Tianguang Peak, bringing with her energy that was unimaginably powerful. She turned her palm downwards and hacked at the chest of the Immortal Taiping.

Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping were engaged in a bout of controlling the Inherited Heaven Sword at the moment; so the Immortal Guangyuan and Nan Wang were the only ones who could hinder the attack of the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery.

But the Immortal Guangyuan and Nan Wang didn’t make a move after exchanging a look.

Pah!!!

The palm of the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery landed on the chest of the Immortal Taiping.

However, the thrusting palm that seemed to be able to destroy a mountain and turned the sea upside down had landed softly, as if it were a draft of gentle breeze.

It was because her intention was to force the Immortal Taiping out of Liu Shisui’s body rather than kill Liu Shisui.

It was also Jing Jiu’s intention; that was why Jing Jiu didn’t let Zhao Layue and the others strike and why he walked to the edge of the cliff and took a look at the small green curtain sedan.

Lian Sanyue had forced the Fairly Lady Bai Ren out of Bai Zao’s body back in Zhaoge City; so it was believed that the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery was certainly able to do the same because it was impossible for the spiritual soul of the Immortal Taiping to match Bai Ren’s.

However, something unexpected occurred.

The Immortal Taiping swayed a little, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corners of his mouth; but nothing else happened.

The rainbow illuminated the top of Tianguang Peak.

The Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery turned into a green light after giving a soft grunt, returning to the small green curtain sedan. It turned out that she sustained a minor injury.

A barrage of surprised screams went up around Tianguang Peak. The gazes on the Immortal Taiping were filled with awe and astonishment.

The people were unaware of the intention of the thrusting palm of the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery. They wondered how profound and formidable the Immortal Taiping’s Cultivation state was now that he could resist the strike of the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery and injure her while fighting for the control of the Inherited Heaven Sword against Jing Jiu.

After putting away the Guard-City Pen, the Immortal Taiping said to Jing Jiu expressionlessly, “As I said to you many years ago, one can’t step into the same river twice. You used the same method in Zhaoge City. Did you intend to use this method on me again?”