The Path Toward Heaven

A flute suddenly rang out on the top of the peak.

The wind and rain went mute.

The air coming out from the holes of the flute were all sword wills, and they blocked Zhao Layue’s incoming palm squarely.

In the next moment, more sword wills emerged from the bone flute, hacking at Zhao Layue.

Innumerable crisp sword sounds rang out.

Neither the Immortal Taiping nor Zhao Layue used a sword; but it seemed as if countless flying swords were clashing with each other.

A dozen cracks appeared on Zhao Layue’s body instantly.

The fresh blood didn’t have enough time to seep out from those wounds yet.

The locks of black hair cut off by the sword wills were still drifting in front of her eyes.

She should be near her death at the moment.

Yet, it was worth it, she thought. The swordsmen of Green Mountain attained a chance for her to get inside the formation; and now it was her turn to gain a chance for Jing Jiu.

Pah!!! Pah!!! Pah!!!

The frequent breaking noises burst out as a figure broke through the raindrops upon arrival.

The Underworld Fairy Sword was indeed the fastest and most unpredictable sword style and movement in the world, full of fairy airs and ghostly intent.

Jing Jiu appeared in front of the Immortal Taiping, and before Zhao Layue.

He chose not to accept this winning chance; it was because it would be gained at the cost of her life.

As far as Jing Jiu was concerned, this was an expected and understandable choice.

He had always placed himself in the very front, followed by Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui and all the others; this world was ranked far behind them.

The sword wills emerging from the bone flute met Jing Jiu’s fingers in the rain many times in a very short period of time.

Countless tiny raindrops hit Jing Jiu’s fingers and splashed out like flowers.

As he came before Zhao Layue, the Sword Formation of Green Mountain had grown smaller, knocking Zhao Layue out of the formation.

Jing Jiu stood very close to the Immortal Taiping; the Inherited Heaven Sword was right in front of him. He could touch it by reaching out his hand.

Two hands grabbed the Inherited Heaven Sword almost at the same time.

Jing Jiu released the Inherited Heaven Sword earlier because he thought it was useless to hold it then.

But he had to hold the sword along with the Immortal Taiping because he had no other choice.

Whoosh!!! Whoosh!!!

The raindrops splashed out from the spots where the two hands held the Inherited Heaven Sword, forming two perfectly round spheres.

They also looked like two groups of wild bees flying in opposite directions.

The water beads that contained formidable sword wills of the Sword Formation of Green Mountain didn’t make any sound when they landed on the cliff walls of Tianguang Peak, but each bead of water left a tiny and deep hole on the walls.

The beads of water acted like the drops of boiling hot oil falling onto the snow.

The water of Bihu Peak had flooded, raging through the forests like tens of thousands of wild horses.

The snow avalanches continued on Shangde Peak, making more terrifying rumbling noises.

The downpour pelted down more violently, and the monkeys cried more sorrowfully. The distant peaks that hadn’t had the protection of the formations had collapsed one after the other.

A large gap was created by the sword wills in the dark clouds, the high sky was visible now. The horrific energy hidden in the distant Thunder Region was twirling at a high speed; a ruby-like light ring appeared in the area between the Empty Realm and the Chaotic Wind. Anyone seeing all this would have a depressed and sickening feeling.

“The Sword Formation of Green Mountain is going to be destroyed…”

The Immortal Guangyuan said this pale-faced after he pulled back his gaze from the horizon and looked at the two figures holding firmly onto the Inherited Heaven Sword at the edge of the cliff.

Everybody’s face was pale at the moment, including those who were still at the top of the peak and those Green Mountain disciples who had escaped to the sky.

It was then that someone unexpectedly came out.

Guo Nanshan rode his sword to the top of the ocean of clouds outside Tianguang Peak. Looking at the two figures at the edge of the cliff, he displayed a determined expression on his face.

He was the principal disciple of the former sect master, Liu Ci. He grew up on Green Mountain and had deep affection for everything in this place and a sense of responsibility for the sect. he intended to sacrifice his own life to persuade the Immortal Taiping and the Immortal Sect Master to release their hands. Even if he couldn’t stop the contention for the Inherited Heaven Sword, he had at least done something, which suited the saying in the imperial court, “Persuading the ruler with one’s life”.

Gu Han, Lin Wuzhi, Yao Songshan and the other disciples of the third generation had a changed expression as they had guessed what Guo Nanshan intended to do, yet they rode their swords to follow him to the sky without hesitation.

They all intended to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Green Mountain.

“Forget it.”

Looking at the two figures at the edge of the cliff, Zhuo Rusui said weakly, “They’re both relentless. Even if you all died in front of them, they wouldn’t let go of the Inherited Heaven Sword.”

Gu Han thought what he said was very disrespectful to the masters, but he couldn’t find the proper words to refute and reproach him.

Zhuo Rusui was right that the Immortal Taiping and Jing Jiu were both this sort of people.

“Old guys like them wouldn’t be troubled by the life and death of others, so let them do whatever they want to.”

Zhuo Rusui continued talking after wiping the rainwater from his face; but his voice was a bit tired now.

The people on Tianguang Peak and those in the sky had all heard him, their gazes on the edge of the cliff growing more complicated.

Green Mountain used to be appealing, but now it looked terrible, like it had scars and wounds everywhere.

Would the Green Mountain Sect that had led the Cultivation world for tens of thousands of years be swept off the world stage because of the fight between this outstanding pair of brothers?

“It’s really freaking terrible to look at…” Zhuo Rusui yelled at the two figures at the edge of the cliff after spitting out a bit of blood. “You two grandmasters look so terrible in front of your disciples and outsiders; it’s really disgraceful. Could you two die somewhere faraway and not let those monkeys sacrifice themselves for your sake?”

…

…

Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping ignored what Zhuo Rusui was saying; in fact, they were paying attention to nobody but each other at the moment.

The Guard-City Pen suddenly flew out from the sleeve of the Immortal Taiping and wrote a few lines of words by dipping in the ink-like raindrops.

As such, the two of them had these words in their eyes, in addition to each other.

The words were written very fast in an indiscernible manner, so the meaning of the lines was barely discernible .

Liu Shisui, who was controlled by the Two-Mind Connection, had gotten hold of the Guard-City Pen and made a last-ditch effort to persuade them when he realized that the Sword Formation of Green Mountain would break apart and the peaks of Green Mountain would all collapse.

A gust of violent wind suddenly blew over from a distant place; the wind felt extremely cold because it came with snowflakes.

The raging downpour was flung up by this gust of violent wind, as if heaven and earth were turned upside down.

A few bolts of lightning were sliced to many sections by the wind as they struck down from the sky, reducing to tiny pieces before they vanished into the rain soundlessly.

The Cultivation practitioners in the sky couldn’t withstand the violent wind; they escaped to a farther place. Even the powerful swordsmen like the immortals Tan and Bai and the Chief Nun of the Water-Moon Nunnery had fled to a safer distance because they had no intention of fighting the terrible wind head-on.

The accumulated water on the peak top was hurled up in the air by the violent wind. Zhuo Rusui, who was cursing the two grandmasters with the words of “freaking old men” had swallowed the water as he opened his mouth, so he couldn’t utter another word.

The dark clouds were dispersed by the wind, exposing the blue sky, yet the sun was nowhere to be found.

By the time the dreadful strong wind abated, the people found out why this gust of wind whipped up; there was an exceedingly loud noise echoing in heaven and earth.

People usually described the loud thunder as rumbling and booming, and they would exaggerate the loudness of the thunder by saying “It seems like ten thousand booms of thunder were occurring all at once”. And yet the loud roar had far surpassed all of these.

Many Green Mountain disciples and those Cultivation practitioners of various sects who were in a low Cultivation state were shocked unconscious, falling down to the foot of the cliff. They would have died if they hadn’t been saved by their masters before hitting the ground.

The hut on the top of Tianguang Peak had disappeared after being broken into pieces; even the stone monument on the back of the Round Turtle had formed a tiny crack. The most unbelievable part was that the light case formed by the Sword Formation of Green Mountain covering the two figures at the edge of the cliff began to quiver uneasily…It seemed unstable and was on the verge of breaking apart.

Countless gazes fell on the spot where the violent wind started.

Shangde Peak was covered with a great deal of ice and snow, resembling a snowy mountain.

A huge black dog stood on top of the snowy mountain.

The black dog looked at the two figures at the cliff’s edge on Tianguang Peak with a cold expression in his eyes.

…

…

It was suddenly clear in the sky, and the downpour vanished without a trace. The blue sky looked like ceramic ware. Yet the sun was still nowhere to be found, nor was the Great Formation of Green Mountain.

It was because the two figures at the edge of the cliff had vanished along with the Inherited Heaven Sword. It was believed that the Great Formation of Green Mountain had also followed them to another place.

The people looked at the distant Shangde Peak again and found only the snow that had been accumulated from ten thousand years ago and today, but the figure of the huge black dog was not seen there, as if he had never been there.

The gust of violent wind had just occurred a few moments earlier, and the exceedingly loud boom still seemed to echo throughout heaven and earth.

Who was that black dog as big as a mountain?

Many people figured it out soon enough.

He was the Principal Guard of Green Mountain, the Night Howler.

He was in the Heavenly Arrival State and was an equal of the Unicorn. Only a Principal Guard of Green Mountain would have such prowess.

As he howled toward the Sky, even the sun didn’t dare to show up; as such, he was nicknamed the “Night Howler”.

…

…

The top of Tianguang Peak returned to its former quietness, the muddy dripping down to the foot of the cliff out of the cracks between the rocks.

Zhuo Rusui had finally regained his senses. Thinking of what he cursed earlier, he couldn’t help but fall down due to his weak knees and onto the chest of Guo Nanshan, his Big Brother; another reason for this was that he was severely wounded.

Gu Qing and Yuan Qü were also badly wounded; fortunately, their wounds were not life-threatening.

Zhao Layue walked to the edge of the cliff and looked in the direction of the distant Shangde peak.

The fresh blood kept seeping out from the ruptures on her dress. She didn’t bother taking a look at it. She looked rather worried with her inky thick brows furrowed.

Que Niang came beside her and asked worriedly, “Where did Teacher and that person go?”

Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping wouldn’t let go of the Inherited Heaven Sword, which meant that what they did was bring the Sword Formation of Green Mountain with them. Under such circumstances, they could in no way leave Green Mountain; but why had the peaks of Green Mountain suddenly become so peaceful?

Many Green Mountain disciples, including Zhao Layue, had guessed that they must have gone to the hermit peaks.

The fights of the Heavenly Arrival State between Fang Jingtian and the Immortal Guangyuan and between Jing Jiu and Fang Jingtian had all taken place on the hermit peaks.

The fact that Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping went to the hermit peaks had something to do with the sudden presence of the Master Night Howler.

Everybody was looking at a corner of the intermittent hermit peaks at the moment; so Que Niang had no idea why Zhao Layue was looking in the direction of Shangde Peak.

Unnoticeably, the Round Turtle, who had kept his eyes shut the entire time, opened them.

His eyes were very small, two slits at most. One had to get near him to notice the expression in his eyes, which was a mixture of worry, sentiment, and anger.

You two brothers have been treating me like I don’t even exist; but you two listened to him when that dog got upset. Don’t bother me if you two think you’re so outstanding.

The Sword Jail was situated underneath Shangde Peak. Only the peak masters like Zhao Layue knew that the passage leading to the hermit peaks was located in the deep part of the Sword Jail.

Yet, Nan Wang and the Immortal Guangyuan were not looking at Shangde Peak, instead gazing at a spot in the sky.

The Immortal Tan stood on a cloud.

And the Immortal Bai stood on another one.

…

…

All the stories had taken place at the bottom of the well.

Jing Yang, Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing walked toward the Immortal Taiping after they had eaten hotpot back then.

Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping stood under the sunlight today while holding the Inherited Heaven Sword in their hands, as though they were two ferocious roosters that didn’t intend to let go of the worms in their beaks.

What Zhuo Rusui commented earlier was right; this scene was indeed unsightly. It was not fit for the two of them, who held such a significant position in the history of Cultivation.

As a result, the expression in the eyes of the Dead Dog was also very terrible.

Looking down at the pair of brothers, the Dead Dog had gradually recovered his normal breathing. The strong wind had ceased, and the angry expression in his eyes had gradually subsided. But he was far from being his usual amiable self; he appeared exceedingly determined and powerful.

No matter how you two are going to contend and fight, you can in no way destroy Green Mountain.

Green Mountain doesn’t just belong to you two; it’s everybody’s Green Mountain.

I’m a Principal Guard of Green Mountain; so I have to guard it and deal with anybody who intends to destroy it.

Normally, Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping had the Sword Formation of Green Mountain with them, and they shouldn’t feel threatened by anyone. They might even dare to go to the lonely peak in the snowland. But for some reason, the Dead Dog’s intention took effect. As a result, the two of them came here from the top of Tianguang Peak at the risk of losing contact with the Sword Formation of Green Mountain.

The Immortal Taiping sighed, “What is this? The loyal dog wants to become the master now!”

“I’ve never been his master,” said Jing Jiu. “So you should feel more miserable.”

The Immortal Taiping walked to the deep part of the Sword Jail.

He held one end of the Inherited Heaven Sword.

Jing Jiu held onto the other end.

Jing Jiu didn’t wish to release the Inherited Heaven Sword, so he had no choice but to follow the Immortal Taiping.

Watching them from a high spot, the two of them looked like two little friends walking toward the deeper part of the dark and gloomy passage with a stick linking them.

Seeing this scene, the expression in the eyes of the Dead Dog grew amiable, showing more sympathy and pity.

The passage in the Sword Jail was wide enough for the Dead Dog to walk inside freely, and as such, it was rather broad as far as humans were concerned.

Though the Sword Formation of Green Mountain had been pressed to a much smaller size by the two of them, it was still a few hundred square feet wide, and so the formation could barely make its way through the passage.

It was perhaps because the formation could pass through the passage of the Sword Jail that the Dead Dog presented himself.

The Inherited Heaven Sword emitted a faint sword will, but the most formidable sword wills didn’t show up by hiding around their bodies.

No one could stand between the two of them; in fact, nothing could draw near them at the moment.

It was deathly quiet in the Sword Jail, devoid of any noise. The only sound was the footsteps those two made. The demons and devil men in the cells seemed to have disappeared altogether.

After a long while, the Immortal Taiping placed his left foot a few inches off on the ground; with a faint cracking sound, a deep sword mark could be seen on the steely stone wall that was reinforced by a great many formations, the metal-like sand falling down in rustling noise.

It was still fairly quiet in the cells on both sides of the passage. There was a hint of terror filling the air. Soon after, the sounds of hard objects clashing against each other were audible; it turned out that some prisoners were trembling out of fear.

The prisoners locked in the Sword Jail of Green Mountain were either the important figures in the deviant sects or the vicious devil men from the Underworld; they must have slaughtered a great many lives and seen blood spilling many times. The reason they were so scared was obviously because of the formidable sword wills.

Who could expect the Sword Formation of Green Mountain that was the most lethal weapon in Chaotian to appear as a tangible object in front of them?

Those prisoners didn’t dare make any noise, nor did they dare move. They were afraid that they might be cut into pieces by the Sword Formation of Green Mountain.

The more one is afraid of something, the more likely it will come to them.

The Immortal Taiping’s left foot was off by a few inches again.

The formidable sword wills cut open the solid stone wall like a piece of paper, exposing a cell in front of their eyes.

The devil man in the cell was pale-faced, his blood-red eyes full of fear, his long hair dropping down to his shoulders.

This devil man was evidently mistaken, as he thought that the Immortal Taiping and Jing Jiu were here to kill him. He summoned the demonic magic and charged out after letting out a despaired and frenzied shriek.

It was still soundless; what had happened was like the snow melting under the hot sun. The devil man disappeared right in front of the Immortal Taiping, reduced to the tiniest particles by the Sword Formation of Green Mountain. The blood spat out by him was also sliced into tiny beads, filling the passage like mist.

“This is your second misstep,” commented Jing Jiu.

The Immortal Taiping returned, “It’s not that important.”

“This means that you’re tired and getting old even though you’re using Liu Shisui’s body.”

Jing Jiu went on while staring at him, “If it were you back in the days, would you behave like this? It’s so labored and without any sense of grace. You have acted no different than those laborers whom you have always looked down on.”

It was unclear when the hand of the Immortal Taiping holding the Inherited Heaven Sword began trembling slightly.

“To achieve a great goal, one has to exert a great effort,” the Immortal Taiping turned to him and said. “You’re the same because you’re drifting right now.”

Jing Jiu had already left the ground completely; he was drifting to this spot like a gust of gentle wind.

It was hard for both of them.

As the Immortal Taiping came to a spot in the Sword Jail, he stopped short. He looked at the narrow and quiet passageway to his side, his eyes full of complicated emotion.

Many years ago, the Immortal Taiping was betrayed and severely wounded by Jing Yang, Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing, and was then locked up in the cell at the end of the passageway. The long stay in the prison didn’t change his temperament and ideas, but it had changed quite a few things nonetheless; for instance, the bone on his arm had been tempered by him into a bone sword flute, that and he was three hundred years older…

The passageway was very quiet. It was dustless and without any barrier; the sword wills of the Sealing of Thousand-Mile Ice were hidden in the walls.

Looking at the cell at the end of the passageway, the Immortal Taiping suddenly asked, “Do you fear that the older one will come and cause trouble since you locked the younger one up here?”

Back when Jing Jiu brought the Snow Girl to Green Mountain, Liu Ci gave a strict order to keep all the peaks away from the Sword Jail. Nobody had seen what Jing Jiu brought back, except for the Dark Phoenix who stood on the stone beam at that time.

Jing Jiu didn’t give a response to his question. He looked at his hand while asking, “Are you sure that you won’t let go of it?”

As the Immortal Taiping thought of one possibility, the expression on his face changed a bit; but he still had no intention of releasing the Inherited Heaven Sword.

Jing Jiu looked at the cell at the end of the passageway and said, “I have to trouble your highness now.”