The Path Toward Heaven

The mountains in the hermit peaks were very greenish, and the sky was quite blue. They looked as perfect as fake objects, as though they were painted in a picture.

These picturesque peaks welcomed a most significant event in the history of the Green Mountain Sect and even in the history of Chaotian that day.

And yet, this significant event was participated only by two people, though there were a few bystanders.

Jing Jiu and the Immortal Taiping came to the hermit peaks, followed by the Inherited Heaven Sword and the Sword Formation of Green Mountain. Those elders who hadn’t heard of any news or seen anyone in the outside world sensed the energy of the sword formation, feeling astonished. They walked out of their manor caves where they stayed behind closed doors one after the other and gazed into distance while standing in the peaks.

An elder with a short temper demanded loudly, “What is going on? Why has the sword formation come to the hermit peaks? Is Green Mountain being purged? Do we have to go to the ocean now?”

In a peak one mile away, another elderly hermit remarked icily, “If this is the intention of Lelong County, I object! The Yuan Clan has a big ambition; so we have to stay as far from them as possible.”

“What year is it now? How come Green Mountain ends up in such a situation?” another aged voice rang out in bewilderment.

…

…

In a remote manor cave, Fang Jingtian opened his eyes slowly, a hint of tiredness and pain showing in the deep end of his eyes.

To contend for the position of the sect master of Green Mountain, he had fought against Jing Jiu in the hermit peaks for a long time and was severely wounded. He had no chance of recovering his Cultivation within a few hundred years; but how many more years would he have for his lifetime?

The voices of the elders in the hermit peaks reached his ears, making him feel surprised, as he wondered why they came forward today and why they hadn’t paid any attention when he and Jing Jiu fought vehemently back then. In the next moment, he sensed the Sword Formation of Green Mountain; he muttered with a changed expression, “Did my Master come back?”

He stood up with a great effort and walked to the front of the manor cave by propping against the wall, and opened the door of the manor cave.

As he came out of the manor cave, he saw the two figures at the edge of the cliff.

They were not the Immortal Taiping and Jing Jiu, but two figures in immensely different sizes.

The black dog was as big as a mountain, and the white cat was as pale as the snow in the mountain.

Seeing this, Fang Jingtian let loose a wry smile. Not to mention that he hadn’t recovered from his injury yet, he couldn’t help his Master even if his injury were healed.

The voices of those elderly hermits were still echoing in the hermit peaks. The place that had been quiet for tens of thousands of years became noisy all of a sudden.

The Dead Dog barked toward the outside of the cliff, his eyes revealing an irritated emotion.

This bark should be called “howling”.

The strong wind whipped up, and the sound waves rushed forward, reaching every corner of the hermit peaks.

Those elderly hermits bowed hastily with a changed expression on their faces, “Greetings, Master Night Howler.”

No matter how high those elders’ statuses were and how high their Cultivation states were, they were not as high as the Dead Dog.

The howling of the Dead Dog transmitted a message that Green Mountain was not being destroyed and that they should all be quiet.

Those elders remained quiet now.

Squatting by the edge of the cliff, Ada meowed once, showing a content expression.

…

…

The green grass looked like a carpet, and the white clouds looked like smoke. Walking among the sceneries was a comfortable and enjoyable experience.

If the two of them hadn’t held the Inherited Heaven Sword, their conversation would have been more interesting.

“I still don’t understand why you betrayed me back then. Was it because I killed your elder brother?”

“I’ve been raised by the world for a thousand years; so I can’t bear seeing it being destroyed. This is nothing but the karma.”

“As a Cultivation practitioner, what we attempt to achieve is to disconnect the karma.”

“In comparison to disconnecting the karma, it’s better to finish the karma; and also I don’t like what you’re doing. As someone who aspire for longevity, I dislike the death most. You had so many people killed; how could I feel happy about it?”

“The people only knew that you didn’t want to get involved in the affairs of the world by staying behind closed doors all the time; but they didn’t know about your temperament of killing others with one swing of the sword. You had killed a great many demons and devil men with your sword.”

“I did that because I disliked the troubles. When they bothered me, I had no patience to argue with them, and I simply killed them. However, the mortals haven’t bothered me; why should I want them to die?”

“The ants won’t bother you; but this indicates that we and those mortals are not the same kind. Why should we care about their deaths?”

“You said it several hundred years ago that we were the shepherds and the mortals were the sheep. But I think this is wrong.”

“Why is it wrong?” pressed the Immortal Taiping while looking at Jing Jiu who was at the other end of the Inherited Heaven Sword.

Jing Jiu replied, “Though the shepherds and the sheep are two different forms of life, the Cultivation practitioners and the mortals can produce offspring together, meaning they are the same kind.”

Jing Jiu didn’t like arguing with anybody, because he thought it was too troublesome. He had only talked to Zhao Layue about this on the lake outside Zhaoge City.

The Immortal Taiping learned of the answer only many years later. He fell silent for a long time.

“Is it important to persuade me?” asked Jing Jiu while staring into the eyes of the Immortal Taiping.

The Immortal Taiping sighed, “I regarded you as the true heir of mine back then; so it’s of course important.”

“It’s true that you taught me; but this doesn’t mean that I have to accept everything you do and walk on the same path as yours,” said Jing Jiu while looking at the green hills that looked like the sand dunes. “Of all the disciples of yours, some of them are the same as you, and some different from you; but all my disciples are different from me. I think I’m doing a better job than you in this respect.”

Those disciples who were the same as the Immortal Taiping were the Underworld Master, Fang Jingtian and those high-ranking members of the Old Ones hidden at various sects and who were willing to sacrifice themselves for his ideal. However, Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing couldn’t accept his path; and the Immortal Guangyuan, Nan Wang, Mo Chi and the others couldn’t side with him even though they respected and loved him.

Looking at the blue sky with squinting eyes, the Immortal Taiping said, “Even if you don’t want to be a someone like me and think my ideal is incorrect, you don’t have to oppose me…Back when you pierced the Lone Sword into my back, what were your thoughts at the time?”

“What were my thoughts and why? It was because I still had my karma in this world and I couldn’t allow you to accomplish your goal. As for this life…the reason is basically the same, especially after I found out that something was wrong with the Formation of Dispersed Smoke and Cloud,” said Jing Jiu calmly. “Everyone has their own path; your path can’t affect mine.”

The Immortal Taiping asked, “Does it mean that you won’t follow my path even if it’s the correct one?”

“People can walk on the opposite ends of the path toward heaven,” said Jing Jiu. “You walk on your side and don’t bother me.”

The white clouds were drifting slowly in the blue sky, which was similar to his calm and determined voice.

…

…

Fang Jingtian came to the edge of the cliff and sat down beside Ada.

A person, a dog and a cat were looking at the distant mountain and listening to the conversation in the distance.

They wouldn’t take part in the fight. The person wanted to, but he was incapable of doing so; the cat couldn’t do it because he was scared; and the dog didn’t do it because he respected those two.

Ada suddenly meowed once, his eyes with a mocking hint. His spiritual awareness said, “Don’t you two think they look like two little children arguing about something?”

The Dead Dog didn’t speak, smiling, the expression in his eyes calm and amiable.

Fang Jingtian remarked sentimentally, “If this were an argument between two little children, it would be the most dangerous one in the world.”

Staring in that direction without blinking, Ada meowed hastily in a hushed tone.

“Did the Immortal Taiping employ the old sword style of Mochen Peak?”

“Yeah, the Senior Master used the Endless Sword style.”

“It’s such a formidable sword move; why haven’t I seen it before?!”

“This should be a secret sword style of the No-Mercy Sect. The Senior Master has a good relationship with the No-Mercy Sect, so he must have learned it in secret. He intended to use it at this moment; he’s truly cunning.”

“Meow? How would you explain the Thunder style of the Center Sect employed by your Master?”

…

…

What Fang Jingtian said was right; if this were a childish quarrel between the Immortal Taiping and Jing Jiu, it would be the most dangerous quarrel in history.

Not only the result of this quarrel would change the situation of the world, but also the two of them didn’t keep their hands and eyes idle during their conversation.

Countless sword wills flew up in the air; the sword styles of the nine peaks of Green Mountain and even of much earlier periods were employed one after the other. The sword wills traveled among the mountains and fields, breaking all the wildflowers into pieces.

Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!

Countless bolts of lightning appeared in the sky, leaving a great many burning marks on the grass, the marks of magic methods.

Even the most complicated formations emerged from their fingers like the blooming flowers, then heading toward their opponents.

The two figures were gliding back and forth among the sword wills filling the air and the formations.

These two were the most talented practitioners in the history of the Green Mountain Sect and even in the history of the Cultivation world.

They were employing all of the magic methods they had learned over their lifetimes to attack each other from a distance of the length of the Inherited Heaven Sword. The spectacular scenes could be easily imagined.

Those elderly hermits observing the fight from a distance were stunned speechless, and had many worries in their minds.

With a changed expression on his face, Fang Jingtian asked, “Are those the mosquitoes of the Fiend Prison?”

The Immortal Taiping in the distance backed up constantly; it seemed that he had experienced some kind of trouble.

The sound of a flute suddenly rang out in the hermit peaks, and then disappeared abruptly.

Fang Jingtian felt a bit relieved; but Ada grew grave and meowed twice in disdain.

“It turns out that your Master has prepared for this beforehand. He cultivated the bone flute into a soundless sword. Those mosquitoes fear this the most. He is truly cunning.”

“Sorry, but who used the mosquitoes first?”

“You should feel lucky that Jing Yang hasn’t used the Seal of the Underworld Emperor to smash your Master’s head. He is saving some face for your Master.”

“The Seal of the Underworld Emperor is the item given to my Master for safekeeping by the Underworld Emperor. If the Senior Master used it to attack my Master, would it mean that he is too shameless?”

“Do you really think these two would mind being shameless? Well, speaking of conversation and quarrel, what are they talking about at the moment?”

“My Master should be using the Two-Mind Connection; and the Senior Master must be using the Heaven-Human Connection.”

“The two grandmasters of the Green Mountain Sect are having a duel; but it turns out to be a fight between the Fruit Formation Temple and the Water-Moon Nunnery. Tsk, tsk. What is going on?”

A gust of violent wind kicked up; the Dead Dog stood up swiftly and stared at a distant spot, the expression in his eyes exceedingly grave.

Though Fang Jingtian and Ada didn’t know what was happening, they also felt ill at ease.

…