The Path Toward Heaven

The main goal in the Cultivation world wasn’t the struggle for the power and positions, or the competition with each other to show who were stronger and better; instead, the main activity was the Cultivation.

This was more obvious at the Green Mountain Sect.

Shenmo Peak was even more so. The four of them, two masters and two disciples, spent a majority of their time on the Cultivation, since they were not good at chitchatting.

At the beginning, Gu Qing and Yuan Qü felt uneasy because Master White Ghost was with them; but as time went by, they had gradually gotten used to his existence, and they could focus on their Cultivation since White Ghost spent most of his time sleeping anyway, so it wasn’t hard to get used to.

It was quiet on the peak top from the early morning to the dusk.

Zhao Layue, Gu Qing and Yuan Qü meditated and practiced sword work at their usual places respectively.

Occasionally, one could hear the sound of sword breaking through the air, and monkeys’ screams once in a while.

Jing Jiu had been trapped in the snowland for six years, and his Cultivation state had stagnated. Yet, he didn’t seem to worry too much about his Cultivation after resuming his practice.

He could absorb the energy of heaven and earth at an unimaginable speed, as if the energy of heaven and earth were pouring into his body.

Whenever he was in meditation, Shenmo Peak would gather more and purer energy from heaven and earth.

A few days later, White Ghost found his Cultivation method was different, causing a peculiar phenomenon on the peak, so he walked out from the cave.

As long as he could benefit from the energy of heaven and earth on Shenmo Peak, White Ghost would definitely like to stay closer to Jing Jiu.

White Ghost made up his mind.

From that day on, White Ghost would jump onto Jing Jiu’s head, crouching on it, once Jing Jiu started meditating to absorb the energy of heaven and earth.

And Cold Cicada crouched on White Ghost’s head.

This was an absurd scene. Fortunately, nobody witnessed it.

Jing Jiu didn’t mind it since a cat and a cicada weren’t so heavy anyway.

On the other hand, White Ghost wasn’t so pleased, as he thought Jing Jiu was too lazy and his daily meditation time was too short.

However, he found one more benefit to staying on Shenmo Peak in addition to staying on Jing Jiu’s head.

The sun on Shenmo Peak seemed rounder and bigger than it on Bihu Peak.

The sunlight here was warmer and had a better smell, more comfortable to bathe in.

Well, there was another benefit.

…

…

When the Cultivation was finished every day, White Ghost would jump into Zhao Layue’s bosom and sleep there.

Seeing the scene, Yuan Qü didn’t understand the reason. “Though I heard that the cats like sleeping, they would still go out at night to play. Why doesn’t Master Principal Guard do such a thing? He hasn’t gone to anywhere since he is here on Shenmo Peak,” he asked.

Jing Jiu thought that anyone would get sick and tired of seeing the same sceneries over and over again after thousands of years, no matter how remarkable and beautiful the sceneries were on the Green Mountain; it would be hard to find a place interesting after spending so many years here. Years ago White Ghost went to the Hermit Peak to dig the graves because he was bored and wanted to check if there were any treasures buried there. Since White Ghost made a mess there, his Big Brother got very angry. Later his Big Brother and Dead Dog worked together to give White Ghost a good beating.

It should be then that White Ghost started disliking Dead Dog.

What about Dead Dog? His relationship with his Big Brother was very close back then. Did this relationship continue?

When his Big Brother was imprisoned in Sword Jail, what was his mood as he walked in that gloomy and dark tunnel?

…

…

There were many things that Jing Jiu couldn’t think through, not until the flowers had already withered.

As the mid-summer arrived, it often rained on the Green Mountain. The rainfall was usually heavier at night.

One night, the heavy rainfall on the top of Bihu Peak was like a downpour, with the dark clouds rolling around, countless thunders and flashes of lightning striking down, bombarding the small island in the center of the lake.

After making sure the Thunder-Soul Woods were safe, Jing Jiu turned around and walked out of the manor cave, coming to the side of Zhao Layue, under the eaves.

The night sky over Bihu Peak had been sliced into countless pieces by the lightning.

Dozens of sword lights suddenly appeared in the sky, traveling through the lightning at a high speed and at a great risk.

Those were the disciples of the Green Mountain in the Undefeated State and the Free Travel State, using the thunder to wash their swords.

The drizzles over Shenmo Peak had suddenly dispersed. Yuan Qü, who had sat by the cliff’s edge cross-legged for five days and nights, opened his eyes, rising up on his sword.

It was at this moment that he had broken through the state and entered the Undefeated State.

Gu Qing rode his word to follow behind him.

Soon, two flashes of sword light merged into dozens of sword lights, unrecognizable.

But the cliff’s edge wasn’t vacant.

White Ghost was there watching in the direction of Bihu Peak.

No matter how bright the lightning was, his pupils didn’t undergo any change, still so gloomy and profound, like the starry night.

Guarding the Thunder-Soul Woods was his job. Since the Green Mountain was raising him, he had to do his job well in return.

It was like Dead Dog doing his job in the dark underground.

Not all the great grandmasters were as lazy as Jing Jiu, or so lacking conscience.

In the rainstorm, White Ghost was watching the distance in silence.

Cold Cicada was crouching by his side.

…

…

It wasn’t so eventful as far as the Cultivation was concerned.

The same thing went for the change in seasons.

One year had passed fast enough. The Green Mountain welcomed another winter.

People inside the mountains didn’t know how much people outside the mountains had to endure. They only knew the snowy scene was beautiful.

It was requested again by Qingrong Peak that the Green Mountain Formation open up a gap when the first snowfall arrived.

The snowflakes fell down in tandem. Shangde Peak became even whiter in a single night, and other peaks had a thick layer of snow on the peak top.

Bihu Peak was the only exception. It looked like wearing a hat, and the color of the hat wasn’t so great.

Gu Qing pushed open the wooden cabin. He caught a fruit thrown his way by a monkey and took a bite out of it. As he was about to use the sword fire to clean his face, he changed his mind when he saw white everywhere.

After he used snow to clean his face, he felt a lot fresher, and walked up to the peak top. Then, he brought out the stove and threw in a few silver coals, and began to boil tea with the snow water.

Hearing the sound of boiling water in the iron kettle, Yuan Qü walked out from the manor cave while rubbing his eyes.

Seeing what Gu Qing was doing, he was startled, asking, “Big Brother, are we going to drink tea today?”

“Yes. Snowfall isn’t all that common here,” Gu Qing replied with a smile.

As Yuan Qü walked toward the cliff’s edge, he suddenly noticed a bulge in the snow. When he looked closely at it, he found a tail showing above the snow.

After some thought, he asked, “Should we wake up Master Principal Guard to have some tea?”

Gu Qing thought to himself, even if Master Principal Guard wasn’t a regular cat, he was still a cat.

And he was a cat named Liu Ada; and he should be more willing to drink the rice wine than the tea boiled by the snow water.

Even though they had lived together over a year, Gu Qing was still not used to his name whenever he thought about it.

He suddenly thought of something, asking, “Of all the Principal Guards, is Master White Ghost ranked first?”

Yuan Qü asked, “What would make you think so?”

Gu Qing spoke of the words “Liu Ada” silently only with the movements of his mouth.

Yuan Qü understood what he meant, but thought it might not be the case.

Jing Jiu’s voice came down from the manor cave above, “Round Turtle, Devil Rooster, and Ada all want to be the number one, so their names all have an implicit primary number.”

Because of the snowfall last night, Jing Jiu moved back inside the hall and placed the bamboo chair by the window, which was open all night.

The tail that looked like a flag post in the snow wiggled a few times, indicating his agreement.

Gu Qing craned his head at the window, asking, “What about Master Night Howler?”

Jing Jiu said, “Dead Dog thinks all three of them are idiots.”

Gu Qing and Yuan Qü wanted to laugh, but they didn’t dare to when they saw the white tail in the snow.

All of a sudden, a whistling sound rang out.

Zhao Layue walked to the cliff’s edge. After dismantling the forbidding formation, she reached out her hand to grab a sword letter from the air.

After opening the sword letter and skimming it, she said to the second floor of the building, “The West Ocean Sword Sect has sent a letter. Someone wants to challenge you.”

“Who?” Jing Jiu asked.

“That idiot, Tong Lu,” answered Zhao Layue.

Gu Qing and Yuan Qü couldn’t hold it anymore, taking this opportunity to laugh out aloud.