The Path Toward Heaven

Zhao Layue was taken aback at first, and then asked, “What event?”

Gu Qing and Yuan Qü also had a baffled expression on their faces.

De Sese looked at them helplessly as she said, “Though Cultivation is important, you guys should pay a little more attention to the happenings in the Cultivation world.”

Zhao Layue thought that the Snowy Kingdom wouldn’t invade the south within a hundred years according to the Broadsword King, and the Underworld was also inactive lately; what significant event could have happened?

“Something might have happened to Su Ziye’s brain, for he left the Cold Mountain and went to Yizhou. As a result, he was assassinated in a restaurant there. The assassin disguised himself as a john…”

De Sese described the assassination in details.

Gu Qing and Yuan Qü exchanged glances, feeling surprised, because Zhao Layue listened with great care.

Thinking of the smart arrangement of the assassination and the brutal attack, De Sese couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. “The Old Ones are really scary,” she said sentimentally.

“Is he dead?”

Zhao Layue displayed the rare interest in a person.

She had heard of the name of Su Ziye many years ago.

The young master of the Mysterious Dark Sect had a special talent in Cultivation, which was exaggerated to a great degree by the rumors, and his talent was even rumored to be superior to Luo Huainan’s.

“I don’t know whether he is dead or not,” De Sese said. “Though he should be dead for sure under the circumstances, his corpse hasn’t been found yet.”

It became quiet in the manor cave, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Luo Huainan and Su Ziye were the strongest swordsmen among the young practitioners in the Cultivation world, one orthodox and another deviant.

Who could have anticipated that both of them would come across assassins?

One was dead, and the other’s fate was unknown.

It was indeed making people feel sentimental.

De Sese thought that the awkward atmosphere in the manor cave was due to this feeling; but she didn’t know what Zhao Layue, Gu Qing and Yuan Qü thought of was far more complicated than this.

…

…

The southwest of Chaotian was occupied by the barren lands, hostile rivers, and end-to-end mountain ranges. The rainstorms were often followed by the droughts. The production of food was low so that the human population was small in the area.

Normally, this place should be popular with the Cultivation practitioners; but, the issue with this place was that it was lack of spiritual source, and the sceneries were not so appealing.

In the midst of the cliff walls, a black figure was moving forward at an unimaginable speed, not slowing down even at the places where the rocky cliff walls were steep and dangerous.

As he moved forward, the dry and dead tree branches were crushed into pieces, the damp moss was pushed into mud, the mountain eagle that didn’t have enough time to evade was knocked aside; the alcohol jar collided with his thigh, making the “pah” sounds.

As he came to a thick and dark spot of the forest, he halted and threw the person on his back to the ground; and then he untied the alcohol jar and took two gulps from it, starting breathing heavily.

His partner had a black cloth covering his face. He strained to prop himself up against a big tree, and said in a hoarse voice, “Let me have a drink.”

“You have already been poisoned, so you’re not going to freaking drink any wine!”

That man had a tall and strong build, fully bearded. Since he drank the wine too hastily, the wine splashed on his face, looking like the dews.

Yet, his eyes were very clean, looking also like the dews.

He was the Second of the World, He Zhan.

The person under the tree took off the black cloth, exposing his face.

His face was greenish, emitting faint glow, like the hardened paste; and he looked like a ghost, very creepy.

The expression on He Zhan’s face was unchanged, indicating that he was used to seeing that face.

The other person’s voice was very hoarse, like his vocal cord had been cut by a knife. “I’ve already suffered so much from this poison; how could a few drinks hurt me more than that?” he exclaimed.

He Zhan’s eyes turned dimmer, and he understood his partner’s reasoning, throwing the alcohol jar to him.

That person caught the alcohol jar and took two sips from it. Though he showed a carefree attitude in his words, he actually drank the wine very carefully, without any wine leaking from his mouth, displaying an elegant manner.

“I don’t know if the assassins of the Old Ones are somewhere nearby, but I know full well that nobody is willing to help you besides me.”

He Zhan grew angry as he spoke. “If you made more friends like me, you wouldn’t end up like this,” he proclaimed.

That person said with a soft smile, “I wouldn’t be a disciple of the deviant sect if I had friends.”

He Zhan didn’t bother heeding him, saying, “The Baotong Zen Temple is close to here.”

That person said, “Don’t forget I’m the young master of the Mysterious Dark Sect.”

He was actually the Su Ziye.

“Your father was paralyzed for many years since he had gone mad. Now something has happened to you, he would have a hard time to protect himself.”

He Zhan snickered, “Now that the Mysterious Dark Sect has already belonged to somebody else, you are not the young master anymore.”

Su Ziye thought about it and said, “What you said is right.”

“What kind of poison have you had inside your body?” He Zhan asked with frowned brows.

It was well known that the regular poisons wouldn’t have any effects on the Cultivation practitioners, and more importantly, the Mysterious Dark Sect was good at using the peculiar poisons and demon methods themselves.

“I have detected that one of the poisons was the Corpse Ash. It seems that the Old Ones know a great deal about the methods of the Mysterious Dark Sect; but I believe they have added some different ingredients to it.”

Su Ziye added, “These are not important though. The important part is that the methods used by those assassins were really outstanding. The Old Ones are truly formidable.”

“Why did the Old Ones want to kill you?” He Zhan asked.

Su Ziye replied, “Many people on the Cold Mountain don’t like me, and those old guys in the sect have always wanted me to be killed, not to mention your orthodox Cultivation practitioners. Since many of them can afford the price for my assassination, I have no idea who is behind this.”

He Zhan was angry at him, shouting, “You clearly knew that many people wanted you dead, but you were still so careless and went to Yizhou all by yourself!”

Su Ziye didn’t respond, merely closing his eyes in rest. “Get me some barbecued meat to eat,” he demanded.

He Zhan’s footsteps sounded, heading toward a distant place.

Su Ziye’s face was twisted, like a rolled up leaf, appearing to be in pain.

He didn’t open his eyes.

It was darkness in his eyes.

It was the bonfire that illuminated the darkness.

Last year, the bonfire, a hundred feet high, illuminated the gloomy valley.

That was the ritual of worshiping the ancestors at the Mysterious Dark Sect.

A young man appeared from nowhere to challenge him.

That young man was wounded badly by him and fled.

Yet, even in private, his alertness did not wane.

It was because that young man used the purest form of demonic methods offered by the Mysterious Dark Sect.

The ancient energy of those demon methods he employed were evident.

Those old guys literally lit up in their eyes when they witnessed it, he remembered clearly.

He wanted to find out why.

Therefore, when he learned of the whereabouts of that young man, he didn’t hesitate to leave the Cold Mountain and went to Yizhou.

He didn’t bring any subordinate with him for the purpose of secrecy.

The clue he had obtained was obviously false, judging from what had happened.

It was the wrong information the Old Ones provided him on purpose.

He could plainly sense that the poisonous elements were spreading in his meridians, slowly assaulting his muscles, getting closer to his demon embryo.

When that happened, he would die.

That young man should have already returned to the Cold Mountain and been appointed as the master by those old guys.

What about his father? Was he dead already? Or, he was treated with humiliation and couldn’t die even if he wanted to, living out a much worse life.

He hoped it was the latter.

As Su Ziye was thinking of these matters, he heard the footsteps and slowly opened his eyes.