The Path Toward Heaven

Nan Zheng was startled when the red light suddenly appeared. What was happening next made her feel even more terrified.

A faint energy came out from the bottom of the godly statue, soon enshrouding the entire ruined temple.

The silver bells on her body quivered when not being blown by any wind, giving off a crisp ringing sound.

Who was administering the tribal magic? And how come it was so powerful?

What worried Nan Zheng the most was that the ringing sound of the bells might disturb the Great Grandmaster in the black coffin. What would happen if the Great Grandmaster got upset at her?

Squeak!!!

The lid of the black coffin was slowly moved aside, exposing a small crack.

Nan Zheng had almost fainted as she turned around.

She unexpectedly saw a person in front of the black coffin.

He was a little boy, wearing a jacket and a bun on his head. He was skinny with a pale face.

The boy stretched his hand into the air, grabbed a handful of the faint energy and brought it to his nose. “It’s the scent of a fake god,” he said in an old man’s voice.

Soon, the faint energy vanished.

The boy did nothing but sit on the coffin while looking in the direction of Green Mountain.

Nan Zheng’s face grew paler, wondering what this thing was and if she had actually seen a ghost.

It seemed that this boy was aware of what was on her mind, saying, “What you have wondered about is correct; I’m a sword ghost. You can call me the Sword Ghost Boy

Nan Zheng of course knew what the sword ghost was, but she didn’t know that there was such sort of sword ghost existing in the world.

Regardless of whether it was the sword ghost or yuanying, they couldn’t have any self consciousness or spirit; but the boy sitting atop the coffin was obviously not the same kind.

“Guard me as closely as you can. Don’t let those wild animals wake me up.”

Having said this, the Boy of Sword Ghost drifted upwards, soon disappearing into the darkness of the mountains.

It took Nan Zheng a long time to calm down. She dragged her rigid legs to the front of the black coffin, and looked inside nervously through the crack.

Nan Qü’s body, which was skinny and as desiccated as a dried wood, exuded no energy at all, as if he was completely dead.

…

…

There was a slope in front of the Water-Moon Nunnery, at the foot of which there was a large peach tree. The petals of peach flowers fell down along with the wind like raindrops. Two young women were talking to each other under the peach tree.

“I have done a poor job with the Heaven-Human Connection. The Chief Nun of the nunnery has just calculated for someone a few days ago, so it will take half a year before she can calculate again. The Great Grandmaster hasn’t seen visitors for a long time.”

Zheng Tao felt terribly sorry because what she had said were all refusals. She continued with a slightly red face, “Big Sister Guo Dong has a peculiar temperament, and she is recuperating. So I don’t dare pass on your message…”

Mo Xi of the Water-Moon Nunnery had collaborated with the Old Ones in an attempt to assassinate Zhao Layue in Zhaoge City many years ago; her limbs were cut off by Guo Dong and thrown to the front gate of the Zhao Manor after her involvement in the assassination attempt was discovered.

Mo Xi was still alive. She was taken care of in a village on the other side of the mountain. Someone from the nunnery would visit her once in a while.

Zheng Tao had heard of Mo Xi’s horrible condition from the other big sisters, so she dreaded Big Sister Duo Dong.

“It’s okay,” said Bai Zao with a faint smile.

She had already guessed who senior master Guo Dong was, so she wouldn’t force Zheng Tao to do anything.

It was senior master Guo Dong who had requested her to come to the Water-Moon Nunnery.

Many years ago, Pei Baifa died after dropping into ocean; Su Ziye betrayed them; and He Zhan felt extremely disappointed. However, the issue of the West Ocean was not resolved yet.

Bai Zao learned through her Big Brother Tong Yan that senior master Guo Dong had a high expectation of her, which is why she wanted to come to the nunnery and meet Guo Dong, and to ask the senior masters of the nunnery to calculate the prospect of her trip at the same time.

It was not a big deal if they couldn’t calculate it for her, since the calculation by humans was not the same as the heavenly destiny. All she needed to do was try her best in the endeavor.

She only hoped that her Big Brother was safe and sound.

Bai Zao bade farewell to Zheng Tao and turned to descend the mountain. As she arrived at the bottom of the mountain, she found there were a few flower petals on her shoulders.

She suddenly recalled the time when she was at the Jing house in Zhaoge City. There was a begonia tree in the courtyard and he watched her amid the falling flower petals through the window of the study room. It seemed that he enjoyed watching the scene very much.

After this matter was settled, the Green Mountain Sect would get rid of a major threat, and the Cultivation circle would be in peace. As a result, Jing Jiu would be quite pleased, since he was so lazy.

…

…

A white line appeared on the surface of the bright blue West Ocean.

It was Tong Yan who was walking on the surface of the West Ocean.

Jing Jiu didn’t forget his promise to Tong Yan. The Green Sky Mirror was sent to the Three-Thousand Nunnery outside Dayuan City, and then Tong Yan was released by the old nun.

But Tong Yan didn’t tie the Green Sky Mirror to his back; did he put it in a spatial magic treasure?

If he did so, why didn’t he use it at the Fruit Formation Temple and on the Cold Mountain?

Dozens of white lines appeared in the sky.

The disciples of the West Ocean Sword Sect arrived on their swords and brought him to the Fallen Immortal Island.

Through the huge window by the edge of the precipice, one could see the endless blue sea and waves and sprays of the ocean.

Turning to Tong Yan, the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean inquired impassively, “What items are you going to present to me in order to join us?”

“The Green Sky Mirror,” replied Tong Yan.

This was an answer expected by everybody.

Without the magic treasure of the Heavenly State, who would take the risk of being suspected by the Center Sect?

The Godly Swordsman of West Ocean asked, “What do you want in return?”

“Stay alive,” said Tong Yan.

The Godly Swordsman of West Ocean said, “If you hadn’t stolen the Green Sky Mirror, you could stay alive at the Center Sect, and as a matter of fact, you could live a wonderful life there. So this reason is not acceptable.”

A person who was not good at scheming was not necessarily thick. It was only that someone like the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean or the Immortal Jing Yang didn’t want to spend time on anything else but Cultivation.

If Tong Yan couldn’t offer an acceptable reason, the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean wouldn’t mind killing him and then sending his severed head to the Cloud-Dream Mountain.

“Hence why I don’t wish to give you the Green Sky Mirror.”

Tong Yan went on, “I heard that there is an accessory booklet of the Mysterious Heavenly Magic. After I have learned from it, I’ll ask the mirror spirit to meet you.”

The best way to stay alive was to improve one’s Cultivation state rather than relying on other sects to protect him.

Though Tong Yan’s request was reasonable, the retribution was somehow not adequate.

Yet, the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean revealed an approving expression, as he said, “You are much better than Luo Huainan.”

In his Cultivation state, comprehending the Dao in the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror was meaningless for the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean, but the mirror spirit was indeed valuable for him.

If the spirit of the Green Sky Mirror was a true spirit of the Heavenly State, she would be the only being of such sort in Chaotian over tens of thousands of years.

This sort of brand new life form would be able to shed some insights and understanding to the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean, who was in the upper state of Heavenly Arrival.

Tong Yan was locked in a stone room on the Shaoming Island. In addition to a bowl of water, there was a copy of the accessory booklet of the Mysterious Heavenly Magic in the stone room.

By the time he had learned the Mysterious Heavenly Magic, Tong Yan would be able to leave here.

It was odd that Tong Yan didn’t open the accessory booklet right away but gazed at the stone wall in a stupor. It seemed as if he had heard something.

Back when he was in the manor cave left by Luo Huainan, he heard a cry for help from the Green Girl for help while gazing at the stone wall.

The Green Girl flew out from his sleeve, and completed a few laps in the narrow stone room at a high speed. “This is a safe place,” she commented satisfactorily.

Tong Yan kept on gazing at the stone wall.

The Green Girl flew back to his shoulder and sat down. She suddenly felt worried and asked, “The Godly Swordsman of West Ocean is so powerful and also seemingly very greedy. What if he decides to snatch me when he meets me?”

Tong Yan still stared at the stone wall, without uttering a word.

An invisible map appeared in front of him.

Yet, this map was not a tangible entity, but the memory in his mind.

As the number two of the world in the chess playing, Tong Yan also had an unparalleled capability for memorizing things.

It was Su Ziye who had drawn the map. The dense and tiny symbols on the map represented the formations of various sorts and mechanisms, with a red line leading to a secretive manor cave on the Shaoming Island.

Tong Yan suddenly undressed, and then walked to the front of the stone wall, starting to dig a tunnel.

The Green Girl covered her face with her small hands, as she asked while looking at him through the cracks between her fingers, “Are you attempting to flee?”

The Great Protective Formation of the West Ocean Sword Sect was located somewhere far away, and the protective formation of the Shaoming Island was located outside the stone room. As long as Tong Yan didn’t dig the tunnel toward outside, he had no need to worry about disturbing the formation.

Yet, if he didn’t dig the tunnel toward outside, he had no chance of fleeing here even if he dug it all his life.

“I want to go to a place,” said Tong Yan.

Tong Yan began to dig tunnel again a few years later.

However, it didn’t take long for him to finish the task; it was because he was already rather proficient with the digging, and also because the destination was right on the Shaoming Island, not far from the stone room.

It was totally dark in the tunnel Tong Yan had dug; so he had no idea whether it was day or night.

Tong Yan crawled out from the underground tunnel.

The Green Girl was much faster than he to get out of the tunnel. Then she flew a few laps in the manor cave. After she was certain that no mechanism or magic treasure of surveillance was present, she said, “It is safe here…but there is a strange item.”

Tong Yan walked to the deep end of the manor cave, and gazed at that sword.

The sword had a thin and long shaft, exuding a faint and desolate energy. Anybody would be able to tell that this was a sword of extraordinary state. In fact, it was none other than the First Child Sword.

Looking at the sword, the Green Girl exclaimed, “This is indeed a wonderful sword!”

It could be said that this was the best sword she had ever seen, except that it was a bit inferior to Jing Jiu.

But she didn’t like Jing Jiu anymore, because she thought he was a wicked person.

Looking at the First Child Sword, Tong Yan fell silent.

Eight hundred years ago, it was this First Child Sword that Nan Qü used when he returned to Chaotian to kill many swordsmen and sneak-attacked the Immortal Daoyuan of the Green Mountain Sect.

The Immortal Daoyuan damaged Nan Qü’s Dao Tree and snatched the First Child Sword from him. For some unknown reason, the sword ended up in the royal palace.

The Emperor asked Jin Mingchen to give the sword to Zhao Layue. She used this very sword to kill Huo Huainan in Guiyun City in collaboration with Liu Shisui.

Later, this sword belonged to Liu Shisui, and was snatched by Xiwang Sun. Unexpectedly the Emperor had left a mark on this sword.

Pei Baifa came out from behind closed doors during a rainstorm, wounded Xiwang Sun severely by the guidance of the First Child Sword.

After the First Child Sword fell down from the sky, it was taken by Duo Dong. Later, she gave it to Tong Lu in the vegetable garden of the Baotong Zen Temple.

After the death of Tong Lu, the First Child Sword returned to the West Ocean again.

There were too many legendary stories associated with this sword.

The interesting part was that Tong Yan knew all of the recent stories associated with the First Child Sword, and that all of them had something to do with him.

What kind of new story was he to create with the First Child Sword this time?

However, the Emperor had left a mark on the First Child Sword, and the Godly Swordsman had set up a forbidding formation on it. He could wipe out neither of them; as such, he had no way to take it away.

What is he doing here then? Does he just want to take a look at it?

The Green Girl shot a glance his way.

Tong Yan didn’t say anything; he walked to a corner of the room and sat down, waiting.

It was unclear how long he would have to wait.

Maybe, it would be ten days; maybe, it would be many years.

It didn’t matter that much though.

He had done the similar thing that year.

…

…

There was a larger manor cave a few miles outside the manor cave where Tong Yan was in.

Both of these manor caves were the most important places on the Shaoming Island.

After entering the manor cave, Yin San and the Great Grandmaster of Mysterious Dark Sect looked at the books in the surroundings, and were sure that the center of the Great Formation should be hidden somewhere in here.

Next, they needed to find the First Child Sword.

The Great Grandmaster of Mysterious Dark Sect came to the front of the stone wall, readying to dig a tunnel.

Looking at his withering right hand, Yin San said calmly, “No need for it.”

The Great Grandmaster of Mysterious Dark Sect said confidently, “Immortal, you don’t have to worry that I might disturb the formation, because I’m really good at digging tunnels.”

In fact, Tong Yan had never been the best digger of tunnels.

In terms of speed of digging tunnels, he was inferior to Jing Jiu.

When it came to the precision and familiarity of digging tunnels, Tong Yan was not an equal of the Great Grandmaster of Mysterious Dark Sect, who had dug tunnels for three hundred years after being forced by the Sword Formation of Green Mountain to the sunless underground.

Yin San drew back his right hand and said with a small smile, “No need for it. We will simply walk over and take it when the center of the formation is destroyed.”

Judging from the ability of scheming, Yin San had been always the best digger of “tunnels” in the world.

…