The Path Toward Heaven

On the night when the fake manor cave of the Immortal Jing Yang was opened many

years ago, the Young Zen Master saw Jing Jiu for the first time, after which used his

lotus cloud to protect this “junior” for a while.

Jing Jiu had earned many bloody plum flowers on the painting during the Cultivation

tournament at the Plum Meeting, which drew the attention of the Young Zen Master.

Some years ago at the Fruit Formation Temple, the Unicorn came in disguise, and the

Immortal Taiping and the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect struck; but

they had all been defeated. Though it was Liu Ci and the Emperor who had

counterattacked, Jing Jiu played a significant role.

A sword light swept over heaven and earth during the battle of the West Ocean. After

the “spring rain”, this young “junior” became the sect master of Green Mountain.

Any enigma would be unraveled if others thought about it deeply.

The Young Zen Master had suspected the true identity of Jing Jiu a long time ago; but

he didn’t write a letter to ask about it, since he thought that his suspicion was kind of

ridiculous.

Nan Wang and Guo Dong thought about it the same way.

Those who had been familiar with and close to Jing Yang in his former life had a harder

time believing it.

The people in Chaotian could all die out, the Muddy River could dry up, the

northernmost snowy peak could collapse, and the Huge Whirlpool could disappear; but

Jing Yang couldn’t fail!

As such, the Young Zen Master accepted the rumor; that is, he persuaded himself to

accept the rumor.

Jing Jiu was the offspring of Jing Yang and inherited his talent and precious treasures,

and so he could improve his Cultivation states at such an amazing pace, which had

broken many records…

It wasn’t until today that he had finally learned the truth. His mind had experienced a

tremendous shock.

Even though he had a profound Cultivation in Zen and was devoid of desires and

emotions, he still needed to gaze at East Ocean to calm himself down.

The hot tea exuded a faint white steam after being poured into the teacup, resembling

the mist over the surface of the ocean in the early morning.

The line of the Young Zen Master’s sight passed through the white steam and fell on

Jing Jiu’s face. “What has happened?” he asked in a calm manner, but his eyes showed

a hint of bewilderment.

Jing Jiu picked up the teacup and took a sip, the steam covering his face. His voice was

as unreadable as the expression in his eyes, “It’s because I had some unfinished

matters to take care of.”

“What matters?” the Young Zen Master pressed, rapping the table gently with his

fingers. The rhythmic sound dispersed the steam enshrouding the teacup and Jing Jiu’s

face.

Jing Jiu set down the teacup before saying, “I don’t know.”

His reply sounded a bit senseless, but the Young Zen Master could understand it.

He stared at Jing Jiu, wondering…why Jing Jiu still liked pretending.

“What about Taiping? Why did he escape from the Sword Jail? And why was he let go

by you people at the West Ocean?”

“Liu Ci is dead already; there is no point in bringing this up now.”

“Where is he then?”

“He should be on the ocean right now, because a first-rate godly boat was snatched

from the King of Godly Boats on Penglai Island. He is very weak, so the otherworldly

sensation can make him feel a little relaxed.”

Jing Jiu continued, “He has obtained the bone marrow of the Old Dragon and the lotus

flower of the Windy Corridor. What do you think he will do?”

It was difficult for ordinary people to figure out something based on a few simple

descriptions, but the Young Zen Master thought of a possibility as he exclaimed with

raised eyebrows, “Reincarnation?!”

It was because he knew about the current condition the Immortal Taiping was in, so the

lotus flower easily clued him in as to what Taiping’s plan was.

Jing Jiu said, “I don’t know much about it.”

This was the very reason why he had arrived at the Fruit Formation Temple so much

ahead of the schedule.

The Young Zen Master said, “Reincarnation through the lotus flower is not the

continuation of a former life, so it’s not the same as your case, nor is it the same as the

person at the Water-Moon Nunnery. I don’t think Taiping will make the same choice.”

Jing Jiu agreed with his analysis, because the Young Zen Master, as far as he knew,

was the only one who had successfully reincarnated.

Yet, the Young Zen Master was not the same old monk of the Fruit Formation Temple

who had been killed by Taiping anymore.

Though cause and effect still exited, the past was completely gone.

“The Dongyi Daoist Temple has some in-depth research on the reincarnation through

lotus flower. I’ll find some scripts on the matter for you later.”

The Young Zen Master then asked, “I had seen that formation back then; it’s flawless.

Why did it cause trouble?”

He had discussed the Dao with Jing Yang on Shenmo Peak back then and discovered

three paths toward heaven.

Guo Dong chose one of them; Jing Jiu was forced to choose another. Besides these

two paths, there was the path leading to the ascension after cutting off all ties to cause

and effect

The mortal connections were not completely cut off when there were unfinished things

to do in the mortal world; and the Formation of the Dispersed Smoke and Clouds had a

mishap.

As Jing Jiu waved his sleeve, dozens of bronze mirrors emerged in the air, reflecting all

the objects in the meditation room; then, the reflections became more multifaceted and

sophisticated.

The Young Zen Master had studied the Formation of the Dispersed Smoke and Clouds,

so he knew about the Method of Splitting Mirrors. However, the thought crossed his

mind at the moment was his wondering where Jing Jiu found all these wonderful

mirrors.

Jing Jiu reached out his hand and brought in the Clean-Heart Bell from outside the

window.

The bell rang out crisply, echoing among dozens of bronze mirrors.

The Young Zen Master took out a thin stick and picked his ear. “The Mirror Sect and the

Hanging-Bell Sect…Looks like you’re indeed different from the former you,” he

commented.

…

…

The Tranquil Garden was rebuilt as it was before. The stone pagoda was exactly in the

same spot, and the three roofed corridors looked exactly the same as before.

Zhao Layue had listened to the scripts here for many years, and spent many New

Year’s Days here. She was satisfied with the construction and sat on the spot she was

familiar with.

Ada went to the second spot he was familiar with, which was the futon in front of the

stone pagoda. Unfortunately, it was summer, and the leaves on the futon swept by

Monk Dachang were not dry enough, so it was not too comfortable to lie on. Moreover,

the sun was scorching hot. It didn’t take long before he bounded back to the roofed

corridor and lay on the spot he was most familiar with: Zhao Layue’s bosom.

Along with a crisping sound, the bell on his neck flew away.

Ada spun his head to look in that direction, his eyes filled with a hint of resentment.

Zhao Layue scratched his neck a few times. She wasn’t as rigid and nervous as when

she held Ada the first time on Bihu Peak.

Zhuo Rusui led Gu Qing to the front of that small stone pagoda, introducing, “This is the

pagoda containing the late emperor’s spiritual bones.”

Hearing this, Gu Qing grew solemn. He bowed earnestly to the pagoda and prayed on

the ground.

“I’m quite familiar with this pagoda,” remarked Zhuo Rusui sentimentally. He caressed

the pagoda softly, showing his appreciation.

Back in the menacing battle of the Fruit Formation Temple, the fighters involved were

the likes of the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect and the Unicorn; he was

merely the eyes of his Master, Liu Ci, in a very low Cultivation state. If he hadn’t held

onto this stone pagoda, he would have been blown away by the violent wind.

As the two of them were speaking, dozens of monks walked into the Tranquil Garden

with the books in their hands, heading toward the meditation room at the back of the

garden.

Seeing this, Gu Qing remembered the similar scene on Shiyue Peak a few days ago,

and Zhao Layue remembered the similar scene at the Mirror Sect, thinking that Jing Jiu

was indeed preoccupied with the books now.

Zhuo Rusui was uncertain as he asked, “Is the Sect Master going to discuss the Dao

with the Young Zen Master? Is he good enough?”

Speaking of talent in Cultivation, he truly believed Jing Jiu was extraordinary by now.

But speaking of the knowledge…the Young Zen Master was someone of wisdom who

had discussed the Dao with the Grandmaster Jing Yang; how many people in this world

could understand his sophisticated ideas?

Gu Qing said with a smile, “Back in Zhaoge City, Bu Qiuxiao lost the debate to my

Master.”

Zhuo Rusui thought it was the ability to debate and had nothing to do with knowledge.

They couldn’t see what was going on in that meditation room. Jing Jiu and the Young

Zen Master were not discussing the Dao while sitting across from each other. They

were reading books. However, the way they read the books was different from the

common folks.

Close to a thousand Buddhist scripts and relevant booklets were pulled up in the air by

an invisible force, drifting around the two of them as they were reflected in the mirrors.

Those scripts and booklets opened up by themselves, their pages turning at an

increasingly faster speed, bringing up gusts of gentle wind.

Both Jing Jiu and the Young Zen Master had their eyes closed at the moment; it was

unclear how they could read this way.

The gentle wind wafted out of the window and came to the Tranquil Garden, drifting

between the roofed corridor and the courtyard.

Feeling the cool breeze, Zhao Layue caressed Ada. He narrowed his eyes comfortably.

Sensing the gentle breeze in his face, Gu Qing sat down on the futon in front of the

stone pagoda after the initial bewilderment. He closed his eyes and began to recuperate

by meditating.

The greenish leaves, blown by the gentle wind, gathered around the futon.

Sitting under the roofed corridor, Zhuo Rusui swung his legs back and forth in sync with

the rhythm of the wind.

He thought these gusts of gentle wind were rather eccentric; they came from all

directions and were everywhere. His eyelids, ears and the inside of his sleeves were all

assaulted gently by these winds. The way the wind entered his sleeves was quite weird

and wonderful.

It was exceedingly hard not to sleep amid these gentle gusts of wind.

As he thought of all this, his eyelids grew heavier and dropped down; he had fallen

asleep.

…

…

Zhuo Rusui opened his eyes at dusk and woke up.

The setting sun shone on the stone pagoda, and the wind had already died down. He

was unsure whether it was the same day or if some days had passed.

Zhao Layue was caressing the cat under the roofed corridor on the other end, lost in

thought. Gu Qing sat in front of the stone pagoda with his eyes closed, the fallen leaves

piling up to his knees.

All of a sudden, a thunderous boom broke out at the back of the Tranquil Garden. A

violent wind arrived with a whistle, hurling the leaves in the courtyard into the air and

making them dance in suspension.

In the meditation room, countless books fell onto the ground; they were either opened or

shut.

They looked like the sprays of all sizes forming on the surface of the ocean, or the half-

melted snow covering the ground.

The Young Zen Master opened his eyes and said, “I’ve read faster than you.”

Jing Jiu didn’t give a response. He picked up a book on the lotus reincarnation from the

Dongyi Daoist Temple and started reading it.

“You’re so weak right now,” said the Young Zen Master. “What if the Immortal Bai

intends to strike you dead in the autumn?”

Still reading the book with his head lowered, Jing Jiu replied, “This is the Fruit Formation

Temple.”

The intent of this reply was clear enough.

Now that you already know who I am, why would you let me suffer some sort of

mishap?

…

…

Zhuo Rusui was hurled out of the corridor by the violent wind and dropped on the

ground. He halted only after backing up a few steps.

Turning toward the Tranquil Garden, Zhuo Rusui found that the leaves filling the air over

the courtyard converged to a round sphere in green and red colors under the setting

sun; it looked extremely marvelous.

“Is this the magic power of the Young Zen Master?”

Zhuo Rusui walked back to the Tranquil Garden with this shocking thought.

The Young Zen Master didn’t mount an attack; what had happened must be the outward

flow of his spiritual will. Still, it was powerful enough.

As he found that Zhao Layue still sat on the same spot while holding the white cat, Zhuo

Rusui thought it was truly a good thing to have the support of the Master Principal

Guard so she didn’t end up in a situation like what he had experienced.

In the next moment, he found that Gu Qing also sat on the same spot. He couldn’t help

but feel upset, wondering how he could have been blown away if he had held onto this

stone pagoda.

The leaves that had danced in the air fell down on Gu Qing as if they would bury him.

As Zhuo Rusui was about to laugh out, his countenance had suddenly changed. “You’re

about to break through the state?!” he exclaimed.

Hearing this, Zhao Layue turned to Gu Qing, who was covered with the leaves, and

found that he had experienced an apparent change in his energy.