The Path Toward Heaven

Chapter 14 The Old Ones in a Ruined Temple

“He is very mysterious,” said Yao Songshan. “Few people have seen him. He hasn’t been present even at the Four-Seas Banquet. The four winners of the tournaments will only meet him in the Cloudy Platform when they are presented the treasures. The fellow practitioners who met him at the last banquets all spoke highly of him.”

Zhao Layue glanced at Jing Jiu, guessing that the person he wanted to see was him.

“Senior Master, if you don’t want to be interrupted, do you wish me to talk to the Clean Heaven Bureau to settle this matter?” asked Yao Songshan.

The matter he referred to was of course the ambush that the Clean Heaven Bureau and the practitioners had set up for Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu.

Yao Songshan was merely a disciple of Liangwang Peak, but he displayed remarkable calmness and self-confidence when talking about settling the matter.

“No need. You can simply pretend not to know anything about it,” said Zhao Layue. “Wait until we have to identify ourselves.”

“Understood,” said Yao Songshan.

…

…

“Why do you want to meet Xiwang Sun?” asked Zhao Layue after they had returned to the inn.

“I suspect he is who I am looking for,” Jing Jiu answered.

Zhao Layue raised her eyebrows slightly. “Yin San?”

The timings of Yin San’s death and the appearance of Xiwang Sun were very close.

“I’m not sure yet,” said Jing Jiu after a moment of silence.

“Who was Yin San?” asked Zhao Layue. “Why do you think he is still alive?”

Jing Jiu didn’t answer the question.

They were silent for a while before Zhao Layue finally spoke. “Should we take part in the Four-Seas Banquet?” she asked.

“But I don’t know anything about the zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting,” said Jing Jiu.

Zhao Layue felt surprised. “So it turns out there are things you don’t know in this world!”

Jing Jiu had neither the time nor the inclination to learn these things in the past, and nobody had ever practiced any of them in that small village.

“Do you know anything about them?” he asked.

Zhao Layue fell silent for a moment again. “I learned them when I was a kid, but I was never that interested in them.”

While they talked, they were unaware that their whereabouts had been discovered by the Clean Heaven Bureau.

At least a couple of hundred pairs of eyes watched all the Inns and Ocean-God temples in Haizhou, leaving no stone unturned.

The conical hats on their heads attracted attention, and soon they became the targets of the Clean Heaven Bureau.

Late in the night, there appeared a dozen intermittent sword sources around the Inn, belonging to practitioners from various areas of the land.

The practitioners were about one hundred yards apart, forming a seemingly loose net, enclosing the Inn.

A flying sword hovered quietly in the night clouds.

The case file stated that these two people traveling throughout the land had never ridden their swords, but the Clean Heaven Bureau believed they had the ability to ride flying swords. To prevent them from fleeing through the sky, Elder He Zhichong of Kunlun, who had achieved the highest state among these practitioners, was placed in the night sky to wait for them. Yao Songshan of the Green Mountain Sect was placed in a spot nearest the Inn.

The Western Ocean Sword Sect, which wasn’t on good terms with Zhaoge City, didn’t send any swordsmen to participate in this ambush organized by the Clean Heaven Bureau. But in the night sky over the ocean there was an aggressive and intimidating sword source, which could be sensed from the wind blown over from there, meaning a swordsman of a higher Cultivation state was waiting there. Maybe they were worried that the actions of the Clean Heaven Bureau might cause chaos in Haizhou, so they placed a stronger swordsman there to help if necessary.

Once all the arrangements were made, fireworks were launched into the sky. Hundreds of Magic Guards marched toward the Inn, their footsteps as frequent as the raindrops, unconcerned whether they frightened the guests in the Inn.

…

…

Even those swordsmen of the State of Broken Sea couldn’t discern the intentions in the eyes of those mortals standing by the side of the street. Unless you were in the mountains and wilderness, you couldn’t conceal your whereabouts in the cities or villages. Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue were not exceptional.

Yet when the first practitioner got close to the Inn, Zhao Layue woke up.

She put on her conical hat and walked to the window, standing shoulder to shoulder with Jing Jiu, looking down at the street covered by the darkness of night, which seemed peaceful, but was in fact treacherous.

Jing Jiu still looked quite composed, without a hint of worry on his face.

If he and Zhao Layue identified themselves, nobody would dare attack them, and the Clean Heaven Bureau would have to let them go, no matter how much time and energy they had spent on organizing this ambush. However, if he wanted to do so, he would have let Yao Songshan carry it out when they were in the Immortal House in the early evening.

Zhao Layue didn’t know what was on his mind.

All of a sudden, the floor receded in a corner of the room, and a secret passage appeared.

A white jasmine flower emerged from the shadows.

It was Xiao He of Ying City, who had played music in the hotpot restaurant during the day.

Xiao He waved her hand at them. “Follow me,” she said in a low voice.

There was a secret underground passage in the Inn! How could they fool the Clean Heaven Bureau?

Though the Clean Heaven Bureau didn’t have that many swordsmen, they seldom missed such details.

Jing Jiu didn’t hesitate, walking toward the underground passage.

Zhao Layue suddenly realized that he had been waiting for this girl to appear.

The underground passage was very long and lacked any sort of light. It was as dark as the deepest ocean abyss.

As Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue had supernatural eyesight, they had no problem walking in the passage.

Xiao He was a demon practitioner, whose Cultivation state wasn’t perceptible, but she could easily lead the way, which was puzzling.

After a long period of time, Xiao He stopped at last.

According to the time and their pace, Zhao Layue figured they were outside Haizhou City by now.

“Did I not tell you to leave Haizhou City as soon as possible? Why didn’t you listen?” asked Xiao He, looking at them. “You must understand. Once you’re inside, you can’t leave.”

Jing Jiu looked at her quietly, believing what she said was true.

Yet this true statement had double meanings.

The heavy stone door was pushed open, not making a sound.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue followed Xiao He, walking out of the underground passage.

The night wind, mixed with a salty, fishy odor, blew right into their faces.

The ocean waves could be clearly heard. It had to be nearby.

In a crag overlooking the ocean stood the ruins of an Ocean-God Temple which apparently never saw visitors.

They were standing right in front of the ruined temple.

In the distance, vague flashes of sword light illuminated the ocean surface from time to time.

The Western Ocean at night looked like an endless pool of ink.

An intermittent sword source in the night sky was paying close attention to the Ocean-God Temple.

“Come in.”

Xiao He’ voice sounded remote and helpless.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue turned around and entered the Ocean-God Temple.

Stepping over the broken door sill and passing by the salt-flecked walls, they walked deep within the temple.

An Ocean-God statue stood there, but it was severely damaged, with only half of its head left.

A man in black walked out from behind the statue.

“When you face the hostility of the whole world, what should you do?”

“You either need help from another world,” said the man in black, looking at Zhao Layue, “or you need to become a part of that world.”

His voice was deep and hoarse. It was if you could hear his magical power in his voice.

Zhao Layue raised her two dagger-like eyebrows. “The Old Ones?” she asked.