The Path Toward Heaven

Many people thought they had heard a howling from the wounded wild animal, but they were not certain where the sound came from.

It was quiet in the forest in the peaks and on the cliff walls behind the clouds.

The sound seemed like it was ringing directly inside their heads.

Jian Ruoyun heard the howling as well.

He knew where this howling sound came from, though Liu Shisui didn’t open his mouth.

Even from one thousand yards away, Jian Ruoyun could still see clearly the anger on Liu Shisui’s face and the determination in his eyes.

The hint of determination in Liu Shisui’s eyes abruptly turned into a tiny fireball, brightly red and tremendously eerie.

A strong, wild energy exuded from his body.

At this moment, Liu Shisui looked as if he was becoming an ancient devil monster.

The air around Liu Shisui’s body started whirling at a high speed, making his surroundings extremely hot, as if countless invisible flames were shooting out all at the same time.

Along with the hissing sounds, the clouds that arrived with the flying sword were instantly burned dry before they could even touch Liu Shisui’s body.

Jian Ruoyun’s flying sword sensed the danger, ready to escape by flying diagonally, but it was trapped by an invisible force, vibrating uncontrollably and exuding dreadful whistling sounds. The sword tried its hardest to get away, but it couldn’t. It was confined in mid-air in front of the stone posts, like a moth entrapped in a spider’s web.

“The Devil Fire!” someone shouted, alarmed.

The masters of Shangde Peak, in charge of the security of the Sword Trial, became alert and nervous, ready to ride their swords at any moment and to open the Formations around the stone forest.

Boom!!!

The stone post underneath Liu Shisui’s feet couldn’t stand the high temperature and the pressure from the sword wills, and eventually broke with a loud bang, scattering innumerous broken rock pieces and dust in all directions.

The broken rock pieces and dust moved forward, dispersing the clouds which came with Jian Ruoyun’s flying sword, as if they were mountains collapsing into the ocean.

Jian Ruoyun swallowed the blood rising up in his throat and used all of his Sword Source to forcefully retrieve his sword that was still confined by the invisible flames.

As the sword light got near, he stepped onto the sword and drove the sword through the space toward Liu Shisui, as if ready to mount another sword attack.

At this moment, he and Liu Shisui eyed each other through the invisible fire wall.

He could clearly see Liu Shisui’s eyes.

Those innocent and pure eyes were gone, and left behind was only a bright light, as if there was a wild fire hidden in deep within his eyes.

The untamed wild fire looked tiny, but it transmitted a feeling of ever-lasting force and energy, eerie to the extreme.

Jian Ruoyun had seen such a pair of eyes before.

That night two years ago, he led Liu Shisui in diving to the bottom of the Muddy River to vanquish the severely wounded Dace Devil.

The Dace Devil stared at him before his death.

As he remembered clearly, the Dace Devil had the same eye expression and the same wild fire in its eyes.

Jian Ruoyun was somewhat startled and regretted coming near Liu; with a loud shriek, he was about to escape by riding his sword.

It was too late.

Just like that night.

Suddenly he stopped.

Jian Ruoyun became disoriented, as if he didn’t know why he was there.

He recovered his senses after hearing the crisp sound of the flying sword.

It was merely a split second.

But in sword fights, one split second is enough to determine the outcome.

A bright sword light passed through his chest.

Fresh blood splashed out.

Jian Ruoyun fell down from his sword and toward the ground.

Liu Shisui appeared emotionless, and he didn’t intend to let his opponent survive.

The bright sword light turned around, heading toward Jian Ruoyun’s neck.

At this moment, Jian Ruoyun lost the ability to defend himself, and it looked like he had no chance to avoid his head being cut off.

The surprised screams rang out around the stone forest!

At that moment, a calming sword light shot out like a rainbow, breaking through the Protective Formation of the stone forest, arriving by the side of Jian Ruoyun.

Clink!!! Clink!!!

The calming sword light wrapped around Liu Shisui’s sword and threw it skyward, far away from the stone forest, breaking it into pieces!

The swordsman demonstrated a powerful sword Cultivation!

The disciples of Green Mountain thought this had to be a senior master in the State of Free Travel coming to the rescue. They felt suddenly relieved.

With his flying sword destroyed, Liu Shisui spat out a mouthful of fresh blood!

But nobody expected that he wouldn’t give up!

He jumped down from the collapsing stone post, heading toward Jian Ruoyun like a tumbling rock, as if he had gone mad.

A figure left the cliff, flying through the air and arriving in front of Liu Shisui, and smacked his chest with his palm.

Snap!!! Snap!!! Snap!!!

Liu Shisui’s body was hit a dozen times within a short interval.

The man’s strikes were clean and seemingly simple, but Liu Shisui had no chance to dodge or move out of the way.

Liu Shisui spewed out blood continuously, forming a patch of bloody rain in the sky around him.

In the end, Liu Shisui fell onto the ground with a terrible howl and a loud thud.

The man landed by his side and waved his sleeves lightly, kicking up a flow of air, and then caught Jian Ruoyun, whose descent had been slowed by the airflow.

The disciples of Shiyue Peak rushed over and started seeing to Jian Ruoyun.

The clouds gradually dispersed and the dust settled. The calming sword light returned from the sky, hovering quietly by the man’s side.

The color of this flying sword was blue, like the color of the ocean.

The expression on that man’s face was peaceful and composed as usual. Only his eyes showed a hint of regret.

Only now did the disciples recognize that the man was not a senior master, but Guo Nanshan!

Guo Nanshan was the principal disciple of the Sect Master and the principal disciple of Liangwang Peak, respected and admired by his peers, but his Cultivation state wasn’t as outstanding as Zhuo Rusui’s.

However, nobody thought he could have become a swordsman of the State of Free Travel!

…

…

Zhao Layue glanced at Jing Jiu from time to time.

From beginning to end, Jing Jiu’s expression hadn’t changed, and it seemed all these happenings in the stone forest didn’t interest him at all.

She knew it wasn’t true.

Because she was certain that earlier, when Guo Nanshan had taken out his sword and hit Liu Shisui so hard that he had spit blood over and over, and then had fallen down on the ground…Jing Jiu moved.

A regular person wouldn’t be able to see Jing Jiu’s movement.

If she hadn’t been observing him closely, it would be difficult for her to discover it as well.

At that moment, Jing Jiu didn’t change his expression, but his right forefinger had moved slightly.

…

…

“You really did eat the Dace Devil’s Pill.”

Looking at Liu Shisui, Guo Nanshan spoke with regret and disappointment. “And you have even learned the deviant sword style of the Bloody Demon Sect.”

Many angry gazes were fixed on Liu Shisui after having heard Guo Nanshan’s remark.

Though no evidence could prove that Liu Shisui ate the Devil Pill, the people of Green Mountain had mostly acquiesced to the fact. But the Bloody Demon Sect?

Many years ago in Chaotian there was a deviant sect, called the Bloody Demon Sect, who practiced a hideous method of Cultivation, harming a great many people.

After the Bloody Demon Sect was attacked by the orthodox sects, they joined up with the Underworld in secret. They had been engaged in all kinds of evildoings.

In the end, the Bloody Demon Sect was eventually vanquished by the swordsmen of the Green Mountain Sect, the Middle State Sect, the No-Mercy Sect, the Great Marsh, and the Imperial Court, all of whom came together.

At that time, the Windy Broadsword and the Western Ocean Sword Sect had not yet been founded.

It had been rumored in the Cultivation world that there were many secret manuals of the deviant works left by the Bloody Demon Sect, but nobody thought the rumors were actually true.

But Liu Shisui had been staying on the nine peaks all this time. How could he acquire the deviant sword style?

Did he really have connections with the demons outside the mountains?