The Path Toward Heaven 518 Nurturing Everything Noiselessly

In the ensuing days, two more people had visited the Zhao Garden.

Like the One-Cottage House, they had guessed that Jing Jiu might have a voice in
selecting the next sect master, and that at the very least, he knew something about it.

The Fruit Formation Temple had broken off their relationship with Green Mountain
because the Yong Zen Master was upset about their action at West Ocean. The visitor
was the Chief Monk of the Net-Perception Temple.

Jing Jiu thought it was redundant to send this chief monk, since everybody knew that
this chief monk and the rest of the monks at the Net-Perception Temple hailed from
Moqiu. It was an act similar to being soaking wet after taking off one's clothes; it was
redundant and unnecessary.

He said directly before the chief monk had a chance to speak, "Not Fu Wang."

The Chief Monk of the Net-Perception Temple departed in disappointment.

The last visitor was a representative from the Windy-Broadsword Church. He showed a
prudent attitude toward Jing Jiu. He had probably been advised by the Broadsword
King.

It looked like Cao Yuan had figured out the true nature of that sword light.

With this thought in his mind, Jing Jiu said, "Not Fang Jingtian."

The representative from the Windy-Broadsword Church left in contentment.

Autumn was over and winter arrived. Zhaoge City received snowfall.

Winter is here, so spring is not far away.

This was a heartrending statement.

As Jing Jiu thought of it in the wind and snow, he flew up on the sword, taking Gu Qing
back to Green Mountain.

It was snowing in Zhaoge City; it was also snowing in the south.

It was as quiet as when he had left the nine peaks of Green Mountain, as was Shenmo
Peak.

Nan Wang would usually, on such an occasion, request Liu Ci to open the Great
Formation of Green Mountain to have a passage for the first snowfall streaming in.

Yet she was still behind closed doors, and Liu Ci was not around. The snowfall didn't
happen on Green Mountain this year.

Sitting by the cliff's edge, Jing Jiu looked at the distance while stepping on the ocean of
clouds with his feet, reflecting on something.

The white cat crouched beside him, looking rather submissive.

Cold Cicada crouched beside the cat, looking even more submissive.

Standing behind Jing Jiu, Gu Qing suddenly asked while looking at the greenish peaks,
"Is it going to rain?"

It was obviously windy and raining outside of the mountains, and yet he asked about the
possibility of rain.

This was something all of Chaotian were concerned about the most; it was a "rain"
many people waited for.

Jing Jiu uttered "hmm" faintly.

Gu Qing fell silent.

He was present when Jing Jiu gave a no to those two names.

If Senior Master Fang Jingtian wouldn't be the next sect master, who could be?

"What are your thoughts on this issue?" Jing Jiu asked Gu Qing.

Gu Qing recalled the scene many years ago.

It was a windy and snowing day. Jing Jiu said to him at this very cliff's edge: "You're
going to become the sect master someday."

Thinking of this, Gu Qing couldn't help but laugh out regardless of how composed his
temperament was.

This wasn't a contented laugh, but a bitter smile because he thought it was
preposterous.

It was impossible for him to become the sect master.

If it had come true, he would jump off the cliff and into the ocean of clouds himself
without the help from those senior masters of the peaks, to seek a peace of mind.

"If Senior Master Yuan could inherit the position of the sect master, it would be a good
thing to us."

Gu Qing thought that his Master had the same idea, so he believed it was the best
choice.

Shenmo Peak was not on good terms with Tianguang Peak and Liangwang Peak, such
as Bai Rujing, Jian Ruoyun, and his elder brother Gu Han, save for Zhuo Rusui who
was a special case.

If Yuan Qijing became the sect master, Tianguang Peak would be suppressed to some
extent, which meant they wouldn't be able to give Shenmo Peak as much hard time.

More importantly, Yuan Qing could continue to suppress Fang Jingtian.

Most of the strong swordsmen of Green Mountain left Green Mountain during the battle
of the Cloud Platform; Fang Jingtian stood in the Empty Realm staring at Shenmo Peak.
Everybody on Shenmo Peak acted like they faced a formidable foe.

It was impossible for Gu Qing to erase that scene from his memory.

Jing Jiu's reply interrupted Gu Qing's inference and wonderful thoughts of the future.

"Yuan Qijing doesn't want to become the sect master."

Yuan Qijing didn't want to be the sect master probably because he took the overall
situation into consideration and avoid the internal conflict due to the long struggle
between Tianguang Peak and Shangde Peak; or it was because of other reasons.

All in all, he was unwilling to be the sect master.

After a moment of bewilderment, Gu Qing said, "Then, the Immortal Guangyuan is the
only candidate left. He has a high Cultivation state, so he can make others feel
convinced. But I'm afraid of other issues."

He referred to the incident of the Immortal Guangyuan intercepting Bu Qiuxiao to let the
Immortal Taiping escape.

Jing Jiu didn't pay much attention to what Gu Qing said, as he muttered, "Making others
feel convinced."

Looking at the wonderful Green Mountain, Jing Jiu touched his own face with his hands,
and strengthened his idea.

He closed his eyes, starting to cultivate by meditation.

Ada shot him a glance, thinking that he had to show Jing Jiu more respect from now on.

As such, he didn't jump onto Jing Jiu's head.

Cold Cicada didn't know what was going on. It fell backwards and shut its eyes after
taking a bite of the cold marrow; it began to absorb the energy of heaven and earth
while raising its front limbs.
…
…

Days and nights switched many times; sunlight came and went; seasons changed. It
was the middle of spring outside of the mountains, and Green Mountain had also woken
up gradually.

The Immortal Guangyuan came out from behind closed doors; so did Fu Wang and Nan
Wang…And more and more people came out from behind closed doors. Nobody could
tell if it was an ordained reaction, or something else.

More people were waking up, but no noise could be heard on Green Mountain; it was
deathly quiet.

Jing Jiu opened his eyes, and looked at the horizon beyond the ocean of clouds.

Zhao Layue, Yuan Qü, Ping Yongjia, and Cold Cicada had all woken up, standing
behind Jing Jiu along with Gu Qing.

Jing Jiu got up and said, "Let's go."
…
…

Tianguang Peak was the highest peak among the nine peaks.

The sunlight was as bright as ever on the top of Tianguang Peak; but it was still not as
bright as the sword lights arriving that day.

As Jing Jiu and his group landed on the peak top, the people of other peaks had all
arrived already.

They were the Sword Justice Yuan Qijing, the peak master of Yunxing, Fu Wang, the
peak master of Qingrong, Nan Wang, the peak master of Shiyue, the Immortal
Guangyuan, the peak master of Bihu, Chen Youtian, and the peak master of Shenmo,
Zhao Layue.

Liangwang Peak hadn't had a peak master for many years. All the important figures of
Green Mountain had come save for the peak master of Xilai, Fang Jingtian, who was
behind closed doors in the hermit peaks.

Of course, that person was not present.

This was an occasion where more of the peak masters actually gathered together than
had been usual over the years. In the past, many of them often discussed the matters
through their swords during the Green Mountain Meetings and had seldom shown up in
person.

Gu Qing led Yuan Qü and Ping Yongjia down the bottom of the cliff where Guo
Nanshan, Zhuo Rusui, Gu Han, the other disciples, and the regular elders and disciples
of other peaks were gathered.

Mo Chi, Bai Rujing and other elders of Tianguang Peak stood at a place farther away
from the peak top.

Countless gazes fell on Jing Jiu; it was because he didn't move, remaining on the same
spot beside Zhao Layue.

Only six peak masters were qualified to stand there; why did he stand there?

Bai Rujing had a terrible look on his face; Jian Ruoyun showed a cold expression in his
eyes; Gu Han raised his eyebrows. A faint noise of discussion burst out on the peaks.
However, the strictest of Sword Justices, Yuan Qijing, didn't say anything, nor did the
hot-tempered Nan Wang. The elders and disciples of Green Mountain in the cliff thought
of the rumor and fell silent.

Yuan Qijing waved his hand.

The Great Formation of Green Mountain opened a passage.

Everybody looked in that direction.

A black line came over from the horizon; it was not menacing. It passed through the
peaks quietly, and arrived at the top of Tianguang Peak.

Pah!!!

The sheath of the Inherited Heaven Sword inserted into the stone monument, returning
to its original spot.
…
…

Under the stone monument.

The Round Turtle opened his eyes slowly, the aged and murky eyes of his revealing a
hint of reminiscence.

He had bidden farewell to many sect masters.

But, it was different this time nonetheless.

Ada had crawled out from Jing Jiu's sleeve, and looked at that sheath atop the stone
monument while squatting on the ground; the quiet demeanor he displayed right now
was rarely seen.

At the bottom of Shangde Peak, the Dead Dog lifted his head slowly, and looked at the
deepest end of the sunlight; a hint of sadness showed in the deep and warm end of his
eyes.
…

…

The One-Cottage House was situated at the deepest part of the Thousand Mile Windy
Corridor.

Liu Shisui was practicing writing with the City-Guard Pen. It was a task assigned to him
by Bu Qiuxiao. He had done it for several years and gotten the hang of it.

The sword bracelet on his wrist suddenly started to shake.

Liu Shisui complied with the idea of the Lone Sword; he got up and walked to the
window, looking in the direction of Green Mountain. He discovered the wind was rising.
…
…

At the Thousand Mile Windy Corridor.

The wind had been blowing for tens of thousands of years.

The wind was not as strong at the entrance to the corridor; as such, some buildings and
mortals could be found there, except that the business was not doing well there.

Sitting by the window, Xiao He gazed at the road on which nobody had traveled for
many days while supporting her chin with her hands, feeling rather bored.

All of a sudden, she saw a scene, and her face turned pale instantly.

…
…

A horse-drawn carriage was approaching amid the hills.

The Dark Phoenix stood on top of the carriage against the wind. His feathers were
cluttered, which matched his current mood.

The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect sat on the driving seat, his sparse
hair looking more cluttered as it was blown by the wind.

A piece of slow and upbeat flute music came out from inside the carriage.

It was not a lullaby of the Underworld River, nor was it the music of celebrating the
success of the total transformation. It was an ordinary piece of Huangmei folk music in
the human world.

The person in the carriage and Jing Jiu were the only ones in the world who knew that
Liu Ci was from Huangmei Town.
…
…

The Three-Foot Sword.

The Zither Sword.

The Sword of Absolute Emptiness.

The Sword of the Returning Sun.

The Tide Sword.

The Thoughtless Sword.

The Lone Sword at the distant Thousand Mile Windy Corridor.

Hundreds of flying swords in the sky.

And that sword.

All the swords faced the sheath on the stone monument quietly.

The disciples of Green Mountain bowed to the ground in unison, and shouted together,
"Greetings, Sect Master! The Sword comes back to Green Mountain!"

The spring rain suddenly fell, wetting the stone monument, nurturing everything
noiselessly.

Chapter end

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