The Path Toward Heaven

“This Senior Master Liu is a strange man. He even asked for the pear wine that is the favorite of our peak master, not to mention that he came to tour the peak. He surely doesn’t consider himself an outsider.”

A young woman of Qingrong Peak looked at the pavilion on the Autumn Platform with arched brows as she remarked, “He dares stare at the peak master. Doesn’t he fear that he might be killed by her if she is displeased?”

The elder said, “Don’t say that, and be respectful. You must know that he is the most favorite disciple of the Immortal Sect Master.”

“Isn’t the peak master of Shenmo Peak the most favorite disciple of the Grandmaster Jing Yang?” the young woman questioned, her eyes full of disbelief.

The elder said, “It’s hard to tell who has the higher Cultivation state, the Young Brother Liu or the peak master of Shenmo Peak, but it’s a certainty that the Immortal Sect Master trusts him the most.”

…

…

Having finished the pear wine, Liu Shisui left Qingrong Peak and went to Yunxing Peak.

The sword wills were too strong on Yunxing Peak; so few people, excluding Zhao Layue and a few others with unique qualities, could cultivate here for a prolonged period of time. As such, the elders and the disciples of Yunxing Peak resided at the foot of the peak.

The green smokes could be seen everywhere and the sounds of magic treasures could be heard among the courtyards; it was the commotion caused by repairing the flying swords.

Liu Shisui gave them his name and asked to see the peak master.

The former peak master of Yunxing, Jin Sidao, was too ashamed to stay here. Yet, he had no courage to go to the permit peaks; in the end, he opted to travel the world.

The current peak master of Yunxing was Ping Yongjia. He had tried his best to stay on Shenmo Peak for many days, but he was driven by Gu Qing to this place even though Zhao Layue implied that he could stay on Shenmo Peak…Gu Qing used the sect rules to persuade Ping Yongjia to come to Yunxing Peak. Furthermore, Ping Yongjia’s Cultivation method was different from everybody else’s, so this was the right place for him after all.

Liu Shisui and Ping Yongjia had eaten hotpot together just a few days ago on Shenmo Peak, so it was unclear why he wanted to meet Ping Yongjia again.

The elders and disciples smiled wryly when they heard Liu Shisui’s request. They told Liu Shisui that the new peak master didn’t say anything but went up to the peak top after he came here, and stayed there up to this point.

Hearing this answer, Liu Shisui found it quite interesting. He politely declined the request for the group to accompany him, and climbed Yunxing Peak by himself.

Yunxing Peak was the Sword Peak, devoid of flowers, grass and plants, as well as the flowing streams and beautiful sceneries, places where one could only find rocks and swords.

Unlike when he was on Shenmo Peak and Qingrong Peak, Liu Shisui had no scenery to enjoy here. As such, he soon disappeared into the clouds.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the highest spot of the Sword Peak. The sunshine pierced through the clouds and illuminated the barren cliff.

A few iron eagles gave off roars that were as sharp as the clattering of metal. They flapped their wings and flew up in the air, encircling the cliff.

Liu Shisui came before the cliff and saw three grottos, one beside the other. He entered the one on the left hand side out of curiosity. Touching the surrounding walls with his hands, he thought that cultivating here was no different than the ascetic monks facing the cave walls at the Fruit Formation Temple.

Liu Shisui came out from the grotto and walked to the grotto on the right hand side. He tilted his head to look at Ping Yongjia, who was seemingly asleep soundly with his eyes shut inside it.

He watched Ping Yongjia for a long time, but he couldn’t find anything special about Ping Yongjia; so he straightened his body and murmured while shaking his head, “It’s truly strange.”

After that, Liu Shisui made his way down Yunxing Peak. It seemed that he came all the way here just to take a look at Ping Yongjia.

Next, he went to Shiyue Peak, where he found a patch of a ruined medicine garden and picked an obviously extraordinary lotus with seven leaves under a rock. He tossed it into his mouth and chewed it raw. Later, he went to a magic pill house that had been deserted many years ago, where he found a vial of magic pills under a shelf and dumped all of the content into his stomach.

Both the ruined medicine garden and the deserted magic pill house were situated in the remote area of Shiyue Peak, so they were not taken care of. Even those elders and disciples of Shiyue Peak didn’t know of their existence. It was unclear how Liu Shisui found out about these two places and why he could find those two precious items there. The more puzzling thing was that he ate the lotus with seven leaves and the magic pills in the vial that might have very strong effects; didn’t he fear he might be in danger?

Having taken the magic pills, Liu Shisui sat in the magic tripod quietly for a while to digest them. Then, he jumped out from the back window of the magic pill house.

The mountain wind blew in his face with a whistling sound. Soon, he encountered the clouds and fog that were normal in this part of the mountain.

Thud!!!

Liu Shisui landed his feet on the ground; and yet, it was not the foot of the peak, but a stone beam hidden in the clouds and fog.

The footprints that looked like the bamboo leaves on the stone beam had been long erased by the mountain wind after more than one hundred years.

Liu Shisui came to Xilai Peak via the stone beam without alarming anyone. He went to a place at the back of the peak and found some books to read for a while.

Next, he went to Liangwang Peak. He made his way to the peak top on the mountain path that winded around the cliffs without any fork.

Seeing the sword lights in the sky and those vigorous young disciples, his eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.

As he reached the peak top, he found that he couldn’t go any further. Gu Han left his manor cave and came to the foot of the cliff after hearing the news. An exceedingly bright sword light illuminated the sky before Gu Han could speak to him; the sword light headed toward Shangde Peak.

A disciple of Liangwang Peak remarked with an expression of admiration and expectancy, “Isn’t that the Lone Sword?”

Gu Han nodded in agreement.

Another disciple said resentfully, “The Immortal Sect Master is so biased. Senior Master Liu is a member of the One-Cottage House now and the Lone Sword is the precious treasure of Green Mountain; how can the sect master let him keep the sword?”

Gu Han shot him an expressionless glance before saying, “If you knew how much he had contributed to Green Mountain, you wouldn’t ask such a stupid question.”

…

…

The accumulated snow could be found everywhere on the cliff walls of Shangde Peak. Even the air was extremely cold here. To inhale the air was similar to swallowing a great many tiny knives.

The pine trees quivered, causing a minor snowfall. Liu Shisui inhaled the air deeply, ignoring the snowflakes on his face and body, an expression of reminiscence and satisfaction showing on his face.

He passed by the residence of the Shangde Peak disciples soundlessly, glided toward the steep precipice at the back of the peak and landed on a large rock.

Yuan Qü and Yushan had watched stars here many years ago.

Yet, Liu Shisui didn’t know about this incident. He looked at the peaks of Green Mountain while standing on the rock, his expression as grave as the wind and snow on Shangde Peak. Then, he turned around and disappeared into the cliff.

The sunlight shone down from the sky and illuminated the ground.

The Dead Dog was crouching under the sunlight like a black mountain.

The Sword Jail was as quiet as ever.

It seemed as if nobody had visited it.

Yet, the gate leading to the hermit peaks was somehow opened.

Liu Shisui trod amongst the green mounds and low peaks; in the end he halted his steps in front of a patch of wildflowers.

The wildflowers filled the entire mountain and field, looking wonderful, it felt like the flowers were about to block the sky and sun.

He didn’t pick up the bamboo flute among the wildflowers; instead, he was staring quietly at a place on that mountain peak.

Through the ocean of flowers, the black soil and the stone walls, he saw Fang Jingtian sleeping.

Liu Shisui leapt up by tapping the flowers with his toes and landed on top of the seemingly still ocean of clouds while bringing the aromatic scent of flowers with him. He passed through the ocean of clouds and arrived in front of that stony mountain. There were many grottos in the mountain, in which there were many remains of the previous swordsmen of Green Mountain who failed to break through the Heavenly Arrival State. As for those swordsmen in the history of Green Mountain who reached the Heavenly Arrival State but failed to ascend, most of them turned into the spring rains, winter snow or light specks like what had happened to Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing.

“If I died, I wouldn’t turn into nothingness. I’ll give myself back to the world.”

Liu Shisui continued, “I wish I would be placed here. If a disciple of Green Mountain is in need in the future, he can have a bite of my flesh, which might be helpful.”

It was unclear why he made such a statement that sounded like a Will.

Since nobody was around in the hermit peaks, it was unclear whom he made the statement for.