The Path Toward Heaven

Chapter 294: The Man with Wisdom

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhao Layue’s inquiry didn’t interrupt Jing Jiu’s train of thought, but instead made him ponder it even harder.

What he told Liu Shisui was true, and also his genuine thoughts.

For the people of this world, ascension was the worst evil thing, but it was the sole goal of his life.

So benevolence and the evil were transient for Jing Jiu.

It was because he needed a quiet environment where he could cultivate without being disturbed, and also because of some other emotional attachments, and for this he had to take a stand.

Jing Jiu understood the emotion Fang Jingtian had for avenging his Master, and the desire Lei Poyun had for breaking through the Cultivation state.

The reason his Big Brother could have brought the world into turmoil with one statement was that he understood fully what everybody wanted and desired.

Jing Jiu was the only exception. His Big Brother had never known what he liked and wanted. All his Big Brother knew was his desire for ascending, but his Big Brother couldn’t give that to him.

Similarly, Jing Jiu knew what Zhao Layue wanted at the moment, but he couldn’t give it to her.

Zhao Layue said, “Fang Jingtian had asked Tian Jingren to kill you, so it’s obvious that he has connection with the West Ocean Sword Sect and the Old Ones. Why didn’t the Sect Master and the Sword Justice deal with him?”

Jing Jiu said, “Like I said before, they are brothers of the same Master, and also we don’t have any proof.”

“Don’t you think Shangde Peak is suspicious?” asked Zhao Layue.

All nine peaks of Green Mountain knew that Yuan Qijing didn’t like the Immortal Jing Yang, and the way Shangde Peak dealt with some latest matters was dubious.

Jing Jiu was well aware that Yuan Qijing didn’t like him, but there was nothing to be suspicious about. “He killed Lei Poyun,” he pointed it out to her.

Zhao Layue said, “It could be a case of silencing the accomplice.”

Jing Jiu looked at her in silence.

After a pause, Zhao Layue said, “Well, the issue with Liu Shisui’s Cultivation has been solved. It’s a good thing.”

Though she said it lightly, she still felt unpleasant when she thought of the scheme of Xilai Peak and the stupidity of Jian Ruyun and others; and she started to sniff heavily.

Jing Jiu knew she was upset. Actually, he was not accustomed to the situation either. If this sort of thing happened in the past, he would have killed the troublemakers with the sword, or at least forced the opponents to beg for their lives on the knees. He had never been like this, having too many worries and considerations.

“What the Cultivation practitioners have most is patience.”

It was unclear if this statement was meant to teach her or to advise himself.

Back when Jing Jiu was trapped in the snowland, Gu Qing had said that one hundred years were not too late for a Cultivation practitioner to take revenge. Yet, it wasn’t the way Zhao Layue would think and act.

She looked at Jing Jiu and asked seriously, “When will you enter the Broken Sea State?”

Jing Jiu was still in the middle state of the Undefeated, which was five levels away from the Broken Sea State.

For a regular disciple of Green Mountain, if everything was favorable, it would be normal to take more than ten years or even twenty to thirty years to break through one level.

Yet, Zhao Layue had a great hope for Jing Jiu, even though his Cultivation state had stagnated for more than seven years, and soon he would be the weakest Cultivationist on Shenmo Peak.

In Zhao Layue’s eyes, as long as Jing Jiu could break through the Broken Sea State, both Bai Rujing and Fang Jingtian would be not his match.

Hearing this, Jing Jiu gave a half smile without answering.

Zhao Layue didn’t understand what he meant by doing that, asking, “What’s the matter?”

It was either because the autumn sun in the sky was too hot, or because that smiling face was too attractive, she didn’t notice Jing Jiu’s smile had a hint of bitterness.

Surprisingly, his smile also had a hint of self-mockery.

These were rare emotions displayed by him.

...

...

Jing Jiu had never worried about his Cultivation; but it seemed that he had been over-confident about his capability. It was because he had encountered an unsolvable issue right now.

The Queen of the Snowy Kingdom gave birth, wreaking havoc in the snowland; as a result, he and Bai Zao were trapped in the cold cave for six years.

During the six years, to ensure a steady temperature in the cave so that Bai Zao wouldn’t freeze to death, Jing Jiu had to keep the sword fire ablaze the entire time.

To ensure the sword fire would keep on burning, he needed to provide it with zhenyuan constantly, and in the meantime he also had to make sure his zhenyuan would not exhaust. During the six years, the zhenyuan in his body had to operate at a minimum rate, which was enough to maintain the life at the lowest level, like maintaining the thin ice before it on the river would melt, or like maintaining the last piece of paper in the burning stove before it would be burned to nothingness.

Under such circumstances, he had no way to cultivate or to have enough energy to perceive the heaven and earth; all he could do was train his will power to become extremely tenacious.

Unfortunately, Jing Jiu didn’t even need to train his will power; as such, he had basically done nothing during the six years there.

He didn’t care too much about this, and thought he would be able to get back to the normal schedule for his Cultivation after returning to Green Mountain. And he wasn’t worried that much even though he had stayed in the middle state of the Undefeated for two years and had no sign of breaking through. It was because he was aware fully that Cultivation was like the water drilling a stone, in which the rainwater would simply splash off the green stone if the moment of drilling a hole was not up.

It wasn’t until a few days ago that he used the Sword Awareness to examine himself for the purpose of doing comparative research, and he meanwhile he did some calculations as he considered the problem regarding Liu Shisui’s Cultivation. As a result, he had an unexpected finding...if he continued his Cultivation the same way, it seemed that he would have never been able to make the rainwater drill through the green stone, which was himself.

...

...

A meeting was held on Shenmo Peak, which was extremely rare, and it was not held by the cliff’s edge, but in the manor cave.

Jing Jiu didn’t lie on the bamboo chair, which was rare as well, and Zhao Layue didn’t sit on the chair either. They all sat on the warm jade futons.

Seeing two of their masters sat shoulder by shoulder, Yuan Qü let loose a silly smile as he thought of the phrase “The candle is managed by the feminine red sleeve”; but soon he wiped off the smile on his face when he sensed the depressing atmosphere in the manor cave, and he stood by the side of Gu Qing with a solemn expression.

Both the white cat and Cold Cicada disliked the warm jade futon, so they crouched on a jade bamboo root, unwilling to join the group.

Jing Jiu called them together for the purpose of solving his own Cultivation problem.

Zhao Layue felt his idea was truly ridiculous, as she thought that nobody in all of Chaotian could find a way to solve his Cultivation problem if he couldn’t do it himself.

But Yuan Qü felt it was a good approach. No matter how talented his Senior Master was in sword work, it was impossible for him to surpass his Master, someone with natural Dao quality; Big Brother Gu Qing also had an exceptional comprehensive ability; and even his own Cultivation state had almost caught up with Senior Master at the current pace. As such, it was natural that the Senior Master sought for some help, and it was quite laudable that he was humble enough to ask his juniors for help.

Gu Qing didn’t think the same way as Yuan Qü. Gu Qing believed that his Master possessed profound resources, since he could get any true sword style instructions at will; Gu Qing didn’t think he was qualified to help his Master.

Jing Jiu didn’t pay attention to what his two disciples had on their minds, as he told them about his problem and pointed out the main issue.

His flying sword and his Sword Pill couldn’t merge together.

Hearing this, Gu Qing and Yuan Qü looked reflexively at the black iron sword by Jing Jiu’s side.

This iron sword inherited from the Immortal Master Mo of Xilai Peak looked quite ordinary, and it had been burned by the sword fire for six years in the snowland. The iron on the surface of the sword had been melted and solidified over and over again, turning into something resembling the turtle shell. It looked like an over-burned fir-poker. It actually looked terrible.

After entering the Undefeated State, Jing Jiu still carried the iron sword on his back, which had already become an interesting anecdote for many in the Cultivation circle. But nobody knew that he didn’t do it on purpose; it was simply something he couldn’t help.

Zhao Layue knew about it, and Gu Qing and Yuan Qü had guessed it; but it still shocked them when they heard it from Jing Jiu in person.