Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The grind wheel like eyes in the shadows belonged to the divine animal of the Center Sect, the Unicorn.
Hearing what the Immortal Bai said, the Unicorn’s eyes grew even chillier, and his lethal intent seemed to grow more realistic, indicating that he wanted to kill Jing Jiu.
“The Fairy Book is impossible to temper with; so he is as good as a dead man. There is no need for you to do anything.”
The Immortal Bai continued unemotionally, “You and I just pretend we don’t know anything about the matter.”
“The Spirit is suspicious; should we call her out to ask some questions?” the Unicorn said through the spiritual awareness.
“She has almost become a devil now; there is no point in asking her.”
The Immortal Bai reached out her hand into the night sky and grabbed an object.
That object was the Green Sky Mirror. However, she employed some sort of magic to shrink it to something as small as a dish so she could hold it in her hand.
Countless cold magic air seeped out from the hand of the Immortal Bai. A layer of ice had gradually formed on the surface of the Green Sky Mirror.
The layer of ice looked quite thin, but it was actually extremely hard. It was even difficult for a sword of the Fairy State to cut it open.
She threw the Green Sky Mirror sealed by the ice into the Earth Source in the deep part under the Cloud-Dream Mountain.
Hundreds of years later, when the mirror spirit vanished and the Illusionary Realm reopened, the Green Sky Mirror might see sunlight again.
Seeing this, a satisfactory expression showed in the Unicorn’s eyes, as he thought the arrangement was rather suitable.
The Immortal Bai left the manor cave and came to the highest spot of the Cloud-Dream Mountain. Her energy grew colder, as if she had become an indestructible and formidable snowy mountain.
The purpose of this Dao Competition was to find an inheritor of the Fairy Book for the Center Sect. As long as this winner was strong enough, who it was not a big issue.
Since it was a Green Mountain disciple who had won the Fairy Book, then the inheritor of the Fairy Book would change to the holder of the book.
There was a huge difference between the inheritor and the holder of the Fairy Book.
Like she told the Unicorn, that person would be controlled by the Fairy Book and became a puppet, unless he could temper the Fairy Book.
But, who could temper the Fairy Book in this world?
Thinking of this, a faint caution revealed itself in the depths of her eyes.
She recalled the gray figure fleeing the Fiend Prison, the released Underworld Emperor, the person who cultivated for many decades just for breaching the barrier, and the steps treading into the empty space on the Buzhou Mountain…
Is it really you?
You are still alive?
But you have to die this time!
…
…
The floor, walls and door frame of the house of peeled skin were etched with many marks, looking like dense amulet symbols; all sorts of strange images were projected in all directions after the marks on the woods reflected the sunlight.
Lying on the bamboo chair, Jing Jiu used his right forefinger to run over the door frame to sense the wonderful feel of those etched marks as he looked at the back of Nan Wang and mulled over something.
A gust of mountain wind suddenly rose, blowing away the flowing clouds and opening a vaguely seen hole in the air where a green robe could be seen fluttering.
Nan Wang stood up and bowed to the person.
The Sect Master of Green Mountain, Liu Ci, walked over from the outside of the cliff.
He was undoubtedly the most powerful figure in Chaotian, but there was nothing special about him other than his height.
He wore common cotton clothing, his eyebrows even and straight, his expression mild; he was like a sword in the sheath, unthreatening in the least.
His energy was broad and all-encompassing, also like a sword sheath, able to withstand any adversity.
Liu Ci waved his hand to signal for Nan Wang to leave.
Nan Wang arched her brows a bit, as she shook the Zither Sword slightly to retrieve all the sword strings, and she turned around and left, grunting.
Seeing her leave in anger, Liu Ci smiled affectionately, and then he noticed a small smile on Jing Jiu’s face.
Liu Ci felt a bit surprised. Such a small smile could be counted as an extreme affection as far as Jing Jiu was concerned.
It seemed that Jing Jiu had changed a little after having stayed in the Green Sky Mirror for seventy years.
Liu Ci waved his sleeve slightly, and the sword will of the Inherited Heaven Sword came out and formed an invisible sword formation to shield the entire house of peeled skin.
Even if the Unicorn of the Cloud-Dream Mountain snuck in somewhere close by, he still couldn’t hear the subsequent conversation between Liu Ci and Jing Jiu.
“This Fairy Book of Longevity is not an accessory book; it is the main one.”
Without any pleasantries and prelude, Jing Jiu stated the issue directly.
Liu Ci said, “The Great Grandmaster Bai had left three main books and three accessory fairy books. One main book was used to suppress the Underworld Emperor. What do they plan to do by using the main book as the award for the Dao Competition?”
The Fairy Books were the true magic treasures of the immortals. Only the Center Sect currently had them in the world, left behind by the Great Grandmaster Bai when she ascended.
If the regular folks obtained an accessory book, it would be enough for them to change their bodily structure to step on the path toward heaven, and if the Cultivation practitioners obtained it, they could prolong their lifetime by many decades. In comparison, the main books had even more fairy energy; more importantly, the books most likely contained the fairy intent of the Great Grandmaster Bai, which could be said to be the best method for the potential ascension and for the Cultivation practitioners to comprehend the principles of heaven and earth.
Liu Ci couldn’t figure it out. Even if the Center Sect wanted to be the leader of the orthodox Cultivation circle, they had no need to use a fairy book as the award of the Dao Competition.
He felt it was even more outlandish now that he learned that the award was the main Fairy Book.
If it were his fairy book, he wouldn’t want to give it away from the viewpoint of a sect master of Green Mountain.
What did the Center Sect intend to achieve by doing this?
The Great Grandmaster Bai was not in the human world, and nobody had any experience with the fairy books. As such, no one could figure out what the Center Sect wanted to achieve, except for Jing Jiu.
“The fairy intent is a fairy awareness left by Bai Ren. She can come back from the other world through certain means,” said Jing Jiu.
Thinking of the scene in which the Underworld Emperor was suppressed, Liu Ci’s expression grew grave. “Stealing a body?” he offered.
“That’s right,” Jing Jiu confirmed. “It’s similar to what your Master had considered back then. The Center Sect needs to select the most suitable, strongest body, and control it secretly with the fairy awareness. Then they will wait for the right moment.”
Liu Ci felt bewildered as he asked, “She ascended after a great deal of effort; why would she want to come back?”
Jing Jiu said, “It will be merely a spiritual awareness; and I don’t think it’s the entirety of her awareness.”
Looking at the mountains outside the cliff on the Cloud-Dream Mountain, Liu Ci shook his head and remarked, “The way the Center Sect conducts business is always so shrewd.”
Jing Jiu said, “For the Center Sect, this will be a hidden thunder. When something happens in the future, this thunder will strike down, and no one will be able to resist it.”
Even though it was only a copy of the Great Grandmaster Bai that would come back to Chaotian through the Fairy Book, it would still be impossible for the Cultivation practitioners in the land to resist her.
A fairy immortal is nonetheless a special entity; even a small fraction of the fairy immortal is still a powerful immortal.
Liu Ci remarked, “I’d like to see how powerful the thunder will be.”
“The thunder will not strike down, unfortunately,” Jing Jiu said. “It’s because the fairy book has ended up in my hands. She has bad luck.”
“What are you going to do with it?” Liu Ci asked.
Jing Jiu said, “I of course will try to temper this fairy book and prevent her from coming back.”
Liu Ci stared at his eyes and said, “As you know, this is a very difficult task.”
“Since it is in my hand, I have no choice but to do it,” Jing Jiu said while looking at his left fist.
Liu Ci said, “If you could temper this fairy book, the Cloud-Dream Mountain would be able to figure out your identity.”
“Am I a bad person?” Jing Jiu inquired calmly.
Liu Ci replied evenly, “You are not a good person, but not a bad person either.”
“Under the circumstances, what could happen to me even if the others figured out my identity?” Jing Jiu claimed.
Only a few people in this world knew about Jing Jiu’s true identity.
Zhao Layue had probably guessed it, but since she didn’t want to point it out, Jing Jiu considered her as someone who didn’t know his identity yet.
He considered that person at the Water-Moon Nunnery the same way.
If his true identity was revealed, the negative effect was that the reputation of Green Mountain would suffer.
The successful ascension of a grandmaster was totally different from the botched ascension of a grandmaster, who came back to re-cultivate after being reborn.
Liu Ci asked, “Have you figured out how to temper this fairy book?”
“I’m still thinking about it,” Jing Jiu answered.
Liu Ci said, “As you are thinking about it, the spiritual awareness might occupy your entire body and control your Dao Heart; how can you prevent it?”
“If I can’t prevent it, I will cut off my left hand,” said Jing Jiu.
Looking at his left hand, Liu Ci said, “Actually, I have a better idea. We can use something to wrap up your fist to prevent mishap from happening.”
Jing Jiu narrowed his eyes. “You know I wouldn’t agree to it,” said Jing Jiu while looking at Liu Ci.
Liu Ci said with a smile, “It was just a casual suggestion; you don’t have to be so upset.”
“Bring me back to Green Mountain as soon as possible,” Jing Jiu said.
Liu Ci fixed his sight on Jing Jiu’s left hand again, knowing that Jing Jiu in fact didn’t have full confidence in tempering this fairy book either.
The marks on the floor in the house of peeled skin suddenly shivered, and then floated up, forming many visible lines.
The expression in Liu Ci’s eyes was calm and focused, resembling the tranquil water in a pond without the slightest disturbance stirred by the wind.
Jing Jiu was aware of what he intended to do; but Jing Jiu didn’t refuse it, his eyebrows arched.
Countless sword wills landed on Jing Jiu’s left hand, swaddling it with many dense layers, looking like an invisible boxing glove.
Not a trace of fairy energy could be leaked out between the fingers of Jing Jiu’s left fist; no divine animal could smell it, regardless of how sensitive their smelling was.
This was the sword style of the Inherited Heaven Sword of the main peak of Green Mountain, and was also the formation from the highest state in Chaotian; it appeared shapeless and invisible, but it was actually rather tangible.
Jing Jiu had to admit that neither he nor his Big Brother had mastered the Inherited Heaven Sword better than Liu Ci. On the other hand, Gu Qing’s talent was a bit inferior in this aspect, so Jing Jiu had to find another way to compensate for Gu Qing’s shortcoming.
He inquired, “Has the issue of winning the tripod by not complying with the rules been settled?”
Liu Ci answered, “How could I come here otherwise had it not? I knew you had never done anything the same way as everybody else.”
“Now that the Center Sect has such an idea for awarding the Fairy Book, they won’t disallow it. As for why I have chosen this way, I had no other choice, really; it’s not that I have done it on purpose.”
Liu Ci said while shaking his head, “Back when we played Mahjong together, my Master always said that you had never played it the same way as everybody else, and you insisted on your own way.”
“We haven’t played Mahjong for three hundred years, right?” Jing Jiu asked.
After a pause, Liu Ci bowed to Jing Jiu and said, “Yes, Senior Master.”
…
