Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“He Zhan said back then that your face was as recognizable as mine.”
Su Ziye went on while looking at Jing Jiu, “What he said is actually true.”
The pot with boiled water dropped to the floor, turning into steam as it rose up, puffs of
which then entered the brown bottle in Su Ziye’s hand; it was an amazing scene.
The Four-Barren Bottle that could absorb all the water in the air was an exceedingly
formidable magic treasure.
He was confident that he could kill Zhao Layue and Zhuo Rusui in a short time with the
help from Elder Hua Yin.
But Jing Jiu showed up.
And Elder Hua Yin was dead.
Zhuo Rusui said, “There is no point in killing the time by making those senseless
remarks since nobody would come to your rescue.”
Su Ziye realized that what he said was true and that those disciples of the Mysterious
Dark Sect hiding in the hidden river under the ground must have all been killed by Zhuo
Rusui and Zhao Layue.
Su Ziye had noticed earlier that Zhuo Rusui was injured and the front lapel of Zhao
Layue’s skirt was a bit wet.
Zhao Layue and Zhuo Rusui were the most formidable killers among the young
disciples of Green Mountain, and Jing Jiu, as the new sect master of Green Mountain,
showed up in person, meaning that many more swordsmen of the Green Mountain Sect
would be in and outside of Yizhou; the disciples of his sect had no chance of survival.
Looking at the corpse of Elder Hua Yin and thinking of those disciples who had died in
the hidden river and the end of the Mysterious Dark Sect, Su Ziye said sentimentally, “I,
in fact, have never thought of opposing Green Mountain.”
“Did you send Tong Yan to West Ocean?” demanded Zhuo Rusui.
Tong Yan went to the West Ocean, and the Fairy Book hidden in the Green Sky Mirror
triggered a heavenly punishment. Though the Immortal Taiping escaped punishment,
Liu Ci turned into the “spring rain” three years later.
Liu Ci was Zhuo Rusui’s Master.
“In this case,” Su Ziye said, “I should speculate that Tong Yan has been killed by you
people in secret.”
The fact that Tong Yan had left Cloud-Dream Mountain was tightly concealed by the
Center Sect. No one in the Cultivation circle knew about it.
Su Ziye had been communicating with Tong Yan in secret over the years. It was
inevitable that he would have such conjecture since he, all of a sudden, couldn’t contact
Tong Yan anymore.
“I’ll kill Tong Yan for sure,” said Zhuo Rusui. “But he hid at the Center Sect, so I can’t do
it for the time being.”
Seeing his expression, Su Ziye was certain that Zhuo Rusui was sincere, wondering
what had happened to Tong Yan.
“Don’t look at me like that,” said Zhuo Rusui. “He won’t have that much longer, not when
I want to kill him.”
After a moment of silence, Su Ziye turned to Jing Jiu and asked, “Why don’t you people
let us go?”
Jing Jiu replied, “Wiping you out is the only way to make sure your sect is not brought
back.”
This was something he and Liu Ci had discussed and agreed on; the Mysterious Dark
Sect must be eliminated completely.
Su Ziye asked, “How did you know I’m not Wang Xiaoming?”
“Because he’s dead,” said Jing Jiu.
The Scorching Sun George was destroyed that night when the sword light and the
broadsword light met on the Cold Mountain.
That young man who should be the main character in the story became a dead man
even though he protected himself with the Sun Banner.
The outcome was truly hard for many people to accept; but Jing Jiu had witnessed a
great many events of this sort on his long path of Cultivation.
The examples were Luo Huainan, Tong Lu, and many other geniuses in Cultivation
many years ago.
Wang Xiaoming didn’t get a second chance, nor would Su Ziye.
“Don’t do it again,” said Jing Jiu.
Su Ziye realized that Jing Jiu didn’t want to kill him; otherwise, he would be dead by
now. “Why do you let me live?” he asked.
“What is the Immortal Bai’s plan?” Jing Jiu asked.
Su Ziye laughed, his greenish face looking a bit eerie. “You should ask her directly,” he
returned.
Zhao Layue exclaimed, “Do you have a death wish?!”
“I was born from a demonic embryo and lived in the corpse of my dead mother and
became the source of my father’s demonic energy. I had made my father a paralyzed
person after trying all sorts of methods and had the control of the Mysterious Dark Sect.
Unfortunately, I encountered Wang Xiaoming later, a weirdo. Do you really think that I
have no idea who his behind-the-scenes master is? As for the promise given by the
Center Sect, do you think I have total trust in them? I was a lonely soul from moment I
was born, drifting here and there in this world. The only home I had was the Mysterious
Dark Sect, but it has been destroyed by your Green Mountain Sect; and I’m not allowed
to rebuild it. If I’m going to drift forever, what is the meaning of my life then?”
Speaking of sufferings, fewer in the world could match Su Ziye.
Yet, his expression was very calm when Su Ziye made the speech, indicating that he
was determined to die that day.
The reason for sparing Su Ziye’s life was because Jing Jiu wanted to make use of him.
However, the Lone Sword was in Liu Shisui’s hands right now, so Jing Jiu couldn’t
control Su Ziye like he did to Xiao He.
Moreover, Su Ziye had already expressed how he felt; how could Jing Jiu control him?
Jing Jiu said, “The Mysterious Dark Sect was merely your first nest. It’s not a big deal to
find it destroyed, because you can build a new home.”
Su Ziye understood what Jing Jiu intended to convey. “Could you accept if someone
asks you to leave Green Mountain?” he demanded while staring into Jing Jiu’s eyes.
“Yes,” said Jing Jiu.
Hearing this answer, Zhao Layue’s eyes grew dimmer; it was unclear what she was
thinking at the moment.
After a moment of silence, Su Ziye said, “It’s not a simple thing, finding a new sect.”
Zhuo Rusui said, “It would be simple if you had support. We can provide you more than
what the Center Sect has promised you, like the spiritual source owned by the Kunlun
Sect.”
“Can you give me what the Immortal Bai promised?” he pressed uncertainly.
“I’m the sect master of Green Mountain; is she a sect master?” Jing Jiu returned. “And I
can help you get rid of the effects of the Poison Pill.”
Upon hearing this, Su Ziye had finally felt a bit convinced.
The Poison Pill was a magic pill he had to take daily, and it came from a devil crane
found on the South Islands.
The red crown on the devil crane’s head contained a strong poison, which could help
the Cultivation practitioners stabilize their spiritual soul.
The methods employed by the deviant practitioners were problematic, causing
excruciating pains easily and lead senselessness. The evildoings they engaged in were
often the results of this senselessness caused by their problematic Cultivation methods;
as such, the deviant practitioners were said to “kill the innocent indiscriminately”. To
make sure they would maintain a sensible mind, the Poison Pill was the inevitable
choice. However, the addiction and the subsequent pain after taking the Poison Pill
were as dreadful as those deviant practices. Once one was used to taking the pill, they
couldn’t shake off the habit. As the deviant practitioners improved their Cultivation
states, a larger amount of the Poison Pills was needed, and more poison would
accumulate in their bodies. As a result, their bodies would grow weaker until the day
they died. Only if they could break through the demonic wheel before their death would
they be able to become the truly powerful demonic super-swordsman like the Great
Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect.
The reason Su Ziye asked for his death was due the hopeless pain caused by the
Poison Pill, in addition to his despair.
“Nobody can get rid of the effect of the Poison Pill,” he claimed while staring at Jing Jiu.
Jing Jiu said, “There is nothing that I can’t do in this world.”
Though Su Ziye didn’t believe what he said, he had a sliver of hope as he thought of
how Jing Jiu was the sect master of Green Mountain. “What do you want me to do for
you then?” he asked.
It was a great favor whether it was getting rid of the effect of the Poison Pill or helping
him found a new sect; he was not worthy of the effort of the Green Mountain Sect no
matter how talented he was and how promising his Cultivation potential was, if they
didn’t expect something else from him.
Jing Jiu said, “You must find a way to inform me if the Young Mysterious Dark Master
contacts you.”
By now, Su Ziye realized that the Green Mountain Sect wanted to use him as a means
to eventually vanquish the Immortal Taiping and the Great Grandmaster. “I don’t think
they will trust me anymore,” he said, shaking his head.
“You have deceived the West Ocean for so long; I believe you can do the same with
them,” said Jing Jiu.
…
…
The three of them leapt up on the swords, breaking through the clouds and landing on
the sword boat.
Zhao Layue felt a bit regretful about the fact that they came and left in such a hurry that
they didn’t have a chance to eat the hotpot in Yizhou.
Zhuo Rusui had the similar regret. Smelling the jasmine tea on his sleeve, he turned to
Gu Qing, wondering if he should ask Gu Qing to boil another pot of tea.
Gu Qing ignored him as he walked past Zhuo Rusui and came before the bamboo chair,
asking, “Master, will Su Ziye accept the request?”
“He is a lonely soul, and willing to grab any grass to avoid drowning. And Green
Mountain is the strongest grass; there’s no way he was not to going to give it a try.”
Having said that, Jing Jiu turned toward a corner of the sword boat, where there was a
box covered with an oily cloth.
Nobody knew what was inside the box besides Jing Jiu himself. Even the disciples of
Shiyue Peak responsible for driving the sword boat had no idea what was in the box.
Su Ziye called himself the “lonely soul”; it was also Tong Yan’s judgment. Tong Yan’s
analysis and plan had played an important role in this campaign of wiping out the
remaining members of the Mysterious Dark Sect. He had cooperated with Su Ziye in
secret for many years, and knew his action style and habits very well.
Jing Jiu intended to cut off the extended “hand” of the Center Sect. The turmoil at the
Hanging-Bell Sect was merely a test, but it was the real action this time.
The trip to Yizhou was the Go piece Jing Jiu placed on the Go board.
The meeting at the Fruit Formation Temple in autumn was a more important event.
The allocations of the resources for Cultivation in Chaotian would be decided at the
meeting.
The political situation was a bit tense in Zhaoge City. The officials of the imperial court
who had the background of the Center Sect didn’t dare say anything to the Emperor, but
they attacked the chief commander of the Pure Heaven Bureau, Zhang Yiai, with one
after another accusations. The officials of the Overwatch Council and the Supreme
Court acted like they had gone mad. It was unclear how long Zhang Yiai, an important
figure in the imperial court, who had betrayed Cloud-Dream Mountain, could sustain.
It was summer, and there were many days before the meeting of the Fruit Formation
Temple. The sword boat went to the East Ocean ahead of the schedule.
Jing Jiu left with Zhao Layue, and everybody else remained on the sword boat. Gu Qing
noticed that the large box covered with an oily cloth was gone, but he said nothing
about it.
The sun had set behind the boat, and the ground grew dark. The East Ocean looked as
inky as the Python Pond at the One-Cottage House.
There was not even a sliver of light in the abyss inside the Heavenly Well.
Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue were still wearing the conical hats even though there was no
sunlight. It was probably that because didn’t wish to be seen by others.
Jing Jiu walked to the edge of the cliff, and turned his palm upside down, Cold Cicada
that was as white as a jade appearing on his palm.
Cold Cicada sensed his spiritual awareness, and turned over as quickly as possible. Its
limbs rubbed against each other at a high speed, releasing those invisible mosquitoes.
The line of Zhao Layue’s sight trained toward the bottom of the Heavenly Well. Though
she couldn’t see those mosquitoes, she knew where they were headed.
Jing Jiu pulled the oily cloth aside and opened the box. He said to Tong Yan who was
sitting inside the box, “Get ready.”
Nobody knew that he had brought Tong Yan out from the hermit peaks.
Tong Yan opened his eyes and demanded, “Are you sure it’s workable?”
Jing Jiu said, “You have selected the meeting place yourself. There are about thirty
days before the scheduled meeting date. It’s not a difficult task as long as the
Underworld Master is willing to cooperate.”
“What if the Underworld Master didn’t want to cooperate with you and killed me?” Tong
Yan protested.
“I wish you a good luck,” said Jing Jiu.
It was hard for this sort of conversation to continue.
They remained silent for the rest of the night.
In the early morning before the sun crested the horizon, Cold Cicada suddenly twitched
a few times.
Jing Jiu knew that the mosquitoes had returned.
Coming back with the mosquitoes was an ugly mountain monster made of rocks and
plants.
Tong Yan was aware that this mountain monster was the rumored Commissioner of
Ghosts, who was capable of withstanding the amulet scripts around the Heavenly Well;
and it was rumored that he also preferred eating human flesh.
With the decline of the Underworld, the Commissioner of Ghosts hadn’t appeared
around the Heavenly Well for a great many years.
The Commissioner of Ghosts was waiting for him at the underground, hundreds of feet
deep, his eyes emitting a gloomy glow.
Tong Yan realized again that joining Green Mountain was a foolish choice.
“Be careful during your journey,” said Zhao Layue.
Tong Yan jumped down the Heavenly Well after a sigh. He landed on the back of the
Commissioner of Ghosts like a leaf after he employed the Escape Method of Heaven
and Earth.
It was by now that Zhao Layue found that though the Commissioner of Ghost looked
ordinary, his body was actually very large. Tong Yan on his palm looked like a real leaf,
as if he would be crumpled into pieces at any moment.
The Commissioner of Ghosts climbed down backwards slowly, disappearing gradually
into the cold, gloomy and dreadful abyss.
Tong Yan had gone to the Underworld.
