Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Jing Jiu came to the peak holding the white cat and sat in the chair. He didn’t pause for a moment on purpose, nor did he look around in contentment. He didn’t utter a single word.
Actually, he hadn’t done anything that cause the onlookers remember this historical moment and have a deep impression of him.
The whole process was rather ordinary. It seemed that he was tired. Jing Jiu lay on the bamboo chair.
However, the organization Jing Jiu was to rule was not a small sect; it was the most powerful orthodox Cultivation sect in Chaotian. As such, many others would make the proper arrangements for him.
In the next moment, the “greetings from ten thousand swords” took place. Maybe some fireworks would be displayed as well. The Young Zen Master recited a script. Yuan Qijing didn’t say anything while smiling faintly. His identity would be confirmed later.
Even without these procedures, Jing Jiu was still the sect master of Green Mountain, yet some rituals were nevertheless required in this world for many affairs as a way of celebrating a certain occasion.
It was then that the sound of rolling wheels was heard throughout in the peak.
A wheelchair was approaching on the steep mountain path of Tianguang Peak. The steps of the path posed no difficulty for the wheelchair; it seemed to glide up the path.
A skinny old man sat in the wheelchair, his eyes sunk deep in the sockets and long and white hair covering his body. The energy coming from him was evidently weak, as if he would pass away at any moment.
Fang Jingtian pushed the wheelchair with a nonchalant expression. His two white eyebrows tousling in the wind, which only to the fairy aura exuded from his appearance.
An uproar broke out of the spectacle.
The representatives of various sects eyed each other speechlessly. They could all perceive each other’s shock. The Green Mountain disciples felt more nervous than the others.
Fang Jingtian stayed behind death doors in the hermit peaks after the battle of the West Ocean. Everybody had figured that it had something to do with the Immortal Taiping, punishment imposed on him by Yuan Qijing.
Yet, how come Fang Jingtian left the hermit peaks today and appeared here? Had he actually entered the Heavenly Arrival State successfully?
If that were the case, why hadn’t heaven and earth responded to it?
The figures in the Heavenly Arrival State were not ordinary Cultivation practitioners. Their actions could easily trigger wind and rainfall. An unusual phenomenon would normally occur when someone broke through the initial state of the Heavenly Arrival.
It was at this moment that the raindrops fell down. The thread-like raindrops drifted down to the top of Tianguang Peak, wetting the trees on the peak, the roof of the hut and people’s clothes.
Why could such gentle raindrops penetrate the barrier of the Great Formation of Green Mountain?
It was nothing but the unusual phenomenon triggered by Fang Jingtian breaking through the Heavenly Arrival State.
When he was in the hermit peaks, his state had been insulated and suppressed.
As he came outside, the rainfall occurred.
…
…
It was often said that Fang Jingtian was ordinary.
For the Cultivation practitioners of Chaotian, the peak master of Xilai was someone ranked third at the Green Mountain Sect and was the third personal disciple of the Immortal Taiping, nothing more and nothing less.
In contrast to the Immortal Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing who were very famous and powerful, Fang Jingtian, who had been engaged in the management of the files and sect affairs on Xilai Peak over the years, was truly ordinary.
If he didn’t have the two noticeable white eyebrows tousling in the wind, many people would mistake him as a wealthy merchant.
Yet, neither the Immortal Bai nor Bu Qiuxiao had neglected him.
The reason for their attention was simple enough. The Immortal Taiping took on two disciples, Yuan Qijing and Liu Ci, at the same time, and took on the Underworld Master as his next disciple. Fang Jingtian was the fourth disciple of his.
It was impossible for such a figure to be ordinary!
Countless gazes followed the wheelchair rolling up the peak.
Fang Jingtian had already entered the Heavenly Arrival State; so he could of course come out of the hermit peaks. Nobody could stop him.
Moreover, who could say something offensive to a figure in the Heavenly Arrival State?
Even for the likes of the Green Mountain Sect and the Center Sect, the figures in the Heavenly Arrival State were the foundation and height of the mountain gate. They could only be respected, but couldn’t be disciplined.
The wheelchair arrived on the peak top.
Fang Jingtian announced while looking at the hut below, “I’ve entered the Heavenly Arrival State.”
It was well known that Fang Jingtian would compete for the position of sect master once he broke through the Heavenly Arrival State; but nobody expected the day to come so soon.
Everybody wanted to see how Jing Jiu would deal with the situation.
“Very good,” Jing Jiu said calmly.
He looked at Fang Jingtian like appreciating someone of a later generation, his words containing a complimentary flavor.
But, Gu Qing was the only one who could perceive the complimentary flavor in these two simple words.
The tiny raindrops were dripping down onto the top of Tianguang Peak. Gu Qing didn’t bother wiping the rainwater off his face as he took two steps forward. “Congratulations, Senior Master Fang. Who is this…” he trailed off.
Fang Jingtian glanced at Gu Qing casually.
Gu Qing’s face turned pale, and he couldn’t finish the sentence.
Fang Jingtian had employed the formidable sword will right in front of the sect master and the Cultivation practitioners of various sects; it was a very arrogant gesture.
Yuan Qijing was the only one at the current Green Mountain Sect who could suppress
Fang Jingtian, because Yuan Qijing had a higher Cultivation state as well as status.
However, Yuan Qijing was staring at the skinny old man in the wheelchair wordlessly, the expression in his eyes cold and complex.
The others’ gazes followed his to fix on that skinny old man, feeling baffled.
Fang Jingtian had become an important figure in the Heavenly Arrival State; but he brought this person when he left the hermit peaks. As such, this person should be someone important. Who was he then?
Gu Qing didn’t have the chance to finish his question. Yuan Qijing had no need to ask, nor did Jing Jiu.
But Jing Jiu opted to ask anyway. He stared at the skinny old man in the wheelchair and asked, “Who are you?”
“Is it important?”
Fang Jingtian continued while looking at Jing Jiu nonchalantly, “The pressing issue right now is: who you are.”
“Is it important?”
Jing Jiu’s answer was exactly the same.
Fang Jingtian said, “Of course it’s important. It’s because the answer would determine whether today’s ceremony should continue or not, and whether you could continue sitting in this chair.”
Hearing this, there was another uproar among the crowd.
Even if Fang Jingtian intended to compete for the position of sect master, he shouldn’t be so straightforward and forceful.
The blood-red sword light illuminated the peak top; Zhao Layue arrived on the site, staring at Fang Jingtian expressionlessly.
Gu Qing steadied his energy, and took a few steps forward with the help of Yuan Qü.
Zhuo Rusui walked out from the crowd while holding his arms after he yawned once.
Guo Nanshan shot him a glance and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, thinking that he shouldn’t walk out so hastily since he was a disciple of Tianguang Peak.
Soon after, more disciples of Green Mountain came out.
Not to mention Jing Jiu’s admirers like Yao Songshan, even You Silou and Gu Han were among those who had stepped forward.
Tianguang Peak led by Elder Mo Chi and Bihu Peak led by Chen Youtian had also expressed their supporting attitude.
Even though Fang Jingtian was a figure in the Heavenly Arrival State, how could he opt to oppose all of Green Mountain?
The elders and disciples of Xilai Peak chose to stay on the same spots. They wished to express their support for Fang Jingtian, but they were also afraid of being punished by the sect rules.
“I don’t like Jing Jiu either; but I advise you not to make troubles since you will find yourself lacking support from anyone.”
Nan Wang went on while looking at Fang Jingtian expressionlessly, “It’s the Will of the late Big Brother, the former sect master. So it must be respected by everyone, including you.”
She was truly annoyed now.
She had experienced this kind of event a few years ago; would it happen again?
It was a good thing that the Third Big Brother had broken through the Heavenly Arrival State; but why would he make such a fuss?
It was a trivial matter for Green Mountain to be humiliated in front of so many other sect masters in comparison to the Center Sect taking the advantage of the situation and making some real troubles for Green Mountain.
Chen Youtian said, “That’s right. When the Will was announced that day, everybody had seen it. It’s absolutely true.”
When the “spring rain” fell down, Fang Jingtian was still behind death doors in the hermit peaks. It was unclear if he had sensed it. What would be his feeling if he could sense it at the time?
Would it be a sad feeling since his Big Brother had left the world? Or, did he feel happy since the principal culprit responsible for his Master’s death had died?
Fang Jingtian didn’t pay any attention to Nan Wang, nor did he look at Chen Youtian. He asked while staring at Jing Jiu, “What did it say in the Will?”
“Green Mountain belongs to Jing Jiu,” Chen Youtian chimed in.
This was the full content of the Will.
All of the Green Mountain disciples had heard these words that day on the top of Tianguang Peak. The content of the Will had spread out a long time ago. The whole Cultivation circle thought that the content of the Immortal Liu Ci’s Will was succinct and concise and impossible to misunderstand; they were all impressed with the fact that no one could find any flaw in the Will.
The raindrops dripping down from the sky became tinier; and the trickles of the rainwater coming down from the eaves grew sputtered.
Fang Jingtian suddenly broke out laughing; the sound of his laughter was low, so it was hard to ascertain its meaning.
“In this case, the Will of Big Brother is clear enough, which is that Green Mountain belongs to Jing Jiu.”
He went on while sweeping a look across the crowd, “But, who is Jing Jiu?”
…
…
Speaking of which, who exactly was Jing Jiu?
This was a question considered by all of Green Mountain and even all of Chaotian back when they learned the Will of the Immortal Liu Ci.
It was a reflection after the initial shock; but it didn’t mean that the people had no idea who Jing Jiu was.
Tianguang Peak was as quiet as ever. Hearing this question, the crowd looked at Fang Jingtian with a bewildered expression, wondering if he had gone mad.
It was evident that Fang Jingtian was not insane.
As he looked at the young man in white in the hut below, Fang Jingtian offered, “Perhaps, you should tell us who Jing Jiu is by yourself.”
The thing the humans and objects could least withstand was time, followed by thoughts.
The people around Tianguang Peak suddenly came up with many thoughts; and soon they found that something was out of place.
In the group of Shangde Peak, that disciple by the last name of Lü lowered his head.
He had been feeling that something was out of place over the last few years, but he couldn’t put his finger on the issue. It wasn’t until now that he realized that he couldn’t figure it out because he didn’t dare think about it deeply.
A youth of Jing family, living by Taichang Temple in the Capital, desired to leave Zhaoge City and search for the fairy immortals. The youth came to a small village in the south. Accidently, Master Lü learned that there was a youngster by the name of Liu Shisui living in that small village, and that he was most likely someone with natural Dao quality. As a result, he came to the village secretly, and saw the youth in white on the bamboo chair by the pond…
All these events were too coincidental; as such, they were not something that happened incidentally, meaning they were arranged by somebody ahead of time.
“Are you really the second son of the Jing family in Zhaoge City? Your talent in Cultivation has never been witnessed before in the history of Cultivation; how could it be possible that you hailed from a regular family?”
Fang Jingtian continued while looking at Jing Jiu expressionlessly, “Even though someone in the imperial court helped you cover things up, how could you expect to conceal it from all the people?”
Hearing this, the hearts of State Duke He and the Chief Commander Zhang Yiai grew heavier.
“Shangde Peak was responsible for checking out your background, and the result seemed to be spotless; but everybody can figure out where the problem lies.”
Fang Jingtian went on while staring at Jing Jiu, “Where were you before leaving Zhaoge City? Where did you attend school? Where did you learn Dao? Why had nobody ever seen the second son of the Jing family? It’s impossible for anyone to forget your face upon seeing it, so why hasn’t anyone mentioned you?”
Having said all this, Fang Jingtian turned to Yuan Qijing and commented, “Big Brother, it must be very hard to conceal all these secrets!”
Yuan Qijing didn’t give a response, but Chi Yan said sharply, “I was the one who had checked his identity. I’m certain that the Jing family had given birth to a…”
Before Chi Yan could finish the sentence, Fang Jingtian said imperturbably, “That child was taken away as soon as he was born. Do you really want me to find the child?”
“Since he is an ordinary person and lives an ordinary life, why does anyone want to disturb his life?” Yuan Qijing suddenly remarked.
Fang Jingtian displayed an indescribable smile as he curled up the corners of his mouth slightly, saying, “You’ve finally admitted it.”
Yuan Qijing fell silent.
“This is something hard to conceal from all the people in the world; it’s because your talent in Cultivation has never been seen before in history. It is suspicious.”
Fang Jingtian stared at Jing Jiu in the hut below, demanding, “So, who the heck are you?”
The trickles of rainwater falling down from the eaves of the hut became individual drops.
Yet, the wind blowing over the mountain peaks was still as gentle as before, but a hidden lethal intent could be sensed in the wind.
Countless gazes were fixed on the hut and that young man in white clothing.
Jing Jiu suddenly said while looking at the distant Shenmo Peak, “Shisui asked me what my name was by the pond back then. I looked at Green Mountain in the distance and thought that Shenmo Peak was the ninth peak of Green Mountain, and so I named myself ‘Jiu’ (nine).”
Upon hearing this, a brief uproar occurred, followed by a period of extreme quietness.
Liu Shisui was dumfounded, thinking that the name of his Young Master was not his real name.
Gu Qing, Yuan Qü, and Zhuo Rusui had a grave expression on their faces.
Zhao Layue’s countenance was as nonchalant as usual.
Tianguang Peak grew even quieter now.
The individual raindrops fell onto the ground from the eaves, making no sound.
The people were waiting for the answer nervously.
Jing Jiu stroked the white cat in his chest before announcing to the crowd, “I’m Jing Yang.”
The rain stopped.
Boom!!!
Thunder broke out in the sky.
