The Path Toward Heaven

Chapter 562: Presence of a Sword Devil

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

The thunderous boom was still echoing high up in the sky; it sounded a bit stifled as the rumble reached the peak through the Great Formation of Green Mountain. And yet, it still sounded as exciting and heartrending as the battle drums.

It became quiet again on the top of Tianguang Peak. The people eyed each other in shock, thinking what had happened that day was truly preposterous.

Fang Jingtian came back from the hermit peaks after having broken through the Heavenly Arrival State; then he challenged the Will of the Immortal Liu Ci and doubted the background of Jing Jiu.

And Jing Jiu admitted that he was the most outstanding swordsman in Chaotian, the Immortal Jing Yang.

Then, Fang Jingtian claimed that he was not the Immortal Jing Yang, but...a sword!

Sitting in the chair and holding the white cat, the young man in white clothing looked like a magnolia covered with snow.

He looked abnormally handsome.

Was there anything abnormal about him?

Moreover, why did Fang Jingtian call him “a sword’?

The smooth and indifferent voice of Fang Jingtian broke out again.

“Back when Senior Master Jing Yang ascended, he hid the Thoughtless Sword on Shenmo Peak and brought with him the Lone Sword...and the All in One which had been lost for a long time.”

Upon hearing this, a commotion occurred among the crowd.

“The All in One Sword is a natural treasure with an innate, true spirit. It sneak-attacked Young Senior Master and snatched his spiritual soul at the moment when he was ascending. It also inherited all of Senior Master’s memories and was reborn as a youth in white cloth in a small village. He then joined Green Mountain again after deceiving Big Brothers Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing, and has become Immortal Sect Master in the end.”

Fang Jingtian continued while staring at Jing Jiu emotionlessly, “That’s right, that person is you. You’re not Young Senior Master Jing Yang; you’re the All in One Sword...a sword devil.”

The thunderous booms continued echoing in the sky, rumbling relentlessly.

If Tianguang Peak had not been protected by the Great Formation of Green Mountain, it would receive a violent wind and countless bolts of lightning.

It was unclear whether the rumbling thunders were the result of Fang Jingtian releasing his energy of the Heavenly Arrival State or what he had just said shocked heaven.

The crowd was stunned speechless. They couldn’t comprehend all the information in such a short time.

Some representatives of the sects wondered where the All in One Sword came from since the principal sword of Green Mountain was supposed to be the Inherited Heaven Sword.

The Green Mountain disciples thought of the first book they had read when they came to the Sword-Washing Hall and four words written on the first page of the sword scripture:

All in One Sword.

The Green Mountain disciples realized by now that these four words didn’t talk about the principle of the sword work, but the name of a sword!

Was it possible for a sword to become a devil? The devils in Chaotian were all transformed from animals, fish and insects. The life forms were essential for having spirit and consciousness...And many people suddenly thought that a sword would be able to have spiritual awareness and become a powerful devil with enough development time, if the All in One Sword was, like what Fang Jingtian said, a rarely seen heavenly treasure and had an inborn true spirit.

The people looked at Jing Jiu in shock, wondering if he was really a sword devil transformed from the All in One Sword as Fang Jingtian said.

Yet, if Jing Jiu were a sword devil, why hadn’t the Immortal Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing, the two figures in the Heavenly Arrival State, detected it?

The people received a sudden mental shock after hearing Fang Jingtian’s accusation; but when they calmed down, they found that the accusation was actually a bit too absurd.

They were more inclined to believe what they saw with their own eyes.

The story of the All in One Sword transforming into a sword devil was indeed exhilarating; but the young man in white sitting in the chair looked more like a handsome immortal man than a sword devil.

They thought that Fang Jingtian must have been shocked by the true identity of Jing Jiu so that he made up this absurd story.

Snow and frost suddenly occurred along with the whistling wind, smothering the thunderous booms in the sky.

Looking at Fang Jingtian, Yuan Qijing said expressionlessly, “You can’t show such disrespect to Young Senior Master.”

Nan Wang said emotionlessly, “Big Brother Fang, you shouldn’t say such a thing without enough evidence.”

It’s true. Now that Fang Jingtian accused Jing Jiu of being a sword devil transformed from the All in One Sword rather than being the reborn Immortal Jing Yang, he must have adequate evidence to back up his claim.

It would be truly absurd to expect the people to accept his accusation by simply telling a story.

“Evidence?”

Pointing to Jing Jiu in the hut, Fang Jingtian said emotionlessly, “His very existence and his so-called body...is the evidence.”

Nobody could understand what he meant.

“You’re too perfect, without any shortcoming. Such a perfect entity shouldn’t have existed in this world, let alone as a human being.”

Fang Jingtian continued while staring into Jing Jiu’s eyes, “You’re as beautiful as a devil and also as intelligent as a devil. More importantly, your talent in Cultivation is unheard of in history...You have broken the Sea State within a few decades; it’s impossible!”

It was then that Zhuo Rusui raised his hand and said, “Actually, , it’s possible.”

It was most likely that Zhuo Rusui, Zhao Layue, and Liu Shisui who had probably concealed his true potential, would be able to break the Sea State within thirty years; in this case, they would achieve this feat less than one hundred years.

Fang Jingtian ignored Zhuo Rusui as he continued, “Was it you who had released the Underworld Emperor from the Fiend Prison and had the Old Dragon killed back then?”

Upon hearing this, an uproar occurred; countless gazes were fixed on the Immortal Bai.

The Immortal Bai remained silent, indicating that the Center Sect had already found out what happened, but they didn’t have solid evidence.

“Back when you left the Fiend Prison, you were already able to travel very fast, getting somewhere many miles away in an instant. I believe that you can travel even faster now. How did you achieve this feat?”

Fang Jingtian went on, “A sword practitioner can travel around the world by riding on a sword; but you can travel freely without a sword. Why?”

It grew quieter on the top of Tianguang Peak. The only sounds that could be heard were the muffled rumblings of thunder in the distance and Fang Jingtian’s voice.

“I’d like to ask you one last question.”

Fang Jingtian pressed, “Back at the West Ocean, was the sword light wielded by Second Big Brother, which had killed Nan Qü, actually you?”

Each question was like a booming thunder exploding on the peak top, bombarding every listener’s ears and heart.

They thought of that perfect youth in white clothing from Zhaoge City, the gray figure that had turned the Fiend Prison upside down, and the sword light at the West Ocean that had shocked all of Chaotian...

They exchanged looks mutely, showing a shocking and bewildered expression.

...

...

Yuan Qijing suddenly said, “What you have said is mostly conjecture, which are not evidences.”

Chen Youtian chimed in, “That’s right. The reason Immortal Sect Master can move like a fairy man is because he has a born shapeless sword body. The peaks had already discussed it back at the Sword Trial.”

Fu Wang said after some hesitation, “Yes, the former sect master and the others had all thought so.”

“The born shapeless sword body?”

Fang Jingtian’s white eyebrows fluttered slightly, giving off a hint of mockery. “Your arrangement and excuses are truly excellent, which can explain the strange phenomena that is your body,” he said to Jing Jiu. “But have you ever thought that some details would provide evidence after you have played the role too long and got sloppy?”

Jing Jiu hadn’t uttered a single word since he was accused of being a sword devil other than Jing Yang. He didn’t bother answering any of Fang Jingtian’s questions. For some people, this was a sign of guilt, but in the eyes of Gu Qing and others, it was obviously because he thought the questions were too preposterous to respond to.

However, Jing Jiu showed an interest in the question now. He asked Fang Jingtian while stroking Ada, “What details?”

“I’d like to know if anyone has seen the young sect master ride a sword before.”

Fang Jingtian looked at the crowd around Tianguang Peak, with a seeming smile.

Gu Qing suddenly thought of something, his face turning pale.

“Immortal Sect Master...No, Grandmaster is an extraordinary swordsman; he knows how to ride a sword, of course.”

Lei Yijing came out furiously, and said while pointing to a few colleagues, “We have all seen it in the snowland back when we were saved by Grandmaster.”

Looking at this young disciple, Fang Jingtian pressed nonchalantly, “Are you sure that he saw him ride the sword? Or maybe...he was just sitting on the sword.”

Lei Yijing was taken aback, and began to recall the scene many years ago.

Many Green Mountain disciples and those Cultivation practitioners who had seen Jing Jiu before began to recall what they had seen about him; all of a sudden, they found that they had seldom seen Jing Jiu ride a sword.

Jing Jiu had stepped on a sword before; it was because the Thoughtless Sword was too narrow and he had no other choice.

More often than not, he preferred traveling by stepping in the air or on the mountain paths, or by riding in a carriage. Even if he rode on a sword, he would mostly sit on the broad surface of the Sword of the Universe.

The people at the Green Mountain Sect had thought that it was due to his personal habit and didn’t pay close attention to these details. Yet they found it was indeed strange once it was pointed out by Fang Jingtian.

“Is it because they are your kin and you can’t bear stepping on them?”

Fang Jingtian withdrew his gaze and returned to Jing Jiu, “Maybe, you feel resentful when you see your kin being exploited by the Cultivation practitioners.”

Jing Jiu was fully aware that nobody would believe him even if he offered an explanation, so he asked, “What else?”

Fang Jingtian said to him in a mocking tone, “Yeah, another thing is your ears. You have such a perfect face, but why do you have such pair of noticeably big ears? Doesn’t anybody think they are rather out of synch with his face? It’s because the two big ears of his are the hilt of the All in One Sword.”

There was an uproar.

Countless gazes fell on Jing Jiu’s ears.

Few people noticed his big ears over the last few decades. Many people had seen him. but they were mostly drawn to his handsome face, so they neglected his ears.

The people on Shenmo Peak were the exception. They were impressed with his big ears because Zhao Layue often rubbed them.

Zhuo Rusui dropped his eyelids again and narrowed his eyes; it seemed that he found what was unfolding that day to be quite interesting.

Guo Nanshan felt astonished, as he asked himself over and over inwardly: is it true?

Lei Yijing, Yao Songshan and other disciples of Green Mountain were quite angry, thinking that Senior Master Fang was truly shameless to make those insane accusations in order to contend with the position of sect master.

Yuan Qü was in worse condition. He waved his hand at his face, fanning himself in an effort to lower the temperature on his face and disperse the green smoke emerging from the top of his head.

Gu Qing stopped looking at the beads of sweat on the ground. He lifted his head rigidly and looked at Jing Jiu in the hut, aghast. A hint of anxiety was added to the bewildered expression in his eyes.

Liu Shisui had shut his mouth tightly.

Those important figures had different reactions of their own.

The Young Zen Master frowned slightly, his two bare feet rubbing against each other reflexively.

The Immortal Bai raised her eyebrows slightly, as she thought that the reason the Green Sky Mirror was so close to Jing Jiu was because the Immortal Jing Yang had achieved such a feat.

The Center Sect disciples behind her were astounded as well. Xiang Wanshu kept on shaking his head; it was unclear what he was trying to negate.

Bai Zao lifted her head and looked at Jing Jiu blankly; it was unclear what kind of mood she was in.

Zhao Layue was the only person who hadn’t changed her expression after hearing what Fang Jingtian said among those on the top of Tianguang Peak and on the cloud platforms.

She stood somewhere near Jing Jiu, looking at the ground in front of her; it was unclear what was on her mind.

...

...

Jing Jiu demanded while rubbing the damaged earlobe of his, “What else?”

“What more evidence do we need? All these details point to one fact that you’re not a so-called born shapeless sword body...”

Staring at Jing Jiu’s face, Fang Jingtian added sharply, “You’re nothing but a sword!”

It was impossible for the people on the top of Tianguang Peak to remain silent any longer; the discussions took place everywhere.

The people looked at Jing Jiu in shock, with a changed expression in their eyes.

These details described by Fang Jingtian seemed to be miscellaneous; but the combination of them was quite convincing.

If they were coincidence, they were too much of one.

When the coincidence was beyond what people could imagine, it became suspicious, and there must be a reason for it.

How would Jing Jiu explain it then?

“The details...success and failure...devil...”

Jing Jiu said to Fang Jingtian after some thought, “Though what you said is nonsense, my current body is indeed the All in One Sword.”

Boom!!!

It was a sound as loud as a thunder.

It was caused by the Cultivation practitioners around Tianguang Peak, numbered over a thousand, uttering an exclamation all at once.

Did it mean that he had admitted it?

Jing Jiu pointed his finger at his temple, as if pointing at a plum tree, his expression calm and nonchalant.

“Nonetheless, I’m still Jing Yang.”