The event on the side of the Aoyama Sect had drawn the attention of many people. Hundreds of gazes were fixed on Jing Jiu's left hand.
Jing Jiu's left hand was clenched tightly, not because he was excited or angry.
They had all seen the scene when Jing Jiu won the tripod in the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror, and they had vaguely guessed what had happened.
The news that Bai Qianjun was severely wounded had spread out, and they were more certain that the Fairy Book of Longevity was in Jing Jiu's left hand.
The crowd was surprised and baffled, wondering why Jing Jiu didn't put away the Fairy Book, but held it in his hand. Wasn't he worried that something might happen to him?
A gloomy voice suddenly bellowed, "Jing Jiu's behavior is obviously against the rules. If it were allowed in the beginning, who wouldn't want to break through the state?"
The speaker was an elder of the Kunlun Sect, and he was talking about Jing Jiu winning the tripod.
A highly achieved swordsman of Ōzawa scoffed, "Even if you want to, do you think you can do it?"
Now that the sects close to the Aoyama Sect had spoken, those sects that were loyal to the Zhongzhou School had no choice but to voice their opinions. They all thought that it was unacceptable for Jing Jiu to obtain the Fairy Book in such a way. The scene was a bit chaotic, and it seemed that something big was about to happen.
It was then that someone on the observation platform of the Aoyama Sect uttered "hmm".
This "hmm" came out from the nose. It was rather mild, but not pleasant to hear. It had a hint of laziness and a hint of provocation.
Everybody heard this "hmm" and felt uncomfortable. They lifted their heads and found that the person who uttered the "hmm" was Zhuo Rusui.
Zhuo Rusui lifted his eyelids and glanced at the faces of those people, saying nothing.
Yet, everybody was aware that the "hmm" he uttered was the famous mantra of the Aoyama Sect.
Do you people have a death wish?
Nobody had a death wish.
Thinking of the reputation of Zhuo Rusui and his notoriety in the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror, everybody, including the elder of the Kunlun Sect, fell silent. It was quiet outside the Huiyin Valley.
Jing Jiu had obtained the Fairy Book in such a way; it was not up to the Zhongzhou School to decide whether it was against the rules or not.
It was believed that the few of the sect masters should be discussing this matter in the deep end of the Cloud-Dream Mountain.
…
…
Jing Jiu thought that Liu Ci and Zhuo Rusui, the Master and the disciple, were indeed similar.
Jing Jiu didn't pay any attention to them. "I have my reasons for insisting on it," he said to Nan Wang.
Nan Wang demanded expressionlessly, "Even though your proposal is so absurd?"
Contrary to what Sese and others thought, what Jing Jiu and Nan Wang talked about was not the matter of giving the Fairy Book to the Water-Moon Nunnery.
Unlike what Sensei and others thought, Jing Jiu and Nan Wang didn't talk about giving the Fairy Book to Shui Yue Nunnery.
If it were possible, Jing Jiu wouldn't talk to Nan Wang, let alone get close to her. However, this matter was a bit troublesome, so he had to meet Liu Ci as soon as possible.
"Yes," Jing Jiu said.
Nan Wang shot him a cold glance, saying nothing more.
Dozens of thin strings appeared in the sky behind her, and the Zither Sword broke through the air, heading to an unknown place.
This scene attracted more people's attention.
Nan Wang said to Fang Jingtian, "I'll leave with Jing Jiu first."
Having said that, the Zither Sword had already returned after breaking through the air. Dozens of thin strings appeared again.
As the strings were retracted, Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu had already arrived at the peak in front of them.
Fang Jingtian furrowed his eyebrows slightly, wondering what had happened. He didn't want to stay here any longer. He instructed the disciples of Aoyama to gather and then left by riding his sword.
…
…
They didn't leave the Cloud-Dream Mountain directly, but the Huiyin Valley.
If they left after getting the Fairy Book, it would be too rude and unreasonable, just like what the Blue Bird had thought of Jing Jiu.
As the sword lights flashed, the disciples of Aoyama returned to the House of Peeled Skin.
Fang Jingtian's face darkened a bit. He walked along the long corridor to the back of the cliff and arrived in front of Jing Jiu's room.
Nan Wang sat cross-legged in front of the door.
Dozens of shapeless sword strings surrounded the room.
Seeing this scene, Fang Jingtian asked, "What has happened?"
"He doesn't want to tell me," said Nan Wang.
Fang Jingtian said, "I just found out that he is ready to give the Fairy Book to Shui Yue Nunnery."
"I have no objection," said Nan Wang.
"Who allowed him to make the decision?"
Fang Jingtian exclaimed angrily, "The Fairy Book of Longevity is the precious treasure left by the Great Master Bai, and it's very important for our sect. Even you and I don't have the right to make the decision, let alone him!"
Nan Wang shot him a glance and said in a mocking tone, "Are you going to expel Jing Jiu from the mountain gate like Jian Ruyun did?"
After the Sword Trial in Aoyama many years ago, Jing Jiu had become a talented disciple that the nine peaks of Aoyama had focused on cultivating in secret. He hadn't let them down. He won first place in the Cultivation tournament at the Plum Meeting, and now he won first place in the Dao Competition. Moreover, he was the personal disciple of the Immortal Jingyang and an elder of Shenmo Peak. Besides the Sect Master and the Sword Justice Yuan Qijing, who could challenge him?
The expression on Fang Jingtian's face grew even worse, as he said, "Young Sister, I remember that you have always disliked Shenmo Peak."
Nan Wang said, "I don't like it either, but I'm just telling you the truth."
After a moment of silence, Fang Jingtian said, "Let me go in and talk to him."
"Nobody can go in now," said Nan Wang.
Fang Jingtian pressed, "What on earth has happened?"
Nan Wang closed his eyes, paying no more attention to him.
Fang Jingtian had no choice but to leave with a flick of his sleeve.
Nan Wang opened his eyes and looked at the flowing clouds and gentle breeze outside the railing, asking, "Is there … something wrong with the Fairy Book?"
"Yes," Jing Jiu's voice rang out behind her.
He looked at his left fist, where the Fairy Book was. Even though it was sealed by his palm, it still exuded a faint fairy energy to the outside world.
Fortunately, the fairy energy was too faint, so only he and some divine animals could sense it.
He had made a few calculations before entering the Illusionary Realm, but the results were not good.
He had known that there would be some problems in this Dao Competition, so he asked Gu Qing to leave first.
Now it seemed to be the case, but it was meaningless to think about it.
He pushed open the door, took out the bamboo chair, and lay down.
Sensing the movement behind him, Nan Wang raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking it was an ugly scene. So he sat cross-legged and floated up, half a foot higher than the bamboo chair.
A noise suddenly came from the cliffs outside the railing, as if someone was climbing up.
Nan Wang and Jing Jiu didn't move, because they had sensed who it was.
Jing Jiu was still lying on the bamboo chair.
Nan Wang was still floating in midair.
Liu Shisui climbed to the peak top and saw such a strange scene. He was stunned for a while before he came back to his senses.
"Greetings, Senior Master Nan. Greetings, Young Master."
He knelt on the ground and kowtowed six times.
Jing Jiu said, "I asked you to come here because I wanted to see how you were doing. But you climbed the mountain so easily, so you should be fine. You should go back."
"Ah!" Liu Shisui exclaimed, thinking that it was he who told him not to go too far in the Illusionary Realm. Now that he had come here, how could he leave? An honest man didn't mean that he wasn't smart. He soon realized that something must have happened to his Young Master, or he might have run into some danger. Otherwise, why would Senior Master Nan stay here to guard him?
He said, "I'll stay here to protect you."
Jing Jiu shot him a glance.
Liu Shisui understood what Jing Jiu meant, but he was still hesitant.
"I'll guard him myself. You don't need to worry. Go back to your place as soon as possible."
Nan Wang said with a gloomy face, "A disciple who should be reflecting on his mistakes in the Sword Jail is showing off in the world. If this matter is spread out, how can the masters of Aoyama discipline their disciples?"
Jing Jiu said, "It was the Sect Master who asked him to come here."
Liu Shisui felt a bit embarrassed, thinking it was true. Since his Young Master had already obtained the Fairy Book, it would be better for him to return to the temple as soon as possible.
As he was about to leave, he saw that the bamboo chair was badly damaged, so he couldn't help but say, "I planted some bamboos over there; would you like to make a new one for you?"
"That's fine," Jing Jiu said.
Liu Shisui climbed over the railing and climbed down the cliff wall the same way he had come.
Thinking of their conversation earlier, Nan Wang felt uncomfortable for some reason. "Where is your other disciple?" he demanded after a sneer.
Jing Jiu knew that she was asking about Gu Qing, saying, "I asked him to come back in advance."
Nan Wang raised his eyebrows and pressed, "You knew that you would win before you entered the temple, and you also knew that the Fairy Book was problematic."
Jing Jiu uttered "hmm".
Nan Wang fell silent for a while before saying, "The Sect Master asked Liu Shisui to join the temple as a disciple of the No-Mercy Sect and to guard the temple in person; does it mean that he thinks you can win?"
Jing Jiu uttered "hmm" again.
Nan Wang looked at the scenery outside the cliff wall thoughtfully.
"Why hasn't he come back yet?" Jing Jiu asked.
He was asking about the Sect Master of Aoyama, Liu Ci.
Nan Wang said, "You didn't follow the rules and took the Fairy Book, so some people won't accept it. The Immortal Sect Master has to deal with these matters for you; he can't come back so soon."
Jing Jiu said, "If I'm not mistaken, he will come back earlier than expected."
Nan Wang pressed, "Are you only willing to tell the Sect Master about the problem of the Fairy Book? You don't even trust me? "
She was displeased. She became even angrier when she thought that she, the peak master of Qingrong, had to guard the door for a young disciple.
Looking at her back, Jing Jiu knew that she was angry.
He recalled the large rock on the top of Qingrong Peak many years ago, the flowering tree behind the rock, and the unruly young girl drinking wine on the rock, showing a faint smile on the corners of his mouth.
To him, this was a rare emotion.
In the next moment, he recalled the song sung by that young girl when she was drunk, and the smile disappeared instantly.
…
…
In the deepest part of a secret valley on the Cloud-Dream Mountain, there was a well-concealed manor cave.
The forbidding formation in the manor cave was very powerful. It could even withstand the assault of the swordsmen of Aoyama in the Heavenly Arrival State for a while.
He placed the Retrieved Heavenly Orb in the middle of the stone table with one hand.
Countless light rays shot out from the Retrieved Heavenly Orb, illuminating the four walls of the manor cave.
The manor cave had a round roof, so the scenes were connected together, looking exceedingly vast.
The scenes were the scenes of the participants in the Dao Competition in the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror during the past decades.
Even the slightest movements and expressions of the participants in the most remote mountain village were recorded in these scenes.
The scenes flashed past at a high speed, turning into countless colorful ribbons; but they were no different from the real scenes in the eyes of the emotionless and senseless eyes.
There was no need for Bai Zhenren to ask the Blue Bird what had happened in the Illusionary Realm.
As long as she wished, she could bring out that world at any time and watch what had happened in the past.
The Blue Bird had no way to conceal anything from her.
Bai Zhenren didn't look at the other participants in the Dao Competition, but at Jing Jiu and the Blue Bird.
She watched the infant being born soundlessly in the Royal Palace of the Chu Kingdom; she watched him stand up and look at the sky and the earth; she watched him grow up and cultivate, ignoring the affairs of the world.
Duke Mo entered the Royal Palace, and Jing Jiu struck for the first time.
"It's fast," Bai Zhenren murmured to himself, "but it's not fast enough."
The scenes continued to move forward at a high speed, and soon came to the last stage.
On Buzhou Mountain, the red leaves were as red as fire, and the stone steps looked like jade belts. The Qin Emperor climbed up the steps and met Jing Jiu in the temple.
Dozens of swordsmen of the Qin Kingdom were cut into pieces, and the Qin Emperor was severely wounded. Jing Jiu's hand was still on the hilt of his sword.
At the time, the Blue Bird was looking at the distant mountains, the red leaves, and the Qin Emperor; intentionally or unintentionally, she missed some important scenes.
All these scenes were witnessed by Bai Zhenren.
"It's fast enough," she said.
A monster eye the size of a jade plate slowly appeared in the shadow of the deep end of the manor cave, cold and dreadful, full of lethal intent.
"You caused a great disturbance in the Fiend Prison, and the Old Dragon died because of you. A few years later, you came to our Center Sect to snatch the treasure …"
Looking at Jing Jiu walking toward the empty space in the scene, Bai Zhenren said expressionlessly, "Do you really think I've forgotten about it?"
…
…
(The following are my reflections on this chapter. I should increase the number of words in this chapter. I'll find a way to make it up to you later. I haven't written too much lately. I didn't say that I would update two chapters every day. I'll try my best to recover as soon as possible and update four thousand words per day. However, judging from my physical condition and the schedule of this month, I feel that it's impossible for me to do so …)
First of all, I'd like to invite a reader to comment on this chapter.
That reader said, "Why did the First Emperor of Qin want to conquer the world? It's because he wanted to obtain the Tripod. Why did he ask for longevity? It's because he didn't come out."
This statement was marvelous, and it hit me right where I needed it.
As for the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror, I had intended to write a separate chapter about it; but I thought that I was not the same person in the world of the Dao anymore. It was unnecessary to write so many words in such a straightforward and elegant way.
I won't talk too much about the interesting things I liked. I've basically finished the first sentence of the reader's chapter, though it's not the case for my main plot. So I'll say a few simple sentences.
The Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror, like the Being Possessed by the Demons and the Garden of Zhou, is not a duplicate, because it has a close relationship with the main plot.
If we look at the later chapters of the Dao Toward the Sky, we will find that the Green Sky Mirror and the main plot are indeed … not related.
Yet, it is not a duplicate, and in my opinion, it is the one that has not deviated from the main plot among the three risky and successful attempts.
The Dao Toward the Sky is the result of becoming an immortal in the second life, so it is naturally insignificant. Jing Jiu didn't have any mental journey, so he couldn't write about the history of the past, nor could he write about himself by comparing the people and events.
How to solve this problem? In the Illusionary Realm, the choices of the participants and the course of history had to be completed. The part in the Illusionary Realm can be understood as the history of the Dao Toward the Sky, but it is much simpler than the history that Jing Yang experienced in the real world. It's because there is only Jing Jiu in the Illusionary Realm, but no peace.
It is a long book of at least a million words about the palace intrigue of the Cultivation world, and it is written in a few dozen chapters. It is very economical and straightforward, and it is the state that I pursue when I write about the Dao, so I am very satisfied.
From the aesthetic point of view, I am also very satisfied. I have carefully written the details in the book in the style and scenes that I like. There are Jiajing, Zhang Juzheng, Hu Zongxian, the First Emperor, Madame Gouge, Zheng He, Qing Yunian, two children debating about the sun, and many other true or false stories.
The meaning of "recalling" is that the title of this chapter has an unforgettable meaning.
The chapter of the Dao Toward the Sky is called "Competing with Heaven". In the middle of the chapter, Jing Jiu asks himself who is higher, between heaven and himself. All of this has something to do with the Eagle Shooting Technique. About ten days ago, I said that I would get goosebumps even if I played the theme song of the Eagle Shooting Technique. The butterfly jumped out and said, "I will get goosebumps in the future!" Do you think you will get younger again? It's really sad. In addition, it has something to do with Cai Guoquan's song "The Will of Heaven and the Will of the Man". I strongly recommend it.
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