The Sect Master of Aoyama was in charge of the Dao Competition, and the Zhongzhou School had other ideas. Even though the Kunlun Sect and other Cultivation sects had doubts about the result of the Dao Competition, they couldn't change the outcome.
Regardless of whether they obtained the Dao Competition or obtained the Dao Competition, they were still the fairies. The ceremony celebrating the thirty-thousand-year anniversary of the founding of the Zhongzhou School had come to an end.
That night, Bai Zao went to the House of Peeled Skin to see Jing Jiu. She intended to talk to him about something, but she didn't see him, which made her feel uneasy.
As she left in silence, He Jiu had already left the Cloud-Dream Mountain. After Sensei discovered him, she chased after him for two hundred miles, but failed to catch up with him.
Xi Yiyun bade farewell to the Zhongzhou School and left in the middle of the night. He went back to Yimaozhai to sort out the book.
Many others had left in advance. They were the participants of the Dao Competition who had entered the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror. Though they recalled the dozens of years of the mortal world in front of them like the smoke and clouds, who could really forget all of it? They needed time to stabilize their Dao Hearts and obtain what they truly needed from the perception of the mortal world. Three years later, they might meet again on the Cloud-Dream Mountain, or they might not meet again in this life. It all depended on whether they could overcome this obstacle in the end.
The next morning, the disciples of Aoyama, led by the two peak masters, Fang Jingtian and Nan Wang, bade farewell to the Cultivation colleagues of the Zhongzhou School and left on the sword boat.
Bai Zao didn't see Jing Jiu, feeling uneasy. Hearing the explanation from Fang Jingtian, the Cultivation practitioners present learned that Jing Jiu had already left with the Immortal Sect Master of Aoyama. They couldn't help but discuss among themselves, thinking that Jing Jiu didn't look like the winner of the Dao Competition, but more like the fairies. Even if the Aoyama Sect intended to save some face for the Zhongzhou School, they didn't have to keep such a low profile.
… …
… …
Under the light of the morning sun, a white cloud drifted away from the Cloud Dream Mountain, like a lotus flower drifting away on the clear water surface.
This place was still within the range of the Great Formation of Cloud-Dream. Perhaps to show respect to Zhongzhou School, the cloud didn't float very fast. It could be seen clearly that it wasn't a real cloud condensed from fog, but a sword cloud woven by innumerable extremely strong sword wills.
Liu Ci and Jing Jiu stood behind the clouds, maintaining the same posture with their hands clasped behind their back, looking straight ahead. Their figures were set off by the distant morning sun and they looked like real immortals.
The Sword of Mandate of Heaven was stuck between the steles on Tianguang Peak. It would not leave Aoyama unless it was something serious. During the battle on the Cloud Platform, when Liu Ci captured Xiwang Sun alive, he brought the Inherited Heaven Sword with him. But he didn't bring it with him this time. Because of Jing Jiu, he had to ride the Cloud Sword back to the mountain. Of course, his speed was slower.
Jing Jiu's iron sword was much faster than the sword cloud, but Liu Ci thought that the sword was too dirty.
Since they had nothing else to do, it would be fine as long as they could leave Cloud-Dream Mountain. The Sword Cloud drifted like this, and the two of them occasionally chatted about something unimportant.
…
…
"The Western Sea Sword School is declining, and the Old Devil of the Foggy Island won't come out. You should learn from your Master about scheming and scheming."
"What is the child of that person in the snowland? If you don't know, who would know? I don't even know where my Master is hiding. "
"Based on his temperament, it's impossible for him to hide forever. All we have to do is wait."
"Since this is a scheme of the Center Sect, why does the Unicorn want to follow us?"
"I think he is unwilling to accept the fact that he is the Fairy Lady. Even if he is robbed, it is still a good thing. "
"He is unwilling to accept the fact that the Old Dragon was killed by you, so he wants to kill you to avenge him."
A faint energy could be vaguely sensed in the sky dyed red by the morning sunlight.
The energy was ancient and sacred, exceedingly formidable. It was evident that the person intended to conceal it, but it was impossible to conceal it from the two of them.
The two of them knew who it was without even taking a look at it.
Liu Ci of course knew that the figure who had escaped from the Fiend Prison was Jing Jiu.
He could also predict that the so-called Elder of Aoyama who had rescued Guo Dong in the West Ocean was Jing Jiu.
He was well aware of how powerful the sword of Jian Xilai was, and Guo Dong was wounded severely, so Jing Jiu had no choice but to compete for the fairy lady.
As such, he asked Liu Shisui to join the Dao Competition as a disciple of the No-Mercy Sect, and then he went to the Cloud-Dream Mountain in person.
What the Aoyama Sect practiced was the sword work, which emphasized on the principle that everything happened in a flash, and that they aimed to kill with one strike, so they had to calculate all the factors before striking.
It was hard to calculate everything in the world, but it was easier to calculate what the colleagues of the same sect were thinking. As such, the cooperation between the colleagues of the Aoyama Sect didn't need much explanation.
Back when Zhao Layue and Liu Shisui didn't have any contact with each other, she could use Tong Yan's scheme to kill Lo Huainan in one fell swoop. It was the same kind of scheme.
"The Old Dragon was killed by the King Of The Underworld; it had nothing to do with me."
Jing Jiu gave an explanation.
This was a rare occurrence for him.
He went to the Fiend Prison to meet the King Of The Underworld in private and caused such a commotion, which would indeed bring trouble to the Aoyama Sect.
Though Liu Ci had a lower status, he was still the sect master.
Of course, this explanation was more like an order.
Liu Ci sighed, "But the Unicorn has to believe it first."
Jing Jiu said, "I won't come to the Cloud-Dream Mountain in the future; it doesn't matter if he believes it or not."
The sword cloud had drifted out of the Cloud-Dream Mountain and arrived in the sky above Yu County.
The energy of the Unicorn halted at the edge of the Great Formation of Cloud-Dream, and he didn't follow Jing Jiu any further.
If he still followed Liu Ci, he would be regarded as disrespectful to the Aoyama Sect, or as a threat.
If the Aoyama Sect hid a guard in the mountains below and suddenly launched a counterattack, the Unicorn would suffer a great loss.
…
…
The Unicorn wanted to kill Jing Jiu, so he wouldn't be satisfied. In fact, the Unicorn would bring Jing Jiu to the fairy land. In fact, it wouldn't be kept a secret for long. There would be some disturbances on the way back to the Aoyama Sect.
Jing Jiu wasn't afraid of it. Traveling with Liu Ci was much better than traveling with White Ghost. They could go anywhere in the world except for the deep part of the snowland.
Yet, Jing Jiu thought that it would be troublesome to deal with them by turns. He reached out the forefinger of his right hand and poked a small hole on the shapeless wills of the sword on his left fist.
A faint fairy intent seeped out from the small hole, and then sprinkled down to the ground from the sky.
There were many mountains around Yu County, with steep peaks and deep forests. There were many narrow cracks in the ground, where many demons and highly achieved swordsmen of the deviant sects hid, and there might even be some powerful demons from the distant ancient times.
Though these demons were not as formidable as the Unicorn, they were still quite formidable when there were so many of them.
The fairy intent sprinkled over the human world like the raindrops. There was a commotion in the mountains, and at least hundreds of powerful energies emerged. The demons and deviant practitioners looked up at the sky, drooling. Even though they were fully aware that the sword cloud in the sky was extraordinary, they still couldn't help but feel a strong desire and greed for it.
Liu Ci knew that the Unicorn was watching them from behind. He reached out his hand to seal Jing Jiu's left hand again, and then stepped on the sword cloud to scatter. He looked down at the ground.
His line of sight swept over the mountains like a real huge sword, exuding an exceedingly powerful energy. Then he uttered "hmm".
This "hmm" was cold, emotionless, and contemptuous. It was dragged out a bit longer, and it made a turn in the end, clearly expressing his disdain and intention to invite Jing Jiu to his death.
The strongest swordsman in Chaotian was present, so the demons didn't dare stay any longer. They knelt down in tandem to show their submission, not daring to be his enemy. Some of the powerful demons sneaked into the underground as quickly as possible and fled through the hidden veins, fearing that they would be killed by the sword.
The sword cloud gathered again, hiding the two of them in the sky.
Thinking of Zhuo Rusui leaning against the cliff wall lazily, Jing Jiu felt it was a pity, saying, "That disciple of yours is not bad; but he's becoming more and more like you."
"What's wrong with my disciple, Master Xiao?" Liu Ci asked nonchalantly.
Jing Jiu said, "You're used to striking only when everything is in order, just like what you did back then. You can't do it this way. It's like the Dao of the Center Sect; it's too clingy."
This was a straightforward comment, especially when he mentioned the Dao of the Center Sect, which was unacceptable for the people of Aoyama.
Liu Ci yelled unpleasantly, "Do you want to be the sect master?"
"No," Jing Jiu said without hesitation.
Liu Ci said, "Don't talk so much then."
It grew quiet in the sky.
The wild geese could be heard in the distance.
…
…
After passing Yu County, Huayang, and crossing the mud-like Muddy River in Nanhezhou, Aoyama was right in front of them.
The earth suddenly swelled up, giving rise to countless mountain peaks. Mist and airflow flowed down from the peaks and turned into clouds in front of the mountains, drowning the whole town.
Looking from the sky, the clouds and mist looked like countless white ribbons dancing among the green peaks, looking very beautiful.
After Bai Zao re-cultivated his Dao method, he wore white ribbons on his arms. When he flew, he looked like a real fairy.
The little princess of the Qin Kingdom also dressed like this.
Jing Jiu suddenly remembered that there was hotpot in the Illusionary Realm, but he didn't know what it tasted like, so he said, "I want to go down and eat hotpot."
Liu Ci raised his eyebrows speechlessly, thinking, "You have a fairy in your hand?" Aoyama is right in front of you, but you don't want to go back, but want to eat hotpot?
There were a few restaurants in Cloudy Town, but not many of them had private rooms and served hotpot. As such, Jing Jiu took Liu Ci to the same restaurant.
The owner of the restaurant had died of illness, and now it was his third son who took over. The furnishings in the restaurant were also very old, so it had a reputation of being a time-honored restaurant.
The difference between Cultivation practitioners and mortals was that the passage of time made people feel hopeless and sad.
The Yuanyang pot was placed on the table, and a few simple plates of vegetables and radishes were placed next to it. The owner took the golden leaves and went downstairs.
Thinking of the past events that his father had told him many times, he breathed heavily for a dozen times before he slowly recovered. He waved his hand to signal the owner to close the door and stop serving customers.
It turned out that the immortal masters of Aoyama really liked to eat their own hotpot.
…
…
The red soup was still boiling, but the white soup was almost dry.
Jing Jiu didn't move his chopsticks, but Liu Ci didn't think it was strange. Many years ago, when he ate hotpot in Shangde Peak, Jing Jiu ate less and less hotpot until he didn't eat it anymore. Only in winter, when Yuan Qijing used fresh ingredients from Lelang Commandery as a side stove, did he occasionally move his chopsticks.
The soup was almost dry, and the hotpot was almost finished. It was time to get down to business.
"When he escaped from the Sword Jail with the body of an Underworld disciple, he was intercepted by Zhao Layue here and then killed by a disciple surnamed Meng. In fact, he took the opportunity to escape."
Jing Jiu said, "That disciple surnamed Meng has been locked up in Shangde Peak for so many years. Did he find out anything from the interrogation?"
Liu Ci said, "He said he was instructed by Younger Brother Fang."
Jing Jiu asked, "What do you think?"
Liu Ci said, "Let's wait and see."
Jing Jiu said, "As I said earlier, you are used to acting only when everything is ready. This won't do."
Liu Ci said, "If you can do it, then do it. I'll give you the title of Sect Master."
Jing Jiu fell silent.
Liu Ci said, "Then don't think too much."
Jing Jiu said, "Don't you want to do anything?"
"In this story, the three of us are the villains who deceived our master and killed our ancestors. What's wrong with Younger Brother Fang wanting to kill us to avenge our master?"
Liu Ci said calmly, "What can I do when faced with such a reasonable thing?"
"You can do a lot of things. For example, if you find out that the Thunder-Soul Wood came from Bihu Peak, you can kill Lei Poyun to silence him. Or, even if he had the Thunder-Soul Wood, he couldn't break my sword formation. Only you can. "
Jing Jiu raised his left hand and looked at the layers of sword wills bound on it, asking calmly, "Did you let him go?"
The hotpot was really about to dry up. The white soup had all turned into steam, filling the whole room and then the whole restaurant.
Exclamations suddenly came from the street. Cloudy Town was full of clouds and fog, and the tourists from afar were very excited. The residents who had lived here all their lives were upset. The clouds and fog were so confusing that they couldn't see the road clearly, and it was easy for them to trip. They couldn't see the movements in the steamer clearly, and they couldn't tell if the steamed buns were cooked or not.
People from different positions naturally had different feelings.
It was the same for immortals and mortals.
After a moment of silence, Liu Ci asked again, "Do you want to be the Sect Master?"
Jing Jiu still said without hesitation, "No."
"Then why did you ask so many questions?"
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