The world would be at peace only if Taiping was killed.
Though this statement sounded interesting, Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing didn't laugh.
It was because what Jing Jiu said was the consensus of the whole world, and the "the world" referred to those at the highest level.
Jing Jiu's intention was clear and explicit: no matter what Taiping Zhenren thought and how the situation of the West Ocean would develop, Aoyama had to treat Taiping Zhenren as an enemy and kill him.
However, it was a difficult task. The Great Grandmaster of the Foggy Island, Nan Qü, and the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean were both the most powerful swordsmen in the human world. Together with Taiping Zhenren, the Young Mysterious Dark Master, and those highly achieved swordsmen of Bulao Lin hiding in the dark, could Aoyama defeat them?
"The more complicated the situation is, the easier it is to deal with it."
Jing Jiu continued, "No matter what schemes they have, all we need to do is to go all out and destroy them, and then we can ignore them."
Liu Ci said with a bitter smile, "Senior Master, the phrase 'going all out' is used to describe the bad guys."
"We are bad guys to begin with, and the good guys don't live long."
Jing Jiu glanced at Liu Ci and said, "Remember to bring the chicken and the cat with you."
The Round Turtle, who had been eavesdropping on the three of them, felt relieved after hearing this.
Liu Ci asked, "Forget about the White Ghost, but the Dark Phoenix … are you sure you want to bring him along?"
"His life board is in my hands," said Jing Jiu.
"What if the powerful enemies sneak attack Aoyama after we all leave?"
The voice of Yuan Qijing came out from the Three-Foot Sword again.
It was evident that he was worried that some swordsmen in the Zhongzhou School or the Underworld would come here to make trouble while Aoyama was "going all out".
A similar incident had occurred three hundred years ago. The Underworld Master led a group of swordsmen and sneaked into Aoyama, but they were all killed by the Immortal Jingyang with one swing of his sword. However, without the Immortal Jingyang guarding Aoyama, the Dead Dog guarding the Sword Jail, and the Round Turtle enduring the sunlight, those regular disciples might be harmed.
Jing Jiu said while looking at the Three-Foot Sword outside the cliff, "Don't worry. Let Little Fourth stay here to guard the place. The rest will go all out."
Liu Ci uttered "hmm" twice.
Yuan Qijing snorted and said softly.
All the swordsmen of Green Mountain went to the West Ocean to fight. As such, who could they harm even if a true swordsman sneaked into Green Mountain? Fang Jingtian?
As for the treasures in the peaks, they were protected by the forbidding formations. The Dead Dog would show up if the incident got out of hand.
This method was simple and brutal; it was tantamount to turning Green Mountain into a huge sword that could sweep across Chaotian. Who could resist it?
Liu Ci knew that Jing Jiu's arrangement had a deeper meaning. "It's a good idea," he said after a moment of silence.
Yuan Qijing didn't express his opinion further, asking, "What about Nan Qü?"
If the most uncertain factor in the battle of the West Ocean was the attitude of Taiping Zhenren, then the most difficult part was how to kill Nan Qü.
In Chaotian, the Great Grandmaster of the Foggy Island, Nan Qü, should be the highest in terms of age, generation, and Cultivation state.
If he had become the personal disciple of the Immortal Daoyuan, both Jing Jiu and Yin San would have to call him Senior Master.
Nan Qü was already a figure in the upper state of the Heavenly Arrival a few hundred years ago, like a fairy swordsman. Though he was much older now, his sword work must have become more profound.
Liu Ci said, "I'm the sect master. I'll do it."
"You don't even have a sword; how can you kill someone?" Yuan Qijing snapped icily.
Liu Ci was an important figure in the highest state in Chaotian, so he had no one to complain to.
He had a few chances to complain over the years, but he always complained about this matter.
As the sect master of the Sword Sect of Aoyama, he didn't even have his own sword …
As such, when Yuan Qijing objected to him using this matter, Liu Ci was speechless. He sighed after shooting a glance at Jing Jiu.
Jing Jiu thought that it was because Liu Ci couldn't defeat Nan Qü without a sword that his Cultivation state was not high enough; it had nothing to do with him.
Liu Ci's line of sight hadn't moved away from Nan Qü.
Jing Jiu felt a bit pressured, as he suggested, "Should we ask the Snow Girl for help?"
Liu Ci said, "The little girl is no match for Nan Qü even if she recovers."
Jing Jiu said, "I'll ask the little girl to join hands with you."
Liu Ci said hesitantly, "I don't think it's a good idea."
"Of course not!"
Yuan Qijing's voice was exceedingly cold, "You people know that she is a little girl!"
The sword practitioners of Aoyama emphasized straightforwardness.
Only by being upright could one be brave.
Liu Ci looked at the distance, saying nothing more.
Jing Jiu didn't mind it, but he couldn't think of a way to ask the Snow Girl to strike.
Thinking of the Green Sky Mirror from the Snow Girl, Jing Jiu said, "It seems that Tong Yan is also interested in the West Ocean. It should be a scheme that was planned a few years ago."
Liu Ci asked, "What is the plan of those children? They don't want to mess up our plan. "
"I'm not sure," Jing Jiu said. "All I know is that it has something to do with Guo Dong."
Yuan Qijing said tersely, "The Senior Master is good at killing people. I'm afraid that he's not even as good as our Young Sister when it comes to scheming."
Liu Ci uttered "hmm", agreeing with this statement.
Jing Jiu turned around and walked to the front of the stone monument. He lifted his head and took a look at the sheath inserted into the surface of the monument, reflecting on something.
"You people should think about what to do next."
Having said that, Jing Jiu patted the shell of the Round Turtle and called out the Sword of the Universe, leaving on the sword.
…
…
The desolate sword light illuminated the top of the Shenmo Peak. The feeling of spring had faded.
Yuan Qu and Ping Yong-Ka were cultivating with their eyes closed in the Daoist hall. The white cat was fiddling with the bell on his neck while crouching by the cliff's edge.
Jing Jiu walked into the manor cave after shooting a glance at the cat.
A ray of sunlight shone down from the deep end of the manor cave. Zhao Layue was sitting with her legs crossed. The Thoughtless Sword was rotating slowly in the air above her head, exuding a marvelous aura.
Jing Jiu sat down in front of her.
Zhao Layue opened her eyes and found Jing Jiu looked a bit tired. "What has happened?" she asked in surprise.
Jing Jiu told her about Zhaoge City and the letter.
"What do you think?" asked Zhao Layue.
"Is it about the West Ocean?" asked Jing Jiu.
Zhao Layue said while staring into his eyes, "No, I'm asking about the ghost in Aoyama."
After a moment of silence, Jing Jiu said, "We should be able to find out who it is this time."
It had been thirty years since he came back to the human world along the river in the mountains.
During these thirty years, he had been thinking about who the ghost in Aoyama was.
In the beginning, he and Yuan Qijing both suspected Liu Ci, so he gave Liu Ci many chances … but Liu Ci didn't do anything. He had been secretly looking after Shenmo Peak over the years, helping Jing Jiu in the Dao Competition and severely wounding the Young Mysterious Dark Master in the Guocheng Temple.
In any case, Liu Ci shouldn't be suspected anymore. Could it be Yuan Qijing?
The Sword Jail was in Shangde Peak, and Lei Poyun was killed by Jing Jiu. Yuan Qijing was the prime suspect.
As Jing Jiu walked into the manor cave, he removed the formation. A sound came in from outside the manor cave. It was Yuan Qu talking to Ping Yong-Ka.
At the Inherited Sword Competition, Jing Jiu asked Zhao Layue to take Yuan Qu into Shenmo Peak. It was an agreement with Yuan Qijing, but it was also a test.
Hearing Yuan Qu's voice, Jing Jiu fell silent.
No matter how powerful Nan Qü and Jian Xilai were, and whether this was a scheme of his Big Brother, he had nothing to worry about as long as Aoyama was safe.
Aoyama was like a sword, unparalleled in the world.
But what if there was a ghost in Aoyama? What if the surface of the sword looked smooth and perfect, but there were cracks on the inside?
The reason he accepted the letter from his Big Brother was not only to kill Nan Qü, but also to ascertain who the ghost was.
Yet, he didn't consider that if one of them was a ghost, even if all the swordsmen of Aoyama came out, it would still be a dangerous situation, especially for him.
Zhao Layue thought of it for him, saying, "It's too dangerous. We should leave."
It required a great deal of determination to leave Aoyama.
Jing Jiu said, "If they wanted to kill me, I would have died a long time ago. The fact that I'm still alive means that they don't want to kill me, even if they are indeed ghosts."
"No," said Zhao Layue. "It means that they don't get along well with each other, so they can't do anything to you because they are watching each other."
The regular disciples and even the caretakers of Aoyama knew that the Immortal Sect Master Liu Ci and the Sword Justice Yuan Qijing didn't get along well.
This was a fact known to the Cultivation circle in Chaotian.
The reason was simple: Yuan Qijing was his Big Brother, but Liu Ci became the sect master; of course he didn't like it.
Over the last three hundred years, Tianguang Peak had been expanding its influence, and Liangwang Peak was on the verge of becoming a subordinate peak, relying on the authority of the Immortal Sect Master. Shangde Peak had no choice but to rely on the sect rules and Yuan Qijing's status.
"In fact, they entered the Heavenly Arrival Realm on the same day. It's just that Liu Ci wanted to see the pine scenery of Shangde Peak, so he became his Young Brother a few steps later than Yuan Qijing."
Jing Jiu continued, "Liu Ci hasn't said anything, but he must have his own thoughts. Yet, he broke through the Heavenly Arrival State much earlier than Yuan Qijing did."
"Is that why Taiping Zhenren chose Liu Ci?" asked Zhao Layue.
"No," said Jing Jiu. "He was locked in the Sword Jail at the time, so I was the one who chose him."
Zhao Layue was startled, asking, "Did you choose him based on the Cultivation state?"
"That's right," said Jing Jiu. "And Yuan Qijing didn't like me, so I chose Liu Ci."
Zhao Layue was speechless. "I don't think it's a good idea," she said after a while.
Jing Jiu said while looking at her, "Don't try to be a good person. It's because this world is too heavy; even someone as powerful as Cao Yuan can't move it."
When did his Big Brother feel that this world was too heavy?
Even if Nan Qü died and the Western Sea Sword School was destroyed, what benefits would he get from it, Big Brother? The First Child Sword?
Thinking of all this, Jing Jiu looked at his right hand and took out the Green Sky Mirror. He began to sharpen the sword silently, one stroke at a time.
Seeing this, Zhao Layue suddenly felt sympathetic toward him, though she didn't know why.
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