Jing Jiu had known about this matter for many years, and he had also talked to them about it, and so he was not in a bad mood right now, because it would be many years from now before that day finally came.
Zhao Layue walked to his side, looking at the highest peak amid the distant ocean of clouds. "How much time is left approximately?" she asked in a low voice.
"One hundred years," said Jing Jiu.
Zhao Layue knew what he meant. She calculated Guo Nanshan's age and discovered there were merely a few decades left.
…
…
A few days later, the Elder Yue Qianmen of the Center Sect led the accompanying disciples returning to the Cloud-Dream Mountain via the Cloudy Boat after he and Fang Jingtian, the peak master of Xilai, had settled the relevant affairs.
In what was a surprise to the disciples of Green Mountain, Jing Jiu didn't go with them, and Bai Zao didn't stay behind.
Soon after, a rumor spread among the nine peaks that Jing Jiu had relentlessly and directly declined the proposal of the Center Sect.
The "relentlessly" and "directly" in the rumor were intentionally added by someone.
This person was definitely present on Shenmo Peak at the time, so it was either Gu or Yuan.
The disciples of the Green Mountain were surprised at first, but after some thought, they found it was a natural thing for their Young Senior Master to do, since this was normal for his usual demeanor.
The girls of Qingrong Peak were quite pleased. They threw a party of one hundred flowers, using the celebration of summer's end as an excuse.
The caretakers of Shiyue Peak sent two hundred jars of preserved wines and a dozen baskets of fresh fruits to their banquet.
At night, the starlight illuminated the cliff, and the gentle autumn breeze passed through the pavilions and buildings.
The girls of Qingrong Peak ate the fruits and drank the wines, singing, dancing, and laughing. They had a great time.
After finishing about thirty cups of wine, the girls were drunk, as they didn't' employ the Sword Source to eliminate the alcohol effect. They stopped singing and dancing, but started telling stories and talking about private thoughts.
Their private thoughts were related to the troubles in Cultivation, but the stories were either old or new anecdotes about the Cultivation circle and the nine peaks of Green Mountain.
The main focus of their talking was of course the affair between Jing Jiu and Bai Zao. They talked about Bai Zao. That day, she looked calm on the surface, but actually felt sorrow deep inside, and the jovial look on her face when she had arrived somehow changed to a sorrowful one when she left Green Mountain. The girls in the pavilions and on the cliff became subdued.
A female disciple, who was slightly drunk, mumbled with a red face, "It's like…a great amount of affection…is but felt in vain."
Another female disciple sighed, "The spring is always let down."
But one other female disciple reminded her, "Today is the beginning of autumn."
The former girl said curtly, "So the autumn can be let down too?!"
This feeling of resentment was felt by these girls.
They looked in the direction of that closest peak.
Shenmo Peak appeared even lonelier under the starlight.
Nan Wang was drinking as well.
On the top of Qingrong Peak, she propped against a large rock that was as smooth as a mirror, with a flowering tree behind her.
She held an alcohol jar with two fingers, appearing indolent. She looked very attractive when the starlight fell on her plump body and pretty face.
Nan Wang was looking at Shenmo Peak as well. "To be so relentless…He is actually very much like his wicked Master," she remarked lightly, without any emotional fluctuation in her eyes.
…
…
Shenmo Peak was indeed a lonely peak, no different from when the Immortal Jing Yang was there.
This peak had been the same the entire time, no matter whether it was the mid-spring when the flowers were blooming everywhere or the mid-summer when the rain was pouring down, or autumn, when the fruits were everywhere on the mountains, or winter, when there was a heavy snowfall. All these seasonal changes seemed to have nothing to do with those living on Shenmo Peak.
If one asked Jing Jiu or Zhao Layue about it, they would tell them that the peak shouldn't experience the seasons now that it was protected by the Green Mountain Formation; it was utterly unnecessary.
The unnecessary request was always addressed by Qingrong Peak.
At specific days every year, Qingrong Peak would request the sect to open a gap out of the Green Mountain Formation to let in the spring breeze, summer rain, autumn feel, and winter snow.
Jing Jiu only accepted the winter snow.
Yet Zhao Layue preferred the summer rain to other seasons, because the rain reminded her of the old dragon-like eaves of Taichang Temple after they drenched by the spring rain in Zhaoge City.
And it also reminded her of the Jing house with the similar scene.
There was a wooden cabin in the middle of the cliff. It was built by Gu Qing and the monkeys when he was a guest living on Shenmo Peak. Currently, Xiao He lived in the cabin.
It was unknown whether she would become the formal resident of Shenmo Peak later on.
Gu Qing moved to the peak top.
There were many rooms in the manor cave, and the Daoist building outside the manor cave also had many rooms, though Yuan Qü wanted to get advice from Gu Qing for many of the issues he had regarding Cultivation, so Yuan Qü asked Gu Qing to move to the room next door.
Apart from this, nothing else seemed different on Shenmo Peak.
Nonetheless, the lack of change itself became an issue.
Liu Shisui had already been back to the Green Mountain, but he hadn't come to Shenmo Peak for some time.
Gu Qing thought there must be something wrong with it.
After receiving information obtained by the monkeys at the foot of the peak from his clan, Gu Qing learned of what had happened to Liu Shisui.
As the biggest hero in the war against the Old Ones, Liu Shisui was supposed to obtain adequate rewards for his role; but somehow, no reward had been given to him. Liu Shisui even had a hard time keeping Xiao He on the Green Mountain. The personal letter from Elder Mo Chi of Tianguang Peak didn't work in this regard, nor did Guo Nanshan's effort, even though he spent few days going to the relevant peaks and trying to convince the people in charge of the matter.
The key problem was that someone was investigating Liu Shisui in secret.
Duan Liantian of Shangde Peak had suddenly left the Green Mountain. Some people had an eerie feel of the whole thing.
Guo Nanshan had gotten quite upset, even though he usually had a mild temperament. He had gotten into a vehement argument with some people on Xilai Peak.
It was Shangde Peak's responsibility to carry out the sect rules and to punish and reward the disciples at the Green Mountain Sect; but the personnel who actually carried out the orders were arranged by Xilai Peak.
The human resource was the key to doing things.
It was because of the resistance of Xilai Peak that the two matters related to Liu Shisui hadn't been settled yet.
Xilai Peak, which had kept a low profile for over two hundred years, suddenly showed its strength due to its confrontation with Tianguang Peak.
The people of the Green Mountain had finally realized that Fang Jingtian, the peak master of Xilai, had always been the number three figure at the Green Mountain Sect, though he seemed ordinary in many aspects.
Gu Qing didn't understand why Fang Jingtian had done that.
But he suddenly remembered that day when the whole Shenmo Peak acted as though they had faced a formidable foe…not like that time when Bai Zao was there.
He and Yuan Qü had already guessed that the swordsman who hid amid the clouds must be a master of the Green Mountain.
Was that person Fang Jingtian?
Gu Qing was worried. He couldn't restrain himself anymore, walking to the cliff's edge and said to Jing Jiu, "Master, I think there is something you should know."
Looking at the grains of sand in the ceramic plate, Jing Jiu said without lifting his head, "I'm already aware."
Gu Qing was taken aback, wondering what Jing Jiu was talking about.
…
…
On the top of Xilai Peak.
Liu Shisui turned around and left in silence.
His effort was in vain again that day.
Fang Jingtian didn't even bother meeting him in person.
The disciples of Xilai Peak turned around looking at the Daoist Hall with its tightly closed door as they walked Liu Shisui to the cliff's edge, feeling quite baffled.
In the deep part of the hall, Fang Jingtian looked at the outside of the window with his hands behind his back.
The mountain breeze drifted in.
His two silvery eyebrows tousled slightly.
Showing a fairy aura and Daoist strength.
It was extremely profound.
His appearance was quite different from his usual and ordinary demeanor.
He had no need to conceal his true strength when nobody was around.
Fang Jingtian made up his mind and leapt into the air. After leaping out of the window, he landed along with the breeze, as lightly as a falling leaf of the early autumn.
It was the steep rock wall at the back of the hall, with the thick cloud and fog at the foot of the cliff.
Fang Jingtian landed in the midst of the cloud and fog.
There was a stone beam inside the cloud and fog.
Few people knew this stone beam connected Xilai Peak with Shiyue Peak.
The stone beam was enshrouded by the cloud and fog, and it was bottomless under the stone beam.
A faint energy could be sensed vaguely inside the cloud and fog.
The energy wasn't so strong, but it gave out a demonic feel and was extremely gloomy.
Even if it was a disciple in the Undefeated State riding the sword in this patch of the cloud and fog, he would definitely fall to his death after his Sword Pill would be swallowed by that energy.
The cloud and fog wavered slightly and lifted a bit as Fang Jingtian's silvery eyebrows tousled with the breeze, revealing the surface of the stone beam.
There were dozens of imprints on the surface of the stone beam, looking like the patterns formed by the bamboo leaves. These imprints seemed irregular, but they showed a certain direction.
Fang Jingtian's gaze followed the direction of the bamboo leaves-like imprints, and eventually stopped at a spot.
He could vaguely see a dark shadow in the cloud and fog at the spot.
"If the first one was lost, what happened to the second one then?"
Fang Jingtian continued while looking at that spot, "Lei Poyun was shouting this the entire time, all the way from the Sword Jail after he escaped from it."
The cloud and fog started swirling rapidly at the spot. It was obvious that the dark shadow had an intense interest in the matter though it didn't show its true identity.
Fang Jingtian continued nonchalantly, "We are certain by now that the second one is with Liu Shisui. Yet, I would still like to know where the first one is."
Jing Jiu had known about this matter for many years, and he had also talked to them about it, and so he was not in a bad mood right now, because it would be many years from now before that day finally came.
Zhao Layue walked to his side, looking at the highest peak amid the distant ocean of clouds. "How much time is left approximately?" she asked in a low voice.
"One hundred years," said Jing Jiu.
Zhao Layue knew what he meant. She calculated Guo Nanshan's age and discovered there were merely a few decades left.
…
…
A few days later, the Elder Yue Qianmen of the Center Sect led the accompanying disciples returning to the Cloud-Dream Mountain via the Cloudy Boat after he and Fang Jingtian, the peak master of Xilai, had settled the relevant affairs.
In what was a surprise to the disciples of Green Mountain, Jing Jiu didn't go with them, and Bai Zao didn't stay behind.
Soon after, a rumor spread among the nine peaks that Jing Jiu had relentlessly and directly declined the proposal of the Center Sect.
The "relentlessly" and "directly" in the rumor were intentionally added by someone.
This person was definitely present on Shenmo Peak at the time, so it was either Gu or Yuan.
The disciples of the Green Mountain were surprised at first, but after some thought, they found it was a natural thing for their Young Senior Master to do, since this was normal for his usual demeanor.
The girls of Qingrong Peak were quite pleased. They threw a party of one hundred flowers, using the celebration of summer's end as an excuse.
The caretakers of Shiyue Peak sent two hundred jars of preserved wines and a dozen baskets of fresh fruits to their banquet.
At night, the starlight illuminated the cliff, and the gentle autumn breeze passed through the pavilions and buildings.
The girls of Qingrong Peak ate the fruits and drank the wines, singing, dancing, and laughing. They had a great time.
After finishing about thirty cups of wine, the girls were drunk, as they didn't' employ the Sword Source to eliminate the alcohol effect. They stopped singing and dancing, but started telling stories and talking about private thoughts.
Their private thoughts were related to the troubles in Cultivation, but the stories were either old or new anecdotes about the Cultivation circle and the nine peaks of Green Mountain.
The main focus of their talking was of course the affair between Jing Jiu and Bai Zao. They talked about Bai Zao. That day, she looked calm on the surface, but actually felt sorrow deep inside, and the jovial look on her face when she had arrived somehow changed to a sorrowful one when she left Green Mountain. The girls in the pavilions and on the cliff became subdued.
A female disciple, who was slightly drunk, mumbled with a red face, "It's like…a great amount of affection…is but felt in vain."
Another female disciple sighed, "The spring is always let down."
But one other female disciple reminded her, "Today is the beginning of autumn."
The former girl said curtly, "So the autumn can be let down too?!"
This feeling of resentment was felt by these girls.
They looked in the direction of that closest peak.
Shenmo Peak appeared even lonelier under the starlight.
Nan Wang was drinking as well.
On the top of Qingrong Peak, she propped against a large rock that was as smooth as a mirror, with a flowering tree behind her.
She held an alcohol jar with two fingers, appearing indolent. She looked very attractive when the starlight fell on her plump body and pretty face.
Nan Wang was looking at Shenmo Peak as well. "To be so relentless…He is actually very much like his wicked Master," she remarked lightly, without any emotional fluctuation in her eyes.
…
…
Shenmo Peak was indeed a lonely peak, no different from when the Immortal Jing Yang was there.
This peak had been the same the entire time, no matter whether it was the mid-spring when the flowers were blooming everywhere or the mid-summer when the rain was pouring down, or autumn, when the fruits were everywhere on the mountains, or winter, when there was a heavy snowfall. All these seasonal changes seemed to have nothing to do with those living on Shenmo Peak.
If one asked Jing Jiu or Zhao Layue about it, they would tell them that the peak shouldn't experience the seasons now that it was protected by the Green Mountain Formation; it was utterly unnecessary.
The unnecessary request was always addressed by Qingrong Peak.
At specific days every year, Qingrong Peak would request the sect to open a gap out of the Green Mountain Formation to let in the spring breeze, summer rain, autumn feel, and winter snow.
Jing Jiu only accepted the winter snow.
Yet Zhao Layue preferred the summer rain to other seasons, because the rain reminded her of the old dragon-like eaves of Taichang Temple after they drenched by the spring rain in Zhaoge City.
And it also reminded her of the Jing house with the similar scene.
There was a wooden cabin in the middle of the cliff. It was built by Gu Qing and the monkeys when he was a guest living on Shenmo Peak. Currently, Xiao He lived in the cabin.
It was unknown whether she would become the formal resident of Shenmo Peak later on.
Gu Qing moved to the peak top.
There were many rooms in the manor cave, and the Daoist building outside the manor cave also had many rooms, though Yuan Qü wanted to get advice from Gu Qing for many of the issues he had regarding Cultivation, so Yuan Qü asked Gu Qing to move to the room next door.
Apart from this, nothing else seemed different on Shenmo Peak.
Nonetheless, the lack of change itself became an issue.
Liu Shisui had already been back to the Green Mountain, but he hadn't come to Shenmo Peak for some time.
Gu Qing thought there must be something wrong with it.
After receiving information obtained by the monkeys at the foot of the peak from his clan, Gu Qing learned of what had happened to Liu Shisui.
As the biggest hero in the war against the Old Ones, Liu Shisui was supposed to obtain adequate rewards for his role; but somehow, no reward had been given to him. Liu Shisui even had a hard time keeping Xiao He on the Green Mountain. The personal letter from Elder Mo Chi of Tianguang Peak didn't work in this regard, nor did Guo Nanshan's effort, even though he spent few days going to the relevant peaks and trying to convince the people in charge of the matter.
The key problem was that someone was investigating Liu Shisui in secret.
Duan Liantian of Shangde Peak had suddenly left the Green Mountain. Some people had an eerie feel of the whole thing.
Guo Nanshan had gotten quite upset, even though he usually had a mild temperament. He had gotten into a vehement argument with some people on Xilai Peak.
It was Shangde Peak's responsibility to carry out the sect rules and to punish and reward the disciples at the Green Mountain Sect; but the personnel who actually carried out the orders were arranged by Xilai Peak.
The human resource was the key to doing things.
It was because of the resistance of Xilai Peak that the two matters related to Liu Shisui hadn't been settled yet.
Xilai Peak, which had kept a low profile for over two hundred years, suddenly showed its strength due to its confrontation with Tianguang Peak.
The people of the Green Mountain had finally realized that Fang Jingtian, the peak master of Xilai, had always been the number three figure at the Green Mountain Sect, though he seemed ordinary in many aspects.
Gu Qing didn't understand why Fang Jingtian had done that.
But he suddenly remembered that day when the whole Shenmo Peak acted as though they had faced a formidable foe…not like that time when Bai Zao was there.
He and Yuan Qü had already guessed that the swordsman who hid amid the clouds must be a master of the Green Mountain.
Was that person Fang Jingtian?
Gu Qing was worried. He couldn't restrain himself anymore, walking to the cliff's edge and said to Jing Jiu, "Master, I think there is something you should know."
Looking at the grains of sand in the ceramic plate, Jing Jiu said without lifting his head, "I'm already aware."
Gu Qing was taken aback, wondering what Jing Jiu was talking about.
…
…
On the top of Xilai Peak.
Liu Shisui turned around and left in silence.
His effort was in vain again that day.
Fang Jingtian didn't even bother meeting him in person.
The disciples of Xilai Peak turned around looking at the Daoist Hall with its tightly closed door as they walked Liu Shisui to the cliff's edge, feeling quite baffled.
In the deep part of the hall, Fang Jingtian looked at the outside of the window with his hands behind his back.
The mountain breeze drifted in.
His two silvery eyebrows tousled slightly.
Showing a fairy aura and Daoist strength.
It was extremely profound.
His appearance was quite different from his usual and ordinary demeanor.
He had no need to conceal his true strength when nobody was around.
Fang Jingtian made up his mind and leapt into the air. After leaping out of the window, he landed along with the breeze, as lightly as a falling leaf of the early autumn.
It was the steep rock wall at the back of the hall, with the thick cloud and fog at the foot of the cliff.
Fang Jingtian landed in the midst of the cloud and fog.
There was a stone beam inside the cloud and fog.
Few people knew this stone beam connected Xilai Peak with Shiyue Peak.
The stone beam was enshrouded by the cloud and fog, and it was bottomless under the stone beam.
A faint energy could be sensed vaguely inside the cloud and fog.
The energy wasn't so strong, but it gave out a demonic feel and was extremely gloomy.
Even if it was a disciple in the Undefeated State riding the sword in this patch of the cloud and fog, he would definitely fall to his death after his Sword Pill would be swallowed by that energy.
The cloud and fog wavered slightly and lifted a bit as Fang Jingtian's silvery eyebrows tousled with the breeze, revealing the surface of the stone beam.
There were dozens of imprints on the surface of the stone beam, looking like the patterns formed by the bamboo leaves. These imprints seemed irregular, but they showed a certain direction.
Fang Jingtian's gaze followed the direction of the bamboo leaves-like imprints, and eventually stopped at a spot.
He could vaguely see a dark shadow in the cloud and fog at the spot.
"If the first one was lost, what happened to the second one then?"
Fang Jingtian continued while looking at that spot, "Lei Poyun was shouting this the entire time, all the way from the Sword Jail after he escaped from it."
The cloud and fog started swirling rapidly at the spot. It was obvious that the dark shadow had an intense interest in the matter though it didn't show its true identity.
Fang Jingtian continued nonchalantly, "We are certain by now that the second one is with Liu Shisui. Yet, I would still like to know where the first one is."
