"I don't know how you killed him that night, but I know your Sword Essence is abundant, not even weaker than mine."
Zhao Layue looked at him and said, "I don't understand how someone as lazy as you managed it."
Ever since she could remember-even, one might say, since birth-she had begun learning about and preparing for cultivation under the Green Mountain Sect's watchful gaze.
Every morning when she opened her eyes, she began tempering her body and meditating, and after coming to the Green Mountain Sect, practicing the sword. She had never slackened for a moment.
It could be said that every breath she took was cultivation.
She had heard of Jing Jiu and knew his famous laziness, but after what happened on the summit that night, she had thought those rumors mistaken.
Only after coming to see him herself these past two times did she realize that he truly was lazy.
She had never seen anyone so lazy, anyone who squandered his own talent like this.
What she understood even less was how someone so lazy could cultivate such abundant Sword Essence.
She very much wanted to know the answer to this question, even more than she wanted to know Jing Jiu's true identity.
"Do you know why I was willing to come to the Green Mountain Sect to learn the sword?"
Jing Jiu looked at her and said, "Because this place never dictates how its disciples cultivate the Dao. Any way is fine."
He added inwardly, Of course, it's also because I'm more familiar with this place.
Zhao Layue said, "I don't know what you want to cultivate or what you want to hide, but behaving this way makes you more likely to draw everyone's attention."
Jing Jiu said, "I find deliberately hiding things troublesome."
Zhao Layue said, "Even if someone discovers your secret?"
"No secret can be kept forever, and a sharp awl in a bag cannot keep its point hidden forever."
Jing Jiu said, "I've had similar experiences before. The sun rises every day, but the sky cannot always be thick with dark clouds. If you keep trying to prevent the people on the ground from seeing your radiance, that will be very difficult-even foolish, one might say."
Zhao Layue slowly turned to look at him and asked somewhat uncertainly, "You're comparing yourself to the sun?"
Jing Jiu said, "It's just an analogy."
"Many senior sisters on Qingrong Peak talk about me in private, saying I'm very conceited."
After a moment's silence, Zhao Layue said, "I don't think I measure up to you."
Jing Jiu said, "I think you should understand what I mean."
Zhao Layue said nothing.
She knew what Jing Jiu wanted to convey.
She was an innate Dao Seed, a prodigy of the Sword Dao, the darling of the Green Mountain Sect. From birth, she had borne countless watchful gazes. After entering the inner sect, she had chosen the arduous and perilous cultivation method of Sword Intent Tempering Body. Perhaps that had something to do with this as well, because it allowed her to hide deep within Sword Peak's clouds, unseen.
She remained silent, looking very stubborn.
Jing Jiu raised his hand and ruffled her hair.
Zhao Layue raised her eyebrows and glared at him, brimming with killing intent.
Jing Jiu withdrew his hand and said without a change of expression, "You should wash your hair. You're only cultivating. There's no need to make such a sorry mess of yourself."
Zhao Layue shook her head vigorously, sending dust falling. She looked like a puppy that had just come home after a day of running wild outside.
"I forgot."
With that, she rode her sword up toward her cave abode on the cliff above.
Jing Jiu felt as though he, too, had forgotten something.
Before long, Zhao Layue returned in fresh clothes, her short black hair still dripping.
The natural conditions of her cave abode were far better than those of ordinary disciples. Though it sat at the very top of the cliff, it had a hot spring channeled there by the immortal masters of Past Arrival Peak.
Jing Jiu glanced at her hair.
Zhao Layue said, "Sword Essence is for killing. How could I use it on things like this?"
Jing Jiu was about to say something when he suddenly turned toward the eastern sky.
Several piercing whistles rang out in the sky.
The clouds were torn open, leaving several straight trails that looked like arrows.
With a thunderous boom, the middle of the cloud bank churned restlessly. A moment later, a streak of sword light broke through and arrived above Sword-Washing Creek.
That sword light was concentrated, pure, and brilliant, of an extremely high order, and radiated a chilling sword intent. Its Sword Control should have been a powerful cultivator of profound attainment. Yet for some reason, the flying sword was extremely unstable, lurching crookedly like a drunken villager, or a wild crane so frightened it fled without choosing its path.
The sword light threaded between the cliffs along Sword-Washing Creek, now high, now low.
An unbearably anguished voice came from the sword, spreading in every direction.
"Even if there's no one, what about two!"
"No one-what about two?"
The Sword Control's shouts echoed through the gorge.
Terrifying sword intent fell from time to time. The creek suddenly roiled, clear gashes appeared across the cliffs, and broken stones rained down.
Faint sword lights rose among the distant peaks; the personal disciples were presumably hurrying over.
Summoned by their teachers and elders, the Sword-Washing Disciples beside the creek took shelter in the Sword-Washing Pavilion.
Hearing the anguished cries in the sky and seeing the towering trees and rocks between the cliffs swept by sword intent and broken apart so terribly, the disciples turned pale with fear.
What was happening? Who was that person? Why was he so crazed, so terrifying?
Zhao Layue walked to the cliff's edge and watched the crazed sword light in the sky, wariness and hostility showing in her eyes.
Jing Jiu watched her quietly, wanting to know where exactly those two emotions came from.
The sword lights from the peaks stopped more than ten li from Sword-Washing Creek, presumably having received an order.
That crazed sword light was too fast, its Sword Control too powerful. The ordinary personal disciples from Various Peaks were no match for him and could only add to the casualties. Thus, those hundred-odd sword lights merely guarded the perimeter, forming several sword formations to protect themselves while also preventing that Sword Control madman from escaping.
After the disciples' sword formations took shape, heaven and earth abruptly changed color.
The clouds scattered in every direction, and a square-shaped iron sword descended from the heavens.
The square iron sword swayed in the wind and grew into a domed canopy more than ten zhang across. It pressed straight down on the crazed flying sword, pinning it beneath the canopy in a stretch of mountain terrain several li away.
Thunderous crashes, like genuine thunder, rang out ceaselessly beneath the iron sword canopy.
The gravel on that mountain ground shook free of the earth and tumbled about, as though it had come alive.
The terrifying tremors traveled from afar to Sword-Washing Creek. The creek water seethed as though boiling, smashing against the cliffs and shattering into spray. Countless swimming fish were shaken to death.
Half an hour later, the battle finally stopped. The iron sword fell still, looking just like a real little tin house.
It was unknown whether the person covered by the iron sword had died or met some other fate.
Countless dead fish floated to the surface of the creek, looking like a dozen baskets of silver coins scattered by the richest merchant in Chaoge City.
The cliff cleaved open by that crazed sword slowly slid into the creek, throwing up countless enormous waves and drawing untold sighs.
"Is this the might of the Sea-Breaking Realm?"
Zhao Layue spoke as she watched the distant scene.
Jing Jiu walked to her side and said, "Yuan Qijing hasn't acted personally in many years. I think he may have perfected the Sea-Breaking Realm long ago and entered the Heaven-Connecting Realm."
Zhao Layue glanced at him.
If this was true, the Green Mountain Sect had gained another great figure in the Heaven-Connecting Realm, something that would surely shake the entire continent.
How did Jing Jiu know? And why had he told her?
Before you continue