Toward the Mountains of Old

The middle-aged cultivator was called Master Lü. He came from Shangde Peak, the third peak of Green Mountain, and had now reached the Complete Chengyi Realm. Having failed twice to break through to the Wuzhang Realm, he had been forced to halt his advance for the time being. He was currently serving as the instructor at South Pine Pavilion, responsible for training newly admitted Outer-Sect Disciples.

With his standing, he had no need to recruit disciples personally, but in recent years, the disciples at South Pine Pavilion had been very ordinary in aptitude, far inferior to those elsewhere. This put him under considerable pressure.

He no longer hoped to accomplish anything great. He only wanted to train a few good disciples, in the hope that his elders might reward him with pills, allowing him one final attempt at the Wuzhang Realm.

When word reached him from somewhere among the Nine Peaks that this remote little mountain village was worth a look, he soon came.

Hidden among the green trees, he observed the boy of ten or so and found that the information was correct. Even from a distance, he could sense that the boy was truly fine material.

When he swept his sword sense over him, his delight knew no bounds-the boy was actually an innate Dao Seed!

Such fine material, such uncarved jade, might appear only once in several years, not merely around Great Green Mountain, but even in the prosperous prefectures, or indeed Chaoge City. Master Lü could hardly spare a thought for whether he might frighten the child. He stepped straight out of the night, but before he could say anything, something else caught his attention.

Frightened, the little boy hid behind a White-Clad Youth.

What put him on his guard was that, while observing the boy from afar, he had completely failed to notice this youth.

The youth was sitting in a reclining chair beside the pond.

His sword sense immediately settled on the White-Clad Youth, only to discover that he was merely a mortal who had never cultivated, with no Dao Seed within him. This surprised him somewhat.

When his gaze fell on the White-Clad Youth's face, he was startled once more.

In all his years in the cultivation world, he had never seen such a beautiful youth.

Never mind the scions of aristocratic clans in Chaoge-even his junior sisters on Qingrong Peak and the famously beautiful female disciples of the Water-Moon Convent could not compare.

The cultivation world had always believed in one principle: anything taken to the utmost was extraordinary.

Whether tall or short, fat or thin, or distinguished by some other outward trait, so long as someone was sufficiently unusual, there was bound to be something out of the ordinary about them.

Put more simply: when things reached an extreme, something uncanny was surely at work.

Beauty, in particular, had always been held in even greater esteem by cultivators. Whether a green pine on a cliff or a flying sword like light, anything of surpassing beauty must contain something extraordinary within.

Looking at the White-Clad Youth's exquisite face, how could Master Lü remain unmoved? He strengthened his sword sense and examined him again, only to find that his Dao heart was still immature, to say nothing of a Dao Seed.

The White-Clad Youth was much older than the boy, yet his Dao heart was far inferior. Naturally, the difference in their talent and aptitude was greater still.

Somewhat regretful, Master Lü stopped looking at the youth and turned to Liu S sui. "Do you know who I am?"

Liu S sui had been badly frightened by this stranger's sudden appearance and did not dare show his face at all. Hearing the question, he hardly dared speak, merely clutching Jing Jiu's sleeve tightly.

From the middle-aged cultivator's clothing and the way he carried his sword on his back, Jing Jiu could tell that he was probably a third-generation disciple, still far from the Wuzhang Realm. He simply did not know his name.

This was perfectly natural.

The Green Mountain Sect's inner and Outer-Sect Disciples numbered in the thousands. Apart from those old men on Shangde Peak and the women on Past Arrival Peak, who could recognize them all?

"It's all right," Jing Jiu said.

For some reason, hearing those words reassured Liu S sui considerably, though he was still a little nervous. He stood up, looked at the middle-aged cultivator, and said with a slight tremor, "Could you be..."

Master Lü said gently, "Indeed. I am a cultivator from Green Mountain-what you commonly call an immortal master."

Hearing the words "immortal master," Liu S sui instinctively glanced at Jing Jiu.

Thinking him overly nervous, Master Lü smiled faintly. "You may call me Master Lü."

"Master Lü... what have you come here for?" Liu S sui asked uneasily.

"I have come to ask you: are you willing to cultivate the Great Dao and seek immortality?"

Hearing this, Jing Jiu felt somewhat moved. After all these years, it is still the same question. Not a single word has changed.

Liu S sui stood in a daze for a long while before coming to his senses. "...Of course... I am willing, but..." he stammered.

An ordinarily unremarkable village boy being chosen and taken away by an immortal master of Green Mountain was the most wonderful story passed down through countless generations in these mountain villages. He had grown up listening to such stories and was completely stupefied. How could he possibly think of objecting? It was only that, just as he had said, it was only...

He looked toward the little courtyard, hesitation and struggle showing on his young face.

Rather than being angry, Master Lü felt all the more comforted. "Though cultivation is no mortal affair, we are not those monks. We may still tread the red dust of the mortal world. Naturally, we do not sever family ties."

"Really?" Liu S sui asked uneasily.

Master Lü smiled. "I will explain everything to your parents shortly. You will also be given time to return home and visit them. If you cannot enter the inner sect in the future, you will have to handle the sect's worldly affairs. You certainly will not lack money, and you will be able to come home often. Looking after your fellow villagers would take no more than lifting a hand... though I do not think you will have that opportunity."

Clearly, he thought very highly of Liu S sui's talent and aptitude, without the slightest doubt.

Liu S sui looked at Jing Jiu.

Master Lü was somewhat surprised.

Jing Jiu stood up. "Go if you want to."

"Yes, young master," Liu S sui said, his face lighting up.

Master Lü's surprise turned to astonishment.

Why was there such a handsome young gentleman in a remote little mountain village like this?

Looking at Jing Jiu, he suddenly asked, "And you? Are you willing to follow me, cultivate the Great Dao, and seek immortality?"

Through the wall, the voices and weeping of the Liu Clan couple could be heard from time to time. Remembering the immortal master's warning, however, they dared not disturb the village and kept their voices very low.

Jing Jiu sat by the window, gazing at the stars in the night sky, silent, his thoughts unknown.

The fellow called Master Lü would come early tomorrow morning to take Liu S sui... and him to the Green Mountain Sect.

Liu S sui was packing. He was a very hardworking child, but this was his first time packing for a journey. That, however, was not why his little face looked so dazed. The shock had been too great, and he had not yet fully recovered. Perhaps that was precisely why he had not thought about the fact that Jing Jiu was not an immortal master.

"Is that really all it takes..."

The boy was still stammering a little. "Doesn't that immortal master need time to examine my... moral character?"

"Disposition," Jing Jiu said, looking at the stars outside the window.

"Yes, that's the word," Liu S sui said.

"Of course talent is all that matters in something like this," Jing Jiu said. "Disposition changes with the years. How could he examine it? Besides, do you really believe the benevolent are invincible?"

Liu S sui scratched his head. "Aren't they? That's what all the books say."

Without turning around, Jing Jiu said, "Of course not. Only the invincible are invincible."

Liu S sui could not understand this, but as he looked at Jing Jiu's back, he suddenly sensed a kind of loneliness.

At dawn, the sky was barely light. The morning sun was still far beyond the peaks, with no telling when it would rise.

Master Lü arrived.

The Liu Clan couple saw Liu S sui to the front of the courtyard, silently wiping away tears. They were somewhat sad, but happier than anything else.

Footsteps sounded, and Jing Jiu walked out of the house. The morning breeze brushed his white robes. His hands were empty; he had brought nothing.

At the sight, Liu S sui's parents could not help recalling his arrival at the village entrance a year earlier. He seemed to have looked just like this then.

Liu's Mother glanced at Liu's Father, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

Liu's Father gave her a warning look, then said respectfully, "Young master, would you like to take anything useful for the road? S sui can carry it."

Jing Jiu paid him no attention and walked out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Watching from outside the courtyard, Master Lü frowned slightly.

No one knew that in the water vat behind the side room, half a pale-green pill was slowly dissolving, until it dispersed into the water and could no longer be seen.

Master Lü led Jing Jiu and Liu S sui into the morning mist, and they soon vanished without a trace.

Wiping away their tears, Liu's Father and Liu's Mother returned to the courtyard. Suddenly at a loss for what to do, they stood there in a daze for a long while before setting about sweeping the courtyard, heating water, and cooking.

Whether for cooking porridge or brewing coarse, large-leaf tea, the water they used naturally came from the vat.

Only then did Liu's Mother discover that something was missing from the house.

The bamboo chair was gone.

For some unknown reason, Master Lü had chosen to walk rather than use Sword Flight back to the Green Mountain Sect.

Liu S sui naturally never thought of any of this, for he had never imagined that anyone in the world could travel by Sword Control.

Jing Jiu, however, knew perfectly well that this third-generation disciple of the Green Mountain Sect had reached the Complete Chengyi Realm. By rights, he should have been able to travel by Sword Control with ease, and even bringing two people along should not have been too difficult.

Then why did this man insist on walking? Was he worried that other cultivators might spot the trail of his flying sword and cause trouble?

Jing Jiu did not understand. In his view, although each generation of the Green Mountain Sect was now worse than the last, it should not have come to this.

The mountain village was at most a little over a hundred li from the Green Mountain Sect's gate. If a disciple of the Green Mountain Sect needed to be this cautious here, that was sheer cowardice.

Unaware of Jing Jiu's thoughts, Master Lü led the two youths, one older and one younger, toward the peaks in the mist, silent and unobtrusive.

On the third day, they passed through a bank of thick fog, and the view suddenly cleared.

Countless green peaks appeared before them. Some were graceful, some precipitous, and some had rock faces as smooth as mirrors, utterly impossible to climb, yet there were signs of habitation on their summits.

Were the legendary Green Mountain Nine Peaks among them?

Liu S sui exclaimed in wonder again and again, while Jing Jiu did not even glance at them.

The three followed a mountain path paved with bluestone toward the peaks. Before long, they saw a stone gate.

The stone gate was simple in design and covered in moss, with an ancient air of its own. On its horizontal plaque, the words "South Pine Pavilion" were faintly visible.

This was the Green Mountain Sect's Southern Mountain Gate.

At the sight of the gate, a smile appeared on Master Lü's face, and he visibly relaxed.

The mountain gate was quiet, and even the birdsong in the dense woods was not bothersome.

Beneath the gate stood a wooden table, with brush, inkstone, and paper laid out on it. A man wearing gray sword robes lay slumped over the table, asleep.