The End of the Immortal Path

「Mid-May.」

After months of interrogating the Fox Demon, there was finally a breakthrough.

The middle-aged man looked at her, silent for a moment, before speaking. "Is it time for you to dispense your ’information’ again?"

"You people are so clever," the Fox Demon said, her voice extremely weak.

The Zhenyue Bureau’s interrogations were not gentle; they had even employed numerous Illusion Techniques.

If not for the Evil God’s power within her, she would have confessed everything long ago.

But she was now at her limit.

Even without further questioning, it was time for her to talk.

The middle-aged man asked calmly, "What information are you supposed to release this time?"

"To tell you what the thing inside is." The Fox Demon looked at the man. "Have you ever heard of the Immeasurable Calamity?

"That is what’s sealed in that place.

"Even while stationary, its sphere of influence is considerable.

"Once the seal breaks, anyone who passes near it will be detected.

"As long as they are suitable enough, it will latch onto them without any physical contact.

"That’s why you must have started a large-scale search, right?

"In other words, its pool of potential candidates is far larger than you imagine.

"Even if you find Shangguan Yang and Zhou Qing, it will be meaningless.

"Unless someone actively refines it...

"...you will never know who it has chosen."

"What are its criteria for choosing someone?" the middle-aged man asked.

The Fox Demon shook her head. "I don’t know. No one told me. Perhaps it’s the one with the best Talent, or perhaps the one with the most experience.

"That’s something you’ll have to figure out for yourselves.

"However, I do know that once the fusion reaches a certain point, thunder will appear in the sky.

"You can monitor the weather within the Immortal Sect tournament grounds and see if such a change occurs."

The middle-aged man watched her, his expression placid as he asked, "Anything else? For example, what would the people backing you want in exchange for stopping all this?"

Hearing this, the Fox Demon gave a bewitching smile. "You’re mistaken. No one can control this. Or rather, one can only control the beginning, not the process or the outcome.

"This thing was always going to break its seal; we just helped speed it up.

"In fact, the Immortal Sects should thank us. At the very least, we’ve drawn it out early, giving you time to prepare.

"Under normal circumstances, this thing would have appeared without a sound.

"The Immortal Sects would have been caught completely off guard. The situation would have been far more critical, and the price much higher.

"So, you see, we were actually helping you.

"If you’re ruthless enough, at worst, a batch of participants in the Immortal Sect tournament will die.

"If you’re unwilling to sacrifice them...

"...you still have time to open that space and intervene.

"At most, you’ll let a few Evil Gods and their great powers escape.

"Under the great order of the Immortal Sects, they won’t cause any trouble for the time being."

The middle-aged man’s expression remained unchanged. "Any other information?"

The Fox Demon shook her head.

"Have you considered your plan failing? What would happen if we managed to control the object?" the middle-aged man inquired.

The Fox Demon stared at him, as if she had never considered the question.

"Then what choice do you think the Immortal Sects should make?" the man asked again.

"That’s your business. How could a small fry like me possibly understand what you’re thinking?" the Fox Demon said nonchalantly.

The middle-aged man gazed at her for a long moment before turning to leave.

As soon as he left the cell, two people fell in step beside him.

"How is the investigation of the Immortal Sect tournament going?" he asked.

The man on his left replied, "It’s complete, but we haven’t detected anything."

"Keep an eye on the weather inside. See if any thunder is raging." The middle-aged man paused. "Also, prepare a cross-regional Array. Do it at once."

A short while later.

The Array lit up.

A middle-aged man was seated at the highest position.

"Qi Li, it has been a while," True Master Tai Hua’s voice rang out.

"My apologies for disturbing you." Qi Li spoke softly. "The situation is somewhat complicated."

He then relayed the situation to him.

True Master Tai Hua listened quietly.

"For now, we can’t confirm if the information is genuine, but it’s presented convincingly and doesn’t seem fake," Qi Li said, his voice calm and methodical. "The problem now is whether to open the gate and go in. If the enemy is just toying with us, years of the Immortal Sects’ efforts could be wiped out by this decision. The consequences would be severe."

True Master Tai Hua, who had been silent until now, spoke in a level tone, "Have them prepare to open the gate. If thunder appears, open it.

"However, don’t be in a rush to open the gate for us to enter. First, aim the gate meant for the Evil Gods’ escape toward that location.

"See how they react, take detailed notes, and only then will our people go in."

"Yes, sir." After a pause, Qi Li asked hesitantly, "But what if that thing isn’t there?"

"Then the participants of the Immortal Sect will have to suffer a bit and endure a storm of the Evil God’s power. It won’t kill them. As for the consequences, you need not concern yourself. I will bear them," True Master Tai Hua said casually.

If that thing wasn’t there, it would be a false alarm at worst. But if it was, it would be anything but.

It was likely that many would die.

True Master Tai Hua sighed. "It’s only been a few hundred years, and they’ve all become so restless. We were too lenient before. After this matter is resolved, look into it.

"Give your people more to do. They’re all too idle."

"Yes, sir." Qi Li bowed respectfully.

————

Jiang Man sat atop the Array.

He didn’t dare to venture too far from it now.

He could only sit here and continue studying Arrays; he couldn’t even engage in Cultivation.

The moment he did anything else, the fusion would accelerate.

Furthermore, he had to keep charging the Array, or its effectiveness would diminish.

He was trapped.

He now needed to hold out for more than two months. By July, he could hope for Ting Fengyin’s arrival.

But he was uncertain about the situation outside.

The people from the Immortal Sects had sent others searching everywhere for people and things. On top of that, there was no news from the Sun and Moon Immortal Path.

’All of these were hidden dangers.’

’He could easily get caught in the crossfire by some uninformed member of an Immortal Sect.’

’As for the Sun and Moon Immortal Path, everything depended on the unstable factor that was Zhou Qing.’

’If someone realized he hadn’t completed the fusion by the deadline and came looking for him...’

’...that would also be extremely dangerous.’

Before, he could have run. Now, that was completely impossible.

As time passed, he had nearly finished reading all the Array Books.

He had also reinforced the Array, but it hadn’t delayed the fusion by much.

It seemed the fusion would still be complete in August.

In June, Jiang Man finished all the books.

He felt his understanding of Arrays had taken another great leap forward, but without materials, he couldn’t modify his current setup any further.

「Late June.」

Jiang Man felt a change in his body.

Something seemed to be trying to influence his Heart Spirit.

He immediately activated the Evil God’s Technique, attempting to resist it.

Borrowing the Evil God’s power was somewhat effective.

RUMBLE!!

Thunder boomed in the sky, and Jiang Man felt it resonating with the influence inside his body.

The Ten-Life Immeasurable Calamity had begun to resonate with the outside world.

’The fusion has progressed quite a bit.’

Fortunately, July was just around the corner.

’As long as I can make it to July, there’s still time.’

Meanwhile, Monk Zhen Kong had gone out to scout several times. The fervor of the search for Shangguan Yang and the others was gradually dying down.

Most people had started competing for rankings instead.

It seemed the storm had passed.

After all, no matter how great the Divine Object was, no one had actually seen it.

Moreover, there was only one Divine Object. Competing for rankings was a better bet than fighting over it.

Jiang Man breathed a sigh of relief. ’It’s good that the commotion wasn’t too big.’

’That way, there shouldn’t be any mishaps here.’

But just as he was thinking this, thunder boomed across the sky, and it sounded as if something had cracked open.

Jiang Man couldn’t see it, but he had a feeling the situation was not looking good.

’I’m afraid the Immortal Sects have made their move.’

——

Wuyun Sect.

True Master Tai Hua sat on his high seat, his expression impassive:

"Now, it is your turn to choose.

"To enter, or not to enter."

————

A belated bonus Chapter.

Thank you to [Cosmos-Renowned First-Class Retreat Drummer] for becoming the third Alliance Leader.

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