The End of the Immortal Path

"Me," Xiaopang said, puffing out his chest.

Jiang Man nodded, then said, "I’ve decided we won’t be selling Spirit Medicines or Arrays."

Xiaopang: "..."

’Feels like Brother Jiang is lecturing me.’

But business at their shop really was mediocre.

It couldn’t compare to Cheng Yu’s shop at all.

But he sold Elixirs. With such a competitive edge, it was only natural his business was good.

"Actually, shops that sell Arrays do pretty well too," Luo Xuan said, closing her book.

She knew Jiang Man was skilled in Arrays, and Arrays were also highly competitive products.

"Where would we get Arrays from?" Jiang Man asked.

"Brother Jiang, you could make them yourself," Xiaopang said.

Jiang Man was taken aback. ’Make them myself?’

’How much time would that take? Why would I waste my time making Arrays to sell?’

’How many Spiritual Sources could I even earn in a month?’

There were too many Array Masters, the costs were high, and the profits were low.

Unless he made powerful Arrays, but that would be too time-consuming and wasn’t a good fit for him.

As for the meager Spiritual Sources earned through the hard work of setting up Arrays...

He could just borrow them. If that didn’t work, he could buy them on credit. He didn’t open a shop to waste his own time.

After a while, Song Qing also arrived.

He expressed his gratitude.

He swore he would give his all until his dying day.

Jiang Man nodded. Being able to endure hardship was enough; dying wasn’t necessary.

They discussed things for a bit after that.

In the end, they couldn’t come up with any solid plans.

None of them had any talent for business, nor did they have a nose for opportunities.

So, Jiang Man handed the three Spirit Beast Eggs to Song Qing and told him to display them in the shop for sale.

They were to be listed at a high price.

Once he returned with spoils from his upcoming trip, they could sell those too.

That would be the plan for now.

As for the rest, he let Song Qing handle it as he saw fit.

Having taken care of these matters, Jiang Man returned to his Cultivation.

In December, he would have to leave the Sect again to complete his Inner Sect assessment mission.

After entering the Inner Sect, he was indeed much busier than before.

「Mid-November.」

As December approached, Jiang Man paid a visit to Ji Meng’s residence.

He came without a gift this time, as he hadn’t found a suitable one yet.

Fortunately, Miss Ji Meng was understanding and didn’t blame him.

He then stated the purpose of his visit.

"Borrow the Thirty-Six Books of Ascension? All of them?" Ji Meng was quite curious.

Jiang Man nodded and informed her that he would be leaving soon.

Ji Meng nodded and said, "Alright, but you’ll have to wait until the end of the month. Come by then, Young Master Jiang. Also, there will be other things you can buy."

Hearing this, Jiang Man immediately thought of Elixirs.

He was quite pleased. "Thank you, Miss Ji Meng."

Immediately after, Jiang Man asked if she had any ancient items he could take a look at.

Ji Meng shook her head, saying he’d have to ask Ji Hao about that.

Later, Jiang Man found Ji Hao.

He had gone to Ji Meng’s place to learn about Arrays twice, so it was time to settle the payment in Spiritual Sources.

Ji Hao readily gave him six thousand Spiritual Sources.

After that, Jiang Man brought up the matter of ancient items.

"Ancient items?" Ji Hao was rather curious. "You want to see some?"

Jiang Man nodded. "Yes, any kind of ancient item will do. An Array, a book, a Magical Treasure—even a rock would be fine."

Ji Hao smiled. "The thing in your hands is ancient enough."

"I’ve already seen this one." Jiang Man took out the box and said, "Is Mr. Ji ready? I can leave this here."

"No rush. You keep it for now. We’ll probably have to wait a year." Ji Hao got up, searched around the room for a moment, and then handed over a small Compass. "Is this one ancient enough for you?"

Jiang Man took the Compass and immediately activated the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.

The book began to flip through its pages, finally stopping on the very last one.

Text appeared.

[An ordinary, utterly useless Fishing Compass. It was prepared by Ting Fengyin’s mother during his childhood to help him catch fish. It was lost and damaged when Ting Fengyin went mad.]

At first, Jiang Man was confused. ’Why is such a useless item even worth a mention?’

He himself felt it was completely unremarkable.

But when he read the latter half, he was shocked.

’So it belonged to Ting Fengyin. No wonder such a worthless thing was worth mentioning.’

’And in such detail, too.’

However, Jiang Man’s gaze fell on the very last part.

’Ting Fengyin went mad?’

’No one ever mentioned this. When did he go mad?’

’Has he recovered?’

Jiang Man knew nothing about any of this.

"So? Is it ancient enough?" Ji Hao asked while searching for other items.

Jiang Man asked curiously, "Mr. Ji, do you know the origin of this Compass?"

Ji Hao shook his head. "I don’t. But I know its origin is extraordinary. Do you?"

Jiang Man nodded and said thoughtfully, "It might be related to a certain master."

Ji Hao asked curiously, "How masterful?"

Jiang Man stood on his tiptoes and gestured. "This masterful."

Higher than an Unparalleled Celestial Pride.

’But it’s fine,’ he thought. ’I’ll surpass him sooner or later.’

Ji Hao smiled and said, "Then I’ll give it to you."

Hearing this, Jiang Man was stunned.

He didn’t quite dare to accept it. He wasn’t sure if the current Ting Fengyin was mad or had recovered.

’If he’s recovered, will this item provoke him?’

’If it does, will he suddenly attack?’

In the end, he still chose to take it.

"Then what should I give you in exchange?" Jiang Man asked.

"Get a little closer with Ji Meng. Marry her sooner," Ji Hao said.

Jiang Man froze.

’I’m already married.’

’But the two are indeed different. It really wouldn’t be right to marry her.’

’Looks like I really can’t accept this thing after all.’

Seeing the Compass being pushed back toward him, Ji Hao fell silent for a moment.

Finally, he said just meeting with her more often would be enough.

Only then did Jiang Man accept it with peace of mind.

After that, Ji Hao gave him a few more items.

Most of them were also unremarkable.

"For other ancient items, I’ll have to submit an application to the Sect. It will take some time—next month at the earliest," Ji Hao said.

Jiang Man mentioned he had a mission next month.

"In that case, I’ll apply for everything the Sect allows. By the time you get back, you’ll be able to examine them all," Ji Hao said.

Jiang Man nodded in agreement.

This would be much more convenient than before.

However, Ji Hao added that some items required a high enough rank to access, so he should enter the Inner Sect and start competing for a ranking as soon as possible.