The End of the Immortal Path

While others rested at night, they used the time to get further ahead.

By the time anyone else realized what was happening, they would have already reached Core Formation.

—

After returning, Ye Xiaoshuang immediately had the woman who gathered information for them before continue her inquiries.

Not just this year’s grand tournament, but they also needed to look into the tournaments from the past few years.

Having established her sources, it didn’t take her long to obtain the comprehensive rankings this time.

When she came back, she was in a state of utter shock.

Seeing the look on her face, Ye Xiaoshuang couldn’t help but ask, "You found it?"

The woman nodded.

Li Changcheng gritted his teeth. "No matter what, I still lost. The others will definitely laugh at me when they get back."

"No, they won’t." The woman’s eyes still held a look of shock. "You’ll understand when you see this."

Ye Xiaoshuang immediately took the documents and began to look them over.

"Last year’s rankings... First place: Wei Ran from Peach Blossom Peak. He entered the Grand Tournament for the First, Second, and Third Courtyards as a representative of the Fourth Courtyard, placing third overall. In that same year, he obtained the Third Skill, the Glazed Skill?"

As Ye Xiaoshuang read the rankings aloud, the others were stunned.

They all had the same question in their minds.

’Who is Wei Ran?’

"Isn’t Meng Xiaoxiao number one? I’ve never heard of this Wei Ran," a male disciple asked.

"He obtained the Glazed Skill last year, so this year... is he still at Foundation Establishment?" a female disciple asked.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

’So, Wei Ran has already reached Core Formation?’

Ye Xiaoshuang didn’t dwell on it and continued reading.

Two years ago, Wei Ran from the Fifth Courtyard was still number one.

Only after him came Meng Xiaoxiao and the others.

No changes, and no mention of anyone named Jiang Man.

This confused Ye Xiaoshuang.

She looked further back again. Three years ago, there was a change.

"The Grand Tournament rankings from three years ago... First place: Jiang Man of Cloud Mist Peak. He entered the Grand Tournament for the First, Second, and Third Courtyards as a representative of the Seventh Courtyard, placing eighth overall. In that same year, he obtained the Third Skill, the Glazed Skill. Then, in December of that year, he triggered a celestial phenomenon, successfully achieved Core Formation, and became the first person in the entire history of the Wuyun Sect to accomplish this?"

Even just reading it aloud, Ye Xiaoshuang’s voice trembled with shock.

She never imagined she would read something like this.

Li Changcheng was completely frozen on the spot.

’So he challenged the true number one of the Outer Sect just by picking someone at random?’

’A Golden Core from three years ago?’

Ye Xiaoshuang instantly understood the meaning behind Mr. Yan’s smile. She also understood why he said that if Jiang Man lost, it would mean Cloud Mist Peak was simply inferior.

’A Golden Core expert from the Sixth Courtyard? So why did we come to provoke them? Did we feel like we hadn’t been humiliated enough?’

Soon, the others returned.

None of them looked happy.

Seeing the returned disciples, Li Changcheng, who had been feeling defeated, suddenly found his frustration vanishing.

His fear of being looked down upon was also gone.

Now, it was his turn to look down on the others.

He had lost, yes, but he’d lost to a Golden Core expert. And it had been a narrow defeat at that.

’But were the Wuyun Sect’s Third Courtyard disciples really that strong? They didn’t even have a sliver of a chance.’

「Late that night.」

Ye Xiaoshuang recalled the situation at Cloud Mist Peak, her brow furrowing slightly.

She then wrote a letter.

「The next day.」

A group of people using Sword Control to fly over the Endless Mountain Range received the letter.

The man in the lead read the contents of the letter, a hint of surprise on his face. "An Outer Sect Golden Core? Interesting."

He then looked to the person beside him and asked, "Are we still short one person for the Golden Core District competition this time?"

"Yes, but it’s a throwaway spot. We haven’t been able to confirm anyone," the person beside him replied with a nod.

"Send a targeted invitation to Jiang Man of Cloud Mist Peak, Wuyun Sect." The man paused before continuing, "He’s probably poor. Add a bonus of twenty thousand Spiritual Source."

"What’s the deal with this person?" the aide asked, confused.

The man put away the letter and smiled. "He bullied someone from our Sect, so we’ll take this chance to teach him a small lesson. Let him suffer a bit.

"He does have some skill, though. Make the move early, before the Wuyun Sect gets to him first.

"When he realizes he had a better option, his mind will surely grow restless with regret.

"Let’s see if he can remain as composed as he is now."

The person beside him nodded and quickly drafted the letter.

He then sent the message out.

A targeted invitation for Jiang Man, sent with the utmost speed.

————

The exchange was scheduled to last for many days, but Jiang Man only went twice. Once he confirmed that no one else was going to challenge him, he returned to his Cultivation.

He needed to advance to the Late Stage of Golden Core as fast as possible.

「Early January.」

The Cultivation Gourd was eighty percent full.

「Mid-January.」

After he finished all the Elixirs, the Cultivation Gourd was finally full.

Afterward, Jiang Man spent another forty thousand to buy twenty Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills.

This time, he put everything else aside. He didn’t even look at the items inside his Storage Treasure.

Instead, he focused completely on his breakthrough.

One by one, the Elixirs went down.

One day, two days.

Jiang Man spent the time accumulating power and aligning his body’s meridians.

After nine days, his power reached its peak, and his meridians were completely clear.

On the tenth day, he began the breakthrough.

The breakthrough process involved bringing his power and Physical Body into resonance, nourishing his meridians to accommodate the new strength.

Jiang Man didn’t dare to slack off in the slightest. The mental toll was enormous; if his Spirit hadn’t already reached the Mid-stage, he would never have been able to endure.

However, because his Spirit had not been condensed using a Top-grade Cultivation Method, he was struggling somewhat.

The days passed, one by one.

The trial for his Physical Body and Spirit was immense.

On the fifteenth day, cold sweat beaded on Jiang Man’s forehead. The reinforcement and expansion of his meridians were becoming unbearable.

「The seventeenth day.」

The order of the power within his body fell into chaos.

「The eighteenth day.」

The last day of January.

The moment the chaos was about to spread, it suddenly vanished.

In the afternoon, his power began to subside.

By evening, the aura of his power had disappeared.

Late that night, his power erupted, infusing his every move with immense pressure.

Even a single step caused cracks to appear on the ground.

Because of this, Jiang Man had to stop moving.

He began to absorb the power with all his might.

After daybreak, Jiang Man slowly opened his eyes.

A sharp light glinted in his eyes. He turned to look at the Old Yellow Ox grazing on grass and said, "Xiaohuang."

The Old Yellow Ox didn’t respond, continuing to eat.

"Xiaohuang, how many days has it been since the Unparalleled Fate Chart started chasing me?" Jiang Man asked.

Without raising its head, the Old Yellow Ox replied, "Seven hundred and twenty-seven days."

Hearing this, Jiang Man smiled. "I see. Even after evolving, it’s still one hundred and seventy-three days behind me. So much for the ’Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart’."

The Old Yellow Ox raised its eyebrows and looked at Jiang Man. "You still haven’t unlocked the Third Layer of the box."

"That’s not hard. Three days at most," Jiang Man said. He paused, then asked, "Has anything happened recently?"

"There are two letters for you," said the Old Yellow Ox.

Both were delivered by Chang Qiweng.

Jiang Man marveled at the fact that a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him was still delivering letters in the Outer Sect.

’He really does a lot of odd jobs.’

A normal Foundation Establishment cultivator could just buy a Spirit Sword and deliver letters in the Inner Sect.

But they’d also have to buy the Sword Control Technique.

If you wanted to deliver large items, you’d have to buy the Giant Swordsmanship.

And if you wanted to transport Spirit Beasts or people, you’d need the Wind-Collecting Technique, too.

Jiang Man then opened the letters.

The first was a mission assigned by the Sect.

The Inner Sect was interested in the grand tournament, and the team from the Celestial Water Sect had sent a targeted invitation.

They wanted to invite him to compete in the Golden Core District, offering twenty thousand Spiritual Source.

"This has the stink of a conspiracy." Jiang Man put the letter away with a sigh.

"What conspiracy?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

"The Celestial Water Sect is inviting me to their tournament? People always look out for their own. Would they really be that generous to an outsider?"

"Couldn’t it be that they see potential in you?"

"I have a patron, and a pretty powerful one at that. If it were such a good opportunity, I would’ve been in long ago."

"So are you going?"

"Of course I’m going. It’s twenty thousand Spiritual Source! But I’ll have to ask Senior Sister Yu first."

Then, Jiang Man opened the second letter.

It was from the Law Enforcement Hall.

It said that the Law Enforcement Hall had recently received another report, following the same old pattern.

But this time, the person reported was Jiang Man of Cloud Mist Peak.

The Law Enforcement Hall’s message was clear: next time he made a move, he should tone down his Divine Techniques. There was no need to serve himself up on a silver platter.

Also, for safety’s sake, once he finished his Cultivation, he should come and stay in the Law Enforcement Hall for a couple of days.

Jiang Man was speechless.

’I went overboard.’

"Old Huang, I have to go stay at the Law Enforcement Hall for a few days," Jiang Man said, looking at the Old Yellow Ox.

"I’ll go too," the Old Yellow Ox offered.

"No need. I can go and suffer alone," Jiang Man immediately refused.

He quickly explained the situation.

He felt it was time to start dealing with this person. If they kept reporting him, it would be a huge hassle to get hauled in every now and then.

But first, he had to cultivate the Evil God’s Technique.

"Before that, you need to go see your wife," the Old Yellow Ox said.

Jiang Man was baffled. "Old Huang, why are you so invested in this?"

The Old Yellow Ox said calmly, "Your wife’s Maid has come to invite you three times. All three times, you were in the middle of Cultivation."

Jiang Man was speechless.