The End of the Immortal Path

"What a mess. He’s always stirring up trouble."

As he spoke, he looked at Mo Zainian. "Pill Master Mo should understand this better than anyone."

Mo Zainian chuckled. "He certainly is a troublemaker. After offending the Peak Master, I bet Pill Master He hasn’t had it easy lately."

The other Pill Masters smiled awkwardly.

He Huai’an owed his success to Jiang Man, but also his current troubles.

Jiang Man’s fame put Pill Master He a cut above the rest, but offending the Peak Master also made him a cut below.

Though the impact wasn’t huge, it was still unpleasant.

He Huai’an had already weathered the Peak Master’s targeted pressure.

Naturally, he no longer cared.

After exchanging a few taunts with Mo Zainian, the two parted on bad terms.

Jiang Man’s future held immense potential. If he agreed to join Celestial Essence Peak, Mo Zainian would miss a golden opportunity to have his own status skyrocket.

Pill Master He might be struggling now, but as long as Jiang Man made the right choice, his future prospects would be beyond anything the others could imagine.

And even if Jiang Man chose poorly, the worst of the fallout was already over.

Mo Zainian didn’t dwell on it as he left.

’At least for now, my choice was the right one. He’s being targeted by the Peak Master, so his future isn’t necessarily bright.’

’And by not taking him on, I haven’t suffered any real losses.’

’At most, it’s just a missed opportunity to earn more.’

***

"Not earning what you could have is a loss. Mo Zainian is just deluding himself," He Huai’an said with a chuckle to the Pill Child beside him. "I wonder how many times he’ll have to regret this before he finally forgets."

The Pill Child nodded and said, "Pill Master, you should still keep a lower profile. After all, Jiang Man is being targeted, and you just barely weathered the fallout. You can’t let your guard down."

He Huai’an replied nonchalantly, "Don’t worry. A genius like Jiang Man is a very busy person; he doesn’t have time to visit me. He’ll only come looking when he needs Elixirs."

"And I mostly produce Foundation Establishment Level Elixirs. As someone at the Golden Core level, he has little use for me."

"I can refine Golden Core Level elixirs, mind you, but my success rate isn’t high enough. Otherwise, I’d be doing Alchemy in the Inner Sect."

But just as the smiling He Huai’an reached his Alchemy Courtyard, he suddenly froze.

A familiar yet unfamiliar figure was standing there.

He seemed to be waiting for someone.

He was holding a jug of wine.

The moment he saw the man, He Huai’an realized what was happening.

He immediately stopped the Pill Child from speaking.

He began to back away silently.

’A Golden Core disciple, coming to see me with wine in hand.’

’He’s here to clean me out, no doubt about it.’

’This is going to be the death of me.’

But he had only taken a few steps back when Jiang Man turned and looked over.

For an instant, their eyes met.

He Huai’an sighed to himself. ’It’s over.’

「In the room.」

He Huai’an held the jug of wine, silent for a long time. For a moment, he didn’t dare to drink it.

"Aren’t you going to drink, Master?" Jiang Man asked.

He Huai’an set the wine down. "What kind of wine is this?"

"Try it and you’ll know," Jiang Man said with a smile.

Looking at Jiang Man, He Huai’an said warily, "Let me tell you, I don’t make Golden Core Level Elixirs. The losses are too great."

"I’m not asking you to." Jiang Man shook his head and continued, "And I don’t need any of your Elixirs, Master."

"You don’t want Elixirs?" He Huai’an asked cautiously. "Really?"

Jiang Man nodded. "Really."

He Huai’an didn’t think Jiang Man was lying. Besides, he’d brought the wine all this way; it wouldn’t be right not to at least try it.

He picked up the jug and said to Jiang Man, "Well then, shall I give it a try?"

Jiang Man nodded, encouraging him to try it.

At that, He Huai’an opened it and took a sip.

As the sweet nectar went down, he froze.

’It’s over. He really is here to be the death of me.’

’This wine...’

’It’s incredibly hard to buy, even if you have the money.’

’From the Zhuo Family’s private collection.’

He slumped back in his seat, dejected, and continued to drink.

He just wanted to drink himself into a stupor.

"Master, I have some good news," Jiang Man said, looking at He Huai’an. "I was wondering, do you know the Nine-Nine Alchemy Technique?"

Hearing this, Pill Master He sounded surprised. "Why do you ask? That Alchemy Skill is very simple. As long as you’re willing to learn, you can master it quickly."

Jiang Man nodded, then said, "In that case, Master, can you get into the Treasure Pavilion? There’s a Pill Furnace there with an Alchemy Dao inheritance, but it can only be triggered by using the Nine-Nine Pill Skill inside."

"Others probably don’t know about this. I went out of my way to find this information as a gift for you, Master."

"Is that true?" He Huai’an asked.

Jiang Man stated with certainty, "It’s true."

He Huai’an stared at Jiang Man for a long time before speaking with an air of resignation. "Alright, just say it. How much are you planning to squeeze out of me?"

Jiang Man was secretly delighted. ’So Master does have the goods.’ He considered for a moment before saying, "Master, you know I’m a bit short on Spiritual Source, and my Cultivation has hit a bottleneck."

"I’m short sixty Elixirs."

"Sixty?" He Huai’an took a deep breath. "What kind of Elixirs?"

"For the Visualization Skill," Jiang Man replied.

He Huai’an thought for a moment. "Flawless Chao Yuan Dingshen Pills? At twenty-three hundred a piece? So, one hundred and forty thousand?"

’That’s manageable,’ he thought. ’Not too big of a loss.’

’Never mind the inheritance; the wine alone makes up for a good portion of it.’

’I can afford it if I just bite the bullet.’

Even though he was a Pill Master, his expenses were high.

And he needed to advance his own Cultivation, which was even more costly.

Seeing He Huai’an’s look of relief, Jiang Man couldn’t help but say, "It’s not the Flawless Chao Yuan Dingshen Pill."

"Not the Flawless Chao Yuan Dingshen Pill? Then what is it?" He Huai’an asked.

Even Jiang Man felt this was asking a bit much, but he said it anyway, "The Spirit Refining Pill."

"The Spirit Refining Pill?" He Huai’an paused, stunned. Then he asked, "Not for Golden Core, but for Primordial Spirit?"

Jiang Man nodded. "For Primordial Spirit."

"So that’s three hundred and sixty thousand?" He Huai’an asked.

Jiang Man immediately shook his head. "I can get a fifteen-percent discount, so it’s three hundred and ten thousand."

"Saving me fifty thousand, are you?" He Huai’an said with a hollow laugh.

But the hand holding the wine jug was trembling slightly.

’He’s treating me like a walking bag of Spiritual Source!’

’Besides, who buys sixty Spirit Refining Pills all at once?’

’Can you even handle all of them?’

But a moment later, a realization struck He Huai’an. "You’re not at the Golden Core level?"

"Have you sensed my radiance as an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, Master?" Jiang Man asked.

’That’s not what I’m asking!’ He Huai’an looked at Jiang Man in utter shock.

’Primordial Spirit... in the Outer Sect?’

’What an unfamiliar and exclusive combination of words.’

He recalled how he had once doubted this very person could even take first place in their little courtyard.

In the end, with tears in his eyes, He Huai’an really did give him the three hundred and ten thousand Spiritual Source.

"Are you entering the Inner Sect, Master?" Jiang Man asked before he left.

He Huai’an smiled and replied with firm resolve, "I am not."

In truth, he wasn’t qualified to teach Alchemy in the Inner Sect.

He couldn’t teach them; many disciples there already surpassed his own attainments in the Alchemy Dao.

After that, Jiang Man left.

He Huai’an drank his wine, silent for a long while, before muttering, "Just how much is Mo Zainian going to regret this in the future?"

Not long after, the Pill Child came in. "Pill Master, Fang Yong is here with a jug of wine. He’s kowtowing with every step, saying he’s here to thank you for your guidance, which allowed him to successfully achieve Core Formation."

He Huai’an’s legs were trembling. "These people really don’t want me to live, do they?"

「That afternoon.」

Fang Yong left the Alchemy Courtyard.

He made his way toward Wei Ran’s residence.

Soon, Wang Yan opened the door and led him inside.

"Senior Brother Wei seems troubled lately," Wang Yan sighed. "He must have divined something."

"Something that even Senior Brother Wei is helpless to solve?" Fang Yong was surprised.

In his mind, Wei Ran had always been calm and composed, a man who seemed unfazed by anything.

His was a confidence born of strength and strategic mastery.

This was the first time he’d ever heard of Wei Ran being troubled.

Soon, Fang Yong saw Wei Ran sitting on the floor, staring blankly at an Array.

Only after a long moment did he snap out of it.

Only then did he notice Fang Yong. "Junior Brother Fang, how long have you been here?"

"I just arrived," Fang Yong said immediately.

"You succeeded in your Core Formation?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"Yes." Fang Yong nodded.

"And your person succeeded in her Foundation Establishment as well?"

"Yes, she was quite lucky."

Hearing this, Wei Ran nodded. "You’ll be entering the Inner Sect in a few months. Are you planning to take her with you?"

Fang Yong paused. "It’s best to leave her in the Outer Sect for now."

Wei Ran didn’t seem to care, nor did he need to make any special arrangements for this.

"You can get in touch with the people from Cloud Mist Peak now and join their courtyard. Also, think carefully about whether you want to join. Once you do, you’ll face more than just being targeted," Wei Ran said with a hint of resignation. "The situation is more complicated than we anticipated, but you should be able to adapt."

"Also, before you go in, there’s one thing you need to do."

"What is it?" Fang Yong asked.

"Report Jiang Man and his shop. The reason: colluding with an Evil God to make an exorbitant profit," Wei Ran stated.

***

Meanwhile, Elder Bai, who was in charge of disciples entering the Inner Sect, had received some news.

It was information he had specifically ordered people to look into, mainly concerning Jiang Man and anything related to him.

Then, he could launch his attack and move quickly.

’So there’s a problem with the shop’s inventory? Buying massive quantities of materials but never selling anything. Looks like he’s doing something in the shadows.’

’Even if it’s not certain, it’s enough. I can make a move and test the waters.’

’Let’s see just why this Jiang Man is getting so much attention.’

Of course, he was also worried about what he might actually uncover.

But uncovering something was precisely the point.

If he didn’t do it, plenty of others were waiting to take his place.