The End of the Immortal Path

The Old Yellow Ox glanced at the Spirit Grass.

"What about tomorrow, and the day after?" the Tengu asked again.

"When you finish eating all the Spirit Grass in the courtyard..." The Old Yellow Ox was cut off by the Tengu before he could finish.

The Tengu asked excitedly, "We can eat delicious food then?"

The Old Yellow Ox was silent for a moment. "Then you can starve."

—

Jiang Man made his way to the First Courtyard. Yan Yiqiu already knew the news of his release from confinement today.

So, she had specifically delayed the start of her lecture to wait for Jiang Man’s arrival.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Jiang Man appeared at the door.

Seeing that everyone was present, Jiang Man was rather curious. "Why is everyone here today?"

"It’s the last day in the Outer Sect, so of course everyone is here," Yan Yiqiu said.

As Jiang Man walked in, he subconsciously pulled out his small notebook, just waiting for An Rong and Cao Cheng to speak.

The two of them saw Jiang Man holding his notebook and staring at them, and they instantly felt offended.

Seeing they had no desire to speak, Jiang Man could only sit down in his seat dejectedly.

Once he was seated, Mr. Yan began to speak. "Tomorrow is the grand tournament for the First, Second, and Third Courtyards. This is your best chance. Those of you who can participate must give it your all."

"Don’t think you’ll have another chance later."

"If you miss this opportunity, you won’t get another one this good again."

"You might never be able to enter the Inner Sect in your entire life."

"You have an advantage, but that advantage will diminish year by year."

"This year is the year of your greatest advantage."

"You absolutely must not let your guard down."

After saying this, Mr. Yan turned to Zhuo Bufan and the others. "You will also be entering the Inner Sect in September. Your courtyard has already been decided. It may be a bit special, and the competition will be countless times fiercer than in the Outer Sect."

"This isn’t the kind of competition you can overcome just by pulling all-nighters."

"You need to be clear on this point and understand what kind of difficult environment you’ll be facing."

"When the time comes, there will be no one there to help you."

When she finished, she fixed her gaze on Jiang Man. "Jiang Man, your situation is the most unique. You should understand what kind of predicament you will face after entering the Inner Sect."

"Sometimes, when you encounter a strong enemy, you must avoid a direct confrontation when necessary."

If this were the past, Jiang Man would have definitely replied, ’I’ll avoid their spearhead,’ but times had changed.

The people coming this time were not his peers.

He had no choice but to avoid them.

Mr. Yan went on to give many more instructions, and no one refuted her.

After she had said her piece, she looked at everyone below and sighed. "For nine years, I have witnessed all of your hard work. But after you leave this place, a wider sky awaits you."

"In the future, it will be almost impossible to gather together like this again."

"But there’s no need to be too sad."

"We are all in the same Sect."

"It’s not like with the Yunqian Bureau, where leaving today might be the last time you see each other."

After a long pause, Yan Yiqiu looked at the crowd and said, "I won’t say any more. You still have to prepare for tomorrow’s grand tournament. Go back and get ready."

"Leaving through this door doesn’t mean a path has closed for you; rather, it’s so you can knock on a new one."

"Of course, when you look back on these nine years in the future, they will certainly have been an interesting nine years."

After that, Mr. Yan dismissed everyone.

Zhao Yaoyao looked at Mr. Yan, reluctant to leave. "Mr. Yan, when will we be able to receive your guidance again?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Yan’s expression soured, and she left.

Seeing this, Zhao Yaoyao was taken aback.

’What’s wrong?’

Wei Beichuan kindly reminded her, "Mr. Yan has been promoted."

Zhao Yaoyao was confused.

"Mr. Yan was exceptionally promoted to the Inner Sect as an assistant instructor. She’ll be in charge of us," Wei Beichuan said.

Zhao Yaoyao was stunned for a moment, not having expected that at all.

It was the first time she’d heard that a Golden Core cultivator could teach in the Inner Sect.

An Rong asked curiously, "How did Mr. Yan get in?"

"I heard she was forced," Lin Qingshan said.

Jiang Man hadn’t expected this either.

’Mr. Yan is also going to the Inner Sect? In that case, I can tell her about the Evil God. Then I can have her go to the Law Enforcement Hall. It’ll save me a trip.’

"How many people are in the Inner Sect courtyard?" Jiang Man asked.

"Right now, besides you, there are eight of us in our courtyard. Three more are joining, so that will make twelve in total," Zhuo Bufan said.

Jiang Man was a bit surprised. "Three more people are joining our courtyard?"

Zhuo Bufan nodded. "Wei Ran and Wang Yan from Peach Blossom Peak, and Fang Yong from the Second Courtyard of Cloud Mist Peak."

Jiang Man was rather astonished. ’They’re all coming to my courtyard. After all this, Young Master Fang actually caught up.’ He was the first one from their old group to keep pace with him. ’Young Master Fang really is something else. He still hasn’t given me my cut from reporting me. I wonder when he’ll come looking for me.’

While chatting idly with Zhuo Bufan, they received some news.

"It seems other people have been assigned to our courtyard," Zhao Yaoyao said.

The others asked curiously, "Who?"

"Ji Meng and Xiaoqing," Zhao Yaoyao said.

Everyone was puzzled. ’Who are they?’

Then, Zhao Yaoyao received another message.

"Three more are coming."

"Ji Shoumo, Ji Linglong, and Ji Chenfeng."

Everyone was shocked. ’They’re all named Ji? What’s going on?’

Before long, Zhao Yaoyao received yet another message.

"More are coming. Bai Qiufeng, Bai Ming, and Bai Long."

This time, they were all named Bai.

For a moment, everyone was baffled.

They couldn’t understand the situation.

"You all need to be careful," Jiang Man kindly reminded them.

"Careful of what?" Cao Cheng asked curiously.

"Yeah, aren’t we all Golden Cores? Who’s afraid of who?" An Rong chimed in.

Jiang Man offered a kind warning, "They might not be Golden Cores. It’s highly likely those six are at least at the Late Stage of Primordial Spirit."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

’What Cultivation level? Are the Inner Sect courtyards this chaotic?’

—

「A Bustling Metropolis.」

Tantai Xue walked down the street, feeling rather emotional. "Senior, do you think this information is credible?"

"Ji Hao?" Tantai Xiaotian’s voice echoed in Tantai Xue’s mind.

Tantai Xue nodded.

She had already given up hope on the subordinates of the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit.

’Can’t collect the Spiritual Source,’ ’the Spiritual Source collection is too slow.’ All sorts of nonsensical issues, every single one of them proved how useless they were.

A bunch of rabble, unable to collect even a million Spiritual Sources.

But the other party’s Messenger was, paradoxically, extremely powerful.

His methods were heaven-defying.

Even she had to give him a wide berth.

But she knew that urging them was pointless, so she had waited numbly.

However, there was an unexpected turn of events.

The other party actually felt she was sincere and told her the item’s location in advance.

At first, she thought it was just narrowed down to certain people.

However, they had confidently given her a name.

And they had used the Evil God’s methods to do so.

That is, they had informed them via the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit.

This person was Ji Hao of the Wuyun Sect.

"Senior, have you heard of this Ji Hao?" Tantai Xue asked.

"I haven’t really heard of him, but he should be from the Ji Family," Tantai Xiaotian said.

"Is the Ji Family very powerful?" Tantai Xue suddenly asked.

"Extremely powerful. The Ji Family has a long and storied lineage. Even before the age of the Immortal Sects, the Ji Family had its place, and they are no less formidable now. However, if it’s just someone with the Ji surname, it’s not that terrifying," Tantai Xiaotian said.

"The Ji Family has other surnames?" Tantai Xue asked curiously.

"They do, but very few people are allowed to change their surname," said Tantai Xiaotian.

"Then is this Ji Hao qualified?" Tantai Xue asked.

"It’s hard to say, as I know nothing about him. But the Ji Family’s power base isn’t in the Wuyun Sect, so the information from the other party has some credibility," said Tantai Xiaotian.

"I have a question. Can the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit itself locate who has the item?" Tantai Xue asked.

"No, the time hasn’t come yet," said Tantai Xiaotian.

Hearing this, Tantai Xue said, "Then it must be news from the Ling Hua Envoy. Who on earth is he, to be so well-informed? I think we should investigate him. Among the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit’s subordinates, it seems quite a few know their Messenger’s true identity."

"First, go to the Wuyun Sect and make contact with this Ji Hao. As long as I get close to him, I’ll be able to determine if he has the item," Tantai Xiaotian said.

Tantai Xue nodded. "Alright. As it happens, I have a legitimate reason to enter. As long as I don’t have to interact with the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit’s subordinates, I feel like the world hasn’t changed."

Her interactions with the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit’s subordinates these past few years had made her question her sanity.

————

A recommendation for a friend’s new book: *Immortal Cultivation and Eternal Life: Starting as a Talisman Making Apprentice*.