The End of the Immortal Path

Jiang Man nodded.

"Then there should be a reward. It should arrive in the next few days," Ren Qian said.

Afterward, Jiang Man bid farewell to Ren Qian and flew back on his sword with the Old Yellow Ox.

After more than half a year, he could finally go home.

It had indeed been a trying time.

On the way, Jiang Man asked Old Huang, "They said you can talk now?"

"Mhm." Old Huang glanced back, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

"Stop looking. We can’t go back," Jiang Man said.

"The food in there was pretty good," said Old Huang.

"Is food more important than freedom? I paid a fortune to bail you out," Jiang Man said earnestly.

The Old Yellow Ox fell silent for a moment. He habitually tried to lower his head to graze but realized he was on a flying sword and gave up.

Before long, Jiang Man and Old Huang returned to their courtyard.

He was surprised to find the courtyard in perfect condition, even though he hadn’t been back in over half a year.

’This is rather baffling.’

’I haven’t paid rent in over half a year. Shouldn’t the yard be plastered with collection notices?’

’They’d probably even charge interest.’

But there was nothing.

’And to think, not long ago, I was branded an Evil Demon that everyone wanted to hunt down.’

Then, Jiang Man found a letter.

It was from Chang Qiweng.

Inside was just a single sentence: "I paid your rent three times for a total of eighteen thousand nine hundred Spiritual Source—pay me back as soon as you return, I’m about to start eating dirt."

’Old Chang is a true friend!’ Jiang Man thought with emotion.

The Old Yellow Ox, meanwhile, went back to eating grass.

The Spirit Grass had grown much more lush.

"Old Huang, aren’t you going to tell me what happened?" Jiang Man asked, tucking the letter away.

’Once I get the full story, I need to find Xiaopang and the others and pay back the Spiritual Source.’

’I might be low on Spiritual Source, but I have plenty of Elixirs.’

’I can afford it.’

’Though, I should still have a good amount of Spiritual Source from my investments.’

’It’s just that some of them were canceled.’

’I’ll just have to see how much I can collect when the time comes.’

Old Huang briefly explained the general situation.

Basically, Meng Qiewei had shown up and attacked him, causing some injuries. Then he was ambushed by chance, and ended up going to "enjoy a comfortable life."

Jiang Man was silent for a long time after hearing this. Then he said, "I’m different from you. I can only be invincible everywhere I go. After entering the Immortal Mansion, while they fought, I focused on my Cultivation. While they were trying to be number one, I reached Great Success."

"Then I became invincible in the Secret Realm."

"I destroyed a Great Success Array single-handedly."

"It’s all so dull and boring."

The Old Yellow Ox kept his head down, eating grass.

Then, Jiang Man brought up Ting Fengyin.

"It seems you run into him every year." Old Huang was quiet for a moment before adding, "You’d better be careful not to let him see through you."

"Is that something my being careful can even help with?" Jiang Man asked.

Old Huang nodded. "That’s true. If you die, I’ll definitely run away immediately. I should be able to make it."

"As for revenge, that’s out of the question."

Jiang Man didn’t believe he would die. But if he really were to be killed by Ting Fengyin for colluding with the Evil God...

’Old Huang thinks he could escape?’

’Not a chance.’

’Ting Fengyin isn’t an idiot. He’d definitely confirm the situation before taking us both down in one fell swoop.’

Next, Jiang Man mentioned the matter of the Demon Lord.

"What kind of demon is the Demon Lord?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

"A very powerful demon. In the entire Demon Race, there are probably only a dozen or so who can be called a Demon Lord." Old Huang thought for a moment. "He was likely forced into this. Otherwise, why would he so brazenly cause trouble for himself?"

"His goal should be simple: to use the great order of the Immortal Sect to restore his own power."

"Just keep an eye on who improves their strength rapidly from now on."

Jiang Man still thought it was Zhao Tiankuo.

After that, he took out the painting he had obtained from the Immortal Mansion.

"Old Huang, can you make anything of this?"

"There’s a hidden space within this painting."

"How do I open it?"

"Try cutting it with your sword."

Without hesitation, Jiang Man sliced an opening in it.

Sure enough, the space was exposed, and then it vanished.

A simple, ancient-looking wooden box appeared before Jiang Man’s eyes.

Jiang Man looked at the Old Yellow Ox.

The ox examined it carefully before finally shaking his head. "I can’t tell anything from its design."

"Is it dangerous?" Jiang Man asked.

After confirming there was no danger, Jiang Man reached out and touched it.

’First, let’s see what the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books has to say.’

[An ancient box containing an ancient object.]