The End of the Immortal Path

Immediately after, the torrential rain abruptly stopped, and streaks of light began to appear, entering the space.

Jiang Man could tell at a glance that these lights were related to the Evil God.

Although he didn’t understand what was going on, it was almost certain that the Evil God had made its move.

However, the lights were remarkably restrained, remaining high in the sky with no sign of descending.

He didn’t know why.

This meant that they were relatively safe down below.

「Three days later.」

Fissures once again split open in the sky. This time, a multitude of figures appeared, their powerful auras blanketing the area below.

’This group must be from the Immortal Sects.’

Some of them carved out a battlefield and began to engage the Evil God above, while the rest started searching for people and objects.

’It won’t be long before they find me,’ Jiang Man thought.

"What’s going on?" Monk Zhen Kong and Ling Dang were taken aback.

They looked toward Jiang Man.

Jiang Man said calmly, "The people from the Immortal Sects are here. It looks like our tournament is coming to an end."

’I just hope whoever finds me isn’t too reckless,’ he thought. ’I have less than a month left. If I leave the Array, it will probably speed up again. The people from the Immortal Sects are incredibly fast. I can’t hide here for long.’

’Ting Fengyin arrived too late.’

’If he could, he’d still prefer to make contact with Ting Fengyin.’

’After all, despite his madness, he’s undeniably strong.’

"What a shame."

Jiang Man sighed.

The instant the words left his mouth, the sound of flowing water suddenly emerged.

Immediately after, an ethereal voice rang in his mind: "What’s a shame?"

Shocked, Jiang Man turned to look around.

Just as he expected, a river was rapidly approaching from the distance, a path forming over the Array beneath his feet.

Without daring to hesitate, Jiang Man picked up the irregular stone beside him and strode toward the path.

He had always walked before, but now he ran toward the place with the stele.

Soon, Jiang Man saw a new tree, laden with small fruit.

Ting Fengyin was standing by the tree, eating a handful of the fruit.

He looked surprised to see Jiang Man. "What’s the hurry?"

As he spoke, he gave Jiang Man a second glance, then simply continued to stare at him while munching on the fruit.

"Senior, I’ve come to present a treasure." Without hesitating, Jiang Man offered up the irregular stone.

Ting Fengyin looked at the stone and, while still eating his fruit, asked, "Do you have any idea what this is?"

"It must be something famous," Jiang Man said with a straight face. "An item like this is only suitable for an Unparalleled Celestial Pride with a Body of Heaven and Earth, like you, Senior."

Ting Fengyin said calmly, "I heard you’re an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, too. Are you giving this to me because it’s not a good match for you?"

Feeling the resonance from the stone, Jiang Man said, "This is too much for me to handle."

Ting Fengyin shook his head. After finishing his fruit, he reached out and took the irregular stone.

The once-irregular stone then transformed into a perfect cube.

In that instant, Jiang Man felt the insidious corruption vanish.

"That’s it?" he asked.

"What were you expecting?" Ting Fengyin squeezed it lightly, channeling his power into the Immeasurable Calamity Stone.

The next moment, Jiang Man felt something being drawn out of his body.

It was then absorbed into the Immeasurable Calamity Stone.

"I’ve got it under control, but it has already begun to fuse with you. Sealing it now won’t be easy." Ting Fengyin looked at Jiang Man with curiosity. "You’ve handled an Immortal Dao Coordinate, so you should know how easy it is to get entangled. Why did you touch this one?"

"If you hadn’t touched it, this would have been much easier to handle. Or you could have had someone else touch it."

Jiang Man fell silent. ’I guess I thought not everything was like an Immortal Dao Coordinate,’ he thought to himself.

But he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

He just asked if the object could be handed over to the Immortal Sects.

"You could, but there’s another option: you can keep it." Ting Fengyin tossed the Immeasurable Calamity Stone to Jiang Man. "You touched this thing, and as an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, you’ve caught its interest. Now, it only wants to fuse with you."

"If you hand it over to the Immortal Sects and they ever slip up, it will come find you and fuse with you."

"But if you keep it, you can come to me every year to reinforce the seal. Then, if one day you suffer some great injustice in this world..."

"...you can fuse with it directly and enact your revenge."

"What happens after the fusion?" Jiang Man asked curiously, taking the Immeasurable Calamity Stone.

"This is no ordinary Immeasurable Calamity. If a small fry like you were to fuse with it, both your body and soul would be annihilated." Ting Fengyin paused to think. "However, once you become a Great Success Body of Heaven and Earth Unparalleled Celestial Pride like me, you won’t have to worry."

"I’ll be able to fuse with it then?" Jiang Man asked.

"You won’t have to suffer injustice," Ting Fengyin replied.

Jiang Man fell silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Then, a curious thought struck him. "If I were to fuse with this thing, could you handle it, Senior?"

"I couldn’t," Ting Fengyin said, shaking his head. "In the short term, it couldn’t do anything to me, and I couldn’t do anything to it. There is an upside, though."

"Namely, I could use it to draw out all the Evil Gods and then wipe them out, leaving none behind."

"Then, I could team up with it to hunt down and kill every last person on the list."

"It would probably be faster than I originally planned."

"Of course, the side effects would be a little worse than when all those people ganged up on me before."

"Every living creature would have to die once."

’So you’re the only one who wouldn’t die, is that it?’ Jiang Man thought.

"Actually, I’d probably have to die too. The side effects are a little significant. But this thing would also be destroyed, so at least I could avenge all of you," Ting Fengyin said after a moment’s thought.

"Senior, do you think it’s safer to give it to the Immortal Sects, or for it to remain in my hands?" Jiang Man asked.

"Of course it’s safer with the Immortal Sects. You’re so young and already a Primordial Spirit Cultivator; you’re bound to encounter more issues in the future. Your Cultivation progress isn’t particularly fast, and you’re not what I’d call diligent, but you’re a real troublemaker. Who could possibly stir up more trouble than you? Getting your hands on an Immortal Dao Coordinate and an Immeasurable Calamity Stone at such a young age... I’ve truly never seen anyone like you. It’s bound to cause problems sooner or later if it stays with you." Ting Fengyin looked at Jiang Man, plucking another fruit. "But I recommend you keep it."

"Why?" Jiang Man asked.

"As an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, what sense does it make to place your fate in the hands of others?" Ting Fengyin said, looking at Jiang Man. "Besides, if you do stir up trouble, you’ve still got me, don’t you? The worst that can happen is a few side effects."

Jiang Man fell silent. He felt that Ting Fengyin’s mood was rather unstable.

’But no matter how you looked at it, he couldn’t possibly keep something like this.’

"Actually, any item can be a good thing if used well," Ting Fengyin said, sitting down to the side. "The Immeasurable Calamity Stone is not without its uses."

Jiang Man got the message. Ting Fengyin clearly wanted him to keep the Immeasurable Calamity Stone.

"But people will be able to guess how I obtained it. Once the Zhenyue Bureau investigates, it will be exposed," Jiang Man said.

"Simple. Isn’t Tai Hua at the Wuyun Sect?" Ting Fengyin said, leaning against the tree and looking at Jiang Man. "You turn the item in, and I’ll have Tai Hua give it to Zui Fusheng."

"At worst, Tai Hua will just know the item is in Zui Fusheng’s hands."

Hearing this, Jiang Man sighed. It seemed he really would have to keep it.

But he had a nagging doubt. How would he get it from Tai Hua?

’If we were to meet face-to-face, I’d definitely be discovered.’

Ting Fengyin casually placed a rune on the Immeasurable Calamity Stone.

Then, he placed a matching rune on Jiang Man’s hand.

Once that was done, he tossed the Immeasurable Calamity Stone into the water.

"Try it," he said, looking at Jiang Man.

Jiang Man focused on the rune on his hand and then made a grasping motion.

The dripping Immeasurable Calamity Stone appeared in his hand.

"I’ve concealed this little trick, so Tai Hua won’t notice it. When you get the signal, just retrieve it directly," Ting Fengyin explained.

Jiang Man felt a wave of resignation. He was really stuck with it now.

"Senior, are you aware of what’s going on here?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

"I’m not. This is hardly a big enough deal to notify me," Ting Fengyin said, shaking his head. "Besides, these are just the remnants of an Evil God. If the Immortal Sects needed my help for this, they would have been wiped out long ago."

Jiang Man asked curiously, "So, are you going to take action, Senior?"

"There are some powers of the Evil God worth paying attention to. If I find them, I’ll act. If not, forget it. They’ll surface eventually." Ting Fengyin said nonchalantly. He paused, then continued, "You don’t need to pay it any mind, either. It’s not something a Primordial Spirit Cultivator needs to worry about."

"Your mission right now is to kill Meng Qiewei and the Bai Family Ancestor and send them back."

"Every day they remain out there is another day of misery for me."

"I can’t even enjoy my meals."

————