The End of the Immortal Path

Jiang Man headed straight for the junction, making few stops along the way.

He didn’t know the situation there, and now he was trapped inside too.

Should the people from the Sun and Moon Immortal Path succeed, he wasn’t certain he could escape.

He had already tried the Token. It couldn’t be used again.

In other words, if the Immeasurable Calamity was taken, he would most likely perish here as well.

’To die with such regret, despite being an Unparalleled Celestial Pride...’

’It would be such a waste.’

It seemed that no matter how dazzling an Unparalleled Celestial Pride was, they still needed the opportunity to grow.

The peak Cultivators here weren’t necessarily all Unparalleled Celestial Prides in their youth.

Monk Zhen Kong and Ling Dang were a little surprised. They felt Jiang Man was in a bit of a hurry.

He had even stopped looking for trees.

When they arrived at the junction, they saw four large gates.

They were inscribed with different ages.

Jiang Man saw some people waiting for others from their teams.

Others had already gone through the gates.

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

’Few people, and no chaos whatsoever.’

’This means the people from the Sun and Moon Immortal Path haven’t succeeded yet.’

Additionally, he saw some familiar faces.

Shen Yao and Zhou Qing.

’They’re here, which means the rock hasn’t been found yet.’

’There’s still time.’

’But this also means this big rock isn’t easy to find.’

’Moreover, they had been tricked into coming here to search for treasure. The one who really knows what was going on is probably Shangguan Yang of the Wuyun Sect.’

He didn’t know this person.

Neither did Monk Zhen Kong or Ling Dang.

He had asked them on the way what they knew about the Wuyun Sect.

They knew very little about the members who had come inside.

"Well, look who it is. I was just getting worried you wouldn’t show, old-timer," Shen Yao said, a little surprised to see Jiang Man at first, but she quickly broke into a smile.

Jiang Man took out his notebook and continued to write. ’Shen Yao called me an old-timer. A serious offense. Adding another strike.’

"Go on, write it down. You think I’m scared of that? As long as you don’t punch me, you can write whatever you want," Shen Yao retorted without hesitation.

Jiang Man couldn’t tell if she was being bold or just a coward.

’She’s afraid I’ll hit her, yet she won’t shut up.’

Then he put his pen to paper again. ’Zhou Qing didn’t stop her friend from insulting me. One strike.’

Zhou Qing, who had been standing in the back the whole time, was stunned for a moment. "No one told me I was supposed to stop her."

"I’m telling you now," Jiang Man reminded her helpfully.

’She has a knack for putting herself in danger. Just giving her a single strike is letting her off easy.’

Zhou Qing fumed, but that was it.

Shen Yao taunted, "You’re only cocky now. Wait until our people get here, then you’ll be the one shutting up!

"And you think you’re so strong?

"You’re just relying on the advantage of your age.

"See that gate over there?"

As she spoke, she pointed to the gate for those under thirty years old.

"What about that gate?" Jiang Man asked, puzzled.

"Having a high Cultivation level and being a powerful fighter under the age of thirty—*that’s* a true genius. What’s so special about an eighty-year-old Golden Core like you who can fight? Does being a good fighter automatically make you a prodigy? Anyone can be a good fighter by eighty! It’s being powerful *under thirty* that makes someone a prodigy," Shen Yao declared proudly. "Only someone who can stand there and trigger that gate is a talent people would actively avoid.

"I’ll beat you eventually."

Jiang Man looked at the ’under thirty’ gate, asking with genuine curiosity, "So if I get this gate’s approval, that makes me a prodigy?"

"What do you think?" Shen Yao sneered at Jiang Man. "Besides, that person is about to arrive. Do you have any idea how prestigious it is to enter the Immortal Sect’s grand competition while under thirty?"

"So if I were to go up there and get its approval, what would that prove?" Jiang Man asked.

"It would prove you’re shameless for even daring to think about it," Shen Yao scoffed. "What, are you actually going to claim you’re a twenty-something who reached Golden Core Perfection and is unrivaled in that realm?"

Jiang Man shook his head. "No, that’s not it."

"Oh, so you admit it? I really thought you were about to... Hey, what are you doing?" Shen Yao broke off mid-sentence, surprised to see Jiang Man walking toward the ’under thirty’ gate.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Man stepped right up to the gate.

At this moment, a beam of light from the gate fell on Jiang Man. The gate then began to spin like a vortex, slowly opening.

Shen Yao and Zhou Qing’s pupils shrank at the sight. It was as if a giant hand had reached into their minds, seized their perception of reality, and crushed it to dust.

Shen Yao reflexively took a step back.

She then grabbed Zhou Qing and hurried through the ’under forty’ gate, muttering, "Oh my god, I’m seeing things."

’Under thirty, Golden Core Perfection, and the Hundred Rivers Series at the Great Success stage.’

’What kind of monster is that terrifying?’

’Appearing in broad daylight, no less.’

After passing through the gate, they found themselves before a large, stone-strewn mountain. Only then did their Heart Spirits begin to calm.

"That was terrifying. I must have been hallucinating, even in broad daylight," Shen Yao said, patting her chest.

Zhou Qing also wiped the cold sweat from her brow. "Senior Sister, how many times did he write us down?"

"I don’t know. We’ll just take the long way around from now on. We should be fine," Shen Yao said.

’He went to the ’under thirty’ area; it’s a different place from ours.’

’So it shouldn’t be a big deal.’

But just as she began to truly relax, a voice suddenly spoke up from behind them. "It was five strikes in total. Three for Shen Yao, two for Zhou Qing."

Hearing the voice, both of them nearly jumped out of their skin.

They quickly turned to see Jiang Man and his companions, who had appeared behind them at some point without them noticing.

Shen Yao grew wary. "What do you want? Let me tell you, it’s shameful for a genius to bully ordinary people! As a genius, you should act like one and not stoop to the level of nobodies like us.

"Back when I was considered a genius, I never bothered with people like this either."

Zhou Qing rummaged for a moment before holding out fifty thousand Spiritual Source. "Please accept our apology."

Seeing this, Jiang Man blinked in surprise. "A true prodigy."

With that, Jiang Man accepted the Spiritual Source. He then casually took out his notebook and crossed out five strikes.

’Ten thousand per strike.’

’Perfect.’

Shen Yao was stunned speechless to see him actually take the Spiritual Source.