The End of the Immortal Path

The Sword Tomb.

Swords were embedded everywhere, a dazzling and diverse collection.

It seemed that any one of them, chosen at random, was extraordinary and would surely fetch a high price if sold.

The area was guarded by a large number of powerful experts, every one of them at Foundation Establishment.

The one in charge was even at the Middle Stage of Golden Core.

The auras of these experts radiated outward; as long as one’s Cultivation was high enough, one could sense the situation.

As for their combat prowess, Jiang Man couldn’t be sure.

But it was somewhat similar to the Demon Race he had encountered before.

’In that case, among those of the Same Tier, they are the weakest. It’s not impossible for them to fight above their tier, either.’

However, when Jiang Man touched a sword and tried to pull it out, he was unexpectedly unable to do so.

It seemed he needed to absorb enough power before a sword could be drawn.

’No wonder they said you could try pulling out a sword in your spare time, and if you succeeded, it was yours.’

Jiang Man was currently sitting off to the side, resting.

There were three or four others near him.

A bit farther away, another group of five or six people was gathered.

Everyone was resting, seeming to wait until they were recovered enough to continue trying to pull out swords.

No one was in good shape; they all looked like they were being forced.

’In that case, if those three fail, I’m afraid they’ll have to pull swords here too. So the Lingyue Sect’s purpose is just to have swords pulled?’ Jiang Man was skeptical.

But he wasn’t too concerned. For now, he didn’t seem to be in any danger, so he could stay and keep feeling them out.

If they hadn’t called for a rest, he would have wanted to keep at it.

"Hey, were you captured and brought in here too?" a young man asked curiously as he approached Jiang Man. "They even capture people with Qi Refining Cultivation?"

Jiang Man looked at the man, who seemed to have a Foundation Establishment Cultivation. "You were captured and brought here?"

"Yeah. I was just wandering around outside when I got nabbed. Then I was sold to this place to pull swords. Any sword I pull out belongs to them. They said they’ll let me go after I pull out ten of them," the young man said, his face haggard.

"Will they really let you go?" Jiang Man asked, curious.

"I don’t know. But some people have indeed been sent away. In theory, anyone with a bit of strength would come back for revenge, but I haven’t seen a single one yet," the young man said.

After a pause, he said, "My name is Lin Fei. What about you?"

"Ah Niu," Jiang Man replied.

"A name like that’s good for survival," Lin Fei commented, then asked, "Do you know what this place is?"

"You don’t?" Jiang Man asked back.

"Of course not. Like I said, I was just wandering around when I was captured and sold here. How would I know what this place is?" Lin Fei said.

’The Lingyue Sect’s business is quite extensive; they’re even in the business of buying and selling Cultivators.’

"The Lingyue Sect," Jiang Man said.

The words had barely left his mouth when Lin Fei raised his hand and shouted, "Steward, I’m reporting him for revealing the Sect’s name!"

Some of the people nearby looked at Jiang Man with expressions of pity.

Jiang Man: "..."

’What happened to the trust between people?’

Just then, the Golden Core Cultivator from before walked over. He looked at Jiang Man and said, "I forgot to tell you, you’re not allowed to mention the Sect’s name here, or you’ll be punished. Since I didn’t remind you, I’ll let it slide this time."

Then he looked at Lin Fei and said, "You get extra food tonight."

And with that, he left.

Lin Fei looked at Jiang Man in surprise. "Why didn’t you get in trouble?"

"Because I’m a Sect Disciple here to complete a mission." Jiang Man paused, then added, "I’ve decided to work hard so I can get a job watching over you."

Lin Fei: "..."

Jiang Man paid him no mind and asked, "Are all the people here sold into this?"

Lin Fei shook his head. "Some were caught trespassing, and some were undercover agents who were discovered. Anyway, there are a lot of them. People like you are actually in the minority."

Jiang Man nodded, then asked if the others also had to pull out ten swords to be able to leave.

Lin Fei leaned back. "I heard some have to pull twenty. Who knows when that’ll ever happen. They’ll probably be stuck here their whole lives without pulling a single one."

Jiang Man looked toward the peaks of the Sword Sect, quite curious. ’Is it really that hard to pull out a single sword?’

Lin Fei chuckled, his eyes narrowing. "Hard? Five years for one sword is considered fast. I’ve been locked up for twenty years."

"Even if you are a Sect Disciple, it won’t be easy for you to leave."

"This is a secret location, after all."

Jiang Man wasn’t concerned. "It should be pretty easy for me to leave. I’m quite strong, and my Talent is good. I’m just a bit poor."

Lin Fei opened one eye to look at Jiang Man. "You’re at Qi Refining, so of course you have a high opinion of yourself. You don’t get it. The weaker a person is, the more they’re like that."

"Once you reach Foundation Establishment like me, you’ll understand just how laughable your arrogance is."

Jiang Man just smiled and didn’t explain.

「A short while later.」

The rest period ended, and everyone entered the Sword Tomb once again.

Jiang Man took the lead, spotting a beetle at a glance.

After striking it down with the Six Harmonies Palm, he touched the Spirit Sword.

[Worthless]

Then he picked another one that looked impressive.

[A piece of trash]

[An eyesore]

[Not even worthy of being scrap iron]

Jiang Man continued to kill beetles while touching swords.

But they were all either trash or unworthy.

There was no Sword Intent to speak of.

Jiang Man spent the whole afternoon touching swords and killing beetles.

His Spirit felt a bit drained from touching so many.

He turned in his task and asked if he could read for a while.

He had books on him—Sect Cultivation Skills.

This was so he could openly take out the Thirty-Six Books of Ascension.

The Steward looked at the fifty or so beetles, then gave Jiang Man a rather surprised look. "That’s quite a haul."

"There’ll be more tomorrow. Today was just my first day," Jiang Man said. "My greatest strength is my diligence, but my Talent is also very high."

Hearing this, the Steward chuckled. "You’re quite good at selling yourself. What do you want?"

"I’d like my own quarters," Jiang Man said.

"Not possible for now." The Steward shook his head.

"Then can I have some Spirit Stones?" Jiang Man asked.

The Steward nodded. "You will be provided with the standard resources. They will be distributed as usual next month."

After a pause, the Steward asked curiously, "Not going to try pulling a sword?"