The End of the Immortal Path

Five days.

Ten days.

Lin Fei asked Jiang Man if the heat had died down and if he could finally stop reading.

Jiang Man shook his head, saying it was still too soon.

Fifteen days.

Lin Fei asked Jiang Man again if the heat had died down.

Jiang Man still just shook his head.

Twenty days.

Lin Fei had stopped asking. He knew the answer would just be another shake of the head.

He was certain Jiang Man was deliberately hiding here to prevent others from taking revenge.

’All this talk about getting stronger is just an excuse,’ he thought. ’The man’s just too scared to try pulling the sword anymore.’

Their friendship was only based on idle chatter, so he had no intention of insulting the man. What if he pushed him too hard, and Jiang Man actually went to pull the sword and got himself killed?

’Who would I have to talk to then?’

’The guy was arrogant and full of hot air, but I have to admit, talking with him is interesting.’

’In all these years, I’ve never seen someone so optimistic and self-assured.’

’I just hope he can keep it up for a while longer. It’d be boring if he ended up like me.’

’Like a pool of stagnant water.’

As he was lost in thought, he suddenly saw Jiang Man getting up beside him.

Lin Fei sat up, confused. "What are you doing?"

"Time to get to work," Jiang Man said.

It was the first of July, and he had just finished his twentieth book.

Coincidentally, that was just enough to influence the Array here.

That would be enough.

’I need to hurry up and pull out that sword.’

’Besides, I need to handle all the remaining swords.’

’I’ve been so focused on making progress with the books lately that I haven’t spent much time handling the swords.’

"You’re stronger now? Strong enough to face retaliation from a Golden Core?" Lin Fei asked, getting to his feet in confusion.

Jiang Man gave him a mysterious smile. "What do you think?"

"I think you’ve lost your mind," Lin Fei said flatly.

Jiang Man paid him no mind. Instead, he began walking around to various spots, leaving behind his Array Patterns.

When he was almost done, he began handling the swords.

He should be able to finish handling all of them in the next two or three days.

Afterward, he began pulling the sword. Unlike the others who used brute force, he was sensing the tug-of-war between the sword and the power beneath it.

He couldn’t just yank it out. Instead, he had to use his own power to strike a balance with the force pulling from below, and then gently ease the sword upward.

Sure enough, he managed to pull the sword out a fraction. But the force below quickly changed, breaking the equilibrium and forcing him to re-establish it.

"Definitely not easy," he murmured.

By now, it was getting late. The others began to head back to rest, but Jiang Man had no intention of leaving.

He continued trying to pull the sword.

Late that night, the sword moved another fraction of an inch.

’At this rate,’ he calculated, ’I can get the sword out in ten days.’

Jiang Man found it puzzling. Why had it taken so many Golden Core cultivators so long to pull out a single sword?

For three consecutive days.

During this time, Jiang Man also finished handling all the swords. To his surprise, however, he couldn’t find the source of the Sword Intent.

’That’s odd...’

’It isn’t here... or is it deeper inside the Sword Tomb?’

Jiang Man sighed. If he hadn’t found Meng Qiewei’s sword, he would’ve felt like this was all a waste of time.

But even after handling every sword, he had a nagging feeling there was something he had missed.

He didn’t dwell on it, however, and returned to pulling the sword.

One day, as Jiang Man was working on the sword, Lin Fei came rushing over.

"Stop pulling!" he urged. "The people who are after you are here. I overheard them!"

Jiang Man looked at him. "I’ve finished my reading."

Lin Fei was confused. "And so?"

Jiang Man smiled faintly. "It means I’m now confident in everything I do."

Lin Fei fell silent. ’Are you serious?’

But before he could try to persuade him further, two people appeared in front of Jiang Man.

They didn’t attack immediately. Instead, they stared at the sword before Jiang Man and said, "We’re pulling this sword. Scram."

Lin Fei tugged on Jiang Man’s arm. "Let’s go."

He figured they could still get away if they left now. They could just avoid the trouble for a bit, and everything would be fine.

Jiang Man, however, stood his ground and looked at the pair. "Wuyun Sect spies? Are you here to get revenge for the first one?"

The woman said coldly, "I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we’ve taken an interest in this sword. You can leave now. If you don’t, then don’t blame us for getting rough."

"Snatching a Spirit Sword isn’t against the rules here, you know."

"Well, that’s good," Jiang Man said after a moment’s consideration. "So, you’re trying to take my sword? How much of your full strength can you even use right now?"

"Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. Is that enough to deal with you?" the woman sneered, stepping forward as a Magic Skill coalesced in her hand. "Let’s see what makes you so brave."

In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of Jiang Man.

The instant her palm descended, Jiang Man swung his hand.

A loud SMACK echoed.

Jiang Man’s hand had landed on her face an instant before hers could connect.

Her face twisted, and teeth flew from her mouth.

Then, with a loud THUD, her head hit the ground, dragging her body down with it.

In a single instant, the woman was defeated.

The skinny man was stunned. By the time he thought to do something, Jiang Man’s hand was already on his shoulder.

The man opened his mouth, but then a crushing pressure, as if from an endless mountain, bore down on his entire body.

THUD.

His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

Only then did Jiang Man withdraw his hand. "Now," he asked, "do you still want to take my sword?"

Neither of the two could speak a word.

Only Lin Fei stood there, his mouth wide open as he stared at Jiang Man in horror.

He stammered, "You... you really are..."

"An Unparalleled Celestial Pride?" Jiang Man finished for him.

Lin Fei composed himself. "Then why do you dare to stay up all night to practice your Cultivation? Do you know the consequences?"

"What consequences?" Jiang Man asked.

"Haven’t you noticed? Everyone here rests at night," Lin Fei said.

"And that’s why you’re all prisoners," Jiang Man stated.

Lin Fei: "..."

’Well, I’ve been insulted,’ he thought, ’but at least I’m not the only one.’

Jiang Man paid him no mind, returning to the Iron Sword to continue his work.

Lin Fei glanced around. "You suddenly revealed such a high level of Cultivation. Someone’s bound to find out. The Steward and the others will be here soon."

"Yes, I know," Jiang Man said nonchalantly.