The End of the Immortal Path

Inner Sect.

Ji Meng’s residence.

Qing Dai poured Ji Meng a cup of water.

Nearby, Ji Meng wiped the Iron Sword, which was no longer covered in rust, a look of reminiscence in her eyes.

Qing Dai set down the kettle and couldn’t help but sigh. "How on earth did the Young Master do it? He even managed to find the sword from your childhood, Miss."

"He even found the Master’s sword."

"But I heard the Master’s sword was something special. Now that it’s broken, some of the things inside it are probably gone."

"Even so, the Young Master’s gifts were astounding."

"Didn’t you go and ask?" Ji Meng said, putting the sword away.

"The answer I got was: a fateful encounter, destined by fate, you are in me, and I am in you," Qing Dai said with a smile. "Profound Wisdom did a quick calculation and gave the answer—you and the Young Master are a match made in heaven."

"And you believed it?" Ji Meng asked, looking over.

Qing Dai nodded. "I think she’s a divine seer."

Ji Meng picked up her cup, not saying much more.

She simply asked what Jiang Man had been up to lately.

"Cultivation. The Young Master is either cultivating or on his way to cultivate," Qing Dai replied.

She had seen Jiang Man’s diligence with her own eyes.

But the more she saw, the sadder she felt inside.

She couldn’t be sure how long the Young Master could persevere.

His current Realm might not seem like much of a hurdle, but she understood how much more difficult it would become later on.

For so many years, no one in the Ji Family who possessed a Fate Chart had managed to escape the shadow of the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart.

"He’s the one who started this trend of pulling all-nighters to cultivate," Ji Meng said.

Hearing this, Qing Dai sighed wistfully.

She recalled how she and her miss had once discussed whether pulling all-nighters to cultivate counted as being a celestial pride.

And now, the very person pulling all-nighters to cultivate was the Young Master.

How unpredictable life was.

KNOCK KNOCK!

A knock sounded at the door.

Qing Dai immediately said, "That must be the Young Master. I’ll get the door."

Ji Meng shook her head. "I’ll go."

She stood up and walked toward the courtyard gate.

Her steps were light, lacking the poised grace of a highborn lady.

But they held the air of a young maiden.

This was how Ji Meng was supposed to be.

Qing Dai felt more and more that her miss was becoming Ji Meng again.

Of course, it was also possible that her miss was finally becoming herself.

After all, ever since she was a child, her miss had lived under the weight of countless gazes.

The bearer of the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart.

Her path was never going to be an easy one.

Whether from within the Ji Family or from the outside world, the voices and opinions had never ceased.

Later...

There was no later.

Everyone grew pale at the mere mention of the eldest miss.

CREAK!

The gate opened.

Jiang Man was a bit surprised to see who opened it. "Is it just Miss Ji Meng again today?"

"Xiaoqing is inside," Ji Meng said with a gentle smile. "I came to open the door for Young Master Jiang myself to thank you for the two gifts from last time."

Jiang Man immediately replied, "I loved Miss Ji Meng’s gift as well. It would have been even better if I didn’t have to pay Spiritual Source to borrow books."

Ji Meng laughed and stepped aside. "You really know how to push your luck."

Jiang Man strode inside, saying, "That’s because Miss Ji Meng is so easy to talk to."

"I refuse," Ji Meng said with a smile, leading the way. "If everything were free, where would Young Master Jiang find the motivation to return the books?"

"Wouldn’t I just be losing a pile of books for nothing?"

"But I can let you run a tab."

"Interest-free."

Jiang Man sighed in admiration. ’Miss Ji Meng really is a good person.’

Being able to run a tab was good enough.

Asking not to pay any Spiritual Source was pushing it a bit.

"Has Young Master Jiang finished cultivating?" Ji Meng asked curiously.

Jiang Man nodded. "I just broke through to the Late Stage of Golden Core. A little on the slow side, but I’ve mainly just been too busy."

’The Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart has been holding me back.’

’Otherwise, I would have reached the Late Stage long ago.’

’And I wouldn’t have had to endure Ting Fengyin’s mockery.’

’If I hadn’t broken through this time, I can’t imagine how badly he would have ridiculed me.’

"Slow?" Ji Meng asked.

"Slow. With my Talent, I should have reached the Late Stage last July," Jiang Man said.

Ting Fengyin was the one who said that, so it couldn’t be wrong.

Ji Meng nodded. "Young Master Jiang certainly is thick-skinned."

Jiang Man felt that Miss Ji Meng knew nothing about what it meant to be an Unparalleled Celestial Pride.

As they went inside, Qing Dai asked, "What would the Young Master like to eat?"

Jiang Man thought for a moment. "That yellow pastry from before."

Qing Dai tried to recall. "I remember the Young Master didn’t seem to care for it."

"Miss Ji Meng ate two of them. It’s the only pastry she’s ever gone back for a second helping of," Jiang Man said.

The moment the words left his mouth, Qing Dai felt the air become suffocating.

Because she hadn’t noticed.

With the limited ingredients she had, she couldn’t make the things her miss truly loved to eat.

She had to learn how to make new pastries every time.

Her miss’s expression had never once shown any sign of satisfaction.

But the Young Master had noticed that his miss had eaten a second one—the only time she ever had.

For a moment, she felt there were clear reasons why the Young Master was able to marry her miss.

After sitting down, Jiang Man took out a small box. "This is for Miss Ji Meng."

Ji Meng had been a little lost in thought, but she quickly composed herself.

She took the box, asking curiously, "What is this?"

"A Little Bell," Jiang Man said.

Ji Meng opened it and found it was indeed an ordinary small bell. She shook it, and a crisp, pleasant, and even somewhat ethereal sound rang out.

"I just finished cultivating and came over in a hurry, so I just picked one that sounded nice," Jiang Man said.

In truth, he had wanted to see if Ji Meng was wearing a new bell. If she was, he wouldn’t have given her one.

Since she wasn’t, he did.

"I’ll have Xiaoqing put it on for me later," Ji Meng said with a smile.

Jiang Man nodded and then began to ask about the application of Arrays.

Ji Meng began to explain.

"An Array is a fixed framework, but the contents of that same framework can be completely different. For example, even if there is only one road, there can be many ways to reach it." As she spoke, Ji Meng began to demonstrate.

She set a result and then began to deduce the process.