The End of the Immortal Path

"You’ve realized it now, but it’s too late."

Qiu Xu stared silently at the person before him, momentarily at a loss for words.

He didn’t know how to respond.

Just then, the notes of a flute began to drift through the air.

It was like a cage, attempting to encircle Jiang Man and lock down his Heart Spirit.

The person in hiding had made their move.

Jiang Man looked at the man before him and said, "This Magic Skill is actually useless against me. Don’t any of you do your research?"

As he spoke, Jiang Man activated Wandering Dragon and vanished on the spot.

A moment later, a roar echoed from the sky.

The sound of the flute vanished, and a figure plummeted from the sky.

BANG.

Yin Qin crashed heavily in front of Qiu Xu, coughing up a mouthful of blood that splattered near his feet.

Jiang Man landed before them again.

For a moment, Qiu Xu was silent.

’I’m a bit stronger than Yin Qin, sure, but there’s no way I could defeat her in a single blow.’

’But Jiang Man was just fighting me on even terms a moment ago. How could he severely injure Yin Qin in just one strike?’

’He couldn’t have improved this much in such a short time, could he?’

Jiang Man glanced at the sky. "Are you two busy with anything?"

The two of them fell silent.

After dark, they joined the beam-smashing team.

Only then did they discover that everyone here had been captured to smash the beam.

But why was Jiang Man so strong?

"He’s just an old codger. You’re a little stupid, but don’t lose heart," Shen Yao said.

"A couple of idiots. Can’t you tell what his power level is?" Nangong He remarked. "Unbelievably foolish."

Hearing this, Qiu Xu asked with great curiosity, "If you’re so clever, how did you end up trapped here?"

As his voice fell, they were silent for a while.

Shen Yao said scornfully, "A worthless Student Cultivator from some backwater Sect."

"A stray cultivator from some underdeveloped region," Nangong He sneered.

Qiu Xu chuckled. "How did a prodigy of an Immortal Sect become a prisoner? Can’t even defeat a mere ’stray cultivator’ from a Sect?"

Shen Yao, enraged, drew her sword to attack.

Zhou Qing held her back. "Calm down, just let it go."

Nangong He shot a cold glare at the person beside him.

The woman beside him also tried to placate him. "Calm down."

Only then did the two of them back down.

Because Jiang Man’s eyes were fixed on them.

The True Martial Skill on his body was flickering.

Seeing them start to smash the beam, Jiang Man stopped paying attention.

’What a pity.’

’Fighting these people is actually pretty interesting. It’d be great for improving my practical combat experience.’

’Body Cultivators really are impressive.’

Afterward, Jiang Man continued to take Elixirs to raise his Cultivation.

「On the thirteenth day in the Secret Realm.」

His Cultivation had filled thirty percent of the fourth Gourd.

Meanwhile, the light beam was still at sixty or seventy percent. The progress was truly touching.

「On the twenty-first day in the Secret Realm.」

His Cultivation had filled fifty percent of the fourth Gourd.

The beam’s progress was still at sixty percent.

Shen Yao and the others watched Jiang Man cultivate relentlessly. Resting during the day made them feel restless and uncomfortable.

They felt compelled to cultivate along with him.

The same went for Qiu Xu and his group.

The people around them were cultivating. If they didn’t cultivate, it was as if they were being left behind.

Not improving was falling behind.

Instantly, everyone cultivated during the day and smashed the beam at night.

Ling Dang suddenly asked, "Does this count as us pulling an all-nighter to cultivate?"

Everyone was silent.

They pulled all-nighters to smash the beam and cultivated during the day.

’We’re working around the clock... that doesn’t count as pulling an all-nighter to cultivate, does it?’

Jiang Man ignored them, waiting for others to arrive.

When ordinary people arrived and saw such a large group, they had all retreated early on.

They could tell something was wrong.

Now, Jiang Man was waiting for people from the Ji Family.

Unfortunately, he waited until the fortieth day.

But they never came.

Now, he was just one day away from his Cultivation being completely full.

Feeling the power in his body, Jiang Man felt he was invincible.

He glanced over at Qiu Xu and the others.

His eyes were full of fighting spirit.

They all instantly turned their heads away, avoiding his gaze.

"What a beast," Shen Yao muttered. "He forced us to cultivate, and now that his divine skill has reached Great Success, he wants to beat us up."

Qiu Xu was quite curious. "What do you mean, Great Success in a divine skill?"

"You still don’t know?" Nangong He interjected. "You really are clueless. His Hundred Rivers Series has reached Great Success, and his Cultivation must be at complete Perfection now. Back when you first ran into him, he was already basically the strongest person below the Primordial Spirit realm."

"Now, everyone in this entire area combined probably couldn’t beat him. They couldn’t even wear him down."

’Jiang Man is that strong?’ Qiu Xu was shocked.

"Then why do you call him an old codger?" Yin Qin asked.

"Why? Because he’s old, of course. Who can achieve Great Success in the Hundred Rivers Series without being seventy or eighty?" Shen Yao said.

Hearing this, Qiu Xu and his group fell silent.

’Jiang Man is seventy or eighty?’

’Going by the date, November tenth...’

’Isn’t Jiang Man not even twenty-seven?’

The moment they had this thought, terror washed over them.

’Twenty-six years old and invincible in the Golden Core realm?’

’Hasn’t he only reached Golden Core four or five years ago?’

The two of them started to speak, but then stopped themselves. In the end, they gave up on the idea.

’Let them think what they want. It’ll be fun to watch them suffer for their ignorance.’

「The next day.」

Before nightfall, Jiang Man had completely filled the fourth Gourd.

With this, his Cultivation was completely full.

His Physical Body and Spirit were still lacking, but he could make do by supplementing them with a Primordial Spirit Pill.

At this point, only the final ten percent of the beam remained.

It would still take those people a good while to break it.

But this time, Jiang Man participated.

「An incense stick’s time later.」

BOOM!

A powerful force shattered the light beam, and Jiang Man stepped inside.

The others wanted to compete for it, but the psychological trauma left by the "invincible Golden Core" was too great. They didn’t dare make a move.

Only Monk Zhen Kong and Ling Dang followed him in.

Seeing the two of them go in, Shen Yao said angrily, "I can’t stand these lucky Student Cultivators. They clearly don’t deserve what’s inside, but just because they latched onto some old codger, they get to take things that should never have been theirs."

"What if it were you?" Nangong He asked.

"Then I’d permit you to hate me," Shen Yao said magnanimously.

Jiang Man smoothly obtained the Elixir, a book, and an envelope.

After that, he just needed to find a chance to use the Token and then search for a place to ascend.

After getting the items, Jiang Man looked at the others. "You’ve all worked hard."

"It was no trouble," Nangong He smiled. "So, can we go find our own opportunities now?"

Jiang Man nodded. "Of course. Next time you need someone beaten up, you can contact me. I’ll give you a thirty percent discount."

They said nothing and left quickly.

From the distance, Shen Yao’s voice drifted back. "You just wait! Once I advance to the Primordial Spirit realm, I’ll make you cry!"

Jiang Man unhurriedly took out a small notebook and jotted down her transgression.

Then he looked at Monk Zhen Kong, who remained. "What are your plans?"

"We’ll follow your lead," Monk Zhen Kong said.

Jiang Man’s strength was truly outrageous. It was their first time tasting the pleasure of completely crushing others.

Every Golden Core cultivator they met had to take a wide berth around Jiang Man.

Jiang Man thought for a moment. "I need to leave for a while."

Hearing this, the two were a bit shocked.

’Leave?’

’To where?’

————

「In a quaint courtyard.」

After deliberating for over a month, Ji Wuye had finally made up his mind.

He decided to find Qing Dai and tell her his bold idea.

He had to see if he could get Miss Qing Dai’s approval.

If he could, then he could meet the Young Miss.

If not...

He would just have to pretend it never happened.

After contacting Miss Qing Dai, he waited quietly.

The Bai Family had been growing more and more outrageous lately, and he truly did not want to confront them.

As long as the Young Miss had the upper hand on their Ancestor, then there was nothing to worry about.

The problem now was that the Young Miss was prone to anger over the fact that the other party had gone out.

And when the Young Miss got angry, things became very dangerous.

As he was lost in thought, Qing Dai snuck out.

She seemed to be doing it behind the Young Miss’s back.

"Grand Elder, over here," Miss Qing Dai whispered.

Seeing this, Ji Wuye also whispered, "Miss Qing Dai, what is it?"

"The Young Miss has been in a bad mood lately, so it’s best to be careful. Here, this is for you." Saying this, she gave him another box of tea leaves.

Looking at the name on the box, Ji Wuye’s heart pounded. "This... isn’t this a bit much?"

"Otherwise, how could we be on the same side?" Qing Dai waited until they were a bit further away before speaking in a normal voice. "Did something happen outside?"

"Yes, a lot has happened. It can now be confirmed that the Bai Family Ancestor has gone outside," Ji Wuye said.

Hearing this, Qing Dai was perplexed. "How did he get out? How could the Immortal Sect agree to let someone on the list leave?"

"I heard he performed a great service. The Immortal Sect deliberated for a long time and finally allowed his clone to go out for fifty years," Ji Wuye said.

————