The End of the Immortal Path

Jiang Man looked at the empty tabletop and said, "Anything is fine."

Ji Meng didn’t pour Jiang Man any water. Instead, she took out a plate of pastries and said, "Will this do?"

Jiang Man smiled. "It will."

Ji Meng asked curiously, "Has Young Master Jiang not eaten in a long time?"

"Indeed. Engaging in Magical Combat with an Evil God recently hasn’t been easy," Jiang Man said while eating a pastry.

He then recounted the general gist of what had happened.

However, he omitted anything related to Ting Fengyin.

He focused on the strange personality of the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit.

"I was actually hoping she would resist. That way, I could make her understand she had no way out, and then she’d help me suppress the Immortal Dao Coordinate," Jiang Man said.

Ji Meng, eating a pastry, said, "This Evil God is indeed rather pathetic. That should make it easier to get her to help with the suppression."

After that, she had Jiang Man take out the Immortal Dao Coordinate.

Ji Meng spent a long time drawing on the Immortal Dao Coordinate.

Jiang Man could tell it was an Array.

"I need a bit of her aura," Ji Meng said.

Jiang Man took out the Token.

This was the Messenger Token; of course it would have her aura.

Ji Meng placed the two items together, then began drawing something on the tabletop.

"Can you understand what I’m doing?" Ji Meng suddenly asked.

Hearing this, Jiang Man pulled his gaze away from her slender, fair fingers and shook his head. "I can’t."

"Not at all?" Ji Meng looked up in surprise.

"Not at all," Jiang Man confirmed with a nod.

Ji Meng glanced at Jiang Man, then back at her Array, and asked, "What was Young Master Jiang looking at just now?"

"I believe there are differences in how Array Patterns are drawn. The more breathtaking the person, the more eye-catching the Array Patterns they create. Miss Ji Meng’s Array Patterns are just like that," Jiang Man said earnestly.

Ji Meng was taken aback for a moment. "And Young Master Jiang’s Array Patterns?"

"World-weaving," Jiang Man said.

Ji Meng smiled. "Doesn’t Young Master Jiang know the meaning of humility?"

Jiang Man didn’t answer. It wasn’t that he wasn’t humble, just that he didn’t want the title of ’Celestial Pride’ to go to waste.

’There are so many humble people in the world; one less won’t matter.’

’But Unparalleled Celestial Prides are few and far between. I can’t let the title down.’

’Still, such words are too blunt to say to Miss Ji Meng.’

——

"So you have the nerve to say it to me?" After listening to Jiang Man, the grass-chewing Old Yellow Ox fell silent for a long time before finally speaking.

Jiang Man had returned at dusk. As soon as he got back, he found Old Yellow Ox and told him about his visit to Ji Meng.

The conversation then turned to how he couldn’t let down the title of "Unparalleled Celestial Pride."

Jiang Man took out the Immortal Dao Coordinate and said, "My wife already fixed it for me. She said that as long as I have the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit suppress it, it will prevent her from leaking any information."

"Her Array is outstanding," Old Yellow Ox said, looking at the Immortal Dao Coordinate.

"I was originally planning to ask my wife for some pointers on Arrays, but unfortunately, her Maid returned," Jiang Man said regretfully.

"Did her return interrupt you two?" Old Yellow Ox asked.

"Not really. It just reminded me of what you said, Old Huang—that my time is running out," Jiang Man said casually.

Then, he sat down cross-legged, preparing to seek out the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit.

Everything was more or less ready. It was time to put an end to this matter.

Then he would focus on his Cultivation and complete this trial.

The backlash from the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart was truly extraordinary; time was far too tight.

Activating the Evil God’s Technique, Jiang Man once again arrived in the dilapidated temple.

The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit, hiding on another layer, immediately sensed his arrival but had no intention of going out.

Not until Jiang Man’s voice drifted in: "Are you coming out, or am I coming in?"

The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit had no choice but to appear in the dilapidated temple.

She looked up at Jiang Man and said, "You’ve come seeking my help this time? Do you want to know about the Immortal Dao Coordinate?"

Jiang Man looked at the short child before him and asked curiously, "Why are you so small?"

"Because I’m a Soul Cultivator," the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit said casually. "I died when I was very young, but by a stroke of luck, I received an opportunity and was able to practice Cultivation. Then, relying on my own perseverance and Talent, I finally achieved something."

"In the end, I overcame all the demons of my Heart Spirit and became an Immortal Spirit."

"When my Physical Body reformed, it ended up looking like this."

She spoke of it so lightly, but Jiang Man was surprised.

’She had an accident when she was that young?’

"In our era, situations like this were common—many times more so than now. It’s nothing strange," the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit said, unfazed.

Jiang Man asked more about her past, but she couldn’t remember any of it.

No longer dwelling on it, Jiang Man began to ask about the Immortal Dao Coordinate.

"The Immortal Dao Coordinate belongs to the Great Evil God. Only the Great Evil God is qualified to possess it." The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit scrutinized Jiang Man before shaking her head. "For someone like you, just getting a glimpse of it from afar is a rare opportunity. Don’t hope for anything more."

"However, the Great Evil God will seek me out sooner or later. If you want to get a closer look, it’s not impossible if you beg me."

Jiang Man paid her words no mind and instead asked, "Does the Great Evil God look for you every time the Immortal Dao Coordinate appears?"

"Yes, he looks for me every time. Only I know its precise location," the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit said confidently. "Whoever finds me first and gets my help will seize the initiative."

"Of course, this is only after the Immortal Dao Coordinate has emerged."

"From the looks of it, the Immortal Dao Coordinate should have emerged by now, but only just."

"Many people don’t even know about it yet."

Jiang Man nodded. "So it seems Lord Immortal Spirit can recognize the Immortal Dao Coordinate at a glance?"

Hearing this, the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit scoffed, "But of course. I’ve seen more Immortal Dao Coordinates than you’ve seen Evil Gods."

Jiang Man continued to look at her and said, "Then if an Immortal Dao Coordinate were to appear before Lord Immortal Spirit, I presume you could determine if it’s real or fake?"

The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit raised her head and nodded confidently.

As if no one was more of an expert than her.

Seeing this, Jiang Man asked if she wanted to try and escape, warning her that if she missed this chance, there wouldn’t be another.

The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit scoffed, "You definitely won’t let me escape. And from the looks of it, you also want to see the Immortal Dao Coordinate. You’re just trying to crush any hope I have of escaping, aren’t you?"

Jiang Man smiled. "If that’s what you think, so be it. Let me tell you my purpose. The reason I went to such lengths to restrain you is because I need you to hold on to something for me."

"What thing?" the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit asked curiously. "Don’t you want to see the Immortal Dao—"

Before she could finish, Jiang Man tossed a die into her hands.

The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit, having been cut off, was about to get angry when she stared at the object in her hands, stunned. "The Immortal Dao Coordinate?"

She didn’t seem to process it, remaining silent for a long moment before looking up at Jiang Man in terror. Her hands, clutching the Immortal Dao Coordinate, were trembling. "Th-th-this is the Immortal Dao Coordinate?"

"Aren’t you the expert, Lord Immortal Spirit?" Jiang Man smiled. "Can’t you tell if it’s real or fake?"

Feeling the runes on the die, the flowing tracks of starlight, the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit plopped onto the ground and stared at Jiang Man in horror. "You... how did you get this?"

"I just happened to pick it up," Jiang Man said with a gentle smile. "Feel it, then help me suppress this thing. From the moment you held it, you lost your chance to escape."

At that moment, Jiang Man could see that Ji Meng’s methods were already taking effect on her, beginning to bind her.

It was also transmitting the suppression technique to her.

Seeing that she was still in a daze, Jiang Man didn’t linger. He returned to prepare to advance his Cultivation.

「A long time later.」

The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit finally came to her senses.

She looked at the Immortal Dao Coordinate in her hands, finding it hard to think, but she felt a sense of inexplicable danger.

Not daring to hesitate, she immediately hid inside the statue.

Terrified that someone would find her.

This situation seemed completely different from before.

To ease her Heart Spirit, she immediately summoned Chen Shi.

"Lord Immortal Spirit, you were looking for me?" Chen Shi asked cautiously.

After a long silence, a voice finally came from the statue. "Don’t call me Immortal Spirit anymore. Call your Messenger that instead. He’s the real Evil God."

’Not just an Evil God, but the Great Evil God.’

’Everything she’d said before had been correct.’

’The one who obtains the Immortal Dao Coordinate has always been the Great Evil God.’

’And now that the Immortal Dao Coordinate is in Jiang Man’s hands, there’s no doubt: he is the Great Evil God.’

———

「Zhenyue Hall.」

True Master Tai Hua looked at the slip of paper and sighed. "There’s been no response at all. It seems finding the person who left this note is the first trial."

"So, who could it be?"