The End of the Immortal Path

"I believe my Talent is extraordinary, so I need to find a sword that’s truly worthy of me. I haven’t seen one yet," Jiang Man said frankly.

The Steward looked at Jiang Man and remarked with a sigh, "I’ve been here for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve met someone as confident as you—and bold enough to say it out loud.

"Aren’t you afraid of being ridiculed?"

Jiang Man shook his head.

He said nothing more.

He was simply stating a fact.

Besides, being timid would only be more dangerous.

He was certain that because of those three people, someone was definitely watching him.

They might even suspect he was also an undercover agent.

Now that he saw a glimmer of hope of touching the Divine Object, he naturally couldn’t give up.

After that, the Steward told him to go back to his books and keep working hard.

Returning to his previous spot, Jiang Man took out his books. He then retrieved the Thirty-Six Books of Ascension from his Storage Treasure and began to study them.

As a Middle Stage of Golden Core cultivator, his Spiritual Ability was no weaker than anyone else’s here.

He should be able to sense anyone who got close or tried to spy on him.

Jiang Man continued reading late into the night.

Lin Fei returned and lay down beside him, saying, "You’re a Sect Disciple. Shouldn’t you be resting?"

"I’m studying hard," Jiang Man said casually.

Hearing this, Lin Fei started laughing. "You had me fooled this morning. I didn’t realize you have no prospects or future at all."

"A shortsighted view," Jiang Man said, shaking his head and saying no more.

Lin Fei laughed in exasperation but quickly decided not to say anything else.

’Why am I arguing with a Qi Refining cultivator who has no future?’

’I should just get some rest. I have to keep drawing swords tomorrow.’

In the early morning, when he woke up, he was surprised to see that Jiang Man was still reading.

"What book are you reading?" he asked.

"A Cultivation Skill," Jiang Man replied.

"What’s so interesting about that?" Lin Fei asked.

Jiang Man put away his book, looked at Lin Fei, and said, "It’s time to get to work."

Then, Jiang Man got up and began to exterminate the beetles.

Lin Fei shook his head. The guy had just arrived. Even a Sect Disciple would eventually be infected by the oppressive atmosphere here and become numb.

They would lose all their former passion and determination.

Because he would soon understand what it meant for more effort to only lead to more despair.

At the end of the day, Jiang Man handed in eighty beetles.

Then he started reading.

The Steward thought highly of Jiang Man, especially since he stayed up all night. People like that put the Steward most at ease.

No matter how you looked at it, someone willing to stay up all night wasn’t trying to build up their strength.

Everyone knew that staying up late damaged one’s Heart Spirit, and for most people, this damage was irreversible.

Anyone who still harbored hope would rest at night; you only had to look at the others to know that.

One day.

Five days.

Ten days.

Thirty days.

Lin Fei was completely stunned.

Because Jiang Man hadn’t slacked off in the slightest during that entire time, never resting at night.

He asked in disbelief, "Don’t you ever get tired?"

"When I’m swimming in the ocean of knowledge, I feel myself getting stronger every day. Why would I be tired?" Jiang Man retorted.

Lin Fei seemed to chew on those words for a long time before finally saying, "You’re damaging your Heart Spirit like this. You won’t get far on your future path."

Jiang Man closed his book and smiled. "That applies to you all."

"Us?" Lin Fei was bewildered.

Jiang Man nodded. "I’m different. I’m an Unparalleled Celestial Pride. Staying up late doesn’t damage my Heart Spirit."

Lin Fei was silent for a long time before asking, "Do you say that to other people, too?"

Jiang Man nodded.

Lin Fei continued, "And have they told you that you’ve lost your mind?"

Jiang Man stood up. "Time to get to work."

Lin Fei: "..."

Jiang Man headed toward the top of the mountain. He had already touched everything on the lower parts.

Now only the uppermost section was left.

At most, it would take another fifteen days to finish.

The source of the Sword Intent should be at the peak of the mountain.

There were more people up there, as many also believed that’s where the good swords were.

There were always people hoping to find a sword good enough to break free of the restraints here.

However, over these thirty days, because he had spent so much time touching swords, his progress with the Array Patterns had slowed.

It was taking him about four days to get through a single book.

In thirty days, he had only finished seven books. Added to the three from before, he had finished ten in total, with twenty-six still to go.

But as his understanding of Array Patterns grew, he was beginning to comprehend the Array here.

Faintly, he noticed some changes in the Array. If it wasn’t the Lingyue Sect, it was probably those three people from before.

He just hoped they would take their time. He was almost done. It wouldn’t be too late if they arrived after that.

At that moment, Jiang Man reached the mountain peak. Looking at the numerous Spirit Swords around him, he began to touch them one by one.

The results were still things like "Unworthy of mention" and "What is this trash?"

Until he touched an Iron Sword that looked like a piece of scrap metal.

The Celestial Mirror Hundred Books stopped on its last page.

An ordinary and trashy Iron Sword. It belonged to Meng Qiewei and was cherished by her in her youth. It was affected by a rampaging Ting Fengyin and fell to this place. The aura upon it has been erased by Sword Intent and can no longer be traced.

Jiang Man stared at the ugly, ordinary Spirit Sword, astounded and in disbelief.

’This is actually...’

’Meng Qiewei’s Spirit Sword.’

’The fact that it was recorded must be related to Meng Qiewei and Ting Fengyin.’

’Especially a "rampaging" Ting Fengyin.’

’It seems that anything connected to him is considered worthy of mention.’

Then, Jiang Man’s gaze fell on the first part of the text.

’"Cherished by her in her youth"... Does she still cherish it now?’

Jiang Man was puzzled.

’He couldn’t be sure.’

’If he took it back and gave it to her, would it backfire?’

The main problem was that he didn’t know Meng Qiewei or her past.

So he couldn’t be certain.

But getting to know her would take a very long time.

After some thought, Jiang Man decided to pull the sword out and give it to Miss Ji Meng.

’Miss Ji Meng is easy to talk to, so it probably won’t cause any trouble.’

Then, Jiang Man began to try and pull out the sword.

Naturally, he couldn’t pull it out. He sensed it carefully and felt a force from below, pulling the sword down.