The End of the Immortal Path

All this power eventually merged into his Primordial Spirit, integrating within it like symbols.

As the power began to circulate, Jiang Man felt his Physical Body, Golden Core, and Primordial Spirit merge and manifest like three great mountains, unleashing an immense force.

A force that could suppress all creation.

When the phenomenon faded, Jiang Man slowly opened his eyes.

A name came to him.

"Three Mountains Subduing the Peaks," Jiang Man said, looking at the Old Yellow Ox.

"That must be the name of your Divine Technique. It seems related to Body Cultivators, which is a shame since you’re a Magic Cultivator," the Old Yellow Ox remarked with a sigh. "Now that the Divine Technique has manifested, its side effects should be appearing soon."

Jiang Man froze.

’There are side effects?’

He immediately felt a force within his Primordial Spirit being drained away. The process was slow, but it was constant and undeniable.

"What’s going on?" Jiang Man asked.

"Divine Techniques tax the Heart Spirit. Those without a Primordial Spirit find their Spirit drained; those with a Primordial Spirit find it drained instead," the Old Yellow Ox said, continuing to chew on grass. "Ordinary people just need to rest to recover, but Cultivators must cultivate."

"If it has a side effect like this, why didn’t you tell me beforehand, Old Huang?"

"Would you have shied away from it?"

Jiang Man fell silent at his words.

The Old Yellow Ox then explained that once the Innate Spiritual Qi had merged with his Dantian, the draining effect was unavoidable.

It was only a matter of time.

Jiang Man looked inward at his Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart. ’So, not only is this thing a monster, it’s even scheming against me.’

’It demands I solidify my Primordial Spirit while simultaneously draining it.’

’One wanes as the other waxes. The nine-hundred-day requirement hasn’t changed, but the difficulty has skyrocketed.’

Jiang Man began to familiarize himself with the Divine Technique. After all, it was his first one.

He was also quite curious about its power.

He also had to decide whether to keep this Divine Technique for his original body or give it to his Zui Fusheng persona.

Within the Sect, he rarely needed to use a Divine Technique against Cultivators of the Same Tier.

His Magic Skills and dense Spiritual Qi were more than enough to overpower them.

After all, not everyone could achieve Great Success in their Cultivation Skill from the very start.

His advantage was simply too great.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Man decided to give it to Zui Fusheng.

He would need to deal with the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit, the mysterious Evil God, and the Bai Family Ancestor in the future.

And for that, he needed more power.

Having settled these matters, Jiang Man returned to studying arrays.

Before long, however, he sensed that the black-robed man had found him again.

Jiang Man immediately activated the Evil God’s Technique and entered the ruined temple.

Inside the ruined temple, Jiang Man looked at the black-robed man. "Are they sending more Spiritual Source?"

Chen Shi was struck by a thought. ’The Lord Envoy truly only cares about Spiritual Source.’ He chose his words carefully before saying, "Recently, it seems the other party is focusing all their efforts on awakening the Immortal Spirit."

"In that case, are you having trouble with your Cultivation? Do you need me to explain a few things?" Jiang Man asked.

Hearing this, Chen Shi was stunned. He never would have expected the Lord Envoy to say something like that.

’His first thought was to ask if I had any questions and then offer to help.’

’This...’

After a moment’s hesitation, he asked tentatively, "Is that allowed?"

"Of course," Jiang Man said, casually pulling out an Array Book and starting to read. "What I passed down was only the Visualization Skill. I’ll give you a simple overview of its Cultivation, and then you can ask your questions."

"If the others have questions, you can explain it to them later."

Chen Shi looked at the figure before him, a glimmer of light appearing in his eyes.

He finally nodded firmly. "Please, begin."

Jiang Man then began his explanation, all while reading his Array Book.

’It requires no thought, so it’s not much of a distraction.’

Soon, Jiang Man had gone through the basics of the Visualization Skill.

He then set the book down. "You can state your questions now. You can also mention any general doubts you have about your Cultivation. If I know the answer, I will enlighten you."

’Only when these people are strong will they fetch a high price.’

’The last few were far too cheap.’

"My Cultivation hasn’t been going smoothly recently," Chen Shi immediately said, voicing his concerns. "It feels like no matter how much I practice, it has no effect. The light from the Visualization seems to be blocked."

Jiang Man considered for a moment. "You have too many distracting thoughts; there’s nothing else wrong. Have you been using some kind of mind-calming Talisman?"

"Stop using it for now. Try to feel your surroundings instead. Talismans can have side effects."

This was something Old Huang had taught him.

Jiang Man then addressed each of Chen Shi’s other questions in detail.

By the time he was done, the man’s attitude toward him had become even more deferential.

Chen Shi lowered his head, a storm of complicated emotions swirling within him.

’I feel like I’m being treated as a person... even if it’s only as a person who carries Spiritual Source.’

’But the way this person treats me... it’s unlike anyone else.’

He quickly shook off those emotions and asked, "Lord Envoy, the Immortal Spirit is about to awaken. I fear she might choose someone else to be the Messenger, since you weren’t chosen by her in the first place."

Jiang Man was somewhat surprised. "She doesn’t think I’m worthy?"

"That might be the case," Chen Shi said, not daring to be blunt.

The Immortal Spirit’s followers were already beginning to form factions.

Once the Immortal Spirit awakened, there would surely be a reckoning.

"It’s fine," Jiang Man said nonchalantly. "I will have a talk with her. I’m sure she’s a reasonable person."

Chen Shi said with some concern, "Immortal Spirits aren’t reasonable."

Jiang Man gazed at the man before him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Heh."

’Heh?’ Chen Shi was baffled.

’What does that mean?’

With that, Chen Shi withdrew.

"What did the Lord Envoy say?" the portly man immediately asked.

Chen Shi was silent for a moment before replying, "Heh."

The portly man fell silent.

’What are you smirking about at a time like this?’

Chen Shi recounted the entire conversation.

"The Lord Envoy actually gave you guidance?" The portly man was incredulous.

Chen Shi nodded. "He really did."

He then wrote down the key points of the explanation.

In truth, Chen Shi had sought out Jiang Man this time to gauge his attitude.

"’Heh.’ That’s the Lord Envoy’s attitude," the portly man said, gripping the written notes. "It looks like he’s confident. Does that mean it’s time to make a move on the others?"

Right now, there were essentially three factions.

There were those cultivating the new Visualization Skill, those loyal to the Immortal Spirit, and finally, those who remained silent.

Now that they had confirmed the Lord Envoy’s attitude...

...the conflict could officially begin.

——

「A Bustling City」

「In a Top-Grade Room」

After a long silence, Tantai Xue said, "The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit’s followers are a motley crew. A complete rabble."

"That’s normal. She was a dead Immortal Spirit to begin with. The people she gathered were rejects from the various Sects, so of course they seem unremarkable," came the deep voice from the Spiritual Tablet.

"Then this Messenger should be no different?" Tantai Xue asked curiously. "Do we really need to take him so seriously?"

She said this, but she hadn’t lessened her own preparations in the slightest.

They had come this far; the most regrettable failure would be to stumble at the finish line over some trivial matter.

Therefore, she wouldn’t allow herself to be defeated because of carelessness.

’Wouldn’t that make me no different from that rabble?’

"You still need to be careful with this Messenger," the Spiritual Tablet’s voice warned. "He is far too patient. When told to wait, he simply waits. His mindset is completely different from the others."

"We must not underestimate him."

Tantai Xue said softly, "We’ll wait a little longer. The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit will soon enter the first stage of her awakening. Then we’ll see how this Messenger reacts."

"Regardless, I have countermeasures ready."

"I have a plan even if he decides to flip the board."

"Flipping the board," in this case, meant reporting him.

Getting the Sects involved.

In any case, she was determined to establish a connection with Ling Hua and become the Messenger.

Then, she would ensure the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit remained only partially awakened.

The Sects would have a hard time intervening in that region.

And the Immortal Sects wouldn’t go to great lengths over a dead Evil God.

They had better things to do.

————

「Wuyun Sect」

「Zhenyue Hall」

True Master Tai Hua had been waiting here for a long time.

Yet no one had come to retrieve the item.

He found this strange.

He then stared at the box for a good while.

Finally, he opened it.

He expected to see the Immeasurable Calamity Stone, just like before.

However, as soon as he opened a corner, he sensed what was inside.

His pupils contracted, and he quickly threw the box open.

It wasn’t the stone that met his eyes, but a piece of paper.

"When did this happen?"

He was astonished.

He took out the paper and found five words written on it: "Void Spirit Eyes can be cured."

Looking at the five words, True Master Tai Hua’s brow furrowed slightly. "Is this aimed at me?"

After a moment of hesitation, he took out a piece of paper and wrote three words: "Who are you?"

He then placed it in the box.

Three days later, he opened the box again.

It was still his own piece of paper inside.

After a brief hesitation, he swapped the box for the simple one he had used before.

Another three days passed.

The paper was unchanged.

Finally, he placed paper in both boxes and continued to wait.

Another three days passed.

Still, there was no change.

"What’s the problem here?"