The End of the Immortal Path

"The Bai Family Ancestor is able to track them down."

’Asking him is definitely out of the question—I’d be exposed instantly,’ Jiang Man thought. He then asked aloud, "Is there no other way?"

Ting Fengyin plucked another fruit for himself and said, "Who’s the strongest person in the Wuyun Sect right now?"

"True Master Tai Hua?" Jiang Man said uncertainly.

"Tai Hua, huh?" Ting Fengyin sounded a little surprised. "A shame. He’s quite powerful, but as it happens, he can’t contact the people who’ve left the list."

"However, you could have him investigate the Bai Family. He’s also with the Zhenyue Bureau. If he’s willing to look, he’s bound to find some clues. The Bai Family are all rather conceited."

"They’re not worried at all about being discovered."

Jiang Man asked, slightly curious, "What’s True Master Tai Hua’s position?"

"Your direct superior," Ting Fengyin said casually.

Jiang Man froze, then asked if Ting Fengyin knew his identity.

The answer was no.

"No one else knows your identity," Ting Fengyin said. "He’s probably also very curious about who you really are and what your mission is."

Jiang Man felt a bit helpless. ’This is the kind of person I’m supposed to ask for help?’

’He’d never give me the time of day.’

’My authority is far lower than his.’

’I can’t even send him a message with my Token.’

Jiang Man explained his predicament.

"Let me think... there must be a way to get him to help you just once." Ting Fengyin mused for a moment before saying, "Why don’t you just tell him that the Void Spirit Eyes can be cured."

Jiang Man nodded, then asked, "So, how can they be cured?"

"I don’t know." Ting Fengyin shook his head, but then added, "Evil Gods know a lot about that. As their representative, and with an Immortal Dao Coordinate, you must be able to contact plenty of them."

"You’re bound to find one who knows a cure."

"Just string Tai Hua along for now. He doesn’t know who you are, so even if he wants to teach you a lesson, he won’t be able to find you."

"It’s not a big deal."

Jiang Man fell silent for a moment. ’This mission is truly complicated.’

’I might as well just find the Bai Family Ancestor myself.’

Afterward, Jiang Man asked Ting Fengyin to explain the Evil God’s Technique to him again.

He wanted to gain new insights by reviewing what he already knew.

Ting Fengyin didn’t refuse.

This time, however, he explained while he fished.

Jiang Man listened quietly, eating a fruit. ’This fruit actually tastes pretty good.’

’I could pick some to take back.’

’But I can’t give them to Miss Ji Meng. There’s no way I could explain how I picked them while in a jail cell.’

Seeing that Ting Fengyin hadn’t caught anything, Jiang Man pointed out that he’d been right; there were no fish here.

Ting Fengyin paid Jiang Man little mind, focusing on his fishing.

Once he was more or less finished explaining the Evil God’s Technique, he handed Jiang Man a Silver Token.

"What’s this?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

"Aren’t you being targeted and suppressed?" Ting Fengyin said, his eyes fixed on the lake. "This is the perfect chance to go off the grid. Use this to refine your Evil God’s Technique."

"Make a name for yourself."

"That way, it won’t seem so abrupt when you kill them."

"You won’t have to worry about anyone suspecting you."

"This can make me stronger?" Jiang Man asked, looking curiously at the Silver Token.

It looked similar to the token from the Immortal Sect’s grand tournament.

Ting Fengyin explained, "This is a Secret Realm used by the Zhenyue Bureau and Dinghai Hall for Cultivation."

"It comes with a Primordial Spirit Promotion Method. Once you’re strong enough, you can slip inside and secretly achieve your promotion."

"Then come back and kill them."

"It’s best to kill both of them at once; otherwise, Zui Fusheng will also be quite dangerous."

"They’ll know full well that killing them is the work of the Immortal Sect, but they won’t be able to make trouble for the Immortal Sect, just like the Immortal Sect didn’t openly make trouble for them when they emerged."

"But they will definitely try to kill you."

"Even if they show restraint, they’ll cripple you at the very least."

"The Immortal Sect won’t go to war over it—the losses would outweigh the gains. So, the best result is you complete the double kill, and Zui Fusheng disappears."

"And you, Jiang Man, will reap the rewards."

"A worse outcome would be that you only kill one. Your mission would be incomplete, and you’d have to continue tangling with them."

"The danger would be much higher."

After some time, seeing their conversation was about finished, Ting Fengyin sent Jiang Man on his way.

He also reminded him that if he was going to awaken the Evil God, he had better know how to deal with her.

Furthermore, he told him that if Tai Hua was still at the Wuyun Sect, he could try to find a way to view the Evil God Record.

"There should be records in it."

Jiang Man committed all of this to memory and then took his leave. On the way back, he felt that he had learned a great deal from this trip.

’But the problems it created were also huge.’

’He couldn’t possibly bring himself to kill Meng Qiewei’s avatar.’

’But the Bai Family Ancestor had to be killed. I still have to complete Ting Fengyin’s mission; otherwise, it will look like I’m slacking. Then, in the future, if I encounter a powerful Evil God, I won’t be able to summon any strong backup.’

’With one target killed and one spared, the Zui Fusheng mission can’t be fully completed.’

’I’ll face the consequences later.’

’Things being as they are,’ Jiang Man thought, ’I should focus on my Cultivation first. No matter what, I should wait until I’ve been promoted to the Primordial Spirit Realm before deciding anything.’

’But there was another problem.’

’Ting Fengyin had given me the environment and opportunity for promotion.’

’But how would I explain it when I returned? I could hide my Cultivation level to fool Mr. Yan, but how could I fool Miss Ji Meng?’

’I should probably go through the proper channels. First, I need to obtain a Promotion Skill. Then I’ll see if the Immortal Sect’s grand tournament provides the conditions for promotion, or maybe access to an unknown region.’

’If there is, then I’ll find a way to enter the Zhenyue Bureau’s cultivation grounds during the grand tournament and see if I can achieve my promotion.’

Jiang Man had made up his mind.

By now, he had already returned to his prison cell.

The Old Yellow Ox was still in the same spot, grazing, not even daring to lift its head.

Jiang Man watched until the projection from the Magpie Bridge had completely vanished before he spoke. "Old Huang, he’s gone."

Old Huang didn’t react. He waited a long while before finally saying, "It should be safe now."

Jiang Man was baffled. "Was all that really necessary?"

Old Huang said gravely, "That man really could have killed me. And his killing intent is heavy."

Jiang Man thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "I agree, Ting Fengyin’s killing intent is quite strong."

The Old Yellow Ox looked puzzled.

So Jiang Man told him the truth—that the man wanted to kill everyone on the list.

In fact, he was hoping those people would cause chaos out in the world.

Old Huang was silent for a moment. "It’s pretty dangerous being around you," he said.

Jiang Man was on a mission to kill the avatars of the people on the list; the slightest misstep could mean utter ruin.

"Old Huang, how do you think I should go about finding the Bai Family Ancestor now?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

"Find True Master Tai Hua," the Old Yellow Ox said offhandedly.

"But I can’t find him, and even if I did, I couldn’t get him to help," Jiang Man said with a sigh. After a pause, he suddenly asked, "Old Huang, do you know how to cure the Void Spirit Eyes? Ting Fengyin said some Evil Gods might."

"Didn’t that man tell you to use this as an excuse to string him along?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

Jiang Man replied with a mix of resignation and scorn, "And this is why I’m an Unparalleled Celestial Pride and you’re not."

The Old Yellow Ox fell silent.

Jiang Man continued, "Ting Fengyin is at the Great Success Realm, so of course he can afford to play games. But Tai Hua is more powerful than anyone in the Three Major Sects."

"He’s obviously not someone I can afford to trifle with."

"Without something real to offer, the risks are too high."

The Old Yellow Ox fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "The Void Spirit Eyes are a type of Talent. They allow the user to enter the void and perceive more opportunities. Even under normal circumstances, they let one see things others can’t."

"But this Talent has a fatal flaw."

"The user’s eyes become voids, like bottomless black holes."

"These holes absorb a Cultivator’s Spirit."

"A powerful expert might find a way to resist it and maintain a balance."

"But for a weaker person, all the Spiritual Power they gain from Cultivation will be absorbed."

"The resources needed to break through become several times that of others, and they might even reach a certain Realm and find themselves completely unable to advance further."

"This is because the Spiritual Power gained from Cultivation can no longer keep up with the speed at which the holes absorb it."

"Over time, their Spirit will be completely drained."

"And eventually, they perish."

"Therefore, the person with this problem is definitely not True Master Tai Hua himself."

"One of his relatives, or a beloved disciple?" Jiang Man guessed, then paused before asking, "So, is there a way to cure it?"

"No," the Old Yellow Ox said, shaking its head. "Of all the Evil Gods I know, not one has a cure."

Jiang Man felt a pang of disappointment.

But before he could give up hope, the Old Yellow Ox continued, "However, I have a way to block those holes. It’s only temporary, but even a temporary solution would give someone with a weaker Cultivation a chance to breathe and continue to raise their Cultivation level."

"Once their Cultivation is high enough, you could consider it a cure of sorts."

"Can it be used repeatedly?" Jiang Man asked.

The Old Yellow Ox nodded. "Once a year."

"Is it expensive?" Jiang Man asked.

The Old Yellow Ox was silent for a moment before saying, "He’s not like you. He isn’t poor."

Jiang Man: "..."

’Still, there was one problem: how could he contact True Master Tai Hua?’