The End of the Immortal Path

The three of them immediately retreated.

"Who’s there?" shouted Monk Zhen Kong, who had dodged the attack.

Two women walked out from the array.

They were identical, their steps and even their breathing in perfect sync.

They seemed like a single person.

Their gazes fell upon Jiang Man. "It’s dangerous outside, Fellow Daoist Jiang. You can’t leave."

"Who are you?" Jiang Man asked.

"The ones protecting you," one of the women said.

"Then why are you protecting me?" Jiang Man asked.

The two of them didn’t speak.

Jiang Man continued, "You suspect I have the Divine Object?"

"And you don’t?" the woman on the left asked.

Jiang Man smiled faintly. "Shangguan Yang told me. It wasn’t some Divine Object, and he left with it."

After a pause, Jiang Man continued, "So, between Shen Yao and Zhou Qing, which one of them is yours? Or are they both?"

"It no longer matters. Time is almost up. If it’s truly not you, then we can only leave you all here. After all, you’ve heard some things you shouldn’t have," the woman on the right said calmly.

It seemed that in their eyes, the three people before them were completely at their mercy.

Jiang Man stared at the two of them. "Are you Primordial Spirits?"

"Yes. Two at the Early Stage of Primordial Spirit, assisted by an array. Even if you were the one who killed Shangguan Yang, we can still keep you here."

"We’ve given you enough consideration and thought of every possibility. So, whether you have the Divine Object or not, you’re not walking out of here," the woman on the left said politely to Jiang Man.

But the content of her words was anything but polite.

"When is ’time’s almost up’?" Jiang Man asked.

"Today. It’s the last day. So, you just have to wait until late tonight. By then, we’ll know whether we need to kill you or not." The woman on the right glanced at the sky. "It’s about to get dark, so it’ll be soon."

Jiang Man thought for a moment and realized their timeline was a bit later than his own would be if he didn’t suppress it.

’It seems these people don’t know much about the Immeasurable Calamity,’ he thought.

"Are you guarding this place because people from the Immortal Sect have entered?" Jiang Man asked.

The two women ignored Jiang Man.

They just waited quietly for the time to come.

Jiang Man asked curiously, "Are you all people of the Evil God?"

The two remained silent, their focus locked on Jiang Man and his companions.

They would strike if there was any sudden movement.

Seeing that they weren’t talking, Jiang Man also fell silent and waited.

He was wondering if the people from the Immortal Sect would find them first, or if Ting Fengyin would make a move first.

However, when midnight arrived, he found that the people from the Immortal Sect hadn’t come, and Ting Fengyin hadn’t acted either.

The power in the sky still lingered.

"Time’s up." The two women, who had been staring at Jiang Man the whole time, looked at him with a hint of disappointment.

Just moments ago, they had been nervous, wanting to see what kind of change would occur to Jiang Man when the time came.

And yet...

Nothing changed at all.

"It seems it really isn’t on you." After sending a message, the woman gripped the sword in her hand and took a step forward. "In that case, we can only ask you to stay here permanently."

Monk Zhen Kong put his palms together, about to release a defensive barrier.

However, Jiang Man’s hand pressed down on his shoulder.

Monk Zhen Kong turned to look at the hand on his shoulder and saw that it was glowing.

The golden light was mixed with a scorching white brilliance.

This light started from his palm, extended up to Jiang Man’s body, and then began to cover him completely.

But before the light could cover him, the opponent’s sword was already upon them.

The biting Sword Intent seemed as if it would slice their bodies in two.

The terrifying power made the very ground beneath their feet tremble, threatening to carve a chasm at any moment.

The aftershock of this power carried immense pressure, pinning Monk Zhen Kong in place.

The pressure of a Primordial Spirit was not something a Golden Core could resist.

At this critical moment, Jiang Man reached out.

CLANG!

The moment the Long Sword descended, it was caught between two fingers radiating a scorching white light.

The terrifying force landed on him with a deafening roar, but it failed to break through his Defense.

Seeing this, the woman’s pupils shrank. She increased her power. "You really were hiding your Cultivation."

As she spoke, she channeled the power in her body and struck again.

However, Jiang Man’s hand moved. Channeling his immense Qi and Blood, steady as a mountain, he gave the Spirit Sword clamped between his fingers a sharp twist.

The body of the sword twisted and then, with a BANG, shattered on the spot.

The woman suffered a backlash from the force, and her aura fell into momentary disarray.

At that moment, Jiang Man’s hand shot out, grabbed the woman’s wrist, and twisted.

CRACK!

SQUELCH!

The bones in her hand twisted, blood sprayed out, and her arm was brutally snapped.

The woman shrieked. Her body then filled with a storm of power, and on the verge of self-detonation, she roared, "How dare you!"

But Jiang Man’s other hand was already on her face. He gripped it tightly and slammed her down.

BANG!

BOOM!

The moment her body hit the ground, it gouged out a massive crater.

Blood spread outwards.

After that, there was no more movement.

The other woman, who had been about to attack, froze for a second before immediately activating the array.

She wanted to kill Jiang Man.

However, after she activated the array, it stopped working.

"How can this be?" she asked in shock.

"It’s best to investigate your enemies before you attack them." Jiang Man had suddenly appeared in front of her. "I’m a cultivation prodigy, but I’m also an array master. By letting me see the array so openly, weren’t you just handing me a weapon?"

"What in the world are you? Aren’t you only in your twenties?" the woman demanded in terror.

"It’s not your fault for misunderstanding. It’s my fault for being too strong and cultivating too quickly," Jiang Man said as he wrapped a hand around her pale neck.

Then he helped her "calm down."

Jiang Man had Ling Dang search them to see if they had been kind enough to leave anything behind.

In the end, they found 10,000 Spiritual Source, two Antitoxic Pills, two Healing Pills, two Sword Skill Technique books, and a cracked Spirit Sword.

"This Spirit Sword is cracked, and they didn’t even bother to fix it," Jiang Man remarked with a sigh.

This sword was almost worn out, not even as good as the one he carried.

Jiang Man took the sword and the 10,000 Spiritual Source, giving the rest to Monk Zhen Kong and his companion.

The Magic Books were the most useless things, unless he smuggled them.

Because you couldn’t practice them even if you had them. Cultivating on your own without registered qualification would lead to huge trouble.

From searching the bodies to accepting the Elixirs, Monk Zhen Kong and his companion were in a daze the whole time.

’Two Primordial Spirits... defeated just like that?’

There was no suspense, just a complete rout.

’Didn’t Jiang Man qualify at the Late Stage of Golden Core?’

’How was he at Golden Core Perfection by the time the tournament started?’

’How did he reach the Early Stage of Primordial Spirit after just getting sick?’

"Let’s go. We’ll meet up with the others," Jiang Man said.

The two nodded numbly.

Jiang Man had originally planned to use Sword Control, but seeing the dazzling brilliance of the power in the sky, he wasn’t sure if it would affect them.

In the end, he chose to walk.

Besides, he was curious when Ting Fengyin would make his move.

He walked while reading a book. ’If I run into Ting Fengyin, I wouldn’t dare tell him at what age I started cultivating or reached the Primordial Spirit stage.’

’All I’d get in return is being called lazy and not hardworking enough.’

’Those who use an Ancient Cultivation Skill are just built different.’

Just as the sky was about to brighten, a wind suddenly picked up.

The wind came so abruptly that Jiang Man, who was reading, couldn’t help but lower his book and look in the direction it came from.

The wind grew stronger and stronger.

The entire forest rustled violently, and then a part of the dark clouds in the sky was swept away.

The instant the sun emerged, its light shone upon the clouds, reflecting a figure. It looked like someone sitting there, engrossed in fishing. But upon hearing the roar of power in the sky, they turned their head out of curiosity, a flicker of interest in their eyes.

Then, an ethereal voice spread throughout the entire space of the Immortal Sect’s grand competition: "Heh."

The voice wasn’t loud, but everyone could hear it.

After the voice faded, the entire sky seemed to have been put on pause.

All auras of power stopped in an instant.

Everyone who hadn’t noticed the figure instinctively looked in that direction.

Three breaths later.

The brilliant lights vanished in an instant.

All the figures and powers belonging to the Immortal Sect seemed to have received a command, receding like a tide.

Then, the rift sealed shut.

The wind blew again, the dark clouds dissipated, and the reflected figure turned to smoke and dust.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Down below, Jiang Man was stunned.

’It’s over... just like that?’

Jiang Man was bewildered. "Heh?"

————