The End of the Immortal Path

This was second only to an Immortal Dao Coordinate.

What kind of Sword Intent could possibly compare to those two?

Then, text appeared.

[The Original Sword Intent: Human strength has its limits, and the Immortal Dao has an end. When someone first set foot at the end of the Immortal Dao, seeing no path forward, the thought of sundering all shackles was born in their heart. From this, Sword Intent came into being, and from him, Sword Cultivators arose. The very purpose of the first wisp of Sword Intent was to carve open a path to the future. But Sword Intent requires refinement. After countless years, it has reached its current form. On the day of its Great Success, it will be able to point its blade at the very end. Difficult for non-Sword Cultivators to obtain.]

[Record the Original Sword Intent to obtain a wisp of Cultivation Purple Qi (Acquirable)]

The moment the text appeared, Jiang Man immediately withdrew his hand.

A sharp pain shot through his wound.

Fortunately, his Physical Body had excellent regenerative abilities.

Otherwise, the pain might have lingered for who knows how long.

Still, he was a little surprised.

’So it’s another thing created to forge a path into the future.’

He was very curious what Sword Intent would be like once it reached Great Success.

Would it be able to sunder the path to the future?

’And would forging a future path with this make one an Evil God?’

Unfortunately, there was no answer.

’But only a Sword Cultivator can obtain it, so I can’t take it.’

Fortunately, he had no intention of claiming it for himself anyway.

This thing was a hot potato.

He was afraid he might be able to take it, but he wouldn’t live long enough to get it back to the Sect.

’More Cultivation Purple Qi... My Cultivation Skill is progressing quickly, but what about my Magic Skills?’

’If this keeps up, I’ll have a high Realm but no actual combat strength.’

’I haven’t learned a single Golden Core Stage Magic Skill.’

With these thoughts, Jiang Man landed on the ground and put away the Broken Sword.

The moment he sheathed the blade, the Sword Intent also began to fade.

It had concealed itself.

Only the Broken Sword could trigger the Sword Intent.

"Aren’t you going to take it?" Lin Fei asked.

Jiang Man shook his head. "I can’t. Only Sword Cultivators are qualified to even try, and unfortunately for me, I’m a Magic Cultivator."

Lin Fei was shocked. "A Magic Cultivator? But aren’t Magic Cultivators weak?"

’Magic Cultivators are *poor*,’ Jiang Man retorted internally.

Just as he was about to speak, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside.

"Someone’s coming. Be careful," Jiang Man warned.

Lin Fei instinctively took a few steps back.

’At a time like this, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like me should just stay out of the way.’

As Lin Fei backed away, one person entered the mouth of the tunnel. After confirming there was no ambush, two more followed.

It was the same trio from before.

However, they weren’t in good shape. They looked disheveled, their auras in disarray.

When he saw Jiang Man, the portly man leading them seemed surprised. "Ah Niu? What are you doing here?"

Jiang Man smiled. "I happened to come down while drawing the sword. I saw a cave entrance, so I thought I’d take a look."

"Where is it?" the refined-looking man demanded, his voice cold as he stared at Jiang Man.

Jiang Man pointed upward. "It vanished the moment you all walked in."

The three fell silent for a moment. The portly man then said, "Fellow Daoist Ah Niu, you must be joking. We can split the item evenly."

"No need for that. I’m not interested," Jiang Man stated frankly.

’I’ve already touched it, so I don’t need it anymore.’

’Besides, only Sword Cultivators can obtain it.’

’I couldn’t get it in the first place.’

’There’s no point wasting time and energy on something I can’t have.’

’Especially something so dangerous.’

With an Immortal Dao Coordinate, many would choose to wait, since the owner must be the one to cast it.

But the Original Sword Intent was different.

Whoever got it, owned it.

’If I walk out this door and cause any kind of phenomenon, I, in my current un-strengthened state, would probably die right here.’

BOOM!

A rumbling sound came from outside.

The portly man’s brow furrowed. "We don’t have much time. I imagine Fellow Daoist Ah Niu doesn’t want to be caught by the people upstairs either, right?"

"Hand it over," the refined-looking man said, glaring at Jiang Man.

"I told you, I didn’t take it," said Jiang Man.

"The Divine Object must be on your person. How else could it have suddenly vanished?" the woman said, staring at Jiang Man. "If it’s really not on you, would you mind if we searched you?"

"Search me?" Jiang Man looked at the trio, surprised.

"If the item isn’t on you, then what’s the harm in a quick search? That way, no one will be wrongly accused," the woman said.

"You don’t really need to ask me about something like this. If you can knock me to the ground, you can search me directly, can’t you? No need to be so polite," Jiang Man helpfully reminded them.

"If you refuse a toast, you’ll be forced to drink a..." the refined-looking man started to say, moving to attack.

But before he could finish, Jiang Man suddenly appeared in front of him.

As the man stood there, stunned, Jiang Man raised his hand. "Watch my hand."

The man instinctively glanced at it, and Jiang Man’s hand swung down.

SMACK!

A crisp sound echoed.

The refined-looking man became enraged, his Golden Core Cultivation flaring to life.

However, a hand landed on his shoulder, pressing down with the weight of an immense mountain.

The terrifying pressure made his legs tremble. Then, with a CRACK, his leg bones shattered, and he fell to his knees in agony.

"This is all you’ve got?" Jiang Man said, sounding a little surprised. "I really thought you were strong, since you took the time to activate an Array. I guess I overestimated you."

"Why do you run your mouth when you’re this weak?"

The refined-looking man nearly coughed up blood. He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and looked up to strike back.

But the instant he raised his head, a red sun had already risen behind Jiang Man.

Its light washed over him.

Then it filled his entire vision.

BOOM!

The refined-looking man was sent flying, his chest caving in as blood sprayed through the air.

He slammed into the wall with a final THUD, his condition unknown.

"How dare you!" the woman shrieked, her voice ice-cold.

Instantly, flames erupted around them, burning wildly. The woman waved her Spirit Sword, and the fire moved at her command, surging toward Jiang Man.

Faced with such might, Jiang Man simply stood his ground. As the tip of the sword neared, his body became enveloped in a golden light.

True Martial Skill.

Jiang Man reached out and pinched the tip of the attacking blade. With a slight twist, he warped the Spirit Sword, then his own Spiritual Qi flooded over it.

It was as if his Qi was a blade, slicing through the Spirit Sword.

A cracking sound followed.

SHATTER!

The warped blade instantly shattered into countless pieces. The woman was stunned.

But Jiang Man’s hand had already shot out.

Then came a sickening THUD.

His palm struck her square in the face.

The crack of bone could be heard.

With a WHAM, the woman screamed as she was sent flying.

The flames continued to burn within the cavern.

The portly man gripped his Compass, preparing to attack with an Array.

However, a figure strode out of the inferno, his passage like a gust of wind that extinguished the flames and carried him right before the man.

A man shrouded in golden light now stood before him, his face devoid of expression.

The portly man’s breathing hitched. In his nervousness, he gripped the Compass so tightly that cracks appeared on its surface.

But he didn’t dare make another move.

"A misunderstanding," the portly man said immediately.

Jiang Man was puzzled. "A misunderstanding?"

The portly man dropped his Compass and produced a bag of Spiritual Source. "Here’s forty thousand Spiritual Source. It was all a misunderstanding."

Jiang Man paused, then took the Spiritual Source. After confirming the amount, he sighed. "So it really was a misunderstanding."

Cold sweat beaded on the portly man’s forehead. He didn’t dare move a muscle. "Indeed, a misunderstanding."

"My apologies, I might have been a bit too rough," Jiang Man said, offering some friendly advice. "But then again, you all are a bit fragile. You should cultivate harder so you don’t get beaten this badly next time."

"Yes, of course," the portly man nodded emphatically.

"I’ll be going then. You should check on your friends," said Jiang Man.

"They’re fine, definitely fine! Just a bit of roughhousing. No hard feelings," the portly man insisted.

Jiang Man didn’t pay him any more mind. He turned to Lin Fei and said, "Let’s go."

Lin Fei, his face a mask of astonishment, quickly followed.

Not long after Jiang Man left, the Array sealing the area was broken.

Elder Luo rushed in with his men. This was a place they had never ventured into before.

It was, in fact, their first time discovering it.

But upon entering, they found the place in complete disarray.

Of the original trio of troublemakers, two were lying on the ground, their conditions unknown, while the third sat there as if his soul had left his body.

"What happened to you?" Elder Luo asked.

The portly man replied robotically, "Nothing, we just took a tumble. We’ll be fine after some rest. We won’t be going out anymore... I’m afraid he might get worried and come back to check on us."

Steward Luo whispered his guess to Elder Luo, "They must have run into Ah Niu."

’He was glad he hadn’t provoked him.’

’Otherwise...’

’The consequences would have been dire.’

Elder Luo nodded, not saying anything more.

He had already learned from the Sect Leader that Jiang Man was a legendary figure, even within the Sect.

His participation in this mission was a complete surprise.

Fortunately, the man didn’t seem to enjoy meddling; he completed his mission and left.

Otherwise, they would have been in grave danger.

As for what he might have taken from this place, no one dared to care.

---

Meanwhile, Jiang Man led Lin Fei out of the cave.

They departed on his sword, flying via Sword Control.

Even when people tried to block their path, they quickly moved aside.

It seemed someone was watching over them, not allowing anyone to interfere.

Jiang Man breathed a sigh of relief.

’This was the benefit of being mysterious.’

’They couldn’t wait for me to leave.’

’It had nothing to do with my own strength.’

’Of course, I still wouldn’t stand a chance against a Primordial Spirit expert.’

Just then, he sensed the Seven-Colored Bird.

’Looks like a letter from Miss Ji Meng has arrived.’

’Speaking of which, it’s about time I wrote back to her.’

’After being so busy for so long, I have plenty to write about.’