The End of the Immortal Path

He didn’t dare say a single discouraging word.

"This idea is too bold. I’m not sure if it’s suitable," Qing Dai said after some thought. "How about I find an opportunity to test the Eldest Miss?"

Then, as if throwing caution to the wind, she said:

"But...

"If I die, remember to retrieve my body."

Hearing her words, Ji Wuye was moved and said, "Miss Qing Dai, you will live for a thousand ages. You will certainly be fine."

————

「The Immortal Sect Competition.」

「Golden Core Region.」

Jiang Man stood before a massive tree.

This place was relatively safe and far from the beam of light.

He could leave and return to this spot without worrying about unexpected incidents.

Monk Zhen Kong and Ling Dang looked at Jiang Man and asked, "Benefactor, where do you plan on going?"

"I’ll be departing from here and returning later," Jiang Man said, looking at the two of them. "If you’re going to wait for me, then wait here.

"If you want to head to the junction sooner, you can go on ahead.

"As for my location, there’s no need to send it for now.

"They won’t dare to come after me.

"Send it once I reach the junction."

Monk Zhen Kong inquired, "Benefactor, when will you be back?"

Jiang Man shook his head. "It’s hard to say, but the Immortal Sect Competition is quite long. I should have enough time."

He was just going to go in, find an opportunity, and come right back out.

It shouldn’t take too much time.

Especially with the Primordial Spirit Pill, forming his Primordial Spirit should be faster than expected.

"Actually, if we just hide here, we can leave safely when the time comes," Ling Dang kindly reminded him.

Of course, Jiang Man understood that.

But he had worked so hard to get in; there were bound to be some ancient artifacts at the junction, and he had to go take a look.

As for the rankings...

...he didn’t care about them.

There were likely many cultivators here at the Late Stage of Primordial Spirit or even Primordial Spirit Perfection.

He wouldn’t be able to place at the top.

Besides, he still hadn’t found that tree.

He had asked Shen Yao and her group, and they said a fog was required.

The fog was thickest near the junction.

That was all the more reason to head over.

Moreover, the Ji Family’s trial hadn’t come yet, and they likely didn’t have any Golden Core Level members.

He could only see if he would encounter them at the junction.

Still, he was very curious what kind of trial the Ji Family would present.

Logically, they should still believe he was at the Late Stage of Golden Core.

He had a massive advantage.

Jiang Man set up a few arrays around the tree and said, "If you’re staying here, don’t wander off. If you run into danger, feel free to leave early."

"Alright," Monk Zhen Kong nodded.

They weren’t weak; it was unlikely they would need to flee.

Afterward, Jiang Man departed using Sword Control. Neither of the two made any special effort to probe his destination, nor did they speculate much.

"So, we just wait here now?" Ling Dang asked.

Monk Zhen Kong nodded. "Yes, we’ll practice our Cultivation here and wait."

"And what if he doesn’t come back?"

"Then we’ll wait until the competition ends and we’re automatically sent out. Don’t mention what happened here to anyone. Just say he ran off and tricked us into waiting."

"Okay."

After cultivating for a long time, Ling Dang spoke up again. "Should we stay up all night to practice our Cultivation? It seems like Jiang Man always pulls all-nighters for his Cultivation."

"There’s no need. We are only a step away from the Primordial Spirit realm. We shouldn’t disrupt our own rhythm." After speaking, Monk Zhen Kong began to study the Celestial Essence Skill.

Ling Dang did the same.

——

「Twenty days later.」

Shen Yao and Zhou Qing finally obtained what they wanted and started heading toward the junction.

They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"We didn’t get a Primordial Spirit Pill, but at least we got the Celestial Essence Skill. I didn’t expect there to be so many copies of the Celestial Essence Skill here. Is it because the participants this year are younger on average?" Shen Yao ventured.

Sometimes, the lower the average age of the participants, the more copies of the Celestial Essence Skill would appear.

It was all to give the younger generation a chance.

"If that old bastard hadn’t held us back, we might have found more than one Primordial Spirit Pill," Shen Yao said, recalling the master of the Great Success of the Hundred Rivers Series with irritation. "It was just our bad luck to run into him. But the junction isn’t a place where he can act so presumptuously."

You needed teammates at the Primordial Spirit Level for the junction; otherwise, it would be very troublesome.

Of course, if you wanted to get a higher ranking or better resources at the junction...

...your age was also a major factor.

What was the use of being a good fighter?

Being old meant you couldn’t get the best rewards.

「Three days later.」

They finally arrived at the junction.

Entrances were beginning to appear.

Above the entrances were signs that read: "Under 80," "Under 60," and "Under 40."

Normally, there were only these three gates.

But this time, Zhou Qing saw a fourth gate slowly creak open.

She immediately gestured for Shen Yao to look. "Senior Sister Shen, look at the fourth gate!"

"Don’t tell me it’s for ’Under 100’?" Shen Yao said at once.

She suspected that the person who had achieved the Great Success of All Rivers Flow into the Sea was over eighty.

Such a situation was special, but not impossible.

It was possible to remain in the Outer Sect for a very long time. Some people were still in the Outer Sect at thirty, only condensing a Golden Core and entering the Inner Sect in their late thirties or forties.

But such people usually couldn’t obtain a spot in the competition.

But for someone who had achieved the Great Success of the Hundred Rivers Series, that was a different story.

But soon, they saw words materialize on it.

It clearly read: "Under 30."

"Under thirty?" Shen Yao was stunned. "A Golden Core Perfection cultivator under thirty?"

"Could it be someone from another Immortal Sect?" Zhou Qing asked.

"It’s hard to say. But reaching Golden Core Perfection by thirty means they must have sacrificed combat power. Logically, they shouldn’t have been able to qualify for this competition," Shen Yao said, perplexed. "Could it be that another Immortal Sect has produced an exceptional genius?"

At least, the Dao Yi Immortal Sect had no one like that.

Zhou Qing nodded. "That must be it."

"It doesn’t matter. The person will show up soon enough. We’ll see who this genius is. It would be even better if that Qin Wen from the Hundred Rivers Series sees it too. That’ll make him understand that just being a good fighter is useless. Being a good fighter *and* being young makes you a true genius. With enough age, who can’t become a decent fighter?"

"In that case, Senior Sister Shen, please be more careful with your words. Let’s not start another fight," Zhou Qing urged.

"What’s there to fear? Once our senior brother gets here, why would we fear a mere Golden Core Perfection cultivator?" Shen Yao said with contempt. "The only reason I’m avoiding a direct confrontation is because our Primordial Spirit realm senior brother isn’t here.

"Once our people arrive, it will be his turn to avoid *us*."

————

After using the Token, Jiang Man appeared in a dim, dark place.

It was completely different from the Immortal Sect Competition.

Here, the sky was murky, and there was no Spiritual Qi. Instead, the air was thick with the aura of an Evil God.

He immediately used the Evil God’s Technique to conceal his appearance and aura.

He wasn’t sure if the people here would recognize him as Zui Fusheng.

So it was best to be cautious.

Zui Fusheng was destined to kill the people on that list.

If he were to be recognized, it would all be over.

He had to avoid a direct confrontation with these people.

Even an Unparalleled Celestial Pride couldn’t afford to provoke enemies so carelessly.

He still had to show respect where it was due for the "Ancestors."

However, since he couldn’t find any clues for advancement, Jiang Man could only begin practicing the second volume of the Evil God’s Technique right where he stood.

As he practiced, he felt the surrounding aura being absorbed into his body.

After practicing the second volume of the Evil God’s Technique twice, he reached the Entry Level.

He cultivated like this for a whole month.

He progressed all the way from the Entry Level to the Eighth Layer.

He was only half a month away from reaching Great Success.

Jiang Man continued to cultivate without hesitation. By the end of the month, he had achieved Great Success in the second volume of the Evil God’s Technique.

Jiang Man stood still.

He once again sensed the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit.

This time, he could clearly perceive the nature of the power from the ruined temple and the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit.

He wove these powers, bit by bit, into the outer cloak of energy he had created earlier.

This imbued him with the characteristics of an Evil God—a spiritual pressure originating from his Heart Spirit. Not only that, but it could also lock down his surroundings.

At that moment, an invisible light began to emanate from his body.

There was clearly no visible light, yet it gave off a feeling of brightness.

It was even more special and dazzling than the faint glimmer in the ruined temple.

Only then did Jiang Man let out a heavy sigh of relief.

’This place is indeed suitable for practicing the Evil God’s Technique.’

Just as he was hesitating between continuing on to the third volume or searching for new opportunities...

...he suddenly sensed the roar of immense power.

Immediately after, a giant Demon Beast appeared up ahead, frantically fleeing in his direction.

"Get out of the way!" a man behind the Demon Beast roared. "That’s a Heart Spirit Demon! If it swallows you, you’ll be trapped by the power of an Ancient Well Type Evil God!"

As he shouted, he moved to stop the Demon Beast’s escape.

By then, the Demon Beast had already opened its massive jaws and was right in front of Jiang Man.

It was about to swallow him whole.

The man pursuing it from behind frowned. ’Too late. This is bad.’

However, just as he had that thought, he suddenly heard a deafening roar.

BOOM!

The Heart Spirit Demon seemed to have been hit by an endless barrage of attacks.

Its entire head shattered.

It disintegrated as if it were made of dust.

Only the man who had been in its path remained standing, slowly retracting his fist. With a calm and curious gaze, he asked, "What happened to this demon?"

The other man watched this scene, silent for a moment. ’Quit playing dumb,’ he thought.