Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The Black Yellow Mobile Palace.

Eleventh Hawk An Qing lay atop a tree branch, looking at the sky.

"How boring," he remarked. "Why is it that they can go exploring while I have to stand guard here together with Little Twelve?"

"Cut the chatter," Xi Canhen responded from the base of the tree. "You have to obey Big Brother's orders whether you like it or not."

Today, he unprecedentedly hadn't used his concealment art and had his form exposed. He was currently using a clean white cloth to wipe the Immeasurable Sword.

An Qing suddenly had an idea and jumped down to sit next to Xi Canhen. "Why don't we sneak out and take a look?"

Xi Canhen rolled his eyes. "Don't talk nonsense. You think this matter is something we can be willful about?"

"So boring." The eleventh brother shook his head. "Didn't you also like to mess around? You've changed recently."

Xi Canhen was taken aback, but when he thought about it, he realized that it was true. In the past, he had liked to mess around. When he first met Tang Jie, he had done all sorts of weird things, and he was even able to act casually when taking on a dangerous mission.

But now that he was in the enemy camp, with a heavy weight on his mind, his reckless personality had grown somewhat more restrained.

There were many times when he wanted to make mischief, but he couldn't manage it.

After some thought, he finally said, "People will grow up eventually."

As he was speaking, the Immeasurable Sword in his hand suddenly trembled.

It was extremely weak, but Xi Canhen still sensed it.

He looked down at that hiltless shortsword and saw it tremble again. Like a landed fish flopping around, it squirmed and wriggled again and again.

It was getting faster and faster.

Xi Canhen suddenly turned ghastly pale.

An Qing saw Xi Canhen stiffen up and came over. "What happened?"

"Don't come over!" Xi Canhen shouted.

Xi Canhen's hand exploded with light, and then the Immeasurable Sword brushed past his neck and shot into the sky.

An Qing jumped in fright. "What are you doing?"

He was well aware of the Immeasurable Sword's strength.

With a snow-white face, Xi Canhen replied, "I'm not controlling it."

What?

An Qing was stunned.

Looking up, they saw the Immeasurable Sword floating in the air and vibrating so intensely that it was starting to form afterimages.

"What's happening?" An Qing asked.

"It's excited," Xi Canhen muttered.

"'Excited'? 'Excited' about what?" An Qing asked, turning to Xi Canhen.

Xi Canhen's eyes turned colder and colder as he muttered, "I don't know… This is my first time seeing it. I can only sense that it's very excited."

"A sword can get excited?"

"Precious swords have spirituality, so how can they not feel?"

The one who answered was not Xi Canhen.

A voice drifted through the air.

The two looked up and saw a blue-robed Daoist standing on a tree branch.

The Daoist had a strange face and a large body. He stood on the tree branch with his hands held behind his back, nobody understanding how he had gotten there.

"It's you!" Xi Canhen blurted out when he saw the Daoist.

This Daoist was clearly the old man who had given him the books and the sword.

Xi Canhen was no longer that clueless teen of the past, thinking that lucky opportunities would inexplicably drop from the heavens onto his head. When he thought back to that experience, he no longer viewed it as a lucky opportunity, but that old man turning into a savage fiend and telling him that he was being used.

This terror had gripped him for a long time, and it was a long time before he was finally able to put it down.

But then he met Tang Jie, who, after learning what had happened to him, had expressed similar concern, even advising him to throw away the Immeasurable Sword.

But Xi Canhen ultimately hadn't been willing to do this.

Deep down, he was still hoping that this was just him being too nervous. Perhaps that old man had purely taken a liking to him and wanted to establish a connection. But when he learned from Tang Jie who that person called Cang Qingfeng was, he knew that his hopes were slim.

This left him incredibly conflicted and very worried. He could only hope that the day would come as late as possible, but in reality, when the day actually occurred, no matter how one mentally prepared oneself, one would still find it to have come too swiftly and savagely, and that one had never truly been prepared.

The moment he saw the old Daoist, Xi Canhen concealed himself while trying to call back the Immeasurable Sword.

The old Daoist sighed. "Your concealment art came from me, so what is the point in using it in front of me? Young man, do not panic. While I did use your hands to nurture the Immeasurable Sword, it was because of the sword that you were able to step through the Immortal gate, and you relied on that sword to achieve countless things. The moment has now come, and the Immeasurable Sword has found its former master, so why try to keep it?"

He waved his hand, and Xi Canhen felt the Immeasurable Sword break free of his control and fly into the air. Meanwhile, his just-concealed body was also exposed again.

"You…" Xi Canhen shouted.

But he saw that the sword wasn't flying toward the Old Daoist, but into the depths of the Great Mountain.

Xi Canhen was stunned, and then he realized, "You're not its former master?"

The old Daoist thrust out his hand, and the sword stopped, vibrating in the air. The old Daoist chuckled and said, "When did this old man ever say I was the former master? The Immeasurable Sword is the sword of the Slaughter Lord, and nobody who has held this sword has been able to live for more than ten years. Although I do not fear death, when the master of the Immeasurable Sword dies, all of its essence will fade away, and the sword will be reset to the beginning. Thus, though I possessed the sword, I could not use it. Fortunately, all things in heaven have their counter and complement. While the Immeasurable Sword is vicious, it is not impossible to find a person who can counter the sword. If a person is born in a Yin year, in a Yin month, in a Yin day, in a Yin hour, possessing the toughest of fates that can resist all tribulations, that person will be the ideal holder of the sword. This old man sought out such a person for a thousand years, but most of the people I found could not withstand the sword. But then you finally became the first to live past ten years! Congratulations!"

The old Daoist grinned, clearly excited to the extreme.

Xi Canhen stared at him. "So when you gave me the sword, it really was to use my hands to nurture it?"

The old Daoist waved his hands in denial. "Not at all, not at all. Nurturing the sword was only one of the reasons. Although you have held the sword for ten years, alas, the amount of slaughter you have committed is too little, too little. The Immeasurable Sword has yet to reach its peak, and its seal is yet to be truly undone, so it cannot be used yet. Originally, this old man was going to patiently wait, but I did not think that the royal court would be opened now. This is destiny, the will of the heavens. Since the moment has come, this old man has no choice but to act."

"'The royal court'?" Xi Canhen was confused.

On the side, An Qing finally realized something. Pointing at the old Daoist, he shouted, "Aren't you that crazy old Daoist from before?"

Earlier, when Xu Miaoran had arrived, a crazy old Daoist had come out of nowhere to sow chaos. In the aftermath, Godhead Palace had done its best but had failed to find out who that crazy old Daoist was. The eleventh brother hadn't exchanged blows with the old Daoist, so he hadn't recognized him. It was only from that man's way of speaking that he finally put two and two together.

But it was clear that the madness had been feigned and that the actual person was extremely shrewd.

The old Daoist threw his head back and laughed. "That Xu Miaoran girl really doesn't know what's good for her, daring to barge into the Spirit Mountains. This old man initially didn't care about whether she lived or died, but if she ran into trouble, Tang Jie was bound to go crazy. And if Tang Jie went crazy, this kid would probably be exposed. I had never intended to intervene, but I had no choice but to help so as to not ruin the plan."

"What did you say?" An Qing gasped.

He turned on Xi Canhen. "Twelfth Brother, tell me: is that old man telling the truth? You and Tang Jie… So you were the spy!"

He pulled out his sword and pointed it at Xi Canhen.

Xi Canhen scowled, ignoring An Qing as he stared at the old Daoist. "You… are Cang Qingfeng?"

The old Daoist tilted his head and smiled. "That truly is a name this old man once had."

On the other end, An Qing was staring at Xi Canhen with eyes that burned with anger.

Xi Canhen appeared to not notice, saying, "You've gotten the sword, but rather than leaving, you're talking with me, even exposing my identity. You must have some other motive besides taking the sword, no?"

Cang Qingfeng chuckled. "You're quite sharp. You remember what I said about the sword not being fully unsealed? Because the number of people you've killed… is too small."

Xi Canhen paled, and then he spotted An Qing charging over while shouting, "I'll have you seized, and then you can explain yourself to Big Brother!"

"Eleventh Brother, don't!" Xi Canhen shouted.

Cang Qingfeng waved his hand, and the Immeasurable Sword turned around and flew back into Xi Canhen's hand.

Entirely out of instinct, Xi Canhen raised the sword against the approaching An Qing.

In his eyes, there were far too many openings in this move, and An Qing had countless ways to deal with it.

But at that moment, An Qing simply mindlessly charged in.

Plush!

The Immeasurable Sword pierced through his neck, and blood gushed out of his body and into the Immeasurable Sword.

"Eleventh Brother!" Xi Canhen shouted.

Although he was secretly helping Tang Jie, it was impossible to say that the affections he had developed being with everyone in the last few years had been fake.

If possible, he didn't want them to die, and certainly not to die at his hand.

An Qing had always been on good terms with him. He was able to tell that his eleventh brother, even after learning that he was the spy, wasn't thinking about killing him, only restraining him. But at this moment, he had died on Xi Canhen's sword.

He blankly looked at his eleventh brother, and his eleventh brother looked back, blood gushing out of the large hole in his neck.

With his strength, even after taking this strike, he shouldn't have died, but at that moment, he dropped to his knees like a powerless infant.

It seemed like he wanted to move, but he couldn't. Without being able to cast a single spell art, he simply stared at Xi Canhen. Finally, with a gurgle, he dropped his head and died.

Xi Canhen backed away several steps and then looked at the old Daoist.

Cang Qingfeng was still standing on the tree branch, chuckling to himself.

"It was you!" Xi Canhen shouted. "You killed him!"

Cang Qingfeng laughed even louder. "No, this old man simply controlled him. You were the one who killed him."

"Why?" Xi Canhen asked through clenched teeth.

"I already said…" Cang Qingfeng's face suddenly darkened. "You've killed too few people, and the Immeasurable Sword hasn't had its fill. But that's fine. So long as you kill the nearly one thousand cultivators Godhead Palace has left here, it should be enough."

Xi Canhen's heart turned cold. "No, that's impossible! I can't do it!"

"You can." Cang Qingfeng pointed behind him. "Watch."

Looking back, he saw numerous servant warriors who were coming over after hearing the commotion.

They saw the eleventh brother collapsed in a pool of blood, and they saw Xi Canhen holding that bloody sword.

Everyone was stunned, one of them shouting, "Twelfth Young Master, you!"

Cang Qingfeng said, "If you don't kill them, they will kill you. You've killed one already, so you might as well go on a killing spree. And don't worry about not being able to beat them. With this old man here, none of it will be a problem."

He waved his sleeve, and all the people charging over froze.

"You!" Xi Canhen angrily glared at Cang Qingfeng.

Cang Qingfeng sighed. "Forget it. I'll lend you a hand."

He waved his sleeve again, and Xi Canhen immediately felt his body fly forward, outside of his control, the Immeasurable Sword radiating a crimson glow. Xi Canhen desperately shouted, "No!"

But he was utterly unable to control his body. The sword danced, and blood fountained.

More people were attracted by the commotion.

Cang Qingfeng didn't care at all, throwing his head back and roaring, "Drink, Immeasurable Sword, drink! Today is your coming of age! There is no more need to hide the green spear, and after ten thousand years, I have returned! Hahahaha!"

Mad laughter resounded over a sea of blood.

Xi Canhen was no longer able to control his body, and he could only watch as he charged forward and killed, the boundless sea of blood before him engulfing him.

After some time, Xi Canhen finally regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes and saw a field of bodies.

Corpses were scattered across the mountain.

The eleventh brother, the True Persons, the two hundred Bloodbath Hall disciples, the five hundred servant warriors, and the Goldplate Soldiers were all laid out on the ground.

When these people worked together, they could even deal with a Soul Transformation True Person, but they had been killed by one person and his sword.

There was not a single survivor.

The Immeasurable Sword in his hand excitedly buzzed. Never had it been able to drink blood so freely.

This was a terrifying massacre!

More than a thousand people had been killed. Xi Canhen had never experienced such maddening slaughter before.

Did I do all this?

Xi Canhen didn't dare to believe his eyes.

Even though he knew that he hadn't been in control of his body, he still felt an intense self-loathing.

Perhaps he should have never believed in that so-called lucky encounter.

Tang Jie was right. There was no such thing in the world as a free lunch.

The sword flashed again and again with red light, as if something was awakening, and Xi Canhen could keenly sense the power contained within.

Looking back, he saw that Cang Qingfeng was still standing there, though his face was somewhat pale.

It appeared that it had cost him quite a lot to make Xi Canhen kill so many people.

But most of it was excitement.

Excitement at achieving great success!

He laughed, "Haha, the blood glow has appeared, and the Blood Soul is awakening. The Immeasurable Sword is finally about to awaken. But it seems like it's still missing a little. Oh, that's understandable. After all, these are all low-tier cultivators. Killing a few more formidable ones should be enough."

He reached out and grabbed Xi Canhen. Xi Canhen wanted to resist, but he found that he was completely paralyzed.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to use Heart Consonance to communicate with Tang Jie, but he found that Cang Qingfeng had even prevented him from circulating spiritual energy for fear that he would use spell arts.

Cang Qingfeng flew toward the valley, saying, "If you're good, once this matter is done, I will take you as my actual disciple and share some of the spoils with you. But if you dare to defy me, this old man will show you no mercy."

――――――――――――――

As a massacre was taking place in the perimeter of the Spirit Mountains, Tang Jie's original body was leading Xu Miaoran, Xian Tao, Hong Yuan, Yiyi, the ghost guard, and Qian Yingchen into the maze.

All was quiet in the maze.

The clamor was gone, and only the bodies and blood were left as a reminder that a battle had taken place here.

"Be careful. There should be some surviving daemons here. Don't be in a rush to kill them," Tang Jie warned. "We just need to push through and find the exit."

"Understood. I say: why are we still keeping this guy around? I think we should kill him," Hong Yuan said, pointing at Qian Yingchen.

"Let's keep him. We can just treat him as cannon fodder like the Beast Morphers. The path ahead will be tough, and there's no telling what dangers we will encounter," Tang Jie indifferently said.

The significance of cannon fodder wasn't in taking attacks, but in testing the power of attacks. Nobody knew the nature of the dangers up ahead. Perhaps cultivators could withstand the majority of the dangers, but if there was one that they could not, that would mean the end of their lives. Thus, in the cultivation world, cannon fodder existed not to draw attacks, but to probe attacks.

Alas, Qian Yingchen, a genius of a generation, had fallen to the level of cannon fodder.

Strangely, they didn't run into any daemons.

As they got closer and closer to the exit and were about to cheer for their safe journey, they heard the sounds of fighting in the distance.

"Eh? People still haven't left the maze yet?" Tang Jie was rather surprised.

He had called out the location of the maze's exit, so even the dumbest person should have found it if they had just run in that direction. How was it that someone was still here?

It was no wonder they hadn't run into any daemons. They had all been drawn over in that direction.

Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran looked at each other and said in unison, "Let's go and look."

Since they were following behind the main group, Tang Jie was in no rush, so they might as well see what sort of idiot had yet to leave the maze. If it was some powerful foe who had some possibility of escaping, he wouldn't mind ensuring that that person remained here forever.

Tang Jie hoped that it was an opponent like Elders Gold and Silver or Li Song—someone strong yet still beatable.

Of course, he knew that this was basically impossible.

The two of them headed toward the sound of the fighting, and as they got closer, they started to hear shouts and see the flashes of spell arts.

The voices were rather familiar, but Tang Jie couldn't recall where he had heard them.

As he got closer, in the light of the spell arts, Tang Jie saw the faces of the people fighting. Unable to repress his surprise, he shouted, "How is it you guys?"