Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 300: Break Out of Despair or Die in Despair!

Tang Jie was quite happy if Ye Heizi could completely resolve the problem that was Long Dao.

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Through You Shaofeng’s identity, he now understood how much Long Dao hated him. Even though Tang Jie felt like he hadn’t done much to Long Dao, in truth, Long Dao had been conspiring to kill him all this time.

Since he wanted him dead, Tang Jie didn’t mind sending Long Dao on his way first.

Alas, Long Dao still managed to survive.

After discovering that he had been tricked, he had very reluctantly gone onto the stage to have his showdown with Ye Heizi.

Facing this powerful enemy, assaulted while being trapped in a cage, this guy didn’t lose spirit. On the contrary, at the final moment, he erupted, even experiencing a small breakthrough, breaking the wall of his cage with a single Sirius Arrow and escaping.

In the end, Long Dao succeeded in not becoming a mere walk-on character, instead developing more in the direction of a side character. This left Tang Jie feeling rather helpless.

But as a price, Long Dao’s leg had been jabbed by the fang of Ye Heizi’s Multivenom Spider. The poison had caused his leg to swell grotesquely, and though the Spirit Masters of Basking Moon had applied treatment, there was no saying how much they could do.

As a result, Long Dao was the Basking Moon student who had come away with the greatest injury in the match between the two sects.

In the next five battles, as the Beast Refining Gate had discovered that the Basking Moon Sect’s targeted strategy made it difficult to kill them, it finally changed its plan to self-preservation. Thus, all five battles ended without deaths on either side.

Thus, this became the deathmatch with the fewest deaths so far.

On this day, the Beast Refining Gate lost five people while the Basking Moon Sect had one heavily injured and the rest essentially unharmed. The Beast Refining Gate had won ten matches, drawn one, and lost nine, thus winning a small victory which was completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

As he was leaving, Heng Wudi glared at Tang Jie as if he hoped that his looks would kill. Helian Hu was also viciously staring at him, but he also had a few more targets, glaring at Cai Junyang and Shu Mingyang as well.

But Shu Mingyang wasn’t concerned about Helian Hu’s stare at this time.

Standing in a corner of the crowd, he was focused entirely on his book, even muttering words, perfectly playing the role of a bookworm. The cheering crowd, the victory congratulations, and Helian Hu’s hateful gaze seemed to have nothing to do with him.

He flipped to the 73rd page and looked at the 6th line.

What had originally been a discourse on human nature faded away, and a new line of words appeared: “You Shaofeng has gone missing. Tang Jie must be making a move. Keep a close eye on him!”

Shu Mingyang softly sighed.

The orders given to him were becoming more and more direct. It seemed like Godhead Palace was also starting to lose patience.

After a few moments, the words disappeared, and the original contents of the book returned.

Putting down his book, Shu Mingyang looked into the distance.

Tang Jie was laughing in the crowd, accepting everyone’s thanks. His experience, insight, and judgment had won him the respect of most of the crowd.

Shu Mingyang found Tang Jie to be rather admirable. It had to be said that Tang Jie had paid too much to reach this point as an ordinary person. At times, Shu Mingyang thought to himself that if he didn’t have this accursed identity, he might have been able to become real friends with Tang Jie. Alas, there were no “if”s, and there were some things that would have to be settled eventually.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

Tang Jie was still talking with everybody. Only once almost everyone was gone did he tactfully reject any further celebrations and leave alone.

Shu Mingyang activated an Energy Cloak Talisman, concealing his aura before following him.

He followed as Tang Jie confidently strode through the city and to the outskirts.

He actually dared to leave the city at this juncture?

Shu Mingyang was shocked. Did Tang Jie not realize that he had offended Heng Wudi and Helian Hu, making the Beast Refining Gate anxious to kill him?

But Tang Jie really was making his way out of the city, sauntering through the main gate of Red Plum Ridge and straight out.

“Bastard!”

In All Beast Garden, Helian Hu was acting like an enraged lion, thrusting out his palm and obliterating the stone table next to him.

Though the matches were over, Helian Hu’s anger had yet to subside. On the contrary, it was only intensifying.

The mere thought of what he had experienced today almost consumed Helian Hu with frustration. All he could do was madly break things around him to control his emotions, and so, his residence suffered from a great purging. The peaceful little garden had been turned into a scene of devastation.

Alas, no raging could change the facts of the matter. The tragic deaths of his refined tigers, his lost victory, and his humiliated sect made him clench his fists and mutter, “Tang Jie, Cai Junyang, Shu Mingyang… I won’t let you go!”

At this moment, someone rushed in and bowed to Helian Hu. “Senior Brother Helian!”

Helian Hu turned his head. “Qingsong? How are your injuries?”

This person was called Jiang Qingsong, and he was a student of the Beast Refining Gate. His number was 18, making him Tang Jie’s opponent. In his battle against Tang Jie during the day, the two of them had clashed for a while, and Tang Jie had ultimately won out. But Jiang Qingsong had taken a punch from Tang Jie to break out of Tang Jie’s lockdown, jumping out of the ring and keeping his life.

Hearing this from Helian Hu, Jiang Qingsong chuckled and said, “It’s much better. Everyone says that Tang Jie is skilled at body refining, possessing a Hundred Refinement body despite only being at Spirit Sea Tier, but I think it’s all talk. I took one of his punches directly, but aren’t I still basically fine?”

“It seems like Junior Brother’s body tempering has improved,” Helian Hu said, squeezing out a smile. “Right; why did you come to find me?”

Jiang Qingsong said, “Does Senior Brother Helian hate that Tang Jie?”

Helian Hu’s face darkened. “Of course!”

Jiang Qingsong said, “In this martial exhibition, our Beast Refining Gate has suffered a lot, and more than half of it is because of Tang Jie. Thus, when I was leaving, I found a few guys to keep a close eye on him to find the right time to kill him. But to my surprise, the opportunity came right after the matches ended.”

Helian Hu was startled. “What did you say?”

Jiang Qingsong replied, “Tang Jie has left the city.”

Helian Hu immediately stood up. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely! Two people in total: him and Shu Mingyang.”

“Just the two of them?”

“Correct!”

“Alright; let’s go and kill them. Qingsong, go and notify our other brothers and Elder Heng. We can’t let him escape,” Helian Hu said as he walked out.

Jiang Qingsong replied, “I’ve already been to Elder Heng’s place, but he’s in meditation and is not to be disturbed. I left a message, so I’m sure that he’ll come over once he sees it. As for the other martial brothers… Senior Brother Helian, do you really think it’s okay to let too many people know of this? If the news leaks and the Basking Moon Sect finds out, Tang Jie might get a chance to escape. Moreover, the two of us should be enough to deal with them. You don’t want to split the spoils between too many people, right?”

Helian Hu thought it over and finally nodded. “Alright. Let’s go!”

They left All Beast Garden and sprinted out of Red Plum Ridge.

Helian Hu looked at the mountains around him and asked Jiang Qingsong, “Do you know which way they went?”

Jiang Qingsong mysteriously smiled. “Senior Brother Helian, there’s no need to worry. Our people left tracking marks on them. Follow me. I’ll definitely take you to Shu Mingyang.”

Helian Hu didn’t care that he had only mentioned Shu Mingyang and not Tang Jie. In his view, the two of them both needed to die.

Outside Red Plum Ridge, Tang Jie was still leisurely strolling.

It was as if he was really just out for a relaxing walk. After walking for a while, Tang Jie stopped by a brook, finding a large stone to sit down on and looking at the scenery.

After all, Tang Jie had implicated him twice during the matches.

An alarming thought occurred to Shu Mingyang.

First, he had implicated him during the matches, and after the matches were over, he had suddenly left the city. If all of this wasn’t a coincidence…

Shu Mingyang shivered. He sensed that a scheme targeting him was unfolding.

But… this could only have happened if Tang Jie already knew who he was.

But how could he know? How could he have possibly known?

Shu Mingyang couldn’t understand, nor did he dare to believe it.

As he was hesitating in shock, Tang Jie suddenly stood up.

Standing on that rock, he looked back.

His gaze fell directly on Shu Mingyang’s hiding spot, penetrating countless obstructions to fall on his body, and Shu Mingyang instantly felt like he had been dropped into an ice house.

And then, Tang Jie laughed.

Shu Mingyang saw him move.

His hands blurred through the air, instantly forming countless hand signs. Spiritual energy surged toward him, creating a violet glow.

The Violet Lightning Lunge!

Peak Level 2 Violet Lightning Lunge!

Shu Mingyang didn’t know why Tang Jie was using the Violet Lightning Lunge at this time, but as that violet energy shot into the air, he saw Tang Jie laugh, turn around, and shoot off into the distance.

Leaving behind a blazing trail of violet lightning, Tang Jie covered a vast distance in the space of a few seconds and vanished from sight.

Just like that, he had run off!

As Shu Mingyang was flabbergasted by the sight, there was a roar of, “He’s over there!”

Two people stood nearby: Helian Hu and Jiang Qingsong. Helian Hu was clearly unhappy. If Jiang Qingsong hadn’t shouted, he really would have killed Shu Mingyang with that palm strike just now.

Looking at Shu Mingyang, Jiang Qingsong shouted, “Senior Brother Helian, that kid Tang Jie is really sharp and ran off first!”

Helian Hu smiled. “Then we’ll kill this one first!”

Tang Jie had run off too quickly. The mere sight of that violet blur let Helian Hu know that he wouldn’t be able to catch up. Thus, he decided to not chase at all and turn his attention to Shu Mingyang.

“Yes. Senior Brother, act freely. Your junior brother will support you!” Jiang Qingsong saluted and stood to the side.

Helian Hu hadn’t expected him to not do anything, but after some thought, he decided that this was appropriate. One Shu Mingyang wasn’t worth the two of them working together. This guy respected him, so he decided to give him the opportunity, which Helian Hu greatly approved of. Without another word, he released his sole remaining refined tiger.

Though he only had one refined tiger, he himself was not weak, and with only one refined beast left now, he had even better control. Thus, although his strength had been affected, it wasn’t as bad as imagined. He was confident when facing down Shu Mingyang. He savagely laughed and said, “Scoundrel, you were also one of those who schemed against me, right? Hand over your life!”

The Skinflayer Knife swung, unleashing a sharp wave of energy at Shu Mingyang.

Aghast, Shu Mingyang took out a talisman to block, at the same time shouting, “Senior Brother Helian, please show mercy. This junior brother has never thought about making you an enemy. I did make the Spirit Seal Talisman, but I did not know that it would be used against you. Moreover, I only created the talisman, but Tang Jie was the one who made it into a talisman formation… This has nothing to do with me.”

“Cut the chatter. Since you’re here, you might as well die!” Helian Hu bellowed as he fired off several more waves of energy at Shu Mingyang.

Helian Hu was truly formidable. Even without using his refined beast, he was strong enough to fight against a school genius like Shu Mingyang.

Shu Mingyang threw out talismans as if they were free, desperately trying to defend himself while trying to argue his case. Alas, Helian Hu ignored all his arguments. He loathed Tang Jie for all the tricks that had been played on the tournament grounds, and he was intent on tormenting Shu Mingyang. His every strike could be blocked by Shu Mingyang, but they required all of his strength. At the same time, his lower-grade Mind Opening fiend tiger lunged out and clawed at Shu Mingyang, opening up wounds on his body.

It wasn’t long before Shu Mingyang was completely covered in wounds, as if he was being given a death by a thousand cuts.

Shu Mingyang gradually began to fail. He cried out in despair, “Helian Hu, don’t push me too far! I already said that none of this had anything to do with me!”

“Nonsense! Whether you’re involved or not, you must all die! The Beast Refining Gate and Basking Moon Sect get along like water and fire. Even if we have no past grudges, even if that was all Tang Jie’s doing and nothing to do with you, since I’ve run into you, just count yourself unlucky that your life was used to temper my rage!”

The Skinflayer flashed with light.

He had had enough torturing, so this strike was intended to kill.

With no other choice, Shu Mingyang finally shouted, “Don’t kill me! I’m not part of the Basking Moon Sect!”

“What?” Helian Hu was startled, and his knife stopped.

Shu Mingyang roared, “Godhead Palace spy, Fierce Ape Shu Mingyang, pays respects to Senior Brother Helian!”

He took out an item and threw it at Helian Hu: a small placard that had the words “Hawk Hall” carved into it. It was none other than an identity placard of the Hawk Hall.

“You’re part of Godhead Palace?” Helian Hu looked at Shu Mingyang in shock.

Shu Mingyang brusquely replied, “Yes, I’m a spy of Godhead Palace, on orders to infiltrate the Basking Moon Sect… I really didn’t think that I would be forced to expose myself to you before the Basking Moon Sect could even find me… Shit!”

Helian Hu was deeply ashamed. “How could I have known that this would be the case… Junior Brother Shu, I’ve wronged you, and for that, I am deeply sorry. Relax. I definitely won’t let this matter get out.”

Godhead Palace and the Beast Refining Gate relied on each other. If Shu Mingyang was part of Godhead Palace, then he was really someone that shouldn’t be killed.

“Then hurry up and leave!” Shu Mingyang dropped to his knees and coughed up blood.

He had been wounded by Helian Hu and had only exposed himself because he had no other choice. His injuries were so severe that he couldn’t even stand.

“I’m leaving right now,” Helian Hu quickly said. He knew that spies were involved in serious business, and if he really managed to hurt one of Godhead Palace’s plans, he would be punished by his sect.

Just as he was about to leave, Jiang Qingsong stopped him and said, “Senior Brother Helian, wait a moment. This token from this Godhead Palace spy is something we’ve never seen before. We can’t just take it at face value, right?”

Helian Hu froze. “Your meaning is…?”

“He might be a member of the Basking Moon Sect using this plan to try and survive.”

Shu Mingyang was furious. “So you think I knew that you were going to kill me and prepared this token for just that scenario?”

“That’s hard to say. Besides, admitting to being a spy isn’t something that you just do casually, right?” Jiang Qingsong firmly replied.

But he said out loud, “Then what else do you want?”

“We need to verify it first. Since you’re a Godhead Palace spy, you should have some understanding of the situation in Godhead Palace. I’ll ask you a few questions, and if you can get it right, I’ll believe you.”

“Alright. But as a spy, I only understand the Hawk Hall. I won’t be able to answer any questions about the other halls.”

“Then let’s keep it to the Hawk Hall. First, who is the Master of Hawk Hall, his deputy, and who is your commander?”

“The current Hawk Hall Master is Zhu Jinyu, the first Deputy Eagle Master is Bai Liqiu, and the second Deputy Eagle Master is Deng Yuqing. I was originally under Deputy Eagle Master Gu Changqing. Once Gu Changqing died, I went into hiding for two years. It was only recently that I received new orders and was placed under the command of Eagle Master Deng Yuqing.”

“How many spies does the Hawk Hall currently have in the Basking Moon Sect? And who are they?”

But his life was in peril, so he could only drop his head and reply, “After Gu Changqing’s death, the spies that Godhead Palace stationed in the Basking Moon Sect took a heavy blow. Many people were lost, and they are still in the middle of rebuilding. I do not know too many details, only the few people I’ve been in touch with…”

He gave a few names.

Even so, Jiang Qingsong still wasn’t satisfied, asking Shu Mingyang several more things about Godhead Palace. Even Helian Hu couldn’t stand it anymore, saying, “Isn’t that enough? Given what he knows, there’s no doubt that he’s a Godhead spy, and one with a very high rank at that.”

“Mm, it’s enough.” Jiang Qingsong nodded. “Senior Brother Helian, it’s not good to linger here. Let’s head back.”

“Mm.” Helian Hu nodded and left.

But Jiang Qingsong was rather conscientious, throwing Shu Mingyang a bottle of pills before leaving. “We did not know of Junior Brother’s identity, and deeply offended you. Please accept our apologies.”

He left with Helian Hu.

Shu Mingyang grabbed the bottle, poured out the pills, and threw them into his mouth before plopping to the ground, panting for breath.

His tracking mission had failed and Helian Hu had forced him to reveal his identity. He had utterly failed and had no idea how he was going to report this.

But at least those two hadn’t asked about his mission, as mentioning Tang Jie would inevitably involve the matter of the Ten Direction Valley formation. If word reached the ears of the Beast Refining Gate, there would probably be even more trouble.

Shu Mingyang suddenly felt a chill.

That Jiang Qingsong had asked about everything, even the methods by which the Hawk Hall communicated within the Basking Moon Sect, but why had he not asked about the mission?

“As a spy, what is your mission?” This question might not have been the most important, but it was undoubtedly the most obvious. Anyone would ask this question, so there was no reason to skip over it.

Unless…

“Unless he already knew,” Shu Mingyang muttered. The chill intensified, pervading his entire body.

And then he discovered… he couldn’t move.

“The medicine was poisoned!” Shu Mingyang couldn’t help but cry out.

He raised his head and saw someone standing nearby, coldly looking at him.

Jiang Qingsong!