Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The members of Godhead Palace had grim expressions as they stood in front of Dark Fiend's corpse.

Dark Fiend, who had been hopping around only two hours ago, was dead, and he had died at the hands of someone from his own side.

This fact was rather hard to accept.

The eldest of the 12 Hawks looked at Xi Canhen. "You said that there would be no problem."

Xi Canhen was no longer concealed and now stood in front of everyone, though his face was the color of snow.

His Sacrificial Sword was powerful, but he could only do it once.

Once he made this attack, whether it succeeded or failed, he would have used up all the energy in his body and be unable to attack again. It was a combat style that put everything into one strike. It was for this reason that he could kill Dark Fiend while being at Nine Revolutions.

If that attack had failed, he would have been the one to die.

"I didn't say that nothing would happen," Xi Canhen replied. "I said that if he dared to cause trouble, I would kill him."

"But what's the point of that? The incident has already happened!" a True Person rebuked. "The entire city knows that Dark Fiend was fighting with someone. Your single strike didn't stop the incident from happening, only killed one of our own. You're ruthless, twelfth child. This matter must be reported to your superiors. For the crime of killing one of your own, you must be punished according to the rules of the sect!"

The pretty woman of the 12 Hawks softly coughed. "You can't say that. Little Twelve really did say before they left that he would kill Dark Fiend if he dared to cause trouble. Our mission is of utmost importance, and Godhead Palace has gone to great lengths to capture Tang Jie. How could we allow one man to affect this operation? Little Twelve was simply cutting off the poisoned hand at the wrist to save the rest of the body. As for whether this act helped any of us, that is not for you to decide, True Person Liang. Only the palace can determine this."

"But he was the one who suggested letting Dark Fiend out!"

"But we permitted it," the fifth brother of the 12 Hawks said. "True Person Liang, I know that you were good friends with Dark Fiend, but can you not slander our Little Twelve because of it? He was a little ruthless, but wasn't it because he had no other option? It was Little Twelve who suggested that we let Dark Fiend go out, but we cannot say that he was wrong because of it. After all, he was not the one who ultimately made the decision, but True Persons He and Li, and my big brother."

That True Person Liang did not dare to say any more.

He didn't have the courage to push the responsibility onto the two Heart Demon True Persons.

Moreover, the 12 Hawks were right. While Xi Canhen had been the one to suggest the idea, everyone else had given the nod. They could not blame everything on Little Twelve.

He could only resentfully say, "Who knows what this kid is thinking? He might even be trying to help Tang Jie! You can't trust Sageheart people."

The eldest of the 12 Hawks scowled. "Shut your mouth! Everyone here knows of Little Twelve's background, and there's no need for you to bring it up. He naturally passed the trial to become one of the 12 Hawks, and his loyalty was verified. If you dare to say such a thing again, I might report you to the palace for slander!"

That True Person Liang didn't dare to keep going, and he could only angrily say, "I don't care anymore."

With a wave of his hand, he returned to his room.

The eldest of the 12 Hawks could only sigh. He turned to Xi Canhen and said, "Are you okay?"

Xi Canhen cocked his head. "I just absorbed the blood energy of a Spirit Ring. It's not bad."

The eldest chuckled. "You… Let's go."

"What about the matter here?" one of the 12 Hawks asked.

"What's done is done, and there's no point in talking about it. Let's just go with the flow," the eldest casually said.

At this point, he could only hope that Tang Jie hadn't seen this sight, or else hadn't cared because of his audacious attitude.

The battle at Drifting Red Pavilion had come quickly and ended quickly.

When Godhead Palace's people withdrew, countless people gathered below, whispering to each other and refusing to leave.

After all, it was rare for them to see something so exciting.

In the chattering crowd, Tang Jie walked with his hands held behind his back.

The conversations around him entered his ears, including the descriptions from witnesses to the scenes. After removing the gossip and hyperbole, he was able to visualize the scene within the brothel.

One thing drew Tang Jie's interest.

The girl having her debut was called "Shangyue".

He couldn't be more familiar with the name, as it was the name of Xi Canhen's little sister.

Why had Xi Canhen's little sister come to a brothel to take up residence and sell her body?

Why had Xi Canhen suddenly killed Dark Fiend?

"'Twelfth Brother'…" Tang Jie mumbled.

Tang Jie didn't know if this was how Dark Fiend addressed Xi Canhen, only that Dark Fiend was seemingly talking to the air when he said this. Not long after that, Xi Canhen had appeared in that battle in the sky.

Dark Fiend hadn't been wary at all about his approach until that heaven-shaking strike was unleashed.

According to the people in the brothel, this person had never appeared before, but Dark Fiend had acted as if this person had always been behind him.

Proficient in the Dao of Concealment!

Tang Jie couldn't help but think about what Shi Meng had told him: that Xi Canhen was extremely talented in concealment, and that he had the ambition to become a most outstanding assassin cultivator.

An assassin cultivator had openly revealed himself while this little sister had appeared in a brothel, and the address of 'Twelfth Brother'…

Tang Jie's eyes flashed.

He finally understood.

"It has to be this! He's doing this on purpose so that I'll notice him!" Tang Jie said in understanding.

Tang Jie was basically sure now that Xi Canhen was the last of the 12 Hawks. Although he didn't know how Xi Canhen had joined Godhead Palace, Xi Canhen clearly hadn't forgotten the kindness Tang Jie had shown him.

He wanted to repay Tang Jie, but he couldn't find him. After all, Tang Jie was too hard to track down and had no desire to expose himself.

And Xi Canhen couldn't go around shouting that Xi Canhen was here and he wanted to meet Tang Jie. He had to think of something else.

The incident with Dark Fiend was the best solution he could think of. Today might have been no coincidence at all, but the inevitable result of a long scheme. Xi Canhen had chosen to appear in the night sky right before the auction was about to begin because this was when Tang Jie had the highest chance of being around Ninebind City. He then intentionally exposed himself to the city through a battle and unleashed that heaven-shaking attack so that Tang Jie would spot him.

Tang Jie couldn't help but deeply sigh.

Xi Canhen had probably racked his brains in order to meet him, taking on a huge risk.

As for whether his theory was right, he could very easily verify that.

Xi Shangyue!

It was clear that Xi Canhen's message wasn't that Tang Jie should seek him, but that he should seek his little sister.

With this thought in mind, Tang Jie walked toward Drifting Red Pavilion.

—————————————

Drifting Red Pavilion was still brightly lit. Although a battle had just taken place, with even a death, people still had lives to live. So long as it wasn't one of the other five countries attacking, everyone cared only about their own befuddled existences. All that had happened was just another story to tell over drinks.

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Tang Jie entered the building, and a brothel keeper came up to attend to him.

Tang Jie didn't waste time on pleasantries, directly saying, "I heard that a female cultivator was having a debut, so I rushed over. What happened?"

"Alas, dear customer, you were one step too slow. For the sake of that female cultivator, two True Persons shot up into the sky and started fighting, but then some kid came out of nowhere and killed that dark-faced one with a single blow. The blood rained from the sky! I don't even know where all that blood even came from! Some of it landed in the pavilion, and a few of the girls had to go and change their clothes afterward."

Tang Jie was at a loss at all this useless chatter. "What about that female cultivator?"

"Naturally, she was scared off back into her room. She was looking for a wonderful night, never thinking that something like this would happen. She immediately lost her interest, so we'll have to put off the debut for later."

Tang Jie chuckled. Placing a few spirit coins in the hands of the brothel keeper, he said, "Please go and inform that Lady Shangyue that this Jin Shaqiu wishes to see her."

Jin Shaqiu was the one who had tried to rape Xi Shangyue, that Young Master Jin who had had his entire clan annihilated by Tang Jie.

There might have been many people who Xi Shangyue would have forgotten over the passage of time, but this Young Master Jin, who had tried to force her debut ten-some years in advance, was someone she would never forget.

If Tang Jie asked to meet her using this name, Xi Shangyue would definitely know who he was.

The brothel keeper saw the spirit coins and immediately grinned. But when he heard Tang Jie's request, he grimaced. "The lady is in a bad mood, so she might not want to see you."

"Just convey my message. If she doesn't want to see me, I won't blame you."

The brothel keeper was delighted and went to relay the message.

A few moments later, he returned and bowed to Tang Jie. "Young Master, congratulations. The lady is willing to see you. She's in the back in the eastern room."

He led Tang Jie over.

He was led by the brothel keeper to an elegant little room. The brothel keeper shouted inside, "My lady, I've brought him."

And then he left.

A gentle and graceful voice came from the room. "Since Young Master is here, why not come inside and sit?"

Tang Jie pushed open the door and saw a woman sitting at the head of a nearby bed. She appeared rather like the Xi Shangyue that Tang Jie had known, but the freshness and purity were gone. While this girl grooming herself in front of the mirror had an indifferent look about her, there was also a hint of confidence and heroism in her features.

Tang Jie couldn't help but compliment, "That little girl from back then is all grown up."

Xi Shangyue raised her head, looked at Tang Jie, and faintly smiled.

She lightly stood up and bowed her head in front of Tang Jie. "Shangyue pays respects to the young master. It has been many years since our last meeting, but Young Master is still as elegant as ever."

"You're too polite," Tang Jie said, raising her up. Xi Shangyue then went over and closed the door.

It was an act with a rather ambiguous connotation, but Tang Jie understood her meaning. He cast spells with his right hand at various locations, looking for any eavesdroppers.

Xi Shangyue saw this and said, "Young Master, be at ease. I have already made arrangements to ensure no one can casually peer in on this place."

"That's good." Despite his words, Tang Jie still laid down a detection formation. If an expert were to approach, he could know as soon as possible.

Xi Shangyue didn't mind, actually complimenting, "Young Master is so cautious, it is no wonder that Godhead Palace can't do anything about you."

"It's just luck. Right, how is Canhen doing?" Tang Jie found a stool and sat himself down.

"He's currently part of Godhead Palace, one the Hawk Hall's 12 Hawks, and he's doing very well."

"How did he end up in Godhead Palace?" Tang Jie asked.

The six major sects had always been very rigorous when it came to the background of their people. Tang Jie himself had gone to great lengths to get into Basking Moon Academy, so he hadn't expected Xi Canhen to easily enter Godhead Palace.

"It's a long story," Xi Shangyue sighed. She began to recount all that this brother and sister had experienced.

It turned out that after Xi Canhen obtained the Immeasurable Sword, he began to wander around with Xi Shangyue. He had originally planned to go back when Tang Jie returned to continue following him.

But he was too young and insufficiently meticulous. Quite a few people had seen this pair during the massacre involving the Immeasurable Sword, and when those people found out the people who had gone after this brother and sister were all dead, they naturally realized that it was those two who had done it.

In this era, killing someone wasn't necessarily a big deal. But while cultivators seemed to kill at the drop of a hat, even they knew restraint and found a reason before killing. Those people who killed without finding out the truth had long ago been exterminated.

In the end, Xi Canhen was a child, so when his crime was found out, he became a fugitive.

Thus, the siblings began to flee.

But because they fled, they lost any hope of returning to Tang Jie's side—while fleeing, Xi Canhen used the Immeasurable Sword to constantly kill his pursuers, causing more and more blood to stain his hands.

The pursuers represented the legal authorities, so there were even people of the Basking Moon Sect among the people he killed.

What Tang Jie didn't know was that Xi Canhen's name had even appeared on Basking Moon Academy's bounty mission board. But because Tang Jie was constantly in seclusion, he knew nothing about this. Eventually, the mission was automatically canceled because it couldn't be completed.

It was for this reason that Xi Canhen finally realized that going back to Tang Jie now would be meaningless.

As he couldn't control the Immeasurable Sword, he had killed far too many people. In these circumstances, even if Tang Jie tried to help him, Xi Canhen might just end up dragging him down.

Xi Canhen had his own pride, so he decided to just not tell Tang Jie, simply telling him that he had other business and was no longer going to the academy.

But he hadn't shaken off his desire to cultivate.

At this time, Godhead Palace's people came to find him.

"Godhead Palace? They knew that you're Sagehearters?" Tang Jie was surprised.

"They know about Big Brother, but not about me," Xi Shangyue replied.

Godhead Palace had not come to find Xi Canhen for no reason.

For many years now, the six major sects had been on guard against each other, planting spies in each other's lands. Getting these spies wasn't an easy task. For a cultivator, cultivating immortality was about freedom and longevity. Who was willing to serve another, living under another name and acting as a chess piece?

For this reason, finding good spies often meant looking for people with particular backgrounds.

Like Shu Mingyang.

He was a Sagehearter, but the hatred that arose from the destruction of his home led him to serve Godhead Palace.

The same was true for Xi Canhen.

He had taken the lives of too many Sagehearters, so no matter what he thought, he was already a wanted criminal that the Basking Moon Sect would not let go.

Moreover, he had been treated poorly during his time at the mines, so it wasn't as though he had any sense of belonging toward Sageheart or any good impression of the Basking Moon Sect.

He had also displayed formidable combat power, unbending will, and sterling intelligence in his flight from his pursuers. It was only natural that Godhead Palace took note of him.

It could be said that they were right.

Xi Canhen truly didn't have much of a good impression of Sageheart and the Basking Moon Sect, but Godhead Palace had no idea that there was one particular person in Sageheart, in the Basking Moon Sect, that Xi Canhen would never hurt, and that person just had to be Tang Jie.

As Tang Jie and Xi Canhen had interacted for only a short time, this relationship hadn't turned up in Godhead Palace's investigation.

In truth, not only did they not know about this relationship, they didn't even know that Xi Canhen had a little sister. This was because, before their meeting, Xi Canhen had faked the death of his little sister.

Xi Shangyue did not leave after faking her death, instead taking up a new identity and following her older brother. The two had a secret way of keeping in contact, and so the siblings continued to fool and trick the pursuers from the Basking Moon Sect, one in the open and one in the shadows, up until the people from Godhead Palace appeared.

When they received the olive branch from Godhead Palace, the siblings discussed it and decided that being chased around forever wasn't a solution, so they decided to go to Godhead Palace. Moreover, they knew of the grudge Tang Jie had against Godhead Palace, so they felt like they could help Tang Jie in the future if they joined.

With this idea in mind, the siblings joined Godhead Palace, leading to the current circumstances.

As for today's matter, just as Tang Jie had speculated, Xi Canhen was trying to get Tang Jie to see him so that he would come and find him, at the same time helping Tang Jie out by killing a True Person.

These experiences sounded simple, but the story was quite long, particularly the part concerning the flight and pursuit within Sageheart. There had been several close calls, and though Xi Shangyue spoke in an indifferent tone, Tang Jie could hear how shaken she had been at the time.

These experiences were comparable to the various dangers Tang Jie had experienced in the last few years.

Apparently, at his most formidable moment, Xi Canhen had single-handedly killed a Mortal Shedding cultivator.

Of course, there was nothing impressive about this, but when one considered that Xi Canhen was only a rookie, killing someone above his level made this kid even more formidable than Tang Jie. Tang Jie normally killed people one tier above him, killing people two tiers above him on the rarest of occasions, but Xi Canhen did this frequently. He had killed many times more experts that were two tiers above him than Tang Jie, which left Tang Jie looking speechlessly up at the ceiling.

"All this time… you two have been through a lot." This was all that Tang Jie could say about this story. "Right, how did Canhen become the twelfth Hawk?"

Xi Shangyue replied, "When Big Brother agreed to join Godhead Palace, he hadn't intended to leave Sageheart. At the time, Godhead Palace wanted Big Brother to hide in Sageheart as a spy. But in reality, there was no way he could hide. Too many people knew what he looked like, and he couldn't disguise himself like Young Master. Moreover, he has a fierce nature that doesn't understand forbearance, so he would often get in fights. Godhead Palace saw that he wasn't spy material, but that he was good in battle, so they sent him to Nadir Hill to train. At that time, the Hawk Hall was selecting youths to be candidates for the 12 Hawks. The 12 Hawks each have different forms of training, and the last Hawk specializes in assassination, so its training is savage and cruel. Big Brother had a firm will, so he actually passed the test and got in at first place, becoming a candidate for the twelfth Hawk. Three years later, the original twelfth Hawk died in battle. Big Brother fought his way out of a pool of ten-some candidates and officially became the Hawk Hall's twelfth Hawk."

"Is that what happened…" Tang Jie sighed at Xi Shangyue's answer.

He thought some more and said, "Right, according to your story, you ended up like this because that old man gifted you a sword and three techniques?"

"Yes. Without that old man, we wouldn't have ended up like this. Unfortunately, that old man's movements are unfathomable, and we never met him again," Xi Shangyue sighed.

"There are numerous talented people in the Great Stellar Chiliocosm. Some illustrious Titan might have bestowed these gifts on you," Tang Jie said with a smile.

To his surprise, Xi Shangyue shook her head. "He truly was an incredible person, but probably not some illustrious Titan. This person is probably rather obscure."

"Oh? Didn't you not even know who he was? How do you know that he's obscure?"

"Because one of the three books he left Big Brother had a signature. If my guess is right, it's the name of that old man, but I've never heard of it before, so he's probably little-known."

"Oh? What was it?"

"'Cang Qingfeng'."