The End of the Immortal Path

Chapter 196 - 142: What? Illegal Immortal Cultivation?

Anyone who comes here with a wavering will, unable to withstand the pressure on their Heart Spirit, will find their path to invincibility locked.

Someone had also carved words below.

"Do not enter rashly out of youthful arrogance, lest you regret it forever."

Jiang Man glanced outside. He was in a cave; once he stepped out, he wouldn’t be able to turn back for fifteen days.

Jiang Man wasn’t sure how long he would stay here.

But he knew it would be longer than fifteen days.

Then, Jiang Man strode out of the cave.

’What’s this about a Heart Locking Spirit for geniuses?’

’What does locking some genius have to do with me, an Unparalleled Celestial Pride?’

’I respect the strong, but this is a test of conviction.’

’If I turn back now, what becomes of my undefeated conviction as an Unparalleled Celestial Pride?’

’Impulsive?’

’This is the spirit of youth.’

’An undefeated conviction.’

Stepping out of the cave, Jiang Man squinted. The sunlight here was blinding.

The Wuyun Sect’s mist was too thick; such blinding sunlight was rare.

A moment later, the scene came into focus.

He was on a small hill. A scorching sun hung high in a cloudless sky.

While there was some greenery near the hill, the surrounding area was a barren wasteland.

"From the Sect?" A guard who looked to be in his thirties spoke politely to Jiang Man. "Do you have a Token?"

Jiang Man handed over his Token. After inspecting it, the man became even more respectful. "May I ask your surname, Captain?"

"Jiang Man," Jiang Man replied.

The guard nodded. "Captain Jiang, follow me."

Jiang Man followed. Seeing a small market up ahead, he asked curiously, "What is this place for?"

"How does this place feel to you, Captain Jiang?" the guard asked.

Jiang Man looked up at the sky and said, "Hot."

It was indeed hot here, uncomfortably so.

It felt as if the sun would bake all vitality out of you.

The guard nodded and began a detailed explanation. "Yes, the extreme weather here isn’t natural. Legend says an Evil God fell here, giving rise to many anomalies. These anomalies spawn Demon Beasts."

"These Demon Beasts will kill and devour each other."

"The more they devour, the hotter the weather becomes."

"According to Sect records, when the devouring reaches a certain limit and the temperature becomes unbearable even for powerful Cultivators, the Evil God will be resurrected within the body of a Demon Beast."

"So, our job is to act when the temperature reaches a certain threshold. We kill the Demon Beasts inside to slow the devouring."

"Of course, the most important thing is to find the strongest Demon Beast and slay it."

Jiang Man nodded. He more or less understood.

The trial here was to slay Demon Beasts. It sounded very dangerous.

Jiang Man wondered if the people who came here knew about the Heart Locking Spirit.

So he asked.

The guard gave Jiang Man a strange look.

"Almost everyone who comes here has no prospects, or they can’t afford the Sect’s dues. Who would come here if they had a better option?" he asked, clearly curious. "Isn’t that the case for you, Captain Jiang?"

Jiang Man smiled but did not answer.

’First, I need to figure this place out before anything else.’

’Of course, he wasn’t desperate.’

’Lock me?’

’Impossible.’

After that, Jiang Man came to the first room in the small market.

As he entered, Jiang Man saw a middle-aged man looking at a sand table before him.

’It must be a map of the area.’

"Steward, a captain has arrived," the guard reported.

And then he left.

The middle-aged man continued to stare at the sand table, lost in thought for a long while, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Jiang Man didn’t mind. He simply stood before the sand table and studied it as well.

It had markers indicating Demon Beasts and flags representing teams, but some areas where Demon Beasts gathered were unmarked.

"Who pulled strings for you?" the middle-aged man asked without looking up.

Jiang Man thought for a moment. "Probably a senior sister from my sect. As for who she went through, I have no idea."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man looked up, somewhat surprised. "You’re honest, I’ll give you that. But do you understand that being a captain means taking responsibility?"

Jiang Man offered a formal greeting. "Please enlighten me, Steward."

The Steward smiled as he looked at Jiang Man.

Jiang Man understood. He handed over one hundred Spiritual Sources.

"You’re quite wealthy," the Steward remarked, handing fifty back to Jiang Man. "This is enough."

As Jiang Man accepted the Spiritual Sources, he noted it was the first time he’d ever seen someone return part of a payment.

"The flags here represent a team. A team has four people: one captain and three members. The captain is responsible for making decisions."

"One, you need to get your teammates to follow your orders."

"Two, you need to cooperate with them to complete the hunt."

"Three, you need to scout the Demon King’s location."

"You can fail at the last point, but you must succeed at the second."

"Failure implies a mishap occurred, and we’ll have to dispatch reinforcements, which requires compensation."

"After all, dispatching reinforcements costs Spiritual Sources."

"Simply put, if you fail, you might end up with nothing, and your teammates will hold a grudge."

"It won’t be easy to form another team after that."

"The first time, I’ll assign you a team directly. The second time, you’ll have to recruit members yourself."

"Of course, I can also assign them, but there are always risks."

"I don’t like taking risks either."

"Unless it’s an emergency."

Jiang Man thought for a moment and asked, "Are the people here still considered members of the Sect?"

"They are," the middle-aged Steward nodded. "It’s just that it’s exceptionally difficult for anyone to advance. However, you can earn a lot of Spiritual Sources here."

"If you stick it out, you might get a chance to advance."

"For someone as young as you to come here, did you offend someone?"

"Someone powerful enough to pull strings and send you here to die?"

Jiang Man was stunned for a moment. "Is that what this is?"

"What else could it be?" the middle-aged Steward said with a smile. "But don’t overthink it. It’s easy for someone as young as you to go back; the restrictions aren’t too great."

"But you need to understand, this place is like a well."

"Even if those who enter leave quickly, a lock will be placed upon their Heart Spirit."

"This is one of the Evil God’s methods."

"Will there definitely be a lock?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

"It’s guaranteed. This lock will cause Heart Demons to appear when you try to break through, and it will reinforce your bottlenecks. So, unless someone has a vendetta against you, why would they pull strings to get you sent in here?" the Steward said, looking at Jiang Man seriously.

Jiang Man thought for a moment and said, "Is there a possibility that this well can’t lock me?"

The Steward chuckled at his words but didn’t answer directly. He only said, "I’ve heard that line many, many times."

Jiang Man nodded. He didn’t press the issue and instead asked about the Spiritual Sources.

"It’s calculated by Demon Beasts and information. One beast is worth five hundred Spiritual Sources. How you split it is your business."

"A team can usually take care of fifty Demon Beasts in about ten days," the Steward continued explaining to Jiang Man. "As for a Demon King, just providing intel on its location is worth five thousand Spiritual Sources. Tracking it without losing the trail gets you ten thousand. A successful kill is worth fifty thousand."

Jiang Man nodded.

’Twenty-five thousand in ten days. That’s a fortune.’

"When do we set out?" he asked immediately.

Of course, he also needed to know the difficulty.

Fortunately, they could be dealt with by someone at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, as long as they weren’t careless.

That afternoon, the Steward assigned three people to Jiang Man.

All of them were at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Watching Jiang Man leave, the Steward shook his head slightly. "Another arrogant young man, and one who was tricked into coming here."

"They probably told him that a true genius can’t be locked."

"Doesn’t he stop to think? If that were true, why are geniuses not even allowed to apply to come here?"

After that, he didn’t give it much more thought. After all, such things happened often; he had seen so many that he had become numb to it.

He could even predict Jiang Man’s fate.

This first Demon Beast hunt would end in failure, all because of his inexperience and obstinance.

He would challenge it again, but his eagerness to succeed would lead to one failure after another.

In the end, his spirit would be worn down, and he would become just another member struggling to survive.

His dream of becoming a Great Cultivator would be gone, replaced by the simple struggle to get by.

Eventually, he would look back on his past and regret his youthful folly, his life filled with nothing but remorse.

————

「A Quaint Courtyard.」

Qing Dai entered from outside to see her lady standing beneath a tree. She was gazing up at the lush leaves, lost in thought.

"My Lady, there’s news regarding the young prodigies," Qing Dai said softly.

Hearing this, Meng Qiewei said with some surprise, "They’ve found the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart?"

"Not exactly, but something peculiar has happened at the Wuyun Sect," Qing Dai said with a grin. "I heard someone there started a trend of pulling all-nighters for Immortal Cultivation, and because it disturbed the other disciples..."

"He was reported."

"The complaint was for ’illegal Immortal Cultivation,’ and they demanded the Wuyun Sect arrest him."

Meng Qiewei’s expression was calm. She walked over and sat down, her vermilion lips parting slightly. "After the Great Rectification of the Immortal Sects, the system of Immortal Cultivation was revised. Staying up all night to cultivate does indeed have certain repercussions."

"Then does the person who came in first by pulling all-nighters count as a Celestial Pride?" Qing Dai asked.

————