Aspiring to the Immortal Path

It was a giant gate of black stone.

It was hidden flush with the walls, and if Tutu hadn\'t pointed it out, Tang Jie (original body) wouldn\'t have found it, even if he had been standing right in front of it.

"It was really hidden rather well," Tang Jie said as he lightly patted the stone gate. "So you\'re saying that the world behind this gate is the infinite void?"

He pushed on the gate.

With a clacking, the gate opened inward, revealing a long black corridor, not some infinite void.

Surprised, Tang Jie turned to Tutu, who frantically said, "This isn\'t an ordinary gate, but one that can lead to different locations. Look at the dial on the gate."

He looked at where Tutu was pointing and found that a special dial had appeared on the gate.

Tang Jie could have sworn that this wasn\'t there before.

There was a pointer on the dial that was swaying, but no matter how it swayed, it never left the center point.

Tang Jie realized something. He moved the needle to the side and then backed out of the gate.

The gate slammed shut.

At the same time, the entire maze rumbled as it began to shift.

At this time, Tang Jie couldn\'t open the gate no matter how hard he pushed.

When the rumbling finally stopped and the maze stopped shifting, Tang Jie pushed on the gate, and he found that the world behind it had completely changed. In front of him was a garden covered in white mist, clearly the place his avatar had been through.

"So this gate really can take you to different places," Xu Miaoran gasped. "What an amazing gate."

"No, it\'s not just the gate." Tang Jie glanced behind him. "It\'s a formation. This entire maze actually exists for the sake of this gate… A teleportation formation that can constantly change its exit… that\'s just too amazing!"

Tang Jie\'s eyes blazed with a fervent light.

It was no wonder the maze could shift. It turned out that each shift was meant for adjusting the coordinates for the location behind the gate. The real pivot of this maze was the dial, but it was hidden together with the stone gate it was attached to and not easily found. If Tutu and Shi Jingzhai hadn\'t crossed the void and come in through this gate, he would have never known about this maze\'s secret.

Now that he knew that this stone gate was connected to the infinite void, he decided that this had to be an important location in the Court of Myriad Domains, one that could lead to other important locations in the court.

While everyone else was still scavenging in the underground palace, Tang Jie could use this gate to go on a looting spree.

With this thought in mind, Tang Jie adjusted the dial again.

As the maze shifted, the stone gate once more opened up to that black corridor.

"You guys go in first. If you see anything good, take it. Once you\'ve gotten everything, come back," Tang Jie ordered Xu Miaoran.

"What about you?" Xu Miaoran asked.

"I\'m going to stay here and study this teleportation formation. The formation itself is a massive treasure trove."

The Rosecloud Domain had never had a teleportation formation that could have multiple teleportation points. If Tang Jie could master it, he could set one up in the Mountain River State Diagram, giving him an excellent trump card.

Xu Miaoran nodded and led Xian Tao and Hong Yuan down the corridor.

Once they were gone, Tang Jie began to lay down a formation.

The formation he laid down was the Heavenly Divination Formation, and he used it together with the Illuminating Eye.

By using the Illuminating Eye to observe the world, he could possess peerless calculation powers. In order to understand the secrets of the maze\'s formation, he had to use all the observation and simulation methods he had. Not only that, Tang Jie also added on a spirit detection formation and an illumination formation, allowing him to detect spiritual energy in and clearly see his surroundings. Finally, he cast an image manifestation spell to visualize everything he was thinking and seeing.

Through all these various methods, the entirety of the maze appeared before him.

Tang Jie\'s eyes darted about the maze, and with the help of the Heavenly Divination Formation, wherever he looked, he would gain numerous pieces of information concerning that location. As he assembled all this data, it would ultimately be reproduced through the image manifestation spell onto a formation diagram.

Thus, the formation diagram for a teleportation formation with multiple teleportation points appeared as if it was being 3D-printed, bit by bit.

Time slowly passed.

The blank formation diagram gradually filled with detail, bursting with the mysteries of the world of High Antiquity.

Tang Jie had managed to comprehend some of these things in the observation process, but there were also some things that he only knew the shape of and not the reason, and he needed to go back and slowly research them. But regardless, through Tang Jie\'s thorough scanning and recording, the true face of the maze\'s teleportation formation was slowly revealed to him.

He was more than halfway through the recording.

At this moment, his vision suddenly blurred. Something had intruded into Tang Jie\'s observation zone.

He looked over and saw that it was an old Daoist, and he was holding someone in his hand: Xi Canhen!

Tang Jie was stunned.

What was going on here?

In the middle of his shock, that old Daoist gasped and began to look around as if he had noticed something.

Tang Jie also gasped.

It had to be understood that Tang Jie had used a combination of spell arts and formations to thoroughly investigate this maze, and all this together with his Dao of Insight was what allowed him to detect the old Daoist. But that old Daoist needed only a glance to sense something, meaning that he was extremely strong.

Speak-not, think-not!

He was already close to the realm of speak-not, think-not.

Was this old Daoist at Violet Palace? At the lowest, he was at the peak of Soul Transformation.

As this thought occurred to him, Tang Jie closed his eyes and stopped looking at the old Daoist.

The old Daoist sensed that feeling of being watched disappear, and he shook his head. "I\'m being paranoid."

Holding Xi Canhen, he continued down the maze, navigating the turns as if he was quite familiar with the place.

Tang Jie didn\'t dare to look at the old Daoist, so he activated Heart Consonance and said, "Canhen!"

Xi Canhen was being restrained by the old Daoist, so he couldn\'t activate Heart Consonance, but he could receive. Upon hearing Tang Jie\'s voice, he replied in joy, "Big Brother Tang, a very formidable guy has come."

"I see him. Who is he?"

"Cang Qingfeng!"

\'Cang Qingfeng\'?

Tang Jie trembled in shock.

This man was Cang Qingfeng?

Having read Cang Qingfeng\'s history, he naturally understood how terrifying this person was.

This was a savage that even an Immortal Platform Titan of the Basking Moon Sect couldn\'t kill.

Xi Canhen added, "He killed everyone, everyone that Godhead Palace had deployed around the Spirit Mountains! More than a thousand people! He killed them all, this beast! He isn\'t human!"

In bits and pieces, Xi Canhen explained what had happened.

Tang Jie gasped, "You\'re saying that he passed arts to you so he could use your hands to nurture the sword? Wait; what did you say the sword\'s name was? \'The Immeasurable Sword\'… the hiltless Immeasurable Sword."

Tang Jie\'s eyes gleamed.

He was almost certain now that this Cang Qingfeng had some deep connection to the master of that white jade building.

But the Court of Myriad Domains had fallen ten thousand years ago. If this was true, then how long had Cang Qingfeng lived?

Tang Jie couldn\'t help but shiver at the thought.

At this moment, Tang Jie received information from the Heavenly Divination Formation.

The information concerned the investigation of the maze formation, but in this process, some dissonant substance had appeared, like some outside force jumping in the middle of an intricately-arranged go board.

Cang Qingfeng!

This was the effect Cang Qingfeng was having on the Heavenly Divination Formation.

Suddenly, Tang Jie understood.

He understood where Cang Qingfeng was going!

The stone gate!

Damn it.

Tang Jie almost cursed out loud.

He had never imagined that this sort of thing would happen at a moment like this. Cang Qingfeng was rapidly approaching, but Xu Miaoran\'s group had yet to return.

Tang Jie hastily turned the dial on the stone gate, and then he withdrew to the side.

Tang Jie wasn\'t confident in his ability to deal with such a terrifying individual, so he could only beat a temporary retreat.

Cang Qingfeng quickly reached the stone gate.

As if he already knew what was going on here, he went up to the stone gate\'s location and lightly pushed, and the stone gate rumbled open. All of this was far more elegant and smooth than what Tang Jie had been able to achieve.

The old Daoist didn\'t seem to care where the stone gate was leading, going straight to the dial and adjusting it to the very bottom.

The maze shifted again, and the area beyond the stone gate became a corridor full of flames.

Upon seeing that blazing corridor, Cang Qingfeng sighed, his eyes seemingly lost in the past. And then he carried Xi Canhen inside, turned around, and pushed at the stone gate, upon which the dial moved on its own. This lowered the possibility that people would follow him.

The maze fell quiet once more.

After a while, Tang Jie emerged from the shadows.

The dial on the stone gate had already returned to its original position.

But Tang Jie knew that this wasn\'t where Cang Qingfeng had gone.

Cang Qingfeng was very cautious, but not even in his dreams had he imagined that Xi Canhen would be reporting everything to Tang Jie. Nor could he have imagined that Tang Jie would be so bold as to follow him despite knowing how strong he was.

Tang Jie adjusted the dial all the way to the bottom.

The stone gate opened to a corridor of flames.

Tang Jie didn\'t immediately set off. He turned to Tutu and said, "Once I\'m gone, adjust the dial back to the black corridor and wait for Miss Xu to come back. Tell them what happened here."

But Tutu didn\'t respond, seemingly in a daze.

Tang Jie gave it a strange look. "What\'s wrong with you?"

He patted Tutu on the head, and Tutu seemed to wake from a dream. "Oh, oh, I understand."

"Did something happen?"

"It\'s nothing," Tutu replied, scratching its head. "I just… smelled a familiar scent."

"\'A familiar scent\'?" Tang Jie was surprised, and his eyes narrowed. "It\'s not like you\'re King Canis. What sort of familiar scent could you have?"

"That\'s true," Tutu replied in embarrassment.

Tang Jie gave Tutu a deep look before saying, "Remember what I taught you."

He stepped into the blazing corridor.

"Canhen, I\'m following. Try and talk with the old Daoist and probe his intentions."

"What intentions?"

"His background. This person is very familiar with this place. Don\'t you find it strange? This is the Court of Myriad Domains, a place from High Antiquity."

"You\'re saying this old man has lived for more than ten thousand years?" Xi Canhen asked in shock.

"One who has not reached Immortal Platform can\'t live ten thousand years. When I was focused on him just now, he only had a vague sensation of being watched, so he hasn\'t reached this level."

If this had been a real Immortal Platform cultivator, that glance would have completely exposed Tang Jie, and he wouldn\'t have been able to evade and then trail him.

"Then what could be the reason?"

"Perhaps it\'s not that he\'s lived for a long time but that he\'s lived multiple times," Tang Jie casually said. "You might want to discuss the Great Dao with him."

"\'Discuss the Great Dao\'?"

"Right, like Reincarnation."

―――――――――――――――――

The wave of saber energy passed.

Huang Yue\'s body crashed to the ground.

The world fell quiet once more.

Elder Gold gazed in shock at Tang Jie (avatar). "Saber intent… You\'ve grasped saber intent?"

Tang Jie cocked his head. "Is that difficult?"

He chuckled as he raised the golden saber again, and a sharp wave of energy sliced at Elder Gold.

There was no point in talk. Tang Jie wanted to take care of these two old men as quickly as possible.

It was just that his cold saber energy had thoroughly intimidated Elders Gold and Silver.

Once they understood that Tang Jie could use saber intent, they knew that Tang Jie had the power to kill them. Even without the help of the formation, in a one-on-one, Tang Jie wouldn\'t lose to either of them. Using the formation was simply to improve his chances and use less effort.

Upon realizing this, Elders Gold and Silver lost the will to fight to the bitter end.

They glanced at each other and suddenly howled.

As Tang Jie\'s saber energy approached, the two elders suddenly turned into clouds of smoke and disappeared.

Tang Jie was somewhat surprised.

The Yellow Springs Prison Formation had a sealing ability that prevented escape no matter what spell art one used. Tang Jie was basically certain that those two hadn\'t left, but they had used some method to conceal themselves such that even Tang Jie, the master of the formation, couldn\'t find them.

In the end, they were old experts of the Heart Demon Tier, possessing numerous tricks.

Tang Jie snorted. "I don\'t believe I can\'t find you… Come out!"

He thrust his left hand at the ground.

Winds howled and ghosts wailed, and the shrieking of the ghosts became like countless sonic arrows, shooting out in all directions. Tang Jie paled as even he was struck by a few.

This was an attack that made no distinction, striking at everyone\'s souls, and even the master of the formation found it hard to escape. As for Elders Gold and Silver, it was even more difficult for them to defend against it.

A groan came from the darkness, from Elder Silver.

Tang Jie\'s eyes glinted as he turned and swung his saber.

A wave of energy lit up the darkness, along with Elder Silver\'s face, as pale as a ghost.

He opened his mouth at Tang Jie, and a formless will shot at Tang Jie\'s forehead. Tang Jie\'s head was thrown back as blood gushed from his nostrils.

This was Elder Silver\'s Divine Will attack, but Tang Jie\'s resistance to Divine Will had been greatly increased, and an ordinary Divine Will attack would have a hard time killing him.

Even so, Tang Jie was still dizzied by this strike, and he was unable to maintain the power of his strike. The light dimmed, and a palm thrust out of the darkness and struck the wave of saber energy.

The saber energy struck that palm and then passed through it as if it was made of air. Meanwhile, that palm continued to drift toward Tang Jie.

Tang Jie couldn\'t dodge, as the Divine Will attack prevented him from focusing.

As that ghostly palm approached, he grunted, and a Shambler appeared in front of him.

The ghostly hand struck the Shambler.

There was a brief pause, and then a terrible screech as that nigh unkillable Shambler melted like snow, and then there was a wail. A ghost rushed out of the Shambler\'s body, but before it could escape, it dissolved into dust.

The ghostly hand continued to thrust toward Tang Jie, and Tang Jie felt a terrifying power in that palm that seemed ready to tear him apart.

Fortunately, this power dispersed on contact, and Tang Jie felt only a small jolt. Even so, that energy had his entire body roiling in extreme discomfort.

Tang Jie\'s face darkened at the result of this clash. "Divine Will substantialization!"

Tang Jie hadn\'t expected Elders Gold and Silver to have cultivated to the level of Divine Will substantialization, so called because Divine Will took on physical form, exhibiting greater power and effect. Of course, it also expended more.

For this reason, while the ghostly hand seemed like a spell art, it was actually a concentration of Divine Will. If Tang Jie hadn\'t noticed this from how his saber intent had failed to do anything and had chosen to receive the attack directly, he would have died.

This was a method stronger and more difficult to deal with than a regular Divine Will attack, and he hadn\'t expected Elders Gold and Silver to be willing to go this far.

A moment later, he heard Elder Gold\'s furious roar, and a sinister cloud of mist surged toward Tang Jie. At the same time, a cloud of fire descended from the sky.

Elders Gold and Silver had been gathering this Extreme Yin Truewater and Blazeheaven Flames for a hundred years, and they possessed shocking power. Even the strongest defensive barrier would melt away in front of them, and they could kill on contact. Someone who had grasped the Dao of Life would only be able to hold on for a few moments longer.

In order to deal with Tang Jie, the two of them had taken out even their best treasures.

Tang Jie also didn\'t dare to fight back against this fire and water, and he hastily retreated.

The fire and water instantly filled up the formation space, and the unkillable Shamblers suffered the most, the water melting them down to bones and the fire burning them away into ash. Even resisting for a few moments was difficult.

Tang Jie\'s blood ran cold at this sight.

Heart Demon True Persons truly couldn\'t be underestimated. Even Elders Gold and Silver, who couldn\'t be considered strong among their peers, had tricks of their own.

Even though he had attacked with surprise, used a formation, and heavily injured one of them, he still had a tough time taking them down.

As the water and fire spread, Tang Jie immediately put away the rest of the Shamblers and retreated from the formation.

At this moment, it was better to temporarily retreat.

But Tang Jie didn\'t waste time while outside the formation, casting various spell arts. However, none of the spell arts appeared. Rather, Tang Jie was using his comprehension of the Dao of Time to cast these spells into the future.

With a boom, a shockwave erupted from the formation.

A moment later, the fog scattered as the Yellow Springs Prison Formation was undone by force.

Without Tang Jie to manage it, the sealing power of the formation was weakened. Elders Gold and Silver had seized this moment to break out of this formation, showing their extreme resolve.

The water and fire had disappeared, and Elders Gold and Silver shot into the air, their faces devoid of blood. It was clear that they had paid a heavy price to break out.

Rather than using this chance to attack Tang Jie, they flew off in another direction. Elder Gold barked, "Tang Jie, just you wait! We\'ll come back to find you."

Tang Jie didn\'t try to chase them. He simply said, "Breaking out of the formation doesn\'t mean freedom."

He snapped his fingers.

A massive blade dropped from the sky, trailing chains behind it.

A Heavenly Cloud Blade.

Tang Jie\'s Heavenly Cloud Blade was much more powerful than it was in the past, completely capable of slicing through a mountain.

Elders Gold and Silver snorted and raised their hands, unleashing an intense light to block this attack.

They knew too much about the Heavenly Cloud Blade. While it was powerful, it wasn\'t unstoppable.

But a moment later, they saw even more Heavenly Cloud Blades appear.

"Impossible!" Immense fear appeared in their eyes.

They naturally knew that Tang Jie could unleash several dozen blades at once.

But ever since he had comprehended saber intent, he had concentrated the Heavenly Cloud Blades into one, putting quality over quantity.

That Heavenly Cloud Blade just now required two Heart Demon cultivators working together to block precisely because it had the concentrated might of 81 Heavenly Cloud Blades. If Tang Jie could casually unleash blades like this, he would have already been invincible.

So why?

Why could Tang Jie unleash so many of them?

From its aura, none of the blades seemed weak, each one being a congregation of 81 Heavenly Cloud Blades.

"This can\'t be real!" Elder Gold shouted.

This had to be an illusion!

An illusion!

A moment later, the blades swept past.

Plush!

One Heavenly Cloud Blade after another crashed into their palms, the savage strength like that of a mountain. They broke through their spell arts, shattered their arms, pierced through their barriers, and blasted apart their spiritual bodies, unleashing a spiritual torrent.

"Alas, it\'s all spiritual energy," Tang Jie muttered. He took out the Mountain River Diagram and collected everything.