Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-227

Am I going to die here?

No!

Absolutely not!

I haven’t become a True Inheritor yet!

But Tang Jie wasn’t here, and the helping hand that he had always relied on couldn’t aid him. No one else could save him. He was the only person who could save himself.

Wei Tianchong’s mind suddenly cleared up. That “mortal battle” on Tiger Roar Peak had at least given him a little experience, letting him know that when one’s life was at stake, one could not panic no matter what.

He opened his eyes wide and tried his best to calm himself down. While the stalemate was still going on, he desperately attempted to turn his head so that he could get a look at what was happening around him.

He saw that the puppet was desperately pulling on him, and even the little fox had joined it.

The little fox?

Wei Tianchong’s eyes brightened, and he hollered, “Use Void Blade on my hand!”

The little fox looked at Wei Tianchong.

“Hurry!” Wei Tianchong yelled.

Whoosh!

An arc of light flew across Wei Tianchong’s arm, the Void Blade instantly slicing apart the vines covering it. But it also left a deep wound on his right arm.

Alas, there were simply too many vines, and the Void Blade covered too little area. Cutting off all the vines was impossible.

Wei Tianchong seized this moment to pull his arm free. Grabbing his axe, he hacked at his left hand.

The Vampire Vine had coiled around his left hand, but with two strikes of the axe imbued with the Ghost Axe spell, two of the vines broke, and he was able to move around his left hand a little. But in aiming the axe at his left arm, he had almost hacked to the bone, and he was in such pain that he howled.

But he pushed through the pain and formed a spell with his left hand.

Boom!

A fireball appeared out of his left hand and hurtled toward the Vampire Vine.

Flames exploded into the air and the Vampire Vine let out a screech.

Several vines drew back, and Wei Tianchong leaned forward and swung his axe at the thick stalk of the Vampire Vine.

As his axe cut through, Wei Tianchong shouted, “Seize!”

The puppet strode forward, letting go of Wei Tianchong and grabbing the vine in front of it.

This grab was excellently placed, seizing the vine right in the middle.

Originally, the puppet had been struggling with the vine through Wei Tianchong, and Wei Tianchong was like an object bound by rope pulled from both sides.

Now that the puppet had come forward and around Wei Tianchong, it had essentially grabbed the middle of the rope, so the bound object behind it was no longer subject to as much force.

Wei Tianchong seized this chance to raise his axe again, hacking at his left and right legs. As the puppet had seized the vines up ahead, the Vampire Vine could no longer apply force to hold Wei Tianchong fast, and he was finally able to break through.

Rolling, Wei Tianchong formed a spell and pointed forward. A Darkwind Warrior emerged from the void and rushed at the Vampire Vine.

Darkwind Warriors were much stronger than Evilhook Shadow Soldiers. While the Vampire Vine was busy with the puppet, the warrior tore at the Vampire Vine with its claws.

The little fox was just about to use Void Blade when Wei Tianchong shouted, “Don’t use it!”

The little fox froze as it watched Wei Tianchong get to his feet, his entire body covered in blood. All four of his limbs were injured, and the Vampire Vine had poked several holes in his body. A few severed vines were still flailing on his body like snakes. All of this was simply terrifying to behold, but Wei Tianchong’s face was brimming with killing intent as he spoke. “There are so many doors here, and the vast majority of them probably contain some danger. You can’t use your Void Blade that many times, so it has to be saved for critical moments. Shit, damned thing, I’ll eat you! Fuck you!”

He began to wildly swing his axe at the Vampire Vine.

He was like a frenzied lumberjack, swinging his axe again and again. The Vampire Vine’s vines were hacked off, and it splattered blood all over Wei Tianchong’s body, but Wei Tianchong continued to hack away. His wounds had not dispelled the will to fight in his chubby body, only stoked it higher. As he hacked, he shouted, “I’ll mince you up! We’ll see how savage you are once you’re nothing but a pile of rotten wood!”

Boom! Another fireball flew out, and the Vampire Vine shrieked as the flames burned it away. Finally, it withered and crumbled, leaving behind only a bright pearl and a piece of azure jade.

“Whew!” Wei Tianchong weakly plopped to the ground, pain rushing in from every part of his body, and he was seized by the desire to sleep.

But a moment later, Wei Tianchong stood up and muttered, “I can’t fall… I promised Tang Jie… I have to get to the Devil Crushing Path as soon as possible… He’s waiting for me…”

He took out a bottle of medicine and took a wound-healing pill, after which he looked again at this dark space.

The Vampire Vine’s door had disappeared.

But there were still hundreds of doors twinkling in this space.

Wei Tianchong felt a surge of helplessness.

How many doors will I have to open before I can make it out of this damned maze?

He didn’t know, but he had to keep going.

He took in a deep breath and opened another door…

“Interesting… He was able to overcome the Vampire Vine, and he’s moving onto the second door so quickly.”

In the hall, Ji Wujiu was looking at the scene on his crystal, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Brother Nan, you said this child was foolish and lacked resolve, making him unfit to be True Person Changfeng’s disciple. But it looks to me that he’s rather persistent, and he can keep his cool when his life’s on the line and show off a courageous and savage side. He even knows to have his pet conserve its strength to be used for later. This is a decent performance.”

Nan Baicheng’s face was dark as he said, “His life being in danger spurred his will to fight, and he was able to keep calm in the face of danger… This truly is rather surprising. You just don’t know how timid and cowardly this child acted before this. This is also my first time seeing this.”

“I see.” Ji Wujiu understood. “Some people will normally be very brave and fierce, but when their life is in danger, they’ll become timid and falter. And there are some people who are normally cowardly and afraid of death, but when their life is at stake, they erupt with immense potential. It now appears that this child of the Wei Clan is of the latter sort. He normally might put on an embarrassing display in his normal life, but at the truly critical moments, he can resolve his Origin Heart and put on a good show.”

“Mm,” Nan Baicheng grunted.

Even Nan Baicheng had to admit after seeing Wei Tianchong’s performance that he had misjudged him somewhat.

Ji Wujiu chuckled. “Since this Wei Tianchong isn’t as awful as Brother Nan initially thought, does Brother Nan want to change his mind?”

After thinking it over, Nan Baicheng shook his head. “It’s true that Wei Tianchong was able to explode with potential when faced with death, but he’s not the only one in the world who can face down death without fear. While one’s attitude in normal times isn’t as important as one’s attitude when faced with danger, how many times will one be faced with death in a lifetime? Whenever my master meets someone, is he going to have to say, ‘While my disciple is normally pretty awful, when his life is on the line, he’s actually rather capable’? Since there are already so many students who put on excellent performances normally and in key moments to select from, why should I choose a junior disciple who only shows his worth at key moments?”

“That’s true.”

“Moreover, a disciple often has to represent the dignity of their master. A disciple who is generally incompetent will generally bring shame to their master. My master, True Person Changfeng, has a real temper, and he would prefer you were incompetent at moments of life and death over being incompetent daily. Thus, this child… is ultimately no good.”

“That being the case, then let him stay in the Prison of Mortal Coil and see if he can maintain his resolve and fight his way out,” Ji Wujiu chuckled. “In the Prison of Mortal Coil, it is easy to start off brave, but it’s difficult to maintain it. This zone not only tests one’s will, but also one’s confidence, focus… and resolve!”

By now, Wei Tianchong was already battling with the savage creature behind the second door.

This time, it was a spotted tiger, but it was an illusory beast, so it lacked the ferocity of the Vampire Vine and was soon slain by Wei Tianchong.

But the Prison of Mortal Coil had countless dangers. Though he had overcome two, there were still countless more trials waiting.

He needed to keep opening doors, releasing the dangers behind them and killing them, to have a chance of getting out of this accursed prison.

There was no telling whether Tang Jie could wait that long.

He couldn’t even be sure that Tang Jie would be the first to get into the Devil Crushing Path.

If he couldn’t even do that, Wei Tianchong would be fighting this bitter battle for nothing.

But Wei Tianchong believed in Tang Jie.

He believed that Tang Jie could do it more than he believed in himself.

No matter what, he couldn’t disappoint Tang Jie.

Just as Ji Wujiu had said, this was a test of fighting will, patience, endurance, resolve, and trust.

One would be sharp at first, but this sharpness would be ground down with time, and over the long battles, his physical strength would drop, as would his confidence.

Once one had broken through countless doors and killed numerous fiends, one would have consumed vast amounts of strength, and there was no telling how resolved one would be once one had spent numerous hours in this illusion zone.

Momentary courage wasn’t rare, but to keep up hope and persevere in the middle of desperate straits constituted true courage.

This would have been an unimaginably difficult test for even Tang Jie. How could Wei Tianchong endure?

Run!

Constant running!

Running from the ocean to a desert, and out of a sandstorm into an icy mountain.

Tang Jie ran through countless illusion zones.

There were dark swamps, mountains of fire, quiet forests, and even the Yellow Springs, dark hells, worlds of evil wind…

The scenes were constantly changing, and as he ran, he saw all the beauty and wonder that the Great Chiliocosm had to offer.

As he ran, it was like he was traveling through all of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm, living out a long life, watching countless movies play in front of his eyes.

The Nine Palace Illusion Formation had been laid down by an elder of the Seven Absolutions Sect, Reverend Scarlet Brow.

This man had traveled the world in his early days, and after reaching Immortal Platform, he broke through the domain and traveled the Great Stellar Chiliocosm.

Before his death, he returned to the Rosecloud Domain and unleashed his Returned Remnants on a blessed land of the Seven Absolutions Sect.

The Nine Palace Illusion Formation was his last product before he returned his remnants to the earth.

Although this formation did not specialize in killing, it contained all things, including Reverend Scarlet Brow’s understanding of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm. Many of the illusion zones were based on his experience in the outer realms, and the formation could be considered a compacted form of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm.

This was exactly why many bigshots who sought to ascend and overcome the Astral Winds would first experience the Nine Palace Illusion Formation.

For the Basking Moon Academy students, a simple excursion like this wasn’t enough for them to truly experience the Great Stellar Chiliocosm. But by targeting him, Ji Wujiu had essentially allowed Tang Jie to truly experience the charms of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm.

Even though he was worried about Wei Tianchong, Tang Jie still couldn’t help but take in the magnificent vistas that served as the basis for these illusion zones and express wonder at the countless sights of the universe.

After running through so many illusion zones that he lost count, he found that there was a giant city up ahead of him.

This city was enormous, its walls alone rising to a height of five hundred feet, the city gate one hundred feet. As he stood at the base of its walls, he felt like an ant. Over the walls, he could vaguely make out the towering buildings of the city. Even an ordinary house was at least three times larger than a house in the Rosecloud Domain.

Although he knew that this was an illusion zone, Tang Jie still couldn’t help but be shaken by the grandeur of this enormous city.

After some thought, Tang Jie entered.

The moment he stepped through the gate, the empty city was filled with countless people.

These people had giant bodies, even the smallest child being the height of a normal adult.

As they strolled through the streets of the city, laughter and the sounds of peddlers hawking their wares could be heard throughout.

One of the giants walked over and ran right into Tang Jie, but Tang Jie made no effort to move. The giant passed through his body and continued forward.

As expected, it was all an illusion.

“Is this the legendary Gigantes Domain?” Tang Jie muttered.

The “Travelogue of the Wilds” said that there was a domain in the Great Stellar Chiliocosm known as Gigantes. The cultivators of this domain cultivated blood energy instead of spirit, so their bodies were all large and powerful.

The tall and muscular figures of these people matched the descriptions of the Gigantes Domain. For some reason, Tang Jie felt them to be familiar, but he couldn’t understand where he had seen them before.

However, he was in a rush to reach the Devil Crushing Path, so he threw aside these thoughts and continued forward.

The illusory giants around him went about their business—loudly talking, confidently striding, hastily running, haggling with vendors—and it was all very bustling and lively.

Tang Jie knew that Reverend Scarlet Brow had probably seen all this when passing through the Gigantes Domain, and it was now being replayed through his supreme Immortal arts.

Suddenly, there was a clamor in the distance, and a red light erupted on the horizon.

A moment later, countless giants bellowed in shocked anger and began to shout into the distance.

A blood-red cloud swept out, drifting over the city. Those giants looked at that red cloud with fear in their eyes.

Tang Jie then saw countless figures jumping out of the bloody cloud, flying through the air.

As they got closer, Tang Jie was able to tell that these were fiends and demons in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Some of them had four arms while others had skin as red as blood. Some had bodies covered in scales while others had horns growing from their heads.

If there was one commonality, it was that they all had savage expressions and were moving like lightning. They lunged on the city below, screeching as the light of spell arts exploded.

The Gigantes city was instantly engulfed in innumerable spells. As the light of the spell arts landed, large swaths of the city were turned into rubble. Tang Jie felt like he had been transported into the past, and he watched as streets were blasted to bits and groaning buildings collapsed.

The countless giants in the city roared as they swung their fists at the sky and began to battle with the fiends and demons.

These giants possessed divine strength, even the weakest of them being countless times stronger than Tang Jie. Under their furious attacks, the fiends and demons descending from the bloody cloud were torn to shreds, vanishing in streams of spiritual light. But there was no end to them, and the fiends continued to fall from the cloud like rain.

The fiends and demons that came after that were even stronger and larger.

Tang Jie saw with his own eyes a three-legged, two-horned black devil wielding a scythe descend from the sky. With a casual swing, it produced a black wave of energy that sliced a giant into two bloody halves.

It howled in triumph as even more black devils landed.

A rain of blood soon began to fall over the Gigantes city as the giants desperately battled.

Giants wearing full armor charged out, wielding giant weapons. These armored giants were stronger than the others, and they instantly pulverized the descending devils.

As the armored giants appeared, the bloody cloud groaned, and Tang Jie saw a devil of enormous size descend from the cloud.

This monster had the head of a camel and possessed six giant arms which held a long chain.

The moment it appeared, the chain flew at an armored giant, wrapping around it. A second later, the head of the chain turned into a giant snake that bit down, and large amounts of blood flowed through the chain to the camel-headed devil.

The armored giant howled in pain, but no matter how he struggled, he was ultimately sucked dry.

More of the camel-headed devils appeared, landing throughout the city.

“Raaa!”

A thunderous roar came out of the distance.

A giant golden fist manifested, streaking like a comet toward that bloody cloud.

Numerous camel-headed devils moved to stop it, but the fist was simply unstoppable, obliterating all the devils in its path.

Just before it made impact with the cloud, a giant black hand emerged from the cloud and lightly pressed against the golden fist.

As the two hands met, the fist dissolved into golden motes of light.

The black hand drew back into the cloud, and a blood-colored, lotus-shaped platform began to descend from the cloud.

This bloody lotus had three petals that slowly rotated in the air. On each petal was a human figure engulfed in black smoke.

In the center of the lotus was a single person, a monk. His eyes were closed in meditation, and he held a string of prayer beads in his hands as he chanted. The hands holding those prayer beads were as black as ink. It was clear that he had unleashed that giant black hand just now.

The moment he appeared, the countless devils down below began to cheer.

Tang Jie suddenly paled as he cried out in alarm, “The Jadeblood Lotus Dais, the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk… The Calamity of Primordial Fog!”

He finally understood what was going on in this Gigantes city.

The invasion of the Primordial Fog Domain!

This was the Primordial Fog Calamity that had taken place 1800 years ago, and in this calamity, many powerful demons and devils became known to the people, with the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk being one of the most terrifying Archdevils of the Primordial Fog.

As he shouted, the fiend monk on the lotus platform suddenly opened his eyes.

As he did, it felt like those narrow eyes were the only things left in this space.

Shockingly, those eyes were looking straight at Tang Jie.

The fiend monk lightly raised a finger, this black finger penetrating through spacetime to thrust at Tang Jie.