Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-424-30041322

A small boat floated on the sea, drifting along with the waves.

Tang Jie sat on this boat, holding a small paper bag in his hand as he carefully applied medicinal powder to his wounds.

The battle above and under the ocean had left Tang Jie badly wounded.

His left hand was basically finished, and his body was so full of holes it was like a sieve. As he had not achieved greater attainment in Nine Revolutions yet, none of his injuries was easy to recover from. Although he had spirit pills and spell arts, he would still need at least seven days for a full recovery.

It was still rather fast. As he hadn't prepared a Spirit Blood Rebirth formation, regrowing lost limbs wasn't easy. Fortunately, these were new wounds, so they could be easily healed. Things would have gotten problematic if treatment had been delayed.

To recover as quickly as possible, Tang Jie had no choice but to use the Five Gods Faith's secret growth acceleration art. But as a price, he had to hope that he wouldn't need to regrow any body parts in the next month, as they would be very difficult to recover, and even if he did, there would be side effects.

Limbs being somewhat less flexible wasn't a problem. The real problem was if the meridians were blocked or deformed. Some spell arts that needed to pass through these meridians would no longer be usable.

For cultivators, the most troublesome wounds would always be meridian wounds.

Tang Jie had used the growth acceleration art to avoid problems with his meridians.

After using his inward sight to inspect his entire body and clearing up some potential blockages, Tang Jie confirmed that there were no more problems and sighed in relief. He raised the pot of tea he had been boiling and poured himself a cup to drink.

Despite the strength of the waves and wind, the little boat advanced steadily. There was a formation carved into it that prevented it from being affected by the winds and the waves, and there was even an invisible wall that prevented water from getting in.

This was a small boat made by Horizon Ocean Pavilion and was the best at traveling through stormy seas. Despite its size, it had many functions and was a very valuable art relic.

Tang Jie had found this item in Chang Mingxin's Mustard Seed Bag. Besides that, there was a sword manual, several thousand spirit coins, several bottles of medicine, and a beast token.

The sword manual wasn't some Immortal sword art, but a notebook that recorded many of Chang Mingxin's understandings of the sword.

In truth, the majority of the arts and techniques carried on a cultivator were of this sort. The major sects did not allow them to carry official arts and techniques.

And who would be so stupid as to carry such things around? So that they could be charitable to their enemies?

Tang Jie looked it over, and while it was a nice book, it wasn't very useful to him. He decided to sell it off to some sword cultivator when he had the time.

Putting aside the spirit coins, the medicines were of good quality, but alas, they were mostly for treating wounds. The medicine on his wounds was actually one of them. As for cultivation medicine, there was basically none.

Lastly, there was the refined beast token.

Chang Mingxin relied on his sword to express his Dao, so he basically never used his refined beast. Although he had one, no one had ever seen him use it.

He had just kept this thing in his Mustard Seed Bag and had probably clean forgotten about it, which was why he had not used it in the battle.

But this didn't mean that it was bad.

With the medicine applied, it was now time to inspect his spoils. Tang Jie released the refined beast in the token and found that Chang Mingxin's refined beast was actually a white rabbit.

This rabbit fiend quietly sat there on the floor after being released. It didn't seem like a fiend that could be used in battle at all.

It was no wonder Chang Mingxin had never used it, even when he was about to die. It seemed more like a pet.

But…

Tang Jie suddenly noticed that something was wrong.

That rabbit fiend was staring at him with its two little red eyes, shock within them.

Shock? It can be shocked?

This isn't a refined beast!

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

The fiend beasts of the Beast Refining Gate had all been through refining.

Fiends that had been refined would have their minds wiped, which was why they took orders and didn't fear death, why they didn't even resist when the Beast Refining Gate disciples sacrificed them in order to heal their injuries. Although this made them very inflexible, it was better than having them disobey commands. After all, these creatures were naturally unruly, so it was only when they were robbed of rationality that they could be tamed.

This rabbit fiend had clearly not had its mind wiped.

"I really didn't think that the Heaven Sword True Person would raise a fiend beast that hadn't been refined," Tang Jie chuckled. "Go on—tell me what abilities you have. Don't go and play dumb with me. I can tell that you're a middle-grade Mind Opening fiend. You're capable of speech."

The rabbit fiend looked at Tang Jie and finally said, "Where's Chang Mingxin?"

"Dead, of course."

The rabbit trembled and sighed, "As expected, he still died. Who killed him?"

"Who else could it be?"

"You?" The rabbit looked at Tang Jie with disbelief in its red eyes. "You, a Nine Revolutions cultivator, killed a Celestial Heart True Person?"

In its mind, Chang Mingxin should have been killed by some bigshot who then found this beast token to not be worth anything, thus handing it to Tang Jie.

"In truth, he isn't even the first Celestial Heart I've killed," Tang Jie said with a shrug.

The rabbit fiend's jaw dropped in shock.

If even his killing a Celestial Heart True Person shocked the rabbit this much, if it were to know that Tang Jie had done it while surrounded by enemies, and that he had even taken nearly one hundred Beast Refining Gate disciples, it probably would have lost its mind. After all, the latter was far more difficult than the former.

"Alright, start talking already. What's your name, why did Chang Mingxin keep you as his refined beast, what abilities do you have…"

The rabbit fiend grumbled, "Why should I answer you?"

Tang Jie casually went on, "Lastly, give me a reason I shouldn't kill you and make myself some rabbit stew."

The rabbit fiend paled.

Looking at Tang Jie's cold eyes, the rabbit fiend realized that this probably wasn't an empty threat.

It shivered and finally said, "My name is Tutu, and I can use a few low-level spell arts…"

It listed out all the spells.

Sure enough, they were mostly spell arts of a low level, and Tang Jie wasn't able to find a single one that he liked. He frowned and said, "In other words, as a middle-grade Mind Opening rabbit fiend, you're actually not even as good as an upper-grade Spirit Sensing fiend? Is this your most outstanding attribute?"

The rabbit fiend shivered. "I… I'm not used for combat."

"Then what are you used for?"

The rabbit fiend pondered the question, and then it squeezed out a smile. "I can relieve your boredom, tell jokes, watch the house for you, oh, and I can dig holes. I'm incredible at digging holes…"

Tang Jie slapped the rabbit fiend and sent it bowling over. "It seems you're only good enough to be rabbit stew."

"Don't!" the rabbit fiend cried in shock.

Tang Jie looked at the rabbit fiend. "Although Chang Mingxin wasn't good at controlling beasts, having one is better than nothing. He had so many strong fiend beasts to select from, but he chose to keep you and even let you keep your rationality. This can't have been done without a reason."

The rabbit trembled as it looked at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie tossed out almost forty Mustard Seed Bags and coolly said, "I've killed a lot of the Beast Refining Gate's people, and I've collected all this from them. I'm sure there are many refined beasts inside. I have to look through all of them, so I can't waste time on a piece of trash."

When the rabbit saw all those Mustard Seed Bags, it almost fainted.

It finally said, "I'll talk, I'll talk! I'm actually not from the Rosecloud Domain."

"What did you say?" Tang Jie was stunned.

The rabbit shouted, "I come from the Heavenshade Domain."

"How could that be?" Tang Jie shouted. "Only Immortal Platform Titans can resist the domain Astral Winds!"

"Yes, yes," the rabbit replied. "Only Immortal Platform Titans can resist the domain Astral Winds, but there are ways to get to other domains besides breaking through the domain barrier."

"What?" Tang Jie's heart thumped.

At that moment, he recalled the spatial fissure the Stone Gate Sect had discovered, and the Nine Executions Immortal Formation, which was situated in a boundary crack.

Yes, only Immortal Platform Titans could resist the Astral Winds, but it wasn't only Immortal Platform cultivators who could freely wander the myriad domains.

Tang Jie's eyes glowed. "You're saying you have a means of passing through the domain boundary?"

The rabbit fiend replied, "I belong to the Heaven-Lost Rabbit race, which is the best at traveling to and fro in the void so long as there is a spatial fissure."

"Can you take me to other domains?"

The rabbit grimaced. "No. I have to find my young master and fully recover my strength first…"

As the rabbit talked, Tang Jie gradually understood.

It turned out that traveling through spatial fissures to other domains wasn't that easy.

The most powerful property of the Heaven-Lost Rabbits was their ability to sense their location no matter where they were and also to resonate with their destination. In this way, when they were wandering in the void, they would never get lost.

This was whence their name originated.

But this alone wasn't enough to freely travel through the void. Strength and preparation were still needed.

This rabbit was originally a Divine Division great fiend of the Heavenshade Domain. It had apparently crossed the void with its young master in order to find some treasure, but while traveling the void, they ran into spatial turbulence. While it still managed to get through, it was heavily injured and got separated from its young master.

As the rabbit fiend had stimulated its potential to get into the Rosecloud Domain, it urgently needed to rest and recuperate, so it dug itself a burrow. It ended up sleeping for one thousand years to recover from its injuries, but even this came at the cost of its level falling all the way back down to the upper grade of Spirit Sensing. Its current level of power was all thanks to its diligent cultivation.

It knew that if it wanted to get back to its original level, it needed to find its young master, so it began roaming the world. Although it was weak, it made good use of its caution and vigilance to survive.

Alas, it had the misfortune of running into Chang Mingxin in its travels. Chang Mingxin had just become a True Person at this time, brimming with energy and vigor. His greatest skill was in extremely long-range attacks, so when he saw how fast the rabbit could run, he naturally decided to play around with it.

The rabbit was utterly defeated and captured alive.

To survive, the rabbit fiend confessed everything to Chang Mingxin.

When Chang Mingxin heard that this rabbit was from another domain, he immediately saw its rarity and decided to keep it.

"So that's what happened…" Tang Jie muttered. "In other words, you don't actually have a use?"

"Huh?" The rabbit fiend's ears shot up in surprise.

"Yes, you don't have any use," Tang Jie very earnestly said. "Although you're a fiend from another domain, you're still a piece of trash that can't even beat a Spirit Sensing fiend. What does it matter if you can pin down your location in the middle of the void? Neither of us has the ability to travel through the void, and even if you did have that ability, once I reach Immortal Platform, I can also freely travel the domains. Since I can walk the proper path in time, what would be the point in keeping the side path that you provide?"

The rabbit fiend panicked. "You can't say that! The world is constantly changing, and there's no telling when something unexpected might occur. What if someone were to teleport you into the void? It's best to be prepared."

Tang Jie slapped it. "You're the one who will be thrown into the void."

The rabbit jumped in anxiety. "Moreover, I understand the situation in the Heavenshade Domain, so I can tell you anything about that place. In the future, when you go there, you'll be prepared."

Tang Jie pursed his lips. "I don't think about things that are too far in the future."

"What about the Beast Refining Gate? I know stuff about the Beast Refining Gate! I've spent many years with Chang Mingxin, so I know everything he knows."

"Hm?" Tang Jie raised an eyebrow.

He was finally interested.

For a thousand years, the six major sects had been trying to infiltrate each other, sending out innumerable spies.

But no matter what sort of plans were made, spies that could become True Persons were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns.

For this reason, the major sects knew very little of each other's information that only True Persons and above were allowed to know.

This rabbit naturally wasn't a True Person, but it had been with Chang Mingxin. It had to know many secrets that only True Persons could know.

Tang Jie smiled. "Congratulations on not becoming rabbit stew."

The cowardly rabbit fiend sighed in relief.

Rabbits innately feared death, and not even becoming a Divine Division great fiend had been able to change that.

After putting away the rabbit fiend, Tang Jie began to look through the Mustard Seed Bags. There were mostly spirit coins and medicine, along with a few art relics. Of course, there was no lack of refined beast tokens.

Put together, it was worth quite a bit of money, enough to summon his original body two times.

But when it came to things that he could use or that could increase his combat power, there wasn't a single thing. Although there were plenty of refined beasts, as he hadn't learned the Myriad Beast Union Mantra, he couldn't control them. Once he released the refined beasts, he had no control over whether they attacked his enemies or attacked him.

From this perspective, Tang Jie had suffered a loss in this battle, for the usage of 13 Heavenbane Lightning Pearls meant that his total combat power had fallen.

This left Tang Jie very unhappy!

But from another perspective, Tang Jie had made a huge profit.

This was because Tang Jie had learned from the rabbit fiend which people from the Beast Refining Gate had come, including that Wolf Lord.

Tang Jie immediately sent this information to the Basking Moon Sect, in addition reporting the number of people he had killed. Although more than half of them lacked the identity tokens to prove the kills, he had to at least report what he could… Achievements were for boasting about and getting rewards for, not for being inconspicuous and playing dumb about. The Basking Moon Sect might even break precedent out of consideration for the scale of his achievement and give him credit for the kills without proof.

In fact, he guessed right about this.

When the news arrived, the entire Basking Moon Sect was thrown into an uproar.

They had already received notice from Xu Miaoran before, so they already knew that the Beast Refining Gate was up to something. But they had never imagined that Tang Jie could kill nearly one hundred Beast Refining Gate disciples in one go.

This was a major event that might not happen once in one hundred years.

No one could have imagined that Tang Jie could do this much. The news of Chang Mingxin's death in particular had all of the Basking Moon Sect jumping in joy.

Although Tang Jie had admitted that he had only a small number of identity tokens to prove his skill, with nearly sixty kills being unverified, from what the Basking Moon Sect understood about Tang Jie, they did not feel like he would casually boast about his achievements.

When Xie Fengtang learned of this matter, he even swore an oath on his name that Tang Jie was not lying.

Thus, the Basking Moon Sect sent out an order for the Search Hall to investigate this matter, and if it were proved that the battle on the sea had happened and that the Beast Refining Gate really had lost this many people, then Tang Jie would be acknowledged as having made all these kills and receive the corresponding reward.

Of course, Tang Jie wouldn't know about this until many days later.

At the same time, the surviving disciples informed the Beast Refining Gate of the grievous defeat, shaking the sect to the core.

More than a hundred disciples had died in battle, and the Heaven Sword True Person had given his life for the cause.

And the culprit was only one person. The reality was very difficult to accept.

Three days later, the Beast Refining Gate issued new orders.

Tang Jie had been put on its Basking Moon Sect kill list. His rank was 371, on the same level as a Spirit Ring True Person.

Of course, Tang Jie would also only learn about this many days later.

At this time, Tang Jie was still leisurely making his way to Joymount Island.

Two days later, Tang Jie arrived at the Azure Ocean Zone.

Amidst the blue waves, a great clamor was arising from the island in the distance.

A steel fortress stood on the shore of the island, numerous fire beacons rising from it.

When Tang Jie heard the distant sounds of fighting, he knew that he had arrived at Joymount Island.