Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-471

With a greater-attainment spiritual body, Tang Jie had officially reached the peak of Mortal Shedding. In theory, he now had the right to make a charge at Celestial Heart.

Of course, this was only in theory.

As Tang Jie had spent far too little time at the peak of Nine Revolutions, his foundations were ultimately too unstable. This instability wasn't about his cultivation level, but about the understanding of his own body and how to utilize his abilities. Besides that, there was also experience in general. The charge at Celestial Heart was no minor matter, so he needed to at least prepare for several years and understand the key points before carrying it out. Even though the monkey had said that Tang Jie would attain Celestial Heart without a problem, if he didn't take it seriously, he might still fail.

Thus, for the short term, he did not plan to make the charge at Celestial Heart.

But Tang Jie didn't waste his time. He still had twenty-some days until he had to leave the Water Moon Paradise, and he used this time to cultivate every day. The Moonlight Pond was merged with the spiritual energy of the world, and one day in here was worth countless days in the outside world. No matter how long one stayed, one wouldn't get tired of it. In his free time, Tang Jie conversed with Zhao Hui and the others, each person giving their opinion and using the strength of others to make up for their weaknesses. They were rather happy days. Occasionally, even the monkey would come over. It had lived for a very long time, and it had a penetrating insight. A casual comment from it would be enough to enlighten Tang Jie and the others.

The twenty-some days passed in this manner, and it was soon the last day, time for Tang Jie to leave.

The monkey came personally to send him off, patting him on the shoulder. "Good kid, it's finally time for you to go. Once you're gone, I don't know how long I'll have to wait until another person comes who can reach the summit."

Tang Jie was curious and asked, "How many people were able to reach the summit of Water Moon Peak?"

The monkey scratched its head. "I can't remember, but it's probably five or six. It's difficult to reach the summit, and it's always been only the most outstanding geniuses who can reach it. You not only have to improve by a tier, you must also comprehend the Dao of Slaughter. It's too hard."

Tang Jie chuckled. "It seems like I'm the only one who has reached the summit without comprehending Slaughter."

To his surprise, the monkey shook its head. "That's not the case. There was one more who didn't comprehend Slaughter and reached the peak."

"Oh? Who was it? Was it the Sword Holder or Sect Master Ling Xiao?" Tang Jie asked.

A strange look appeared in the monkey's eyes as it shook its head. "Neither of them. His name was Cang Qingfeng."

"'Cang Qingfeng'?" Tang Jie was surprised. He recalled that this name had appeared on the academy's record wall. So this person is so formidable that not only did he break multiple records at the academy, he was also of such astounding aptitude after entering the sect. Not only did he enter the Water Moon Paradise, he also reached the summit without comprehending Slaughter. Thinking this, he asked, "Then what status does this person have in the Basking Moon Sect now?"

Unexpectedly, the monkey shook its head and answered, "This person is no longer in the Basking Moon Sect. Apparently, he betrayed the sect for some reason, and his current location is unknown." The monkey heaved a sigh. "A pity. That was a real genius."

Tang Jie was flabbergasted, but the monkey was no longer interested in talking with him.

It looked up at the sky and said, "The time is up, so hurry up and leave!"

It pointed a finger, and Tang Jie turned into a rainbow and flew off, vanishing from the Water Moon Paradise.

Tang Jie's vision blurred, and then it returned to normal.

When his vision returned, he found himself outside the Hall of Divine Conference.

A tower loomed in the distance, solemn and holy.

Tang Jie's heart shivered. He knew that his period of secluded cultivation had come to an end.

He prostrated in the direction of Starsnatch Pagoda and said, "Four hundred days in the Water Moon Paradise; forty years of wind and frost, rain and dew! Tang Jie will engrave the kindness he received in his bones! I thank True Person Luo for his grace and the Basking Moon Sect for its favor!"

A soft chuckle came from the hall. "Although you like to play tricks, at least you know how to be grateful. Go, then, and work hard. Don't let down the expectations of others."

It was the Mystic Moon True Lord's voice.

Tang Jie respectfully withdrew.

After leaving Starsnatch Peak, Tang Jie headed to Sunwatch Peak instead of returning to his cave estate.

He needed to find Wei Tianchong.

It had been more than a year since he had entered the paradise, and he didn't know how everyone else had been faring, so he went to Wei Tianchong first to understand the situation.

When he arrived at Sunwatch Peak and asked, he found that Wei Tianchong wasn't there and was out on a mission. Thus, he could only go and find Qi Shaoming.

At least Qi Shaoming was around, and he was delighted to see Tang Jie. The two of them began to avidly discuss recent developments.

Tang Jie was relieved to hear that everyone was doing fine.

As for Qi Shaoming, he was dumbfounded when he learned that Tang Jie was at the peak of Mortal Shedding.

He had entered Cognitive Creation when Tang Jie had entered the paradise, and while he knew that Tang Jie would come out of the paradise with a higher cultivation level, he didn't think that Tang Jie would surpass him by this much.

After all, there was still a long distance between Cognitive Creation and the peak of Mortal Shedding. Currently, Qi Shaoming had only just begun to expand his Spirit Will, not even having reached Spirit Will Transmission, let alone the Three Withering Tribulations.

"Before you entered the paradise, I was three to five years ahead of you in cultivation, but now that you've been in there, you've left me thirty to fifty years behind. Really…" Qi Shaoming shook his head.

Tang Jie smiled. "Don't be discouraged. You possess incredible talent, outstanding aptitude, and a wise teacher to guide you. So long as you steadily advance, the gap will only get smaller. The path of cultivation extends far into the distance, so there is no need to be anxious over a single moment. Besides, we're brothers, so what does it matter who's above and who's below?"

Qi Shaoming felt much better after hearing this. "Back when we were at the academy, when I saw you surpassing me, I felt very uncomfortable and even challenged you, trying to defeat you to prove myself. But now that I think about it, this was very senseless. Yes, you're right. We're brothers, so if we want to strive to be better than someone, it should be against outsiders. If anyone is unconvinced, they should be like you and go and kill one hundred Beast Refining Gate disciples. If they do that, they'll naturally receive the sect's favor."

Tang Jie laughed. "I only came to ask about how my friends were doing. Since everyone is fine, I can relax. But on the matter of my breakthrough, I would like you to keep it a secret for now. If anyone asks, just tell them that I've entered the Three Witherings."

He had asked the same of Zhao Hui and the others.

As for major figures like the Mystic Moon True Lord, he naturally couldn't order them to do anything, but he trusted that no one would try to ask the Mystic Moon True Lord anything.

"Hm? You just came out and you're already up to something big?" After a momentary pause, Qi Shaoming understood what Tang Jie was hinting at. It was clear that it wasn't just his strength that had grown in the last few years, but also his experience in dealing with people.

"It's nothing. I'm just taking precautions. Some things are better kept hidden," Tang Jie indifferently said.

The two of them talked a little while more, and only then did Tang Jie rise and return to Immortal Spring Peak.

Upon returning to his estate, he saw that Yiyi was sitting on that large rock he usually cultivated on, a very serious look on her little face. She was very diligently cultivating, and next to her, Shi Jingzhai was playing around with the rabbit fiend.

Upon seeing Tang Jie return, Yiyi shouted excitedly and rushed into Tang Jie's embrace like a swallow.

Four hundred days of cultivation meant that Tang Jie had been away from his cave for more than a year.

He had never been separated from Yiyi for this long before, so it was hard to blame Yiyi for missing him so badly.

Hanging a little arm around his neck, Yiyi angrily said, "Didn't you say that you would be back in one hundred days? How did it end up being four hundred? You can't be trusted!"

Tang Jie told Yiyi about everything he had experienced in the paradise.

The story was very long, and by the time Tang Jie finished, it was dark outside.

Yiyi sat in Tang Jie's lap, sucking on her finger. "Is that what happened? So you're now at peak Mortal Shedding with a Heavenly Spirit Law Body, half a step from Celestial Heart?"

Tang Jie smiled. "Yes. Ten days in the paradise is like one year outside. I guess you can consider me an old monster who has cultivated for nearly one hundred years now."

"Old monster, old monster, old monster!" Yiyi pointed at Tang Jie and laughed so hard that she bent over.

"What about you then, Yiyi? You reached upper-grade Mind Opening ten years ago. You should have reached the threshold for a breakthrough by now, right?"

Yiyi grunted and looked away. "It's not that fast."

But her little fit actually gave her away. It was clear that she wasn't far from a breakthrough.

She had consumed an enormous number of precious fruits in the Beast hidden realm, going to sleep and waking up at the upper grade. Her strength had soared, and she hadn't been far from Transformation. After 11 years of cultivation, she had begun to gradually grasp the threshold to a higher realm.

One human and one sprite had both reached the threshold to a higher realm. The joy in their hearts could easily be imagined.

That night, Tang Jie and Yiyi celebrated on Immortal Spring Peak.

He bought wine and meat and they happily feasted away on the summit.

Tang Jie sat on a large rock on the summit. Yiyi lay on Tang Jie's lap, her eyes hazy from alcohol. "Big Brother, when you reach Violet Palace, reach Immortal Platform, and you're able to freely roam the myriad domains, will you bring me with you?"

Tang Jie replied, "Big Brother will take you wherever he goes."

"Big Brother is a liar! Big Brother didn't take me into the Water Moon Paradise!"

"That's because the sect didn't let me."

"Then won't there be other places that won't let you in the future?"

Tang Jie smiled. "Not unless they're in the Basking Moon Sect. Why should I keep to the rules of other sects? If anyone dares to separate the two of us, your big brother will get rid of them!"

"Mm!" Yiyi very seriously nodded.

Suddenly, Tang Jie raised an eyebrow and slightly sat up.

Yiyi immediately sensed what he was doing.

Her expression unchanged, she turned to look at Tang Jie and said, "Big Brother, don't be afraid. Although you've entered the Three Witherings and your strength has fallen, I'll protect you. You'll be fine."

Tang Jie smiled. "Is that so? Then Yiyi has to show me what you're capable of."

"Okay. Big Brother, just watch." Yiyi clapped her hands, and numerous vines crept outward, forming a tight net that engulfed a large swath of the summit.

Tang Jie nodded. "Good enough. They shouldn't be able to run."

He reached into his bag, took out the Heartbreak Saber, and unleashed a wave of saber energy.

"Misunderstanding! We're all fellow disciples…" A figure flew out of a bush, firing off several wind bolts at Tang Jie's saber energy as they did. But one of the wind bolts was a little off-course and ended up shooting at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie ignored it, letting the bolt strike him as he snorted, "A real fellow disciple wouldn't be sneaking around, nor would they try to test my power after being discovered. You must have had a tough time, keeping a watch on me these last few years. Let's end that today!"

He swung his saber, unleashing saber energy laced with cold killing intent at his adversary.

That person sensed the thick killing intent from Tang Jie and was aghast. He had never imagined that Tang Jie would want to kill someone right after leaving seclusion, and he immediately realized that Tang Jie had probably been ready for this.

Not only had Tang Jie been ready, he had been waiting for this day for several years. It was just that he hadn't expected this person to appear only when he left seclusion.

The saber energy shot toward the man's face like a bolt of lightning.

That man reacted quickly, hastily firing off a row of wind bolts while shouting, "This is truly a misunderstanding. I'm Zheng Zhi of the Secret Hall. I was taking a stroll here when I saw that Junior Brother Tang was here. Wanting to play a trick on you, I concealed myself and got close. I had no ill intentions."

"Since you were taking a stroll, how did you know that it was me here?"

Zheng Zhi hastily replied, "This one was fortunate enough to see Junior Brother once, so when I saw your face again, I naturally recognized you."

"You're sure you saw my face?" Tang Jie's voice was as ethereal as a ghost's.

Zheng Zhi was startled, and then he saw Tang Jie raise his head. The face before him was that of a complete stranger, not Tang Jie's at all.

"How could this be?" Zheng Zhi cried out in shock.

While he was in shock, Tang Jie's saber energy slammed into him.

There was a clang, and Tang Jie's lethal strike was stopped cold, blocked by something.

Tang Jie wasn't surprised in the slightest. "Godhead Armor… you're actually wearing it."

Zheng Zhi was stunned. His identity as a spy of Godhead Palace was now exposed, making any argument from him pointless. Now, it was either "kill" or "be killed".

"Hmph!" Zheng Zhi said, "Tang Jie, I admit that you're strong, but since you're in the Three Witherings, your strength has fallen. There's no saying who will win in a battle between us!"

A red cloud gathered in his hands.

Zheng Zhi was a Cognitive Creation cultivator, and he had arts from both Godhead Palace and the Basking Moon Sect, so he was no weakling. Now that he had been exposed, Zheng Zhi felt like this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He might be able to seize Tang Jie here, accomplishing a great feat for Godhead Palace.

There had been no news from He Chong ever since he had entered the Nine Executions Immortal Formation with Tang Jie's original body, and Godhead Palace had believed that the matter had been settled with that.

But to their surprise, in the last few years, Tang Jie had established a trading relationship with the Seven Absolutions Sect, and he had sold several ten-thousand-year spirit plants to the Seven Absolutions Sect.

The Seven Absolutions Sect and Godhead Palace were mortal foes, and this matter naturally couldn't be kept a secret from Godhead Palace. Thus, after having dropped their suspicion of Tang Jie, Godhead Palace once more grew suspicious of him.

But after what happened with Gu Changqing last time, Godhead Palace didn't immediately take action, instead sending people to keep an eye on him. This caused Tang Jie's plan to use himself as bait to fail. For many years, Godhead Palace never did anything, discounting only that minor scuffle in the Beast Garden.

But this time, Godhead Palace's spy in the Basking Moon Sect had finally lost his patience.

The reason was none other than that Tang Jie had entered the Three Withering Tribulations.

It had already been confirmed that Tang Jie had entered the paradise at Nine Revolutions.

For this reason, everyone concluded that the best case for Tang Jie was that he had succeeded at breaking into Cognitive Creation. That he had entered the Three Witherings was proof that Tang Jie had made incredible progress, but few people would believe that he had even managed to overcome the Three Witherings.

For this reason, when Tang Jie came out and let out that he had entered the Three Witherings, Zheng Zhi and the other Godhead Palace spies didn't doubt it, and they all believed that this was an excellent chance to capture Tang Jie. Whether or not he was actually the Tang Jiye Godhead Palace was searching for, it would still be a big contribution to their sect.

Zheng Zhi was the first of them to make his move.

He firmly believed that if he went all-out, he had some hope of defeating Tang Jie. But in the next moment, he learned how gravely mistaken he was.

A raging cloud of flame assailed Tang Jie.

The Red Cloud Hand was a spell art that Zheng Zhi had cultivated for many years, and to a formidable level.

But Tang Jie simply gave the red cloud a cold look.

And then, he breathed in.

The flame cloud was pulled in by Tang Jie, turning into two red pillars of flame that were sucked into Tang Jie's nostrils like two red trails of snot. Just like that, the red cloud was gone.

"H-how?" Zheng Zhi was dumbfounded.

With this simple action, he had gotten rid of Zheng Zhi's spell art. This was a sign that the gap in strength was simply enormous.

Tang Jie sheathed his saber. "You like to use fire? Then I'll return it to you."

He snorted, and the two snakes of flame emerged from his nose and lunged at Zheng Zhi. Zheng Zhi hastily raised his palms to block his own attack. He had cultivated the Red Cloud Hand for many years, so he was confident in his resistance to these flames.

But when the wave of flames passed, all they left behind was a scorched Zheng Zhi.

A pair of snow-white eyeballs blinked as Zheng Zhi struggled out, "This… how… could…"

"Idiot." Tang Jie smirked. "Yiyi, handle him. Leave him alive."

He turned and left.

This guy had been so weak that Tang Jie had lost interest in him after that small clash.

"Relax, Big Brother; leave it to me." Yiyi chuckled as she rubbed her hands. She waved her hands, and a large number of plants began to twine together…