Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-506

In the dark forest, several Godhead Palace disciples were on routine patrol.

Suddenly, a fiend tiger appeared in front of them.

The two sides froze. A Godhead disciple was just about to attack the fiend tiger when his leader shook his head.

He let out a threatening roar, fully displaying his cultivation level. The fiend tiger realized that it was no match and slowly retreated before bounding off into the forest.

"Alright, it's fine now," the leading Godhead disciple said.

"Shit, this place is really boring. Even when we run into fiends, we have to let them go. You really think anything will happen if I kill it?" a scrawny Godhead disciple grumbled.

Disciples who cultivated Immortality were always very domineering, and rarely did they have to act so timidly.

In their eyes, fiends were gifts from the heavens, and refusing gifts from the heavens was bound to result in punishment.

But here in the Spirit Mountains, they weren't allowed to attack fiends unless their life was on the line.

"This is for the sake of everyone," the leader said, somewhat more cool-headed than his subordinates. "If we can catch Tang Jie a little earlier, we can leave this strange place and go around where we please."

"'Catch him'? And when will that be? It's been three months already, but we haven't seen one sign of him! Wasn't he infected by Spirit-Boiling Powder? Why is it that we still can't find him?"

The leader grunted, "It will be soon. While it was true that Tang Jie's craftiness played a part in our inability to capture him, another factor is that Sir Nan isn't in a rush to send out men. Now that the mountain-sealing formation is complete and there's no need to worry about Tang Jie fleeing, we can devote all our strength to catching him."

To prevent Tang Jie from escaping, Nan Ningjiang had deployed a mountain-sealing formation around the Spirit Mountains. But the Spirit Mountains covered a vast area, and the short notice meant that the formation actually wasn't complete. For someone else, this would have been fine, but Tang Jie was skilled in formations, so Nan Ningjiang had no choice but to improve the formation and fill in any holes.

Thus, the last three months of skirmishing had been three months of probing and also three months of preparation.

Tang Jie had been using this time to grow his beans and raise an army that wasn't affected by the Great Mountain, and Nan Ningjiang had used this time to strengthen his blockade and prevent Tang Jie from escaping. The seal on the borders of Nadir Hill had already been removed, so if Tang Jie got out of the Spirit Mountains, he would be able to escape Nadir Hill.

For these various reasons, everyone had spent the last three months preparing and wasn't in any rush to exchange blows.

Once everything was ready and all worries had been resolved, the mortal battle could begin.

But these disciples couldn't have imagined that the first drop of blood to be spilled in this battle would come from them.

As they were still chatting, a person silently approached them from behind.

He stood behind that grumbling scrawny disciple and softly sighed.

"Who's there?" That scrawny disciple's blood instinctively went cold.

He turned around, pulling out his sword and preparing a sword sign as the spiritual energy in his body circulated. He moved quickly and efficiently, showing off the quality of a disciple of a major sect.

Even so, as he turned around, a dark saber with a hook plunged into his belly. Immense power erupted from the blade, exploding within his body and annihilating all his life force.

He stared in shock at the person behind him and then limply fell to the ground.

"Tang Jie!" The other two also spotted Tang Jie and screamed in terror. At that moment, the two disciples each had their own job. The leading Godhead disciple immediately took out a message talisman, which burned up into a plume of smoke and disappeared. The other disciple immediately applied a defensive barrier to himself, moving swiftly and efficiently.

Just as the defensive barrier formed, Tang Jie extracted his saber from the dead disciple and thrust his saber at that disciple.

Plush!

There was a squelch as the saber stabbed into that disciple's body, meeting no resistance. The disciple froze and stared in disbelief at the saber sticking out of his body.

His defensive barrier was still there, but for some reason, it had failed to stop this saber. The saber had penetrated through the barrier without shattering it and entered his body.

"Aaah!" The leading Godhead disciple yelled as he threw out his sword.

This was a glowing blue shortsword. It flew out with a buzz and shot straight at Tang Jie's head.

Tang Jie hadn't killed these two people slowly, but in that brief time, the leading disciple had managed to send the report and counterattack. Immediately after that, he began to form a sword spell art with his left hand while his right hand pulled out a bunch of talismans, which he prepared to throw out at Tang Jie without even looking. The response and the reaction time were all top-tier.

But just when he was about to attack, there was a sharp crack from behind him. He froze, and those fire talismans drifted from his hand to the ground as he looked behind him in disbelief.

There was a claw that had plunged into his back and grabbed his heart, and also a cold and sinister face.

The ghost guard!

Tang Jie grabbed that shortsword with his left hand and turned it around, thrusting it at the back of the disciple's head, and the disciple died on the spot.

Even so, the shock from taking that blue shortsword's blow directly made Tang Jie grimace a little. Putting a hand on his chest, he said, "They were skilled opponents."

War was where the most outstanding talents went to die!

The people that Godhead Palace sent to deal with Tang Jie could all be considered talented elites in their respective fields.

They had all been carefully selected, and while they might have been inferior to Tang Jie, they certainly weren't incompetent.

A sharp whistle sounded out in the distance, and Tang Jie immediately ran off into the forest, disappearing without a trace. He was so short on time that he couldn't even take the corpses.

A moment later, Nan Ningjiang appeared in front of the three bodies, and behind him were Master Xuan Zhong and the others.

"It's Wei Hua's group," the second Hawk, Tian Zhong, sternly said. He felt one of the corpses and said, "They just died. Other than Wei Hua, they were all killed with one strike."

"A pity," Zhou Fanghua sighed. She knew that Wei Hua had been one of the more outstanding junior disciples of Godhead Palace. Though he wasn't some peerless genius, he was diligent and earnest, and he had always been very reliable. He had gone out on many journeys and survived some close calls. But despite all the effort he had taken to get this far, he had unexpectedly died here.

"So he's finally on the attack?" Nan Ningjiang muttered.

After three months of being hunted, Tang Jie had finally attacked on his own.

It was obvious what this development meant: he was beginning his counterattack.

"Very good," Nan Ningjiang chuckled.

He took out the incense burner and took a sniff from it. His eyes turned white as he stepped forward and looked around. He suddenly shouted, "He went west!"

"After him! We can't let him escape this time!" Master Xuan Zhong roared, leading the charge into the forest.

Since he was a Soul Transformation True Person, as he charged out, he created a vast gale. Master Xuan Zhong became like a hurricane, howling through the mountains and kicking up great clouds of dust.

Even Tang Jie was alarmed by this intimidating pressure, but he simply smiled and slapped a nearby tree. A large number of duplicates appeared and ran off in various directions.

Although the Spirit-Boiling Powder could identify the real Tang Jie, a bunch of rapidly moving fakes would allow the just-identified real one to get lost in the chaos. This was like throwing a friend into the middle of a large crowd. No matter how well one knew this friend, finding them quickly in the crowd still wasn't an easy task.

Spirit-Boiling Powder could only lower the effectiveness of the Duplication spell, not completely neutralize it.

"Really, this move?" Nan Ningjiang wasn't surprised, laughing as he said, "Elder Gold, if you would!"

Another person suddenly flew out and thrust out a palm. "Heaven and Earth share the same origin; the Limitless is the return to truth! Arts, shatter!"

The duplicate illusions began to break.

The one who had done this was none other than Elder Gold.

Elders Gold and Silver were two Heart Demon True Persons serving Godhead Palace. Unlike others, Elders Gold and Silver weren't cultivators raised by Godhead Palace but outsiders who had joined.

The six major sects had always favored raising their talents and were extremely cautious when it came to letting outsiders join. That Elders Gold and Silver could join as wandering cultivators was a sign of how exceptional they were. That palm that had destroyed the duplicates was Elder Gold's Art of Limitless Return to Truth, which excelled at breaking illusions.

The Duplication spell had ceased to be a secret long ago, so Nan Ningjiang had naturally come prepared. Even without Elder Gold, he had many ways of breaking this spell.

Elder Gold's single palm annihilated many of the duplicates.

But as the duplicates were annihilated, a fog began to rise from the forest.

This strange fog instantly engulfed the entire forest.

"This is…" Everyone was startled.

"Be careful. This is the Thousand Illusion Fog Formation," Xu Mingyue said.

"A formation. I knew it would be like this," Nan Ningjiang snorted.

He wasn't at all surprised that Tang Jie would choose to use a formation. One of the reasons Tang Jie had chosen the Spirit Mountains was that this region had numerous materials, many of which he couldn't have gotten through theft and looting.

The three months of preparation had allowed Tang Jie to adapt to the environment, but even more importantly, it had allowed him to gather enough materials to lay down formations.

If he wanted to make a counterattack, he would need a formation. Otherwise, Tang Jie alone wasn't capable of fighting against Godhead Palace.

This was why Nan Ningjiang had expected Tang Jie to use formations from the start. The only thing he wasn't sure about was the kind of formation Tang Jie would use.

Xu Mingyue shouted, "Everyone…"

"Everyone, split up into teams of five, and make sure you don't get separated from them! This formation produces numerous illusions that are difficult to tell from the real thing. Tang Jie could change himself into one of our own at any time. Remember: don't get close to any lone individuals! Once this old man breaks the formation, Tang Jie won't be able to escape!"

"Who's that?" Xu Mingyue was startled. She had clearly been the person Godhead Palace had tasked with breaking formations, so who had spoken just now?

Nan Ningjiang replied, "That's Senior Ling Tianqi."

"'Ling Tianqi'?" Xu Mingyue was stunned.

She had naturally heard this name before. He was another famous formation master of Nadir Hill. Back when Xu Muyang had yet to make his name, he had once asked Ling Tianqi for instruction on formations, and afterward said that he had learned a lot.

But when had Ling Tianqi joined the Tang Jie pursuit team? Xu Mingyue hadn't been told of this.

She angrily glared at Nan Ningjiang. "Why is he here?"

Nan Ningjiang calmly replied, "Naturally, because I asked him to be. Did you really think I would rely on only you to break Tang Jie's formations?"

Xu Mingyue froze.

She had only started studying formations after the death of her younger brother. Due to her temperament, although she had studied them for twenty-some years, her capabilities were limited. She knew that she was far from being considered a master in Nadir Hill when it came to formations, and when Godhead Palace had asked for her help, she had tactfully pointed out that she might not be any better than Tang Jie. But Godhead Palace insisted. She knew that this was probably linked to her identity. Even so, for the sake of the Xu Clan, she had no choice but to accept.

She had no objections if someone said that she wasn't capable enough in formations, and she could accept being used for her identity. She didn't even have a problem if they asked for the help of a formation master.

But why hadn't she been told?

Why did it have to be kept a secret from her until now?

This was clearly a lack of trust!

Yes, it was a lack of trust.

What Nan Ningjiang had said at the time hadn't been a lie. He was not suspecting only Xi Canhen, but also many other people.

Until he had sufficient evidence, he considered everyone a target of suspicion and caution, and Xu Mingyue was naturally one of these people.

It was for this reason that he hadn't told Xu Mingyue that he had also asked for Ling Tianqi's help, that Ling Tianqi would be the person who would actually deal with Tang Jie's formations. This way, Tang Jie would think that it was Xu Mingyue who he would have to deal with. If Tang Jie planned to use formations against them, then he would definitely consider Xu Mingyue's skill. Thus, when Ling Tianqi, who was much more capable with formations, appeared, it would definitely catch Tang Jie off guard and make an error appear in his calculations.

And reality proved Nan Ningjiang to be right.

As Ling Tianqi spoke, Tang Jie was startled.

A moment later, countless rays of spiritual light shot towards various parts of the formation as Ling Tianqi began to undo Tang Jie's Thousand Illusion Fog Formation.

Almost immediately, Tang Jie saw the formation's fog begin to thin. Before the Thousand Illusion Fog Formation could even start producing illusions, it was suppressed by Ling Tianqi.

Not only that, as Ling Tianqi made his move, there was another sharp crack, and Ming Yezhen activated his spatial sealing ability.

Immediately afterward, large numbers of Godhead disciples charged out from the rear, splitting up into teams of five and spreading out.

While Ming Yezhen was there to seal any escape spells, these disciples were responsible for physically locking down the area and preventing Tang Jie from escaping.

At this time, Qian Yingchen, who had been following Nan Ningjiang all this time, coldly laughed and let out a little red fox. Qian Yingchen held this little red fox as it gazed at the fog with a pair of pink eyes.

An encirclement against Tang Jie was deployed. Just barely after the first clash, Godhead Palace had finished locking down the heavens and the earth, working together with shocking proficiency.

Despite being caught in a formation, they didn't seem passive at all, instead using this opportunity to throw out their net. Even Tang Jie couldn't help but admire and praise Godhead Palace's power.

Even so, he was still smiling.

He had never placed his hope on these things.

Perhaps one could say that these arrangements were simply there to satisfy his opponents' expectations that he was "peerlessly intelligent".

He rapidly retreated, flying through the white fog as his face began to change into that of a Godhead disciple. At the same time, he tore off his outer clothes, revealing flashing Godhead Armor.

Having completed his transformation into a Godhead Palace disciple, he shot over to the side.

There were five disciples advancing here. When they saw Tang Jie, they were startled at first, and then they fired off bolts of lightning.

The Godhead Palace disciples had formed into teams of five, and they were to consider any lone individual to be Tang Jie in disguise and to kill them rather than let them go.

Seeing that his disguise was of no use, Tang Jie casually laughed. Commenting, "They really came well-prepared!" he evaded the attacks and continued to charge at the five.

"It really is Tang Jie!" The five of them were delighted and attacked again, their attacks this time many times stronger.

These five were disciples of the Bloodbath Hall. Although their cultivation levels weren't high, they were skilled in combination attacks and battle, and all of them possessed outstanding strength. In a one-on-one, they might not have been a match for Tang Jie, but in a five-versus-one, at least in pure strength, they could surpass Tang Jie.

Five waves of saber energy shot out, merging together in the air and sweeping toward Tang Jie.

Tang Jie laughed and swung the "Heartbreak Saber" in response.

There was a flash of lightning, and then the combined saber beam of that team of five was cut in half. He then thrust the saber forward, slicing through the defensive barrier and Godhead Armor of a disciple and stabbing into the disciple as if the man had been completely defenseless.

"This… How?" The disciple stared in shock at the saber stabbed into his body.

He found it impossible to understand how his defensive barrier and middle-grade art relic Godhead Armor were unable to stop a casual stab from Tang Jie.

Energy rushed into his body, obliterating his life force. At the last moment of his life, as the blade left his body, he saw two dark figures rushing at his four companions, one like a giant mountain and the other like a sinister ghost.

Darkness swept over him, and before he could make out what those things were, he died.

――――――――――

The slaughter commenced.

Wails and howls began to resound through the forest.

It was only a few moments before Nan Ningjiang was hearing screams, pleas for mercy, and cries for help.

"The fourth team has been eliminated!"

"The twelfth team has been eliminated!"

"The twenty-third team has been eliminated!"

The Godhead Palace disciples were enduring a furious deluge of blows that left Nan Ningjiang baffled.

What was going on here?

Hadn't he already countered all of Tang Jie's arrangements?

Ling Tianqi was countering his illusion formation, his duplicates had been dispelled by Elder Gold, and his escape arts were being sealed, preventing him from leaving the area.

Why was it that after Godhead Palace had cast down its vast net, the side being heavily damaged was his own?

Nan Ningjiang found this impossible to understand.

It wasn't logical.

The screams continued, and the pace of the killing intensified, but Nan Ningjiang was paralyzed.

His understanding of the world had been completely overturned.

As he was struggling to understand what was going on, a random comment from the surprised Master Xuan Zhong made him see the light.

He muttered, "Killing five-man teams in a flash? How is this possible? Even a Heart Demon True Person would find this difficult to pull off. Just how strong is he?"

'Strong'?

Nan Ningjiang froze as a flash of insight appeared in his mind. He finally understood what was going on.

In the fog, as the golden blade took life after life and Tang Jie dodged here and there, a faint smile appeared on his face. "You win when it comes to laying plans, but I win when it comes to slaughter!"