Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-574

Zuo Quanming heard the gasp, and he immediately shivered as if he had been struck by lightning.

After a few moments of paralysis, he slowly turned around.

Since he had already made a noise, Tang Jie decided to stop hiding. He boldly emerged from the cave and waved at Zuo Quanming. "What a coincidence! You're here too?"

Disbelief appeared on Zuo Quanming's face. He pointed a trembling finger at Tang Jie. "You… you…"

Tang Jie acted very displeased. "Hey, can you not act like you just saw a ghost? I just happened to be passing by, saw a cave, and came inside to take a look. I didn't think I would find you here."

Zuo Quanming's face shifted between red and white.

After a long while, he stammered out, "How long have you been here?"

Tang Jie replied, "I just got here, and then I saw you. Eh? What's that?"

He turned toward the gray slab.

Seeing how amazed he was, as if he really had just come, Zuo Quanming actually believed Tang Jie a little. To be more precise, rather than believing Tang Jie, he simply hoped that Tang Jie was telling the truth.

People were always willing to believe in what they hoped to be true.

Thus, Zuo Quanming couldn't help but get a little hopeful, working up some courage and viciously glaring at Tang Jie. "If that's the case, then you can go and die."

He opened his hands, and that golden beam of light shot at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie smirked. "This tone almost makes it seem like I'm the one who got sent packing last time."

As he spoke, he thrust out his palm three times, completely neutralizing the golden light. While this light was powerful, Tang Jie had already seen Zuo Quanming use it twice, and he had also studied the traces the art had left behind in the tunnel. Having thus prepared, he could easily deal with it.

Zuo Quanming wasn't particularly surprised at his art's lackluster results. He then took out that blood-colored scimitar, swinging it at Tang Jie as he shouted, "Watch my blade!"

A sharp wave of saber energy sliced at Tang Jie's head.

As that crimson blade was about to reach Tang Jie, Zuo Quanming took out his silver shortsword. All of the silver sword's energy was drowned out by the power of the blood scimitar, allowing him to silently unleash its power on Tang Jie.

It was a lethal blow aimed straight at one of Tang Jie's weak points.

Zuo Quanming could already imagine Tang Jie's wretched appearance as the sword stabbed into his armpit, and a strange giggle came from his mouth.

To his surprise, Tang Jie ignored the blood scimitar, only releasing a blood barrier to stop it. Meanwhile, he took out the Army Crushing Sword and thrust it at the silver sword.

Zuo Quanming inwardly cried out. While this sword was an ultimate-grade art relic, its specialty was speed, agility, and sneak attack. It was incredibly sharp, but it was no good in a direct clash. The Army Crushing Sword was the exact opposite, imbued with immense and tyrannical strength that could multiply a cultivator's power. In this aspect, it was superior to even divine swords like the Five Sacred Mountains Sword.

In a clash of these two swords, the silver sword would undoubtedly be a loser, like a bobcat competing in terms of strength with a bull.

The two swords ran into each other with a clang, and the silver sword was blasted back.

A few sparks of starlight flew out of the silver sword. They made Zuo Quanming's heart wince, for it was a sign that the sword had been damaged in the collision.

Although art relics could automatically repair themselves, each instance of damage would affect the abilities of an art relic, and those of the agility type were more affected by this. It was like how Liu Xiang (Chinese athlete who won the gold medal in hurdling at the 2004 Olympics) was useless if he broke his leg, while a boxer could keep going even when their body was covered in wounds.

As the silver sword was blasted away, the Army Crushing Sword surged toward Zuo Quanming's face. While Tang Jie swung his sword, he also shouted, "Daoist Friend, what is the reason for this? Why are you so quick to try and hurt me?"

Zuo Quanming shouted, "A misunderstanding! Hear me out!"

As he shouted, he rapidly backed away, creating distance between himself and Tang Jie. Against an art relic like the Army Crushing Sword, a direct clash was the tactic of a fool. It was better to barrage from it a distance with spell arts.

Tang Jie called back the sword. "What do you want to say?"

Zuo Quanming savagely smiled. "The divine treasure is mine!"

He completed his hand sign, and a flame erupted from his body, turning into a roaring dragon that lunged at Tang Jie, imbued with twice the power of the flames that had burned up Yiyi's vines.

If Tang Jie tried to deal with the flames based on this past experience, he was bound to suffer dearly.

Sure enough, Tang Jie fell for it, activating the Frost Domain in a vain attempt to fight back with his own frost energy.

Zuo Quanming couldn't help but laugh. "This flame is the Grand Flame of the Nine Splendors Mountain, not something created from my Yang energy. You think you can so easily…"

Before he could finish, Tang Jie pulled out a sword and pointed at the flame. An ice dragon immediately came roaring out.

This was the Frost Drake Sword used in combination with the Yin power of the Infinity Sphere Art. As the ice dragon swept out and collided with the Grand Flame dragon, they neutralized each other in a gorgeous melding of fire and ice.

"H-how?" Zuo Quanming was dumbfounded by Tang Jie's reactions.

First he had countered the silver sword with the Army Crushing Sword, and then used the Frost Drake Sword to deal with the Grand Flame. He had just so happened to counter both of his major moves.

This had to be a coincidence!

Zuo Quanming inwardly yelled to himself, This guy is just lucky!

His hands moved quickly, sending out several sharp needles.

These needles seemed ordinary, but he had coated them in the venom of those spiders from before. This venom alone was bound to deal considerable damage to Tang Jie.

But then he saw Tang Jie take out a black sword and lightly wave it, upon which all the needles were drawn to the sword.

The Primal Magnet Sword.

This sword was one of the ten art swords, and it had a powerful pull on metallic weapons. It was more suitable for body cultivators over law cultivators, so Tang Jie normally didn't use this sword. But now, it was perfect to draw in those poisoned needles.

Zuo Quanming's eyes flew open, and he finally realized that something was wrong. Rather than having just arrived, this guy had clearly been following him for some time, only showing himself after getting an understanding of everything Zuo Quanming could do. His attempts at deception just now had all been futile, nothing more than a clownish act in this person's eyes.

Zuo Quanming was both angered and vexed by this thought. Just when he was about to say something, Tang Jie rushed up to him and thrust a finger at his body.

Zuo Quanming cried out and used his Thousand Curtains spell art.

The moment he used it, he realized that he had made a mistake.

He had used this defensive spell art in the battle against the monkey, and since this scoundrel had been watching from the sidelines this entire time, could he have seen through the flaws in the spell? He wouldn't consider this possibility for another person, but since his earlier moves had all been countered, this thought now made him uneasy.

A moment later, Tang Jie's finger fell on the barrier, and then, the barrier shattered into powder.

It really is rotational finger energy! Zuo Quanming inwardly shouted in alarm.

The Thousand Curtains Barrier was a protective barrier created through many layers of spiritual energy. It was a wondrous spell that was powerful and long-lasting. Its only weakness was rotational energy attacks.

It was clear that Tang Jie wasn't skilled in rotational energy, lacking both power and technique, so he had probably only just learned it. But against the Thousand Curtains, he had used it without hesitation. This couldn't be a coincidence; it had to be because he had seen through the flaws of the spell art.

A cultivator who had all his spell arts seen through was like a naked woman, utterly exposed.

Zuo Quanming felt his soul leave his body, and he knew that victory would be extremely difficult. But then he looked up at the gray stone slab, and found himself reluctant to give it up.

Gritting his teeth, Zuo Quanming snarled, "I'm going all-out!"

His body splayed out once more.

Tang Jie knew that he was using the move that he had used on the monkey, and rather than attacking, he chose to retreat.

Sure enough, an ancient gate manifested behind his head.

As the gate opened, a giant hand emerged from it and reached out to grab Tang Jie.

Zuo Quanming ruthlessly said, "You can't break this one!"

Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his body trembled from the immense load it was under. It was clear that this spell art was an immense burden on him, and he was about to reach his limit after using it twice.

And then he saw a light glimmering on the center of Tang Jie's forehead. Tang Jie then let out a strange incantation, like a Buddhist chant, difficult to make out yet suffused with an ancient and grand power.

As he spoke, the giant hand froze in the air.

With this, Zuo Quanming was pushed into a dead end.

Casting this spell was a huge burden, and the fact that it had stopped meant that Zuo Quanming would have to keep maintaining the spell. He felt like there was a mountain pressing down on him, and he almost collapsed. He tried to push the hand forward, but no matter what he did, the hand didn't move. On the contrary, his burden only increased. Stuck at an impasse and not knowing what to do, he could only stand there and hold on.

Tang Jie chuckled. "Aren't you wondering why your Demon Calling Divine Connection doesn't work on me?"

Upon hearing this term, Zuo Quanming shuddered. "You… How did you know?"

Tang Jie sighed. "I can only say that you're pretty unlucky. The Demon Calling Divine Connection, as the guardian secret art of the Five Gods Faith, truly is a Great Divine Connection. Although you can only use 10% of its power with your Heart Demon cultivation, it is much stronger than my Five Mountains Shift, Radiant Sun Crow, and Annihilation Gale. Anyone else would have been helpless, or at least it wouldn't have been so ineffective."

"You!" The mention of the Five Gods Faith had Zuo Quanming aghast. He finally understood why the giant hand didn't attack Tang Jie, for Tang Jie had chanted the secret dharani of the Five Gods Faith. The secret dharani was a symbol of a member of the upper echelons of the Five Gods Faith, and this Demon Calling Divine Connection, unlike other Divine Connections, had a will of its own. After hearing this dharani, it would stop attacking.

Now that Zuo Quanming knew that Tang Jie knew the dharani that made his Divine Connection useless, he hastily ended it. He then put on a flattering smile and said, "So Daoist Friend is an acolyte of the Five Gods Faith, so we come from the same sect! I was truly ignorant in striking without asking who you were…"

His tone had changed now that he knew that he couldn't beat Tang Jie.

Tang Jie snorted. "I'm not an acolyte of the Five Gods Faith, nor am I of the same sect as you. Since your other methods have nothing to do with the Five Gods Faith, not even having the right mantra, you clearly aren't part of the Five Gods Faith either. You must have obtained this secret art through some lucky opportunity. If you had learned the complete Five Gods Faith mantra, you should have been able to unleash 30% of the Demon Calling Divine Connection's power, unleashing two hands rather than one, and with less burden."

The Five Gods Faith excelled at cultivating Divine Will, and it had countless secret arts. Other than things like soul attachment and soul division, it had soul-protecting secret arts that allowed for the use of Divine Connections even when one was not at Violet Palace. Of course, they would be much weaker than true Violet Palace Divine Connections. Even so, it wouldn't be so bad as Zuo Quanming's situation, putting him under such a burden that he might exhaust himself to death before he could defeat his opponents.

Zuo Quanming's face turned red. "So Daoist Friend is like me, coming upon the secret art, but yours was much more complete than mine."

Tang Jie coldly chuckled. "You don't need to try and test me. I truly did obtain the secrets of the Five Gods Faith, but only the mantra and not the spell arts. This Demon Calling Divine Connection was not recorded in the mantra, so I don't know it. But I don't mind. It's not like being able to cast Divine Connections above one's level is a good thing. Even if you have the soul-protecting secret arts of the Five Gods Faith, using it over the long term will inevitably affect you. It's like putting weights on a child. Over the long term, it is bound to affect their long-term growth. For the sake of the future, it's best to not use these methods lightly."

Tang Jie wasn't deceiving him here. While this sort of Divine Connection was nice, it had a significant effect on the body, and even the Five Gods Faith didn't recommend usage of it beyond one's tier, repeatedly emphasizing that it should only be used as a last resort.

And Tang Jie had no need for such methods. He had many powerful techniques, like the Nine Heavens Calamity Blade or the Flesh Millstone. They were both comparable to the Demon Calling Divine Connection, so there was no need to drink poison to quench his thirst.

Zuo Quanming was stunned. He was an unaffiliated cultivator, so while he had plentiful combat experience, he lacked the knowledge base Tang Jie had. He put his hands together and bowed to Tang Jie, saying, "This young brother will not forget Brother Tang's teachings."

He began to retreat.

Tang Jie was stunned by this guy's tendency to flatter and cajole in even the worst cases, but he still coldly laughed and said, "You don't need to try that on me. I didn't say anything about letting you go. Try and see what happens if you dare to take one more step back!"

Zuo Quanming froze, not daring to take another step back.

He squeezed out a smile and said, "It was my fault for offending Brother Tang, so I will acknowledge my error. This treasure now belongs to you Brother Tang, as will everything I own. I only hope that Brother Tang will spare my lowly life."

He put his hands together and bowed.

Tang Jie coldly said, "If you put your hands in your sleeves again, I'll cut off all ten of your fingers!"

There was a merciless tone to his voice.

Alarmed, Zuo Quanming immediately tore off his sleeves, and then he earnestly said, "Little Brother should believe me now, yes?"

He then placed his Mustard Seed Bag on the ground.

He sneaked a glance and saw that Tang Jie had lowered his head as if he was actually thinking about letting him go. His eyes gleamed with ruthlessness, and he silently took out some items from his Mustard Seed Bag: Immortal-Binding Rope and that Eight Trigrams disc. He didn't have any hope that these items would actually hold Tang Jie, only that they could delay him long enough so that he could get the gray stone slab and run.

Just when he was about to release the rope and disc, Tang Jie suddenly raised his head and eerily smiled.

Zuo Quanming's heart leapt when he saw this smile, and then countless blades wreathed in fire and lightning descended. It was clearly that heavenly blade spell art Tang Jie had used last time, but this time even stronger and in even greater numbers.

The Nine Heavens Calamity Blades!

Tang Jie had seemingly been thinking, but he had actually been casting this spell art.

"Shameless!" Zuo Quanming shouted as he jumped up, throwing that Eight Trigrams disc into the air.

But as the disc flew out, Tang Jie focused his gaze and barked, "Ha!"

Zuo Quanming and the disc both froze for a moment, upon which Tang Jie flew up and pointed at the Eight Trigrams disc.

As the light from his finger touched the disc, the disc shattered, and a golden grain flew into Tang Jie's hand. Tang Jie then grabbed the Immortal-Binding Rope that had been thrown at him. This rope was of a rather high grade, and because it was not metal, the Weapon Mantra couldn't destroy it. Thus, it writhed in Tang Jie's grasp like a snake.

Meanwhile, Zuo Quanming was grabbing for the gray stone slab.

He was dead set on getting this treasure, and he was confident that his Illusory Snake Step could get him out of danger.

But he hadn't expected that the Eight Trigrams disc would be destroyed so quickly. The Nine Heavens Calamity Blades began to fall upon his body, nothing standing in their way.

Zuo Quanming was at a crossroads, having to choose between life and treasure. In one thousandth of a second, he made a painful decision.

He pulled his hand back and chose to defend.

It was too late to put up a barrier, so his body erupted with spiritual energy that rapidly condensed into a solid mass. As a Heart Demon True Person, he had developed a nascent Divine Will. While it wasn't enough to affect the world, it could affect the world within his Spirit Ring.

The Heavenly Blades began to slam into the spiritual cloud around Zuo Quanming, and amid fire and lightning, they pushed him earthward, farther and farther from the stone slab, each push feeling like another stab to Zuo Quanming's heart.

Once the storm of Nine Heavens Calamity Blades had passed, Zuo Quanming was miraculously still standing. Tang Jie was amazed to find that he had survived the barrage without using a protective spell art.

Even Heart Demon cultivators of the six major sects might not be capable of this, let alone an unaffiliated cultivator like Zuo Quanming.

Of course, as a price, Zuo Quanming had expended almost all of his power, so in the end, a single thrust of Tang Jie's palm would be enough to knock him down.

And then something surprising happened.

Zuo Quanming shouted, "Don't kill me! I surrender!"

Tang Jie was about to say, "And who's going to believe you?" when Zuo Quanming waved his hand, calling back the rope in Tang Jie's hand.

This treasure had Zuo Quanming's seal, so it wasn't strange that it obeyed his commands. Shockingly, however, the first thing Zuo Quanming did after getting the rope back was to use it to tie himself up.

That Immortal-Binding Rope instantly coiled itself around Zuo Quanming's body countless times, turning him into a mummy with only his eyes and mouth exposed. He then shouted, "Look! Look! I've tied myself up! I'm no longer any threat! I really surrender! For real!"