Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-863

Tang Jie regretted not being able to get the Myriad Immortals Sword, and he felt even greater regret over losing the excellent bait that was the young master.

In truth, even if the young master hadn't done anything, he would have found it hard to keep using him in that way—he could only use twelve of the Combat Emperor Strikes, after all.

Having used it eight times, Tang Jie only had four left.

"Where else am I going to find a nice guy like that young master?" Tang Jie worriedly said.

Xu Miaoran couldn't help but laugh.

As the two walked along, they ended up in front of a bamboo forest.

They weren't alone. Inside the forest was the yellow-robed man from before, surrounded by drifting bamboo leaves.

Although they were bamboo leaves, they were brimming with lethal energy, and even an Earth Immortal like the yellow-robed man couldn't escape them. Fortunately, the bamboo forest was only a divine treasure, and it was relying entirely on the formation's power to imprison him. It was difficult for either side to overcome the other, so things had ended up in a stalemate.

Upon seeing Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran, the yellow-robed man shouted, "Don't come any closer! This bamboo forest is strange, even able to penetrate barriers made of Immortal energy."

Tang Jie smiled. "Of course. This bamboo forest is one of the core formation eyes of the Jewel Palace's formation. Empowered by the Slaughter Dao, it can ignore all defenses, even those made of Immortal energy. Empowered by the Five Elements Dao, it can operate without end, until the heavens themselves grow old. Empowered by Reincarnation, it can continuously regenerate, withstanding your divine might."

The yellow-robed man was stunned. "You know of this formation's secrets? A Dao formation… So it was a Dao formation!"

The yellow-robed man finally understood.

As someone who had become an Earth Immortal, he was no fool, and as he recalled how Tang Jie had spent three days observing the wall and claimed to have had a rich harvest, he realized what had happened. "So that wasn't the Wall of Dao Comprehension, but the Wall of Formation Comprehension!"

Tang Jie smiled. "Exactly."

He had a favorable impression of the yellow-robed man, so he didn't keep this fact a secret. Moreover, knowing that it was actually the Wall of Formation Comprehension didn't mean that one could successfully comprehend the formation. That required talent and experience, and there was no time for that.

He then said, "I have some understanding of this formation, but my cultivation isn't enough to break it. But if Senior assists me, then I can help Senior escape."

The yellow-robed man was delighted.

With his ability, it wasn't completely out of the question to break out of the formation through force. While Dao formations were powerful, they weren't invincible, just like how Tang Jie's Infinite Palace was theoretically a peerless defense but had still fallen to eleven of the Jewel Immortal Sovereign's finger strikes. However, if he did attempt this, he would expend far too much energy. The Court of Myriad Domains was full of danger, and while he himself was very honest and upright, he knew that many others were not so pure. If someone ambushed him, things could possibly end very poorly.

Since Tang Jie was willing to help him, he was naturally happy to agree.

Tang Jie said, "Walk to the Kun position, form the sword sign, draw the wind and lightning to sever the Five Elements…"

The yellow-robed man followed Tang Jie's instructions.

After several steps, the bamboo forest's lethality began to weaken, and the pressure on him decreased. Finally, under Tang Jie's direction, he thrust a finger at a certain clearing, upon which the bamboo leaves all disappeared. The entire forest uprooted itself and transformed into a single jade bamboo stem that flew into the hands of the yellow-robed man.

The moment it touched his hand, the yellow-robed man felt its power and knew its origins. "The Verdant Bamboo! This is the Verdant Bamboo!"

The yellow-robed man was happy to gain such a valuable treasure, but after some thought, he offered it to Tang Jie. "This item should belong to you, my young friend. If not for you, I would still be trapped in that bamboo forest."

Tang Jie smiled. "Senior is too kind. Although I understand formations, my cultivation is insufficient. Without Senior, I would have never been able to take this treasure."

Unexpectedly, both of them were trying to hand the treasure to the other, leaving this rare divine treasure momentarily without an owner. In truth, each of them had their reasons for their actions. For Tang Jie, it was rare to see someone of a higher cultivation level than him who showed concern for him rather than trying to kill a junior for their treasure. Such a senior naturally deserved his respect, even his flattery.

For the yellow-robed man, Tang Jie had shown his value, and he knew that he should form connections with capable juniors like this. Thus, they were both extremely polite to each other.

Xu Miaoran suddenly thought of something and said, "This Verdant Bamboo contains the essence of nature, is a divine item that sprites can use to refine their energy into divinity."

The yellow-robed man nodded. "Indeed. You are very knowledgeable, my lady."

He saw that Tang Jie had a startled look, so he guessed as to the reason and smiled. "My young friend, do you have a sprite with you?"

Tang Jie nodded in embarrassment. "I have a little sister. Although she's a sprite, she's followed me since we were young, and we have an extremely close relationship. She's now at peak Transformation, but Divine Division is extremely difficult, and it's not a step to be taken lightly…"

He grew more embarrassed the more he said.

The yellow-robed man smiled and said, "If that's the case, young friend, what are you still being so polite for? Take this Verdant Bamboo. It can increase the chances of your little sister reaching Divine Division by at least twenty percent."

Tang Jie could only accept it. Yiyi's future was at stake here, and he couldn't afford to be polite.

Xu Miaoran saw this and smiled. "Husband, if you feel awkward about this, you can just help Senior get another treasure. After all, you understand the formation but lack the cultivation to use this knowledge, while this senior is in the exact opposite situation. Aren't you the perfect pair?"

The two both trembled in realization.

That was right! It wasn't like swindling people was the only way things could be done.

Working together would always have more potential than scamming and stealing from others!

That young master had needed eight Combat Emperor Strikes to get eight treasures, but with the help of this Earth Immortal, they could take at least half of the treasures in the Jewel Palace.

Crucially, the two of them had already worked together for the Verdant Bamboo, which had resolved the problem of trust.

Anyone else would have the factor of mistrust that would make working together difficult, but although they had met recently and were still getting to know each other, they had a rough idea of each other's characters, which freed them of their worries.

Of course, Tang Jie could also choose to call over the Basking Moon Sect group, but they were far from this place. Moreover, Yun Tianlan was leading the group in exploring another area and had seemingly found a great deal of treasure, which meant that they were already occupied. In these circumstances, working with the yellow-robed man was Tang Jie's best choice.

The yellow-robed man smiled and said, "This is an excellent proposal. Might I ask for your name, my young friend?"

"This one is Tang Jie, and this is my wife, Xu Miaoran. And Senior would be…"

"Oh, this old man is Huang Wuji," the yellow-robed man replied.

'Huang Wuji'?

Quite the domineering name.

Tang Jie bowed. "I greet Senior Huang."

"No need to be so polite. Come; let's go and break these formations." Huang Wuji grabbed Tang Jie's hand and heartily laughed.

The two of them working together represented a calamity for the treasures of the Jewel Palace. At each formation eye, Huang Wuji took the pressure while Tang Jie used the openings created to strike. Once they got the treasure, the treasure went to whoever needed it the most. If there was a treasure that both of them wanted, they would simply negotiate. It was a splendid partnership.

They quickly swept through the various formation eyes of the Jewel Palace, even grabbing that Myriad Immortals Sword.

The Jewel Palace had originally had fifty-some divine treasures, the most out of all the various palaces of the court, but over the last several thousand years, the various Titans had taken some by force. In the end, only forty-some remained.

Tang Jie had taken 14 earlier, and with Huang Wuji, he gathered another 28, which they split evenly, which was another 14 for Tang Jie. In this one trip, Tang Jie had gained almost thirty divine treasures, and all of them were middle-grade or above. These were treasures that could have countless cultivators fighting for their lives, but now he was picking them up like they were cabbages. Even Huang Wuji couldn't help but sigh, "It's all thanks to you, my young friend, that I can experience a little of what it felt like to be the Bejeweled Star Lord."

Tang Jie ruefully said, "But the Bejeweled Star Lord doesn't live up to his name. There's not even a single Dao armament to be found in his palace."

Huang Wuji was rendered speechless by these words. "The Bejeweled Star Lord was a master of forging, and these divine treasures were all made by him, so it's natural that there are a lot. But Dao armaments are divine items that are not easily created through the hands of men. To be honest, there are fewer Dao armaments than there are Immortal Platform experts, and most Immortals have to make do with divine treasures."

"Like yourself, Senior?" Tang Jie joked.

Huang Wuji turned red in the face. "Let's end this topic here."

It was clear that he had never been able to obtain a Dao armament in all his long life. If he had known that Tang Jie had the Myriad Immortals Cauldron and the Imperial Sky Stamp, and had gifted the Eternity Sarcophagus and the Cloudsplinter Bow to his sect, he might have been shocked enough to tumble from the skies.

But Huang Wuji's words made Tang Jie think of something. "Given the fame of the Bejeweled Star Lord, he must have had at least one Dao armament, so the current situation is still a little hard to believe. Senior, do you think the Bejeweled Star Lord could have hidden the real treasure somewhere else, or perhaps there's a hidden dimension in the Jewel Palace that we haven't discovered?"

Huang Wuji was taken aback, but he nodded in agreement. "This is possible. If it was hidden somewhere else, then we should just forget it, since neither of us knows that location. If it was in the Jewel Palace, then what's the reason you, who has been able to see through the formation, can't find it? It might not exist."

Tang Jie firmly replied, "I've only seen through what the Bejeweled Star Lord let me see through."

Huang Wuji was stunned.

True.

Tang Jie understood the formation because he had comprehended what was on the wall. But that had been left behind by the Bejeweled Star Lord, which meant he had left it behind for those who came after.

But what if there were things he didn't plan to leave for his juniors?

Huang Wuji immediately regained his passion. Grabbing Tang Jie's hand, he said, "Come on! Let's go and look around!"

The two of them began to comb through the palace.

One day passed, during which the pair searched every corner of the Jewel Palace, even lifting up the paving stones, but they found no secret areas or hidden switches.

As the formation eyes were broken, the Jewel Palace's formation began to disappear. Those cultivators who had come looking for treasure were left baffled, and when they saw that there was nothing for them to take, they departed, leaving only the pair to run around like headless flies.

After one day of fruitless searching, Huang Wuji finally lost his patience.

He sighed and said, "The time the Court of Myriad Domains is open is ultimately limited, and if we continue to waste time here, we won't have time to search any of the other places. My young friend, as you can see…"

Tang Jie understood what he meant and said, "Senior, if you wish to leave, please do so. I want to keep searching."

Huang Wuji gave no opinion on his continued stubbornness. Reaching into his Mustard Seed Bag, he took out a clod of cinnabar soil.

He explained, "This Red Dust Soil is something I found when exploring a small domain. It doesn't have much use, but sprites have an unusual appreciation for its flavor. I took a mountain of this soil so that I could use it to deal with any powerful sprite I encountered. My young friend, since you have a sprite, I'm sure she will like it too, so this is for you, a sign of my appreciation."

Tang Jie accepted the soil and thanked Huang Wuji.

Huang Wuji laughed and departed.