Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Tang Jie followed Ling Xiao.

They passed through the Hall of Divine Conference, circled around Starsnatch Pagoda, and began to make their way to the back side of the mountain.

The ridges of Starsnatch Peak were tall and steep, but Ling Xiao simply walked along them rather than flying. Tang Jie could only obediently walk behind him. He wanted to ask Ling Xiao where they were going, but he ultimately managed to suppress his curiosity.

In this unhurried manner, they walked along the long ridges of Starsnatch Peak before finally arriving at a small mountain.

This small mountain was rather short and plain, completely unremarkable compared to the 19 Star Mountains and Starsnatch Peak. It didn’t even have a name. There was a small house made of thatch on the mountain, around which was a courtyard.

In the courtyard, a small boy was watering the flowers.

When Ling Xiao entered the courtyard, he bowed to the small boy. “I pay respects to the mountain elder.”

The boy asked without turning his head, “Ling Xiao, why did you bring this child here?”

The voice was extremely old.

Sect Master Ling Xiao immediately replied, “This child’s name is Tang Jie. He has cultivated for only a hundred-some years, but he has already reached Soul Transformation, and his strength is comparable to an Infant Tending Violet Palace.”

“Oh?” The small boy immediately turned to Tang Jie, upon which Tang Jie realized that while this person had the body of a child, his face was extremely old and shriveled, densely covered in wrinkles.

“Is he that formidable?” The boy let out an eerie cackle. “That must be tested.” ʀᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀᴛ NovlFre.et

He threw his watering can to Tang Jie. “You come and water the flowers.”

Tang Jie thought that he was going to test him with an attack, but it was just watering flowers? He grabbed the watering can.

Only when he grabbed it did he realize how immensely heavy it was, and as a result, he almost let it fall to the ground. Fortunately, he immediately circulated strength through his arms and managed to stabilize.

How heavy was this watering can, that Tang Jie needed to circulate energy in order to hold it?

The elderly boy was also surprised that Tang Jie was able to grab the can with so little incident. He pointed at the garden and said, “Water!”

Tang Jie glanced at Ling Xiao, who nodded at him. He went forward to water the flowers, but just as he moved to tilt the can, he felt as if a massive torrent of water was attempting to surge out, like a raging river. If it were allowed to flow out of the can, let alone the garden, the entire mountain would be drowned in water.

Tang Jie had to carefully control the mouth of the watering can so that only a little bit of this water spilled out to water the garden.

Initially, he didn’t control it well, and a great gush of water came forth, but when it fell on the fields, it instantly disappeared.

Gradually, Tang Jie grasped the method, and a trickle of water flowed out of the can, watering this seemingly eternally parched soil.

The boy nodded repeatedly. “This Jade Waves Pot contains the water of the four seas, and to be able to water the flowers without letting it overflow shows that he has an exquisite and hard-to-find control over his strength. But this power doesn’t come from law power, but from physical power. It’s quite rare to see a cultivator who cultivates both law and body. When did the body cultivation arts of my Basking Moon Sect become so powerful?”

On the side, Ling Xiao said, “This child came across a lucky encounter and obtained the hidden realm left behind by an Immortal, most likely a body cultivator Titan. Based on what we currently know, it was probably left behind by the Martial Lord of High Antiquity. Earlier, in the Hall of Divine Conference, he had a battle with Yekong, where he used a special blade. From its quality and attributes, it appears to share some similarities to the natural divine weapon Biehan described before, the sovereign of all weapons. It is suspected to have some connection to the Martial Lord.”

These words made Tang Jie sweat. He had never told the Basking Moon Sect about any of this, but it seemed like they had long ago guessed at everything and had simply chosen to remain silent.

“‘The Martial Lord’?” The elderly boy’s eyes flashed. “No wonder he possessed such divine strength, allowing him to lift the waters of the four seas. He had the legacy of a High Antiquity Titan. The Sovereign Blade? Let me take a look.”

Tang Jie looked at Ling Xiao, who nodded again, so he took out the Sovereign Blade and offered it.

The elderly boy took the Sovereign Blade and carefully examined it. “The Sovereign Blade is a legendary existence. It is said that there exists a natural divine weapon in the Weapon Dao, the sovereign of all weapons, transcending all weapons. It is able to simulate all weapons and counter all weapons, so it is called the Sovereign Blade.”

Tang Jie was stunned by this news. This was his first time hearing the Sovereign Blade described in this way.

“Able to simulate all weapons”?

Yes, the Sovereign Blade could take on countless forms, even taking on the form of actual divine weapons, but it had only the form and not the ability. Tang Jie had never been able to make it simulate the powers of other weapons.

“Counter all weapons”?

This was true. It was unbreakable, so most weapons would be destroyed on contact with it. But there were still some things that it couldn’t shake, like Space, Time, or Fate, as well as all things connected to such concepts. The Sovereign Blade was also no good against top-class divine treasures and Dao armaments.

But the true sovereign of all weapons would be able to dominate the world and stand alone and unparalleled.

This was why it was more a product of imagination than an actual treasure.

But the weapon in Tang Jie’s hand had been able to manifest some of the traits of this legendary weapon, which was why Cang Qingfeng had called it the Sovereign Blade. It was also why Ling Xiao had judged it to be the Sovereign Blade and used it to conjecture the existence of the Martial Lord’s legacy.

The elderly boy carefully examined the blade and said, “This object does share some similarities to the legendary Sovereign Blade, but it is far from reaching the level of countering all weapons. I am guessing that it was a failed product created by the Martial Lord in an attempt to create the true Sovereign Blade, a pity.”

The elderly boy did not know that Tang Jie had created the Sovereign Blade from the Weapon Mantra, only that Tang Jie had gained it from the Martial Lord’s legacy, which was why he had drawn this conclusion.

The elderly boy then muttered, “Ah, I was just getting ahead of myself. If the Sovereign Blade really did exist, then no treasure would be able to threaten the user, and wouldn’t that make them invincible? That’s impossible, so such a treasure cannot exist.”

Tang Jie’s mind was reeling from these words.

All this time, he had focused on improving the Sovereign Blade’s power against his enemies, never thinking about its other uses.

Only now did he realize that the way he had used it was wrong to begin with.

The Sovereign Blade was the Sovereign Blade because it was the sovereign of all weapons.

Perhaps its purpose had never been to kill enemies, but to deal with other weapons!

This change of perspective immediately made him understand many things that had previously confused him. Poor Tang Jie had only ever thought about using the Sovereign Blade to kill his enemies. Instead, he should have thought about how to use the Sovereign Blade to first destroy his enemy’s treasures, and then he could have the Sovereign Blade transform into other treasures and use it to kill his now-empty-handed enemies.

Yes!

This was the Martial Lord’s fighting style!

He suddenly recalled that scene from the Martial Mirror.

With one shout, all weapons shattered.

This was the might of the Martial Lord!

Tang Jie didn’t know when he would be able to do the same as the Martial Lord, shattering weapons with a single shout, but at least he understood what direction he should take. Putting too much focus on trying to kill enemies with the Sovereign Blade was a mistake. Simulation and countering was the real future of the Sovereign Blade.

The Weapon Mantra was a Dao Art, and this Dao Art’s purpose was to refine a weapon that could simulate and counter. Right now, the Sovereign Blade could not destroy divine treasures or Dao armaments, but this was probably because the Sovereign Blade was not fully mature.

Ever since he had attained the Sovereign Blade’s current form, Tang Jie rarely shattered other weapons. But now, he remembered that the Martial Lord was a body cultivator, meaning he had a body of immense size. The Sovereign Blade was currently the appropriate size for an ordinary mortal, but for the real form of a body cultivator, it was as small as a needle.

In other words, the Sovereign Blade was only just getting started and was far from completion, which was why he could only simulate form and not ability.

At that moment, Tang Jie suddenly regretted putting the sword spirit of the Yin Yang Division Sword into the Sovereign Blade.

This was because the Sovereign Blade didn’t need a sword spirit. A mature sword spirit might be able to temporarily increase its power, but it would interfere with its simulation abilities.

Tang Jie began to think of a way to remove the sword spirit and use it for something else.

The elderly boy returned the Sovereign Blade to Tang Jie and took back his watering can. “Head on inside.”

Ling Xiao led Tang Jie into the thatch house.

Upon entering the thatch house, they saw a white-haired old man inside, wearing a Daoist robe and holding a horsetail whisk, his eyes closed in meditation.

Ling Xiao bowed. “Disciple Ling Xiao pays respects to Martial Uncle!”

Although Tang Jie had already had his guesses and mentally prepared himself for this, Tang Jie still couldn’t help but be surprised by Ling Xiao’s words, and he hastily prostrated. “Disciple Tang Jie pays respects to the Martial Ancestor.”

This white-haired elder was none other than the foundation stone of the Basking Moon Sect, the Cloud Ancestor.

Tang Jie’s Wisdom Sword had been created by this individual.

The Cloud Ancestor didn’t move, letting Tang Jie prostrate, and as Ling Xiao didn’t say anything, Tang Jie continued to prostrate.

After a while, the Cloud Ancestor opened his eyes. Ignoring Tang Jie, he said, “I know of your purpose in coming, but I have long since ceased to intervene in the affairs of the sect and will no longer teach any disciples. You should take him back.”

Ling Xiao hastily said, “But, Martial Uncle, Tang Jie is a true genius. Although he has yet to reach Violet Palace, he is strong enough to battle against an Infant Tending cultivator, a genius not to be found in a thousand years. If Martial Uncle were to instruct him and protect him, he would have a much greater chance of reaching Violet Palace!”

So it was about the charge at Violet Palace? Tang Jie now understood why the sect master had brought him here.

Yes, the instruction of an Immortal would undoubtedly increase his chances of reaching Violet Palace, but while Earth Immortals were supreme existences to the people of Rosecloud, Tang Jie had received the instruction of a Boundless Gold Immortal, Immortal Ji Yao, so he did not care so much about it. However, this was a gesture of kindness from his master, and it was not right for him to say anything.

The Cloud Ancestor still shook his head. “Does my Basking Moon Sect lack for geniuses? Backed by the population of an entire country, none of the six major sects lack for talents. Possessing the strength to battle against an Infant Tending cultivator is not bad, but there might be more people capable of doing it in the future. My ambitions are on True Immortal, my heart tied to the Heavenly Dao. I stopped focusing on the sect’s affairs long ago, so there is no need to bother me over such things.”

Ling Xiao had no choice but to yield to the Cloud Ancestor, sighing, “Yes, your disciple will obey.”

Seeing this, Tang Jie finally said, “The Heavenly Dao doesn’t exist at all, so why is Martial Ancestor so obsessed with it?”

“What?” The Cloud Ancestor and Ling Xiao both stared at Tang Jie in shock.