Aspiring To The Immortal Path

The tyrannical Jin Clan was gone.

The Jin Clan had needed fifty-some years to establish itself in Baile Village, but it had taken only one hour to wipe it out.

What had Tang Jie feeling emotional was that they had perished not because of their evil acts, but because they had offended a cultivator. In fact, they hadn't even really done that, only offending a cultivator's servant.

Thus, the root of their destruction was not their evil crimes, but their having offended the wrong person.

"Thus, in this world, not having power is the original sin," Tang Jie muttered as he stood in front of the Jin Estate. Even though he had understood this long ago, he had never felt it as deeply as today.

Xi Canhen didn't understand what Tang Jie meant. He was entirely focused on his little sister. Once he learned that the Jin Clan young master hadn't had the time to do anything to her, he sighed in relief.

The extermination of the Jin Clan drew attention from the government, but once they learned that it was a cultivator who had done the deed, particularly one from the Basking Moon Sect, they just waved it off as "Upon investigation, it was found that Jubao Village's Jin Clan was colluding with bandits to plunder trade routes and slaughter innocents. Upon confirmation, Revered Immortal Tang Jie of the Basking Moon Sect acted to remove this calamity." There was even Tang Jie's handprint at the end.

This was a method commonly employed by the government, ignoring the truth and seeing the essence behind it. At least they knew when the Jin Clan had been exterminated and by whose hands, so that it would be easy to look up the case and gather clues in the future.

Cultivators knew this, but though they knew that they couldn't be arrested, they had to at least agree to be recorded.

Tang Jie wasn't too happy about this—not because his name and deeds were being recorded, but because he found the government suspiciously efficient. The time from the destruction of the clan to its recording didn't even take half a day.

But at least the official in charge of the village had some tact. After noting down the events, he asked Tang Jie, "This Jin Clan owned a lot of property in the village. Honored Master, this property…"

Tang Jie coldly said, "Note it all down and give the ledger to me."

What he meant was that he wanted it all.

"This lowly one understands," the official fawningly replied.

Tang Jie added, "Remember to audit all their account books."

The official grimaced upon hearing this. "Everyone in the Jin Clan is dead, and without them, auditing their accounts won't be very easy and will take some time."

"Then use a few extra days and slowly work at it. I can wait," Tang Jie breezily replied.

The official had no choice but to accept, thinking to himself, This kid must be a miser, only worried that other people might swindle him. That's why he even wants to audit the accounts when taking someone else's property! He'll probably even take over the Jin Clan's loan business. Even a person like this can cultivate Immortality? If he actually succeeds, he'll probably become something like an Iron Rooster Immortal. The thought of a giant rooster flapping into the distance had the official inwardly chuckling to himself, but then he remembered that Immortals had the ability to read minds, and if this Immortal found out how he was grumbling, he would be in deep trouble. Chiding himself for being rash, he put aside these thoughts and decided to get to work.

(TN: Iron rooster is a Chinese way of saying "cheapskate", as you cannot pluck a feather from an iron rooster.)

After finishing up affairs with the Jin Clan, Tang Jie called over Xi Canhen and his sister. As instructed by her brother, the sister bowed to Tang Jie and said, "Xi Shangyue pays respects to Young Sir Tang. My utmost gratitude to Young Sir Tang Jie for saving my life."

Her voice was cute and pleasant to hear.

"'Canhen' and 'Shangyue'? You two were given rather interesting names. Your parents must have read a lot," Tang Jie chuckled at these names.

(TN: 残, Can, and 殇, Shang, share the same radical of 歹. The names are also rather grim, meaning "Ruin Scar" and "Dead Moon" respectively.)

The girl blushed and dropped her head. It seemed like she had a rather quiet personality.

Tang Jie asked Xi Canhen, "Your little sister has been saved. What plans do you have for the future?"

Xi Canhen replied, "Since Young Master saved my little sister, Xi Canhen swears to follow Young Master to the death, to remain ever faithful!"

He pulled on his little sister so that they both got on their knees.

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Tang Jie didn't insist that he get up. He just looked up at the sky and casually said, "'Swear to follow me to the death, to remain ever faithful'? Some things are easier said than done."

Xi Canhen was startled, and then he declared, "The heavens can bear witness to Canhen's heart! I would not dare to deceive you!"

"Is that so…" Tang Jie lowered his head and thought for a few moments. Finally, he said, "Then, if I gave you something to do right now, could you do it? Let me warn you that it is very risky and that your life might be in danger!"

Xi Canhen immediately replied, "Young Master, give me the order! Xi Canhen will feel no regret even if I die a hundred times. I only ask… ask…"

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He looked at Xi Shangyue and gritted his teeth. "I only ask that if I die, Young Master takes care of my little sister."

"Big Brother!" Xi Shangyue anxiously grabbed her big brother's hand.

Xi Canhen smiled at his little sister. "Shangyue, Young Master saved both our lives. Let alone a mission from the young master, if he asked for my life, I would hand it over without hesitation. Before passing, Father said that only a man who keeps his promises can become a true hero, a real man. While I'm not some hero, I'm still a man, not someone who can forget the kindness that is done to me."

He pushed away his little sister's hand and looked with resolve at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie nodded in agreement. "You can be at ease. If you really do suffer the misfortune of death, I will take care of your little sister, passing down Immortal arts to her and ensuring that she leaves a peaceful life until the end."

Xi Canhen sighed in relief. "Young Master, please command me!"

Tang Jie quietly spoke a few words to Xi Canhen.

Upon hearing Tang Jie's order, Xi Canhen's face froze. "It's that simple?"

"Yes. Once you're done, you can go straight to Canglong Prefecture. So long as you survive, you can officially become part of the Wei Clan. Right, and there's also your little sister. I will request the lady to give the two of you spots for Basking Moon Academy."

Xi Canhen put on a solemn expression, loudly saying, "Canhen will not let you down. I will complete Young Master's mission!"

Tang Jie waved his hand, calling over the nearby napping little tiger. He then gave Xi Canhen the beast token, saying, "I will have the little tiger protect you. Although he still isn't at Mind Opening, he's still quite smart and can understand a lot of what you say. He doesn't like being locked up in the beast token, so when you're not in front of other people or fighting, you should let him out to get some air. Each time you let him out, you must prepare a big bowl of meat. Oh, now that I think of it…"

Tang Jie grabbed a bunch of spirit coins and gave them to Xi Canhen. "Consider this your travel expenses."

Xi Canhen took them both. As he looked at that large tiger which could eat up two of him with one bite, he inwardly rejoiced.

This tiger is coming with me?

Could I have it eat anyone that displeases me on my journey?

The little tiger curiously looked at Xi Canhen and the token in his hand. He understood the significance of the token: whoever had the token was the person he listened to.

In the past, Tang Jie and Yiyi had switched places ordering him around using this method, so he had gotten used to it. So why was it this little kid who was ordering him around today? He doesn't seem like much, the tiger thought to himself, lazily yawning.

Tang Jie ordered, "Do your best to keep the little tiger's existence a secret. This will make you much safer. In addition, though the little tiger can fly, you must get to Canglong Prefecture on your own two feet. Remember: while I'm having him protect you, since he's not familiar with you and is a naughty sort, he probably won't go all-out for you. As for the degree to which he fights for you, that will depend on how you do with him over these few days. Try and develop a good relationship with him. But given how little time there is, no matter how much you try to cozy up to him, you can be sure that he won't fight to the death for you. Personally, I also wouldn't want to lose the little tiger for your sake. Thus, if you run into an existence that even he can't deal with, you have to mentally prepare yourself to be thrown away."

Xi Canhen solemnly said, "Young Master, be at ease. This lowly one understands."

After some thought, Tang Jie took out two medicine bottles and two talismans, which he gave to Xi Canhen. He then tapped the center of Xi Canhen's forehead, sending a sliver of spiritual light into his mind. Xi Canhen felt like some memories had been inserted into his mind.

Tang Jie explained, "The medicine is for treating injuries, but rather than for you, it's for the little tiger. The talismans are things I made while I was bored and playing around. I'm terrible at drawing talismans, and I was only able to make five out of a stack of one hundred—a disastrous loss. Of the two I gave you, one is for Energy Needle and the other is for Violet Lightning Lunge. With your constitution, there isn't much that you can use. The others are simply too powerful, and using them would suck you dry. In addition, I've also passed the Twelve-Form Horizon Sword to you. This is basically the only thing you can learn right now. Go to the village and buy yourself a sword to defend yourself. Finally, I will do my utmost on my end to reduce the burden on you. While I'm making you face danger, I'm not having you go and die. This matter is half a mission and half a test. Given your cleverness, I'm sure that you will succeed. I will wait to hear the good news."

Xi Canhen took the items and bowed to Tang Jie. "Young Master, be at ease. Canhen will definitely survive and reach Canglong Prefecture!"

"Mm." Tang Jie rose in satisfaction. "Since that's the case, the two of you can go now."

"Yes." The siblings bid farewell to Tang Jie.

——————————

The massacre of the Jin Clan caused quite a local stir. Everyone knew that the Jin Clan had offended someone it shouldn't have and had been exterminated for it. But while the storm was great, it wasn't able to touch Tang Jie in the slightest.

An esteemed emissary of a major sect had simply slaughtered a small clan. What was so special about that? Putting aside the fact that the Jin Clan had tyrannized its town, even if it had done good throughout the province, no one would do anything if it had been massacred.

This was hierarchy! This was special privilege!

So long as Tang Jie didn't become so insane as to destroy clan after clan, no one would seek him out.

The only thing surprising was that Tang Jie, despite having finished his mission of inspecting the mine, had decided to stick around and take ownership of the Jin Clan's property.

This was rather rare. Normally, when a cultivator exterminated some family, they normally only took the gold and silver, showing no interest in land and businesses. But Tang Jie was so avaricious that he even wanted all these.

But since he wanted them, no one could take them from him, and they could only let him do as he pleased.

Using the excuse of the accounts being audited, Tang Jie stayed in the Mount Eternal region, spending his time cultivating or seeing the sights. He came from an upper sect and was normally very humble, which made him very likable. Thus, it was only a few days until he had made friends with most of the people on Stone Gate Peak.

Tang Jie also seized this chance to brazenly inspect the Stone Gate Sect's Jade Gate Heaven Seal Formation.

This was a rather famous formation, and even Xu Muyang's formation treatise had noted it down. But it had lacked the method for laying down this formation, so Tang Jie used this chance to try and find out how.

In truth, regardless of the field one studied, one would ultimately have to travel the world to gain experience. Even the disciples of major sects had to eventually roam about to broaden their horizons.

Time quietly passed, and as the storm caused by the Jin Clan incident faded away, Mount Eternal regained its usual calm and harmony.

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In Jubao Village, the people continued to busy themselves about their own business.

As everyone lazed under the noon sun, in Treasure Appraiser Boutique on the eastern end of the village, the shopkeeper listlessly manned the storefront, his eyes staring outside while his mind wandered.

A man dressed in black and wearing a veiled bamboo hat entered the store. "Shopkeeper, do you take treasured objects here?"

From the voice, he was clearly a youth.

The shopkeeper glanced at the youth and coldly laughed. "Didn't you see the sign? Treasure Appraiser Boutique doesn't take treasured objects, but what place does? Whether it's curios of the four gentleman arts, those magic tools cultivators use, or rare natural treasures, so long as you have it, this place can appraise it and buy it. But there's no need to take out shabby pieces of metal to try and fool me. Save yourself the time and just leave."

While he seemed to be rather boastful, he actually wasn't, for the Treasure Appraiser Boutique was run by the Stone Gate Sect.

Any cultivation sect had this sort of treasure appraisal store in its territory. They existed primarily to find any treasures among the common people that might have been missed. Immortals often fought against each other, and no matter how omnipotent they were while alive, when they died, they would return to the earth. But while they would return to the earth, the treasures that they once owned would not.

While most of these treasures would be collected, for various reasons, there were always some that couldn't be gotten back, particularly those treasures that had been broken. To the major sects, these were no longer valuable enough to waste the time searching for them. But for the small sects, even a fragment of an art relic might be a rare material to be used in making something, so they were worthwhile to gather.

This was what the various treasure appraisal stores did. They might not get anything good in the space of ten years, but if they got even one, the investment would be worth it.

Of course, these stores also sold curios and paintings so as to make some additional revenue and to make sure the people in the store actually had something to do. If one really had to wait for the magic tools used by Immortals, a worker could go a decade without executing a single transaction.

This was precisely why stores like this one were also considered direct representations of a sect's power. The vast majority of local sects could only one-up these treasure appraisal stores in their own territory. Only the Basking Moon Sect's Basking Moon Boutiques could be opened up throughout Sageheart, with some even opened in the other five countries.

But there was no Basking Moon Boutique in Jubao Village—not because the Basking Moon Sect couldn't open one, but because it saw no value in this location.

Even so, as someone who could look after a store for an Immortal, this shopkeeper was an extremely powerful existence in the village.

Thus, he looked at the black-clothed youth with his nose turned up.

Someone else wouldn't have minded such comments, but the black-clothed youth was somewhat angered, shouting, "Your tone is quite rude! You haven't even seen my treasured object, so how dare you call it some piece of shabby metal? This is a real treasure, one I'm afraid you can't afford."

The shopkeeper sneered. "Hah! You think there's a treasure that my Treasure Appraiser Boutique can't buy?"

The young man turned his head away and said, "That's hard to say. Who knows what sort of people run this store of yours? After all, you guys are the ones who set the price. If you encounter something valuable, you might just say it's worthless and buy it at a low price."

The shopkeeper was furious. "Such audacity! What is this baseless slander!? Get out right now!"

The youth shouted back, "I came to do business, so why should I leave? It's not your place to make decisions here. Call out your manager!"

Before they could even talk business, the two of them had started quarreling.

This quarrel drew many spectators, who surrounded the store and gawked. The youth seemed to have lost his head, shouting louder and louder, even drawing out Manager Ding, who unhappily said, "What's all this ruckus about?"

Manager Ding was a man that the Stone Gate Sect had appointed to supervise the store. Though he was a mortal, he had worked at a few stores owned by major sects and had seen quite a few spell weapons and art relics before. He had sharp eyes, and even the most bizarre of treasures found it hard to escape his eyes. In these last few years, he had collected quite a few treasures for the Stone Gate Sect, earning him the sect's favor.

The shopkeeper saw that Manager Ding had come and quickly said, "Old Ding, what's brought you out? It's all this kid's fault for being rude and disturbing your rest."

The black-clothed youth unhappily said, "You were the one who was rude. I came to sell a treasure, but you said I came with shabby metal."

The shopkeeper felt unjustly accused, silently fuming, When did I ever call your treasure a shabby piece of metal? I said that you shouldn't take out such things and waste my time.

Fortunately, Manager Ding didn't mince words. He smiled and said, "Whether it's a treasure or not, I have to take a look at it first."

The black-robed youth hardened up and said, "I'm not selling. Remember: this was a big deal you missed out on, all because of this shopkeeper."

When everyone heard that this youth wasn't selling after arguing for such a long time, they couldn't help but jeer.

Even Manager Ding frowned. "It's up to you whether you sell or not, but since you're already here, it's unreasonable to not even show the treasure before leaving."

"That's right! If you're leaving, you at least have to show us what you have!" the spectators heckled.

With all these people trying to get him to show the treasure, the youth shrank back.

Manager Ding coldly said, "Young man, I'll say it one more time. The treasure is yours, and you can decide to sell it or not. But since you've already caused such a ruckus, you at least have to show it, or else I'll have to accuse you of messing around with my Treasure Appraiser Boutique."

This was a serious crime, and Manager Ding's words alone were enough to have the government office's bailiffs arrest him.

With no choice, the youth said, "If you're going that far, then I'll show you, but let me repeat it again: I'm not selling. I'm going to Canglong Prefecture to sell this Crystallized Sandworm!"

"What?" Manager Ding was aghast.

He saw the youth take out a black rock, which was clearly a Crystallized Sandworm.

Hm, I wonder where this young man with a Crystallized Sandworm could have come from, hmmmmm…