Aspiring To The Immortal Path

Xi Canhen came out of the Wei Estate with a small bundle on his back. He waved at the gates as his form of farewell.

He turned to Xi Shangyue and said, "Sister, let's go."

"Mm." Gritting her teeth, the girl looked reluctantly back at the gates of the Wei Estate before leaving with her older brother.

The maids and servants in front of the gate looked weirdly at the siblings. It was clear that they felt that there was no need to throw away these days of luxury to seek out suffering.

Xi Canhen was blind to their looks, pulling his sister's hand as he laughed. Xi Shangyue was worried over her older brother's state and asked, "Big Brother, how are we going to live now that we're leaving the Wei Clan?"

Xi Canhen thumped his chest. "What are you afraid of? I'm basically half a cultivator right now. Although my magic power is lacking, do you think I'm afraid of not being able to find anything to eat? Moreover, look at Canglong Prefecture. This is a land of opportunity, with plenty of jobs to go around. Oh, right, right…"

Xi Canhen slapped his head and took something out, smiling. "Don't forget about this. If I sell it, won't we be able to have anything we want?"

It was that Crystallized Sandworm.

Initially, he hadn't known the value of the Crystallized Sandworm, but now, he was well aware of it. Even if he had already absorbed a part of the Crystallized Sandworm, it was still worth sixty to seventy thousand spirit coins. This money was an enormous sum for a student of Basking Moon, let alone a neophyte like him.

With the sandworm in hand, Xi Canhen rushed to a nearby store. After haggling over the price for a while, he ultimately sold it for 52,000 coins.

With these spirit coins, Xi Canhen left the store and immediately used Aura Restraint, hiding in a corner and looking around. Reality proved that his caution was unnecessary. While fifty thousand spirit coins was a lot, merchants weren't people who became bandits the moment they saw money. They were intelligent people and knew not to kill the chicken for its eggs.

Seeing that everything was fine, Xi Canhen rushed off to another store. This place sold ordinary spell arts, talisman paper, spell weapons, and medicines.

Although these goods couldn't be compared to the goods from famous sects like the Basking Moon Sect, as they were gathered from various small sects, there was certainly more variety. So long as he was diligent, he would be able to find spell arts and weapons that were suitable for him.

Xi Canhen didn't forget about the special attributes of his body that Shi Meng had pointed out. As his meridians were larger than normal, he expended more spiritual energy, so he sought out spell arts that had their power directly linked to the amount of spiritual energy used. But while there were such spell arts, they were all of a low level and would not be too useful. To put it simply, they had many drawbacks. After searching for a while, he didn't really find anything that suited him. Only the Raging Wave Sword art he had found barely satisfied him.

Besides an offensive technique, Xi Canhen also wanted a technique that could lighten his body. But in this, too, he found nothing suitable, and so he satisfied himself with a Windwalk spell book.

Finally, Xi Canhen bought a few bottles of medicine. His foundation was too shallow, so he needed to swiftly solidify it.

He was just about to buy a spell weapon when he heard a clamor outside.

Looking out, he saw an old man yelling, "Selling a weapon! Selling a weapon! Upper-grade art relic, only thirty thousand spirit coins!"

A crowd had already gathered. The old man was holding a gray shortsword, 1 foot and 3 inches long. Most astonishing of all was that the sword had no hilt, only the naked blade.

The old man had to hold the sword by placing his hands on the flat sides. If he directly grabbed it, he would have cut himself.

Xi Canhen was also surprised by this strange little sword. Pulling on his little sister's hand, he said, "Come on. Let's go and see."

A chattering crowd had gathered, some people pointing at the sword while others scoffed, "Is this old man crazy? A shabby sword like this is thirty thousand spirit coins? It doesn't even have a hilt, so how are you supposed to use it? It's nothing more than scrap metal. I wouldn't want it even if it were given to me for free."

The old man glared. "This is an Immortal art relic, an item passed down from the Court of Myriad Domains, a divine weapon used by Immortals. You dare to speak nonsense about it despite your lack of knowledge?"

"'The Court of Myriad Domains'? Doesn't my Rosecloud Domain only have the six major sects? Where did this Court of Myriad Domains come from? This old man is probably crazy." The crowd erupted in laughter.

The old man closed his eyes and said nothing.

Xi Canhen looked at the sword. For some reason, he felt a connection to this sword. He started to feel entranced, an impulse seizing him. He came up and bowed, upon which he said, "Venerable Sir, could I hold the sword for a moment?"

The old man opened his eyes and looked at Xi Canhen. His eyes gleamed as he gasped, and then they dimmed again. "You're quite the polite one."

He placed the sword in Xi Canhen's hand.

Xi Canhen took the sword, and he felt it tremble. A sea of blood suddenly appeared in front of him, but then it disappeared, everything returning to normal.

The old man regretfully shook his head, saying in an extremely soft voice, "Murderous nature is a little on the weak side… can't control it…"

Xi Canhen continued to stare at the sword.

Suddenly, he grabbed the head of the sword, the edge slicing into his palm and drawing blood.

"Brother!" Xi Shangyue cried out in alarm.

Xi Canhen seemed to not feel it, continuing to stare at the sword with a strange light in his eyes.

The blood that flowed from the cut disappeared into the sword.

The hiltless shortsword trembled, letting out a buzz, and then it flew into the air. A crimson light engulfed Xi Canhen, and the old man narrowed his eyes. "The murderous nature is weak, but the will to fight is impressive. Not the crazed tyranny of one who would raise the butcher's blade against all the land, but the resolve to take up the sword against a powerful foe… It is an option. No wonder you're getting impatient…"

At this time, the demonic will was starting to retreat from Xi Canhen's eyes, his rationality returning.

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Looking down, he saw that the sword was still drinking his blood. He forced his hand to release the sword and returned it to the elder.

The elder looked at Xi Canhen. "Young man, are you not satisfied with this sword?"

Xi Canhen replied, "This sword seems to have a demonic nature that will increase a person's murderous nature, making it difficult to control."

The old man chuckled. "You're right. Being difficult to control is this sword's feature. Then, young man, do you dare to use this sword?"

Xi Canhen looked at the sword for a while before shaking his head. "This sword truly is an extraordinary item, but I think it's not for me. Firstly, this sword is at least an art relic, but I have only just opened my Spirit Eye, so I can't even use it. Secondly, this sword affects mental state and is too strong in demonic nature. The slightest mishap could lead me to be controlled instead. Thirdly, I don't have that much money."

It wasn't that he didn't have the money, but he wasn't willing to spend thirty thousand on a demonic sword.

The old man laughed. "These three are simple to resolve. Let me take care of that last one for you. You say that you lack spirit coins, but this is no problem. This treasure is only to be given to those with a fated connection to it. To me, little friend, it looks like you have such a connection, so I will gift it to you."

"You will gift it to me?" Xi Canhen was startled.

The old man smiled and nodded. "Correct. As for your second difficulty, you simply need a hardy will. A person's will can be honed, and so long as you can render your Origin Heart unshakable, you will not be affected. But getting back onto the subject, once you use this sword and learn of its various wonders, you might not want to fend off its influences even if you could."

He loudly laughed, an evil laugh that left Xi Canhen stunned.

He was almost certain that this old man wasn't as simple as he seemed.

The old man went on, "As for the first problem… haha, who said a low-tier Spirit Disciple couldn't use an art relic? There is one kind of art relic that even mortals can use. Young man, have you heard of it before?"

Xi Canhen was startled, but before he could react, some of the surrounding crowd already knew the answer. "A soul weapon? This old man is talking about soul weapons. Is this sword a soul weapon?"

A rush of people came forth, shouting, "Old man, I want that sword!"

"Give it to me!"

Some of them even grabbed for the sword.

The old man was unruffled. "The treasure is only gifted to a fated one. Since a fated one has appeared, the rest of you can disperse!"

He waved his sleeve and sent everyone around him flying. The old man then raised a hand, three diagrams appearing in it. He stuffed these into Xi Canhen's hand and said, "I see that you have a constitution better than most, so I will grant you these three techniques. The first is the Sacrificial Sword, the second is the Free Roaming Mantra, and the third is the Demon Refining Art. They are countless times better than the ones you have."

The old man had seen at a glance the spell arts that Xi Canhen was carrying.

After saying this, he flew into the air and vanished in the blink of an eye.

This ability stunned the crowd, and they got down on their knees and cried out, "Old Immortal!" But the old man's voice simply replied from the air, "The sword's name is Immeasurable, and it possesses great power. If you use it properly, you can dominate the world. Fated one, take care of yourself. This old man is taking his leave!"

He spoke no more, and it seemed like he really had left this time.

Everyone stared in a daze, not knowing what to say.

Xi Canhen was also left perplexed by this development. Suddenly, he looked around and saw countless eyes staring at him and the sword.

He instantly knew he was in trouble, so he grabbed his little sister's hand and began to leave.

A crowd of people followed with savage, cold, and cruel looks in their eyes. They regarded Xi Canhen as if he was already a corpse, and some of them even viciously smiled.

It appeared that they wouldn't rest until Xi Canhen handed over the treasure.

Canglong Prefecture was no lawless land, but sufficiently great fortune could override law and order, and even more so if someone was encouraging it from the shadows.

Some people pursued Xi Canhen like madmen. Xi Canhen knew that this wasn't good, but he had a tough will, so even though he knew that abandoning the sword was the best option, he chose not to. As he held the sword, the anger in his heart grew. The edge once more cut into his palm, and as the sword drank of his blood, a murderous crimson glow appeared in his eyes.

"Since you want to steal it, come and get it!" Xi Canhen called out. He suddenly ran out of the city.

The crowd pursued.

They were soon out of the city. Xi Canhen ran into a tree-shaded side path and then suddenly turned around. He faced his pursuers with crimson eyes.

"Hey, kid, hand over the treasure and we can spare your life!" a burly man shouted.

Xi Canhen coldly replied, "But I have no plans of letting you go."

Everyone saw that Xi Canhen's entire body had a bloody glow, and a tide of blood rose up out of nowhere to pull everyone into a sea of blood.

"No…" Screams came from the crowd.

Xi Canhen charged out, his sword swinging.

Horizon Sword Form!

Whoosh!

A head flew into the air, the gusher of blood making the boundless sea of blood more vivid and more wild, making the crowd feel as if they were at the bottom of the sea, unable to move.

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"No!" Xi Shangyue covered her face and shrieked.

Xi Canhen was deaf to her cries, continuing his massacre in the sea of blood. His eyes were crimson, and as the hiltless sword in his hand pierced into body after body, their blood flowed into the sword.

At the same time, the weakness that Xi Canhen felt from the loss of blood dissipated.

So that's the deal?

Suck the blood of enemies or have your blood sucked.

This was no Immeasurable Sword. It was clearly a bloodsucking sword!

As it drank the blood of enemies, this sword grew even stronger. The sea of blood was originally made from Xi Canhen's blood, so its range was limited. As it absorbed more blood, the sea of blood grew stronger and larger.

Under this sea of blood, everyone except Xi Canhen felt their courage fail, and even movement became difficult.

Xi Canhen rampaged in the sea of blood, and in only a few short moments, he had killed off all his pursuers.

Only then did the murderous intent in Xi Canhen's eyes begin to fade.

Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, Xi Canhen muttered, "The sword possesses great power… So this is what he meant? It truly is tyrannical beyond compare, getting stronger through battle.

"No, that's not all. I can sense that my body is bursting with strength. Could this sword be able to…"

Xi Canhen didn't continue, as he was too stunned to speak.

Could this sword absorb the strength of others?

If that was the case, didn't that mean he would get stronger the more he killed?

But… why did this sound like a Demon Gate art?

The Demon Gate had been exterminated from the Rosecloud Domain more than a thousand years ago. If there were any demons, they could only be in the Primordial Fog Domain.

The old man had said this sword had come from some Court of Myriad Domains, but it seemed more like a sword from the Demon Gate.

"Big Brother!" Xi Shangyue's voice pulled Xi Canhen back into reality.

The girl looked at her brother, her face ghastly white. "You killed them."

Xi Canhen stared blankly for a moment before he realized something and said, "Yes, I killed them… I killed a lot of people… How strange—why don't I feel any fear? Although this isn't my first time killing someone, it's the first time I've killed this many. Why am I not only not afraid, but even excited?"

Xi Canhen's eyes glowed with excitement as he looked at the corpses.

Xi Shangyue was horrified by Xi Canhen's expression and backed up several steps.

Xi Canhen knew that this behavior wasn't right and flung the sword away.

Only now did he feel some fear for killing these people and disgust at this scene.

He suppressed his discomfort and embraced his little sister. "Shangyue, Shangyue, don't be afraid. I'm your big brother. No matter what, I will never hurt you. It's all that sword. It's that sword that killed them."

"Let's get rid of the sword, okay?" the sister begged her brother.

Xi Canhen froze. Finally, he said, "Shangyue, trust me. I can control that sword."

He put down Xi Shangyue, tore off a large strip of cloth from a corpse, and used it to wrap up the sword and solemnly put it away.

He smiled and said, "Look. This way, I won't be influenced by it."

Xi Shangyue said nothing.

Xi Canhen pulled his sister over and said, "We can't stay here. Let's go."

"To where?"

"Wherever. There will be some place we can stay. That old man also gave me some spell arts, so I should cultivate them and see how powerful they are…"

The brother and sister conversed as they walked into the distance.

Unbeknownst to them, high in the sky, in the clouds, the sword-selling old man had been watching everything.

He chuckled. "What do you think? Now you know the advantages of this sword, yes? No one can give up on this sword after learning of its power… Hahahaha, this time, I will succeed!"

The old man threw back his head and let out a booming laugh akin to thunder.

Amid the booming laughter, the old man's form changed, transforming into an elegant middle-aged man, but he had only half a face. The other half of his face was so horrifyingly withered and burned that it seemed like his skull was visible.

The laughter stopped, and the middle-aged man muttered, "There is no more need to hide the green spear, and return is inevitable… Just wait. The day the Immeasurable Sword is freed is the day I, Cang Qingfeng (Hidden Green Spear), return!"

He blinked away, this time truly disappearing without a trace.

What a coincidence that Tang Jie's sorta-disciple runs into another alum of Basking Moon Academy! But what's the story with this Cang Qingfeng guy anyway?