The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 102

Chapter 5: Transaction

With a sigh, the man’s fingers brushed gently across her back like a veil. Her increasingly responsive body faithfully reflected what she was feeling. The twitching of her smooth back muscles proved this was anything but a pleasant experience.

The fingers fixed on the back of her head warned her against any foolishness, but they couldn’t prevent her from regaining most of her consciousness.

In a split second, Tianzhi had a preliminary understanding of the situation before her.

“Such an illusion! Who are you?”

The voice was still a little hoarse, but the tension emanating from it embodied the composure and strength of a sect leader.

Without seeing the situation, it would have been difficult to discern who was being controlled.

The man behind her chuckled and said, “Master, don’t worry about this for now. Just know that I’m seeking to repay a favor. I’d like to obtain something valuable from you. I beg for your cooperation.”

“Repay a favor?” Tianzhi sneered. The man behind her didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of accepting a request; he was clearly threatening her life.

However, even if she were in dire straits, she wouldn’t tolerate being bullied by a dog. To someone of her level, the so-called “blackmail” was nothing but a joke.

Hearing Tianzhi’s sneer, the man laughed as well.

“Who could have imagined that the great Lord of the Never-Sleeping City, the Grand Master of the Righteous Path, would actually indulge in sexual pleasure with a slut like the ** Concubine! Tsk, they say Milanglian Lake is a wonderland, but it turns out it’s just a den of pleasure for the Master!”

The man said it lightly, but Tianzhi felt like a hammer had struck her head. She shuddered, and the sound that escaped her throat trembled.

“How do you know about Milanglian Lake?”

All she could hear was the man’s chuckle, further unsettling her, and she was filled with doubts. Could it be some kind of magic trick?

But while her mind had been wandering, she had regained consciousness quickly, and it was impossible for her to mention the name “Milanglian Lake.” How could the man be so sure?

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. She couldn’t help but recall the moment she’d encountered the bewitching illusion. But after only a few fragments, her heart tightened, and she suddenly understood.

“You bastard, you tricked me!”

Her heart ached with the sudden surge of rage. A sweet taste filled her mouth, and a rush of blood rushed to her. If it weren’t for the man protecting her heart, she would have died instantly. Of course, she wouldn’t express even a hint of gratitude.

“You didn’t fall for it! You’re so difficult to deal with!”

The man, after another unsuccessful attempt at bewitching, spoke with a touch of admiration, but more of a teasing tone. “Master, why be angry? And don’t be surprised. I have my own reliable sources of information. You, Master, should be more concerned about your own injuries.”

With that, the man chuckled again.

“Rumor has it that the Master has always looked down on others, but today, I don’t know how many people looked down on him… Naturally, everything was for the final desperate attack. It’s a pity that, not to mention that the Master is powerless now, he also missed a great opportunity at that time!”

Tianzhi was silent.

The man seemed to be very talkative, and once he opened his mouth, he would talk non-stop.

“The Master’s sudden entry into Yemotian seemed reckless, but in fact, it was probably quite calculated. Of course, this series of events changed rapidly, and no one could grasp every detail, but the Master only needed to grasp two key points, and the situation would be under control.

“First, the Master knew very well that in order to avoid an irreconcilable feud with the righteous sect, or for some “other” reasons, Gu Yin would not easily kill the Master.

“Secondly, for Gu Yin, the threat posed by the old demon Kunpeng is more direct than that posed by the Master. Therefore, if the matter is exposed, Kunpeng will definitely become the target of Gu Yin’s attack, and the Master can benefit from it.

“Hehe, in terms of scheming and courage, the old demon Kunpeng is far inferior to Gu Yin. He only wants to take advantage of the chaos to pull out some forces to act alone, and he doesn’t even have the courage to occupy the magpie’s nest.

On this point, Gu Yin was wrong!

“Looking at these two points, plus the Golden Pill of Creation in the Master’s arms, we know that the Master’s desperate attack was just an illusion. Perhaps the Master really wanted to kill Gu Yin, but he didn’t intend to sacrifice his own life!

“The Master is actually practicing the method of giving first and then taking, pretending to be real, and making a series of plans. And if you think more drastically, if the Master’s injuries improve, he can even go a step further and turn the previous solo breakthroughs, collusion with Kunpeng, humiliation, and the final full-strength attack into layers of preparation…

“It was to make Gu Yin and the others believe that the Master had exhausted all his skills, so that they would relax their guard. This would allow the Master to turn light into darkness, observe the weakness between the old and new forces, and then launch a powerful attack! But, alas, the Master had calculated everything, but he still forgot this ‘Flying Snow in the Sky’.”

As he spoke, the man’s finger gently touched the wound on Tianzhi’s back.

After the broken flute was removed, the shocking blood hole had quickly shrunk and healed under the protection of his true energy. Now, the touch only caused a slight itch.

Tianzhi knew very well that while the flesh wounds were easy to deal with, the internal injuries were beyond repair. With her heart pulse intermittent, her soul damaged, and her qi circulation broken, even taking the Golden Elixir of Creation would only temporarily prolong her life.

At her level, her perspective on life and death was very different from that of ordinary people. At this critical juncture, her resolve only grew stronger.

While the man behind her was talking, she had already taken advantage of her moment of clarity to think things through.

Taking advantage of the pause, she coldly said, “You’re talking nonsense and going off on tangents. It’s rare that your companion has such patience!”

Although her six senses were weakened and her perception of auras was dull, she could still feel the temperature of the fingers pressing against her neck, which was quite different from the fingers on her back, and even the touch was subtly different.

Importantly, although the person speaking was full of energy and imposing, there was a certain cautious, tentative quality to his words, which was completely inconsistent with the effortless and dignified manner in which he had just expelled the poison.

The man behind him was incredibly thick-skinned. He paused, then laughed again, “How can you say I’m tangentially off topic? I was merely pointing out a few key points the Master had experienced.

” “The key lies in Kunpeng’s counterattack. Regardless of whether Gu Yin and the others were prepared, the Master’s ability to strike with the exquisite power of the Five-Colored Divine Light would have significantly increased his chances of success… What was the Master thinking then?”

Tianzhi’s heart trembled slightly. She understood the reason better than anyone else.

However, she could only inhale deeply, straining to maintain her composure.

Both her rationality and her intuition told her that the man was deliberately trying to provoke her. If she gave in now, a fate a hundred times more agonizing than death awaited her.

She had to hold on until she died.

However, to her surprise, after this lengthy speech, the man fell silent. He simply placed his palm against her back, letting the warmth of his skin slowly penetrate her.

After a long while, the man finally spoke: “Jade bones and icy skin, nothing more than this.”

The words were frivolous, but the sincerity of the voice, and the inflection of the ending that seemed to be both praise and admiration, gave them a different meaning, like the pity of watching a masterpiece about to be burned.

A low, female laugh echoed from the darkness.

The man pretended not to hear and sighed to himself, “Master, before the flute pierced your heart, you had already removed the vital blood vessels. But the snow flying in the sky was so devastating that it destroyed your heart and soul. It was so vicious that it was beyond your estimation.

“But what’s even more fatal is that the inner demon that you have been cultivating for hundreds of years has backfired after being severely injured… I don’t understand why the leader of a dignified and upright sect would choose to practice such an evil way as ours?”

Hearing the word “us”, Tianzhi’s heart moved again, but she still sneered: “You also know the method of cultivating the inner demon?”

The man behind her chuckled: “Master, why are you so pretentious? If you have doubts about my identity, just say it. Of course, I won’t explain anything. I just want to tell you that a person like you should be a treasure of this world. If you die in the dust, it will be very sad!”

His tone became more and more frivolous. Tianzhi was about to scold her when she felt a sinking feeling on her back. The strong force penetrated her body and pressed her so hard that she couldn’t breathe.

At the same time, due to the external intrusion, her already broken meridians were disrupted, causing her entire body to ache. Qi and blood were flowing backward, causing pain to spread throughout her body. The pain of crushing bones and severing arteries was unimaginable without first experiencing it.

“It’s gotten worse in just the time it took me to speak,” the man said, seemingly not intending to torture her, merely commenting on the situation.

“The physical injuries are secondary. If you delay any longer, perhaps within a few breaths, the inner demon will infect your soul, destroying the clear and bright mind that the Master has painstakingly maintained for centuries.

If you truly die, this chaotic state will worsen, and the Master’s spiritual consciousness will be completely extinguished, leaving only the instincts of a living being, and he will enter the demonic path… Hey, I wonder if the Master will have the good fortune of Yin Chonghua, to start a new life and become famous in the world?”

Tianzhi seemed to hear the creaking in her heart, but she refused to give in so easily. She pressed her face against the ice, using her cold energy to seal her increasingly fragile defenses. At the same time, she began preparing for the steps of “liberation.”

Another sigh was heard in the darkness: “Death is the only difficulty throughout the ages, and it is even more so for cultivators like us. Master, don’t you consider ways to save yourself?”

Tianzhi’s heart suddenly tightened, and then she heard the man say slowly: “Master, your mind is damaged, and you are being attacked by the inner demon. If you follow your sect’s mental method, you will naturally be unable to save yourself. However, if you look at it from another angle, it is not hopeless… Master, are you willing to listen to me?”

There was another long silence in the darkness, but Tianzhi’s emotions were not as calm as he seemed, but were turbulent like the rapids of a river.

As if sensing her struggle, the sigh echoed again—”The Master has meticulously planned this, even putting himself in harm’s way, to kill Gu Yin immediately. Hey, that wicked Heaven, it always works against us. Right now, the Master is waiting for his death, while Gu Yin will likely be able to unleash his talents and shake the world upside down in no time. How could there be such a huge disparity between the two people’s encounters?”

“Shut up!”

Tianzhi shouted, and the man behind her actually stopped talking, only to let out a faint snort of laughter, a low, yet resonant sound that struck at Tianzhi’s most vulnerable spot.

Yes, how could she not withstand such a crude provocation?

Now, she knew perfectly well that all the man’s words, in essence, boiled down to the same few words she’d heard Gu Zhixuan sneer at her that year—”Do you want to die? Do you want to live?”

She hadn’t asked for death then, so why was she slapping herself in the face now?

A self-deprecating laugh vibrated in her chest, but ultimately, it didn’t spill out. She simply paused, then, in the calmest of tones, said, “Empty words are not enough!”

These words signaled a complete change in attitude.

With a laugh, the man’s hand lifted from her back, and a moment later, the fingers pressed against the back of her head also moved away.

However, the man didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he shook the jade bottle containing the Golden Elixir of Creation and whispered, “This Golden Elixir can only enrich vital energy, but it can’t regenerate vitality. It’s better for the Master to refuse to accept this. Of course, the more crucial thing is…”

Within the dark space, a series of mantras echoed. Tianzhi listened carefully, her heart pounding.

The incantation was cryptic, its complexities troubling even the most discerning. However, with her knowledge, she could clearly discern: this was an extremely strange yet profoundly ingenious technique. The mere shifting of syllables during recitation had the effect of cleansing Qi and blood from the outside in. Such a miraculous power was undeniable.

Crucially, the meaning of the incantation struck a certain familiarity. After listening for a while, she suddenly realized.

“The Heart Demon Refining Method?”

the man laughed. “That’s exactly what it is. Furthermore, it’s countless times more powerful than what the Master had previously cultivated! More importantly, its method of rescuing oneself from death is exactly what the Master desperately needs right now.”

Tianzhi pondered the incantation in her mind. Those who understood this level of secret technique were truly few and far between in this world. She had almost guessed what it was, but she didn’t speak aloud. Instead,

she hummed, “What’s next?” Silence followed.

Tianzhi paused for a moment, then understood. She chuckled softly, unhurried, taking a deep breath. Feeling a slight return of strength, she leaned on her arms, slowly lifting half her body, groping for the ice wall to sit cross-legged.

The man didn’t say anything, but Tianzhi felt a slight chill as her bare back pressed against the ice wall.

But at least it gave her some psychological comfort.

Then she asked, “What do you want?”

A low laugh echoed from the darkness.

“The Master possesses a mountain of treasures, taking the lion’s share. Naturally, it’s the Master’s decision.”

This answer was unexpected, and it further perplexed Tianzhi about the man’s intentions. However, having been the sect leader for centuries, she wouldn’t be stumped by such a matter.

Feidi reviewed her “capital” in her mind and spoke slowly, “You just said I missed the opportunity to kill Gu Yin. That’s true. But do you want to know why I missed it?”

The man let out a soft “Oh,” then said, “I’d like to hear the details.”

That was the first transaction.

Tian Zhi finally grasped the other party’s thoughts a little, and a trace of sarcasm appeared at the corner of her lips: “The reason is simple. I overestimated Gu Yin’s strength. To be more precise, Gu Yin’s strength was beyond my expectations, because… she is far inferior to her level back then.”

“Not as good as before?”

“Yes, far worse! I don’t deny that when we were at Milanglian Lake…” When mentioning this name, Tian Zhi’s tone froze for a moment, and then she said: “Gu Yin’s cultivation was far superior to mine at that time. If my estimate is correct, she must have reached the realm of Chi Zi Zhen Yi, and it would be easy for her to suppress me, who is at the Zhenren realm!”

A surprised exclamation sounded in the darkness, but Tian Zhi was not affected at all. She continued: “And now, regardless of her methods, her strength has dropped at least a level.

As for the reason, I do have some guesses…”

It was here that she was stuck.

The darkness seemed to freeze for a moment, and then the man laughed. “Indeed, this information alone is worth three mantras!”

The man was quite eloquent, immediately adding three more sentences to the previously recited sentence, totaling forty or fifty words. Finally, he kindly reminded her, “This basic Dharma has approximately two thousand words, about a hundred sentences. Master, please remember this.”

Tianzhi sneered again, “How many sentences can I expect from my speculation and sources?”

“If it’s detailed and true, and touches on matters I care about, seventeen or eighteen sentences is possible.”

The man spoke easily in the darkness.

“But, Master, please know, I seek ‘detailed and thorough’. Furthermore, I know my priorities well, and I don’t have the energy to stir up trouble. You can rest assured about this confidentiality. Furthermore, this business isn’t limited to information. I’ll accept anything of value.” The more he tried to hide it, the

more obvious it became! Tianzhi already had a rough outline in her mind, but she sneered secretly. Finally, she took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: “If I am not mistaken, Gu Zhixuan has been killed by his niece!”

In this limited space, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

This time, Tianzhi spoke without hesitation, but her tone became long and profound, intriguing─”That should have been fourteen years before the last forty-nine calamities, on November eleventh, when the North Sea Lotus Gathering was taking place. I went to Yama Heaven to meet Gu Zhixuan…

“That night, Gu Zhixuan was very strange and said some inexplicable things, but I don’t remember much of them. But then, he went to the bottom of the sea and found a rainbow shadow bead, strung it with a red silver rope and gave it to me. I still remember what he said afterwards…

” “For some people, breaking through obsessions and illusions is not something to be happy about. Don’t look at me, I’m talking about you. What I mean is: if you see more clearly, you can always find your target, right?”

Tianzhi’s leisurely words echoed in the ice. Perhaps it was an illusion, but she always felt that the rise and fall of the last tone seemed to have the echo of distant memories.

That night, she obtained a string of beautiful rainbow shadow beads, and at the same time, she also obtained an unforgettable and unbearable memory.

She still remembered that man—Gu Zhixuan—whose smile had struck her, locking her meridians and leaving her as fragile and powerless as a baby, just as it was today.

Then came Gu Yin, that unfathomable enemy, who, as if collecting a debt, snatched her from Gu Zhixuan’s grasp and left without a backward glance. And she saw the bitterness on Gu Zhixuan’s face the moment he let go.

Then followed days and nights of nightmare.

It seemed as if fate was playing a trick on her, or perhaps even the Rainbow Shadow Pearl Refining’s influence. The psychedelic aroma Gu Yin and she had intended had no effect. She endured those tormenting days and nights with the utmost clarity, memorizing every detail, every word of their conversation.

For over a hundred years, these images and words became a nightmare she could never forget, haunting her mind.

And now, driven by an inexplicable compulsion, she recounted it all to an unknown figure.

It was a subtle moment.

Did Gu Yin kill Yu San Ren?

Leaving Tianzhi to practice Blood Godson in the ice cave, Li Xun emerged from the ice, staring blankly at the endless snowstorm in the land of eternal night.

It sounded like a joke, but as soon as the thought occurred to him, a lot of things seemed to click in his mind, yet more questions surfaced.

He pinched his brows unconsciously, his mind hazy after listening to the long narration. Even Tianzhi’s faint voice seemed to linger in his ears.

“In the days that followed, they drank and played the zither. When they got drunk and tired, they gathered around me and reveled. So, I broke down, completely.

” “Before it was all over, they were ready to kill me to silence me. That’s when I begged them for the first time—not for my life, of course, but for a dignified death…

At that moment, Gu Zhixuan walked in.”

No one understood Gu Zhixuan’s precise timing, but according to Tianzhi, his attitude at the time was very strange. With his supreme cultivation, he easily suppressed the murderous intent of Gu Yin and the others.

First, he chased Gu Yin from the building and forced the concubine to swear not to reveal anything that happened there unless Master Tianzhi sought revenge on her. Finally, he faced Tianzhi and uttered some bizarre words.

Li Xun had already known these words when Shui Dielan had cast her spell. Combined with Tianzhi’s description, they made most of the meaning clear. However, there was one remaining detail: the so-called oath: as long as Gu Zhixuan lived, Tianzhi would not seek revenge on Gu Yin, or else the Nightless City would be forever mired in darkness, its lineage cut off, and there would be no resurgence! Meanwhile, Gu Yin was also forbidden from causing trouble for Tianzhi, and no rumors of Milanglian Lake could spread in this world, lest the oath be broken.

Courting disaster?

This was Li Xun’s first thought. After all, with Gu Zhixuan’s cultivation, he wouldn’t live for only eight thousand if he wanted to. Wouldn’t this force Tianzhi to deal with him first?

Tianzhi had thought the same thing at the time, but Gu Zhixuan’s response was quite subtle: “Have you forgotten the forty-nine tribulations? I’ll give you this chance!”

These words might sound insignificant to Li Xun now, but at the time, the Tongxuan Realm was abuzz with the sounds of tribulation, with nearly every cultivator desperately preparing to survive this once-in-a-thousand-year catastrophe.

So, to Tianzhi, it sounded like Gu Zhixuan was hinting that he would suffer greatly during the forty-ninth tribulation, perhaps even annihilated—a possibility that seemed entirely plausible.

Tianzhi was, after all, a resilient person. Having found a way out of humiliation and death, she understood the meaning of “enduring humiliation and surviving” better than anyone else. At that point, she no longer cared about the hidden meaning of this seemingly “fair” oath.

However, from that moment on, Tianzhi never saw Yu Sanren again.

While this alone didn’t prove Yu Sanren’s death, especially not that Gu Yin had killed him, Tianzhi did reveal something else…

why had Gu Yin’s cultivation declined?

** Concubine, Gu Yin, Tian Zhi, Yu San Ren—and, oh, even Yao Feng and Qing Luan—there seemed to be an invisible chain connecting these people and demons, interlocking and interlocking, each one affecting the rest.

Interesting, truly interesting!

Looking down at the ice below, who could have imagined that within it lay a peerless beauty, teetering on the line between life and death?

Right now, she was more fragile than a baby, vulnerable to all who could do whatever they wanted. The contrast between her perceived strength and her current state made his heart flutter.

He seemed to hear again the chuckled murmurs of Qie Yin in the southeastern forests not long ago, and the words that had caused him to explode—”Alas, even if the Taoist priest could fulfill his wish, he wouldn’t be the first to enjoy the spoils… Hee, that silver-white brocade robe stained with Gu Yin’s fallen petals and ‘Mr. Wen Yujiao’ are the Sect Master’s most treasured possessions!”

Fallen petals… the silver-white brocade robe.

He finally remembered: he had never seen Gu Yin wearing the garments similar to those described by Xie Yin. It was Venerable Tianzhi, on the other hand, who had only worn this style of outer robe since Li Xun first met her.

So, Concubine **’s collection didn’t come from Gu Yin, but from Venerable Tianzhi!

Furthermore, the “three nights” Concubine ** was referring to weren’t referring to the three nights spent at Lianhu, but rather Tianzhi from the Nightless City, Gu Yin from Yemotian, and himself, Mo Xuanye!

He looked up at the sky and smiled silently. Everyone has their own opinions. While he didn’t quite agree with Concubine **’s boldness in spending a fortune, deep down, he was genuinely envious.

However, that was all envy.

As they moved further away from the cave, he suddenly sensed something was amiss. Why weren’t Yin Sanren and Shui Dielan there? They had come out earlier, so how could they have vanished in the blink of an eye?

He was actually curious to see what kind of sparks would fly between Yin Sanren, with his current status, and Shui Dielan, who was so eager to poke holes in others.

After circling around the glacier ruins for a few times but still not seeing anyone, Li Xun frowned and simply used his mind to communicate, which gave him a small shock.

“Why did you go back? Where’s Shuidielan?”

“Bai Huandie has always been a bad person. I’m not a fool, so I’ll avoid her if I can.” Yin Sanren reappeared in his physical form, and his attitude was quite frank: “As for Shuidielan, she said she was going to Qianji Pass to check the situation. Besides, she broke the appointment, so she had to give her an explanation!”

“Oh, really?”

Li Xun really didn’t realize that Shuidielan was such a trustworthy and trustworthy person.

He remained silent. Seeing Tianzhi was some distance away, he smiled and said, “You’ve done a great deed this time. If you hadn’t reminded me, I wouldn’t have known the Blood God Son had such profound effects. Hey, I really want to try it… Hey, what are you laughing at?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized, “Could it be… that it’s useless?”

Yin Sanren waved her whisk, revealing the demeanor of a master. She shook her head and said, “Of course it’s useful. Otherwise, do you think Tianzhi is someone who can be manipulated at will? The supreme magic power of the Blood God Son has the power to transform life and death. It’s indeed remarkable. And in a situation like hers, only the Blood God Son can prolong her life. However…” “

However?”

Yin Sanren smiled slightly and continued, “However, Tianzhi’s heart was pierced by the flying snow in the sky, her heart meridians were shattered, and the purest innate vitality in her body has been tainted. As far as the Heavenly Dao is concerned, she should actually be considered dead.

“Even if the Blood God Son really has the miraculous effect of reversing life and death, how can it be cured by just a little bit of the superficial method of “not moving evil thoughts”? “

Li Xun raised his eyebrows, and the expression on his face became very subtle: “You mean…”

“I didn’t say anything, and I have never practiced the Blood God Son. I’m just guessing.” Yin Sanren also lowered his voice. “Not harboring evil thoughts may be able to heal her body, but that bit of innate vitality that has been contaminated and consumed cannot be saved.

“Tianzhi has superb cultivation and abundant vitality, so she will naturally not feel it at the beginning, but after a period of time, when the effectiveness of not harboring evil thoughts begins to decline, her vitality will shrink and decay, and accordingly, even her cultivation will decline… That situation will not be much better than Gu Yin’s.”

After a pause, she finally sighed: “You know, the way of heaven is the most fair. How can the transformation of life and death be so easy? The painful torture of the devil’s way of either advancing or retreating is really not something that outsiders can understand! Of course, she still has a way to solve it!”

“I understand!”

Looking at her compassionate look, Li Xun couldn’t help laughing even though he knew that she was trying to please him.

“It won’t be cured if she doesn’t cultivate evil thoughts, but she can cultivate the Blood God Body Tempering. If that doesn’t work, she can externalize the Blood Nightmare. If that doesn’t work, she can cultivate the Blood Clone. If that doesn’t work, she can even achieve full body demonization… Once she reaches the pinnacle of the Blood God Son, this ailment will naturally be cured.

” “Of course, on the condition that I continue to teach her the next steps in the mental formula! Is that right?”

Yin Sanren nodded with a smile. Li Xun praised, “Okay,” but still feeling it wasn’t enough, he repeated it several times. If it weren’t for Tianzhi, who was not far away, he would have laughed wildly to vent his excitement.

For now, he could only pace back and forth in the snow.

A sudden thought struck him, and he thought, “Oh, I might also be able to cultivate the Blood God Son. With Tianzhi as a pioneer, even if there are problems, I can learn from their experience and avoid them in time. It’s killing two birds with one stone!”

Previously, he had believed that his relationship with Master Tianzhi was just a random, relatively fair transaction. Only after Yin Sanren reminded him did he realize the true bargain lay here.

Master Tianzhi’s astonishing combat prowess and her life… Oh, and her reputation. Li Xun wasn’t trading hands as either buyer or seller; he was taking a cut and reaping the benefits!

Shrewd and calculating, truly shrewd and calculating!