The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 108

Chapter 3: Becoming a Demon

Perhaps this was the first time Li Xun and Ramash had locked eyes.

Though Ramash couldn’t possibly see his target directly, facing the eyes of this foremost figure of the evil path, Li Xun suddenly felt as if his face had completely dissolved. All that remained was a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes…

and a single, demonic pattern twisting like a demon.

With a resounding clang, the center of the three spectroscopes felt as if struck by a powerful punch. Li Xun grunted and jolted back dramatically, as if the fist had struck him in the face! The once

clear image was rippled with chaotic patterns, the night sky, the cliffs, and everything else shattered, ultimately reducing to tiny, multicolored streaks that swirled endlessly across a silvery-white background.

“Damn it! This piece of crap!”

Shui Dielan cursed, seeming to have completely forgotten her earlier praise for this “crap.”

Li Xun, standing up, shook his head. He was still a little dizzy from being struck remotely by Ramash. But seeing Shui Dielan’s eccentric demeanor, he couldn’t help but smile.

Taking a breath and calming himself, he decided to put Ramash’s unintended deduction aside for now and focus on the problem at hand.

He activated the spectroscope again, and under his command, hundreds of thousands of massive Qi energies connected and reorganized, slowly advancing over a hundred miles around the location.

Clear light and shadows appeared on the spectroscope again. From this angle, one could even make out the violent oscillations of vital energy surging from the distant cliffs.

As he advanced further, the image began to oscillate and blur.

Li Xun estimated the distance and breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s not as bad as I thought. He must have sensed something and completely disrupted the vital energy within a ten-mile radius, preventing us from observing closely. That’s all. But…”

He looked at Shui Dielan, his expression still serious. “I’ll send you out once to see if you can sense anything. If so, how clear is it? Pay attention, be very careful, very careful!”

Li Xun rarely spoke to Shui Dielan in this tone; neither of them was used to it.

However, Shui Dielan was more considerate and hummed without much resistance.

Li Xun nodded, opened the portal, and sent her out. The mirror on the left also reflected the scenery of Shui Dielan’s location.

The experiment was brief, lasting only a dozen or so breaths. Shui Dielan reentered the pavilion, her expression gloomy. “Indeed, although it’s not obvious, if you’re prepared and carefully sense it, you can indeed discover quite a few unnatural Qi nodes.”

“Find the clearest ones and show them to me!”

Shui Dielan followed her instructions, pointing out several locations on the spectroscope. Li Xun, controlling the central nervous system, meticulously observed the changes in Qi there.

It was a delicate task. Among millions of Qi connections, accurately capturing specific nodes and identifying the interconnected patterns was like searching for a needle in a haystack without profound forbidden techniques.

Even with Li Xun’s abilities, it took him a good half-minute to isolate the unique Qi structure at that location on the spectroscope.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of the central mirror, Yin Sanren and Ramash had already entered a high-pressure standoff. The vital energy near the cliff had been practically squeezed out, and at first glance, it looked like a fierce battle was imminent.

Li Xun naturally knew the situation, but Shui Die Lan could only guess.

Shui Die Lan wasn’t proficient in forbidden techniques, and after watching for a long time, she was already feeling frustrated and wanted to ask about the situation, but Li Xun kept his head down, thinking endlessly.

Seeing that the situation on Yin Sanren’s side was on the verge of breaking out, how could she bear it any longer? She groaned and gritted her teeth and said, “Just right, take this opportunity to give him a hard blow!”

This “he” was naturally Ramash. Unfortunately, as soon as she said this, Li Xun replied, “You don’t stand a chance, they can’t fight!”

Li Xun already had some clues at this time, and his mood seemed to have improved. He looked up and smiled at Shui Dielan, “Ramash is not a fool. Just because he can feel the spying of the spectroscope, you know that he must know something about Wuyinxuan! Besides, do you think he will fight to the death with Yin Sanren with his injured body?”

Before the words fell, a loud laugh came from the high cliff. Ramash’s slender figure soared into the air with the laughter and flew straight into the clouds. In the blink of an eye, he rushed to a height of dozens of miles and left the spying range of the spectroscope.

“Sure enough, this old man Luo must be aware of the existence of the ‘spectroscope,’ which is why he’s so high up… Who can guarantee he doesn’t have backup at such high altitudes?”

Shui Dielan was speechless.

Meanwhile, the vitality near the cliff had returned to normal. Li Xun quickly took a close-up shot, only to see Yin Sanren with a subtle expression, staring in the direction of Ramash’s departure, his thoughts unclear

. From the feedback in his mind, it seemed Yin Sanren was rather glum. Could something have just happened? Yet, Li Xun had clearly heard every word she exchanged with Ramash and didn’t perceive anything amiss.

Li Xun was wary, but now was not the time to address his concerns. He communicated with Yin Sanren through his mind.

In the spectroscope, Yin Sanren nodded slightly, his figure taking flight, leaving the cliff far behind him in an instant. In the pavilion, Li Xun quickly adjusted the spectroscope’s field of view to lock onto Yin Sanren’s form.

“What’s she going to do?”

“Somewhere deserted to set up some restrictions.” Li Xun glanced at Shui Dielan and jokingly said, “If someone had been more assertive, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble!”

As soon as he said it, he regretted it.

As expected, Shui Dielan raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on her face, but her eyes were as sharp as a knife, and she looked like she was about to turn hostile.

But just as Li Xun was about to retreat to protect himself, the demon woman acted as if nothing had happened. She simply snorted and turned away, watching Yin Sanren fly over the forest.

Li Xun was wondering when Shui Dielan said slowly, “I wouldn’t go so far as to compete with your servant! Humph, she should call me mistress now, right? By the way, what kind of restriction did you ask her to set?”

“You still say you don’t want to compete…” Li Xun secretly laughed at Shui Dielan’s attempt to hide the truth, but her face didn’t show it at all. She just smiled and said, “It’s just setting up a

water mirror. I have just found the crux of the problem. It’s a good opportunity for her to try it.” Although Shui Dielan knew nothing about restrictions, she was still very interested: “What’s going on?”

“It’s actually very simple. The spectroscope is indeed an amazing magic weapon, but its function is not what we thought before. Rather than saying that the spectroscope can see thousands of miles away, it is better to say that wherever this treasure mirror shines, the water vapor between heaven and earth will have the function of a water mirror and then feed back to the treasure mirror.

“In other words, the spectroscope is only an inducement, or a mold for making a water mirror. What really allows us to see the local scenery is the floating water vapor.

“That’s the problem. Through the spectroscope, the trigger or model, the changes in the local water vapor are subtle, but they still can’t be hidden from you, the top masters. If you have profound attainments in forbidden techniques, you can even analyze the changes in the energy and find some clues about Wuyinxuan… Hey, this is very dangerous!”

Li Xun’s description was relatively clear, at least Shui Dielan understood most of it. She frowned and said, “Isn’t this troublesome? Whether it’s the cause or the mold, it’s always fixed, right? Doesn’t it mean that unless the spectrometer is broken into pieces and rebuilt, the problem cannot be solved?”

“Tsk, you hit the nail on the head!” Li Xun laughed, patted the stone table beside him, raised his eyebrows and said, “But if the spectrometer is so rigid, how can it be installed in the center of Wuyinxuan?

“The magic of this treasure mirror lies here. Although it is called a “mirror”, it is actually formed by the aggregation of pure vital energy controlled by the center here. It is precisely because of the influence and structure of various qi, and the interaction of vital energy, that this wonderful use is produced.

“In other words, as long as you understand the structural principles, you can improve the original “mold” and remove the dross without damaging its exquisiteness. “

Li Xun couldn’t stop talking about his most professional field, and he didn’t care how much Shui Dielan could understand, he just kept talking.

“I’ve seen that this “Shui Jing Model” is close to the method of Shui Jing Sect. It is extremely clear in every detail. It is enough to guard the gate, but it is not so concealed for detection and spying. And I have one here…”

Shui Dielan saw that he was a bit arrogant, and she was amused in her heart. She interrupted him and said sneerly: “Well, you don’t even look down on the method of Shui Jing Sect. Then what school is this thing in your hand from?”

Li Xun opened his mouth, but suddenly lost his voice.

Just when Shui Dielan thought he was trapped, he shook his head and grinned: “Zhong Yin!”

The two words vibrated in his throat and came out from between his teeth, like a buzzing echo in an ice cave.

Shui Dielan’s heart was full of mockery, but those two words abruptly choked her back, causing her chest to feel a tightness.

Li Xun seemed to share her feelings, for after uttering those two words, he also let out a long breath, his expression returning to normal, with only a hint of self-mockery tinging it with a hint of self-deprecation.

“This thing was able to deceive Yao Feng and Qing Luan back then, and with the ancient sound, it should be able to deceive Ramasha now!”

Shui Dielan stopped arguing, instead looking at him with a rather peculiar gaze.

Li Xun couldn’t immediately decipher the complex meaning behind her words, but he felt particularly irritated by the gaze. For a moment, he even wanted to slap her, regardless of the consequences!

In the end, he didn’t slap her. Instead, he applied more force to his left hand, squeezing the jade evil-repelling object deeper into his flesh.

Amidst a faint crackling sound, Li Xun shrugged and said, “After all, Zhong Yin has taught me quite a few things. More importantly, I feel like these are the only things I can truly accomplish!”

After swearing, Li Xun felt a bit more relaxed, and he began to try to steer the focus back to the present matter.

“Due to my cultivation level, setting up this water mirror is a bit challenging for me. So I’m sending Yin Sanren to try it out from the outside in first. If it works, we can then apply it to the spectroscope.”

He was trying hard to change the subject, but unfortunately, Shui Dielan was more interested in Zhong Yin.

She didn’t sympathize with Li Xun’s feelings at all, completely ignoring the previous few words, and asked directly: “What did Zhong Yin teach you? Let me listen, maybe there is a method I like in it… You won’t be stingy, right?”

Li Xun also wanted to ignore these words, but in order to avoid Shui Dielan’s possible disruption in the next work, he had to patiently say: “There are only three: Qingyan Zhuying Sword Technique, Bone Meridian Heart Opening Technique, and this Water Mirror Secret Technique. If you want to learn, I have nothing to be stingy about.”

“I know Qingyan Zhuying, and there’s no need to mention Water Mirror. What is that Bone Meridian Heart Opening Technique?”

“It’s a method of changing meridians and unblocking bones and flesh in the Book of Changes. It mainly allows me to practice two secret methods at the same time and avoid self-harm. Apart from that, there’s nothing…”

The voice suddenly stopped. Shui Dielan was listening with interest and looked at her in surprise, but Li Xun didn’t care about her reaction.

The eight-character general principle he had just casually uttered, “The I Ching changes the meridians, unblocks the collaterals, and unblocks the bones and flesh,” flashed like eight bolts of lightning across the night sky, illuminating his mind.

“So that’s it!”

He slammed his palm down on the stone table with a resounding thud. Shui Dielan, standing beside him, looked at him as if he were mad, but at that moment, Li Xun cared nothing more.

After a moment’s pause, he took a deep breath. Amidst the ripping sound of flesh tearing, he struggled to open his left hand, which had been curled up for days. The jade evil-repelling object in his palm finally saw the light of day.

Due to the intense internal grip he had exerted over the past few days, coupled with his own intense rejection and purification of the Blood Demon Body, the jade evil-repelling object had sunk several inches deep into his palm, with a small portion of it “growing”

into the flesh. At the junction of the jade and flesh, a blood bubble swelled and shrank, a terrifying sight.

Even so, the jade ornament remained pristine, appearing particularly dazzling against the blood-soaked palm.

Shui Dielan pouted and commented, “You’re asking for trouble!”

Li Xun smiled at her, his left hand still steady. He tentatively touched the jade warding off evil spirits with his right index finger, but was immediately repelled by a repulsive force, leaving his fingertip slightly charred.

Shui Dielan watched him act coldly, but was also ready to mock him again at any time.

However, Li Xun turned his head first, his expression extremely subtle: “Hey, have you ever experienced being pulled around like a puppet?”

“Huh?” Shui Dielan was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses, and quickly responded with a sneer: “Yes, someone is really forgetful, but I still remember it very clearly!”

She was naturally talking about the incident that Li Xun had plotted against her a few months ago. Li Xun should be deeply honored to be “praised” by her in this way.

However, Li Xun still didn’t say anything, but asked again: “So, from childhood to adulthood, for decades or even hundreds of years, almost every step you take is seen and counted by others. How does it feel?”

Shui Dielan laughed and said proudly: “Not to mention whether there are guys with such abilities in the world. Even if there are, I have either killed them or they haven’t been born yet!”

“Oh…that’s great!”

“Uh, what do you mean?”

Li Xun lowered his eyes and looked at the jade evil-repelling object in the palm of his hand. Suddenly he laughed at himself: “I mean, my question is stupid. A big demon like you can travel all over the world and have almost no opponents. How many people in the world can move you? Hey, for someone like me, it’s completely different!”

Shui Dielan could naturally see that Li Xun was in an extremely low mood at the moment, even depressed. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the gentle and supportive wife she’d always been. Even when she tried to offer some words of comfort, they faltered on the tip of her tongue: “Really? I thought someone was born to scheme against people? Well, who could be better than you…”

She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly realized something.

This moment shattered the last of her teasing thoughts, and Shui Dielan unconsciously spoke with a toothache-like expression: “Well, if it was Zhong Yin, then just ignore what I said and just consider yourself unlucky.”

“Consider yourself unlucky… is that your attitude?”

Shui Dielan’s words actually relaxed Li Xun’s mind somewhat. He shook his head helplessly, reaching out again and gently stroking the jade evil-repelling object on his left palm.

Unlike the previous times, this time, the jade evil-repelling object glowed with a cyan glow, likely exerting a stronger repulsive force. With a single flash, it deflected Li Xun’s finger.

Just as Shui Dielan expected the same outcome, Li Xun let out a low cry, and his entire aura suddenly shifted.

Shui Dielan, standing next to him, whistled loudly.

At that moment, the aura filling the small pavilion was undeniably the purest Xuanmen true energy. Simultaneously, the jade evil-repelling object, nestled deep in his left palm, “jumped” and tumbled several times in midair, shrouded in a shimmering azure light. The reaction was far more intense than any previous instance.

The jade evil-repelling object flew directly over Li Xun’s head, but he made no attempt to catch it. Instead, he watched as the precious magical artifact tumbled and fell toward Shui Dielan, where she caught it.

Shui Die Lan held it in her palm, toying with it for a moment, but couldn’t make out anything. Finally, she could only frown and ask, “What are you playing with… Huh?”

The aura in the pavilion shifted again. The previously pure and mellow Xuanmen Qi seemed to be an illusion. Now, the “smell” emanating from Li Xun was scorching, intense, and slightly fishy, returning to its earlier flavor, even more intense.

The flesh on Li Xun’s hand healed at an astonishing speed. Shui Die Lan glanced over and saw only a wriggling mass of blood foam.

“Disgusting!” She honestly expressed her impression, but soon expressed her confusion: “What happened just now?”

“Nothing, I just figured out a few obscure methods in the Bone Meridian Heart Technique, and tried it again. It seems to have some effect.”

“Yeah? Didn’t your Xuanmen cultivation level get wasted?”

Li Xun shrugged: “That’s true. But isn’t the Bone Meridian Heart Technique prepared for this kind of situation? With the heart as the center, it controls the bones, flesh, and tendons. In addition to being easy to replace, it also has the effect of creating something out of nothing, which is just suitable for my current situation.

“Of course, it’s still a magic skill in essence, just with a different appearance. Moreover, it can’t be maintained for too long for the time being.”

“Oh, is this the Bone Meridian Heart Transmission? Not bad, it sounds a bit like the Devil’s Myriad Appearances.”

As they spoke, a deep crimson mark remained on Li Xun’s left palm. He shook his hand and sneered, “Yeah, I’m being led by the neck again. Great, really great!”

Shui Dielan understood the meaning of the word “great”, and with her intelligence, she could guess the general idea.

Intent on changing the atmosphere, she held the jade evil-repelling object in front of her eyes, blew on it gently, watched the emerald water shimmer and flow, and after a few sighs of praise, she spoke slowly.

“You are really unreasonable. Even if you are a clever beast, you know how to take the bait without taking the hook, take the advantage without jumping into the trap. Don’t you understand?”

Li Xun glanced at her and sneered.

Shui Dielan raised her eyebrows and said, “Isn’t that right? Regardless of whether Zhong Yin is dead or has ascended to heaven, he is no longer in this world. Even if his arms are longer, can he still grab you? You have been practicing Taoism for seventy or eighty years, and you can’t even figure this out. Could it be that you have been practicing for decades?”

“That’s right!”

“Ah?”

Li Xun pointed at her, pausing every word and pointing his finger: “This is the key. You said I have been practicing Taoism for seventy or eighty years, right?”

“Nonsense!”

“You are a knowledgeable person after all. Have you ever seen someone who has practiced Taoism for seventy or eighty years and can control you?”

“You are looking for death…”

Shui Dielan was furious, and her voice was stuck in her throat.

She also understood. Yes, it’s okay to be scheming, but when has she ever seen a young man who has practiced Taoism for less than a hundred years and can still have such a level of cultivation?

After seventy or eighty years of cultivation, she’d already reached the “True Person Realm.” This wasn’t a miracle, but more of a nightmare…

After a long pause, she managed a smile, “Perhaps you’re just lucky. After all, not everyone can possess a Phantom Puppet.”

“Luck is still just shit, after all. When have you ever seen a wall built of shit?” Li Xun’s voice was surprisingly gentle.

“Since I started cultivating, I’ve faced countless difficulties, on the verge of collapse, and it was Zhong Yin who lent me a hand, providing support! You’re not me, so you don’t understand how I feel. What kind of attitude is that? Does he admire me? Does he believe in me? Bullshit! That’s a design, a design!”

In a sudden, shrill tone, Li Xun’s emotions cascaded, like a volcano erupting after a thousand years of smoldering. At this moment, what gushed from his mouth was no longer saliva, but boiling lava.

“Whether he’s in this world or not, I know he’s watching me! I’m still alive because he won’t let me die. He hasn’t had enough fun yet! I know that if he can build a scaffold for me, he can easily destroy it!

“Every time I look at that ‘Zhankong’ sword on Zhiguan Peak, I can’t even breathe. Can you imagine what that feels like?”

Before he knew it, Li Xun’s voice had faded.

Shui Dielan watched his facial muscles flex involuntarily with excessive anger, his body trembling, and could only shake her head in silence.

At that moment, Shui Dielan suddenly realized that the man before her was truly possessed by a demon.

Perhaps before this, even Li Xun himself was unaware that his subconscious fear of Zhong Yin had reached this point—tearing his heart apart, leaving a scar that would never heal.

After practicing the Blood God Son, this rift in his heart quickly became fertile ground for his inner demons.

The loss of control over her emotions before was the beginning of the inner demons spreading from the inside out, and it was also an irreversible process. Even if she wanted to help, she could not do anything.

Besides, why should she try?

As long as Li Xun was still Li Xun, it was enough.

Shui Dielan greeted the happenings with a smile. Her fingers hidden in her gauze sleeves quietly crushed a few spices, and under the influence of her true breath, a strange fragrance was produced. The fragrance spread in the pavilion, and without Li Xun knowing it, it soothed his surging inner demons.

At this moment, Shui Dielan’s tone was exceptionally gentle: “Okay, I understand your difficulties, but what can you do? Just go on step by step?”

“Of course not! I won’t just sit and wait to die!”

Even Li Xun himself didn’t realize that his tone had calmed down a lot.

“For now, I won’t and can’t go against him. I need to improve my cultivation. More importantly, I need to figure out what Zhong Yin wants by keeping me here and giving me benefits! Until I figure that out, I can only go along with what he wants.

“So, I must preserve my identity as ‘Lingzhu’, and I must go to Xinghe. Before the people in the sect doubt my identity… I have to do something. It’s that simple!”

Shui Dielan blinked and asked curiously, “What can you do there? Don’t forget, you said it yourself, this thing called Bone Meridian Open Heart won’t last too long.”

“No, it’s OK!”

Li Xun’s mood calmed down. He smiled faintly, motioning for Shui Dielan to hand over the jade talisman. He took the magical artifact in his hands with an unspoken composure. Then, he made a gesture that made Shui Dielan roll her eyes.

He untied his robe, revealing his breasts. Then, he took a deep breath and pressed the jade talisman against his heart.

Almost instantly, the skin on his chest sank nearly two fingers deep with a “chi” sound, locking the jade talisman against his heart, its surface almost parallel to the skin.

With Shuidielan’s knowledge, she naturally wouldn’t make a fuss. Instead, she came over to check it out with great interest: “What’s the use of this?”

“I just thought of it. Use the jade to ward off evil spirits to suppress the evil spirits. At the same time, use the method of connecting the bones and meridians to the heart to rebuild the tendons and veins. There will be no hindrance in using the many methods of the Mingxin Sword Sect. If it is a critical moment, you can use it as a buffer to take a few breaths. I estimate that it will last for a few days. If you can take a break and slow down, you can continue to use it.”

“It sounds good, but it should have an impact on your strength.”

Shuidielan hit the nail on the head. Li Xun nodded and said, “Indeed, using this method, my strength has dropped by at least 40%. However, I have made great progress in recent days. Even with 60% of my cultivation, I can barely catch up with the strength of “Lingzhu”… How about this method? “

Not bad, you can think of it.”

Shui Dielan would not argue with him at the moment, nodded, then frowned and said, “If you go to the north, what about Wuyinxuan? It seems that Ramash has already set his eyes on this place. It’s okay for other people, but if he invites some master of forbidden techniques, I don’t know how to deal with it!”

It was rare to see Shui Dielan give in. Li Xun felt very happy. He blinked and smiled, “It depends on whether what Old Luo said is true or false!”

Seeing his confident look, Shui Dielan raised her long eyebrows.