The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 116

Chapter 4: Chaos

On the grassland, Yunxing circled a dozen times before finally realizing his own misstep. He glanced at Mingji, relieved to see her expressionless and unmoved.

However, seeing her composure and unperturbed attitude, he understood even more clearly that Mingji’s resolve was unwavering. She viewed her current situation as a calamity in her cultivation, and was facing it accordingly.

Precisely because of this, confident in her clear conscience and impartiality, how could she voluntarily bow to Tianyuan Weng and jeopardize her practice?

Even if Tianyuan Weng followed through on his words and imprisoned Mingji for a thousand years, she would likely accept it calmly, using it to sharpen her mind and ultimately break free.

At this thought, Yunxing felt a chill run down his spine.

The wind picked up.

The next moment, he turned sharply. What he saw was a piercing, blinding shadow of blood, which instantly filled his field of vision.

The blood-stained figure resembled a demon leaping from a nightmare. Just watching its trajectory as it crossed several miles of space gave Yunxing a dizzying sensation, as if the world itself were warping.

Just as he realized it was an illusion caused by the opponent’s unparalleled speed, a fishy wind blew in his face, and a wisp of true energy, as hot as red-hot iron wire, pressed against his chest.

Instantly, Yunxing’s blood boiled.

With a clang, his Immortal Broken Army Sword, steeped in centuries of painstaking cultivation, shot out of its sheath, practically brushing against his skin. It swirled around his body, its blade colliding directly with the wisp of true energy.

The surging star energy from a mile around him was absorbed by this exquisitely precise sword strike, resonating in unison. A loud humming sound echoed through the heavens and earth, and the stars seemed to blaze for a moment before returning to darkness.

Yunxing roared with anger, his palm sweeping across the sword like flowing water. With a backhanded sword gesture, he grasped the hilt and tore it apart. The Pojun sword’s blade traced a cold arc of light, as clear as frost, unleashing a torrent of star power around it, which suddenly burst forth.

A sharp hissing echoed across the plains. The blood shadow, threatening to plunge into his arms, suddenly expanded in size, appearing at first glance like a thick, blood-colored mist. Yunxing’s whirlwind of sword blew it away, swirling and tumbling, threatening to break into a thousand strands before finally dispersing.

Yunxing frowned, his heart refusing to relax.

He knew that despite the impressive power of his sword, it was truly meant for self-preservation in a life-or-death situation. The sword’s energy burst forth with unbridled force, and with one swing, most of the force struck empty air, leaving him feeling deeply distressed. Moreover, although he had never witnessed this strange phenomenon before, he seemed to have heard of it somewhere before… Just as he

was lost in thought, the dirt suddenly flew off the distant grass, and a blood shadow, almost identical to the previous one, burst forth from the ground. The direction it came from was… Oh no! Mingji

!

Yun Xing barely thought as the Pojun Celestial Sword transformed into a streak of light and instantly vanished into thin air. When it reappeared, it was directly in front of the blood shadow, between it and Ming Ji. With a clear, melodious sword whistle, it thrust forward.

With a clang of metal clashing, the Pojun Celestial Sword suddenly sprang up, soaring into the air. Yun Xing, approaching quickly, could clearly see a single crimson finger poking out of the blood shadow, sustaining a shallow wound, though surprisingly, not a single drop of blood spilled.

The deflected Pojun Celestial Sword spun in the air, descending from above, transforming into a stinging ray of light once more. Simultaneously, Yun Xing had already flown behind the blood shadow, forming hand seals and mobilizing all the restrictions within a ten-mile radius to lock onto the demon’s form.

But right before his eyes, the blood shadow exploded, sending a splattering blood mist hissing and seemingly possessing a powerful corrosive force. The unbridled, unpredictable flow of true energy further disrupted the already organized star power, rendering it impossible to control it.

Yunxing had cultivated for seven or eight hundred years, possessing a vast knowledge, but such bizarre and varied methods were still rare.

He paused for a moment, reaching out to retract the Broken Army Immortal Sword before glancing towards Mingji. The pressure from behind returned.

The mere wind pressure from the momentum roiled his internal Qi and blood, threatening to burst.

It was precisely because of this that a flash of inspiration struck him, and he blurted out, “Blood Demon Transformed into a Heart? No, this is… a Blood Shadow Demon Body!”

Yunxing was unaware that what he had just said had been spoken by a fat man four days earlier. Furthermore, the two of them were in similarly distressed situations.

Hastily, Yun Xing activated a nearby barrier. Amidst the torrent of star power, his body swayed twice, then spun sideways with such speed that it formed a shadowy illusion. The Pojun Celestial Sword pierced through his ribs, hovering in the air. A

scorching, fishy wind whipped past his ears, yet the Pojun Celestial Sword struck nothing. With his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of blood as it passed by him. Without a pause, it raced straight towards Mingji’s position.

“Its target is Mingji!”

The moment this thought occurred to Yun Xing, his blood froze.

After a moment of stiffness, the surging energy rushed to his head. Without a second thought, he launched the Pojun Celestial Sword once more, and he soared into the air, zeroing in on a target. He transformed his palm into a sword, and a burst of sword energy erupted.

“Open!”

He roared, and the entire night sky seemed to tremble, as if a dam had been breached. A rumbling roar a hundred times more violent than the raging sea instantly filled the universe.

At this moment, human senses ceased to function. The earth was no longer earth, and the sky was no longer sky. Across this vast plain, the entire space seemed to tilt, then tremble violently, as if a tsunami had suddenly erupted, accompanied by a massive earthquake.

Nothing could compare to the feeling of earth-shaking.

The entire galaxy was seething, and sword lights rose one after another, rushing towards Taiweiyuan.

Yunxing controlled his body, weaving through the surging waves of vital energy. The turbulent space, the massive outburst of vital energy roiling the atmosphere, made everything he saw a strange, distorted, and distorted image.

Yunxing knew this was the inevitable consequence of losing one of the fixed stars. After a few breaths, the Star Gathering Platform would automatically adjust and return to normal. Therefore, he wasn’t worried about this. His only concern now was—

how was Mingji?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a sword chime, distorted by frantic vital energy, reached his ears.

Almost simultaneously with the sword chime, the frenzied vital energy surge caused by the loss of the fixed star subsided from its peak, gradually gathering under the vast forbidden magic of the Gathering Star Platform. The Broken Army Immortal Sword ricocheted back, and he caught it. Then, he finally saw Mingji.

He breathed a sigh of relief at first.

Mingji held the sword to her chest. Though her face was pale and her shoulder was stained with blood, her eyes were focused, clearly unharmed. However, the blood-colored figure, struck by Mingji somewhere, bounced back. While still in mid-air, its form vanished again, transforming into a blood-red rainbow shadow in the blink of an eye, its speed increasing even further.

However, perhaps stunned by Mingji’s blow, it retreated directly towards Yunxing.

Moreover, as it retreated, it laughed loudly, its voice like a broken bellows, extremely unpleasant.

The words that came out of its mouth were a hundred times more unpleasant than just the sound of its voice: “Mingji, little bitch, sooner or later I will play you to pieces!”

“Shameless!”

Mingji’s expression froze for a moment as Yunxing roared, wielding the Pojun Celestial Sword as it slashed towards the rainbow light.

The demon hadn’t anticipated such bad luck, and the moment the sword’s gleam flashed, Yunxing knew instantly that his sword had struck a physical object for the first time.

The ensuing shower of blood, like boiling oil, proved this point. The blood, like scalding oil, transformed into tiny sparks in the air, vanishing into thin air.

A sharp howl echoed, and the rainbow light dimmed considerably. With a swift turn, before Yunxing’s second strike, the sword, relying solely on speed, slashed past Yunxing’s side and hurtled back in the direction it had come from.

However, after the sudden burst, its speed seemed at least a level lower than its initial level.

“This fellow is seriously injured!”

Yunxing was confident in his own cultivation, especially the unique feature of the Pojun Celestial Sword. Without a second thought, he swung his sword around and pursued relentlessly.

Putting aside all else, just based on the curse words uttered by this demon, Yunxing would never let him go!

“Alright, just follow me!”

When initially luring Yunxing into pursuit, Li Xun had intentionally slowed his speed, even bumping into a few restrictions. However, as he gradually moved away from the Star Gathering Platform, his speed gradually increased, still hanging on to Yunxing while gradually increasing the distance.

The Blood Shadow Demon Body’s flight was a delightful experience, especially as the blood-colored rainbow light, with its unique “empty substance” property, coupled with supreme speed, made the densely packed restrictions in the void seem nothing.

As stated in the “Blood God Son,” when a demon body reaches full maturity, it can “reach the nine heavens and ten earths, without limits, and shatter all worldly laws.”

This seemingly preposterous adage, yet etched in countless texts, perfectly describes the Blood Shadow Demon Body’s qualities.

Li Xun felt like a mad bull galloping through the sky, trampling over every forbidden spell and formation, yet not a single barrier could stand in his way.

From the Qingcang River, numerous Xingji Sword Sect cultivators were also rushing towards Taiweiyuan. However, Li Xun’s unpredictable speed spurred most of them to miss him. Occasionally, a few with quicker reactions attempted to intercept him with swords or restrictions, but their efforts were ineffective.

His speed grew ever faster, and before he was about to burst out of Taiweiyuan, he had completely outshone Yunxing and the cultivators who had turned back to pursue him, effectively carving a gap in the galaxy.

Such exhilarating speed made Li Xun burst into laughter.

Amidst his laughter, the blood shadow suddenly split in two, a streak of blood still surging forward. Li Xun’s true form, at the moment of separation, vanished into the void, leaving no trace.

The blood shadow that had just flown out was actually the externalized form of the Blood Nightmare. After Li Xun entered the True Person Realm, he had mastered this insidious tactic. While untrained, its actual combat effectiveness was far less impressive than the mastery of Blood Wanderer’s past, it was still capable of deceiving the eye.

While the Blood Nightmare drew the attention of pursuers and interceptors, Li Xun concealed himself, plummeting from midair and plunging into the river that flowed through the area.

He held his breath, hovering in the water, without even taking a breath.

During this time, sword flashes flashed in the sky, countless cultivators passed by, yet none noticed the shift in the water.

Within the water, Li Xun had already shed his Blood Shadow demon form and transformed into a spirit bamboo form. While he swapped his magic weapons, he reflected on his actions.

It was undeniable that his impulsive decision to stir up such a commotion was largely due to Mingji.

At the very least, he didn’t want to see the Immortal Master Mingji, always as sharp as a sword, humiliated by a brat.

However, there was only so much he could do.

He couldn’t escape with Mingji. He could only rely on Yunxing to break the restraints and create an opening for Mingji to escape. How Mingji would cope with the numerous masters hunting her down in the Xinghe region depended entirely on her luck.

As for the palace attendant’s suggestion… Gu Yin had already said it didn’t matter, so why would he care?

Furthermore, if events unfolded exactly as Gu Yin predicted, he’d likely be in this woman’s clutches from beginning to end.

Being strangled by Zhong Yin was already frustrating enough, and he didn’t want to experience it again!

Consider the current situation: a great demon with a “blood shadow demon body” suddenly burst into the Xinghe region, intent on killing Mingji, only to retreat easily after failing to strike. And what if Mingji successfully escaped, and the Xingji Sword Sect lost another key figure?

This seemingly simple and obvious situation, compounded by the escalating circumstances, would create a complex web of contradictions that would have the leaders of various sects racking their brains. The resulting speculation would create a veiled mystery.

This was exactly what Li Xun needed.

All he had to do was to distance himself from the matter.

Li Xun had observed this when he arrived. The river he was now staying in was a tributary of the Qingcang River. If he followed the riverbed, he would reach the location designated by Bisu in less than half an hour. Of course, by this time, Bisu was probably going crazy with anxiety.

He smiled, but it soon turned into a grin.

Only then did he remember that when he retreated from the Juxingtai, he deliberately took a sword strike in order to attract Yunxing’s pursuit. At that time, because he was in the blood shadow demon body, he could not feel where the wound was. Now that he had regained his human body, he realized that the sword had pierced his chest. Although it was not very long, it was three feet deep and almost opened his chest.

Fortunately, the blood shadow demon body had an amazing recovery ability. The wound had already scabbed over and would probably be able to heal in a few hours.

Li Xun shook his head slightly. While the Blood Shadow Demon Body was certainly useful, its attack and defense methods were completely different from anything he’d learned before. It would be fine if he were completely absorbed in the demonic realm, but the constant need to switch between human forms was causing him considerable trouble

. He might need to delve deeper and master it. While pondering this, Li Xun dove downstream, following the current. The surrounding forbidden spells no longer troubled him. He swam like a fish, deftly circumventing obstacles at a remarkable speed, covering over ten miles in a short while.

The cultivators’ flight paths shifted again. Some still flew towards Taiwei Yuan, but many more veered off, passing the Qingcang River and heading towards the nearby Bihua Mountain.

Bihua Mountain was the “escape route” designed for Li Xun by the constellation Betelgeuse, and also the duty area of Wang Luo, the “Shaowei Star

.”

The weather shifted, the star paths shifted, and with daybreak approaching, the galaxy must have shifted again. Meanwhile, the natural “flaw” created by the movement of the stars had reached the Bihua Mountain area.

According to the original plan, after being exposed, Li Xun should retreat towards Bihua Mountain, drawing off the pursuers and then luring Wang Luo out of the galaxy. Outside the galaxy, the palace attendants would devise a plan to draw in the main force of the Mingxin Sword Sect, creating a chaotic clash between the two sides and profiting from the chaos.

But now, Li Xun had caused unforeseen complications, stirring up a turmoil that had even shaken the entire galaxy. Even Tianyuan Weng was threatening to attack. Following the original plan would be tantamount to seeking death, and Li Xun naturally refused to do so.

Fortunately, the Blood Shadow Demon Body and Bihua Mountain had already drawn everyone’s attention. So, regardless of the bustle over there, Li Xun headed straight for the Qingcang River, arriving in no time at the location he had agreed upon with Bi Su.

However, there was no one around now, so even if Li Xun launched into a tirade, no one would likely pay him any attention.

He chuckled to himself and was about to continue forward when his eyelids suddenly twitched. Without a second thought, Li Xun dove down, flattening himself against the ground and hiding in the shadow of the riverside rock wall.

A few breaths later, a flash of sword light descended from the sky, landing directly near Li Xun.

Seeing the approaching figure, Li Xun breathed a sigh of relief, but he remained cautious. He channeled his inner energy, preparing everything, then knocked on the rock wall, a smile breaking across his face.

The man, startled by the knock, turned sharply to see Li Xun’s smiling face. His tense limbs instantly relaxed, and he let out a long sigh. He shook his head and said, “Oh my God, what the hell have you done?”

It was none other than Bi Su.

Seeing Li Xun, his grim expression finally softened slightly, though his tone still tinged with anxiety.

Li Xun replied grumpily, “You ask me, but who should I ask? What happened here? Just now, everything was turned upside down. The entire galaxy was like a bomb, and the sky was filled with sword flashes. Luckily, I didn’t have time to move and hid in time, otherwise they would have hacked me to pieces!”

His tone was a sharp departure from his polite demeanor when they first met, but the more he spoke, the more reasonable it seemed to Bi Su.

In truth, no matter how hard Bi Su tried, he would never connect the “Blood Shadow Demon Body” demon to Li Xun, nor did he even suspect Gu Yin.

After all, this “Blood Shadow Demon Body” is considered the most advanced demonic technique in the Tongxuan Realm. Those who practice it are invariably deeply possessed by demons, their minds erratic and capricious. Their cultivation has incurred the wrath of heaven and the resentment of mankind, making them unmatched by any other cultivator.

With this incident having occurred, Bi Su had no recourse but to consider himself unlucky. The two stared at each other for a long moment, and Li Xun asked in surprise, “You guys had a mess over there. Why did you even have the chance to come here when you didn’t check on the situation?”

Bi Su gave a bitter laugh. Could he possibly say he was worried about Li Xun’s situation, that someone would follow the clues and implicate him? Regardless, Li Xun’s safety was the best outcome.

He shook his head and said, “The matter is clear. A demon jumped out from nowhere and tried to kill Mingji on the Juxingtai…”

“What!”

Li Xun’s eyes widened immediately, and then he asked, “What happened to Mingji?”

Bi Su smiled bitterly even more: “Mingji is fine. At that time, my junior brother Yunxing was on the side and barely protected her. I don’t know what he did to actually remove Mingji’s confinement and chase after that demon again…

“As for Mingji, hey, your uncle is really worthy of his reputation. He obviously removed the confinement, but because of Yunxing’s matter, he didn’t have any intention of getting away. He is open and honest, and no less than a man.”

Li Xun frowned: “Why, you have imprisoned her again?”

“How can it be so easy? Apart from the sect master, I’m afraid our sect can’t find a second person who can capture her alive. But now over in Biyun Mountain, Madam Gong has done a good thing. Your sect, with Qingming as the leader, is pressing in heavily. The sect master has rushed to deal with it. In this way, the Juxingtai can only be in a stalemate.

“Fortunately, as long as Mingji doesn’t try to break out by force, there’s still room for this matter to turn around.”

The last sentence was purely to reassure Li Xun. But he didn’t know that for Li Xun, the real party involved, these words would only make him more irritated.

Li Xun closed his eyes, then opened them again, with only a bitter smile in his heart. Come to think of it, this is really Mingji’s style.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered that when he pounced on Mingji with his blood shadow demon body, he saw her sword energy sweeping across the sky, which could almost cut through all illusions.

With such a sword intent that goes straight to the heart, how could the sword wielder act as he thought?

With a long sigh, Li Xun has always been very clear that he and Mingji are people from two completely different worlds. But every time this cognition comes back to him, his heart becomes surprisingly heavy.

Knowing he couldn’t lose his composure, Li Xun sighed and forced himself to ask about the situation. “What’s going on at Bihua Mountain? Has Madam Gong learned about the changes there?”

“Yes,” Bi Su followed his example, sighing and shaking his head. “Madam Gong said it’s better to do nothing than to overdo it. Today, there’s no hope.”

Hearing this, Li Xun suddenly understood why Bi Su was much calmer than he’d imagined.

It turned out he’d already taken a beating from a palace attendant, and now he must have let out a little before coming to meet him.

Furthermore, Madam Gong’s reference to “the right timing” wasn’t just for Bi Su. Most of it was meant to warn Li Xun not to act rashly.

Li Xun didn’t like hearing this. In reality, he’d already harbored murderous intentions towards Bi Su. The reason was simple—

he didn’t want his embarrassing identity to be known to Bi Su. Even he wasn’t entirely innocent!

But the situation was pressing. He was the one who had ruined the plan before, so he could only swallow the bitter fruit secretly. Even with Bi Su’s depressed expression, he still had to say a few words of comfort… What a joke!

Li Xun and Bi Su exchanged a look and both smiled bitterly.

But besides smiling bitterly, Li Xun was still thinking in his mind whether there was any way to kill Bi Su unexpectedly and at the same time clear himself of any involvement. He carefully concealed his murderous intent and at the same time, he paid some attention to listen to Bi Su talk about the new safe retreat he had found for him.

Halfway through the conversation, the two of them were stunned at the same time. A sound as thin as a mosquito rang in their ears. The sound was so thin that the two of them almost mistook it for an illusion.

When they instinctively tried to distinguish it clearly, the sound suddenly expanded and turned into a loud laugh that shook their eardrums and buzzed continuously.

The two of them were pale at the same time.

The laughter died down briefly, and a bold and uninhibited voice rang out: “Brother Tianyuan, an old friend is visiting. Would you mind opening the door for me?”

Open the door? Could this person still be outside the galaxy? This was truly a thousand-mile voice transmission!

Li Xun had just begun to grasp some clues when Bi Su, who was standing beside him, gasped: “Li Douliang!”

It was Li Douliang, the descendant of Zhong Yin and the foremost Grandmaster of the righteous path!

As soon as Li Douliang’s thousand-mile voice transmission ended, a cold snort echoed from above the galaxy: “An unwelcome guest! We will not entertain him!”

The power and awe-inspiring power revealed in this cold snort was no less than that of Li Douliang. This must be Tianyuan’s response. It sounded mostly angry, and just by listening to the tone, one could tell he was short of breath.

This time, Li Xun also took a deep breath.

Perhaps it was the cool air that had the effect, and Li Xun’s mind was clear.

What is certain is that the central and western parts of the Tongxuan Realm have been run like an iron barrel by the various sects. If the same can be said for the east, the living space of the loose cultivator alliance will be squeezed like never before. By then, how many people in the loose cultivator alliance, which is already like a pile of loose sand, can be relied upon?

As Yunxing had said, the clash between the two great sword masters, Mingxin and Xingji, presented Gu Yin with an opportunity.

Gu Yin knew that a figure like Li Douliang had come all the way north. She was also well aware that Li Douliang had a close personal relationship with Old Man Tianyuan and held a high position, making him the perfect mediator. Gu Yin absolutely refused to let Li Douliang ruin such a promising situation, hence the move of Li Xun and Bi Su.

However, Gu Yin’s move seemed more like a casual one, joyful if successful, and carefree if defeated—too carefree!

Clearly, she had a true killer move in store, one that could break the three-way encirclement and carve out a new path.

Li Xun naturally thought of the Youxuan Puppet, Beiqi Mountain, and Madam Yan.

For the first time, he felt as if he had grasped Gu Yin’s pulse.

With this thought in mind, he glanced at Bi Su again. It was rare to grasp the thread of Gu Yin’s actions, and he truly didn’t want to create any more complications.

Bi Su was unaware that Li Xun was plotting his own life. Startled by Li Douliang’s name, he finally came to his senses and turned to say, “When Li Douliang arrives, he must be meeting the Sect Master at Biyun Mountain. I must hurry, so I won’t be able to escort you out. Be careful. Pay attention to the time of day…”

Because Li Xun held such an important position, Bi Su was eager to teach him everything he knew about entering and exiting the galaxy.

But to Li Xun, it seemed like he was being too much. He chuckled inwardly, but tried to nod in deference.

But as he was nodding casually, a voice suddenly died away. He nodded, momentarily lost in thought, then jolted back to life. Looking up, he saw Bi Su, his mouth slightly open, staring off to the side, his gaze fixed.

Li Xun’s entire body tensed, and he turned abruptly, frozen in the moment.

Across the river, over ten feet away, on the opposite bank, a towering man stood steady, wielding a four-foot-long sword. His square face was expressionless as he glared coldly.

“Junior Brother Yun… Yunxing!”

Bi Su’s face was as pale as snow. After struggling to utter a single word, he faltered. Fortunately, the slightly chubby figure remained steady, gazing across the river at Yunxing. At first glance, he seemed able to hold his own.

How had Yunxing found him?

Li Xun shrank slightly, obscuring most of his face in the shadow cast by the rock face. While this certainly wouldn’t hide from the opponent’s sharp eyes, it was a psychological comfort.

Although he had just clashed with Yunxing, Li Xun’s attention had been focused on Mingji, and he hadn’t paid much attention to the man’s appearance.

Now, taking a closer look, he saw that the man’s figure and features were incredibly muscular, his muscular build nearly bursting through his outer robes. Yet, his gaze was as calm as water, revealing that he wasn’t a winner solely through sheer force.

Meeting those eyes, Li Xun, in his eagerness, couldn’t discern his thoughts, let alone any other tricks. He could only gather his strength, ready to strike with one strike if he saw a flaw.

However, Yunxing’s mere presence evoked a profound and imposing demeanor, instantly raising Li Xun’s opinion of him to a new level.

In this light, back at the Juxing Terrace, it was likely thanks to his overly concerned nature; otherwise, he might not have been able to seize the initiative.

Perhaps sensing Li Xun’s oblivious gaze, Yunxing shifted his gaze. Their eyes met, and before Li Xun reacted, Yunxing sighed.

He shifted his gaze to Bi Su’s face and whispered, “Brother, give up your sword. No matter your motive, helping outsiders sneak into the galaxy is tantamount to treason. If you stop in time and before anything serious happens, I will plead your case with the Sect Master.”

Bi Su’s expression had improved somewhat by then, but he remained silent despite a sullen expression.

Yun Xing stopped talking and returned his gaze to Li Xun.

“As for you… Ming Xinling Zhu, you are considered a leader among the younger generation in this realm. Why cultivate such demonic methods? If you still wish to protect the reputation of the sect, why not commit suicide now? In recognition of your painstaking efforts to rescue our elders, I will keep that matter a secret.”

Hearing the phrase “demonic methods,” Li Xun’s heart raced, and Bi Su, beside him, couldn’t help but turn his head to look at him, a look of shock and doubt.

Li Xun had never expected Yun Xing to reveal such a deeply secret matter, disturbing not only his own mind but also Bi Su’s.

No one here is foolish. Just by looking at Bi Su’s shifting gaze, Li Xun knew that if he didn’t act now, things would truly spiral out of control. He instantly cast aside all his burdens and shouted, “I’m not responsible for Master Gu! Attack!”

This “Master Gu” attack was every bit as effective as the “demon’s method.” Yun Xing’s pupils shrank to the size of a pinprick at the words.

Bi Su shuddered, his face a mixture of rage and anxiety, most of which was directed at Li Xun.

Li Xun paid no attention to his thoughts. With a cry, he leaped above the river, removing the jade warding off evil spirits. Though he still retained his human form, his blood was boiling, unconcealed.

Yun Xing, however, didn’t look in his direction. Instead, he stared at Bi Su, shouting, “Senior Brother Bi, what’s going on?”

Before he could finish his words, the temperature of the atmosphere around him soared several notches, as if burning with invisible flames, licking at his flesh.

If it were just the heat, it would be fine, but this rising temperature strangely tugged at his vital energy, resonating with it, causing his blood and qi to swirl, forcing him to concentrate and control it, leaving him momentarily unable to take care of himself.

Bi Su’s face was now ashen. He gritted his teeth, unsheathed his sword from behind his shoulder, and held it against his chest, the blade slightly tilted. The glistening blade reflected his distorted face, a pale, ghostly hue.