The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 14

Chapter 5: Exorcism

As expected, Lin Ge didn’t embarrass him. He simply said, “Be careful,” and then went to look at his antiques.

Li Xun had already made preparations. He left the small building without further delay, stepped onto the “Green Jade,” and soared into the sky, heading straight for Zuowang Peak.

He had been on Zuowang Peak for seven years, and while he couldn’t claim to remember every blade of grass and tree in his memory, he knew every general geographical feature of the terrain by heart.

From his vantage point, the scenery on the peak merged into a single line, passing through his vision. The bleak autumn air and the chilly skies remained constant, and this sight stirred a thought.

Even as he climbed the peak, he had noticed the uniqueness of Zuowang Peak. While

ordinary peaks are only a few thousand feet high, their summits were covered in snow and ice, unmelted for years. This was the result of the fierce winds from the sky, condensing water vapor, and accumulating over thousands of years. This phenomenon was unique in both the mortal world and the Tongxuan realm.

Only on Zuowang Peak was the situation completely different.

According to Li Xun’s memory, after climbing a dead, snowy peak tens of thousands of feet high, the scenery above was identical to the ground below. There were spring, summer, autumn, and winter, birds and beasts, and the seasons shifted in an orderly fashion.

It wasn’t like reaching a peak, but rather entering another world.

Now, riding his sword, Li Xun’s cultivation and knowledge were vastly different from those of seven years ago.

The snowy peak that had nearly cost him his life was traversed in a flash, barely leaving a lasting impression. It was only now, as he reflected on the strangeness of the peak, that he recalled it.

“Could it be that Zuowang Peak truly doesn’t belong to this world?” A vague idea formed in his mind, but he didn’t force his understanding, simply putting the question aside for later.

Gradually, his mind gathered, and he began to focus on controlling his sword.

Li Xun was now practicing the “stepping sword style,” which involved standing on the sword’s blade, using it as a support to maintain balance. It was considered the most basic form.

Li Xun had never been one to aim too high. For the time being, he was content with the “Sword Stepping Style” and wouldn’t consider further advancements to Qi control within the next ten years. In fact, even the simple “Sword Stepping Style” held a wealth of knowledge.

Li Xun had a habit of meticulously attending to even the most insignificant details of a technique, striving to master it thoroughly. This was a habit he had cultivated during his seven years at Zuowang Peak, and he had no intention of changing.

Having flown for over two hours since leaving in the morning, Li Xun remained relatively energetic, though his True Qi had been significantly depleted. Most importantly, the “Blood Nightmare Devouring the Heart” was about to begin, so he quickly lowered his sword and found a spot on the peak to rest.

A quick glance revealed a familiar spot, and with a thought in mind, Li Xun ascended several hundred steps and dug a few feet into a rocky depression with his sword. Sure enough, he uncovered a layer of stone slabs.

There were dozens of stone tablets in this stack. The top one bore the inscription “A Record of Half a Year on the Peak.” The handwriting, carved with a dagger, was still very raw. It was the first commemoration Li Xun had made half a year after his ascent.

Turning over each of these tablets, Li Xun felt a strange mixture of emotions.

He was only sixteen or seventeen years old, but what he had experienced in the previous seven years was beyond the imagination or experience of a mortal.

It was not something a prince like him should endure, yet he had persevered, and during that time, he had learned the skills and methods to survive in harsh conditions.

For most people, their future would have been bright from the moment they gloriously descended from the peak.

But not Li Xun.

For that moment of glory, Li Xun had paid a heavy price.

Or more accurately, that glory, second only to that of the three generations of ancestors, was a small gift from heaven, a small consolation bestowed upon him after enduring suffering unimaginable to ordinary people.

The “Blood Nightmare Gnawing Heart” was a steel wire wrapped around his neck. A single twist, or any drastic action on his part, and the sharp wire would sever his head!

Of course, he had never forgotten Mr. Ghost’s century-long promise at the Huayin Pond.

Between distant ideals and harsh reality, Li Xun wisely chose the present.

Everything that happened now would have an unpredictable impact on his future. Li Xun had neither the time nor the ability to contemplate the future. For now, he focused solely on the next five hundred days. Burying

the stone slab again, Li Xun sat cross-legged, his mind quickly returning to calm.

Months ago, each attack of the “Blood Nightmare Gnawing Heart” had served as a test and threat to his newly cultivated “Golden Core True Qi Locking Construct.”

However, during a period of contemplation, he suddenly found a way to deal with it.

Over the course of nearly two months, he mastered the routes and patterns of the “Blood Nightmare”‘s movement within his body, and based on his own experience, he devised a unique “Eagle Feeding Method.”

Like feeding an insatiable hawk, he no longer allowed the “hawk” to freely “feed” within his body. Instead, he proactively provided it with a variety of nourishing foods, first feeding it, and naturally relieving the pain that had lasted for eight years.

Easier said than done.

To ensure absolute certainty, he used himself as a testing ground, meticulously studying the process by which the “Blood Nightmare” extracted his essence and blood, then meticulously preparing every detail. While

the preparations were painless, the meticulous attention to detail, down to every pore, nearly drove Li Xun mad. He powered himself through the final step with a kind of self-torturing pleasure.

Amidst the pain of the process and the exhaustion afterward, he felt a strange, inexplicable, wonderful feeling; akin to satisfaction, yet subtly different. This wondrous feeling was etched deeply into his memory.

And the agony of the “Blood Nightmare’s Heart-Gnawing” was finally history at the moment he completed the mental method.

Feeling the Blood Nightmare’s maw open wide, devouring the offered blood essence before finally returning to calm, Li Xun’s face darkened.

The pain left him, and the flow of his vital energy was no longer affected by it. But he couldn’t be happy. It had simply gone from passive plundering to active appeasement, the nature unchanged, and even more depressing.

But this seemed to have its benefits, because every time this happened, his hatred for Blood Sanren grew even deeper. He could never forget what that demon had done to him!

He vowed to inflict pain a thousandfold, to avenge all the years of humiliation!

As long as he lived…

With a long sigh, Li Xun lifted his clothes, stepped onto the Green Jade, and soared into the sky once more.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Li Xun had no idea how high he had soared, but whenever he landed to rest, he would roughly estimate the time based on his memory before soaring again.

Now, he rested his sword on the edge of a cliff, staring blankly at the protruding platform above.

If memory serves, wasn’t it here that he was knocked off the cliff by the golden-winged roc, only to find a blessing in disguise and obtain the “Record of the Netherworld”?

A short distance up the mountain was the end of his seven-year journey. It was there that he met Qingyin, the unfathomable yet unforgettable female cultivator.

In three days, thirty-six hours, he had traversed the entire seven-year journey.

Perhaps the contrast of time had been even more stark that night when Qingxu escorted him down the mountain, but now, the impact of everything he had accomplished was even more immediate.

He hovered above the platform for a long moment before soaring upwards, easily following the lingering mist to the large hot spring.

In fact, upon finding this place, he had been quite excited. Of course, he hadn’t thought of any particularly “established” places just yet; he simply hoped for another “chance encounter” inside.

Unfortunately, after circling the lake-like hot spring three times, he still hadn’t heard that cold yet melodious voice.

With a sigh, he glided along the water’s surface, gliding through the warm vapor. For some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of loss of interest. Originally, he’d planned to continue upward, flying straight to the summit, but now, he felt completely meaningless…

“What the hell is going on?”

He stepped onto the shore and found a dry spot to sit down. He watched the mist drifting across the lake, his mind a turmoil, his thoughts completely lost.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly felt a stirring in his heart. A moment later, he seemed to hear some strange sounds in his ears, like the faint tinkling of bells, or the clashing of rings and pendants…

He suddenly jumped to his feet, with a single thought in his mind—could it be the Immortal Master Qingyin?

Without hesitation, he estimated the general direction of the sound and ran towards it.

He ran for more than ten miles. The sound was very pleasant but also very strange. The direction was obviously correct, but no matter how far he ran, the sound was always a little loud, lingering in his ears, as soft as a whisper, a little vague, but he could not deny its existence.

Li Xun no longer had the patience to run, he released “Qingyu” and flew into the sky, looking down at the area from above.

This was a rather dense jungle, but at this moment, the autumn colors were everywhere, golden everywhere, and the branches and leaves had almost all fallen, making the shadows hazy, but he could barely make out the situation in the middle.

Li Xun was puzzled. After he flew up, the sound disappeared immediately. What on earth was going on? Just when he was puzzled, he felt something in his heart. He looked up and saw a flash of sword light pouring down from the sky, coming so fast!

The figure in the sword light clearly hadn’t expected to encounter anyone here. However, his eyes were incredibly sharp. Even at a distance of hundreds of feet, he still spotted Li Xun. The sword light swirled seamlessly, closing in.

“Li Xun?”

“Fourth Uncle-Master?”

This was pure chance. Li Xun hadn’t expected Ming Ji, whom he had searched for several times in the mountains, to encounter him here.

He was thinking in his heart, but he was polite on the surface: “What a coincidence, Fourth Uncle, I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Ming Ji was still dressed in the same way, with his clothes fluttering in the air, not like an ordinary person, but his eyes that could see through people’s hearts shone on him, and then he restrained himself: “It is indeed a coincidence, are you practicing the art of sword control?”

Li Xun scratched his head and smiled: “Yes, I have to thank Uncle for the sword…”

Ming Ji glanced at his feet, with some surprise on his face, but more of satisfaction: “It is the’Huilong Trough’… Good idea!”

Li Xun naturally thanked him with a smile, and then asked casually: “Uncle has not been on the mountain for a few days. It turns out that you are here. Are you here to see Master Qingyin?”

Ming Ji was startled when he heard this, and then looked carefully She looked at him carefully for a few times, with a rather strange look in her eyes, which made Li Xun feel cold on his back and he couldn’t help coughing: “Uncle Master…”

Mingji smiled when she heard the voice: “I remember that it was Uncle Master Qingyin who introduced you to the sect, right?”

Li Xun hurriedly said seriously: “That’s right, disciple never dared to forget it. I came to the peak this time and wanted to thank the immortal master…”

Halfway through his words, he suddenly saw Mingji’s delicate eyebrows slightly frowned. Just such a change in expression made her well-defined lines become particularly sharp: “I’ll give you a suggestion, do you want to listen to it?”

It was the first time that Li Xun saw such an expression. He was shocked in his heart. How could he say it was not good? He nodded in agreement and heard her say: “Actually, you look and…”

“Mingji, gossiping behind people’s backs is not your style!”

The voice came abruptly, and it was plain and indifferent, but there was a calmness and tranquility that made people breathless. Upon hearing the voice, Li Xun instinctively called out, “Master Qingyin!”

Turning around, he saw the beautiful woman standing in the air. Who else could it be but Qingyin?

Qingyin’s attire today was somewhat similar to Mingji’s. She also wore a slightly loose green robe that swayed in the wind. Her long black hair was simply tied together, resting softly on her shoulders, motionless.

Standing in the void, she looked like a quiet, silent ghost, eerie yet stunning.

Mingji wasn’t embarrassed by Qingyin’s words. She bowed slightly and chuckled, “I’m sorry, Uncle Qingyin.”

Qingyin paid no attention to her attitude, instead focusing her gaze on Li Xun.

Her eyes were different from Mingji’s. Mingji’s were like a sharp sword, seemingly capable of slicing through any obstacle. Qingyin’s were not as sharp, but her gentle glance could send a mind blank. Whatever happened in that instant, no one could tell.

Li Xun felt exactly the same way. The words he had prepared in his mind vanished without a trace. He could only bow hesitantly, then falter, unsure what to do next.

Mingji seemed to sigh.

A hint of a smile played at the corner of Qingyin’s lips. It was a smile Li Xun knew very well. Occasionally, in moments of quiet, he would recall it, a smile that seemed to show both pity and mockery. What was she pitying? What was she mocking? Li Xun had no answer, but that didn’t affect his fascination with the smile.

It was Qingyin’s words that pulled him out of his composure: “In just three to five months, your cultivation has improved considerably… It’s rare that you’re still so down-to-earth. You’re truly an excellent candidate for the Lingxi Jue!”

“Master, you’re too kind!” Li Xun quickly bowed to thank him for his guidance.

Qingyin wouldn’t react to such words. She glanced at Li Xun again, then turned to Mingji and asked, “Did you give him the ‘Green Jade’?” “

Mingji smiled lightly: “Among the three generations of disciples, he is the only one who practices the ‘Lingxi Jue’. Who else should I give it to if not him?”

“That’s quite generous.” Qingyin replied lightly, then turned to Li Xun and said: “You have the ‘Fengling Needle Pavilion’ on your head. They can give it to you, which obviously means they value it very much. In this way, it seems that I am stingy…”

Without waiting for Li Xun to say “panic”, she took out a piece of jade in her hand and flicked it towards Li Xun.

Li Xun had no choice but to take it, and then he heard Qing Yin say: “This jade is very effective in dispelling evil spirits and demons when placed on the heart, and it can also be used for self-defense. I will give it to you!”

Li Xun looked at the jade in his hand, and saw that it was emerald green and crystal clear. On it, with simple knife techniques, a beast that could dispel evil spirits was carved, with a majestic head and horns, and it was extremely charming. Looking closely, the patterns seemed to be very profound, and it was obviously not an ordinary object.

What’s more, it exuded a fragrant fragrance, and when held in the palm of his hand, it was still warm.

Li Xun felt his whole body tremble, thinking: “Could it be that Master Qing Yin wears it on his body?”

Ming Ji was slightly startled: Uncle Master Bixie Yin is really generous today! “

She then went on to say to Li Xun: ‘The Jade Repellent’ is one of the most famous protective treasures in the Tongxuan Realm. Wearing it on your body can ward off all kinds of evil, and can ward off all poisons and evil spirits. It is also very effective in clearing your mind and calming your spirit during cultivation. Wearing it will make it less likely that you will go astray in the future!”

Looking at this posture, Li Xun was not going to go back. What’s more, he wanted to swallow this piece of jade alive, so how could he be willing to give it back?

Knowing that the two female cultivators in front of him were not to be bullied, he stopped being pretentious and bowed solemnly before accepting it.

The “Jade Repellent” was originally strung with a ribbon, so Li Xun hung it around his neck, close to his chest.

However, this sticking revealed something different.

In the heart, the tangled Yin Fire and Blood Nightmare all shook, and somehow, they shrank a lot. At the same time, the Jade Evil-Repelling Aura also released a stream of clear air, which flowed around the heart, as if an ice-cold bead was rolling inside, which was very uncomfortable.

Li Xun couldn’t help but shiver, and felt that all the pores in his body were opened, and a trace of coolness was flowing in and out of them, as if thousands of small hands were massaging him at the same time. It was so comfortable that he almost moaned.

Fortunately, this feeling was only a temporary one . A moment passed, otherwise he wondered if he would have embarrassed himself in front of the two immortal masters.

The Jade Evil-Repelling Artifact, restored to its normal state, left only a trace of coolness at the heart point, circling smoothly. Yin Fire and Blood Nightmare also returned to their normal state, but there seemed to be some changes…

There was no time to examine it closely. Li Xun simply took a quick look inward before withdrawing. Knowing the power of this treasure, he was naturally overjoyed and hurriedly bowed to Qing Yin to express his gratitude.

Qing Yin accepted the gift and simply said, “Never mind.”

Li Xun felt that her attitude towards him didn’t seem to have changed at all because of the gift.

How strange!

Qing Yin then said to Ming Ji, “Aren’t you going down the mountain? Why, you’re staying?”

It wasn’t polite at all, but Ming Ji wasn’t angry at all. She brushed away the hair that had been blown into her eyes by the wind, but the light in her eyes grew sharper. She glanced at Li Xun and Qing Yin, then smiled again, “Yes, I should go down… Li Xun, what are your plans?” “

What other plans could Xun have? This time, the purpose of climbing the mountain was almost achieved, and the gains were far beyond his expectations. In this sudden happiness, he didn’t know what to say.

However, he didn’t say anything, but Qingyin said for him: “Come with me.”

Li Xun was stunned, but Mingji was not surprised at all. She just lowered her head slightly, and no one could see the expression on her face, but she soon raised her head and smiled: “In that case, I will go down the mountain first. Say hello to Uncle Zhong for me!” She nodded to

Li Xun again, and the sword energy outside her body burst out, and she disappeared in a flash.

“It seems that my appearance has caused them a lot of trouble…”

Li Xun is not a fool. On the contrary, his scheming is no less than anyone else. From Qingxu’s words “Looks like an old friend” seven years ago, to Mingji’s two hesitations in speaking, the problem has become more and more obvious.

Mingji probably wanted to say who that person was just now, but was stopped by Qingyin. In other words, that person seems to have a closer relationship with Qingyin.

Who could he be?

While he was thinking about it, Qingyin ordered him to take the “Green Jade” and performed the “Driving the Cloud” technique, allowing Li Xun to stand up.

Li Xun didn’t understand what she wanted to do, but under Qingyin’s indifferent eyes, he didn’t dare to ask, so he had to stand on the cloud obediently with his hands hanging down.

Qingxu once said that the “Driving the Cloud” technique is slower than flying with a sword, but that is only a difference under the same conditions.

On that day, Qingxu’s “Driving the Cloud” technique , having flown down the mountain in just one night; now, Qingyin’s “cloud-riding” technique displayed an equally impressive agility.

The flying cloud soared upward, instantly leaving its original location behind. Li Xun’s sword-riding speed was comparable to the difference between a bird and a snail.

Qingyin sat down, looking relaxed and at ease, while Li Xun, in turn, was as stiff as a pillar. Finally, Qingyin asked him to sit, and he nervously sat in a corner of the flying cloud, maintaining a respectful distance from Qingyin.

Due to the angle, Qingyin only showed him a profile, but even so, Li Xun was content. During this silent journey, stealing glances at the beautiful woman beside him was a profound pleasure.

Especially since, on his chest, there was a piece of jade, imbued with the beauty’s body fragrance.

Li Xun suddenly understood how Shan Zhi felt when facing Senior Sister Qi Bi.

“Could it be, I…”

For a sixteen or seventeen-year-old to ponder such a question was truly difficult. Faced with this sudden new problem, everything he had learned so far was useless.

When he was younger, he seemed to have come into contact with some of these things in the palace, but the twisted, perverted, and brutal conditions there were nothing comparable to what was happening now.

So frustrating…

Only then could Li Xun’s youthful nature be seen. Swept away by a fluctuating mood of joy and sorrow, he forgot the time and place, and his facial expression began to shift with his mood.

This chaotic mood stayed with him for a long time, until his eyes suddenly brightened and he came back to his senses.

It seemed that something had changed in the outside world!

He looked around curiously. At first glance, there was no difference, but if he sensed it carefully, he would find that the concentration of the heaven and earth’s vital energy here was astonishingly rich.

The light scattered from the sun in the sky showed an unnatural refraction, indicating that the vital energy here was so rich that it was almost tangible.

Qing Yin saw his confusion and explained casually: “Above 500,000 miles above Zuowang Peak, the concentration of heaven and earth’s vital energy will undergo tidal changes with the passage of time. It is thinnest at midnight and thickest at noon.”

There is such a place?

Li Xun was very surprised, but as long as he thought about it, Zuowang Peak was not at any height in the human world, and anything happening there should be normal. But after hearing Qing Yin’s words, he felt that he seemed to have forgotten something, and it was something very important…

What was it?

At this time, Qing Yin glanced at him again and asked, “Why did I bring you here?”

How could Li Xun answer this? He could only answer honestly: “Disciple, I don’t know!”

“Zhong Yin is on the peak these days. I will take you to see him.” “

Master Yin?” Li Xun almost fell off the cloud. How could it be Zhong Yin!

The person he least wanted to see right now was this person!