The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 159

Chapter 3: Bamboo House

June and July are the hottest months of the year, when the heat intensifies.

The blazing sun shines brightly, the sky devoid of even a cloud. Looking down from above, one sees peaks and valleys dotted with greenery, cicadas and birds chirping in a staggered pattern. The entire mountain resembles a vast emerald, stretching between heaven and earth, lush and lush.

The sacred peak is a world unto itself, yet the scenery of the Lianxia Mountains below is quite different. Standing on the Linyuan Terrace, Li Xun’s gaze seemed to penetrate the deep clouds below.

Having traveled diagonally from southwest to northeast, even though Li Xun’s Blood Shadow Demon Body had nearly reached perfection, absorbing the vital energy of living beings along the way, it was now somewhat exhausted.

He slowly suppressed the surging blood energy within him. He remained in his Blood Shadow Demon Body form, though it was less convenient when operating stealthily, and his concerns were much less chaotic. “

Qing Yin, Qing Yin!”

He silently chanted the name, a fiery fire igniting in his eyes.

The peak was deserted, and judging by Zhong Yin’s former residence, it seemed untended for some time.

Most of Zuowang Peak fell outside the range of the mountain’s protective restrictions, allowing many experts in this realm to infiltrate. Yin Sanren’s abduction of Yingning was a cautionary tale.

In this situation, Li Xun had fewer concerns. After confirming Qingyin’s absence, he flicked his sleeves and leaped from Linyuan Terrace, transforming into a rainbow of light and soaring away.

“If not here, where else could it be?”

Li Xun muttered to himself, his mind calculating the distance he’d flown, estimating the distance he’d descended by over a thousand miles before emerging from the mist like a soaring dragon. His gaze swept from the sky, and a bamboo hut nestled in a forest over ten miles away came into view.

In a flash, he was close. Shaded by the trees, the lake seemed to merge with the lush green of the mountain. A few waterfowl flitted leisurely across the lake, a truly enchanting sight. The bamboo hut beside it seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist, its greenness adding to its coolness.

Li Xun ignored the beauty of the scene and approached the hut without hesitation, opening the door and entering. As the door swung open, a dazzling light instantly filled the hall.

Li Xun stood at the doorway, his gaze sweeping across the room, even the dust particles floating in the air escaped his gaze.

After a few breaths, he walked into the room, pondered for a moment, and then headed back. It was Qing Yin’s bedroom, furnished simply, like any ordinary cultivator’s. Only the dresser leaning against the wall held a hint of femininity.

Li Xun walked over to the dresser, reaching for the lower drawer. When he felt the handle, his gaze suddenly fixed.

He knelt down and swiped his fingers on the ground, where a layer of grayish-white clung to his fingertips.

This wasn’t dust, but finely ground stone powder. A brief rubbing of his fingers revealed the stone’s hardness, far beyond anything else.

His mind was set on this, yet his expression remained sullen.

Li Xun stood up and opened the dresser’s drawers one by one. Aside from a comb, hairpins, and a

simple laugh, he leaned forward, resting his hand on the dresser, and gazed at the young cultivator’s face in the glass mirror.

Overall, the figure in the mirror looked calm, but his upturned brows and slightly bloodshot eyes held a fierce, sinister intent, as if threatening to tear the mirror apart.

“You’ve shattered the Zuwang Stone… what will you do next?”

Li Xun muttered to himself, his heart gradually returning to calm. He rubbed his feet lightly, feeling the subtle touch of the stone powder, a vague sense of perception looming in his mind.

He abruptly turned and strode out of the house.

The afternoon light was still dazzling. He squinted his eyes, gazing directly at the blazing sun high in the sky, his own thoughts seemingly merging with the vast radiance, radiating across Zuwang Peak.

No matter how much Li Xun advanced his cultivation, he could never fully grasp every blade of grass or tree on Zuwang Peak. However, the occasional unique fluctuations within the rich torrent of vital energy found their way back to him in a mysterious way.

Perhaps this could be considered a form of supernatural power.

Li Xun closed his eyes, his brow twitching slightly. The abundant vital energy surrounding him was not only a medium for transmitting information, but also a profound nourishment.

The blood-shadow demon’s thirst for vitality and spiritual energy was so voracious that the sunlight it touched distorted its surroundings, creating a dark, eerie shadow that enveloped it like a dark cloak.

The birds on the lake, sensing danger, flapped their wings and flew away in a daze. For a moment, the lakeside was as still as death until Li Xun opened his eyes, a crimson electric fire piercing the shadows around him, blazing with rage.

He captured the lingering traces of energy and slowly connected them into a single, unbroken path. It stretched from the bamboo hut to a distant place beyond his reach.

“You’re still there, aren’t you?”

A chilling, chilling wind blew from his lips. The shadows around Li Xun shone, but the burning blood energy within him surged and roared with even greater force, breaking through all barriers.

He slowly took flight, following the faint trace in the atmosphere and pursuing it at a leisurely pace.

As the sun set and the moon rose, the sky faded from bright to dark. Li Xun descended from the summit of Zuowang Peak at a leisurely pace, yet it seemed both slow and rapid. By late night, he had reached the vicinity of Sanjue Pass.

As time passed, the lingering aura grew fainter and took a deceptively different turn, as if the figure had sensed a threat from behind and was responding.

Li Xun, however, remained confident. He slowed his pace and turned to another path.

In the still night, the sound of cold water could be faintly heard through the dense forest. Li Xun followed the sound, and soon saw moonlight descending from the sky, illuminating the waterfall high on the cliff. The water, a shimmering silver, clung to the pool below before fading back into darkness.

This was Li Xun’s third visit to the cliff.

Below the cliff lay the spot where Shan Zhi had died, and a few miles away stood a bamboo building, once Qingyin’s retreat, now gifted to Qi Bi.

Li Xun still remembered the view from the cliff. The scene in the upstairs bedroom was unobstructed, but tonight the small window, half-open, perfectly blocked his view. The building was completely dark and silent, with no lights on.

He closed his eyes slightly, his mind sweeping through the bamboo building.

He made no effort to conceal his presence, and he harbored a desire to intimidate. However, the situation within the building was drastically different from what he had expected.

Only one person was inside, their breathing heavy, as if they were asleep.

“Qi Bi, is she still living here?”

It seemed she and Wen Hai were still separated, as usual. But the sound was a little too muffled.

Li Xun’s face was as calm as water, and his mind swept through the situation again, showing no change.

“Was my calculation wrong?”

Li Xun’s heart wavered, but soon a faint ripple passed through the quiet space of the small building, so subtle that he almost mistook it for the faint sound of wind blowing through the window eaves.

His heart trembled, and his muscles tensed and relaxed.

From where he stood, the window was gloomy and dark. The lingering darkness seemed to overflow from the tiny crack, swallowing up the moonlight in the bamboo forest and transforming into an impenetrable black mist.

His brows knitted together. The target was right before his eyes, but a question he had never considered suddenly popped up.

What was the depth of Qing Yin’s cultivation?

Li Xun found this strange and bizarre. Since meeting Qing Yin in their youth, his mind had been so preoccupied with other things that he had never once guessed at Qing Yin’s level. Of course, at his current level, accurately assessing Qing Yin’s Daoist cultivation was a stretch.

Thinking back on the details, Qing Yin’s effortless cloud-riding technique must have reached the True Person Realm. Even if the Queen of Yama was imprisoned, her strength was limited. With his current level of cultivation, combined with You Yi’s thunderous charge southward, a decisive battle might be possible.

But looking at the shifting atmosphere within the bamboo building, Li Xun felt uncertain. He couldn’t penetrate the darkness and grasp the opponent’s position. This was the first time Zhuo’s spiritual perception had failed since he cultivated the “Blood Shadow Demon Body.”

Li Xun vaguely remembered hearing about this technique somewhere, but he preferred a different possibility.

“Could it be that she’s learned some magical power from Zhong Yin?” Considering Zhong Yin’s devotion to her, it wasn’t impossible.

For a moment, Li Xun felt at a loss as to what to do.

The moon in the sky seemed to sense his thoughts, tugging across a cloud, partially obscuring and absorbing the small glimmer of light from the bamboo forest.

The darkness suddenly expanded.

In the moment of light and darkness, a halo of light suddenly expanded within the bamboo building, the yellow light swelling into a hazy mist that drifted away with the wind.

How quickly the light from within and without collided. The newly unfolding darkness groaned, shrank back, and, driven by a slender figure, slithered up the window pane.

Li Xun’s gaze fixed.

The light cast a faint shadow on the window frame, yet faithfully captured its graceful demeanor.

Li Xun could see the figure bending slightly to place the lamp on the table by the window. Her loose silk swayed back and forth like a thin mist as she moved. Then she stood by the window, motionless, like a long-placed sculpture.

The thin window paper blocked Li Xun’s sharp gaze. He stared at the figure in the window, leaning forward slightly but not rushing forward.

This figure was certainly not Qi Bi, but since she had so openly lit the light, Qi Bi must have been subdued.

Yet, during this movement, the aura within the bamboo building remained unchanged, remaining solely Qi Bi’s. It was as if the image on the window paper wasn’t a figure but a ghost.

Li Xun was even more perplexed by the other person’s gestures, which seemed to hold profound meaning.

He was certain the figure in the window already knew his location. Was this all for him?

Doubt and the nagging anxiety of admiration tangled together, clouding Li Xun’s clear mind.

As the matter neared its conclusion, he suddenly realized that many secrets remained shrouded in mystery, yet he couldn’t grasp the key.

“Qing Yin…”

The name ripped and ripped between his lips. Li Xun felt his mind swirling, taking a deep breath and turning his gaze away from the figure in the window, toward the bamboo forest to the side.

Moonlight streamed across the branches, drifting with the wind. As the clouds gathered and dispersed, the light flickered, and the bamboo forest grew even quieter and cooler, dispelling much of the heat.

Gazing at the moonlit scene, Li Xun’s mind wandered, a fleeting thought drawing his memories toward forgotten corners. In a trance, he watched a hand grasping a brush trace familiar lines across the plain white paper.

Green Smoke and Bamboo Shadows?

Not that less-than-stellar painting from before.

Almost faded memories suddenly came alive, every word, every gesture vying to be arranged in his mind.

As each scene replayed itself, a deep chill suddenly surged down Li Xun’s back, his entire body feeling like it was immersed in icy water, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

Qing Yin had led him to the peak, Qing Yin had brought him down from the clouds, Zhong Yin had painted… It was ridiculous that he had focused all his energy on the ink painting of bamboo, embodying the Green Smoke and Bamboo Shadows sword technique, only to have it all become entangled in that mediocre painting.

Nearly a century later, Li Xun could still recall every detail of that painting.

This unnatural power of retrospection enveloped him, carrying him upward through the river of time. He stood on the cliff, yet he seemed to have melted into the painting.

His gaze was irresistibly drawn to the shadows at the small window, cast by the moonlight through the sparse bamboo.

In the cool, moonlit night, in the small, green bamboo building,

Zhong Yin was a superb painter. He didn’t visualize the scene before him, but his brushstrokes imbued him with the feeling of the moment.

The poorly composed painting was the exact opposite, a chaotic tangle of emotions that filled the entire space.

Li Xun suddenly realized what had happened here!

Qing Yin had moved the lamp to the window like tonight, countless years ago. She must have known Zhong Yin was standing on this cliff, and she wanted to reveal her own shadow for Zhong Yin to see clearly.

Perhaps, possibly, there was even a Jade Wanderer beside her.

Li Xun pressed his hand to his forehead. It burned, his palms cold.

He didn’t know where this realization came from, but it was accompanied by a profound sense of absurdity and sadness.

That was the place where Qing Yin and Yu San Ren had met. There, they lingered by the small window, while Zhong Yin, like a shrew, watched the mandarin ducks and eavesdropped on their affairs! A

hoarse laugh choked in his throat, finally uncontrollable.

Under the moonlight, he let out a roaring laugh, the sound waves spreading out, startling countless roosting birds, yet such unbridled laughter elicited no response.

“What a respectful Zhong Yin!”

On the surface, he obeyed his master’s orders and swore to confine Qing Yin to this Zuowang Peak, but in reality, he had lifted all restrictions, allowing Qing Yin and Yu San Ren to have s*x here, perhaps even easier than leaving the mountain.

Li Xun didn’t know what had caused all this, but it was clear that the connection between Zhong Yin and Qing Yin was far more complex and bizarre than anyone had imagined.

So, at that moment, Zhong Yin suddenly changed his writing style, so Qing Yin didn’t even ask, because there was an unspoken understanding between them. It was about a certain matter, a deal, a calculation.

“I’ve brought him right before you. It’s up to you whether you agree or not!”

“You and I both know perfectly well. I promised you before, and I won’t change my mind now.”

“Since you made it out alive, you agree!”

The two used Li Xun to communicate and negotiate, while the young boy at the time simply thought it was a great opportunity bestowed upon him by the Immortal Master…

Li Xun’s laughter faded, and he finally lowered his head, staring blankly at the rustling bamboo forest below. A deep chill had invaded every corner of his body, but his chaotic mind gradually calmed, and his mind gradually became clear, and he realized a deadly truth.

He was being controlled.

He had no reason to know so much. Whether it was the illicit affairs between the man and woman in the bamboo building or the tacit understanding between the senior and junior brothers and sisters, these were the most private matters. How could he have so miraculously deduced them from a single glance at the bamboo forest and the shadows by the window? Pondering

the subtle details, it was clear that a strange force was guiding his thoughts from beginning to end, like walking a well-behaved dog!

This was true enlightenment.

As this thought occurred to the very core of Li Xun’s mind, the hair on his body stood on end.

He turned around nervously, but there was still emptiness behind him. However, Li Xun felt that there seemed to be a pair of deep and silent eyes embedded in it, always staring at the back of his neck, his gaze penetrating into his heart.

Li Xun had once believed his abilities were sufficient to overcome all fear. But now he discovered that even though he had ascended to the highest levels of the Tongxuan Realm, Zhong Yin, this inhuman monster, still subtly controlled him, even from beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, weaving webs around him and using him like a puppet.

The stronger and more lucid he became, the stronger this feeling became.

Li Xun pursed his lips, suppressing the frustration within him and forcing himself to calm down.

The night breeze rustling through the bamboo and the cascading waterfalls seemed so loud, as if the laughter of others echoed in his ears. The internal and external forces collided, and the frenzy within the Blood Shadow Demon Body finally broke free.

Li Xun began to spin in circles like a frantic madman, his voice muttering, “Come out, come out!”

The only response was the faint hum of the forest.

After spinning dozens of times, the feeling of being entangled in his flesh grew stronger, not lessening.

Li Xun suddenly stopped, finally remembering the key to the frost. His bloodshot eyes fixed on the small window of the bamboo building.

“You won’t come out? Very well, I’ll kill your junior sister and see if you can!”

With a low roar from Li Xun, the night wind blowing through the mountains suddenly died. Miles away, the bamboo building trembled slightly with a creaking sound, even without the wind.

The fork holding the window slipped out, and the half-closed window slammed back, its shadows swaying wildly on the window paper.

Li Xun hissed softly in his throat and took a heavy step forward, about to strike, but his body paused and turned to look down the peak.

Without the murderous intent, the bamboo building narrowly escaped collapse, but the surrounding forest was littered with fallen bamboo leaves.

The lights inside the building suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness again. For a moment, Li Xun didn’t care. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to control the splattering demonic blood in his heart. His body swayed and melted into the shadows of the jagged cliff.

In just three or five breaths, two blazing sword beams shot through the darkness, seemingly heading for the small building.

The other side had clearly not noticed the unusual situation. The sword light was bright and soft, exuding a sense of calmness. However, the situation quickly changed. The figure on the left suddenly turned without warning, his eyes as sharp as a knife. Even from over ten miles away,

Li Xun could sense the chilling aura within. He was startled. The look was so familiar that he nearly blurted out.

“Master Mingji?”

Unexpectedly, it was Mingji who was approaching, and not understanding where he had revealed his weakness. Li Xun was momentarily stunned. Then, a resounding sword cry pierced his ears. It was clearly coming from Mingji, and it had probably begun even before Mingji had even glanced away.

Li Xun suddenly realized: “Where did he find a spiritual sword? [Computer Access//]”

There was no point in dwelling on it now. In that brief moment, the distance between the two had narrowed considerably. As the sword flashed overhead, one streak of sword light, Mingji, rushed towards them, while another, slowing its pace, charged into the building.

Li Xun could see clearly that Mingji, in a moment of haste, glanced back and called out, “Seventh sister, be careful!”

It was Mingru.

Li Xun’s heart relaxed as he determined the other person’s identity.

Neither Mingji nor Mingru posed a threat, which gave him room for maneuver. The current trouble lay within the building…

Before he could even wrap his mind around it, Mingji’s stern face came into view.

Li Xun didn’t want to tangle with her, and after a moment’s thought, his robe sleeve flicked, and

he shot out. As his sleeves covered his face, he had already donned the Faceless Armor.

This was one of the few treasures that had survived the “Blood God Body Tempering” at Razor Peak that day, tempered by the blood and poisonous flames like his clothes, a magical weapon tailor-made for him.

His face still wore the appearance of a hundred ghosts; for now, it was just an added layer of insurance.

Amidst the resounding clang, the night sky was ripped apart by the shimmering sword light. From a few miles away, Li Xun could already feel the chilling chill of the air around him. The fragmented sword energy, like thousands of scraping knives, clashed violently with his protective energy, emitting a wave of pale blue lightning.

“Tsk, she’s improved again!”

Li Xun felt a strange feeling in his heart, but it didn’t affect his magical power.

He half-spun his body, his hands and feet motionless, and with pure pulling force, he dissipated the oncoming sword energy. The occasional stray energy couldn’t harm him at all. His mere movement was accompanied by a flash of blood, illuminating the void.

Seeing this, Mingji’s murderous intent intensified, his body and sword becoming one, and he pursued him: “Blood Demon, prepare to die!”

Li Xun hadn’t intended to conceal his identity, and he couldn’t. He laughed and pointed with a few fingers, demonstrating the technique he had used to erode his soul light. With

his finger force, all living things in the surrounding area were instantly annihilated. The life force of nearby green bamboo, flying birds, and other nearby creatures was directly sucked clean away, turning them into ash and scattering.

The waterfall in the bamboo forest mid-mountain was instantly shrouded in a gray, deathly aura.

Mingji’s hand trembled with a humming sound, the longsword in her hand radiating with brilliance, yet condensed and undispersed, transforming into a streak

of sharp light that thrust forward. The purest sword energy, like a gossamer thread, pierced the void, bearing down on Li Xun. Its overwhelming pressure spread in all directions, blocking the onslaught of the Blood God’s Tribulation Finger. He attacked and defended with dignity, unperturbed by the urge to kill.

Li Xun sneered, his robe sleeves wafting, a hazy blood-red light pouring down like gusts of wind and mist.

While Li Xun’s cultivation might not be as refined as Mingji’s, the Blood Shadow Demon Body’s transformation into a demonic form, combined with its innate, fierce, blood-killing aura that consumed all living things, more than offset the difference in cultivation, even surpassing him.

Mingji, facing this bizarre tactic, remained undeterred, dodging the attack sideways.

The Blood Shadow Demon Body’s agility was on full display at this moment.

A flash of blood pierced through the surging blood mist. Mingji retreated, but it was impossible to stop it. She could only watch helplessly as the blood demon passed by her side, the gust of air nearly cutting off her breath.

There seemed to be movement in the bamboo building. Li Xun glanced over there and suddenly laughed hoarsely, “The female cultivators of the Mingxin Sword Sect are truly unique. I’ll be in high spirits tonight.”

Mingru, who worked perfectly with Li Xun, whispered, “A-Bi…”

As soon as she spoke, a wave of cold sword energy suddenly burst forth from the smallest of points, like a river or ocean wave, instantly filling the bamboo building. The window frames and doors could not withstand the explosive impact and shattered instantly.

Then, the roof split open, and a figure in green clothes soared upwards. A single spin mid-flight sent the upper floors of the bamboo building shredded by the sharp sword energy.

Qi Bi’s aura suddenly surged in strength, then plummeted, and the other aura could no longer be concealed.

At this moment, Li Xun finally understood that Qingyin must have somehow merged her aura with that of the sleeping Qibi, achieving near-invisibility.

Li Xun mentally sighed, “Pah!”

He’d already been overly arrogant, but he’d never expected Qingyin to be even more relaxed. Wasn’t this woman afraid of revealing her identity and the endless trouble it would bring? She didn’t have the ability to create multiple clones like Li Xun.

Neither Mingji nor Mingru had anticipated the existence of another person in the bamboo building. In their haste, Mingru took the brunt of the attack, suffering a minor setback and thus diverting Mingji’s attention.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Xun and Qingyin, one red, one blue, separated and fled in opposite directions, their movements so coordinated that it seemed as if they had a natural tacit understanding.

Mingji paused, wisely discontinuing pursuit. She flicked her hand, releasing a flying sword to warn the sect. A moment later, the forbidden mountain protection technique would unleash its full power. With a bit of luck,

she might even be able to stop one of them. Below, Mingru froze in the onslaught. She was caught off guard, and her attention was split between protecting Qibi, so she didn’t even have time to draw her sword. She relied entirely on her pure Danxia energy to counterattack. Had the opponent not been so eager to escape and then struck back with a second blow, she would have been

seriously injured, if not killed. Mingji flew down and offered her a hand to help her recover. Even so, it took

Mingru a long time to catch her breath. Once she recovered, Mingru went to check on Guai. Having devoted herself to protecting Qibi, she lay flat on her back in the ruins of the bamboo building. Although still unconscious, she looked calm and unharmed. The two elders breathed a sigh

of relief. But then their doubts deepened.

Both Mingji and Mingru were among the best female cultivators, their spiritual perception far surpassing that of ordinary people. Having allowed the Blood Demon to infiltrate Zuowang Peak without their knowledge was already strange enough, but the incredibly powerful swordsman in the bamboo building gave them an even stranger feeling. Mingru

came face to face with him, and even though she couldn’t see his face clearly, the feeling was even more profound. She spoke hesitantly, “That man…”

She suddenly lost the words to describe him, and her eyebrows furrowed as she turned to see Mingji’s reaction.

Mingji was observing the damaged bamboo building. With more effort, she might be able to discern some clues from the sword marks and lingering auras around it. However, she couldn’t calm down.

The Blood Demon’s attack had destroyed half the bamboo forest nearby. The wind blew a cloud of ash, mingled with a foul aura that was like a poison to Mingji.

She suddenly turned to Mingru and said, “The mountain protection ban has been activated. I’m patrolling the surrounding area to see if I can stop that demon.”

Mingji’s tone was firm and unquestionable.

Mingru, knowing her troubled thoughts, understood her frustrations and could only offer advice: “Don’t leave the forbidden area today without preparation. Even if you can’t stop them, forget it. But if you do, send a quick message here. With a combined force, we’ll have a much better chance.”

Mingji hummed and unsheathed the sword from her back. The sword was four feet long, its scabbard unadorned, its dark black hue appearing incredibly heavy.

He half-pulled the sword, its blade gleaming with a sharp, piercing pain. Mingji narrowed his eyes, inspected it briefly, and then sheathed it.

Seeing her expression, Mingru grumbled, “Did you hear me?”

Mingji glanced back, smiled faintly, then turned to Qibi and smiled at Mingru: “Take the child with you. Please ask the Sect Master to remain at Zhiguan Peak. If anything happens, I’ll send a message immediately.”

Seeing her calm, Mingru felt relieved and said, “Be careful.”

Mingji nodded, saying nothing more, and soared into the sky, disappearing in an instant.

Mingru looked at the sky, a slight gloom on her pretty face, and she couldn’t help but think of the oath Mingji had made before, which left no room for compromise.