The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 161

Chapter 5: Divine Sword

The Blood Tribulation’s Soul Light was ten feet away from Qingming. With a bang, it shattered into a bloody mist. Then, the sword energy swept it away.

Li Xun didn’t care. After a brief mental preparation, he smiled and said, “It’s fine if your sect doesn’t like bad guests, but why don’t you even spare passersby?”

Qingming’s eyes were gentle, without any sharpness. Unlike Mingji, as the leader of a sect, he couldn’t just come up and fight to the death and demand an explanation. So, he said calmly, “Forgive my ignorance, but I’ve never seen a passerby trespassing through the courtyard. Mr. Baigui is also a great man of his time, so why bother pretending?”

His address to Li Xun as “Baigui” indicated that after the battle at Razor Peak, the Blood Demon’s identity had become known to everyone.

Li Xun, however, was still a little unaccustomed to this. After a moment’s pause, he finally smiled. “As the Sect Master said, there’s no need to pretend. I’m just passing through. If I wasn’t just passing through, is there anything else in your sect worth stealing or robbing?”

Mingji had caught up, stopping behind him for a moment and bowing to Qingming.

Qingming had always admired this disciple and disliked the Blood Demon. He cast aside his immediate enemy, stroked his beard, and smiled, “That sword move you just made was almost divine, excellent.”

Mingji replied from a distance, “I still rely on external forces to accomplish my goal. I’m afraid I won’t be able to use this move again within ten years.”

She spoke with complete honesty. However, the ten-year period passed in a flash, and Mingji’s confidence spoke volumes about how much she had benefited from the sword

move. Although Li Xun had been left out by Xiaoming, he had no time to get angry.

At that moment, sword lights flashed in the distant sky. It must be the arrival of other masters from the Mingxin Sword Sect. If he continued to engage, he would be surrounded.

By then, Qingyin had vanished completely, and forcing her out would have become exponentially more difficult for Li Xun

. “I guess it’s just God’s will,”

Li Xun’s restless thoughts finally settled deeper, and now he was solely focused on how to escape.

Qingming’s cultivation was far superior to Mingji’s current level. Although he only reached the True One Realm after forty-nine tribulations, the sect’s tens of thousands of years of inheritance wasn’t given for nothing.

Just look at Qingming’s previous sword strike, which was like the Seven Immortals from Outer Space. His mastery was comparable to Yaofeng and Qingying’s.

Guyin was focused on dismantling the various sects, but if everything went her way, how could Qingming easily execute that sword strike?

Li Xun keenly felt the vast gap between cultivators with a sect’s legacy and those without a sect or sect, or even demons.

But now was no time for lamentations or further delays. The encirclement was forming, and if he tried to break out again, he would have to kill them. That was a fate he didn’t want to see.

Just then, Mingji’s voice rang from behind, “Who just escaped?”

Her question was understandable, but it now greatly aided Li Xun.

Li Xun, upon hearing this, immediately seized upon the opportunity and sneered, “Of course it’s an enemy. We were originally hunting that guy down, and only then did you, the Mingxin Sword Sect, insist on interfering. Could it be that you’re somehow involved with that fellow?”

His tone hinted at someone with hidden agendas. Behind him, Mingji’s reaction was unclear. Xiaoming, unaware of what was happening ahead, frowned slightly. “Who escaped?”

By then, the sect’s swift-blazing cultivators had already arrived.

Li Xun had no time for friendly discussion. He laughed heartily, “So you’re still fighting in a muddled way. I won’t be joining you in this muddled fight!”

With a laugh, he leaped into the air, a flash of blood radiating from his body.

Li Xun’s words provoked Qingming’s overthinking, and he was inevitably a step behind. Mingji, however, made a decisive move and followed

. Fearing she might lose her composure, Qingming transformed into a stream of pure energy and soared upwards, seemingly slowly but swiftly.

However, just a dozen feet into the air, Qingming’s heart suddenly trembled. The dragon-patterned sword in his hand swung lightly, and sword energy whistled through the air. A moment

earlier, a fist with visibly etched veins suddenly appeared from the void to his left, striking Qingming in the face

. The sword energy then reached the fist tip, only to shatter instantly.

With this buffer, Qingming had already brought his sword forward, the blade and fist colliding head-on, exploding with countless tiny sparks. Qingming retreated sharply, not because he was overwhelmed by the force, but because he had discovered the identity of the attacker during the clash of fist and sword.

The man who had struck was a powerful figure, shrouded in a deep black hooded robe, revealing only a pair of blood-red eyes.

This was not the first time Qingming had seen this person, and he had a suspicion in his mind.

The Mysterious Puppet…

Qingming had last seen this person in the Shuijing Sect’s Water Mirror Reflection,

which captured the battles near Razor Peak: between Tianzhi and Yaofeng, and between the Blood Demon and Qingying.

The former, while intense and revealing, contained very little information; the latter, the only video footage in the Tongxuan Realm that could reveal the Blood Demon’s true nature, naturally required careful scrutiny given Qingming’s status.

The situation was chaotic and complex, but the most intriguing aspect, besides the secret of the Blood Demon being the Hundred Ghosts and the battle between Qingying and the Blood Demon, was the two individuals who had appeared alongside the Hundred Ghosts.

Shui Dielan had a criminal record in the Tongxuan Realm. That was not surprising.

The other person, who could move freely through the void, must be the Hundred Ghosts Taoist’s hidden shadow puppet.

The shadow puppet displayed its immense power, a fleeting glimpse showing it capable of holding its own against Qingying. Judging by its physical features, the leaders of each sect must have their own opinions on its identity.

Qingming’s own suspicions were largely confirmed after the clash of fists and swords.

“Never get too close when fighting this man!”

Qingming thought of his fierce reputation in his lifetime, and despite his steadfast Daoist heart, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“I wonder how those hundred ghosts managed to turn him into a puppet—a master and a supporting one, with water butterfly orchids as wings. Sixth Junior Brother has ascended to immortality, so who in the world can control him?”

Thoughts gathered like smoke as he retreated, then quickly dissipated. By the time he was a hundred feet away, Qingming’s spiritual platform was empty. The

dragon-patterned sword, through the void, created layers of sword energy barriers, which were instantly shattered by the fierce man’s iron fist. They were still within ten feet of each other.

Qingming’s body suddenly froze. He thrust the dragon-patterned sword forward with his forearm. The fierce man didn’t reduce his speed, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely obliterated.

“Huh!”

Qingming’s tongue blazed like spring thunder, and with the roar of a dragon and a tiger, he stirred within and outwardly, energizing his pure primordial body. The dragon-marked sword vibrated under the force, and the trembling void caused by the collision of their true energy subsided instantly.

Li Xun, who had just blocked Mingji’s sword energy from high in the air, sensed it and glanced back, just in time to see Qingming thrust out a sword. The appearance was ordinary, but the vast sword intent imbued with it was vaguely similar to the one that had blocked his path

earlier. However, the reach of this sword intent was more than doubled compared to the previous one. The vital energy of heaven and earth within a ten-mile radius was not merely being channeled and controlled, but instantly concentrated on the sword’s blade as the sword thrust forward. The sword strike was like a cascading mountain stream, the so-called “moving mountains and changing peaks.”

Most remarkable was the fact that the use of the vital energy of heaven and earth occurred without any conversion or adaptation, just as Qingming had

mastered it, wielding it with ease and control. With Li Xun’s keen eyes, he could easily see that this strike was similar to Mingji’s previous manipulation of forbidden vital energy, but the effect was vastly different due to the different realms.

If Li Xun had stood before the sword, he would likely have no other option but to utilize the “Blood God Body Tempering” technique to transform and dissipate his energy.

However, You Yi, the world’s foremost master, could demonstrate his prowess even

in the form of a puppet. His fists remained steady, the blood and energy within him raging like a furnace, their attacks exploding in succession. He unleashed nearly a hundred layers of ferocious force, one after another, crushing them one after another. He defied the conventional wisdom that “strength cannot last long,” swiftly moving with his robust form.

He wasn’t aiming for a direct clash with Qingming’s sword, which combined the energy of ten miles of mountains and rivers. Instead, he was using the world within him to externalize the universe.

Qingming’s sword intent embraced all things through emptiness and tranquility, subduing disorder with order, thus enabling him to freely control the surrounding vital energy.

With his exceptional combat awareness, You Yi unleashed a single blow to shake the equilibrium established by Qingming’s sword intent. Severing Qingming’s connection to the outside world was the right remedy to seize the initiative.

This was a clash of control and counter-control. All the other fist and sword energy was superficial, unworthy of mention.

Though Li Xun only took a quick glance, he sensed the changes within. There was much to learn. However, the more important priority at the moment was to escape, to avoid an unmanageable situation.

He returned his attention to Ming Gong

. Unlike Li Xun’s absent-mindedness, Ming Gong, once in combat mode, was completely focused. Although she had no effective defense against the blood-shadow demonic body, her sword power remained sharp. In the process, she gradually became familiar with the exquisite insight she had just gained beneath the sword’s aura and thunder.

Unwilling to engage her, Li Xun’s flight increased, directly dispersing the distant sword energy. A blood mist surged around her, seemingly absorbing the moonlight from high above. Then, the blood light split and enveloped the sky.

Ming Gong’s longsword vibrated, creating a barrier to block the turbid current.

Within the bloody light, layers of vengeful spirits roared, their voices and their silences echoing with the surging blood energy. Although Ming Gong was unafraid, he was momentarily stopped. He watched helplessly as the Blood Demon transformed into a rainbow and fled, while fellow disciples from Zhiguan Peak rushed to surround him. They were already a step too late.

But before Li Xun could even breathe a sigh of relief, the sense of danger returned.

He realized he had already escaped the area damaged by the forbidden spells, but the divine sword’s aura still locked onto him.

This meant the Great Five Elements’ annihilation lightning was imminent.

“Again?”

Li Xun gave a bitter laugh, gathering his blood essence and bracing himself to be blasted out of the Lianxia Mountains by the annihilation lightning

. Before he could even think, a blinding rift appeared in the night sky, and lightning and fire erupted from it, instantly engulfing him.

Below, Youyi, in sync with Li Xun’s mind, immediately intensified his offensive, launching three or five ferocious close-quarters attacks, practically threatening to destroy Qingming.

Xiaoming, unwilling to see both sides suffer losses from the same puppet, sighed and finally gave way. Without Qingming’s pressure, Youyi soared into the air with a low whistle, crashing directly into the zone of thunder and fire.

With Youyi shielding Li Xun from the front, the pressure was greatly reduced, giving him time to calculate the gains and losses of this forbidden technique.

“The power of annihilating the five elements without the sword’s will sounds terrifying, but in reality, it’s only moderately effective against a True Person Realm expert. But it still has the effect of surprise… eh?”

A flash of sword light suddenly appeared from the right, piercing the sky of thunder and fire and charging towards him. Li Xun barely considered the lack of sword

‘s will before he was immediately trapped. Mingji’s face remained calm under the distorted lightning. The four-foot-long sword arced in a virtual arc, gathering the thunder and fire in all directions. While the momentum lacked the explosive force of the first strike, the subtle control was far superior.

Li Xun’s eyes had just imprinted her image, and the sword, like thunder and fire, had already reached his body.

If the sword energy penetrated his body with its ability to penetrate the void, his blood core would undoubtedly be shaken. In a hurry, Li Xun could no longer hold back, and the burning blood energy suddenly swelled.

Suddenly, a dark red sun rose in the night sky, its blazing tail of flame scorching as it clashed head-on with the sword energy and the fire and lightning.

“Poison Spirit Blood Yang Technique!”

Qingming’s heart tightened as he shouted softly. The Dragon-Embroidered Sword flew out of his hand, transforming into a streak of light in the air and plunging into the area of thunder and fire.

The moment the sword, thunder and fire, and the blood sun collided head-on, Li Xun felt the sharp and domineering sword energy again. At the same time, he could even more deeply sense the profound impact of the divine sword’s spiritual light in the perfect fusion of sword intent and lightning.

This wasn’t the active cooperation of the spiritual sword; it was simply Zhong Yin teaching Mingji how to wield a sword.

Li Xun was not at ease. Although his half-baked Poison Spirit Blood Yang Technique was powerful, under the influence of the spiritual sword’s will, the annihilation lightning still threatened to break through the barrier and strike his vital points. His blood core was trembling slightly under the impact of the lightning’s latent power, and the suppressed murderous aura showed signs of backlash.

At this moment, the Dragon-Embroidered Sword, transformed into a ray of light, flew towards him.

Li Xun let out a chuckle, and dark, blood-red, poisonous flames erupted, intending to blast Ming Ji away before blocking the oncoming sword.

However, the sudden force suddenly shattered the opponent’s overwhelming resistance, and the poisonous flames and blood-red light surged forward, reaching Ming Ji with unstoppable force.

Li Xun initially thought Ming Ji had employed some method to mitigate the force, but he immediately realized it was not the

case. Ming Gong was clearly unprepared.

She had no idea why the lightning of annihilation, so powerful just moments before, suddenly vanished into thin air.

Ming Ji almost thought her skin was being burned by the poisonous flames.

Her honed fighting instincts saved her in this critical moment, and her pure true energy blasted out like a gust of wind from her legs, blocking the poisonous flames.

Taking advantage of this opening, Ming Gong unleashed the “Green Smoke Barrier” sword technique, layering sword shadows to block the poisonous fire while simultaneously retreating.

It was during this brief pause that Li Xun finally reacted. Without a second thought, he reversed the direction of the poisonous flames. The dark blood sun traced a twisting trajectory through the void, forcing a change of direction to collide with the dragon-marked sword.

The void shook violently. The dark blood sun, struck by the sword, collapsed at its core, its outer shell suddenly crumbling. A halo of

light suddenly formed amidst the violent distortion of the flames, then exploded. Raging poisonous flames splattered in all directions, enveloping the area for several miles. Both Li Xun and Ming Ji were engulfed by the toxic blaze.

Li Xun choked on a small mouthful of blood and drifted backward, while You Yi crossed paths with him. Breaking through the barrier of poisonous flames, he struck the dragon-marked sword with a single punch.

With a clanging sound, the flying sword’s gleam dimmed, sending it flying backwards. Meanwhile, Ming Gong, shielded by his sword energy, emerged from the sea of fire, seemingly safe.

However, Li Xun didn’t even have a chance to catch his breath before the Mingxin Sword Sect’s vast force finally arrived from beyond the sea of fire.

Leading the charge were the elders Qingxu and the others. Behind them, Luo Nanchuan led the elite second-generation disciples. Seventy to eighty percent of the Mingxin Sword Sect’s masters had already gathered.

Was this really the day to charge out

? Wait, this feeling…

Li Xun halted all movement and stood in the sea of poisonous flames, frowning as he sensed it.

While there were many cultivators here, none possessed Li Xun’s exceptional spiritual perception. At this moment, he felt an unmistakable sense of danger lingering around him, a sharp, piercing warning.

He suddenly understood why his perception had shifted.

The divine sword’s aura vanished.

Ever since he entered the forbidden area of the mountain’s protective spell, the divine sword’s aura had been locked onto him like a leech, aiding Ming Gong in some mysterious way. The activation of the surrounding forbidden spells exerted immense pressure, both visible and invisible. But at that moment, it vanished, as if everything he had endured before had been an illusion.

Li Xun, however, showed no joy. He suddenly closed his eyes and listened.

Beyond the thousands of mountains and valleys, a wave of vibrations was connecting all the warning systems on Lianxia’s seventy-two peaks, spreading at full force.

Just a few breaths later, the faint sound of a bell echoed across a thousand miles, piercing space. One wave arose before another, followed by dozens of cascading waves, grinding the distant, deep bell sounds into the most rapid drumbeats. For

a moment, everyone, including Li Xun, was horrified.

“The Chuitian Bell! The Chuitian Bell has been rung from Zhiguan Peak!”

A moment later, ten flying swords, like falling meteors, approached from the distant night sky. The message, no longer captured by spiritual consciousness, exploded in mid-air.

“Thieves have broken into the Weiming Temple and stolen the Sword of the Sky Slashing! Thieves have stolen the Sword of the Sky Slashing!”

The cold air Li Xun breathed in was cut off in his throat before it even reached his stomach.

He turned sharply to the southwest, but at the end of his gaze, he saw only a dark night sky with two or three faint stars.

For some reason, staring into that endless night sky, Li Xun felt an icy chill slowly descend from his head, freezing his brain, spine, and internal organs all the way to his feet. In a trance, even the air beneath his feet was frozen, devoid of any warmth.

This feeling became reality in the blink of an eye!

From a distance beyond sight and perception, a wisp of icy cold reached across the air. At first, it was so faint that it seemed ready to dissolve in the night wind. But in the blink of an eye, the chill intensified almost infinitely, transforming into a bone-chilling sword energy that hurtled across the sky, piercing the broken moon.

In June, Lianxia Mountain suddenly plunged into the depths of winter. (Computer reading..net)

The sea of poisonous flames covering a mile in radius suddenly extinguished, leaving not a single spark, revealing Li Xunlai standing there in a state of shock.

Qingming unconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, his usually calm and composed expression distorted by surprise.

He stared southwest for a long moment, still in disbelief: “The Slashing Sky Divine Sword… Sixth Junior Brother?”

Only someone like Qingming, who had witnessed Zhong Yin in action, could sense the cold and withdrawn sword energy. The familiar aura it held matched his own memories perfectly, without a single difference.

It was as if Zhong Yin had been reborn.

His intellect told him that Zhong Yin had ascended and could never return to this world. This wave of sword energy must have been caused by a “thief” activating the Slashing Sky Divine Sword, stimulating Zhong Yin’s remaining aura.

But he could never comprehend it. Who was this “thief” who had so easily seized the divine sword and wielded its might so freely?

If the divine sword was psychic, how could it be a thief?

Qingming’s thoughts were a bit confused.

In this situation, the Blood Demon seemed insignificant, a fact evident in the attitudes of the cultivators present.

No one paid any attention to the encircled Blood Demon anymore. Everyone turned their heads and gazed towards Zhiguan Peak with a deep sense of unease.

Being ignored should be a blessing, but Li Xun couldn’t celebrate. His body had never felt so cold as it did now. A piercing chill enveloped him from the inside out, making even thinking difficult. His thoughts raced a hundred times slower than usual

. “This sword energy is clearly directed at me!” After a moment’s pause, Li Xun realized, “Qingyin returned to Lianxia Mountain for this very reason.”

Before his breath was cut off by the sword energy, a single thought remained in his mind: “Am I waiting to die?”

This heavy thought was like a massive hammer falling from the sky, slamming into

the thick ice outside Li Xun’s heart, instantly creating an irreparable crack. From within, a murderous intent hotter than magma gushed forth.

Li Xun’s body and soul were shaken, his mind like a funnel, rapidly silencing distracting thoughts. The naturally accumulated murderous fire within his Blood Shadow demonic body merged with the rising murderous intent, constantly refining and generating a nearly instinctive “spiritual consciousness.” His demonic body was driven by this consciousness, a fusion of all things, unshakable as an external force.

The sword energy in the void ascended to a new level, surging and sweeping across the universe, its might enough to crush all obstacles in its path.

He simply let the vast ocean of sword energy rise and fall. Li Xun was like the sun rising from the sea. It rises and falls, of course, but what does it have to do with the ocean?

And now, You Yi silently moved to protect him. Their auras intertwined, fueled by Li Xun’s pure spiritual consciousness, the searing murderous aura reached its peak, transforming into a sinister, icy coldness that could even rival the distant sword energy.

The two touched in the void, the distant sword energy seemingly devoid of any intention of confrontation, and receded like the receding tide.

As one side gained strength while the other waned, Li Xun’s momentum surged. The indistinguishable hot or cold aura, even the slightest fluctuation, sent shivers down the spines of the cultivators below Qingming.

“Hehe, Zhong Yin’s legacy is quite poisonous…” (Computer reading..net)

Li Xunjing managed to laugh, but his heart held no trace of joy. Before his laughter faded, he suddenly lunged forward, transforming into a hazy blood shadow with a single step, swirling into a dim rainbow light, searing deep into the night sky.

From the moment he took his first step until he escaped, none of the nearly twenty Mingxin Sword Sect cultivators were able to react.

As Li Xun retreated, several tried to pursue him, but Qingming shook his head, stopping them. “Let’s put the Blood Demon aside for now. The most pressing matter is the seizure of Sixth Junior Brother’s Sword of the Sky-Slashing Sword.”

Aside from Qingming, Qingxu was the leader. He listened to Qingming’s words. He frowned and said, “The Blood Demon’s appearance at this juncture is probably related to the thief who stole the sword.”

“Although they are related, they are not necessarily accomplices.” Qingming shook his head again and motioned Mingji to tell him what happened before. Mingji

was eloquent and told him the details in a few words.

However, everything was suspenseful and the inner story was too subtle and contrary to common sense. The cultivators became even more confused after hearing it.

“According to this, the thief who stole the sword should be the one the Blood Demon was chasing. If there was a grudge between them, why couldn’t it be resolved anywhere in the world? Why did they have to come to Lianxia Mountain? And the thief who stole the sword was able to sneak up to Zhiguan Peak without anyone noticing…”

Qingxu found a few difficult to understand links. Most other people had similar questions, but everyone had their own guesses. Too many people and mixed minds would create obstacles.

Not wanting to unnecessarily confuse people, Qingming simply skipped over these questions and made his arrangements directly, “There’s no point in overthinking. Although the thieves’ movements are erratic, we should do our best.

‘Nanchuan, have your fellow disciples lead their disciples in pursuit, and report back immediately with flying swords. The elders and I will be stationed at the main peak to provide support. If we can recover the sword in the Lianxia Mountains, that would be great. If not, we’ll return to discuss.”

His arrangements were the most reliable, and the cultivators, led by Luo Nanchuan, obeyed with awe.

Qingming nodded briefly and was about to let them go their separate ways when he suddenly remembered something: “The Tongxuan Realm is in turmoil. The sect’s mountain-protecting forbidden method is extremely important. The Slashing Sky Sword is the key to guarding the formation’s core. Now that it’s lost, there’s a significant flaw… Mingji sent a message to Lingzhu with a flying sword, asking him to return to the mountain and repair the forbidden method immediately.”

Mingji responded. Then she thought of today’s battle with the Blood Demon. Thanks to Shao Miao’s mountain-protecting forbidden technique, she had escaped unscathed. She’d have to thank him when he returned.

But fighting that Blood Demon… something…

She frowned, looking at the four-foot-long sword in her hand, lost in thought for a moment.