The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 19

Chapter 10 Asking for Love

The sky was ablaze, a seething cloud of fire obscuring everything within sight. Within the thick cloud, even massive bubbles of magma exploded with a rumbling roar, like magma swirling in the crater of a volcano.

The density of the bubbles instantly surged to an alarming degree, and the cloud seemed to suddenly bulge with countless bizarre lumps, like a burned face. Countless bubbles expelled thick fluid, erupting in a shower of fire.

Countless tiny sparks rained down like a drizzle, but the result was an absolute nightmare.

In an instant, everything around was ablaze. The beautiful maple forest was truly ablaze. Hundreds of trees suddenly became torches, bursting into flames with a crackling sound, and branches crackled in a cacophony of flames.

The searing heat washed over them, and their faces turned a brilliant crimson, their true expressions invisible against the blaze.

However, Ming Lan’s voice was truly distorted. He screamed like a madman, his usual sage demeanor gone. “Thousand-mile flaming clouds… Oh my God! Run! Get out of the forest!”

The disciples were already frozen in fear. Without a second thought, they immediately resorted to their fastest method of movement—flying swords!

Five of them flew up at breakneck speed the moment Ming Lan spoke. Below, Ming Lan’s voice was distorted beyond recognition: “Don’t fly…”

Just as he uttered those three words, a thunderclap roared in the sky, a deafening blast that dazzled everyone.

And with that roar, the five who had taken to the air first, like five paper figurines, vanished into a cloud of ash in the raging firestorm. The heat wave blew them away.

Qi Yun screamed.

Before her screams had subsided, Yue Mingfeng had already grabbed her, covered her mouth, and roared, “Get down! Get out of the forest! Don’t fly! There’s a hell of fire above! Beware of the ‘flying fire’! Don’t take it head-on!”

With that, he flung Qi Yun out of the forest. Instantly, the remaining third-generation disciples were tumbling to the ground. They didn’t even have time to mourn their companions before they had to fight for their own lives.

Li Xun didn’t immediately lie down, a stark departure from his usual behavior.

The reason was that he had seen the complex expression that suddenly crossed Lin Ge’s face: fierceness, sorrow, despair. All of it lasted only a moment before vanishing into a calm.

Then, Li Xun felt a pain in his knee, and was knocked to the ground by Lin Ge’s kick. As he fell, he felt Lin Ge touch his head, pull out the “feather needle,” and shove it back into his arms.

“Use this to protect your heart… ‘Warning evil’ and using it interchangeably might save your life.” Run as soon as you get out of the forest, and don’t look back!”

Hearing this, Li Xun was kicked away by Lin Ge before he could ask any more questions. The kick was very clever and Li Xun did not feel any pain, but he flew out at a very fast speed. In the blink of an eye, he fell out of the forest and landed in the middle of the mountain path.

Among the three generations of disciples, Qi Bi was the last to come out. However, she was thrown out by Yue Mingfeng and Ming Lan together, and fell right next to Li Xun. Her face was red from the firelight, but she could not hide the fear that was almost desperate.

“A hundred calamities and a thousand layers of hellfire…how could it be? “

Hearing her mumbling, Li Xun suddenly remembered Lin Ge’s instructions, his heart turned cold, he grabbed Qi Bi’s wrist and growled: “Master wants us to leave quickly…”

Before he finished speaking, he seemed to hear a cold snort, and then a bright light flashed before his eyes. He screamed instinctively, but suddenly felt the “Jade Evil-Repelling” in his chest first cool down, and then the “Phoenix Feather Needle” began to vibrate.

With a muffled explosion, Li Xun felt a heat outside his body, and the suffocating hot wind blew him to the ground, almost rolling into the mountain stream outside the mountain road!

At this time, Li Xun heard Qi Bi’s low groan in his ears, the sound was extremely painful, and then he felt a strong force on his hand. He groaned, and in this pain, Qi Bi shook off his hand and rolled into the mountain stream.

In this situation, he fell down hard, and there was almost no way to survive!

“Damn it! “

Li Xun was lying on the ground, his mouth full of dust. As soon as the dizziness passed, he tried his best to open his eyes to see what was going on.

However, what he saw almost drove him crazy.

The mountain path was empty, and there was a little bit of residual black ash, which was swept into the sky by the hot wind.

Of the ten third-generation disciples who had escaped to the mountain path, only he was left, and Qi Yun, who was sitting on the ground not far away and was already scared.

Except for Qi Bi, who was more dead than alive in the mountain stream, the others left no trace in this world!

The maple forest was still burning, and compared with the endless fire clouds in the sky, it showed an atmosphere of impending collapse. Only a series of branches and leaves bursting sounded, and the rest was dead silence.

The world before Li Xun was… The world, smoked by the hot smoke, was twisting like a dream, and it was hard to see clearly. He tried to concentrate and look again, and saw a flame falling from the sky.

Unlike the raging flames just now, which were as domineering as melting gold and iron, this flame was bright throughout, and several layers inside were burned to the extreme, almost transparent light curtains, and the fire power was restrained.

But as soon as it touched the ground, there was only a low sound, and the maple forest for several miles around turned into ashes, revealing only the bare mountain.

Li Xun’s eyes suddenly became clear, and the three people who had been hiding in the forest also appeared at this time.

However, what they brought to Li Xun was the most direct fear – the three stood in a horn shape, and only Lin Ge stood steadily, while Minglan and Yue Mingfeng were standing steadily. He was already staggering, as if drunk, and took two limp steps on the ground, but his body suddenly lit up.

Li Xun’s eyeballs almost burst out.

Countless flames burst out from under the skin of the two people. The thin flames were more like sharp knives, easily tearing everything apart, cutting the two people into pieces, and then cruelly burning them. With

only two low groans, Minglan and Yue Mingfeng disappeared from the world forever.

Li Xun’s legs were weak, and he even lost the strength to stand up and run away. He could only look at Lin Ge, hoping that the only commander who could still hold on could give him a chance of life.

As if sensing his thoughts, Lin Ge looked over here, and there was a look on his pale face. He gave a bitter smile.

Then, under Li Xun’s desperate gaze, he swayed his body and knelt on one knee on the ground.

The firelight that fell from the sky also dimmed, and then there was a very loud sound of fluttering clothes. Li Xun looked over blankly, and saw a red and miserable figure under the red cloak swaying in the wind.

The figure had its back to him and was facing Lin Ge.

He couldn’t see the person’s appearance clearly, but he saw that her figure wrapped in the cloak was slender and tall, but without the slightest bit of fierceness.

A person flashed through Li Xun’s mind. Only she could have such a cultivation level, and she would kill more than ten people from Mingxin Sword Sect without any explanation, as casually and easily as if she had brushed off the dust on her body.

“Fenghuang’er, you are really still alive!”

Lin Ge’s voice was weak, evidently exhausted from having just blocked that round of catastrophe fire. Was this the same man who had driven Xin Zhizi away with just a few days ago?

The distance between him and the man before him was ten times greater than the distance between him and Xin Zhizi!

His cloak rustled, and the man seemed to make some movement. The fiery clouds in the sky suddenly dissipated as they had arrived, and the mountain returned to its normal state, without a single spark of fire.

However, the maple forest, reduced to ash, and the fifteen cultivators who had suffered the same fate, could never recover.

Then, Li Xun heard a deep, melodious sigh: “Lin Lang, you’ve become increasingly weak over the past century.”

He couldn’t tell what the sigh meant, but just hearing the voice conjured up a picture of grace and dignity.

Only such an image could match the voice, which was neither hurried nor slow, yet imbued with a subtle, sentimental charm.

She was supposed to be a peerless beauty…

Judging by Lin Ge’s reaction, she was far inferior to her.

Lin Ge knelt on one knee, struggled twice, but failed to rise. Finally, he slumped to the ground, panting heavily before he said, “Fenghuang’er, are you here to kill me?”

Fenghuang’er was the protagonist of the “Phoenix Killing” incident a century ago. The Tongxuan Realm called her “Demon Phoenix,” and she called herself “Qixia Yuanjun.”

She and Lin Ge were originally a Taoist couple, tacitly approved by her master. However, due to her cultivation of the “Jade Planting Demonic Art,” not only was she abandoned by Lin Ge, but she was also surrounded by thirty-three sects within the Ten Thousand Mountains. Thousands of elite cultivators set up a Heavenly Punishment Formation, but she still managed to escape, vanishing without a trace.

A century later, when she first appeared, she slaughtered fifteen cultivators of the Mingxin Sword Sect as a sacrifice. Adding three more would be no problem.

She simply said, “Yes, I’ve thought about this constantly for the past hundred years… It’s just that you were on Lianxia Mountain, and I couldn’t defeat Zhong Yin, so I didn’t go.”

If she had said this in a shrill, piercing voice, Li Xun wouldn’t have been surprised. However, her tone held a lingering, gentle warmth, and her words were so calm that it felt strange no matter how you listened to them.

Lin Ge’s tone was obviously trembling. He took a quick breath and then said, “So, as soon as I came down the mountain, you would know and rush to kill me!”

“Of course!” Yao Feng seemed to be laughing, and her smile was as gentle as water: “Lin Lang, I have waited for more than a hundred years since the day you abandoned my mother and me. How can I wait any longer?”

“Ha…”

Lin Ge laughed suddenly, and his voice became hoarse. Then he shouted, “Funny! How can you say that I abandoned you? Hehe, plant the Jade Magic Art! Don’t forget to plant the Jade Magic Art…”

Yao Feng sighed softly, but this sigh was full of pity.

This made her tone even softer: “This reason is just to fool the kids, it’s ok to fool the younger generation, but how come you, who participated in that Water Mirror Conference, also believed this…

Or, do you have to force yourself to believe it, so that you can feel better?”

Lin Ge’s laughter suddenly stopped, and only the demon phoenix could be heard saying softly: “Humans and demons have different paths. If you want to have offspring, you have to cultivate the Jade Demon Art. If I really want to practice the magic art, a little bit of Yuan Tai formation will be enough. Why should I be pregnant for three years and endure the endless pain? Others don’t know this situation, don’t you know it too?”

Lin Ge’s breathing intensified, but he still didn’t speak.

Yao Feng spoke as if he was stating a very ordinary matter, his tone without any fluctuation: “In the end, it was the forty-nine heavenly tribulations that were approaching. My child was born

in defiance of the will of heaven, and that was exactly the fate of the tribulation. “With the child around, heaven’s will is unpredictable, and the fate of the tribulation will change. Who knows how many cultivators in the Tongxuan Realm might die. If the child were gone, everything would return to normal… Wasn’t this what was discussed at the Shuijing meeting back then? “

Lin Ge’s panting stopped.

But Qi Yun’s breathing on the mountain road became rapid, obviously because she was terrified after hearing this information for the first time.

Li Xun had time to take a look at her at this time. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be injured, but her face was pale and her breathing was unstable. It was obvious that she had serious internal injuries.

Although Li Xun was surprised by what Yao Feng said, he was not unbearable.

In his opinion, this is more reasonable, and the interest relationship is clear and accurate, which is much stronger than the so-called reason of practicing magic and suffering of all living beings.

Moreover, since hearing what Xin Zi said the day before yesterday, he has been mentally prepared for the “truth” in it.

The more this happened, the more Li Xun felt that Lin Ge’s reaction was strange. He didn’t know why, but he always felt weird, but he couldn’t tell what was strange.

After a while, Lin Ge’s weak voice rang out: Got it?” As soon as

these words came out, there was no doubt that the truth in Yao Feng’s words was confirmed.

Lin Ge only let out two mournful laughs. “What can I do? Back then, Master and I had a long talk for a whole day and night, expounding on that child’s faults. I spoke several times, but I couldn’t stop him… I want to talk to you, but seeing your expression, how can I begin?

“I will never be able to repay Master’s debt, so how can I disobey Master’s orders? I wanted to return to the mountain and ask Sixth Uncle to intervene, but after just one day’s delay, word spread that you were trapped in the Shiwan Mountains!

“What would you have me do then? Fight Master’s orders with you? Or kill you on the spot? Fenghuang’er, do you know the pain I felt back then? Do you know the misery I endured?”

Lin Ge’s voice was shrill and mournful, but everyone present heard a deeper meaning.

Ultimately, it wasn’t the deathly wail of a dying man, but a desperate cry, a plea for mercy, even.

Qi Yun’s breathing became more erratic. Li Xun frowned, feeling an indescribable strangeness within him.

Yao Feng’s reaction was even more peculiar, and her tone seemed a bit confused.

“Are you begging me for mercy?” After a pause, she didn’t get an answer from Lin Ge, so she shook her head gently, with a hint of haziness in her tone: “I still remember that a hundred years ago, you were extremely stubborn. Although my cultivation is far better than yours, you never bow to me…”

She didn’t finish her words, but Li Xun could understand what she meant – Lin Ge, what are you doing?

“Fenghuang’er! “

Lin Ge’s voice began to tremble, and the trembling was very subtle. Li Xun listened carefully and could not tell whether it was excitement or fear: “I know I can’t do you justice, but our child…”

His voice suddenly dropped, and Li Xun couldn’t help but listen, but what immediately penetrated his ears was a shrill scream, which shook his head. For a moment, he almost thought his brain was going to explode. With

a miserable groan, Li Xun covered his ears with his hands. His eyes were dizzy, and he felt that the whole world was shaking. He just stood up and fell down again. Qi Yun next to him was even worse than him. He fell to the ground with a “gulp” and fainted.

Li Xun still didn’t know what had happened, but one thing was certain, Lin Ge was by no means as cowardly as he had just appeared.

To put it bluntly, that was a setup, a show!

As the whistling echoed, Li Xun, amidst the lingering buzzing, faintly heard a noise nearby. He forced his eyes open, and in his still-slanted vision, he saw Lin Ge sprawled facedown on the ground like a dead dog.

He closed his eyes again, and when he opened them again, his vision was much better. Now, it was no longer Lin Ge who captured his attention, but the demonic phoenix, who had turned around.

Li Xun swore that this was the only woman he had ever seen who could pull off a stark,

dignified look while wearing a crimson robe! The primary factor contributing to this effect was, of course, her skin, as white as ice, so translucent and luminous as to be beyond description. It felt as if it were shimmering, carved from flawless jade. Her

eye sockets were slightly longer than those of a normal person, tilted upwards, and her eyebrows reached her temples. The nickname “phoenix eyes and moth eyebrows” was well-deserved.

Such a face might have possessed a certain allure, but her eyes, as dark as ink, were deep and silent, swallowing up all auras and making anyone fear their slightest indignation.

The graceful curves of her lips, with a slightly drooping arc, betrayed a strong and icy character, as if she were born to conquer.

As a hint of a smile played at the corner of her lips, swaying her entire facial expression, Li Xun was captivated by her stunning beauty, yet at the same time, a chill ran through his heart.

Just now… it must have been Lin Ge’s sudden attack!

Li Xun had a precise memory of what had happened. From the moment he encountered the demon phoenix, Lin Ge had been acting up! He wasn’t such a weakling to begin with. His humble attitude, even his fawning, was likely a ploy to lower the demon phoenix’s guard.

Then, he seized on a small opportunity and attacked. But the outcome was disastrous!

Lin Ge was now less than three feet from Li Xun. Li Xun could clearly sense his heavy breathing, and the bloodstains growing beneath him couldn’t be a show.

Despite this, Lin Ge smiled. With some effort, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. His voice, though weak, held a completely different dignity than before, a dignity Li Xun had never encountered before.

He confessed his rather disastrous tactics: “I’m ashamed to say I still failed! Now, it’s up to you to kill me!”

Yao Feng’s smile was extremely subtle. It felt as if the coldness that had permeated her body had slowly melted away, and her voice returned to its previous gentleness: “Lin Lang, your temperament may not have changed, but your thoughts have become much deeper!” Li Xun felt a chill in his

heart at the two men’s behavior.

They had both treated the previous sneak attack with a casual attitude, each pursuing their own strategy, making it difficult to tell their true intentions.

Lin Ge was indeed ruthless and heartless, but seeing Yao Feng’s calm face, it was obvious that he had been on guard for a long time.

The current situation seemed strange and eerie even if there was a blood feud, which made Li Xun wonder if they were really a pair of Taoist lovers before?

In response to Yao Feng’s sigh, Lin Ge just smiled: “No, I’m still not as good as you… In fact, I have always been suspicious. According to your previous temper, you would never give me the chance to say that kind of nonsense just now!

“Besides, you were so defensive from beginning to end. If it weren’t for the child, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even have the chance to make a move. Who is his master?”

Yao Feng smiled lightly, looking more gentle and docile, without any sharpness: “Why don’t you just ask me directly, who did I rely on to escape back then? “

Li Xun’s heart moved when he heard this.

He also knew a general idea of what happened back then. It seemed that the Heavenly Punishment Array was jointly launched by thirty-three sects. There was no flaw in it, but it allowed the Demon Phoenix to escape silently. According to the inference, there must be a sect that was a traitor and let her escape.

For a hundred years, there was no consensus among the righteous and evil sects as to who that sect was, which added a lot of suspicion. And now, is the Demon Phoenix going to announce the answer?

Lin Ge nodded calmly: “Which sect dared to risk the world’s condemnation and let you escape, and made the disaster disappear silently? Such a shocking method, Lin yearns for it!”

The Demon Phoenix turned its head slightly, seemed to sigh, and then whispered: “The sound of heaven is wonderful, and the three caves of jade return to their true nature. “

Li Xun was still confused, but he saw from the corner of his eye that Lin Ge’s pale face was instantly covered with a blush, and the bright red faded away in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a dark blue color.

Li Xun could feel that Lin Ge’s body was trembling slightly, and this did not seem like an act!

Then, Li Xun woke up suddenly: “Tianyin Miaohua, Yu Guizhen… isn’t it Yu Sanren?”

In an instant, the look in his eyes when he looked at Lin Ge was immediately different. If he was still a little frightened by the surging scheming just now, then what was left now was only pity.

Now Lin Ge didn’t have to pretend, and his voice was hoarse: “Yes, Yu Sanren has profound cultivation and does have the power to defy the heavens…”

He couldn’t bear it any longer after he finished speaking, and punched the ground, growling: “Why did you go to beg him? “

This voice came so suddenly that Li Xun was frightened and his body trembled. He only felt that the hoarse ending tone was like a red-hot iron touching a person’s body, and the “sizzling” sound made people’s hair stand on end.

No man can still talk and laugh after knowing that he has become a turtle – Lin Ge is already very remarkable, he can still force a laugh.

Yao Feng really laughed: “My husband can’t save me and my daughter, so naturally I have to find someone who can save them. What’s wrong with that? “

This was the first time she called Lin Ge “husband”, but this one name was like a sharp sword piercing Lin Ge’s heart. This was a shame he could never tolerate!

Looking at Lin Ge’s expression, you could tell that he was in a state of panic. His eyes were red, and he looked like a beast choosing its prey. The dangerous aura made Li Xun’s body move back involuntarily. This movement was bad! Lin Ge’s red eyes suddenly stared at her, and when they hit Li Xun’s face, he was confused for a moment, and then his eyes became ten times redder than before! Li Xun was like a frog being stared at by a snake, his whole body stiff and unable to move.

He just screamed in his heart: “What does this have to do with me, what does this have to do with me? Fortunately , that look didn’t last long, and Lin Ge’s consciousness seemed to be returning. In the end, only a groan-like sigh remained. However, Li Xun didn’t feel relieved at all. He was even more nervous than before. After Lin Ge, Yao Feng also cast a look at him, with a lot of interesting meaning in it: “Is he your disciple?” “…Yes!” Li Xun listened, and at the same time, he bravely raised his head and looked at Yao Feng’s face. Coincidentally, Yao Feng was looking at him. Their eyes met, and Li Xun felt a chill down his spine, his neck immediately unable to move, even if he wanted to avoid her gaze. He didn’t understand the strange light in Yao Feng’s eyes. The stare lasted only about half a breath, and Yao Feng took the initiative to look away, turning his attention to Qi Yun: “This female disciple is quite lovely… Is she also your disciple?”

“That’s not the case, you…”

She was barely finished when Yao Feng reached out and snatched Qi Yun from the distance, lifting her into her grasp.

Yao Feng was quite tall, and when Qi Yun was lifted up, her toes were still several inches off the ground.

Qi Yun finally came to her senses, and when she looked up, she saw the creator of her greatest nightmare.

Even after decades of cultivation, she couldn’t resist such a shock. She screamed and instinctively struck out—”Idiot!”

Li Xun closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of this foolish woman.

A crisp sound of bone cracked as Qi Yun’s arm shattered, leaving her without even a chance to scream.

Yao Feng gently grasped her neck, watching her face gradually turn black and twisted, and whispered, “Do you know why you’re still alive?”

Qi Yun couldn’t help but burst into tears. Terror had robbed her of her ability to speak.

Afterward, the demon phoenix tossed her to Li Xun’s side, saying calmly, “I don’t kill women unless absolutely necessary. As for your disciple, it was because he had the Phoenix Feather Needle… That leaves two survivors, but that’s too many. I only want one! Just one person to publicize your death, Lin Lang, and the others will be buried with you!”

Li Xun’s heart skipped a beat, and the next moment, an unstoppable heat surged through his heart, while his mind was frozen in time.

With a thud, Qi Yun was thrown to the ground, barely half a foot away from him, within his reach.