The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Prince Fu

It was morning at the foot of Zuowang Peak on Lianxia Mountain.

Two children carrying water buckets were staggering towards them.

Both were about 20 years old, dressed in coarse Taoist robes and with childish faces. The taller one was fair-skinned, with delicate features, but his face was smeared with dark ash, giving him a rather comical look.

His companion was darker and thinner, with a naturally gloomy expression despite his youth, as if he were constantly burdened with anguish.

Each of them was carrying a pair of large buckets, only slightly shorter than themselves but twice as thick. They swung along the mountain path, their buckets occasionally clashing against each other, making a clanging sound. The buckets were made of iron!

Though they looked disheveled, their faces showed no signs of sweat, nor did they look strained. They still had time to chat.

It was then that the gloomy-faced child spoke, but before he could finish his words, a lament echoed: “It’s been a month, and I’ve only just switched from chopping wood to carrying water. In about three months, we’ll be heading back to the mountains.” It will take ten years to open up the mountain, then go to ‘Qiyuan Hall’, and then endure for another ten years to see if there is any immortal master who will accept me as a boy to serve tea and water… “

“By then, you will be no child!”

His companion reminded him, but he rolled his eyes in return: “I know! If you can’t be a boy, you can be a servant… A servant is a hundred times better than me… Junior brother, you are not angry, right!”

The child vaguely felt that he seemed to have said something wrong, but when he saw that there was no embarrassment on his companion’s face, he gradually felt relieved.

Little did he know, the moment he said this, his companion’s face turned a few pale, but then returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

The two iron buckets collided with each other with a buzzing sound, and Junior Brother Xun smiled and said, “Angry? Senior Brother Lingji, do you want me to tell the truth or a lie?”

Lingji said tremblingly: “Of course it’s the truth… How about telling both the truth and the lie? “

Junior Brother Xun chuckled, then said seriously: “Senior Brother Shan is extremely talented. It is a great opportunity for him to escape from slavery and ascend to the immortal path. The path to immortality is just a matter of opportunity and courage. I also heard that there is a sequence in the way of Taoism and specialization in skills. If you don’t understand this truth and always care about trivial matters, then what’s the point of me staying in this mountain?”

This righteous and awe-inspiring speech made Lingji respect him. However, he soon became suspicious and asked: Is it true or a lie? “

Junior Brother Xun smiled but did not answer. He just quickened his pace and moved forward. In front of him, a clear stream gurgled and merged into a pool of water with a diameter of dozens of feet not far away. The sound of the water was endless. There were already more than a dozen Taoist children laughing and playing by the pool, and the sound of people was bustling.

Later, Lingji quickened his pace and caught up. He shouted heartlessly, “Junior Brother Xun, you must tell me clearly today whether what you said is true or false!”

The children by the pond heard him shouting clearly, and one of them said with a smile, “Lingji, don’t be anxious! The punishment hall is about to begin–“

The man drew out a long tone, and several of his companions laughed, but then they moved iron buckets and stones one by one, sat high on the seats, put on a face, and looked like little devils under the throne of the King of Hell. The others waited on the side, laughing and watching the fun.

When Junior Brother Xun and Lingji arrived, several people shouted in unison, “People in the hall, what grievances do you have? Report them!”

“Master, it’s a grievance!” Lingji, just to join in the fun, stretched out his bitter face and put on a tearful expression, “Li Xun lied to me… I mean, I don’t know if he’s lying to me now!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall, including those who were there to join in the fun, burst into laughter. One child even laughed so hard that he dropped his bucket, causing even more laughter.

The punishment hall was about to end, and Lingji had been forced to repeat the previous conversation. He had a good memory and repeated the conversation word for word, especially Li Xun’s words, even the tone was imitated perfectly.

Li Xun let him talk while he took his bucket to the edge of the pond to clean it. As soon as he put the bucket down, several people gathered behind him. One of them, curious, asked, “Junior Brother Xun, are you serious? Are you a saint?”

Li Xun paused, turned back, and smiled, “Saint? How could it be so easy to be a saint?

Is it fake?”

“Maybe,” Li Xun said with a smile.

The people around him stretched out their voices, making a commotion. Li Xun

wasn’t annoyed, but simply scratched his head. He said rather sheepishly, “It’s really hard for me to let go of my grudges. Think about it, Senior Brother Shan has already glimpsed the mysteries of the immortal path. Extending his lifespan to a hundred centuries, even immortality, is a given.

“And I, on the other hand, still need to hone my skills step by step… At the same age, yet with such a different path to immortality, I’m truly jealous!”

In fact, he wasn’t the only one feeling jealous. Several people around him also had expressions of envy and jealousy on their faces. These people were so young that they couldn’t hide their thoughts. They felt that what Li Xun said was really from the bottom of their heart, and they nodded vigorously.

Li Xun continued, “However, the way of immortality is only about chance and perseverance, regardless of one’s social status. I am not lying. Brother Shan’s story is right in front of us, and everyone has seen it.

“In fact, in the eyes of the immortal masters, the wealth and glory of the lower world are really like dirt. Even if there are gold and jade in the house, and it is invaluable, what does it matter? After a hundred years, the wealth and glory are cold ashes. How can they compare with the immortal masters who eat wind and drink dew, travel freely, and are immortal and indestructible?

“We are all one in ten thousand in the lower world, so we are led to the mountain by the immortal masters to encounter the immortal fate. This alone is a hundred times better than those kings, princes, generals and ministers.

“And Brother Shan is an exception among exceptions. He has a one in ten thousand qualification. There is no need to compare with him. Moreover, instead of comparing one’s background, it would be more satisfying to work hard and improve oneself, and to learn from each other on the path of immortality! “

Of course this is true. Several children nodded their heads, thinking that Junior Brother Xun was indeed very knowledgeable and worthy of being from a royal family. Even though no one could compare to the other in the way of immortality, they were far behind him in terms of knowledge and insight.

These children were all junior disciples of the Mingxin Sword Sect on Lianxia Mountain. The Mingxin Sword Sect was a famous immortal mountain known as the “No. 1 Sect in the East” in the Tongxuan Realm, and was famous for its supreme swordsmanship.

Because the Tongxuan Realm had just passed the 49th Heavenly Tribulation, the vitality of each sect was still recovering. The various sects took this opportunity to find disciples with excellent qualifications in the lower realms, teach them the immortal profession, and pass on the Taoism, so that the torch would be passed on and the clan law would not be extinguished.

It was under such a background that Li Xun and others entered the mountain gate. They had different backgrounds, some were sons of poor families, some were from wealthy families, and some were from scholarly families. Among them, Li Xun’s background was the most noble.

He was born in the family of an emperor in the human world and was the current The eldest grandson of Prince Fu, the younger brother of the emperor, and the future heir of Prince Fu, lived in great splendor.

However, Prince Fu was old and confused, and he was eager to become an immortal. He listened to the instigation and wanted to send his eldest grandson to the immortal mountain to pray for blessings. However, the immortal mountain was not sent, and Li Xun accidentally took a poison pill from a nearby sorcerer, and his life was in danger.

At the critical moment, he was rescued by a disciple of the Mingxin Sword Sect. Seeing that he had a good foundation and the old prince had made up his mind, he brought Li Xun to the sect and accepted him as a disciple

. The story was full of twists and turns, and given Li Xun’s unique status, aside from his near-death experience, it was quite interesting. Thus, within three months of his arrival on the mountain, word of the incident had spread throughout the mountain. Even the sect leader, Taoist Qingming, was aware of a junior disciple who came from the royal family.

Despite his wealth and status, Li Xun, despite his young age, possessed a reserved and dignified demeanor. He was usually gentle and kind, not relying on his background to gain a good relationship with his peers, as evidenced by his playful behavior today.

These junior disciples, all gifted with exceptional aptitude, typically practiced only once a day, morning and evening, to learn breathing techniques, building a foundation and nurturing their essence in preparation for future cultivation. They also carried two iron buckets up the mountain to strengthen their bodies.

At the age of ten, they began their “opening of the mountain.”

This meant formally practicing under the supervision of a teacher, strengthening their muscles and unlocking their potential. This stage was a test of their resolve and perseverance.

The next stage, Qiyuan Hall, was the stage where they truly shed their mortal form, entered the realm of cultivation, and were personally taught the secrets by their master.

However, during this process, nearly 50% of the candidates were eliminated, their memories erased, and they were sent back to the human world.

Li Xun tossed two iron buckets into the center of the pool. The heavy vessels rolled over and quickly sank. Seeing this, the others laughed again, “Junior Brother Xun, are you going to practice martial arts again today?”

Li Xun smiled, a tacit agreement. He took off his Taoist robes, leaving only a pair of shorts, revealing his bare upper body. After all, he was born into a royal family, and his daily life of luxury had cultivated a delicate complexion. After months in the mountains, he hadn’t changed and looked like a girl.

He stepped into the pool and was about to lean over to dive when a sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang out from the sky. Several children looked up and saw a faint golden sword light in the sky. It staggered in the air, slashing in a semicircle, and then plummeted down, heading straight for them!

The children were stunned, only to wake up when the sword light approached them. They all cried out and fled in all directions.

But Li Xun was in the water and had difficulty moving. In addition, the situation was urgent. He wanted to shift his strength backward, but his center of gravity was unstable in the water and he got soaked. “

Open!”

The newcomer also screamed in surprise. As he screamed, the sword light suddenly converged, and a figure appeared. He turned more than ten somersaults in the air, and forcibly unloaded the impact. He touched a small tree by the pond, and landed steadily on the ground with a flip.

Lingji and others were so scared that they lay on the ground, but they didn’t expect that it was just thunder and light rain. They were a little embarrassed, looked at each other and climbed up.

A child with sharp eyes saw the face of the man coming from the sky, and immediately said in surprise: “It’s Brother Shan! “

As soon as the words fell, more than ten people shouted together.

Li Xun sat in the water, looking up at the person on the shore. The person also looked at him, blinked, and uttered a surprised sound: “Young Master…” The initial doubt sounded quite natural, but the latter sentence was deliberately prolonged in voice, with a strange tone, and an indescribable taste.

Li Xun showed a gentle smile: “It turned out to be Senior Brother Shan! Long time no see!” He looked very embarrassed now, sitting in the shallow water on the shore, wearing only a pair of shorts, and his whole body was wet, with messy hair.

This Senior Brother Shan was wearing a robe made of some unknown silk, light green in color, with a few cloud patterns on it. Looking closely, the cloud pattern seemed to be flowing slowly, and the precious light was faint.

Li Xun did not hide the admiration in his eyes at all. He just sat in the water, staring at the robe, and forgot to stand up.

Senior Brother Shan on the shore naturally saw his expression, and couldn’t help but laugh in his heart, and said with a smile: “Young Master, why are you still sitting in the water? I don’t think it’s hot today!”

Li Xun woke up from his dream after hearing the teasing remark, his face flushed, and he quickly stood up and said embarrassedly: “Senior Brother Shan, you are embarrassing me. Since I entered the mountain gate, the worldly title is no longer meaningful. Why do you still say this?”

Brother, you are right to think so! Senior

Brother Shan looked at the former young master, now his junior brother, and a smile appeared on his round face, which was more proud than before.

Senior Brother Shan’s name was Zhi, and he was fifteen years old this year. He was a companion who went up the mountain with Li Xun. More precisely, he was a servant in Li Xun’s house.

He wanted to let Li Xun take care of him on the mountain, but it was also Shan Zhi’s fate that when he went up the mountain, he met the best of the second generation of disciples of the sect, one of the Seven Swords of Lianxia – “Dongxuan Sword” Taoist Mingsong.

He saw that Shan Zhi had excellent bones and was very suitable for the task. He was overjoyed at the new Kung Fu he had created, and regardless of Li Xun’s opinion, he accepted Shan Zhi as his disciple, instantly becoming a direct descendant of the sect, with a status far above Li Xun and other lower-level disciples.

The status of the two people immediately underwent a drastic reversal. The dignified prince became a Taoist boy carrying a bucket to fetch water, while the servant who served tea and water became a cultivator of Taoism. Nothing is more bizarre than this. They

had been on the mountain for three months, and during this time, the difference between the two began to widen. Li Xun’s Kung Fu of refining Qi and building the foundation was just beginning. At the beginning, Shan Zhi was already able to fly with his sword, though

his skill was still very crude. The difference was as great as heaven and earth.

However, in Shan Zhi’s mind, this “master” represented a deeply disgraceful experience from his early years. Concerned about the possibility of gossip behind his back, coupled with his own unclear feelings, Shan Zhi still disliked Li Xun.

For three months, he had refused to meet Li Xun even when he had the chance.

But this unexpected encounter brought them face to face. Hearing his gentle and courteous tone, and reflecting on their past interactions, he suddenly felt that Li Xun wasn’t quite so bad after all; he was polite and sincere. His previous plans for disciplining and humiliating him seemed a bit excessive.

Young minds are fickle. Just now, he had felt completely unimpressed by the man before him, but now he felt he was worth his time—at least, listening to his flattery was a good thing. With a change of heart, his smile deepened.

“Junior brother, your knowledge is much higher than mine. Whatever you say is the truth. I’m sorry, but Master’s lessons have been very strict these past few months. Even if I wanted to come and see you, I wouldn’t have the time. If I have free time in the future, I will definitely visit you. I’ll also

bring you some pills to help you build your foundation.”

Li Xun was overjoyed when he heard that, and saluted quickly, saying, “Thank you, senior brother, for your kindness!”

“No, no, I’m…” Shan Zhi couldn’t help but wonder when he saw Li Xun’s look.

Hearing Shan Zhi asking about his attire, Li Xun blushed and said with a smile, “Senior brother, please forgive me for laughing. I just wanted to sit in the pool and practice my kung fu with the help of the water pressure, so I dressed like this. “

The pool on the mountain is very cold, Junior Brother, you must take care of yourself. By the way, Junior Brother, what do you think of my ‘cloud robe’?”

Li Xun said enviously, “Even in the imperial family of the mortal world, there is no such treasure!”

Shan Zhi was overjoyed when he heard this: “Junior Brother, your taste is indeed good. This cloud robe is woven from the cold jade silk from Zuowang Peak. It is impervious to water and fire, and it is embroidered with cloud patterns. It is also an extremely powerful protective barrier. The senior brothers on the mountain wear this when they are at home. I have a few of them here. How about giving one to you, Junior Brother?”

Li Xun jumped up with joy: “Are you serious, Senior Brother?”

“Really, really!”

Seeing Li Xun’s almost admiring eyes, the slightest bit of vanity in Shan Zhi’s heart expanded rapidly like an inflated balloon, not only filling the huge psychological black hole caused by his previous inferiority complex, but also raising his confidence to the sky.

I will send it to you tonight. If you have any problems in the future, just come to me!” In a few years, when you have gained enough skills, I will ask Master to accept you as his disciple. By then, we will be real brothers! Hahaha…”

Although Li Xun was smiling, he couldn’t quite let out his smile, a hint of shyness still lingering within.

The more this happened, the more Shan Zhi felt the thrill of strength, and his satisfaction with Li Xun grew. He reached out, patted Li Xun’s shoulder, and said, “Keep working hard! Senior Brother, it’s time for my homework. Goodbye, I’ll see you tonight!”

As Li Xun thanked him profusely, he leaped to his feet with a hearty laugh. A flash of sword light carried him through the air, soaring up the mountain.

Even then, he didn’t forget to glance down. As expected, he saw envy in Li Xun’s eyes.

He couldn’t help but laugh again, and with a flicker of his sword technique, his speed increased by several more seconds. In a flash, the small pool had vanished.