The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 203

Part 2 Episode 19 The Dust Settles Chapter 6 Severance

The two suns were indistinguishable, left and right, up and down. One blazed with crimson fire, the other with blazing white light. Within this dark world, they unbridled their light and heat. Their radiances intertwined and collided, each contact leaving behind a thousand tails of blazing light, a dazzling brilliance.

Yet, between the two suns, a towering pillar towered between heaven and earth, occasionally colliding with the blazing sun, equally radiant. Yet, it stood still. A

whirlwind of hot wind blew past, and Li Xun’s drowsy mind suddenly cleared. The pressure of the world collapsing seemed to ease somewhat, giving him a chance to breathe.

He looked up, and perhaps from staring directly into the intense light, a surge of heat surged from his eyes to his chest. As the heat reached its peak, his eyes crimson, and a fierce energy surged from his chest. Pressured to its limit, it burst forth, transforming into a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and earth.

The sword-intentioned lightning bolt that was rapidly descending suddenly stopped. Simultaneously, a “crack” sounded in the void, and a crack appeared in the terrifying confinement cast by the towering force. Li Xun’s eyelids fluttered, and the light from the outside sky once again penetrated. The power of confinement around him was still there, but the hopeless situation when the pillar of heaven collapsed and the void collapsed was no longer there.

Before Li Xun could even catch his breath, the sword-intentioned lightning bolt, which had been blocked by his disgust and murderous intent, buzzed down again. At this time, Li Xun’s blood-shadow demon body was still unable to move, and he could only watch the lightning bolt strike down. The sharp sword intent in it had not yet reached him, but it had already penetrated his flesh and bones, damaging his soul.

“Asshole!”

A blue light flashed!

At that moment, the lightning flashed only a few centimeters from Li Xun, but within that tiny space, a boundless painting unfolded from the flash of blue light. Within it, the sky, the earth, the mountains and rivers, the myriad forms of the human world, its divine presence radiating lifelike.

The lightning, fueled by supreme sword intent, plunged headlong into the painting, like a flash of lightning, leaving a rapidly expanding scar across the surface. In an instant, the world within was reduced to ash, and the lightning and fire dissipated.

With a cold snort, Shui Dielan’s slender figure soared upward. It was she who had just used her supreme illusionary technique to conjure a world of heaven and earth, blocking the sword lightning. However, its power was so immense that even in Shui Dielan’s current state, she could not easily dissipate it. As the world of heaven and earth shattered, the lightning scattering, transforming into hundreds of star-shaped rays, sprayed down upon the blood mist surrounding Li Xun with a continuous sizzling sound.

The pure energy of the higher realms poured down upon the blood-shadow demonic form. To Li Xun, it felt like a common person being doused in strong acid; the burning, bone-piercing pain was even worse.

After his outburst, Li Xun fell strangely silent. He simply stared wide, his eyes stained with blood-red. His blood-shadow demonic form was restrained, yet the surging murderous intent surging from his heart fueled the Blood Godson’s uncanny ability. He devoured the surrounding vital energy, a vast, invisible vortex forming in the void, strangling all vital energy. Within the immense power of the restraining mace, it trembled and thrashed, squeezing the very air, until a cracking sound loomed. Amidst

the struggle, his bloodshot eyes lifted, gazing upwards. Qing Yin had already broken free from the entanglement of the two demonic phoenixes and Gu Yin, his speed increasing. His fluttering figure, ready to fly, became increasingly ethereal and pure. The process of shifting energy and body was nearing completion, and transcendence and ascension were imminent.

The demonic wind finally couldn’t help but shout, “Qing Yin!”

The two blazing suns suddenly separated, no longer entangled, but charging upward with all their might, their thoughts no longer concealed.

Qing Yin ignored the changes below. As the sonic waves dissipated, she soared once more a hundred feet high, reaching the shadow behind the ultimate radiance. It was almost within reach. Beyond the shadow lay the cultivator’s gateway to heaven, the other shore of all cultivation.

The sword pierced the void, at this moment!

Even Qing Yin, possessing a level of cultivation that transcended all else, felt a faint ripple in her bright eyes at this crucial moment. This was the inevitable ebb and flow of the human mind, perhaps only achieved perfection and perfection after truly entering the higher realms.

But the next moment, her pupils took on a bloody hue.

A powerful, intense, and brutal killing intent rose from below. In a flash, a boundless lake of blood filled the sky. Even under the immense restraining forces of Jade Purity Lightning, the Sun’s True Fire, and so on, the ferocious and foul blood energy still surged upward, forcibly carving its own niche within this world.

Only then did a heart-shaking rumbling sound reach the air.

A hundred miles of void seemed to suddenly cave in. A tremendous suction force emerged from the depths of the void, engulfing the surging tide of blood, like an invisible yet resilient net spreading out to cover the sword’s blade. The

ethereal heavy electricity swung like a capsized boat. A sound that penetrated the internal organs indicated that the immense restraints below were forcibly broken, and the resulting impact spread, clearly shaking the very foundation of Tianyi’s murderous spirit. The waves of Jade Purity Lightning rippled, causing the shadows behind the intense light to waver. The sudden

twist in the path to heaven forced Qingyin to tilt her head, and then she saw a pair of blood-red, eerie eyes.

Li Xun harnessed the blood tide, instantly reaching a level with Qing Yin. He grinned, revealing his white teeth, and reaffirmed with unprecedented certainty, “I told you, you can’t escape!”

With that, the blood tide surged, carrying Li Xun amidst the sky’s groaning, straining to bear the weight. It lifted him up, past Qing Yin, past the Sky-Slashing Divine Sword, and continued to rise, until it reached the barrier, already crumbling beneath the blazing light of the Jade Purity Lightning.

A thin rift lay within, a raging storm of conflict.

Mighty forces from different worlds collided violently, their explosive force tearing through the barrier between the two realms and creating a gateway to immortality. Li Xun squeezed into this gap, his unwavering aura, the so-called divine will, unable to stop him. He stood beneath the Jade Purity Lightning, before the Sky-Slashing Divine Sword, plunging into the raging storm.

He gazed down from a high vantage point, as if he had been waiting there for an eternity. The Jade God’s lightning shone through him, illuminating the Blood Shadow Demon’s form with a translucent hue. The intense light washed away all impurities, but it could never completely erase the bloody color so close to him.

Ahead lay the Unrivaled. Blazing with sword intent, and behind him, the might of the netherworld poured forth. Assaulted from both sides, the Blood Shadow Demon’s form threatened to collapse at any moment, yet a fierce, violent aura forcibly severed the two, their seamless unity.

The next moment, the sharp edge approached, and Li Xun made no attempt to dodge. He gritted his teeth, extended his arms, and struck with both hands.

His iron palms blocked the blade. The unstoppable sword force was abruptly stopped at his chest, the immense impact piercing his chest, blunting its edge and pushing him backward. Perhaps if he took a step back, he would enter a completely different world, but Li Xun gritted his teeth, opened his eyes, and stood firm.

A blinding arc of light flickered between the blood-red fingers, only to be lost in the undulating blood mist. The burning blood essence crushed the lightning, but upon contact with the blade of the Sky-Slicing Divine Sword, it was powerless to advance. Instead, a deeper evil emanated, colliding with the extraordinary sword intent within, emitting a resounding resounding sound beyond human hearing.

His ascension was blocked, Qing Yin’s brow furrowed slightly, but his bright eyes remained devoid of emotion. In contrast, Li Xun’s face was contorted, a demonic expression. The difference in demeanor was a world of difference

. However, such a comparison was meaningless.

Li Xun was seeking revenge, and that meant no gentle, quiet, or leisurely negotiation. It would inevitably be a brutal, brutal, and life-or-death struggle.

This purest of intent filled Li Xun’s chest, instilling a murderous rage that fueled the demonic energy of the Blood Square within his limbs, igniting a roaring flame.

The hoarse voice sounded like the rumbling of magma underground: “Zhong Yin can pass this road…”

Before he could finish, Qing Yin stopped letting the Slashing Sky Divine Sword swing. Her pristine fingers reached out and gently grasped its hilt. Instantly, the supreme sword energy imbued within the blade collided with her crystal-clear sword heart, seamlessly blending into one.

Slash!

The blade pulsated, its amplitude infinitely small, its frequency increasing infinitely. In an instant, the highly oscillating blade lost its monolithic form, transforming into a stream of light that expanded between Li Xun’s hands.

The blood-tinged light that had imprisoned the blade instantly evaporated, and Li Xun’s arms silently disintegrated. Illuminated by the Jade Purity Lightning, the blood-tinged light vanished like smoke in an instant. The sword’s light surged forward, piercing Li Xun’s face, severing his unfinished words.

As the sword flashed towards him, the fire in Li Xun’s eyes didn’t dim in the slightest. He still grinned, his sword energy blazing. Just as the divine sword’s edge was about to pierce his brain, he leaned back, then exerted force in his waist and abdomen. His upper body, like a taut bowstring, suddenly rebounded.

Headbutt!

The high-vibrating sword blade pressed against Li Xun’s forehead, piercing half a finger into the bone before pausing.

The entire sky also paused.

Without a trace of blood, the Sky-Slashing Divine Sword stopped right in the middle of Li Xun’s forehead, ringing in the air, unable to penetrate any deeper. The only thing that could move was the supreme sword energy contained within it. This supernatural power, infused into it by Zhong Yin, could not be restrained. Amidst the ringing sound, it soared proudly, piercing through his forehead and exiting through his brain!

“Buzz!”

From the depths of the boundless void, it seemed as if someone roared like a lion, shaking the heart and soul, directly undermining the true nature of one’s nature. At that instant, the supreme sword intent that had pierced through the past had already escaped the constraints of the divine sword itself, merging with the Jade Purity Lightning behind Li Xun and the vast power of the higher realms.

Li Xun’s eyes were bloodshot, his mouth cracked, and surging emotions surged in his throat. Against the unparalleled sword pressure, he forced out word by word: “You can’t pass!”

With a roar, blood spurted out, and in the void, he re-formed his arms. Two clenched fists swept over his head, colliding head-on with a thunderous roar.

In the center, the

gleaming blade of the Sky-Slashing Sword trembled like a living being with a long “hum”. Within two breaths, the long cry suddenly changed its pitch, then became erratic.

That night, it was this divine sword that slew two mysterious puppets, nearly annihilated Li Xun, and withstood the evil power of heaven and earth, its aura of unparalleled majesty.

Yet, at that moment, beneath everyone’s fixed gaze, the divine sword, like a fragile piece of glass, cracked from the blade where Li Xun’s fist collided, spreading across the blade’s body. In the blink of an eye, the crack stretched across the blade, and the sound of the sword died.

The Sky-Cutting Divine Sword, snapped in two!

“When the Sky-Cutting Divine Sword is in Zhong Yin’s hands, it’s the true divine sword…” Li Xun chuckled, but his smile faltered.

The divine sword’s brilliance was truly extraordinary. He had previously been pierced by its supreme sword intent, and yet he had managed to maintain his form, a testament to his exceptional strength of will.

But these were minor details. Li Xun’s gaze pierced through the shattered sword light and pierced Qing Yin’s face. Before he could even register Qing Yin’s expression, the world suddenly shone with light. The surrounding void, a wave of light like a sea, instantly engulfed Li Xun and Qing Yin.

Below, Yao Feng and Gu Yin finally charged forward. Driven by the energy of the broken divine sword, the red and white flames surged in power, their blazing flames spreading across ten miles.

At that moment, Qing Yin released her grip, letting the half of the divine sword fall. Then, she formed her fingers into a sword and, instead of retreating, charged forward, stabbing straight at the ball of fire crashing down from the sky.

This series of transformations took only a moment, but to Li Xun’s eyes, it felt strangely soothing. Qing Yin’s sword finger was incredibly sharp, still hinting at the peerless edge of the Sky-Slicing Divine Sword. However, Li Xun knew that an invisible vortex preceded it, constantly dissipating the sword’s murderous aura and devouring Qing Yin’s body.

Li Xun laughed heartily, charging down like a blood-red ball of fire. The bloody flames licked at Qing Yin’s protective sword energy, sizzling. As Li Xun had predicted, this protective aura held out only for a moment before shattering with a loud bang.

The sword energy struck Li Xun’s chest head-on, but the mere form of the sword finger proved ineffective in piercing the Blood Shadow Demon’s defenses. Instead, Li Xun easily deflected it and seized it head-on. His fingers, shrouded in blood flames, curved like an iron hook, clasping Qing Yin’s neck.

“Penglai is unreachable, the Weak Water stretches ten thousand miles… Zhong Yin left a precious raft for you to cross the sea, but now that raft is broken, what can you cross?”

At that moment, he caught sight of Qing Yin’s eyes.

In reality, he saw nothing, the only thing that caught his eye was the intense glint in them.

Li Xun froze for a moment, and the next moment, the void behind him shattered.

The Jade Purity Lightning, which had been dormant for a moment, suddenly exploded, breaking through the barrier between the two worlds and erupting with the force of a dam bursting. Li Xun had no time to react, and the Blood Shadow Demon’s body, unable to shield itself from the intense light, was vaporized. Then, the thunderous sound of thousands of giant drums roared.

The temperature around him soared. To his left was Gu Yin’s true sun fire, to his right was the demon phoenix’s divine celestial flame. The blinding flames, almost in unison, flanked the gushing Jade Purity Lightning, obscuring it and causing it to shatter like glass.

The scorching wind blew past, and Li Xun struggled to maintain the integrity of his body, still clutching Qing Yin’s neck. He wanted to turn around, but couldn’t.

Because behind him, in addition to the Jade Purity Lightning, there was also a heavy pressure, like an invisible hand, also holding his neck.

Threads of sword energy penetrated, not strong, but just enough to seal the acupoints throughout his body, thus locking in all the changes in his blood shadow demon body.

He was not harmed now, but when the next wave of damage came, his blood shadow demon body, no longer able to gather or disperse at will, would not be much stronger than the fragile glass.

Time seemed to freeze.

Li Xun’s mind told him there was no one behind him, but amidst the scorching wind, he seemed to sense a familiar presence. It was right behind him, its warm breath caressing his neck and seeping in, icy cold.

In his hand, Qingyin struggled, not to attack, but like a drowning person reaching out for help. On a deeper level, Qingyin’s aura vibrated subtly, faintly connecting with the aura behind her, slowly intertwining.

“Without the raft, how could you pull her ashore?”

Li Xun suddenly realized. It wasn’t a person, but a hand. A hand that saved Qingyin from drowning.

It was this hand that, while Li Xun restrained Qingyin, also grasped his throat. And, as if playing a joke, without causing any harm to Li Xun, perfectly sealed all his power, not a single extra, not a single drop!

The only thing that stood in the way was the oppression, fear, and deep shame that had persisted from decades ago to the present—no! Even from millennia ago.

Li Xun inexplicably thought of Yu San Ren. At that moment, he suddenly…

felt the same way!

Unfortunately, this couldn’t give him any extra strength.

The Blood Shadow Demon’s body remained rigid. He could only watch helplessly as Qing Yin escaped his control. He reached out, reached over his shoulder, and thrust the final humiliation upon him, slowly grinding it out in his heart, grinding out every bit of the flavor before pressing it into his heart.

Li Xun’s body shuddered, yet a flame licked at his heart. Before, this fire had nearly been extinguished, but now, every ounce of bitterness, fear, and shame became fuel for the flames, gradually igniting them, spreading the poisonous heat to every corner of his body.

This was motivation, but it was still not enough.

“There must be some strength left!” Li Xun’s intellect responded.

If he could still think, then there must be some strength left. No matter where it was, there must be some, some, some, some, some, some…

The roar shook the earth, but even this powerful sound couldn’t drown out the subtle sounds of decades of shackles crumbling within Li Xun’s body.

The Spiritual Resonance Technique was annihilated, the Ghostly Fire was annihilated, the Corpse-Exorcism Puppet Technique was annihilated… Everything, anything not belonging to the Blood Shadow Demon Body, was utterly destroyed at that moment.

The Bone Meridian Heart-Opening Technique allowed Li Xun to effortlessly switch between identities, seamlessly transitioning between different techniques. This allowed him to unleash the untold secrets of the Mingxin Sword Sect, the Ghostly Shadow Devouring Sect, and even the Blood God Son Sect, rendering him nearly omnipotent.

But at this moment, this “omnipotence” offered him no power at all, for it was a “reward” bestowed upon him by Zhong Yin. Even a thousand abilities held no meaning in the hands of his true master.

It was power, but also shackles.

So, Li Xun shattered it!

He severed all hope of recovery, allowing everything to flow in an irreversible direction. He replaced omnipotence with purity, allowing the shackles of constraint to become the last remaining fuel.

The shackles shattered, both physical and spiritual.

A spiritual light shone through the void, and in an instant, all illusions vanished. Behind him, the void was empty of any person, no hand. Only the second wave of impact, driven by Zhong Yin’s supreme sword intent, shattered his vest, ruptured his internal organs, and then burst forth through his chest.

A fatal blow!

Li Xun suddenly laughed.

It turned out that this was just a painted skin, just a shadow of one’s own thoughts.

Zhong Yin was still above, but separated by a layer. Perhaps it was also due to some irreversible reason that he could not turn back. Therefore, what remained in Tongxuan Realm were still the capital left before ascending.

This is the irreplaceable truth.

Then, the heart fire urged luck. The blood shadow demon body did not change. Whether passively or actively, Li Xun really abandoned all the self-defense of the blood shadow demon body and used the remaining bit of vitality to promote the killing of the burning blood essence.

The blood flame ignited, and spun and condensed into a light that seemed to be substantial as Li Xun’s thoughts changed. The blood light condensed. This was the “blood catastrophe erosion soul light”, but the method of attack was unusual.

Qing Yin drowned in the water, Zhong Yin reached out to rescue him, and Li Xun was the 30,000 miles of weak water and whirlpool in front of them.

Silently, the blood surged, transforming into a boundless vortex, engulfing the supreme sword intent.

The sword intent surged left and right, seemingly poised to burst forth at any moment. Qing Yin struggled, her breath mere millimeters from the supreme sword intent, yet this millimeter felt as far away as a world away.

“A tree without roots, water without a source… Zhong Yin, you underestimate the world!”

Li Xun tried to laugh, but the sound barely escaped his throat when the subtle vibrations cracked his already collapsing body into a thousand fine lines.

The divine flames of the heavens and the true fire of the sun mingled and exploded, the blazing flames imperceptible, like a rolling tide, threatening to overwhelm Li Xun.

At this moment, a soft, blue, veiled light spread out, swirling around him. Unhindered, it merged with the blood, permeating with pure vitality. Li Xun’s internal injuries seemed to vanish in an instant, and he finally laughed.

Amidst the soaring flames, the Jade Purity Lightning vanished, and a dark undercurrent suddenly vanished between heaven and earth. Driven by a mysterious force, a creaking sound rose from everyone’s heart. It seemed an illusion, but everyone knew that the door to immortality had closed.

Li Xun spun abruptly, grabbing Qing Yin by the neck and forcing her against the void separating the two realms. It was only a thin layer, yet it was enough to separate heaven from earth, heaven from man.

At that moment, he could clearly feel the woman in his arms trembling, shuddering, and even despair.

This was the prize he had longed for, yet never received. Now, he had it, and the feeling…

was exquisite!

So, he leaned close to Ken Yin’s ear and whispered a low laugh, “You just said that human power has its limits. But you and I must remember, before ascending… Zhong Yin was not an immortal either!”

A moment of silence followed, and then what seemed like an explosion. Then, a sharp cry ripped through the night sky, but it could never break the closed barrier.

Li Xun was still talking, but he was no longer talking to the woman in his arms. Instead, he was talking to the pair of cold eyes in his soul, outside the void: “Beginning… This is just the beginning! You have to remember this!”

The gate of heaven closed with a bang.

The screams fell straight down, and in the middle, unbridled laughter joined in, but soon, the void absorbed it. Everything, all the sounds and emotions, gradually faded away.

Boom!

In the high-altitude strong wind, another wave of impact and explosion, the scorching strong light spread in all directions, blowing away the night, and new emotions were injected. It was still life and death, still hatred, but it had nothing to do with certain people!

First published in 69 Chinese