The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 32

Chapter 5 Acting

He Mulan had originally planned to fly to Tiandu Peak.

But Li Xun, in stark contrast to his stoic and graceful demeanor in the city, turned like a madman, desperately trying to turn back, even resorting to the extreme of jumping off his flying sword. This forced He Mulan and her group to change course and land on a hilly area a hundred miles east of the city.

Li Xun’s breathing had become heavy from his struggle in the air, and he took several deep breaths before steadying himself.

Aside from He Mulan, the others stared at him like a madman. The female cultivator—Li Xun had just learned her name was Gu Pin’er—even took two steps back, putting some distance between them.

Li Xun had achieved his desired effect.

He Mulan spoke again, her tone no longer harsh: “Junior Brother Xun, what happened?”

Li Xun stared at him blankly, his gaze piercing his dazed expression, his confusion, and even his fear, without a trace of reservation.

This expression lasted only a moment. After a deep breath, he regained his composure.

The stark contrast of emotions made his expression all the more striking and believable.

He looked at He Mulan, a wry smile on his face: “I’m sorry! Actually, I…”

He paused mid-sentence, his expression baffling the five members of the Tianxingjian Sect.

Gu Pin’er, however, was forthright and blunt, asking, “Why don’t you go to Tiandu Peak? There aren’t any monsters there… yet?”

As if remembering something, she clapped her hands and shouted, “Tiandu Peak? Linge, Heavenly Demon Phoenix…”

The last four words had barely escaped her lips when Li Xun half-drew his sword, a flash of light emanating from it. This action startled everyone around him; Gu Pin’er even touched the hilt.

Li Xun’s expression at this moment was anything but normal.

Fear, madness, despair—all these expressions blended together, distorted dramatically—that was Li Xun’s expression.

This expression frightened everyone, especially Gu Pin’er. This simple-minded female cultivator actually screamed and jumped behind He Mulan.

He Mulan felt a little frightened when she saw this, which made her voice lower a lot. She asked tentatively, “Junior Brother Xun?”

Li Xun’s eyes recovered from their stiffness. When he saw He Mulan again, he just twitched his mouth and spoke in a sharp voice: “Where is Feng?”

“How can there be a demon phoenix!” Gu Pin’er poked her head out and walked out from behind He Mulan again. She looked at Li Xun and said in surprise, “No way, I’m just talking…”

Under He Mulan’s rare stern gaze, Gu Pin’er spoke more and more quietly, and finally retracted her head behind He Mulan.

He Mulan turned her face and looked at Li Xun, and asked with concern, “Junior Brother Xun, are you okay? “

Li Xun’s face flushed red with embarrassment. He put away his sword but lowered his head, almost crying. It was not until this time that he showed some childishness that matched his real age. Because of this, his reaction was more real and credible.

Everyone looked at his expression and understood in their hearts. Mulan exchanged glances with several junior brothers and sisters, and asked, “What is the relationship between Senior Brother Xun and Uncle Tianxin Jianlin who died on Tiandu Peak two months ago?”

Li Xun finally looked up at He Mulan’s face, his eyes reddened, and tears fell: “That’s my mentor!”

Several people showed an expression of “so that’s it”.

Gu Pin’er even jumped out and looked at him curiously: “Just like Mingxin Sword Sect said, in addition to Senior Sister Qi Bi who survived, the missing third-generation disciple is you? Then why did you come here? Why don’t you go back to the mountain? Are you still doing that kind of thing in the palace? “

She asked several questions in a row, and her face was full of doubt at the end. Not only her, but the others were almost the same.

Li Xun smiled bitterly: “I am originally from Songjing, and I am the eldest son of Prince Fu in the current court!”

With a seemingly plausible answer, he wrapped up four questions together and won the unanimous admiration of several people.

Although the princes and ministers in the mortal world have no meaning to them, it is a very remarkable identity in concept after all, and it is still very shocking.

At this time, Gu Pin’er found another problem, and she asked curiously: “You are the little prince, then what about the kid who talked to me yesterday afternoon?”

Li Xun’s smile became even more bitter: “That’s my second brother Li Cong, the prince of the palace! “

The difference in address implicitly pointed out some problems. Gu Pin’er hadn’t noticed it yet, but He Mulan understood it. A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes, and this fleeting look was caught by Li Xun.

He turned his head and looked directly at Gu Pin’er and said, “It is true that I did not return to the mountain after the incident at Tiandu Peak, and it is also true that I worked in the palace. But, what do you brothers and sisters mean by the matter of ‘defiling the harem’?”

His tone was not aggressive, but the changes in his expression were full of doubts and dissatisfaction.

Gu Pin’er is not the kind of girl who is willful and unreasonable. After seeing Li Xun’s almost crazy performance and his sincere expression at this time, she had already felt pity in her heart. Seeing Li Xun asking so “seriously”, her mind began to waver.

This kind of mentality is born in everyone’s heart at the same time. From the time Li Xun admitted his identity to the present, the continuous subtle changes have come together, and it is unavoidable. Unconsciously, the feelings in their hearts had completely changed.

At this time, Li Xun cleverly threw the sensitive issue of the so-called “defilement of the harem” to Gu Pin’er, who was the most thin-skinned. Under pressure from both inside and outside, she was speechless.

He Mulan saw that her junior sister was a little embarrassed, and hurriedly took over the conversation. He was much more mature than Gu Pin’er. Although his heart was also affected by Li Xun’s invisible offensive, he was still able to grasp the key issues.

His face was solemn and his words were quite sharp: “Junior Brother Xun, there is no smoke without fire in the world! You say you are innocent, what’s the reason? Let me ask you, since you have escaped with your life, why don’t you go back to the mountain? Instead, in this human world, you rely on Taoism and take on the position of national teacher? What do you think about this?”

Li Xun looked at his thin and upright face, and suddenly smiled: “Senior Brother He, have you seen the demon phoenix?”

This sudden sentence made everyone a little stunned, but soon, He Mulan shook her head and said: “Never seen it. “

Li Xun took a deep breath and said word by word: “I’ve seen it!”

Nonsense, who doesn’t know that you have seen it? Everyone was puzzled by his words.

The corners of Li Xun’s mouth twitched, and he looked a little crazy. Gu Pin’er shrank back, but her curiosity did not diminish. She still stuck her head out and looked at him from behind He Mulan.

Li Xun’s eyes swept across everyone’s faces, and then he slowly opened his mouth, and each word was as condensed as the real thing: “A hundred disasters and a thousand layers of hellfire, stretching for thousands of miles, with fire rain like a weave, and more than a dozen brothers and sisters, turned to ashes in the blink of an eye! Have you seen this situation?

“And the two immortal masters Minglan and Mingfeng were cut into pieces by the demonic fire, and no bones were left. Have you seen it? And my poor master, a dignified man, a dignified man…”

At the beginning, his voice was still trembling slightly, but as the context deepened, the trembling became stronger. By the last sentence, he was shaking so much that he could not speak anymore. He just kept repeating the four words “a man of honor” over and over again, and he didn’t know how many times he said it!

Li Xun was immersed in the role! Or rather, he no longer knew whether he was acting or really venting the gloom and pain that weighed on his heart due to the tragedy that day!

“A man of honor”, was he talking about Lin Ge, or about himself?

There was no need to build up emotions anymore, he was already crying bitterly in the repetitive groans.

The crying made He Mulan and others at a loss, and they didn’t know how to comfort him. Seeing that Li Xun was crying so hard that he could hardly stand, He Mulan stepped forward and dryly persuaded him with a few nonsense words such as “Junior brother, please accept my condolences.”

Li Xun wouldn’t stop so easily. It would have been nice if He Mulan hadn’t tried to persuade him, but after just a few words, his tears only deepened, sobbing, “Senior Brother He, you don’t want to cultivate anymore!”

The five people across from him were stunned. He Mulan, thinking she’d misheard, lowered her voice and confirmed, “Senior Brother Xun, you…”

Li Xun’s tears were still streaming, but he forced a smile, a truly ruthless one. “Senior Brother He, look at me in this state. How can I still cultivate? From that day until now, I’ve dreamt of a sky full of flaming clouds, a mountain path covered in black ash, and my ears ring with Master’s screams… By the way, you just asked me why I didn’t return to the mountain!”

He chuckled softly, and as his laughter continued, he unsheathed the Jade Sword and held it in his hand. The blade flashed, its sharp edge evident, but the blade trembled erratically, causing the sword experts to frown.

This didn’t seem like a hand wielding a sword.

He looked at He Mulan, his face twitching.

“Brother He, I can no longer use the sword, I can no longer control the sword!” Looking at the five people’s wide eyes, he laughed at himself: “Just now in the city, Brother He was right, I don’t have any injuries on my body, but…”

He also put his left hand on the hilt of the sword, his face pale: “But, I can no longer lift the sword… Just like that day on the mountain road, I didn’t even have the courage to draw the sword! I could only watch them, and then turned into ashes…”

His face gradually twisted, and he stared at He Mulan straight in the eyes, until the crazy light in his eyes pressed him back slightly.

Finally, he uttered a few words like a sigh: “I’m scared!”

His eyes were cast to the sky, as if there was an invisible person above, listening to him, but in fact, there was only a void there. His eyes turned blankly, and then gradually became confused.

“I’m scared! Yes, I’m scared! Shouldn’t I be scared? She’s a monster… Everyone turned into something, and the whole sky is filled with it!”

This was completely the ravings of a madman, and along with this crazy talk, the sword in his hand swung chaotically, with a chilling chill.

Including He Mulan, the five people felt their necks stiff, and they all slowly moved backwards, keeping a certain distance from Li Xun.

With a sound, the green jade sword fell to the ground and bounced up again. Everyone was startled, and Li Xun suddenly roared: “You want me to fight her? She is a monster, a monster! How can a human fight a monster? How can you fight her? She is a monster, a devil, what else do you want from me?

“I really don’t want to do anything anymore! I don’t want to do anything anymore! I just want to live well here… I’m a waste, not a waste. I’m here, I’m not a waste, no! “

He laughed again, and while laughing, he pulled the scabbard and hit He Mulan on the head. He Mulan didn’t react much, but Gu Pin’er behind her instinctively kicked her out.

With a bang, Li Xun was kicked in the lower abdomen and flew backwards. He coughed up a mouthful of blood when he landed on the ground, but he didn’t know how to wipe it. He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly he hugged his head and cried. He cried until he curled up on the ground, sobbing, and almost suffocated.

After Gu Pin’er kicked out, she was also stunned there, then quickly retracted her legs, turned to look at He Mulan, with some uneasiness on her face.

He Mulan shook her head comfortingly, ran over again, helped Li Xun up, first looked at his injuries, and saw that they were not serious, then he breathed a sigh of relief, and repeatedly called out: “Junior Brother Xun, Junior Brother Xun…Junior Brother Xun! “

After several calls failed to work, He Mulan finally burst out with her true energy and shouted loudly, shocking Li Xun for a moment, and then she was able to control the situation.

Li Xun stared at him blankly, and then a bitter smile appeared on his face again. After a while, he spoke softly: “Brother He, I really don’t want to practice Taoism anymore…” When he said the last two words, his throat choked and he began to cry again.

Then, Li Xun only heard a long sigh from He Mulan. As if in response to this sigh, the whole scene was in chaos. A breeze blew from the uneven hilly ground, carrying small dust particles, which circled around the people, swirled a few times, and then flew away.

No one noticed that a speck of dust, which looked no different from other dust particles, was carried by the wind and gently adhered to Gu Pin’er’s small boots.

Li Xun really couldn’t help laughing.

He almost laughed out loud. His performance was really brilliant. He was also lucky. The moment He Mulan introduced herself, he suddenly thought of one of her “relatives”.

“Heavenly Lord” He Zhiyan!

The iron-willed man of the past was tortured to the point of unconsciousness by Yin Sanren, and the fact that he was expelled from the Tongxuan Realm was also known to everyone.

At this time, he only survived in people’s memories as a symbol of Yin Sanren’s terrifying shadow. Li Xun also had a deep memory of this man who was scared into a madman by Yin Sanren because he had been with Yin Sanren for a long time.

Back then, He Zhiyan’s face changed and he collapsed like mud when he heard a woman’s voice; and today, it was only natural that he, a small, junior disciple, was scared to the point of not being able to hold his sword by the Heavenly Demon Phoenix!

Li Xun has mastered the skill of first suppressing and then praising, and of shifting the target. He calculated it in the blink of an eye, and combined it with his impromptu performance, he really portrayed a poor man who was frightened to death to perfection.

Even if there is no reference object, Li Xun’s performance is extremely credible. What’s more, with the precedent of He Zhiyan in front of people, Before?

Yao Feng and Yin San Ren were masters of the same level, and their levels of cruelty were likely comparable!

Connecting with the past, He Mulan and the others no longer had any doubts.

Li Xun had achieved multiple goals at once.

Not only had he dispelled their suspicions, but he had also conveniently labeled Yin San Ren a top-tier con man, providing a justification for his actions and leaving ample room for fallback.

Even if they asked about it later, the tone would remain the same.

Of course, Li Xun could also discern some reaction from them.

At this moment, aside from He Mulan’s exceptionally refined character, her thoughts hidden from view, the others were all wearing their expressions.

Only Gu Pin’er showed a hint of pity throughout, while the other three were filled with unwavering contempt.

These upright individuals could not tolerate someone as spineless as Li Xun.

Of course, this was assuming they had never encountered demonic creatures like Yao Feng and Yin San Ren, which was why they came to such an ignorant conclusion.

Seeing that Li Xun’s mental state was no longer suitable for conversation, He Mulan had no choice but to send him back to the Imperial Master’s residence, along with the “Green Jade.” Then the five of them said goodbye and left, figuring they needed to have a proper discussion.

As soon as the five of them stepped out of the residence, the madness in Li Xun’s eyes vanished completely, his expression turned cold, and he turned and went into the study.

“Li Cong, my dear brother!” Li Xun slammed his palm on the desk, his face stern. This time, he was truly furious.

He didn’t know how Li Cong had connected with the people of the Tianxing Jian Sect, but he could guess the details.

It must be that the people of the Tianxing Jian Sect, because of their battle with him that night, had become concerned about the affairs in the capital, and after interacting with Li Cong, they began to inquire about the cultivators.

Li Xun had a very clear understanding of his half-brother’s mentality.

He was afraid after all! He was afraid that Li Xun would use his miraculous abilities to steal his crown prince position, stripping him of his status and wealth, so he began to hinder him!

He might not have known the details of He Mulan and the others, but he could definitely see that they were Li Xun’s kind, and he could also sense their ill intentions.

So, he sold Li Xun out! Perhaps his original intention was simply to cause trouble for Li Xun, but he also harbored the desire to use his power to take him down.

His plan was sound; he could have made everything seem accidental, a classic case of “good intentions leading to bad consequences.” However, how could a nobleman, who had never experienced setbacks, withstand such a powerful, unearthly pressure?

Thus, Li Xun saw through him!

Li Xun should be thankful that his brother hadn’t revealed much; at least the story of Yin Sanren and Xue Sanren hadn’t yet been exposed. Therefore, this time, He Mulan only considered him a “deserter,” not a “traitor.”

Even so, he had to be on guard. Otherwise, if something went wrong, the two wanderers could just pat their backs and walk away, but he didn’t have the skills to handle a siege from all the righteous sects in the world!

Therefore, he made meticulous preparations.

Besides using his ingenious performance to confuse the enemy and leave himself a way out, he also used a trick—sound-transmitting sand!

This treasure was also given to him by Yin Sanren, but it was far superior to the previous batch of “small magic weapons.”

When Li Xun told Yin Sanren about how He Mulan had easily deciphered his water mirror technique and asked for a solution, Yin Sanren, on a whim, offered him a real treasure!

This sound-transmitting sand looked no different from ordinary dust. When exposed to sunlight, it instantly blended into the flying dust.

However, controlled by a special incantation, it could cling to someone’s clothing, collecting all surrounding air vibrations and, through a special magical instrument, reproducing them remotely—including the sound of a person’s voice.

Yin Sanren once said that even she, unprepared, would have found it difficult to detect this little device. It was arguably the most powerful eavesdropping tool in the Tongxuan Realm.

When activated by a spell, the Sound-Transmitting Sand continuously collects surrounding sound waves until the special energy stored within it is completely consumed. This process can last for approximately ten days.

Yin Sanren had only obtained those fifteen grains by chance and used them with great care. After hundreds of years, only seven remained. Giving Li Xun just one this time was a rare occurrence.

Li Xun’s use of the sand on He Mulan and the others was perhaps the most degrading use of the sand since its invention!

Li Xun retrieved the tool for operating the sand. It was a small bowl-shaped object, engraved with intricately patterned restrictions. It was more than twice as powerful as the simple water mirror in the inner treasury.

Li Xun exhaled, but hesitated. The effective time of the sand was precious, and he couldn’t afford to waste it.

He closed his eyes slightly, silently estimating the itinerary of He Mulan and the others. He opened them only when he thought it was time. He knocked on the edge of the small bowl, and a buzzing sound began to emanate.

He silently switched spells, filtering out the meaningless noises. Finally, a series of crystal-clear sounds emerged.

“…A disgrace to the Mingxin Sword Sect! Senior Brother Lin Ge is considered a hero of his generation, how could he have taught such a loser?”

Judging from the voice, the guy who was talking about not knowing how to accumulate virtue should be surnamed Liu. Li Xun was too lazy to remember his name, but he knew that this was the fool who was hit by his “Reverse Blood Needle” that night but thought it was a “Reverse Blood Transformation Needle”!

Judging from this alone, Li Xun didn’t think this guy was much better than him!

Li Xun was not a person who cared too much about trivial matters, but he still felt that if he had the chance, he should teach him a lesson!

He Mulan was truly well-mannered. He said calmly, “Don’t talk about others behind their backs. Junior Brother, don’t be too demanding of others! Li Xun is quite a pitiful person. Looking at him reminds me of Senior ‘Tianjun’ from the Three Emperors Sword Sect…

Yao Feng isn’t much worse than Yin Sanren, and Li Xun is only a third-generation disciple. It’s not his fault he couldn’t resist!”

Li Xun felt both proud and ashamed. He Mulan was indeed a kind person, perhaps a little too upright, but with someone like him, you didn’t have to worry about being stabbed in the back! He was truly the best choice to befriend.

It was a pity that Li Xun lacked the most crucial factor for a true friend—righteousness!

Li Xun couldn’t be said to be a completely bad person, but it was also an indisputable fact that he was overly selfish and calculating when doing things.

In particular, his lack of awareness of responsibility and guilt was diametrically opposed to He Mulan’s magnanimous spirit of “serving all for the common good.”

It was difficult for humans to understand themselves, but with a mirror nearby, it wouldn’t be such a challenge.

Li Xun saw his own reflection in He Mulan, a rare experience for him, even if it was fleeting.

By the time Li Xun recovered from his distraction, a crucial point had been reached—this time it was Gu Pin’er who was speaking, seeming to harbor a kind of feminine pity for Li Xun: “Brother, what should we do then?”

He Mulan paused for a moment before speaking: “Logically, while he hasn’t done anything evil here, cultivators from the Tongxuan Realm must not take any action within the imperial court, lest it affect the course of events in the mortal realm.

” “But he is, after all, a disciple of the Mingxin Sword Sect, and we have no way of controlling him… Therefore, we can only travel to the Mingxin Sword Sect soon, inform them of this matter, and leave it to his sect elders to handle.” “

Li Xun’s heart skipped a beat. Is the sect sending someone? To be honest, he was not opposed to returning to the sect, otherwise he would not have acted so hard and left himself a way out. However, there is Yin Sanren here…

He Mulan seemed not to want to say more on this topic, and turned to talk about another thing: “We can put Li Xun’s matter aside for now. But the man who was in the forbidden palace that night seemed to have disappeared out of thin air in the past seven or eight days. This makes me very concerned!”

When he said this, his voice became much lower, and he was obviously thinking.

Li Xun breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately raised it again.

He cursed inwardly, thinking that the disciples of the Tianxingjian Sect were really stubborn. After not being able to find him for seven or eight days, wouldn’t they have thought that the man had already run away?

Gu Pin’er seemed to have the same idea as him. When she heard He Mulan talking,

she just muttered, “Brother! We have been guarding the perimeter of this capital city every night. It’s already the eighth day, right? Maybe the man has already run away!” The implication was – this girl is sleepy and tired, let’s call it a day!

Her words were more like a coquettish act, but He Mulan showed her upright character at the right time. She was not moved at all, and even her tone of voice did not change at all.

“Impossible! During the day, the weather has been fine for several consecutive days, and the yang energy is strong. The Tianxing Interaction Formation I set up will not miss anything. And at night, the five of us can jointly perform the five-direction magical induction, which is enough to cover hundreds of miles around. If he leaves, we will definitely feel it!

“And he has been missing for so many days. He may be hiding somewhere in the city… or even in the palace! He paused, then added, “Also, the aura I sensed that night was truly unexpected… Let me think about it!”

As he spoke, he fell into deep thought. No one dared to speak, fearing to interrupt his train of thought.

Li Xun, on his side, also felt a little nervous. There were so many secrets within the palace that concerned him, and he had to be careful not to let this person come up with something!

After an unknown amount of time, He Mulan clapped her hands and shouted, “Peach Blossom Blood! Could it be Peach Blossom Blood?”