The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 38

Chapter 3: The Secret of Death

Li Xun took a deep breath, recovering from his excitement. He then asked, “What does Yin Sanren suspect me of?”

Without hesitation, Qin Fei replied, “That cultivator who cultivates Nether Qi…”

Before she could finish, Li Xun’s mind suddenly trembled, realizing his mistake! He slapped his head hard, angrily saying, “How could I forget such a trivial matter?”

In an instant, he understood everything.

Back then, he had attributed all traces of Nether Qi to a supposed cultivator. Since Yin Sanren’s attention was focused on He Mulan and the others, he had been able to conceal the truth.

But since he had eliminated the Tianxing Jian Sect’s group, he, the person involved, had shown no vigilance against the powerful enemy he had once faced. With his meticulous mind, how could Yin Sanren not suspect him?

Li Xun was horrified, yet also overjoyed. This turn of events seemed like divine intervention. Could it be that some providential plan had truly allowed him to escape this calamity?

Suddenly, Li Xun thought of how to resolve the situation, and so, half relieved, he turned his attention to another question: “What is the Yuantai Dao Body? And what is its use?”

A cool breeze blew in from the window, ruffling the gauze curtains and letting out a hint of chill.

Concubine Qin seemed oblivious, answering every question, her red lips parted as she spoke slowly. Li Xun listened carefully, feeling as if he had fallen into a nightmare…

The temperature gradually dropped, and the charcoal fire in the room dimmed with a crackling sound, emitting wisps of light smoke.

“You’re in a good mood!” At some point, Yin Sanren had actually stood by the bed with a smile, watching Li Xun tossing Concubine Qin back and forth, torturing her to the point of near-death. She was breathing more out than in, and it was clear that she was on the verge of death.

Li Xun feigned surprise, looking up in astonishment. Seeing it was Yin Sanren, he gave an awkward smile, quickly stopping to find some clothes to wrap himself in. He jumped off the bed and called out to Yin Sanren, “Uncle-master…”

“Why are you stopping? Isn’t this fine?” Yin Sanren smiled faintly, his eyes gleaming with an incomparably gorgeous beauty.

At her gentle glance, Li Xun felt a tingling sensation, his body numbing as he recalled the audacity and absurdity of their actions on this bed a few days ago, the arousing yet vaguely e*otic memory. His body immediately reacted—now that he didn’t have to pretend, he felt incredibly embarrassed. He quickly inhaled, hunched his waist, and gave an awkward bow. “Uncle-master, please forgive me for laughing. I’m not…”

He was about to deliver his prepared words when Yin Sanren interrupted him, “It’s a good thing you’re here. I have something for you!”

This sudden change of heart caught Li Xun off guard, but he reacted quickly, saying, “I’ll do my best to help you. Uncle-master, what’s the matter?”

Such a disciple was truly worry-free! “The one who spoke was Xue Sanren. He had been hiding for who knows how long before he showed up. Although he was smiling, his face looked very gloomy, which made Li Xun’s heart jump again.

Just as he was thinking, a piece of cloth appeared in front of Li Xun.

At first glance, the cloth was painted with extremely complicated lines, like a map. After he took it with both hands respectfully, he took a closer look and found that it was indeed the case! The cloth depicted a hilly area more than ten miles west of Songjing City, but what were those thick lines on the back of the map that were obviously not written in the same style?

“This is a talisman array formula. You take it here to arrange it. It must be completed within three days, without any mistakes! “There was a cold light in Xue Sanren’s eyes, and it was obvious that this matter was of great importance.

Li Xun nodded in agreement, but he didn’t understand. The two Sanren could do this easily, so why let him go?

This doubt was naturally revealed in his expression. Xue Sanren glared at him when he saw this, but Yin Sanren smiled and said, “You don’t have to doubt it. It’s not very convenient for the two of us to go out now… Qingluan’s heart is crystal clear, and there is no action that can be hidden from her. That’s why I want you to do something. Do you understand?”

Combined with the information he just got from Concubine Qin, Li Xun’s mind suddenly became clear. His heart went cold, but his face still showed a face that half understood, but knew his duty, and did it just right.

He took a closer look at the so-called talisman array, put on a studious face, and asked Xue Sanren, “Master, what kind of mental method should be used to activate this array? “

Xue Sanren was also very satisfied with his cleverness. He glanced at him and readily handed over the secret of casting spells to him. After Li Xun wrote it down, he was about to bow and take his leave. However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly woke up and turned around and said to Yin Sanren, “Uncle-master, there is something I would like to ask you…”

Yin Sanren was quite surprised by Li Xun’s reaction. He nodded and motioned him to continue.

Li Xun scratched his head, pretending to be embarrassed, and asked cautiously, “Uncle-master, have you used those treasures?”

He was talking about the peach blossom blood and other things collected by Yin Sanren, which were the culprits that caused the chaos in the imperial palace. Yin Sanren knew it of course. Her eyes flashed and she smiled, “No, why, do you want to use it?”

Li Xun waved his hands hurriedly, “No, no, disciple just suddenly remembered that when Gu Pin’er and others broke in, there was also a master who seemed to be from the Ghost Devouring Shadow Sect. There was no news in the past few days. Is there something strange in him? Disciple is a little worried…”

He glanced at the tunnel behind the screen, and the meaning was self-evident.

A strange look rarely appeared on Sanren’s face, and a questioning tone was drawn out for a long time.

Li Xun glanced at Concubine Qin behind Yin Sanren with the corner of his eye. After seeing her startled, she shook her head almost imperceptibly.

Then, Yin Sanren laughed: “Yes, there really is such a person… I know, it’s rare that you have this thought!”

Li Xun felt his heart suddenly relieved, and the depression that had been accumulated in his heart for a long time showed signs of dissipating. Although it lasted only for a moment, it was like a drowning person who suddenly came to the surface of the water and took a breath of fresh air. Even if he fell into the water again, he could hold on for a while. He was already very satisfied.

He said no more, saluted the two Sanren, and retreated. After

leaving the palace, Li Xun’s mouth twitched and smiled, but soon, his face was cloudy again.

“Yuantai Daoti! How could I be Yuantai Daoti? He mounted his

horse almost subconsciously, letting the reins guide him, not caring where the horse ran. His mind was filled with the information revealed by Concubine Qin.

The Yuantai Dao Body, with its excellent innate bones, would surely lead to a smooth path in cultivation. However, in this process, various variables were immeasurable, making perfection difficult to achieve. Taking Li Xun as an example, Yin Sanren estimated that something had happened to him during his tribulation, resulting in the annihilation of all three lives and the attainment of the “Lonely Evil” phase.

For worldly cultivators, the Yuantai Dao Body’s flawless, translucent physical essence, which had weathered countless tribulations, could be used as a cauldron to refine their own complex true energy.

In addition, there was an even more sinister method, secretly circulating in the Tongxuan Realm.

When Li Xun thought of the method Concubine Qin had mentioned last, cold sweat broke out on his body, and his mind suddenly cleared. By then, the horse had reached a street corner. Li Xun roughly identified the direction, pulled the reins, and galloped towards West City.

“Let’s go…” He thought to himself, “Run as far as you can!”

But after the horse took a step, he smiled bitterly: Where to? Even if I run a thousand miles in one night, it would only take a blink of an eye to catch me back…”

Besides, the world is so vast, where could he escape to? Lianxia Mountain? Hehe, if the two vagrants shouted a few times at the mountain gate, his fate would probably be no better than at their hands!

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but none could save him. In the end, he was left with a splitting headache, and he could only sigh and suppress his chaotic emotions.

With the city gate in sight, he decided to complete the two vagrants’ mission first.

This mission… probably meant digging his own grave…

The terrain west of Songjing City was arguably the most complex within hundreds of miles. Vast hills fragmented seven or eight rivers, ultimately converging at Qin Lake, flowing around the city and into the Taikang River.

The roads were rugged and the terrain was complex. Despite the detailed map of the Blood Vagrants, it was already nightfall when Li Xun found the location.

This place is very close to Qin Lake. It is a small valley surrounded by seven or eight hills. As soon as Li Xun stepped into this place, he felt a sense of intuition. With an idea in his mind, he switched his skills to “Blood God Son”. Suddenly, he felt more clearly – this place must have been “tidied” before! With his sensitivity to runes, Li Xun walked around the valley and found traces of at least twenty runes. When he compared it with the traces shown on the map, he understood 70% to 80%.

His understanding of the rune system of “Blood God Son” was certainly not as good as that of Mingxin Sword Sect, but with the idea of “all methods return to one”, and with ideas and experience, he could study it with ease.

As in Normally, he might show great interest in this strange rune, but now is obviously not a good time to study it.

He just followed the instructions on the diagram step by step to carve and change the original layout. However, each of the hundreds of lines required concentration of mind and full effort. Even though his power has increased recently, it was still very hard work. Often, after more than ten lines, he had to rest for a while to recover his strength.

He was working hard here, but if Xue Sanren saw his progress, he would probably stare out his eyes!

Xue Sanren’s three-day deadline was by no means a casual estimate. He estimated it based on Li Xun’s cultivation level. Progress, but he never thought that Li Xun’s knowledge of the art of forbidden runes was so different from his own strength!

That was the talent and cultivation of a junior master, and the only thing he lacked was experience.

When the project was nearing the end, the night was already dark, and he was drawing the last four lines with the help of the little starlight.

These four runes were related to the integration of the entire array, and there must not be any mistakes.

When drawing these four lines, his mind was focused on one thing, and every bit of his strength affected the power of the blood god in his body, and he poured it in bit by bit.

However, unconsciously, the various patterns he had just engraved came one after another, This was not intentional on his part, but his mind spontaneously integrated and organized all the veins, deducing various changes.

His hands kept moving, and when his true breath was concentrated, it could be said that he was in a state of concentration. However, his mind was running through another set of thoughts, as if he had become two people, not interfering with each other, which was wonderful.

Seeing that the last line had been carved one-third, his hands suddenly stopped. It was like waking up from a big dream, and his body was cold all over: “This rune…”

He threw away the tools in his hands, circled the valley more than ten times at a very fast speed, and examined it carefully according to the results of his deduction. The more he looked, the uglier his face became.

“This flow of earth energy clearly comes from the city. How much dosage is needed to change the previous natural trend and let the blood god’s energy guide the earth veins?” Also, according to this momentum, the place where the earth’s energy is strongest should be…”

He was stunned for a long time, and suddenly jumped up like a madman, swept over the hill like a hurricane, and ran towards Qin Lake. The water vapor in front was getting thicker, and in just a dozen breaths, the shimmering lake surface came into his eyes under the starlight.

Li Xun did not stop at all. He jumped into the water and tried his best to dive.

The closer he got to the bottom of the lake, the stronger the feeling in his heart became. He stretched out a finger and pointed to the front. The blood god’s spiritual energy on it surged slightly. With this move, he determined the direction. Without hesitation, his body fell and sank straight to the bottom of the lake. From here, you can clearly see the scary and strange scratches on the bottom of the lake.

“Sure enough! “It’s impossible to breathe underwater, Li Xun had to suppress all the anger in his chest. His face became even gloomier, and his body speeded up. He rushed out in one direction like a fish.

The further he went, the thicker the spiritual energy became. Li Xun carefully followed the changes in the lines. His speed did not decrease, but he was very careful!

He went like this for at least several miles and had passed through the entire bottom of the lake. There were vague shadows in front of him, and he was close to the rock wall on the lakeshore. By feeling, he felt that the water in front was rolling and surging, and there seemed to be an undercurrent.

Li Xun frowned and took a step forward. He suddenly felt a chill in his heart, and his feet stopped immediately. Then, his body retreated along the water without any weight. He retreated dozens of feet away, and then he used the technique of the sky eye to carefully look over there.

“What kind of monster is that? “

Li Xun’s heart sank. With his Sky Eye, he saw a cave the size of a human body deep in the undercurrent. The lake water and the water in the cave were churning together. Although it was silent underwater, the turbulent flow was very frightening.

To Li Xun, this was nothing. However, what he couldn’t ignore was that in front of the cave was a group of light red light and shadows flying, sometimes in front, sometimes behind, and its swaying shadows almost merged into one! With Li Xun’s eyesight, he couldn’t even make out its shape.

But strangely, no matter how the light and shadow flew across the cave, it would not move . The movement range never exceeded about three meters. The moment it was about to leave this range, it was bounced back by some invisible force, without exception.

Li Xun instinctively felt that it should be a living thing. He thought hard and tried to distinguish the left and right sides of the cave entrance. Sure enough, he saw the door.

On the rock walls on both sides of the cave entrance, there were some faint regular shadows. Based on Li Xun’s understanding of runes, this was clearly a powerful restriction. Compared with the “gentle” and leeway-giving restrictions of the Mingxin Sword Sect, this thing was much more brutal.

He did not He didn’t know the cause and effect of this, but this didn’t hinder his judgment of the situation! Without thinking any more, he suddenly jumped up, broke through the lake surface, and landed on the shore.

He stomped his feet, feeling frustrated. The two vagrants’ methods were indeed airtight! Putting such a restriction at this critical point, regardless of whether it was scary or not, as long as this restriction was equipped with a method of telepathic warning, he would have no way to deal with it!

However, he also thought that according to common sense, no matter how powerful the two vagrants were, they couldn’t move mountains and fill the sea often. Although the two of them were temporarily Changing the direction of the earth veins was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; the direction couldn’t be altered significantly; at most, only minor adjustments would be made!

So… his mind raced with thoughts. After a long pause, he hummed softly, roughly determined the direction, and soared out again.

Near dawn, he finally reached the edge of the land. Though he had been running for almost the entire night, he was only a dozen miles from Qin Lake.

During these hours, he calculated the location dozens of times, circled Songjing City three times, and traveled hundreds of miles before finally finding it.

This was a rare karst cave in the hilly region, likely formed near a water source and by the flow of an underground river. Regardless of what lay within, Li Xun’s gaze was enough to leave him pale and disheartened.

How could this still be the imperial capital, the emperor’s feet, the most prosperous place in the world?

Within a 300-li radius surrounding Songjing, every mountain and field, every terrain, had been inscribed with celestially powerful talismans and restrictions. To maximize the effectiveness of these restrictions, the spiritual energy veins surrounding Songjing had been redirected and controlled to varying degrees.

That night, Li Xun had only briefly inspected the area, only to be speechless by the astonishing feat stretching across hundreds of miles.

Even the Heavenly Punishment Formation, deployed by the thirty-three Tongxuan sects to slay the Celestial Demon Phoenix, was likely no more powerful than this!

And what could be within this karst cave before him?

“Boring!” Lin Wuyou toyed with her newly braided plait—a recent trend among aristocratic young women in the capital. On her, it made her look even more charming and innocent.

But her words made Li Xun shudder. “I’m really running out of things to do lately. Maybe heading south would be better?”

Lin Wuyou had explored almost every corner of the capital these days. She was known for her quick-tempered nature. Initially, she’d be excited, but after a few days, she’d find it boring again. It made sense for her to leave now.

Li Xun felt truly blessed that this little devil had left so quickly. However, it was obvious that the two vagrants would never approve!

The pot had just been set on the stove, and the duck was about to fly away. What kind of logic was that? It was conceivable that the two vagrants’ assassins would arrive the moment they left the city. Of course, they wouldn’t mind, simply slapping the incompetent boy to a pulp.

So, he could only cautiously offer a reply: “Senior Sister, are you leaving Beijing?”

“If I didn’t have a good time, of course I have to!” Lin Wuyou replied with a heartless air, showing no regard for Li Xun’s situation. “Why, you want to go with me? It’s nothing, it’s just that it’s hard to tell Aunt Qing!”

Li Xun was rather amused, but Lin Wuyou’s question was truly difficult to answer. Hastily, he hemmed and hawed, unable to articulate a single word.

Seeing Li Xun’s unhappiness, Lin Wuyou pouted, but Li Xun truly had no idea what she was thinking.

The longer they spent together, the more he struggled to fathom this senior sister’s thoughts. She was naive, her perceptive intuition frightening. She was cunning, but she always pulled off childish acts, and yet, she never seemed to be contrived.

It was this contradiction that made Li Xun wary and cautious. After he got through this period, he took a break and asked casually, “When are you going to leave, Senior Sister?” “

I haven’t decided yet, maybe I’ll leave now!” Lin Wuyou glanced at him with a smile, “I know what you are thinking, you must be hoping that Aunt Qing and I will leave quickly so that you can call the shots here!”

Li Xun showed a little embarrassment and did not deny it.

Lin Wuyou snorted coquettishly, turned around and left. Li Xun was about to follow, but she waved her hand to stop him, “Forget it, I don’t want to ruin the future of the National Master! If you do this kind of thing too much, someone might put a curse on you! “

After saying that, she made a face at Li Xun to express her disdain, then she took a few quick steps, turned the corner, and soon disappeared.

Li Xun stood there for a while, frowning, looking at the bustling street corner. A few playboys who were dragged here by him to serve as servants came over to join in the fun, but he pushed them away, took a horse, and galloped away without saying a word.

In Prince Fu’s mansion, Prince Fu Li Xin was quite surprised by Li Xun’s purpose. This eldest son who was not keen on “big things” came in a hurry today and actually asked when the uprising would start! He pondered for a moment and replied, “In two days!”

Li Cong next to him was quite excited: “The major event in the capital is settled! We will surely succeed in one fell swoop!”

Li Xin glanced at him, smiled slightly, grabbed the bright yellow silk on the table, and said to Li Xun, “Xun’er, what do you think of this edict? “

Li Xun took it, glanced at it briefly, and then handed it to Li Cong, saying: “Father has to be more careful these days… I have to deal with some difficult people at that time, so I will not be with father. Brother Cong, you have to take good care of her!”

Li Xin was stunned for a moment, then asked: “Tricky people? But the little girl who is with you all day?”

Li Xun nodded slightly: “She and her aunt Qing are so powerful that even the master and the other master have to be wary of them. They are moody and behave strangely. For the sake of safety…”

Li Xin nodded thoughtfully after hearing this.

Since Li Xun had received the news, he bowed and took his leave. The moment he stepped out of the door, he looked up. Li Xin did not notice his movement, but frowned and thought about all the possible changes.

As for Li Cong, he shook his head and muttered the words on the “edict” . Li Xun’s heart sank slightly, but he finally calmed down.

After leaving the mansion, Li Xun rode his horse straight to the palace. The soldiers and eunuchs in the imperial city had long regarded this young imperial teacher as half a master. Without saying a word, they opened the door and let Li Xun in at full speed. Such a posture made the eyelids of some officials waiting to see him outside the palace gate jump.

Li Xun didn’t care what others thought. He rushed to the front of Lanshe Courtyard. He jumped down without stopping, waved away the eunuchs who came forward to serve him, and asked casually: “Is the imperial teacher here?” He

was meditating in the inner room! “

The speaker was the chief eunuch here, Ma Deshun. This man was not very old, about thirty years old, but he was very smart, handled things properly, and kept his mouth shut. Since the incident between Li Xun and Concubine Qin, he had turned Lanshe Courtyard into an iron plate, without revealing any wind. Li Xun also admired him very much.

Li Xun walked in front, and Ma Deshun followed behind, talking about the situation in the courtyard at the moment: “The queen went to bed late last night and hasn’t gotten up yet. But that Miss Gu rarely comes out to the courtyard…”

Li Xun paused, and Ma Deshun knew the opportunity to shut up and retreat. Li Xun thought for a while, turned around, and walked towards the courtyard at the back.

Speaking of which, in more than half a month, Li Xun had never seen Gu Pin’er under the bed, so when he saw her, he was stunned.

Is this still Gu Pin’er?

I still remember the first time I saw her, she was wearing purple clothes and a sword, and her figure was naturally beautiful. She was full of grace and innocence; but now, she was wearing a plain long skirt, and a mink cloak of the same color. She almost blended into the remaining snow outside the house. Standing before the twisted branches and fallen plum blossoms, she was already sad and mournful, and lost.

Li Xun walked up to her, but still got no response. She just stared at the plum blossoms that were about to wither, speechless. Li Xun thought for a moment, pinched her chin, turned her face around, and looked into her eyes.

Gu Pin’er’s gaze made him feel uneasy. There was no hatred or madness in it, only emptiness and confusion. There was even a lack of focus in her eyes. In front of Li Xun, a living person, she seemed to be looking at the distant sky.

“Maybe she’s crazy?” Li Xun took a deep breath and slid his fingers across her creamy cheek. It felt cold, without a trace of warmth.

Then, his fingers moved to her snowy neck, gently rubbing it. This time, she finally responded. Gu Pin’er shuddered slightly, letting out a barely audible moan, her face quickly flushed.

This reaction was normal. Being tortured day and night by him and Yin Sanren, with occasional sexual stimulation, had already made Gu Pin’er’s body extremely sensitive. It was only natural that she could not resist Li Xun’s teasing. However, this reaction completely lost Li Xun’s interest.

What was the difference between this Gu Pin’er and the soul-destroying whores in the brothel? It was at this moment that Li Xun suddenly realized what he had done over the past ten days!

For a moment, he was confused as to what to feel. He withdrew his hand, ignoring the already aroused female cultivator, and went straight into the house.

Behind him, Gu Pin’er’s breath gradually became unstable, and she stumbled, collapsing to the ground.

Ma Deshun made a fuss and asked several palace maids to help her up. The yard was in chaos, but the noise only passed by Li Xun’s ears and gradually became inaudible.