The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 40

Chapter 5: Flying Soul

In the sky, the battle finally drew to a close. After a head-on confrontation without any support, Qingluan’s indestructible body, akin to a divine beast or demon, and her unparalleled cultivation, could not withstand the combined force of the two vagrants.

Furthermore, earlier, she had been struck in the back by a powerful sneak attack from Yin Sanren, leaving her severely injured.

Even her obsessive-compulsive nature would have rendered her clean. Her left chest had been pierced through, a fatal wound for a human, and it was certainly no easy task for her.

Blood soaked her green clothes, and dozens of other wounds, large and small, were soaked in, each one soaked with the powerful negative effects of the two vagrants’ unholy magic, gradually sapping her

strength. Yet, even so, she remained upright, unfazed, standing on the ruined ground.

She took a deep breath and looked up at the two wanderers. Though she was now below them and needed to look up, her air of superiority remained undimmed, a look no different from looking down on an ant.

The two wanderers exchanged a smile and then separated, reappearing one behind Qingluan and charging forward.

Qingluan remained unfazed, leaning slightly aside. Her crystal-clear hands repelled the powerful foes from both sides. Her fingers and palms stabbed with a fierce edge, rivaling even the sharpest divine weapons, but such tactics were meaningless to the two wanderers.

They swooped past like ghosts, gazing at Qingluan’s defensive stance as if it were nothing. With a chuckle,

the Blood Wanderer parried Qingluan’s attack and, unfazed by the momentum, delivered a powerful punch, striking Qingluan’s chest, a blow that pierced the heart of her chest without the slightest trace of a master.

If it had been anyone else, it would have been fine, but Qingluan, possessed of the most obsessive-compulsive nature, a flash of green on her face. Despite Yin Sanren’s pressure, she forcibly withdrew her other arm, her sleeve tumbling back to block Xue Sanren’s blow.

Xue Sanren laughed heartily and, ceasing his attack, dodged to the side.

Qingluan glanced at him coldly and was about to turn to save herself when Yin Sanren’s palm pressed against her back, his true energy emanating faintly. Qingluan froze, then collapsed.

That single blow had inflicted over a hundred waves of cold and damp energy. Her protective true energy could only block less than a fraction before it collapsed, and the remaining cold energy continued to damage her, freezing her internal organs.

And that wasn’t enough. Yin Sanren’s palm rose and fell again, this time employing the “Eight Secrets of the Lotus Flower” technique, which terrified even the cultivators of the Tongxuan Realm.

Qingluan knew this, and with a furious roar, she resisted her already severe injuries, ready to strike back with a desperate blow. However, the dense itching emanating from her limbs, along with the accompanying layers of Qi, locked onto her meridians, rendering her powerless.

Yin Sanren reached out in time to steady the stumbling Qingluan, but he also unceremoniously embraced her with a forceful “hug,” touching at least three sensitive points.

Her body trembled violently, but surprisingly, she didn’t treat Yin Sanren with the same treatment she’d given Xue Sanren. A faint blush even crept across her snow-white cheeks.

Xue Sanren didn’t notice, but Yin Sanren saw it all. With a thoughtful smile, she struck Qingluan’s forehead with a well-placed finger strike. Qingluan’s body trembled again, and her eyelids slowly closed.

Thus, this demon, ranked third among the Seven Demons of the World, rivaling the world’s greatest Grandmasters, was left powerless to fight back.

The two wanderers exchanged a glance, each one feeling a sense of luck. Though they had achieved such a victory at a minimal cost, it was cause for pride.

However, looking behind them at the nearly ruined capital, the at least half a million and growing number of wronged souls, and the distorted terrain for a hundred miles around them, they knew that if this “Original Embryo Dao Body” plan failed, their continued slaughter would lead to their doom during the next Forty-Nine Tribulations!

Yin Sanren glanced coldly around, quickly spotting Qin Wanru guarding the Transformation Pool not far away. She nodded slightly, waved to Xue Sanren, and, carrying Qingluan, headed there first.

Seeing the two wanderers arrive victorious, Qin Wanru smiled and saluted, a gesture of congratulation. He then tactfully stepped aside, making room for the two wanderers, allowing them to observe Li Xun’s current condition within the pool.

The water in the Transformation Pool was extremely cold, and within moments of entering, Li Xun was covered in a thick layer of ice. The chill that seeped into his body turned his skin a frightening purple hue.

Li Xun, having known the two wanderers were coming, dared not openly use his Qi to protect his body. He could only use his True Qi to maintain the warmth within him, completely withstanding the chill within the pool.

His limbs were numb, and he had long lost all feeling. He cursed the ancestors of the two wanderers, who had been reduced to ash, but he still felt unsatisfied and began to imagine how he would deal with these two old monsters after the deed was accomplished!

Just as he was contemplating this, he suddenly heard Yin Sanren let out a soft “huh” that frightened him so much that he nearly jumped out of the pool. Fortunately, Yin Sanren had only remembered something else.

“This kid has a lot of treasures on him. Don’t let them all dissolve in the pool… Wanru, take those things down and let your uncle-shi handle them.”

She was being generous, and Xue Sanren understood her humility. He chuckled, “Never mind, jade warding off evil spirits and the like. I’ll give these to my niece, Wanru.”

Qin Wanru smiled faintly, bowed, and thanked him. She reached out and pulled Li Xun out of the water. From her bosom, she pulled out the jade warding off evil spirits, the Phoenix Feather Needle, and other items. She also removed his sword before returning him.

By then, Li Xun was completely bare except for his Taoist robes. But he was not in a hurry. With the Tianming Huayin Pearl in Qin Fei’s hands, it was his as well. Sooner or later, the two Sanren would pay the price for their carelessness!

Yin Sanren placed Qingluan by the pool and smiled at Xue Sanren, saying, “The ‘broken veins’ are complete, and the Yin Qi is flowing back. We just need to control the formation techniques and transform this boy into ‘Returning Elixir’. How’s it going, do you still have the strength?”

Xue Sanren chuckled, “Not bad. If you, Yin Beauty, have strength, I have strength too…”

As he spoke, his eyes flickered towards Qin Wanru, a subtle hint of meaning.

Yin Sanren understood what he meant. With a faint smile, she instructed, “Wanru, you will remain at a distance to protect the Dharma. Do not approach without our permission or in case of emergency!”

Qin Wanru smiled faintly, saluted each of the two Sanren, and gracefully departed.

They were ten miles away. Although Xue Sanren did not turn back, he kept his mind locked on her. During this time, the Qi between him and Yin Sanren surged and surged, never pausing.

When Qin Wanru stopped, Xue Sanren laughed and said, “Don’t blame me, beauty Yin. It’s better to be careful about this kind of thing. I think that if this goes well, the two of us will be able to catch up with Zhong Yin in terms of cultivation. This

kind of opportunity is really rare. As for this disciple…” “Don’t talk to me about your dirty things. You don’t care about disciples, but I do!” Yin Sanren’s half-smile was very touching, but the hidden meaning in it required Xue Sanren to weigh it carefully.

“I spent hundreds of years to train this disciple. You just said it’s gone. You are so proud!”

Xue Sanren didn’t feel embarrassed at all. He just laughed and said, “That’s right. Your disciple is the product of hundreds of years of hard work. My cheap disciple can’t compare to him. Now that he has been offered, we should stop arguing about it. It’s better to finish it as soon as possible!”

The two exchanged glances, each seeing the fading spark in the other’s eyes—something only a wise person could accomplish. They smiled simultaneously, turned, and, with the Transfiguration Pool as their dividing line, walked in opposite directions.

After each took fifty steps, they turned again and sat facing each other. As their gazes met, they simultaneously sat cross-legged, closed their eyes, and began to practice Qigong. Finally, they opened their eyes simultaneously.

At the same moment, Li Xun in the Transfiguration Pool nearly cried out in pain.

Without warning, the water temperature suddenly soared so high that he almost thought it was boiling! The drastic temperature difference caused him severe physical damage. In the blink of an eye, the ice layer around him shattered, shattering his skin along with it.

With a crack, he cracked a tooth. The subtle sound was drowned out by the crackling ice, unnoticed by the two men, and his appearance remained unchanged. In fact, even if there had been a change, it would have been unnoticeable.

His body instinctively reflected the consequences of the pain. Due to the shattering of the epidermis, his body was as red as blood. The nerves and blood vessels almost affected all the muscles, and they began to twitch spontaneously in waves. These violent twitching covered up all other symptoms.

On the one hand, Li Xun was struggling to resist the pain that was like a tide. On the other hand, he had to try to eliminate interference and feel the changes in the qi outside the body.

According to Qin Fei, the first step for the two people should be to use the true breath of the body to catalyze the extreme yin and cold yang in the pool to transform into the extreme yin and yang. The “refining method” was to condense Li Xun’s spirit and energy, making them merge into one, and return to the chaotic state at birth.

In this state, Li Xun would not die, but all the marks of his experiences in this life would be erased, and he would return to his natural innocence. Simply put, he would lose his memory and become an idiot!

Originally, this process was impossible to resist. However, Li Xun, who had completely entered the gambling state, had an alternative method!

Ten miles away, Qin Fei moved her hand lightly, and the Dust Wind Orb was magically destroyed by her. The finger technique was extremely powerful, and it flew thousands of feet high in the sky, spinning and flying to the top of the transformation pool. During the flight, the outer shell of the pearl gradually cracked, revealing the body of the Tianming Huayin Pearl.

The gray-white aura was like thousands of wriggling snakes, stretching and overlapping around the pearl. The moment it flew to the top of the transformation pool, the auras all retracted, and thousands of auras intertwined and changed inside the pearl, opening a “portal” that had not been opened for thousands of years.

Li Xun only felt his body lighten, and the strong dizziness revealed a pulling force that was more irresistible than the pain of being skinned, and he was spinning in the sky.

It was a wonderful feeling. In just a moment, Li Xun woke up from dizziness, and fell into another dizziness without a break. It

was a change in Qi that he had never felt since he started practicing Taoism. In such a state, all the six senses he usually used were gone, and there was chaos between heaven and earth. And it was in such chaos that hundreds of thousands of strange Qi were born.

He dared to swear that he had never felt these before, but each of them was so clear, passing through his “body”, between the Qi and the Qi, and the Qi and his “body” An indescribable shock arose in the air.

Before he could savor such a general impression, an immense suction force came over and threw him into another space.

The conversion of time and space made him dizzy again. Until everything returned to normal, Li Xun “opened his eyes” and found that the world had returned to its original state, but there were some subtle changes.

The colors between heaven and earth began to fade slowly, and when Li Xun came to his senses, the whole world had turned into gray and white. The “influx” of sound was no longer so rich and layered, but a monotonous, almost hungry ghost howling scream.

But he could discern richer information from this “scream” than before.

Li Xun’s heart was shocked. If he could still shed tears, he would definitely not be stingy, just because his gamble again… succeeded!

“Netherworld”.

The so-called “Netherworld” is to use the Tianming Huayin Pearl as a carrier, and use the technique of leaving the body of the Nascent Soul to inject one’s own essence, energy and spirit into the pearl, and make the most of the magic formula of the “Nine Nether Earth Qi” in the pearl.

During this period of time, it can be said that Li Xun is the Tianming Huayin Pearl, and the Tianming Huayin Pearl is Li Xun. The powerful Nine Nether Earth Qi inside can all be used by him, but due to the extreme endurance of the soul, its usage time is only half an hour.

Moreover, Li Xun’s cultivation has not yet reached the state of the unity of essence, energy and spirit, and he has only been able to cultivate the physical body of the Nascent Soul. He can only inject it with his soul. In this way, the risk is increased by more than ten times? A hundred times?

If he is not careful, his soul may be shattered by the surging Nine Nether Earth Qi in the pearl, and the consequences are not much worse than the ruthless hands of the two scattered people.

However, he succeeded after all, which also declared that Within the next half hour, a “master” powerful enough to intervene in the deadly trap set by the two wanderers would appear.

While Li Xun was adjusting to the feeling of controlling such a powerful force, he observed the situation in the Transformation Pool thousands of feet below.

His “new body” began to gradually descend, approaching the two wanderers’ warning level.

In the Transformation Pool, the “Yin Yang Transformation Refining Method” was in full swing. The extremely cold water of the Transformation Pool had transformed from the state of “Yin pole to Yang”, to “Yang pole to Yin”.

When it was truly restored to its original state, a perfect Yin and Yang transformation would take place, reaching the extreme of Yin and Yang in heaven and earth, returning to the original chaos.

The Transformation Pool at that time would be the real Transformation Pool. Afterwards, the two wanderers would gather the various earth energy elements to “refining method”, and Li Xun in the pool would be transformed into the purest “Huan Dan Liquid” at that moment. From then on, there would be no Li Xun in the world!

Finally, there is the “Tian Yuan Refining Method”, which is to melt Qingluan with the water of the transformation pool, and integrate all the essence of her body into the “Huan Dan Liquid”. Through this process, the rich true essence she has accumulated for tens of thousands of years will be absorbed by the Huan Dan Liquid without any reservation and without any impurities, and will eventually be shared by the two people.

This is the step planned by the two people. If everything goes well, it will be tantamount to refining an elixir that can make people ascend to heaven in broad daylight. However, Li Xun will never be kind enough to let them succeed.

At this time, the “Yin Yang Transformation Refining Method” has been completed. The water of the transformation pool that was crystal clear before has become quite turbid and gray, but it faintly reveals a layer of faint precious light.

The two people looked at each other from a distance of a hundred steps, both with solemn expressions. They raised their hands at the same time, and then quickly dropped them to the ground. The thick earth energy that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly exploded.

This was a formidable force, amassed across hundreds of miles of Songjing and encompassing the spiritual energy of over a dozen mountain ranges. Given the impact of this situation, it was likely to affect forces thousands of miles away. Naturally,

such a massive force, manipulated by humans, would not remain calm. However, under the restraints pre-established by the two vagrants, this almost irresistible force was gradually blunted, flowing along a fixed trajectory into the Transformation Pool.

Waves surged within the Transformation Pool, but no matter how violently they surged, the turbid waves could never reach the edge, as if sealed within by an invisible wall.

Li Xun was stunned. Only at this moment, from this position, could he sense the immense power of the two vagrants, tackling the will of heaven and earth.

Each surge in the Transformation Pool only sent up waves a few feet high. Yet, from the sky, dozens of miles away, mountains and hills collapsed one after another, buffeted by the countercurrents of earth energy. The shifting earth, in turn, triggered shifts in the heavens, and the vital energies of heaven and earth began to shift erratically.

Dark clouds gathered on a cold winter day. Faint flashes of lightning began to flicker through the thick clouds, accompanied by waves of thunder.

The Taikang River’s course had twisted. A hundred miles from Songjing, the raging floodwaters, unchecked, rushed along the newly opened path towards the capital.

Songjing’s walls were a thing of the past, and all buildings, including the palace, lay in ruins. In a quarter of an hour, a devastating flood would descend upon this former capital.

By the time Li Xun recovered from the unpredictable changes in the world around him, the second wave of energy had already begun to surge into the Transformation Pool. Li Xun knew he had no time to hesitate—just as the two wanderers’ “Earth Element Refining Method” reached its second wave, preparing to begin melting Li Xun’s body, a slender, flawless hand, without a sound, gently pressed against the back of the Blood Wanderer’s heart.

Instantly, a blood-red glow erupted, followed by a roar. Qin Wanru let out a delicate laugh and drifted backward, but the laughter quickly turned into a cry of surprise!

“Evil creature!”

Yin Sanren had unknowingly flown ten feet away. His equally slender jade hand pressed into the air, and a chill instantly descended. The air danced with tiny ice crystals, each particle following a mysterious trajectory, blocking every escape route of the target. Hundreds of waves of true energy were exhaled one after another, each force intensifying the violent storm.

“Master!”

Qin Wanru cried out in the most innocent voice, causing Yin Sanren’s bright eyes to flash with murderous intent that could no longer be suppressed. Xue Sanren no longer hesitated. Amidst wild laughter, he swung his blood-red robe sleeves across the sky, and the entire world was instantly shrouded in a layer of blood.

Qin Wanru’s strength was revealed in this life-or-death moment. Li Xun’s jade sword, unsheathed in her hand, clanged and slashed through the air, creating dozens of near-perfect circles of varying sizes.

This emanated a swirling current tenfold in intensity. The atmosphere became increasingly violent, and Yin Sanren’s chilling cold current was violently disrupted by the sword’s force, twisting and dancing wildly in the air, inevitably colliding with Xue Sanren’s wall of energy.

Countless flashes of lightning flickered, casting a shimmering shadow on the faces of the three men. It was as if they were engaging in a complex aerial clash, their energies swirling in a chaotic, chaotic tangle.

Qin Wanru, with her weakest power, suffered the most in this clash. In a split second, she let out a low cry, and the jade sword was forcibly hurled outward, twisting almost like a pretzel in mid-air. Then, with a resounding roar, it rebounded to its original shape, sticking diagonally into the ground.

The shift in their energy triggered an immediate reaction from both Sanren. Their once-powerful true energy shifted to their weakest side, a mournful hissing echo. The two different true energies, clashing fiercely, tangled into a dragon of interwoven green and red light, instantly engulfing Qin Wanru.

“Master!”

Before being devoured, Qin Wanru’s voice and expression remained innocent, yet a subtle difference seemed to emerge.

Yin Sanren’s heart stirred, and his true energy suddenly underwent a subtle shift.

Amidst the mad whistling of the air currents, countless crackling sounds of bones breaking echoed. Qin Wanru, like a rag doll, was torn apart by the raging currents, flying at least five miles before falling heavily to the ground.

Xue Sanren sneered, his body still moving. He took a step forward, then launched a punch, the tip of his fist aimed directly at Yin Sanren.

Yin Sanren didn’t dare take it head-on. With a flick of his whisk, he vanished, reappearing miles away. He spoke coldly, “Wei Bufan, you’re a pig, but the others aren’t! I’m going to kill you before you’ve mastered the Di Yuan technique. Am I insane?”

Xue Sanren doubled over with laughter. “Even Yin Meiren can be clever sometimes. Aren’t you admitting you’re going to have to fight? Do you think I’ll trust you if you sacrifice another disciple with such a lame excuse? You’re not taking action from behind, not because you’re afraid of trouble. I’m afraid by then, even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to!”

Yin Sanren’s eyes were filled with murderous intent, nearly turning the deep blue of a thousand-year-old icy cave. The mere sight of them would freeze the blood of ordinary people.

She was furious, yet incredibly clear-headed, because she knew Qin Wanru’s character and behavior intimately. She knew the situation was suspicious and treacherous. She feared the underlying purpose was a life-or-death struggle between her and Xue Sanren! Then…

the more she thought about it, the more reluctant she became to act. She simply said coldly, “I’m not as heartless as you, someone who kills me at my command! Let me tell you, Wanru is the candidate for Sect Leader whom I’ve painstakingly cultivated for the sect. She’s also my niece! I wouldn’t harbor any intention of harming her, and she wouldn’t be so mad as to try to harm me. Wei Bufan, use your brain!”

Her rare humility moved Xue Sanren’s heart. Knowing Yin Sanren, her words were sincere, and her blood relationship with Qin Wanru was highly plausible. But how could he explain that truly powerful blow?

A light flickered in his bloodshot eyes, and his mind raced. Dozens of possibilities raced through his mind. He wasn’t afraid of other possibilities, but if someone was profiting from behind the scenes, he had to be on guard!

However, the thought only flashed through his mind, then vanished in an instant.

How could such a coincidence exist?

Not only did he need to know their plan, but he also had to control the powerful Qin Wanru. This woman hadn’t left the Imperial City in ages, living under the watchful eyes of the two Wanderers. Under these circumstances, the person who could control her without anyone noticing had probably yet to be born!

With this in mind, he formed a plan. He slowly withdrew his hand, glanced at the direction Qin Wanru had fallen, and said, “Even if I believe you, what about over there?”

Yin Sanren frowned slightly, realizing that stabilizing Xue Sanren was his top priority. Recalling his own covert technique, he said generously, “Let’s finish the Earth Element Refining Technique first… We can discuss Wanru’s matter later!”

Strangely enough, Yin Sanren’s heart skipped a beat after she said this, as if something was amiss. But before she could grasp the source of this strange feeling, Xue Sanren, after a moment’s hesitation, had already replied, “Alright… Go to hell!”

The moment he exited, countless blood-red threads, as thin as spider silk, radiated outward from Xue Sanren.

Yin Sanren’s body trembled, suddenly soaring into the air. A long blood-red chain, barely the thickness of a little finger, clasped tightly around her ankle. A strange humming sound erupted upon contact with the outside air. The densely packed chain held the souls of the wronged, a staggering number!

The murderous intent in Yin Sanren’s piercing eyes was undisguised, for the weapon now clasped around her ankle was none other than the Blood Sanren’s unrivalled demonic weapon, the Red Ghost Chain. The presence of this chain signaled only one thing: a life-and-death battle between the two.

Millennia of souls, accumulated within the blood chain, shone with tiny sparks of aura, a dark crimson hue that drifted through the night, a scene both beautiful and eerie.

Each spark represented the resentment that had lingered deep within these souls over millennia. Infused and fueled by the Blood God’s spiritual energy, its venomous nature reached such a pitch of indignation that it was practically ingrained into their very bones and marrow.

Even with Yin Sanren’s abilities, facing this demonic weapon, she had to be extremely cautious.

It was at moments like this that Yin Sanren’s prowess became even more apparent. She seemed to disregard the life-threatening threat at her feet, soaring at ever-increasing speeds until she reached a hundred feet in the air in the blink of an eye.

With a thud, the Scarlet Ghost Chain finally reached its limit, stretched straight in midair. How Blood Sanren had managed to conceal this chain, stretching hundreds of feet long, was unknown.

Yin Sanren understood perfectly well that the Red Soldier Ghost Chain was actually largely materialized from wronged souls. Because of this, its variations were virtually endless. This nearly mile-long chain was merely one of its most common forms.

In a flash, Yin Sanren’s toes twisted like a spirit snake, gently tapping the long chain. Her movements were incredibly soft. But the force she channeled into the chain was anything but gentle. In an instant, surging true energy impacted the Red Soldier Ghost Chain at least three thousand times!

Blood Sanren, miles away, blushed. With a flick of his sleeve, the Red Soldier Ghost Chain, like a spirit snake, suddenly released its hold. After a few twitching twists, it retreated into his sleeve, leaving no trace.

Both men were injured by the blow. A dark scorch mark appeared on Yin Sanren’s stockings, and the flesh beneath was severely damaged. Furthermore, the blood spirit had entered his body, causing endless trouble. Meanwhile, Xue Sanren, under the opponent’s decisive counterattack, suffered internal injuries and was also feeling the pain.

The two men stared at each other coldly from a distance of several miles.