The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 48

Chapter 4 Conflict

The journey would normally take ten days and nights, but Li Xun and his companions, to avoid attracting attention, took a month to reach the end. They were still over a thousand miles from their destination, Dragon Ring Mountain.

Mingli and You Wusheng had been quite nervous for the past two days, as they were passing through Chicheng Mountain, the main gate of the Three Emperors Sword Sect, a renowned and righteous sect in the Tongxuan Realm.

Li Xun’s deepest impression of this sect, besides its renowned sword technique known as “conquering the enemy without fighting,” was the “Heavenly Lord” He Zhiyan, who had once inspired him.

That former master had been tortured to insanity by Yin Sanren, and now, Yin Sanren had been wiped out of his mind by a mere cultivator like him, reduced to a puppet. Life is unpredictable; nothing can stop them.

Chicheng Mountain is vast, encompassing tens of thousands of miles within the Three Emperors Sword Sect’s sphere of influence. This meant that Dragon Ring Mountain was also within its reach. The most likely interfering in this operation was someone from this sect.

To avoid attracting the enemy’s attention, the three of them deliberately took a wide detour, covering nearly twenty thousand miles, bypassing most of the Three Emperors Sword Sect’s territory before carefully invading it. Once they reached their territory, they restrained their breath, not even daring to control their flying swords, relying solely on their feet to navigate the mountains.

The final thousand miles of the journey were no less arduous than the earlier treks. It was spring, the season of warmer weather and the resurgence of wild animals. Not only did they have to watch out for the frequent soaring Three Emperors Sword Sect disciples, but they also had to contend with the myriad strange beasts and ferocious birds that inhabited the forests. The

arduous journey was immense. Even Mingli, the most meticulously clean, was stained with grass juice and blood, reeking of a fishy smell.

“No, I have to wash today! This smell attracts insects!” Mingli pleaded, exerting himself. A faint, greenish puff of smoke swept through, instantly dispelling the buzzing mosquitoes. But the endless stream of new arrivals continued, overwhelming him.

You Wusheng was typically quiet, so it was Li Xun who responded. “Brother Li, you’re right… a big one!”

He struck a palm strike, shattering a strange insect that shot from between the branches. His brow furrowed. “It’s too humid around here. There’s either a swamp or a lake. Brothers, shall we look?”

You Wusheng’s thin figure crept up to the treetops. After a quick survey, he gestured, indicating that the humidity was heavier in the south.

With Mingli leading the way, the three of them changed direction and headed their way through the thorns.

A quarter of an hour later, they were all enjoying a small pool.

“Cat” had been on guard duty on the shore, but by then, he’d gone off to play somewhere. This reassured Mingli and the others.

The three grown men, n*ked and n*ked, were more talkative than usual.

Not only did the usually talkative Mingli, but even You Wusheng rarely said a word. The three of them tangled their conversation around a few times before finally reaching the most popular topic in the Tongxuan Realm at the

moment—the entire realm was completely shocked by the tragedy in Songjing, its attention focused on the human world. Almost every piece of information Li Xun and the others encountered on their journey pointed to Songjing, Yin Sanren, and Xue Sanren.

The Tongxuan Realm’s reaction to this incident was clearly divided. Compared to the furious outbursts from the righteous sects, the evil sects like the Ghostly Shadow Devouring Sect were much more silent.

From what Li Xun could see, they were completely on their own, showing little concern for the Songjing incident.

However, today’s conversation with Mingli and the others revealed that things were more complicated.

Within the Ghostly Shadow Devouring Sect, the situation was relaxed on the surface

, but under the surface, they were cautious. While there was no apparent action, Elder Cang Mingzi, the sect’s most skilled in the art of evasion, had been secretly dispatched by the sect leader to investigate the situation. Furthermore, all the evil sects employed “scouts” like Cang Mingzi to varying degrees.

Almost everyone believed that Yin Sanren and Xue Sanren were cultivating a profound magical technique, and that a conflict might eventually ensue.

However, what would the ultimate outcome be? Would both sides suffer? One side benefit? Or would both sides win? No one knew.

Each outcome would have a different impact on the Tongxuan Realm, especially at the level of the two Sanren. Their every move would affect the balance of the Tongxuan Realm and produce different consequences. Furthermore, there was also…

“Every sip and every bite is destined by heaven; the present body, without root or ground. A thousand years of lofty ambitions are in vain, a single storm leaves them to others.”

Watching Mingli’s swaying head, Li Xun couldn’t help but laugh. This poem had inconsistent rhythm, a disconnected artistic conception, and incoherent meaning. What kind of poem was it?

You Wusheng, noticing Li Xun’s expression and knowing he didn’t understand, mentioned to the side, “This is the verse from the Shuijing Meeting!”

Li Xun was immediately struck by awe.

It was actually the verse from the Shuijing Meeting!

He remembered it clearly. When he followed his master down the mountain, wasn’t it for this Water Mirror Meeting? The ceremony of watching the “Heaven and Water Mirror” involved the fortune of the Tongxuan Realm for the next year, and it was not something to be taken lightly. The verses that came out of it were naturally extraordinary things.

However, what did this have to do with the affairs of Songjing?

Seeing his puzzled expression, Mingli smiled and said, “Junior Brother Baigui was still a casual cultivator at that time. Naturally, he didn’t know that before the “Chetian Water Mirror” uttered a verse, there must be a period of induction. At this time, the waves of the water mirror will illuminate all things in the world and understand their life and death, but the time is only a short breath.

“Mr. Shuijing, who presides over this meeting, must find the most involved changes within this breath, and in that moment of induction, recite a verse to express the will of heaven.

” After this verse comes out, it will be displayed on the Chetian Water Mirror in the form of ancient seal characters. It will be displayed for one year until the next Water Mirror Meeting, when it will disappear.

“If the coming year is smooth and stable, the writing will be gold; if there are minor incidents, it will be cyan; if there is a bloody storm, it will be black; and if there is a major disaster like the 49th Heavenly Tribulation, the writing will be blood red. Junior Brother Baigui, guess what color this year will be?”

Looking at Mingli’s smiling face, Li Xun thought, “It must be black!”

Only black and blood red are worth guessing, and if it were blood red, Mingli would probably not be able to smile, so Li Xun was quite confident in this attempt.

“Wrong!” Mingli’s green face showed a bit of humanness because of his smile. “It’s cyan!”

Li Xun was stunned for a moment, then heard him say, “Originally, this is the most normal color. However, on the day of the Songjing incident, or even at that time, the writing on this Chetian Water Mirror turned red! A blood red! Legend has it that Mr. Water Mirror immediately vomited blood and fell to the ground, unconscious for a day before waking up! “

Li Xun opened his eyes wide!

Mingli has a talent for storytelling, and seeing that Li Xun was interested, he became more excited to talk: “This matter is strange in the first place, and Mr. Shuijing also sent letters to the leaders of each sect, hoping that they would go to discuss it.

“However, before the leaders of the sects set out, the color suddenly changed back. The signboard of Jingzong that had existed for tens of thousands of years was smashed badly!”

It can be seen that Mingli was quite gloating about this matter.

But the point is not this. The most important thing is that the affairs of Songjing involve many relationships, which must not be taken lightly – no one dares to ignore something that can change the laws of Chetian Shuijing that have existed for tens of millions of years!

In this way, it is not surprising that the righteous sects are making a big fuss, while the evil sects are relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside. However, as the biggest party involved and beneficiary of the Songjing incident, what should Li Xun think?

Li Xun was stunned. It was the first time he heard about his “deeds” from other people, and it was also the first time that others praised him to such a level. This was a rather novel experience, but it also had a sense of emptiness and fear.

If the Chetian Water Mirror is really as effective as the legend said, if this is not an accident, but there is a will in it, what will be the result?

A vague thought flashed in his mind, vague and unclear. However, after just shaking it twice, he felt a sense of rapid expansion and fullness, as if he was floating up without any support, floating in the air.

Then, everything returned to reality, and Mingli’s voice became clearer than ever: “No sect wants to witness a so-called catastrophe. Even troublemakers like Xue Sanren and Yin Sanren, who no one dares to provoke on ordinary days, will flock to them when trouble truly arises…”

You Wusheng twitched his lips beside him, and Mingli, finding the words rather humiliating, laughed with a hint of self-mockery.

Li Xun laughed with them, laughing at his own fleeting fantasy. Yes, think of the earlier example—the Sky Demon Phoenix—wasn’t it the most apt example?

The three of them were laughing happily when, just then, a sharp cry echoed from the depths of the jungle near the pond. Before the cry had died down, a red figure soared into the sky, swirled through the air, and with a whoosh, shot off in the opposite direction.

Immediately afterwards, seven or eight sword lights soared from behind, catching up, but their speed was far behind.

“Alarm!” The three of them paled at the same time. Not daring to delay, they emerged from the water simultaneously, picking up their still-damp clothes and hastily putting them on.

Thanks to the cleverness of “Cat,” who had lured the enemy away, otherwise, at such a close distance, they wouldn’t have had time to react. When the time came, they’d have to run like crazy!

“Damn it, they’re from the Three Emperors Sword Sect!”

Mingli discerned the enemy’s origins from the flying sword light. While using his energy to steam dry his clothes, he sent out his captive ghost spirit to investigate.

This ghost spirit was a magical weapon he had forged by collecting the aura of the dead while practicing the Jade Fire Flowing Ying spell. It was ethereal and intangible, fearless of fire, water, or weapons, yet possessed some intelligence, cunning, and insidious, capable of absorbing the vitality of the living, making it quite formidable.

His mind was connected to the ghost spirit, and whatever the ghost spirit saw was what he saw, making it perfectly suited for reconnaissance.

Li Xun and You Wusheng held their breath as they watched him cast the spell.

In just two breaths, Mingli’s face flashed green before turning completely pale. Under the horrified gazes of Li Xun and the others, he spat out a mouthful of blood. “Damn it! It’s that little bitch Luo Yuji. She’s got experts with her! Retreat!”

All three of them were incredibly quick-witted; how could they not see the opportunity? They simultaneously reached out, grabbed Mingli’s arms, and bolted backward.

However, the enemy was far too formidable. Even their swift movements were barely a few steps away when a sword roared from the heavens, like a dragon’s howl, a piercing whistle that instantly obscured the entire sky.

The sky remained the same, but the wind and clouds froze, a stillness of stillness. The sound of the roar silenced the dense jungle, even the branches ceased to sway! Then,

with a faint tearing sound, a massive tremor erupted behind the three men. A surging shockwave swept through like a hurricane, sending them stumbling and tumbling.

Xiaoke’s Thunder Sky Transformation! “

You Wusheng was also quite knowledgeable, especially at this time, his calmness with little fluctuation in his voice made Li Xun admire him.

At this point, the three of them had no chance to escape, so they simply gave up.

Mingli adjusted his breathing evenly at this time, recovered from the injury just now, and immediately shouted loudly: “Hu Buli, you Three Emperors Sword Sect are so domineering! You start hacking and killing as soon as you meet, are you tired of doing decent things and want to do some business with no capital? “

While they were talking, the three of them simultaneously controlled their flying swords and flew into the air. In the air, five figures had already stopped, all of them looking cold.

Li Xun quickly looked at the five people and two of them impressed him most. One was the one who had just struck the sword. He was wearing a black silk scholar’s shirt embroidered with a few faint golden dragon patterns. His skin was fair, his face was straight, and his expression was cold. Especially his two thin and sharp eyebrows, which made him look cold and elegant.

The other one was the female cultivator standing in the middle. At first glance, the impression she gave people was that, in addition to her beautiful face, she was full of arrogance.

Her arrogance was obviously not Qingluan’s noble and aloof style, but was somewhat similar to Ying Caier.

It was just that Ying Caier was good at taking advantage of others . Using this arrogance to enhance her charm; this female cultivator, on the other hand, was much more straightforward and blunt.

To put it bluntly, this female cultivator was clearly a spoiled brat!

Her clothes were luxurious, many of them exquisite, especially those unique earrings. Dozens of gold threads dangled, almost reaching her shoulders. The wind blew through the sky, and the gold threads clashed, producing a clear and bright wind chime sound that was quite amusing.

Moreover, she only wore one earring, which was quite unusual, revealing the female cultivator’s rather rebellious mind.

When the three of them froze in mid-air, the black-clad scholar named Hu Buli smiled slightly, “So you are the senior disciples of the Ghost Devouring Shadow Sect, ‘Green Ghost’ Mingli, ‘Fire Demon’ You Wusheng, and this one, I’m unfamiliar…”

“You three came to Chicheng Mountain, but first, you didn’t bring visiting cards, second, you didn’t signal with flying swords, and third, you left without hearing

the news. This behavior is really misleading!” Li Xun’s mind raced. He could tell that Hu Buli was quite arrogant. When he looked at him, he said “I don’t know you,” but he didn’t even bother to ask about his identity, which was quite rude. But then he went on to give a coherent reason, clearly not without ulterior motives.

At this moment, Li Xun had an idea. He immediately squeezed the hand on Mingli’s arm, then naturally withdrew it.

Mingli reacted quickly and stopped talking, leaving the negotiation to him.

Li Xun’s words attracted everyone’s attention. He just sneered, “Mr. Hu is right. We were chasing our prey, and you interfered, but now you’re blaming us, what’s the point?”

“Prey?”

Hu Buli frowned, and his fierce aura faded a bit. However, his eyes were still sharp as he swept across Li Xun’s face, saying calmly, “What prey?”

Li Xun glanced in the direction of the “cat”‘s flight, his sneer still on his face. “The three of us have spent over a month chasing this Blood Kiss, and we’ve never been this close as we are today…”

“The Three Emperors Sword Sect is so arrogant! They’re even more adept at robbing people mid-sentence than those of us from the Evil Sect!”

“Junior Brother Bai Gui!”

Ming Li coughed dryly, stopping Li Xun from saying anything further. The situation was perfect now; any further talk would be difficult.

He smiled at Hu Buli, “Don’t blame me, Brother Hu. I, Junior Brother Bai Gui, have only been a disciple for a short time, and the sword I forged a month ago was eaten by that beast, which is why I’m so angry!”

Mingli’s conciliatory words were thick with sarcasm. This was a fait accompli, for “Cat” was indeed being pursued by seven or eight people. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like a robbery.

Hu Buli, considering Mingli’s perspective, found little to say.

Then, the female cultivator Mingli had dubbed “Luo Yuji” spoke. She had always leered at them, silent and unresponsive, but now she spoke bluntly: “You’re right. Why are you looking at that thing again? Why are

you running?” “Don’t give me that face…” Li Xun, upon hearing this, flew into a rage. However, he was interrupted by Mingli before he could finish his words.

Mingli admired Li Xun’s excellent acting skills while turning cold. No matter how the unruly girl opposite reacted, he just looked at Hu Buli: “Brother Hu, although what my junior brother said was unpleasant, it was reasonable!

“If Miss Luo regards our respect for your sect and our caution in the relationship between the two sects as something sneaky… it will not look good on the teachers of both sides! “

Mingli easily erased the incident of using the ghost to investigate and turning around to escape, and he had already seized the initiative, but he was still not at ease.

According to the intelligence of the sect, Hu Buli’s “Thunderbolt Change” sword technique has been cultivated to the realm of perfection. He can’t fight it alone. I’m afraid he needs to add You Wusheng to compete. As for the remaining four people, Baigui will definitely not be able to deal with them. What’s more, they are in someone else’s territory. They may be attacked from all sides. That would be really embarrassing.

Mingli calculated this, but he didn’t know that on the other side, Li Xun was also considering it. If the Three Emperors Sword Sect wanted to kill him, should he summon two puppets?

If he wanted to summon them, he must kill everyone here, including Mingli and You Wusheng, within ten breaths, and then escape thousands of miles away… This series of actions is not easy to do!

Everyone has his own calculations in his mind, but there are exceptions. Miss Luo Yuji will not beat around the bush. She spoke before Hu Buli: “This is your one-sided statement. Who knows whether it is true or not? “Maybe that Blood Kiss is one of yours to confuse people!”

Li Xun and the other two were sweating in their hearts, but of course they couldn’t show it on their faces. Li Xun smiled at the sky and said, “Miss Luo is so smart! Yes, that Blood Kiss is the one we raised, named ‘Mao’er. What, you bit me?”

Luo Yuji’s pretty face turned blue with anger. She drew out her sword with a clang and was about to go forward and chop people.

Li Xun was not to be outdone. He rubbed his fists and was about to rush forward. Of course, there was no fighting in this state. At that moment, Mingli was pulling on one side and Hu Buli was persuading on the other side. The sky seemed to be in chaos, but in fact there was a safe distance in between, and no sparks could be struck.

After a while of quarreling, there was no result. The fighting spirit of both sides was also lost. When they were thinking about how to save face and end the fight, a red light flashed in the distant sky. Li Xun’s “body shook violently” and he jumped up: “Bastard, it flew over again! “

As he was about to rush out, he was pulled by Mingli, who advised him, “It’s okay, it can’t run away…”

He turned to Hu Buli and said, “Brother Hu, this is considered a greeting! The three of us are going to chase the Blood Kiss and will never go deep into the Chicheng Mountains. Twenty days is the limit, how about it?”

Hu Buli was straightforward and said in a cold voice, “Ten days!”

Mingli thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. The three of them didn’t hesitate any more and flew away on their swords in the blink of an eye.

After rushing out for dozens of miles, the three of them laughed at the same time. Mingli gave Li Xun a thumbs up and praised him, “Thanks to you, Junior Brother, for coming up with such a good reason! In this way, we don’t have to be sneaky anymore and can go to Longhuan Mountain openly!

“Of course, that’s only if your ‘cat’ finds the right direction!”

Li Xun finished laughing, but a look of worry crossed his face. “Hu Buli isn’t so easy to fool. He’s pretending to be generous, but for the next few days, our every move will be under the surveillance of the Three Emperors Sword Sect. Finding the treasure successfully won’t be easy!”

“That’s not difficult!” Mingli grinned, pointing his finger downwards and swirling it around like stirring soup. “As long as we have ‘cat’ run a few more laps around Longhuan Mountain and hide in some secret places for a while, what can’t we do?”

Li Xun laughed out loud at this, but in his heart he was thinking – if this treasure is found, there will probably still be a chase. It’s better to prepare Youyi and Youer early. If that doesn’t work, we can just rob the thieves!

The “cat” was psychic and sensed that the alarm had been lifted here, but it didn’t fly over directly. Instead, it connected with Li Xun’s void divine consciousness. After a brief contact, it understood what had happened.

This natural monster was extremely intelligent. It cried out without any need for Li Xun’s instructions and headed straight for Longhuan Mountain.

Li Xun and the other two laughed in unison, then shouted and chased after it.

Flying the sword openly, the speed was countless times faster than before. The journey of more than a thousand miles was covered in just one or two hours.

The “cat” in front cried out again and disappeared into the jungle in the mountains in the blink of an eye.

The three of them also suppressed the sword light and flew close to the treetops for a while. It was not until Li Xun called for a stop that the three people and the monster stopped together.

“Junior Brother Baigui, have you found anything?”

Mingli glanced into the distance in confusion. This place was still some distance away from the location indicated in the news!

Li Xun asked the “cat” to circle around this area, acting and being on guard at the same time. He looked solemnly at the surrounding trees and remained silent for a long time.

Mingli estimated the distance to the target, finding it still at least seventy or eighty miles. He couldn’t help but gasp. “The forbidden formation techniques of Hui Xuan Sect are truly unique. With such a range, breaking them step by step, step by step, won’t take forever.”

“Whether it’s Hui Xuan Sect or not, I don’t know. But, Senior Brother Mingli, have you confirmed that our sect’s information is exclusive?”

“Huh?”

Just as Mingli frowned, Li Xun’s figure huddled down, landing silently.

His toes touched the ground, then he suddenly bounced up. In mid-air, his palms expanded and contracted, his true energy moving and then stopping. In that instant, he had coordinated twenty-four deflecting Qi energies, neutralizing the impending wave of restrictive force.

Only then did he gesture to the two people in the air to descend. Although his technique had been extremely skillful, the faces of all three of them were now dismal.

Li Xun parted the grass and showed them: “The carvings are still fresh, obviously not an old thing. Also, this restriction is strange, how come it doesn’t draw on the vital energy, but rather looks a bit like a mechanism…”

When encountering something that interested him the most, Li Xun was a bit oblivious to the others. This was a new type of restriction that he had never seen before. It was not too complicated, but very interesting.

He didn’t care what Mingli and the others were thinking, he just calculated it in his mind and followed the traces of the restriction pattern all the way to find it.

Each sect has different mental methods, so the arrangement of restrictions is of course different.

Although Li Xun has picked up the strengths of various schools and has a natural spirituality to integrate them, in terms of his theoretical level, he is already a rare talent in the world, but when faced with such a restriction that he has never encountered before, he still had some bumps and bumps, and almost caused backlash several times.

Li Xun himself enjoyed it, but it made his companions behind him startled and very tired.

“It’s really interesting!”

After walking half a mile, Li Xun straightened up for the first time and exclaimed in admiration: “This is probably not just the scope of forbidden array tactics, it has a bit of the flavor of mechanical techniques!

“The circulation of this Qi is not to attract the Yuan Qi of heaven and earth, but to touch, warn, guide, and change. It has no lethality in itself, but if it is some cruel treasure, like the reverse blood-transforming needle…”

Mingli couldn’t help but smile bitterly from the back: “Brother Baigui, you should also be more cautious with your words. Is this reverse blood-transforming needle fun?

“If there are really ten or eight of them, the three of us may not be able to handle it!”

At this point, he suddenly remembered something and asked curiously: “Where have I heard of this kind of restriction… What do you think?”

He was talking to You Wusheng. You Wusheng frowned slightly and responded: “It should be a large-scale mechanical technique!”

At this moment, Li Xun in front made a gesture to silence the two. He bent down and carefully brushed aside a few leaves from the bushes ahead. Then, stiffening for a moment, he waved to the two men, “Senior brothers, do you recognize what this is?”

He made way, allowing them to see what lay hidden behind the bushes.

It was a thing resembling a bed curtain hook, small and delicate, easily graspable in the palm of one hand. Its curve was fluid and vermilion in color, so at first glance it resembled a vermilion crescent.

However, this hook, somehow managed to remain suspended in mid-air

, spinning whirlingly. A chilling light shone from its inner and outer curves, swirling and reflecting the vermilion color, creating a dazzling spectacle.

Mingli and You Wusheng simultaneously held their breath, “Little Vermilion Hook!”