The Forbidden Path to Immortality
Chapter 88

Yin Wanderer shot Blood Wanderer a glance but said nothing. She was too busy trying to suppress the injuries wreaking havoc inside her body. A creeping suspicion gnawed at her;  things weren’t playing out the way she’d expected. Something was off. And that difference… it might be the very thing that decided whether they lived or died.

The ominous feeling in her chest grew heavier, more real.

Just as that unease began to sink in, the three of them simultaneously sensed something. Their heads snapped upward. A beam of white-gray light, no thicker than a finger, came shooting down from above. It moved so fast they barely dodged in time, purely on instinct, watching helplessly as it plunged into the bottomless abyss below without making a single sound.

In that brief moment of stunned silence, the ground beneath them suddenly let out a beast-like roar. That sound alone, no matter how deep their cultivation, drained the color from their faces.

They knew that sound. All too well.

It was the same earth qi that had been forcefully gathered from hundreds of miles around, drawn together earlier by the two Wanderers’ heavens-defying power. And now… somehow, it had slipped completely out of control.

Or perhaps “out of control” wasn’t quite right. The qi was still being directed—by someone—and it was now being channeled straight into the gaping pit created by the Weeping Ghost Pit of the Yellow Springs. Then, like a geyser, it erupted violently from below.

The three tried to evade, but just as their bodies were about to move, the massive suction force that had vanished earlier suddenly reappeared, yanking them back with a sharp pull.

The backlash hit like a sledgehammer. All three coughed up blood, their bodies going limp. From the depths, the dense, nearly tangible earth qi burst upward like a colossal fist, slamming toward the sky with explosive force.

The deafening roar drowned out everything else. Bones snapped, organs crushed. They didn’t even know how many. Each of them was blasted in a different direction, tumbling like broken dolls.

Before they even hit the ground, another violent gust swept up, scooping their mangled bodies into the air again. Buffeted around like leaves in a storm, they crashed into each other again and again before finally being flung into the Shapeshifting Yin Pit, half-conscious and barely alive.

Yin Wanderer’s body was wrecked, but her mind remained somewhat clear. She tried to initiate the final step in her plan, but the dense earth qi storm had left her limbs limp, her meridians unresponsive. For a moment, she couldn’t even move her true breath. Just as panic took hold, a sudden chill swept over her.

Cold? she thought. Why is it cold?

Then, realization hit her like thunder.

The pool’s gone through the Yin-Yang Reversal Alchemical Refinement… the water should’ve become primal chaos. Cold is impossible… unless, unless he’s not refining!

A horrifying conclusion she’d previously dismissed slammed into her. But now, it made sickening sense.

She suddenly wanted to kill herself on the spot.

She was beginning to understand the figure’s plan now.

This was no different than a cat toying with a dying mouse.

Yin Wanderer coughed up a mouthful of blood. And by now, the pool water had turned bone-piercingly cold. The sheer difference in temperature, from outside to in, made the three, who could no longer defend themselves, feel like they were being stabbed by a thousand needles. Then, the pain twisted into something even worse. A deep, maddening itch that burrowed right into their bones.

Vaguely, she could feel faint, elusive threads of qi mechanism slipping into her body, infiltrating her bit by bit, shifting things deep inside her.

Then came the low and eerie sound, like a ghost’s wail right next to her ear. At first it shrieked like steel scraping glass, sharp and endless, driving her half-mad. Then it gradually mellowed down.

A ceaseless tide of sound rose and fell, swirling in unseen currents that washed over her spiritual platform (mind). She felt as if she were standing alone on a pitch-black shore, listening to the ceaseless tide grind against stone. A low, hypnotic rhythm pulling her into dreams.

Her body began to relax. The cold faded. In its place came a gentle warmth, rising like mist and spreading throughout her limbs. The pain was melting away.

Are my wounds healing? she wondered.

But the moment that hope surfaced, it was doused like cold water over her soul. She jolted awake. Her body stiffened instantly, and all the pain came rushing back in a flash.

Soul-leaving, spirit-capturing! It’s the Soul-Destroying Demonic Sound!

Her mind snapped into razor clarity. Everything, the source, the purpose, became starkly clear on her spiritual platform. And from it, a single terrifying possibility emerged:

The Nethermyst Seal… This is the Nethermyst Seal! The Soul-Driving, Spirit-Refining, Mind-Binding Great Technique! Could it be... Lord Bishui? Or the Underworld Flame Yama?

A flurry of names flashed through her mind, but she couldn’t be sure of any. With great effort, she tilted her head upward. Just as she feared, floating about thirty feet above was a flickering bead of light, pulsing with a strange, shifting glow. It was was unmistakably the legendary item lost for a thousand years…

The Heaven's Nether Yin Pearl.

Only that treasure could so effortlessly unleash the Nethermyst Seal!

And with that, her final sliver of hope vanished completely.

Just as her gaze locked onto the Heavenly Nether Yin Pearl suspended in the air, that vague, elusive qi mechanism invading her body suddenly surged. Now it pushed forward with unstoppable dominance, overwhelming all three of their wills. Bit by bit, it seized full control of their qi mechanisms and true breaths, and began reshaping it all. A completely different system of qi mechanism connection was forming inside them.

Yin Wanderer felt her six senses dulling rapidly. But she wasn’t surprised. When a demonic yin qi invades, it always starts by cutting off the five senses and seven apertures, then pollutes the divine consciousness, snuffing out the spiritual awareness. And once it breaches the spiritual platform, this lopsided contest is over.

Strangely enough, she had never felt such calm.

A faint smile even tugged at the corner of her lips.

There was only one thing left for her to do.

Across a thousand years of rise and fall… who will remember warmth, or cold?

Li Xun was fully focused, pouring every ounce of concentration into activating the Nethermyst Seal, methodically breaking down the willpower of the three cultivators in the pool. It was grueling work. Sure, they were all severely injured, but the kind of mental fortitude forged over thousands of years of cultivation wasn’t something you could just steamroll.

He’d thrown every trick he had at them, and still, all he’d managed was cutting off their six senses. The real challenge was only beginning.

And that was when he saw something that would burn itself into his memory forever.

A hand. A slender, pale, and flawless like carved jade hand pressed gently against Blood Wanderer’s chest. Then, with the lightest of taps…

A sound like the heavens collapsing tore from Blood Wanderer’s throat. Blood sprayed from his eyes, ears, nose, mouth. And every orifice.

That palm strike wasn’t even particularly strong, but it was exquisitely timed; it triggered the injuries he had barely managed to suppress.

But what came next was even more terrifying.That single instant of disruption cracked open the mental barrier Blood Wanderer had so painstakingly constructed. The invading energy seized on that weakness and surged inward like a flood. Dark tides swept across his spiritual platform, wiping away all the original imprints like a wave scrubbing clean a shoreline.

In this world, there are no longer Blood Wanderer.

Sensing the shift, the Heaven's Nether Yin Pearl hanging in the air let out a sharp, resonant hum.

Deep below the Nine Earths, where all the yin energy, death energy, and corrupt energy of the Three Realms converge, a pinpoint of the purest Nine Netherworld Earth Qi was drawn forth. It passed through the Heaven's Nether Yin Pearl, and in the thin gap between two otherwise unconnected dimensions, a tiny gateway opened.

A faint, mysterious, and subtly obscure primordial energy flickered like a swarm of fireflies emerging from within, drifting gently before landing with uncanny precision on Blood Wanderer’s third eye.

In the blink of an eye, his meridians, muscles, bones, and blood vessels had all been connected into one by this almost intangible primordial energy, flowing freely throughout his body.

His towering body suddenly shrank, gray-white sparks of energy shooting from every pore in his skin. The sparks whirled around him with a sharp hissing crackle, spiraling up and down, again and again. Nine full circuits.

Then came the popping. Countless tiny explosions. His body swelled back to its original size, but now, there wasn’t a scrap of clothing left on him. His skin had lost all color, turning a lifeless gray-white.

Around him, the light itself seemed to darken. Ten times deeper than night; it was as if the very space around him had collapsed, revealing a backdrop of pure, formless void that slowly began to swallow him whole.

That darkness churned and rolled, like a massive cloak silently draping over his body.

Shadows flitted back and forth a few times, Blood Wanderer… a new being emerged like a ghost rising from still water, without a single trace of moisture on its body.

The night breeze brushed past, and his jet-black robe billowed, rustling loudly. Not a trace of skin or flesh could be seen beneath. On it, extremely abstract symbols flickered with a gloomy and piercing light.

Beneath his wide hood, buried in shadow, two blood-red light sources gradually became clear. For a moment, the entire darkness seemed to brighten—then it settled back into calm and gloom.

The Nethermyst Puppet… My Nethermyst Puppet! It’s done, it’s done!

Li Xun wanted to scream with laughter. But no voice came out. He wanted to cry. But no tears would fall. He wanted to throw his arms into the air in triumph. But the floating bead had no arms to raise.

So in that maddening joy and unbearable restraint, Yin Wanderer’s final resistance collapsed. The grayish-white light flickered once again.

Another one… another one!

The Heaven's Nether Yin Pearl pulsed violently, its radiance swelling as it extracted the purest Nine Netherworld Earth Qi for the second time in a row. Even for such a mighty artifact, the toll was beginning to show. But with success so close, Li Xun clung on with gritted will.

Just one more. Only one left!

Qing Luan’s resistance was much stronger than that of the two Wanderers. Part of it, of course, came from her fastidious nature, but her innate strength as a divine celestial bird was also a big part of the trouble.

Li Xun was starting to grow anxious.

The smooth success of the first two attempts had left him a bit impatient, and now Qing Luan’s unexpected resilience was grinding on his nerves.

Worse yet…he was running out of time.

Second by second, the deadline crept closer. Finally, Li Xun let out a small breath of relief; Qing Luan’s divine sense had begun to fray at the edges, its intensity dwindling toward collapse. He’d nearly breached her spiritual platform in one decisive strike. At this point, she was like an exhausted archer. Her strength was spent, her defense on the brink. One final push, and she would be his.

Steeling himself, Li Xun prepared for the last wave of assault....

Then, without warning, the entire gray-toned world around him exploded with blinding light.

Li Xun froze, startled. Then, his whole body suddenly felt searing hot. This... wasn't a normal backlash.

This sign… he recognized it instantly.

The time limit had expired. The Nine Netherworld Earth Qi could no longer be controlled at will.

But how?! There was still time left…wasn’t there?

The thought barely formed before the world flipped violently around him. An overwhelming, irresistible force grabbed hold of his soul, yanking him out.

In a heartbeat, he felt himself become weightless, then unbearably heavy.

When he opened his eyes again, dazzling green light was shining in all directions.

Amid the blinding light, a clear, distant, and piercing cry rang out, followed by a fierce, howling gale that swept through heaven and earth.

Li Xun let out a muffled groan as he was hurled violently into the distance. Only then did he realize: his soul had returned to his body, and he was once again in his true form.

Flat on his back, he was staring blankly at the night sky.

In one corner of the sky, a green meteor streaked across the stars, leaving a long glowing tail behind.

Gone in a flash.

A thousand li in the blink of an eye.