The Forbidden Path to Immortality
Chapter 89

Li Xun lay on the ground, his mind in chaos. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether he should be proud of his miraculous victory or wallow in frustration over falling short at the final moment. The two emotions surged back and forth until they pushed him to laugh out loud.

"Ah, forget it. No point in being so greedy, is there?”

He pushed himself up with some effort, flexed his limbs a bit, and finally turned to look at the two dark figures suspended above the Shapeshifting Yin Pit.

Their bodies were shrouded in “Nethermyst Robes”—garments formed from the solidified Nine Netherworld Earth Qi. Not a sliver of skin showed, making them appear eerie and enigmatic. If not for the swirling edges of their robes, they might’ve seemed one with the darkness.

The moment Li Xun laid eyes on them, a deep, bone-soaking satisfaction surged through him.

He walked toward them slowly, the qi mechanism flowing through his body.

Lightly, he touched the two Nethermyst Puppets. Immediately, the two motionless wooden figures reacted. Crimson and silver eyes lit up like four sharp blades, all aimed straight at him.

Even knowing they were no longer a threat, Li Xun reflexively took a step back.

Realizing his own lapse, a flush rose to his face. He quickly steadied himself and, with a flicker of thought, had the two puppets pull back their hoods.

And there they were: the faces of Blood Wanderer and Yin Wanderer.

Pale, bloodless, but otherwise unchanged from before.

Li Xun felt a strange tightness in his chest. For a moment, he even wondered if the two were playing a cruel trick—pretending to fall, only to wake up at the last second and mock him for being naive and weak, just when he thought he had triumphed.

If that were the case, it'd be the worst nightmare imaginable. Just the thought sent chills down his spine.

And yet, he found himself thinking. Maybe that would have felt more real. Because now, standing here, everything felt more like a dream.

Who would believe this if he told them?

Yin Wanderer and Blood Wanderer—two Grandmasters at the pinnacle of Tongxuan Realm, names that struck terror into the hearts of all—had fallen. And they had fallen at the hands of a boy not yet twenty.

It was absurd. Unreal.

He knocked on Blood Wanderer’s chest. Cold and hard. He patted Yin Wanderer’s cheek. The same.

Those fierce, penetrating eyes may still gleam, but there was no aura within them. Their consciousness had truly been extinguished.

His lips curled, and then, suddenly, he slammed a fist into Blood Wanderer’s face.

The hit landed with a dull thud, but left not a mark. His own knuckles, though, turned bruised and purple.

Li Xun didn’t get angry in the slightest. On the contrary, he burst out laughing.

Grinning like a madman, he swung both fists again and again, raining blows on Blood Wanderer’s head. The pain rattled his bones, as if they were about to shatter, but he was elated—drunk on the thrill, far more than any wine could offer.

Who knows how long he kept at it. Blood Wanderer’s face remained pristine and untouched, but Li Xun’s hands were swollen and battered beyond recognition. Finally exhausted, he stopped and turned his gaze to Yin Wanderer.

He grabbed her collar and dragged her close, studying that breathtakingly beautiful face.

But without mind, without thought…was she still Yin Wanderer?

Her pride, her depth, her wisdom... even that deeply ingrained seductive grace that infused her every movement. None of it remained in this lifeless shell.

All that was left was the body. The real Yin Wanderer had already turned to dust, scattered on the wind.

The joy drained from him. He let go, stood up straight, and tilted his head to the sky.

The euphoria was gone. All that remained was weariness. And a creeping sense of uncertainty about what to do next.

For most of his life, he had poured everything into surviving. At times, he’d even believed that survival was the only purpose he had.

But now, with those threats finally gone, with his life fully in his own hands, he found himself thinking… 

Was that it?

Was it really this simple?

So simple, it left a chill in his heart.

He shook his head, then gestured with his hand. The Heaven's Nether Yin Pearl, still suspended in midair, dropped into his palm.

By now, the treasured orb had lost all its luster. When Li Xun probed it with his qi mechanism, he could no longer draw forth the astonishing power it once held.

He wasn’t surprised.

To extract Nine Netherworld Earth Qi across dimensions twice in such a short time. That kind of reckless extravagance had probably never happened in the pearl’s entire existence!

The fact that it hadn’t shattered outright was already a miracle. But even so, without a hundred years or more of cultivation, it would never regain its peak power.

He tossed the pearl up and down in his hand. Then, sensing a gaze, he turned his head and saw Bloodkiss, well-fed and satisfied, staring wide-eyed at the pearl. Those pupils, dilated to the edge, shone with hunger...but also a wary caution.

"I'm not giving you this," Li Xun couldn’t help but smile at the little beast. It had grown on him; its presence always lifted his mood, and its well-timed help during the battle had earned his respect.

He spoke to it like an old friend, “If you swallow this thing now, a hundred years from now it’ll swallow you.”

Bloodkiss's expression turned to pure disappointment. Smiling, Li Xun tucked the pearl away, his gaze drifting to the distance. One name came to mind: Consort Qin. Was she still alive?

When he finally reached her, the night had descended into its darkest hour. Beneath the suffocating black sky, he saw her. This beauty whose skin had so recently touched his was lying still, her eyes wide open, staring at the heavens. The light of life had left them.

Li Xun couldn’t even name what he was feeling. But it wasn’t joy.

Expressionless, he reached out and retrieved the treasures on her body. His Jade Bixie Amulet and Phoenix Feather Needle. And he found his Azure Jade sword nearby. During this process, his hands touched her cold, stiff limbs again and again. Just like the two Wanderers, the softness, the warmth, the intoxicating scent—those were now memories, something he would only ever feel again in dreams.

He stood up, paused, then crouched down again. With one hand, he gently brushed her face, closing her eyes for her. He lingered for a moment, then, after a long silence, reached out once more. This time he lifted her into his arms.

He turned and walked back toward the Shapeshifting Yin Pit.

“Maybe here… your beauty can remain preserved forever,” he murmured.

And then he stood silently by her freshly made grave, his mind utterly blank.

The Nethermyst Puppets stood silently behind  him like stone statues. There wasn’t the slightest trace of life’s warmth left in them.

In the wind howling across the wilderness... were there still lingering souls weeping in sorrow?

Suddenly, Li Xun wanted to very much see them again. If he could, he’d look them in the eye and declare, in his most triumphant tone he could muster, who the true victor was in the end.

But now that their souls had vanished, who was left to hear him?

“Did I really win? No,” Li Xun coldly answered himself.

That’s right, he hadn’t truly won. Because the fear and humiliation he had endured had never been repaid. The two of them had just… gone. And so easily, so painlessly at that!

He took out Heaven's Nether Yin Pearl and held it in his palm. The dim glow from it seemed to shrink under his gaze, as if it were afraid of the emotion behind his eyes.

But to Li Xun, that shrinking light was sharp and clear. Like a blade of clarity cutting through his soul. And then, it came: a sudden, almost electric rush of excitement that swept through him from head to toe.

He spun around sharply and locked his gaze on the two puppets completely devoid of spiritual energy. At last, he let out a breathy shout, releasing all the pent-up frustration inside. Lightly tapping his fist against his palm, he muttered to himself, “There should still be a chance.”

Various secret techniques of the Soul-Driving, Spirit-Refining, Mind-Binding Great Technique flowed through his mind.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became of his own judgment.

Pointing at Blood Wanderer, he nodded. “You’ll be Nether One.”

Then at Yin Wanderer: “And you're Nether Two; that’s how I’ll call you for now, at least. After that, it’s just a matter of waiting… a few years.”

His face twitched twice before he finally tossed aside the last shred of restraint and burst into a hoarse, maniacal laugh.

“There’s still a chance! Forty-nine years, for the divine consciousness to grow, for your spirit and wisdom to awaken! When that time comes, you’ll return. You’ll see your master. You’ll see me! Everything you’ve done to me, I will return it tenfold, a hundredfold. Forty-nine years. Just wait. Just wait.”

Peals of laughter echoed across the vast wilderness, slowly fading into the hoarse whisper of the wind.

Li Xun turned his back on the victory before him. What he wanted, what he was truly after, was the dreamlike reunion scene, forty-nine years from now.

Whether such a dream was foolish or not no longer mattered. He had a goal now, didn’t he?

Under the rising morning sun, Li Xun strode forward. Behind him, the two Nethermyst Puppets drifted a few paces in the breeze. Slowly, their forms grew faint until they shimmered, then disappeared completely into the air.

Overhead, a streak of crimson flashed across the sky, darting past him and vanishing into the sea of dawn-colored clouds.