The Forbidden Path to Immortality-Chapter 256

In four days, she’d covered less than seven thousand li. For an ordinary person, that would’ve been a godlike pace. For a cultivator, though, it was nothing short of embarrassing.

She was still nowhere close to where she needed to be, and she was already on the verge of falling apart.

Those seven thousand li were smeared with filthy blood. The person who had just died... was he the forty-second? Or the forty-third?

She finally understood. All that crap about “accumulating merit” and “upholding righteousness”... absolute bullshit. The real reason Hundred-Ghosts insisted on “escorting” her into the Three Sovereigns Sword Sect’s territory was to satisfy his own twisted desires! 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He killed everyone who crossed their path, using the cruelest, bloodiest methods he could imagine. Then reveled in it.

He’s gone mad!

Only now did Yan Shuiyue realize that Hundred-Ghosts she met again after a month apart was nothing like the man she had first encountered.

Back in Tenghua Valley, he’d hidden it well. But the moment he killed the first person after they left the valley, that madness in him... that violent, blood-hungry aura... it grew heavier by the day.

By the second day, none of the dead were left in one piece.

And now, even from several li away, she could smell the stench of blood clinging to him, thick enough to make her sick.

It seeped straight into her chest and gut, churning through her insides, wearing down her courage and will bit by bit.

What in the world happened to him? How did he suddenly become like this? Yan Shuiyue slowed down without meaning to, trying to focus, trying to use everything she’d ever learned to figure out the root of it all.

Right… the Blood-Eyed Demon Spirit isn’t dormant anymore. What changed to make that murderous omen surface so openly? And the Three-Kill Formation... the other two are fading, but the Heaven-Kill omen is getting stronger. If this keeps up, even if no one kills him, the heavens will strike him down!

Thoughts tumbled through her mind one after another, but none of them led anywhere useful. She couldn’t even explain why she was worrying about this monster in the first place. Maybe she just wanted to figure out the truth…

Another agonized scream tore through the air, making Yan Shuiyue shiver hard. Birds shot out of the trees and animals scattered in every direction, blurring the direction the horrifying cry had come from.

Not that it would’ve mattered. In her current state of mind, she couldn’t have figured it out anyway. All she wanted was to clamp her hands over her ears and shut the world out.

So she did.

But the very next moment, a woman’s voice slipped straight into her ears:

“Oh? What’s wrong with our little Shuiyue?”

Yan Shuiyue sucked in a sharp breath and lifted her head. The woman in front of her was someone she knew all too well.

“Devour of Yang!”

“Oh? Our little Shuiyue still remembers me? I’m touched you’ve kept me in mind.”

Devour of Yang covered her lips with a light, teasing laugh. An effortless gesture that somehow made every curve of her body flow with graceful motion.

Devour of Yang pressed a finger to her lips and let out a soft laugh. And just that small gesture made her curves come alive with a graceful, flowing beauty.

For some reason, even though they were both women, heat flushed across Yan Shuiyue’s cheeks. But just as quickly, her face drained of color as the danger of the situation closed in on her again.

It wasn’t just Devour of Yang standing ahead of her. Beside her were a man and a woman, both wearing the same cold, detached expression. Just their presence sent a chill creeping toward her. From the dense forest on both sides came slight movements as well. It was obvious now that Yan Shuiyue had walked straight into an ambush.

Devour of Yang gave her a long, oddly curious look, her eyes roaming up and down before she finally spoke. “It’s only been a month, and you’ve already made quite an interesting acquaintance. He’s caused us no end of trouble these past few days. Care to tell me who he is?”

“I don’t know him!”

The words tumbled out of Yan Shuiyue’s mouth before she even thought about them. And the moment she heard herself, her heart sank. What a terrible lie; far too rushed, far too desperate. How could she possibly fool someone like Devour of Yang with that?

But strangely enough, Devour of Yang looked as if she might actually believe it. Her eyes flickered, and she whispered, “You don’t know him? Really?”

Yan Shuiyue had no choice now but to stick to the lie. “He forced himself into my company. We’d never even met before!”

Devour of Yang nodded slightly. “You’re not wrong… and honestly, even if it were a lie, it wouldn’t matter. No matter what tricks that guy has up his sleeve, he’s not getting away from us today. But you, Shuiyue, you’ve been sneaking around for over a month now. It’s about time you went back and faced your master.”

Seeing Yan Shuiyue’s eyes dart nervously, she chuckled. “Come on, everyone knows you’re clever. But within ten li there are at least twenty pairs of eyes on you. If you’re thinking of pulling that smoke-and-mirrors stunt again, it won’t be so easy this time. Well? Let’s go.”

She gestured politely for her to move ahead. Yan Shuiyue drew a long breath and closed her eyes.

This time, there was no escaping it.

A moment later, screams erupted all around.

“What’s going on?”

The scream jolted Devour of Yang, and she quickly glanced at the male cultivator beside her. The man's usually cold face was now showing a hint of shock.

She knew he was just as clueless as she was, but she still couldn’t help asking, “Didn’t they stop him over there?”

The man frowned. “Sect Leader Mo is taking action herself... that shouldn’t be happening...” he muttered to himself, forgetting that his words could easily be taken another way.

Sure enough, he meant nothing by it, but the listener heard something else entirely. Devour of Yang’s expression darkened, and she let out a cold snort. “Your sect’s Demon Sword secret technique is unmatched. I’m sure you have some way to cut down that brute. Judging by the sound, he came in from the south and that’s your junior brother’s patrol area…”

The man waved his hand and laughed. “You misunderstand, Fairy. Xu Kang meant no offense. It’s just… something about this whole thing feels off. Don’t you think the attacker might not be acting alone?”

At that, both of them flinched.

The other woman, with sullen a face, opened her half-closed eyes. “Another one’s dead,” she said coldly.

In that moment, a streak of sword-light shot up from the forest not far away. It looked fierce at first glance, but if you looked closely, it wavered unsteadily. As it passed over a patch of trees, a spray of blood misted through the air. Horrific and pitiful.

“Junior Brother Luo!”

This time it was the man’s turn to be stunned. He didn’t even stop to speak to his two companions. He flashed, and he shot off in that direction like lightning. But he’d only made it halfway when a muffled boom rolled in from at least twenty li away, shaking the trees and sending leaves raining down.

“So there really are accomplices!”

The explosion came from the very spot where the Heart-Consuming Concubine had set up her ambush. From the sound of it, both sides were incredibly powerful. The Heart-Consuming Concubine was obviously fighting personally. And anyone capable of standing toe-to-toe with her wasn’t someone to be underestimated.

As her trusted right hand, Devour of Yang picked up far more from that single blast than the others. “This is bad. The Sect Master never likes meeting force with force. For things to escalate this loudly… doesn’t that mean she’s being pushed back?”

No matter how highly they’d overestimated the enemy beforehand, it was now clear the foe’s strength still had no bottom. Devour of Yang was dumbfounded. Xu Kang of the Heavenly Demon Sword Sect had already dashed into the forest, while the gloomy-faced woman beside her merely flicked her eyes around, silently sizing up the surroundings.

Another thunderous blast shook the air. Devour of Yang flinched, about to speak, when her companion suddenly hissed, “Watch out!”

The two women rolled to the side at the same time, narrowly dodging the sword-sharp strike behind them. Even so, a thick, foul stench of blood still filled their noses and mouths. Both were highly resistant to toxins, but the moment they caught a whiff, their heads still felt dizzy.

A hissing, eerie sound, like a snake flicking its tongue, sent chills down Devour of Yang’s spine. Without thinking, she flicked her fingers, sending a burst of pale blue smoke into the air. Twisting her body, she used only a mouthful of her true breath to flip through seven or eight positions midair, landing more than ten yards away. Only then did she finally get a clear look.

“Yan Shuiyue escaped... behind you!”

The sullen woman’s voice carried from a distance, but she was already a beat too slow.

A wave of scorching air skimmed the back of Devour of Yang’s neck. Even with her quick reflexes and forward leap, the blast still caught her. Pain exploded across her shoulder and back, as if a sledgehammer had slammed into her. The impact was so fierce it felt like her spine might have shattered.

What made it even worse was the violent surge through her blood and qi. Starting from the back of her neck and spreading down through her torso to her legs, her blood and qi seemed to boil and churn in her veins. The burning pain that consumed her entire body made her scream in agony.

“Burning Blood Primordial Breath, it's Burning Blood Primordial Breath!”

A low, nasty chuckle sounded right in her ear. “Not bad, you actually recognize it. If you manage to survive this, wait for me to come back later…I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself.”

He laughed madly.

Devour of Yang heard a sword sing out from somewhere behind her. And Xu Kang’s shrill cry tore through the air: “Your life is mine!”

“Not a chance!”

The laughter cracked like a whip. Devour of Yang, right nearby, felt his head spin and coughed up blood.

Before she blacked out, she vaguely heard one of her companions shouting, “Head north...”

Then blackness.

She drifted in and out, time meaningless. She felt as if hell’s devils had roasted her alive again and again, her skeleton turned to dust. All around her was a chorus of twisted screams and ragged cries, shrieking off-key, never quite making sense.

Suddenly, a jolt ran through her, and she snapped awake. She opened her eyes. And all she saw was the sky, half-hidden by by tangled branches and leaves.

Pain gripped her from head to toe. Worse was the hollow inside her, that gut-deep fatigue. It was like she got drained by some seasoned libertine.

It had been a long time since she’d felt anything like this.

She rolled her eyes to the side. Xu Kang sat nearby, face dark as iron, cradling his junior brother’s corpse. He caught her gaze, turned his head, and said coldly: “They all ran.”

Devour of Yang felt everything go black for a moment, but thankfully didn’t pass out again. A sliver of conscience reminded her she’d survived, all thanks to her companion’s repeated warnings. But when she looked around, the woman was nowhere to be seen. “Mingsi?” she called.

She was talking about the woman with the sullen face, one of the last six Nether General of the Underworld Monarch Sect. Her Sixth Sense could sniff trouble from a mile off.

Xu Kang’s lip twitched. “She’s done for. Her throat was slit. She’s alive, barely, but the burning her blood-qi scorched her brain. Her six senses took a huge hit. Recovering to what she used to be… I’m afraid that’s impossible now.”

Devour of Yang let out a weak “Ah…” Xu Kang went on coldly, “Your sect master was injured too… backlash from the Heart Gu. But her life isn’t in danger.”

By now, Devour of Yang didn’t even have the strength left to react. She stared blankly for while, then forced out one final question: “Who was it?”

Silence.

Puzzled, she looked over. Xu Kang’s face twisted into almost a grimace of a smile. “Didn’t see,” he said.

“…..”