The Forbidden Path to Immortality-Chapter 275

What was more, the tiny particles inside the fog looked like they were swirling chaotically, but in reality they were twisting and binding against one another... nothing like an ordinary fog.

This should be a reaction caused by aftershocks from fluctuations in the primordial qi inside the Star River...

Li Xun quickly came up with an explanation based on forbidden arts theory, but he did not stop there. He noticed something else, and he noticed it carefully.

This fog is like a net. A spiderweb. The flow of qi inside it is delicately linked, extremely fragile and sensitive. If someone were to disturb it even a little…

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than, several li away, a presence with an intensely powerful aura streaked past at high speed. Its flaring true breath scraped violently against the fine particles in the fog. Thanks to the fog’s excellent conductivity, that disturbance traveled to a spot even farther away.

Just as expected!

Li Xun had no interest in guessing who that person was. What caught his attention was the way their passage disturbed the fog.

The structure of the qi mechanism within the fog was naturally different from that of the Star River itself, but it came from the same source. That alone made it extremely valuable as a reference for his deductions.

On top of that, there were the fleeting hints he had sensed during the Star River’s displacement. Taken together, the material he could use for calculations had grown much richer.

And there was one more thing. Yunxing had casually mentioned the timing of the Star River’s shift. Even though it was only a rough estimate, something like “four hours,” he compared it with where Yunxing had appeared at the time, the implications were enormous.

Li Xun ran through all this rare information in his mind, filtering it piece by piece and making sure every detail was correct. Only then did he nod in satisfaction and dive down once more.

Today’s gains were substantial. If the next few days went as well as this one, he might not need more than ten days or two weeks to sketch out a rough map of the Star River’s surrounding restrictions. With a bit more luck, he might even…

Li Xun’s body suddenly went rigid.

Because right in front of him, out of nowhere, appeared a pair of bright, gleaming eyes. In the dim light beneath the sea, they glowed a vivid green, eerie yet unmistakably familiar.

A cat… Kitty?

...

The round head before him belonged to a cat, but the body attached to it was a plump snake. If it was not the beloved pet of Miss Lin from the Yemo Heaven side, then who else could it be?

A closer look made it obvious. The blood-red gem set into its forehead was proof enough.

If the little creature was here... Li Xun’s thoughts immediately jumped to the “feather-letter” he'd received the night before. The message was one hundred percent Lin Wuyou in style, but any fool knew that Lin Wuyou was little more than the mouthpiece of Gu Yin, or the Demon Phoenix. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

What she meant was exactly what Gu Yin and the Demon Phoenix meant.

First they had sent a message urging him to come. And now... not long after he showed himself, he had been found so precisely. Something about this felt wrong.

Li Xun frowned. His gaze settling on the gem set in Kitty’s forehead, the one called the Soul-Locking Radiant Orb. He half expected a voice to come through it at any moment.

This time, though, he was mistaken.

Kitty simply nodded at him, twisted its body, and slipped away, quickly putting a long stretch of distance between them. The way it moved was very much like a water snake. While keeping its presence carefully concealed, it still managed impressive speed.

Li Xun understood at once and followed, gliding through the water. With his heightened sensitivity to the qi structure within the fog, moving through it was even easier for him than it was for Kitty.

They swam on like this for more than ten li and still had not reached the edge of the fog. At that point, Kitty finally stopped. It lifted its head and glanced up toward the sea’s surface, then turned back and nodded to Li Xun in silent signal.

Li Xun paused for a moment. Then Kitty kicked into overdrive, turning into a streak of red light and shooting straight up. In the blink of an eye, it burst out of the sea.

That kind of insane speed was bound to cause a huge reaction. To Li Xun, it was no different from someone slamming his foot into the front door and kicking it hard enough to make the whole damn thing thunder and echo.

At this point, he had no choice. With a self-deprecating smile, he launched himself upward, shooting straight the sky.

The fog created by the shifting Star River covered an astonishingly wide area. It hung not only over the sea and beneath it, but even lingered more than ten li up in the air. It was thinner there, but it was still present.

As he was about to break free of the mist’s reach, true daylight poured down from the clear sky. Li Xun squinted. And he saw it. High in the blue sky floated a single white cloud, hanging perfectly still and standing out sharply against the vast, cloudless expanse.

Kitty let out a soft call. Its tiny body shot straight into the cloud, and then it was gone.

Li Xun hesitated, his speed slowing a touch. Even so, he followed Kitty path and flew to the side of the cloud.

Then he saw someone who absolutely should not have been there.

Sect Master Gu…?

Inside the cloud carriage, shaped from gathering vapor, Gu Yin wore a snow-white fox fur. Propping her chin with one hand, she lounged sideways on the seat, curled up comfortably.

Above her, the cloud mist condensed into an ornate canopy, shading her from the sun. In the shade, she looked languid and relaxed, holding a book and idly passing the time. When Li Xun showed up, the glance she flicked his way was calm and flat. No real emotion in it at all.

Without meaning to, Li Xunfang fixed his eyes on her face. It was clear that her complexion was anything but healthy. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, her lips drained of all color. She plainly had not yet recovered from the grave injuries she had suffered a month ago. And yet… why was she here?

Their eyes met by accident. Li Xun looked away; he still could not make sense of the situation.

Gu Yin parted her lips. “Lately,” she said flatly, “it’s been much harder to find you… come in.”

“Come in?”

For a moment, Li Xun did not understand. Or rather, he thought he must be misunderstanding her. “Come in where?”

After all, this cloud carriage was not the Mingxin Sword Sect’s “Cloud Tower Moon-Grasping Chariot.” It had been designed to carry a single person. The curved walls rose only halfway, forming a semi-enclosed space. There was more than enough room for one person, and it was quite comfortable at that. Two people would technically fit, but it would be… cramped.

Gu Yin let out a sigh so soft it was almost inaudible. She set the book aside, slowly uncurling those legs she'd had tucked up on the seat, and straightened her posture, clearing space for him.

“Of course I mean into the carriage,” she said. “You should know what the ‘stardust mist’ we just passed through is for. Unless you want others to see the Spirit Bamboo and Gu Yin meeting here in private?”

She seemed unaware of the double meaning in her words. Nor did she notice that, when she lowered her legs aside, Li Xun's eyes had accidentally flicked down and caught a glimpse of her bare feet, pale and delicate against the white fur.

Hell, even ignoring all those accidents, just the simple fact that she was letting Li Xun climb into the carriage with her? That alone spilled way more than “enough” information.

Still, her words did their job. Wearing the mask of the “Spirit Bamboo,” the situation Gu Yin described was exactly what Li Xunfang feared most. After hearing her, he did not dare delay any longer. He leaned in and slipped inside, sitting down against the curved wall of the carriage.

Even so, there was no avoiding a certain amount of brushing against her. Though a layer of fox fur lay between them, he could still feel the curves of her body, along with that faint scent of medicinal herbs coming off her.

Medicinal herbs…

Li Xun jolted, suddenly alert. He turned his head toward her, his expression shifting to surprise. “Sect Master Gu, are you injured?”

“Mm,” she replied. “I was hurt by someone about a month ago. I’m still not fully recovered.”

Gu Yin wasn’t moved in the slightest by Li Xun’s “concern.” She lightly tapped the wall of the carriage. The cloudlike vehicle gave a gentle shudder, then shot forward, racing through the sky.

At the very instant it took off, Li Xun felt a presence he knew all too well. If his guess was right, the one pulling this carriage was probably the most humiliated great demon in all of history... Net Throat Demon.

From this, Li Xun figured out that there had to be hidden compartments in the carriage. Places to stash the Net Throat Demon and hook it up for power.

Kitty must have slipped in there just now, too.

The thought flickered through his mind. And he quietly forced his still-restless heart to calm down.

Yes, this really was a perfect opportunity. Gu Yin was at her weakest. She might not be able to withstand a combined strike from him and Yin Wanderer. If Gu Yin died, the Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance would inevitably fall apart, and Li Xun’s path to revenge would become ten times smoother than it was now.

Unfortunately, in the end, he still didn’t dare take the risk.

In truth, even though they had been in contact for more than sixty years, Li Xun had only spoken with Gu Yin face to face two or three times.

This time, however, was the closest they had ever been.

If Li Xun felt no pressure at all, that would have been strange. He carefully kept his expression under control, choosing his words with great care.

“But about Old Kunpeng Demon… the rumors in this world are fragmentary at best. I had no idea Sect Master Gu was injured too. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better for you to recuperate in Yemo Heaven? Why come here in person?”

Gu Yin smiled when she heard that.

“I’m tired too,” she said. There was a slight rise and fall to her voice now, a hint of emotion. “But I’m short on hands. I wanted to find someone to help out, and the one person I want is nowhere to be found.. What else can I do?”