The Forbidden Path to Immortality-Chapter 260

Shui Die Lan thought for a moment, then grinned and gestured ahead. “Alright then, after you, Master of Forbidden Path, Daoist Hundred Ghosts.”

The sky darkened fast. And in the shadows, the thinly spread trees looked like a bunch of creepy creatures, all kinds of weird shapes popping out.

A small gray-feathered bird fluttered onto a branch. It beat its wings a couple times, then used its long beak to tidy its dull-colored feathers.

At a glance it seemed like an ordinary bird that liked to roam and forage at night. But if you looked closely at its eyes, you would notice the glow of shifting green light moving inside its pupils... something no common creature could possess.

Once it grew tired of the branch, the bird took off again, aiming for the deeper woods. But just as it moved gracefully between the branches, the air let out a vibrating hum. And the bird was torn apart, as if countless blades had crossed

Strangely, the shattered bird didn’t spill a single drop of blood. Once the broken feathers drifted to the ground, the forest went quiet again. So quiet it made your chest tighten.

That heavy silence lasted a long while. Only when the darkness began to fade was it finally broken by an outsider. He wore sky-blue robes and moved incredibly fast, heading straight toward the spot where the bird had been torn apart.

“Tsk. Good moves, but he doesn’t look like a trained killer?”

Hidden by the restriction that concealed them, Li Xun whispered with Shui Die Lan. But it was pretty obvious he had just said something dumb.

Shui Die Lan gave a soft huff. “Idiot, look at the sky. This is the Falling Feather Sect’s favorite formation. They call it ‘Please Step Into the Trap.’ There are at least four experts of the same level as that man watching from all sides. The moment you attack him, the others will strike together with the Four-Directions Death Seal. Even I’d have to think twice.”

The cultivator crouched down and examined the bird’s remains with careful attention.

Before long, he noticed the restriction marks carved into the nearby trunks and etched across the ground. Naturally, his focus shifted to them, and he seemed completely absorbed in studying them.

It was the perfect moment for someone to launch a sneak attack.

Li Xun licked his lips. There was no way he was going to admit to being called an “idiot.” If he’d missed something, it was only because he still wasn’t used to his new cultivation technique.

But thanks to Shui Die Lan’s reminder, he focused more carefully. And sure enough, he detected several extremely subtle flows of qi in the air.

Those faint traces clung to the newcomer like spider silk. They looked light and insubstantial, yet they were incredibly sensitive. Li Xun had no doubt that if he lost his cool and made a move now, the consequences would be disastrous.

Before long, the cultivator straightened up. Li Xun felt his aura rise just a little, as if he were sending a signal. Right after that, a figure in black flashed down from the sky.

The two spoke briefly. It sounded as though they had identified the formation. The man in blue nodded, pulled a jade box from his robe, and opened it with great care. A thread of icy light snapped out with a sharp zing, and a chill spread through the forest in an instant.

“Trouble,” Li Xun muttered with a sigh when he saw the shape of the thing inside.

He hadn’t expected the Falling Feather Sect to go this far. They had even brought the famous Soul-Seeking Ice Cicada.

This little creature was famous for being super sensitive to any living aura. With it around, there was no way anyone could hide using just restrictions.

And even if he killed these people right now, as long as this little thing got away, no matter how far he ran... there’d be no escaping the Falling Feather Sect!

Since that was the case, he might as well get it over with.

He cleared his throat, and Burning Blood Primordial Breath surged through his body. It was like a torch flaring to life in the middle of the night, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

Under the surprised gazes of the two cultivators, he stepped calmly out of the shadows. “Looking for me, gentlemen?” he said with a smile.

He was acting out of necessity, of course, but the two in front of him were clearly dealing with an even bigger problem.

He acted out of necessity, obviously... but the two in front of him were clearly the ones in deeper trouble.

Falling Feather Sect had never been good at handling things head-on, so when they saw Li Xun wearing such a warm, friendly smile, the two cultivators were caught completely off guard.

Up in the sky, an invisible bowstring slowly tightened.

Another voice rang out. “No. We’re not doing business tonight.”

Li Xun turned toward the sound in surprise. A man walking toward them unhurriedly.

Clad in pure white, the man stood out against the deepening night. Yet his aura was reined in, barely there. And that didn’t match his clothes at all.

No doubt, he was striking. Skin as white as his robes, almost blending into them, enough to make plenty of women green with envy. The lines of his face were hard, yet the calm confident in his expression softened them, making him magnetic in a way that didn’t entirely make sense.

But when Li Xun saw the man's clear, gentle eyes, he was immediately stirred by a feeling of suspicion.

There was no emotion in those eyes that he could pin down. Glance too quickly, and you might think you’d caught the drift of his thoughts. But just as fast, that “direction” would vanish, replaced by something entirely different.

This man's dangerous.

Li Xun had never encountered someone like this before. It was as if every movement the man made designed to mislead, to confuse, and eventually to manipulate. What was worse was that this impression might not even be real in the first place. That was the most unsettling part.

All of a sudden, he kind of regretted being so cocky and jumping out like that.

“Not… doing business?”

It wasn’t just Li Xun. The other two assassins from the Falling Feather Sect froze too, taken aback by the sudden appearance of this person and whatever the hell he’d just said. For a long, uncomfortable moment, the forest held its breath.

Who was this guy? Li Xun ran through every possible name in his mind, and the conclusion he reached startled even him. Su Huaiyu?

He couldn’t be sure, but judging from the rumors in the Tongxuan Realm, there was only one person known for this kind of elusive, hypnotic aura. Who else could it be besides Su Huaiyu... the one known as “Heartbreaker Soulcharmer”?

Better to break your own back a thousand times than face the Heartbreaker once. This joking little saying perfectly summed up how cultivators in this world felt about this big-shot from Falling Feather Sect.

And right now, Li Xun, unlucky bastard that he was, ran straight into him...

Lately, nothing had gone right for him.

Li Xun was grumbling to himself, when Su Huaiyu sighed. “It has been almost two hundred years since we parted on Goose Mountain,” he said casually. “I spared this junior today, yet you still will not show yourself and offer me a word of thanks?”

Figures. Li Xun finally got it. From the very start, this Su bigshot hadn’t even bothered to glance at him.

The one he had been speaking to was Shui Die Lan.

How long had it been? At least thirty or forty years since anyone had treated Li Xun like he was invisible. And what made it worse was that he could not even tell whether the man in front of him was doing it on purpose.

Li Xun’s heart suddenly swelled.

Ever since he cultivated the Blood God Child body transformation technique, the only organ inside him that still resembled anything “normal” was his heart, the center of his qi and blood.

But now it had gotten… unusually sensitive. Even the tiniest flicker of emotion could set off an extreme reaction.

Even at a moment when it felt like his insides were on fire, Li Xun’s mind still held onto a trace of icy clarity.

It was that sliver of icy clarity that let him stay rooted. He watched coldly from the side as this Sect Leader Su delivered his dramatic speech to the dark forest.

Shui Die Lan refused to cooperate and stayed completely silent. Su Huaiyu waited, longer than he liked, and the corner of his mouth betrayed a bitter edge.

Never mind whether the expression held any real feeling; what caught Li Xun’s attention was the man’s gaze. It seemed unfocused, mournful even, yet Li Xun could feel it cutting past his shoulder, locked firmly on where Shui Die Lan was hiding.

Up in the sky, the Four-Directions Death Seal showed no sign of letting its killing intent fade.

Li Xun’s mind spun a hundred ways at once, racing to find a way out of this mess.

Right then, a faint sound brushed past his ear. He froze, then followed the sound, looking up. He saw Huaiyu’s lips parting, about to speak.

“Tsk, are you here for me or not?” Li Xun asked again.

The sudden question shattered the heavy tension hanging over the forest.

Su Huaiyu was shrewd enough that nothing showed on his face. But the other two assassins couldn’t help turning their eyes toward him.

Only then did they realize the question was meant for them.

Li Xun wore the look of someone who couldn’t care less, his gaze fixed on the space behind Su Huaiyu.

That line picked up right where Li Xun had left off, ignoring everything that had happened in the dozens of breaths since Su Huaiyu showed himself.

When it came to contempt, Li Xun was in no way inferior to Su Huaiyu.

It was almost like tossing those two poor bastards onto a roasting rack.

Still, the two of them had cultivated for hundreds of years. Instinct kicked in, and they reacted in the most reasonable way.

They lowered their gazes, faces blank, treating Li Xun’s question like it wasn’t even there. But judging by the way their noses twitched and their eyes darted, there was no hiding the hint of embarrassment.

Li Xun had never expected them to say anything anyway. He simply chuckled and began walking forward slowly in Su Huaiyu’s direction.