The Forbidden Path to Immortality-Chapter 242

“Never do without? Two people?” Li Xun’s curiosity sparked. “And who’s the other one?”

The Underworld Flame Yama smiled. “Me, of course,” he said, tapping his chest, not politely. “In this world, if a sect wants to last in this world, really last, there are two kinds of people it can’t do without. You know who they are?”

Was this him bragging? Li Xun thought it over, then shook his head.

Yama's gaunt face creased into deeper laugh lines, his chuckle rattling with a cough, echoing weirdly around the room. “Of course, I’ll admit it. I’m no typical example, and neither is Elder Yin. But there’s one case you have to know. Mingxin Sword Sect. Zhong Yin and Qing Ming. You’ve got to be familiar with them.”

Without waiting for Li Xun’s reaction, he went on, “The two of them studied under the same master, yet their fates couldn’t have been more different. Zhong Yin had unmatched talent. Less than a thousand years of cultivation, and he soared to immortality in a blaze of glory, winning his sect great honor.

“Qing Ming, on the other hand, rises steadily. He keeps a low profile most of the time, but when it counts, he shows his edge. Always hits the mark. A true standout of his sect. Now tell me, if you were their master, who would you pass the position of sect leader to?”

That’s a good question… Li Xun sensed there was a lot behind it. He chewed it over. “Qing Ming,” he said at last.

He paused, then went on under the gaze of the Underworld Flame Yama. “Personality aside, Zhong Yin’s progress is too fast. If not for certain attachments, he’d have broken through and ascended way too early. That’s fine if he is a lone cultivator, but as head of a sect? He’d throw everything into chaos. It might not end well.”

A spark went off in his mind. Something occurred to him, though he couldn’t quite make it out, and his words trailed off.

The Underworld Flame Yama clapped his hands and laughed. “You’ve seen it. Zhong Yin’s talent is extraordinary. His cultivation blazes ahead too fast. But that speed comes at the cost of steadiness, unfit for a sect leader. More importantly, has Zhong Yin ever taken a disciple?”

Li Xun mulled it over. “Of course not…” And his eyes lit up. He suddenly looked up at that frail, old man. Understanding dawning in. “That’s right. Progressing too fast is one thing, but so fast you have no time to teach? How can a sect endure if no one carries on its legacy? In this, Qing Ming is far better.”

“Indeed.” the Underworld Flame Yama said, laughing through a cough. “Qing Ming leads the sect well. Though the elders of the last generation have all passed, he’s still able to keep the sect strong.

“Look at him, three generations of disciples under his name. The first had Zhong Yin, of course. The second produced the Seven Swords of Lianxia, and several outstanding outer disciples. Give it a few hundred more years, and his sect will stand unrivaled in this realm. As for the third generation, haha! A gathering of heroes, every one of them remarkable. He’s done far better as sect leader than I ever did

“Truth is… I had my chances too. If my junior brother, Ghost, hadn’t left so soon, would I have had to shoulder the burden of sect master alone. I pushed myself so hard only to end up with a heavenly tribulation on my back, leaving me half-dead. Oh, I wish I did die.”

The “Ghost” he mentioned was none other than that Master Ghost. The only man who had ever dared rival Zhong Yin.

At the mention of him, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Elder Yin sighed, waving her hand weakly. The image in the water mirror and its faint, lilting song faded away, leaving nothing but the Underworld Flame Yama’s hoarse, desolate voice echoing through the stone room.

“Back then, when Youli betrayed the sect and drained it of its strength, I wasn’t anywhere near this desperate. I still had Junior Brother Ghosts standing by my side, a once-in-a-generation genius.

“Inside, I poured every ounce of effort into running the sect, overseeing every little thing. Outside, Junior Brother Ghost spread our sect’s power far and wide; no one dares challenge us. Give me three hundred years, I thought, and the sect would thrive again. Ha… that Zhong Yin!”

There was a lot of meaning buried in those words, but there was no hatred for Zhong Yin. If anything, what little there was was mixed with deep helplessness.

Li Xun knew the feeling all too well.

The Underworld Flame Yama went on, “Qing Ming was a remarkable man, no doubt, but I never believed in myself any less. Ending up like this... it’s luck, or maybe fate.

“I’ve always believed I’ve never truly wronged anyone in my life. Except Elder Yin. Her… I know I owe more than I could ever repay.

“After Junior Brother Ghost was gone, not a single person from the younger generation could share my burdens. Elder Yin set aside her own path to ascension and devoted herself entirely to helping me. That’s the only reason the sect has lasted this long. Speaking of which, do you even know what I’m talking about?”

“Uh… about keeping the sect going...” Li Xun was saying when he caught a flicker of disappointment across the Underworld Flame Yama’s face. It hit him like a jolt. And he understood everything.

“No, you're talking about cultivation. There are two different paths. Either you clear your heart of all distractions and pursue the Dao with single-minded focus, or you take care of everything else first, then gather your scattered mind and strive for the Dao in the end.”

The Underworld Flame Yama laughed. “Exactly. But that’s still not quite it. You must understand. No matter how profound a cultivation method may be, it’s useless without the life to cultivate it. Take me, for instance. Even if I possessed the ultimate secret techniques, what good would they be if I couldn’t extend my own lifespan? To put it bluntly, these two things are the best way to stay alive in this world.”

“Huh?”

He smiled. “People say becoming an immortal is the greatest blessing, but what’s so great about it, really? It’s all about life itself! Living long, seeing through the ages, soaring through clouds and wind, roaming between heaven and earth. All those so-called immortal realms… they’re no different from what we’ve achieved. The only real difference is, they don’t die. But if we die like this… don’t you think it’s frustrating? Unfair, even?”

Li Xun gave a couple of coughs. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Everyone cultivates like their life depends on it. But in the end, out of a hundred cultivators, maybe one attains the Dao. The other ninety-nine? Strip away the fancy words, and they’re really just fighting to stay alive.

“But the Tongxuan Realm, at its core, exists for cultivation. If there’s no cultivation, there’s no reason for this world to exist. So then, who deserves to keep living?

“Only two kinds of people have the right to survive here. Only they make up the mainstream of this realm. And between them, there’s give and take, ebb and flow, like running water that doesn’t rot. . That’s the only way the Tongxuan Realm can endure…”

He gave a small smile. “That’s the consensus.”

Li Xun’s heart gave a start. The rest had been lofty talk, but that last line truly stunned him. “Consensus?”

The Underworld Flame Yama nodded. “Yeah. Consensus. This world has lasted tens of thousands of years, and among all the sects still standing today, which of them doesn’t understand this truth? Down below, mortals have their codes: the Three Bonds and Five Virtues. Things everyone respects, even if never spoken aloud. It’s an invisible order that holds everything together.”

Li Xun fell into thought.

Since the day he began his cultivation, no one had ever spoken to him like this. It wasn’t as if those words suddenly parted the clouds and showed him the heavens, but still... they carried the weight of a thousand years of experience, the distilled wisdom of a seasoned cultivator. Words worth remembering.

The Underworld Flame Yama coughed, still smiling. “Now you understand why I called you here, don’t you? Take that standard and see how many in this sect measure up. Haha! Under a thousand years of cultivation, how many are truly worth entrusting anything to?”

Li Xun wasn’t about to jump to conclusions. He shrugged and said subtly, “Bishui Lord?”

“His cultivation path is narrow and sharp,” said the Underworld Flame Yama. “He quibbles over every detail, keeps his thoughts hidden, and rarely speaks. Ambition he has; but that’s all. His strength stops there. Put someone like that in charge, and he’ll have authority but not the wisdom to use it. A sure road to ruin.”

Li Xun found the assessment fair enough. He raised an eyebrow and followed up, “What about Madam Yan?”

It was hardly the tone a disciple should use when mentioning his master, but the Underworld Flame Yama didn’t seem to mind. “She’s balanced yet sharp,” he answered evenly, “steady but willing to take risks. In dealing with people and things, she does fairly well.”

Li Xun tilted his head. And that’s… a bad thing?

Li Xun was still puzzled when the Underworld Flame Yama went on, “She sees too many things at once, and her cultivation is even weaker than Bishui Lord’s. That alone isn’t fatal. But she’s too slick, too careful. She has acquaintances, not real friends. When her gambling streak flares up, she tends to take reckless chances. And when the danger comes, with no one to stand by her side... that seat she’s in won’t be hers for long.”

Reckless chances?

Li Xun wasn’t sure what exactly he meant. He looked over, but the Underworld Flame Yama had closed his eyes, as if exhausted, saying nothing more. Li Xun could only turn to Yin Jin.

The old woman grinned, her toothless mouth spreading wide. “Heh, that little sparrow. I’ve watched her since she was a child. She’s sharp, sees right through everything. But that’s the problem; she sees too clearly. Always feels held back, never free to act as she wants. Maybe she’s just tired of it all. Sometimes she throws caution to the wind and bets everything on one move…

“Tsk, tsk. A quick blade is good for cutting through a mess, but that girl’s got a sharp tongue, not a sharp knife. That’s where the trouble starts.”

Only then did the Underworld Flame Yama continue. “My junior sister... she’s gentle on the outside but hard within. She handles things carefully, skillfully even, but her strength simply isn’t enough. She often sees what needs to be done… yet can’t reach out to do it. And when that happens, she’s forced to take risks.

His voice grew sharper, hotter. “You think Bishui Lord colluded with outsiders to assassinate you—but do you not see? My junior sister did the same. Colluding with outsiders… hah! Doesn’t that tell the world our sect’s very roots have already begun to rot?”

He slammed the chair’s armrest so hard it rang through the stone chamber with a hollow thunk. His hacking cough followed, brutal and ragged, lasting longer than all the others combined.

Even in the dim light, Li Xun could see the old man’s face flushed a deep, frightening purple. He couldn’t shake the thought that the old bastard might keel over at any second.

Even in the dim light, Li Xun could see the Underworld Flame King’s face swollen and purple. He couldn’t shake the thought that the old bastard might keel over at any second.

The mighty Underworld Flame Yama was no longer the awe-inspiring master he once was. He was just an old man on the brink of death. Every cough seemed to tear a little more life out of him.

Li Xun turned to Yin Jin. The old woman was still smiling cheerfully, full of energy on the surface, but the deathly aura surrounding her was something no smile could hide.

At once he felt it all. The Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect was just like these two: desperately clinging to life, fighting not to be swallowed by the inevitable.

A sage once said, “A wise man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.” Li Xun was no sage, but he wasn’t a fool either. There was no way he’d devote the rest of his life to a sect already half-dead. And it wasn’t just his imagination. Judging by the Underworld Flame Yama’s expression, this was clearly a “passing-on-the-torch” kind of moment.

Heaven knows why this sick old bastard had so much faith in a junior like him.