The Quest for Immortality

”You have seen me.”

The Taoist was startled, thinking to himself, impossible, I clearly didn’t turn my head, how could I have seen these things?

He quickly turned to confirm, but just as he turned his head, without seeing anything, the Taoist thought in his heart:

”Oh no, I’ve been tricked!”

But it was already too late, his Primordial Spirit reacted slowly, yet his actions were even faster.

By the time he realized the problem, the Taoist had already turned his head, and in just an instant, he saw a head suspended among the withered trees.

It was a human head, just a head, with decaying flesh, yet the eyes were intact, carrying a grayish-white and sinister look, directly staring at him.

It wasn’t just one head.

The Taoist not only saw this head but also the entire withered forest, his face instantly turning pale.

The withered forest was desolate, and the barren branches were densely hung with a multitude of human heads.

”I have seen you!”

The head directly staring at the Taoist eerily smiled.

At the same time, all the heads within the withered forest turned one by one, cracking open their mouths, and began to laugh grimly.

They all said:

”I have seen you!”

In an instant, thousands of eerie and shrill voices converged together, like demonic voices piercing the ears, directly through the Taoist’s eardrums, stabbing into his mind, making his head spin, his Primordial Spirit wavering unsteadily.

True Man Situ, who was walking in front, his expression changed drastically and exclaimed: ”Not good!” Immediately he urged his Primordial Spirit, triggering the True Mantra, invoking the glow of the Seven Stars Formation to protect everyone’s Divine Thoughts.

But the glow of the Seven Stars Formation could resist Evil Qi, yet could hardly fend off the incantation of the sinister voices.

The sinister wails still echoed around everyone’s ears.

The ghostly faces of the heads seemed to be right by their ears, saying to them:

”I have seen you!”

”You can’t escape!”

”Stay forever...”

And the one who felt the most suffering was Wenren Wan.

His cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage, unable to perform an out-of-body experience, his Divine Thoughts manifested through the guidance of the Great Dream, inherently the weakest in telekinesis, coupled with forcibly breaking into the Sea of Consciousness to form a bridge with Divine Sense to bear the burden of everyone forcibly crossing the black mist and entering the Evil God’s nightmare. At this moment, his Divine Thoughts were already fragile, and with the disturbance of the demonic voices, in an instant, his Divine Soul body showed signs of cracking.

Seeing this situation, True Man Situ was shocked and quickly said:

”Hurry, the Three Pure Ones Bell!”

The white-clothed female True Man beside Wenren Wan, upon hearing this, while enduring the disturbance of the sinister voices, promptly used the Lotus Skill, and the clear and white Divine Thought flowed around, manifesting a bell of golden jade with ancient inscriptions in front of her.

This treasure was the Three Pure Ones Bell, a supreme treasure of the Divine Way, and it could not be refined or activated by one without the Taoist inheritance and a clear and righteous mind.

The white-clothed female True Man exerted her utmost to activate the Three Pure Ones Bell, and in an instant, the clear sound rippled through, extinguishing the sinister voices.

The demonic sounds no longer disturbed everyone’s ears, and Wenren Wan’s condition improved significantly.

”Hurry, let’s go!”

True Man Situ said in a deep voice.

Everyone no longer hesitated, quickly retreating under the cover of the clear, righteous sound of the Three Pure Ones Bell, leaving behind the withered forest and the countless sinister heads hanging above it.

Leaving the withered forest, they arrived at a black-gray mountainside, where everyone, still frightened, paused to rest briefly.

But time was urgent, and there was no opportunity for much rest.

”Let’s keep moving, we need to reach the depths of Black Mountain as soon as possible,” True Man Situ stood up, just about to say something, when his gaze swept around, and he suddenly frowned.

Someone was missing?

Everyone exchanged glances, and their expressions changed immediately, realizing there was a problem.

”Where is the scholar?”

”Wasn’t he with us when we left the withered forest?”

”Is that the case?”

”I can’t remember if he managed to escape...”

Everyone’s expressions inevitably grew heavier.

True Man Situ furrowed his brows, pondered briefly, then said, ”Let’s go back and look for him.”

Having worked together, if he were in danger, they couldn’t just leave him to die.

Moreover, the scholar held a special position; whether it was the Heavenly Secret Skill or the Eight Diagrams Exorcism Plate, both could be of great use.

Everyone walked back, and before long, they saw the scholar’s figure outside the withered forest.

He wasn’t trapped in the withered forest, devoured by countless demonic voices, which was considered a stroke of bad luck turned good; True Man Situ and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

But before everyone could truly relax, the burly man covered in Runes frowned and said:

”His appearance... is somewhat strange?”

Clearly, there was no one around, yet the scholar, with his back to everyone, seemed to be holding something, making intimate gestures.

The burly man frowned, stepped forward to pull him, and was immediately startled, hastily pushing away.

The scholar turned around, and everyone saw that his face and neck were covered with bright red lip marks.

These lip marks, left by some unknown entity, were red as blood, squirming like worms, sucking blood, devouring flesh, causing the scholar’s flesh to rot and decay step by step, and even the lip marks kept growing, spreading bit by bit...

Everyone’s expressions changed upon seeing this.

True Man Situ also gasped.

And the scholar’s face intertwined with obsession and regret.

Seemingly indulged in desire, unable to extricate himself, yet clearly aware within that he had fallen into a trap, struggling with remorse and bitterness.

True Man Situ knew the situation was urgent, immediately dared not hesitate, pulled out a Pure Yang Talisman, and stuck it to his heart, suppressing the constantly spreading, bright red, pure yet bloody and cruel ”lip marks.”

Under the suppression of the Pure Yang Talisman, the scholar’s Primordial Spirit seemed to be scorched by the scorching sun, emitting white smoke.

But the Evil Qi continued to spread.

True Man Situ’s fingertips emanated Starlight, focusing fingers to point at the scholar’s forehead, and taking advantage of a few fleeting moments of clarity brought by Seven Stars Entry into God, urgently said:

”Hurry! Recite the mantra!”

The scholar’s lips moved, seemingly unwilling and reluctant.

True Man Situ said, ”If you don’t leave now, you’ll truly be annihilated both in form and spirit!”

The scholar gritted his teeth, seemingly ashamed of his ”incompetence,” his face showing both shame and pain, muttering the mantra True Man Situ told him, and then the Seven Stars Formation flashed, the entire Primordial Spirit began to twist, forcibly pulled away from the nightmare by the Seven Stars Power.

But he was already ”corrupted.”

What would happen to him afterwards, whether he would live or die, True Man Situ did not know.

True Man Situ sighed slowly, looking around, his heart gradually sinking.

He didn’t know what exactly had happened.

But obviously, some sort of monster was secretly at work, beguiling the scholar and corrupting him.

Yet without having seen the Evil God, one of the fourteen had already been lost.

And this nightmare of the Evil God finally revealed its invisible, sinister fangs...