The Immortal Path Is Crowded

The moment killing intent flooded the chamber, Jin knew one of his wilder guesses had just turned real. A heavy spiritual pressure rolled off the man and settled over the room like a shadow pressing on his shoulders. It shouldn't have been possible. A Foundation Establishment cultivator wasn't supposed to carry that much weight. Jin's eyes narrowed. Even Senior Sister Mei, who outclassed him completely, had never let out pressure this thick without trying. Something was off.

Jin spat blood and sighed, the sound tired more than pained. "Seriously…" The annoyance was plain in his voice. "Ever since I left the sect, it's been one thing after another." He shook his head. "Couldn't I get one peaceful trip instead of running into half-dead old men who want to drink blood?" A second sigh came out, thinner this time. "Is this just what happens whenever I go outside?"

Heat stirred low in his gut and his blood began to answer, warming as it moved faster. The veins in his forearms rose, muscles drawing tight like rope pulled taut. It wasn't a transformation, just a shift, but anyone watching would have seen it. He flexed his fingers once, slow, and let a small mocking smile touch his mouth. "Guess there's no helping it," he said to the demonic cultivator. "Once again, I get to fight for my life."

Across the altar the man in crimson watched without a word, and for the first time since they'd entered, surprise flickered across his face. Jin's aura changed as the blood enhancement technique settled in, a steady warmth pushing through his veins. Would it be enough? He didn't have time to ask. In a place like this, thinking too long was the same as dying.

If I hesitate, I die here.

Jin sank low, gathered everything he had, and launched. Stone cracked under his feet as he crossed the space in a breath, driving straight for the demonic cultivator's chest.

The man moved like it was nothing, slipping the punch with a turn of his shoulder and answering with an open palm to Jin's ribs. The blow dented his chest and forced blood up his throat, but Jin didn't go flying this time. His heels screeched over stone as he skidded, and he stayed upright.

The cultivator's eyes opened a fraction wider when Jin took the hit and stayed standing. Jin didn't waste it. He drove another punch with everything left in him, straight at the heart. The man knocked it aside at the last instant, but didn't see the head coming right behind it. Skull met skull with a dull crack. The demonic cultivator stumbled back, snarling through his teeth. "You insolent brat…!"

He didn't get the chance to hit back. Jin was already there, riding the opening, and he put everything, muscle and boiling blood and technique, into one Organ-Shattering Fist. The punch sank deep into the man's chest.

The young women stared, stunned. Someone barely a step above them had just rushed a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert and put him down with a clean hit. Bai's eyes lit up. It was just like the stories, the freaks who ignored the normal limits. The man's chest was caved in, wrong and deep. One of the girls breathed, "He… he killed him…!"

But Jin didn't feel any relief. His fist was still buried in that ruined chest and his instincts were screaming at him. Too easy. A real Foundation Establishment wouldn't fold from one punch, not even with the blood technique behind it.

There had been no backlash, no snap of protective qi. The impact felt hollow, like striking an empty shell. Something didn't add up.

"You impertinent brat…" The voice rose from right under his fist and iced his spine. "How dare you damage this lord's new body?"

The man's eyes flew open and pressure burst out of him. The wave hit Jin like a storm wind and threw him back across the chamber. He hit the floor near the silver altar, his whole body shaking. The cultivator glanced down at the ruin of his chest, his face twisting. "I meant to use this body to recover, and you've wrecked it, boy." Dark eyes lifted. "Troublesome. I'll need another soul transfer."

Then the air changed. It wasn't pressure on the skin anymore, it was weight on the mind, heavy and direct against Jin's consciousness. He hit the floor hard. The blood technique was still burning in him and his muscles locked as he tried to push up, veins standing out along his arms, but he couldn't rise. The weight held him flat while blood ran from his nose and over his lip. Behind him Bai and the others went still under the same presence, as if something unseen were moving through them, tracing their meridians, their bones, the blood in their veins. It was cold and it saw everything, and then in a few seconds it was gone, leaving them shivering.

The cultivator in crimson stood still, then smiled, not with mockery but with real surprise, almost pleasure. His attention slid completely to Bai. "Well… this is a surprise," he murmured, and started forward, each step echoing off stone. "I didn't expect to find something like you in a lower plane."

Bai's thoughts scattered. A moment ago she'd been exploring a cave, and now a strange man with a caved-in chest was walking toward her like nothing had happened, calm and sure. Why wasn't he dead? What was going on?

A body-stealing old monster…

Jin got it in an instant. He gritted his teeth and fought to move. The pressure sat on him like a mountain he couldn't see. His arms shook as he forced himself up an inch, then gave out and dropped him again. Damn it…

The cultivator didn't stop walking toward Bai. Jin knew exactly what that meant. "N… no…" he growled, pulling together what strength he had left, fingers digging into the stone.

The dark ring on his finger gave a faint glow, and the crushing weight eased until it was barely there. Jin blinked, startled, but there was no time to question it. His eyes cut to the altar where his spear lay, knocked from his back in that first exchange.

He snatched it up and threw with everything he had. The spear cut the air like lightning at the cultivator's back as the man kept walking toward Bai, greed bright in his eyes. "Truly lucky today. A vessel like this in a lower plane is a gift from heaven," he said, gaze drifting over the girls. "Once I take your body, I'll drain the rest of you. Young blood and essence, perfect for recovery."

A sharp sense of danger locked his muscles. Death brushed down his spine. He spun, hands coming up on instinct, and caught the spear inches from his skull. The shaft rang and shivered in the air. His pupils tightened. How was the brat moving? Why hadn't he felt him?

Jin was right behind it, breathing hard, blood and dust streaking his skin, eyes burning. No artifact, no miracle technique, just his own body. He clenched his fist and qi slammed into his arm, wild and heavy. Muscle corded and veins rose until the limb looked ready to rip. It was enough.

"Die!" The punch landed square in the sunken chest. Flesh and bone gave way at once, tearing open into a bloody hollow. A scream of pure rage tore out of the man as his body started to come apart, cracks racing across skin. He stared at Jin with pure hatred.

Jin finally let out a breath. His arm shook, blood leaking from split veins as the rush left him. "Haa… looks like we dodged a messy plot," he muttered, spitting blood to the side. "Body-stealing old monsters and soul transfers. Always the troublesome route."

Bai and the others could move again, staring wide-eyed. Jin saw it first, black smoke curling up from the breaking body. A flash broke free and slammed into his chest. His vision stuttered as a cold voice spoke inside his head:

"You damned brat… it doesn't matter… this body will do just fine."

Jin barely caught the words. Ah. So it really was that kind of cliché. Great. Now I've got a demonic old man trying to possess me. My luck really is… He swayed once, then dropped like a stone, out cold.