The Immortal Path Is Crowded

The change in the demonic cultivator’s expression was immediate. Until that moment he had been observing the energy lotuses with caution, even with a hint of irritation, but the instant he understood what Jin was trying to do, all that calm vanished. His crimson eyes widened with genuine panic.

“Are you insane, boy?!” he roared, his voice echoing across the entire sky of the sea of soul. “That will destroy your own soul!”

The reaction was violent and genuine. This was not a normal technique; what Jin was attempting was something far more dangerous: fusing two masses of unstable energy within the sea of soul itself. If they collided without control… not only would the invader be affected, the entire sea of soul could collapse. Including Jin himself. But he didn’t care. He didn’t even raise his gaze at the shout; all his attention was on his hands.

The two energy lotuses trembled violently as he slowly brought them closer together. The petals of the two spiritual flowers collided and repelled each other like opposite poles of a magnet, releasing sparks of energy every time they touched. His face was completely serious. The smile from before had disappeared. Now there was only concentration.

The demonic cultivator wasted no more time.

“You damned brat!”

With a sudden movement, his figure descended like a crimson lightning bolt, crossing the sky of the sea of soul at a terrifying speed. The dark energy surrounding him condensed around his arm as he extended his hand, trying to stop Jin before he finished what he was doing. But he was too late. The instant his hand was about to touch him, the two lotuses finally made contact.

For a fraction of a second, the world fell silent. The petals of both flowers intertwined, the energy contained within them stopped resisting, and then it fused. An absurd amount of soul energy erupted at the point of contact. The new lotus vibrated with terrifying intensity, as if a compressed star had been trapped within its petals.

Jin didn’t hesitate for even a second. The moment he felt the fusion complete, he threw the lotus forward with all his strength.

“Take this!”

At the same time, he spun around and fled in the opposite direction as fast as he could, propelling his soul avatar through the air above the crystalline ocean. The demonic cultivator barely had time to react. The fused lotus vibrated in front of him; its energy was so unstable it seemed to bend the space of the sea of soul around it.

“…Shit.”

The curse escaped his lips just before everything exploded. A massive explosion shook the sea of soul. It was not an ordinary blast: it was as if a sun had been born and died at the same time within that space. A wave of energy expanded violently in every direction, tearing through the luminous sky and raising gigantic walls of water that shot hundreds of meters into the air before collapsing again. The entire ocean churned as if struck by a cataclysm. Even the very space of the soul trembled under the impact.

Despite having fled, Jin did not completely escape. The shockwave struck his soul avatar like an invisible hammer; the impact was brutal. His spiritual body was launched through the air, shooting across the sky of the sea of soul while the roar of the explosion echoed behind him. Hundreds of li, perhaps more. Finally, his figure fell from the sky like a shooting star and crashed directly into the surface of the crystalline ocean.

The surface was still violently churning when a figure slowly emerged from the waters. Jin took a few seconds to react. His spiritual body was partially submerged, and when he finally managed to move he placed one hand on the surface of the sea —which in that strange world of the soul felt almost as solid as the ground— before slowly pushing himself upright. Every movement sent sharp stabs directly into his consciousness, as if his very essence had been struck by an invisible hammer. He clenched his teeth as he finally stood. The pain was intense, deep, unlike any physical wound: it came directly from his soul, spreading through his entire being.

And yet…

…I’m still here.

The thought appeared with a mixture of surprise and relief. After that absurd explosion, he had been certain his soul avatar would simply disintegrate. Even while fleeing he had known he would not completely escape the impact. But that hadn’t happened. As he breathed slowly to regain clarity, he realized something else: most of the damage had never truly reached him. It was a strange sensation, but unmistakable, as if an invisible barrier had intercepted much of the explosion before it could touch his essence. His gaze lowered toward the crystalline ocean beneath his feet.

“The sea of soul… protected me?”

There was no time to think about it too much. When he lifted his gaze toward the place where the explosion had occurred, the landscape was still distorted by the aftermath of the impact. In the distance, enormous vortices of energy continued to spin above the agitated sea, and the luminous sky seemed to bend around the point where the lotus had detonated.

Then the silence shattered. A roar filled with pure fury resounded across the entire space.

“YOU DAMNED BRAT!!!”

The voice vibrated through the sky and the ocean like thunder. At the same instant, a massive surge of crimson energy erupted from the center of the disaster, expanding like a violent storm, sweeping away the chaotic remnants and dispersing the spiritual currents still floating in the air. Little by little, the chaos began to clear. When the energy finally stabilized, the figure of the demonic cultivator became visible again above the ocean.

He was still floating in the air, but his condition was no longer the same. The elegant black robe with red edges that had once fallen with perfect harmony was partially destroyed; several folds were torn, and parts of the fabric seemed to have disintegrated under the pressure of the explosion. Beneath it, his spiritual body showed irregular distortions, like cracks of energy running across it. He had been injured; the attack had struck his soul avatar directly.

Jin narrowed his eyes as he observed him from the distance.

It wasn’t enough.

The demonic cultivator slowly raised his head. His crimson eyes locked onto Jin, and the fury within them seemed capable of igniting the very space itself. That gaze made it clear that what Jin had done would not go unanswered.

For a brief moment, neither of them moved.

Then it happened: the demonic cultivator’s figure simply disappeared. One instant he was floating above the distant ocean… and the next he was no longer there.

Jin’s instincts reacted too late. A terrifying pressure descended from above. When he lifted his gaze, the man dressed in black was already there, suspended just a few meters above his head. His expression was cold, but the fury in his eyes still burned intensely.

“It’s over,” he said in a low voice, filled with killing intent that made the sea of soul tremble.

The energy around him erupted. Crimson and black lightning began to twist like living serpents, colliding with each other and releasing violent flashes as the cultivator extended his hand toward Jin. The energy descended abruptly. The lightning swirled through the air and closed around Jin’s soul avatar from every direction, forming a cage of spiritual power that attempted to envelop him completely, as if trying to crush his existence within the sea of soul. The pressure was suffocating; even the ocean beneath his feet began to churn violently, as if the invader’s will itself were crushing the space around him.

He understood it immediately: if that cage closed completely, there would be no second chance. His mind began to move urgently. He had to escape before it sealed shut. For a moment he thought about repeating what he had done earlier. The energy lotuses had been dangerously effective, and although they had nearly destroyed his own soul, they had managed to injure the demonic cultivator. But the idea was discarded almost instantly: there was no time. Summoning the lotuses was slow, and fusing them even more so. The cage was about to close, and the demonic cultivator was too close.

He needed something fast.

A spark of memory crossed his mind: an absurd thought that probably made no sense… but inside the sea of soul, it might work.

After all, one had already worked.

If what he needed was speed, then he had to concentrate. He took a deep breath and recalled a technique he had never learned, something he had read in a cultivation novel from his previous life. A legendary creature: the Kunpeng, capable of crossing infinite oceans and skies with a single movement, its speed almost impossible to comprehend.

Jin closed his eyes for a moment.

“Let’s see if this works…”

As the cage of lightning closed around him, he focused all his attention on the image of the Kunpeng. He visualized its form: gigantic wings spreading outward, a presence capable of dominating entire oceans. He tried to feel it, to imagine that his own soul avatar moved with that same freedom.

The demonic cultivator frowned slightly; something strange was happening. The energy continued descending, but behind Jin a massive shadow began to form, barely a distortion at first, then slowly taking shape: the silhouette of a Kunpeng, a mixture of fish and bird, its contours stretching as if they encompassed the entire sky. Its wings seemed to cover entire horizons, and its presence projected an ancient and profound sensation that even the cultivator could not ignore.

His crimson eyes narrowed.

“What…?”

Before he could react, Jin opened his eyes, shining with concentration and excitement.

“Well…” he murmured, and took a step.

The surface of the ocean of soul exploded beneath his foot, spiritual water rising like a storm as the shadow of the Kunpeng spread its wings behind him.

Jin disappeared.

The lightning cage closed… over empty space.

Hundreds of li away, his figure reappeared gliding over the crystalline sea, finally stopping after crossing an absurd distance. His avatar still vibrated from the speed. He blinked, then grinned excitedly, raising a hand as if greeting someone.

“Hey, old man!” he shouted mockingly. “Did you get lost or what? I’m over here.”

The demonic cultivator watched him, motionless for a moment. His eyes burned with an even colder fury than before. This time he did not shout or insult him; he simply took a step. His figure became a crimson flash that tore across the sky of the sea of soul, ripping through the spiritual air as he advanced directly toward Jin.

Jin saw him coming and moved again. The shadow of the Kunpeng briefly reappeared behind his avatar as he took another step over the ocean, the water exploding beneath his feet. He reappeared hundreds of li away just as the cultivator tore through the previous point.

The sky of the sea of soul became a hunting ground. Two figures crossed the space at absurd speeds. The cultivator advanced like a crimson storm, his energy ripping through the air; Jin jumped from one point to another above the ocean, his steps bending space. Every time he was about to be caught, he disappeared and reappeared somewhere else.

But Jin knew it couldn’t last forever.

I can keep escaping… but that won’t solve anything. Sooner or later I’ll make a mistake, or the cultivator will anticipate my movements. I need another option, something that changes the situation.

For a moment his mind went blank.

Then it returned to the most dangerous idea he had.

The one he had already used before.

A small smile appeared as he continued moving.

If it worked once…

He took another step over the ocean and focused his mind. Two currents of energy began to rise from the sea of soul, and within seconds two spiritual lotuses appeared once again in his hands. The petals vibrated with the same dangerous instability as before.

The demonic cultivator saw it, and this time he reacted immediately.

“You damned child!” he roared, accelerating even further. “This time I won’t let you do it!”

The distance between them closed rapidly. But just when Jin expected him to continue chasing…

Something strange happened.

He suddenly stopped, suspended above the ocean, his expression slowly changing. The fury was still there, but now there was something else in his gaze. Without taking his eyes off Jin, he began to move his hands in front of his chest. His fingers formed strange and complex patterns, ancient and profound seals.

The energy around his body began to change.

The sky of the sea of soul reacted. The luminous color of the space slowly darkened, as if a gigantic shadow were spreading across the entire firmament. Spiritual clouds twisted and the ocean vibrated with disturbing intensity. Jin felt it even from the distance, frowning as he watched the entire sky transform. The cultivator’s energy was expanding throughout the entire space of the soul.

Finally, the man lifted his head. His crimson eyes shone with dangerous intensity as he looked directly at Jin.

“So you don’t care about destroying your own soul,” he said with a calmness far more unsettling than his previous fury.

He paused briefly as dark energy spread across the sky.

“Then neither do I.”

The pressure that descended upon the sea of soul at that moment was completely different from everything that had happened before.