The Immortal Path Is Crowded

The sky, which just moments ago still retained traces of its crystalline clarity, began to stain itself a deep red, as if a tide of blood were slowly spreading across the entire firmament. The light turned oppressive, heavy, and a sense of absolute chaos began to fill every corner of the space.

From the highest point of the crimson sky, enormous black chains emerged as if piercing through the firmament itself. Each link was massive, and as they began to descend, they produced a deep, metallic sound that echoed throughout the entire sea of soul.

One after another, the chains drove themselves into the spiritual ocean.

The impact caused the crystalline water to surge violently, raising massive waves as the links pierced the surface and spread through the space as if they were binding the entire world.

Each chain that manifested seemed to impose an absolute law upon the domain. The flow of energy within the sea of soul began to slow and grow heavy, as if the very will of the world were being crushed under an unquestionable authority.

Jin felt it immediately: the energy that had once responded to his will began to resist, as if the space itself were being claimed by another presence.

When he raised his gaze, he saw several chains moving directly toward him.

His eyes narrowed for only an instant before he reacted. The shadow of the Kunpeng appeared once more behind his soul avatar, and with a single step, his figure vanished from the spot.

An instant later, he reappeared far away, gliding across the crystalline sea at an absurd speed as the chains descended behind him like colossal serpents.

One passed through the exact point where he had been a second earlier, another swept across the space in front of him, and a third fell from above, attempting to cut off his path.

Jin continued moving without stopping, leaping from one point to another across the ocean of the soul as the entire domain seemed intent on capturing him. For several movements, he managed to evade the chains, his figure slipping between the massive links with the speed and lightness of the Kunpeng.

But the domain was changing: the chains no longer fell at random, and one of them suddenly twisted in the air; before Jin could fully evade it, the black link closed around his right arm, and a dark, corrosive energy penetrated his soul avatar like venom.

The spiritual lotus he had been forming in his hand collapsed immediately. The unstable petals of energy scattered violently, unable to withstand the pressure of that chain.

Jin let out a faint gasp as he felt the damage spread, and his soul avatar began to pale, while fine cracks spread across its surface, as if his spiritual form were glass subjected to overwhelming pressure.

Below him, the sea of soul reacted at once, and the clarity of the ocean began to fade.

The crystalline water slowly turned reddish, first as a faint tint and then as if blood were seeping into every corner of the domain. The natural energy of the place was being suppressed.

However, Jin was not the only one paying a price.

In the distance, the cultivator dressed in black floated at the center of the crimson sky. His soul avatar was no longer completely stable; small fragments of energy peeled off from his figure like dark dust, clear signs that the power he was using far exceeded what his current state could endure.

Even so, his expression showed no concern. On the contrary, he began to laugh—a deep laugh, filled with madness and an almost childlike amusement as he watched Jin desperately escape between the chains.

“Boy… be proud,” he finally said, his voice echoing throughout the chained domain as more chains descended from the sky and pierced the spiritual ocean. His crimson eyes shone intensely as they locked onto the young man. “You’ve forced this emperor to go all out.”

As he spoke, he slowly raised one hand, and the chains responded as if the world itself obeyed his will.

“Even if my power is now barely a thousandth of what it once was,” he continued with a twisted smile, watching as Jin’s sea of soul was gradually dominated by his technique, “you can still experience one of the arts that made heaven and earth fear this demon god.”

His lips moved coldly as the power descended upon the domain. “Grand Imperial Art: Chains of the Eternal Void.”

At that moment, the world of the soul ceased to feel like Jin’s home and became an absolute prison.

Hearing the long speech of the man dressed in black, Jin couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly as he dodged another chain that crashed into the ocean just a few steps away.

“You know?” he muttered with clear fatigue as he moved again to avoid another descending link. “I think your monologues would be more impressive if you weren’t trying to kill me at the same time.”

However, even as he joked, his expression tightened an instant later. The Kunpeng movement was still working, but it no longer responded with the same fluidity. Each activation demanded more effort, as if something were suffocating his control over his own spiritual domain. This is not good… he thought as he shifted direction to avoid another chain that swept past his chest. The technique is losing stability… or I’m losing control.

As Jin struggled to keep moving, the man dressed in black observed from the center of the domain with an expression that at first showed cold confidence.

However, that confidence began to crack slowly when a strange sensation ran through his soul avatar. He frowned slightly in surprise as he extended his consciousness through the domain he had imposed over Jin’s spiritual sea.

The technique should have been sealing and absorbing the space of the soul, suppressing the young man’s will while gradually draining his soul. In part, that was happening: the sky remained covered in chains and the ocean remained under his control. But something else was occurring deep within the spiritual space, something that did not belong to his domain.

An invisible pressure began to close in slowly around him.

The man in black remained still for a moment as he analyzed the sensation, and when he finally recognized it, a spark of alarm crossed his crimson eyes. That was no simple interference. It was far too familiar. As someone who had spent thousands of years sealed in a place where neither heaven nor earth could reach him, he knew that sensation all too well.

Invisible chains were slowly closing around his own soul.

Not only that—he could clearly feel part of his spiritual power being absorbed by something he could not identify within the sea of soul.

His expression darkened as his consciousness swept through the domain once more, trying to locate the source of that anomaly. Impossible… he thought with growing unease. What the hell is inside this sea of soul?

Meanwhile, Jin also noticed that something was changing.

The pressure that had previously completely suffocated his control over the domain weakened just enough for him to recover a small fraction of authority over his own spiritual sea. It was not much, and the chains were still descending from the crimson sky, but the flow of energy was no longer completely blocked.

The situation was still critical. His soul avatar still showed cracks, and the ocean was still stained red by the enemy’s technique. However, that small change was enough for his mind to begin working rapidly.

As he dodged another chain, Jin began to analyze the situation with increasing intensity. If the enemy’s domain was losing stability, even slightly, then perhaps there was still a chance to break the balance of the battle.

The idea that appeared in his mind a few seconds later was, honestly, completely childish.

Even so, an ironic smile slowly appeared on his face as he reappeared over the surface of the ocean after another movement. He briefly looked at the chained sky and then toward the figure of the man in black in the distance before shaking his head, as if he could not believe the situation he had ended up in.

“Seriously…”, he muttered with a tired sigh as another chain descended near him, forcing him to move again. “Reincarnating, ending up fighting inside my own sea of the soul against a supposed demonic emperor… and now this.”

He shook his head slightly while the ironic smile remained on his face — I definitely made a bad decision at some point — he thought; but behind that joke, his mind was already preparing the next move, and this time he intended to bet everything on a single play.

For the demonic cultivator, that sensation was far too familiar: he had been sealed for thousands of years and knew perfectly well how it felt when something began to chain his soul; it was in the middle of his growing frustration that he perceived a change in the domain and his gaze shifted toward the brat.

The young man had stopped moving for a moment, suspended over the agitated surface of the spiritual ocean. His eyes were closed and his posture was strangely calm in the middle of the chaos of the crimson domain. That unexpected calm made the man frown cautiously, extending his consciousness to observe more carefully.

Then he saw it: a point slowly appeared in front of the young man’s chest.

At first it was barely a spark, a minimal condensation of energy that emerged directly from the sea of the soul. However, as the energy continued to flow toward it, that spark began to take shape, slowly forming a small strange symbol suspended in the air.

The symbol was simple at first glance, but its shape had something deeply unnatural, as if it represented a principle that did not entirely belong to that spiritual world.

The eyes of the man in black narrowed, not knowing what the boy was trying to do, but an immediate instinct screamed at him that he could not allow it.

Without wasting time, he manipulated his domain with greater violence. Several of the chains that had previously been anchored in the sea of the soul abruptly changed trajectory, ignoring part of the space as they descended directly toward Jin with the intention of crushing him before he could complete whatever he was preparing.

The chains pierced through the sky like gigantic black spears, and at that instant Jin opened his eyes.

The expression that appeared on his face was not one of fear or desperation, but of a nearly childish excitement, as if he were testing something new and could not wait to see if it worked.

He looked directly toward the man in black as the chains descended upon him.

“Try this, Emperor”, he said with a smile that mixed irony and enthusiasm. “Even if it’s a rather crude imitation… it should serve its purpose.”

At the instant he finished speaking, the symbol in front of his chest reacted and a monstrous suction exploded from its center.

It was not a simple absorption of energy: it was as if a black hole had suddenly appeared in the middle of the sea of the soul. The spiritual space began to twist as a tyrannical force pulled everything toward that small symbol.

The chains that were descending toward Jin were the first to be caught.

The gigantic links tensed violently before cracking one after another. The fractures spread across their entire spiritual structure until they finally disintegrated, turning into torrents of dark energy that were dragged directly toward the symbol.

The crimson energy that filled the sky began to be dragged as well, as if the entire domain were being slowly devoured. Currents of spiritual power swirled around the symbol as they were swallowed mercilessly.

As the energy was absorbed, part of it returned toward his own soul avatar. The cracks that covered his figure began to stabilize slowly, and the feeling of weakness that had previously dominated him began to recede as his spiritual essence strengthened.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Jin thought: …Well, I didn’t expect that; in the distance, the man dressed in black observed the scene with his eyes wide open, while his chains were destroyed and his domain was consumed.

The disbelief was clearly reflected in his expression as he saw how the energy he had deployed with so much effort disappeared inside that strange symbol.

For a moment, he even forgot his composure and, finally, unable to hide the mixture of surprise and confusion in his voice, he blurted out: “Who the hell are you…?” while observing the young man floating over the sea of the soul.

His crimson eyes shone intensely as he continued looking at the symbol that devoured his technique.

“Where do you get so many absurd and strange techniques?” he asked with a tone that was no longer only furious, but genuinely bewildered.

Because in all his existence, even before being sealed, he had never seen something like that inside the sea of the soul of a mere youth; Jin’s reaction, however, was not exactly what he expected: the young man simply rolled his eyes.

For a brief instant he considered the most honest answer possible: well… you see — Jin thought with irony, while the symbol continued devouring energy from the crimson domain — I reincarnated from Earth and learned these things by reading novels on the internet; the idea was so absurd that he did not even bother to seriously consider it.

Instead of that, he shrugged with a carefree smile while the current of energy continued to spin around the symbol in front of his chest. “What can I say?”, he commented in a light tone, as if that were a casual conversation instead of a battle inside his own sea of the soul. “I have good taste for techniques.”

However, while he joked, he felt that something strange was happening: the energy that the symbol was devouring did not simply disappear, but a part of it returned toward his soul avatar.

At first that had been a blessing. The cracks that covered his spiritual form had begun to close and his strength had returned quickly.

But now… the amount of energy was growing too much.

A growing pressure began to accumulate inside his avatar, as if his soul were being inflated beyond its natural limits. The flow of energy that returned from the symbol became increasingly intense, filling every corner of his spiritual form with a force that it simply was not prepared to contain.

Jin frowned, and almost immediately a stab of pain ran through his soul avatar; at first it was barely a discomfort, but it quickly began to intensify.

Then like an unbearable pressure that seemed to expand from the center of his soul toward every corner of his spiritual existence.

His smile tightened. That was not right: the energy kept entering without stopping, and the volume was excessive, more than his avatar could withstand.

For a moment, panic crossed his mind like lightning.

If that continued like that, his soul avatar simply would not be able to endure it. The energy he was absorbing far exceeded what he could store or process.

He needed to release it, he needed to find a way to expel that excess before his own soul collapsed; but just when his mind began to desperately search for a solution…

The man dressed in black spoke again, and the disbelief on his face had vanished, replaced by a cold and dangerous expression.

“I see,” he murmured slowly as he watched his domain continue to be devoured. “So normal techniques don’t work on you.”

A blood-red aura began to emanate from his body. It wasn’t like the crimson energy of the domain, but something far denser and more savage, as if it were made of pure condensed violence. The energy spread around him for only an instant before snapping back, condensing directly over his spiritual body.

When Jin noticed the change, his mind was still trying to find a solution to the excess energy tearing him apart from within. He barely managed to lift his gaze before the man vanished from his position and, in the next instant, appeared at his side. The demon emperor’s fist fell like a meteor, and the impact shook the entire sea of soul.

A shockwave spread across the spiritual ocean as the blow connected directly with Jin’s soul avatar, sending him flying through the domain like a shooting star. His spiritual form warped violently under the impact, and massive cracks spread across his body; for a moment, it seemed as if his avatar was about to shatter completely, but at that exact instant, the energy devoured by the symbol reacted.

A surge of energy rushed back into Jin, rapidly repairing the cracks in his soul avatar before it could completely disintegrate. The regeneration happened almost instantly, but the pain did not disappear with it. Physical damage could be endured, but what reached the soul was an entirely different experience.

As his spiritual form was hurled across the crimson ocean, an indescribable sensation tore through his consciousness. It was a deep, nauseating pain, as if his very existence were being torn apart and stitched back together at the same time.

Jin clenched his teeth as he tried to stabilize his form. This… is horrible. And yet, the symbol continued devouring energy—the flow within his soul had not stopped, which meant the original problem… was still getting worse.

Seeing Jin suffer after the blow, the demonic cultivator couldn’t help but laugh with disdain. He floated above the sea of soul with a mocking expression, watching the young man struggle to stabilize his avatar.

“What’s wrong, brat?” he sneered with clear satisfaction as he flexed his fingers slightly, as if enjoying the moment. “Where did all those ridiculous techniques of yours go?”

Jin had barely begun to recover when the space trembled again, and before he could react, the demon emperor was already in front of him. The strike came down like a heavenly judgment.

The impact shook his soul once more, sending him crashing downward. His spiritual avatar pierced the surface of the ocean violently, sinking into the depths as the surface exploded around the point of impact.

High above, the demonic cultivator let out a satisfied laugh at the sight. After all the chaos from before, it finally seemed like he was giving the brat a proper beating.

“In the end, you’re just that… an insolent brat,” he remarked with a cruel smile as he looked down at the raging sea beneath him.

Beneath the surface of the spiritual ocean, the situation was far less amusing.

The pain Jin was experiencing was difficult to describe. His soul avatar had practically been destroyed again by the blow, fragmenting before the energy absorbed by the symbol reconstructed it once more. The regeneration came quickly, but the process of breaking apart and reforming left his consciousness numb and heavy, as if his very existence were being crushed over and over again.

Even so, even in the midst of that constant pain, his mind never stopped moving. Fine, bastard… he thought as the sea of soul trembled around him. If what you want is a fistfight…

A twisted smile slowly formed on his face. Then let me give you a show.

And when he opened his eyes again, something had changed.

A golden glow began to appear within them, and his pupils slowly contracted into vertical slits. At the same time, the massive amount of energy the devouring symbol was absorbing began to move like a torrent around his soul avatar, swirling around him as the spiritual sea responded with violent tremors.

The energy began to condense, and little by little, Jin’s appearance started to change.

Scales formed from soul essence began to appear over his avatar, still incomplete but clearly visible, and faint horns started to take shape on his head, not yet fully defined.

At that moment, a golden radiance burst forth from the depths of the sea of soul.

From the demonic cultivator’s perspective, the light erupted from the spot where the brat had fallen. For an instant, he could barely make out a figure within the glow… and in the next, something shot toward him at a terrifying speed.

Following his instincts, he struck out with all his strength without hesitation. The impact was devastating.

The collision rippled through space as if two mountains had crashed into each other midair, unleashing a shockwave that shook the entire domain.

When the demon emperor finally saw what had stopped his blow, his eyes widened in surprise—because the insolent brat in front of him no longer looked quite the same.

Jin’s eyes shone with an intense golden light, his vertical pupils staring at him with a dangerous calm. Scales made of soul essence covered his body, and faint horns were forming on his head.

But what irritated him the most wasn’t the transformation—it was the look. That arrogant expression on the boy’s face, as if he truly believed he could face him as an equal.