Gateway of Immortality

Qin Sang took out a jade box and carefully sealed Daoist Jiupao's Golden Core. A trace of delight appeared on his face as he finally let out a long breath.

Though this journey had been fraught with setbacks, he had ultimately achieved his most important goal.

After putting away the Golden Core, Qin Sang reached out and picked up the iron thumb ring. He could not help but feel a surge of surprise. The ring was unexpectedly heavy, far beyond what he had imagined. It was clearly no ordinary item.

He turned the thumb ring over and examined it closely. Inside and out, there was not a single inscription. Most of the rust had formed on the inner surface of the ring, almost merging into a single crusted layer.

Qin Sang had no idea how such rust had come to be. Despite several attempts, even when he shaped his spiritual power into a blade, he still could not remove it.

He then deployed his spiritual consciousness to inspect the ring. Every time, he could easily sweep across its surface without encountering the slightest anomaly. It appeared to be nothing more than a genuine piece of black iron craftsmanship.

Have I been mistaken? Is this ring simply something of sentimental value to Daoist Jiupao?

Qin Sang's brow furrowed gradually. He refused to believe that a man like Daoist Jiupao would carry an ordinary thumb ring while fleeing for his life.

Suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind. He flipped the ring over again, fixed his gaze on the rust within, and cautiously extended his spiritual consciousness to probe the corroded surface.

He searched meticulously, leaving no corner unchecked.

After a moment, Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. His spiritual consciousness seemed to brush against some hidden node. With a muffled boom, his awareness plunged into a chaotic, misty space.

Before he could even make sense of where he was, a dazzling divine light erupted from within the space. At its core was a saber, which cleaved toward his spiritual consciousness with blinding speed.

In a flash, the saber light was upon him.

Reacting swiftly, Qin Sang tried to retract his spiritual consciousness, but the saber shot out from within the iron thumb ring, following the path of his retreat, and struck at him with terrifying swiftness!

The thin saber light carried an extreme sharpness that almost made Qin Sang break into a cold sweat.

A crack of thunder rang out.

By instinct, Qin Sang flung away the iron ring. His figure blurred into sword light as he unleashed Sword Qi Thunderclap, instantly fleeing several zhang away and barely evading the attack.

His expression grew complicated as he stared at the fallen thumb ring.

The aura of the saber light was clearly Daoist Jiupao's. This was a spiritual consciousness barrier he had left within the ring. Even though Daoist Jiupao was now dead, the barrier remained intact.

Anyone who triggered the barrier, apart from Daoist Jiupao himself, would immediately be hunted down by the blade.

Picking the thumb ring back up, Qin Sang prepared himself carefully this time. After a few cautious attempts, he found that the barrier's power was not insurmountable.

Since the ring was now masterless, and Daoist Jiupao had perished, Qin Sang would not need to surpass him in strength to break the barrier.

However, at his current cultivation level, it was still beyond him.

Without breaking the barrier, Qin Sang could not confirm the thumb ring's exact purpose. Yet the chaotic space he had sensed earlier felt strikingly familiar—very much like the inside of a Mustard Seed Pouch.

Is the thumb ring also a storage tool?

Qin Sang pondered deeply. If the thumb ring were some powerful astra, Daoist Jiupao would surely have wielded it against him long ago. Thus, it was highly likely that it was used for storage.

In other words... Daoist Jiupao's entire wealth was hidden inside this thumb ring!

A gleam lit up in Qin Sang's eyes. He had assumed that Ji Wu's Mustard Seed Pouch, and likely Daoist Jiupao's as well, had been destroyed in the final explosion. Yet now he had stumbled upon an unexpected bounty.

Even without considering what treasures might lie within, the thumb ring itself was far more discreet than a Mustard Seed Pouch.

Unfortunately, he could not open it yet!

Qin Sang sighed regretfully. Judging by the strength of the barrier, he would probably need to advance to the Golden Core Realm before he could unlock it. And this was not something he could entrust to another.

Still, Qin Sang suspected there would not be much left of Daoist Jiupao's fortune.

The man had been reduced to a fugitive, relentlessly hunted by the Yuanzhao Sect for years. He had barely managed to survive during the sect's brief lapses in vigilance, and that window had not lasted long.

Moreover, Daoist Jiupao had dared not reveal himself, relying instead on his subordinates to act on his behalf.

Among his four Demonic Flame Envoys, only Ji Wu had survived, as Silver Flame had been killed by Qin Sang early on.

In recent times, Daoist Jiupao had been forced to hide in the shadows, devoting his efforts to healing his injuries and repairing the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions. No matter how rich he once was, his resources had surely been drained by now.

Indeed, during the final battle, Daoist Jiupao's performance had proven this point—throughout, he had only managed to bring out the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions to bolster his forces.

Thinking of the Yan Luo Banner, Qin Sang stowed away the thumb ring, rose to his feet, and swept his gaze around the area. Amid the mud and sand, he soon located Daoist Jiupao's Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions.

With this, three of the five Yan Luo Banners once handed down by Founder Kuiyin had fallen into Qin Sang's hands.

All three of the Kuiyin Sect's Golden Core cultivators had perished, and even among the survivors, the late-stage Foundation Building experts had also died at Qin Sang's hands.

One could say that the legacy of Founder Kuiyin, a master among demonic cultivators in his time, had been completely and utterly severed!

The flag surface of the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions had been torn open by the flying yaksha, but fortunately, the damage had not reached the core of the astra. Repairing it would not be difficult.

However, just like Yu Hua's banner, it would have to wait until Qin Sang had formed his Golden Core before it could be fully restored.

At last, dragging his exhausted body, Qin Sang made his way to the cliff wall and dug out the flying yaksha.

Its limbs were twisted, its body riddled with countless wounds, with pale bone stumps visible everywhere.

The most severe injury lay at the dantian, where the Qihai was nearly destroyed, and the corpse core was covered in cracks. Fortunately, the corpse core had not shattered completely; there was still a chance to save it.

Seeing the flying yaksha's miserable state with his own eyes, Qin Sang let out a soft sigh. Yet soon after, he felt a trace of relief. This was already the best outcome he could have hoped for.

It was simply too difficult to refine a flying yaksha. Even if he had the chance to try again, Qin Sang doubted he could succeed so easily.

The flying yaksha could still be restored, but it would take time.

As for the damaged corpse core, there was nothing Qin Sang could do to help. The flying yaksha would have to slowly heal on its own. If left inside the Corpse Puppet Pouch, the process would be extremely slow.

He would likely have to place it deep within the Sunken Cave, allowing it to constantly absorb Earth Malevolent Qi, to restore itself as quickly as possible.

After a thorough inspection, Qin Sang treated the yaksha's flesh wounds, then stored it back inside the Corpse Puppet Pouch.

The pouch was now almost empty, containing only two malevolent corpses at the middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm.

This battle had nearly exhausted all of Qin Sang's assets.

...

The moon climbed to its zenith.

Hanshan City.

The ancestral hall of the Ji Family stood with its doors tightly shut, and inside was only the family head, Ji Sheng.

The forbidden grounds had fallen quiet once more, but no one felt any peace of mind. No one dared approach to investigate, and the entire family was gripped by fear. Ji Sheng had forcibly ordered the family members to gather, leaving himself alone in the ancestral hall.

The hall was deathly silent, the candle flames flickering faintly. Ji Sheng sat stiffly, his cloudy eyes fixed upon the spirit tablets of his ancestors, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a wind rose from nowhere.

The candle flames wavered, casting deep shadows across the hall.

Ji Sheng whipped his head around and froze in terror. At some point, a refined corpse had appeared behind him. Floating in the air beside it were words written with spiritual power.

"I was a friend of Ji Wu in life. I once received Ji Wu's aid. This corpse possesses Foundation Building strength. I leave it to the Ji Family, that it may safeguard several generations of your peace."

As Ji Sheng finished reading, the words twisted once and then vanished into nothingness.

His eyes widened in shock. He sprang to his feet and rushed out of the ancestral hall.

Outside, the moon bathed the courtyard in silver light.

The sky was filled with countless stars.

But not a single figure could be seen.

"My son..."

Ji Sheng turned his gaze toward the forbidden grounds, then collapsed to his knees with a heavy thud. A single turbid tear fell onto the stone steps below.