Gateway of Immortality

The shopkeeper hurriedly grabbed a shovel and dug through the piled-up snow.

Beneath the snow, there truly was a corpse, frozen stiff.

"Q-Quick, report this to the authorities..."

A death in front of the shop had left the shopkeeper utterly panic-stricken.

The corpse lay face down, arms stretched forward, fingers clawing desperately at the ground.

He had struggled to crawl forward, fighting for his life, trying to seek help from the shopkeeper, but by the time he reached this spot, his strength had run out, and he had frozen to death.

He had only been a few steps away from the bun shop.

Yet those few steps had been as insurmountable as a chasm.

The shopkeeper steadied himself, gathered his courage, and crouched down to brush the ice and snow from the corpse. Seeing the man's beggar-like appearance, he let out a soft sigh. "It's really Old Qi... No wonder I didn't see him this morning..."

Qin Sang squeezed through the crowd that had gathered, and quietly slipped away.

...

The capital of Guyuan Kingdom.

Inside the imperial palace.

On this snowy night, the emperor's sleeping quarters remained brightly lit, exuding a faint warmth.

"Get out!"

A sudden roar shattered the night's silence.

Bang!

A palace maid, carrying a tray with a bowl of medicinal soup, had the entire tray flung across the room by the bedridden emperor of the Guyuan Kingdom.

Soup splattered everywhere, filling the sleeping quarters with a pungent medicinal stench.

The palace maid fell hard to the ground, the blackened soup soaking her body. Pale-faced, she knelt trembling on the floor.

"Damn me! Damn me!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

...

In the blink of an eye, everyone present had fallen to their knees, black figures dotting the floor.

On the imperial bed, the emperor of the Guyuan Kingdom flung aside his thin quilt and tried to get up. But his sickly body could no longer support such a movement. He toppled sideways, and if not for a quick-handed palace maid catching him, he would have crashed head first to the ground.

The emperor shoved the maid aside and struggled several times but could not manage to rise.

At this moment, the emperor of the Guyuan Kingdom appeared utterly disheveled, his hair hanging loose in wild disorder, his figure pitifully wretched.

Leaning over the bed like a madman, he pointed at a richly dressed young man standing nearby and roared hoarsely.

"Go... Go once more to Xianglong Mountain and beg the immortal master! As long as... as long as he can cure me, can grant me longevity, I am willing to offer up half of my kingdom, to share glory and riches with the immortal master..."

The young man he pointed at was none other than the current heir to the emperor.

The heir crawled to the side of the bed and spoke softly, "Father, please do not worry. I will go to Xianglong Mountain immediately, kneel, and beg the immortal master. If the immortal master refuses to appear, I will kneel until he does. I will surely invite the immortal master down the mountain and have him cure your illness..."

"Longevity! I want longevity!"

The emperor slammed the edge of the bed hard, his eyes bloodshot, glaring terrifyingly at the young man.

Shaohua Mountain had strict rules forbidding immortal cultivators from meddling in mortal affairs.

And Guyuan Kingdom was a small and weak nation, its emperor not even worthy of Shaohua Mountain's notice.

The heir dared not defy him, doing his best to soothe, "Yes, yes... I will surely ask the immortal master for the method of attaining longevity..."

"Then what are you waiting for!"

Only then did the emperor temporarily calm down.

The heir and the assembled officials all withdrew from the emperor's sleeping quarters.

With the emperor gravely ill, the heir oversaw the affairs of the state. However, he did not immediately set off for Xianglong Mountain. Instead, he returned to his study, dismissed everyone, and sat alone on the dragon throne[1]. Without touching pen or ink, he sat there in deep thought, his brows furrowed.

Just then, the door creaked open.

The wind stirred the candle flame.

A general, clad in armor, slipped inside and spoke urgently. "Your Highness, do you truly intend to obey His Majesty's decree, and hand over half of the Guyuan Kingdom to that so-called immortal?"

The heir answered coldly, "Uncle, are you suggesting that I defy the imperial decree, and become a traitor guilty of disloyalty and unfilial conduct?"

"I dare not!"

The general strode forward, his burly figure blocking the candlelight, casting the heir's face into shadow.

"The late emperor ruled through filial piety, but he was no fool. I have just interrogated the imperial physician—His Majesty's illness is terminal, and his mind has already fallen into confusion. The imperial physician says this is a case of hysteria. Coincidentally, I know of a divine doctor among mortals, a man famed across the martial world for using liquor as medicine. He happens to be a guest at my residence right now. He can brew a kind of wine that is colorless and tasteless, and it can cure this affliction..."

The general's voice dropped lower and lower.

After a long while, the heir slowly closed his eyes and nodded slightly. "Do it."

...

Late at night.

The main sleeping quarters of the Guyuan Kingdom's emperor.

An old eunuch stumbled in, his face twisted with panic and fear, as if he had been terrified by something unspeakable. He shoved the door to the sleeping chambers open but tripped over the threshold and fell heavily to the ground.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, wake up!"

"Your Majesty, wake up!"

The old eunuch scrambled across the floor, hands and knees flailing, and clutched at the imperial bed, shaking the Guyuan Kingdom's emperor with all his might.

The emperor startled awake from his slumber, his eyes still clouded with confusion.

The old eunuch wept and wailed. "Your Majesty, beware... the heir to the emperor, he intends..."

Splurt!

Suddenly, a sword pierced straight through the old eunuch's throat. Blood spurted from the tip of the blade, startling the Guyuan Kingdom's emperor into full awareness. Only then did he clearly see that the one holding the bloodstained sword was none other than his own heir.

All trace of the usual submissiveness was gone from the heir's face, replaced by cold, unfeeling indifference.

"You unfilial son!"

The emperor roared in fury.

The heir flung the bloodied sword onto the floor, cast a sidelong glance at the general standing nearby, and strode out of the sleeping quarters without so much as a backward glance.

The general stepped forward, clamped one massive hand over the emperor's mouth, and forced poisoned wine down his throat.

The poison took effect almost instantly.

In his dying moments, the emperor's eyes slowly dulled, yet even as life fled from him, his lips still moved in a final murmur.

"Longevity... I want longevity..."

...

Xianglong Mountain.

At the foot of the mountain lay Xianyuan City, where common folk lived. Behind the mountain, those seeking the Dao built huts and lived in seclusion.

Deep within the forest stood a small thatched hut, so worn that the wind whistled freely through its walls.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Brother Zuo... Brother Zuo, are you awake..."

A disheveled man pounded on the door, calling out, but no response came.

He slammed his shoulder against the door several times, but it did not budge. Seeing no success, he ran off in haste.

Moments later, he returned with several others, and together they rammed into the door until it finally burst open.

Inside, they saw a thin, frail young man seated cross-legged on a straw-covered bed. His head drooped low, and he seemed to have already drawn his last breath.

"Brother Zuo is dead!"

The man cried out in shock.

Yet unexpectedly, none of the assembled companions showed even a shred of sorrow. Instead, they gathered joyfully around the corpse, faces alight with excitement.

Someone exclaimed, "Brother Zuo has ascended!"

Another said, "Brother Zuo braved the elements and communed with immortals—he has finally attained the Dao."

Someone else gazed at the youth with deep envy. "Brother Zuo's heart was firm and unwavering, witnessed by heaven and earth themselves. Surely he has moved the heavens, been received by the immortals, and now ascends to the blissful world, securing eternal life."

...

Truly, a carnival of madness.

Hidden in the shadows, Qin Sang shook his head and quietly returned to Huilong Temple. After a brief moment of contemplation, he suddenly withdrew the mist array shrouding Xianglong Mountain and drifted away.

The thick fog that had blanketed the mountain for countless years abruptly dissipated, and this unprecedented phenomenon instantly sent the countless seekers of the Dao into a frenzy.

"The mist is gone!"

"The immortals have opened the mountain to accept disciples!"

"Quick, up the mountain!"

Hearing the shouts outside the thatched hut, the people within exchanged glances before swarming out like a tide.

At that moment, the young man they had thought dead suddenly lifted his head with a violent jerk. Trembling, he forced himself to his feet, stuffing snow into his mouth to stave off hunger, and staggered toward the mountaintop.

Yet when he reached the summit, he saw nothing but a single abandoned Daoist temple—not a trace of an immortal to be found.

Struck as if by a thunderbolt on a clear day, the youth collapsed onto the ground, utterly devastated.

1. The dragon throne is the throne of the emperor. ☜