Gateway of Immortality

The Celestial Gale Qi at the lower layers of Divine Gale Peak was chaotic but easier to refine, making it more suitable for disciples of lower cultivation to absorb.

In the end, Qin Sang fixed his gaze on the fiery, godlike figure atop the peak, staring at it for a long time.

"So this is the Ancestral Sacred Flame they speak of..."

Qin Sang murmured to himself, his face full of awe.

The raging flames, like a fire god, soared higher than the heavens themselves, as if they would burn through the sky!

Although he had long heard tales of how wild and terrifying the Ancestral Sacred Flame atop Divine Gale Peak was, seeing it with his own eyes still left Qin Sang profoundly shaken.

He had once believed the Demonic Flames of Nine Hells within the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions to be both strange and incredibly powerful, but compared to the aura emanating from the Ancestral Sacred Flame, it was like a child's trick in front of a true master.

Qin Sang recalled the aura he had sensed during the great battle between the Spiritual Infant cultivators in Endless Valley. Yet even that seemed inferior when compared to the might of the Ancestral Sacred Flame.

As for just how vast the gap between them was, Qin Sang could not say for certain.

Firstly, he had been too far away both times to sense everything clearly.

Secondly, both types of power were far beyond his comprehension; he lacked the ability to truly grasp their depths.

He could only vaguely feel that the Ancestral Sacred Flame was terrifying—wild and uncontrollable beyond imagination.

It was said that the Ancestral Sacred Flame had not originally existed on Divine Gale Peak but was closely tied to the sect's founding grandmaster, the one who had first discovered the Qingyang Gale Essence and established the Demonic Qingyang Sect here.

Thus, the flame had come to be known as the Ancestral Sacred Flame.

After watching the Ancestral Sacred Flame for a while, Qin Sang shifted his gaze beyond Divine Gale Peak, looking toward a more distant place.

Not far behind Divine Gale Peak lay the forbidden ground of the Demonic Qingyang Sect.

There, clouds thick as canopies blanketed the skies, clearly sealed by a powerful array. Hidden within were the sect's greatest treasures and the ancestral cave dwellings of its former masters.

This array was no ordinary barrier; it was even more mysterious than the sect's protective array. Yet curiously, it did not extend to cover Divine Gale Peak itself.

Is it related to the Ancestral Sacred Flame?

Qin Sang narrowed his eyes slightly. With such wild and violent flames raging atop Divine Gale Peak, if the sect had no method of suppression, the flame could easily destroy even a powerful array.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.Years ago, when two Spiritual Infant cultivators invaded the Demonic Qingyang Sect, they had abruptly retreated afterward, and the details of that battle have been kept secret ever since. Could this mysterious withdrawal have been linked to the Ancestral Sacred Flame?

If the sect had been forced into a desperate situation and triggered the Ancestral Sacred Flame's eruption, then even Spiritual Infant cultivators might not have escaped unscathed.

Currently, among the Demonic Qingyang Sect's original four Golden Core cultivators, there should only be one remaining within the sect. However, Qin Sang had no idea where that Golden Core cultivator's dwelling was located.

Glancing between the forbidden ground and Divine Gale Peak, Qin Sang felt a flicker of unease. Without knowing where the Golden Core cultivator normally resided, he would have to tread carefully in all future actions.

After observing for another two hours, Qin Sang had seen nearly everything he needed within the sect's inner domain. Just then, he noticed a figure emerging from the dense cyan mist atop Divine Gale Peak. It was Shi Ying.

Qin Sang swiftly restored the barrier, then slipped back into the black coffin.

Whoosh!

Shi Ying flashed into the cave dwelling, hurriedly sealing the barrier behind her before sitting cross-legged beside the Corpse Coffin.

Her face showed unmistakable signs of exhaustion. It was clear that her journey to Divine Gale Peak had drained much of her strength.

After adjusting her breath for a moment, Shi Ying roused her spirits. She stretched out her hands, palms flat and facing her dantian.

Soon, her spiritual power began to swirl between her palms, and curiously, the light of her power took on a distinct cyan hue, dyeing the entire cave dwelling in blue-green light.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a small fire seed ignited within her spiritual power, rapidly devouring it and growing in size until it blossomed into a cyan flame.

This was the Demonic Qingyang Fire!

Unlike ordinary flames, the Demonic Qingyang Fire did not radiate searing heat. Instead, it exuded a strangely cool aura. At first glance, it seemed harmless, but in truth, it was insidiously poisonous, an existence that caused fear and dread among outside cultivators.

To fight against a disciple of the Demonic Qingyang Sect, one not only had to guard against their artifacts but also had to remain constantly wary of the Demonic Qingyang Fire. A single touch of the flame could prove disastrous.

Fortunately, wielding the Demonic Qingyang Fire consumed tremendous amounts of energy. Disciples could not sustain it for long, especially those below the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, who could only maintain the flame for cultivation purposes and had no strength to wield it in battle.

In Shi Ying's hands, the Demonic Qingyang Fire appeared extremely docile, flickering quietly.

Yet her expression remained tense. She stared wide-eyed, fixing her gaze deep into the heart of the Demonic Qingyang Fire.

If one looked closely, one would notice a thread-thin streak of cyan light at the very core of the flame. It was finer than a strand of hair, but far denser than the surrounding demonic fire.

This tiny cyan light swam through the flame's heart like a lively fish, constantly writhing and attempting to break free, yet it remained firmly sealed within the Demonic Qingyang Fire.

Upon summoning the flame, Shi Ying's face had already turned a shade paler.

Ordinarily, during cultivation, she would ascend Divine Gale Peak, absorb a trace of Divine Qingyang Gale into her flame, and then return to her cave dwelling to slowly refine it.

Only after fully absorbing the Divine Qingyang Gale would she make another trip to the peak, repeating the process.

This was the first time she had attempted to carry the Divine Qingyang Gale off the mountain while still sealed within her demonic fire.

Since the Demonic Qingyang Fire was originally born from the Divine Qingyang Gale, the two shared the same origin. After several attempts, Shi Ying had finally succeeded in sealing a trace of Divine Qingyang Gale inside her flame.

However, she had not expected how unstable the Divine Qingyang Gale would be. On her first attempt, it had dissipated before she could even leave the mountain.

In order to stabilize the trace of Divine Qingyang Gale, she had spent more than an hour painstakingly gathering and stabilizing it, again and again, before finally mastering the technique and successfully carrying out a sliver.

"Condense!"

Shi Ying stared at the heart of the flame and gave a low cry.

The Demonic Qingyang Fire blazed fiercely inward, compressing that sliver of Divine Qingyang Gale. The Divine Qingyang Gale trembled violently, then compressed inward from both ends, finally condensing into a tiny droplet, emerald and translucent like morning dew.

Having stabilized the Divine Qingyang Gale, Shi Ying flicked her sleeve and opened the black coffin, commanding the refined corpse to sit cross-legged before her.

The next step was to attempt the process of charging the core with Celestial Gale Qi.

The secret art recorded within the jade slip detailed the entire process. It appeared genuine enough, and the instructions emphasized that as long as one carefully used the refined corpse's strength to suppress the three sacred materials, and moved with sufficient precision, there should be no great danger.

Yet Shi Ying's heart still beat nervously.

She was no newcomer to the immortal cultivation world. Even without firsthand experience, she had heard enough stories to understand the risks.

The Celestial Gale Qi, the Earth Malevolent Qi, and the Golden Core—each of these was far beyond her ability to fully control. If anything went wrong, she would likely lose her life on the spot.

Before returning to her cave dwelling, she had even visited the sect's archives to check the records, but had found no mention of the so-called "Ancient Corpse Sect" mentioned in the jade slip. Subtly probing the senior uncle in charge of the archives had yielded nothing either. He had never even heard of such a sect.

Thus, Shi Ying decided to suppress her impatience and proceed with caution—testing the secret art step by step before deciding whether to stake everything on it.

At her command, a portion of the Demonic Qingyang Fire separated, forming into a blade of fire. It pierced into the heart of the flame, carefully slicing off an even smaller thread of the Divine Qingyang Gale.

Wrapped within the demonic fire, the tiny sliver of Divine Qingyang Gale drifted slowly toward the corpse refinement.

At the same time, Shi Ying split her focus to control the refined corpse, preparing it to withstand the impact of the incoming Divine Qingyang Gale.

Shi Ying felt that the refined corpse responded even more smoothly than before. It was obedient to an astonishing degree, perfectly in line with her intent. This bolstered her confidence greatly.

"Refined Corpse, you must succeed," she whispered under her breath, "Once I have avenged my great grievance, I swear I will grant you your freedom, find a way to let your soul rest in peace, and help you reincarnate into a new life."