Gateway of Immortality

The two figures rapidly closed in. By now, Qin Sang had already sensed that their cultivation levels were not high. If he activated the ebony sword, there was a good chance he could escape.

However, he was at the most critical juncture of condensing gale and malevolent qi into the core. If he used the ebony sword to fight, the excessive consumption might cause him to lose control over the three forces he was balancing, leading to total failure.

Countless thoughts flashed through Qin Sang's mind in an instant.

If he still could not realize that the phenomenon above Divine Gale Peak was caused by the Qingyang Gale Essence in his hand, he would truly be a fool. There were definitely secrets about Divine Gale Peak that he was unaware of!

The ferocity of the Ancestral Sacred Flame, restrained at the summit, likely had much to do with these jade-like Qingyang Gale Essences.

Qin Sang stared at the thin thread of fire above him. It was slowly drifting toward him, growing ever closer.

After his initial shock, Qin Sang gradually calmed down and realized that the fire thread was not the Ancestral Sacred Flame's true form. It was merely a strand of its leaked power, a phenomenon born from that residual force.

The array sealing the Ancestral Sacred Flame could not be so easily damaged. The true flame still remained firmly bound atop the mountain.

As long as it was not the true body of the flame, there was still room to maneuver. Although this leaked force was extremely powerful, it was not invincible.

With this realization, a ruthless idea abruptly surfaced in Qin Sang's mind. Gritting his teeth, he made his decision. He slammed his palm down and forcefully seized the Qingyang Gale Essence from the ground!

By now, the Qingyang Gale Essence had already been mostly drained, leaving only a small shard. As Qin Sang grasped it tightly, a crisp cracking sound rang out.

Immediately afterward, wisps of intensely pure gale qi gushed out from between his fingers and were frantically absorbed into his body.

The two Demonic Qingyang Sect disciples, hearing the sound of the Gale Jade shattering, both changed expressions.

"Outrageous!"

"Audacious!"

Their faces twisted in fury. Like bolts of lightning, they charged forward, catching sight of a figure crouched within a crevice, back facing them, completely ignoring their warnings, focused solely on absorbing the shattered gale jade.

Although they only saw his back, the two instantly determined that this person was not one of their own.

Someone was stealing their sect's Qingyang Gale Essence!

"Who are you?"

Their voices rang out sharply, full of shock and anger. They had never imagined that an outsider could infiltrate the sect's forbidden Divine Gale Peak without anyone noticing.

If not for this person destroying a Gale Jade and triggering the phenomenon, the entire sect might still have been kept in the dark.

Yet the intruder seemed oblivious to their shouts, continuing to absorb the Divine Qingyang Gale without even turning his head. The gale qi coiling around his fingertips grew thicker and thicker, as he desperately absorbed the last remnants of the shattered jade.

"Seeking death!"

The two men roared in fury. Exchanging a glance, they instantly unleashed their Demonic Qingyang Fire. Two streams of flame transformed into two blazing spears, shooting forward like a pair of azure dragons, stabbing viciously toward Qin Sang's back.

Sizzle!

The flame spears moved at terrifying speed, streaking through the air like bolts of lightning. Qin Sang, appearing completely defenseless, seemed certain to be pierced through.

But just then, Qin Sang suddenly moved.

The crevice he occupied was formed between two massive black stones, which had split apart without collapsing, creating a narrow, winding path just wide enough for three people to pass through.

The Qingyang Gale Essence had been embedded in the floor of this crevice.

Without bothering to absorb the remaining gale qi completely, Qin Sang clutched the shards tightly in his hand. Then, with a powerful kick of his legs, he sprang forward while still maintaining a seated posture, shooting ahead like a toad, moving with startling agility.

In an instant, Qin Sang's figure twisted and darted away, easily evading the flame spears. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished deeper into the crevice.

"Stop right there!"

The two disciples roared and gave chase without hesitation.

However, just as they passed the spot where Qin Sang had been, a piercing sword cry suddenly rang out from ahead.

A brilliant flash of sword light burst from the depths of the crevice, surging straight toward them.

Sensing the might carried by the flying sword, the two men were struck with terror.

"Astra!"

They cried out in shock, hurriedly tossing their Demonic Qingyang Fire forward to block the incoming sword. At the same time, they stumbled backward in panic.

Neither of them had sensed any overwhelming aura from Qin Sang before. Who would have expected him to control an astra? Given their cultivation levels, they dared not meet an astra head-on.

What happened next left the two men utterly stunned.

Boom!

The flying sword clashed head-on with their Demonic Qingyang Fire.

There was a crisp clang, and to their shock, the flying sword was sent hurtling away by the Demonic Qingyang Fire without offering any resistance. It crashed to the ground, then wobbled unsteadily as it flew backward, clearly repelled.

For a moment, they thought they were seeing things. Only after a second glance did they realize—the flying sword was nothing but an impressive-looking hollow shell!

It was fortunate that the material of the flying sword lived up to the name of an astra. Despite forcibly enduring the impact of two Demonic Qingyang Fires, the sword's body remained unscathed.

Witnessing this, the two men's faces turned alternating shades of green and white, their anger boiling over.

Suddenly, they sensed something terribly wrong. Their expressions froze as they looked up.

The whirlpool of clouds above had begun plummeting toward them at astonishing speed. Their current position—right where the shattered Gale Jade had been—was directly beneath the center of the vortex!

Somehow, the fire thread within the vortex had already dispersed.

Now the swirling storm above was filled with thick azure light. The azure radiance churned violently together with the chaotic clouds and lightning. To the naked eye, it looked like countless azure flames flickering within the storm.

The azure light and the vortex together came crashing down with terrifying force. In an instant, the black stones on both sides of the crevice were shredded to dust.

An overwhelming pressure instantly descended. The two men felt as if they had fallen into a swamp. Their bodies seized up, completely immobilized!

"Not good! Set the Fire Banner, quickly!"

One of them cried out in panic.

The other jolted back to his senses. In a desperate hurry, he pulled a man-sized triangular azure banner from his Mustard Seed Pouch and planted it firmly between them. Both of them then poured their Demonic Qingyang Fire into it without holding back.

The banner was embroidered with a flame-like pattern. As the true Demonic Qingyang Fire flooded into it, the pattern came to life, burning vividly.

At this point, they had no room to worry about Qin Sang anymore—surviving was all that mattered.

Whoosh!

The Fire Banner flared brightly and unleashed a fiery shield that enveloped the two men.

The very next moment, the azure light from the sky slammed down. Everything nearby was obliterated in an instant. Stones were shattered, the landscape razed—such was the terrifying force.

Only a massive vortex remained on the ground, swirling madly, stirring up fragments large and small. The sound of its fury shook the heavens, and nothing of the vortex's center could be seen clearly.

Qin Sang stood silently at the edge of the whirlpool.

This was merely the residual power of the Ancestral Sacred Flame manifesting as azure light, yet it had unleashed such terrifying destruction!

At that moment, Qin Sang became certain that the Ancestral Sacred Flame and the Demonic Qingyang Fire must share the same origin. Thanks to the Fire Banner, the two disciples had barely managed to cling to life.

Qin Sang, however, did not possess the Demonic Qingyang Fire. There was no way he could forcibly charge into the azure light. If he provoked the Ancestral Sacred Flame, he would only bring disaster upon himself.

But as long as the azure light remained, those two would be trapped, unable to escape, and unable to send out any message.