Gateway of Immortality

The Gale Jade was a truly peculiar substance.

When untouched, it was incredibly hard and solid.

Back then, the piece of Gale Jade Qin Sang had chosen had been about the size of an infant. It had only shattered after nearly all of the Celestial Gale Qi within had been absorbed by him.

However, once taken away from Divine Gale Peak, it could no longer exist in the outside world and would immediately disintegrate.

That might, however, help further destabilize the Ancestral Sacred Flame.

The problem was that if Qin Sang wanted to remove those Gale Jades while ensuring his own safety, it would be no easy task.

The stability of the Ancestral Sacred Flame was directly tied to the Gale Jade.

And the Ancestral Sacred Flame itself served as the guardian of the Gale Jade.

Silently circulating his true essence, Qin Sang's figure flickered and vanished from view. He quickly realized that his speed had increased dramatically, now matching that of a true Core Formation cultivator.

With a thought, the ebony sword flew out from between his brows, silently hovering in front of him.

Since true essence was part of his own power, wielding the ebony sword posed no problem. As soon as his thoughts stirred, the sword flashed with flickering sword light, circling him once before swiftly returning to its original position, as though it had never moved at all.

Then, Qin Sang extended his right hand.

The ebony sword glimmered and flew into his palm, transforming into a stream of sword light. Like a nimble fish, it weaved gracefully around his fingertips.

Qin Sang's lips curled slightly in satisfaction.

The ebony sword was his life-bound astra. Back when he was in the Fake Core Realm, although he could use it, doing so placed immense strain on him, and he couldn't fully unleash the astra's true power.

But now, things were different.

He could effortlessly wield the ebony sword to execute all sorts of sword techniques without the slightest difficulty.

It was a pity he still couldn't use the Sword Qi Thunderclap supernatural ability. If he could, why would he need to fear a mere early-stage Core Formation opponent?

Such a person would never even be able to catch up to him!

There was also the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions.

Qin Sang pondered silently. Right now, the greatest value of the ebony sword lay in its innate supernatural ability: the Blood Defilement Divine Light. If used unexpectedly, it could cause great trouble for an opponent.

But if he wanted to confront a Golden Core cultivator head-on, then he would have to rely on the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions.

The Demonic Qingyang Fire of the Demonic Qingyang Sect was no ordinary flame. Using the ebony sword against it might not accomplish much. The Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, however, contained the Demonic Flames of Nine Hells, another rare and formidable flame that was perfectly suited for direct confrontation.

Besides, now that his face was greenish blue and his teeth were sharp, even a sharp-eyed Golden Core cultivator would never recognize who he truly was.

And he now wielded Golden-Core-level power. Things were no longer as they had been. Even if he openly used the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, he no longer needed to worry about future repercussions.

The only issue was... the banner was still buried outside the Demonic Qingyang Sect. He needed to get out first.

Qin Sang flicked his fingers, retrieving the ebony sword. Then, he pulled out the Xutian Thunder from his robe, just about to activate his movement art and return to the inner sect of the Demonic Qingyang Sect.

He couldn't help but wonder what the current state of the inner sect was.

Just as he darted out a short distance, Qin Sang suddenly sensed something and whipped his head around. He saw rolling white clouds swirling above the mountain gate of the Demonic Qingyang Sect, then rapidly parting to both sides. In no time, the stone stele at the entrance emerged into view.

Seeing the six Foundation Building cultivators seated around the stele, Qin Sang realized with a frown that the Array Eye was located right there, and inwardly cursed their composure.

Even with such a disturbance at Divine Gale Peak, they had remained steadfast in place.

Had they been lured away by the anomaly, he would've escaped long ago!

What Qin Sang didn't know was that there had originally been eight people here.

They were, in fact, well aware of the abnormality at Divine Gale Peak. After two of their fellow disciples who had gone up the mountain vanished, two of them rushed back to investigate and soon returned with information.

At present, the Demonic Qingyang Sect was already in utter chaos. Those two had stayed behind at Divine Gale Peak to calm the other disciples.

The remaining ones knew full well they lacked the ability to resolve the situation or retrieve their missing comrades.

The anomaly at Divine Gale Peak had not yet reached an uncontrollable stage, and they understood better than anyone that this was precisely the time they could not afford to panic.

After some discussion, they chose to follow Senior Uncle Wu's last instruction before departing: stand firm at the mountain gate and send word to him as swiftly as possible, so that he could return and take charge of the situation.

The gate swung open.

Qin Sang watched as the six Foundation Building cultivators rose in unison, forming a line and bowing deeply toward the gate. In the next instant, a streak of rainbow light shot across the distant sky, dazzling like a falling star.

It's that Golden Core cultivator!

Qin Sang's gaze sharpened. He hadn't expected the man to return so soon.

His expression shifted rapidly. Then, in a flash, he vanished into the forest, suppressing his aura with all his might as he cautiously edged closer to the mountain gate.

"Greetings, Senior Uncle Wu!"

The Golden Core cultivator didn't bother with the stone steps. The rainbow light flew directly to the gate.

No one dared speak out of turn. Instead, they bowed respectfully.

"What's going on here?!"

Before the rainbow light had even arrived, a furious voice boomed through the mountains, deafening and echoing from peak to peak.

A moment later, the light descended in front of the six cultivators and abruptly dispersed, revealing a man with a face full of seething anger—Senior Uncle Wu.

One's environment shaped their temperament, and cultivation shaped the body.

Even if a Core Formation cultivator had poor natural looks, and neither cared to improve them nor sought secret arts for refinement, the sheer presence that came with their realm was usually enough to overshadow all else.

Of course, there were exceptions, cases where cultivation arts warped one's nature or appearance. Such things were especially common among demonic or evil cultivators.

This man's name was Wu Youdao. Taken into the Demonic Qingyang Sect by his master at a young age, he had never been considered exceptionally gifted among his peers. Yet, he alone had succeeded in forming a core, becoming the fourth Core Formation expert of the sect.

Others, despite having greater talent, were either still struggling at the Fake Core Realm or had ventured out in search of opportunities, never to be heard from again.

With Wu Youdao's usual self-restraint, he would not normally allow his anger to show so plainly. But right now, he truly felt the urge to curse aloud.

Since breaking through to the Core Formation Realm, this was his first time guarding the sect gates alone.

He had been peacefully cultivating in his cave dwelling when trouble broke out.

First, a sudden beast tide surged through Endless Valley, endangering several promising disciples. He had been forced to descend the mountain to rescue them. The Demonic Qingyang Sect was no major clan with endless resources, cultivating disciples took great effort. Their precious next generation could not be lost in a place like Endless Valley.

And yet, just after he arrived at Endless Valley, he received news of an anomaly with the Ancestral Sacred Flame!

Wu Youdao had been running around like a headless chicken, utterly exhausted, and it felt like the heavens were deliberately making things difficult for him. At this point, everything and everyone was an eyesore.

The six cultivators sensed his towering fury and, terrified they might become targets for venting, quickly and carefully explained, "Reporting to Senior Uncle Wu. Eight of us followed your orders to seal the gate. Then, the Ancestral Sacred Flame suddenly showed signs of abnormality. Junior Brothers Dong and Zhu went up the mountain to investigate but were somehow trapped by the flame. Fortunately, the true body of the Ancestral Sacred Flame remains stable. The other two junior brothers are currently calming the disciples. As for what caused the anomaly, we still do not know..."

"When I left, Divine Gale Peak was perfectly fine. I'm going to see for myself what on earth happened!"

Wu Youdao snorted coldly, his long sleeve sweeping as he prepared to fly back to the inner sect. But just then, a thought struck him, and he said with a chilling tone, "When Li Qing returns, don't hold back on spirit stones and seal the mountain immediately. Keep it sealed until the sect leader returns! This is a turbulent time. I've neither the energy nor the patience to keep rushing out to save people. Understood?"

The six exchanged a glance and responded in unison, "Yes, Senior Uncle!"