Gateway of Immortality

The two coordinated swiftly, slaying the humanoid Cloud Beast in no time.

Qin Sang sheathed his ebony sword and asked in return, "Is Ascetic Yunqiong willing to leave?"

Leaving the great rift required everyone to work together to control the Star Disk. If Ascetic Yunqiong chose not to depart, Qin Sang himself wouldn’t be able to leave either.

"Junior Brother Qin guessed it..." Mu Yifeng said with a helpless look, "Ascetic Yunqiong insisted on going deeper to search for Yin Xingge, feeling he couldn't just abandon him. Otherwise, he’d have trouble explaining things once we returned to Xuanlu Stronghold. However, he wanted to see what Junior Brother Qin thought as well."

Qin Sang observed Mu Yifeng impassively, thinking that this was likely more than just Yunqiong’s idea; the two of them may have already reached an agreement.

Mu Yifeng kept his gaze fixed on the Qianyang Crystal.

While Yunqiong might genuinely want to save Yin Xingge, Mu Yifeng's intention seemed less focused on rescue and more on ensuring he’d find Yin Xingge's corpse instead.

Without directly agreeing or refusing, Qin Sang shifted the topic and asked, "The humanoid Cloud Beast you encountered, Senior Brother Mu, was also one created by a Cloud Beast’s essence spirit occupying the corpse of a demonic sect cultivator?"

"Exactly!" Mu Yifeng said with a nod. "Junior Brother Qin, don't be surprised. The situation in the Small Cold Domain is constantly shifting; over the years, the seven strongholds have changed hands repeatedly. When the demonic sect held sway, Xuanlu Stronghold frequently fell into their possession. As you saw from that massive space outside, this was originally a Qianyang Quartz mine, dug out by hand. Later, when the Qianyang Quartz was nearly exhausted, it wasn't worth the resources to continue, so it was abandoned. When the demonic sect cultivators held Xuanlu Stronghold, they certainly wouldn't have overlooked such a valuable site. So, finding traces of demonic sect cultivators here is to be expected."

Mu Yifeng turned to Qin Sang and said, "Junior Brother Qin, if the eight of us work together to channel the Star Disk, we can contain its power within a small area around us. As long as we proceed cautiously, we should be able to evade the Cloud Beasts comparable to the Golden Core Realm for a short time. Daoist Yunqiong is a reasonable person and won’t pursue something impossible. Plus, counting this one, he and I have already killed four. They’re roughly similar in strength, so there might not be any powerful humanoid Cloud Beasts ahead. It’s likely there are simply too many of them, and Senior Brother Yin was caught up in the fight…”

Qin Sang hesitated briefly, then nodded in agreement.

It wasn’t that Mu Yifeng’s words had persuaded him; he, too, had his own reasons. First, he had a malevolent corpse secretly scouting ahead, capable of detecting any danger immediately.

The malevolent corpse wasn’t a living corpse and could be crafted from the remains of any Foundation Building cultivator. In the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, cultivator corpses weren’t rare, so losing one wouldn’t cause him much regret.

Additionally, he hoped to gather more soul refinement demonic artifacts to increase the power of his Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions.

With the plan set, the group quickly took action. Qin Sang divided his focus between controlling the Star Disk and guiding the malevolent corpse ahead.

The malevolent corpse, devoid of a living aura, concealed itself within the demonic qi. As long as it didn’t initiate an attack, the Cloud Beasts wouldn’t take notice of it. They advanced rapidly down the passage, encountering three humanoid Cloud Beasts along the way. None were particularly strong, and the trio dispatched them swiftly.

However, to Qin Sang’s disappointment, only one of the humanoid Cloud Beasts carried an artifact, and it wasn’t a soul refinement demonic artifact.

As they ventured deeper, the number of humanoid Cloud Beasts increased. Cautious, Qin Sang and the others refrained from attacking recklessly, opting instead to avoid the creatures and move forward quietly.@@novelbin@@

"Just up ahead…” said Qin Sang.

They were close to the spot indicated by the jade talisman when a chaotic noise suddenly echoed from the passage, as if a fierce battle was unfolding.

"Senior Brother Yin is still alive!" Ascetic Yunqiong exclaimed in surprise.

Qin Sang and Mu Yifeng exchanged a glance, their expressions exceptionally grave. All they could hear were the eerie cries of the Cloud Beasts; from beginning to end, they hadn’t caught any sound from Yin Xingge himself.

Yin Xingge’s Cloud-Thunder Golden Net could command the power of thunderbolts, and if activated fully, it would surely emit an unmistakable roar of thunder. Yet now, there wasn’t even a hint of that sound.

Ascetic Yunqiong wasn’t foolish; seeing the expressions on Qin Sang and Mu Yifeng’s faces, he quickly realized something was amiss, and his own expression grew increasingly serious.

"I’ll go take a look!"

Unable to hold back, Mu Yifeng prepared to cloak himself and sneak in, but Qin Sang quickly grabbed his arm.

"We don’t know what’s inside. Don’t be reckless, Senior Brother Mu—let’s use the Mimic Sound Technique to test things out first..."

Qin Sang channeled his spiritual power to form a small spell, and Mu Yifeng had no choice but to wait patiently for Qin Sang to finish.

They were positioned at the intersection of several passageways. Qin Sang cast the spell into one of the corridors, and moments later, his voice echoed from within. 𝑅𝒶Ν𝘰𝔟Èꞩ

"Daoist Yin? Daoist Yin?"

…

The sound was faint, yet it still startled the Cloud Beasts up ahead, causing a sudden commotion as they surged out of the passage, scrambling over each other.

Everyone quickly activated the Star Disk and hid in another corridor, watching as a swarm of humanoid Cloud Beasts rushed toward the source of the sound. When they saw the creatures clearly, everyone’s faces changed as they gasped in horror.

…

While restraining Mu Yifeng and using the Mimic Sound Technique, Qin Sang divided his focus, skillfully guiding his malevolent corpse to avoid the Cloud Beasts as it slipped further inside.

Through his malevolent corpse, Qin Sang perceived the horrifying scene within, feeling a surge of dread.

Blood and flesh were scattered everywhere, bones littering the ground.

The humanoid Cloud Beasts’ hands and mouths were stained with fresh blood as they fiercely devoured chunks of tender flesh, making it easy to guess whose remains they were consuming.

Yin Xingge’s body had been completely torn apart, flesh and bone alike shredded beyond recognition, leaving no discernible part intact.

Yet, these humanoid Cloud Beasts didn’t possess overwhelming strength. Could it be that someone else was responsible for killing Yin Xingge?

The malevolent corpse crept further down the passage and discovered a bottomless crevice that had been dug out, with demonic qi seeping continuously from it. From deep within the crevice came eerie growls, suggesting that a terrifying demon might be lurking down below.

Seeing this, Qin Sang became even more cautious, unwilling to expose the malevolent corpse. Just as he prepared to retreat quietly, he spotted a Spirit Beast Pouch lying near the crevice. While the humanoid Cloud Beasts were focused on tearing at the flesh, the Spirit Beast Pouch lay untouched in a corner.

Qin Sang felt a surge of interest and directed his malevolent corpse to pick up the Spirit Beast Pouch. He then had it carefully search the area.

…

The humanoid Cloud Beasts were all stained with crimson blood.

Upon witnessing this scene, those hiding under the Star Disk grew even more alarmed. Although they hadn’t yet seen Yin Xingge’s body, they knew in their hearts that his fate was likely grim.

"If he's alive, we need to see him; if he's dead, we need to find his body!" Mu Yifeng said in a grave tone as he looked around at the group. "You all wait here. I’ll sneak in for a quick look."

As Qin Sang had suspected, Mu Yifeng still had his sights set on the Qianyang Crystal. Qin Sang then said, "Senior Brother Mu, I’ll go with you to provide support from behind."