Gateway of Immortality

After retrieving the malevolent corpse, Qin Sang took out the Mustard Seed Pouches of the three slain individuals.

The gain was fairly decent. Together, the three Mustard Seed Pouches contained over 700 low-grade spirit stones, several decent artifacts, and, most notably, two top-grade artifacts from the black-robed elder’s pouch.

One of these was a black longsword. The black-robed elder had wielded this sword desperately before his death, demonstrating its extraordinary power. Its quality was undoubtedly superior to that of the Yanli Sword.

Qin Sang erased the black-robed elder’s spiritual consciousness from the sword, tested it with a few casual swings, and found it to his liking. He decided to keep it as his own, replacing the Yanli Sword.

The other item was a piece of lightweight silk called the Sky Poison Veil. Once activated, the silk transformed into a cloud of malevolent miasma, an enhanced version of the toxic miasma used by the other two.

This miasma was highly poisonous. If it afflicted an immortal cultivator, it would stagnate their spiritual power. Without timely detoxification, the afflicted cultivator would be utterly defenseless.

The black-robed elder had fallen into Qin Sang's trap and was ensnared in the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions, leaving him no opportunity to unleash the Sky Poison Veil’s power before Qin Sang slew him.

Previously, during one of Qin Sang's baiting operations, his opponents had noticed the presence of the Purple Soul Bell. Caught off guard, the Purple Soul Bell was struck by sword qi and damaged. While the Sky Poison Veil lacked the subtlety and directness of the Purple Soul Bell, it surpassed it in sheer destructive power.

Suspended in mid-air, the Sky Poison Veil alternated between its original form and a toxic miasma. After refining it through a series of rituals, Qin Sang claimed it as his own. He suddenly recalled the toxic miasma he had stored earlier and tossed it into the air.

Qin Sang nodded in satisfaction. Though these two artifacts were on the lower end of the top-grade spectrum, they were still valuable. Ordinary cultivators of similar cultivation levels as the black-robed elder would consider themselves fortunate to own even one such artifact. It proved that this line of work was indeed highly profitable.

However, the three individuals had ultimately met their demise in pursuit of wealth. Even Qin Sang, during his fishing expeditions, had encountered formidable foes. It was only through the strength of artifacts like the ebony sword that he managed to avoid calamity.

Apart from these finds, the Mustard Seed Pouches contained consumables essential for surviving the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, such as spirit pills and cloud artifacts, all of which Qin Sang needed. He organized the items, kept what he could use, and destroyed the pouches.

The cave dwelling was tranquil.

Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, Qin Sang emitted rhythmic waves of spiritual power. The spiritual qi in the cave seemed drawn by an immense force, continuously surging toward him as he absorbed and refined it.

Qin Sang was entirely focused on his cultivation.

Within his primordial spirit, a green sword bore a faintly glowing killing symbol. Beside it was another killing symbol, half-engraved. Remarkably, these one-and-a-half killing symbols formed a miniature vortex of light, assisting Qin Sang in absorbing the spiritual qi of the cave.

Guided by his cultivation art, this spiritual qi passed through the ebony sword, entered his primordial spirit space, and then flowed into his meridians. After circulating through several cosmic orbits, impurities were expelled, transforming the qi into Qin Sang’s own spiritual power. Finally, it converged in his Qihai, significantly accelerating his cultivation.

This was the strength of the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment. The ebony sword served as Qin Sang’s second dantian. Limited by his innate talent, Qin Sang’s cultivation speed had always been inferior to others, but with the assistance of the killing symbols, the gap was narrowed.

For now, the improvement was modest due to the small number of killing symbols. However, as his cultivation advanced and he engraved more symbols, his speed would continue to increase, eventually reaching a level comparable to that of cultivators with true spiritual roots.

As for the astonishing speed of Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivators, Qin Sang dared not dream of it. If the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment wasn’t incomplete, such a feat might have been possible.

After cultivating for a while, Qin Sang stopped and fully focused his mind on the ebony sword, studying the incomplete killing symbol for a long time. Finally, he poured all his energy into engraving a new stroke.

Phew!

Completing the stroke at last, Qin Sang exhaled deeply, sweat dripping from his forehead. His face was etched with exhaustion, a clear sign of the toll it had taken on both his spiritual power and concentration.

Despite this, his eyes gleamed with excitement. He felt that engraving the new stroke had been slightly easier than before. Though his cultivation level still constrained him, he was making undeniable progress.

For twenty years, Qin Sang had devoted himself to relentless cultivation, never ceasing his battles against Cloud Beasts. In every fight, he immersed his mind in the killing symbols, contemplating their profound mysteries. By now, he had comprehended over 80% of the second killing symbol. In just a little more time, he would fully grasp its essence. Then, he planned to retreat to his cave dwelling for focused cultivation to elevate his spiritual power, meticulously engraving the killing symbol stroke by stroke.

When that time came, as long as the quantity of spiritual power within him reached the threshold for a breakthrough and was sufficient to complete engraving the second killing symbol onto the ebony sword, advancing to the middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm would be a natural progression.

At present, the ebony sword bore only one and a half killing symbols, so his cultivation speed was still insufficiently fast. This process could take quite a long time.

However, compared to other cultivators trapped at bottlenecks, Qin Sang preferred his current situation. At least with every bit of progress, no matter how small, the improvement was clear and visible. He didn’t have to endure the agony of stagnating for ten or even dozens of years without making any headway.

He had experienced that torment during the Qi Refining Realm, and it was enough to drive anyone mad.

Afterward, Qin Sang spent another six months in secluded cultivation within his cave dwelling before setting out once more, leaving the Tianjing Hidden Realm behind.

He had already familiarized himself with the distribution of Cloud Beasts near the hidden realm, knowing exactly how to hunt them efficiently while minimizing risks to his safety.

Following a familiar route, he made his rounds. Over half a month passed, and Qin Sang returned to the mountain with the Fire Elemental Stone mine.

More than six months had gone by, and he was certain that another batch of Fire Elemental Stones must have accumulated in the cave. Like harvesting crops, he reaped the stones again and again, turning it into a reliable source of wealth.

Over several days, he lured and slew the Cloud Beasts hovering above the cave entrance. Then, activating a Cloud Artifact as a protective shield, he silently infiltrated the cave.

This time, the longer interval between visits had allowed some of the Cloud Beasts in the mine to fully take form. It took Qin Sang two full days to clear the cave of these creatures. He filled his Mustard Seed Pouch to capacity with the harvested Fire Elemental Stones. However, just as he returned to the cave entrance, his expression suddenly shifted.

The sky outside was dark and foreboding. Cloud Beasts roared, winds howled, and sand and stones flew—celestial phenomena were imminent!

Above him, a dense, oppressive mass blocked out the heavens. It wasn’t dark clouds but a horde of Cloud Beasts, stirred into a frenzy by the looming celestial phenomena, surging out from the depths of the mountains. Judging by the signs, the celestial phenomena had likely begun manifesting the previous day, but Qin Sang had been too deep in the cave clearing out Cloud Beasts to notice.

He could not remain here. If caught in the celestial phenomena, there was no question—death was certain!

Qin Sang’s face darkened. Making a swift decision, he took out a Cloud Artifact shaped like a bronze bell and placed it over his head. Without hesitation, he charged down the mountain. The distance was too short, though, and the Cloud Artifact couldn’t completely conceal his aura. Almost immediately, several Cloud Beasts detected Qin Sang’s presence!