Gateway of Immortality

As Qin Sang's cultivation progressed, his understanding of the Sutra of the Profound Jade Cauldron deepened as well.

Cultivating this art carried great risks in itself, and the consequences of having one’s energy extracted were far more severe than what the sect leader had made light of. It wasn’t merely a few lingering threads of affection to worry about.

Once one had their energy extracted, even if no imprint of the primordial spirit was left behind, feelings would take root deeply, becoming impossible to sever. In the future, whether one tried to break through or even during routine cultivation, these threads of emotion would continue to interfere.

This influence was subtle, ever-present, and truly terrifying.

Just when a breakthrough was imminent, it would manifest as heart demons, striking suddenly. The disturbance would shatter the cultivator's state of mind, causing all previous efforts to go to waste. Unless someone possessed extraordinary willpower, it would be difficult to make any further progress.

…

"Greetings, Sect Leader."

The cave dwelling opened wide, and Sect Leader Yu walked in. Qin Sang rose to his feet and bowed in respect.

He had just condensed the Jade Cauldron and was on the verge of mastering the third stage of the Sutra of the Profound Jade Cauldron. As soon as he succeeded, he immediately sent out a Sound Transmission Talisman. It had now been half a year since he ascended Shaohua Mountain.

Qin Sang wasn’t sure about the others' progress, but he was certain that no one could have been faster than him.

Upon hearing Qin Sang claim that he had condensed the Jade Cauldron, Sect Leader Yu's expression darkened instead. With a stern tone, he said, "I warned you all before—cultivating the Sutra of the Profound Jade Cauldron must not be rushed. Did you know that just a month ago, He Mu lost his state of mind to Mara, causing his yang essence to leak? His cultivation dropped by five stages, and he nearly lost his life!"

Qin Sang was momentarily stunned, only able to sigh regretfully.

After a thorough inspection, Sect Leader Yu’s expression finally softened a little. He looked at Qin Sang with some surprise and nodded. "I didn’t expect you to be the first to condense the Jade Cauldron. Let me check your aptitude… Hmm? Five-elemental spiritual roots!"

Qin Sang had naturally masked his aptitude again with spiritual herbs, but he did not dare to hide the fact that he had consumed a Foundation Building Pill with no effect whatsoever.

Stealing a glance at Sect Leader Yu, Qin Sang noticed that his expression didn’t look promising. A wave of unease surged in his heart, and his heartbeat quickened. He clenched his fists tightly in secret.

It wasn’t that he lacked composure—this might very well be his best chance in the past ten years to reach the Foundation Building Realm!

Little did he know that Sect Leader Yu was also silently mulling things over at that moment.

As sect leader, his authority wasn’t insignificant, but it wasn’t as great as one might think. The senior masters, having seen his steady and reliable nature, and knowing he had no hope of forming a Golden Core, had merely pushed him to handle the trivial matters of the sect so as not to interfere with their own cultivation.

All the major affairs of Shaohua Mountain had always been decided by the Spiritual Infant grandmaster or passed down after discussions among the Golden Core masters. The sect leader simply followed the orders.

After Shaohua Mountain disciples broke through to the Foundation Building Realm, as long as their aptitude wasn’t too poor, they had a chance to apprentice under one of the Golden Core masters. It could be said that every disciple had someone to rely on, so none of them feared the sect leader—at most, they would show him some respect on the surface.

Most of the time, he only dealt with trivial matters within the sect. When it came to disputes over resources, he often became a puppet, waiting for the higher-ups to settle things before carrying out their decisions.

Even the distribution of Foundation Building Pills was something he could hardly intervene in.

Firstly, the sect had strict rules, and no one dared violate them.

Secondly, the number of Foundation Building Pills was limited. Even in times of good harvest, when there were a few extra pills, they were already reserved for someone. If the distribution wasn’t balanced, disputes would immediately be brought before the Golden Core masters.

This time, Sage Mawu had passed down an order to find dual cultivation partners, and with the backing of the grandmaster, Sect Leader Yu naturally didn’t dare to slack off. Although he knew there were issues with this cultivation art, he still had to do everything in his power to prepare.

He had even racked his brains to prepare three Foundation Building Pills just in case.

Yet, he never expected to encounter a disciple with five-elemental spiritual roots. Three Foundation Building Pills would be far from enough. If he tried to seize more from others now, causing an uproar, it would be beyond his ability to control.

Since he had already found someone who met the requirements, his task was essentially complete. The rest would be up to Sage Mawu to handle. After all, it was just a few Foundation Building Pills.

Upon this thought, Sect Leader Yu instructed Qin Sang to wait quietly. After some careful consideration, he wrote down the words and sent out a sword talisman.

The sword talisman turned into a streak of light, vanishing instantly into the depths of the Yuncang Marshlands, flying swiftly toward Sage Mawu's cave dwelling.

Moments later, there was no movement from the Yuncang Marshlands, but at the peak of Shaohua Mountain, the clouds suddenly stirred, and the barriers wavered. A streak of green light descended from the sky, falling straight toward Qin Sang’s cave dwelling.

Sensing this, Sect Leader Yu swiftly flew out of the cave dwelling. Looking up, he saw the green light enveloping a small, palm-sized spiritual herb, its branches and leaves intertwined in the shape of a dragon. Its body coiled majestically, its posture exuding power, and its head was raised as if spitting out a pearl. The dragon’s eyes were bright and piercing.

The pearl was the fruit of the spiritual herb, fiery red like a flame!

"Dragon Ginseng!"

Sect Leader Yu’s heart trembled, and he couldn’t help but exclaim. Just then, a command from the grandmaster echoed in his ear, "Personally assist this disciple in refining the Dragon Ginseng and help him break through swiftly. With this ginseng, there is no need for a Foundation Building Pill; he will still be able to reach the Foundation Building Realm."

Sect Leader Yu immediately composed himself, lowered his gaze, and prostrated deeply.

"Disciple humbly obeys the grandmaster’s decree!"

Inside the cave dwelling, when Qin Sang saw Sect Leader Yu’s stance, he quickly and obediently prostrated himself on the ground. His heart was filled with both shock and anticipation—shocked that his Foundation Building breakthrough had actually attracted the attention of Spiritual Infant Grandmaster Dong Yangbo, and anticipating that for a grandmaster, helping a disciple reach the Foundation Building Realm should be a very simple matter, right?

The green light dissipated, and the Dragon Ginseng fell before Sect Leader Yu.

Sect Leader Yu carefully held the Dragon Ginseng in both hands, raised it high, and knelt motionlessly for some time. Only then did he rise, bow once more toward the mountain peak, and retreat back to the cave dwelling. He turned to Qin Sang and said, "Stand up."

Qin Sang stood, his gaze heated as he stared at the dragon-shaped spiritual herb in Sect Leader Yu’s hands, hesitant to speak.

Seeing this, Sect Leader Yu said calmly, "This is the Dragon Ginseng. Consuming it directly will greatly aid in breaking through. If one is lucky enough to acquire a thousand-year-old Dragon Ginseng during their Core Formation, it can even assist in forming the Golden Core. Shaohua Mountain has only discovered two of these in total, and it seems that luck is on your side. With my assistance in refining this herb, you will undoubtedly reach the Foundation Building realm. Aren't you going to thank the grandmaster for his generosity?"

Qin Sang, suppressing his excitement, respectfully bowed toward the mountain peak and then rose to bow deeply to Sect Leader Yu. "I will never forget the sect leader’s great assistance."

He understood very well that this Dragon Ginseng was the price he had to pay for becoming a furnace cauldron.

Of course, if he had been a rogue cultivator, he wouldn’t even have had the chance to sell himself.

Sect Leader Yu nodded and sent out several Sound Transmission Talismans, arranging sect affairs before waving his hand to close the cave dwelling. He raised the Dragon Ginseng in his palm, and flames suddenly ignited from his hand, slowly roasting the herb.

The spiritual herb endured the flames for over an hour before its color started to wither and turn yellow.

At this point, Sect Leader Yu’s face had grown slightly pale. Suddenly, he let out a low shout, and the flames in his palm flared. The Dragon Ginseng’s yellowing accelerated until it completely withered and cracked. Drops of bright green liquid were forced out from within, merging on their own into the pearl the dragon had been holding.

The pearl glowed a deep red, becoming even more vivid.

With a flick of his finger, Sect Leader Yu sent the dragon pearl flying toward Qin Sang and shouted, "Swallow it quickly!"