Gateway of Immortality

Faced with Hermit Baiyun's inquiry, Yu Dayue maintained his composure. "Daoist Baiyun, Senior Sister Qingting and I only took precautions. With your years of experience in the martial world, you should understand. As long as the ancient cultivator's relic is real, it doesn’t matter whether it’s in the Tianduan Mountains or Yuncang Marshlands."

Qingting added, "It wasn’t our intention to deceive anyone. Junior Brother Yu and I had no other choice. You should be able to estimate from the speed of the artifact that we are currently at the junction of the Tianduan Mountains and Yuncang Marshlands. If you’re worried about the demonic sects and their underlings, there’s no need. Since the Blood Nether Sect in the southern part of the Tianduan Mountains was destroyed by the Chunyang Sect, the various demonic sects south of the Blood Nether Sect have either fled north in panic or are hiding deep within the Tianduan Mountains, afraid to show themselves. There really isn’t much danger here."

Hermit Baiyun’s expression softened slightly, and the others nodded in acceptance of their explanation.

Seeing that he had finally calmed the group's dissatisfaction, Yu Dayue secretly sighed in relief. He walked to the edge of the mountaintop and pointed to the southeast. "The ancient cultivator's relic is just a few hundred miles ahead, within the valley between the two mountains. There is a layer of yin wind barrier above it. Crossing the yin wind[1] barrier should pose no problem for you, and it won't make much noise. However, when we break the array, it will definitely create a commotion, which may attract the attention of the great demons deep within the Tianduan Mountains. We will split into two teams, one to the left and one to the right, circling around the perimeter and quietly clearing out the nearby demonic beasts to avoid any chaos."

Everyone agreed without objection, and soon they split into two teams.

Li Zai, Hermit Baiyun, and the Liu brothers followed Qingting on the northern route, while Qin Sang and Wu Yuesheng accompanied Yu Dayue on the southern route.

With three Foundation Building cultivators working together, they encountered no particularly troublesome issues along the way. Qin Sang found that the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword was sufficient to handle any challenges. Upon seeing the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword, Yu Dayue's eyes lit up.

"In case breaking the array doesn’t go well, we might need Junior Brother Qin to step in."

Qin Sang naturally agreed.

In the valley flanked by two mountains, a massive mountain range extended from north to south, stretching endlessly, resembling a coiled dragon lying upon the earth, with all its peaks exceptionally perilous.

However, the cliffs surrounding the canyon where the ancient cultivator's relic lay seemed quite ordinary and unremarkable.

The cliffs pressed closely together, forming a narrow sky above, and the deeper one descended, the more spacious it became. Thus, this canyon had excellent concealment; it was only upon venturing deep into the mountains that one realized such a vast canyon existed.

The cliffs were steep and bare, devoid of any grass or trees, making them difficult to climb. The stones appeared dark blue-black, even lacking moss, giving off a lifeless aura.

Dense miasma floated above the canyon, obscuring visibility.

The Tianduan Mountains were continuous, eerie, and damp, filled with marshes and deep valleys. Beneath the layers of withered leaves lay bottomless mud, harboring toxins that could be deadly.

As they traveled, they encountered numerous areas with similar miasma.

Yet the miasma in this canyon was slightly different from others. When probing with his spiritual consciousness, Qin Sang discovered that it was not simply fog but rather composed of strands of black yin wind, resembling countless black serpents entangled together—very strange.

The three of them took a detour and spent two days clearing out the demonic beasts along the entire mountain range. By the time they reached the ancient cultivator's relic, Qingting and the others had not yet arrived.

"Is the ancient cultivator's relic right here?"

Qin Sang and the others stood above the canyon, and Wu Yuesheng asked in surprise.

"Indeed." Yu Dayue nodded. "This place is too concealed. Senior Sister Qingting and I have been searching for a long time before confirming it. The yin wind cleverly disguises itself as miasma, and we nearly overlooked it. Junior Brothers, look at these yin winds; they have both form and substance, definitely not naturally occurring. Once caught in the yin wind, not only will one's figure become erratic and hard to maintain, but endless demonic sounds will also disturb one’s senses. Any cultivator or demonic beast with slightly weaker power who accidentally wanders in will surely meet misfortune. Once we enter the yin wind barrier, we must quickly descend to escape this place."

Upon hearing this, Qin Sang pondered for a moment before asking, "Is there a spirit vein here?"

Yu Dayue nodded and replied, "Junior Brother Qin, you are meticulous. There is indeed a concealed spirit vein deep beneath this mountain range. Senior Sister Qingting and I only found two undeveloped spiritual eyes, which is quite unusual. We suspect that the spiritual eye of the spirit vein is located just below the canyon. That’s why we dared to say this place is very likely an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling."

Qin Sang silently nodded. A powerful cultivator’s cave dwelling would surely be situated near a spiritual eye. If it was to seal away something evil, there would be no need for such high standards, wasting an excellent cave dwelling.

Moreover, he wasn't particularly afraid of evil beings; the Guishui Yin Thunder Spell was precisely a nemesis to such malevolence. He just needed to be cautious when the time came.

With this thought, Qin Sang focused on the yin wind barrier and observed it closely for a while. "It seems more like a means to conceal the cave dwelling and prevent outside intrusion. The array below must be the main protective array of the cave dwelling."

The three of them sat quietly at the mountain's peak to rest. After several hours, Qingting and the others finally arrived.

"We encountered a Demonic Spirit Realm black tiger, which delayed us a bit."

Upon hearing their explanation, Qin Sang and the others felt a bit envious. The corpse of a Demonic Spirit Realm demonic beast was excellent raw material. The Liu Brothers appeared particularly excited, clearly having reaped significant rewards.

After Qingting and the others took a moment to recuperate, the group flew to hover above the canyon.

Qingting's expression grew serious as she reminded everyone, "Fellow Daoists, don’t let your guard down. Prepare your defensive measures and protections for your primordial spirits before entering the yin wind barrier. Once caught within, the powerful yin wind will immediately scatter us. No one will have the energy to assist others."

Hearing this, everyone’s demeanor became serious.

Qin Sang was not afraid of the so-called demonic sounds invading them. He simply activated the Heavenly Star Tear, forming a light membrane around himself while discreetly gripping the Essence-Devouring Spike in his palm, ready for any unexpected situations.

Looking at the others, they were all employing their own methods.

Qingting and Yu Dayue, experienced as they were, similarly activated only one defensive artifact, just like Qin Sang. Li Zai was even more dazzling; sword light danced around him like a swimming dragon.

As for Wu Yuesheng, Qin Sang could hardly sense any fluctuation of his aura; he seemed to be employing some kind of technique.

Hermit Baiyun summoned a cloth bag that he placed over his head. The bag looked like something a mortal would use to carry grains and appeared rather gray and dull.

What intrigued Qin Sang the most was still the Liu Brothers. He wondered how these twin brothers could pass through the yin wind that even Foundation Building cultivators feared.

He saw the Liu Brothers standing back to back, each forming identical seals while chanting incantations.

After a series of actions, a divine light shot from their foreheads, forming a protective barrier around them, which then shrank and adhered to their bodies, disappearing from sight.

In that moment, Qin Sang actually sensed a faint threat from the Liu Brothers, leaving him secretly astonished. It seemed that Yu Dayue had not exaggerated; the Liu Brothers indeed possessed the ability to contend with Foundation Building cultivators.

1. This refers to wind with yin properties. ☜