Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 871: Landou Island

The shopkeeper was most likely a spy of the witch race. Unfortunately, he had not been caught, and there was no evidence.

That shopkeeper was merely an early-stage Golden Core cultivator. His body carried a dense Malevolent Demonic Qi, showing that he had forcefully pushed himself into the Core Formation Realm using a Malevolent Demonic Pill. With such a foundation, he could hardly amount to much.

For someone like that to dare provoke him was no different from courting death. Qin Sang did not fear the shopkeeper, but he was concerned that there might be other spies hidden in Tianxing City, watching his cave dwelling.

After some thought, Qin Sang refrained from acting rashly. He took away his external incarnation and, under the identity of Daoist Master Qingfeng, rented another cave dwelling nearby to secretly observe.

Everything about his cave dwelling remained as usual, the protective barriers intact.

Back in Tianxing City, once the two were close enough, Qin Sang and his external incarnation could communicate through their hearts. The incarnation had also found no signs of anyone spying.

At the same time, Qin Sang frequently contacted his old friends and used every possible channel to gather news.

Three days passed. After confirming there was no ambush, Qin Sang quickly moved his incarnation away while he himself continued to watch the original cave dwelling, intending to use it as bait.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished. No suspicious person appeared. The shopkeeper had completely vanished.

The disciples of Black Snake Mountain and the witch race spies must have realized how difficult it would be to assassinate a human Golden Core cultivator within Tianxing City, and had given up.

With that, Qin Sang had one less trouble to worry about, but the trail had also gone cold.

In addition, his efforts to gather intelligence had yielded little. He could not confirm the origins of those mysterious people. They were so secretive and low-key that almost nothing was known about them.

"It seems, if I want to uncover their identity, I’ll have to return to that sea region myself and search for clues..." Sitting in his new cave dwelling, Qin Sang pondered in silence.

In truth, he knew very well that using this lead to trouble Black Snake Mountain was nearly impossible. They had already succeeded and most likely erased all traces and fled far away.

The only reason he insisted on investigating was his interest in the Lightning Control Technique.

The sight of the battlefield being drowned in lightning was still vivid in his memory. If the Lightning Control Technique could be mastered, not only would he be able to harness the power of stellar malevolence, but he would also gain a powerful new means of attack.

Revenge against Black Snake Mountain was secondary.

In those two clashes, he had not suffered any real losses. On the contrary, Black Snake Mountain had lost two Golden Core cultivators to his sword. Their losses were far greater. It was Black Snake Mountain that should be furious.

Of course, Qin Sang had never been one to wait for his enemies to come knocking. He would certainly make Black Snake Mountain pay a price. Even if he could not find the Lightning Control Technique, he might still be able to seize it from one of their cultivators.

But for now, with the chaos in the Demonic Sea unresolved, it was impossible for him to charge into the Witch God Continent.

"Before leaving, I must settle the external incarnation." Qin Sang glanced at the incarnation meditating beside him.

With the help of blood feeding, his cultivation speed had been astonishing.

Since the embryo had been formed, only a few months had passed, and the incarnation had already broken through multiple times, now reaching the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, which was one stage higher than this body’s cultivation before death.

This was the reason Qin Sang had gone to such lengths to refine the incarnation. If nothing went wrong, by the time Seven-Kill Hall opened again, the incarnation’s strength would surely reach the required level.

Foundation Building for the incarnation would require Qin Sang to use a secret art in coordination. This art could only be performed once the incarnation had cultivated to the thirteenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, with the spiritual power in his Qihai reaching its peak.

At his current speed, that day would not be far off, provided he had a stable place to cultivate.

"Tianxing City is not safe. Better to bring him along to Landou Island. After returning from there, I must investigate Landou Sect’s stellar cultivation art, which may take some time. If the incarnation is nearby, I can supply it with blood feeding whenever necessary. Landou Island also has a market, so there will certainly be suitable cave dwellings..." Qin Sang made up his mind.

Since the witch race spies still refused to show themselves, he had no reason to keep waiting. He left the city, scouted carefully to confirm no one was following, and then departed with his incarnation. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Before leaving, in order to cause Black Snake Mountain some discomfort, Qin Sang deliberately spread the news that the witch race had infiltrated and massacred human cultivators. Whether it would be effective, he did not know.

***

Landou Sect’s gate was located north of Tianxing Island.

The island that housed the sect was called Landou Island. From its name alone, it was clear that Landou Sect dominated the island and stood as its undisputed overlord.

However, Landou Island was vast. It was impossible for Landou Sect to occupy it entirely. Other sects and powers also existed across the island, though none could rival Landou Sect. They could only live under its shadow.

Over time, though, the situation had shifted.

In the past, Landou Sect’s strength was immense, its status unshakable. The sect had even housed more than one Spiritual Infant grandmaster. But for reasons unknown, it had gradually declined. Now only two Spiritual Infant cultivators remained to support it, one of whom was the sect leader himself.

That sect leader was nearly a thousand years old, yet had never broken through to the middle stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm. With his next heavenly tribulation approaching, it was almost impossible for him to survive.

The other grandmaster’s situation was even more uncertain. He too was old, and many years ago there had been reports of him suffering severe injuries. Since then, he had vanished without a trace and might well have already passed away.

Among the younger generation, no one stood out as a pillar of strength.

Though Landou Sect still held dominion over the island, its decline seemed inevitable. The many sects on Landou Island were restless, emboldened by the shadow of external powers behind them.

Because he had his incarnation with him, Qin Sang traveled cautiously. It took him a month and a half to finally reach Landou Island.

Along the way, they posed as master and disciple, their guise convincing enough.

"The sect’s gate lies within the island’s largest mountain range. Nearby there is a large market established by Landou Sect. Since I intend to target their stellar cultivation art, I will not make any reckless moves. To be safe, I should leave him farther away..."

After some thought, Qin Sang approached an immortal cultivator and inquired about the geography of Landou Island. After choosing a location, he flew with his incarnation for half a day until they reached a verdant green mountain.

So as not to attract attention, Qin Sang activated the Spirit Evasion Art, suppressing his cultivation to the late stage of the Foundation Building Realm. Unless someone far more powerful inspected him or used a special treasure, none would see through his disguise.

He then retrieved his old flying artifact, the Nether Cloud, and carried his incarnation to the mountain. Landing discreetly, they walked up on foot.

Without even using the Sky-Eyed Butterfly, Qin Sang could tell at a glance that the thin mist surrounding the summit was an illusion array, and only by following the sole path could one enter.

This market was second in scale only to the one run directly by Landou Sect, and it had been jointly established by several of the island’s forces.

Qin Sang wandered through once, found the place fairly orderly, and noted that cultivators behaved themselves within its bounds, not daring to fight recklessly. Satisfied, he rented a cave dwelling.

Though its quality was inferior to Baogu Mountain, it was more than sufficient for his incarnation, whose realm was still low and whose demands for spiritual qi were modest.