Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 884: The Gray Rabbit

Suddenly, Daoist Huayang’s expression shifted as he turned his gaze toward someone. It was Zhao Songqiao, a man already in his sixties.

Though wrinkles carved deep lines at the corners of his eyes, his face was resolute. With his eyes tightly shut, he slowly turned his head, always keeping it aligned with a wisp of yin-yang qi circling around him.

Seeing this, Daoist Huayang quickly retrieved the jade slip containing the new disciples’ records. After checking Zhao Songqiao’s entry, he sighed. "Too old. He still has some hope of cultivating other arts, but if he divides his focus to temper the Yin-Yang Armor, he will never reach the Foundation Building Realm..."

The old Daoist shook his head slowly, then shifted his attention to the others.

The incarnation was darting through the illusion. Here, time and space were illusory. He had no idea how far he had flown when, deep within the white mist, a gray streak of light suddenly flashed by. The incarnation’s heart stirred, and he was about to give chase, but when he saw the streak clearly, he halted.

It was a gigantic monstrous bird formed entirely from yin-yang qi, stretching one zhang in length.

As soon as the incarnation discovered the strange bird, the creature seemed to sense him as well. Without a sound, it suddenly flapped its wings, its speed soaring, vanishing into the depths of the white mist in an instant.

The bird’s speed was astonishing, its movements filled with strange variations. In this mist-shrouded space, only someone innately sensitive to yin-yang qi could hope to track it. Even if one were lucky enough to spot it, catching it was nearly impossible.

The incarnation watched it vanish and gave up the pursuit after a short chase. He was certain that seizing the bird would have guaranteed success in the trial and won Daoist Huayang’s favor.

But the bird was too large, containing an enormous amount of yin-yang qi. Only someone with extremely keen sensitivity could capture such a thing. Lacking that talent himself, he dared not act too conspicuously.

With this thought, the incarnation changed direction and continued searching until he finally spotted a gray rabbit bounding about in the void. Joy flashed across his face, and he immediately chased after it. The rabbit’s hind legs kicked, launching dozens of zhang in a single leap.

But these creatures of gray qi relied only on speed. Under the incarnation’s relentless pursuit, the rabbit was finally caught. It had no power to resist as he snatched it by the scruff of its neck.

Poof! The moment he seized the rabbit, the white mist dispersed.

His vision blurred, then cleared. Looking down, he saw that the gray rabbit had vanished, leaving only a thumb-thick wisp of gray qi struggling in his palm.

When he raised his head, Daoist Huayang was suddenly standing before him. The other people in the hall were staring at him with complicated expressions. At some point, both the spiritual array and the Yin-Yang Disk had been withdrawn.

Unexpectedly, we found a disciple with this talent today. To seize a wisp of yin-yang qi as thick as a thumb is no small feat. Though his spiritual root is somewhat lacking, he reached the ninth stage of Qi Refining at a young age. Clearly, the jade slip’s assessment of his temperament was accurate. With proper training, he can still become a pillar of strength... Such thoughts passed through Daoist Huayang’s heart.

In the past, he would have hesitated over such a four-spiritual-root disciple. But now, with manpower scarce, he decided on the spot. Looking at the incarnation with a pleasant smile, he asked, "Your name is Zhang Yue?"

"Disciple Zhang Yue greets Senior." The incarnation scrambled up and bowed respectfully.

The old Daoist nodded in satisfaction. "Are you willing to enter my Landou Sect?"

Feigning dullness, the incarnation glanced at the others. The new disciples looked on with envy. Many had expected to laugh at Zhang Yue, yet unexpectedly the tables had turned. He had been chosen by Landou Sect, leaving them with mixed emotions. Even the four men in azure robes wore complicated expressions.

"Why? Do you not want to?" Daoist Huayang’s face darkened.

Startled, the incarnation immediately bowed low. "I want to!"

Zhao Songqiao still held a wisp of gray qi in his hand, but seeing Daoist Huayang ignore him entirely, his disappointment was crushing.

Then, the Daoist boy beckoned the incarnation to stand behind him.

Daoist Huayang gave his fly-whisk a shake and bowed slightly. "Daoist Qi, I have troubled you much today. I shall be taking this disciple with me..."

"Daoist, as you please."

***

The incarnation stood beside the Daoist boy, following behind Daoist Huayang as they left Yanmiao Pavilion, passed through the outer misty illusion array, and swiftly flew beyond it.

The evasion light suddenly brightened and sped straight toward the direction of Landou Sect.

Qin Sang’s true body, who had been concealing himself outside the marshes, sensed the disturbance. He quickly stepped out, only to see the evasion light vanish into the depths of the mountains.

A look of deep astonishment appeared on Qin Sang’s face. He had sensed that his own external incarnation was actually within that very evasion light.

"What is going on?" Even with his keen mind, not knowing what had happened within Yanmiao Pavilion’s ancestral hall, he could never have guessed that a string of coincidences had led to his external incarnation being accepted directly into Landou Sect.

The Jiao shadow flickered over his body as he quietly gave chase. Fortunately, his external incarnation seemed unharmed, showing no signs of being bound by a barrier. It likely was not a bad turn of events.

With these thoughts in mind, Qin Sang kept his distance, watching as the evasion light headed straight for Landou Sect.

He did not know how many mountain ranges they had crossed when Daoist Huayang suddenly slowed the light and landed atop a peak.

He instructed the Daoist boy, "Take my command token, bring Zhang Yue back to the sect, register him in the jade records, then teach him the method of tempering the Yin-Yang Armor and guide his cultivation. I am going to visit a few old friends at other sects..."

"Yes, Master!" The boy accepted the command token. Daoist Huayang nodded slightly and then departed, riding the wind.

Seeing the evasion light recede, Qin Sang’s true body immediately moved closer. But since this place lay just outside Landou Sect’s gates, he acted cautiously. At last, he sensed the incarnation’s thoughts and understood what had happened. His heart was filled with surprise, but he silently counted himself fortunate. Turning his mind, he slowly withdrew, watching them leave.

"My name is Zhang Yue, may I ask how to address Senior?" After Daoist Huayang departed, the incarnation followed behind the Daoist boy, deliberately trying to draw closer.

The boy was young, yet already at the Foundation Building Realm, and had been taken as Daoist Huayang’s true disciple. He was surely highly regarded within the Yin-Yang Branch.

"I only just reached Foundation Building and have not formally entered discipleship. Master has not yet bestowed me a Dharma name. You may call me Senior Uncle Yang from now on."

The boy looked at the incarnation with a kind expression, giving him a once-over. "Your talent is indeed fine. When I underwent the Yin-Yang Disk trial, the yin-yang qi I caught was smaller than yours. When you reach the point of cultivating the Yin-Yang Tiandou Secret Technique, your progress may well surpass mine."

"I dare not compare myself to you, Senior Uncle," the incarnation said with a bitter smile, "With four spiritual roots, to be admitted into Landou Sect at all is already beyond imagining. I only wish to cultivate with all my strength, so as not to disappoint Grandmaster and Senior Uncle’s guidance. I dare not hope for anything more."

Yet inwardly he was musing. So, the handed-down teachings were indeed not so easy to obtain. This was not the Small Cold Domain, and it could not be like Shaohua Mountain, where arts were simply placed in the Treasure Tower Peak for one to study freely.

Qin Sang now understood that his smooth path in Shaohua Mountain had also been thanks to the "care" of Dongyang Bo.

He wondered what connection there was between tempering the Yin-Yang Armor and the Yin-Yang Tiandou Secret Technique.

If ever he had the chance to glimpse Landou Sect’s handed-down teachings, he certainly would not let it slip by.