Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 895: Infiltration

After leaving the shadows, Daoist Fang summoned the strange astra Red Origin Gauze. Once activated, it transformed into a gauze garment that fell onto his body. His aura and appearance changed instantly, turning him into a completely different young man.

The arrogance on his face quickly vanished. He suppressed his cultivation to the early stage of the Core Formation Realm, and his temperament underwent a complete transformation, making him appear utterly unremarkable.

Daoist Fang cupped his hands and spoke softly, "Senior Brother Hong, Senior Brother Gao, please lead the way."

The two abandoned disciples of Douniu Peak, who had been standing stiffly with vacant expressions, suddenly shivered and slowly opened their eyes.

What was truly unsettling was that their eyeballs were blood-red, and within them writhed a shadow of an insect. Daoist Fang fixed his gaze on their eyes and silently recited an incantation. At once, the blood color faded, the insect shadow sank into hiding, and their gazes regained clarity. Their expressions also grew lively again, becoming indistinguishable from those of ordinary cultivators.

Their eyes shifted, landing on Daoist Fang in unison. His lips moved, voicing words without sound.

After a brief silence, the two muttered in unison, "Junior Brother Fang!"

They then raised their heads toward the direction of Dongming Island. The cultivator surnamed Hong slightly bent at the waist and gestured with his hand. "Senior Brother Gao, please."

The other nodded, his voice low and steady. "Junior Brothers, follow us."

With that, the two summoned their artifacts, transforming into two streaks of white evasion light that tore across the sky.

To outsiders, these two appeared to be living immortal cultivators. No one would have guessed that they were nothing more than corpse puppets controlled by Blood Corpse Insects. Once the insects left their hosts, they would immediately revert into lifeless bodies.

Daoist Fang smirked, then flashed behind the two corpse puppets and followed at a leisurely pace.

***

Dongming Island.

The incarnation led Fang Ting and Zhao Songqiao around the mountain and flew toward its far side.

Other than the person they had met earlier, no one blocked their way, which made Fang Ting and Zhao Songqiao both breathe a sigh of relief.

"Junior Sister Fang, why did you come as well?" the incarnation asked, turning his head.

Fang Ting grinned. "I also wanted to see with my own eyes how Senior Brother Zhao would use a secret art to break through the barrier. Perhaps I can learn something useful for my own Foundation Building in the future. The senior brothers are busy discussing the experiences of this Dharma Assembly, but with my low cultivation, I couldn’t hope for a good ranking even if I listened. So I came along with Senior Brother Zhao instead. If not for me just now, would Senior Brother Zhang have been able to deceive that senior uncle so easily?"

Speaking of their earlier encounter, a blush crept onto her cheeks.

"Indeed, thanks to Junior Sister Fang!" Zhao Songqiao chimed in.

The incarnation nodded lightly, though his tone grew heavier. "Although we managed to deceive that senior uncle, getting Senior Brother Zhao into the Dark Lightning Wood grove will not be easy."

"What do you mean?"

"What happened?" Both of them froze and questioned anxiously.

As they spoke, the three had already flown into a stretch of wilderness.

Behind the mountain lay a chain of low hills, rolling like waves. The scenery was lush, greenery filling the eye, with vitality far richer than outside.Yet none of it was spiritual plants.

Since the discovery of Dongming Island, all spiritual plants outside Longxing Mountain had long been stripped clean. What remained were only mundane grasses and trees.

Among the thick woods, patches of land sealed off by barriers appeared from time to time. These were areas where the spiritual qi was densest, the most suitable places for cultivating spiritual plants. Inside were plantings left from earlier times.

Familiar with the terrain, the incarnation guided them through the forest cautiously, avoiding those areas lest they encounter Landou Sect cultivators collecting herbs.

Grasping a vine, he leapt down a cliffside, orienting himself as he spoke. "Within the area of the Dark Lightning Wood grove are several herb gardens, growing spiritual herbs that use the yin lightning of the grove to accelerate their growth. A senior from the Hundred-Herb Hall often visits to harvest and tend to them. With our cultivation, it will be difficult to escape his notice and sneak inside. The only way I can think of is for the two of us to divert his attention while Senior Brother Zhao slips into the grove. Fortunately, your secret art doesn’t create much commotion..."

Hearing this, Fang Ting’s face showed disappointment. She looked at Zhao Songqiao. "Senior Brother Zhao, be careful when you go alone. Don’t let that senior discover you."

Zhao Songqiao pondered aloud. "Junior Brother Zhang, do you know that senior’s cultivation?"

"Middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm." The incarnation gave him a glance.

Zhao Songqiao frowned slightly, then spoke. "In that case, let’s proceed with your plan. This concerns my future, so I will be careful."

The incarnation’s eyes flickered, and he smiled. "Senior Brother Zhao, It seems like you have great confidence in your evasion technique. That puts me at ease."

Zhao Songqiao was momentarily startled, then replied calmly, "As a rogue cultivator for many years, I studied evasion techniques thoroughly in order to survive."

The incarnation nodded and said no more, continuing to lead the way. Yet in his heart, a thread of doubt arose.

With the Sky-Eyed Butterfly’s power, sneaking two people past that Landou Sect cultivator would not have been difficult.

He had raised this matter partly to observe Zhao Songqiao. Yet Zhao Songqiao showed almost no concern.

When Zhao Songqiao had first approached him, suspicion already lingered in his heart. Even his true body had never heard of this lightning-summoning method to break the barrier. He had secretly employed the Sky-Eyed Butterfly to probe but found nothing unusual, so he had let it pass.

Now, hearing Zhao Songqiao’s answer, the incarnation had no need to press further. He planned to let the Sky-Eyed Butterfly lurk nearby and see what trick this man had up his sleeve.

What he said is true enough. He gained a secret art while also making Fang Ting owe him a favor. If he really hid ulterior motives and endangered me, the Sky-Eyed Butterfly could remove him at once. And if some grand scheme truly lay behind him, one that threw Dongming Island and Landou Sect into chaos, my true body might seize the chance to fish in troubled waters. But such a possibility is slim.

So he believed that in any case, he stood to lose nothing. The distance to the Dark Lightning Wood grove was not far, but to avoid notice they took twice the time to get there.

At last, the incarnation and Fang Ting stopped before a low mountain. The mountain and the vast space behind it were enclosed in barriers. Producing a command token given to him by Jin Yan, the incarnation waved his hand, and the barrier’s glow parted to reveal an entrance.

After stepping inside, he quickly surveyed the area and sent out a signal. A shadow instantly darted in and melted into the forest’s darkness.

"Senior Brother Zhao, I will go draw him away first. Circle around the mountain to enter." The incarnation glanced at the shadows, gave his instruction, and then led Fang Ting straight toward the summit.

As he left, he silently ordered the Sky-Eyed Butterfly. The butterfly concealed itself, fluttered to a nearby tree, and stayed there motionless.

Fang Ting and Zhao Songqiao remained unaware. Zhao Songqiao would never have imagined that a butterfly lurked nearby, watching his every move.