Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 943: Deliverance

"Daoist, since you have enough devilish banners, why not refine a few more here? The more we weaken the barrier near the spirit-delivering array, the better..." Bai suggested.

Qin Sang followed his suggestion and forged six additional banners in the cavern. As more flames were sealed within the seven banners, the form of the barrier on the ground shifted. The black net did not collapse, but it had clearly thinned.

By now, Bai had activated the full power of the eight spiritual pillars on the altar. Light rain fell around the altar, turning into spiritual dew to suppress the barrier and stop it from recovering.

Bai rapidly cast one incantation after another, then leapt off the altar, his voice urgent. "Daoist, with me!"

Qin Sang stowed the banners and quickly followed. The power of the central altar alone could not deliver all the spirits of the ghostly land. Four auxiliary altars stood at the four outer directions, forming a great array together with the central altar.

Now Qin Sang and Bai were to activate them one by one, weakening the surrounding barrier.

The two sped through the ghostly land and soon found the second altar. Unlike the central altar, this one had only four spiritual pillars.

The process went smoothly. After sealing more flames, they hurried on to the next. After tireless effort, they reached the final altar, the one nearest the entrance to the ghostly land.

The spiritual pillars here were likewise covered in cracks, but none had broken. The spirit-delivering array would be able to activate.

They skillfully drew out the flames, sealed them, and forged banners. At last, the final banner was complete!

Qin Sang drew it into his hand and was about to examine the set of eighteen when the ground trembled under his feet. He turned to Bai and saw him activating every spiritual pillar at once before flashing to Qin Sang’s side.

"Go!" Qin Sang’s gaze sharpened as he looked back.

The spiritual pillars blazed with light. The altar’s barriers were fully awakened, their ripples spreading through the ghostly land.

At the same time, from an unseen distance, other forces answered the altar’s call. The four outer altars had already been awakened. The spirit-delivering array, sealed for countless years, finally opened.

Together, Qin Sang and Bai flew toward their chosen hiding place. As they traveled, the array burst forth with visions that shook the ghostly land.

From the center and the four directions, beams of light erupted at once, shooting skyward. Yet when they reached a certain height, the barrier emerged and pressed them down.

Not only the beams. Around each altar, and even across the entire ghostly land, the barrier surfaced like an unbroken net, enclosing everything.

Meanwhile, the five altars linked together. Strange ripples filled the ghostly land, and within the gray-white ghostly mist, faint pearly light began to drift.

Countless spirits were startled awake. As they touched the white light, the madness faded from their faces, replaced by peace. They felt a serenity they had never known. Appeased, their violent nature was gone.

Moments later, the souls seemed to hear a call. All together they drifted toward the altars, seeking the source of that peace. By then Qin Sang and Bai had arrived at their hiding place.

Bai stirred the ghostly mist into a thick barrier, while Qin Sang brought out the Red Origin Gauze and held it ready.

The gauze’s power was nearly exhausted. Against cultivators of equal realm, he usually needed only a little to disguise himself. But to hide from a Spiritual Infant grandmaster’s perception, he had to draw out all its strength, damaging it irreparably each time. At most, it could be used two or three more times. For that reason, he had treasured it, saving it only for moments like this.

"It has begun!" Bai whispered.

Qin Sang lowered his gaze and saw the mountains of bones beneath them dissolving from the inside out. At the bottom of the mound, the barrier’s aura grew violent.

Suddenly, the familiar black net ignited the bones into ash and revealed itself fully. Startled, Qin Sang shot into the air. Bai moved no slower.

Now the barrier had surfaced both above and below. Though it did not target them directly, Qin Sang still felt his heart tighten. From their position, they could not see what was happening at the altars. They could only wait anxiously.

At the central altar, the cavern vanished. In its place lay a deep pit with the altar exposed. A massive array of light rotated around it, filled with countless runes.

The spiritual pillars cracked louder and louder, their fractures growing. But they still endured. Under the impact of the array, the weakened barrier could no longer resist. A breach was forced open.

The same scene unfolded at each altar. A chain reaction began. The spirit-delivering array could no longer be suppressed. The array struck the barrier again and again. Visions followed in quick succession, and the ghostly land shook violently.

Outside the gorge, Old Devil Mou was waiting with his array set, ready to catch his prey. But then the gorge shook, the tremors clearly coming from deep within. Even the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells writhed in agitation.

Old Devil Mou jumped to his feet in shock, staring at the ghostly land, his face flickering with doubt. "Did that man trigger some kind of barrier?"

The entrance was blocked by flames and filled with mist. He could see nothing.

Inside the ghostly land, the barrier shattered and spread to where Qin Sang and Bai waited. They exchanged glances, knowing upheaval was near.

Bai formed seals, thickening the ghostly mist around them. Qin Sang pointed at the Red Origin Gauze, and red light unfolded, transforming into a veil that wrapped around them, hiding their presence.

They had only just finished when the ground heaved violently. The pillars of every altar exploded together, collapsing the altars. White light surged, beams stronger than before struck the barrier with terrifying force.

Already on the verge of collapse, the barrier finally broke. The beams soared without restraint, piercing the sky!

Countless spirits rose with them, breaking free from the prison that had bound them for ages. The long-lost spirits wore dazed expressions, their minds blank.

The beams burst apart, and faint chanting drifted through the air. The spirits listened, bathed in white light and runes. In peace, they melted away like snow, vanishing from the world. No one knew where they went, or if they had truly returned to the cycle of reincarnation.

At the same time, the barrier cracked from within, its remnants blasting outward. Bai had tampered with the array’s activation. The first to feel its force was the gorge's entrance.