Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 949: Entering Again

In the deep valleys of the mountains, Qin Sang froze, suspecting he had come to the wrong place.

The Tyrant Blood Fruit grew in a crevice on the cliff wall, and the Red-Tailed Cranes had made their nests there. But the scene before him no longer matched his memory.

A waterfall had appeared in the middle of the cliff. The stone walls on either side of it were shattered and riddled with cracks, not naturally formed, but resembling claw marks from demonic beasts and the fractures left by collisions of tremendous force.

Did a great battle take place here after I left? Qin Sang had a faint guess.

Seven-Kill Hall had never been peaceful. The Tyrant Blood Fruit was fatally tempting to ferocious beasts. The Red-Tailed Cranes did not have the strength to monopolize it. Once other beasts discovered it, a bloody battle would have been unavoidable.

Judging from this scene, that battle must have been extremely fierce. The Red-Tailed Cranes were likely driven away. I wonder if the spiritual herb that bore the Tyrant Blood Fruit still remains. So he thought, though he felt the chances were slim.

He hid in waist-high weeds, awakened the Sky-Eyed Butterfly, and observed the waterfall. As expected, he discovered something unusual. Within the waterfall were many openings, large and small, numbering in the dozens. They did not look like crane nests.

Qin Sang summoned a malevolent corpse and pointed it toward the pool at the foot of the falls. The corpse tore through the undergrowth, but as soon as it neared the water, hostile cries erupted above.

Splash! Sprays burst from the waterfall, and a flock of snow-white, eagle-like ferocious birds burst out at frightening speed. They left streaks of afterimages in the air as they dove at the malevolent corpse.

These adult white birds had the strength to rival Core Formation cultivators. The malevolent corpse had no power to resist. It turned to flee but did not get far before being caught and ripped apart. Were it not for the eerie scent clinging to the corpse, it would already have been devoured.

Meanwhile, Qin Sang seized the chance to edge closer to the falls. Peering into the nests, he finally spotted what seemed to be the remnant of a spiritual herb. The ancient vine that once bore the Tyrant Blood Fruit, lush with green leaves and clusters of fruit, now was nothing but a withered stump.

Yet from that stump sprouted a tiny shoot, two tender green leaves unfolding. It was alive, though it would take ages before it bore fruit again.

Qin Sang sighed in regret. The Tyrant Blood Fruit was rare. That one plant within the Seven-Kill Hall had been destroyed in the beasts’ battle.

Sensing a stranger’s aura, the flock of birds shrieked in rage and attacked. Qin Sang’s evasion light flared, and he vanished in a flash, leaving the birds far behind. A few flickers later, he was gone into the mountains.

On the way, he did not linger but sped straight toward the Sky Tower. The Sky Tower pierced into the sea of clouds, strikingly conspicuous. Qin Sang stood far away on a ridge, observing the surroundings.

Unlike last time, the area outside the tower was quiet. Not a single figure was in sight. No Spiritual Infant grandmasters blocked the way. It appeared anyone could enter or leave freely. Still, Qin Sang did not rush forward.

This time, the witch race had not only brought the grand witch priest but also the infamous Old Devil Fang. If chaos broke out, it would be disastrous. He had no desire to be caught in it.

The memory of being swept up in the grand witch priest’s clash with the Devil Lord was still vivid. Bai also emerged from the Corpse Puppet Pouch, standing beside Qin Sang and tilting his head back to gaze at the Sky Tower.

"Does this feel familiar to you?" Qin Sang asked.

Bai frowned deeply, silent for a long time. "I don’t recall. Perhaps those memories were lost. I can’t remember anything. But the jade slips you gave me do help somewhat."

Qin Sang looked disappointed. "Those jade slips only recorded common knowledge of the world, things about spiritual herbs and materials. They can’t be of much use to you, can they?"

Bai said gravely, "And those few corpse refinement arts... I have forgotten even my past cultivation methods. After seizing this body, I had to fumble my way forward, and now I have struck a bottleneck. With the Heavenly Corpse Talisman unresolved, I feel lost. These corpse refinement arts gave me insight. Perhaps with external aid, I can force a breakthrough." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"You intend to continue breaking through, to advance into a corpse king?" Qin Sang’s expression grew solemn. "How certain are you? What if you advance, lose control, and the dense corpse qi scatters your original vitality?"

A corpse king was the pinnacle of refined corpses, on par with Spiritual Infant cultivators. A naturally formed corpse king was murderous and cruel, its body harder than iron, nearly unassailable even to Spiritual Infant cultivators. Each emergence brought calamity.

In the Small Cold Domain and Canglang Sea, records of corpse kings were exceedingly rare. Even long-standing corpse refinement sects found it near impossible to refine one. Bai had spent decades condensing the body of the flying yaksha, and now stood at the threshold of breakthrough, yet a bottleneck blocked him.

Qin Sang welcomed the idea of Bai breaking through. It would be like having another Spiritual Infant ally at his side. But if advancing destroyed his vitality, Bai would have no choice but to accept becoming a ghost cultivator. Then there would be no need to seek the Heavenly Corpse Sect, and their pact would be meaningless.

Bai considered this. "That’s why caution is vital. If I wish to become human again, I cannot afford to destroy what little original vitality I have left. I must carefully study various spiritual herbs, attempt many trials, perhaps find a way. I’ve been a wandering soul for so long that I’ve gained deep experience in ghost cultivation. After becoming a corpse king, I would have a twenty percent chance of suppressing the corpse qi to preserve my vitality. But if I went further still, and became a Yin-Yang Ghost Xiao, then it would be beyond salvation."

"Yin-Yang Ghost Xiao? That is but a legend in the present age. Yet if not for your wish to reclaim humanity, you might truly be capable of such advancement..." Qin Sang sighed.

A Yin-Yang Ghost Xiao was at the level of Divine Transformation Realm, a refined corpse said to master Yin-Yang Evasion Technique to a peerless, ghostly extent.

Bai cast another look at the Sky Tower, his interest fading. "I had better return to the Corpse Puppet Pouch, lest someone with sharp eyes discover me and trouble arise. Please, when you have time, write down every herb and material available in this world..."

Qin Sang lingered a while longer. Seeing nothing unusual around the Sky Tower, he quietly approached. After pacing about for a time, he flashed inside. The familiar sight met his eyes. Everything within the tower was as it had been.

Qin Sang breathed a secret sigh of relief. Without hesitation, he unfurled his wings, though he refrained from releasing the Two-Headed Hou or his external incarnation.

The tower’s puppets no longer posed much threat. Alone, he could easily dispatch them. What he truly had to guard against were Spiritual Infant cultivators who could appear at any time. The evasion techniques of his incarnation and the Two-Headed Hou were inferior to his own.

Returning to the Sky Tower, Qin Sang moved with practiced ease. Before long, he found the ancient hall where the first level's teleportation array was located.

His swordsmanship had sharpened, his perception keener. He now sensed more clearly that the sword will in this ancient hall likely shared its origin with the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment.

"This time, I will pass through the path of swords and uncover what secrets the Sky Tower holds!" He cast a deep look around the hall, summoned his sword wheel, and cut down all the puppets in his path, stepping into the teleportation array.

It took little time. Qin Sang ascended floor after floor, soon entering the fifth level of the Sky Tower. His progress was smooth and unimpeded.