Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 957: Crisis

Deep in the mountains, a cave hidden within barren hills and wild forests lay shrouded under layers of barriers. The cave’s location was extremely well concealed. Because of the barriers, even if cultivators flew overhead, it was nearly impossible to detect its existence.

Inside, a sudden flicker of strange light appeared. A figure darted out swiftly. It was a middle-aged cultivator dressed in Daoist robes. The moment he flew out, his breathing was ragged, and traces of fear still lingered on his face.

After landing, the middle-aged Daoist staggered a few steps, then turned back to stare at the cave entrance. Seeing no further movement inside, he finally let out a long breath of relief.

Just then, as if recalling something, his expression shifted to delight. He spread open his right palm, revealing an ice ball the size of a baby’s fist. The ball was clear and crystalline. Its material was in fact a rare cold jade, naturally exuding strands of chilling cold qi even without activation.

The Daoist withdrew the true essence that had wrapped around the ball, and a series of cracking sounds followed as frost spread over his hand, cold qi biting into his skin. The icy aura invaded his body as if to freeze his very blood. Yet the Daoist remained unconcerned, joy deepening on his face.

"Though this cave dwelling differs somewhat from the clues my master left behind and is not the abode of an alchemy master, obtaining such a large piece of Frigid Jade makes this trip worthwhile. If I refine the cold qi within it, I will have great hope of breaking through my bottleneck."

Carefully, he cast a few barriers upon the orb to seal away the cold qi, then tucked the treasure into his Mustard Seed Pouch. After one last glance at the cave entrance, he departed.

Moments later, his figure appeared atop a mountain peak. Looking around, he hesitated. "I did not expect breaking the barrier and seizing the treasure to be so easy. All the precautions I prepared went unused. The hour is still early; the celestial array won’t close for some time yet. I could still venture into two more hidden realms. But I know too little of Seven-Kill Hall. Exploring unknown hidden realms rashly is extremely dangerous..."

As hesitation gnawed at him, he suddenly grew wary, nearly breaking into cold sweat. "I came to Seven-Kill Hall seeking a chance to break my bottleneck. Now that I’ve obtained the Frigid Jade and see hope of a breakthrough, why should I covet other treasures? If I lose my life because of greed, that would be the true regret!"

With that thought, he firmly suppressed his desire and decisively turned away. Soon he reached the mountain’s edge. On the barren plain. Yellowed grasses swayed.

Rustling sounds rose as the wind swept over, sending waves across the vast plain. The barren plain lay wide open.

He quickly formed a hand seal, concealing his aura, and hid himself within a mountain hollow, motionless, watching the wasteland for a long while.

Above the plain, the whirlpool-like channel inside the storm was clearly visible. The celestial array had not yet closed, and the channel was not shrinking. A massive vortex hovered over the plain's center, from where any point below could serve as an exit from Seven-Kill Hall.

Once one entered the vortex, it became much safer. One only needed to activate a jade talisman to ward off the array’s power. Because the storm’s energies were so chaotic, cultivators exiting the array could emerge at random locations. This made ambushes very difficult.

The celestial array’s range was vast, forming a gigantic circular wall of storm winds. Anyone attempting to kill would have to camp in one spot and gamble. Should they encounter a Spiritual Infant grandmaster instead, they might lose their own lives.

After a long watch, the Daoist, finding no danger, quietly crept into the barren plain. Choosing a remote corner, he released a flash of evasion light and sped toward the vortex.

In the blink of an eye, he neared the swirling storm. Feeling the terrifying power of the array, he immediately activated his jade talisman. Relief spread across his face when suddenly, a speck of blue light appeared without warning right beside him.

Rumble... The storm vortex churned as before, but the Daoist’s figure vanished, as if he had already entered it.

Within the mountains, inside a dense jungle, two pairs of eyes had been fixed on the storm vortex. Witnessing this scene, their gazes flickered sharply, then drew back.

"Daoist Qin, what did you notice?" one voice asked.

The two concealed figures were Qin Sang and Bai. After leaving the Sky Tower, Qin Sang had considered carefully and came straight to the barren plain, hiding in the jungle for some time.

He had not forgotten that Elder Zhou had invited him to meet at Celestial Blossom Lake for a joint treasure hunt before departure. But priorities mattered. It seemed he would not be able to attend.

By chance, he had encountered Senior Qingzhu and obtained clues about the ancient teleportation array, offering hope of returning to the Small Cold Domain. With his cultivation bottleneck temporarily eased, reclaiming the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid and refining the Du’e Pill to reach the Spiritual Infant Realm was his priority.

Compared with that, everything else was trivial. Above all, he needed to leave Seven-Kill Hall alive. Qin Sang did not forget that the entrance might yet pose another hurdle.

If he could not pass it, all else was meaningless. Thus he had hurried to the barren plain to scout, letting that cultivator test the danger first.

"As expected, something is wrong. That man really is insane!" Qin Sang’s expression turned grim. The speck of faint blue light seen by the Sky-Eyed Butterfly had no place inside the storm. That cultivator was surely doomed.

He and Bai had only guessed before that the chance of a Spiritual Infant grandmaster committing such a reckless slaughter here was slim. Now they knew that once a Spiritual Infant grandmaster went mad, he would act with absolute disregard.

In a world where people had supernatural power, rules meant little to the strongest. They served only as mutual restraints. If the profit outweighed the risk, they would not hesitate in the slightest.

Bai was not surprised. He sighed. "It seems, just as you said, we can only hope those inside the Sky Tower start fighting. Or wait until more people try to exit together. With larger numbers, he can’t kill them all. His methods will surely be restrained."

Qin Sang nodded. "If the man is only at the early stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm, I do have some confidence I could shake him off inside the celestial array. For now, that’s the only way."

The Sky-Eyed Butterfly lay drowsing on Qin Sang’s shoulder. Since entering the Seven-Kill Hall, Qin Sang had forced the Sky Eye supernatural ability to its limit twice with witch race secret techniques, leaving the butterfly exhausted.

"Go back and rest." Qin Sang gently stroked its wings and fed it a drop of spiritual dew.

The butterfly affectionately rubbed against his fingertip before flying into his dantian. Bai’s gaze followed, filled with envy. Though not powerful in combat, the Sky-Eyed Butterfly was an extraordinary helper, proving invaluable time and again.

Unfortunately, cultivating such wondrous insects was exceedingly difficult. At least until his memories fully recovered, Bai had no energy to pursue such endeavors.

"Daoist Qin, if the barriers within that valley are as dangerous as you claim, those Spiritual Infant cultivators won’t be breaking them any time soon. What do you plan to do next? Will you just keep waiting here?" Bai asked.