Gateway of Immortality

Three years spent nourishing his spirit and two years refining his sword.

The form of the ebony sword had changed dramatically. Gone were the rain-guard and hilt, and all the impurities within the sword’s body had been slowly refined by Qin Sang, transforming it into a pure sword embryo.

The sword embryo hovered in front of Qin Sang, a vibrant green hue. Its body was slender and elegant, an exquisitely pure form, resembling a piece of jade that could entrance anyone who gazed upon it.

This was the essence of the astra fragment, which had already been refined by a Golden Core Realm cultivator with Pill Fire. Qin Sang had painstakingly honed it using the intent of slaughter for nearly two years, finally meeting the requirements of the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment.

The first stage of the art was not difficult; it merely laid the foundation for cultivating the art.

Once the spiritual sword was fully refined, the next step would be to engrave the killing symbol onto its body, marking the true beginning of the cultivation path.

However, Qin Sang found himself stuck at the final step.

Over the past two years, he had grown intimately familiar with every stroke of the killing symbol, able to visualize it perfectly in his mind, identical to the one described in the art. But for some reason, he couldn’t engrave the killing symbol onto the sword, always feeling like something was missing.

For two months, Qin Sang had secluded himself in his cave dwelling, attempting all sorts of methods, but he made no progress.

Without breaking through the art, his cultivation would remain stagnant, unable to advance.

Due to the effects of energy extraction, his cultivation was now even weaker than when he first broke through to the Foundation Building Realm.

Hum…

Sensing Qin Sang's frustration, the ebony sword trembled slightly, emitting a faint sword hum. Its body was now covered in a layer of blood-colored light.

After cultivating the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment, the sword qi of the ebony sword had turned a shocking crimson, as red as fresh blood, radiating with murderous intent.

The ebony sword now appeared slightly smaller than before, but after being refined by the intent of slaughter, it had been purified and strengthened. Both its power and quality had risen to a whole new level.

The sword qi surged, and its divine brilliance flickered like lightning.

The ebony sword’s sword qi had been honed to the extreme. If unleashed completely, the sword would fully transform into a blood-red flying sword, its true form invisible to the naked eye. The outer layer was composed entirely of ethereal sword qi, imbued with soul-crushing killing intent. The sharpness of the sword qi far surpassed what it had been before.

After breaking through to the second stage of the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment, the art would grant an additional supernatural ability: unity of man and sword, allowing one to vanish without a trace.

Since he hadn’t yet broken through to the second stage, Qin Sang could only speculate about the ability’s effect. It seemed to be some sort of sword-based evasion method rather than an offensive skill.

The Sky Shuttle could be used for long-distance travel, but its speed wasn’t great. If he were to engage in a battle with a cultivator of the same stage and found himself in a disadvantageous situation, it would be difficult to rely on the Sky Shuttle to escape.

After mastering the Zhixuan Sword Art, Qin Sang would be able to fly with his sword. Among all the evasion techniques, the sword-based ones were considered the most elite.

Over the past five years, Qin Sang had taken advantage of his free time to cultivate the Zhixuan Sword Art to its advanced stage, including its sword-based evasion technique. He hoped it wouldn’t conflict with the supernatural ability of the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment.

Qin Sang suddenly recalled Senior Brother Gong’s advice: this cultivation art required the most extreme intent of slaughter. Simply visualizing the killing symbol wasn’t enough; one had to immerse themselves in the Dao of Slaughter to gain true insight.

Qin Sang vaguely understood now. Mere visualization was like theorizing without practice—there was always a barrier.

Can it be that only by experiencing the Dao of Slaughter in battle will I be able to forge a true killing symbol?

After careful consideration, Qin Sang decided to leave seclusion and test his theory. However, he needed to choose his opponent wisely.

If the opponent was too weak, and he crushed them easily, it would likely be ineffective. But if his opponent was also a Foundation Building cultivator, his Qihai would be inferior to theirs. Over the past five years, he had focused solely on refining and nourishing his sword without advancing his cultivation. Even with a few artifacts at his disposal, victory would be difficult.

Moreover, he couldn’t simply walk down the street and challenge random people.

As this thought occurred to him, Qin Sang took a few days to carefully review the spells he had mastered. Afterward, he sealed his cave dwelling and, for the first time in five years, returned to Shaohua Mountain.

The peach blossoms at Sword Pass were still as vibrant as ever. A few female disciples greeted him from afar, but Qin Sang didn’t recognize any of them—perhaps they were newly accepted disciples.

Fortunately, Senior Brother Wen was still the steward of Dao Peak.

"Zhuang Yan was spurred on by you."

Senior Brother Wen poured Qin Sang a cup of spiritual tea and laughed when Qin Sang asked about Zhuang Yan. "The cave dwelling at Peak Cloud Mountain is quite nice. I had him take care of the herb garden there. That boy has come to his senses and has become much more steady. After all, for an immortal cultivator, if you can’t even reach the Foundation Building Realm, how can you enjoy life for long? He even said he’s too embarrassed to face you. He’s been in seclusion these past few years, focusing on cultivation and rarely appearing, showing a bit of the spirit you had during your Qi Refining Realm days."

Qin Sang couldn’t help but recall the lonely times spent in the Sunken Cave, shaking his head with a sense of nostalgia.

Little did others know, he had never slacked off either. The excruciating pain of cultivating his primordial spirit for five long years had been something he endured just to grasp a slim chance at achieving the Dao.

When Senior Brother Wen heard the purpose of Qin Sang’s visit, he pondered and said, "If you’re looking for combat experience, the best place would undoubtedly be the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. However, for early-stage Foundation Building cultivators, it harbors many unpredictable dangers. You should be well-prepared with life-saving methods before going. Within the sect, the best option is to inquire with the sect leader about any demon-slaying or monster-subduing missions. There are demonic beasts in the Yuncang Marshlands that are in the early stages of the Demonic Spirit Realm. Their intelligence is only just beginning to awaken, and their wild nature hasn’t been fully tamed. They act purely on instinct, sometimes causing trouble. They’d be suitable for you to practice against."

What Senior Brother Wen said was precisely what Qin Sang had been thinking. Demonic beasts lacked the strange artifacts that human cultivators had, and even if they had innate supernatural abilities, they were usually quite simple.

Qin Sang stayed and had tea with Senior Brother Wen for a while, exchanging cultivation insights that benefited him greatly. Just as he was about to get up and leave, his expression changed slightly, and he turned his head to look outside the hall.

Whoosh!

There was a sound of something cutting through the air, and moments later, a streak of light sped toward them. A middle-aged cultivator arrived in a hurry, his expression anxious. Upon seeing Qin Sang, his face visibly relaxed.

Senior Brother Wen set down his cup and stood up with a smile. "Junior Brother Yu, you don’t usually come here without a reason. What brings you here today?"

His surname is Yu?

Qin Sang’s gaze flickered in recognition. He was surprised because he had seen this man before.

There had been seven people who passed through the Gourd Illusion Realm: besides Qin Sang, Chu Wenjian, He Mu, Senior Brother Gong, and the old man surnamed Zhao, there were also two middle-aged cultivators.

At that time, they had communicated with Sect Leader Yu via voice transmission, so Qin Sang hadn’t learned their names. Now, this cultivator with the surname Yu was one of those two.

Seeing this person, Qin Sang remembered receiving several Sound Transmission Talismans from Yu Dayue over the past two years. Was it him?

"Senior Brother Wen’s words are still as sharp as ever."

The Yu-surnamed cultivator seemed quite familiar with Senior Brother Wen, making a casual joke before turning directly to Qin Sang. "You guessed right. I do have another purpose for coming here today. Junior Brother Qin, it’s been several years, do you still remember me?"