Gateway of Immortality

Qin Sang stood with hands behind his back atop the mountain range, gazing over the vast landscape.

Reflecting on his past experiences, especially that muddled period when he believed Core Formation was beyond reach, he now realized that compared to all that, the so-called foundational injury was no more than a minor ailment. What was there to fear?

Though his journey had been full of hardship, he had finally broken through the clouds to see the light. A grand and upright Great Dao now stretched before him, and the future brimmed with possibility.

For a moment, Qin Sang felt so elated he almost let out a long roar to the heavens!

His roar thundered like a storm, echoing endlessly and shaking the mountains and forests.

Before long...

A flash of sword light burst forth and soared away with the wind.

With the wind at my back, I shall ride it straight to the clouds above!

...

To the west of the Demonic Qingyang Sect, in a small mortal city...

An old Daoist, with the aura and vibe of an immortal, borrowed a table and chair from a teahouse and set up a makeshift fortune-telling stall by the roadside. A divination banner was stuck in the ground beside him, inscribed with the bold claim: "Wandering all realms, known as the Half-Immortal."

His tone was anything but modest. Standing beside him was a petty official with a sharp chin and monkey-like cheeks, surnamed Jia. Flippant and uncouth in manner, he had come to ask for help with romance.

A crowd of commoners had gathered around to request medicines and fortunes, but the moment the official appeared, they scattered as though fleeing the plague.

"Brother, you bear the features of one destined for great wealth and fortune," the old Daoist declared solemnly, "But wealth and poverty clash by nature. If you marry that poor girl, not only will she bring you no luck, she'll drag you down and ruin what blessings you already have..."

The Daoist swayed his head as he spoke, utterly unafraid of the official.

The official jumped in shock and pointed at his own face, protesting, "You can really see that from just looking at me?"

"Of course. Why else would I be called the Half-Immortal?"

The old Daoist had just begun to continue when he suddenly felt something and turned his head toward the city outskirts. His playful expression vanished. Without another word, he picked up the tortoiseshell from the table and whacked it three times on the official's head.

"Ow! You old bastard, you dare hit me?! Ow! Ow!"

The official cried out in pain. Despite being good at fighting, he couldn't dodge or counter. In the blink of an eye, he was sprawled on the ground.

The old Daoist bellowed, "Lust and lechery lead to ruin!"

By the time the official scrambled upright, the street was empty save for the fortune-telling stall. The old Daoist had vanished without a trace.

"A real immortal..."

The official was terrified. His earlier arrogance disappeared completely, and he fled while clutching his head.

From that day forward, every time he harbored wicked thoughts, that final scolding from the old Daoist would resound in his ears, haunting him. Over time, the man slowly reformed himself.

Of course, that was all a story for later.

That old Daoist was none other than Wandering Man. While waiting for Qin Sang in the city and growing bored, he had reverted to the trade he once plied in the mortal world: fortune-telling.

Wandering Man walked out of the city. His steps seemed slow but carried a supernatural swiftness, akin to a space-folding technique. In just a few strides, he reached a small hill outside the city.

Just then, a flash of sword light shot across the sky. It hovered briefly above the hilltop before descending in front of Wandering Man, revealing Qin Sang.

"Brother Qin, your face is radiant and your gloom has lifted. I take it you've achieved what you hoped for?"

Wandering Man looked him up and down. Seeing how invigorated Qin Sang appeared—so different from before—he immediately knew something significant had occurred.

Qin Sang nodded and cupped his hands in gratitude. "I haven't yet thanked Senior for your timely assistance. That beast tide at Endless Valley must have been your doing, yes?"

Wandering Man gave a faint smile. "How else could I have coaxed a Golden Core from the Demonic Qingyang Sect to come out? While I was at Heavenly Demon Hill gathering information, I picked up a few techniques for luring demonic beasts. My original plan was to provoke a fight between two beast hordes. Who'd have guessed that, by accident, I ended up triggering a small-scale beast tide right where the Demonic Qingyang Sect's disciples were training? Saved us quite a bit of trouble, actually."

"So that's how it was."

Qin Sang understood. Seeing that Wandering Man didn't wish to elaborate, he didn't press further.

"What about your own gains, Brother? Did you sense the opportunity for Core Formation?" Wandering Man asked curiously.

"Thanks to your help..."

With Wandering Man, there was no need to conceal anything. Qin Sang briefly explained how he had voluntarily halted his Core Formation, and how he had accidentally discovered that Earth Malevolent Qi and Celestial Gale Qi could assist in the process.

If Wandering Man wanted a detailed method for Core Formation, Qin Sang would not hesitate to share everything he knew.

However, the technique of condensing Earth Malevolent Qi and refining Celestial Gale Qi from theHeavenly Yin Corpse Artwas clearly unsuitable for Wandering Man. He couldn't follow it directly and would need to forge his own path.

"Earth Malevolent Qi and Celestial Gale Qi aiding Core Formation? That's truly unheard of," Wandering Man said with some astonishment, "But those two forces are extremely dangerous—only you, Brother, would dare to try such a thing."

Yet Wandering Man showed little interest in Core Formation techniques themselves. After a brief remark, he instead praised Qin Sang's decision. "To be able to steady your Dao HEart in the face of the Golden Core's temptation... You've proven my judgment right!"

"Reddened by red dye, blackened by the black[1]. Following in Senior's footsteps, I've learned much just by being around you," Qin Sang replied earnestly.

He had to admit, the steadiness of his Dao-seeking heart owed much to Wandering Man's quiet influence. Though he had never formally taken him as a master, in Qin Sang's heart, Wandering Man was his guiding teacher.

Wandering Man stroked his beard and laughed. "I certainly don't have your patience. If not for my soul being out of harmony, I'd have rushed into Core Formation long ago. But since your foundational injury hinders you, it seems the Purple Cloud Fruit is now a necessity. Ziwei Palace will open soon, so we'd best head to Xuanlu Stronghold ahead of time and plan carefully."

"That was exactly my intention," Qin Sang said with a nod.

...

The two immediately returned to Shaohua Mountain. When passing by Shangyuan Tranquility Palace, Wandering Man took his leave from Qin Sang. He had no plans to meet Li Yufu and chose to proceed directly to Xuanlu Stronghold alone.

Qin Sang, meanwhile, still needed to check on the flying yaksha's condition. He agreed on a rendezvous point with Wandering Man, and they split up.

Qin Sang estimated that the flying yaksha's injuries wouldn't heal so quickly.

However, he was no longer the same as before.

Through the process of refining himself into a flying yaksha, Qin Sang had gained deeper insight into the corpse core.

Where once he had been helpless to assist the flying yaksha and could only let it recover on its own, now with his experience, he could provide support and speed up its healing.

For the journey into Ziwei Palace, the flying yaksha was indispensable. He had to restore it no matter what.

Watching Wandering Man's evasion light disappear into the distance, Qin Sang was just about to fly south on his sword.

Suddenly, he paused, a faint furrow forming between his eyebrows.

Moments later, the strange bloodthirsty impulse within him gradually subsided. Qin Sang relaxed and let out a nearly imperceptible sigh.

After removing the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, he had immediately taken a prepared pill to expel the corpse qi from his body. But unexpectedly, the corpse qi that had accumulated within him was far more potent now that the corpse core had formed. It was far beyond what it had been during his living corpse phase.

On the surface, there was no longer any sign of corpse transformation. Only Qin Sang himself knew the truth: the issue had never been completely resolved.

That primal, bloodthirsty instinct still occasionally surged forth.

It wasn't serious but it was troubling.

Over the past few days, Qin Sang had tried numerous methods, yet none had succeeded in purging it completely.

He had even tried probing Wandering Man indirectly for solutions, but there was no good remedy. He would have to wait until Core Formation.

When spiritual power surged through the body during Core Formation, the immortal cultivator's flesh would undergo a full metamorphosis, easily cleansing the lingering effects of corpse transformation. Until then, he could only endure it silently.

Fortunately, his dantian was stabilized by the five-elemental yin objects, and the Golden Core had taken over the role of bearing the pressure of Earth Malevolent and Celestial Gale Qi. His injuries were minor and had already completely healed.

1. This is a Chinese saying that means one becomes like their close ones. ☜