Gateway of Immortality

Ahead lay the swirling vortex of wind and clouds.

Behind them sprawled a dense network of spatial rifts.

They paused only briefly before lowering their altitude, skimming just above the sand-laden ground as they advanced. The vortex churned above their heads, and it was clear their destination lay at its heart.

Only after drawing close did they realize that the wind and cloud vortex was far from as tranquil as it appeared on the surface.

The clouds within flowed like seawater, constantly in motion—albeit slowly. The clouds were so dense, so uniform and pure, that it resembled a single cohesive entity. From afar, one could hardly detect its movement.

Yet beneath that seemingly placid surface brewed a terrifying, violent force that made one's heart race.

If the vortex were to collapse, none present would likely survive, not even the Spiritual Infant cultivators.

Qin Sang suppressed the unease in his heart and gazed upward at the clouds overhead.

Judging from the movements of those powerful Spiritual Infant cultivators, Ziwei Palace must surely lie within the vortex. But the dense clouds blocked all view. Nothing could penetrate the swirling qi to reveal what lay beyond.

Even Qin Sang couldn't tell whether this terrifying power originated from the vortex itself or from some hidden source within. Perhaps it originated from the celestial array sealing off Ziwei Palace.

Just as Qin Sang's thoughts were drifting, the red cloud came to a sudden halt once more.

They had now reached the core of the vortex. Ahead, countless threads of clouds interwove into a massive whirlpool. At its center, within the eye of the storm, there seemed to be a great hollow void, though from their vantage point, it was impossible to see what lay within.

Time passed slowly. They remained still for over an hour.

The four-colored cloud clusters and the warship didn't move. Everyone was forced to remain where they were, even the Spiritual Infant cultivators. None showed any sign of acting, and none knew what they were waiting for.

Qin Sang glanced around.

Not far away, Dongyang Bo stood at the edge of the red cloud with his hands clasped behind his back.

Figures like Iron Crown, Chenyan, and Senior Uncle Fengming clearly knew what was going on. They remained seated in calm meditation, conserving their strength.

Wandering Man followed his own teacher, and naturally wasn't in a position to freely converse. Qin Sang instead turned to Qiu Mubai beside him to ask for answers.

Ji Qing and the others were also largely in the dark about Ziwei Palace and gathered around out of curiosity.

"The entrance to Ziwei Palace is within the eye of the vortex."

Qiu Mubai clearly knew the details. Pointing to the hollow space at the storm's center, he whispered, "It's not time yet. When an anomaly appears at the vortex's eye, and Ziwei Palace emerges, the celestial array will become unstable. That's when we'll have a chance to break through it and enter. Until then, we can only wait but it shouldn't take much longer."

As he spoke, Qiu Mubai gave Qin Sang a knowing look.

"The array used to break the celestial array of Ziwei Palace is called the Small Polaris Array. It was developed over the years by countless predecessors and was currently the safest method available. There are other arrays that might also succeed, but none are as reliable. Some even provoked retaliation from the celestial array and resulted in catastrophic losses."

"To set up the Small Polaris Array, in addition to countless rare spiritual materials, one must have a peculiar item known as the Elemental Star Stone. These can now only be found at Zhitian Peak."

"Zhitian Peak exists within fragile space. Only a small amount of Elemental Star Stones can be collected each time; any more and the entire peak might collapse. What's more, Zhitian Peak constantly drifts across Yuncang Marshlands. Its position is unpredictable, and neither domain can claim it outright."

"So, the two domains agreed to jointly manage Zhitian Peak, only opening it before the emergence of Ziwei Palace to gather Elemental Star Stones for the array. Over time, this evolved into one of the battlegrounds for domain duels."

"Speaking of which, we of the Small Cold Domain must thank you, Junior Brother Qin."

"You played a pivotal role in that duel, helping us win. Otherwise, we might have been the ones tasked with preparing the array materials, which would've cost a small fortune."

"So, it was only right that you were rewarded with the Snow Spirit Lotus and the Iris Flower."

Elemental Star Stones... Zhitian Peak...

Qin Sang suddenly understood. While he had already suspected as much, hearing it directly from Qiu Mubai allowed him to finally piece everything together.

That duel had actually been tied to the Small Polaris Array. Stargazing Island's so-called rewards now seemed rather stingy.

But on second thought, how many Elemental Star Stones one could collect at Zhitian Peak had little to do with strength or morale; it depended mostly on luck.

The Star Spirit Net that Granny Jing had given him was the only exception.

And to this day, she still hadn't asked for it back.

If the Star Spirit Net was used to cheat in every duel, the Small Cold Domain would be unbeatable. Surely, after two such victories, the Tianxing Alliance would begin to suspect something was amiss.

Now that they understood the truth, Qin Sang and the others no longer felt impatient. They settled in and quietly waited.

Unexpectedly, they ended up waiting for over six full hours.

Half a day passed just like that before an anomaly finally occurred in the wind and cloud vortex.

A thunderous rumble suddenly erupted from the eye of the storm. The flow of clouds began to accelerate, and the fluctuations quickly became visible to the naked eye.

Amid the deafening roar, the entire vortex slowly started to rotate.

A powerful suction force emerged from the eye of the storm, drawing in the surrounding clouds at high speed and sending it soaring into the sky.

It was as if there were a bottomless void above, devouring endless clouds that still couldn't fill it.

As more and more clouds vanished into the sky, the hollow at the vortex's center expanded outward, and the edges of the void began to blur and unravel.

The suction above the storm's eye clashed with the vortex's own swirling forces, creating increasing turbulence and chaos in the area.

Gales howled.

Sand and stones were swept into the air.

Chaotic spiritual qi and clouds slammed into them, causing the Tianxing Warship and the four-colored cloud clusters to tremble violently.

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared intently at the miraculous phenomenon unfolding ahead.

A sight like this was something most people wouldn't witness even once in a lifetime, much less from such close range.

The vortex spun faster and faster, reaching its peak in less than fifteen minutes. By then, the storm's eye had already expanded more than tenfold. Then, with a deafening boom, a beam of strange light suddenly descended from the heavens, piercing the very center of the vortex!

The light instantly filled the entire storm's eye and rapidly spread outward.

Everyone's mouths fell open in awe, stunned by the scene in the sky.

Through the thinning clouds, they could see layer upon layer of clouds stacking all the way to the heavens. Atop that towering ascent, in a place that seemed to touch the Jade Palace itself, stood a majestic heavenly gate.

At the center of the gate were massive characters: Ziwei Palace. It was exactly the same as those etched on the Ziwei Secret Talisman!

Yet the feeling of seeing the gate with their own eyes was nothing like viewing the image on the talisman. The talisman hadn't even captured a fraction of its grandeur.

The gate was severely damaged, its surface bearing the scars of ancient time.

The moment they laid eyes on it, a wave of desolation swept over them—an age-old sorrow that had spanned countless eras.

The heavenly gate of Ziwei Palace stood alone amidst the clouds. Its former glory had long since faded. Not even broken walls or fallen ruins remained. Only this lone, battered gate survived.

Yet it still stood tall. The characters "Ziwei Palace" continued to shine brilliantly.

A final remnant of the celestial palace, telling the tale of its ancient past to all who came after.