Gateway of Immortality

Once all the Elemental Star Stones had been drawn into the air by the incantation and arranged into a starlight-wreathed embryonic array...

The red-haired grandmaster turned with a cheerful grin to Daoist Zhenyi. "Old Bastard, time to bring out the array materials."

Daoist Zhenyi's face remained impassive. Without a word, he waved his hand and tossed out a Mustard Seed Pouch. The pouch opened mid-air, and countless spiritual items surged out in a steady stream.

The sight left Qin Sang and the others stunned.

Each of these spiritual items was a rare treasure in the world of immortal cultivation. Not to mention seeing them, there were quite a few Qin Sang had never even heard of before.

The Small Polaris Array was like a gold-devouring beast; just setting it up demanded such an absurd quantity of precious materials!

Once the spiritual items were revealed, Daoist Zhenyi and the other three maintained the embryonic array, and it was the other Spiritual Infant cultivators' turn to act.

Waves of immense true essence surged forth, sweeping up the spiritual items and refining them one by one.

The Small Polaris Array began undergoing dazzling transformations. Qin Sang widened his eyes, trying to glean whatever insight he could, but after a while, his head throbbed and his mind grew weary. He had no choice but to give up.

Instead, he chose to commit the entire scene to memory, hoping to study and comprehend it slowly in the future.

With so many Spiritual Infant cultivators working together, the array was set up at astounding speed.

After just fifteen minutes, the last spiritual item settled into place. The embryonic array vanished, and in its place, utter darkness took over, as though a black hole had formed beneath the swirling cloud vortex.

Suddenly, a speck of starlight lit up within the darkness.

Then, one after another, more stars ignited.

In the blink of an eye, that modest black void shimmered with countless radiant stars, a glittering brilliance resembling a starry sky compressed to a fraction of its true scale.

It looked no different from the night sky—stars winked in and out of existence, rivers of starlight flowed, meteors streaked past. It was as if the scene were entirely real.

At the center of this starry expanse, one star shone with incomparable brilliance, as though all other stars were merely its companions.

That star was the array's core—the Polaris, the heart of the Small Polaris Array!

And it was only growing brighter.

Boom!

An abrupt upheaval followed.

A dazzling pillar of light descended from the heavens, effortlessly piercing the swirling clouds and landing squarely upon the Polaris star with pinpoint precision.

Within that light beam was an incredibly unique force, bearing the same origin as the Elemental Star Stones. The Small Polaris Array had actually begun to draw upon the power of the cosmic orbit!

Qin Sang was unfamiliar with this kind of power, but he had heard that some cultivation arts utilized cosmic starlight for training. Still, no one ever dared channel more than a sliver of that force into their body.

Even a Spiritual Infant cultivator would be torn apart by it!

Yet now, as the cosmic starlight poured in, not only did the Polaris star begin to transform, the entire Small Polaris Array started to respond.

The four-colored cloud cluster nearby abruptly dispersed.

The palace, the warship, and other treasures were swiftly recalled by their owners.

Everyone was suddenly exposed beneath the swirling cloud vortex, forced to face the terrifying pressure directly.

Just as Qin Sang and the others felt their hearts seized by panic, they heard Dongyang Bo's voice ring in their ears. "You five, follow Lady Chenyan closely. Form the Beast Seal Array. When entering the celestial array, all you need to do is maintain the array; leave the rest alone. Remember, no matter what happens, do not panic. And under no circumstances must the aura of the fierce soul within the beast seal be exposed!"

Qin Sang's heart calmed slightly. He glanced toward Chenyan in the distance. She stood motionless at Dongyang Bo's side, her peerless face hidden beneath her veil, revealing nothing.

Qin Sang, along with Qiu Mubai and the others, flew over to stand behind Chenyan, silently activating their beast seals as instructed.

Fengming, Iron Crown, and the others also followed closely behind, relying on Dongyang Bo for protection.

They had long since grown proficient in the array variations of the five-elemental beast seal.

This particular array was purely defensive. Through the beast seal, the five of them linked as one, and with its power, could withstand impacts far beyond their cultivation level, though it offered no means of retaliation.

The sudden emergence of five Foundation Building cultivators under Dongyang Bo's command caught the attention of several Spiritual Infant cultivators, who cast a few curious glances their way, but none chose to interfere.

Even if the entire group perished, it was merely Dongyang Bo's disciples who would be dying, others would only be pleased.

Yet Qin Sang felt no concern for his own life.

With the Beast Seal Array guarding them, and Chenyan offering covert protection, there was no way the five of them would fall into danger.

The array was simple enough that even while controlling the beast seal, Qin Sang had room to observe the surroundings.

The Small Polaris Array continued to absorb the cosmic starlight without pause, its power growing ever more overwhelming. The Polaris star now seemed on the verge of becoming a true celestial body.

All around the array, including Dongyang Bo himself, the Spiritual Infant cultivators had summoned their astras to shield their disciples.

The Small Cold Domain and the Tianxing Alliance remained distinctly divided, each group following behind the strongest cultivators on their respective sides.

The Feathered Demon King still appeared to be recovering from prior exhaustion and stood alone. Though the demonic beasts under its command lacked the Ziwei Secret Talisman, they were nonetheless permitted to enter the Small Polaris Array.

After all, they were Spiritual Infant grandmasters, every one of their astras was imbued with extraordinary mystery and immense power. The weakest among them were already middle-grade, and many were high-grade astras!

However, there were no top-grade astras present. It was unclear whether the Spiritual Infant cultivators were holding back or simply had no need to go all out.

Just as Qin Sang was engrossed in observing the fearsome might of the various astras on display, his gaze happened to sweep across a particular Spiritual Infant cultivator and suddenly froze, his expression shifting slightly.

That cultivator's astra was none other than the black tortoise shell he had seen in the Endless Valley!

There was no mistake!

Qin Sang couldn't help but stare a few moments longer. That tortoise shell was incredibly unique; there couldn't possibly be a second one exactly like it.

Most likely due to time constraints or lack of necessity, the cultivator only summoned nine segments of the shell and arranged them overhead, forming a partial defense that shielded his disciples. It was not the full eighty-one-segment black tortoise shell array he had deployed when facing the Lightning-Devouring Falcon.

What truly shocked Qin Sang, however, was the man's identity. He turned out to be the yellow-robed Daoist who had helped the red-haired grandmaster and the others arrange the array at the start. He was from the Tianxing Alliance!

Gasp!

A wave of deep unease rose in Qin Sang's chest.

He had initially guessed that the person wielding the black tortoise shell might be a Spiritual Infant cultivator from the demonic sects, but he never imagined he'd be part of the Tianxing Alliance.

What was the relationship between him and the Wuji Sect's leader?

As Wandering Man had once said, in this world, Spiritual Infant cultivators essentially represented the peak of power. They could act freely within bounds, and it wasn't unusual for one to maintain ties with cultivators from rival factions.

Even so, Qin Sang still found something about the situation troubling.

Back then, the two of them had joined forces to enter the Endless Valley, both clad in black robes, deliberately hiding their identities.

The first time he encountered them had been not long after entering the inner valley.

Neither had used any astras or special spells. Had it not been for the glow of the barrier forcing them into a desperate retreat, exposing their panic and inability to escape, that man might never have revealed the black tortoise shell to retaliate.

And even then, only one of them had acted.

The second time was during the battle with the Lightning-Devouring Falcon. That place had been sealed by an endless storm of Malevolent Frost Wind, and was already the deepest part of the Endless Valley, a place even Spiritual Infant grandmasters struggled to reach. It was also the falcon's lair.