Gateway of Immortality

"You don't need to go."

Qin Sang was startled when he heard the voice and hurriedly looked around.

The Small Polaris Array was on the verge of collapse, riddled with fractures in the star chart, its starlight dimming rapidly.

The cultivators holding the Ziwei Secret Talismans made up the largest portion of those entering Ziwei Palace this time.

They had hidden within the Small Polaris Array and, under its protection, had fortunately escaped the Sin Abyss disaster. But now, with the array falling apart, some of the less fortunate ones were inevitably doomed.

Thankfully, the array hadn't been destroyed in an instant.

Aside from the initially collapsed corner, the others had time to react and flee.

Qin Sang spotted Wandering Man slipping past one of the cracks unscathed and felt relieved.

The cultivators had been scattered by the array's ruptures, spread out in all directions.

After some searching, Qin Sang finally caught sight of Granny Jing in one corner of the Small Polaris Array.

She stood there hunched over, leaning on a cane, extremely inconspicuous.

Unless one was deliberately observing, they would hardly even notice her presence.

Leng Yuntian was just ahead of her, busy gathering his disciples, completely unaware that the elderly woman behind him, like a venomous serpent, had already fixed her sights on him.

Granny Jing glanced briefly at Qin Sang and directly revealed the location of an ancient hall.

"If you really make it inside and find his remains..."

She hesitated, sighing almost imperceptibly, and added softly, "Then bring his bones out. Let him be buried in peace."

Qin Sang immediately understood.

That Fivefold Tower, tainted by the Blood Defilement Divine Light, was likely Yuanshen Sect's inherited astra.

The Infinite Blood Mulberry Wood array deployed by the Sin Abyss had clearly been prepared with great care and was far more powerful than Qin Sang's ebony sword. The Fivefold Tower seemed unusable now, and Leng Yuntian wouldn't be able to repair it anytime soon.

In the time they would spend inside Ziwei Palace, without the Fivefold Tower's protection, Leng Yuntian's strength would drop sharply. No wonder Granny Jing had no further use for Qin Sang.

He still had no clear sense of Granny Jing's true cultivation.

Back when she led him to lie low outside Dongyang Bo's cave dwelling, Qin Sang had assumed she was a Spiritual Infant expert, possibly even more powerful than Dongyang Bo.

Yet during the battle at Zhitian Peak, even considering the various restrictions at play, Granny Jing hadn't seemed as dominant as he'd imagined when fighting the Star-Controlling Elder.

Her contradictory displays left Qin Sang puzzled and unable to grasp her true strength.

Still, he was certain she was stronger than Leng Yuntian. She wouldn't be this confident otherwise.

Qin Sang gave Chenyan a sideways glance. He didn't know if she had picked up on Granny Jing's voice transmission. But Granny Jing hadn't revealed anything incriminating in her words, so even if she had been overheard, it didn't matter.

Fortunately, Granny Jing had kept her promise. Even though she no longer needed his help, she still offered him something in return.

Qin Sang couldn't help but feel pleased. Saving the Blood Defilement Divine Light for later was undoubtedly a good thing. This supernatural ability required recovery time after every use, which meant he only had one shot while inside Ziwei Palace.

If danger lay ahead, he now had another hidden trump card.

Hearing Granny Jing's final words, Qin Sang thought to himself.Her relationship with Senior Qingzhu must have been anything but simple. What kind of entangled past did they share?

He made up his mind. If he encountered Senior Qingzhu's remains, he would be sure to bring them out. Perhaps it would earn him a stroke of karmic fortune with Granny Jing.

The Sin Abyss's ambush had been truly vicious, inflicting heavy losses, especially on the Tianxing Alliance. There was no way they would let it go so easily.

Once they left Ziwei Palace, the immortal cultivation world might plunge into chaos.

What brought Qin Sang a bit of comfort was that his own sect still had two Spiritual Infant cultivators holding the fort. It was far better to seek shelter under a mighty tree than to stand alone, and he was far luckier than rogue cultivators or disciples from minor sects.

Still, no one would complain about having too many patrons.

As these thoughts filled his mind, Qin Sang, along with Qiu Mubai and the others, followed behind Chenyan in flight, when suddenly he felt his entire body tighten. The next instant, everything before his eyes turned into a blinding sheet of white.

An endless sea of clouds spread out before him.

They had finally broken free of the celestial array and entered Ziwei Palace!

Before they could even show a hint of joy, Chenyan didn't fly toward the heavenly gate at all. Instead, she led them straight into the sea of clouds. At once, the world spun around them in a dizzying whirl.

"So Ziwei Palace isn't behind the heavenly gate, but hidden within the clouds?"

Even in his dizziness, Qin Sang found the presence of mind to wonder about such things.

A subtle, almost imperceptible force was constantly guiding them, preventing them from being scattered. With Chenyan watching over them, there was naturally little to worry about.

"The heavenly gate stands above, yet Ziwei Palace lies below. To enter it, one doesn't go through the gate. So is this palace below the true Ziwei Palace? Or did it fall from the heavens in ancient times and end up buried in the clouds?"

Qin Sang couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't quite add up.

He had clearly seen it earlier with his own eyes; there was only a vast void beyond the heavenly gate, which stood alone atop the clouds. The view inside and outside the celestial array had been exactly the same.

And his suspicions weren't unfounded. When cultivators of earlier generations first discovered Ziwei Palace, they too had held similar doubts.

But no one had ever unraveled the mystery. Whether the celestial palace in the clouds was truly the fallen Ziwei Palace or an entirely different structure remained unknown. Yet because the words "Ziwei Palace" were inscribed on the heavenly gate, the name had simply stuck.

Still, regardless of the palace's true origin, it made no real difference to them. No one had ever been able to fully explore its depths anyway.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several figures came crashing down from the sky into a desolate ancient courtyard, flattening yellowed grass and kicking up clouds of dust.

Qin Sang grabbed a crooked branch on an ancient tree in the courtyard to break his fall, then landed with the snapped branch in hand, barely managing to stay on his feet.

Qiu Mubai fared about the same, but the other three were far less fortunate. THey were tumbling head over heels, hair and robes covered in brittle grass and dead leaves.

While they scrambled up in embarrassment, Chenyan descended gracefully from the sky.

She appeared completely unaffected, not even the hem of her robe disturbed.

Once everyone had tidied themselves up, they all stepped forward and bowed to her. "Many thanks for your protection, Senior Aunt."

Now that Chenyan had revealed her Spiritual Infant cultivation, their attitude toward her became as respectful as it was toward Dongyang Bo. They gave her a formal salute with utmost reverence.

Though still shaken, Qiu Mubai and the others couldn't hide the joy on their faces. It was clear they understood what it meant to have another Spiritual Infant expert in their sect.

Unexpectedly, Chenyan refused their formalities. Her tone was indifferent as she said, "I am not your senior aunt. From now on, address me as you did before. Just call me 'senior.'"

The group exchanged confused glances but ultimately obeyed her command. "As you wish, Senior."

Chenyan stood with her hands behind her back in the middle of the courtyard, saying nothing.

Qin Sang and the others waited nearby. When they saw that Chenyan made no move, they began to survey their surroundings.

The courtyard was vast, overgrown with thick, tangled weeds. Along its outer edge stood towering ancient trees, each one so massive it would take over a dozen people linking arms to encircle them. Who knew how many years they had stood there?

At the far end of the courtyard lay a row of collapsed palace halls, completely ruined. Only fragments of the walls remained, making it impossible to discern what they had once been used for.

The entire place was steeped in a desolate, withered silence.