Gateway of Immortality

Qin Sang's expression turned peculiar.

He had no idea where Yi Tianye had picked up such outdated information, assuming he needed the Purple Cloud Fruit to form his core. Little did he know, the fruit was no longer essential.

Since entering Ziwei Palace, with a Spiritual Infant cultivator nearby, Yi Tianye had likely feared being detected and dared not eavesdrop recklessly, which left him unaware of recent developments.

Naturally, Qin Sang saw no need to correct his mistake.

Yi Tianye had lurked by his side for decades, learning far too many secrets. Qin Sang had already made up his mind. He would rather give up the Purple Cloud Fruit than let Yi Tianye live another day!

"Old Demon Yi, the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid only just completed its eighth metamorphosis. It'll need at least another five hundred years to mature. As for refining the Du'e Pill, even I won't live to see that day. You, whose lifespan is already at its end, have turned to the ghost path, relying on dark arts to prolong your life. How long can you cling to your last breath? Whether you seek to become a ghost king or a corpse king, you'll never live to see the orchid ripen. So what's the point in wanting it?" Qin Sang said coldly.

Yi Tianye remained unmoved, snorting coldly.

"My affairs are none of your concern!

"If the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid still needs five hundred years, then even if you form your core, you'll have only four hundred years of lifespan left. Be smart. Trade it for the Purple Cloud Fruit.

"Otherwise, you'll fail your breakthrough and everything will be for naught!

"Hand over the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid, and not only will I return the Purple Cloud Fruit, I'll also swear by heart demons to guard your every secret. You killed Jiupao, seized his Thousand-Jin Ring, and wiped out my Kuiyin Sect. I'll let all that go.

"You should know, ghost cultivators fear nothing more than heart demons. I seek the Great Dao and have no reason to risk my life just to hurt you.

"But if I start spreading the word, do you really think Shaohua Mountain will still have room for you?"

Failing to kill Qin Sang in his ambush, Yi Tianye now tried to threaten him into a deal.

Qin Sang's heart stirred slightly at his words. He couldn't help feeling suspicious. Yi Tianye's tone suggested he had long known the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid was far from maturity.

Yet he still risked his entire sect to seize the herb. Could he possibly know how to refine it despite its current age?

Is there some hidden secret behind it?

Just as Qin Sang wrestled with his doubts, Wandering Man suddenly cried out beside him. "Jade Liquid of Three Radiances! There's still Jade Liquid inside Ziwei Palace?"

He had hidden himself at the base of a stone wall behind Qin Sang.

Earlier, to drive off the Shadow-Devouring Panther, he had secretly used his blood and essence to activate the Flawless Orb and trigger the blood seal of a demon king. One glance was enough to see how weak his aura had become.

When the flying yaksha mutated, Wandering Man had already slipped into the protection of the demon king's blood seal. Now, he could barely summon a sliver of the seal's power to protect himself and had no energy to assist Qin Sang.

If Yi Tianye targeted him now, he would be doomed.

However, Yi Tianye also had no certainty he could pierce through the blood seal in one blow and kill Wandering Man. If the fight dragged on for even a moment, Qin Sang would catch up.

In Yi Tianye's mind, he and Qin Sang were the same kind of person.

Trying to threaten a man like Qin Sang through his friends was no different from delusion. Surely, the Purple Cloud Fruit mattered more to him. So he ignored Wandering Man entirely and made straight for the fruit.

Wandering Man, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up mid-standoff.

"You old bastard, who the hell are you? How do you know about the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances?"

Qin Sang was still puzzling over what this Jade Liquid even was when he saw Yi Tianye's expression twist the moment Wandering Man spoke. His eyes locked on Wandering Man with a killing intent that could shake the heavens.

Yet Wandering Man paid no heed to Yi Tianye's murderous glare. Instead, he quickly turned to Qin Sang, his voice filled with excitement he could barely contain.

It was the first time Qin Sang had seen him so visibly rattled.

"Brother Qin, surely you've heard of the Divine Water of Three Radiances?"

In countless myths and legends, the Divine Water of Three Radiances was famous beyond comparison. How could he not have heard of it?

According to legend, it was divine water formed from the innate radiances of the sun, moon, and stars, gathered by immortals. It held infinite uses, capable of dispelling all poisons, healing every wound. It was revered as the ultimate healing elixir in existence.

With it, bringing back the dead and regrowing flesh and bone would be entirely possible!

But legends were still just legends. Every record of the Divine Water of Three Radiances had come from mythological tales, imagined by mortals and heavily embellished with fantasy and mystery.

They were worlds apart from ancient texts that contained practical arts, spells, or verifiable accounts.

Those tales were only good for reading, not to be taken as truth.

When Qin Sang had read about such things at Treasure Tower Peak, he'd taken it merely as a way to broaden his knowledge, treating them as amusing tales or legends and marveling at the romanticism and imagination of the ancients. Though they had never seen immortals, they already fantasized about the treasures those immortals might possess.

But now Wandering Man suddenly brought up the Divine Water of Three Radiances. Could such a thing truly exist?

"No one knows for certain whether the Divine Water of Three Radiances is purely imagined or actually exists in this world."

"But according to what I know, within Ziwei Palace, there exists a supreme treasure known as the Spirit-Gathering Bowl. It can imitate the Divine Water of Three Radiances by collecting the essence of heaven and earth, blending it with the power of the lunar, solar, and cosmic orbits, then refining it into divine water known as the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances."

"Though the Jade Liquid does not possess the legendary power to resurrect the dead or regrow flesh like the Divine Water, it contains the essence of the world. Once consumed, it can rapidly nourish the body and restore true essence. Its effects are no less potent than Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Milk."

"It is also an extraordinary healing medicine. After being poisoned or gravely wounded, taking this liquid allows one to recover at astonishing speed."

"But what Ziwei Palace values most about the Jade Liquid is another miraculous property. It can induce metamorphosis in natural treasures, refining their medicinal energy to a purer state!"

"This particular effect, however, requires the Spirit-Gathering Bowl to work in concert with a type of celestial barrier."

"This celestial barrier exists only in the heart of the ancient herb garden, a paradise known as the Hanging Garden Palace. Every plant cultivated there is an extremely rare natural treasure. Even the lowest-grade spirit herbs within it are not inferior to the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid."

"These herbs, nurtured within the Hanging Garden Palace, are continuously bathed in the celestial barrier day and night. Over time, after being cultivated for a certain number of years, they are further watered with the Jade Liquid, allowing them to undergo metamorphosis and mature ahead of schedule."

"Back when Ziwei Palace last emerged, a ruin within the inner palace was opened—a fragment of the Hanging Garden Palace. It's said that nearly ten kinds of natural treasures were found growing within. A fierce battle broke out, and the Spiritual Infant cultivators and great demons present divided the spoils among themselves.

"If the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid in Brother Qin's possession was taken from the Hanging Garden Palace, then it must have been extracted back then, and would have already received sufficient refinement."

"There's no need to wait five hundred years. By watering it with the Jade Liquid, it can immediately undergo metamorphosis into the Heavenly Illusion Orchid, with medicinal potency far surpassing that of the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid!"

"The Du'e Pill refined from the Heavenly Illusion Orchid can increase the success rate of forming a Spiritual Infant by not just twenty percent, but thirty percent!"

"However, the Spirit-Gathering Bowl vanished long ago. It's unknown whether it was stolen when calamity struck Ziwei Palace or destroyed altogether. Thus, no one has ever obtained the Jade Liquid from Ziwei Palace."

"I had believed the Jade Liquid no longer existed. But does that mean... some of it still remains within Ziwei Palace, and you've managed to find it?"

This last question was directed at Yi Tianye.

Though the explanation sounded long, Wandering Man and Qin Sang had actually exchanged everything through spiritual consciousness, and had quickly clarified the whole situation.