Gateway of Immortality

These revelations left Qin Sang not only shocked, but also overjoyed.

If everything Wandering Man had said was true, then this Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid was very likely snatched from the Hanging Garden Palace by Yuanzhao Sect's grandmaster. Otherwise, Yi Tianye wouldn't have pursued it so relentlessly.

During their time in the Sunken Cave, Yi Tianye had secretly taken control of the flying yaksha. He had every opportunity to flee while Qin Sang was away, and slowly find a way to erase the soul imprint, refine the flying yaksha's primordial spirit, and completely claim the body.

Yet he had chosen to stay and take that risk. It had to be for the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid!

Qin Sang noticed that with every sentence Wandering Man uttered, Yi Tianye's expression grew darker.

Finally, Wandering Man let out a light chuckle and said casually, "Brother Qin, if this man truly holds information about the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances, why would you still fear that he might destroy the Purple Cloud Fruit? The Jade Liquid of Three Radiances is hailed as a supreme healing elixir. Healing the hidden damage to your foundation would be effortless. It would render the Purple Cloud Fruit entirely unnecessary. Why not capture him right now?"

He suddenly shouted.

Yi Tianye's expression changed drastically. He had never imagined Wandering Man would so easily see through his intentions.

With just a few words, the situation had flipped. He had become the hunted.

A surge of black mist burst from Yi Tianye's palm, corpse qi coiling around the Purple Cloud Fruit tree, intending to destroy it on the spot.

It was while sorting through Founder Kuiyin's relics that he discovered an ancient bamboo slip taken from the Ziwei Palace. Only then did he learn about the Hanging Garden Palace and the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances.

Later, he inadvertently came across a secret incident that had taken place in Ziwei Palace, leading him to infer that the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances might still be hidden there.

This immediately ignited his greed. He also remembered the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid once seized by Yuanzhao Sect's grandmaster from the Hanging Garden Palace.

The Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid had been the lowest-grade of all the natural treasures housed in the Hanging Garden Palace. Back then, Founder Kuiyin had competed with Yuanzhao Sect's grandmaster for it and knew that the orchid had yet to fully mature.

Still, despite its immaturity, it was a valuable treasure. At worst, they only needed to wait a few hundred years, and it might grant the sect another Spiritual Infant cultivator.

After Yuanzhao Sect's grandmaster died unexpectedly, Founder Kuiyin had considered taking it, but one of the Eight Major Sects—Wuji Sect—issued a warning. Combined with Yuanzhao Sect's own strength, he decided to back off.

He had no use for it anyway. In a few centuries, he would be long dead.

Moreover, the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid wasn't guaranteed to lead to the Spiritual Infant Realm. There was no need to antagonize the Wuji Sect over it.

But Yi Tianye, whose lifespan was nearly at its end and had one foot in the grave, had gone mad in his pursuit of the Spiritual Infant Realm. He no longer cared what price he had to pay, even if it meant dragging the entire sect down with him.

So, upon hearing about the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances, he immediately began preparing.

He not only racked his brain to find a weakness in Yuanzhao Sect's protective array, but also began cultivating a ghost path secret art left behind by Founder Kuiyin just in case he couldn't find a longevity-extending spiritual medicine in time and had to switch to the path of ghosts.

The Du'e Pill, meant to help transcend a bottleneck in one's cultivation, could be used not only by cultivators, but also by shape-shifting demons, advancing ghost cultivators, and even metamorphosing spiritual insects.

Still, Yi Tianye actually knew very little about the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances. Everything he did know came from that damaged bamboo slip left behind by Founder Kuiyin. He wasn't even certain if it could heal Qin Sang.

Yet Wandering Man spoke with such certainty, as though his understanding of the Hanging Garden Palace, the Spirit-Gathering Bowl, and the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances far exceeded Yi Tianye's.

This left Yi Tianye deeply shaken and doubtful. He now realized that his attempt at intimidation was bound to fail. Qin Sang had already formed an External Core, his strength no less than the flying yaksha's. He also wielded a powerful astra. Yi Tianye couldn't kill him.

With retreat in mind, Yi Tianye revealed his ruthless nature. If he couldn't get the Purple Cloud Fruit, then neither could Qin Sang.

Whoosh!

Corpse qi surged toward the Purple Cloud Fruit Tree.

The rare spiritual tree was about to be devoured by the corpse qi, destroyed by a madman's hand.

Suddenly, a beam of white light burst forth from the base of the tree. It was the same kind of light Wandering Man had triggered earlier. It came from the same origin: the blood seal of the demon king.

Poof!

The white light instantly enveloped the Purple Cloud Fruit tree and easily dispersed the corpse qi.

So it turned out, the demon king who had discovered the Purple Cloud Fruit Tree and left behind the blood seal had done so as a legacy for future generations.

First, to seal off the spiritual fruit's aura and hide this treasure trove from the eyes of human cultivators.

Second, to protect the Purple Cloud Fruit tree itself, so that future demon descendants would not fight recklessly over it within the stone chamber and end up destroying both the sanctuary and the tree.

Yi Tianye's attempt to destroy the Purple Cloud Fruit tree had indeed triggered the demon king's blood seal.

However, the seal's true purpose was to safeguard the spiritual tree, not to harm others. After being activated, the blood seal did not retaliate against Yi Tianye.

His first strike failed, but when the white light didn't surge toward him, Yi Tianye quickly pieced together the truth. Without hesitation, he withdrew the corpse qi and reached toward the Purple Cloud Fruit.

This time, the blood seal did not stop him.

But just as his fingers were about to seize the Purple Cloud Fruit, a faint image of an orb suddenly appeared in front of the spiritual fruit. It was the Flawless Orb!

Boom!

The orb flared with intense brilliance, bursting with great force. It slammed against Yi Tianye's palm, shattered through the light of the blood seal, and snatched the Purple Cloud Fruit away, sweeping it backward.

Yi Tianye was shocked and furious. When he turned his head, he saw that Wandering Man was still hiding in the corner, and floating before him was another Flawless Orb, which was now slowly fading from sight.

Despite his weak condition, Wandering Man had managed to secretly plant the Flawless Orb beside Yi Tianye, and Yi Tianye hadn't noticed at all!

Qin Sang had already moved. He charged forward.

Seeing this scene, Qin Sang was also quite surprised. He hadn't expected Wandering Man to still have the strength to steal the Purple Cloud Fruit. He himself had already decided to give up on it.

Now it seemed likely that Wandering Man's earlier claim that the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances could heal his hidden injuries was nothing but a ruse.

With just a few words, he had pushed Yi Tianye into a corner, forcing him into a misstep.

Qin Sang was secretly impressed. Having seen the Flawless Orb perform countless miracles, he had grown somewhat numb to its wonders.

He stared coldly at Yi Tianye, eyes gleaming with deadly light, as though looking at a corpse.

Yi Tianye knew too many secrets and harbored deep hatred for him. There was no way he could be allowed to live.

Whoosh!

The Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions unfurled steadily in front of Qin Sang, drawing in qi in great torrents and spreading the Demonic Flames of the Nine Hells all around.

Sizzle...

The waters of the lake began to boil. In an instant, the lakebed was scorched dry.

Waves of fire erupted within the stone chamber, layer upon layer surging toward Yi Tianye.

Having failed yet again, Yi Tianye could only watch helplessly as the Flawless Orb fled with the Purple Cloud Fruit. He cursed furiously but didn't dare pursue.

He feared Qin Sang might entangle him in a prolonged battle. If he got dragged down and Wandering Man recovered enough to once again trigger the demon king's blood seal, Yi Tianye would be finished.

Facing the overwhelming sea of flames, Yi Tianye, who was highly familiar with the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, quickly spotted a weakness in the firestorm and dashed toward it.

Bang!

The next moment, Yi Tianye was blasted backward, sent flying in disarray.

From within the fire, his voice roared out in fury and frustration. "How is your corpse core this powerful?!"