Gateway of Immortality

"Brother Qin, take a look at this..."

As he spoke, Wandering Man held the bone flute and placed it into the Mustard Seed Pouch at his waist.

To their surprise, the moment it went in, a flash of light burst from the pouch, and the bone flute sprang out on its own.

Wandering Man nodded. "As expected. This item clearly has a mysterious connection to the cosmic orbit and the stars. But I suspect this flute is only a fragment. One must gather all its parts to reveal the artifact's true form. Brother Qin, keep it safe. If you're lucky enough to collect the full set one day, it surely won't disappoint you."

Qin Sang felt a stir of desire at Wandering Man's words, but he also knew that fragments of treasures like this were never easy to find. Some pieces may have already been destroyed, lost to the world.

In that case, this artifact would remain a distant dream, never to reappear in the world.

Besides, if the flute couldn't go into a Mustard Seed Pouch, was he supposed to wear it around his neck like the panther?

Qin Sang grumbled inwardly and gave it a try, attempting to store the flute inside the Thousand-Jin Ring.

Unexpectedly, the bone flute stayed there peacefully. It didn't leap out again.

"Hmm?"

Qin Sang was thoroughly surprised. He lifted his hand and examined the ring.

Earlier, Yi Tianye had referred to the iron ring as the Thousand-Jin Ring. Whether that was just a name he'd given it or its true name remained unknown.

Qin Sang had thought it was just a basic storage artifact, much like a Mustard Seed Pouch, only with a larger internal space. But now, it seemed like the Thousand-Jin Ring might not be so simple.

Still, no matter how he inspected it, the ring seemed to possess only storage functions. Since there were no visible clues, he temporarily let the matter drop.

By now, he and Wandering Man had flown out of the stone chamber and arrived at the waterfall's exit.

They proceeded with utmost caution, only stepping outside once they confirmed no ambushes awaited them and that the demons hadn't yet arrived.

"Demonic beasts are wild and unruly. Even under the same demon king, they often fight among themselves. That Shadow-Devouring Panther, wounded as it is, might not dare contact its kin. Doing so would be akin to walking into a tiger's jaws. But just in case, we can't leave the way we came in. I know a few hidden paths. Let's circle around and avoid them as much as possible," said Wandering Man

Following Wandering Man's guidance, Qin Sang tread across the water, heading straight toward the top of the waterfall. His corpse core remained unsealed; he needed to break through the barriers and exit the ancient herb garden as quickly as possible.

Along the way, Qin Sang told Wandering Man everything he had learned from soul-searching Yi Tianye.

With some hesitation, he added, "Senior, the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances is hidden in an ancient ruin. According to Yi Tianye's memories, there's a remnant of an ancient spiritual array guarding the place. It's not easy to breach. With my wooden bracelet likely to shatter soon, I won't be able to get in on my own. I'll need your help."

Qin Sang's greatest worry was that even the two of them combined wouldn't be able to break through the residual array.

In that case, he would have to finish helping Dongyang Bo and Chenyan, then wait for a chance to slip away.

If that proved impossible, he would have no choice but to wait for Ziwei Palace to open again and return for the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances to nourish the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid.

He could afford to wait for the next opening of Ziwei Palace but the longer the delay, the greater the risk. Without the treasure in hand, he couldn't rest easy.

"Wait a moment..."

Wandering Man suddenly asked in a pressing tone, "You mentioned that the ruin is a ruined hall. Inside, there's an ancient character. What did it look like?"

Qin Sang waved his hand and traced the ancient character into the air.

Though archaic in form, Wandering Man recognized it immediately and exclaimed with joy, "It really is the character 'Ju'[1]! Remember what I told you earlier about the origin of the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances? That place is very likely the Spirit-Gathering Hall, where the Spirit-Gathering Bowl was kept. I never imagined that the ruins of the Spirit-Gathering Hall still exist, alongside the Hanging Garden Palace. No wonder the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances survived to this day. If it really is the Spirit-Gathering Hall, then don't worry, I know how to crack its residual array!"

Qin Sang turned to look at Wandering Man, astonishment written all over his face.

Wandering Man's breadth of knowledge had already surpassed his imagination.

If controlling the blood seal of the demon king could be explained by his expertise in barrier arts, then recognizing a ruin he had never even seen and claiming to know how to break its array was something beyond mere mastery of arrays.

"If I make it out alive, I'll give you an explanation," said Wandering Man solemnly.

"Brother Qin," he added after a pause, "I have a rather shameless request."

"Your Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid has reached its final transformation. If you were to water it now, five drops would be enough to induce metamorphosis. But if you can wait until you reach the late stage of the Golden Core Realm, possibly within two hundred years, just three drops could do."

"If we manage to obtain enough Jade Liquid of Three Radiances, would you be willing to give me three drops?

"I plan to stake everything on a desperate move, hoping to find a sliver of vitality in the jaws of death. My chances of success are only ten percent. But with three drops of Jade Liquid, that might rise to forty percent.

"To preserve my life, I must set aside my pride and beg this favor from you."

Hearing that it was a matter of life and death, Qin Sang immediately composed himself, his expression turning serious.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Sang said, "Senior, you've helped me so much along the way. None of these treasures, including the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances, could have been obtained without you. They should be considered our joint spoils. Even if you hadn't asked, I would've offered it to you. Take as much as you need. Healing your injuries and breaking through comes first. As for the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid, if there's a Jade Liquid of Three Radiances, there will be a Jade Liquid of Ten Radiances, a Hundred Radiances, a Thousand Radiances. I refuse to believe that, with four hundred years of lifespan after Core Formation, I won't find another solution!"

Now that the existence of the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid had been exposed, Qin Sang spoke frankly. "When the time comes, I'll also need your help to refine the Du'e Pill."

The Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid couldn't be consumed directly; it needed to be refined into the Du'e Pill to be effective.

But Qin Sang knew absolutely nothing about alchemy and would likely never be able to practice it himself.

He had long been considering who he could entrust with such an important task.

The Du'e Pill was so rare and valuable that he couldn't possibly entrust it to a stranger.

Wandering Man, however, was a disciple of the Taiyi Core Sect and had once demonstrated exceptional alchemical skill when refining the Dark Patterned Heyun Pill. The two had also endured life-and-death trials together and forged a deep friendship. He was undoubtedly the best choice.

Wandering Man patted Qin Sang on the shoulder, stood silent for a moment, then said in a solemn tone, "Brother, I will never forget your kindness. Three drops are more than enough for me, any more would be useless. You have my word, when the time comes to refine the pill, I will give it my all! However, once the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid undergoes metamorphosis into the Heavenly Illusion Orchid, refining the Du'e Pill will become even more difficult. To ensure absolute success, I may have to wait until I reach the Spiritual Infant Realm before attempting it."

Even with Wandering Man's exceptional alchemy skills, he would still need to wait until after forming a Spiritual Infant to confidently refine the Du'e Pill, which showed just how difficult the process truly was.

As for Qin Sang, he clearly had no hope of refining it himself.

Still, he had great confidence in Wandering Man's talent. Once his hidden injuries were healed, he would surely soar like a dragon through the clouds. Barring any accidents, he would certainly reach the Spiritual Infant Realm before Qin Sang did.

"How many Du'e Pills can be refined once the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid metamorphoses into the Heavenly Illusion Orchid?" Qin Sang asked curiously.

"Only one, of course, and the medicinal effect will be at its peak."

Wandering Man answered proudly, "Rest assured, Brother. In my life, there are only two true calamities to fear. Everything else is insignificant. As for forming a Spiritual Infant, that will be no more difficult than retrieving an object from a sack[2] for me!"

1. Ju is a Chinese word for "gather". ☜

2. This is a Chinese saying, meaning to do something with ease. ☜