Gateway of Immortality

After leaving Shi Hong's cave dwelling, Qin Sang gathered enough Soul Pills from the Yin Malevolent Abyss and immediately began his secluded cultivation.

In less than two months, Qin Sang emerged from seclusion, having successfully broken through to the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

At Senior Uncle Yue’s cave dwelling.

When Qin Sang knocked and entered, he found Liang Yan also present in Senior Uncle Yue’s cave dwelling.

Hearing that Qin Sang had successfully broken through to the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, even Senior Uncle Yue showed a look of surprise. In their view, Qin Sang was considered the least likely among the seven to make a breakthrough.

Liang Yan’s eyes brightened. "Junior Brother Qin must have an exceptionally resilient will to achieve this breakthrough! Senior Uncle Yue, let’s have Junior Brother Qin join me in cultivation."

Senior Uncle Yue shot Liang Yan a stern look, and Liang Yan quickly fell silent, his expression awkward.

Senior Uncle Yue then looked at Qin Sang and said after a moment of contemplation, "Junior Nephew Qin, your achievement with your five-elemental spiritual roots is truly remarkable. You will certainly receive a top-grade artifact as a reward. However, you will need to wait another four months for the sect leader to personally distribute the rewards to all qualifying disciples. In the meantime, you should return to your cave dwelling for cultivation. Since you’ve already broken through to the sixth stage, you can now also focus on practicing spells. You had previously asked me about spell cultivation, so you must have similar ideas. You may choose one of these spells, and if you encounter any issues, feel free to come to my cave dwelling."

As he spoke, Senior Uncle Yue handed Qin Sang a jade slip. Qin Sang took it and saw that it contained a comprehensive list of spells, including water-based spells and five-elemental spell, with hundreds of varieties densely packed within.

Senior Uncle Yue also reminded Qin Sang that while any spell could be practiced, his cultivation art was the Netherworld Scripture, and practicing water-based spells would be easier. Otherwise, it would be a case of more effort for less result.

Qin Sang focused on the water-based spells and quickly found the Water Barrier and Cloud Evasion. Upon comparison, he realized that the River-Locking Fog was originally named Mist-Binding Technique, which left him a bit speechless.

Looking at the numerous intriguing spells, Qin Sang was almost overwhelmed with choices. However, as Senior Uncle Yue had mentioned, quality mattered more than quantity when it came to spells; having many spells was useless if one was not proficient in them.

After careful consideration, Qin Sang's attention settled on a spell called the Guishui Yin Thunder Spell.

The jade slip described the Guishui Yin Thunder Spell as an extremely powerful and yin thunder spell. Furthermore, if the caster later found a spiritual item imbued with thunderous power, they could release even more terrifying yin thunderbolts.

Seeing this, Qin Sang was thrilled. This was exactly the type of offensive spell he needed. Although he did not have a spiritual item, the power of the Guishui Yin Thunder Spell itself was formidable. The spell was as swift as lightning and difficult to evade, and it had a certain restraining effect on demons and evil spirits.

Once Qin Sang made his selection, Senior Uncle Yue patiently explained the cultivation essentials for the spell and then handed over the latter part of the Netherworld Scripture before sending him on his way.

Back in his cave dwelling, Qin Sang compared the two Netherworld Scriptures and found no discrepancies.

…

That morning, Qin Sang woke from his meditation. It was the appointed time for the disciples who had broken through to the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm to gather at Senior Uncle Yue’s cave dwelling to pay their respects to the sect leader.

Knock, knock…

Someone knocked on the door from outside. Qin Sang opened it and invited Tan Jie in.

Tan Jie had been stuck at the bottleneck of the sixth stage and had not made any progress, missing out on the reward.

"Congratulations, Brother Qin. After receiving a top-grade artifact, you’ll definitely become even more formidable and gain the sect’s favor!" Tan Jie said with a face full of envy, grinning widely.

Qin Sang waved his hand. "Don’t tease me. It was just luck. I heard that Senior Sister Shi Hong is almost at the seventh stage. Even if the sect favors someone, it will likely be her. Is she still in her cave dwelling?"

"I haven’t heard of her leaving, so she’s probably still inside."

After meeting with Shi Hong, Tan Jie saw them off. Qin Sang and Shi Hong waved goodbye to Tan Jie and then headed towards Senior Uncle Yue’s cave dwelling together.

By the time they arrived at Senior Uncle Yue’s cave dwelling, there were already over a dozen people present, but Senior Uncle Yue was not among them.

The people in the cave dwelling were all influential figures. Qin Sang had heard of them, and some he had seen a few times during Senior Uncle Yue's teachings. He greeted those he was familiar with and then quietly waited in a corner.

More people arrived one after another.

In the end, only twenty-two people from the Kuiyin Sect were qualified to stand there.

Once everyone had arrived, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave dwelling. Senior Uncle Yue and Liang Yan then entered, accompanied by four other individuals, including Senior Uncles Dong and Wu, as well as two others who were Foundation Building Realm cultivators whom Qin Sang had never met.

After they entered, Senior Uncle Yue scanned the room and looked at Shi Hong. "Shi Hong, come here and stand behind Liang Yan."

Shi Hong, not understanding the reason, could only follow Senior Uncle Yue’s instructions.

Next, the other senior uncles also began designating individuals to stand behind them.

"That boy with the scar on his face, and that young girl. Yes, you two, come here."

Senior Uncle Dong pointed out the two people, but Senior Uncle Yue intervened. "Senior Brother Dong, this is not acceptable. You can only take one. Otherwise, I won't be able to account for it with the sect leader."

Senior Uncle Dong looked displeased. "It’s just a disciple. There are still so many left. It’s perfectly fine to report to the sect leader! What are you worried about?"

"Absolutely not!"

Senior Uncle Yue was adamant. "Senior Brother Dong, you should be very clear on the priorities. I am only making an exception due to our shared sect affiliation and because some of these disciples are exceptionally talented. Otherwise, none of these disciples would be chosen by you. If you are dissatisfied, you can speak to the sect leader directly."

Senior Uncle Dong’s face alternated between green and white. Finally, in frustration, he pointed at the scar-faced youth. "You, come here."

The youth glanced at the girl beside him, looking somewhat hesitant.

Senior Uncle Dong, already fuming, glared with his eyes wide open and shouted, "Stop dawdling! Do you think I’m going to steal your top-grade artifacts or something?"

After giving the scar-faced youth a harsh reprimand, Senior Uncle Dong took him away. The other senior uncles also bid farewell to Senior Uncle Yue, while Shi Hong followed Liang Yan out of the cave dwelling, casting a parting glance at Qin Sang.

With seventeen disciples remaining in the cave dwelling, they whispered among themselves, their voices filled with envy.

The five who had been selected were all exceptionally talented, with even the least gifted possessing a three-spiritual-root constitution.

Qin Sang could roughly guess that the senior uncles were selecting them as their disciples, while Senior Uncle Yue was focused on Shi Hong.

During his time in the Kuiyin Sect, Qin Sang had heard that disciples with exceptional talent might be taken on as apprentices by Foundation Building senior uncles, moving to the back mountains for cultivation and becoming true disciples of the Kuiyin Sect.

Such disciples not only received more cultivation resources but also had a powerful backing, making their status vastly different from before.

Qin Sang was not envious of the resources they would gain after becoming apprentices. As long as he had enough Soul Pills, he was confident his cultivation speed would not lag behind theirs.

What he envied was that they would have a master, eliminating the need to worry about Foundation Building Pills.