Gateway of Immortality

"Who’s there!"

An angry shout echoed from the cave, and immediately, two streaks of light—one black and one white—shot out. Before Qin Sang could clearly see the figures in the light, Gu Tiannan and his disciple reacted instantly.

Gu Tiannan lightly raised his palm, and the five spiritual swords swiftly returned, hovering in front of him.

His disciple, Gu Yuan, also drew out a fiery red short sword.

"Die, demon!"

The master and disciple took to the air with their swords, closing in on the black streak of light.

"It's you again, old geezer!"

The black light dissipated, revealing a man in black robes. His face was extremely gaunt, with deep-set eyes and high cheekbones, giving him the appearance of a skeleton more than a living person.

Seeing Gu Tiannan and his disciple, the black-robed man was filled with rage. He opened his mouth wide, and a black needle shot out like lightning, heading straight for Gu Yuan's face.

Gu Yuan seemed to have suffered from this before. The moment he saw the needle coming, he panicked and dodged. But the needle, as if it had a mind of its own, was incredibly fast and agile. In an instant, it bypassed Gu Yuan's short sword and was about to pierce him.

Gu Tiannan saw this but wasn’t anxious. He calmly waited for the right moment before pointing his finger. The Five-Elemental Breaking Sword suddenly sprang to life, the five sword lights merged into a single burst of sword qi, moving with lightning speed. Before the black-robed man could react, the sword energy struck the needle square in the middle.

The needle spun wildly in midair, its glow dimming considerably. The black-robed man was alarmed and quickly summoned the needle back, inspecting it with great distress. After confirming that there was no serious damage, he finally relaxed.

However, Gu Tiannan didn’t relent. With a slight twist, the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword changed direction, its speed surging as immense pressure made the black-robed man’s face pale. In a hurry, he spat out a cloud of demonic qi, which enveloped the needle.

The needle, now replenished by the demonic energy, regained its power. Trembling slightly, it transformed into a thin black thread and raced toward the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword. The tip of the needle clashed with the sword's edge, and the two forces were evenly matched.

At the same time, the black-robed man flipped his palm, revealing a bull's skull no larger than a hand. It had no flesh, just two eerie eyes spinning wildly in the hollow sockets, exuding a sinister aura.

The black-robed man glanced at Gu Tiannan with a cold grin. Suddenly, he sliced his fingertip, forcing out several drops of essence and blood, which he fed to the skull.

The skull greedily absorbed the essence and blood, its eyes growing brighter as the demonic qi around it surged.

With a forceful flick of his hand, the black-robed man shouted, "Go!"

The skull, surrounded by thick demonic qi, shot into the sky. Its pitch-black eyes locked onto Gu Tiannan, emitting a chilling cackle. Like a shooting star, it sped toward him, its gaping mouth ready to bite into his body.

Unexpectedly, Gu Tiannan paid it no mind. He calmly retrieved a dried tree root from his Mustard Seed Pouch, holding it in his hand while muttering an incantation.

Just as the skull was about to reach him, Gu Yuan rushed to his side, wielding his short sword, which flared with a red glow. He barely managed to block the skull, but with each bite it took, the flames on the sword dimmed.

Gu Yuan's face flushed red as he gritted his teeth, struggling to hold on.

Just when Gu Yuan was on the verge of collapse, the tree root in Gu Tiannan's hand suddenly underwent a transformation, releasing a blinding flash of lightning. The entire root turned into a brilliant silver-white color.

Boom!

With a thunderous crack, a bolt of lightning shot out from the tree root, striking the skull with fierce force.

Crack!

The demonic qi around the skull fluctuated violently. Half of its face was instantly shattered by the lightning.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The skull, as if it were alive, let out a pained scream and turned tail, biting down on the black-robed man’s palm. No matter how furiously the man tried to command it, the skull refused to come out again.

Gu Tiannan's face showed a mocking smile as he held the tree root and pointed it toward the black needle still in the sky.

Seeing this, the black-robed man's expression shifted slightly. He glanced at the intense battle nearby and, after a brief hesitation, swiftly recalled his flying needle, transforming into a streak of light as he attempted to flee.

"Demon! Today is the day you die!"

Gu Tiannan shouted coldly, chasing after him on his sword. As he flew, he turned to Qin Sang and yelled, "Junior Brother Qin, block that cat demon! I’ll kill this devil first and then come back to assist you!"

Qin Sang only responded with a short grunt of acknowledgment before swinging his Emerald Wave Sword fiercely. Three massive waves of water formed a triangle, completely cutting off the path of a white cat that had been about to aid the black-robed man, forcing it back.

Indeed, his opponent was none other than a white cat.

This white cat appeared no different from an ordinary feline, yet it was a late-stage Ordinary Demon Realm demonic beast!

The white cat stood upright on its hind legs, holding an artifact made of bamboo in its front paws. The artifact’s power was remarkable, emitting beams of azure light that even Qin Sang did not dare underestimate. However, this was mostly because he had not yet fought with his full strength.

Qin Sang was still wary of Gu Tiannan, suspecting this might be a trap, so he refrained from using all of his hidden cards. While engaging the white cat with his Emerald Wave Sword, he secretly observed Gu Tiannan's battle with the black-robed man.

After a few exchanges, Qin Sang realized that both sides were fighting fiercely and mercilessly, clearly aiming to kill each other. It didn’t seem like an act.

Perhaps I'm being overly suspicious. Qin Sang thought to himself.

As he watched Gu Tiannan and his disciple chase after the black-robed man, they quickly disappeared from sight. They had already gained the upper hand, and victory was only a matter of time. Qin Sang decided it was time to quickly deal with the cat demon in front of him and return to report back.

A demonic beast in the Ordinary Demon Realm hadn't yet developed full intelligence and wouldn’t be difficult to defeat.

With his mind made up, Qin Sang was about to put away the Emerald Wave Sword and summon the ebony sword to finish the battle quickly. Unexpectedly, the cat demon changed its behavior, no longer attempting to flee. Instead, it stood upright on its hind legs, leaning on the azure bamboo and directly facing Qin Sang.

From its deep blue pupils, Qin Sang suddenly sensed an intelligence equal to that of a human, leaving him momentarily astonished.

Whoosh!

The azure bamboo artifact suddenly emitted a serene light, enveloping the entire area around them.

A sharp sense of danger rose in Qin Sang's heart. He immediately summoned the ebony sword, which hovered protectively around him. As he cautiously observed his surroundings, he found nothing but green light filling the space. Strangely, he could no longer see where the cat demon had gone.

An illusion array?

Qin Sang pondered silently, debating whether to break the array with his own array.

At that moment, the azure light in front of him began to shift, revealing the silhouette of the white cat. To his astonishment, the cat mimicked human behavior, pressing its front paws together in a respectful gesture and bowing to Qin Sang. "Mister, do not worry. These lights are only for my protection and cannot harm you. I have been entrusted with a task and must relay something to you."

Its voice was clear, like that of a young girl.

Qin Sang's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can speak?"

Typically, only special demonic beasts were capable of human speech, and most demons couldn’t do so until they reached the Transformation Realm, where they could take human form. Such beasts were known as great demons of the Transformation Realm, whose power rivaled that of human Spiritual Infant cultivators. The white cat was clearly not one of them.