Gateway of Immortality

Chapter 187: Sword Mark

Boom!

The water barrier surged with intense blue light, churning out massive waves that splashed violently, each wave imbued with a fierce power of water essence, crashing down on the intruders with unstoppable momentum.

It was the third day since they had entered the illusion array.

The barrier over the dark iron gate in the Heavenly Corpse Sect’s branch was likely stronger than this water barrier. However, due to the passage of time and loss of energy, that one had weakened enough to make it easier to breach. This water barrier, on the other hand, was far from simple.

On the first day, the Divine Fire Shield had nearly been destroyed by the barrier’s counterattack, forcing Qin Sang to retract it.

In the face of the massive wave, Qin Sang and the two sisters seemed so small, as if they would be crushed in the next instant.

Qin Sang sat cross-legged on the ground, then suddenly raised his hand, drawing the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword into his palm. Activating the Heavenly Star Tear, he expanded its protective light barrier to shield both himself and the Le Sisters.

At the same time, a flash of light flickered between Qin Sang’s brows as the ebony sword released a torrent of sword qi, stretching several dozen zhang long, which cleaved fiercely into the oncoming wave.

Splash!

Though the wave wasn’t entirely split open by the sword qi, the strike greatly diminished its force, allowing the Heavenly Star Tear to withstand it completely.

The Le Sisters clung tightly together behind Qin Sang. Although they had witnessed such scenes before, they couldn’t help but display expressions of terror.

Observing Qin Sang’s progress in breaking the barrier, they realized that Sage Cangli’s cave dwelling barrier was far more formidable than expected. Even if they managed to reach the Foundation Building Realm, they had no confidence in breaking through it themselves, which made them even more grateful to have invited Qin Sang.

From their observations, Qin Sang had failed countless times, but each attempt had shown new adaptations. Now, he looked even more composed and assured.

Indeed, they weren’t wrong. After three days of probing, Qin Sang had gained a thorough understanding of the barrier. If he wanted to break it now, he had a fair chance of succeeding. However, he was using this rare opportunity to comprehend his senior sister Qingting’s insights on arrays and barriers, so he hadn’t yet made a full effort.

Another day passed. The Le Sisters grew anxious, but Qin Sang remained calm. After dispelling yet another counterattack from the barrier, his eyes flashed with determination; he had gained all he could from the barrier and was ready to break it.@@@@

Ignoring the residual effects of the barrier, Qin Sang turned toward the tightly shut stone door and said, "There may be more barriers and traps inside the cave dwelling, so proceed with caution."

The sisters, now entirely convinced of Qin Sang’s abilities, replied in unison, "We’ll follow your lead."

Qin Sang nodded, then stood still as he transformed his spiritual power into a hand that pushed against the stone door. To his surprise, the door opened smoothly with minimal resistance, revealing a rough passageway behind it that appeared unthreatening.

The three moved forward cautiously and discovered that beyond the external water barrier, there were no further defenses. At the end of the passageway was a stone chamber about the size of two rooms, furnished sparsely in a style similar to Qin Sang’s own cave dwelling.

This was indeed Sage Cangli’s cave dwelling. Although it lacked a spiritual eye, the spiritual power within was remarkably dense, enough to satisfy any Foundation Building cultivator.

"It’s wonderful! We finally have our own cave dwelling!" Le Rou hugged her elder sister Le Xing, bursting into tears of joy.

Qin Sang, however, remained unmoved by the scene. Standing still, his gaze fixed on the stone bed at the back of the cave dwelling, his eyes reflecting surprise and curiosity.

Le Xing, calmer than her younger sister, comforted the excited Le Rou. Noticing Qin Sang’s focused expression, she followed his gaze but saw nothing unusual about the stone bed. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "Senior Qin, what are you looking at?"

Before she could finish speaking, Le Rou suddenly let out a pained scream and collapsed to the ground.

Le Xing’s face paled as she hurriedly held her sister. Le Rou’s face was twisted in agony, her breathing erratic, and her unfocused eyes filled with terror. Her entire body trembled violently, as if she’d seen something horrific.

Snapping out of his trance at Le Rou’s scream, Qin Sang rushed over, pressing a finger firmly on her Baihui acupoint to make her fall unconscious. He then took out a spiritual pill and fed it to her.

Desperately worried, Le Xing asked repeatedly, "Senior Qin, what happened? What’s in the cave dwelling? Why did my sister suddenly become like this?"

"Do not use your spiritual consciousness to touch the sword mark on the stone bed!" Qin Sang said sternly.

"Sword mark?"

Le Xing paused, turning to look at the crack in the middle of the stone bed, which she had assumed was just a fissure. It's actually a sword mark?