Gateway of Immortality

Shen Jing, clutching her copper mirror artifact, nervously watched the mirror array.

Her fingers quickly tapped the surface of the mirror several times. The mirror then floated into the air and positioned itself above the array, sealing the only gap.

The trembling copper mirrors immediately stabilized and emitted even more black mist, which gathered into a dark, iron-like curtain.

Sweat beaded on Shen Jing’s forehead as she exhaled deeply, murmuring, "Junior Brother Qin, it’s not easy to set a trap for you."

A look of hesitation appeared on Shen Jing's face. Finally, she tapped her Mustard Seed Pouch, from which flew a crystal-like arrow. Infusing spiritual power into the arrow, it shone with a cold light as it shot into the sky.

Mid-air, it exploded with a loud bang, shaking the mountains and spreading ice shards like fireworks.

Moments later, a gray whirlwind roared towards them from the direction they had come. It soon arrived before Shen Jing, where the wind abruptly ceased, and the swirling mist was drawn into the mouth of a young man.

The man carried a treasured sword and had a small azure snake coiled around his left arm.

The azure snake hissed and flicked its tongue, then leapt from his arm to Shen Jing's hand, rubbing its small head affectionately against her palm.

The man glared at Shen Jing, his expression clearly displeased. "Junior Sister Shen, I told you before that I could refine the hundred-year-old Stone Milk in a few hours. Once I break through to the seventh stage, gathering our jade tokens won’t be a problem. Why did you have to wake me with the azure snake?"

Shen Jing turned her head away with a huff. "The Stone Milk can’t be lost if not refined immediately. In Senior Brother Yang’s mind, is my life less important than those few drops of Stone Milk?"

The man’s expression turned awkward. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over to Shen Jing, gently lifting her shoulders and softly reassuring her. "Junior Sister, I’m anxious too. With so many experts in the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground, if we can’t enter the Yuanzhao Sect, we don’t know how those old demons from the Kuiyin Sect will deal with us. Besides, this person has already been easily trapped by your Bewitching Mirror. What are you still afraid of?"

Qin Sang, trapped within the mirror array, heard their conversation clearly. The sound of the man’s voice and Shen Jing’s address shocked him profoundly.

The newcomer was also a Kuiyin Sect disciple—Senior Brother Yang Yuanzang, whom he had encountered at the sect leader’s cave dwelling while obtaining the Chi Dragon Sword.

It was a coincidence that all three had ended up in the same area, and these two had evidently been colluding!

Qin Sang’s expression shifted unpredictably as he stared at the barrier of black mist around him. He was beginning to understand how he had fallen into this trap.

During his fight with the straw-hatted swordsman, the golden rings were definitely not produced by the Bewitching Mirror. Shen Jing must have another defensive artifact to conceal the true function of the Bewitching Mirror, deceiving even him.

The trap was not without cause; the woman’s acting was too superb. She had disguised the real power of the Bewitching Mirror, pretending to be weak to lower his guard.

It was likely that she had been plotting against him since he first appeared.

Qin Sang sighed inwardly, his brow furrowed in worry. Facing two fellow disciples with top-grade artifacts, how could he escape?

The mist seemed only to trap him. Qin Sang felt as if he were confined within a hollow iron ball. The mist around him was chilling, but other than that, there was no significant effect.

He swung his hand, releasing a blast of cold air that turned into ice shards, which were deflected by the mist barrier.

At the same time, the mirror array outside quivered.

Shen Jing’s eyes widened as she pointed at the mirror array and exclaimed, "Easily? Do you know who this person is?"

Yang Yuanzang looked stunned. "Could it be…"

Shen Jing nodded. "Yes, it’s our fellow disciple, Qin Sang!"

"The one who fainted out of fear in the sect leader's cave dwelling?"

Yang Yuanzang chuckled, clearly remembering Qin Sang vividly. "I recall Senior Uncle Yue mentioning that he has five-elemental spiritual roots. It seems he stumbled upon some incredible luck and consumed a rare fruit, barely stepping onto the path of immortality. A coward like him isn’t worth worrying about..."

Shen Jing snorted. "Senior Brother Yang, if you keep underestimating people like this, you might suffer a serious setback in the future! You have no idea how difficult Junior Brother Qin is to deal with. I used every method I could, but I still couldn’t gain even a sliver of his trust. I didn’t even get the chance to leave a secret mark on him. I tried tempting him with jade tokens and spiritual medicines to lure him into the mountain crocodile's lair where you were, but he wasn’t moved at all. And he never once revealed the full extent of the abilities of his winged artifact. I had to rack my brain just to find an opportunity to set up the Bewitching Mirror; otherwise—"

Before she could finish, Yang Yuanzang’s face had already darkened like the bottom of a pot, and he barked angrily, "What means did you use to win his trust? Could it be that you—"

"What do you take me for?!"

Shen Jing looked utterly aggrieved, on the verge of tears. "Ever since I committed myself to you, I've been loyal and devoted! After being coerced by Junior Brother Qin, I had no choice but to put on an act while secretly signaling the azure snake to call for your help. I never forgot to seek an escape for even a moment, and yet you still doubt me!"

"I only care about you, that's why..."

Seeing Shen Jing’s tearful expression, Yang Yuanzang's fiery temper quickly dissipated. He hurriedly apologized, but when it didn’t seem to help, he immediately shouted, "Junior Sister Shen, open the mirror array! That wretch Qin dared to threaten you; I’ll cut him down with the Chi Dragon Sword and avenge you right now!"

"The one I hate the most is you!"

Shen Jing cast a seductive yet annoyed glance at Yang Yuanzang. "Why are you in such a hurry? I suspect Junior Brother Qin's winged artifact likely has an escape ability, and the artifact refined by the sect might be too fast for your Empty Wind to catch. Let him stay in the array for a while longer. The mist from the Bewitching Mirror has a disorienting effect. Once he’s confused and disoriented, it won’t be too late to strike. He’s carrying at least three jade tokens. You absolutely can’t afford to let this opportunity slip!"

Yang Yuanzang's eyes gleamed. "Three jade tokens? With ours combined, that makes seven!"

Shen Jing smiled and nodded.

…

Inside the mirror array, countless fragments of ice swirled into a pale blue wind, filling the confined space and crashing against the mist barrier, blocking any view outside.

Qin Sang, however, sat cross-legged, holding a spirit stone in each hand. His ebony sword flew out from his Qihai acupoint and hovered in front of him, its spiritual power growing ever brighter. The blade trembled incessantly, as if it could barely contain its thirst for blood.

Trapped in the mirror array, Qin Sang initially planned to escape the moment Shen Jing opened the array by using the Falling Cloud Wings. However, after hearing the conversation between Shen Jing and Yang Yuanzang, he immediately decided to deploy his ebony sword instead.

He hadn’t felt any disorienting effects from the mist inside the mirror array; his mind was as clear as ever.

To quickly accumulate enough spiritual power, Qin Sang took a risk by simultaneously absorbing the energy from two spirit stones. The immense spiritual power surged into his meridians, causing him excruciating pain, as though his meridians were being torn apart. His Qihai felt like it was on the verge of exploding.

Gritting his teeth to endure the agony, Qin Sang’s face twisted with pain, but his gaze remained icy calm.

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