Gateway of Immortality

Qin Sang arrived discreetly, approaching the protective array of the valley's before retracting his Falling Cloud Wings and revealing his form.

The disciples of Shaohua Mountain below were initially startled. However, upon seeing Qin Sang's waist token, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief and cheered, hurriedly opening the array to welcome him, all addressing him as "senior uncle."

Although the white rhinoceros demonic beast had not continued its attack on the spirit stone mine, it still loomed ominously. The disciples feared it might launch a surprise assault, so they did not dare lower the array, remaining tense and on edge, forcing all activities in the spirit stone mine to come to a halt, which became quite unbearable.

"I am Qin Sang, sent by the sect leader to exterminate demons. Where is the person in charge?"

As Qin Sang scanned the spirit stone mine, he noticed around twenty disciples. The two with the highest cultivation were only at the twelfth stage of Qi Refining Realm, one a middle-aged man and the other an older man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties.

Originally, the spirit stone mine had had disciples at the Foundation Building Realm stationed there, but now that the mine was nearly exhausted of resources, Shaohua Mountain no longer wasted its manpower. The disciples stationed there had little hope of breaking through to the Foundation Building Realm.

The older man hurried out and bowed before Qin Sang, respectfully saying, "Disciple Shen Youdao pays his respects to Senior Uncle Qin. I am responsible for overseeing the spirit stone mine."

Qin Sang nodded and instructed, "The rest of you continue to maintain the array. Shen Youdao, tell me about that white rhinoceros demonic beast."

Shen Youdao had limited knowledge about the white rhinoceros demon and, due to his strength, had not dared to confront it directly, remaining tucked away inside the formation.

When the white rhinoceros demon attacked the spirit stone mine, it revealed an aura characteristic of the early stage of Demonic Spirit Realm. Its horn could unleash water arrows that were not only swift but also powerful enough to nearly penetrate the protective array of the spirit stone mine. He wasn’t sure if this was its innate supernatural ability.

Aside from that, Shen Youdao could only describe the demon as having tough skin. Their artifacts barely left a scratch on it.

There was already a significant gap between the Qi Refining Realm and Foundation Building Realm, and some demonic beasts had particularly robust physiques. This was one of the advantages of demonic beasts, and it was normal for them to be unable to inflict damage.

"Do you know why it attacked the spirit stone mine?" Qin Sang casually inquired.

After demonic beasts broke through to the Demonic Spirit Realm, they would gradually awaken their intelligence but were still primarily driven by instinct. However, they developed an awareness of seeking good fortune and avoiding danger, especially after encountering peril. Their intelligence grew rapidly, allowing them to understand the importance of arduous cultivation and pursue the path of advancement.

Unless there was a significant temptation or a grudge, demonic beasts typically did not leave their cave dwellings.

Those that were truly vicious, bloodthirsty, and driven by gluttony were mostly low-level demons of the Ordinary Demon Realm.

Ordinary Demon Realm was also the most precarious period for demonic beasts, as their circumstances were dire on human cultivators' territory. Not every demonic beast was as fortunate as a white cat, able to be enlightened by the Imperial Elixir.

The spirit stone mine was on the verge of exhaustion, with only a few barely extractable branches remaining, and had nearly been abandoned by Shaohua Mountain. Why would it attract the white rhinoceros demonic beast, and why was it so persistent?

Could it be that there was some treasure within the spirit stone mine that the white rhinoceros demonic beast had sensed?

When Shen Youdao caught a glimpse of Qin Sang, he broke into a sweat and quickly said, "Reporting to Senior Uncle Qin, we suspect that the spiritual eye's aura from the spirit stone mine has leaked, drawing it in. Some time ago, we were mining below the spirit vein and accidentally caused a cave-in that nearly destroyed the accompanying spirit vein of the spirit stone mine, resulting in the aura leaking. Although this spirit vein is small, it contains a spiritual eye. Originally, a senior uncle was guarding the spirit mine and had established a cave dwelling here. If Senior Uncle Qin accompanies me, you can see for yourself."

The two walked to the entrance of the cave dwelling. After scanning with his spiritual consciousness, Qin Sang stepped inside and found it was indeed a spiritual eye. However, he could clearly sense that the spiritual power within the cave was thinner than that of a normal spiritual eye cave dwelling, with the ground covered in cracks, indicating it was quite new.

Qin Sang ventured deeper into the mining veins and silently nodded. Shen Youdao's observations were likely correct; if there were indeed treasures within the spirit stone mine, they would have already been plundered by that Foundation Building Realm senior brother.

The principles of wealth, companions, magic, and territory also applied to demonic beasts.

The spiritual eye cave dwelling held great allure for demonic beasts, so it was no surprise that the white rhinoceros demon was relentless in its pursuit.

Qin Sang then inquired about the position of the disciple when the incident occurred. By the time he finished speaking, dusk was approaching. He instructed Shen Youdao to oversee the array and wait for his signal, should the battle turn unfavorable, as a means of retreat.

Next, he activated his Falling Cloud Wings, rendering himself invisible, and quietly flew out of the spirit stone mine.

The Yuncang Marshlands spread out below with vast, azure waves; the water was deep and unfathomable, making it difficult to determine where the white rhinoceros demon was hiding.

Qin Sang flew to the location where the disciple had been attacked. After surveying the area, he quietly left and searched nearby for a while, eventually discovering a desolate island in the southeast.

The island was small and deserted. Qin Sang did not disturb a single blade of grass or tree on the island. He first set up a simple barrier to obscure the island from sight and block spiritual power fluctuations, then took out six Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions and secretly arranged an array on the island.

Once his preparations were complete, Qin Sang stopped concealing himself. Instead, he executed the Spirit Evasion Art, concealing his aura to the level of a Qi Refining Realm cultivator. He then summoned the Sky Shuttle and boldly flew toward that area.

As he soared overhead, nearing the spirit stone mine, the surface of the lake below remained eerily calm.

"Has the white rhinoceros demon given up on seizing the cave dwelling?"

Just as Qin Sang was pondering this, he suddenly heard a splash.

The lake erupted with water, and a fierce gust of wind cut through the air.

Qin Sang's expression tightened. His spiritual consciousness remained alert, and the moment the anomaly occurred, he detected the presence of an enemy. Without warning, a massive shadow of a rhinoceros appeared beneath the previously tranquil water's surface.

This demon was considerably larger than an ordinary white rhinoceros, lurking in the depths like a colossal beast. Its skin and horn gleamed like white jade, distinctly different from that of a typical white rhinoceros.

Whoosh!

A crystalline water arrow shot out from the lake's surface, striking like thunder, aimed directly at the flying Sky Shuttle.

Qin Sang was prepared. The Sky Shuttle quickly changed direction, narrowly avoiding the surprise attack.

Then came a series of piercing sounds.

The white rhinoceros demonic beast emerged from the water, gazing up at the evasion light in the sky with a fierce glare. Its horn sparkled with light, unleashing a barrage of water arrows in rapid succession, blocking all possible escape routes for the Sky Shuttle and attempting to pierce Qin Sang with relentless fire.

Seeing this, Qin Sang thought briefly and decisively stowed away the Sky Shuttle, summoning his ebony sword. He surged forth on the sword, bursting through the blockade and racing toward the desolate island, adopting a posture of escape.

Before the white rhinoceros demonic beast revealed itself, Qin Sang had not sensed anything amiss, not even a trace of demonic qi. This indicated that the beast was adept at evasion techniques. It would be wise to trap it within the array before slowly devising a plan to deal with it.