Gateway of Immortality

Qin Sang carefully examined the wounds on the zombie and thought to himself that it was indeed the case. This zombie was not a natural formation but had clearly been meticulously crafted by a cultivator through corpse refinement.

After inspecting the zombie, Qin Sang moved to the stone door and shifted his gaze to the ground.

There lay a complete skeleton, prostrated on the floor. From the posture, it seemed the person had suddenly died while running, collapsing to the ground. The bones were decayed and covered in dust.

Scanning with his spiritual consciousness, Qin Sang found no wounds on the skeleton. It appeared that the person had either been shattered internally or had their primordial spirit obliterated.

He intended to look for any belongings that might prove the identity of the deceased, but there was nothing on the skeleton. However, next to it was a cracked black coffin, the lid marked by a large tear, as if it had been ripped open by claws.

This coffin was likely an artifact for corpse refinement. It was unclear whether its spiritual essence had dissipated or if it had been destroyed by external forces; all that remained were a few decayed wooden pieces, and the corpse sealed inside had broken free and escaped.

In that case, the earlier zombie must have been a product of this person’s corpse refinement. It was highly probable that this individual was a demonic cultivator skilled in the art of corpse refinement.

Qin Sang knew little about demonic cultivators, mostly through hearsay. He had never heard of any disciple from a demonic sect in the Small Cold Domain excelling in corpse refinement and using such a coffin for sealing it.

"I wonder if this person was an intruder or the master of this cave?"

Qin Sang pondered, frowning slightly as he gazed into the deep stone passage. Judging by the corpse, it was evident that the person’s strength in life had not been particularly high; they could not have owned such a grand cave dwelling.

With one zombie, there would likely be more. As Qin Sang ventured deeper, he swiftly dispatched several more zombies, some stronger and some weaker. He also encountered a few more skeletons, some intact like the first, while others had shattered bones, indicating they had met a violent end.

Was this the lair of a demonic sect? Since they were proficient in corpse refinement, why not choose a place with dense yin qi rather than this desolate cavern filled with Earth Malevolent Qi?

Qin Sang mused silently, feeling the relentless pursuit of the Earth Malevolent Qi behind him. He dared not linger, hastening further into the depths of the cave while remaining vigilant. With zombies around, there was the potential for malevolent corpses to be present.

If this truly was the lair of a demonic sect, Qi Refining Realm disciples would only be capable of creating zombies, while Foundation Building disciples could craft malevolent corpses.

Encountering a powerful malevolent corpse would truly place him in a perilous situation.

Even more terrifying was the prospect of a flying yaksha. If such a creature lurked in the depths of the cave, none of them would escape alive.

After traversing several stone passages, Qin Sang had yet to encounter anyone or see any traces or markings left behind. Before long, he reached the end of another passage and was about to enter when he suddenly halted.

Before him stood a stone hall, the first of its kind he had encountered on his journey. Several stone passages connected to the entrance, and behind the hall were two imposing black iron doors.

The heavy doors were tightly shut, engraved with a depiction of an ancient corpse, something Qin Sang had never seen before.

In the image, the ancient corpse was extraordinarily tall, possessing the ability to fly, soaring through clouds while a malevolent aura billowed behind it. However, it was distinctly different from the flying yaksha. The ancient corpse had a gaunt face with fangs several inches long, and its pitch-black eyes seemed to possess intelligence, radiating fierce malevolence and overwhelming demonic flames.

Upon meeting the gaze of those eerie eyes, Qin Sang felt a tremor in his spirit and quickly averted his gaze, secretly astonished at the origins of the ancient corpse in the image, as even the mere portrayal exuded such a formidable aura.

The interior of the stone hall was in disarray, with shattered stone chairs, tables, coffin boards, and bones scattered everywhere. What drew the most attention, however, were the dozens of refined corpses wandering within the hall.

As he scanned over these refined corpses, Qin Sang's gaze suddenly sharpened, his expression growing serious as he focused on the one in the center.

This particular corpse, like the others, bore a grotesque appearance with a ghastly face and fangs, yet it was much larger and more robust. Black qi constantly swirled around it, indicating that its physical form was significantly stronger than that of the other corpse refinements.

"Malevolent corpse?"

Qin Sang felt a sinking sensation in his heart. His suspicions were confirmed; there truly was a malevolent corpse lurking in the depths of the cave. It was highly likely that the skeletons among the bones belonged to Foundation Building cultivators, but they had all been crushed beyond recognition, making it difficult to discern.

"No, wait!"

Qin Sang quickly realized that this malevolent corpse was different from those described in legends. The black qi enveloping it was not merely yin qi but Earth Malevolent Qi!

Qin Sang gazed at the malevolent corpse in astonishment. Using Earth Malevolent Qi for corpse refinement was something he had never heard of before. He wondered how it differed from ordinary malevolent corpses.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Sang revealed himself at the entrance of the stone hall.

The heavy iron doors were tightly closed, clearly not as easy to open as the previous stone door. To open the iron doors would inevitably disturb the corpses inside, so he had to clear the stone hall first.

The moment Qin Sang appeared, all the corpses within the hall were startled. Dozens of ghastly-faced corpses suddenly turned, their black eyes fixating on Qin Sang, creating an exceptionally eerie scene.

"Go!"

Qin Sang had long since summoned the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword. Without waiting for the corpses to act, the sword shot forth with incredible speed.

Dealing with these corpses didn’t require all his strength. The five spiritual swords swiftly separated, each channeling five-elemental spiritual power, transforming into five beams of sword light that nimbly darted through the swarm of corpse refinements. One by one, heads fell to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, all the zombies were beheaded, collapsing to the floor, leaving only the malevolent corpse unharmed.

Boom!

The malevolent corpse suddenly swung its ghostly claw, striking the spiritual sword aimed at it with lightning speed.

The spiritual sword quivered slightly and halted in its tracks.

The clash between the sword light and the ghostly claw resulted in a standoff, each equally matched. The malevolent qi from the claw was repelled by the sword light, dissipating considerably. The tip of the sword pierced the claw, leaving only a shallow wound that failed to penetrate.

Moreover, as the spiritual sword withdrew, new malevolent qi surged forth from the claw’s wound, closing at a visible rate, completely restoring it in an instant.

It can actually recover using Earth Malevolent Qi! How much can it heal before reaching its limit?

Qin Sang was about to continue wielding two spiritual swords to test the capabilities of the malevolent corpse when suddenly his eyes flashed. He activated the Heavenly Star Tear, forming a protective shield around himself.

Then, without holding back, the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword surged into action, converging five streams of spiritual power into an overwhelming beam of sword light that violently thrust toward the malevolent corpse.

The malevolent corpse reacted swiftly, crossing its ghostly claws to block the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword. Countless streams of Earth Malevolent Qi surged from its body, rushing toward the sword, as it emitted a chilling, eerie shriek from its throat.

At the same time, Qin Sang drew the Blood Saber, his figure flashing as he appeared behind the malevolent corpse. With a knife strike as swift as lightning, he aimed a fierce slash at the malevolent corpse’s back. He unleashed all his power, immediately leaving a wound on its back.

As expected, Earth Malevolent Qi surged into the wound almost instantly.

Qin Sang's expression remained unchanged as he directed the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword, relentlessly attacking the malevolent corpse to keep it occupied.

He continued to strike the same spot on the wound with one knife after another. Before long, he noticed that the Earth Malevolent Qi was becoming increasingly thin, and the rate at which the wound healed had drastically slowed.