Gateway of Immortality
Chapter 445: The Le Sisters

Chapter 445: The Le Sisters

What excited Qin Sang the most was the battles against human cultivators, which allowed him to comprehend the killing symbol at a pace far surpassing his past experiences.

Especially during those large-scale battles involving thousands of participants, he found himself in the midst of terrifying battlefields, surrounded by relentless slaughter, constantly teetering on the edge of death...

His combat experience and understanding of the Dao of Slaughter advanced at an astonishing rate.

This was one of the reasons why Qin Sang spared no expense in cultivating. The killing symbol was no longer a shackle restraining him.

"It could be considered a blessing in disguise." Qin Sang mused with self-mockery.

...

Inside the cave dwelling, there was only a single meditation mat. Qin Sang sat cross-legged upon it, and once his spiritual energy was fully restored, he opened his eyes and retrieved his Mustard Seed Pouch and Corpse Puppet Pouch.

From the Mustard Seed Pouch, various spiritual materials, artifacts, and other items flew out.

Among them, artifacts were the most numerous. Most were damaged, with only a few remaining intact, though their quality was still decent.

Qin Sang set up a Stone Fire, selecting the artifacts that were easier to repair—fully restoring them would prevent merchants from drastically lowering their prices.

Those that were too severely damaged, he discarded, as they would take too much time to mend.

After finishing the restoration of the artifacts, Qin Sang shifted his gaze toward the three corpses on the ground.

Since he had ventured outside, naturally, he hadn't fought just one battle.

During this recent patrol assignment, Qin Sang had encountered several skirmishes. However, he had only managed to kill three Tianxing Alliance cultivators—thanks mainly to the power of his ebony sword.

At the beginning, both sides suffered heavy casualties. But after countless battles, the cultivators on both sides had become extremely vigilant, their combat experience refined, their battle formations tight. It was becoming increasingly difficult to gain an advantage.

Capturing enemies alive was even more impossible.

Initially, Qin Sang had often acted alone, but now he no longer dared to.

Not everyone was as wealthy as he was, with an ample supply of spirit stones. Many weaker cultivators were struggling, forced to cultivate with meager spiritual qi, living in constant uncertainty.

They endured, hoping for the day when the war would finally end.

What Qin Sang relied on was merely the wealth he had accumulated over the past two years.

Some time ago, he had taken the opportunity to return to his sect briefly. His Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottles still contained an abundant amount of Earth Malevolent Qi.

Now, Qin Sang refined all three corpses into malevolent corpses, then used his inner vision to examine his cultivation progress. Once satisfied, he stood up, retrieved the spirit stones that were only partially consumed, and stepped out of the cave dwelling.

Heavy rain poured down.

The wind was bone-chilling.

The visibility was dim, but numerous streaks of evasion light could be seen darting across the sky, crisscrossing rapidly.

Qin Sang pulled his robe tighter around himself, activated his spiritual power to shield his body, then soared into the sky, riding his evasion light toward the northeast.

On this patrol mission, he had an errand to run, so he returned earlier than scheduled. The rest of his squad, led by Mu Yifeng, would continue their tasks before returning.

He flew across more than a hundred islands in succession.

A contemplative look remained on Qin Sang's face the entire time. Then, suddenly sensing something, he lifted his head and gazed forward.

Directly ahead, three streaks of evasion light were flying toward him.

The heavy rain obscured his vision, and Qin Sang didn't use spiritual consciousness to probe their identities. Within the Thousand-Illusion Array of True Waters, even the most reckless of demonic cultivators dared not act wantonly.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

As their evasion lights crossed paths, an exclamation of surprise suddenly rang out.

All four figures halted in unison.

Qin Sang turned around, looking at the three people opposite him—two men and one woman.

The two men appeared to be of similar age, dressed in matching azure robes. One had a refined appearance, wielding a folding fan, while the other had a cold and stern expression, a sword strapped to his waist.

The woman was a middle-aged beauty in her forties—not stunningly gorgeous, but exuding a unique charm.

She stood close to the sword-bearing man, their relationship seemingly intimate.

The sword-bearing man noticed the woman's astonished expression as she stared at Qin Sang, finding it odd. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "Rou'er[1], do you recognize this Daoist?"

The woman let out a soft "Mhmm" and hesitated briefly before she was about to speak.

Upon hearing how the sword-bearing man addressed her, Qin Sang took the initiative to ask, "Are you Le Rou?"

This woman was, surprisingly, the younger sister of the Le Sisters, who had once sold him spiritual spring objects—Le Rou.

Thinking back, that had been sixty or seventy years ago.

He had helped the Le Sisters unlock the cave dwelling’s barrier, and after parting ways, they had never met again.

Back then, both sisters were only at the Qi Refining Realm, but now, Le Rou had already reached the middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm.

Time had barely left its mark on Le Rou's face. Qin Sang had found her familiar at first glance but couldn't determine whether she was the elder or younger sister.

"Senior Qin, it really is you! I am Le Rou!"

Not only had Le Rou's cultivation become profound, but her temperament was also much steadier than Qin Sang remembered. Yet, there was still a trace of her former self in her demeanor. Her face was filled with unconcealed joy, unable to suppress her excitement.

"Ms. Le is already at the middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm, so let’s address each other as fellow Daoists."

Qin Sang shook his head with a smile. "Back then, I took your tree roots and promised to open the cave dwelling for you. That was only fair—there's no need to thank me. And these two Daoists are?"

"This is my husband, surnamed Luo."

Le Rou gestured toward the sword-bearing man and raised her head to ask, "I’ve told you about Senior Qin many times, do you remember?"

The sword-bearing man, whose cultivation was on par with Le Rou’s, nodded repeatedly and cupped his hands toward Qin Sang in gratitude.

"This is Daoist Du, a friend of ours," Le Rou added.

After exchanging pleasantries, Qin Sang asked, "Is your elder sister, Le Xing, also here?"

Le Rou still addressed Qin Sang as "Senior." "My sister never managed to break through to the Foundation Building Realm, so she settled down and started a family. I arranged for them to live on an island at the edge of the Yuncang Marshlands. She now has a big family, living peacefully and prosperously... Back then, Senior Qin helped us open the cave dwelling, making everything I have today possible. I’ve always wanted to thank you, but you vanished without a trace. Even Granny Jing couldn’t find you..."

"Oh," Qin Sang responded, briefly summarizing his journey to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. "I never expected to be gone for decades. When I later returned to my cave dwelling, I saw the Sound Transmission Talisman Granny Jing had left behind. But by the time I went to find her and apologize, she was already gone."

Le Rou nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. "After we helped Granny Jing with a task she requested, she told us she would be leaving temporarily. We never thought it would be for this long. I was recently summoned for duty, and when I passed by Wenyue Market, I went to check on Granny Jing’s shop—it was still closed. I have no idea where she is..."

A worried expression appeared on Le Rou’s face, showing that she held deep affection for Granny Jing.

Qin Sang asked curiously, "So Daoist Le was also invited by Granny Jing? When I returned, I saw the Sound Transmission Talisman, but unfortunately, I was too late. Do you know what she needed help with? Was she able to accomplish it?"

Le Rou looked apologetic as she replied, "Please forgive me, Senior. I already swore an oath to Granny Jing not to reveal anything."

Qin Sang nodded in understanding. He wasn’t overly curious—it had just been a casual question.

After some brief conversation, Qin Sang gave them the location of his cave dwelling but declined Le Rou and her husband's invitation for a banquet before swiftly departing.

The cultivator surnamed Du kept watching until Qin Sang’s evasion light disappeared into the distance, his expression somewhat peculiar.

Le Rou looked at him in surprise. "Daoist Du, what are you looking at?"

The cultivator surnamed Du snapped out of his daze, his face filled with admiration. "I never expected you to know the legendary Shadowless Sword of Shaohua Mountain! He’s a fearsome figure who once single-handedly slew a Fake Core Realm expert!"

1. This is Le Rou's nickname. In Chinese culture, people often add words before or after one's name to show endearment. ☜