Gateway of Immortality
Chapter 484: Demonic Core

Chapter 484: Demonic Core

Yu Hua and the Yellow Armored Man’s consciousnesses had only recently been erased by Qin Sang.

Having gained some experience while refining the handsome youth, and now facing two Fake Core cultivators before him, Qin Sang was confident he could at least succeed with one of them.

But that would not be enough. Only if both succeeded could his plan proceed as intended.

He placed their bodies on the ground without rushing into action. Instead, he first sat cross-legged, sinking into deep meditation to stabilize his cultivation and temper his state of mind.

This meditation lasted two full days.

Two days later...

Qin Sang slowly opened his eyes, his gaze deep and still like a dark, ancient pool, utterly calm, without the slightest trace of impatience or hesitation.

His tranquil gaze swept past Yu Hua and landed on the Yellow Armored Man.

One by one, the five-elemental yin materials flew out from the Corpse Puppet Pouch and lined up neatly before Qin Sang. The Yellow Armored Man had cultivated a metal-elemental art, so Qin Sang reached out and grabbed a piece of Blue Nether Gold.

He had prepared plenty of five-elemental yin materials. With four large chunks of Blue Nether Gold, refining four living corpses would pose no issue.

The Blue Nether Gold melted in Qin Sang’s palm into a small glob of blue liquid. It looked thick and viscous, tightly condensed even without the support of spiritual power, refusing to flow.

After carefully purging the few impurities from the liquid, Qin Sang injected the pure essence into the Yellow Armored Man’s dantian, followed by Yin Spirit Water — of which he still had several bottles left.

...

While inserting the five-element yin materials into the Yellow Armored Man’s body, Qin Sang continuously changed hand seals, carefully executing the corpse refinement barriers step by step. He focused all his attention, not daring to relax for even a moment.

Before long, the foundation-laying of the five-elemental yin materials into the body was smoothly completed.

Outwardly, the Yellow Armored Man showed no visible changes.

Qin Sang exhaled slowly but grew even more cautious. Now came the true challenge: drawing Earth Malevolent Qi into the body to refine the Yellow Armored Man into a true living corpse!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Earth Malevolent Qi surged in the depths of the abyss. Qin Sang drew out a single wisp.

It was a very small wisp, yet still wildly violent. Qin Sang exerted his full strength to suppress it. Only after the malevolent qi quieted somewhat did he move on, but he still did not rush to inject it into the Yellow Armored Man’s body.

Instead, he spread out his spiritual consciousness, inspecting the Yellow Armored Man from head to toe countless times, especially focusing on the dantian and Qihai region. Only when he was familiar with every minute detail did he finally act.

Whoosh!

The first attempt failed.

Yet Qin Sang was already practiced. Without waiting for the spiritual power within the Yellow Armored Man’s Qihai to erupt, he swiftly withdrew the strand of Earth Malevolent Qi and condensed a fresh wisp to try again.

Failure after failure.

Finally, a wisp of Earth Malevolent Qi successfully fused into the Yellow Armored Man’s Qihai.

Qin Sang quickly completed a hand seal. Scanning with his spiritual consciousness, he saw within the spiritual power at the Yellow Armored Man’s dantian a trace of black qi. It was starkly out of place, yet coexisted peacefully.

This was just the beginning. It was far too early to feel pleased.

Back at Zhitian Peak, while refining the handsome youth, it was precisely during the infusion of the second wisp that a sudden change had caused everything to fail.

However, Qin Sang was no longer the same inexperienced novice. This time, he had prepared accordingly, so he remained steady and continued.

Second wisp.

Third wisp.

...

As time passed, the Earth Malevolent Qi within the Yellow Armored Man’s body grew denser.

Each attempt had at least a ninety percent chance of failure, yet Qin Sang did not show a shred of discouragement. Failure meant little; the true danger lay in destabilizing the dantian.

Qin Sang’s mind remained taut, never seeking shortcuts. Indeed, at the beginning, a few crises did arise, but he had managed to resolve them in time, forging ahead despite the stumbles.

In the pitch-dark cavern, apart from the roaring flows of Earth Malevolent Qi, there were no other sounds.

Qin Sang tirelessly infused strand after strand of Earth Malevolent Qi into the Yellow Armored Man’s body, while at the same time weaving one complex hand seal after another, and each seal grew faster than the last.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Finally, after another wisp was drawn in, the Yellow Armored Man’s Qihai stirred violently and then, astonishingly, gradually calmed down. Qin Sang's eyes widened. His usually steady gaze revealed a rare flicker of emotion.

His movements suddenly accelerated, becoming a blur. One after another, intricate hand seals flew out in dazzling succession, imprinting onto the Yellow Armored Man’s body.

"Merge!" Qin Sang shouted lowly.

His palm, seemingly gentle yet packed with hidden force, lightly pressed against the Yellow Armored Man’s dantian.

Boom!

A terrible storm erupted within the Yellow Armored Man’s Qihai, a silent yet earth-shaking upheaval!

His body began to tremble, the tremors growing increasingly violent. Even the sturdy barrier constructed by the five-elemental yin materials began to sway, and the barriers placed on his body showed faint signs of collapse.

Qin Sang’s expression grew solemn. He frantically poured spiritual power into the Yellow Armored Man through his palm.

The storm intensified further.

A sharp counterforce surged from the Yellow Armored Man’s dantian, starting to backlash against Qin Sang. Yet Qin Sang never once withdrew his hand, gritting his teeth and enduring the assault.

Finally, when the storm reached its peak, it abruptly ceased.

The Yellow Armored Man stood quietly at a distance, utterly motionless.

Qin Sang was slightly taken aback. He quickly urged his spiritual consciousness into the Yellow Armored Man’s Qihai and found it calm and stable. The Earth Malevolent Qi and the Yellow Armored Man’s spiritual power coexisted in peace.

As Qin Sang willed it, streams of Earth Malevolent Qi and spiritual power separately branched out, merged together, and flowed smoothly through the meridians.

Success!

Qin Sang let out a long breath, finally relaxing the tension that had gripped his mind. Only then did he realize the emptiness within his own body—refining this living corpse had consumed far more than he had expected.

Having succeeded once, Qin Sang’s confidence soared.

After briefly testing the Yellow Armored Man’s strength, he stored him back into the Corpse Puppet Pouch. Then he circulated his cultivation art, restoring himself to peak condition, and summoned Yu Hua’s body before him.

...

Two days later...

A figure flashed out from the entrance of the Sunken Cave. After glancing around to confirm his bearings, he immediately sped southward, entering the Yuncang Marshlands.

Even with Qin Sang’s steadfast nature, he could not help the excitement flickering across his face.

Both the Yellow Armored Man and Yu Hua had been successfully refined! The process had been riddled with danger, but each crisis had been resolved in time. In the end, both had been completed without failure!

Dark clouds loomed over the Yuncang Marshlands and misty rain fell in a steady drizzle, yet Qin Sang felt no oppression at all.

Riding atop a cloud, he rushed forward at full speed, heading eagerly toward the Chaotic Island Waters.

He did not stop along the way. After a long and arduous journey, he finally saw, at the edge of his vision, the misty sea formed by the Thousand-Illusion Array of True Waters.

Lowering his cloud, Qin Sang quietly slipped into the grand array. With a flick of his sleeve, he transformed into a masked man in black robes and made his way straight for Misty Island.

The extremely corpulent Manager Bao, upon seeing Qin Sang, instantly beamed with joy, his entire face squeezing into folds like a blooming flower. Personally, he led Qin Sang toward a quiet chamber, and along the way, he could not help but lower his voice and whisper eagerly, "Daoist, you have really kept me in suspense! These days, I couldn't even eat or drink properly, nor could I settle down to meditate. I actually lost a few pounds, just waiting for your news... So, what’s the result?"

Manager Bao stared at Qin Sang with wide, hopeful eyes, clearly terrified of hearing bad news.

This fellow’s obsession with living corpses truly run deep.

Qin Sang laughed lightly to himself and said coolly, "Manager Bao, is your demonic core prepared?"