Gateway of Immortality

Setting the Yan Luo Banner aside, Qin Sang turned his attention to the sheepskin and the multicolored pouch.

To his disappointment, the sheepskin was as unresponsive as before. Whether it was his spiritual consciousness or spiritual power, they passed through it without any effect. It was just an ordinary piece of skin.

Qin Sang had not held much hope for the multicolored pouch, but to his surprise, as soon as his spiritual consciousness entered the pouch, a strange space appeared before him with a boom.

Despite his multiple attempts to use spiritual power on the pouch with no response, his spiritual consciousness had opened it immediately!

The space was small and filled with miscellaneous items.

Qin Sang glanced around and noted that the most prominent items were two small piles of gold and silver, sparkling and dazzling.

Even just these metals would make Qin Sang a wealthy man if he were an ordinary person.

Strangely, beside the gold and silver were not jade or jewels but scattered stones. The stones, while differing in color—yellow, blue, and red—were otherwise quite similar and had no mixed hues. They were very peculiar.

Qin Sang counted a total of eight stones.

Aside from these, there were everyday necessities such as cooking pots, dishes, and spices. Nothing seemed to be related to immortal cultivation.

As he examined each item, Qin Sang's disappointment grew. In the end, only a few books and an empty wooden box remained in the corner.

One of the old books looked very ancient, with the title on the cover reading Song Clan Genealogy.

Can this be the genealogy of the sword-wielding youth?

Qin Sang mused that the youth's surname was Song. He wondered if the genealogy had the youth’s address or the location of the Song family ancestral hall, which he might visit to deliver a message if the opportunity arose.

Another book was titled Profound Yin Book, while the last one had no title on the cover.

These two books might be cultivation arts practiced by the Song youth. Qin Sang was intrigued and wanted to compare them with his own Netherworld Scripture, but found that he could not touch or open them.

He suddenly realized that the contents of the pouch could only be viewed but not touched!

Feeling as if he had been doused with cold water, Qin Sang was frustrated and tried repeatedly but couldn’t move or extract even the most ordinary clothes. After a long time, he despondently gave up.

Returning empty-handed from a treasure trove was a disheartening experience. Qin Sang comforted himself that the items in the pouch didn’t seem very valuable.

After examining everything, he noticed that it had become completely dark outside. Unknowingly, he had been busy until late into the night.

Even though he couldn’t retrieve anything from the pouch, the past two days had yielded substantial gains.

What he had initially thought to be mere decorative items turned out to be a storage pouch. Qin Sang no longer underestimated the sheepskin, carefully storing it along with the talisman paper and other items. As for the Purple Soul Bell, he tied it to his wrist with a string, making it more convenient to use.

After organizing everything, Qin Sang sat down to meditate and cultivate. Perhaps due to his uplifting mood, he soon found that the bottleneck that had troubled him for a month had loosened!

Qin Sang was overjoyed and dared not slack off. He devoted himself fully to his cultivation, and finally broke through to the third stage of the Netherworld Scripture

!

It has been a challenging journey!

Qin Sang reflected on how it had taken him two years of uninterrupted cultivation to reach the third stage. The later stages of the Netherworld Scripture would undoubtedly be even more difficult. He wondered how many more years it would take to break through to the sixth stage.

What would the realms beyond the sixth stage be like?

Without further cultivation methods, how should I continue my path?

Calming his restless aura, Qin Sang exhaled deeply and opened his eyes to find that the sun had already risen.

After breaking through to the third stage of the Netherworld Scripture, his spiritual power had increased several fold, making the use of the Purple Soul Bell less taxing. He was wide awake and could not put the Purple Soul Bell down, feeling even more attached to it than to the Yan Luo Banner.

After all, it was the first artifact he could use directly.

Bang! Bang!

The outer gate was suddenly knocked upon. Qin Sang frowned and asked, "Who is it?"

Zheng Kun's voice came from outside. "Leader, General Zhou has sent someone to deliver a message. The commandery lady is arriving and is on her way to the county office."

The commandery lady?

Qin Sang noted how quickly they arrived and quickly tidied up, hiding the Purple Soul Bell in his sleeve. He hurried to the county office.

As he approached the county office, he heard the rapid clip-clop of hooves on the street. The Dongyang Lady led the way on horseback, followed by Zhou Mingguang and Bai Jianglan, along with a few attendants, all galloping swiftly.

Since their first meeting, Qin Sang had never seen the Dongyang Lady dressed as a woman, and this time was no exception.

The sky was a dim cyan.

On the long stone street, the autumn wind blew, scattering yellow leaves.

The Dongyang Lady wore light armor and a cherry-colored helmet, with a treasured sword hanging at the waist and a black-red cloak billowing high with each gallop.

Upon spotting Qin Sang, the Dongyang Lady's eyes locked onto him with a glint of cold light, as if a storm was about to break.

Bai Jianglan subtly signaled to Qin Sang, indicating that he should remain calm.

As the horse was about to reach Qin Sang, its speed did not slacken. At the last moment, the Dongyang Lady pulled hard on the reins, causing the horse to rear up with a loud neigh.

The Dongyang Lady dismounted and, with fierce eyes and gritted teeth, demanded, "Forgery of the royal seal, false transmission of imperial decrees, unauthorized troop movements and causing chaos in the sacred land! Leader Qin, are you stupid?"

Facing the Dongyang Lady's intense gaze, Qin Sang remained composed. He extended his hand and said, "Dongyang Lady, please calm down. Enter the county office first, and I will show you something."

The Dongyang Lady snorted coldly, flicked her whip forcefully, and strode into the county office.

Qin Sang stepped aside to lead the way, directly into the county office's main hall.

The gold and silver treasures had already been sorted and neatly arranged in boxes. The Dongyang Lady stood at the entrance, glanced around, and with an impatient tone asked, "What is this?"

Qin Sang approached one of the boxes, opened it to reveal a neatly arranged stack of silver ingots, and then opened another box.

He took the books handed to him by Water Monkey and said, "Lady, these are the items taken from one of Xuanji Temple's treasure houses. Just the silver alone amounts to a hundred thousand taels, and there are countless pieces of jewelry and jade. The white kiln porcelain and silk fabrics are numerous as well. Over a thousand people worked for a whole day and night to move everything."

This was after Zhou Mingguang had taken his share. The wealth of Xuanji Temple had astonished everyone.

The Dongyang Lady frowned slightly and remained silent for a while, lost in thought.

Qin Sang, feeling curious, waited until the Dongyang Lady fixed her intense gaze on him and said, "There are a thousand soldiers still stationed in Jiangzhou City. I will give them all to you. How confident are you?"