Gateway of Immortality

While Zhao Yan had his back turned, fully focused on collecting the mysterious orchid, Ruan Nanfeng discreetly cast a barrier and transmitted a voice message, "Don't let anything show on your faces. Everyone, are you really willing to let Zhao Yan manipulate us as he pleases?"

The group exchanged glances. The only woman among them, with the surname Cen, asked skeptically, "Junior Brother Ruan, what do you mean by that? With the Heart-Devouring Insects lurking in our primordial spirits, one thought and we're dead. What choice do we have but to follow orders?"

"Perhaps not much, but I'm not willing to just sit here and wait to die."

Ruan Nanfeng sneered. "That guy surnamed Yu claimed he safely escorted Junior Sister Wu and the others out of the Kuiyin Sect, but I doubt it. Instead of going through the trouble of sending them away, killing them and erasing the bodies would be a much easier way to cover things up. If we hadn't luckily broken through to the eighth stage, we would’ve been long dead by now. Senior Sister Cen, do you really want to gamble on a demon's conscience?"

Senior Sister Cen fell silent and turned to the quiet young man beside her, "Senior Brother Liu, do you feel the same?"

The young man surnamed Liu grunted softly and sighed. "I've also begun to doubt what happened to our other sect members. Who knows how many souls have perished in the Yin Malevolent Abyss? To the Kuiyin Sect, a few more or less of us wouldn’t matter. Once Zhao Yan takes the spiritual herb, he'll have to find a way to escape from Yuanzhao Sect. Do you really think he’d take us along as burdens and share his reward? As for the promises after success... we can all forget about them..."

"But..."

Senior Sister Cen still hesitated. "Unless we can kill Zhao Yan instantly, the moment he has time to think, he’ll awaken the Heart-Devouring Insects in our primordial spirits, and we’ll die just the same..."

Qin Sang, who had been silently observing, suddenly spoke up, "I have an artifact called the Purple Soul Bell that can confuse Zhao Yan’s mind, but since his cultivation is higher than mine, it will only trap him for less than two breaths of time."

Qin Sang had long considered striking against Zhao Yan, but since Zhao Yan never left his side, he hadn't had the opportunity to prepare his Bewitching Mirror or ebony sword.

As for secretly conspiring with Ruan Nanfeng and the others, Qin Sang had considered it but ultimately gave up. First, there was never a chance to discuss anything without Zhao Yan noticing, as sending voice transmissions under his watch would certainly be detected.

Second, they were still under the control of the Heart-Devouring Insects, and Qin Sang wasn't sure they had the courage to resist. If they still harbored hope for the Kuiyin Sect and exposed his plans, it would only make things worse.

Now that they had taken the initiative, Qin Sang was naturally happy to cooperate.

Ruan Nanfeng was delighted. "As long as you give me the chance to use my Golden Crow Hammer, two breaths of time will be enough. Senior Brother Liu, Senior Sister Cen, surely you both have attack artifacts too? If the three of us strike at the same time, we can definitely kill Zhao Yan in an instant!"

Senior Brother Liu's voice betrayed his excitement. "My top-grade artifact is the Soul-Devouring Spear, and Senior Sister Cen has a high-grade spiritual sword. Once we get out of the Soul-Devouring Array of Three Calamities, Junior Brother Qin can immediately activate the Purple Soul Bell to prevent Zhao Yan from acting first."

Finally convinced, Senior Sister Cen cast a cold glance at Zhao Yan, who was still busy extracting the orchid from the pool. Her voice turned icy. "Then I’ll join you in taking this gamble. In my opinion, there's no need to wait any longer. To prevent anything from going wrong, why not act now? Zhao Yan has exhausted his spiritual power to harvest the orchid—this is when he's weakest. We can ensure there are no mistakes!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Senior Brother Liu hurriedly interjected, "We can't. The Four-Clouded Divine Seal requires five people to control it. We still need him to get out of the Soul-Devouring Array of Three Calamities, so we can’t act just yet."

Ruan Nanfeng grinned sinisterly, his eyes fixed on the orchid as Zhao Yan slowly pulled it out inch by inch. "Senior Brother Liu is right. We've been at the mercy of these demons for too long, constantly living in fear. We have to get something out of this. Let's wait until he finishes harvesting the orchid. After we kill him, we’ll divide the orchid among us. Even if we can't use this immortal herb coveted by Core Formation cultivators, we can certainly exchange it for a few Foundation Building Pills. Yuanzhao Sect still has two Golden Core elders in residence. Even if the sect’s protective array is breached, it won't be easy for them to wipe us out. Amid the chaos, we can escape far away. If any of you are willing to follow me, I know an elder who is about to reach the Core Formation stage. Once he returns from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, he’ll definitely help us get rid of the Heart-Devouring Insects."

Hearing this, the eyes of both Senior Brother Liu and Senior Sister Cen lit up with excitement. Qin Sang noticed the fervor in their eyes and silently vowed that after escaping, he wouldn’t stick around with them.

The four of them discussed the details further. Seeing that Zhao Yan was about to finish harvesting the orchid, they quickly fell silent, pretending as though nothing had happened.

The mysterious orchid was tightly grasped by Zhao Yan. No matter how much it struggled, it couldn't break free. The moment its roots left the water, it suddenly stopped moving, and the misty illusion around its petals dissipated, turning it into a lifeless object.

However, Zhao Yan was not the least bit disappointed. Instead, his face lit up with joy. Eagerly, he channeled more spiritual power and urged the remaining thunderous force within the transparent gem, releasing several bolts of divine lightning in quick succession. They split open a large fissure, and he grabbed the orchid in one swift motion.

Laughing maniacally, Zhao Yan held the mysterious orchid up before him, admiring it as if he were mad.

But none of Qin Sang and the others could see that, despite Zhao Yan's back being turned to them, his eyes were not filled with madness. Instead, they were as cold as ice, and a strange smile curled at the corner of his lips.

The next moment, screams echoed through the cave, followed by several muffled thuds.

Zhao Yan waved his hand, and the four Cloud Flags shot back into his palm with a whooshing sound. He slowly turned around, his face brimming with pride. "Did you really think I didn’t know what you were planning? I can control the Four-Clouded Divine Seal on my own. If it weren’t for the powerful barriers on it…"

But as he looked at the scene behind him, the smile on Zhao Yan's face froze.

One, two, three—there were only three corpses!

Zhao Yan's expression changed drastically. I have clearly awakened the Heart-Devouring Insects, so how have only three people died? Where is the other one? Have the Heart-Devouring Insects failed?

There was no time to ponder. Zhao Yan shouted fiercely, "Come out now!"

With a flash of light from the blue Cloud Flag, mist began to rise in the cave, filling it with swirling fog. Slowly, Qin Sang's silhouette emerged from within the mist.

The Falling Cloud Wings could hide his presence, but they couldn't make him disappear completely.

Qin Sang hadn’t anticipated that Zhao Yan's insistence on having them help activate the Four-Clouded Divine Seal to break through the Soul-Devouring Array of Three Calamities was all part of a ruse to divert their attention. His true goal was to use the combined power of the four to unleash the most powerful thunderbolt art from the Four-Clouded Divine Seal and break the barrier on the mysterious orchid.

Before storing the orchid in a jade box, Zhao Yan had immediately activated the Heart-Devouring Insects, leaving Ruan Nanfeng and the other two with no chance to resist as their primordial spirits were devoured, killing them instantly.

At the same time, Zhao Yan forcibly reclaimed the Cloud Flags.

Caught off guard, Qin Sang quickly hid himself. He knew that Zhao Yan had expended a significant amount of energy collecting the mysterious orchid, and to play it safe, without knowing if the Jade Buddha could protect him from the Soul-Devouring Array of Three Calamities, he chose to attack rather than flee.

Though his Falling Cloud Wings had been easily broken, Qin Sang remained calm, a Guishui Yin Thunderbolt Spell already forming in the palm of his hand!