Gateway of Immortality

As Qin Sang neared the end of the cave, he saw a flash of azure light ahead, and the next moment, the white cat emerged from it.

"Mister, did you kill Gu Tiannan?"

Qin Sang nodded and gestured for the white cat to release Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan's strength was far inferior to Gu Tiannan’s, so even after transforming, he wasn’t difficult to subdue. Qin Sang left him with just a sliver of life, sealing his cultivation in preparation for an interrogation later.

The white cat approached Qin Sang, bowed slightly, and said, "I thank you on behalf of Hei Kid for your righteous heart, avenging him. He can now rest in peace without any regrets."

Qin Sang felt a pang of guilt in his heart. Glancing at the unconscious villagers at the end of the cave, he thought for a moment, then took out a bottle of healing elixirs and tossed it over, saying to the white cat, "Dissolve the pills in water and give it to them. It should replenish their depleted qi and blood. Wake them up and take them down the mountain. Although you are a demon, I don’t sense any bloodthirsty aura from you, so I won’t make things difficult for you. But be warned, conduct yourself well in the future. Otherwise, not even the bamboo can save your life."

After issuing his warning to the white cat, Qin Sang grabbed Gu Yuan and turned to leave.

"Mister, please wait!"

The white cat suddenly called out to Qin Sang.

"What is it now?"

The white cat hesitated before saying, "Mister, you are kind-hearted… I would like to make a deal with you, if you are willing."

A deal?

Negotiating face-to-face with a cat in this dark cave felt rather strange to Qin Sang.

He noticed the white cat’s fur standing slightly on end, as though she were nervous. This stirred something in Qin Sang’s mind. Does this cat demon have something valuable?

"Let's hear it," Qin Sang replied noncommittally.

The white cat hesitated for a moment before softly saying, "Mister, are you familiar with a spiritual eye?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, a trace of wariness appeared in her eyes. She subtly clutched bamboo closer to her chest, where it faintly emitted a soft azure glow, as if ready to flee at any moment.

"A spiritual eye?"

Qin Sang’s eyes lit up instantly, and he pressed her eagerly. "Do you know where there is a spiritual eye?"

In the world, spiritual power varied in concentration. In places where spiritual power was abundant, it gradually accumulated over time, eventually forming either large or small spirit veins. The spiritual power within these veins was far denser than in other areas, and most immortal cultivators’ cave dwellings were located on such spirit veins.

Small spirit veins could support the creation of several cultivation cave dwellings for immortal cultivators to use.

Larger spirit veins, like the one at Yuanzhao Peak, can, with the right arrays, served as the foundation for entire immortal sects, but these were exceedingly rare. There weren't many in the Small Cold Domain, and it’s said that the spirit vein at Shaohua Mountain surpassed even Yuanzhao Peak.

For this reason, when people heard that the supreme sect leader of Yuanzhao Sect had decisively detonated their spirit vein, it seemed utterly incomprehensible. However, Yuanzhao Sect later inherited the assets of the Kuiyin Sect, so the loss was somewhat balanced.

For an immortal cultivator, wealth, companions, the law, and land were essential, and what cultivators often refer to as "land" was mostly about the spiritual qi available in their cultivation cave dwellings.

Those who could not find a spirit vein but had wealth could buy a courtyard in an immortal cultivation market or set up a spirit-gathering array for their own cultivation. Poorer cultivators, however, were forced to endure the meager spiritual qi in regular areas, resulting in much slower progress in their cultivation.

A spiritual eye was the focal point where the spiritual power of a spirit vein gathered. However, not all spirit veins produced spiritual eyes—only the purest spirit veins, where spiritual power was concentrated to the extreme, gave rise to such extraordinary locations. These were incredibly rare and highly sought after, making them the ideal sites for establishing a cave dwelling.

If news of an unclaimed spiritual eye were to leak, it would undoubtedly provoke envy among countless cultivators, sparking inevitable conflict.

No wonder the cat demon was being so cautious. Possessing something so valuable could lead to great peril, and the distrust between humans and demons in the world of immortal cultivation only exacerbated this.

Previously, Qin Sang’s cultivation level wasn’t high, so he didn’t have particularly stringent demands for spiritual qi. But now that he had broken through to the eleventh stage, he was beginning to feel that the spiritual qi in his cave dwelling in the Sunken Cave was becoming insufficient.

Even if he returned to Shaohua Mountain to cultivate, the best cave dwellings there had long been claimed by his senior brothers and uncles. The cave dwelling he would receive might not be much better than the one in the Sunken Cave.

If he could find a spiritual eye, it would be incredibly beneficial to his future cultivation.

Given his poor aptitude, he couldn’t afford to miss any opportunity to accelerate his cultivation. But what kind of deal did this cat demon want to propose?

Sensing the eagerness in Qin Sang’s gaze, the white cat instinctively tucked her tail tightly, her fur standing more visibly on end. Her voice trembled with clear nervousness. "After a senior enlightened me, they helped me find a spiritual eye. Since then, I’ve been hiding there, cultivating. If you’re willing to trade, I’m prepared to sell the spiritual eye to you."

Qin Sang was taken aback. "Do you realize what a spiritual eye represents?"

He couldn’t believe the cat demon was offering to sell her own cave dwelling. For any cultivator, that would be an incredibly foolish decision.

The white cat sighed softly. "I know, but I have no other choice. I don’t have any advanced cultivation arts, and I haven’t made any progress in years. The senior who enlightened me said they’d return in a few years to take me away, but they never came back. The demons around me are all demonic beasts without intelligence, relying solely on instinct to cultivate and unable to offer any guidance. As a demon, I fear being hunted and killed, so I don’t dare approach other cultivators. I have no companions to discuss matters with. Once, I encountered a rogue cultivator who deceived me, later trying to skin me and turn my fur into artifacts. I have no other way out. I’ve heard that Heavenly Demon Hill in the west is a sanctuary for demonic beasts..."

After hearing the white cat's story, Qin Sang finally understood her intentions.

She was unwilling to let her path of cultivation come to an end and was willing to abandon her safe cave dwelling and risk traveling through human territory to seek enlightenment at Heavenly Demon Hill.

This reminded Qin Sang of himself in the past.

The cat demon was cautious. She knew that trust between humans and demons was difficult, and she had helped Hei Kid out of both ancestral ties and the hope of interacting with a righteous cultivator to make this deal.

If Qin Sang had been in league with Gu Tiannan, the white cat wouldn’t have even brought it up.

Her plan was somewhat naïve, but it was likely born out of desperation.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Of course, Qin Sang wanted the spiritual eye, but he was fully aware of its value. Of the items he possessed, only the ebony sword, the black beads, and the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions were worth offering, but he couldn’t part with any of them.

"What do you want?" Qin Sang probed.

The white cat seemed to have thought this through, and she quickly responded, "I’m not greedy. All I want is a detailed map to Heavenly Demon Hill and a few artifacts for self-defense."

Qin Sang nodded, deep in thought. He had a geomantic map of the Small Cold Domain on hand, but the artifacts were trickier—he wasn’t sure if what he had would satisfy the cat demon's expectations.