Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 460: Comparison

When Qin Sang spoke those words, he felt extremely apprehensive.

Fortunately, Granny Jing did not take offense.

"For you, this is indeed a problem."

Granny Jing pondered for a moment before saying to Qin Sang, "Follow me."

Before she even finished speaking, Qin Sang felt his entire body tighten as he was suddenly enveloped by a surge of spiritual power. He had no time to react before his vision shifted dramatically. A whirlwind of movement swept over him, and in the blink of an eye, he heard the crashing sounds of waves all around.

Night had fallen. In the west, where the sky met the water, a faint trace of twilight lingered.

A few stars twinkled in the sky.

The moon was still faint and indistinct.

Beneath his feet stretched an endless expanse of marshland.

Qin Sang abruptly turned his head and saw the sea of mist stretching infinitely behind him.

How much time has passed?

Yet somehow, they had already left Qin Sang’s cave dwelling and arrived outside the Thousand-Illusion Array of True Waters.

Qin Sang’s mind was in chaos. He had seen nothing, sensed nothing—he had no idea how Granny Jing had silently transported him through the array without alerting anyone!

If everyone in the Tianxing Alliance was as formidable as Granny Jing, the Small Cold Domain would have been crushed long ago.

Still shaken, Qin Sang struggled to steady himself.

Granny Jing’s voice was calm as she said, "Didn’t you want to know whether I can evade a Spiritual Infant cultivator’s perception? Words alone are not enough. Seeing is believing."

Qin Sang instinctively swallowed. "Senior, where are you taking me?"

"You’ll know when we arrive."

Granny Jing gave a simple response, then took out another wooden carving.

It was in the shape of a Luan, just like the previous carving of a woman—vivid and lifelike, radiating an aura of divine majesty, as if it could take flight at any moment.

And in fact, when Granny Jing extended a finger and lightly tapped the Luan carving, it truly came to life.

A crisp phoenix-like cry echoed as the Luan’s wings suddenly spread, sending dazzling motes of light scattering through the air with every movement. It was an enchanting sight.

The Luan let out a clear and melodious call, displaying great affection toward Granny Jing as it fluttered around her. While dancing through the air, its body expanded with the wind, swiftly transforming into a real divine bird, spreading its wings with unrestrained grace.

Qin Sang had read ancient texts describing the Luan, a divine bird of antiquity—this creature before him was an exact match!

There was not a single trace of the wooden carving left in its form.

Puppet technique?

Or some other form of spell?

Qin Sang’s eyes widened in shock, utterly astounded by Granny Jing’s ability, which was akin to turning stone into gold. Before he could dwell on it further, he suddenly felt his body become weightless—the Luan had taken the initiative to carry them on its back.

With a powerful flap of its wings, they soared into the sky, ascending into the boundless heavens.

...

At the Shaohua Mountain's entrance.

Mist and thick clouds swirled around.

Through the veil of mist, towering peaks stood clustered together, forming a picturesque scene.

A familiar sight unfolded before Qin Sang’s eyes.

The Luan had flown across the Yuncang Marshlands, carrying them all the way to the gates of Shaohua Mountain.

Qin Sang had no idea why they had come here. He turned his head toward Granny Jing, seeking answers.

"I will wait for you at Shaohua Mountain," she said.

Granny Jing gazed at the Luan with a fond smile, then reached out her hand. The Luan let out a reluctant cry before rapidly shrinking. As it landed in her palm, it had already reverted to its original wooden carving, maintaining the exact same posture as before.

Granny Jing gave Qin Sang a slight nod before her figure slowly faded away, disappearing into thin air.

Only her lingering voice remained in the air.

Qin Sang hurriedly activated an evasion technique, stabilizing his figure. He fully extended his spiritual consciousness, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not sense a single trace of Granny Jing—she had completely vanished.

A thought struck him. He suddenly realized that when Granny Jing mentioned Shaohua Mountain, she had not meant the sect itself, but rather the main peak within the sect.

At the summit of Shaohua Mountain lay the cave dwelling of the sect’s Spiritual Infant grandmaster, Dong Yangbo!

In that instant, Qin Sang finally understood the meaning of seeing is believing.

He faltered.

His expression flickered between hesitation and resolve, but in the end, he gritted his teeth, summoned his Nether Cloud, and flew toward the mountain gate.

"Who's there...?"

Before he even approached the sect-protecting array, patrolling disciples had already detected his presence.

The sect’s defenses had clearly been tightened.

The mist swirled, revealing three young disciples—a man and two women—all in the Qi Refining Realm. They emerged from the array, scanning their surroundings. The moment their gazes fell on Qin Sang, their wary expressions relaxed. In unison, they saluted and exclaimed excitedly, "So it’s Senior Uncle Qin! We pay our respects!"

Qin Sang’s reputation from the Yuncang Marshlands had already spread within the sect.

Many young and inexperienced disciples looked up to him with admiration.

Qin Sang replied, "Mhmm, I’ve returned for an important matter and will be leaving shortly. Open the array."

The three disciples exchanged glances before one of them hesitantly said, "Senior Uncle Qin, please forgive us. Not long ago, the sect leader issued an order—no one is allowed to enter without a waist token or a direct decree from the sect leader..."

That order had undoubtedly come from Qi Yuanshou.

It seemed that the conflict between the Small Cold Domain and the Tianxing Alliance was far from over. The emergence of Zhitian Peak had merely been a minor interlude.

Who knew when it would all end?

Qin Sang pondered silently before retrieving his waist token and tossing it into the array.

After verifying it, the three disciples deactivated the array.

Although Qin Sang was anxious, he maintained an unhurried facade. He first made a brief stop at his cave dwelling before heading toward Shaohua Mountain.

For Foundation Building disciples, Shaohua Mountain was no longer forbidden territory. Occasionally, Golden Core cultivators would hold lectures there, and there were designated arenas for disciples to discuss the Dao and practice techniques. Qin Sang had visited before.

However, with the Small Cold Domain in turmoil, many Foundation Building disciples had been sent away, leaving the place much quieter than before.

How exactly does she plan to prove it?

With this lingering doubt, Qin Sang descended his evasion light onto the staircase.

As he approached the White Jade Token Alley, his expression suddenly shifted. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a woman in flowing white robes standing beside a jade pillar.

She had appeared out of nowhere. Qin Sang had been scanning his surroundings without missing a single detail. Just a moment ago, that spot had been completely empty.

"Are you Granny Jing? Or..."

There was hesitation in his voice.

It was no surprise that he did not dare to confirm.

This woman bore no resemblance to Granny Jing. Instead, she looked identical to the wooden carving Granny Jing had given him.

But now, in person, she exuded an even more ethereal and divine presence. Her hands were as pale as snow, her black hair cascaded down like satin, reaching her waist. Dressed in a pure white robe with no adornments, her beauty was on par with Fairy Chenyan.

Her eyebrows were slender as if drawn with ink, and her deep eyes carried an air of detachment and aloofness.

She possessed the same otherworldly grace, like an immortal untouched by the mortal realm.

Before, Fairy Chenyan had been the most incomparable beauty he had ever seen. There was no one he could use as a reference to compare.

Yet now, faced with this woman, Qin Sang instinctively drew a comparison between the two and found their temperaments vastly different.

He recalled the impression Fairy Chenyan had left on him back then—there had always been a faint, inescapable sorrow between her brows. Her eyes held a determination so firm it bordered on stubbornness.

That night, there had even been a fleeting moment of confusion in her gaze, something Qin Sang could not decipher, something that had briefly pulled her from the heavens into the mortal world.

But this woman before him, she was a true fairy from the Moon Palace[1], untouched by the human realm.

Her gaze was distant and cold, as if she had already seen everything in the world and nothing could stir her heart in the slightest.

1. ​​In Chinese mythology, the Moon Palace, also known as the Spreading Halls of Crystal Cold, is the residence of the Moon Goddess Chang'e and her companion, the Jade Rabbit, where they live on the moon. ☜

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