Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 788: Insight Amidst Battle

The sword techniques of these two sword cultivators were exquisite, but their strength was not formidable. Qin Sang defeated them with little effort. Unlike puppets, they had no vital points or weaknesses. Qin Sang treated them entirely as living opponents.

However, as soon as the two were defeated, another pair of sword cultivators leapt out from the wall, giving Qin Sang no time to rest or catch his breath.

With his retreat cut off, Qin Sang understood that this trial was meant to push him forward without pause.

In the long corridor, sword light clashed and intertwined.

Qin Sang’s breathing had grown heavy, yet his gaze grew sharper and more focused.

He had fought more than a dozen battles now, advancing step by step along the corridor. He could move only forward, not back. The darkness ahead was gradually driven away, but the corridor’s end remained hidden from view.

Each new pair of sword cultivators grew stronger than the last, their strength rising in a steady pattern, sometimes in swordsmanship, sometimes in cultivation base. However, Qin Sang could only rely on his own sword techniques and supernatural abilities, as his astras remained sealed.

He had a growing sense that he would fall before reaching the corridor's end.

He had no idea what awaited him at the end.

He had tried everything he could, but the barrier placed on this corridor remained completely beyond his ability to undo.

Swish!

Another two sword cultivators leapt down, wielding sword techniques entirely different from the previous ones.

Each sword cultivator used a single technique, but all were astonishingly refined. Any sword cultivator who walked this path of swords would, without exception, experience a tremendous improvement in swordsmanship.

These sword cultivators were his opponents, yet they were also like instructors.

Qin Sang could clearly sense that he, too, was gaining insights during these battles. Unfortunately, the shadow of an unknown fate weighed heavily on his heart, robbing him of any joy.

"Their combined strength is approaching my own!"

Sensing the sharp edge of their sword light, Qin Sang felt a slight heaviness settle in his chest, knowing he wouldn’t make it much farther.

Still, his movements remained unaffected.

The ebony sword gave a light tremor and let out a crisp sword cry. Then it transformed into a streak of lightning, erupting with maximum speed just before the two sword cultivators could combine their assault, and charged toward one of them.

These sword cultivators could be described as flawless sword cultivators. They were utterly fearless, emotionless, capable of making the most precise response when under attack.

But even so, against the Sword Qi Thunderclap, its speed was still a touch too slow.

Just as its swords' momentum began to rise, it was shattered by the lightning-speed strike of the ebony sword.

The lotus-shaped sword qi before it was pierced through by a bolt of lightning. The ebony sword did not slow, piercing through his chest and after a swift curve, immediately shot toward the second cultivator.

The wounded sword cultivator froze in place. Its sword qi dissipated. It sheathed its sword, saluted Qin Sang silently, and dissolved into a wisp of azure light.

The other one didn’t last much longer.

Immediately after, two more sword cultivators leapt from the wall.

At the first clash, Qin Sang’s expression changed. These two had clearly anticipated the Sword Qi Thunderclap. Before the ebony sword even struck, they joined forces and assumed a defensive stance.

Their swords' momentum was strange. With spiritual swords held side by side, sword qi circled them like a tortoise shell, making them tightly sealed, leaving no gaps.

"This path..."

Qin Sang sighed helplessly. No matter what sword technique he used in the previous battle, the next opponents would inevitably respond with a technique specifically designed to counter him.

He hadn’t expected that even Sword Qi Thunderclap would be countered.

This time, Qin Sang grew cautious. He refrained from revealing Sword Light Division and instead relied solely on Sword Qi Thunderclap, slowly wearing the two down in a drawn-out fight.

No sword technique, no matter how powerful, was without flaws.

From that point onward, Qin Sang settled into the battles, focusing his mind and patiently seeking ways to overcome each enemy.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

His footsteps echoed slowly through the corridor. Though his pace was unhurried, each step was solid and resolute.

During this process, Qin Sang simply gave himself over to it, forgetting all else, with only the sword in hand remaining in his heart. He immersed himself fully in the Sword Dao. Even he hadn’t realized that his swordsmanship was improving imperceptibly.

All the sword techniques he had learned before were beginning to merge and harmonize, reaching a state of seamless integration.

Even Sword Qi Thunderclap had begun to develop subtle new variations.

This kind of pure sword duel was something Qin Sang had never experienced before, and the gains were astonishing.

"Crap! Their strength has increased again!"

Qin Sang's pupils shrank suddenly. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The two newly emerged sword cultivators also knew how to use Sword Qi Thunderclap, and they were well aware of Qin Sang’s weaknesses.

He had barely finished off the previous pair and hadn’t even caught his breath when two flying swords, swift as lightning, shot at him from both sides. For a moment, he was hard-pressed to respond.

Left with no choice, Qin Sang was finally forced to reveal the Sword Light Division.

The fact that he had held out this long already left him more than satisfied. Had this been before entering the corridor, he would’ve fallen to the very first few sword cultivators.

The ebony sword split into two, but instead of one sword light intercepting the incoming flying sword, it veered off to launch a surprise attack on one of the enemies.

The tactic worked. Qin Sang thrust both palms forward, shaking the air with his true essence, and used a Dao Technique to block one sword while the ebony sword entangled the other. Meanwhile, the sword light’s ambush succeeded, taking down one of the cultivators.

“So long as it’s my own power, such as my physical body, spiritual consciousness and Dao Techniques, I can use it... But the effectiveness of Dao Techniques is tightly linked to true essence, so it’s difficult to break through the limits of my cultivation. Spiritual consciousness and my physical body might offer an opening, but secret techniques that train those are too rare.”

Qin Sang had gained yet another insight. Regrettably, he hadn’t trained in any top-tier body-tempering or spiritual consciousness techniques.

At this point, the pressure on him grew immense, and the battles became increasingly brutal.

When the sword cultivators began using Sword Light Division as well, Qin Sang finally reached the end of his strength.

His face was full of unwillingness as he stared wide-eyed at the depths of the corridor. The darkness there had thinned, and he was just on the verge of seeing what lay beyond but defeat was now inevitable.

Whoosh!

A crescent-shaped sword qi came slicing toward him.

Caught off guard, Qin Sang hastily used the sword to parry. His heart and mind were rocked by the impact, and the ebony sword was sent flying with immense force, crashing into the corridor wall.

Immediately after, a burst of sword light flashed like a ghost before his eyes, striking down with the ferocity of a storm.

Death loomed.

Qin Sang’s eyes bulged, and he let out a roar that scarcely sounded human. From the beginning of his cultivation journey, he had never given up, no matter the obstacle. Even in the face of certain death, he refused to yield.

In that instant, the sword howled like thunder as the ebony sword suddenly sprang into the air.

The next moment, a blinding sword light streaked past his eyes.

For a split second, Qin Sang thought he was already dead.

But after a moment of daze, he felt no pain. Sweeping his gaze around, he realized that, at some point, he had been transported back to the entrance of the corridor.

The sword cultivators had vanished. The corridor was calm and still, as if everything had been a dream.

Drenched in sweat, Qin Sang immediately summoned the ebony sword to inspect it. Finding it unharmed, he finally let out a long breath and slumped to the ground, a weary smile squeezing its way onto his face.

After a brief rest, Qin Sang stood up, his expression calm once more. He stared into the depths of the corridor, recalling the insights he had just gained, then walked back inside without hesitation.

At the very least, he had to see what lay at the end of the corridor.

Moreover, Qin Sang had a hunch that his comprehension of the Sword Dao was about to undergo a tremendous breakthrough.