Chapter 1544: Chapter 28: Two Punches! Methods of the Immortal

Cross Immortal Gate.

With a heavy snowfall, the entire Cloud Shadow Peak was covered in frosty white, blanketed by ice and snow.

Snowflakes still drifted down from the sky, though the heavy snow had turned into scattered flakes, yet the cold persisted.

Ascending the steps toward Yunyin Peak, the occasional mountain wind made everyone’s body shiver.

"Cough, cough—"

Every now and then came Jiang Ning’s coughs.

Falling on Shen Wenyan’s ears, it made him feel extremely tense.

He could sense that Jiang Ning had expended a great deal in breaking the array this time.

After all, it was leveraging the might of heaven and earth with his own body.

At this moment.

On a distant mountain peak.

A man stood in the snow, appearing to be in his forties, with hands behind his back, exuding an elegant and scholarly aura.

This man was Xia Xuanyan.

Standing in the snow, his figure was slightly blurred, emitting a faint and hazy glow, clearly not his true form. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

At this moment, he quietly watched the scene on Yunyin Peak, watching Jiang Ning, with a faint smile on his lips.

"Such remarkable methods, born in the wrong era, truly a shame! Otherwise, with his insight, becoming an Immortal and an ancestor would have been only natural!"

"Nevertheless, it’s good!" Xia Xuanyan’s smile widened: "In this way, he is suitable for my use! I trust next time I seek him, he will understand the choices to make."

...

On the other side.

Jiang Ning ascended the steps.

In Mingming, he could feel some gazes land on him; he had this feeling ever since arriving at Yunyin Peak.

"It must be the Cave Heaven Blessed Land behind Cross Immortal Gate!" he whispered to himself, his Heart Spirit slightly tense.

Although he broke the Cloud Sea Sky Confusing Array, from its mystical nature, he perceived more of the Ancient Era’s heritage.

Regarding today’s Cross Immortal Gate, he dared not take lightly at all.

For what was scary was not the Cross Immortal Gate itself, but the force lurking behind it.

A remnant of an era, over a thousand years of accumulation.

How strong it truly was, he had no idea.

But he knew, one day, he would stand opposite these entities, just like the Martial Saint from over eight hundred years ago.

Either die in battle or suppress the world’s Cave Heaven Blessed Lands.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, he inadvertently coughed twice again.

The repeated coughing was both his disguise and his actual condition right now.

Reined within himself, the body’s aura weakened, and the resistance to the erosion of Curse Power also weakened.

Just then, resonating with the heavens and earth with his spirit, through insights from the Winter Scripture, leveraging the might of the earth with his own self, he indeed consumed a large amount of Primordial Energy, which made the pain and itch in his lungs more pronounced.

As various thoughts flashed through his mind, he continued ascending the steps.

The path was entirely covered in ice and snow, the steps sealed by thick snow.

Commoners found it hard to climb.

But those who came today were all extraordinary figures, the weakest also above the Sixth Rank.

In this operation, besides the personnel stationed in Guangning City, most of the force had been dispatched.

Halfway through, Jiang Ning suddenly stopped.

He glanced back.

"Mr. Shen, send half the men back down the mountain."

"Alright!" Shen Wenyan looked at Jiang Ning’s expression, asked no questions, and nodded directly.

After that, he gave simple instructions, and half of the men descended the mountain along the previous path, while the rest continued up the mountain with Jiang Ning.

...

A moment later.

The entrance of Cross Immortal Gate.

Ascending the steps, ahead was the towering marble entrance.

Behind the entrance was a spacious square, carved out of the mountain by sheer personal force.

On the square lay a thick layer of snow.

Jiang Ning just stepped onto the square platform, his vision opened wide, and he was instantly drawn to a person ahead.

The leader was a man in a black robe, appearing quite old, not younger than his late forties. With a mere glance, Jiang Ning retracted his gaze from the people behind him.

None were worth his attention.

He also knew that now, after the deaths of Ji Mingzhou and Li Sixiang, no one in Cross Immortal Gate could be called a strong figure.

By this point, even a Third Grade Grandmaster was considered nothing.

Even a Second Grade Great Grandmaster struggled to catch his eyes.

If he weren’t so concerned now and unleashed his full strength, even a Second Grade couldn’t withstand a punch, let alone making him use his current strongest technique, the Taixu Yin Yang Sword.

As thoughts swirled within, his gaze fell on the black-robed man leading Cross Immortal Gate.

"Not bad!" The black-robed venerable looked at Jiang Ning, nodding approvingly: "At this age, to have such deep and profound insights into the principles of heaven and earth, the cycle of seasons, by present standards of talent, you are unmatched."

Hearing these words, Jiang Ning’s expression remained unchanged.

"Are you the one behind Cross Immortal Gate?"

"Indeed!" The black-robed venerable nodded, his face calm: "So do you know what grave mistake you made by coming up the mountain this time?"

As he spoke, the black-robed venerable stood with his hands behind his back, the mountaintop raising his robe’s hem.

His gaze was like a deep ancient well, landing on Jiang Ning’s pale face, yet his eyes involuntarily looking down.

"Jiang Ning, you broke the Cloud Sea Sky Confusing Array with a broken body. It seemed impressive, but in truth, it was foolish!" His voice was calm, but carried an aloof indifference: "You may have been struck by the Curse Killing Skill. Despite the mystique of such a technique, within a complete heritage’s orthodoxy, there is a way to break it. With your talent, pledging allegiance to us would have opened doors wide for you, and we would fully help you decipher the Curse Killing Skill. Yet now, you don’t cherish your body; the curse deepens, and once it fully invades your five viscera and six bowels, even the Immortals cannot save you."