Chapter 199: The Value of an Immortal Gate True Transmission

The Immortal Gate, Huankong Realm.

A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms was not only the name of the Cave Abode domain assigned to Kunyun by the Immortal Gate as a true transmission disciple, but also the name of the Major Divine Ability he had cultivated.

Just as You Xuexin had said, Kunyun had spent all his recent time entirely within the gaseous planet formed by A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms. Even when managing the operations of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, he had his subordinates report directly to him here. From beginning to end, he had not taken a single step outside, nor had he allowed even a sliver of his divine sense to drift out.

At least—on the surface, that was the case.

In reality, beneath the gloom of the Cosmos, a murky streak of light shuttled through the dark. Like a dragon swimming through hidden veins, it descended silently into another domain.

The Divine Weapon Courtyard.

It was different from the Eight Immortal Peaks. The immortal peaks manifested in the Cosmos as something vast and boundless, yet at their core, they remained magnificent planets.

However, as one of the Immortal Gate's Three Great Academies, the Divine Weapon Courtyard's physical form was not a planet at all. It was an indescribably colossal megastructure.

At first glance, it looked like a twilight-colored giant wall standing proudly in deep space. Cascades of dark gold light flowed across its surface, tracing dense, crack-like patterns. Trapped within the wall's interior was an aggressively burning, supermassive star that eternally released radiant light, its brilliance sifted into billions of streaming rays.

These streaming rays were then distributed to the countless corners of the wall.

The contours of the world were redefined by it. At this moment, the most grandiose power in the Cosmos became exceedingly obedient, serving only as the fuel to sustain this colossal structure.

The murky light soon plunged into it.

Like a tiny silver needle, it pierced straight into a painting unfurled across the twilight wall—a scroll depicting an infinitely majestic landscape of mountains and rivers.

As far as the eye could see, the territory was expansive. The undulating mountain ranges resembled dragon spines, while the winding rivers mimicked dragon bodies. The peaks were blanketed in verdant ancient trees, and towering fish shadows swam through the waters... This entire world was suspended in mid-air. Its endless radiance was artificially regulated by array formations, simulating the cycle of day and night.

Immediately after, the murky light pressed onward.

It quickly arrived at the center of the world, marking the sole crease on this painted landscape. A mountain thrust up from the earth, piercing straight into the cloudy vault of the sky.

Endless spiritual energy swirled around the mountain peak, transforming into an immeasurable, vast sea of clouds. Nestled deep within that cloudy sea was an archaic Daoist temple.

Its eaves swept upward, and its roof tiles seemed to catch the stars.

At the temple's main entrance, there was no signboard and no inscription. Only a single bronze mirror hung high, its surface facing the sea of clouds and the imposing landscape sprawling beneath it.

Rumble!

The next second, as the murky light approached, the temple doors opened of their own accord. They only swung shut after the light flew inside, sealing off the interior from the outside world.

Only then did the persistent murky light finally dissipate, revealing the visitor's true form—a youth with a high nose bridge and striking, spirited brows. Thunder rumbled and lightning crackled with his every breath, making him look less like a man and more like a bolt of lightning that had taken human shape.

It was Kunyun!

"Your disciple greets you, Master."

The moment this Immortal Gate true transmission disciple appeared, he dropped to his knees without a word and kowtowed to a swirling mass of mist before him. His words and expression were filled with absolute sincerity.

A moment later, a voice drifted from the mist. "Rise."

Hearing this, Kunyun finally lifted his head, only to realize the mist had dispersed at some unknown point. The temple's inner courtyard now lay open to him, revealing the scene within.

The inner courtyard was modest, consisting of a single light well. An old osmanthus tree stood squarely in the center, and two Meditation Mats rested beneath it. Someone sat on one of the mats, their back facing him. The figure's white hair was casually pinned up with a wooden hairpin, and their loose Daoist robes pooled on the ground, the hems occasionally fluttering in the breeze. The other Meditation Mat was empty.

Did Master have a guest earlier?

Kunyun's expression remained perfectly smooth, but a flicker of doubt sparked in his heart, and he could not help wondering, No, not necessarily earlier. It could be right now!

A Qi Refining practitioner had already refined a trace of the True.

With this trace of the True, they were fundamentally different from false mortal entities. As long as they willed it, no ordinary mortal could see them, even if they stared until their eyes popped out.

So right now, Master's guest might very well be sitting on that exact Meditation Mat. They simply did not want to see him, which was why all he could perceive was an empty mat!

The power of Qi Refining, stepping into the Dao is no empty claim...

Kunyun sighed in admiration inwardly, not feeling dejected in the slightest. Instead, an endless well of fighting spirit surged within him. He had cultivated for half his life—was it not precisely so that one day he could stand among their ranks?

At this thought, Kunyun did not hesitate for a second.

With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees again.

"Master, your disciple is suffering! So many shameless scoundrels see my life tribulation approaching and want to swoop in for a quick profit. There are bad people in the Immortal Gate!"

By the end of his plea, Kunyun was practically weeping and wailing.

Seeing this, the Daoist on the Meditation Mat instantly chuckled.

"Kunyun, oh Kunyun. Listen to what you are saying. Do you really think there is such a thing as a good person in the Immortal Gate? Even you used to constantly launch lethal sneak attacks against Kunlun back in the day, did you not?"

"Master sees all with perfect clarity."

In a flash, Kunyun wiped away all emotion, instantly restoring his calm demeanor.

As for the Daoist's teasing, he did not take it to heart at all. After all, a flexible moral baseline and a double standard for right and wrong were the fundamental qualities of an Immortal Gate true transmission disciple.

The only thing that mattered was whether there were benefits to be had.

"Reporting to Master, your disciple wishes to borrow a Spiritual Treasure and ask a single question... Depending on the answer Master gives, I might also need you to make a move once."

Kunyun weighed his words carefully, enunciating every syllable.

Words could not be spoken carelessly, and requests could not be made lightly. Every single demand he voiced right now would stir corresponding ripples in destiny.

Which, in turn, would influence his life tribulation.

The more he asked for, the more severe his life tribulation would become. The more help he received, the stronger his enemies would grow—this was the Immortal Gate's unbroken, ancient truth. Destiny was fair to all things.

There had once been a Qi Refining practitioner who cherished his disciple so deeply that he arranged everything for them, going so far as to provide full support during their final life tribulation. As a result, he provoked massive karma. Not only did the disciple fail to survive, turning to ash, but the Qi Refining practitioner himself also perished, his Dao fully extinguished.

"Is that all?"

The Daoist on the Meditation Mat spoke mildly. "One Spiritual Treasure, one answer, one strike... You have managed your limits quite well. Speak. I agree to all of it."

"Thank you, Master!"

Kunyun kowtowed once more in gratitude before saying in a heavy voice, "For the Spiritual Treasure, your disciple wishes to borrow Mingzhen Immortal Peak's Comprehensive Records of Arrayed Immortals. I need it to look up a true transmission disciple."

"Who?" the Daoist asked.

Kunyun paused upon hearing this, then whispered, "It is a true transmission disciple under that person's jurisdiction, named You Xuexin. You know the one—the individual at Sun and Moon Lake."

"...I see."

The Daoist paused for a moment before giving a faint nod. "Very well, I permit this. And your question?"

"Your disciple wishes to ask."

Kunyun's gaze grew slightly cold. "The entity from Gongshun Grotto-Heaven, which path of the Twenty-Four Qi do they cultivate... Never mind, Master does not need to go into such detail."

"Just tell me directly—do they cultivate the exact same path as your disciple?"

Boom!

The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp, resonant clap of thunder echoed through the temple. Yet not a single trace of it leaked outside; all anomalies were completely confined within the walls.

After a brief silence, the Daoist delivered the answer:

"Yes."

—Just as I suspected!

This single answer instantly linked every piece of intelligence Kunyun currently possessed. It hit him like sudden supreme enlightenment, allowing him to completely grasp the crucial truth.

It was already strange that the disciple from Gongshun Grotto-Heaven suddenly met with Xuanyin. But if the Corpse Dissolution Immortal of Gongshun Grotto-Heaven cultivates the same qi as I do, then it makes perfect sense. Add to that the fact that they belong to the Immortal Prescription Courtyard while I cultivate wood qi—targeting me is entirely logical.

An image surfaced in Kunyun's mind.

Xuanyin's trip to the Eight Trigrams Furnace carried a wisp of his divine sense, acting as a trump card to deal with Kunlun. However, that divine sense served a secondary purpose.

Surveillance!

Xuanyin was the bait he had cast out. Whoever made contact with Xuanyin took the hook, and he could use that to deduce who exactly the big fish he was hunting was.

And now, the answer seemed to have revealed itself.

By inviting Master to act, I must face a Corpse Dissolution Immortal. A life tribulation truly lives up to its reputation... The question is, how will this Corpse Dissolution Immortal strike at me?

Kunyun knew very well that if he was asking Master to make a move, he could not expect twenty-four-hour surveillance and protection. He had to state his terms in advance, and only then would Master strike... Of course, round-the-clock protection was not utterly impossible, but doing so would only drastically inflate the difficulty of his life tribulation.

Therefore, his judgment was critical.

If I were that Corpse Dissolution Immortal, what would I do? A Corpse Dissolution Immortal has massive restrictions, and anyone forced to walk that path definitely does not have much of a knack for plotting.

Eighty percent chance they just brute-force it.

For example, waiting until I am crossing my life tribulation, then launching a violent sneak attack in their capacity as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, instantly killing me before running away... Simple, stupid, but highly effective.

Furthermore, they hail from Gongshun Grotto-Heaven and inherently possess immense dominion within the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Back in the day, they even committed an earth-shattering crime. The Eight Trigrams Furnace is actually their home ground. In that case, could that old bastard of Biyang's...

Kunyun was struck by a chilling realization.

...Bastard, are they squatting in the Eight Trigrams Furnace right now, waiting for me?

Highly likely!

At the very least, if he were that Corpse Dissolution Immortal, he would definitely do exactly that. It might be a little crude, but a superior cultivator cutting down an inferior one had always been the most practical approach.

Aside from that, there is also You Xuexin.

Ever since his suspicions had sprouted last time, he had been investigating her in secret.

First, this woman came to me asking for a massive pile of spells. Then, she visited the Dharma Transmission Hall. Finally, she commissioned Xuanyin to deliver a magical treasure into the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Either she has given up on her Major Divine Ability and wants to swap to cultivating a Middle Divine Ability... No, impossible. If she really did that, it would be seeking her own path to death. So, she was picking out a divine power for someone else? Which one did she choose? More importantly, why would a true transmission disciple like her pick out a divine power for anyone else in the first place?

Who was the mastermind behind her?

In an instant, Kunyun remembered the Human Firewood he had beaten to death outside You Xuexin's Cave Abode... That person had been a Tribulation Transcending First Layer cultivator, had he not?

If he made a breakthrough, he would be in exact need of a divine power.

Could it be... he is not dead?

If that was truly the case, what exactly was You Xuexin's relationship with him? He was just a furnace attendant, mere Human Firewood. Was he really worth her going to such great lengths to care for and protect him?

Could he be tied to my life tribulation?

...No, there are no "could be"s here.

The very next second, Kunyun snuffed out every trace of wishful thinking and illusion in his heart. His gaze turned icy as he quickly reached a conclusion: He is definitely tied to my life tribulation!

I have to investigate! I must dig to the absolute bottom of this!

'''html