Chapter 132: The Breakthrough to Heaven Gate

For the remainder of the second month, Shangyu County remained peaceful and free of disturbances.

Li Shun's days as the Acting County Magistrate were exceptionally leisurely.

Every morning was spent handling official affairs. By the afternoon, he was free to do as he pleased.

Sometimes he secluded himself to cultivate. Other times, he wandered the mountains and rivers in search of tranquility.

Shangyu County lay upon a broad plain surrounded by mountain ranges. Thanks to years of dredging by Qian Yuan and generations of Water Administration officials, an intricate network of rivers and canals crisscrossed the land like woven silk. It possessed both the graceful charm of the southern water towns and the majestic beauty of towering peaks layered upon one another.

'If life could remain this peaceful forever, it truly wouldn't be a bad way to live.'

Outside Shangyu City stood Three Elders Peak.

Standing atop its highest point, Li Shun gazed into the distance, watching clouds drift lazily across the sky. A rare feeling of contentment welled up within him.

"It really is comfortable living here in Shangyu County," Li Qing said with a faint sigh. "If this keeps up, I'm afraid I'll end up forgetting Elder Wei's instructions altogether."

There were quite a few visitors gathered on the summit, so Li Qing naturally refrained from openly mentioning his cultivation path of 'Regicide.'

"I wonder where Elder Wei is now."

A trace of nostalgia surfaced in his voice.

"Look! What's that?!"

Just as the brothers were chatting casually, cries of astonishment suddenly rang out from the surrounding tourists.

Both of them instinctively looked toward the source of the commotion.

High amid the swirling clouds, three elderly figures gradually appeared.

Each sat cross-legged in meditation, seemingly engaged in quiet conversation with the others.

Multicoloured auspicious clouds encircled their bodies, making them appear dreamlike and ethereal.

"The Three Elders have manifested!"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, deafening cries erupted across the mountain summit.

The gathered pilgrims immediately knelt to the ground, kowtowing devoutly toward the apparitions suspended among the clouds.

"The Three Elders..."

Li Shun narrowed his eyes as he observed the miraculous vision before him.

He had come to Three Elders Peak simply to enjoy the scenery.

Many of the people gathered atop the mountain, however, had come solely to worship the Three Elders. They were devoted believers without exception.

The contents of Shangyu County's records surfaced in Li Shun's mind.

The faith of the Three Elders dated back to an age far older than the founding of Great Qian.

According to legend, Shangyu had once been a land of barren mountains and foul waters, shrouded in poisonous miasma and overrun by savage beasts. The Three Elders took pity upon the suffering people and joined forces to carve out this fertile plain amidst the mountains, allowing the ancestors of Shangyu to establish a place to live.

Although the Three Elders had ascended long ago, their faith had continued to survive among the common people.

After Great Qian was founded, every temple dedicated to the Three Elders was demolished and their worship officially outlawed. Even so, the faith never truly disappeared. Though the remaining believers had become few in number, the local authorities had not completely eradicated them.

If the county records preserved these accounts, then there was undoubtedly some truth behind the legends.

Li Shun carefully examined the three figures floating among the clouds.

Suddenly, his expression shifted.

He unmistakably sensed the unique aura of the Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Unlike the statues of Ge Linfeng and Qian Yuan, where strands of Xuanhuang Qi had been plainly visible, the Xuanhuang Qi surrounding the Three Elders had not yet fully taken shape.

However, having already absorbed more than one strand himself, Li Shun was absolutely certain his perception was correct.

More importantly...

The faint aura of Xuanhuang Qi extended downward from the Three Elders' apparitions, trailing all the way toward a certain location deep within the valley below.

"Interesting."

Li Shun shot Li Qing a meaningful glance.

The brothers immediately understood each other's intentions.

Their figures darted away like lightning, following the trail of Xuanhuang Qi as they swiftly descended the steep mountainside until they reached the depths of the valley.

There, suspended halfway along a sheer cliff face, was a hidden cave.

Li Qing volunteered to take the lead while Li Shun followed closely behind.

The passage was extremely narrow.

Both brothers had to stoop low as they squeezed through the damp, icy crevice with considerable difficulty.

Halfway through the tunnel, Li Shun suddenly stopped.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Sensing something unusual, Li Qing immediately transmitted his voice.

Li Shun remained silent.

As mysterious information suddenly flooded into his mind, the casual expression on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by solemn gravity.

"My opportunity to break through the Heaven Gate... lies here."

Li Qing's face immediately lit up with delight.

Ever since they had left Yunguan County, Li Shun had already cultivated the Mortal Physique realm to its Upper Tier perfection.

All that remained was to overcome the Heaven Gate before advancing into the next realm.

Yet this so-called Heaven Gate was as unfathomable as Heaven's own will.

It was intangible, elusive, impossible to predict or seek out.

For all this time, Li Shun had remained trapped at the threshold, unable to discover the opportunity needed for his breakthrough.

Who would have imagined that a simple excursion today would unexpectedly present the chance he had been waiting for?

"The Mortal Physique Realm is merely the beginning of cultivation. As its name implies, there is virtually no difficulty involved. So long as one is willing to put in enough time and effort, anyone can eventually reach perfection."

"But advancing from the Mortal Physique realm into the Primal Simplicity realm is an entirely different matter."

"Fewer than one in ten ever succeed."

"The crucial factor... is the Heaven Gate."

"Countless geniuses have spent their entire lives waiting for the opportunity to break through, only to watch helplessly as their vitality withered away before dying with everlasting regret."

During his journey through Yunguan County, Li Shun had accompanied Duan Jiuzhang in witnessing another person's tribulation.

From that experience, he had gained an entirely new understanding of breakthroughs and heavenly tribulations.

"Before reaching the Grotto Mystic realm, cultivators can only rely upon fortune itself to overcome the Heaven Gate."

"If fate does not favour them, they may wait their entire lives without ever encountering their opportunity."

"And once they reach the Grotto Mystic realm... and every realm beyond it..."

"Cultivators gain deeper insight into the mysteries of Heaven and Earth. At the very moment the Heaven Reclaiming Lifespan tribulation descends, they can forcibly bind their Heaven Gate to the tribulation itself."

"To survive the tribulation is to break through."

"But such a method is unimaginably dangerous."

"Either you succeed... or you die."

"There is no third outcome."

"For that reason, cultivators resort to it only when driven into absolute desperation."

"Zhou Xunzhen and Zuo Yan both chose that path."

"It is as though Heaven itself imposes ever-greater restrictions upon those who seek greater power. The higher one's cultivation becomes, the harder each breakthrough grows."

"The barrier between the Celestial Phenomena realm and the Creation realm alone has stopped the overwhelming majority of Great Qian's cultivators."

"Only a handful ever reach Creation."

"Most simply continue waiting, never encountering their Heaven Gate before the Heaven Reclaiming Lifespan tribulation finally descends."

Li Shun gathered his wandering thoughts and turned them inward.

"My Twelvefold Longevity cultivation has only reached the second stage, Descending into the Mortal World, yet I've already encountered my breakthrough opportunity..."

"There are both advantages and disadvantages."

"Once I advance into the Primal Simplicity realm, I'll be able to borrow another lifetime from Heaven."

"The lifespan I previously borrowed will remain completely intact."

"I still possess one hundred and seventy years of remaining lifespan. Even if each subsequent borrowing grants fewer years, my second borrowing should still exceed one hundred years."

"At that point, I'll possess more than three centuries of lifespan."

"Great Qian itself has existed for only a little over five hundred years."

"With such a long life ahead of me, countless opportunities may arise."

"My chances of eventually reaching the highest realms of cultivation will increase dramatically."

"The disadvantage is that my breakthrough has come too early."

"The Twelvefold Longevity cultivation still contains many stages I have yet to fully experience."

"Especially the six stages beginning with Withdrawing into Concealment and ending with Mysterious Womb, where one's entire condition gradually regresses."

"I have not yet had the chance to carefully comprehend each of them."

"If future breakthroughs become increasingly difficult, then the erosion brought by those latter six stages will arrive correspondingly earlier."

"When that time comes, lacking sufficient understanding of those foundations, I may struggle to adapt."

Although countless thoughts raced through his mind, none of them weakened Li Shun's determination.

The path of cultivation had always been one of defying Heaven itself.

Since destiny had finally presented this opportunity, there was no reason to let it slip away.

By the time his thoughts settled, the brothers had already followed the passage to the deepest part of the cave.

Yet the scene before them left Li Shun utterly stunned.

Deep within the dim cavern stood an enormous pangolin.

Its expression was solemn and reverent as it repeatedly bowed like a human before three weathered skeletons lying at the far end of the cave.

The atmosphere was both eerie and profoundly devout.