Chapter 102: Prison Gate, Netherworld (Third Update!)

"Didn't Lao Liang quit smoking? Why did he go downstairs specifically to buy cigarettes?"

Inside the dormitory, Qin Shi suddenly thought of this, but he didn't have time to ponder it further before the Dog Phone in his Thinking Hall emitted a beeping sound.

Hmm, an incoming call!

Qin Shi closed his eyes and sank his spirit into the depths of his consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, he had already arrived at the Xu Kong Space actually called the "Inner Landscape."

The orange dog's tail stood straight up, as if receiving radio waves.

Seeing Qin Shi, it immediately lay down and rolled over, exposing its belly.

The former grabbed the dog, habitually rubbed it twice, and opened "Killed It."

Sure enough, it was a message from a client.

【Anonymous User: Get ready to act!】

It seemed the other party was very clear about his whereabouts.

Perhaps they were nearby, secretly watching?

Coldness flickered in Qin Shi's eyes.

【47: Already in position.】

【47: Just waiting for the Boss's order.】

A few minutes later.

The dog trembled slightly.

Message received.

【Anonymous User: Stand by on the spot.】

【47: Okay, Boss.】

After replying, Qin Shi tossed aside the orange dog.

He sat cross-legged on the spot, considering Breaking Limit God Pass.

Breaking Heart Barrier, Removing Shackles, Passing Prison Gate.

"My Heart Barrier is nothing more than the inherent cognition that 'killing is against the law.' The Shackles are social rules and legal consequences, just like in my previous life I didn't dare casually fight people, retreating when I could when trouble arose—this is the imprint left by my growing environment. Even though I've changed Heaven and Earth in this life, there's still some influence."

Qin Shi seriously analyzed it; the reason he had half-stepped into the Great Limit of the Spirit Gate was that he learned the Qin Family had spent several million hiring killers to use money to crush his little life.

In that instant, anger rose from his heart!

Under emotional turmoil, killing intent and murderous will arose that were usually hard to have!

"The Martial Artist Path: hiding a blade in the heart. As the saying goes, 'He who harbors a sharp weapon will have killing intent arise.' When a person possesses sufficient power, they dare to question injustice and unlawfulness, and express themselves."

"When I determine to counterattack and kill, it's equivalent to stepping out, crossing the boundary, and breaking the heavy Shackles called 'Rules.'"

"Therefore, the Heart Barrier is broken, the Shackles are removed."

Qin Shi carefully recalled, then produced a new confusion.

The Heart Barrier is cognition, the Shackles are rules.

Then, what is the Prison Gate?

Qin Shi didn't agonize over meditation unable to extricate himself, after all time was pressing.

Thus, he decided to seek help from the omnipotent Xiao He A Meng.

"Xiao He Xiao He."

He moved to before the Dao Nature Avatar in the form of a white-haired youth.

"Here, here."

Super Xiao He responded very unwillingly.

"I want to charge through the Great Limit of the Spirit Gate; how do I break the Prison Gate?"

Qin Shi's eyes were full of expectation; for him, the greatest harvest of the Martial God Inheritance was absolutely not the SSS-Grade Textbook "Xu Kong Meditation Method."

Swallowing and integrating He Lanchan's Martial Artist Qi Rhyme, combined with his own spirit, the humanoid search engine condensed—Super Xiao He!

The help it brought was the most intuitive and effective.

"Wait a moment."

Super Xiao He's hollow eyes flickered with light, like a data stream refreshing rapidly.

After a few seconds, an answer was reached.

"In the Ancient Era, the Buddhist school had the saying of 'Temporary Epiphany.' It means 'opening wisdom and understanding principle,' guiding the light of wisdom, breaking through the fog in the heart."

Super Xiao He explained slowly, answering Qin Shi's questions and resolving his confusion.

"Temporary Epiphany is divided into three levels, also called 'Breaking Three Passes.'"

They are respectively 'First Pass,' 'Heavy Pass,' and 'Prison Gate.'

The so-called First Pass is seeing through the false. Whether mountains and great rivers, the Hundred Aspects of all living beings, all people or various things, are all illusions born from the original mind.

Because essence is impermanent, Heaven and Earth will perish, so true and false are unimportant; as long as one sees through, one can awaken."

Qin Shi focused his attention, absorbing the experience and understanding from a Half-step Martial God big shot.

"And Heavy Pass is another realm; you must negate various selves, like passing through a dark Tunnel, walking forward unswervingly until you see the Innate Nature that is neither born nor perishes, neither increases nor decreases."

At that time, you possess the True Self."

Super Xiao He taught earnestly like a teacher, speaking of cultivation principles he himself didn't quite understand.

"And the 'Prison Gate' you mentioned is the most difficult. After seeing the Innate Nature and realizing the True Self, you must also hear the Dao."

"The 'Xu Kong Meditation Method' involves this part; you can contemplate it."

"As it is said: the First Pass is like entering the Gate of Liberation, realizing that mountains, rivers, the great earth, and the void in all directions all perish. Recognizing that this seven-foot body is nothing but earth, water, fire, and wind, naturally completely pure, not attached to a single thread—this is called initial breakthrough in contemplation, with front and back severed."

"And Heavy Pass is knowing mountains as mountains, rivers as rivers, the great earth as the great earth, the void in all directions as the void in all directions; nothing is not my body, nothing is my self."

Then comes the Prison Gate: no birth, therefore eternal life; no death, therefore undying.

These are three progressive realms that must be traversed step by step; they cannot be achieved overnight.

Qin Shi's eyes glazed over, as if listening to a heavenly scripture; could he not just provide a full illustrated PPT for easier understanding?

"Xiao He Xiao He, just tell me directly what I should do."

He genuinely could not understand it, and could not be bothered to expend mental effort researching these abstruse notions of 'innate nature' and 'true self'.

"..."

Super Xiao He gazed at Qin Shi, finding it somewhat difficult to accept; this guy had actually drawn the descent of the Four Pillars?

However you looked at it, he utterly lacked spiritual roots and comprehension, unworthy of such attention!

"Your heart obstacle is already broken, your shackles already removed. Logically speaking, to pass the Prison Gate, you only need to continue your previous line of thought, letting your thoughts become more penetrating..."

Super Xiao He dutifully gave his answer.

I see.

I understand!

Qin Shi's eyes brightened, indicating he had thoroughly comprehended it.

"As long as I kill off the Qin family members until I feel satisfied, the Prison Gate will naturally be passed! Is that the meaning?"

The corner of Super Xiao He's mouth twitched, and he said helplessly:

"Do you not have any inner struggle, doubts about truth and falsehood, self-negation, or deliberation on right and wrong, good and evil?"

Qin Shi was slightly startled, then shook his head:

"Someone like me is single-minded, single-threaded. Once I confirm the road ahead is passable, I'll just keep walking forward, rarely having doubts, struggles, or wild thoughts."

Super Xiao He's rigid features suddenly became animated; he frowned and asked:

"What if it becomes impassable? The road ends, or there simply is no further path ahead."

Qin Shi blurted out:

"I've come this far already; how could I possibly turn back now.

If cultivation requires it, I'll cultivate a road out, and continue forward."

Super Xiao He froze; so simple... is it?

Qin Shi did not speak again to ask; he felt he had thought of a way to pass the Prison Gate.

He picked up the Dog Phone and opened "Killed It".

【47: Boss, can we make a move yet?】

Two minutes later.

【Anonymous User: Yes.】

【Anonymous User: Remember, don't leave obvious traces; guarantee he is brain dead.】

"Brain dead? Okay, Boss."

Qin Shi's brow was very calm; only after a moment did he send the message.

【47: Target has been dealt with.】

【47: Photo. jpg】

This photo, peaceful as if asleep, was taken by the youngest, Qin Lan, before leaving home.

【Anonymous User: Worthy of a Five-Star Killer!】

"Worthy of a Five-Star Killer! This efficiency in handling matters!"

Qin Yixiong held the terminal, a smile on his face.

With that student dead, Gao Haipeng takes the fall.

Things belonging to the Qin Family naturally should return to our hands.

【Anonymous User: I quite admire you, sir; this job was done beautifully.】

【Anonymous User: If you can serve me wholeheartedly, the treatment will absolutely not be lacking.】

【47: Deliver it, Boss.】

【47: We can do business more often in the future.】

Qin Yixiong nodded; he deeply knew these killers who rely on the Dark Web, hiding in dark corners scraping by, only recognize money.

As long as the profit is sufficient, there's nothing they won't do.

He sat in the Boss Chair, opened the terminal, and clicked the "Shunfeng Daojia" Application Software.

Simultaneously, the orange little dog transformed from the Electronic Demon suddenly inflated, like a balloon blowing up.

Across a vast distance, relying on electronic signal transmission and exchange at near light speed, it instantly locked onto Qin Yixiong.

The latter's head went "buzz" at once, as if hearing a piercing shrill cry, a bit dizzy.

He seemed to hear an extremely young voice say to him:

"Get in here for me!"

Qin Yixiong's body leaning against the Boss Chair shuddered; his whole being was as if struck by a palm.

In a trance, his spirit separated from his flesh, like a fish biting bait dragged into a net.

Netherworld Research Institute.

In a lab the size of a football field, researchers in white coats stared intently at screens, ensuring not a single piece of data information was missed.

Ever since the Four Pillars Descend Together upon Dangyang East Suburbs, causing the depth value to surge violently, nearly causing reality to be eroded.

The entire institute became busy.

The arrival of a Pillar-level being often has far-reaching influence.

Because the Material World simply cannot accommodate their existence itself; they can only project through the Netherworld.

Yet even a projection can stir up waves far beyond human imagination.

They are like whales weighing hundreds of tons in the ocean, forcibly squeezing into a pond or a stream.

The outcome can only be disaster.

"Good thing they came fast and left fast too. If the Four Pillars had lingered a bit longer, the Netherworld depth would have kept increasing, and it would inevitably have triggered an abnormal event of Reality Erosion."

Ma Kezhang flipped through the submitted Data Report, secretly letting out a breath of relief.

Good thing no moths flew out; what if some Vassal Creature or Great Demon Cross-border situation had occurred.

Damn it, that would affect my career!

"Boss, regarding the cause that triggered the Four Pillars to descend together, the Inspection Department side doesn't seem very willing to cooperate."

The round-faced girl wearing glasses said, pouting.

"Probably they don't want to steal too much limelight and attract attention. You record this in the Archive, and then... I'll ask the Inspection Department in a few days to see if it needs to be reported to the Imperial Capital immediately."

Although Ma Kezhang does academic research, he understands worldly affairs; he guessed that the hot days of school-start enrollment were approaching.

If word got out that Dangyang had a "Chosen Son of Heaven" who made the Four Pillars descend together, the Four Great National Universities would surely come running.

Out of consideration for retaining talent, the Inspection Department planning to suppress it a bit is also normal.

"This doesn't comply with procedure! The Four Pillars descended simultaneously! And they all cast their gaze! You might not see that once in several hundred years!"

The round-faced girl was clearly an intern greenhorn, expressing incomprehension.

"Xiao Xue, you just came to the institute; doing things by procedure isn't wrong, but it's easy to offend people."

Ma Kezhang earnestly advised his subordinate:

"Since the Inspection Department has shown the intention to temporarily suppress the news, we just go along with them. If you insist on procedure, then next time when collecting Resource Quotas or receiving Funding from above, we'll also follow procedure step by step — what a headache."

The round-faced girl let out an "oh," looking quite worried:

"But a Four Pillars Chosen is so rare; the Four Great National Universities would definitely be willing to give a Special Recruitment Quota. If we miss enrollment, what a pity."

Ma Kezhang shook his head, but didn't directly state his stance, putting it euphemistically:

"Not necessarily a bad thing. The Four Great National Universities are mostly in the Imperial Capital and Haizhou, occupying the entire Satellite City; the students there are all Heaven's Chosen, no matter which department they major in, their innate starting point is very high.

That unknown 'Chosen Son of Heaven' is in Dangyang East Suburbs, which is Old Factory Street.

If we directly let the Four Great National Universities take him outside Dangyang, to contact a broader world, it's hard to say if it would benefit his growth."

Ma Kezhang is an experienced person; he has seen many "genius boys" on Border Planets and in Second and Third Tier Administrative Zones before.

Through diligence and hard study, they finally left their hometown and climbed to higher peaks.

But they quickly fell into mediocrity, and because the gap was too large, they suffered psychological imbalance and thus abandoned themselves.

"How could it be like this?"

The round-faced girl widened her eyes.

"A genius also needs to grow; among the Star Sea, stars are countless, bright moons are many.

Only the Sun is unique... Damn! Why is the alarm sounding again!"

Ma Kezhang was just preparing to lament life when the Red Alert Light lit up again; he jumped up from his chair as if whipped and rushed to the Workbench.

"Boss! It's Dangyang East Suburbs again! Someone entered the Netherworld, suspected to be that 'Chosen Son of Heaven' from last time! A 'Big Fish' like him wearing Four Pillar Level Symbol Emblems is practically a High Power Light Bulb!"

The researcher pointed at the sparkling Light Points flashing on the Screen and said.

"Could it be he's cultivating the heart? That shouldn't be right; Dangyang is a Spiritual Ability Wasteland. And he's striding into the Netherworld so brazenly, doesn't look like an experienced master..."

Ma Kezhang was confused, his face full of bewilderment.

But the next moment, he stared dumbfounded, as if petrified.

"The heart is sublimating? Spiritual Power Fluctuation broke through the Peak Value! Damn it, daring to Breakthrough in the Netherworld!"

"So this is the Netherworld?"

Qin Shi stood in the water with both feet; the surroundings were very quiet, without a shred of sound.

It seemed even the wind had stopped its footsteps here, dissolving into nothingness.

The place he was in should count as an "Island," right?

Surveying left and right, all was Black Mist of thick fog, like burned Ashes, drifting from afar.

The sky was dark and heavy, like stained Ink, sticky and pitch black.

"This island is really a bit too small."

Qin Shi muttered.

Only a few square meters of ground emerged from the water surface, just barely enough to accommodate him.

If the tide rose and waves started, it might be submerged.

"This is your Spiritual Power. Your heart is only this big, so the 'Island' manifested is only this big."

Super Xiao He popped out from who knows where; it rarely stood up, only reaching Qin Shi's knees.

Like a pocket-sized white-haired little boy.

"The Netherworld is the Virtual Number Ocean, the place that carries the spirit and accommodates Consciousness. Everyone who enters here projects a different locale — islands, small boats, castles... and so on."

Qin Shi suddenly understood.

That boundless Cold Sea wrapped in thick fog.

Is probably what the Netherworld projection looks like?

"Instead of caring where you are, you'd better think about how to find that surnamed Qin and then kill him."

Super Xiao He reminded him.

Qin Shi, however, was confident, raising the Dog Phone in his palm and pressing it lightly.

"The Defective Map continues to navigate for you, ensuring you don't get lost in the Netherworld!"

(Chapter End)