Chapter 385: Grand Void Gate [Monthly Ticket Bonus, Combined Update]

After its upgrade, the Great Dream Immersion allows one to connect with the Grand Void Gate through dreams.

Seeing the words "Grand Void Gate," Li Rui's pupils sharply contracted.

Good heavens.

It was said that the Grand Void Gate was where ancient immortals cultivated and attained the Dao, and it had vanished from the world tens of thousands of years ago.

Li Rui's heart pounded violently; his throat went dry. Even though he had weathered countless storms, his emotions could not help but surge.

Unbelievable!

A tremendous fortune!

Without hesitation, Li Rui returned to his room and lay down to sleep.

When his consciousness revived,

He snapped his head up.

The familiar dreamlike Cloud Terrace had vanished; endless clouds surrounded him, so thick he could barely see anything.

Fortunately, Li Rui's vision was sharp enough.

Beyond a hundred zhang, he saw a stone gate towering dozens of zhang high, inscribed with four ancient, dignified characters—Grand Void Gate.

"Did I really enter?"

Li Rui blinked, unable to believe what he saw.

He took a step forward.

A breeze, source unknown, swept away the mist before him, revealing a cluster of gilded palaces. Ten thousand beams of golden light rolled through crimson clouds, and a thousand auspicious rays surged from violet mists—he felt as if he had stepped into a fairy realm.

Beneath the massive stone gate stretched an endless white jade staircase leading to the buildings.

Li Rui squinted slightly.

He now understood why, despite countless prodigies in later ages, none had ever found the Grand Void Gate.

For the Grand Void Gate existed precisely between reality and illusion.

It could not be found by any ordinary means.

Only by entering through dreams could one reach it.

He could not help but marvel at the immortals' extraordinary methods.

Li Rui stared at the white jade staircase for a long while, then cautiously took a step forward.

He felt his soul tremble violently.

"Mm—"

Li Rui jolted upright on his bed.

He couldn't sleep.

More accurately, he had nearly died.

He knew this sensation all too well.

He furrowed his brow slightly.

"So brutal?"

He had not expected the white jade staircase, though seemingly ordinary, to contain such terrifying power.

'Thank goodness it was just a dream.'

Li Rui exhaled a long, heavy breath.

Once the Great Dream Immersion is interrupted, one can no longer fall asleep.

He had not expected his first entry into the Grand Void Gate to end so abruptly.

He rolled out of bed and decided to step outside for some fresh air.

But just as Li Rui rose,

He froze mid-movement.

Looking inward, he realized his soul had grown dramatically stronger!

This discovery shocked Li Rui deeply.

"The white jade staircase actually cultivates the soul."

It was as if the pillow had appeared just when he needed it.

Li Rui was currently at the Qi Refining stage of soul refinement—his goal was to temper his soul. With the white jade staircase aiding him, his progress would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

"Perfect!"

In that single instant, he had gained the equivalent of ten full days of rigorous cultivation.

Li Rui's mood instantly brightened.

He pulled on his outer robe.

Then he opened the door.

Cold moonlight spilled over him; the air was chilly. He inhaled deeply, and his mind grew clear.

Li Rui wandered alone through the courtyard.

As he neared the Assistant Regional Commander's mansion gate,

He spotted a figure slipping quietly through the side entrance.

He looked closer.

It was Jiang Lin.

Li Rui smiled: "Little Brother Jiang, why are you back so late?"

Jiang Lin blinked in surprise at seeing Li Rui:

"Big Brother Li, weren't you sent to Pojun Fortress?"

Li Rui smiled.

Jiang Lin, being an undercover officer of Zhen Shan, immediately recounted everything that had happened at Pojun Fortress.

"The Marquis truly thinks ahead."

The death of a fallen immortal in the Purple Gold Palace was no small matter.

Even though Liu Qing, a great expert, now guards Pojun Fortress, there's no telling if someone desperate might target Li Rui.

Suddenly,

Jiang Lin gazed at Li Rui with a sly smile and blurted out:

"Big Brother Li, I knew I wasn't mistaken—you've truly mastered an immortal technique."

Li Rui was startled.

"Did the Marquis tell you?"

Jiang Lin nodded with a smile, said nothing, and made a sword finger gesture.

The little sword Tan Lang shot out with a sharp hiss.

Seeing Tan Lang, Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

"An immortal technique!"

He sensed the unique aura of an immortal scripture on Jiang Lin's little sword—though not the same as the Five Elemental Body Refinement Scripture, it shared the same origin.

Jiang Lin smiled and revealed a secret:

"Deep within the imperial palace, a fallen immortal is imprisoned."

Li Rui narrowed his eyes.

Of course.

The Yu Kingdom's court had done many things in secret.

He suspected they held more than one fallen immortal.

Jiang Lin continued: "Five hundred years ago, the court first became aware of fallen immortals and began studying them. To date, they've obtained five immortal scriptures and three immortal treasures."

Li Rui grinned.

Quietly accomplishing great things.

"If Big Brother Li is willing, you may surrender your immortal scripture in exchange for one of the other five held by the undercover officers."

"This is a privilege reserved for Zhen Shan officers—I can arrange the exchange for you."

"Of course, it's entirely up to you, Big Brother Li."

Li Rui paused thoughtfully: "I'll consider it."

"Fine."

Jiang Lin waved dismissively, then couldn't help but study Li Rui again: "Big Brother Li, do you know why the court has kept these immortal scriptures secret for so long?"

Li Rui shook his head.

Jiang Lin: "Only martial artists above the Profound Insight realm can cultivate immortal scriptures—and even among the top three ranks, few can succeed. Among those below the third rank, the number is vanishingly small—only five in five hundred years."

"Big Brother Li, mastering an immortal technique at the Qi Refining stage—your future is boundless. You are a true genius."

Li Rui couldn't help but ask: "Little Brother Jiang, when did you master your immortal technique?"

"Qi Refining."

"."

Li Rui was speechless.

No wonder Jiang Lin advanced as easily as drinking water.

Cultivating immortal scriptures greatly benefits Qi Refining martial artists, accelerating progress far beyond ordinary cultivators.

Jiang Lin: "We're undercover officers—we don't need to worry about cultivating immortal techniques."

Li Rui felt a weight lift from his heart.

He hadn't expected joining the Shadow Guard would come with such benefits.

Hearing Jiang Lin's words, he felt his horizons expand—he was only now, as his realm and status rose, beginning to glimpse the world's hidden truths.

The secrets hidden by the imperial court were surely more than he could imagine.

Li Rui wasn't foolish enough to fall into anxious, groundless worries.

Immortal affairs were still far too distant from him; better to spend time cultivating than waste it pondering such things, and strive to enter the Upper Three Ranks sooner.

Only then would he have the strength to survive when the Immortal Calamity came.

Another night passed.

The mist around him dispersed.

The white jade steps reappeared before Li Rui.

"Thirty-first time."

He counted silently in his heart.

These past days, he had repeatedly tried to step onto the white jade steps, but each attempt ended in failure.

In other words, he had been sleepless for a full month.

Fortunately, martial artists had sturdy bodies; a little less sleep didn't matter, or he'd have collapsed long ago.

After so many failures,

Li Rui had gradually gathered some experience.

"It is said that the Grand Void Arena was crafted by the Lord of the Immortal Court, specifically to train gifted cultivators—only those who ascend the white jade steps are truly admitted into the Grand Void Arena, proving they possess the potential to become immortals."

"In ancient times, countless prodigies fell upon these white jade steps."

He had studied many ancient texts, which recorded numerous legends about the Grand Void Arena—including details on the white jade steps.

"These white jade steps were established by the Lord of the Immortal Court to select immortal talents; they serve not only as a test, but are themselves a divine boon."

"Those who reach the summit of the white jade steps may receive the infusion of immortal qi."

Li Rui gazed at the summit of the white jade steps, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He adjusted his state.

Then he took a step forward.

Crash!

This time, he no longer suffered insomnia at midnight—his right foot landed firmly on the next step.

A faint smile curled Li Rui's lips.

He did not rush to climb the next step; instead, he decisively stepped back, returning to the base of the white jade steps.

Haste makes waste.

With his current state, succeeding on the next step was impossible.

Li Rui never wasted effort—he immediately sat cross-legged beneath the stone gate of the Grand Void Arena and began meditating.

The Grand Void Arena was, after all, a place where immortals cultivated.

Cultivating immortal arts here was akin to being in a true paradise.

Far superior to the cave beneath the Qinghe Training Ground.

Li Rui would never miss such an opportunity.

He cultivated for three full hours before rising again, preparing to try once more.

As expected,

the next instant,

Li Rui sat upright on his bed—yes, he had failed again.

He gazed out the window at the faint dawn light.

"Another new day."

Deep within the Purple Gold Palace,

a dark chamber. Si Feng stood with his hands behind his back, expressionless, staring at a pool of blood before him.

The next instant,

the once-still blood pool suddenly churned—within the span of an incense stick, a blood-stained figure slowly emerged.

With every step the blood figure took, a fresh pool of crimson blood pooled on the ground.

When it reached Si Feng's side, its crimson coating fully faded.

Revealing the form of an old Daoist.

It was Sheng Dao Ren!

Si Feng, seeing Sheng Dao Ren appear, spoke calmly: "If you act recklessly again, there won't be another blood soul to resurrect you."

Sheng Dao Ren's face darkened.

"I know."

Had it not been for the Grand Void Sect's secret technique, the Blood Soul Spell, he might already be dead.

!

"Yuan Dingting!"

His eyes blazed with boundless killing intent.

Though he had returned from death, his strength had plummeted again—he'd need at least a decade or more to recover. After suffering such a heavy loss, how could he bear it?

Everyone knew,

that Sheng Dao Ren never let a grudge go unanswered!

"Big Brother, that was satisfying—General Xue personally led the strike and destroyed one of the Purple Gold Palace's branch halls."

Ning Zhongtian said excitedly.

As soon as his duty shift brought him back to Qinghe, he rushed to find Li Rui.

"Indeed satisfying."

Li Rui nodded with a smile.

General Xue had acted so ruthlessly because of the incident at Pojun Fortress—though few had died, Annan Town had lost face, and worse, the humiliation had reached Marquis Yuan's ears; they had to reclaim their honor.

"Enough. Now that you're back, focus on your cultivation—break through soon, and spare yourself the horrors of the battlefield."

"."

Ning Zhongtian fell silent.

The logic was sound.

But he had only just broken through—he'd likely need at least a decade before even touching the threshold of Primordial.

By then,

the wars might already be over.

"Big Brother, that's a cruel thing to say."

Ning Zhongtian left, dejected.

Li Rui shook his head with a smile, then returned to his room.

Externally, he always claimed to be recovering from injuries.

Naturally, it was better to avoid drawing too much attention.

He sat cross-legged.

Li Rui pulled out a book with a faded yellow cover—it was the cultivation technique taken from the heretical Daoist by Yuan Dingting.

"Huh!"

After reading only a few pages,

Li Rui couldn't help but be astonished.

What a heretical art!

It described either forging the Ten Thousand Soul Banner from living souls, or crafting the Ghost Bone Ship from white bones—each more monstrous than the last.

He immediately locked the heretical text away in a cabinet.

It wasn't that he was righteous—he simply knew these heretical arts all violated heaven and harmed mortals. As a man of the orthodox path serving in government, he had no reason to sink into such corruption.

Heretical cultivators were deviants.

They had taken the wrong path, abandoned the orthodox way.

Why abandon the orthodox path?

Because, for various reasons, they simply couldn't walk it.

Li Rui was already on the orthodox path—why abandon his foundation for something false?

Moreover, as Li Rui knew, accumulating too much killing karma could bind one with heavy karmic debt, which would weigh heavily upon one at higher realms.

"Perhaps when Jiang's younger brother returns, I can trade this heretical text for an immortal technique."

Li Rui thought this a good idea.

A form of waste reuse.

He stilled his mind.

He began cultivating the Five Spirit Body Refinement Scripture.

Manifesting the Five Spirit Shield was merely the first layer—just the entry point.

Now Li Rui was attempting the second layer: the Five Elements True Qi Strike.

Once perfected, its killing power will increase by at least fifty percent!

These past few days.

He chatted idly with Jiang Lin and learned much about cultivation.

For instance, some are martial geniuses but cannot cultivate—like Yuan Dingting, who reached the First Rank solely through martial arts—while others are cultivation geniuses, like the State Tutor and Gu Changsheng.

In comparison, Li Rui's path is actually one of combined immortal and martial cultivation.

Immortal Dao is the nature; martial Dao is the life.

A body with both martial bones and a top-grade spiritual root is nearly impossible to find in this world.

Li Rui finished his cultivation.

Then he crawled into bed and fell asleep at once.

The mist dispersed; his consciousness revived.

Li Rui opened his eyes and saw the familiar white jade steps.

"Again!"

His eyes glowed with battle intent.

Yet he did not rush to climb the second white jade step; instead, he sat cross-legged beneath it and resumed practicing the Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture until his essence, energy, and spirit were fully replenished.

Only then did he rise and firmly take his first step.

The soul impact no longer affected Li Rui—not only because he was now accustomed to it, but because his soul had grown far stronger since his first attempt.

He landed steadily!

Li Rui's eyes showed no great emotion.

He did not press forward immediately; instead, he stopped and pondered for a full half-hour.

Then he lifted his foot again.

This time, the soul impact was clearly far stronger than on the first step.

Li Rui's body trembled slightly.

But his gaze grew even more resolute.

Thud!

Li Rui's right foot slammed down upon the white jade step.

Second level!

A faint smile touched Li Rui's lips.

He felt the mysterious power of the white jade step washing over his soul.

Strengthened again!

"Good."

Li Rui did not greedily press on; after reaching the second level, he did not continue climbing.

Instead, as usual, he prepared to withdraw.

Some might prefer to charge forward without pause, but Li Rui favored steady, methodical progress, maximizing the Grand Void Dao Field's potential.

Yet just as he was thinking this.

A faint hum suddenly rose behind him.

Li Rui turned his head.

He saw a small flying sword hurtling toward him.

The flying sword moved too fast—even he had no time to react.

"Mm."

Li Rui jolted upright in bed.

Another sleepless night.

"So that's why the white jade steps are a trial?"

He recalled the image of the flying sword in his mind, pondering silently.

According to ancient texts, the Grand Void Dao Field indeed had the ability to simulate powerful foes to train cultivators in combat.

"It must also be part of the trial."

Li Rui rubbed his temples.

The difficulty of the white jade steps was higher than he'd imagined.

'No wonder it's an ancient site for selecting immortal seeds.'

Top-grade spiritual roots were already rare in ancient times, yet the Grand Void Dao Field was established by the Lord of the Immortal Court—top-grade roots were merely the entry threshold, and supreme-grade roots were commonplace.

Li Rui did not undervalue himself.

After all, he had only just entered the immortal path; there was still a long road ahead.

He had already endured to glimpse the immortal path—how could he possibly abandon it now?

As Yuan Dingting had said, his greatest strength was his unyielding, iron-like will to seek the Dao.

"Big Brother, I heard that after Commander Xue arrived at Pojun Fortress, he didn't leave—he took command there and has already crushed three outposts of the Purple Gold Palace."

Ning Zhongtian beamed with excitement.

These past days, the front lines have been reporting victory after victory.

Annan Town has broken the stalemate, showing signs of unstoppable momentum.

Li Rui pondered silently.

He'd heard the Witch Kingdom and East Witch had also achieved great victories, capturing seven cities and showing signs of unification.

Annan Town must be coordinating with the Witch Kingdom's military operations.

Of course, none of this concerned him, a deputy commander recovering from injuries.

Beside him, Ning Zhongtian was frustrated.

He'd finally been rotated back, expecting rest and ease—only to find that monumental achievements had slipped right past him.

But he'd heard that Cao Wei had earned plenty of merit on the front lines.

Ning Zhongtian's eyes burned with envy.

He wished he could rush back to the Ten Thousand Mountains right now.

Li Rui had long passed the stage of chasing fame and glory.

He sought stability.

He already held the Fourth Rank; to rise further meant becoming a provincial governor or a high minister of court—neither could be achieved by mere battlefield merit.

There was something even more critical.

And the prerequisite for all of it was staying alive.

All he needed now was to quietly strengthen his power.

Another night.

Li Rui returned once more before the white jade steps.

This time, he did not even attempt to climb—he simply sat before the white jade platform and began meditating in stillness.

Three months passed in a flash.

He cultivated day and night without pause, and finally saw results.

The Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture had reached the threshold of its second layer—only one final step remained.

The Grand Void Dao Field's spiritual energy was dense, ideal for breakthroughs.

'This Dao Field is truly wondrous—even in dreams, the spiritual energy gained is real. I cannot imagine the power the Lord of the Immortal Court once wielded.'

As Li Rui thought this, he activated the Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture.

The spiritual energy before the white jade steps was swallowed like an ocean, drawn into his body.

Finally.

The spiritual energy within him reached a critical threshold.

The five-element true qi residing in his five viscera emitted a faint, almost imperceptible resonance, which gradually grew louder.

Within Li Rui's body, it sounded as if a great bell was ringing.

"Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture—Second Layer!"

(End of Chapter)