Chapter 79: Kunlun True Gate, The Lingering Sound of the Alcohol Sword

When Jiang Che awoke, the Green Bamboo Sword was vibrating.

It was not a warning.

It felt more like a response.

Outside the window, the sky had not yet brightened; Capital City lay submerged in thin mist.

Xie Tingxue arrived quickly.

"What is wrong?"

Jiang Che said, "I dreamed of the Senior."

Xie Tingxue knew who the Senior in his words referred to.

That Alcohol Sword Immortal who had once dwelt within a Wooden Sword, helped Jiang Che rise in the Broken Temple, and then scattered his remaining Soul before the Heavenly Gate.

"What did he say?"

"Kunlun."

Xie Tingxue's expression changed slightly.

"Kunlun Mountain?"

Jiang Che nodded.

Kunlun lies at the extreme northwest of the Human Realm, at a great height.

Legend says it is the ancient Heaven Pillar, and also the place where the Human Realm is closest to the Upper Realm.

In the records of the Old Dynasty, Kunlun was often called the "Immortal Vein Ancestral Court."

But Jiang Che knew that these so-called immortal traces were mostly related to the Heavenly Gate.

Soon, Tian Duan Cliff sent a second urgent report.

An anomaly had appeared in the Northern Branch of the Sword Vein.

The direction was precisely Kunlun.

Xie Wuya wrote in the letter:

"Deep within Kunlun, there is suspected to be the aura of a True Gate."

"It is not a Remnant Gate of the Lower Realm, nor comparable to the Water Gate Demon Well."

"If the True Gate opens, the Upper Realm may descend with even stronger existences."

The Council Hall convened an emergency meeting.

Gu Chongming's face was grave.

"How long has it been since the battle at Tian Duan Cliff? How can the Upper Realm open a True Gate again?"

Xie Tingxue said, "They may have borrowed the ancient vein of Kunlun."

Shen Wanjin spoke softly, "Are we to fight a great war again?"

No one answered.

Because everyone knew that if the Kunlun True Gate succeeded, it would not merely be a calamity.

It would be the Upper Realm truly re-establishing its gate above the Human Realm.

Jiang Che looked at the map.

Kunlun is far to the northwest, with treacherous terrain and constant wind and snow; ordinary armies find it difficult to reach.

Chen Shanhe sent a message requesting to fight.

"The Northern Garrison Army can follow the Young Master westward."

Jiang Che did not agree immediately.

A journey to Kunlun might not be suitable for a large army.

What he needed was speed.

Precision.

To arrive before the True Gate fully opened.

The Council Hall finally decided:

Jiang Che would lead the Anti-Heaven Bureau's elite, along with Xie Tingxue, Xie Wuya, the Green Blade Camp, and experts from the Sword Pavilion, to Kunlun.

Chen Shanhe would lead the Northern Garrison Army to garrison the Northern Border, guarding against the Upper Realm's feint attacks.

Qin Su would prepare high-altitude medicinal herbs.

Shen Wanjin would be responsible for supplies along the route.

Lin Xiaoman volunteered to go.

Gu Chongming opposed: "Kunlun is not an ordinary battlefield; it is too dangerous for you to go."

Lin Xiaoman said, "If it is a battle for the True Gate, someone must record it."

Gu Chongming shouted angrily, "How old are you?"

Lin Xiaoman lowered his head: "On that day in Luo'an, I was not much older either."

Gu Chongming fell silent.

Finally, Jiang Che agreed to let him accompany them, but he must remain in the rear formation.

Before departing, Jiang Che went to the Question Stele in Capital City.

Beside the stele, someone was reading "Do Not Forbid Questions in My Name."

Jiang Che stood for a moment, and suddenly felt that this city had truly changed.

It no longer waited for an Emperor to speak.

Instead, it was arguing, asking, and learning to walk on its own.

This was very good.

It is also fragile.

Xie Tingxue walked to his side.

"Worried?"

Jiang Che nodded.

"If Kunlun falls, everything could revert."

Xie Tingxue said, "Then we shall not fall."

Jiang Che smiled: "You are always so direct."

Xie Tingxue looked at him.

"You taught me."

Three days later, the Kunlun caravan departed from the Beijing Capital Region.

This time, the people seeing them off along the way did not shout ten thousand victories.

Nor did they kneel and bow.

They merely clasped their hands in salute.

Someone shouted:

"Return alive!"

This phrase warmed Jiang Che's heart more than ten thousand victories.

The caravan headed northwest.

Passing through the Beijing Capital Region, entering the Western Desert, then heading toward Snow Mountain.

Xiao Cheng'an waited for them in the Western Desert.

He was now much darker and much thinner, working with Qin Su's people to repair the well channels.

Seeing Jiang Che, he clasped his hands and said, "Young Master."

Jiang Che looked at him.

"You do not need to go to Kunlun."

Xiao Cheng'an shook his head.

"The old path to Kunlun is recorded in the Xiao Clan's archives."

"I can lead the way."

Jiang Che asked, "Not afraid?"

Xiao Cheng'an smiled.

"Afraid."

"But I do not wish to hide."

Jiang Che nodded.

The caravan continued toward Kunlun.

The further northwest they went, the higher the sky and earth rose, the thinner the air became.

At night, Jiang Che dreamed of the green-robed swordsman again.

This time, the Broken Temple was gone.

In the dream, there was only a snow mountain.

The green-robed swordsman sat atop the peak drinking wine, his shadow fainter than before.

Jiang Che asked, "Senior, how much of you remains?"

The green-robed swordsman smiled: "Not much."

"Then why can you still enter dreams?"

"Because Kunlun holds a trace of Sword Intent I left behind back then."

Jiang Che's heart stirred.

"You have been to Kunlun?"

The green-robed swordsman looked up at Heaven.

"A hundred years ago, I struck down the first Heavenly Gate right there."

Jiang Che was shaken.

The green-robed swordsman tossed the wine gourd toward him.

"This True Gate is far more fierce than before."

"Boy, do not think only of defending."

Jiang Che caught the wine gourd.

"Then what should I do?"

The green-robed swordsman grinned.

"The Gate Opens a Line."

"Then kill your way in and take a look."