Chapter 81: Before the True Gate, the Heavenly Patrol Sets the Trap

At the peak of Kunlun Mountain, wind and snow hung upside down.

The True Gate hung in midair, a thousand zhang tall.

Behind the gate, golden light spread like a sea; faintly visible were the Upper Realm's palaces, Immortal Boats, and battle formations.

Unlike the temporary rift at Tian Duan Cliff, this True Gate was taking root by borrowing Kunlun's ancient veins.

Once fully solidified, the Upper Realm could stably dispatch powerful beings.

By then, the Human Realm's barrier would be torn open into a wound that would never heal.

When Jiang Che led the group to the summit, someone was already waiting before the True Gate.

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy.

Not the true body.

Yet far more solid than the projection at Tian Duan Cliff.

The sword mark Jiang Che had left remained on his brow; his crown had been repaired, yet a faint crack was still visible.

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy looked at Jiang Che, voice cold:

"You have come."

Jiang Che said, "You built this gate too conspicuously; coming was unavoidable."

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy's eyes turned icy.

Xie Wuya whispered, "Be careful; there is an array around the True Gate."

Jiang Che had of course seen it.

Beneath the True Gate, enormous golden array patterns were carved.

The array patterns connected to the Kunlun Mountain range and resonated with the Redemption Steles they had encountered along the way.

Those Redemption Steles were not merely evidence of crimes.

They were also array foundations.

The Old Dynasty's founding emperor established the steles using Donated People; the Heavenly Gate then used these steles to reopen the True Gate a hundred years later.

Xiao Cheng'an's face turned ugly.

"They are the Xiao Clan's old steles."

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy said indifferently, "Correct."

"The Xiao Clan's founding emperor, though dull, did leave some use for the Upper Realm."

Xiao Cheng'an gripped his Short Dagger tight; the wound on his palm split open again.

Jiang Che looked at him.

"Do not be provoked."

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy said, "Jiang Che, do you think bringing descendants of the Crime Clan will redeem the old steles?"

"Countless Living Souls are buried beneath these steles."

"Their resentment, blood, and bones have long been linked to the True Gate."

"Unless you slaughter every drop of Xiao bloodline and wash the steles with blood, the Gate cannot be severed."

Xiao Cheng'an's face turned instantly pale.

This was the trap.

Along the way, redeeming the steles had made Xiao Cheng'an's sense of guilt grow heavier and heavier.

Now the Heavenly Patrol Envoy declared publicly that every drop of Xiao bloodline must be killed to sever the Gate.

If Jiang Che killed, it would prove the New System would also use sacrifice to secure victory.

If he did not kill, the True Gate would be completed.

Xie Tingxue said coldly, "A lie."

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy said, "You may try."

The True Gate's golden light grew brighter.

A sliver of the gate's seam had already opened.

Behind the gate, a Golden Armor giant was coalescing.

Jiang Che looked at the Redemption Stele array patterns, his expression calm.

"The elder speaks truth."

Xie Tingxue looked at him, "What?"

Jiang Che said, "Do not think only of defense."

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy frowned.

Jiang Che suddenly turned toward Xiao Cheng'an.

"Do you remember the new sealing words from the Western Desert?"

Xiao Cheng'an was stunned.

Jiang Che said, "The old steles used Donated People to establish the array."

"Then change the array."

Xie Wuya's eyes lit up.

"Replace the old sacrifice with the new words?"

Jiang Che nodded.

The Heavenly Patrol Envoy sneered, "Ridiculous. The True Gate's array foundations have been set for a hundred years; how could a few words from you change them?"

Jiang Che said, "Not a few words."

He looked at Xiao Cheng'an.

"It is an admission of guilt."

Xiao Cheng'an understood.

He walked toward the first array pattern.

Wind and snow cut like blades; golden light scorched his body.

Every step he took was arduous.

The Heavenly Patrol raised a hand, and a bolt of golden thunder struck down.

Jiang Che slashed the thunder with a single sword strike.

Xie Tingxue and Xie Wuya drew their swords simultaneously to protect Xiao Cheng'an.

Xiao Cheng'an reached the array pattern and knelt in the snow.

He sliced open his palm and pressed his blood onto the golden pattern.

"Xiao Cheng'an, descendant of the Xiao Clan, admits the guilt of three thousand people of the Western Frontier."

"This stele shall no longer offer people to Heaven."

"This stele records the guilt."

The golden pattern trembled violently.

A roar came from the direction of the first Redemption Stele.

The old sacrificial inscriptions on the black stele at the foot of the mountain began to flake off.

New blood characters floated to the surface:

"The Old Dynasty offered three thousand people; this guilt is unforgivable."

The Heavenly Patrol's expression finally changed.

"Stop him!"

From behind the True Gate, dozens of golden-armored puppets charged out.

A great battle erupted instantly.

The Green Blade Camp and the experts of Sword Pavilion met the golden-armored puppets.

Sword Qi crisscrossed the peak of Kunlun Mountain.

Xiao Cheng'an continued toward the second array pattern.

With every admission of guilt for a stele, his face grew paler.

For the array pattern's backlash targeted the Xiao Clan bloodline.

He was not using blood to make a sacrifice.

He was using blood to reclaim the guilt from the Heavenly Gate array and restore it to the historical records of the Human Realm.

The third stele.

The fourth stele.

The fifth stele.

Xiao Cheng'an could barely stand steady.

Lin Xiaoman rushed forward to support him.

"Do not die!"

Xiao Cheng'an smiled: "I still have to return to study."

When the sixth stele's guilt was admitted, the True Gate began to shake violently.

The Heavenly Patrol finally acted personally.

He took a single step forward, a golden spear coalescing in his palm, and thrust straight at Xiao Cheng'an.

Jiang Che blocked the way.

The Green Bamboo Sword clashed with the golden spear.

Jiang Che was knocked back seven steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The Heavenly Patrol said coldly, "Your wounds are not yet healed, yet you dare to block me?"

Jiang Che smiled: "Blocking you is enough."

The seventh stele.

The eighth stele.

When the inscriptions on the last old stele flaked away, countless low wails echoed from the depths of the Kunlun Mountain range.

These were the lingering resentments of those who had been sacrificed.

No longer swallowed by the True Gate.

But remembered by the Human Realm.

Xiao Cheng'an collapsed in the snow, his hands covered in fresh blood, yet he smiled.

"The old steles... are finished being changed."

The foundation of the True Gate array was broken in half.

Jiang Che looked up at the Heavenly Patrol.

"Now."

"It is your turn."