Chapter 209: The Heavenly Gate Opens, Immortals Descend (Request Monthly Tickets

Sixteen years ago, Wu Xian traveled alone through the world, slaughtering his way from the shores of the East Sea to the far west, then from the Northern Mang grasslands to the Southern Forbidden Zones.

Wherever he passed, rivers ran red with blood, heads rolled across the land—he nearly single-handedly crushed the entire world, also uprooting every pawn the heavens had hidden among mortals, briefly breaking free from their control.

Beyond that, he aided the Great Chu imperial capital in forcefully suppressing all conflicts, forcing countless factions across the land to be reshuffled into prolonged silence.

Seizing this opportunity, Great Chu entered a phase of rapid development; Emperor Jiang Ren abandoned his former lax attitude toward governance and began to diligently rule.

In just one month, he issued nearly a hundred edicts, each one beneficial to the state and its people, instantly earning praise from scholars and commoners alike, who deemed him worthy of the title "Emperor of a Thousand Ages."

Yet it is well known that any policy beneficial to the common folk inevitably harms the interests of high officials and aristocratic clans.

Unfortunately, in any other dynasty throughout history—even the former Qin Empire—these clans and nobles had countless ways to sabotage the court.

Refuse to cooperate, refuse to compromise—even the First Emperor would be thwarted; they could simply play minor tricks to render edicts useless and stir up chaos among the people.

But such tactics were utterly ineffective against today's Great Chu.

Leaving aside the Emperor himself, the State Tutor, whose title was "Yuan Shi Da Luo Tian," was a being truly like a god or demon—violent-tempered, prone to slaughtering entire families; anyone who displeased him for even a moment would spend the rest of their life weeping.

With his support, these nobles and ministers dared not defy Great Chu—they could only kneel and submit, actively implementing court policies and behaving obediently, hoping not to be discarded by the new era.

Not only the great clans acted thus; even the Three Teachings—Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism—and foreign powers beyond the Central Plains did the same.

Though still newly founded, Great Chu now truly possessed the aura of ten thousand sects bowing and ten thousand nations submitting.

On the other side, as the apparent and actual architect of all this, Wu Xian, after ensuring Great Chu's foundational stability, immediately withdrew behind the scenes and settled permanently in Liangzhou—on Mount Qingliang, once the residence of the Northern Liang Prince's mansion.

The retirement life of the world's strongest was dull and monotonous: each day involved drinking tea and fishing, studying the Dao of Yin and Yang with the former Empress of Western Chu, or training a few greenhorn apprentices in literature and martial arts—all aimed at absolute freedom and ease.

But in recent years, for reasons unknown, Wu Xian began frequently announcing seclusion, and the intervals between each grew longer.

From initial periods of seven or eight days, to later spans of one or two months, his most recent seclusion lasted half a year without him stepping out of his meditation chamber once, causing growing concern for his condition.

There is no wall without cracks, let alone Wu Xian—the world's strongest, State Tutor of Great Chu—whose every action, even a sneeze, was once interpreted as carrying a hundred meanings.

Thus, upon learning of his unusual pattern of seclusion, many began speculating, and among these, two theories stood out as most plausible.

The first: Wu Xian had encountered a cultivation mishap—perhaps demonic deviation—suffering severe internal injuries, forcing him into frequent seclusion for healing.

The second: Wu Xian's realm had broken through again, reaching a state where ascension was unavoidable; his seclusion was to suppress his cultivation, prolonging his stay in the mortal realm.

Either possibility, whichever it was, was a tremendous boon to certain people.

If this world's strongest martial demon truly faltered or ascended to the Immortal Realm, then the mortal world would lose its one god who suppressed all, and they could return to their former lives of unchecked power and superiority.

Instantly, dark currents surged across the land; countless eyes fixed on Mount Qingliang, eagerly awaiting news of Wu Xian's death in seclusion—or his ascension.

At this thought, Ye Qingmei's previously upturned lips curled into a sneer. "Those fools always dream up impossible fantasies. What kind of being is my Master? How could a mere realm breakthrough affect him? He's merely putting on a show for certain people."

"Certain people? Sister Qingmei means…"

Wang Qingxuan furrowed her brow, pointing upward with a finger, her gaze curious.

Seeing this, Ye Qingmei merely smiled without answering.

Both were Wu Xian's disciples; over the years, while cultivating martial arts in seclusion, they had often heard Wu Xian speak of the grudges between heaven and earth, and even once crafted a tale called "Snowy Wind, Slicing Blade," analyzing it deeply, using its characters as negative examples to instill correct values in their disciples.

They remembered it vividly—Wu Xian had a cruel sense of humor, naming minor characters in the story after them, ruining any sense of immersion.

For instance, Wen Liang and Xuan Yuan Qingfeng: one lost hands and feet for the protagonist, the other grew up orphaned and died alone—each more tragic than the last.

And Wang Qingxuan and Ye Qingmei: though their names never appeared in the tale, the spear-immortal's daughter named Qingniao and Xu Weixiong, who betrayed her own family, were clearly modeled after their backgrounds.

Thinking of how these two characters sacrificed everything—love, loyalty, even their lives—for that twisted Northern Liang heir and became his death servants, Wang and Ye felt a chill run down their spines, and for a long time, they were furious with Wu Xian.

At that moment, the two suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath them, as if a subterranean dragon had rolled nearby; as they stared in shock, a terrifying pressure descended from the sky.

Throughout Liangzhou, every martial cultivator above the Second Rank looked up in horror.

Above, the infinite heavens split open with a roar, revealing a gate blazing with radiant light.

As the light spread, the gate rapidly expanded until it became a colossal passage several miles wide, through which a vast palace slowly descended, its silhouette faintly visible among the radiance—a line of solemn figures resembling the legendary celestial soldiers.

Witnessing this divine spectacle, the common folk and martial cultivators of Liangzhou and nearby regions stood dumbfounded.

After their initial shock, the commoners could not help but kneel, bowing to the faint celestial figures above, convinced the gods had manifested, and began babbling flattery, begging for divine favor.

On Mount Qingliang, Ye Qingmei and the others watched solemnly, yet showed no fear; they drew their weapons, standing ready, as if prepared to strike at the heavenly immortals at any moment.

Zzzzz—

Suddenly, the passage blazed white; one after another, celestial gates descended in orderly rows, each higher than the last, totaling thirty-six layers.

Outside the lowest gate, a group of robed immortals flew forward; one of them barked in a deep voice:

"State Tutor Wu Xian of Great Chu, we, the heavenly immortals, descend by the Emperor's command to eradicate you, this demon from beyond the realms—come forth and submit at once…"

"Boom————!!!"

Golden light flashed; the immortal's voice cut off abruptly. Before everyone's stunned eyes, he and the surrounding immortals vanished into ash.

The jade-like celestial gate vanished too—not shattered, but seized by a hand, then instantly erased, as if relocated to another dimension.

————

The second chapter will come later—I'm going to the hospital for acupuncture now, will finish by noon. The Snowy Wind world is nearly done. Tomorrow, back to Infinite Terror!

(End of Chapter)