Chapter 541 The Secret Gate
“The Gate of Heaven?”
A light came up in Chen Fan’s eyes and his face changed a little.
That was the second time he had heard of the name ever since he left the Exalted Cultivator’s cave abode.
Li Changsheng slammed the table and shouted, “Just as I suspected! You knew about the Gate of Heaven as well. I used to suspect that you were actually from the other side of the gate, considering how fast your cultivation has progressed. However, later I thought it was impossible.”
Chen Fan toyed with the wine up and asked with a faint smile, “Oh? What made you change your mind?”
Li Changsheng said solemnly, “However powerful an Immortal cultivator is, he wouldn’t be able to defeat an Earth Level Deity, such as Brother Shuming while he was delivering his killing blow. If it were me or Ye Qincang, we could at the most make Lin Shuming die with us. However, you survived the attack unscathed. This is impossible. It went against the iron law of cultivation: an Immortal State Warrior would never be as powerful as an Earth Level Deity.”
Chen Fan asked readily, “Sounds like you know a lot about this Gate of Heaven, don’t you?”
It might be an iron law on earth, but in the realm of Immortal Cultivation, it was not uncommon for a Divine Sea Level warrior to defeat a Connate Spirit Level opponent.
If the Divine Sea Level Warrior has a Spirit Treasure at his disposal, he might even be able to kill a Golden Core Level cultivator.
“Let me share a secret with you: The Wu Dang Sect was founded based on the legacy of a great cultivator from the Gate of Heaven. It’s a shame that our sect has been going downhill ever since its conception. Not even our Ancestral Master Zhang Sanfeng was able to enter the Earth Deity Level,” Li Changsheng said with a wry smile.
“In the end, before our Ancestral Master left us to seek the Gate of Heaven, he told us that it was no longer possible to reach Immortality on Earth.”
“Do you know where the Gate of Heaven is located?” Chen Fan asked curiously.
He was only a step away from reaching the Connate Spirit stage. If he was able to find the Gate of Heaven, he would be able to leave earth and seek opportunities in the vast space. Chen Fan had enough experience to help him navigate the dangerous environment. If he could do so, he would break through to Golden Core or Nascent Soul in no time.
“There were no records of it, but it should be some unreachable place, like the inside of the Kunlun, the eastern edge of the East Sea, Mount Shu, or among the ridges of the Qin Mountain.”
Li Changsheng furrowed his brow and said, “My Ancestral Master sought out the Gate of Heaven for a long time, and he was certain the gate had to be located in one of those areas.”
“Kunlun Mountain, East Sea, Mount Shu, and Qin Mountain?” Chen Fan murmured to himself.
All of those names had occurred frequently in Chinese legends about sages and they say every legend had some truth in it.
Each of these four locations covered a huge area; most people would spend their entire lives searching for the Gate but to no avail. However, Chen Fan was not an average joe. Once he reached the Connate Spirit stage, his Divine Sense would be able to cover a few hundred miles and could pick up signals even the most advanced machines failed to register.
Chen Fan felt relieved after knowing the general location of the Gate. He would venture out to seek the gate once he was ready.
With a serious face, Li Changsheng said, “Although I don’t know exactly where the Gate of Heaven is located, we do have records mentioning cultivators who have come to our world through the gate.”
“Really?” Chen Fan was taken aback.
If cultivators from the other side of the gate could reach this world, it not only proved that the Gate of Heaven was open on either side, but also that the portal could be used multiple times. This would save Chen Fan a lot of time.
“Indeed. Ancient Records show that our Ancestral Master made the first contact with cultivators from the other side of the gate. Those visitors were all wearing plain and simple garb of ancient appearance, and all of them possessed great power that was disproportionate to their level of attainment. Even an average Transcendent State Grandmaster could bring down an Immortal State Warrior on earth. Their Cultivation techniques were extremely effective, and their arts were potent, just like yours.”
Li Changsheng paused a moment and he locked his gaze on Chen Fan.
“And they call themselves… Immortal Cultivators!”
“Immortal Cultivators?”
A smirk crept onto Chen Fan’s face.
He had been looking forward to hearing this name for years. Finally, the day came.
As Chen Fan suspected, the earth used to be a major hub for cultivators. The remnant of the cultivation culture lingered as Martial arts, Dharma Cultivation and Magus Arts. Li Changsheng’s revelation had confirmed his suspicion.
“I knew you were one of them,” Li Changsheng lamented.
“But what does it matter to me now? I might have been able to wrest the secret from you while you were still weak, but now you have fully grown your feathers and rose to power; no one would dare to take advantage of you.”
“You can still try.” Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and gave him a half-smile.
“You’re kidding me. My legs are worn out and my arms are weak. It would be suicide to go against you,” Li Changsheng shook his head and lamented.
If Chen Fan was still at the Ethereal Enlightenment or the Foundation Establishment stage, Li Changsheng might very likely manage to subdue him.
Chen Fan held the holy grail of cultivation: the key to immortality. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. That being said, Li Changsheng was not an unscrupulous cultivator such as the Grand Magus God; he would at the most coerce Chen Fan into disclosing his secret, but he wouldn’t harm him.
Alas, Chen Fan had risen to power and Li Changsheng had lost his chance to even coerce him.
Afterward, Li Changsheng said with a concerned look, “My Ancestral Master estimated that the Immortal cultivators on the other side of the portal would visit our world every hundred years or so. I did a little bit of calculation and found out that the gate would open again very soon.”
After he said that, Li Changsheng heaved a long sigh of resignation.
“The Gate of Heaven will open?”
Chen Fan furrowed his brow as a name suddenly came to him. “Have you ever heard of a sect called the Snow God Palace?”
“You have heard of them as well?” Li Changsheng was caught by surprise.
“The Snow God Palace was indeed formed by sages who came out of the portal. They are mostly female. Each generation, their Sect Master would be at the Immortal State as a minimum. My Ancestral Master used to know one of their sect masters. He said the members of the sect were extremely aloof and powerful.”
“I see.” Chen Fan sneered.
Lu Yanxue was taken away by members of the Snow God Palace. Lu Yanxue’s Spirit Root was so subtle that an average cultivator would have never taken notice of it.
The Elder from the Medicine God Valley Sect told Chen Fan that the Snow God Palace was located deep in the Great Glacial Mountain, but now it seemed that the piece of information was likely to be false. He figured that Li Changsheng had to know much more than an elder of a small sect.
“One of my friends was taken away by the Snow God Palace two years ago.”
“What?”
Li Changsheng was elated by the news.
“They have shown up? Does it mean that the Gate of Heaven is indeed open? The time to reach immortality has come!”
Li Changsheng’s face bloomed like a flower despite his stately and impassive demeanor moments before.
“Immortal Master Chen, we must find this gate. The next time it opens up would be a hundred years from now,” Li Changsheng urged.
Chen Fan remained silent.
At his level, as soon as he found the Gate of Heaven, he could force it open at any time.
His initial goal of seeking out the Gate of Heaven was to reach another planet for cultivation, but now the task gained a new meaning. He had to find the Snow God Palace and rescue his friend.
Chen Fan snorted under his breath, “I don’t care who you are and where you are from… if you dare to harm a hair on Lu Yanxue’s head, I will annihilate your entire sect!”
“I wonder, why didn’t your Ancestral Master coerce the visitors from the other side into revealing the location of the portal?” Chen Fan asked.
“They tried,” Li Changsheng said, grimacing.
“Most visitors were in the Immortal State. The weaker ones were all accompanied by their senior counterparts. Despite their lower level of attainment, they were as powerful as Earth Level Deities. Worse, they possessed deadly Dharma Artifacts that helped them during combat.”
Chen Fan nodded slightly.
These descriptions matched the characteristics of Immortal Cultivators.
Chen Fan had brought Immortal State Warriors to heel while he was only in the early-stage of the Divine Sea. He had just defeated an Earth Level Deity while he was only at the mid-stage of the Divine Sea a few days before. Although these visitors from the realm of Immortal Cultivators were weaker than him, they were invincible for the average cultivators on Earth.
“Since you already knew about the Gate of Heaven, I have nothing else to say. Please give me a heads up if you wish to seek out the Gate of Heaven. I would really appreciate it,” Li Changsheng said.
“Will do.” Chen Fan nodded slightly.
After Li Changsheng had left, Chen Fan pondered for a long time, only to shake his head in the end.
He reckoned that he shouldn’t get ahead of himself; reaching the Connate Spirit stage should be his priority before seeking out the Gate of Heaven. He would be able to handle the Earth Level Deities from the Gate of Heaven once he attained that stage.
He sat down on the North Qiong Pavilion’s roof and started to cultivate.
The True Essence inside of his system increased slowly but surely. Even without the aid of another Spirit Source, he should be able to reach the Connate Spirit stage soon.
“Donnn!”
Soon after, Chen Fan heard a commotion inside the pavilion.
He rose to his feet, then drew a large gulp of air before he flashed out of sight, to then reappear inside the pavilion. He saw An Ya standing in the middle of the room as energy coursed through her veins. It dawned on him that she had reached the mid-stage of Ethereal Enlightenment. She had been testing her newfound strength and made a huge dent on the wall.
“Xiao Fan…”
An Ya looked at Chen Fan, eyes filled with joy and surprise.
“Congratulations, Sister An.” Chen Fan cracked a smile.
An Ya had previously achieved the Foundation Establishment stage, so she was the first to finish her cultivation. After a while, Wang Xiaoyun and Fang Qiong also completed their cultivation.
Both of them had reached the early-stage of Ethereal Enlightenment.