Chapter 136: Opening the Eight Gates (Grand Chapter)

I could not help but be stunned: "Senior Li, are you attempting to achieve enlightenment?"

However, Daoist Li said nothing more. Instead, he leaped into the air.

Within his palms, six yellow talismans instantly arranged themselves into a formation. The formation glowed with a blinding golden light, and with every shift of his finger incantations, each talisman transformed into countless phantom blades. Following his thunderous command, these golden sword shadows surged toward Mo Kui and Mo Xin!

Yet, Mo Xin merely sneered. "A mere ant at the Primordial Spirit stage dares to strike? You seek death!"

As he spoke, Mo Xin cast out a wave of malevolent energy, clearly intending to extinguish Daoist Li’s life force.

However, Daoist Li shifted his finger seals, and the sword shadows formed by the six yellow talismans responded in kind, shattering the incoming wave of malevolent energy in a single blow. The dissipating energy was then entirely absorbed into the Qingping Sword in my hand.

Mo Xin was slightly taken aback by Daoist Li’s prowess. He had not expected a Primordial Spirit Daoist to be capable of blocking his malevolent energy; in principle, this was impossible. Unconvinced, he gathered his dark energy, preparing to strike again.

In a flash, Daoist Li cast out eight more yellow talismans. As they shifted in mid-air, they formed a glowing Yin-Yang Bagua seal. With a furious roar, Daoist Li bellowed:

"Yin-Yang Bagua Diagram, suppress the demons and evil spirits!"

"Swiftly, in accordance with the law! Command! Command! Command!"

With his three commands, the golden Yin-Yang Bagua seal shone with an incomparable radiance, slamming into Mo Kui and Mo Xin. Perhaps the light was too intense, as both demons were forced to raise their hands to shield their eyes.

But it did not end there. Daoist Li then unleashed four more spiritual talismans. Crossing his hands, he held two in each, and as he chanted, the talismans were suddenly engulfed in four balls of flame. With a shift of his seals, the flames hung suspended in the air, stabilizing at the four cardinal directions around him.

He chanted again:

"Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, Four Symbols Array, Command! Command! Command! Command!"

With a deafening boom, the four balls of flame transformed into four pillars of light piercing the sky. From within the fire, the four great manifestations—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise—emerged, sweeping in from all sides toward Mo Kui and Mo Xin with a power that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Daoist Li’s techniques were incredibly magnificent. The half of the sky that had been stained blood-red by the two demons was now illuminated in gold. To be able to manifest several arrays in such a short time—there is likely no other person in the Daoist sects today capable of such a feat.

Yet, it was not over. The techniques just cast had momentarily trapped the two demons. Once they were contained, Daoist Li immediately sat down in meditation, chanting:

"Open! Rest! Life! Injury!"

"Stymie! View! Death! Surprise!"

With each word, the aura surrounding him shifted; when he chanted "Open," he was ringed in white light, and when he chanted "Death," his body was shrouded in deathly gloom.

"Oh? That Daoist is actually attempting to open the Eight Gates? Does he not want his life?" Mo Kui remarked.

Having been pushed back by the malevolent energy of a mere Primordial Spirit, Mo Xin felt humiliated, his thousand-year-old pride wounded. "Forget him! I will break his array and take his life!"

Mo Xin clenched his fists, and his malevolent aura erupted. In the blink of an eye, Daoist Li’s Yin-Yang Bagua diagram and the Four Symbols Array were completely shattered.

I had heard of the Eight Gates. They were the eight gates of the Qi Men Dun Jia. In this world, no one could open them, nor would anyone dare to try. If the Eight Gates could be opened, one would reach the Realm of Returning to Emptiness without needing a soul-bound transition. It sounded grand, but opening the Eight Gates was the most dangerous method of all, listed among the ten forbidden arts of the Daoist sects. History recorded such attempts, but they always ended in tragedy. Only the creator of this method, a master of the Quanzhen sect, had ever succeeded.

Daoist Li was courting disaster. I realized then that he was trading his life to buy me time.

I took a deep breath, focusing my energy to sense the intent of the Qingping Sword. Malevolent energy surged within it, suppressing the other two essences; no wonder the power of my "Soul-Cleaving Strike" had been so diminished. To unleash the sword’s true potential, I had to rely on that very malevolence. This sword’s path was to use evil to suppress evil, to use slaughter to butcher demons. But the current amount of malevolent energy within the blade was not enough to subdue Mo Kui and Mo Xin!

After breaking the arrays, the two demons split up: Mo Kui attacked me, while Mo Xin went for Daoist Li.

Daoist Li had not yet risen; his Eight Gates were not fully opened! He needed time.

Seeing this, I leaped into the air, dodging Mo Kui’s attack, and swung the Qingping Sword at Mo Xin. Mo Xin punched, knocking me back, and turned to drive his fist—laden with malevolent energy and scaled armor—toward Daoist Li’s brow, intending to shatter his Primordial Spirit.

I rushed forward, but Mo Kui held me back, preventing my approach.

Just as Mo Xin’s fist was about to strike, Daoist Li raised his hand and grabbed the demon’s wrist. Though the malevolent energy on Mo Xin’s fist tried to invade his body, Daoist Li was surrounded by a gust of wind, his robes snapping, and the evil energy could not penetrate his defense.

Seeing this, I knew: Daoist Li had truly opened the Eight Gates and reached the Realm of Returning to Emptiness! Such an impossible feat, such a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering event—I never imagined he could actually do it! Even Mo Kui and Mo Xin showed shock.

But Mo Xin continued to press his fist down. To him, what was "Returning to Emptiness"? He had reached that state over a thousand years ago and was at its peak, lacking only the opportunity to reach the Dao.

Daoist Li flicked two spiritual talismans from his sleeves, sticking them onto Mo Xin’s forehead. The demon felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow and was sent flying backward, though he roared and tore the talismans off.

Daoist Li then formed a seal. Suddenly, his sleeves seemed to hold ten thousand talismans; in an instant, countless slips of paper floated around him.

"Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Yellow! Earth, Fire, Water, Wind!"

"Ten Thousand Talisman Array! Command!"

With a rustle, the countless talismans covered the sky like a sea of stars. Daoist Li pointed his sword-finger at Mo Xin, and the yellow papers swarmed toward him.

Mo Xin was soon covered in so many talismans he looked like a paper man. The malevolent energy clashed with the Yin-Yang essence of the talismans, creating a hissing sound and white smoke. Mo Kui suffered the same fate.

Only then did Daoist Li turn to me. "Lin Yi, my Ten Thousand Talisman Array cannot hold for long. You must be quick! Before the array is broken, you must kill them. This is our only chance!"

"Understood!" I replied.

I had already synchronized with the sword’s intent, desperately absorbing the surrounding malevolent energy. I was so close to unleashing the second move of the Qingping Sword: the "Shattering Strike!"

Daoist Li’s hands shook as he held the seals, his sweat pouring like rain. He was at his limit.

"Lin Yi, are you ready?" he asked with difficulty.

"Almost there!"

"No good, the array is failing!"

As he spoke, the trapped demons erupted with malevolent energy, staining the yellow talismans blood-red. With a simultaneous roar, they shattered the array. The talismans turned into blood-red dust, and Daoist Li was flung away by the violent backlash, falling to the ground motionless.

I rushed to his side. "Senior Li!"

He wouldn't wake. I checked his soul pulse—it was incredibly faint. He had opened the Eight Gates and reached the Realm of Returning to Emptiness, yet he still wasn't a match for them. I punched the ground in rage. "It’s my fault! I was too slow!"

I sealed his soul gates to protect his injured spirit, then stood before him, gripping the Qingping Sword. Whether the malevolent energy was enough or not, I had to fight!

I let out a roar. The malevolent energy around the two demons condensed; Mo Kui’s hand formed a black Qilin sword, and Mo Xin’s hand manifested a massive black Qilin blade. They charged at me simultaneously.

I bit my lip and poured every ounce of my strength into a single parry. In the next second, I was flipped onto the ground.

The power of a thousand-year-old "Returning to Emptiness" was brutal; there was an unbridgeable chasm between us. As I pushed myself up, the black Qilin sword swung down. My grip on the Qingping Sword faltered, and it was knocked away. The blade sliced across my chest.

A spray of blood erupted into the air.