Chapter 160 The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates

Chapter 160 Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates

Wang Sumo saw the old man again and clenched his fist.

This time, her nails dug into her flesh, and her palms were clenched until they bled.

"Grandpa..." Wang Sumo had no choice but to speak up.

But the old man was so engrossed in his music that he couldn't be woken up.

“Grandpa!” Wang Sumo interrupted.

The old man was also forcibly pulled back from the vortex of his memories.

He had deliberately tried not to think about that period of his life.

But when you put something out of your mind for a long time, and think you've forgotten it long enough, when you finally remember it, you slowly realize in your recollection that it was you who fueled the fire step by step. That feeling of being deeply mired in a quagmire, powerless to turn back, becomes a settled conclusion...

Take the old man's bloodshot eyes.

Wang Sumo said softly, "I won't say anything more."

Wang Sumo looked at his palm and said softly, "Let's not talk about it anymore, old man."

Even without knowing the full story, one can almost certainly know the truth of what happened back then.

I know who it was back then.

Nothing else matters...

When the old man was talking about that part, she was so nervous that her breathing tightened and slowed down. She wanted to see the truth as soon as possible, but she was also afraid of the process of seeing the truth.

It will be a process that will tear the old man apart again.

She couldn't have imagined this before, but upon hearing of Fatty's death, Fu Jin's departure, and Song Jin risking her life to search Fengzhong Pavilion with the old man, only to ultimately reveal the human skin mask to Chi Yu and her junior uncle...

Wang Sumo finally understood why, when he first met the old man, the old man frantically asked passersby in the pouring rain if they had seen his Vajra Pestle.

Fang Rushi treated the old man for a long time, and only now has he been free of relapse for a long time.

She shouldn't have made the old man recall these things.

Wang Sumo grasped the old man's palm, her throat tightening, and said in a deep voice, "Let's not talk about it anymore. Let's bandage our hands, and that'll be fine."

Wang Sumo stood up, intending to go to the carriage to get the medicine and gauze, but the old man grabbed her sleeve, pulling her back, his voice gentle yet deep: "Girl, let me finish. I...miss them too..."

Wang Sumo's eyes paused slightly.

Because the old man was sitting, Wang Sumo had already stood up. The old man looked up at her, his eyes gentle: "Girl, I'm afraid that after today, I won't dare to think about it again."

Wang Sumo's fingertips trembled slightly, and she suddenly understood.

Such an experience can be forgotten for decades.

How much courage do we have to relive it all again?

"It's almost over..." The old man's bloodshot eyes had turned into sorrow.

From thirty-five years ago to thirty years ago, it was a total of five years.

The old man has been in Kunlun for five years, which means he has spent four winters there.

He and the old fish-eating elder returned to Kunlun in the spring, which means there are still a few months, less than half a year...

Wang Sumo could feel the trembling from the old man's fingertips.

Wang Sumo nodded and said softly, "Okay, let's continue, but if we really feel uncomfortable, we can stop at any time."

The old man nodded.

"Grandpa, wait a moment." Wang Sumo looked down from the second floor toward the bonfire.

It was late at night, and almost everyone was asleep.

Bai Cen is on night duty tonight.

Bai Cen sat in front of the fire, adding firewood. The leaping flames reflected on his cheek, revealing a handsome profile.

Wang Sumo whispered, "Bai Cen."

Almost immediately, Bai Cen looked up at her.

She was stunned.

Bai Cen was probably thinking about something, but he looked up the moment he heard her voice.

Wang Sumo was on the second floor, while he was on the first floor by the fire, far from the Eight Treasures Pavilion. Rather than hearing her voice, it was more like he suddenly felt she was calling him, and that's when he looked up.

Wang Sumo gestured and mouthed along with the words: gauze, medicine bag, bandage.

Wang Sumo herself felt that her gestures were a mess, but Bai Cen seemed to understand and got up.

Wang Sumo sighed inwardly.

But I did see him go to the carriage where Lu Wenqu was.

Wang Sumo inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Before Bai Cen brought the medicine bag, she sat back down: "I asked Bai Cen to bring gauze and a medicine bag. My fingernails are digging into my flesh, so I need to bandage them up."

The old man remained silent, which was an admission of consent.

Wang Sumo knew that among the younger generation whom the old master liked and trusted in this Bazhenlou restaurant, there was also Bai Cen.

Before Bai Cen came to Bazhenlou, the old man would only quietly clean Bazhenlou and fish; but after Bai Cen came to Bazhenlou, the old man would chase after him all over the mountains, his Cloud-Piercing Mountain-Splitting Hand as ordinary as cutting vegetables.

Bai Cen must be someone the old man didn't deliberately avoid, someone who reminds him of the happy and carefree times from his past.

The old man always criticizes Bai Cen, but in fact he cares about everything Bai Cen does.

Bai Cen had lost all her internal energy, but several times she saw the old man pondering over his inner energy by himself.

The old man wasn't thinking about it for himself, but for Bai Cen.

Every time the old man used the Cloud Piercing Mountain Breaking Hand to send Bai Cen running all over the mountains, he must have been observing Bai Cen's martial arts style in order to judge how his lost true energy should be circulating.

The old man can be eccentric and difficult at times, but once he's made up his mind, he's as stubborn as a mule.

Perhaps, Bai Cen would be better off here at a time like this.

She had just tried asking the old man, but he didn't stop her.

Jiang Yutang once said that the old man had an apprentice.

He was a Buddhist disciple who had left the monastic community.

He is compassionate, merciful, and has exceptional martial arts talent.

Meeting Geng Hongbo must have been the old man's salvation.

So he gave everything he had, leaving nothing behind. But Geng Hongbo died a tragic death, single-handedly saving the people of an entire city. He was still chanting scriptures before he died...

That's a level that many self-proclaimed masters in the martial arts world cannot reach.

But similarly, Geng Hongbo's death was the last straw that broke the old man's back. For many years after that, the Cloud-Piercing Mountain-Severing Hand disappeared from the martial arts world, and no one knew where the old man had gone, until Wang Sumo met him in the rainstorm as he searched everywhere for the Demon-Subduing Pestle...

Only Wang Sumo knew where the Cloud Piercer and Mountain Breaker was in the past.

The old man is trapped in painful memories of the past, unable to escape them or return to the past!

In the past, the more open-minded a person was, the harder it was for them to get out of suffering once they fell into it.

After several years of treatment by Fang Rushi, the old man was able to be as carefree as he is today, spending most of his time at ease. When he was unhappy, he would go fishing, which became the most important part of his life to relieve his stress.

Only today did she realize that it originated from the old man's master, the senior fish-eating expert. Some things are ingrained in one's bones; even if one doesn't consciously think about them, they are evident in one's words and actions.

Lost in thought, Bai Cen took the medicine packet and gauze and went upstairs.

He truly understood.

"Grandpa?" Bai Cen was startled when he saw the bloodstains on the old man's palm and looked at Wang Sumo.

Wang Sumo shook his head at him, and he understood.

"Let's bandage it first, otherwise the three white tiger cubs will smell it tomorrow and be scared, and they won't be close to you then." Bai Cen knew how to talk, and the old man hesitated for a moment before loosening his clenched palm.

Wang Sumo smiled faintly.

When Bai Cen looked over, Wang Sumo's smile vanished, replaced by a warning expression: "You're being bandaged. Don't speak, don't make a sound, don't interrupt, and don't look at me."

Bai Cen: "..."

Bai Cen was upset.

To satisfy all of someone's requirements, all that could be done was to keep an eye on the old man's hand being bandaged.

"They even have to control people's eyes," Bai Cen muttered to himself.

"I told you not to talk," Wang Sumo said, annoyed.

Bai Cen looked up and opened his mouth at her, but didn't make a sound, provoking her as much as he wanted.

"Don't look at me! Bandage me!"

But when Wang Sumo reminded them, some people immediately chickened out.

Bai Cen: "..."

Bai Cen, the one who had been wronged, continued to bow her head and bandage her wound.

Watching the two bickering in front of him, the old man's eyes softened slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

It's probably because it reminded me of a moment from the past...

Bai Cen suddenly stopped making a fuss and said to the old man, "It hurts a bit to apply the medicine when you pinch so deep, just bear with it."

The old man remained silent.

Wang Sumo turned to look at Bai Cen.

When they're not causing trouble, they seem quite steady, attentive, gentle, and reliable...

Bai Cen suddenly turned to look at her, and Wang Sumo's face immediately darkened.

Bai Cen: "..."

Bai Cen lowered his head consciously, thinking, "Don't mess with me, don't mess with me."

The old man, seeing this, seemed to gradually calm down: "Girl, let's continue."

Wang Sumo also came to her senses: "Okay."

Although Bai Cen didn't know what had happened, he had seen Wang Sumo talking to the old man since last night, and the two of them were also whispering to each other in the carriage today, and they were still doing so now.

Bai Cen remained silent, his hands wrapped around his arm, listening quietly...

Master Mingming had instructed that this matter be kept secret for the time being, and that he and several elders would handle it.

However, the matter of the human skin mask still caused a huge uproar in the Kunlun Sect.

Because only a few elders knew about it, no one knew how the news leaked out.

At that time, Uncle Zhuang Yun was detained, interrogated, and even tortured.

But no one could get any answers from them.

All the evidence pointed to him, and it was airtight.

He kept protesting his innocence until the elders stripped him of all his martial arts skills and imprisoned him in the highest level of Siji Cliff.

Less than three days later, Zhuang Yun hanged himself on Siji Cliff.

At that time, everyone in the Kunlun Sect felt insecure.

How could a mere Uncle-Master Zhuang Yun possess such great abilities?

There must still be allies.

It was only when I unfollowed him that I understood what my junior uncle meant when he said that there were undercurrents in the Kunlun Sect and that the position of sect leader was not easy to hold...

At that moment, it seemed as if everything had changed.

The incident involving Zhuang Yunhe and the human skin mask sparked a huge controversy. Starting with this incident, factions within the Kunlun Sect began to use it to attack each other, detain each other's disciples, and even arbitrarily execute each other without going through the Elders' Hall.

At that time, the entire Kunlun Mountains were shrouded in smog.

The matter of Zhuang Yunhe and the human skin mask was like a door; once opened, the entire Kunlun Sect was plunged into internal strife and darkness.

Step on this lineage, press down on that faction.

The long-dormant undercurrents finally found an outlet at that time.

Elders would fight each other within the sect, and some of their top disciples would die within the sect. Elders would also lead their disciples, armed with swords, to storm into the sect of another elder.

The treasures on the eighth and ninth floors of the Wind Pavilion were stolen one after another.

One day, amidst the chaos, all the books in the Fengzhong Pavilion were consumed by flames caused by overturned lamps.

Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily; how could a once-powerful sect collapse in an instant, fade from the martial arts world, and disappear without a trace?

It must be extremely rotten and chaotic inside.

Looking at the towering flames of the Wind Pavilion, he recalled his first day at the Kunlun Sect, when he and Fatty were dozing off in the Wind Pavilion, wondering if they would become Kunlun disciples.

Thinking about going to Fengzhong Pavilion with Fu Jin to read, his eyelids were already drooping. Fu Jin pinched his arm to wake him up.

He screamed in pain, "Ah!!!"

The fat man across the street was startled awake, thinking there was a fire. In his panic, he knocked over a flowerpot and got a big bump on his head.

Song Jin said coldly, "A bunch of idiots..."

Fengzhong Pavilion holds countless memories of the past four years for him, the image of the Kunlun Sect in his mind, and the birds that would land beside him when he was reading. So he always liked to grab a handful of grains to take with him, and he wasn't afraid of the birds around him.

That's the Pavilion in the Wind!

He looked at the raging fire and felt so sad he wanted to cry.

"Let's go," Song Jin said calmly.

That was the first time he cried bitterly in Kunlun after the fat man's death.

But later, he realized that was just the beginning of chaos...

Master was constantly putting out fires and running around like a headless chicken.

When the elders started fighting, it was the master who stopped them.

Master's injuries have not fully healed. Every time he fights and uses his inner energy, his injuries worsen. But if Master doesn't fight, countless disciples will die in the infighting.

The harmonious and sunny scene of fellow disciples practicing martial arts on Kunlun Mountain, descending the mountain, and competing seems to have vanished forever, replaced by enmity and intense hatred.

Even Senior Brother Jiuyun was not allowed to make a move.

When Jiu Yun unfollowed him and saw him again, he was exhausted.

The two sat on the edge of the cliff at Siji Cliff, briefly escaping the chaos in the mountains.

"Sometimes I really wish I could open my eyes and find it was all a dream," Pang Jiuyun said, drinking.

He looked up at the stars in the sky, unable to utter a single word.

Pang Jiuyun suddenly said, "Let's go down the mountain, A-Guan."

Unfollowing him was shocking.

Pang Jiuyun patted his shoulder and suddenly laughed: "I grew up here, I can't leave this place. You are different from me. If you leave now, Kunlun will still be the same as you remember it."

Unfollowed by a misty haze in my eyes.

"How could this have happened!" The usually gentle Pang Jiuyun cried out as he looked at the wine jug that had fallen off the cliff.

"Sorry, it was me..." He gritted his teeth as he unfollowed: "It was me who needed to investigate the person... the leather mask..."

Pang Jiuyun laughed loudly: "What does this have to do with you? You and I are just pawns. If the people of Kunlun want to overturn the Kunlun chessboard, neither you nor I can control it. Let's go down the mountain. The chaos in Kunlun has only just begun."

Unfollowing, she clenched her fingers: "I won't leave. Master is still here, and you are all still here."

Pang Jiuyun looked at him.

Qu Guan picked up the wine jug in his hand, tilted his head back and drank deeply. Then he stood up and, like Pang Jiuyun, smashed the wine jug against the bottom of the cliff: "I won't leave! Senior Brother Jiuyun, I will stay! No matter what Kunlun becomes!"

Pang Jiuyun gritted his teeth.

In the distance, Song Jin watched the two of them from afar. The matter of the human skin mask was handled by one person alone, without implicating him, which is why he wasn't at the center of the storm.

But neither he nor the person who unfollowed him expected this outcome.

For months, he has been unfollowing others.

Seeing the Kunlun Sect in such a chaotic state.

He was never popular in Kunlun because of his cold personality, but that doesn’t mean he disliked Kunlun.

Song Jin slowly stepped forward.

Pang Jiuyun and the unfollower looked back at him.

Song Jin: "Since no one is leaving, then everyone should stay. Even ants can shake a big tree."

Both Hui Guan and Pang Jiuyun were stunned.

Song Jin reached out her hand: "How do you know that a single spark can't start a prairie fire if you haven't even tried it?"

Unfollowing her caused her to choke up.

Pang Jiuyun laughed.

Pang Jiuyun reached out and touched Song Jin's hand, then unfollowed her.

The night sky is filled with stars, and a cold wind howls along the edge of the cliff.

But at that moment, the three of them were filled with excitement!

*

"You mean you want to become the leader of Kunlun Sect?" Junior Uncle looked at him.

He crossed his arms and nodded, saying, "Master is seriously ill, and those elders won't listen to him. I will become the Kunlun Sect Leader!"

Junior Uncle stared at him intently: "Ah Guan, at this time, whoever becomes the Kunlun Sect Leader is a sitting duck."

"What's there to be afraid of!" Guan Xiao laughed, "I've been a sitting duck since I arrived in Kunlun, and I'm still fine, aren't I?"

Junior Uncle was stunned, a hint of tears welling up in his eyes. He said softly, "Unfollow me. This has nothing to do with you. I don't want you to get involved. Don't you understand?"

He unfollowed him and patted him on the shoulder: "Junior Uncle, things always need to be done by someone. As long as I'm more suitable than others to do this, then it's worth doing! If we can save Kunlun at this time and prevent Kunlun from falling apart, then it's worth doing!"

The junior uncle looked at him earnestly and said, "Unfollow!"

Unfollow him and go forward to hug him.

He froze.

Wen Sheng unfollowed: "I know. Ever since I came to Kunlun, Junior Uncle has taken care of me more than anyone else. But don't worry, I'm such a lucky person. Before Fatty died, he said he shared his luck with me. Look, I'm someone who has Fatty's luck now!"

"I've had enough of those old men for a long time. Once I become the sect leader, they'll stop flaunting their elder status! I've already decided that Kunlun won't need so many elders in the future, one or two will suffice! If you want to criticize someone, criticize me alone! Unfollow that guy..."

The voice of his junior uncle came from beside his ear: "Ah Guan..."

He released his arms.

Junior Uncle looked at him.

At that moment, he saw tears welling up in the other person's eyes. He reached out and clapped his fingertips: "Wait until I get the Kunlun Ring."

The junior uncle paused slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back.

Finally, before I unfollowed him and turned away, I saw him close his eyes.

*

"Master, I'm done talking." He looked firmly at the fish-eating man.

"Ah Guan," Chi Yu said, his voice barely audible, "Master wanted to pass the Kunlun Sect on to you, but not now..."

Unfollow Wen Sheng with certainty: "Now."

The resolve in his eyes had never been so resolute: "I almost died at the city gate back then, and it was my master who saved me; now that Kunlun is in chaos, I should naturally repay my master. After I deal with those old men, I will go fishing with my master every day, perfecting my fishing true qi and Kunlun techniques, so that Kunlun martial arts and the Kunlun sect can flourish together, and continue to flourish forever!"

"Master, I'm going to get the sect leader's ring." He stood up and kowtowed to the fish-eating monk.

He kowtowed twice in total to the fish.

The first time was when serving tea.

The smile in his eyes as he ate the fish was impossible to hide.

The second time is now.

He coughed heavily several times while eating the fish, almost unable to breathe.

"Ah Guan!"

Chi Yu gripped his hand tightly: "These old men are stubborn and selfish. According to Kunlun's rules, even if the sect leader is willing to give you the Kunlun Ring without the consent of all the elders, you can only obtain it by passing through the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates of Kunlun. That place has existed since the founding of Kunlun, but among all the Kunlun sect leaders, only one person has obtained the Kunlun Ring by passing through the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates!"

"Then I'll be the second one!"

She unfollowed him, kowtowed twice, and then stood up: "Master, wait for me to come back."

He shook his head while eating fish.

They have a high talent for unfollowing and are more resilient than others.

However, given his age, his internal strength was far from sufficient to cause trouble at the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates.

Watching the figure unfollow him, Chiyu recalled his apprentice who had fished with him by the lake, casting his line and laughing heartily as he caught his first big fish.

Take a deep breath while eating the fish, turn your palm over, and use the "Water-Taking Palm" to draw the fish back to you.

Before I could even react to unfollowing, several major acupoints on my body were pressed.

Unfollowing, eyes wide open, I suddenly realized what I was supposed to do when eating fish.

He tried desperately to struggle, but he couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, and couldn't even move his eyes freely.

The fish was being eaten right behind him.

He could feel a powerful internal force flowing through his back, warm and abundant, permeating his limbs and bones. It was like a hundred rivers converging and rushing into the sea, or like sunrise and sunset, the cycle of the four seasons.

This familiar true energy flowed through every part of his body, nourishing all his meridians like spring rain after a storm.

Those bamboo shoots that were originally hidden underground, already growing desperately, but still needing several years, ten years, or even decades to break through the soil, seem to be nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

One after another, one after another, they broke through and rose again from the hard, thick soil.

Like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, they grow rapidly, sprout, and shoot into the sky!

Unfollow me, grit your teeth and bear it!

That kind of vigorous growth conceals a tearing apart, and a whale fall contains the endless cycle of life and the revival of all things. It penetrates his meridians from a little bit to an overwhelming force.

The two streams of true energy within his body went from being in confrontation to resisting, to merging through collision, and finally converging like a hundred rivers, becoming a vast and boundless ocean.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists!

The constraints that were previously impossible to break free from suddenly burst open like a fish leaping over the dragon gate at the last moment, freeing all the restraints attached to the acupoints.

When I looked back, the fishing was already over.

"Master!" he cried, unable to speak.

Fishing waved his hand and said gently, "Go ahead."

He unfollowed her and turned around, only to see his junior uncle, who nodded and said, "Leave it to me."

He nodded, then ran towards the direction of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates.

Eating fish brings a smile to one's face.

No one knew that he had originally hidden the Kunlun Ring in the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates.

A place that no one would ever think of, and even if they did, no one would go there, but there is only one person who would not back down!

That Kunlun thumb ring can only be obtained by unfollowing the account!

...

Outside the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates.

Take a deep breath, place your palm on the ground, and the Heavenly Gate slowly opens.

The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gates are irrelevant to life and death.

Few people who manage to go in alive come out alive.

As soon as I took the first step to unfollow, two figures followed me.

After unfollowing, I turned around and saw Song Jin and Pang Jiuyun.

Pang Jiuyun: "You can't do this by yourself."

Song Jin: "What I want to do is not up to others to decide."

Unfollow with a light scoff.

Pang Jiuyun: "The heavenly gates are wide open, and dark clouds cover the sun."

Song Jin: "Whoever comes out alive will save Kunlun..."

I unfollowed him and laughed it off.

Three figures stood side by side, heads raised, as dark clouds obscured the sky and the sun, and together they took their second step.

Behind us is Tianmen Pass.

As the towering stone gate closed, the rising sun pierced through the dark clouds, landing precisely on the figure behind them...

[Author's Note]

Every generation of martial arts world has its own youthful spirit.

——————

There should be one more chapter, ending the Kunlun memories. I'll try to write it quickly.

There are also red envelopes in this chapter, they will be sent out together at 12 noon on Monday.