A path to heaven is to be built above the Dao Sea, and the existence of so-called portals will make this path more stable, and may also be an important marker distinguishing different paths...

Shen Qian probably understood the existence of "nobles and kings" in this way.

What level is it to open fourteen 'heavenly gates'?

To provide a clear comparison, Shen Qian used Ling Tianhou as an example.

"Fourteen levels is already considered exceptional talent."

The Heavenly Emperor replied, "Generally speaking, those who open the seventh or lower Heavenly Gate are common. Those who open more than the seventh are considered the best among them, and their strength will undergo the first qualitative change. The fourteenth level is the second threshold."

Shen Qian seemed to have an epiphany: if the twenty-one heavenly gates were divided by the number "seven," they would indeed be three distinct nodes.

In that sense, Ling Tianhou has just reached the starting point of the very top level, no wonder he has such a great reputation.

After the first nine kings fell or disappeared one after another, this was already the highest level among the kings and marquises, and Marquis Lingtian was only thirty-five years old...

Old Liu's observation of the other party's dejected state was not without reason.

I wonder how many levels of heaven the master opened...

"You just said that no one has ever opened the twenty-one 'Heavenly Gates'?"

Shen Qian recalled what the Heavenly Emperor had said at the beginning and couldn't help but ask a question.

"good."

"Why?"

Shen Qian was somewhat puzzled. "Since no one has ever opened the twenty-one 'Heavenly Gates,' how do we know that the twenty-one 'Heavenly Gates' exist?"

"Because in the chaotic era, at the beginning of everything, there were beings who reached this realm. The illustrations they left behind, as well as various signs, all indicate this. That is equivalent to the most primitive cultivation guide."

The Heavenly Emperor sighed, “For example, Pangu, who created the world and gathered all the ‘Dao’, and Nuwa, who gave birth to all races and was the source of life.”

The legends of Pangu and Nuwa are well-known to the Chinese people, so Shen Qian had no doubts about them. However, he found the description of the Heavenly Emperor quite novel.

Because no one has ever so clearly pointed out the specific actions of the two individuals.

The ancestor of all paths? The source of life?

It sounds incredibly impressive, at least it's a step above Shen Qian's "Lord of All Paths," and it makes the images of Pangu and Nuwa in Shen Qian's mind truly three-dimensional and grand.

But the same question remains: why has no one since then been able to reach the level of the two?

You might understand it as... 'incomplete'.

The Heavenly Emperor already knew the question Shen Qian was about to ask, and spoke as if anticipating it.

"'incomplete'?"

He paused, startled.

"Imperfection in the sense of life".

The Heavenly Emperor's expression shifted slightly at that moment, and his eyes became incredibly deep, but he quickly returned to normal.

Shen Qian frowned. He felt like he'd heard something similar somewhere before. Oh right...

It dawned on me!

When he first consulted the great master Gao on this topic, the great master Gao said that he had never seen anyone who had opened all ten orifices since the beginning of time.

When asked about the reason, the answer was simply, "Humans are born with defects," which seemed to echo the words of the Heavenly Emperor at that time.

Is it a coincidence, or...?

But it's hard to say for sure, since enlightenment is exclusive to humans, while "Heavenly Gate" refers to the realm of kings and nobles, a realm that all races can reach.

"How many 'heavenly gates' did you open, Heavenly Emperor?"

"Nineteen layers."

"Isn't it the highest level, the twentieth level?"

The sinking was somewhat unexpected.

After all, the Heavenly Emperor was the strongest person Shen Qian had ever encountered. Surpassing even kings and marquises meant that none of the original nine kings were as strong as him. Shen Qian had assumed that the Heavenly Emperor must have opened the twenty gates of heaven.

"Becoming a Taiyi Golden Immortal is just a necessary stage, not the final destination you can reach. Besides, you seem to have some misconceptions."

As if sensing what Shen Qian was thinking, the Heavenly Emperor chuckled and said, "Do you perhaps think that I am the only one who has ever stepped into the Emperor Realm throughout history?"

"Are there other people?"

I was surprised before I went down, but thinking about it, it didn't seem so unexpected.

"Of course."

The Heavenly Emperor seemed to have been touched by some memory, "The Buddha of the Western Paradise has reached this realm, otherwise how could he be called one of the Heavens alongside me?"

"Buddha... that stable boy who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace..."

Shen Qian recalled the story that Qu Bai and others had mentioned before, which was said to be the prototype of "Journey to the West," and his eyes flickered.

"Although this was one of the few dark moments in my life, I really didn't expect that a human from a lowly place in the lower realm would have such a terrifying talent."

The Heavenly Emperor gently shook his head, which was a tacit admission: "He spent thirteen years in the Heavenly Realm comprehending the Dao, forcibly breaking free from the shackles and forging his own path to heaven. It wasn't until the day he stormed the Lingxiao Palace that I realized the Heavenly Realm had a second Emperor-level powerhouse."

Shen Qian's body trembled, not only shocked that this legend, which was not recorded in the official history of the Heavenly Realm, was true, but also astonished by the man's strength.

Another Emperor-level expert!

"I fought him for several days and we were deadlocked. In order to prevent the collapse of the heavens, I had to ask the Buddha to take action and finally suppressed him temporarily."

"And then, where did he go?"

Upon hearing that the person had only been temporarily suppressed, Shen Qian couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"He traveled through the heavens and traversed the universe, probably going to find that answer before I did."

The Heavenly Emperor looked up and said.

The silence before sinking in—was it referring to an answer concerning the "end"?

He originally wanted to ask where the Buddha had gone, but he figured the Heavenly Emperor's answer wouldn't be much different, so he held back.

What is his name?

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