Chapter 65
“Things are constantly changing in this world. Who can predict what is the next move?”
Fang Yuan had caused the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master and the Blood Killer to be dead one after another. He managed to obtain pieces of the treasure map and was very happy with it.
With such treasure in his hand, he was naturally happy about it. However, he had only gotten two pieces and one last piece of the map was still missing. He was worried.
“No matter what, a treasure map that could cause the Five Ghosts Sect and a spiritual disciple to be so obsessed with would lead to a treasure that is extraordinary…..”
“Of course, the most important issue is not this…..”
Fang Yuan murmured and kept the pieces of the treasure map safely. His right hand touched a piece of jadeite and he kept silent.
That piece of jadeite was clear and shiny. It seemed that there were streaks of gold lines circulating in it, making it special.
Also, the Blood Killer had the treasure map sewn on his clothes but he hid the jadeite in his body, which clearly showed that the piece of jadeite was very precious.
“Just that…..I wonder what mystery this piece of jadeite holds!”
He stared at the square-shaped jadeite for a long time. He couldn’t find any handwritings or symbols on it. It could reflect light when placed in water under sunlight.
“This is strange!”
Fang Yuan shook his head and kept the jadeite safely. He then continued on his journey.
During this trip outside the Qingye City, he battled in the jungle and killed Gui Wusheng and the Blood Killer. He also obtained a few treasures like the Ying Yang Jade, pieces of the treasure map and the mysterious jadeite. He even got to observe a battle between Wu Zong and the spiritual disciple. Thus, he gained quite a lot through this trip and was very satisfied.
The only thing that he wanted to do now was to cut off any relations between him and these incidents.
This was fairly simple.
After all, Fang Yuan didn’t even reveal his face before.
Even though back in Shaoyang City, someone witnessed him leaving together with Gui Wusheng, nobody knew the outcome of the duel between the both of them. Fang Yuan could say that both of them were on par with each other and they fought till exhaustion.
But what about Gui Wusheng? The Five Ghosts Sect was crumbling and it would be normal for him to hide now, wouldn’t it?
If it still looked suspicious, the rest could find the ghost of Gui Wusheng to testify.
“Next, if I were to remove all the traces I left behind here, that would be sufficient!”
Fang Yuan trekked through the forest and walked a big circle. He then exited the Xuanyan Mountain by another way and reached a nearby county. He then boarded a carriage and quickly went back to Qingye City.
……..
Days after, back at the inn where Fang Yuan was living in.
Fang Yuan, who was lying down, opened his eyes and was welcomed by a bright light.
“Hoo…..”
Fang Yuan exhaled out a long breath and stretched himself.
“Once I have broken through the Death Gate, I will be reborn…I have finally attained [Martial Artist (8th Gate)], which is the Death Gate!”
He was not really surprised that he attained it.
After all, he was already in a state which he could attain a new level anytime.
In addition to the previous battles and the lessons learnt from the duel between Wu Zong and the spiritual disciple, his attainment was a matter of time.
Of course, the main contribution to his attainment was his daily intake of spiritual food, which allowed his foundations to become stronger and thus able to break through the Death Gate successfully!
Ever since he felt that he was ready to break through, Fang Yuan immediately found an inn and got the best room in the inn for him to prepare to break through.
This time, the breakthrough of the Death Gate was different for him as it felt as if he went for a nap.
Correct! He went for a nap!
If he was able to wake up from the nap, it meant that he broke through successfully. However, if he did not wake up, it meant he was dead!
Even though the concept was simple, it also had a possible scary outcome!
“Hmm?”
Fang Yuan got up and felt that both of his hands were sticky. It felt very uncomfortable and he rubbed his hands. A layer of dead skin then dropped off and it revealed a new layer of clear and bright skin.
“Reborn? I am really reborn!!!”
He looked at his hands happily and tore away the dead skin which was on his arm.
“Piak!”
It was as if a snake had changed its skin. On his arm, a layer of skin which contained traces of dirt and blood dropped off, revealing a smooth layer of new skin, perfect and without any scars on it.
“The cultivation of martial arts is actually considered a tough training. With a bit of talent, one can train his elemental force when he has attained Wu Zong…..”
Fang Yuan gradually understood.
Under normal circumstances, most people would not be able to reach the lowest gate of a spiritual knight.
However, martial arts is different!
From the start, there were 3 gates, namely the Initial, Rest and Life. One who did not have prior experience would be able to break through and attain them in 3 years with hard work.
If one had prior experience, one could try to break through the Restriction Gate and strengthen one’s inner power.
After the Pain Gate, one would have gained inner force and could improve his essence and spirit naturally. After the Death Gate, one’s inner force would reach its peak.
Next, whether to take in both Yin and Yang or to combine them together, was part of the preparation needed to break through the Heaven Gate and train one’s elemental force.
“This process is one step at a time and consists of 12 steps, which is different from the process which involves the spiritual disciple breaking through to become the spiritual knight. Hence, the former process is considered to be more favourable…..”
At that moment, Fang Yuan did not look down on martial arts but felt full of respect for the creation of the 12 Golden Gates in martial arts.
The creator had given many who did not have prior experience a straight pathway to attain the Heaven Gate!
Correct, the Heaven Gate!
Fang Yuan recalled that the Blood Killer looked at him with disdain and knew what kind of impression spiritual knights and sorcerers had on normal human beings.
Then what about normal human beings? If one was to be able to break through all 12 Golden Gates and attained Wuzong, one would become immortal and would be able to reach the heaven!
“The Yin Yang Jade can be used right after the 8th Gate!”
Fang Yuan was not as petty as Gui Wusheng. Gui Wusheng was reluctant to use it for himself but Fang Yuan had decided to use it immediately to speed up his training process.
Of course, before using it, he wanted to have a look again at his stats window.
His stats window then appeared in front of him:
“Name: Fang Yuan
Essence: 5.0
Spirit: 4.9
Magic: 3.3
Age: 19
Cultivation: [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]
Technique: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 8)]
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]”
“Eh? There is an increase in my magic, is it because of the breakthrough of the Death Gate? Or is it due to the effect of the spiritual tea which was triggered during the breakthrough? Or is it both?”
His essence and spirit had increased tremendously and Fang Yuan had expected it.
What surprised him was that his magic had increased by 0.3.
After all, he did not have any other breakthroughs other than his previous breakthrough of the 7th Gate.
“However, this is normal anyway….The prerequisite to being a spiritual knight or a sorcerer was to have a high level of magic! How could martial arts only help to improve one’s body condition? It definitely had to improve one’s magic as well!”
“Or maybe….attaining the 4 Heavenly Gates was not only to combine the elemental force of Yin and Yang but also to improve one’s magic to prepare oneself for Wu Zong….”
“The 12 Golden Gates; I have broken through the 8th gate which is the Death Gate. Next up will be the 9th Gate, which is the Yin Gate, and then the 10th Gate, which is the Yang Gate, and then the 11th Gate, which is the Earth Gate and lastly the 12th Gate, which is the Heaven Gate!”
Fang Yuan took out the Yin Yang Jade. The piece of Jade was perfect and it had both red and black textures in it, which made it special.
This piece of jade could speed up the combination of Yin and Yang for a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]. This was one of the secret processes of the Five Ghosts Sect.
Even though the Five Ghosts Sect had wanted to use this piece of jade to attract its enemies, the jade landed into Fang Yuan’s hands in the end.
“This jade…..seems to be used in this way!”
Fang Yuan murmured and shipped his inner force onto his palms.
At that moment, there was a conversion and his inner force that was actually in 7th Gate previously was now smoothly transferred to the 8th Gate.
He noticed a swirl in the inner part of the Yin Yang Jade with the combination of Yin and Yang.
“Go!”
Fang Yuan shipped his inner force into the circulation of the Yin and Yang and his inner force went one round in the circulation and then back into his body.
“Hiss…”
At that moment, he felt a cold stream down his arms and then to shoulders and his chest…..and then finally to his lower abdomen.
“Is this…..Yin?”
Fang Yuan looked at the Yin Yang Jade and the textures on the jadeite were still clear as before. It seemed like it had not been used before.
“According to the Iron Skin Technique and the manuals from the Spirit Returning Sect, if a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] wants to make a breakthrough, he would have to train hard daily and endlessly. As such, he should be able to get the Yin into his body in half a month or so, but now…..”
He looked at his stats window again.
He saw his proficiency points for [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 8)] had increased by 1%.
“My intake of Yin this time equals to half a month of hard work by a normal [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]?”
Fang Yuan’s eyes glittered and said, “This Yin Yang Jade is good stuff. The Five Ghosts Sect is indeed rich with treasures…..”
In fact, he was being whimsical.
Even though Five Ghosts Sect was rich, the Yin Yang Jade was considered one of the most precious treasures in there and was hidden well. Normal elders would not have known this piece of jade.
If the purpose was not to attract the enemy, Gui Wusheng would not have brought the jade out.
Even so, Gui Wusheng only had the right of safekeeping it and not the right of using it.
“Gui Wusheng that stupid idiot. He was probably controlled by the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master…”
Fang Yuan then came to a conclusion. “If one does not know how to appreciate the treasure, even if the treasure was a gift from heaven, the treasure would hurt one instead!”
He got up and opened the windows. He breathed in deeply and looked at the Lieyang County silently.
With the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master and the Blood Killer dead, the Five Ghosts Sect had no leader. In addition to the attack by the Spirit Returning Sect, the Five Ghosts Sect would definitely split and it was a golden opportunity for one to take advantage of the situation!
Since the Five Ghosts Sect had a piece of Yin Yang Jade, maybe they would have a second or a third piece of the same jade or something similar in value….
Fang Yuan was too imaginative and he grew greedy.
“Hold on a second, I have gained a lot from this trip and I should reflect and plan my next moves, instead of finding ways to get even more such treasures.”
Fang Yuan’s eyes glittered and thought, “Looks like I have improved too quickly. I better return home to continue on my cultivation, along with farming and making tea…..”