Chapter 708: Spirit Gates of Life and Death!

Yun Xiao's cultivation path was somewhat special. He practiced three systems—Primordial Void, Divine Desolation, and Mortal Dust—all at once, each having reached a critical juncture simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Moon Fairy, the host of the Will of Divine Desolation, was far away in the Celestial Demon Abyss.

"My own Primordial Void still awaits the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation, while the Mortal Dust Devil Blood and Divine Desolation Physique have both passed through it. It's time to progress further," he mused.

So far, Yun Xiao had experienced the first six realms in the Third Dao Tribulation—Spirit Projection, Essence Manifestation, Divine Self, Celestial Expanse, Golden Immortal, and Anima Tribulation!

Beyond these six foundational steps lay the last two realms of the Third Dao Tribulation, the level where the peak Immortals of the Celestial Court resided.

To ascend further and rival figures such as the Nine Thunders Sovereign, Yun Xiao needed to surpass the Anima Tribulation Realm.

Now, Moon Fairy and the War Princess had reached this threshold, largely thanks to Yun Xiao's enlightenment.

Yun Xiao paused his own tribulation initiation and focused on pushing the limits of the Mortal Dust Devil Blood and Divine Desolation Physique.

"Through five tribulations, the spirit transforms, revealing two gates, transcending life and death, wandering the cosmos."

This phrase spelled out the last two steps of the Third Dao Tribulation—the Spirit's Journey.

There were two gates, one of death, one of life!

Crossing the Gate of Life and Death allowed the spirit to wander the ends of the cosmos.

Exactly what this

cosmos

referred to, Yun Xiao did not yet know, for no one in the Great Dao Celestial Realm had reached it.

But he understood that the Gates of Life and Death meant that once the spirit endured the Five Thunders Tribulation and achieved conceptual completeness, it could, upon re-emerging, glimpse these two ethereal gates.

First came the Spirit Gate of Death. It was said that only after passing through this first gate could one see the second gate, the Spirit Gate of Life.

Seeing the Spirit Gate of Death and passing through marked entry into the seventh realm of the Third Dao Tribulation.

This realm was originally called the Death Realm. But due to its ominous implications, the previous generations renamed it the Night God Realm, symbolizing a nocturnal journey through heaven and earth.

Be it the Death Realm or Night God Realm, the name was just that—a name.

Figures like the Nine Thunders Sovereign, Northstar Sword Devil, Penglai Sage, and Great Horned King were all Night Gods that stood at the pinnacle of all beings.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

At this moment, Yun Xiao aimed to break through to the Night God Realm with the Mortal Dust Devil Blood and Divine Desolation Physique.

"To understand the Gates of Life and Death, one must observe them firsthand."

Now, both his Mortal Dust and Divine Desolation spirits had passed through the five tribulations, needing only to achieve conceptual completeness.

The so-called

conceptual completeness

was achieving ultimate mastery of the Anima Tribulation Realm, allowing the spirit to fully absorb the transformative power of the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation, reaching a certain breakpoint.

For Yun Xiao, this posed no challenge.

Within his true body, two spirits manifested.

The Buddha's Treasure Spirit, yet to face even the first thunder of the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation, wore an expression of confusion.

Meanwhile, the Mortal Dust Devil Spirit, akin to a child born of Yun Xiao and the War Princess, after achieving conceptual completeness, looked up and slowly opened its eyes.

Initially, all the Mortal Dust Devil Spirit saw was the bloody celestial mist and illusory fog in the sky.

But soon, within this haze, a vortex dark as night slowly opened, solidifying into a massive circular gate of the heavens, nearly obscuring half the sky.

Yet, aside from the Mortal Dust Devil Spirit, not even Yun Xiao's physical eyes could perceive this ancient gate of the night.

This simple, unadorned gate, devoid of any embellishments, exuded a quiet yet palpable oppressive stillness.

"This is the Spirit Gate of Death."

It was black as night, perhaps the reason this realm was romantically termed the Night God Realm.

"To cross the Gate of Life and Death is to wander the ends of the cosmos."

With that thought, Yun Xiao fell silent, focusing his mind and guiding the Mortal Dust Devil Spirit towards the dark gate above.

Simultaneously, far away in the Celestial Demon Abyss, the Divine Desolation Spirit of Moon Fairy also beheld this gate of the night.

Both of Yun Xiao's spirits moved towards the Gate of Death.

As they approached, Yun Xiao suddenly felt as if he were traversing time and space, an illusory sensation as if the short distance carried the spirits through infinite planes to a place far beyond.

"Hmm?"

Both spirits paused in surprise.

As they turned, they saw each other.

Moon Fairy and the War Princess, physically worlds apart, found their spirits meeting before the gate.

Looking down, each spirit could only see its own physical form.

"The world as seen by the spirit, and the real world, are not necessarily the same," Yun Xiao mused. "Perhaps, beyond this Gate of Life and Death lies a plane meant for the spirit to wander?"

He couldn't be sure.

The immediate task was to push these two spirits through the Gate of Death, to enter and fortify themselves within, thus aiding their Dao Hearts to withstand more potent celestial power and elevate their cultivation to the ultimate limit.

There was no other way to break through the Gate of Death but to charge straight into it.

"Forward!"

One spirit infused with the power of Divine Desolation and the other with the lifeblood of the Mortal Dust Devil... The two spirits—one silver and one crimson—transformed into two dense spheres of radiant light and thunderously struck the Gate of Death.

With a resonant boom, the task was unexpectedly easy.

The two spirits, though acting in unison, each felt a distinct sensation as they pushed open the Gate of Death.

Thunderous echoes followed as they breached the threshold, plunging together into a new realm!

In this space, all traces of the real world vanished abruptly, leaving only a pitch-black fog. This dense, dark mist wielded a deathly power that eroded the spirit. Upon entering, Yun Xiao's spirits had no choice but to calm their minds and fortify their essence with the powers of the Mortal Dust and Divine Desolation, steadying themselves.

"This fog at the Gate of Death is like a constant tribulation for the spirit," Yun Xiao realized. "It can wear down a spirit but also temper it! As long as a spirit withstands, it will continue to grow stronger."

Conversely, if one could not endure or feared the dense fog of death, then the cultivator would dare not re-enter the Gate of Death for tempering, and the spirit would fail to develop.

"Seems this Gate of Death encloses a confined space; it's not very large. My two spirits are here together, but where are the others?"

As Yun Xiao pondered this question, his Mortal Dust Devil and Divine Desolation Spirits became alert.

Suddenly, a slash of black sword energy tore through the foggy world, aiming directly at the Mortal Dust Devil Spirit.

This was a spirit sword attack!

The Mortal Dust Devil Spirit extended its hand, conjuring a blood dragon that swiftly captured the sword energy.

"Who goes there?"

This sensation was peculiar; Yun Xiao felt as if his body was present in this special space, capable of fighting, speaking... and possibly dying.

Two figures emerged from the dense fog ahead. One was a black-robed spirit, radiant with sword energy, and the other was a robust spirit, imposing with the might of a dragon and a tiger.

"Northstar Sword Devil and Dragon Tiger Sovereign?" Yun Xiao's voice echoed coldly from the Mortal Dust Devil Spirit.

"Who are you?" The two spirits furrowed their brows, glancing at the Mortal Dust Devil and Divine Desolation Spirits. They couldn't recognize him at all.

Yun Xiao didn't answer their question. Instead, a realization dawned on him. "Could it be that all who are in the Night God Realm train their spirits in this singular space? And they can battle each other too? Anima Immortals must have a significant advantage here..."

Whether it was in spirit or physical body, death meant total annihilation. The key was that this kind of battle transcended distances!

Moon Fairy could, from within the Celestial Demon Abyss, use his spirit to engage in life-and-death duels with these two.

Of course… there was no need for that now.

Yun Xiao's two spirits were not his strongest assets. His true power lay in his Buddha's Treasure Spirit, which could not yet enter this plane of existence.

He could only say that the secrets of the spirit plane were indeed intriguing, offering seemingly endless possibilities.

"You two are not from the Great Dao Celestial Realm or Naraka. How did you enter our Gate of Death?" the Northstar Sword Devil pressed, his voice cold.

Having spent considerable time in the Gate of Death, his spirit was larger and more robust than the Divine Desolation and Mortal Dust Devil Spirits. In a direct confrontation, Yun Xiao wouldn't have the upper hand.

"Just retreating should suffice, right?"

He maneuvered his physical body to recall his spirits. The process was swift; with a few buzzing sounds, the two spirits descended from the Gate of Death and returned to their respective bodies.

The Northstar Sword Devil and Dragon Tiger Sovereign weren't significantly stronger than his two spirits, making an instant kill impossible.

"They just mentioned that this Gate of Death belongs to the Great Dao Celestial Realm and Naraka... So there are other Gates of and Life and Death in the world?"

Recalling the moment he withdrew from the Gate of Death, Yun Xiao seemed to catch a fleeting glimpse of a white, circular light at its end.

"That must be the Gate of Life. Spirits are tempered within the Gate of Death until they are strong enough to pass through the Night God Realm, reaching the Establishment Stage. They can then break through the Gate of Life and enter the final step of the Third Dao Tribulation, the Life Realm."

The Life Realm was also idealized as the Dawn God Realm.

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