Chapter 106.2: The Origin of the Myriad Phenomena Gate

“Leave that aside for now.” Qi Yuan raised a hand, turning toward Bai Ze and Shang Yanran. “What have you learned about the Myriad Phenomena Gate?”

These twenty-seven people, along with those who later followed Qi Yuan, would occasionally receive his guidance. Qi Yuan didn’t mind teaching them about the Human-Demon Path, or explaining the Demon Binding Art.

Each time he instructed them, they would gain profound insight, and their respect for him only grew deeper. Of course, Qi Yuan’s generosity wasn’t entirely selfless. He often tasked them with gathering useful information.

Bai Ze and Shang Yanran had gone out to investigate the

Myriad Phenomena Gate

The white fox, Shang Yanran, stepped forward. “Blood Master, the origin of the Myriad Phenomena Gate seems to be tied to the ancient gods.”

Qi Yuan’s interest was piqued. “Oh? Tell me more.”

Shang Yanran explained, “According to legend, in ancient times, there was a Great Demon in the Flowing Wind World, known as the Buddha.”

Qi Yuan was surprised. “Buddha?”

That was not a name one used lightly.

“According to the records, the Buddha was a celestial god who descended to the mortal zone for tempering. He could only return to the divine realm once he overcame all the tribulations of the mortal zone. However, during his journey to Rakshasa City, he met a woman who changed his fate. The moment he laid his gaze upon her, his heart was moved by mortal desire. He regarded her as his soulmate. That woman turned out to be a great demonic leader’s daughter and was hunted by the righteous sects. The Buddha intervened and saved her, and from that moment, the two became bound by fate. They fell hopelessly in love.”

Shang Yanran’s eyes held a trace of pity as she went on. “If you ask me, the Buddha should never have saved that demoness. Then none of this would have happened.”

Bai Ze, standing beside her, interjected softly, “And what wrong did that woman do? Was being born of the demonic path reason enough for the righteous to hunt her down?”

Shang Yanran shot her husband a glare. Her husband was Bai Ze, an auspicious beast that was compassionate and empathetic by nature [1]. His soft-heartedness was to be expected.

Qi Yuan paused in thought. What Shang Yanran said reminded him of a few

xianxia

dramas he’d seen.

“That Buddha didn’t destroy the world for her, did he?” he mused.

After all,

“For you, I’d stand against the whole world”

was a pretty common trope.

“No,” Shang Yanran said with a faint smile. “In the end, faced with the choice between all living beings and the demoness, the Buddha chose the world. The demoness died.” She clearly approved of that outcome.

Bai Ze murmured, “In a world like that... how could a fragile woman bear such a fate?”

“And then?” asked Qi Yuan.

He wasn’t particularly interested in tragic romances. What he really wanted to know was how this tied to the Myriad Phenomena Gate.

“Unfortunately,” Shang Yanran continued, “the Buddha’s heart was not firm enough. The death of the demoness left a crack in his mortal cultivation. Though he had saved the world, she was no more. Rumors spread that he was a hypocrite who was heartless but self-righteous. He had used a pure and untainted demoness as a stepping stone for his own fame. Grieving, the Buddha sat motionless before her grave for three hundred days. In the end, he lost his mind, fell into madness, and became a Great Demon.”

A cold smile crossed Shang Yanran’s face. “People fear power, not virtue. If you ask me, the Buddha should have just slaughtered all those who slandered him. Then none of this nonsense would’ve happened.”

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Bai Ze sighed. “Killing won’t solve anything.”

Qi Yuan asked, “So what does this have to do with the Myriad Phenomena Gate?”

In the end, it all just came down to love and destruction again.

“When the Buddha became a demon, the thoughts in his heart became inner demons. This triggered the Inner Demon Cataclysm of the Flowing Wind World. From then on, every mortal harbored demons within their heart. Wherever greed, anger, or delusion arose, an inner demon could manifest, spreading like a plague of thought. The neighboring great realms closed their gates to the Flowing Wind World, isolating it. Yet the endless inner demons eventually summoned, or perhaps, created a replica of the mythical Myriad Phenomena Gate. In legend, the true gate holds infinite inner demons, even gods would fall to corruption if they entered it. It is said that only by opening the true gate can the inner demons be erased completely.”

So far, two things remained consistent: opening and entering the gate.

Qi Yuan’s eyes gleamed.

“Infinite inner demons created the Myriad Phenomena Gate...”

Doesn’t that mean the gate is packed with scrumptious EXP?

He looked up at the gate, eyes flickering with greed. How he wished to take a bite just to know what it tasted like. Still, something puzzles him. Why hadn’t the Gate appeared during the North South Pact? Could it have been eaten?

If that were true, it was absolutely unforgivable!

***

“I’m back...

huh

?” Qi Yuan murmured, scanning the familiar surroundings of City of No Return.

Just then, faint visions flickered in his mind. This time, he had spent one hundred and twenty years comprehending the Origin. His greatest gain had been the Human Demon Path and the Demon Binding Art.

“So, does that mean the reason people now die peacefully before turning into demons... is because of me?” Qi Yuan wondered. “If I returned to the past and changed it... could I alter reality?

Hah

, this doesn’t stand up to logic. I really need to stop overthinking.”

He shook his head. It was just a game, after all. As long as he enjoyed it without regrets, that was enough. Qi Yuan then thought of his canary neighbor.

“I wonder when we will meet again? At level 120? Or perhaps, she’s already been lost to time? What a pity. Without touching the Origin itself, I can’t even glimpse the mysteries of reincarnation,” he murmured. When I reach level 120, I hope I can enter the Myriad Phenomena Gate.”

Before leaving, Qi Yuan had already hinted at his departure to the canary. Hopefully, she took it better this time.

1. 白泽 (Bai Ze) is a creature from ancient Chinese mythology and is described as a white, lion-like or ox-like beast, sometimes with multiple horns and eyes, glowing with divine light. ☜