Chapter 346 - The Threefold Gate: Physique, Qi, and Soul

For a brief moment, Jilan felt the air around him grow much fresher. It was as if the night breeze had started to flow again, gently brushing against his neck and cheeks and bringing a cool, refreshing sensation.

He stood still, watching as Cassius approached from the other side. When they got close enough, both of their minds trembled simultaneously. It was the Gate Fragments sensing and resonating with each other.

Jilan's heart steadied as he fully confirmed Cassius's identity. He was clearly a newly promoted core member of the Gate Organization!

The two exchanged glances under the pale moonlight and the cool breeze. Then, they turned and walked back into the abandoned church.

Five minutes later, beneath the stained glass windows, on a metal platform.

While Jilan and Cassius weren't exactly chatting happily, they had become much more familiar with each other. Cassius had played a small trick, taking out an intelligence report with the exact same population density map of Beiliu County as Jilan's, and placed it on the empty space of the platform.

Both were newly promoted core members of the Gate Organization, both using the Gate Fragments for the first time, and by coincidence, the correct location for both was also in Beiliu County. Jilan couldn't help but feel a slight sense of closeness with these shared circumstances. Furthermore, he had just become a core member not long ago, and he had been constantly moving around the world. He very much needed to make friends and connections.

It was crucial to have support and people to rely on in the circle of core members within the Gate Organization. After all, no matter how strong someone was, they would always encounter danger or difficulties. At such times, the help of friends at the same level was especially important. The more friends one had while out in the world, the better.

Though Jilan was naturally cold and somewhat withdrawn, he understood this basic principle. Moreover, from just a few minutes of interaction, the core member in front of him, known as Peacock, seemed to be quite talkative, sincere, and generous. Perhaps he was someone worth befriending.

"Jilan, you don't look so good. Earlier, you seemed a bit unfocused. Were you injured or affected by something?" Cassius, standing beneath the stained glass windows, seized the opportunity and asked.

"Hehe..." Jilan forced a laugh. His pale complexion was, of course, due to the fact that he had just practiced the Black Demon's Hand, which had drained some of his blood. But he clearly couldn't reveal that.

So, Jilan found an excuse to gloss over it.

"It's just a side effect of practicing my Covert Martial Arts."

"Oh, then we're in the same boat. In fact, the Covert Martial Arts I practice also has severe side effects. It nearly drove me to the brink of death. But fortunately, through a stroke of luck, I found the Gate Organization, and only then did I glimpse a sliver of hope in the darkness."

Cassius shook his head, his expression filled with emotion. His eyes held a trace of reminiscence, as if recalling something from the past.

"Oh? You seem to be in good health, with an abundance of vitality. Would it be rude to ask what side effects you experienced?" Jilan wasn't normally a curious person, but perhaps due to Cassius's similar experiences, he felt a certain resonance.

"My physique is fine; the problem lies here..."

Cassius reached out with his right hand, gently tapping his temple with his index and middle fingers, a smile spreading across his face. The moonlight filtering through the stained glass cast colorful patches on his profile, dividing half of his face into irregular blocks, making his smile somewhat unsettling.

"My brain is sick, and it's likely beyond saving..."

That one sentence carried two distinctly different tones. The first half was manic and arrogant, spoken in a high-pitched, wild voice, like that of a deranged person. The second half was chillingly precise, each word evenly spaced as if measured by a ruler. The tone was flat and cold, devoid of any emotion.

It was like the voice of a lifeless machine. The words echoed through the vast, empty space of the abandoned church, lingering in Jilan's ears for a long time.

"Shit, he's a lunatic!"

Jilan stared into Cassius's eyes, noticing the rapid shifts in his expression—calmness, madness, then icy coldness. It was the unmistakable sign of one’s mind fragmenting. There was no need to check him into a hospital; one look was enough to tell that this guy definitely had some mental issues!

Jilan was first shocked, then wary, and finally, he even felt a tinge of sympathy and comfort. Shock was, of course, his first reaction, followed by wariness, fearing that Cassius, a mentally unstable core member of the Gate Organization, might suddenly lash out at him.

After all, there was no reasoning with a lunatic.

The sympathy and comfort came from Jilan's own experience. He had joined the Gate Organization to deal with the severe side effects of practicing Covert Martial Arts, making him and Cassius kindred spirits. Moreover, Cassius's condition seemed far worse, involving issues with his mind and personality. Practitioners of Covert Martial Arts were known for their strong willpower and obsessive desire for control over their strength. The thought of having another person in his mind, constantly fighting him for control of his body, was terrifying to Jilan.

He would rather have a side effect that shortened his lifespan than one that caused fragmentation of the mind.So, Jilan's mood had improved considerably by comparing himself to Cassius. Sometimes, happiness comes from contrast.

"Jilan, don't worry, I can still keep them under control. Besides, this situation will soon come to an end, won't it?" Cassius fully lowered his hood, his eyes calm and steady once again .

"Yes, that's true. I'm set for the 30th of July, and you're set for the 31st of July. Just a matter of four or five days... Sigh..." Jilan sighed emotionally. "I've waited three years for this day. Finally... the right time, the right place, the Gate Fragments, and the Blue Tear Eye... everything is in place..."

The Blue Tear Eye?

Cassius's heart skipped a beat. He had already gleaned quite a bit through their earlier conversation. For instance, the Gate Fragments gave their owners a vague premonition, informing them of the correct time and place.

It was only in that specific location and time could the fragments exert their true power. It was clear from Jilan’s words that several key elements were necessary for the fragments to work, including the Blue Tear Eye.

Could it be that the Blue Tear Eye not only restricted the Gate Fragments but also played a role in the subsequent ritual?

Cassius felt the need to probe further, using Jilan's lingering sympathy towards him as leverage.

So, he kept talking, dropping hints here and there. After several minutes, he finally pieced together a basic understanding of the Gate Fragments.

This was a ritual widely known among core members of the Gate Organization.

Open the Gate.

As long as one possessed a Gate Fragment, the premonition would guide them to the correct time and place. Sometimes, that place would be in the northern part of the Federation, sometimes in the south, or even across the ocean in a foreign land.

But without exception, the area indicated would always encompass a human city.

Then, at the right time, in the right place, core members of the Gate Organization had to take out the consumable item given by the leader—the Blue Tear Eye. Any prior use of its power didn't matter, as that was just the superficial function of the Blue Tear Eye. The truly important part was its material composition.

In that brief moment, you needed to place the Blue Tear Eye on your forehead, right at the location of your pineal gland. This will allow the third eye of your soul to open, revealing the door that exists between illusion and reality!

Then, all you have to do is push it open. The truth of the world, eternal essence, lay behind that door.

So, what did that door have to do with humans?

Humans, the essence of all things, the spirit of heaven and earth, possessed physique, Qi, and soul. They are the root, the spiritual seed. Additionally, they are the main leading characters of this era, influencing the entire world.

Once, a core member of the Gate Organization used the Soma myths of the Blue Star Empire to describe the root of life and the source of mystery. When a Gate Fragment blankets a region, time freezes in that moment.

The physiques of all humans fuse to form the Gate of Physique.

The Qi of all humans rises to form the Gate of Qi.

The souls of all humans ascend to form the Gate of Soul.

When you push open the corresponding gate of a Gate Fragment, you might see the Lake of Physique, the Lake of Qi, or the Lake of Soul.

Then, you just need to take a scoop from it! That was the greatest power of the Gate Fragments!!!

"A collective cultivation that, at its root, plunders the strength of nearly a million people from an entire city! Maybe only a thousandth or even a ten-thousandth is taken from a single person, but when combined, that's the strength of hundreds or even thousands of people!"

Cassius was immediately shaken. So, this was the true function of the Gate Fragments? At its core, it was a brutal harvest of the weak by the strong. Although the portion taken from each person was insignificant—barely noticeable—it was still a violent act at its root.

A good night's sleep would likely restore what was taken. But if you dig deep into the essence, it was undeniably bloody.

Wait a minute. A single Gate Fragment has limited range. But what about hundreds of Gate Fragments?! What if someone managed to piece together a complete gate? When they open it, would the range cover the entire world? Could they then take a scoop from the ocean of power across the entire world?

Cassius shuddered, his skin crawling with fear.

The Hongli Federation had a population of two hundred and fifty million people, and the other two major powers had similar numbers, adding up to around seven to eight hundred million people. Then, there were the various small and medium-sized countries, bringing the global population to nearly two billion.

Taking just a ten-thousandth from two billion people was two hundred thousand people. If the physiques of two hundred thousand people were combined into one person, that person would transform into a superhuman with the strength to move mountains.

If the Qi of two hundred thousand people were gathered into one person, they would become the Holiest Fist of the Holy Fists, covering an entire city with their Qi, like a deity floating among the clouds.

If the minds of two hundred thousand people were concentrated into one person, they would see the true nature of the world, understanding most of the laws governing all things. They could even turn quantity into quality, becoming terrifyingly powerful with psychic abilities, flying, controlling objects, and killing without a trace.

Is this what the Gate Organization has been pursuing all along? Indeed, it was profound, the mystical gate to all wonders.

No wonder, figures like Black Peacock and Purple General during the last time-travel were so young yet possessed such great strength. Some of them seemed to have taken up cultivation halfway through life, with their real training time perhaps not even half their age. It was clearly the blessings brought by the Gate Fragments.

If one's Covert Martial Arts were already at a decent level, even a pig could become a strong practitioner after enduring a few years and experiencing several gate-opening rituals.

This was the true essence of the Gate Organization's core members. But what about their elusive leader, Xiadu? The core members received the Blue Tear Eye from him, and in exchange, they had to offer up a Gate Fragment. This organization had existed for a long time. How many fragments had Xiadu accumulated over the ages?

Could he have already gathered enough to piece together a complete gate?

Cassius thought back to the ancient Ultimate Fist practitioner he had seen in the Akaba ruins and the final image in the Qi World. Perhaps Xiadu had been alive for a very long time.

He had reached the level of a Holy Fist at least a thousand years ago. No, maybe the timeline could be pushed even further back. After all, the old Ultimate Fist practitioner had roared, "Xiadu, you've lived long enough!" in fury.

So, Xiadu might have already been collecting Gate Fragments back then. The only question was, had he been able to remain active during these thousand years, or did he need long periods of slumber? Most long-lived creatures suffer some side effects, like the high-ranking Blood Race members in the Akaba ruins, or the Totem King of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Cassius did his best to maintain a composed expression, but his mind was racing like a speeding train, rapidly processing the overwhelming information.

It was clear that the Gate Fragments came in different types. Physique fragments, Qi fragments, and Soul fragments.

The fragment Jilan had obtained was a Physique fragment, which corresponded perfectly with the side effects of the Black Demon's Hand. It could strengthen the body, enhance vitality, and extend lifespan.

As for Cassius' own fragment...

He guessed it was likely a Soul fragment. Whether it was the Illusory Realm of Mensa Village or the dark creatures of the time-travel era, both hinted at the fragment's nature.

After opening the Soul fragment gate, one could greatly enhance their comprehension. It also had the secondary benefit of developing strange soul or psychic abilities. Comprehension was crucial for practitioners of Covert Martial Arts. In the later stages, it was more important than physical constitution.

Some bottlenecks could be overcome with understanding. If you couldn't comprehend, you might be stuck at the same level for life.

Take, for example, Feng Liusi, the Blood Fist. Although he had reached the fifth stage of the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist, his potential and comprehension had nearly been exhausted. Even if Cassius could restore Feng Liusi's youth, allowing him to train for several more decades, he might still never achieve perfection in the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist. However, if Feng Liusi experienced the baptism of Soul fragments several times, it would be a different story.

Perfecting his fist techniques and breaking through to the Dominator Fist would not be impossible.

Cassius thought for a while and then glanced at Jilan. This man had a Physique fragment, so Cassius imagined himself in that situation.

If he could open the Physique fragment gate, what would it look like? His physical enhancement would skyrocket, evolving a significant step toward becoming a miniature golem. Would his bones undergo a complete upgrade?

Or would his muscle density further increase, going from three times the normal density of a combat artist to five times, six times, or even ten times?

Or maybe he'd grow an extra kidney, making it four?

Cassius wasn't sure what would happen, but one thing he was certain of: opening the Physique fragment gate would push his already formidable physique to terrifying levels!

He could probably rely on sheer physical strength to pummel top-tier combat artists into submission.

Cassius felt that the physique fragment was something he truly deserved!