Chapter 593 - Sacred Heart Grown Dark, Gate of Qi

"A fleshly husk, radiance from one's soul, supreme spirit..."

It was a mystic hymn and an ancient chant. The unknown song rang out the very moment that gate appeared and spread through the air at startling speed. The indistinct melody drifted over Florence, Farr County, and even the northern Hongli Empire. Within mere breaths, it reached the Hongli Empire's Northern Reef Continent and the whole surface world. A faint sacred hymn rained from the clouds everywhere.

Above Florence, the heavy cloud banks gathered in a rush. They spiraled like iron filings drawn by an enormous magnet. Gradually they formed a vast rust-tinted hollow ring of clouds. A beam of white light slowly solidified in the center.

A massive, somewhat illusory, arched gateway sprang into being, floating quietly atop the light pillar rising from the ancient altar. It had mountains, rivers, the sun and moon, flowers, birds, insects, and fish carved into it. Tiny letters and symbols wriggled and flowed like golden tadpoles.

It was overlaid by densely packed, religious-style patterns. Some of the pictographs resembled ripples of water, while others depicted feathery wings, beast scales, drifting clouds, or the shifting of wind and rain.

Every manner of message and existence was condensed within it. It seemed like a miniature world of its own, the very root of things. It embraced everything and was impossibly complex.

It could be described as holy, solemn, austere, and secretive.

On the ground, the disciples of Golem Sect looked up, for they had once seen this door. When their sect master had secluded himself to break through, he had flown up those luminous stairs and finally plunged into that door. When the sect master emerged, he had attained the Dominator Fist realm!

Ting-ting-ting-ting-ting...

A metallic-locking clang suddenly sounded amid the faint hymn. A platinum outline flared bright on the gateway. Then, a second, a third, a fourth outline followed in quick succession...

They were the Gate Fragments that the Gate Organization hoarded for centuries! Generation after generation of deputy leaders had labored for this day.

The ancient altar and Arcane Stone Tablets could anchor the gate during the sweeping tide of calamity, yet that alone was insufficient. The key was to turn illusion to substance and assemble a tangible Gate of Heaven.

Only then, once opened, would it truly lead to the world's origin, the end of all things. Once he had a passage, Xiadu's body could then break free of the seal. Otherwise, it would remain a flower in the mirror, the moon in the water—shattered at a touch.

The Gate Organization had spent a long time gathering Gate Fragments. Their aim was to piece together a real door for the Gate of Heaven. They did not need it complete; two-thirds sufficed!

Once the fragments covered two-thirds of the surface, the remainder would resonate, be summoned, and gather by themselves. Thus, a genuine Gate of Heaven would form!

"A fleshly husk, radiance from one's soul, supreme spirit..."

The ancient chant swelled ever louder, ever clearer. Glowing outlines on the illusory arch multiplied until they surpassed two-thirds of its surface. A low hum rang out as the whole world seemed to shudder. Streaks of light gathered like fledgling swallows returning to their nest.

Ding!

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The real Gate of Heaven had appeared!

"Sacred heart grown dark... sacred heart grown dark..."

The hymn ceased, replaced by a low murmur. The layered whisper carried no hint of age or gender. It sounded like countless voices speaking in unison.

No one knew when he had appeared, but a figure cloaked entirely in black now hovered above the dense beast tide surging over the calamity black mud, swallowing every surrounding ray of light. He was like a human black hole, annihilating every presence nearby.

A huge flying dark creature careened past but was dragged in and warped beyond control. It collapsed, compressed, spun, and got sucked into the figure's cloak. It looked as though it had been absorbed with ease.

Yet the swarming dark creatures kept flying into him, as though blind to the cloaked figure. Whole flocks struck him and vanished silently, all while frighteningly calm.

The cloaked figure raised a hand and lowered his hood, revealing a strange face. His features were ordinary, yet his skin bore a pale metallic gold. Dense thorn tattoos wound around his neck, cheeks, and ears. It was unclear whether it marked some kind of power or was the form of the southern seal.

This was Xiadu himself. A fine crack ran down the center of his face from brow to jaw. It looked as though he had been cleaved in two and barely reassembled into a whole. Xiadu's lips did not move, yet layered voices echoed as though he spoke by thought alone.

"It has begun..."

Shoo!

He vanished like a flicker, leaving not even a blur. A second later, a black figure appeared upon the ancient altar. The Gate Organization members working the altar jolted, thinking an enemy had come. However, they quickly realized it was their leader, the immortal Xiadu.

Every Gate Organization member from the Seventh General King to the other deputy leaders knelt at once. They bore a devotion both pious and fanatical.

Xiadu spoke calmly. "Why is one piece missing?"

Only three Arcane Stone Tablets floated around the altar. Together with the altar, they emitted a surge that anchored the Gate of Heaven for a brief span, preventing its usual wandering. Otherwise, the Gate of Heaven could appear anywhere in the surface world in an instant. It had no trace or form, drifting like a light breeze.

Opening the gate was out of the question without first fixing it in place. The anchoring force of three tablets was clearly weaker than that of four. Thus, the Gate of Heaven would stay fixed for less time, and the window to push it open would shrink.

Xiadu's original schedule had suddenly become tight and urgent. Should any mishap arise, it could imperil the final goal. Xiadu, who had schemed for ten million years, could not accept that.

The Seventh General King, Bask, hesitated nervously yet finally raised his head and told the tale in haste. "L-Lord... the matter is thus..."

He made sure to mention Cassius, whose battle two years prior had cost the Gate Organization dearly. Had their necro-revival rite not been successful, the organization would still be nothing more than a handful of stray cats cowering in some corner.

And the culprit behind it all was Golem Sect's Cassius!

"Him? The Southern Dipper lineage!"

A rare flicker of emotion crossed Xiadu as he faintly ground his teeth. No, more precisely, it was anger held in calm. His fury had piled too high and been stored for too long. It had turned serene, even indifferent. It carried a hint of chilling composure.

A cool blaze of wrath, detached hatred, and a silent eruption. These were far more terrifying than any momentary rage or instant act of spite!

Xiadu slowly raised a hand and pressed it to the thorny lines on his face. The patterns glimmered faintly, as though each barb wounded his palm. Xiadu lowered his hand in silence and looked up at the Gate of Heaven. A platinum door had formed beside it, with ripples spreading like running water. It was the first of the three gates, the Gate of Qi. Behind it lay one-third of Xiadu's own body.

Once the time arrived and the calamity tide peaked, the surface world’s Qi would be weakened to the utmost. Pushing the Gate of Heaven then would meet the least resistance and the faintest backlash. That moment lay almost within reach.

Fwoosh...

Every ear in Florence seemed to hear a wave roaring past. An unsettling calamity substance was slowly saturating the air.

In the World of Calamity, the suspended Moon Halo in the dim sky darkened fast, as though thick black mist swallowed it whole. That signaled the imminent arrival of the once in a blue moon, Lightless Night!

The third phase, Lightless Night, was when Ultimate Dark Forms roamed. Countless dark creatures rioted at once in the World of Calamity, and Ultimate Dark Forms began to stride forth. Yet glowing figures barred their way. They were Holy Fists sent from the Covert Martial Arts realm across generations into the World of Calamity.

Their duty, their mission, their Covert Martial Arts and their Will all told them they mustn't yield an inch! For behind them lay the surface world and all humankind.

To cultivate Covert Martial Arts was to seek to become the ultimate human. The pinnacle of Covert Martial Arts, the legendary Holy Fist, was indeed that ultimate person. They would not betray their original goal nor their chosen path. Only by battling Ultimate Dark Forms, reaffirming their humanity a thousand times in blood, could they forge the way of the Holy Fist!

In the World of Calamity, each Holy Fist moved to pin down foes grown stronger under the Lightless Night. Some whose Wills neared collapse and bodies were grievously corroded entered outright self-destruction. They used a terrifying burst of final strength to block the Ultimate Forms.

These Ultimate Dark Forms were seeking to use the Lightless Night to descend upon the surface world through the weak points. They longed for their own revelry. Yet sadly for them, most such designs were strangled.

Only one or two extremely fortunate Ultimate Dark Forms slipped through many obstructions to reach the weak points. One such form appeared on the Hongli Empire's eastern coast at Saint Lun Mountain.

It had meant to cross, but suddenly sensed the lament left by the Seranar King's fall. The Seranar King's collapsing Will still lingered and would take long to fade. The feeling jolted it alert.

Clearly, a formidable foe with the means to slay an Ultimate Dark Form existed on the other side! After some consideration, the Ultimate Dark Form chose not to cross. It turned decisively, tromping away with heavy steps. It did not even test the passage, fearing a trap and deeming the risk too great.

Meanwhile, another Ultimate Dark Form appeared in Florence. Lightless Night had descended and shrouded the area around that weak-point.

Florence's weak point happened to be at an origin of calamity in the World of Calamity! Meteor fragments glowed during the darkness, serving as beacons like deep-sea lighthouses. That Ultimate Dark Form had been lured by such a signal.

In Florence, Xiadu stood serenely upon the calamity black mud and the ancient altar, watching everything unfold. His gaze slid over the Ultimate Dark Form approaching the passage, yet his mood did not stir. At the moment, Xiadu cared only for the Gate of Heaven above, its white-stone arch shining gold.

Hummm...

A strange wave passed from the World of Calamity into the surface world. The Gate of Heaven's light suddenly dimmed sharply. It was as though a black cloth had draped over it, damping all its pulses.

"Now is the moment!"

Xiadu tapped the ground and floated upward. He was slow, rising as if through water. Yet as Xiadu ascended, all the calamity black mud about him surged wildly. It heaved higher and higher, rising together with him like a plateau.

Rumble...

The plateau quaked, black mud collided, and calamity burned. Xiadu bathed in the platinum beam, looking almost holy. He slowly raised both arms toward the sky.

Boom!

The marsh-like black mud below revealed its final form. It was no plateau but a black-mud giant lying flat! The giant stood, looming like a mountain. It had neither features nor sharp angles, resembling a smooth black clay doll.

Crack!

The giant slowly lifted its right arm with black mud coiling tight around it. They formed a massive devilish arm that stretched outward. Its palm, as broad as a whole city, caught up to Xiadu and cradled him gently. Then the hand kept rising majestically to seize the Gate of Heaven.

The layered whisper rose again, suddenly drowning out the gate's sacred hymn.

"Sacred heart grown dark... sacred heart grown dark... sacred heart grown dark..."

It poured into every mind like a demonic chant. Eyes glazed over, and they too began to murmur in response.

"Sacred heart grown dark..."