Chapter 330: Nine Realms of the Mysterious Pass

Chapter 330: The Ninth Gate of the Mystic Barrier

“How long have you been holding that in…” Huangfu Qing wiped her hands, a mix of disdain and sigh.

Zhao Changhe watched her wiping her hands with a pained look, heartbroken over the beauty serum meant for the blind woman being wasted.

It wasn’t really that long, actually… It wasn’t about holding back; the medicine’s effect was just too fierce.

If it were for the sake of cultivation, he shouldn’t have been doing such trivial things right now; he should have been meditating to digest what he’d gained.

Of course, he dared not say that—if he did, the young lady would surely beat him to death.

Instead, Huangfu Qing lazily walked to the side: “I’m going into meditation to consolidate what I’ve gained. Don’t you keep your mind on those things all the time; cultivate properly and see if you can break through the Secret Treasury.”

Zhao Changhe said, “That moment when you withered and were reborn—was that the result of breaking through the Secret Treasury? Otherwise, I can’t imagine that state.”

Huangfu Qing almost laughed: “Mm, yes.”

It was a breakthrough into the Secret Treasury, but it was the third one.

Tang Wanzhuang broke through the third Secret Treasury and became a sickly mess, while I did it without a hitch—this time I’ve truly surpassed her.

Well, it only took kissing a man…

Zhao Changhe was a bit envious: “One after another, you’re all breaking through the Secret Treasury. I need to step it up.”

Huangfu Qing was in an excellent mood and laughed: “It’s fine; being weak is also cute.”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

“Cough.” Afraid he might pounce to prove whether he was weak or not, she quickly smiled: “You’re already fast enough; no one has reached the Ninth Gate of the Mystic Barrier in such a short time. As for the Secret Treasury, don’t rush it. First, you need to achieve inner and outer… Huh?”

She gave Zhao Changhe a once-over, a hint of surprise in her eyes: “You… your inner cultivation has also broken through the ninth gate?”

Earlier, her mind had been on his robust physique, thinking he had only used the medicine’s body-tempering effect to push his external cultivation to the ninth gate, but she hadn’t noticed that his inner mystic barrier had also broken through the ninth gate.

How did he break through internally? Those earlier activities had nothing to do with inner qi cultivation—just relying on that bit of dual cultivation exchange?

“No, this is a false ninth gate. The energy was too intense, forcing a breakthrough, but you have none of the insights and experiences that should come with the Ninth Gate of the Mystic Barrier.” Huangfu Qing’s expression turned serious: “You should immediately enter meditation and sense your own universe, reaching up to the heavens and down to the earth. Otherwise, if you miss this chance, the door to the Secret Treasury will close forever, and you’ll regret it beyond measure.”

The key to the inner ninth gate is the crown of the head, connecting the bridge between heaven and earth, and serving as the gateway to the Secret Treasury. This gate is perilous; forcing a breakthrough can easily turn one into an idiot. That’s why people today cleverly simplify it, no longer bearing the meaning of connecting heaven and earth, treating it purely as internal cultivation. This has led to an explosion of ninth-gate practitioners, but few who can break through the Secret Treasury.

Zhao Changhe obviously wouldn’t simplify it that way. Though he advanced quickly, his path was extremely proper. His refinement of the five senses and spiritual perception had long surpassed most ninth-gate experts. It could be said that his journey to Kunlun wasn’t aimed at the ninth gate but had been directed at the Secret Treasury from the start, seeking the path to mastery.

But this time, the energy was too strong, forcing a breakthrough, and he inadvertently followed others’ simplified path. What meaning did the Ninth Gate of the Mystic Barrier have as a gateway to the Secret Treasury? He had no insight at all.

He hadn’t even experienced the difficulty of impacting the crown chakra. It could be said that this mystic gate wasn’t truly opened; he was merely a half-baked ninth-gate practitioner.

Well, it wasn’t without benefit—at least he now knew what others’ so-called ninth gate looked like. Compared to the eighth gate, what difference was there besides greater strength? With that, how could one ever break through the Secret Treasury?

Zhao Changhe sat down quietly, trying to sense the true ninth gate’s key point, but he couldn’t grasp it for a while.

Huangfu Qing lightly tapped his brow with her finger to help calm him: “This gate is merely a gateway; it’s not as difficult as people imagine. The core secret is: don’t treat it as breaking through your own gate, but as a bridge. Try recalling the star chart that I… that we, the Vermilion Bird Venerable, taught you. The stars in the sky correspond to your own self. How do they resonate? When you find that, it will be your martial path. Every person’s martial path has its essence, energy, and spirit. Think about what your martial path is.”

Her voice gradually faded into the distance, and Zhao Changhe had already entered meditation.

Huangfu Qing stared at him for a while, a complex look in her eyes.

It all began with the star chart back then… At that time, how could she have imagined she would truly fall for this little man?

Now, what the star chart meant no longer mattered. Still, Huangfu Qing thought it would be best if he could align with the Four Symbols doctrine—she wondered if it would come to pass.

She also sat cross-legged to one side, contemplating the heart flame she had just absorbed into her spiritual platform.

Mastering such fire allowed one to stir the demons in people’s hearts, burning them from within—it was practically divine or demonic power. Yet at this moment, unlike before when she felt she was nearing the peak, it was as if a key had been turned, revealing a broader path ahead. This was only the beginning.

He said his first Secret Treasury was a gateway… but wasn’t the third Secret Treasury the same?

Just gateways at different levels.

…

At that moment, Zhao Changhe’s mind had fully entered the perception of his own meridians and acupoints.

When the mystic barrier reached the crown, a complete cycle formed within his body. In traditional martial arts terms, the “Conception and Governor Vessels” were fully connected, creating an inner universe.

This was true entry into the hall of self-cultivation, the Ninth Gate of the Mystic Barrier—the pinnacle for ordinary martial artists.

But this was only an internal cycle—a half-baked ninth gate.

How to establish the external bridge? How to achieve the flow between inner and outer, endless and unceasing?

When sitting cross-legged, the perineum touches the earth, the crown reaches the heavens—in theory, the bridge between heaven and earth is set. But how to connect it?

It couldn’t be a wild surge of qi that blows the top of his head off—that wasn’t the way.

Ordinary martial artists would indeed be at a loss in such a situation. However, Zhao Changhe, since reaching the eighth gate, had been training his spirit and senses under Yue Hongling’s guidance, gaining considerable experience in spiritual visualization.

With Huangfu Qing’s hint, he quickly began visualizing the celestial star chart.

The heavens held external stars; his acupoints were internal stars. The two could resonate—just like all Four Symbols cultivation, which corresponds to the imagery of the four constellation stars, producing attributes of the Four Symbols. Was this coincidence?

Inner and outer stars were correlated; man and the universe were one.

The Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise—they refined their star charts and walked the corresponding intent. That was their resonance, their martial essence, energy, and spirit. I am the Vermilion Bird; I am the Black Tortoise; thus, heaven and man become one.

What about Zhao Changhe?

What was his martial essence, energy, and spirit?

Was it the setting sun and evening glow, vast and distant?

Was it one blade, one wine, wandering the rivers and lakes alone?

Was it clear waters and gentle waves, the melody of zithers?

Or was it bloodthirsty slaughter, cleaving through a thousand troops?

None of these, really… They were merely external meanings.

As his mouthfuls of Zhao-dialect slang and vulgarities grew fewer, his detached, cold observation faded, and his desire to seek the demoness was nearly forgotten. He had immersed himself in this world, blending into the joys and sorrows of its people.

There was a blade to cut down injustice, a journey of three thousand miles, a cup of wine to defy princes, a promise heavier than gold.

The blind woman said he was already a man of this world…

Was he? Yes and no.

No matter which world’s man, he only did what needed to be done—nothing more.

Zhao Changhe gazed at the myriad stars; none matched this intent.

The blind woman also said the Heavenly Dao was dead.

If this heaven had no Dao, which star could align with it?

None of the celestial stars fit.

What Night Emperor? Without sun or moon, what kind of Night Emperor was that?

If there were no sun or moon… I would be the sun and moon, illuminating the mountains and rivers.

If heaven had no Dao, I would walk my own path! Wasn’t that the resolve I made at Beimang?

The entire star chart blazed to life. The method of stellar resonance taught by the Vermilion Bird—together, they opened the crown chakra, like stars bowing to the moon.

The dantian vortex churned wildly, the six directions unified into one, like the sun hanging high.

Sun and moon reflect each other; heaven and earth shine together.

A thread of coolness quietly seeps in through the crown, a bridge silently connects, inside and outside become one, heaven and man unite as one.

The ninefold mysterious gate has thus reached great completion.

Zhao Changhe sensed the transition of the true qi within his body from acquired to innate, and slowly opened his eyes.

Before him stood Huangfu Qing with a complex expression: "You... truly are not the Night Emperor?"

Zhao Changhe gave a bright smile: "Truly not."