Chapter 100: The Door of the Six Paths of Heaven and Earth

Stepping through the passage opened by Miss Xiao Kong, the three of them quickly traversed the endless vast grasslands and arrived outside the Palace of the Six Paths.

“Huh? Strange…”

Just after appearing, the so-called cat daughter, who claimed she wasn’t one, let out a curious sound.

“Hey hey? What’s wrong? Didn’t you say that using a little technique would be fine? Did you mess up while trying to show off? How lame ~”

“…?”

Upon hearing the strange, taunting tone nearby, Miss Xiao Kong’s pupils suddenly constricted, and she whipped her head around.

The owner of the stunning silver-blue eyes also appeared slightly taken aback, their expression awkward.

“Uh… haha, what I meant to say was, are you okay? What’s so strange?”

Really, it is strange…

While desperately trying to remedy her earlier slip of the tongue, the Priestess was also silently perplexed.

What was that feeling… like it just flowed out like water?

Their relationship clearly hadn’t reached that level of intimacy yet, so how could she have instinctively said something like that?

To be honest, ever since she saved that white cat, Miao Miao, by coincidence on Peach Blossom Peak, and met this peculiar girl who calls herself Xiao Kong, Vilyric has always felt something odd.

Not out of fear, worry, or any other negative emotions—she just always felt a peculiar sense of déjà vu when with Xiao Kong, like she had seen some of those scenes somewhere before.

Even just a moment ago, she inadvertently let slip those strange words.

“Vilyric…”

For some reason, Xiao Kong didn’t seem to mind the slip-up at all. Instead, she exchanged a surprised yet complex glance with her and shook her head as she explained.

“I just sensed an unusual residual spatial fluctuation nearby, as if someone had opened a spatial passage here before. In this sealed chaotic secret realm, it’s almost impossible for that to happen normally.”

“Unusual residual spatial fluctuation?”

That statement pulled Vilyric out of her wandering thoughts, and she quickly connected it to the effect of her 【Void Trace Blade】, which she often adapted from the 【Simulated Kabbalah Tree of Life】.

After pondering for a moment, she ultimately decided against bringing that out for a test, as it would be troublesome. Moreover, such an ace up her sleeve is best kept hidden unless absolutely necessary.

After all, whether it’s Murong Yun or Xiao Kong, Vilyric still hasn’t fully grasped the ins and outs of either.

One should never harbor malice, but caution is always prudent—a Priestess is not someone easily swayed by emotions.

Thus, she tossed the question back to the discoverer.

“So what now? Can you trace it back to the source?”

Although it was a casual question, Xiao Kong surprisingly nodded quickly, then slightly shook her head.

“I can, but it’s unnecessary. They probably don’t even know I’m here, with the enemy in the light and me in the dark. Since they aren’t here, they’re likely already inside the Palace of the Six Paths. We can just wait for them inside.”

As she spoke, the girl smiled confidently.

“In this world, very few exist who can break through the spatial blockade of the chaotic secret realm from the outside. With the traces left behind, I can already guess who they might be and what their intentions are. Um, how does that saying go…? A mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”

“Follow me.”

Led by Xiao Kong, the three reached the front of a peculiarly shaped palace.

This structure, known as the 【Palace of the Six Paths】, was entirely built in the shape of a regular hexagram, with an overall area likely reaching several thousand square meters. While the interior situation remained completely unknown, even just looking at the surface, it was undoubtedly an impressive and astonishing feat within the relatively backward technological civilization of the Ancient Spirit Realm.

Only beings like the Qilin, the lords of Cangyun Mountain, or those sacred beasts capable of moving mountains and filling seas could construct such a magnificent palace.

At one of the sharp points directly facing the hexagram stood an ancient door, inscribed with a line in the common tongue of the Ancient Spirit Realm.

“Those who enter this door shall suffer all kinds of worldly hardships, engage in countless slaughters, and only one may emerge.”

“This is…”

As Vilyric took in the intimidating wording, she barely had the chance to voice her confusion when Murong Yun answered preemptively as if predicting her question.

“It should be the 【Shura Gate】, one of the six gates of the Palace of the Six Paths, corresponding to the Six Paths of Heaven and Earth known in the Ancient Spirit Realm.”

“That’s right—the Heavenly Path, the Human Path, the Shura Path, the Underworld Path, the Ghost Path, and the Beast Path. These are the six paths of Heaven and Earth in the Ancient Spirit Realm. The first three paths are benevolent, while the last three are malevolent, balancing and opposing each other, together forming a harmonious whole—this is also the core principle utilized in the operation of the Palace of the Six Paths.”

Xiao Kong chimed in.

“If there’s no array disc to guide, outsiders wishing to break into the Palace of the Six Paths to enter the sealed inner domain of Taotie must have at least six people enter one of the gates simultaneously, solving the inside mechanisms and trials to succeed.”

“And as long as any one person fails, the remaining ones will also be trapped within, doomed to remain there like Taotie, unable to escape until all trials are completed.”

“Eh, is that for real…? Even spatial magic won’t work to get out?”

The cat daughter shook her head with a laugh.

“Nothing’s absolute in this world; while the Palace of the Six Paths is undoubtedly clever enough to seal even hidden immortals within, it still has its limits. For instance, if Taotie, this chaotic beast, were allowed outside to endlessly devour and grow stronger, there would eventually come a day when even the Palace of the Six Paths couldn’t contain it, and the same applies to other beings.”

“Of course, that said, this limit is dreadfully high. If a creature is capable of forcefully breaking through the seal of the Palace of the Six Paths, it would essentially mean it could literally destroy the entire inner realm, if not the whole Ancient Spirit Realm.”

“Therefore, at least for now, Taotie isn’t strong enough to break through. Those thieves who use spatial magic to sneak into the chaotic secret realm must still do so honestly through the six gates to solve the mechanisms.”

The girl wore a cheerful expression, casting a provocative glance at the Priestess.

“So, how about it? Vilyric, want to give it a try?”

“You say that… I am indeed very interested.”

Suddenly shifting her tone, she pointed out a crucial issue at hand.

“But it seems we’re only three people, right? How are we supposed to enter six gates?”

Xiao Kong shook her head with a smile.

“Did you forget? Just before us, another group entered the Palace of the Six Paths, so don’t we have some ready-made laborers? While the six gates require simultaneous tackling, it doesn’t specify that the breakers must all be from the same faction, right?”

“Eh… is that really a thing?”

“Oh come on, if I say it’s fine, then it’s fine! Hurry, hurry, pick one, which door are we going through?”

As if recalling something, she quickly added.

“Oh, we can’t choose the Shura Gate, though, because that gate is typically for single entrance only. Inside, no external objects can be used, and no external powers can be leveraged; one must battle to the death everything visible to the naked eye except oneself to achieve the Shura path before they can exit. You don’t want to end up fighting your companions in there, do you?”

“Oh… um? Why does this regulation seem familiar?”

   

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