Gates of the Myriad Realms Chapter 339

Spring rain.

The rain pattered incessantly.

The mountain road was treacherous, slippery and muddy.

People silently hid their fatigue, yet maintained their formation, advancing at a steady pace.

The captain’s voice rang out:

“The magic cabin is ahead, we’ll rest there tonight!”

“Yes!” the crowd responded in unison.

The captain then said, “Brother Peach, I suggest you wait until daylight before crossing this mountain, it will be safer.”

“Alright, then I’ll go with you.” Shen Ye smiled.

As soon as he spoke, everyone’s expressions visibly relaxed.

—Just now, a fierce tiger charged out from behind the bushes, and before anyone could react, Brother Peach shot it dead.

What excellent archery!

Having such a hermit by their side gave them an extra sense of security.

“Come on, the military rations at the wooden cabin aren’t great, but I remember there are a few bottles of wine, I’ll share some with you tonight,” the troop captain said with a smile.

“Thank you, then,” Shen Ye responded.

The team unconsciously picked up speed.

The rain grew heavier.

After turning several winding mountain paths, someone suddenly called out, “We’re here.”

Shen Ye looked up and saw a large, towering wooden cabin on a protruding flat area halfway up the mountain.

A faint light appeared beside the cabin:

“Magic Cabin.”

“A constant presence of life and defense magic, for the rest of human soldiers.”

—It was a magic structure!

The troop captain hurried to the front of the cabin, pulled out an emblem, and pressed it firmly into the slot on the door.

“Clatter, clatter, clatter—”

A sound of gears turning.

The door opened.

Inside the house, candles had been lit everywhere.

On the table were several large plates of baked coarse bread and iron mugs filled with milk mixed with tea leaves.

The troop captain was not satisfied, however. He tapped the emblem on the door with his finger and said:

“I am Captain Bronte of the Ninth Patrol, requesting captain’s supplies.”

After a few breaths.

Several bottles of wine, a pot of meat soup, and a pack of cigarettes appeared on the table.

Everyone immediately cheered.

Captain Bronte then puffed out his chest, raised his head, and waved to Shen Ye:

“Brother Peach, please come in and rest with your sister.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” Shen Ye said.

He looked back at the puppet Annie.

Annie was expressionless.

—There was nothing to be done; it was his own puppet, and unless he commanded it, it would do nothing.

Shen Ye had no choice but to control the puppet to say:

“Brother, it’s cold outside, let’s go in and rest.”

Then he himself said, “Okay, sister, let’s go in together.”

He was talking to himself, and everyone around him still had an incredibly normal expression.

It was quite bizarre.

But there was no other way.

The patrol team consisted of eight soldiers.

They entered the wooden cabin, removed their drenched armor, placed their long spears and short daggers on the weapon rack, and then lit a fire in the fireplace. Only then did they comfortably sit down at the long wooden table.

With the fire, the room gradually grew warmer.

“Brother Peach, and Sister Roely, come eat dinner with us.”

Bronte called out to the two of them.

“No thanks, we’ve already eaten,” Shen Ye smiled.

Annie found a large chair, sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and seemed to fall into a state of meditation.

This hermit-like demeanor instilled even more reverence.

Of course, Shen Ye was just trying to make things easier.

He accepted the wine offered by Bronte, took a sip, and then turned his attention to the Dharma Aspect.

Within the Dharma Aspect—

“Big Skeleton, come look at this!”

He called out.

Big Skeleton jumped down from the immortal puppet, walked to his side, squatted down, and carefully prodded the corpse.

“This is a materialized body of a soul.”

Big Skeleton said with certainty, “After some powerful souls leave their bodies for too long, to protect themselves, they materialize a body with soul power to use in battle.”

On the ground was a humanoid corpse, with long, slender arms growing from its head and a barbed tail on its back.

In fact, this soul body was almost indistinguishable from the corpse of an Emperor Species.

—Its corpse was in Song Yinchen’s hands.

“I’ve always been curious, why did you crawl into the grand tomb—don’t lie, tell me the truth.”

Shen Ye said.

—”Gloomy Whisper” activated!

The Emperor Species’ corpse moved slightly, returned to calm, and did not utter a sound.

“It’s not talking.”

Shen Ye looked at Big Skeleton.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Big Skeleton shrugged.

“Go teach it a lesson,” Shen Ye snapped his fingers.

The corpse on the ground instantly vanished.

A few minutes later.

The soul-corpse of the Emperor Species reappeared.

“What did that fate-sealed Spirit-master tell you back then?” the Emperor Species asked weakly.

Shen Ye found it a bit amusing.

This guy was truly stubborn his whole life. Despite being dragged off for a long period of torment, he returned and immediately tried to take the initiative by questioning him.

Shen Ye decided to play along and said, “The fate-sealed Spirit-master told me to enter the depths of the Grand Tomb to find the technique of nightmare.”

“She has no memories, so she completely misunderstood. In fact, the source of that technique should be in the nightmare world,” the Emperor Species said.

“How do you know?” Shen Ye asked.

“I’ve been hit by that technique, how could I not know where it came from?” the Emperor Species retorted.

That made sense.

Annie had also told him to obtain that technique in the nightmare world.

“I don’t think that technique is that powerful, it hit you several times and didn’t kill you.”

Shen Ye said.

“Because it was just attacking randomly, no one was truly controlling it,” the Emperor Species said.

“Do you know how to control it?” Shen Ye asked.

“No.”

“Why did you crawl into the grand tomb?” Shen Ye asked again.

“…” Emperor Species.

“Not speaking? Go teach it a lesson.” Shen Ye said.

The Emperor Species disappeared again.

“It kept circling back just now, I almost forgot to ask it about this,” Big Skeleton sighed.

After a few breaths.

The Emperor Species reappeared before the two of them.

“Still not speaking?” Shen Ye asked.

“No,” the Emperor Species said with difficulty.

Shen Ye was a little moved.

Under the questioning of “Gloomy Whisper,” one could not lie.

Yet it still wouldn’t speak!

Each time it refused, its soul would suffer thousands of years of torment.

The Emperor Species preferred to endure such torment rather than tell him why it entered the Grand Tomb.

That secret must be astonishing.

However—

“Forget it, I respect you as a man, and I won’t torture you anymore.”

Shen Ye stood up and said sincerely.

He patted Big Skeleton’s shoulder and turned to walk toward the other side of the Dharma Aspect.

—All the gold collected and exchanged by Kunlun before was placed there.

Now it was time for harvest.

After a few steps, he saw Big Skeleton follow him.

“Why are you following me?”

Shen Ye asked curiously.

“What else?” Big Skeleton was puzzled.

“Eat it,” Shen Ye said.

Big Skeleton was startled, then trembled with excitement.

Eat an Emperor Species?

Wouldn’t that make him an incredibly powerful cosmic monster?

“Shen Ye, you’re the best!”

Big Skeleton cheered and ran back.

Shen Ye shook his head and continued walking towards the gold.

If it wouldn’t speak after tens of thousands of years of torment, then he wouldn’t ask.

But the vengeance for the Hun Tian Sect must be taken.

—Let its soul die too.

In an instant.

Shen Ye stood before a pile of gold, and quickly put the matter of the Emperor Species out of his mind.

A line of faint light appeared as small characters:

“The current gold quantity is sufficient to directly upgrade one building’s level.”

What should he upgrade?

The Breath-Soil was land, the barracks could summon comrades from the Grand Tomb barracks, and traps and wild nests were for dealing with invading enemies.

Upgrade the barracks.

He still wanted to inquire about the situation in the Grand Tomb and see how everyone was doing now.

“Upgrade barracks.”

Shen Ye said.

Faint characters quickly appeared:

“All gold deducted, barracks upgraded to Level 3.”

“Level 3 barracks can summon Tomb Guardian Generals, first summon is free.”

“The current world is a nightmare-type world, and the summoned entity will appear directly in this world, with an estimated single stay duration of:”

“12 hours.”

“Summon?”

“Summon!” Shen Ye said.

It had been too long since he had contact with the real world; at this moment, he desperately wanted to find someone he knew to exchange information about their situations.

Thump, thump, thump—

A knock on the door sounded outside.

The soldiers, who were eating and drinking, all looked up.

“Who!”

Bronte barked, reaching for the spear on the weapon rack.

A clear female voice rang out:

“I’m here to find someone.”

Everyone exchanged glances.

Bronte held a spear in one hand and tapped the wall three times with the other.

A mirror immediately appeared on the wall, showing the scene outside the door.

“It’s a woman—human.”

Bronte said.

Shen Ye spoke, “She’s my companion.”

“Come take a look,” Bronte said seriously.

“Don’t worry, she’s a companion I’ve known for many years,” Shen Ye said.

“Alright, go open the door and let her in.”

Shen Ye walked to the door, slid open the bolt, and pulled the door open with force.

Indeed, standing outside was a girl wearing a straw hat and a black veil over her face.

She wore a gray dress, with two long swords at her waist. As the door opened, her bright eyes peeked out from under the hat, meeting Shen Ye’s gaze.

Xiao Mengyu.

According to Guo Yunye’s earlier account, she had progressed quite quickly, having entered the third layer of the Grand Tomb.

The third layer, naturally, corresponded to the third level of the barracks.

Tomb Guardian General.

“Please come in.”

Shen Ye said.

“Brother Peach, who is this—” Bronte asked.

“I am Peach’s guard. You don’t need to ask anything further,” Xiao Mengyu said.

“I see, I was about to say Brother Peach had two younger sisters,” Bronte joked.

Two sisters?

Xiao Mengyu’s eyes swept over, and she immediately saw Annie sitting cross-legged.

She strolled over, sat down beside Annie, and smiled:

“Peach, my sister and I haven’t seen each other in a while, and we need to have a private chat, so don’t butt in.”

Shen Ye was a bit helpless.

—I have to butt in!

The puppet wouldn’t chat with you, and if its cover was blown, it would be troublesome.

Annie suddenly opened her eyes, smiled at Xiao Mengyu, and said:

“Sister, come with me, I have something to tell you.”

She jumped off the chair, took Xiao Mengyu’s hand, and walked to the other side of the room.

The two girls, one big and one small, conversed in the corner for a long time.

Shen Ye continued to drink his wine.

It was called wine, but its taste was more like grape juice.

By now, it was deeper into the night.

Occasionally, lightning flashed outside.

The rain still fell incessantly, making a rustling sound on the roof.

The soldiers, having eaten and drunk their fill, were beginning to feel sleepy.

Captain Bronte stayed to guard the first half of the night, sending everyone else upstairs to sleep.

The cold, rainy night of early spring was still somewhat chilly.

The captain, true to his duty, added another log to the fireplace, then sat there with a saber in his arms, lost in thought.

Shen Ye walked to the fireplace with a glass of wine, found a spot to sit, and casually struck up a conversation:

“I’ve been in the mountains for too long, I don’t know what’s happening outside—has war broken out?”

“Originally, the undead were preparing to attack our borders, and the orcs were fighting the elves, but it’s all over now,” Bronte said.

“It’s over?” Shen Ye asked.

“Yes, it’s all over.”

Bronte, looking a bit tired, lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and then continued:

“Facing terrifying demons, who has time to care about those old grudges?”

“Are they very good at fighting?” Shen Ye asked.

“Brother Peach, demons possess the Four Absolutes as a natural talent, don’t you know?” Bronte retorted.

“I really didn’t know,” Shen Ye admitted.

Bronte said, “There’s nothing special about it. Most demons possess unknown powers, among which the powerful ones can temporarily nullify four of your powers.”

“Four powers?” Shen Ye didn’t understand.

“Yes, for example, if you excel at a certain technique, and a demon discovers that it can be harmed by it, it will immediately nullify your ability to cast that technique,” Bronte said.

“So… if I’m a mage, it can nullify four of my spells?” Shen Ye asked incredulously.

“Exactly.”

“What if I’m a melee fighter?”

“The same, your mind will go blank, temporarily forgetting a certain skill.”

“Are all demons like this?”

“Weaker demons can nullify one or two of your abilities, only powerful ones can nullify four,” Bronte said.

“It can’t nullify my Dharma Aspect, can it?”

“Of course it can nullify Dharma Aspects, otherwise, our four races wouldn’t have united to fight for survival,” Bronte said.

“How long can it nullify for?”

“A dozen minutes—enough to complete a battle.”

Shen Ye fell into contemplation.

With the Dharma Aspect activated, skill power could increase by two to five times.

The stronger the person, the higher the multiplier.

So, when professionals were fighting to determine victory or death, they would activate their Dharma Aspect and use ultimate moves.

Without the Dharma Aspect, their combat power would indeed be significantly reduced.

When he lost his Dharma Aspect, archery, knife skills…

He couldn’t even imagine.

Wait a minute.

He had the future-type keyword “will meet under the moon on a jade terrace.”

If his Dharma Aspect was nullified, and he took things out of it to use, he wondered if that would work.

Even if it did—

If the enemy could nullify four abilities taken from the Dharma Aspect, it would still be very troublesome.

At this time.

Annie quietly walked back to Shen Ye’s side, sat down behind him, crossed her legs, and began to meditate.

Xiao Mengyu remained in the corner of the other side of the house.

Shen Ye stood up, walked over, and joined her in watching the lightning and downpour outside the window.

“I can’t believe you went through so much and ended up like this.”

Xiao Mengyu whispered.

She still couldn’t help but look at Annie.

“What about you all? What’s the situation now?” Shen Ye asked.

“Those who reached the seventh level of the Dharma Realm all passed through the third layer wall of the Grand Tomb and went to the Immortal Kingdom.”

Xiao Mengyu said.

“Do you have food in the Grand Tomb?” Shen Ye asked worriedly.

“There are some production-oriented professionals, so everyone won’t starve to death. Also, there are various worries, no one knows what tomorrow will be like.”

“Some mentally fragile professionals were directly thrown out of the Grand Tomb.”

“Huh?” Shen Ye was surprised.

“What’s there to ‘huh’ about? Rather than letting them become unstable factors in the Grand Tomb, it’s better to let them go to the ground, forget themselves, and become part of that era, so at least they don’t cause trouble,” Xiao Mengyu said.

“How have you been doing lately?” Shen Ye asked.

Xiao Mengyu’s eyes softened a bit, and she said softly, “I acquired an immortal kingdom sword technique, and with my original spirit sword, my strength has improved somewhat.”

“An immortal kingdom sword technique?” Shen Ye was surprised.

“Yes, after getting this sword technique, there were many trials that tried to kill me, but I miraculously survived,” Xiao Mengyu said.

“Then this sword technique must be very powerful,” Shen Ye said emotionally.

Xiao Mengyu nodded and asked, “What’s the situation in this world now?”

“The nightmare world has become a bit strange, enemies have a talent called the Four Absolutes.”

Shen Ye explained the situation in detail.

Xiao Mengyu smiled.

“Why are you laughing?” Shen Ye asked curiously.

“A demon has to see my skills to know whether or not to nullify them, right?” Xiao Mengyu said.

“Right,” Shen Ye said.

Thump, thump, thump—

A knock on the door sounded.

The two stopped talking and looked towards the door.

“Who?”

Bronte asked warily.

“Allies from the forest extend their sincere greetings,” a hurried voice rang out from outside.

Bronte tapped the wall three times.

A mirror appeared.

“Elf… fine.”

Bronte walked towards the door, explaining as he went, “Brother Peach, everyone is united now. According to the requirements from above, elves indeed have the right to enter our camp to rest, so—”

“I don’t mind,” Shen Ye said.

Bronte then opened the door.

Two elves stood outside, covered in blood.

“Get in quickly,” Bronte said.

A sudden change occurred—

“Idiotically naive, then all of you die!”

Amidst the ferocious roar, a sharp claw pushed aside the two elves, revealing the sinister body behind.

A demon!

It had two horns on its head, a pale face, blood-red eyes, protruding fangs, and its body was covered in eerie runes, standing about two meters tall.

The demon’s whole body was engulfed in dark green flames, and it lunged directly towards Bronte.

Clang!

A clear ringing sound.

The sword beam flashed and vanished.

“We haven’t finished talking yet—”

Xiao Mengyu explained slowly, “Once it saw my sword, it was already dead; it had no chance to cast the nullification.”

At the doorway.

The demon froze motionless.

A fine line of blood appeared on its body, splitting down its forehead and dividing its entire body into two equal halves.

A streak of light pierced through its body, shooting back, shaking off all the blood along the way.

The streak of light appeared in the void behind Xiao Mengyu.

It was her Remnant Snow Sword.

The long sword gently fell back into its scabbard.

It was only then that the demon’s body completely split apart and fell to the ground.

“Hey, get in quickly.”

Shen Ye shouted at the two elves.

The two elves awoke as if from a dream, disregarding their injuries, they desperately rushed into the magic cabin and fell to the ground.

Bang!

Bronte closed the door, pointed his spear at the elves, and raged:

“You actually colluded with demons to trick me into opening the door!”

“Don’t,” Shen Ye walked over, pressing down on the spear, “they are seriously injured, they must have been coerced, with no room to resist.”

Bronte suddenly froze.

Shen Ye also looked back, only to see the two elves lying on the ground, no longer moving an inch.

They were dead.

Something flashed past the window.

Bronte’s face changed dramatically; he immediately went to the cabin door, opened a hidden compartment, and shook the bell inside with force.

Dong, dong, dong—

The ringing of the bell echoed throughout the magic cabin.

Quick movements came from upstairs.

Several soldiers, fully uniformed, hurried down, grabbed their weapons from the weapon rack, and lined up.

“Sir, what’s going on?” a soldier asked.

“Demons,” Bronte spat out two words.

The soldiers looked at the elf corpses on the ground, their faces all changing.

A strange sound suddenly rang out from outside the cabin:

“You have fifteen minutes to open the door and surrender, otherwise everyone will die!”

Xiao Mengyu suddenly said, “I see.”

“What’s wrong?” Shen Ye asked.

“Although my last sword killed the demon, its companions also saw that sword.”

Xiao Mengyu gently stroked the Remnant Snow Sword at her waist and continued:

“—So, I’ve now forgotten that sword technique.”

Shen Ye reached out, and a cold ice longbow appeared in his hand.

Things were a bit tricky.

When the enemy’s companion saw the scene of killing an enemy, they could still activate a nullification.

Then it would be best to take out all enemies at once.

This level of difficulty was a bit high…

He walked to the window, lifted the latch, and pushed the window open.

“Brother Peach!”

Bronte was shocked and furious, about to rush forward.

Xiao Mengyu suddenly appeared before him, placed a hand on him, and pinned him in place.

“Calm down.”

Xiao Mengyu said.

Shen Ye looked at the rainy night outside the window, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly:

“It’s so late, and you’re not sleeping, but coming here to fight and kill people, are you sick!”

—The Venerable One of Danger began to enlighten all living beings!

These demons were not bio-armors.

Bio-armors were lifeless entities, so they only sustained damage and would not die immediately.

However, these demons were affected by the “enlightenment of the Venerable One of Danger,” and its primary effect was—

In the dark mountain forest.

Large patches of bright red “Danger” characters popped out, illuminating the entire mountain range.

“So many?”

Shen Ye was startled, yet he had already raised his longbow.

His hands moved like afterimages.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—

Archery · Starfall!

An impenetrable barrage of arrows shot from the bowstring, straight into the sky. Each splintered into twelve, transforming into graceful arcs of icy light that poured down like a torrential storm.

The “Danger” characters all over the mountains began to move.

They wanted to block this attack.

But—

Something went wrong, either their hands slipped and they couldn’t hold their weapons, or their feet tripped, or the rain blurred their vision.

Screams rang out, near and far, over and over again.

A line of faint characters appeared before Shen Ye’s eyes:

“Your Archery: Starfall has been nullified for ten minutes.”

Shen Ye stood still, looking out.

But he saw the bright red “Danger” characters dissipate one after another.

—Until the mountains returned to complete darkness.

Bronte was dumbfounded.

Xiao Mengyu smiled and said, “This deal is worth it, unless they have a master.”

In the distant mountains.

A strange roar suddenly echoed.

This sound was different from the previous demons, carrying an inexplicable aura.

Shen Ye looked back at Xiao Mengyu, a hint of amusement on his face.

“My fault, I jinxed it,” Xiao Mengyu said.

“But it’s a bit strange… why are there so many demons?” Shen Ye whispered.

In the mountains outside.

Under the cover of pouring rain and night, Big Skeleton quietly appeared.

With the Four Kings, it began collecting demon corpses and various valuable items they dropped.