Gates of the Myriad Realms Chapter 373

“Actually… there’s still one more technique.”

One more technique?

Shen Ye was overjoyed, then angrily snapped, “This is so important, why didn’t you say so sooner?”

At this moment.

With the Guanghan Palace as the guide, the Immortal Kingdom had already merged into his Dharma Idol, holding nothing back.

So communication became more direct:

“Because you’re not qualified.”

“Not qualified? Is it about strength?” Shen Ye asked.

The Immortal Kingdom once again displayed faint glowing characters: “Even when the Immortal Kingdom still existed, in that supremely upper realm, it was extremely difficult for anyone to achieve this, let alone you in the ‘Unstable Layer’?”

“At least tell me the situation,” Shen Ye said.

“The Immortal Kingdom had three techniques standing strong, awe-inspiring in all directions, supporting the Immortal Kingdom’s eternal existence for generations, becoming the most prosperous Immortal Dynasty civilization.”

“Among the three techniques, one was heaven-shaking, passed down through bloodlines, extremely mysterious, capable of decimating all nations upon its emergence, unrivaled;”

“One was heaven-encompassing, a technique with its own sentience, revealing its power only after recognizing a master, able to transform dreams into reality and reality into dreams, supremely profound;”

“And another technique was heaven-reaching—”

Shen Ye was listening intently, but then the voice cut off.

“Speak!” he urged.

No response.

“Hey, if you were a writer, I’d break your legs,” Shen Ye said with ill temper.

The Immortal Kingdom emitted faint glowing characters:

“The Heaven-Reaching technique requires passing a trial to obtain.”

“However, for almost five thousand years, no one has passed the trial of this technique.”

“This has led to only two techniques existing in the Immortal Kingdom.”

“—If all three techniques were gathered, the Immortal Kingdom would not have perished.”

Looking at these lines of text, Shen Ye suddenly felt the sadness of the Immortal Kingdom.

Never mind.

Given its bad mood, he wouldn’t argue with it.

But—

“Can I try?” Shen Ye asked.

“There’s no other way now, so you might as well try,” a line of text appeared from the Immortal Kingdom Dharma Idol.

“How do I try?” Shen Ye asked again.

“To activate the trial of the Heaven-Reaching technique, you must first complete a prerequisite trial.”

This was a bit convoluted.

Shen Ye thought for a moment and asked, “What exactly needs to be done?”

“Battle—a battle trial that your strength, or even the strength of most people, absolutely cannot complete!”

“How difficult is it?”

“Look!”

Outside the safe zone.

Endless darkness began to surge madly.

An unparalleled savage aura suddenly erupted, sweeping across the entire world.

After seven or eight breaths.

The darkness slowly receded on both sides.

A majestic palace, entirely forged from white bones, rumbled up from beneath the ground, standing amidst towering mountains.

Two giants guarded the palace gates, each holding a heavy hammer, standing motionless.

Their height was almost equal to the mountains, and they exuded a violent and frenzied killing intent, staring collectively at Shen Ye.

Shen Ye looked back at the giants.

A line of identical descriptors appeared above the heads of the two giants:

“Planet Shatterers.”

Planet… Shatter…

It should be known that the Dharma Realm never exaggerates; if you cannot do something, the Dharma Realm would not give you an exaggerated descriptor.

So these two giants, and the heavy hammers in their hands—

Could they shatter stars?

As Shen Ye was thinking, he suddenly saw faint glowing characters gather and re-form before his eyes:

“When you attack, the trial begins!”

“Kill all the monsters in the entire palace!”

“Only then can you awaken that ancient ritual and set foot on the path to heaven!”

Shen Ye looked at it for a few moments and understood.

This was the so-called prerequisite trial.

—He must pass this trial to unlock the true trial.

Shen Ye gazed at the two “Planet Shatterers” and murmured:

“Many years later, as I looked upon those two giants named ‘Planet Shatterers,’ I suddenly recalled that distant afternoon when the undead took me to assassinate the great elder of the elves.”

“What are you saying?” the Immortal Kingdom Dharma Idol asked.

“Nothing, I was just remembering a classic work of literature,” Shen Ye said.

“Do you understand now? The reason I didn’t tell you is because you can’t complete the trial—in fact, even the powerful individuals from the supremely upper realm have not completed the trial for thousands of years.”

“This is the reason why the Heaven-Reaching technique has never appeared.”

“And it’s also the reason why the Immortal Kingdom fell!”

Shen Ye thought for a moment and asked, “According to what you say, among the three techniques, the Heaven-Reaching technique should be the strongest?”

“That’s right!” the Immortal Kingdom Dharma Idol responded.

Shen Ye’s gaze once again focused on the two “Planet Shatterers,” and he asked:

“Can they attack beyond the Dharma Idol?”

“No.”

“That’s good.”

Shen Ye suddenly appeared on the Immortal Kingdom stele, slashed a brilliant blade light at the two giants, and then immediately left the Dharma Idol.

He appeared in Song Yinchen’s room and asked, “Did I hit them?”

“You hit them,” the Immortal Kingdom Dharma Idol replied.

“How is it?” Shen Ye asked expectantly.

“Not a single hair was broken.”

“…”

Fighting.

It was unwinnable.

Completely hopeless.

“Wait, what if my Spirit-master and Divine Spirit were here, and they fought for me?” Shen Ye asked.

“Servants, Spirit-masters, and Divine Spirits with formal contracts are allowed; without a contract, it will be considered cheating and result in direct disqualification,” the Immortal Kingdom Dharma Idol responded.

Shen Ye fell into thought.

The Spirit-master was the Big Skeleton.

—Even if it went with him, it would probably only end in “death.”

But—

For some reason, as Shen Ye recalled the appearance of the two giants, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Strange…

“Did I see them before?”

He murmured softly.

Two lines of faint glowing characters appeared:

“The trial is placed within the Immortal Kingdom; you can try it at any time.”

“Please remember, attack and then immediately leave the Dharma Idol, otherwise you will be smashed into meat paste by them.”

Shen Ye grumbled a “Got it” and then dropped the matter.

Completely, absolutely, impossible to beat them.

—These were just two giants guarding the palace gates; he had no idea what kind of monsters were inside the palace.

No, that’s not right.

There must be a way… to fight them…

Like opening the Sealed Door.

But.

The monsters in the Sealed Door were uncontrollable, and he could only open the door three times a day.

He hadn’t recovered yet.

So he would have to wait until tomorrow to try.

“Yinchen.”

“What is it, Brother Shen Ye?”

“You rest well at home. I have something to do now and need to go out.”

“Is it something important?”

“Two good brothers I haven’t seen for many years have something going on, I need to go check on them.”

“Alright then, Brother Shen Ye, remember to come find me anytime.”

“Okay.”

Shen Ye left.

Song Yinchen saw him to the door, watched him fly into the sky and disappear, then turned to walk back inside.

“Close the door. Nobody is allowed to disturb me except Shen Ye.”

She instructed.

“Yes, ma’am!” the two Maids said in unison.

The door closed.

Even the candlelight was extinguished.

The entire room fell into complete darkness.

Song Yinchen waved her hand.

A hideous insect corpse quietly appeared in mid-air.

—This was the corpse of an Emperor Species!

This corpse had fallen into her hands back then and had been preserved until now, finally finding its use.

A decisive look flashed in Song Yinchen’s eyes:

“I will use you as a body and try to construct a technique to counter that Dharma Idol.”

“Although it’s very difficult… since Brother Shen Ye hasn’t given up on this world—”

“Then I’ll try!”

…

Nightmare World.

Eternal Night City.

Marquis’s Castle.

As soon as Shen Ye arrived, he saw Norton and Failun watching TV.

“Are your injuries healed?”

Shen Ye asked.

Neither of them answered.

“They’re watching military intelligence, they’re quite focused, don’t mind them,” Eudelia said.

Shen Ye looked at the TV.

—It wasn’t actually a TV, but an arcane energy screen.

On it, lines of new intelligence scrolled by:

“Human army has completed deployment at Defensive Position 75, mages are beginning to construct defensive formations;”

“Human cavalry squadrons are gathering on the plains, conducting their fifth flanking maneuver, posing a threat to our flank;”

“Undead Legion ready, can be deployed into battle at any time!”

“Necromancer Corps ready!”

“…”

Shen Ye watched for a while, countless thoughts swirling in his mind, then a sudden inspiration struck him.

That scene.

The two giants guarding the bone castle.

So similar!

It was almost the same thing!

Maybe he could…

He held his breath, firmly grasping the inspiration, and began to refine it.

“Can we let people into the Immortal Kingdom freely?”

He silently asked.

Two lines of faint glowing characters appeared:

“First, I am your Dharma Idol now.”

“Second, you have ‘Will meet at the Jade Terrace under the moon,’ if you want to let someone in, just grab them and throw them in.”

Shen Ye said, “That’s too lacking in ritual. I still want them to go through a trial. By the way—”

“Can the trial conditions be changed?”

“…How do you want to change it?” the Immortal Kingdom Dharma Idol asked.

“Just tell me if it can be changed,” Shen Ye said.

“It can be changed, yes, but constant changes would diminish the Immortal Kingdom’s prestige,” the Immortal Kingdom Dharma Idol said.

“Let’s talk about prestige after we survive,”

Shen Ye finished speaking, walked over and patted Failun’s shoulder:

“Where’s your mother?”

“In the Imperial Palace, she’s waiting for the war to begin,” Failun said.

“Will it start today?” Shen Ye asked again.

“It’s still in the preparation phase; it’s expected to really begin in another two or three days,” Failun said.

Shen Ye nodded.

There was still time.

That’s good.

“Listen, Norton, Failun, I have an idea,” Shen Ye said.

“What idea? This isn’t a minor skirmish anymore; we can’t solve it with that,” Failun said anxiously.

Norton, however, had confidence in him and said, “Page, just tell us. If it’s really effective, I’ll fully cooperate with you.”

“I need your full cooperation this time—this is crucial. If anyone messes up, I’ll spank them hard, I promise,” Shen Ye said.

Spank them?

Spank us?

The Big Skeleton and Norton exchanged glances, both becoming serious.

Norton solemnly said, “Page, you don’t have the right—”

“I am helping you restore your kingdom,” Shen Ye interrupted him.

Norton was speechless.

If it was something as big as restoring the kingdom, he really couldn’t make a mistake.

If he did make a mistake, he wouldn’t wait for Page to spank him, he’d want to kill himself first.

Shen Ye looked back at the Big Skeleton.

The Big Skeleton spread its hands, indicating, “You say it, I’ll follow.”

“Listen, you have to…”

Shen Ye began to explain his plan.

He talked endlessly, and soon Norton looked surprised, the Big Skeleton’s mouth hung open, and even Eudelia covered her face with her hand.

Half a day later.

Still in Eternal Night City.

A werewolf, its body concealed by a cloak, arrived at the Dark Rose Opera Troupe.

“I’m looking for the chief songstress, Mr. Baxter.”

The werewolf said in a low voice.

The opera troupe guard, an illusory ghost, said in surprise, “The chief songstress only returned today; your information is too good.”

“Is that so? Please accommodate me.”

The werewolf revealed an emblem.

It was the emblem of a great noble of Eternal Night City.

“Go,” the ghost pulled open the opera troupe’s door, “he’s in the private lounge at the end of the second-floor corridor.”

“Alright, thank you.” The werewolf, hood covering its face, stepped through the door.

It soon reached the private lounge at the end of the second floor of the opera house.

It paused for a breath.

The werewolf carefully pulled out a piece of paper, meticulously read the information on it, and only put it away after reading it three times.

Thump, thump-thump!

Thump, thump-thump-thump-thump!

Only with this rhythmic knocking would the esteemed Mr. Baxter open the door!

“Who is it?”

A steady male voice indeed came from inside.

“Captain, don’t shoot, it’s me, it’s me!”

The werewolf recited.

There was a pause inside, then a whispered question: “As strong as he may be?”

“I herd my sheep.” The werewolf replied.

“Heavenly king covers earth tiger?”

“Stewed chicken with mushrooms!”

“Oh, it’s one of us, come in.”

The door opened.

The werewolf slipped inside and indeed saw a handsome vampire.

It saluted: “Sir! You must be the one in the organization with the codename—”

“Shut up, don’t say my codename here!”

The vampire’s face changed, and he hurriedly interrupted it.

The werewolf’s eyes flashed, and it immediately lowered its voice, saying cautiously:

“Mr. Baxter, the organization has an urgent matter and has dispatched me to the Immortal Kingdom. Please make the arrangements.”

Baxter listened, took out a ruler, tapped the werewolf’s head three times, then walked to the window with his hands behind his back.

The werewolf immediately understood.

According to the intelligence he had accidentally obtained, this gesture meant—

“Don’t worry, the tributes will certainly not be less!”

The werewolf placed three gold bricks on the table.

The handsome vampire Baxter immediately returned, pocketed the gold bricks, and whispered in the werewolf’s ear:

“There’s a marquis’s mansion with red walls and black tiles in the east of the city. Go there and find a zombie named Pablo. He’s accompanied by a dark elf mage.”

“Once you’re there, they’ll contact me. When I confirm you’re part of the organization, he will make arrangements for you!”

“Understood! Thank you, sir!”

The werewolf was overjoyed.

This information was extremely important, and it seemed to be true!

The werewolf left the opera house and rushed towards the Marquis’s Mansion in the east of Eternal Night City at top speed.

Today.

He had accidentally obtained a piece of information.

—There was a shortcut to the Immortal Kingdom.

A very secretive organization had access to the path leading into the Immortal Kingdom.

Initially, he wouldn’t even glance at such exaggerated information.

But!

The contact person for this organization was none other than the famous songstress, Baxter!

He actually had an exclusive codename within the organization.

Given Baxter’s status as chief songstress, the entire piece of intelligence began to gain a shred of credibility.

He never expected that upon trying—

It seemed to be true!

The werewolf suppressed its excitement, carefully observed its surroundings, and only when it was sure no one was paying attention did it quietly jump over the wall and enter the Marquis’s mansion.

There were indeed two power fluctuations in the air.

The werewolf followed the fluctuations to the Marquis’s main hall.

A dark elf mage stood there, seemingly waiting for him.

“Who are you? State your name!”

The dark elf mage shouted.

Her power fluctuations were quite strong, almost reaching the peak of the seventh layer of the Dharma Realm.

The werewolf quickly spread its arms, indicating it had no ill intentions, and hurriedly said:

“Please don’t misunderstand, Mr. Baxter, the songstress, sent me.”

“Really?” the dark elf asked suspiciously.

“If you don’t believe me, you can contact him,” the werewolf tried to maintain a friendly attitude.

The dark elf indeed took out a small communication magic artifact, linked with someone for a while, and then put away her killing intent.

“It seems to be true, but if you want to go to the Immortal Kingdom, I can’t let you go for free.”

The dark elf said.

“I understand, I understand. What do you need me to do?” the werewolf asked knowingly.

“My friend was severely injured and hasn’t fully recovered yet. Do you have any high-grade healing potions here?” the dark elf asked.

“…Yes.”

The werewolf gritted its teeth, rubbed its ring, pulled out a high-grade healing potion, and handed it to her.

The dark elf looked at the potion and immediately showed delight.

She called out to the inside:

“Pablo!”

A zombie jumped down from an upstairs room, landing in front of the two.

“Potion?” The zombie named Pablo looked at it with interest and asked the werewolf, “Is this a high-grade recovery potion?”

“It’s the real deal,” the werewolf said.

True words.

Pablo took the potion from the dark elf’s hand and drank it all in one gulp.

At this point, the werewolf was already starting to doubt the authenticity of the entire affair.

—Had he been scammed?!

His eyelids twitched, and he wanted to reach for the dagger at his waist, but he forcefully restrained himself.

He’d wait and see.

He had spent a few gold bricks and used up a precious high-grade healing potion; he wouldn’t give up without seeing the final result!

The zombie Pablo “gulped, gulped” down the potion, closed his eyes for a moment, and let out a sigh of satisfaction:

“The potion is really good.”

“—Brother, you’ve helped me a great deal.”

“It’s only right, brother,” the werewolf said with a deep voice, “Can I go to the Immortal Kingdom now?”

The zombie Pablo took out a golden emblem and placed it in the werewolf’s hand.

“—You take this emblem, go to the palace gate, give it to the guard, and someone will meet you.”

The werewolf looked at the emblem in its hand, half in doubt.

It suddenly held its breath.

This emblem emanated pure divine energy fluctuations; it was the royal emblem of the Undead Empire.

The real deal.

Things seemed to have taken a turn!

Would royalty engage in such fraudulent activities?

…Probably not.

“Thank you both, I will go now,” the werewolf said, observing the expressions of the zombie and the dark elf.

Both wore expressions of blessing and smiles.

“Go, and I hope your mission is smooth,” the zombie said.

The werewolf’s hanging heart relaxed a little more.

It nodded to the two and turned to leave the Marquis’s mansion.

Seven or eight minutes later.

At the palace gate, the werewolf handed over the emblem. The royal guard took the emblem and indeed led it into the palace.

The werewolf secretly remained vigilant.

But everything that followed went smoothly.

It was led to a side hall, where a prince was waiting for it.

“The organization has decided to send you to the Immortal Kingdom?”

The Big Skeleton, toying with the emblem, asked.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” the werewolf bowed.

“Alright then, we’ll send you there, but you must be careful. The Immortal Kingdom is extremely dangerous; do not act rashly,” the Big Skeleton said.

The werewolf’s heart was pounding.

Could it be—

He was really going to succeed?

Powerful individuals from various universes, so many factions, so much scheming, even going to great lengths to subvert the Human Empire in the Nightmare World—

They had even prepared for a national war!

Yet they still hadn’t gained entry to the Immortal Kingdom.

As for the Dead Star, it was protected by Cloud Rainbow Heavenly Venerate, and the Dead Star had withdrawn from the Nightmare World, declaring it would no longer involve itself in the affairs of the Immortal Kingdom, nor participate further.

So now no one could enter the Immortal Kingdom!

Who would have thought.

—He had won!

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, I will,” the werewolf said respectfully.

“Alright then, sign the informed consent form,” the Big Skeleton said.

“Consent form?” the werewolf asked, bewildered.

“Every brother who enters the Immortal Kingdom will face a situation of nine deaths and one life. We must sign an informed consent form, proving this was your own decision, before we let you in,” the Big Skeleton explained.

Quite reasonable.

“Alright, I’ll sign it,” the werewolf said.

The Big Skeleton handed over a thick stack of documents.

The werewolf looked closely and saw the large characters “User Service Agreement” written on it.

Behind it, there were over three hundred pages, all detailing various services for organization members entering the Immortal Kingdom, and corresponding legal agreements.

The werewolf patiently read through over three hundred pages, its eyes blurring.

—Fortunately, the agreements were all fine.

Just a bit verbose.

“I’ve finished reading, I’ll sign,” the werewolf said.

“Alright, once this is signed, there are other documents to sign as well.”

The Big Skeleton watched it sign, then immediately pulled out another thick stack of documents, totaling over five hundred pages.

The werewolf looked closely and saw the large characters “User Information Authorization and Risk Disclosure Statement” written on it.

Below that was a small line of text:

“The security of user personal information is protected. We will take appropriate security protection measures in accordance with laws and regulations to do our best to protect the security and control of your personal information.”

The werewolf casually flipped through.

It was all about the handling of personal information of organization members under various circumstances, and the rights of others to use that information.

The werewolf patiently read through five hundred pages, feeling like it was about to die.

“Sign it,”

It said in a dejected tone.

The Big Skeleton led it through signing the documents, then immediately pulled out another thick stack of documents, totaling over three thousand pages.

“What is this again?” the werewolf asked.

“Anti-addiction system and real-name authentication service agreement—last time an eight-year-old child used his father’s credentials to enter the Immortal Kingdom, which led to a tragedy.”

The Big Skeleton picked up the three thousand-plus pages of documents and neatly placed them on the table.

The werewolf held its breath, looked up at the documents that almost touched the ceiling, and after a while, managed to squeeze out a sentence:

“I can actually just sign it.”

“Whatever, we’re just going through a process here, just to avoid us being blamed if something goes wrong,” the Big Skeleton said indifferently.

The werewolf no longer wanted to hear it speak another word, picked up the pen, and signed.

The contract was formed!!!

A faint ripple emanated through the void.

The werewolf’s expression changed, saying, “Why is there a contract?”

“Nonsense, the organization just has this back door; it’s good enough that you get to use it, you can’t just claim it for yourselves, can you?” the Big Skeleton’s voice was even louder than its own.

“Are you saying—” the werewolf hesitated.

“Yes, you only have the right to use the back door, but the back door belongs to the organization, understand?” the Big Skeleton patiently explained.

“I understand that, but how did I become a subordinate?” the werewolf said with an unwilling tone.

The Big Skeleton slammed its hand on the table and angrily shouted:

“Everyone is a subordinate of the organization! If you deny this, you can leave the organization now and depart!”

The werewolf pondered carefully.

He was right.

No matter who this organization belonged to, its leader would never care about lower-ranking members.

Subordinate…

Forget it, having come this far, should he give up on uncovering the truth of the whole matter?

“I apologize, I misunderstood. I have no more questions now.”

The werewolf bowed with a sincere expression.

“Then go. Behind me, the wall, open the door, and that’s the Immortal Kingdom,” the Big Skeleton said.

“…Alright,” the werewolf said.

Entering the Immortal Kingdom by opening a door?

How did it suddenly seem fake again?

Unable to restrain itself, the werewolf strode to the wall and pulled open the door.

Indeed, there was a different space behind the door!

—He had been traveling through multiple universes for so many years; he still had that much discernment!

The werewolf stepped in.

The door disappeared.

It saw a huge stone stele behind it, with a line of text engraved on it:

“Supreme.”

Supreme Immortal Kingdom!

The werewolf trembled all over, then turned to look at the distant mountains.

A massive palace loomed over the mountains.

At the gates of that palace stood two giants, each holding a heavy hammer.

The might emanating from the giants was terrifying.

Good.

Very good.

This was indeed the Supreme Immortal Kingdom, and indeed the secret place where the Heaven-Encompassing technique was stored!

The werewolf couldn’t suppress the excitement in its heart and immediately pulled out a scroll, tearing it apart.

Whoosh—

It vanished from its spot, reappearing at the border between the Human Empire and the Undead Empire.

There was a human encampment here.

As soon as it appeared, it was surrounded by human professionals.

“It’s me, it’s me! I’m one of you!”

The werewolf quickly removed its disguise.

—He was indeed a human of Dharma Realm Seventh Stage strength!

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The leader laughed and teased:

“Ah, the infamous intelligence assassin, our glorious Empire’s great spy, sir, did you gain anything from your trip to the Undead Empire to gather intelligence this time?”

“I discovered a back door to the Immortal Kingdom,” the great spy said.

“What!” the leader exclaimed involuntarily.

Everyone around was also astonished.

“It’s true, I’ve personally verified it, no problem.”

The great spy continued in a solemn tone:

“In Eternal Night City of the Undead Empire, there’s an organization called ‘Liangshan’!”

“We need to find Baxter, the chief songstress of the Dark Rose Circus. He’s the contact person for the organization.”

“Regarding his true identity, he’s not actually a songstress—”

“Within the ‘Liangshan’ organization, he’s actually known as Li Da ‘Black Cyclone,’ wielder of two great axes.”

“He can take us to the Immortal Kingdom!”