Volume One: Meeting in Youthful Days, Chapter 111: Everyone Takes Action

No one is unaware of what the existence of the Heavenly Gate signifies. People regard it with such reverence that even a hint of disrespect, let alone destruction, would be considered an act of desecration.

Yet now, upon hearing the sudden appearance of the Daoist Lin claiming he intends to destroy the Heavenly Gate, the first reaction in their minds is not skepticism, but a sense of the absurdity of his actions. They all wonder if he has gone mad or if something has gone wrong with his mind.

Indeed, when they decided to open the Heavenly Gate, Daoist Lin never appeared to interfere, so they paid him no heed. Even though his power was formidable, as long as he did not disrupt their plans, they felt no need to concern themselves with him.

Unexpectedly, he has appeared near the Heavenly Gate with such an attitude, intending to destroy the treasure they hold so dear. If he were to truly go through with this, would he be showing any regard for them at all?

As the Daoist finished speaking, the three ancestors of the Li family were the first to react. The leading woman in red looked at him and said, "It is truly unexpected that you have managed to reach this stage after all these years!"

The Daoist smiled at her, examined her carefully, and nodded with realization. "It is not just me who is unexpected. But tell me, what should I call you? Senior Li Hongxiao?"

Li Hongxiao’s eyes narrowed. She said coldly, "Since you still address me as a senior, you would do well to withdraw now. Opposing us will bring you no benefit. Having cultivated to the status of a Saint, you are surely not a fool; you should understand the stakes clearly."

Daoist Lin laughed. "If all 'seniors' were like you, I would rather never be called one myself; it is truly shameful. At the very least, I could never bring myself to possess the body of a disciple from my own sect."

By exposing Li Hongxiao’s greatest secret without reservation, he stripped away her final shred of dignity. She knew she could not hide it from everyone forever, but she never imagined her shame would be revealed in front of so many juniors.

The other old monsters present were not particularly surprised; having lived for so long and witnessed so much, they were unmoved by such affairs. Many of them, in their pursuit of longevity or re-cultivation, had likely committed equally unthinkable acts.

However, the younger disciples were not so indifferent. Hearing that an ancestor would possess one of their own left them horrified, wondering how they would face or resolve such a situation if it happened to them. Furthermore, realizing that the upper echelons of the Li family must have been aware of this, the conclusion was clear: they had chosen to condone it, leaving the innocent woman to perish in vain. The Li family no longer seemed so noble or principled in their eyes, and they began to worry if similar atrocities might occur within their own sects.

Li Hongxiao, livid with rage, forced out two words: "Presumptuous!"

Those two simple words carried the weight of her entire cultivation. A full-force strike from a fourteenth-stage monster could easily wipe out an entire town. Yet, before Daoist Lin, it was nothing. He did not move, and the words simply dissipated into nothingness, stirring no wind or clouds around him.

Afterward, the Daoist glanced at the others. When his gaze fell upon Li Yu, who was being tightly shielded by Chen Yuan, he spoke through a voiceless transmission: "Little Fish, I have never taught you anything. Today, your master will act as a master properly and impart all the techniques and Daoist arts I have learned to you. Watch closely."

After the transmission, he declared boldly, "Saints of the Heavens, if you do not appear now, you will never have the chance."

With that, he formed a seal with one hand, arranging the thirty-two small swords around him into a sword formation that tightly encircled the Heavenly Gate.

He shouted, "Break!"

All the small swords flew toward the Heavenly Gate at incredible speed. They did not strike the gate directly but instead spun rapidly around it, turning the Heavenly Gate itself into the heart of the formation.

Those below watched, unsure of what kind of formation he was crafting, but they knew that allowing him to continue would not end well. Led by Li Hongxiao, all the cultivators launched their attacks, determined to stop him.

The three from the Li family unleashed their most powerful technique: the Spirit-Sealing Art. They believed that if they could subdue Daoist Lin, they could halt his recklessness. They were wrong. The combined Spirit-Sealing Art of three fourteenth-stage ancestors could not trap him in the slightest. Daoist Lin glanced at it, formed a seal, and commanded, "Prohibit."

The incoming Spirit-Sealing Art turned into faint light and vanished into the void.

Watching him break their strongest technique with such ease, the Li ancestors were stunned. They had not anticipated that a fifteenth-stage practitioner would be so difficult to handle.

They immediately shifted tactics, employing the Spirit-Commanding Art to forcibly seize the true spirits of the world and use the power of heaven and earth against him. While the five decrees of Heavenly Gate Town forbade private fighting, they had identified the moment when the decrees were at their weakest and could no longer suppress them.

Everyone began to strike. The Li family, despite the natural suppression of the town, used their fourteenth-stage cultivation to forcibly command the spirits of the world.

Alongside the Li family, other old monsters unleashed their arts. Cao Xihe, though reluctant, felt compelled by the crowd to contribute a symbolic strike. He produced a golden sheet of paper and folded it into a small sword, which grew in size until it became a phantom golden blade, flying toward the Daoist.

Xie Tong of the Great Sword Mountain was preparing to leave when Mo Di of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect goaded him, suggesting that the Daoist’s ability to use their swords proved they were in league together. Feeling pressured by the Li family to clear his name, Xie Tong sighed and summoned his own soul-bound sword—a brown, wood-like blade—and slashed a beam of green light toward the Daoist.

Wang Lian of the Yin Mountain Sect opened her Book of Life and Death, using her Judge’s Pen to paint a void of darkness around the Daoist before writing his name in her book. Mo Di summoned his strongest contracted beast, a dragon-like creature that radiated the natural pressure of its kin. The Watching Star Ancestor of the Heavenly Mystery Sect attempted to calculate the Daoist’s intentions and place a curse of fate upon him. True Man Zhengyang of Luo Wang Peak manifested a blazing sun above his head, pushing it toward the Daoist. Yu Qiu of the Myriad Transformations Sect created countless clones of himself, each possessing his own strength and abilities, to join the onslaught.

The ancestors of the five great families of Heavenly Gate Town, led by Zhang Xi, combined their strengths to unleash a set of palm techniques based on the five elements, creating a cage of energy intended to imprison the Daoist until his demise.

The two demonic cultivators, Bai Tong and Mu Li, waited on the sidelines for an opportunity to strike, eager to prove that the demon race was not to be underestimated.

Only the Sword Saint, Yan Feng, did not attack. He watched the Daoist not as an enemy, but as a worthy opponent. Seeing the Daoist’s intent to destroy the Heavenly Gate—a feat he found exhilarating—Yan Feng resolved that if the Daoist were overwhelmed, he would intervene, rescue him, and spare his life, just so they could cross blades in the future.

The logic of the Sword Saint was as direct and overbearing as that.