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The Queen Mother Of The West watched the illusory picture screen. Depicted within, the impenetrable Nine Divine Gates were opened one after another.
“Small Exceeding hexagram, fifth six: thick clouds bring no rain, from my western canton. The duke’s spear seizes the cave.”
“Infiltrating hexagram, sixth nine, its feathers can be used as the standard.”
“Limping hexagram, third nine, embarking with difficulty, returning with success.”
“Radiance hexagram, sixth nine…”
“Master Mother.”
Even the cold as ice Lu Wu was astounded by the young man’s progress. She had never seen a Golden Core cultivator able to perform to this degree. In the past hundred years, many determined individuals had come to the Western Kunlun Mountains to seek an audience with the Queen Mother Of The West, but even Primordial World’s Four Dukes could hardly pry into the way to open the gates. They were absolute geniuses in Primordial World, qilin children who had received the love of the sage, but even they were not very sure about the Nine Divine Gates.
“He seems to have a very firm understanding of the ‘hexagrams.’ Will there be a problem?”
The Queen Mother Of The West did not answer at all. Her white skirt flowed like a river, and her eyes were warm yet imposing: “The Register Of Deities is active. There are times when a small but pleasant surprise is needed.”
“Master Mother?” Lu Wu was not very sure what Master Mother’s words meant.
“Fuxi created the hexagrams in an attempt to commune with the Heavenly Way. Later, their quintessence melded into primordial chaos and flowed through the ages, but that has long been lost. Now that such a qilin child has come along, This One is overjoyed. How could This One ever feel he is trouble.” The Queen Mother Of The West kindly said.
“Is Master Mother preparing to see him?”
“That will depend on whether or not he can reach This One in the end…Hm…That Hou Yi certainly will not be easy to handle.”
“Your Servant understands.”
…
Thunder rumbled through the sky, putting a dark atmosphere over the hundred li of wilderness. The immense thunderclap broke through the heavens like a roar from antiquity. Each roar made all creatures on the ground fall silent in fear.
Amidst this immense thunder, Qi Lin and the others were fully feeling the formidable pressure.
With each thunderclap, everyone felt the souls in their bodies were about to split apart. Even Xuanxuzi’s Primordial Infant was very strained.
“This thunder is too terrifying.” Xuanxuzi’s whole body was shuddering. Thunder boomed, and it devoured his confidence and arrogance. There was no room for doubt that the longer this continued, even a God Transformation cultivator would have their soul dispersed by the thunderclaps.
“Qi Lin.”
Xuanxuzi, Gan Man, and the other party members immediately sent pleading gazes towards Qi Lin. It was all thanks to Qi Lin’s actions that they were able to cross through the Nine Divine Gates, and in their hearts, this young Golden Core was already a monster.
Qi Lin’s body had the heart of a Holy Beast for protection, providing some measure of immunity against this thunder. However, seeing that Chang was very uncomfortable, he tried with all his might to devise a solution. Ever since he grasped that the key to open the Nine Divine Gates was related to the “hexagrams,” he was able to easily open several of the Divine Gates. With just a glance, Qi Lin already discerned the mystery of the eighth Divine Gate.
“Thunder strikes, inspiring fear, then joyous laughter and talk come afterward; it shocks over a hundred li, but it does not disturb ancient rites.”
This Divine Gate’s mystery should be the Shake hexagram. The Shake hexagram often represented fear and shock; it was a hexagram of terror, which was apt for the current situation – Xuanxuzi and even Hou Yi showed visible discomfort. If they walked through the Divine Gate…
Qi Lin made a beeline for the Divine Gate.
Heavenly thunder crackled, and with Qi Lin’s every step, it grew louder. At first, it was like a drum, then like explosions, and in the end, it turned into a world-rending blast. Xuanxuzi and the others were already bleeding from their seven apertures from this noise as they quaked in terror.
Qi Lin strained with all his might to maintain his will, forcing his soul and thoughts to resist the influence of the thunder. Fortunately, he had the qilin’s protection, and he also had the Dual Modes Seal’s power to conquer strength with softness. Every one of his steps was very calm, as if he was taking a leisurely stroll.
“Shake hexagram, first nine: Thunder strikes, inspiring fear, then joyous laughter and talk come afterward.”
Qi Lin silently chanted, stepping in front of the Kaiming Beast’s gate. He reached out and arranged the lines on the door. From beginning to end, he maintained an easygoing and relaxed attitude. Combined with the hour, at that instant thunder was at its loudest, the rumbling suddenly ceased, the skies cleared, and the heavy Divine Gate magically opened.
Qi Lin’s eyes gleamed, and he turned around.
Xuanxuzi dashed in, not wanting to linger another moment.
“Qi Li, you really are amazing.” Shi Xuan prostrated herself in admiration.
Gan Man also threw over a grateful glance.
“It really is a fortunate to have Big Brother Qi Lin here.” Chang smiled sweetly.
Qi Lin also grinned and took her hand as they entered the gate.
…
“The Shake hexagram gate uses ‘fearlessness’ as its key. This young man can actually remain unperturbed under the ‘shaking thunder.’ This is truly inconceivable.” Lu Wu was astonished. “Presumably, not even the final Divine Gate, ‘Qiankun,’ can stop him.”
“Master Mother.” Lu Wu turned her head back and deferentially knelt before the Queen Mother Of The West.
“Well, have you been moved by him?” The Queen Mother smiled just like a mother would.
“Wu admires his talent and wisdom. But should he be unable to cross the last gate, Master Mother would lose such a good opportunity.”
“That depends on his own luck.” The Queen Mother shook her head.
“Ai.” Lu Wu was a bit regretful.
…
At last, everyone arrived at the domain of the final Divine Gate. Having passed the terror of the eighth gate’s “Divine Thunder,” everyone was already harboring an even greater sense of danger, but the scene that appeared before them was unexpectedly warm and calm.
An enormous, deep ravine split the ground into two parts. One was a fertile land that stretched across a hundred li, with massive mountain peaks layered upon each other and countless precious grasses. The other was filled with curling white mist, like a flying apsara, obscuring fantasy and reality, as if they had stepped into a wonderland.
Lacking the eighth Divine Gate’s intimidation, the final gate was extremely peaceful. Even the Spirit Beasts present were immortal cranes and hares that were filled with spiritual power and harmless to humans.
“One half is earth, the other Heaven…Could this be the Qiankun hexagram?” Qi Lin frowned.
Two hexagrams combined?
The most famous Qiankun hexagram was the dragon. If a Holy Beast like a dragon actually appeared, that would be bothersome.
The party advanced. Because this was the final stretch, everyone appeared particularly careful, not a single on of them wishing to fail at the last moment. They walked until the moon rose, yet the “earth” part of the route had yet to end. After deep night fell, as before, they each sat and meditated, waiting for the sun to rise before setting out again.
Qi Lin knew the Qian and Kun hexagrams like the back of his hand, but he did not have a very good clue as to the “key” to open this gate. The Qian hexagram symbolized Heaven, possessing the greatness of all things in creation. The Kun hexagram symbolized Earth, possessing the virtue of grand, primordial prosperity.
The only thing that Qi Lin could think of was a saying of the Qian hexagram, “As Heaven’s movement is vigorous, a gentleman should constantly strive to better himself”; the Kun hexagram’s “the Earth is receptive, a gentleman should take charge of the world with great virtue. There was only one chance to open the gate, but there were two hexagram. This left QI Lin a bit stumped.
Qi Lin went to that gorge that split Heaven and Earth in an attempt to search for some clues. He suddenly noticed a familiar figure sitting quietly under the moonlight.
“Chang, can’t sleep?” Qi Lin approached her.
“Big Brother Qi Lin.” Chang turned her head back and showed an enchanting smile.
“In two days, we should be able to reach the final gate. We still don’t know what trial awaits us. You’d better rest well and recover your strength.” Qi Lin advised.
Chang nodded, “Chang knows. It’s all thanks to Big Brother Qi Lin that we can solve these. This really is like a dream. Chang had never imagined we could be so close to the Queen Mother Of The West.”
“You never did but still dared to come?” Qi Lin smiled.
“The Queen Mother Of The West is supreme. It is said that the moonlight of the Western Kunlun Mountains is Primordial World’s first. Chang really wanted to come see it.”
“You seem particularly enchanted by moonlight?” Qi Lin had noticed that Chang was very fond of bathing under moonlight. Other cultivators absorbed the quintessence of the sun and moon to cultivate. But not Chang. She was fond of bathing in moonlight, and that moonlight seemed to be fond of her.
Intuition told him that Chang’s identity was not so simple as being only a Golden Core cultivator.
Chang flashed a pearly white smile.
Just at this moment, a ray of moonlight fell into the chasm. Suddenly, a strange flower slowly bloomed upon a cliff. That flower was shaped like a Queen of the Night, blooming towards the moonlight. When this flower appeared, the entire abyss seemed to be filled with the light that the flower emitted like a flowing river.
“Eh?” Qi Lin felt something strange. He did not see this flower at all on the cliff just now.
“Huh, this is Mother Moon Xianyao!!”1 Chang grabbed Qi Lin’s arm in excitement.
“Mother Moon Xianyao?” Qi Lin had never heard of this.
“The Mother Moon Xianyao is the number eight Spirit Grass of the ‘Record of One Hundred Herbs.” A voice answered Qi Lin’s bewilderment. Shi Xuan, Hou Yi and Xuanxuzi were also stunned by the blossoming Mother Moon Xianyao, and they walked to the cliff edge one after another.
“Back in the Primal Chaos Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Emperor of the South toured the primordial and composed a work unprecedented in all of Primordial World, the Record of One Hundred Herbs. This record details the origins and breeding techniques of all of Primordial World’s Spirit Grasses. Among them, ten are listed as the greatest, and the Mother Moon Xianyao is ranked by the Southern Heavenly Emperor as eighth.” Shi Xuan softly sighed.
Qi Lin did not expect there would be something like this and asked what this herb’s purpose was. Primordial World was filled with countless Spirit Grasses. To be able to rank number eight, it was considered rare and precious.
“Mother Moon Xianyao only grows once exposed to ten thousand years of ‘Yin’ nourishment. It is normally out of sight, and it only blooms for one or two hours during the most Yin time. After blooming, it will produce a magnificent, river-like moonlight visible from even a thousand li away. Its medicinal effects are very miraculous, and it can even resurrect a person. For Divine Names, it can rapidly promote Realm and gestate Destiny.” Shi Xuan said.
“Then what are we waiting for. To be able to obtain such a Spirit Grass, even if we do not meet the Queen Mother Of The West, this trip will have been worth it.” Xuanxuzi stirred restlessly.
“It is no use.” Shi Xuan was aloof as she sighed.
As it turned out, although the Mother Moon Xianyao was a top-notch Spirit Grass, it could not be harvested. Once its roots left the ground, it would lose all Immortal Qi and rapidly wither. Even if it was refined on the spot, the method to ingest the Mother Moon Xianyao was also very troublesome. Because the Mother Moon Xianyao was rich in Yin, comparable to the power of the genesis of Heaven and Earth, it required one to have extreme Yin to be refined. One mistake would result in self-destruction and death.
This record contained the method to refine the Mother Moon Xianyao, but it was a pity it had already been lost.
“So we can only watch?” Xuanxuzi was unresigned.
Shi Xuan smiled: “See the light that the Mother Moon Xianyao is producing? This is ‘Moonlight Immortal Lake,’ a very powerful type of ability. Despite its great beauty, even a God Transformation cultivator will undoubtedly die if they entered it. Regardless of soul, Primordial Infant, or even Primordial Soul, once touched by the moonlight, none can escape. The Mother Moon’s light is not something that even a Primordial Infant can just so casually touch.”
“What Elder Sister Shi Xuan says is true.” Chang nodded. “You must not touch this light.”
“Hmph, this really is a pity.” Hearing this, not even Xuanxuzi dared to play with his life.
Looking at this magnificent river of moonlight again, he suddenly felt chills.
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