Chapter 264: The Gate of Heaven

Heavenly Venerable Fist!

The roar shook the entire expanse.

This punch from Lu Ye—this was, without exaggeration, the strongest punch he had thrown since his rebirth.

And the people of the Heavenly Gate... were worth that level of intent.

In his previous life, they had been mortal enemies. The Heavenly Gate was shrouded in mystery, existing almost entirely outside the normal bounds of the Ninefold Heavens.

His fist, now completely dyed blood-red, slammed toward the woman with violent force.

The void warped.

Even the flesh on the woman’s face trembled faintly from the pressure.

Her black robe billowed wildly behind her, outlining her seductive figure in vivid relief.

Bang!

Palm met fist.

The woman took a step back, and a hint of crimson flushed her radiant face. A trace of shock surfaced in her eyes.

This was the Tongtian Realm?

Heavenly Venerable... and this guy’s only in the Tongtian Realm?

Jiang Die and Chu Ling appeared simultaneously, turning into twin streams of black mist that surged toward the woman’s body.

Her black robe flared.

The black mist was blocked—but then came two sharp screams.

Lu Ye attacked again. One step forward—his aura surged. Two more steps—his aura exploded upward in leaps.

The woman finally couldn’t hold back anymore. Her entire body suddenly transformed into a jade-like sheen.

Boom!

Even the void around her cracked at that moment. The explosive force caused the earth beneath them to collapse—yet the woman this time didn’t take a single step back.

A flicker of irritation lit up her eyes.

Suddenly, a violent surge of astral force erupted from her body. Lu Ye was blasted backward, vomiting blood violently.

But Chu Ling and Jiang Die—his two dominant soul-spirits—were completely unaffected by the astral force. They were just about to reach the woman’s body.

Her black robe whipped through the air, suddenly covering the two soul-spirits. She struck with her palm.

Boom!

Lu Ye’s body shattered on the spot.

The fragrance of enlightenment burst forth wildly as his broken flesh liquefied into blood, forming a gleaming blood pill. That pill radiated an eye-searing crimson glow.

“Wait! I don’t mean any harm!”

The woman spoke quickly at that moment.

She could already feel it—this great net could not stop that blood pill. She couldn’t let Lu Ye escape.

But Lu Ye didn’t respond. The blood pill turned into a shooting star, pierced through the net with brutal force, and vanished at the edge of the world.

Seeing this, the Human Emperor Banner recalled the two soul-spirits, dissolved into violet mist, and quietly disappeared.

Lin Chuyue stomped her foot.

“I was helping you release the fragrance of enlightenment—couldn’t you tell? What the hell are you running for?”

Her black robe fluttered, and Lin Chuyue disappeared from sight.

Lu Ye had fled an immense distance in one breath. The blood pill had already grown dim from overuse.

Inside, Lu Ye’s Nascent Soul was pale and drained.

This was the advanced form of Heaven-Demon Blood Transformation Escape.

Every time he used it, it consumed eighty percent of his essence. But the effects... were terrifying. Even the Heaven-Origin treasure net had been smashed apart by the blood pill.

It did seem like the woman hadn’t intended to kill him.

That palm strike, as terrifying as it was, had only shattered his body—it hadn’t continued grinding him to dust.

And he hadn’t crossed the Heavenly Gate in this life.

In his previous life, sure—he had annihilated the Heavenly Gate. After all, that organization existed to protect the Heavenly Dao, and Lu Ye had stolen the Dao using the System, trying to replace it. Of course the first step had been to destroy the Heavenly Gate.

Wait a minute...

Protect the Heavenly Dao???

“System, is she one of yours?” Lu Ye asked.

Ding! "Nope!"

“Then help me ask—does she work for It?”

Ding! “Asking now.”

Ninth Heaven.

A man in white robes, refined and elegant, with mysterious markings at the center of his brow, suddenly opened his eyes and looked up.

He was clearly surprised.

The Heavenly Dao had... reached out to him?

The Heavenly Dao had taken the initiative to contact him?

“I don’t know. Let me ask.”

Eighth Heaven.

Someone else opened their eyes. “Huh? Something in the Fourth Heaven caught his attention? Isn’t that a bit excessive?”

Still, since that being had asked, he didn’t dare be careless and quickly sought out the answer.

Seventh Heaven?

Sixth Heaven??

Fifth Heaven???

Fourth Heaven:

“Oh, this Lu Ye fellow? We were hoping to recruit him into the Heavenly Gate. According to the Heavenly Tome, anyone emitting the fragrance of enlightenment can be helped by having their body shattered while they’re unprepared—so we sent Lin Chuyue.”

That information passed layer by layer back up the chain.

Ding! “Host, we got it. They want to recruit you into the Heavenly Gate. They read the Heavenly Tome and found that someone like you, emitting the fragrance of enlightenment, can only release it properly if their body is shattered while caught off guard. So they didn’t warn you beforehand,” the System reported.

So that was it...

But—they knew how to help him release the fragrance of enlightenment?

The Heavenly Tome?

Was that something made by the System?

Honestly, the woman’s behavior did make it easy to misunderstand her.

That punch he gave her... yeah, totally justified.

She might’ve looked all calm and unbothered on the outside, using her jade-like body to—hm?

Using her jade-colored body to block that strike... Lu Ye was sure of it: she definitely took internal damage.

The Heavenly Venerable Fist left behind lingering torment. That pain? It wasn’t any less than the agony of constant menstrual cramps—or the stabbing torment of a breast ultrasound during mastitis.

Could anyone really blame him?

Just then, the Human Emperor Banner rushed back to him.

This battle had begun to showcase its power. That woman’s black robe was definitely a formidable artifact. Without it, just the Banner alone would’ve made her suffer badly.

Lu Ye actually felt a little guilty.

Now that he was sure Lin Chuyue hadn’t meant him harm, he began recovering from his wounds and waited for her to arrive.

Once she did, he could offer—

At that moment, Lin Chuyue was clutching her stomach, her expression grim.

That terrifying fist power—though it hadn’t managed to fully break her—was still ravaging her abdomen.

To dissipate that ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) energy completely, it would take quite some time.

A Tongtian Realm!

What a Tongtian Realm!

She’d assumed Lu Ye’s strength was in formation mastery alone, but his one-on-one combat ability? Equally terrifying.

Thankfully, she was in the Heaven-Earth Realm, and had brought treasures with her.

Otherwise, Lu Ye could absolutely slay a paragon.

Having helped Lu Ye release his fragrance of enlightenment once, Lin Chuyue decided that the next time they met, she would explain everything clearly.

The Heavenly Gate had shown their sincerity.

Surely... he wouldn’t reject them?

Lin Chuyue began searching for Lu Ye’s trail. Since he wasn’t deliberately hiding, she quickly caught the scent of the enlightenment fragrance.

Her eyes turned red—but in the next instant, all signs of life disappeared from her body. It was as if she was no longer a living being.

“Fellow Daoist Lu Ye, don’t misunderstand. I’m with the Heavenly Gate. I came in peace. What I did just now was only meant to help you,” Lin Chuyue said.

Lu Ye was still gradually restoring his human form.

A broken body wasn’t a big deal. It was easy enough to recover from.

But activating the second phase of Heaven-Demon Blood Transformation Escape—that was another story.

“I already know,” Lu Ye nodded.

“Do you know where my Heavenly Gate originates from?” Lin Chuyue asked.

“No,” Lu Ye lied.

“Our Heavenly Gate belongs to the Heavenly Dao itself. We exist to protect the Heavenly Dao—”

The moment he heard protect, Lu Ye’s head began to ache.

“Stop, stop, stop. Don’t say it like that. Use different words. I’m getting trauma flashbacks.”

He had post-traumatic stress about anything involving the word "protection."

“Uh... okay. Actually, the Heavenly Gate is an organization that earns rewards from the Heavenly Dao by helping it. It’s full of talented cultivators who are all very eloquent. Would Fellow Daoist be willing to join us?”

Now that was better.

Lu Ye was just about to refuse.

Ding ding ding! Lovely Host! Sweet Host! Good Host! Please join, okay~?

Lu Ye: “...”

Now tell him—how the hell was he supposed to say no to a whiny dog of a System?