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Chapter 482: Gate of Desire

“Unexpectedly, it is the gate of desire.”

After the three people investigated the door of light for a while, they finally knew what this door’s light was. Their expressions immediately changed and they became very cautious.

The three of them had gained the qualifications to compete for a spot for the Ancient Desolate Tower, and then obtained one of the twenty spots. After entering the Ancient Desolate Tower, they put in a lot of effort to reach this point.

They were all great talents of their generation and had their own unique understanding of the Martial Path. Naturally, they understood what the test of desire meant to a cultivator.

Ding Fengchou revealed a bitter smile. He sighed and said, “I did not expect this, that the test of the fifth floor would be this gate of desire. Desires, desires, what can we do to not fall to our desires. It is difficult, difficult, so very difficult.”

Ding Fengchou said that it was difficult three times. His emotions were very complicated. In reality, it was hard to remain calm in the face of one’s desires. In the gate of desire, the desire would be amplified several times, which would make it even harder to maintain one’s calm.

If they could not walk out, they would sink in their desire forever, stuck in the gate of desire for eternity.

Zuo Mo’s face was filled with hesitation; he did not know how to decide. Since he was clearly not confident now, he had to give up on this gate of desire.

While Zuo Mo and Ding Fengchou remained silent, Chu Chaoyun calmly and slowly walked into the light. He vanished from the two’s sight.

Zuo Mo was instantly stunned. He raised his foot and wanted to follow but, in the end, his rationality overcame the impulse.

Zuo Mo clenched his fist tightly and said unwillingly, “I reached the fifth floor after so much difficulty. Unexpectedly, I have to take the initiative to give up. I don’t want to.”

Ding Fengchou looked at Zuo Mo. They had competed with each other for many years already. He sighed softly, “Stop feeling at a loss. One must understand when to advance and when to retreat. This might not be a bad thing.”

Originally, Ding Fengchou had thought that the main characters in this Trial of the Ancient Desolate Tower would be the two of them. Despite his expectations, Xiao Chen and Chu Chaoyun snatched away the glory.

Most of the peak geniuses could take victory and defeat in stride. Ding Fengchou and Zuo Mo were such people. After they sighed, they recovered from their depression.

Looking at Ding Fengchou, Zuo Mo said, “In the last Five Nation Youth Competition, I surpassed you by one move. We have not had a proper fight yet in the two years since then. After we part at the Ancient Desolate Tower, we will probably have to wait until the next Five Nation Youth Competition before we can fight again.

“You and me, let’s fight; right here, right now. What do you think?!”

Ding Fengchou grasped his sword hilt tightly with his right hand. He smiled and cupped his hands. “That is exactly what I thought too. Let me see your improvements from the past years!”

In the vast space, they cast the flickering gate of desire to the backs of their minds as they fought each other.

Such a state of mind—knowing when to advance or retreat in the face of desires—would improve greatly even if they did not undergo the test.

Even if they did not advance in the future, they could still climb to the peak of cultivation if they could maintain this sort of mentality.

------

An instant after Xiao Chen stepped into the light, his mind seemed to turn chaotic, as if many things had entered it.

It felt like he had forgotten many things and remembered many others.

Xiao Chen was the White Robed Bladesman, the only person from the Great Qin Nation to become a Martial Sage before the age of thirty since the Thunder Emperor.

Xiao Chen had started his own sect, the Ten Thousand Saber Sect. He was the only Sect Master and had more than ten thousand disciples.

Given Xiao Chen’s strength, not only was he at the peak of the Great Qin Nation in regard to the martial way, he had even more power than the Royal Court because of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect.

Xiao Chen even seemed to be suppressing the Royal Court. There were signs that he could take over at any moment.

However, Xiao Chen felt like he had forgotten some things—some not very important things.

Xiao Chen opened his eyes and found himself on the summit of a mountain.

When Xiao Chen looked up, the clouds were so close, he could touch them with his hand. The wind and clouds churned, displaying a grand phenomenon.

A hint of confusion appeared in Xiao Chen’s eyes. After a while, he used his finger as a saber and slashed at the sky.

“Boom!”

Xiao Chen’s aura erupted out, bursting forth as if it had been suppressed for a long time.

With the movement of Xiao Chen’s finger, a large hole instantly appeared in the clouds. After the formless energy, which was like a sharp divine weapon, broke through the clouds, it did not weaken. It ended up ripping the barrier in the sky and left behind a black hole leading to the boundless and mysterious outer world.

After Xiao Chen tore the sky with one finger, the clouds still did not gather back after a long time. He held his hand behind his back and looked at the phenomenon in the sky. He muttered, “Regardless of the situation, strength is the most reliable thing. If I have forgotten something, then let it be.”

Xiao Chen clenched his fist and the confusion in his eyes disappeared, to be replaced by a cold look. On the martial path, only strength was reliable.

Everything else was just an illusion, matters of the mundane world that needed to be chopped up. Chop! Chop!

Xiao Chen squinted and held his hand up to the sky before clenching it. He seemed to instantly grasp the natural laws.

Under the influence of the natural laws, that large hole started to mend. The clouds churned and winds changed direction; everything returned to normal.

“Xiu!”

A figure flashed below the mountain. That person wore blue robes with a picture of the Lunar Shadow Saber embroidered on the chest.

That was the logo of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect. However, the logo of the chest of this blue-robed youth was different from that of the others. Besides the Lunar Shadow Saber, his logo also had a golden scabbard.

This person was Lan Chou, the First Disciple of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect’s Sect Master. When Lan Chou saw this scene, the respect in his eyes became even more intense.

Xiao Chen’s figure flashed and arrived before this person. He asked expressionlessly, “How did the matter go?”

Lan Chou knelt on one knee and said respectfully, “Reporting to Master, the Misty Sword Sect has been completely eliminated. The words ‘Misty Sword Sect’ will never be uttered in the Great Qin Nation again. The Sect Master was killed but Chu Chaoyun is missing. We do not know where he went.”

Xiao Chen was slightly stunned. Then he said coldly, “Hand everything over then!”

Lan Chou nodded and took out numerous boxes from his Spatial Ring. The boxes were all filled with Medial Grade Spirit Stones.

There were at least thirty thousand boxes. A dense Spiritual Energy flowed out of the boxes, blanketing the entire mountain peak.

Xiao Chen blinked and frowned, “There is exactly ten million Medial Grade Spirit Stones. Are the Misty Sword Sect’s ten thousand years of savings so little?”

Lan Chou’s chest tightened; he knew that Xiao Chen was suspicious of him. He quickly continued, “My guess is that Chu Chaoyun took at least half of it away; that’s why there was so little!

“However, there are still fifty thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones and at least a hundred Spirit Herbs of at least three thousand years of age.”

Not daring to take things slowly, Lan Chou brought out all the possessions of the Misty Sword Sect.

Xiao Chen’s expression turned grave and stern. He nodded and said, “Never mind, I’ll just make do!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

With a thought, the thirty thousand boxes of Medial Grade Spirit Stones exploded along with the Medial Grade Spirit Stones within.

Xiao Chen reduced the ten million shattered Medial Grade Spirit Stones to a dense sticky liquid floating in the air. He remained expressionless as he raised his right hand and pulled it back.

“Hu! Hu!”

The sticky liquid covered entire mountain peak and swirled into a whirlpool. Then, Xiao Chen destroyed the dregs of the Medial Grade Spirit Stones.

Eventually, Xiao Chen refined the essence of the ten million Medial Grade Spirit Stones into a small pill. He opened his mouth and swallowed it. The pill turned into a surging Essence and poured into his dantian, filling up a sea of Qi.

Xiao Chen closed his eyes and slowly absorbed the Essence. After a long time, he opened his eyes. His grave and stern face had signs of dissatisfaction on it.

“Ten million Medial Grade Spirit Stones can only save me three years of cultivating. The amount of energy a Martial Sage requires is too much…”

Lan Chou swallowed his saliva. The only person who could speak such grand words was this person before him.

Those ten million Medial Grade Spirit Stones were the savings of the Misty Sword Sect for ten thousand years. Yet, Xiao Chen swallowed it up at will and was still dissatisfied.

Lan Chou suggested in a soft voice, “Master, the Night Spirit Palace and Misty Sword Sect no longer exist. Now, the only great sect remaining in the Great Qin Nation is the Heavenly Saber Pavilion. When should we take action? We await Master’s command!”

Lan Chou clearly knew that the reason Xiao Chen established the Ten Thousand Saber Sect was so he could gather resources more efficiently; he had never cared for power over the mundane world.

This was the reason Lan Chou swore to follow Xiao Chen until death. While Xiao Chen did not care about authority, he did.

By eliminating the three great sects and swallowing up the Royal Court, the power of the Ten Thousand Saber Sect would soar to the peak. Lan Chou felt excited just thinking about it.

Heaven Saber Pavilion?

The image of a woman appeared in Xiao Chen’s mind. He shook his head and said, “There is no need. You may take your leave first. After I cultivate for three days, we will make for the Imperial Capital and destroy the Great Qin Nation’s Royal Court.”

“Xiu! Xiu!”

Xiao Chen stretched out a finger and poked the air with it. Every time he poked, a Superior Grade Spirit Stone appeared.

Under Xiao Chen’s control, fifty thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones formed a huge Spirit Gathering Formation in the air above the Ten Thousand Saber Sect.

Xiao Chen floated up and sat firmly in the center of the formation. All the lines of the Spirit Gathering Formation instantly lit up.

“Rumble…!”

The clouds churned and rain made of pure spiritual Energy poured down. They fell on the formation and flowed to its center.

------

Within the Ancient Desolate Tower, Ding Fengchou and Zuo Mo’s battle reached its climax.

“Bang!”

A palm wind and sword Qi clashed. The two were forced back and blood trickled out from their mouths. They seemed equally strong.

However, if one looked carefully, Zuo Mo’s injuries were worse than Ding Fengchou’s. In the fight, Zuo Mo was at the disadvantage.

Zuo Mo said softly, “You win!”

“Ka ca!”

Ding Fengchou sheathed his sword and shook his head bitterly. He said, “The space here is cramped; it restricted your strength. Let’s consider this a draw.

Zuo Mo smiled and did not deny it. He glanced at the gate of desire and asked, “Are you really not going to give it a try?!”

Ding Fengchou looked deeply within the flickering gate of desire. Then, he shook his head and said, “There is no need. It is too hard to overcome desires. There is no way for me to break free from this gate before I reach the age of thirty, so I would be stuck in there forever.”

“Who, of the two, do you think has the best chance of clearing this gate of desire?” Zuo Mo asked.

After thinking for a while, Ding Fengchou said, “Probably Chu Chaoyun. Xiao Chen’s desire is too clear. It is to climb to the peak of cultivation. The greater the desire, the harder to break free from it. In the end, he would forget about his true self and be lost.”

Zuo Mo smiled faintly and said, “We’ll see. However, I really hope that he will be able to come out. In the entire history of this trial, the fifth floor has always been a threshold. If he can come out, he will definitely rise to a higher level.”