286: Chapter 221: A Test of Life and Death, Wisdom Revealed by Breaking Through Eight Gates

Although the gap opened in the dark gold palace gate was only wide enough for a few people to walk side-by-side, the aura flowing from within was refreshing. It was a special kind of Spiritual Qi, accumulated over endless years, a mix of bookish fragrance, pill aura, Daoist charm, and a faint scent of sandalwood. Pure and gentle, upon first contact, it brought peace to the mind, and even the depression and fatigue from traversing the gray mist ruins dissipated significantly.

However, looking inside from the front of the gate, it wasn't the spacious and bright hall they had expected. Behind the gate was a deep, seemingly endless straight corridor. The walls on both sides were made of warm white jade, emitting a soft milky white light that barely illuminated the path ahead. The corridor was extremely wide and high, yet it was empty, except for a point of brighter light faintly visible at the very far end.

"Behind the gate... is a corridor?" Zhao Hao poked his head in to look, somewhat surprised. "I thought it would be the main hall directly."

"Be careful." Qin Qing maintained the Order Barrier and stepped in first. Her light of legal principle came into contact with the faint light of the jade walls; instead of causing rejection, it seemed to grow slightly brighter, which put everyone a bit more at ease.

The five people, along with the four bronze guards, entered one after another. Once they had all stepped into the corridor, the heavy palace gate behind them did not close, but a soft, translucent energy membrane quietly formed at the entrance, isolating the internal and external auras.

Stepping onto the jade corridor, a warm and solid sensation came from beneath their feet. Silence reigned all around, with only their own footsteps echoing lightly in the empty passage. The special Spiritual Qi in the air became increasingly dense, spontaneously penetrating their bodies and slowly nourishing their divine bodies and Divine Souls.

"The Spiritual Qi concentration is more than ten times that of the outside world, and its nature is gentle and easy to absorb," Li Mo analyzed quickly. "The jade wall material is special, having the effect of stabilizing the mind and gathering Spiritual Qi. No threatening energy fluctuations or mechanism reactions have been detected for now."

"But this corridor is just too long..." Wang Meng muttered. They had walked for about fifteen minutes, and at their pace, they had covered at least several miles, but the distant point of light didn't seem to have gotten significantly closer.

Just then, Qin Qing, who was walking at the very front, suddenly stopped. The corridor ahead was no longer unchanging; at a certain point, the jade walls on both sides suddenly contracted inward, forming a relatively narrow, gate-like structure. In the center of that "gate," a large, slowly rotating pale green rune appeared on the originally smooth jade wall. The rune's structure was complex, exuding a Concept of "recuperation" and "gathering strength," which was the manifestation of the Rest Gate from the Eight Gates.

Below the rune, on the jade wall, were several lines of small ancient characters.

Lin Zhou stepped forward to decipher them: "'Rest Gate: All things have spirit, movement and stillness are appropriate. To move, first be still; to advance, first accumulate. Those who understand this principle may pass through this gate.'"

"This is... the first test?" Zhao Hao realized. "So the tests of the Eight Gates aren't inside the hall, but in this corridor? One gate, one test?"

"It seems so." Lin Zhou stared at the "Rest" gate rune. "'Rest' does not mean stopping, but rather preparing for better 'movement.' This place is rich in Spiritual Qi and the environment is peaceful. This first trial is likely for us to understand and practice the way of 'recuperation and accumulation' to open this rune gate."

How to practice? Everyone tried to regulate their breathing and absorb the Spiritual Qi, but the rune showed no reaction.

Li Mo tried to logically analyze the rune's structure, and Qin Qing tried to communicate with the light of Order, but both were ineffective.

Lin Zhou thought for a moment, his gaze falling on the extremely fine, seemingly naturally formed patterns on the corridor floor and the jade walls on both sides. With a thought, he activated the Fire of Civilization, merging a sliver of his perception into the surrounding environment.

Instantly, he "saw" more: the seemingly uniformly flowing Spiritual Qi actually had an extremely subtle, breath-like pulsating rhythm; the light of the jade walls was also brightening and dimming accordingly; even the temperature of the jade beneath their feet was undergoing periodic, almost imperceptible rises and falls.

"I understand," Lin Zhou said. "'Rest' is not passive resting, but conforming to the inherent rhythm of the environment. The Spiritual Qi, light, and temperature here are all 'breathing' and 'recuperating' according to a specific, harmonious rhythm. We need to adjust our own Divine Power circulation, breathing rhythm, and even mental fluctuations to match this rhythm."

He was the first to try, slowing down his Divine Power circulation, adjusting his breathing, and putting his mind into a relaxed yet sharp state to feel and align with the subtle, ubiquitous pulsations in the environment. Gradually, his aura seemed to merge with the corridor's environment, becoming faint and elusive.

Qin Qing, Zhao Hao, and the others followed suit. This was not difficult for deities; the key lay in "discovering" and "identifying" with this external rhythm.

When the auras of the five people gradually synchronized with the corridor environment, the Rest Gate rune shone brightly, its rotation speed increased, and it finally transformed into a soft green light gate.

"Rest Gate, cleared." Lin Zhou was the first to step into the light gate. Behind the light gate, the corridor continued, but the Spiritual Qi in the air seemed a bit more active.

After continuing for several miles, the second "gate" appeared. This time, the rune was emerald green and full of vitality; it was the Life Gate. The text below read: "'Life Gate: Vegetation withers and flourishes, plagues spread. Endless life lies in benevolence and discernment. Heal the 'Vain Plague' to manifest the principles of vitality.'"

Just as the words faded, the scene around everyone changed abruptly! The corridor vanished, replaced by a desolate, gray-shrouded phantom of a village. In the village, countless blurry figures of villagers lay on the ground, groaning in pain, covered in a strange, color-shifting "plague" aura. This plague was not physical; it was more like a conceptual manifestation of disease at the level of rules, constantly eroding the vitality of the villager phantoms and emitting unsettling mental fluctuations.

"'Vain Plague'... this is a test of healing and the way of vitality!" Qin Qing immediately deployed the Order Barrier, trying to isolate the plague aura, but the effect was limited. This plague seemed to exist between reality and illusion, and the light of Order could only barely slow its spread.

"We need the power of 'Life' to counter the Concept of 'Disease'." Lin Zhou looked at the team; the one who specialized in the School of Medicine and the way of life was precisely the hero from his divine Domain—the Wenxin Elf High Priest, Elena (LV48). He manifested a portion of Elena's consciousness projection here with the help of the Temple of Civilization connection.

"Elena, it's up to you."

Elena's phantom appeared. She wore a simple priest's robe and held a staff embedded with emerald gems, her expression solemn. She didn't immediately cast a large-scale healing Spell, but instead cautiously approached a plague-stricken villager phantom, probing it with pure natural life force.

"This 'plague'... has no fixed pathogen; it is mimicking and mutating, targeting the 'weak points' of life structures and the 'fears' of the mind." Elena quickly analyzed the key. "Ordinary healing Spells have little effect; we need to find its 'core Laws' and provide a 'universal' vitality solution that can adapt to its changes."

She tried several ancient healing Spells passed down by the elves, even combining them with some School of Medicine Concepts taught by Lin Zhou, such as Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment, but the results were not ideal. The plague seemed alive, always finding new ways to strike back.

As time passed, the air of despair permeating the village began to affect everyone's minds. Zhao Hao stomped his feet in frustration, while Wang Meng felt a sudden sense of inexplicable weakness.

Sweat appeared on Elena's forehead, but she did not give up. She recalled the legend of Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica that Lin Zhou had mentioned, as well as the spirit of Shennong tasting the hundred herbs—a supreme heart of benevolence and exploratory wisdom that seeks the medicinal properties of all things through personal practice, summarizes Laws, and benefits all living beings.

Suddenly, she had an epiphany. She no longer obsessed over immediately "healing" all the plagues. Instead, she sat cross-legged and combined her purest life force with a sliver of Shennong's "inquiry" spirit, transforming it into countless fine, emerald-green spiritual threads that actively "contacted" those shifting plague auras.

She was "tasting" them! In a manner akin to self-sacrifice, she personally felt and analyzed the "medicinal properties" and "toxicity" of every plague variant! Each contact made her phantom shake and her face turn pale, but she persevered, rapidly processing and categorizing the perceived information.

Finally, after enduring the erosion of dozens of different plague variants, Elena suddenly opened her eyes, which were now glowing with emerald light! Using her staff as a pen and her own life force as ink, she rapidly sketched in the air!

A complex and mysterious green scroll phantom, composed of countless plant textures, Yin and Yang and Five Elements symbols, and dynamic change paths, suddenly took shape! Within the scroll, it seemed to contain the fundamental principles for dealing with thousands of epidemic changes and the evolutionary paths of vitality!

【Shennong Tasting Herbs Scroll (New Comprehension)】

Type: School of Medicine Hero Exclusive Skill / Conceptual Scroll

Effect: When facing complex, volatile, or unknown epidemics, curses, or rule-based life erosion, this scroll can be unfolded. The scroll will automatically analyze the underlying rule structure and change logic of the target 'symptom', deducing the most adaptive 'Life Evolution Plan', significantly enhancing the effects of subsequent healing/purification/dispelling skills (+100% to +300%, depending on the complexity of the symptom), and providing targeted rule protection for the caster.

Comprehension Conditions: Requires mastery of high-level School of Medicine/Life Laws, possession of the 'Benevolence to Save the World' belief, and the practice of the 'Tasting a Hundred Herbs' investigative spirit in extreme situations.

Consumption: A large amount of Divine Power and spirit; the caster will fall into a state of brief weakness after activation.

As the scroll unfolded, an emerald green glow showered the entire illusory village. Under the scroll's light, those volatile epidemic auras seemed to have met their nemesis; their change trajectories were clearly perceived, and their 'toxicity' was specifically neutralized. The pain on the phantoms of the villagers quickly receded, replaced by burgeoning vitality.

“Life Gate, passed.” The illusory village dissipated, and the corridor reappeared. Elena's phantom returned; Lin Zhou could feel that although she was exhausted, her Soul had undergone a certain sublimation, and her understanding of life and the way of medicine had deepened.

“Great job, Elena!” Zhao Hao praised her sincerely.

They continued forward. The 'Shang' Gate tested everyone's willpower; facing tragic war-Soul reflections and scenes of casualties, they needed to resolve them with the School of Military's 'A Mourning Army Must Win' Concept and the Confucian 'The Benevolent Do Not Worry' heart. Wang Meng performed excellently in this stage, stabilizing the ranks with the Behemoth's tenacity and his conviction to protect his comrades.

The 'Du' Gate consisted of complex mechanisms and mazes, testing logic and creativity. Li Mo displayed his skills, combining Mohist Mechanical Arts with logical deduction to lead the team quickly to a way out.

The 'Jing' Gate displayed scenes of a glorious civilization but hid cognitive traps within; it required the School of Names' 'Holding Names Responsible for Reality' to distinguish truth from illusion. Qin Qing's Adjudication of Legal Principle assisted Lin Zhou in seeing through the illusory scenery.

The 'Si' Gate was the most dangerous, directly dragging everyone into a Reincarnation illusion of life and death, where they repeatedly experienced 'death' and 'ending' to test their perception of mortality. Lin Zhou used the Daoist 'Equalizing Life and Death' open-mindedness and the Fire of Civilization's 'Undying Legacy' belief as a guide, leading everyone to see through the illusions and realize that 'death' is not an end, but another form of 'life' or a 'memory' of civilization.

One gate after another, each targeting different thoughts and abilities, each fraught with danger yet successfully passed through the group's wisdom and cooperation. Unknowingly, their understanding and application of the Hundred Schools of Thought rapidly deepened and fused during these repeated extreme tests.

Finally, after experiencing the six gates of 'Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, and Si', they arrived before the seventh portal.

The runes on this gate were deep purple, constantly twisting and changing, emitting heart-palpitating intentions of 'Shock', 'Mutation', and 'Accident'—it was the 'Jing' Gate.

The text below read: “'Jing Gate: Trouble arises from within, rules give birth to demons. Calm the mind, distinguish truth from falsehood. Cleanse the 'Rule Ghosts' to prove the Dao Heart is unhindered.'”

The moment the text dissipated, the corridor environment changed drastically! It was no longer a specific scene but turned into a bizarre space of Chaos where countless broken Laws and disordered Concepts intertwined! Within the space wandered translucent shadows of indefinite form, emitting distorted rule fluctuations and mental pollution—these were the 'Rule Ghosts' or 'Conceptual Pollutants' warned about in the inscriptions!

They were formless and substanceless, yet they could directly attack a deity's understanding of Laws and their Dao Heart, triggering fear, confusion, and self-doubt. More terrifyingly, they seemed able to mimic the aura and form of teammates, creating illusions difficult to distinguish from reality to dismantle trust from within.

“Steady! Adjudication of Legal Principle, Order Domain!” Qin Qing shouted sharply. The pale gold light of legal principle unfolded with full force, attempting to fix these chaotic existences in place. Her 【Adjudication of Legal Principle】 indeed had a restraining effect on such 'chaotic' and 'disordered' conceptual entities, but the ghosts were numerous and constantly shifting, leaving her overwhelmed.

Zhao Hao's dragon might and Wang Meng's brute force were almost useless here. Li Mo's logical analysis also frequently failed due to the extreme Chaos of the rules.

A ghost quietly approached Wang Meng, transforming into the appearance of a heavily injured Zhao Hao falling to the ground and calling for help. Wang Meng's heart jolted, and he was about to step forward subconsciously when he was bound by a suddenly appearing golden chain—it was Qin Qing's true body timely activating the 【Chains of Order】.

“That's a fake! Wang Meng, guard your heart!” Qin Qing shouted.

The Fire of Civilization burned fiercely in Lin Zhou's eyes, and the phantom of the river of civilization unfolded behind him, washing away the surrounding Chaos. He could feel that these 'Rule Ghosts' were essentially distorted existences produced by the mixture of broken rules and annihilated civilization consciousness during that great catastrophe; simple power was difficult to eliminate, they needed to be covered, purified, and reorganized by higher, stable Concepts of 'Order' or 'Civilization'.

“Qin Qing, cooperate with me! Using your light of legal principle as a guide and my Fire of Civilization as the source, we will weave a 'Civilization Law Net' to 'contain' and purify them!” Lin Zhou transmitted his thoughts.

Qin Qing understood perfectly, shrinking and condensing her Order Barrier into countless fine golden Law threads containing Concepts of 'Definition', 'Adjudication', and 'Purification'. Lin Zhou then urged the Fire of Civilization to spread along these threads, injecting them with a civilization Concept of 'Inclusion', 'Evolution', and 'Historical Depth'.

A large net, interwoven with pale gold and chaotic colors and seemingly composed of countless miniature Law codes and civilization scrolls, opened in the chaotic space, enveloping the Rule Ghosts that were scurrying everywhere!

The ghosts let out silent shrieks, struggling and deforming frantically, trying to escape or pollute this great net. But the 'Law Net' containing the principles of civilization formed an absolute conceptual suppression over them! The ghosts caught in the net were like snow falling into a furnace, quickly melting and being purified, reverting into the most basic, harmless rule information fragments to be absorbed by the river of civilization.

As the ghosts were purified one by one, the chaotic space began to regain stability, turning back into the jade corridor.

“Jing Gate, passed.” Lin Zhou and Qin Qing both breathed a sigh of relief, looking at each other with a smile, their rapport deepening.

Thus, seven of the Eight Gates had been passed, leaving only the last one—the 'Kai' Gate.

The group adjusted their breathing for a moment before continuing. This time, they hadn't gone far before the end of the corridor was finally clearly visible.

It wasn't a simple portal but the entrance to a much broader and brighter circular hall. In the center of the hall, a more complex and mysterious Formation base was faintly visible.

And on the jade wall at the entrance of the hall, the last rune slowly emerged—it was a pure gold rune emitting complex and supreme intentions of 'Opening', 'Creation', 'Dominion', and 'New Life'.

The 【Kai】 Gate.

The text below was just a simple sentence: “'Kai Gate: The beginning of all things, the end of the Great Dao. Since you have passed the seven gates, you may see the True Dao. However, to open this gate, you must answer the final question.'”

The final question?

Lin Zhou led the team into the circular hall with the determination gained from their trials and a hint of solemnity in facing the final puzzle.

Inside the hall, there was nothing but a nine-layered jade platform in the center. At the top of the platform floated a chaotic light ball that constantly shifted with seven-colored light, as if containing all the possibilities of the Universe. From within the light ball, a voice faintly emerged—it wasn't language, but a mental inquiry acting directly on the Soul.

That intent was grand, ancient, and pointed directly at the fundamental truth:

“Latecomers... You have experienced rest and recovery, healing wounds, breaking through obstructions, displaying grandeur, facing death, and guarding against sudden change...”

“The tests of the seven gates have shown your wisdom, courage, benevolence, and conviction...”

“Now, for the final question—”

“What constitutes 'Opening'?”

“What is it that you seek to open?”

“Once opened, where will you go?”

The three questions were like three claps of thunder exploding in everyone's hearts.

This was not just an interrogation of wisdom, but an ultimate questioning of their path, their original intentions, and their future direction!

After experiencing life-and-death trials and breaking through seven gates, they finally had to answer the essential question about 'Opening' itself before this gate symbolizing 'Opening'.

Lin Zhou gazed at the shifting chaotic light ball, the Fire of Civilization in his eyes brighter than ever before.

He knew that the real test had only just begun.